Friday Message from Lesley Writtle: 9 August

August 9, 2024

For those that don’t know me,  I’m Lesley Writtle,  I am a Non-Executive director (NED) and Deputy Chair of the Trust and Richard has been kind enough to allow me to pinch a monthly CEO message slot. I have been in the Trust since the start of 2020 (remembering the COVID days well), so I have seen a lot of change in that time and have seen colleagues work hard to overcome some huge challenges.  I’m extremely proud to work here after training here as a nurse some 43 years ago.

So, what is our role as Non – Executive Director ? As a NED we are employed by NHS England to work as part of our Trust board, working closely with Exec Directors but bringing our independent perspectives and experience. As a NED I have a duty to challenge, enquire and explore decisions and proposals we make in a helpful way and make sure any risks to the Trust and public are managed effectively especially focused on quality and safety of care. Each of the NEDs also tend to have a specialist area that they focus on such as clinical, finance or quality which they have professional expertise in.

I appreciate that this is an incredibly busy  (and probably stressful) time, getting ready for MMUH to open and welcome staff and patients later this year. Many of you are working hard for the move on top of your day job and this takes considerable resilience. I would like to thank everyone for all their hard work,  I realise it takes tremendous effort from everyone even if you are not moving yourself. Thanks to our staff and all the external contractors and volunteers, you are all integral to making the move a successful one.

One of my roles in the Trust is to chair our People Committee, we have been overseeing all the work on management of change, new ways of working and staff being ready from an operational perspective. I was involved in moving a hospital a while ago and the attention to detail at this stage is really important, but it’s also important to recognise the emotional impact of moving from somewhere you have worked for many years. Albeit a challenging physical work environment at times, you are leaving behind a lot of very special memories. But as we know change can be a good thing, sometimes a little scary but hopefully refreshing and energising!

I also wanted to make reference to the upsetting events and scenes of violent disorder our country has witnessed over the past week. I want to assure you , abusive, racist, and aggressive behaviours will not be tolerated at any of the SWB sites and that your safety and wellbeing are our priority. You will have seen our communication about how we are helping and supporting staff to stay safe and seek advice and support where needed. If you haven’t yet seen this communication, take a look here.

In addition to the support shared yesterday, we have recently launched an Employee Assistance Programme. This is a free and confidential service providing employees with emotional support, practical information and structured counselling for issues affecting their social, physical, financial, and general wellbeing. If you wish to access support, you can contact 0800 882 4102 whereby your call will be answered by a qualified counsellor who will be a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. We are working on further support and resources for staff and managers which we will communicate in due course.

I would also like to highlight that there is also significant work being undertaken as part of the delivery of our Trust People Plan and EDI plan to support our staff improve experience and to  create a positive culture of compassion and inclusion. This includes enhancing and strengthening the role of Staff Networks  which we will communicate more about shortly, advancing work on our Trust FTSU programme through joint work on enhancing psychological safety through the FTSU strategy and our Just and Learning Culture programme.

We are also undertaking in partnership with our Trade Unions, Staff Networks, our EDI team, operational, clinical and corporate colleagues to improve representation through inclusive recruitment practices and the launch of our Inclusive Talent Management Programme and our culture and OD programmes.  If you would like to be involved in this important programme of work please contact meagan.fernandes@nhs.net

Finally, MMUH will not be the success we expect it to be without the valuable work we do as an integrated care organisation, something we do very well and are proud of, an area of work that will be our focus moving into 2025. So thank you to all our staff not just those of you moving this year.

Best wishes,

Lesley