Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 18 May
May 18, 2018
Tony Waite, Finance Director. Toby Lewis is away.
Speak Up Day
This week saw our second Speak Up Day – thank you to everyone who took part either by visiting an awareness stand, talking to colleagues about the importance of speaking up, proudly wearing your speak up badge or making a promise. I am really proud to be part of an organisation that actively encourages people to raise concerns. As you know there are a host of different ways to do this and our nine Freedom to Speak Up Guardians are there to support you, offering independent help and advice.
Many of you completed our Speak Up mood boards either online or at one of the Speak Up stands. I was encouraged to see that most people feel safe to speak up in our organisation and there was general agreement that raising concerns makes a positive difference. We shared on the stands and on Connect some of the concerns raised at the last Speak Up Day and what has been done as a result. This includes fixing broken microwaves, changing mandatory training and improved catering facilities. We know from your feedback that more of you would like to know the results of raising a concern and want assurance that issues you raised will be well-received. Even when certain issues can’t be sorted the aim is that whoever raised the concern is kept informed of what has been considered and why it may not be possible to resolve it. The ongoing challenge for us all is to continue to encourage speaking up and make sure we take action and provide feedback when someone raises a concern with us.
Midland Met
Carillion has once again been in the spotlight this week following a select committee hearing on Wednesday that has referenced our new hospital, the Midland Metropolitan. We continue to work hard to get a clear way forward. We are confident that the new hospital will come to fruition and work is progressing to understand when and how that will happen so that construction on the site can restart.
Leadership Conference
Next week over 200 of the Trust’s leaders will meet in the Bethel Convention Centre to work through delivery of some of our key plans. We will be addressed by Matthew Swindells, from NHS England. Matthew is the lead director with responsibility for finance, commissioning and information. He has been a previous visitor to our Trust so we are pleased he is able to return and give his perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing provider Trusts now and in the future.
We will talk about better engagement, how we can pull together so we get a good rating from the CQC’s next inspection, our quality plan goals and delivery of Unity, our new electronic patient record. And running through all our discussions will be ensuring that whatever we do supports our vision to be the best integrated care organisation in the NHS. Our work with partners is helping to deliver this for our patients – truly seamless care is what we are after and we recognise that it is not just clinical treatment that impacts health care. Our own health is often a consequence of lifestyle, employment and housing and it is those areas that we need to be just as bothered about.
Ramadan
As Ramadan begins this week we join in with our Muslim colleagues and patients to mark this special festival. Last night our Chairman, Richard Samuda, celebrated Iftar – the breaking of the fast – at City Hospital. Ramadan Mubarak!
#hellomynameis….Tony