Local hero: Dr Patrick Geoghegan

Ebullient Irishman Dr Patrick Geoghegan is proud of his roots - and the feeling is mutual. When he recently won recognition for his work in the NHS, his local paper was delighted: "Tullamore native Dr Patrick Geoghegan OBE beat 700 hopeful nominees from across England to scoop the top NHS Leader of the Year award," reported the Offaly Express. Geoghegan is chief executive of South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT), which tomorrow formalises its acquisition of mental health services in a different area, Bedford and Luton Partnership Trust (BLPT). He is justifiably proud of his award, saying it is good for those working in the health service to acknowledge what they do. "A lot of good work goes on in the NHS and we don't talk it up," he says . "I'm the first to say we have to hold up our hands if we get things wrong, but equally we have got to get better and recognise our excellent staff and even leaders like myself. These kinds of awards give people back pride and confidence and recognition, so for me it's been about being able to encourage other people." For several months now, Geoghegan has been working between South Essex and the Bedford and Luton trust, first as an interim managers, when the BLPT chief executive left and then once his own trust's bid to take over the other trust's services had been approved. He says the move makes sense. "We have to maximise every penny for taxpayers. We don't want more managers, more boards, more chief executives," he says. "We need to look at the organisations we have locally and we need to stop going in and creating new organisations." The South Essex trust employs 2,500 staff and there are 1,500 staff in Bedford and Luton, where Geoghegan says there is enthusiasm for the move. "There were some issues and hard decisions [in Bedford and Luton] but there are excellent clinicians and support staff and people were saying that they wanted to work with us," he explains. "This isn't about me coming in and saying what we have to do," he adds. "But it is all about making things better for our customers." His job, he says, is to get people to trust him and his leadership; he considers this as one of his strengths and says it stems partly from the fact that he has worked his way up the NHS ladder from the bottom rung, starting as a porter when he was 18. As well as running two trusts, Geoghegan works with overseas organisations, including prestigious US university Yale, on a number of projects. But he spares some time to keep fit and says he is in the gym at six every morning. "I must have my exercise." And with that off he dashes to his next appointment.