It’s been a while since I sat down to blog due to the pre-election guidelines in place for public services such as the NHS – and such a lot has happened over that time, I’m not completely sure where to start.
I suppose the most monumental shift has to be the change in Government and in Pennine Lancashire that has resulted in an entirely new set of local MPs being elected to represent our communities in Parliament.
There are two things I want to say on this. The first is a thank you to the outgoing MPs across all constituencies, some of whom have held their seat for a very long time, which simply must take significant physical and emotional resilience to achieve.
All – irrespective of party lines – showed interest, support and challenge in equal measure to both the Trust as a whole and to me personally during their time in post – and I really appreciated the relationships that built up between us over the common goal of providing the most effective services to local people. It was appreciated and valued and I want to wish each of those former colleagues well as they move into a new chapter of their lives.
Naturally, my second point is to say a huge congratulations and provide a proper East Lancashire welcome to our new political class of 2024.
I know the run up to the General Election will have required similar levels of resilience and energy – and to win a seat is an incredible achievement and honour in itself. But, now, the hard work will begin to deliver on the promises made.
I have already written to introduce myself, offer support and begin those new and important relationships with colleagues who will be critical to the success of the Trust for years to come.
Predictably – and rightly so far as I am concerned – the continued pressures on the NHS were front and centre of every campaign and manifesto for all parties and are already a big focus for the new Government and all its constituent parts.
During this period alone, we have continued to see extremely high numbers of people coming into the Trust, which have broken old records and created new ones many times over.
This demand for our services always manifests itself first and foremost through urgent and emergency care pathways including A&E at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, which is one of the busiest in the country and continues to be overcrowded on most days, with long waits to be seen.
The most pressing issue in this challenge remains the struggle for space to care for people as they arrive and to find a bed for them if they need to be admitted for further treatment. This is the reason we are caring for people on our corridors and I know this is a well-known issue and major concern for people locally.
I want to make some clear statements on this, as well as trying to give some assurance that we are focused squarely on making improvements that matter to our patients and their families – but also our amazing teams who are working day in and day out in this unsustainable environment.
This was a key topic at the Trust Board meeting on Wednesday where all directors were as one on the need to urgently eradicate corridor care and fight the sense that it might become ‘the norm’. This simply cannot happen, we won’t allow it and the team at ELHT – and I mean everyone, across all services and settings including in the community – is working flat out to achieve this as quickly as possible.
This includes huge amounts of work by community colleagues working in care homes and people’s own homes to prevent the need to come into hospital at all. We are also working with families whose loved ones at are the end of their lives and come to hospital when they should be receiving dignified palliative care in their own bed instead. It is heartbreaking to see them frail and spending their final moments in our hospitals.
We have introduced successfully ‘streaming’ technology at the door in A&E at Blackburn but also the urgent care centre in Burnley too to try and provide a quicker triage and, where appropriate, offer an appointment to come back later to try and ease the overcrowding and reduce the number of people who are sitting and waiting to be seen.
I want to land that the reason we have corridor care is actually rooted in a desire to do the right thing in very difficult circumstances, to try and care for people, no matter how busy we are or if we have the space.
I know this is a tricky idea to get your head around and corridor care is often perceived as the opposite – that we don’t care – but that the NHS will never close or turn anyone away, even when we run out of space is admirable in my book.
Of course, the corridor is a last resort, but it does mean we can bring people in to be diagnosed and there are robust systems in place to ensure they are properly monitored as they would be elsewhere in the department.
It also helps us to support ambulance colleagues who need to be able to leave patients and get onto the next job as quickly as possible. Some days not utilising the corridor would mean those patients remain in the back of the ambulance for a considerable period of time, which isn’t good for them or the crew.
Now I am always the first to acknowledge that whilst the team at ELHT gets lots of things right, there are times when we make mistakes or could simply have done something better. We are human and working in intense conditions, after all.
On corridor care I hear the inevitable concerns from families about their loved one being cared for in this way and, if I am honest, I completely understand. There is not a person here at the Trust who would want this option for their own family or friends if there was an alternative and this is a huge, personal driver for us to improve.
I do think lots of our patients and our families understand this too and we also get lots of feedback that good quality, safe, effective and personal care was provided in our corridors as with any other location and that is a tribute to soe truly amazing colleagues, that are working so very hard and doing their very best every day.
To this point, let me reflect on the events of last night when the Trust’s colleague recognition ceremony the Star Awards were broadcast for 2024.
This is always a highlight of our calendar, but it can feel difficult to prioritise this type of activity when there is so much challenge and so many things to do all around us, which might be classed as more important.
But I will never be someone that feels we cannot find 90 minutes a year to celebrate the team and, furthermore, at times like this the truth is we really need that boost to morale and to remember, more than ever, why we are here and the difference we make.
It was heartening to hear that despite the pressure and huge ‘to do’ lists, the Star Awards for 2024 attracted the most nominations we have ever had, with 600 entries all pointing to stories and experiences where colleagues and teams continue to go the extra mile, continue to make a difference and continue to care for each other, our patients and their families.
I know I left the ceremony last night tired after a long day, but fully rejuvenated with the feel-good factor and remembering all of the reasons I chose to join the NHS and still believe in it more than 31 years on.
If you didn’t catch it live, you can watch it back here, as the event was again broadcast for people to watch rather than being held as a face-to-face event.
This is a format we developed during the pandemic but does continue to allow us to reach as many colleagues as possible, recognising we always have a huge chunk of the team on duty at any one time and you can only ever get a tiny percentage in any room.
I personally love that we can include everyone and we’ve worked hard to develop an interactive style show where we get to go live to finalists in offices, homes and other ‘watch party’ venues including restaurants and pubs to chat more about their nominations.
But the most powerful and moving element for me is always the close up reactions we get to see when people win. I loved seeing the tears, the laughter and the genuine emotion as modest and unassuming colleague realise we’re talking about them.
I also loved the videos which asked a wide range of teams what was special about working together at ELHT. So many smiling faces, so much pride and myriad reasons why they work for the NHS and simply love their job. It was really inspiring and touching to see and hear.
We shared moments with pets on screen, melted as families and especially children looked up at mums, dads or grandparents with wonder as they were recognised for their work and shared in hugs and cheers of celebration – all telling their own story but collectively sending a resounding message around the spirit and power of ELHT.
I said at the end it’s the best place to work and I meant it.
Thank you to everyone who nominated someone, to everyone who was nominated, to the judges from across the organisation who I know also shed tears as they wrestled over who should win.
And, lastly, to the comms team here at the Trust who are often unseen and working away on so many things in the background, a huge thank you for bringing this event to life in such an inspirational and authentic way.
We needed a dose of sunshine in East Lancashire and that is exactly what we got through the Star Awards, metaphorically speaking if not meteorologically true.
Congratulations to the winners:
- Leader of the Year – Catherine Vozzolo
- Colleague of the Year – Salima Akuji
- Community, Engagement and Partnership Award – Church on the Street, Podiatry and Treatment Room Service
- Jasper’s Colleague Kindness Award – Shaun Gaskell
- The ‘Do Good’ Award – ELHT&Me Charity Hub Volunteers
- Clinical Team of the Year – Appliance Prescription Service
- People’s Health Hero Award – Dr George Aldersley
- Non-Clinical Team of the Year – Health Records Team
- SPE+ Improvement Project – Engineering Better Care Frailty Programme
- Wellbeing, Inclusion and Belonging Champion – