Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 13 November
November 13, 2020
Thank you! My message today is one of thanks to all of you. Many of you are continuing to battle the impacts of the second surge and it is causing intense pressure, whether that is because you are seeing increasing numbers of patients test positive, your ward may have changed to “red” and you may be being deployed to support our services whether this is the most immediate needs. Equally, you may be having to shield or work from home, or not been able to do your normal job because we have had to postpone some surgical procedures. Regardless of who you are and your role within the Trust, you will be feeling the impact and there has been a significant change to your work and home life.
So, thank you. I know I say this every week in one form or another, but I do want you all to know that your contribution is valued and recognised by your managers, the Trust Board and really importantly, the patients and community. Later this month you will be able to see our star awards ceremony (details in the communications bulletin) where we celebrate some of the stars within the Trust. I am really looking forward to recognising the winners and all those shortlisted for their outstanding commitment that has been carried out before and during the pandemic. But of course, you are all stars, and we are one team, so the success of the award winners is all of ours to share.
The COVID picture may seem gloomy but I know many of us have been buoyed by the news of a potential COVID vaccine that we hope will pass the required effectiveness and safety tests and be made available. We are, like the rest of the NHS, preparing for a vaccine programme, so that we are ready to vaccinate the relevant groups of staff and members of the public. This will, without doubt, be a huge logistical operation and we will be playing our part along with other health and social care organisations in whatever form is required. This does mean we need to get our flu vaccination campaign done well ahead of our COVID vaccine plans. There is likely to be a requirement for a break between the flu vaccine and the COVID vaccine so it is important that you get your jab now if you haven’t already. Clinics are advertised in the Communications bulletin today so if you have missed your peer vaccinator when you have been at work, please make your way to a clinic as soon as possible.
Some further welcome news I hope for some of our nursing colleagues who are doing additional bank work, and for those who exclusively work on our Trust Bank. Your support is invaluable and in recognition of that we are increasing our bank rates for specialist and band 5 nurses, which are areas that are often hard to fill. We want to avoid having to go to agencies where possible, as our own staff know our patients, colleagues and Trust systems better so we are confident in the quality of care we provide. Details of the increased rates are in today’s COVID bulletin.
Some further good news is that we have been recognised for our sustainable travel plans as part of our efforts to become a greener organisation, reducing our impact on the environment. Congratulations to Fran and the team for their work. We have some exciting developments ahead as we consider how our sites can become carbon neutral in the years ahead – something I’m sure we would all be proud to support. I want to also single out the City ED team who were shortlisted in the changing culture category of the patient safety awards for their pioneer team approach as part of our weconnect programme. Although they were not the winners on the night, their achievement in being shortlisted is fantastic and demonstrates their significant achievements in engaging colleagues.
The Star of the Week is this week awarded to Shakila Rasool who has been working hard to coordinate the reservist list supporting our critical care services. Shakila was overwhelmed with her award and her colleagues highlighted the way she has worked closely with colleagues, supporting them individually and seamlessly working across the group to put the rota together. Thank you, Shakila.
Finally, I would like to wish all our Hindu and Sikh colleagues a happy Diwali for the weekend. We know that celebrating Diwali will be very different this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions, but I hope that you can find ways to safely celebrate and connect with family and loved ones.
David Carruthers, Acting Chief Executive