Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 20 November
November 20, 2020
This time next week we will have announced the winners for our 2020 star awards. The shortlist is really impressive, as well as all of the hundreds of nominations received. As you know, we have had to change our plans from the normal glittering awards event to a virtual show but do pop the date and time in your diaries (27 November: 12 noon) and watch if you can. Every day next week we will be publishing again the shortlisted candidates through the daily bulletin, prior to our big reveal on Friday. If you can’t join in at the time then there will be ample opportunity for you to watch the ceremony at your convenience. It will be fantastic to see a snapshot of the amazing achievements from teams and individuals right across the Trust over the past year and beyond. Check out the Communications Bulletin next week for details of how you can join in the show.
Community and hospital Covid+ cases continue to rise and I know many of you are feeling the intense pressure that this creates. Thank you for all that you are doing to treat our patients, adapt quickly to ward changes, work in unfamiliar areas, support your teams and colleagues and your determination to keep going. We have a number of Covid Q&A sessions set up where you can listen to an overview of the latest situation and ask any questions. Next week we begin our participation in the national programme to test all patient-facing staff. This is to identify asymptomatic cases so that people can quickly self-isolate if they have tested positive. We will begin next week with a phased approach and in coming days all staff will need to collect a number of self-test kits to be used twice weekly for 12 weeks. Details of how you take the test and what to do with the results will be shared with you. The aim is to minimise transmission of Covid-19, particularly within our services. Our infection prevention and control guidelines are the main barriers against transmission, but quick identification and isolation of positive cases is also essential.
We were visited this week by the Health and Safety Executive who are routinely entering a number of workplaces to assess how well we are following the government guidelines to keep staff and the public safe. Thank you to the teams who supported the visit. The HSE were impressed with the way our clinical patient streaming is done, as well as the arrangements to ensure the right PPE was available including our fit-testing programme. They were less impressed with some of the adherence to guidelines on social distancing and mask wearing in non-clinical areas, be that office space or staff rooms. We have been consistent in sharing messages about the importance of social distancing, handwashing and wearing the right PPE both in our clinical work and when you are on a break, travelling home or enjoying some rest time at home. It is vital that we don’t let our guard down so make sure you and your colleagues and abiding by the guidelines, and challenge those who don’t.
The respiratory hub team celebrate their first birthday this week. What a year it has been for the team! The hub brought together staff from across the Trust to create a dedicated specialist respiratory centre at City Hospital. No-one could have predicted what would face the team in their first year. They have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of care for people with Covid-19, as well as providing vital care and treatment for people with other lung conditions. They continue to develop the hub and work closely with teams across the Trust to provide the best support for patients.
There are two last and very important asks of all of you over the next week. Responses to the national NHS staff survey close on Friday 27th November. It is really important that all of you spend a few minutes completing this survey. Final reminders were sent out yesterday so check your emails, follow the link and fill it in. The survey gives us good insight into things we need to change here to improve our organisation as a place to work. It also provides valuable benchmarking against other, similar organisations. The last few prizes are still available that will help with your festive shopping so don’t delay.
The second final push is for our flu vaccination campaign You only have until the end of the month to get your flu jab. This is because we need to plan for and begin delivering (hopefully soon) the Covid-19 vaccine. This vaccine is likely to require people to have a break of a number of days between receiving the flu vaccination and then receiving a Covid-19 vaccine. The sooner we complete the staff flu campaign, the sooner we can get geared up to delivering the Covid-19 vaccinations when they are ready. Make sure you book an appointment now with your local team flu-per trooper or drop in to one of the very many clinics available for you.
Our Star of the Week is Samantha Tromans, Theatre Stores Assistant. Samantha was nominated for her tireless work to make sure everyone in theatres has all the equipment they need, managing good levels of supplies for the team. The team have benefited from Samantha’s excellent work including ensuring the right PPE was in place. Thank you, Samantha, from all your colleagues and congratulations for being a well-deserving star of the week.
To end with some brilliant news for the Trust – we have been shortlisted in four categories of the annual Health Service Journal awards programme for our work on sustainability, the fabulous alcohol care team, our smoke free programme and Dr Sarb Clare who not only receives a MBE but is also shortlisted in the national clinical leader category. Congratulations to all of you. The award winners are set to be announced in March next year. It is particularly relevant that the alcohol team’s work has been recognised this week as it is Alcohol Awareness Week – an initiative that aims to encourage open conversations about alcohol consumption and signpost people to help and support if needed. You can read the very personal story from one of our volunteers here. Rachel is now giving back to help others with alcohol addiction. Rachel’s work, alongside the treatment provided by the alcohol team is instrumental in changing the lives of individuals and families within our communities.
David Carruthers, Acting Chief Executive