Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 11 December
December 11, 2020
Dinah McLannahan, Chief Finance Officer
Hi Everyone – I am back for one week only as David is taking a couple of days of well-earned annual leave. On that topic, it is really important that if at all possible, you take your annual leave entitlement this year. If you are genuinely unable to do this despite you and your line manager’s best efforts, you are able to carry some forward in to next year. Please ensure your taken and booked leave for 2021 is agreed with your line manager and on ESR by the end of December, for those of you whose leave year runs April to April. People with different leave years must also have the conversation about remaining annual leave. We will then review the Trust wide position and determine the management of the leave we are planning to carry forward in to next year.
It has been a wonderful privilege to act as CEO for short periods this year. However a feature of this experience unfortunately has been patients who complain directly to the CEO about their care and/or experience. There are of course many compliments and positive experiences about our services, but I have found that when we fall short of expectations, it is almost always lack of, or poor communication that is the root cause of the complaint. Obviously our time is not free but it is money well spent to spend your time ensuring effective communication to our patients and their families and carers about their care. Effective communication is so valuable to our patients and their families to put their minds at rest, particularly at the current time when visiting is restricted.
Whilst visiting is currently restricted, we do hope to lift restrictions slightly between 23rd and 27th December, subject to a review of the situation nearer the time. Details of this have been shared via the Covid bulletin.
Well done to all concerned for the level of discharges we have achieved this week – there has been a marked improvement – keep it up! Also, thank you well done to everyone involved in the decant of City ITU out of the main unit to D16. They moved back in yesterday, without incident, after a deep clean. Thank you for keeping services going during this disruption, especially when we are so busy.
On the theme of safe patient discharges, it is apt that this week’s Star of the Week goes to Community Liaison Nurse Denise Fitzmaurice. Denise was nominated for her excellent work with patients who have complex health and social care needs. She goes over and above her duties so that patients receive the correct support after discharge, liaising with external agencies to ensure a smooth transition from hospital into the community. She uses her expertise to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Congratulations and well done, Denise!
Two weeks ago we had our inaugural virtual star awards (tears of pride 5 minutes in from me!) and this week, many of the star award winners will have received their certificates, prizes and trophies which is a fantastic culmination of our celebration of everything that is great about our trust. I hope you have found the time to congratulate your colleagues who were shortlisted and those who came out top on the day. There has been so much excellent practice highlighted through this awards scheme as well as in the QIHD poster competition that I have had the privilege of judging. I spent a most enjoyable few hours on Wednesday going through the entries; the pride in learning and improvement, on quality and improved outcomes, was absolutely fantastic.
Thank you to the gynaecology team who have been collecting goods since September to support women and families in refuges across the Black Country this Christmas. Black Country Women’s Aid are delighted with the donations and are a key partner and friend of the Trust, working together on many initiatives including the IDVAs (Independent Domestic Violence Advisors) in ED, originally funded through Your Trust Charity. The generosity of the gynaecology team, their friends and family is truly remarkable and will help bring some Christmas cheer for those who are in extremely difficult circumstances, having fled from domestic abuse or modern slavery, cases of which have risen during the pandemic.
Santa’s elves are busy getting together items to help our patients this Christmas including gifts for those who are being visited at home or are having to stay in hospital over Christmas Day. We will be celebrating Christmas safely this year with limited decorations across the Trust. Thank you to the many colleagues who joined in Christmas Jumper Day today to raise funds for Your Trust Charity. You can still wear your festive apparel throughout the Christmas period and donate your £2 by texting YTCJUMPERDAY to 70085.
This week has been a pivotal moment for the NHS as the first patients and some staff received the recently approved Covid-19 vaccine. The roll-out of vaccines is taking place nationwide on a phased basis, beginning with hospital hubs. The first wave of hospital hubs has included Walsall Manor as the only hospital in Birmingham and the Black Country. We are not yet aware when our Trust will receive the vaccine but we are carrying on with our planning so that we can respond quickly. We will be notified a few days ahead of the vaccines arriving. Patients who are over 80 years old, care home workers and health care workers who are at high risk are the first groups of people to be vaccinated from these hospital hubs. Your Health Partnership are likely to start patient vaccinations next week and we look forward to congratulating them for being the first teams within the Trust to begin this vital programme.