Yi Mien Koh on a week in the life of an NHS manager

My week started with a meeting at the Department of Health to account for our health economy's actions in response to the Healthcare Commission's maternity review. We are working to address the gaps and to comply with Maternity Matters.

The next morning, I chaired a meeting to reconcile our provider annual plan with our commissioning strategic plan and operating plan. Strangely, they were not aligned but I had anticipated this, as the different sides had already tried to bend my ear. Getting them to focus on population and service needs resolved the matter.

Later we had our public board meeting. The third runway at Heathrow came up. Local residents wanted to know the primary care trust's position in relation to the expansion plans. We wrote to the Department of Transport a year ago during the consultation, asking for an impact assessment. Our position has not changed and the board agreed to seek clarification about what research is being commissioned on the environmental and health impacts.

Wednesday began with a performance appraisal of one of my executive directors. She has been in post for a year and done a fantastic job, so it was a happy affair. We discussed her personal development, which includes having a more balanced work life and slowing down to take time to reflect. We agreed to explore her participation in an executive development programme.

Later the finance director and I met Monitor as part of the due diligence on our local hospital's foundation trust application. They were concerned that the trust plans and the commissioning strategic plan didn't match up. Baselines for outpatient and elective had gone up after the PCT signed off our plan last July. We just told them we didn't recognise the numbers.

That afternoon I met with the chlamydia screening task force. Hitting this target will give us an extra point on our annual health check, besides being an important public health issue. Plus the target increases by 50 per cent next year, so we might as well get on with it.

The next day was taken up with a scenario planning exercise on polyclinics, the third in a series of community and stakeholder engagement events. This one involved providers, so we had clinicians from hospitals, the mental health trust, the independent sector, GPs and our PCT provider arm.

I then met the director of the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, which is an alliance of all NHS organisations in north west London and Imperial College, set up to close the gap between research and everyday practice.

Friday was catch-up day and I had my regular meeting with the chair. He acts as a moral compass. Like many chief executives, I draw hugely on the wise counsel and experience of the chair. It is a fantastic partnership when it works.

A busy week, but business as usual.