After speaking with Fiona Robinson about the day-to-day realities of patient care, I wanted to zoom out and understand what it’s like to lead an entire department (especially when clinical work, admin pressure, and team wellbeing all collide.). That’s where Michelle Colton comes in.
Michelle is the Principal Cardiac Physiologist at Broomfield Hospital, managing a busy team of physiologists, cardiographers, and admin staff. She also continues to scan patients herself, meaning her days start early, end late, and are packed with everything from direct care to staffing spreadsheets.
“Every day is different, I might be scanning patients, updating roasters, reviewing audits, or sorting wait times. Often all at once.”
It’s clear that her role isn’t just about keeping things going. It’s about holding everything together.
Meeting Demand with Limited Time
If you’ve ever had an echocardiogram, you might not realise how central this test is to cardiac diagnostics. Or how stretched services are trying to deliver it.
“Echo is the one we struggle with the most.”, she told me. “We just don’t have the staff or machines to hit the six-week wait time targets consistently.”
The challenge isn’t just in performing the scans, it’s in coordinating who gets them, when, and how quickly they can be processed. These aren’t delays caused by disorganisation. They reflect a system running at full tilt with limited resources.
The Value of People
Michelle has worked with many systems but none of them, she says, matter as much as the people.
“Processes fail. Equipment breaks. But people? If they’re missing, nothing runs.”
That’s why she puts a huge focus on building a strong, supportive team. Through daily huddles, monthly audits, and regular appraisals that are designed to help staff grow, not just tick boxes.
“If you don’t have a good team around you, it would be miserable. You need that energy to get through the pressure.
It’s a reminder that leadership in healthcare isn’t just about decision-making. It’s about making sure your team can show up and keep going, day after day.
Keeping Standards High – Even Under Pressure
Michelle also talked me though how the team checks that their care stays consistent: through regular clinical audits and peer reviews of scans.
“We look at three echo scans per person each month. It’s not about pointing fingers, it’s about learning and improving together.”
This kind of quality control, done well, doesn’t just protect patients. It also gives teams a sense of shared purpose and a chance to reflect on what they’re doing right.
When the Echo Department Became ICU
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was when Michelle described what happened during the pandemic.
Her department was physically transformed into an intensive care unit. The staff lost their office, their scanning rooms, and worked in temporary spaces to provide emergency care.
“It was chaotic, but we kept going. We pulled together. That kind of teamwork sticks with you.”
You can tell it still means a lot. For Michelle, COVID wasn’t just a crisis. It was a defining moment in her career and in her team’s story.
Language, Culture, & Finding Workarounds
Michelle leads a diverse and multilingual team, and that’s something she sees as a strength. If language barriers come up with patients, there’s almost always someone nearby who can help.
“We’re lucky, there’s always someone who can step in and translate. It’s just built into how we work.”
It’s a small detail, but one that says a lot about how care gets delivered here: through flexibility, collaboration, and community.
Trust in the NHS – A Mixed Picture
When I asked Michelle whether she thinks patients still trust the NHS, she was honest.
“Some do, some don’t. And I can understand why. They’re waiting, and they don’t always know the reasons behind it.”
It’s not that care isn’t good. It’s that the system is under pressure, and patients don’t always see what’s going on behind the scenes.
“Hospitals aren’t getting bigger, but the population is. The gap isn’t easy to fix.”
Final Thoughts
Talking with Michelle reminded me that healthcare isn’t just about treating conditions. It’s about managing complexity wiht care. Behinf every patient scan are invisible layers of pressure: staffing shortages, growing waitlists, system targets, and leadership responsibilities. And yet, people like Michelle keep showing up, not only to get the job done, but to support the team, protect standards, and keep the service human.
Her story reflects something important: that resilience in healthcare doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes, it’s found in the quiet moments, daily team huddles, a well-run audit, or simply checking in with a colleague. That’s what keeps the system moving forward, even when the pressure’s on.
“We all have our tough days, but we support each other. That’s what makes it work.”
As I prepare to step into a new healthcare setting in Sri Lanka, these stories help shape what I’ll be looking out for.
- What changes from place to place, and what stays the same?
- What are the universal pressures, and what can we learn from each other?
There’s more to come, and I hope you’ll keep following along.
Next up: What happens when care goes beyond the hospital walls? I'll be speaking with Syreeta Williams about pacing, remote monitoring, and the quiet ways technology is reshaping patient care.
Exploring Healthcare with Beatriz Batista 
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