Published: 27/06/2002, Volume II2, No. 5811 Page 10
Name: Sue.Times two.That is Sue Osborn and Susan Williams, to be entirely accurate.
Job: Joint chief executive, National Patient Safety Agency.
Style: Joined at the hip.The two Sues come as a pair, and have shared their jobs since 1986.Sue Osborn is seen as the extrovert and ideas person, while Susan Williams has a cool, unflappable nature.
Regular communication: 'We phone each other every night, often for as long as an hour-and-a-half ' is one hallmark of their style.But communications let them down last week, when they hit the headlines over a political row about whether or not to publish figures on the scale of adverse incidents.Some said NPSA was na´ve to think the full figures could be revealed.Others said ministers should have shown more courage on the matter.The debacle raised questions about the experience of the two Sues and their team in acting on a national and political stage, but they were seen to have acquitted themselves well when the pressure hit. Earlier this year, they were featured in an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London celebrating successful duos, alongside England football team coach Sven-Göran Eriksson and his assistant Tord Grip, and film director brothers Ridley and Tony Scott.
Background: The pair took on their first job share at Camberwell health authority 16 years ago, and have worked together ever since.They were chief executive of Barking and Havering HA until their appointment to NPSA ahead of its launch.
Future prospects: Their enthusiasm for patient safety and the shortage of senior job-share jobs means they will probably stick with NPSA for a
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