Hello! My name is Matt. I have been here at IC24 for almost six months now, which in a way has flown by, whilst at the same time it feels like I have always been here. I think that is a testament to the culture here. To be honest, I have never worked at a place quite like it. I have had conversations with people of all job titles and roles, and we have all been equal. It is incredible and so refreshing.

Here, I am a locality support administrator looking after the Kent and Sussex region, but I came from a set of varied roles, all centred around helping others. I have been a qualified personal trainer for nine years, a life coach for five years, and last year I was a wellbeing officer in a higher education college local to me.

A friend of mine told me about a role at IC24. I was in a tough place and fighting one of life’s many challenges at the time. If I am honest, I had never considered admin after such a physical and emotionally led career, but not only did it help me get to a better place, I also rediscovered my love for all things data.

In my role, I get to see the stories from start to end, from a 111 call to a doctor’s visit, which is important because it is part of my role to find out why sometimes we cannot get there quite as promptly as we would like to.

From there, it is about working with everyone involved in the process to really see how we can do things that little bit better than the high standard we already hold.

Knowing that at the other end of my work, a patient is being helped and served that little bit more efficiently at a tough time helps fuel the enthusiasm I have every day. I can also say that I find a little piece of perspective each day and feel grateful for the health I have. [Touch wood]

If I were to talk about a proud moment during my time at IC24, it would be reporting on our fantastic care home project, which we had over winter. We had GPs contact local care homes on a regular basis to check in on residents, saving hundreds of ambulances going out when they could be dealing with emergencies. I have called both 111 and 999 on occasion, so I know how important it is to get the right help at the right time. That really hit home.

Outside of work, I like to raise money for charity. In recent years, it has been Andy’s Man Club, a male mental health charity which holds free groups for men on Mondays at 7 pm across the UK. I lost my father to suicide when I was 14, so this work is incredibly important to me. Having a place to speak openly about problems with others in a non-judgemental space is amazing, and they help thousands of men each week.

I mentioned before about the amazing culture IC24 has, and I promise I am not exaggerating, as I am pretty sure a small army of colleagues are planning to come to my next fundraising effort in August. It happens to be in Sittingbourne, which is very close to our Ashford office.

What am I doing?
I like to move very heavy things... use my six-foot four frame wisely and pull trucks! This time, however, I am pulling a steam train for the first time at the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway. It should be quite an experience. Everyone is welcome.

If you do want to see more about my story and the charity itself, you can here:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/thekindeststrongman

If I had to choose three words to describe my role at IC24?
Varied / Impactful / Valued