Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 11 February

February 11, 2022

Hello colleagues

There have been many positives that have occurred as a result of the pandemic, in my opinion. Those positives include things like a greater societal understanding that social care is separate from health care and equally important; the speed at which the NHS and its staff responded to the crisis, abandoning bureaucracy to deliver quick change; the focus on staff health and wellbeing which now cannot be reversed.

However, the pandemic and its impact has also been very negative. Beyond the obvious untold damage it has done to families and communities who have lost loved ones, it has also brought with it as a bi-product, deepening health and economic inequality, a concerning decrease in civility between humans, in mutual respect, in tolerance and understanding. This manifests itself in, just to name a few:

Intolerance of adhering to IPC expectations by the general public
Increased aggression and violence towards our colleagues in clinical services
Lack of respect shown to medical secretaries, call centre and admin colleagues by the general public who are concerned about lengthy waiting times

All of these are worrying enough, but our concern should be further compounded when we see or hear of examples in which our own colleagues are intolerant and disrespectful to both members of the public, to patients, to carers or even to each other. I am afraid to say, whether it is because my senses are heightened at the moment, or whether its because there really has been a deterioration in the conduct of some, I feel it and I have got involved myself, in this kind of stuff with increasing frequency.

To illustrate, local residents near Sandwell General Hospital have complained about staff making noise and littering their streets. We have one of our main sites in a strongly residential area. We must respect that and consider what we would want if we lived on Hallam Street or Lyndon, for example. I am also concerned that the journey to respecting others starts with self respect and that starts with self presentation. Some colleagues have left their dress code and uniform standards slip during the pandemic and far too many staff are wearing scrubs and uncovered uniforms outside of Trust premises and even in shops and on public transport.

We need a post-pandemic reset on so many fronts, not least staff wellbeing, elective recovery, refocused Trust strategy. We also need a reset on how we treat each other – our values, in other words. We will be agreeing a new, shorter list of organisational values, with your help and support, over the next few weeks as part of that reset. I’d be amazed if colleagues didn’t think that civility and respect would be in that final list in some way, shape or form. Civility is important. Civility can save lives. See the research here:

https://www.civilitysaveslives.com/

Have a good week

Richard