Fraz Mir is a consultant physician in acute and general internal medicine, clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. Fraz joined the CUH team in 2002. Here Fraz tells us more about his time at CUH.
What is your name and your role in our hospitals?
Fraz Mir and I'm a consultant physician in acute and general internal medicine, clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Meeting so many different people from all walks of life, working with fantastic colleagues and the variety of medical conditions I see. The diagnostic side can be really interesting, as well as navigating through complex management plans.
Tell us a bit about your CUH journey.
I qualified as a doctor after completing my clinical studies at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Medical Schools in August 1999 – I remember watching the fireworks from St Thomas’ Hospital balcony overlooking the Thames at the dawn of the millennium. The ward staff even managed to wheel out a number of patients to watch too!
I spent my early years as a doctor living and working in and around London. Cambridge offered a slightly less intense and frenetic environment, with the added incentives of excellent academic opportunities and links with a world-class University.
I joined CUH in winter of 2002 as a clinical fellow in intensive care medicine, then moved back to London for six months before coming back as a specialist registrar in September 2003. I’ve been tied to CUH since then!
I became a consultant at CUH in September 2008 and soon afterwards became the first patient safety and governance lead for the old Division of Medicine. I was also a Governor of CUH from 2015-18.
I consider CUH as my home. I am fiercely proud of working here because I know how hard staff in general try and how so many go the extra mile to do their best for patients. It is truly humbling but also inspiring.
What does a usual day look like for you?
This depends on the rota – I could be doing a ward round of medical patients in the emergency department, on the wards, in clinic, or doing a shift holding the phone for GP liaison. When I’m not doing clinical sessions, I work as one of the Associate Deans for NHS East of England and also as a member of the proctorial team for the University.
Tell us about a case study/experience at CUH that really stands out to you.
I became a member of the Governor’s Council at a very challenging time for CUH. The move to the electronic hospital system was a difficult episode for all healthcare professionals and we could have done things differently and much better. Soon after, we were given a not so favourable report by the CQC too. This came as no surprise to many clinicians but it took a lot of soul-searching and change in the Trust hierarchy before things improved. The Governor’s Council played an important role in the whole process and I’m privileged to have been part of it.
How do you feel your role benefits our patients?
Best to ask the patients I think! As one of the front-line clinicians in the Trust, what we do has a direct bearing on the care and clinical outcomes of our medical patients. It’s a huge responsibility but one that I relish and enjoy.
What is the most notable thing that has changed at CUH in your time working here?
The landscape around the hospital. When I first joined, there were only a handful of buildings on the campus and Addenbrooke’s Road and all the housing developments around it didn’t even exist. It was all green fields! Now CUH is like a mini-town in its own right, with new buildings and hospitals, research centres and labs everywhere. All that’s missing is our own train station, which is also coming soon!
What is the most notable thing that has changed in your profession/career in the years you’ve been working here?
As well as being clinically active, I am a keen teacher and educator. The loss of the old “firm” structure and lack of continuity with regards to patient care has had a huge detrimental impact on clinician training. I think the unhappiness with all the doctors strikes is a direct consequence of that. All a bit depressing really but the keenness, enthusiasm and desire to learn in the younger doctors coming through never fails to impress and motivate me. It’s really important that as senior doctors we continue to invest our time in other health professionals. Although the way things are done has changed, at heart the apprenticeship model of learning clinical medicine remains the same and needs to be nurtured further.
