What happens when creativity meets courage, and co-production becomes a colourful invitation to think differently?

🔗 References and Resources

In this episode of So Who Cares Anyway? I’m joined by Dr Jihad Malasi  GP, educator, mental health lead, and global health strategist. Jihad shares how early experiences of complexity and conflict became a driving force behind his leadership, and how passion and purpose continue to shape his clinical, community, and systems work.

Resources

Dr Jihad serves as Clinical Lead for Mental Health at NHS Kent and Medway. His work includes strategic development of crisis pathways, safe havens, and community-based care.

Kent & Medway Primary Care Training Hub – Meet the Team

A partnership between NHS Kent & Medway, Pears Foundation, and Hestia  offering 24/7 community-based support for people in mental health crisis.

Dr Jihad is a Non-Executive Director at Social Enterprise Kent, which runs social supermarkets in Ashford and Margate offering affordable food, wraparound support, and community connection.

What happens when digital dignity meets lived experience, and co-production becomes a tool for trust, autonomy, and health creation?

Here are some relevant links and resources to accompany your episode with Dr Naveed Iqbal:

Tritone Health — A co-produced digital health platform designed for people with learning disabilities, blending mental, physical, and social health into one accessible space. Visit Tritone Health

Interview with Dr Naveed Iqbal📖 Read the interview on Lancashire Digital Hub

Medii App in practice Henley Standard article on Medii App

What happens when trauma meets creativity and poetry becomes a way to survive, teach, and transform?

In this episode, I am joined by Thomas Delahunt, also known as The Hobo Poet, a neurodiverse A&E nurse, educator, and writer whose work spans trauma care, narrative teaching, and poetic reflection. From chaotic classrooms to Canterbury theatres, Thomas shares how creativity became his compass, guiding him through personal healing and professional transformation.

Together, we explore the concept of creative therapeutics, the emotional labour of nursing, and the power of art to deconstruct trauma, alter egos and rebuild identity. Thomas reflects on his Poetic Nursing Heart Blog, his Whispers in the Waiting Room, and his PhD research challenging organisational bias around resilience and mindfulness. He also shares the Butterfly Farmer Project, now active in Kent schools and care homes, and the legacy of love, trust, and transformation it’s cultivating.

Whoever you are, however you care, this episode invites you to ask why and to consider how creativity might help you find your way?

Resources; 

Thomas's reflective blog

https://thomasdelahunt.substack.com/p/creativity-really-is-a-compass 

CCCU School of Nursing, Midwifery, Allied and Public Health

School of Nursing, Midwifery, Allied and Public Health - Canterbury Christ Church University

What happens when knowledge is out there, but inaccessible, unshared, or simply not embedded where it matters most?

Show resources

What happens when we stop measuring health by the number on a scale and start asking what really matters? 

In this episode, Ruth is joined by Helen James, CEO of Nutriri, whose work challenges the weight-centric culture of healthcare. From intuitive eating to trauma-informed care, Helen shares how stigma shows up in consultations, waiting rooms, and clinical pathways, and what it takes to shift the conversation.

Together, they explore how weight-neutral care, inclusive training, and behaviour-focused support can rebuild trust in healthcare. From chairs in the “naughty corner” to neighbourhood health hubs that replace slimming clubs, this is a conversation about dignity, design, and doing with.

Whether you’re working in care, shaping policy, or rethinking your own practice, there’s something here for you.

Resources; To be added

What happens when two consultant geriatricians decide to challenge the norm, not just in clinical practice, but in how care is imagined, led, and lived?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Anna Folwell and Dr Dan Harman , whose work in Hull and East Riding is quietly reshaping what “left shift” really means. With clinical leadership rooted in community, they reflect on how integrated teams, co-location, and relational care can move us from pilot projects to lasting change.

Together, we explore what it takes to build trust across systems, how data and digital tools can support — not replace — human connection, and why joy, dignity, and shared purpose belong at the heart of care.

From fire services responding to falls to stories of older people reclaiming agency, this conversation opens up the real work of shifting left: doing with, not doing to.

Whether you're leading change, working in care, or simply curious about how systems can become more human, there’s something here for you.

