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General manager of our renal services: Steve Simper

Steve Simper, general manager renal services
Steve Simper, general manager renal services

Steve joined the Trust 18 months ago and is in charge of making sure the renal department runs smoothly. From getting involved with complicated business transactions to making sure that each patient receives the best possible service, Steve really does have a wide range of tasks to oversee.

He said: "A lot's going on at the moment - we've just put in a multi-million pound bid to run renal services in Surrey and we're commissioning two new satellite units where patients can receive dialysis closer to home, saving them from having to come into hospital.

My job is about the patients. I need to make sure that when they come through the doors of the renal unit, everything is in place so that they have a positive experience. That's what really matters."

And as if that wasn't challenging enough, Steve manages to do all of this despite a deteriorating vision disability.

Steve has only one per cent sight, yet with the use of Braille, a special computer and a modified mobile phone, he can get on with everything that he needs to do.

He said: "I have a mobile phone that talks to me, and is really easy to use and my computer allows me to see everything in large print and can read documents out to me. I just click on the document and put my feet up!

"Saying that though, I am a big fan of Braille. I, like a lot of other people, just prefer to have a piece of paper in front of me. Sadly, Braille is a dying art and fewer and fewer people are using it, which I think is a shame.

Steve and his wife have four children aged from seven to 21. He said: "I really love kids and having so many children seems like there's always been children in the house - as soon as one toddler grows up a bit, along comes another!

Their age range is brilliant - my eldest daughter has just finished her psychology degree so I can speak to her about that and my 18 year old daughter loves football. It's nice that there are so many different ages in the house and there's nothing I like more than to sit around the dining table to catch up with the family news."

More information

Read more about our renal services

This article was first published in the September 2009 issue of STEPS, our staff magazine.

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