Welcome to this week’s blog.
First of all I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in last night’s Clap for the NHS and all careers and key workers. We celebrated at a number of our sites, and Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital was featured on BBC North West, Channel 4 News and Sky. It was fantastic to see our colleagues from Police, Ambulance, Fire and Mountain Rescue as we stood in support and appreciation of each other.
The atmosphere was electric and it was a real boost to us all. I must admit that I was left with a large lump in my throat! We broadcast the event live via our Facebook page and you can relive the moment here. The live stream from the Trust Facebook page alone reached 235,959 people, attracted over 850 supportive comments and was shared 3600 times! Truly fantastic! Thanks to the many people involved in making this happen, and ensuring that so many people were able to share in it.
Yesterday the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Dominic Raab announced that the restrictions placed on the country will remain in place for further three weeks. It is essential that everybody continues to follow the guidance and stick to these measures - they really are making a difference. To everyone reading this - please stay at home and protect yourselves, your loved ones and your NHS. Observe social distancing at all times, and wash your hands frequently for 20 seconds or more. Reducing the spread of the Coronavirus reduces pressure on our services. This will ultimately save lives.
I do understand that staff and members of the public may be struggling with being separated from friends and loved ones. If you are finding things difficult emotionally then please do seek help and use other methods of communication such as the telephone or video calls. For staff, we have a wide range of support in place. For full information on available assistance with physical, mental and financial wellbeing, please log onto the staff portal.
We have also started hearing how people with urgent medical need are not seeking the treatment they require as they feel they cannot go to their hospital. I want us all to spread the word that ELHT is still open and if you have a medical emergency, we are always ready to deal with those. For all other essential medical issues call NHS 111 for advice or check online.
Finally, I want to add my personal thanks to the countless individuals and organisations who are supporting our hospitals and our wonderful staff with overwhelming generosity. We began this week with the announcement of a huge donation of £350,000 from our neighbours, EG Group; it continued with donations of essential goods, more Easter eggs, bottled water and monetary contributions; and it ended with us being able to give 10 of the essential workers who joined us last night with a luxury hamper!
It really has been a fantastic week. Of course, the flip side is the sadness resulting from the impact of this virus - my heart goes out to everyone who is affected, including our staff - and this is never off any of our minds. But it is certainly made more bearable by the appreciation we all have for each other, and the genuine gratitude we are being shown. Captain Tom Moore is the epitome of this with his will to walk 100 laps by his 100th birthday, to raise £1,000. His total raised currently tops £18,000,000!
Stay safe everyone, take care and enjoy the weekend.
Kevin