Meet The Team: Jagroop Kaur Dhillon
Data collection may seem a world away from psychotherapy, but for Jagroop Kaur Dhillon, working in the West of Scotland Innovation Hub has allowed her to continue to help people who may need it most.
Jag is now Data Manager and Service Co-Ordinator for Research & Innovation, having come to the NHS to work in Test and Protect during the Covid pandemic.
But after previously working mainly in the Third Sector, including eight years as a trainee psychotherapist, switching careers to data management on the COPD digital service wasn’t quite the big jump it may appear to some.
“My job is cleaning and collecting data and arranging appropriate transfers of data,” said Jag.
“But there is also co-ordinating with patients, making sure they are trained in how to use our digital platform. Some COPD patients are marginalised, stuck inside at home, you could even say on the fringes of society, so being able to keep them connected is hugely important.
“I also have to bring clinicians up to speed on the platform .”
That commitment to social justice has been woven through Jag’s career, due in no small part to her Sikh heritage, and the digital world is an arena where she can still apply such principles.
She added: “As a person of colour and having a disability I’m aware of how inequalities can shape a person’s experience and understand how unequal access to services can be for some people.
“Patient contact is my favourite part of my job – sometimes it can be quite humbling to see the courage of people in how they deal with health issues, and helping them overcome any difficulties they have in accessing and using services is very fulfilling.
“So while my experience may have been in other areas, I’ve been able to find a different way of using the skills I’ve learned there.”
While working with patients has been a huge part of Jag’s work, colleagues in the WoSIH have also played a huge role in allowing Jag to develop and create a new work-life balance for herself while working and acting as a carer for her mum.
“I have the most supportive team – they brought me up to speed when I joined and I have learned so much from them,” she said.
“I couldn’t have imagined a more open team. Roma Armstrong and Jacqueline Anderson have been great line managers – they have a very holistic approach – and Lead Clinician Chris Carlin is the kind of person who will say ‘Let’s get this done, and show the patient benefits.’
“They show me how leadership should be and I feel valued in the team. It has been a priceless experience.”
An avid reader and keen poetry fan, Jag is also a supporter of Punjabi arts and culture, particularly when it comes to language.
She added: “In terms of recognition, I don't need awards or MBEs my family, colleagues and Team know me and their recognition is what matters.
“The Punjabi poet Patar said: Eh tah sach he ke mere lahoon ney chaman sinjeya... kee hoya je patheyan teh mera naam nahin?- translating roughly to: ‘It is true that my blood/sweat was instrumental in this garden, what then, if the leaves don't have my name on them?’”