Just three weeks into her new role as Blood Transfusion (BT) Network Lead for SWLP, Sewa Joacquim-Hearne is already on the move. Based at St George’s Hospital but with a presence planned across all five sites, including Epsom, St Helier, Kingston, and Croydon, she is taking on a role that is as much about connection as it is about clinical expertise.
“It’s been really good,” Sewa says of her first few weeks. “There’s a lot to take in and a lot of people to meet. I’m used to meeting a lot of people, but I’m multiplying it by five.”
It’s this challenge of scale and collaboration that drew Sewa to the position. She joins SWLP from Milton Keynes, where she served as the BT Manager. There, she was part of the South 4 Pathology Partnership, an experience that ignited her passion for how labs can work together.
“I got really passionate about how important pathology partnerships can be when they work well. You are stronger together,” she explains. “Coming together does make you stronger.”
A more developed network
For Sewa, the move to SWLP represents a step into a more mature, integrated structure. Unlike the looser ‘partnership’ model she left, where staff remain employed by individual trusts, this network has formed a legal entity with a single operating structure.
“That allows them to be more effective,” she notes. It was this autonomy and the chance to truly streamline services across a network that motivated her to apply.
Fortunately, the transition has been smooth. Many of the core systems, including the IT and document management platforms, are familiar from her previous role. “I’m not having to learn much that’s brand new, which has helped me get going a bit quicker,” she says. She is particularly excited about ProfilerLive, which she calls “invaluable” for managing competencies in a network of this size.
Building bridges, not just systems
While the technology is familiar, the human geography of the role is a new puzzle, and one Sewa is eager to solve.
She has already identified that stronger collaboration between sites is a key priority. Her first practical step is remarkably simple: creating a dedicated Teams group for all site leads.
“Emails are great, but Teams is more reactive and quicker for getting help and liaising with each other when it’s needed,” she says. The idea has already received positive feedback from site leads.
But her vision goes beyond digital tools. “I would happily lead on networking, and maybe even just going for dinners or pulling everyone together to meet in person,” she says. “Some sites know each other quite well, but others are still getting on board. I want to be the central point for people to feel comfortable talking to each other.”
A natural fit for high pressure
Sewa’s path to this leadership role began, perhaps surprisingly, in microbiology. After a gap year spent reading an IBMS magazine that sparked her interest, she earned her degree and registered in microbiology. But she found it wasn’t fast-paced enough.
Then she moved into Blood Transfusion. “When you start in BT, you just feel like a place fits with who you are,” she says. “Transfusion is high pressure, it’s one of the closest you’re going to get to patient care, with major haemorrhages and whatnot. I don’t want to say I like chaos, but I react well to high pressure.”
That drive has seen her work across the private and NHS sectors, from specialist tertiary centres like the Royal Brompton to North Mid and Milton Keynes. All the while, she has been continuously upskilling, completing an MSc, a BBTS specialist certificate, and a clinical services management module, all while working full-time. She has even presented posters at the British Blood Transfusion Society (BBTS) conference, including one on a sickle cell exchange service and another on platelet management that was published nationally.
A natural leader
When asked if she sees herself as a learned or natural leader, Sewa makes a careful distinction between management and leadership.
“Management is a skill. I’ve learned organisation and all those things. But leadership is inspiring people,” she says. “I’m a natural leader. I care about people. I’m passionate about training, about transfusion, about learning. That can’t help but spill out. As long as I’m authentic and listen to people, that leadership works naturally.”
Looking ahead, Sewa is excited to grow into the role, building on the work of her predecessor while making it her own. She is even considering a professional doctorate in transfusion or biomedical science, continuing her pattern of learning while working.
“I’m very excited to meet all the teams, to learn, and to stretch myself,” she says. “This is a new challenge, and I’m excited to see what I can make my own about it.”