This morning I unwrapped an early Christmas gift – a mug sent to me by colleagues, stamped with ‘6,000,000’.
For anyone who knows me, you’ll know that a brew isn’t just a drink. It’s central to any meeting you’ll have with me, normally in a ridiculously oversized mug, working through problems, planning exciting new directions for the business, day to day catch-ups, and those human moments that make the workday meaningful. Important things are very often over a cuppa.
Six million registered patients!
It’s a milestone that gives us a real sense of pride at PKB. Before we start pushing even harder for the next million, I’m using my most favourite time of the year as a good excuse to pause and reflect first.
The bigger mission
My role at PKB is commercial. It’s about ensuring we are a stable, sustainable organisation – creating value for our customers, supporting efficiency across the health system, and growing responsibly so we can continue to serve for the long term.
But what motivates me, and what brought me to PKB in the first place, is something deeper.
PKB is a social enterprise with a mission dedicated to patients. Our leadership is guided by a strong ethical and moral compass. At the core of what we do is a simple principle: everyone deserves access to their own health information – not as a privilege, but as a right.
When people have their information, they know and understand their care better. They make more informed decisions. They feel empowered rather than left waiting for answers. That sense of control can completely transform their experience of the healthcare system.
So giving six million people access to their health record isn’t just a statistic. It’s six million individuals who now have something that is the gift of knowledge.
Partnering with the workforce
It’s also, I hope, a gift to our customers across the NHS and growing network of independent organisations. We are all focused on giving patients meaningful information that allows them to collaborate with their clinicians.
In my view, we’re not selling them a product or a solution. We’re selling them the ability to utilise the biggest contributing factor to the health workforce: the patient. They are the people who look after themselves day in, day out. We’re helping them to be an active partner in their care.
None of this happens by magic.
Our teams work hard behind the scenes solving problems, finding better ways of doing things, and keeping everything moving. It isn’t always easy, but their determination is what turns our mission into a lived reality for millions.
So as we approach Christmas, I want to thank them – and to thank our customers, partners, and every patient who has chosen to use PKB.
Most importantly, I want to wish everyone a happy Christmas and good health.
It’s the gift we all hope for, and the one that matters most.