The Sane Perspective

Why I Finally Started Sane Health & Safety

When people ask why I started Sane Health & Safety Ltd, they often assume it was because I wanted to run my own business.

The truth is, the company was incorporated in 2020.

Then... nothing.

For almost five years it sat dormant.

Not because I didn't believe in the idea, but because I questioned whether I was ready.

Like many people, I struggled with anxiety and imposter syndrome. I wondered whether I had enough experience, whether people would trust me, and whether I could really make a success of it. Looking back now, I realise those thoughts were holding me back far more than anything else.

Throughout that time, I continued building my experience.

I worked in construction health and safety, supported contractors and clients across a range of projects, developed professionally, achieved CertIOSH status, and kept learning. Before that, I spent over a decade as a frontline Paramedic with the London Ambulance Service.

Those experiences shaped the way I see health and safety.

As a Paramedic, I attended incidents where lives had changed in an instant. I met families on what would become one of the worst days of their lives. It reinforced something that has stayed with me ever since: every decision we make about health and safety has the potential to affect real people.

That perspective has never left me.

Health and safety isn't about paperwork for the sake of compliance.

It isn't about catching people out.

It isn't about creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

It's about creating environments where people can go to work, do their job safely, and return home to their families at the end of the day.

The name Sane is personal to me. It comes from the first initials of my four children. They are my biggest motivation and a constant reminder of why health and safety matters. Every person who goes to work deserves to come home safely to the people who matter most.

In May this year, I finally made the decision to stop waiting for the "right time".

There probably never is one.

Instead, I chose to believe in the experience I'd gained, the values I'd developed, and the difference I believe I can make.

That's why Sane Health & Safety exists today.

The name reflects the approach I want to bring to every client: practical, proportionate and people-focused. I want to help businesses build positive safety cultures, not simply achieve compliance. Good health and safety should support businesses, give people confidence, and become part of the way they work every day.

I'm still learning, just as every good professional should be.

But I've stopped letting self-doubt decide what's possible.

This is the first article in The Sane Perspective, where I'll be sharing practical lessons from construction, leadership, and my own experiences, with the aim of helping organisations build safer, stronger workplaces.

Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way. You know who you are, and I genuinely wouldn't be here without you.

What is one decision you've put off because you didn't think you were ready? Looking back, what finally gave you the confidence to take that step?