Celebrating a Dedicated Career with Dr. Ray Quinlan
Dr. Ray Quinlan has dedicated his career to improving the lives and well-being of countless individuals. As an esteemed Medical Director, three of those decades have been at RPS, A Tetra Tech Company, making a difference in Occupational Health.
As he prepares for retirement, Ray reflects on a distinguished career marked by his ground-breaking contributions to health, safety, and preventative care.
How did you gain and build your expertise over the years?
It was a chance encounter with the Chief Medical Officer at Rolls-Royce whilst working in Derby as a Junior Hospital Doctor that introduced me to Occupational Health in 1991. This led to an interview with British Coal Medical Services and an appointment as an Occupational Health Physician Trainee. The appointment came with a fully paid-for weekly day release over two years to attend formal training at The Institute of Occupational & Environmental Medicine at the University of Birmingham.
Ultimately, this led me to secure my Membership with the Faculty of Occupational Medicine in 1996. I then worked for ICI at their manufacturing facility in Huddersfield, where I was the on-site Physician and, for a time, the Works Health and Safety Manager. I moved to Business Healthcare in 1999, which was acquired by RPS in 2005.
How did you end up joining RPS? And why?
Business Healthcare evolved from British Coal Medical Services and by the time it was acquired by RPS in 2005, Business Healthcare had greatly diversified and was providing Occupational Health services to a wide range of employment sectors including manufacturing, construction, transport, police, NHS and government departments. I never felt the need to move on from RPS and Tetra Tech and that’s mainly attributable to the people I have had the privilege to work with over the years.
What are the vital things needed to progress in a career and be a great leader?
I’m a big fan of Stephen Covey and his seminal work, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. Covey’s book has been a cornerstone in my personal and professional development. I’ve always tried to apply the habits, and I believe they have helped me achieve a balanced life and most importantly, progress in my career without experiencing exhaustion.
That, in turn, has allowed me precious time to actively provide encouragement, assistance and a positive environment for my co-workers to enjoy and thrive in their roles.
What’s one of the most interesting challenges that you and your team have encountered?
Without a doubt, the COVID pandemic. It had a phenomenal impact on our workload and how we delivered services. At times, it truly tested our ability to cope in a manner that I’ve never experienced in a 30+ year career in Occupational Health.
From early March 2020, there was an entire overhaul which included the development and implementation of a new suite of policies and procedures to support our service delivery. In addition, as the pandemic evolved, these policies and procedures had to be continually monitored and refined to meet regular changes in advice and guidance. One very early challenge with the March 2020 lockdown was to avoid having to furlough our salaried Physicians and we all had to take on work previously completed by our contract Physicians. We instituted a blended service approach which involved doing as much work, as possible remotely by telephone or videoconferencing and only having face-to-face contact where necessary. Our mantra throughout was that the benefit of any face-to-face contact should outweigh the potential risk of infection to our employees and clients.
Reassuringly, the RPS Senior Management Team unreservedly supported this risk-based approach throughout the whole of the pandemic. RPS were also an early signatory to the NHS Framework and took on additional NHS work and clinical duties, much of it remaining face-to-face.
One of the most surreal experiences I had was during the first lockdown when I drove to NHS clinics in Humberside on deserted roadways. Truly, an eerily post-apocalyptic feel!
What critical things have you learned during your career?
Back to Stephen Covey and those 7 habits. Many of these habits revolve around the importance of effective communication and how it helps resolve conflict and foster strong relationships. There are also the 7C’s of communication attributed to Scott Cutlip & Allen Centre.
For me, the most important is “courtesy” - being polite, respectful and considerate of your co-workers.
What makes this work so special for you? What’s your favourite part?
Making a difference to people’s working lives. That was especially the case during the pandemic when I did additional NHS work. I consulted with many front-line health professionals some of whom were at high risk of burnout. Being able to provide advice that materially changed health and safety in their workplace was hugely rewarding and, in many instances, secured their successful and sustained employment under very challenging circumstances.
What changes have you seen in the industry in occupational health? Why is it an important field?
In my 30+ year career, Occupational Health has become more mainstream. Organisations are realising that promoting the health and well-being of their employees does positively create an impact, boosting morale and productivity as well as reducing costs associated with absenteeism and compensation claims. Providers of services have also had to considerably improve their game, and this triggered the Faculty of Occupational Medicine launching the Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Services (SEQOHS) 2010, an accreditation scheme for Occupational Health service delivery.
I have also seen the Society of Occupational Medicine undergo transformational change as it is now a multidisciplinary body that truly acts as a national voice for Occupational Health and actively engages with government and policymakers. In fact, RPS had the honour of having one of its senior Physicians, Dr Jayne Moore, appointed President in 2021 for a three-year tenure.
Getting to know Ray
What’s your proudest accomplishment? Personal or professional.
SEQOHS accreditation and having the honour of attending an accreditation award ceremony with my now-retired colleague Aileen Dunn. RPS Occupational Health were the second accredited provider and Aileen went on to mastermind our accreditation until her retirement last year.
What’s your favourite movie?
So many, but if I was forced to sit and watch a movie over and over it could be anything starring Robin Williams and perhaps Dead Poets Society and finding deeper meaning in life
What’s your favourite song?
Eagles “Hotel California”. They were the soundtrack to my teenage years, and I defy anybody not to be blown away by the 2-minute-long guitar solo performed by Felder & Walsh, have a look on YouTube - they take turns playing the lead before harmonising and playing arpeggios together, just wow!
What do you plan to do after your retirement?
I’m fortunate that I’m still married after 37 years! Trish and I have in fact been together 42 years and now we have the opportunity to revisit those things that brought us together so many years ago; a love for the outdoors, travel, going to the Theatre, reading a good book plus choosing a red wine to read with! And of course, spending time with our family and the grandchildren that we have been so fortunate to have.
Why should someone work with RPS?
RPS and Tetra Tech values separate us from other employers. Like Covey’s 7 Habits, it’s great to have a set of principles. They provide something we can strive towards and emphasise the importance of collaboration as a team to help us achieve the best results.
What lesson would you like to share with everyone?
In my opinion, the vast majority of us come to work to do a good job. We respond best to support, and encouragement.
So, what I would like to share is this; don’t let a mistake or an error define your opinion of a co-worker. Stand back, assess the facts, reflect and ideally use it as an opportunity to learn and continuously improve.
Interested in joining our team?
Here at RPS, a Tetra Tech Company, you will have a career like no other. Our people are instrumental to our success and we believe with a strong team we can deliver strong results.
Find out more about what it's like working in our Occupational Health team by clicking the link below.
