Introducing: Ratna Merugumalla
Name: Ratna Merugumalla
Position: Consultant in Emergency Medicine, NorthWest Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Tell us a little about what your job involves:
As a consultant in Emergency Medicine, I diagnose and treat a wide range of emergency cases whilst providing leadership and direction to all shop-floor activity. I help make strategic decisions to ensure patient safety, clinical effectiveness and a seamless patient experience.
So, on a clinical shift, I see trauma (anything from high speed car crashes to injuries sustained at home), heart attacks, strokes, seizures, mental health crises, pregnancy related emergencies, and children with fevers to name a few. I like the variety of cases my job gives me – one minute I could be talking to a 100 year-old patient and the next minute I could be resuscitating a neonate!
When I am not seeing patients, I chair and attend meetings to work in partnership with representatives from other departments in the hospital and with external agencies that work with our hospital. I mentor and supervise doctors training in Emergency Medicine for them to be geared up as tomorrow’s consultants.
My job gives me the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and in unique circumstances. I consider it to be an immense privilege to be able to make a difference in their lives.
How did you hear about Songbound?
When I was doing my MBA in Cambridge, Rob Adediran, my colleague suggested a team consultancy project for Songbound. From the very outset, I was excited about the idea of being involved in a music charity. I met Joe subsequently and was impressed with the work Songbound was doing in Mumbai. This was reinforced on a visit to Mumbai in October 2017 where we met some exceptional people who were doing a fantastic job in bringing music to the lives of disadvantaged children and making a positive difference to their sense of well-being.
What role has music played in your life (particularly your childhood)?
Although I cannot sing to save my life, music has always been an integral part of my life. I remember having a cassette player and my very own collection of music aged 6! Now, the better part of my phone memory is taken up by music. Most of my music listening happens on my commute to and from work. I like all genres and listen to music in just about any language. I feel the power of music transcends all barriers and touches the human spirit like no other medium does, so limiting myself to a few genres and languages makes me feel like I am depriving myself!
What excites you most about joining the team at Songbound?
I can never forget the bright eyes and happy smiles of all the children we met in Mumbai via Songbound and how they came into their own when music played. This and the fact that I serve on the Board with the tremendously talented Joe, Juliet, Ali and Olie is an exciting prospect, an honour and privilege, really! So, as we look to streamline our processes and scale up activity, I hope together as a team we make the impact we seek and embed music in the lives of the children we touch…
A video from one of our projects that Ratna visited in 2017.
