Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 9 July
July 9, 2021
It was great to celebrate the NHS 73rd birthday on Monday. What a time to remember everything the NHS stands for. It has been particularly significant this year to recognise what we have faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the efforts of everyone in working together to respond so that we could continue to provide compassionate care for patients. The birthday events and thank you messages demonstrate how appreciated you and the whole NHS are by the public.
I am however, going to level with you about something. I am very concerned. We are in the teeth of a growing local crisis in COVID and urgent care pressures. As I write this blog, we have over 60 inpatients with a COVID diagnosis, 8 of whom are critically unwell. Our ITU is full and our ability to switch “amber” beds to “red” beds hampered by having a high bed occupancy. We are the busiest Trust in the Midlands region on COVID, when expressed relative to size of the organisation. Our urgent cancer surgery programme is possibly under threat as a result. Why is this happening? It’s happening because we have a deprived and diverse population who have a very high vaccine hesitancy. Of over 600 calls made to under 40 year olds yesterday to encourage their vaccination, fewer than 10 agreed to a vaccination appointment. If you aren’t vaccinated, you have no protection and are at increased risk of getting very ill as a result.
I am also concerned about mixed messages from national government. Yes, there is a general desire to “unlock” and “get our freedoms back” and yes, when you look at the UK as a whole and measure things based on mean averages, we do appear to have broken the chain between COVID and hospital admission. However, there are areas like ours, like Wolverhampton, South London, North Manchester, whose COVID vaccination rates are poor and who are starting to feel the downward pressure of urgent admissions rising, while still trying to manage elective surgery recovery. This time, colleagues, the mutual aid cavalry won’t be coming over the hill. The national teams will be looking at mean averages and will continue to ask awkward questions about why we can’t cope. We will, quite possibly, be on our own. We will only get through this together by keeping ourselves energised and by working as a team. You guys have done it before and I am confident you can do it again. But it will not be easy.
COVID-19 has been with us for a long time. I know that we are all getting tired of the restrictions to our daily lives and the way that COVID-19 impacts on our work and the care we aspire to provide. My message this week is that we cannot afford to let our guard down. More COVID-19 cases means that we cannot ease our own policies and approach to infection prevention and control and I am not expecting that the 19th July will see a change to that.
My plea is simple:
- Get vaccinated. Vaccination is the main way to protect yourself, your loved ones and our patients. We have a 32 year old patient at City Hospital who is very unwell and has been keen to share her story with others. She wishes she’d had the vaccine but hadn’t got round to it. This is extremely sobering. Don’t let this be you or those you care about.
- Maintain our infection prevention guidelines. Wear the correct PPE for you and the area you work in. Social distance at work. Wear masks in shared offices and staff areas. Wash your hands. This is vital. Cross hospital infection is real and if we become complacent more staff and patients will catch the virus.
- Regular testing. Do your weekly saliva testing (LAMP) to be sure that you don’t have the virus and can’t pass it on. It’s quick and easy to do so.
Thank you for your continued efforts. I am proud of you all.
Richard