As there was no blog last Friday due to the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holidays, I thought I would begin with a thank you to everyone who worked during the long weekend.
It was a great tribute to HM the Queen and I do genuinely hope everyone enjoyed some downtime to relax and enjoy the celebrations and pageantry on display with family and friends.
In addition, I know there were lots of activities across the Trust designed to help those working and inpatients and visitors to feel part of it – including visits from a life-sized cardboard cut-out of our monarch for selfies, afternoon tea parties with cakes, the planting of a tree to mark the occasion and lots more. Thanks to everyone who took the time to make it special, I know it was appreciated.
It’s true that we approach Bank Holidays or periods of national leave like Easter or Christmas or Eid with a certain amount of in trepidation. We obviously always try and support as many people as possible to take time off and get as many patients as are able home to their families, but we also need to make sure we’ve got enough people in to cover and continue to provide safe, personal and effective care too. It’s a difficult balancing act but, on the whole, I think we get it about right.
Last weekend actually went very well indeed and, again, a genuine thanks to everyone who worked or was involved in planning ahead. We coped admirably with the four-day weekend which coincided, for many, with the half-term school holidays too. Most noticeably this culminated on Monday in a good position and low numbers of people in A&E – and this wasn’t the case everywhere in the NHS. I do know site pressures have increased again as the week has progressed.
I do want to acknowledge the way that everyone across the wider health and social care system in Pennine Lancashire works together so incredibly effectively – not just at weekends or Bank Holidays, but every day and night, without fail.
This includes colleagues from across every ward and department in our hospitals, working with A&E to ensure people who need to come in for treatment are able to do so as quickly as possible. It’s a true team effort to deliver effective flow and reduce the pressure on urgent and emergency care and making sure we’re effectively discharging people who are clinically ready to leave hospital.
But that’s only one part of a very big picture – in Pennine Lancashire we have some of the most effectively integrated community services you’ll see anywhere in the UK, with colleagues who are recognised as innovative and ‘can do’ people, determined to work across teams, organisations, boundaries and settings to make sure patients get the very best possible care.
I have mentioned previously that the Trust has recently hosted a number of high-profile visits from leaders in Lancashire and South Cumbria and also nationally from NHS England itself. We always showcase our community services and the difference their development and continuous improvement is making to local people and everyone is always genuinely impressed.
We should all be incredibly proud of everything we have achieved, although I know there is yet more to come.
This includes supporting patients to stay at home or within their usual place of residence such as a care home where possible and, let’s be honest, it is where most people would rather be when they are ill and should rightly be a top priority for everyone involved.
I know this from personal experience this week as I have been confined to my house after contracting a second bout of Covid, after initially being infected in the early weeks of the pandemic in March 2020.
Since then, of course, I have been double vaccinated and taken up the booster jab too and so this second run in with the virus has been significantly easier than the first. I was extremely poorly a couple of years ago, whereas this time I’ve had what could be compared to a moderate head cold, such that I have been able to carry on with work and day to day life.
I think this again demonstrates the effectiveness of the vaccine programme and if you haven’t already had yours please do step forward and take it up. We continue to run centres in both Burnley and Blackburn and the teams are super enthusiastic about what they’re doing – so I just know they’d be delighted to give you a jab.
I have been involved with the judging for the Trust’s staff recognition event, the Star Awards, this week. We have had hundreds of entries and, certainly in the categories I have reviewed, the standard is extremely high indeed. I love reading the nominations as it reminds me about all the amazing people who work across all the different teams and settings that make up ELHT. The stories of how people have inspired others, had a huge impact on our patients and their families and lived and breathed our values and behaviours has definitely helped to lift my spirits and is humbling to read.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to nominate – I cannot wait for the event on July 14, when the winners and runners up will be revealed in a ceremony to be broadcast live and recorded to watch back later (or again!) if you prefer. I know virtual isn’t for everyone, but after two years of postponing our live event, we were determined to make proper plans and go ahead without any hitches for 2022. Be assured there is a great deal of preparation going on behind the scenes to make it as special as possible for everyone involved. I’ll share the link to watch it in coming weeks.
Lastly, I wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who is taking end of year exams, whether it’s at school or university or a home or work-based course. It’s that time of year when families tussle with the stress of SATs, GCSEs, A-Levels and all manner of other tests and exams and it’s not easy to navigate. My daughter Niamh is just finishing year nine, with just a few more exams and the summer between her and the start of GCSEs, so I know it’s adds a certain ‘dynamic’ to the house and can be a challenging time for everyone.
So whatever your challenges, whether at work or home, keep going, be kind to yourself and when you are able get some downtime.
Martin