Show resources

A place to meet the needs of people living with frailty | NHS Employers

The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre – YouTube

Ray’s story: The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre, Hull - Ray's story

NHS England — North East and Yorkshire » Centre’s integrated services transform care for frail and elderly residents

Developing a System-Wide Urgent Community Response Service for Patients Living with Frailty

A non-randomised controlled study to assess the effectiveness of a new proactive multidisciplinary care intervention for older people living with frailty

Experiences of a Novel Integrated Service for Older Adults at Risk of Frailty: A Qualitative Study

National evidence:

BGS Joining the Dots - A blueprint for preventing and managing frailty in  older people.pdf

Be proactive: Delivering proactive care - Overview | British Geriatrics Society

Be proactive: Evidence supporting proactive care for older people with frailty | British Geriatrics Society

What happens when a GP invites the whole team, receptionists, managers, clinicians and more into a simulation room, and a few fluffy pandas make an appearance?

In this episode, I’m joined by, Dr Jane Roome  GP, educator, and Simulation Faculty Lead in West Kent. With insight and a grounded sense of care, Jane reflects on she has pushed open doors to create safe spaces for learning that shift not just clinical practice, but safe cultures for learning in teams.

Together, we explore what it means to prepare emotionally for the work we do, to rehearse the conversations that shape our teams, and to create spaces where safety is learned as a shared responsibility.

From GP waiting rooms turned into practice environments to debriefs that surface the emotional labour of care, this conversation opens up the gentle mechanics of building trust, readiness, and connection.

Whether you’re in a healthcare role or simply curious about how care can become more connected and compassionate, there’s something here for you.

For more about me and what I do, or if something from this episode has resonated and you'd like to show your support please head over to Linktree: Reflective Ruth

When a consultant haematologist steps out of the system and walks into a forest, something begins to shift, in her, and in how she sees care.

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Jane Stevens, Associate Medical Director at Darent Valley Hospital: clinical leader, organisational change-maker, and former haematologist. Jane’s journey through burnout, trauma, and rediscovery led her to Sophrology, Salutogenesis, and the creation of Out in the Fields, a retreat program quietly reshaping staff wellbeing across the NHS.

We explore what happens when we stop diagnosing dysfunction and start listening for vitality. It’s a conversation about presence, practice, and the quiet rebellion that begins when health is created, not delivered.

Whether it's a hospital boardroom at 4pm or a canopy of trees, you’ll hear how small acts of noticing might just be the beginning of something bigger.

No spoilers. This is another great episode and this is your invitation to tune in and discover......

Show resources

Out in the Fields Retreat Program

Sophrology Academy (Kent)

Viktor Frankl

Salutogenesis – Antonovsky

Brain Odyssey

Forest Bathing / Shinrin-yoku

Are you ready to make ripples, be creative, and develop an environment where everyone thrives?

In this episode, I am joined by Cheryl Young, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Professional Nurse Advocate working in Whitstable Medical Practice, a community-based Urgent Treatment Centre on the Kent coast. With over two decades of nursing experience, Cheryl brings a rich blend of clinical expertise and human-centred leadership and a fierce passion for making workplace wellbeing more than just a tick box.

From bluebell walks to balcony huddles, gratitude journals to recruitment innovation, Cheryl shares how a culture of care has quietly reshaped her team’s practice. Through her distributed and supportive leadership, she has developed a creative, inclusive, and emotionally intelligent team that are not only equipped to look after each other, but, in an environment where everyone can ask, challenge, and receive the support they need, they provide safe, effective, and sustainable care to the people they serve.

This conversation threads beautifully through previous episodes, expanding on themes raised by Rebecca Myers who unpacked the emotional toll of health and care work, and Grace Cook from the Foundation of Nursing Studies, who explored the power and potential of clinical supervision an Heidi Edmunds compassionate distributed leadership . It also echoes the insights of James Metcalfe  from the North York Moors Trust , who spoke about the importance of outdoor spaces and wellbeing walks, ideas Cheryl has boldly brought into her practice for staff as well as her local community.

Together, we explore how creativity, inclusion, and emotional intelligence aren't “extras”, they’re essential tools for safer, stronger healthcare. And how small, purposeful actions can ripple outward into lasting change.

We discuss how giving people the support they need, space to speak and time to reflect, develops an environment of continuous professional learning, improvement, and wellbeing, all of which positively impact the communities they care for.

If you’ve ever wondered what it really looks like to embed wellbeing into a busy clinical setting, and how culture becomes “just how we do things around here” this one’s for you.