The Power of Visibility: Building a Culture of Transparency in Healthcare with Dr. Manjit Obhrai

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Mar 17, 2026

Dr Manjit Obhrai, a former consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist turned NHS executive known for restoring struggling trusts, talks about visible, values-driven leadership. She covers building trust through presence, open board meetings, valuing every staff role, adaptive leadership, and choosing transparency even when it risks reputation.

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ADVICE

Hold Board Meetings In Public For Transparency

Do hold public board meetings and discuss serious incidents openly to restore community trust and show willingness to investigate systems issues.
Manjit explains they opened board meetings to the public and media, discussing critical incidents transparently.

INSIGHT

Action Plans Fail Without Owners And Deadlines

Reports without named owners, deadlines, and follow-up create 'death by action plan' where nothing changes.
Manjit highlights Stafford's numerous action plans lacked timescales and accountable owners, so problems persisted.

ADVICE

Use Regular Reviews And A Diligent Secretary To Enforce Actions

Do enforce explicit accountability with regular review meetings and a diligent secretary who tracks progress and badgers execs to meet deadlines.
Manjit describes fortnightly reviews where the chairman asked each exec why an action was late and a company secretary chased completion.

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In this episode of SafeSpace., Mariam is joined by Dr. Manjit Obhrai, a former consultant obstetrician and gynecologist who became an NHS executive leader. They discuss leadership in times of crisis, building trust through transparency and visibility, and the importance of accountability and honesty in healthcare.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dr. Obhrai emphasises that leaders must be present and approachable, actively engaging with staff at all levels to foster a sense of connection and shared purpose.

Open communication, even when uncomfortable, is crucial for addressing failures and building a culture of accountability.

Every member of the healthcare team, from consultants to support workers, plays a vital role in patient safety and organisational success.

Effective leaders must be able to adjust their style to meet the specific needs of their team and the challenges they face.

When things go wrong, it's important to understand the underlying causes and barriers to change, rather than simply assigning blame.

BEST MOMENTS

"Everybody's important in this organisation. It's building those little bridges that makes a difference."

"Leadership, there is no one style of leadership that works. I think you've got to be adaptive to what the circumstances are."

"Be curious rather than judgmental. So if people aren't implementing something, it's a question of finding out what is it that stops them."

"We shouldn't be hiding behind things that we're struggling with."

HOST BIO

Mariam is a GP trainee in Wales passionate about improving our healthcare colleagues' wellbeing. She has experience on the Schwartz Round Steering group and as a facilitator for her health board, and she created and led the Balint Group Programme for Foundation Doctors in her hospital. These are regular spaces for healthcare professionals to speak about real issues that affect their well-being amongst colleagues to improve mutual support and camaraderie in the workplace. She also holds qualifications in Life Coaching and healthcare leadership and management. Whatever your reason for joining us on this podcast, we are glad you have taken the time.

If you are having stressful days at work, leaving you feeling demotivated, and depleted, I'm hoping I can help here.

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/