As professional lead, Derek Laidler oversees physio in an area covering one tenth of Scotland
In an exclusive Q&A with Ian A McMillan, professional lead Derek Laidler reveals what promoted him to switch careers and become a physiotherapist. A recent career high was helping to launch a comic strip – featuring characters from the iconic Broons family – that encourages older people to stay active
When and where did you graduate and what drew you to the profession initially?
I graduated from Northumbria University in 2001 having been a police officer before that. Although I was always interested in health and fitness, my first real experience of physiotherapy was when my grandfather had a stroke. I was amazed by the improvement he made under the care of the physiotherapy team. I decided to leave the police and retrain as a physiotherapist.
How has your career progressed so far and what’s your remit?
My first post was in a specialist stroke rehab unit and I loved it, I was also lucky enough to work in one of the first allied health professions front of house services in the UK which involved prevention of unnecessary admissions as well as managing the acute respiratory services in A&E. This helped me to develop a broader specialist skill set. Searching for a better work-life balance we started to look at options to move and when I saw a post advertised in Oban, Argyll, which matched my broad experience perfectly we took a chance and moved to Argyll in 2011 for what I thought would be a nice clinical role.
Ultimately, my job would be impossible without an amazing group of physiotherapy team leads who share a vision of how we should support our communities with high-quality, patient-centred and responsive physiotherapy services
Ten months later, our team lead retired and I took on the role on an interim basis, and two years on I became the professional lead for Argyll and Bute. I’m now responsible for the governance and development of physiotherapy services for the area, which covers 10 per cent of Scotland including 23 inhabited Islands.
Covering the beautiful but largely rural Argyll and Bute aea must have its rewards and challenges. Give us some insights on how you manage your workload and resources
I feel very lucky to live in the most beautiful part of the UK, we have towering mountains, sandy beaches and amazing scenery on our doorstep. People pay to come on holiday where I live but the professional lead role does have its challenges. Each of the six physiotherapy teams based around Argyll and Bute has its specific issues and priorities so achieving equity of services can be hard.
We see the same range of conditions as large cities but with very small teams and the staff need to be resourceful, adaptable and keen to learn – innovation is definitely encouraged here. Since Covid-19, the rapid development of remote contact through MS Teams has made it much easier to connect so distance is no longer the barrier it was. Ultimately, my job would be impossible without an amazing group of physiotherapy team leads who share a vision of how we should support our communities with high-quality, patient-centred and responsive physiotherapy services.
The issues raised can be a bit dry so it’s great to see an information leaflet that’s actually being read and enjoyed by patients. [The strip] is a great conversation point for visitors too so, hopefully the information disseminates more widely
What prompted you to get involved with brilliant The Broons comic strip? Have you got a creative streak?
I don’t think I’m particularly creative; I just want to provide information to patients in an engaging and relatable way. The issue of deconditioning is of long-standing interest to me and I was delivering training around the risks of deconditioning to NHS staff when the brilliant Professor Brian Dolan introduced me to his global #EndPJParalysis campaign. Among their resources I found Cambridge University Hospitals’ fantastic Lego character campaign based around the song title ‘You don’t have to take your clothes off’.
I loved the idea and wanted to do a fun Scottish version, so I based our 2017 campaign on the song ‘Donald Where’s your Troosers’. It worked well but, sadly, due to the way health care was delivered during Covid, a lot of the progress in reducing deconditioning in hospitals was lost. I wanted to reinvigorate our #EndPJparalysis campaign while maintaining the strong Scottish identity so it seemed obvious to use another Scottish icon and ‘The Broons say where’s your breeks’ was born. Most of our elderly patients will have grown up with the Broons and what better role model to have for them than the fun loving, young-at-heart Grandpaw Broon?
How has the strip been received by your target group and the public in general?
The response has been incredibly positive, the issues raised in the storylines can be a bit dry so it’s great to see an information leaflet that’s actually being read and enjoyed by patients. It’s a great conversation point for visitors too, so hopefully the information disseminates more widely.
And what do fellow professionals say?
Very positive, I love the sense of nostalgia it has created among colleagues who also grew up with The Broons on a Sunday or The Broons annual – it’s creating a little connection between professionals and patients.
How do you relax away from the workplace?
I have two boys aged nine and six. Relaxation away from work is a distant memory but we have a great family life making the most of the amazing area we live in.
To view or download The Broons resource as a pdf document, click
To support the initiative by sharing content on social media platforms, use the campaign hashtag: #NHSBroons
Derek Laidler, professional lead physiotherapist for Argyll and Bute, NHS Highlands. X (formerly Twitter): @dlaidler18
Author: Derek Laidler
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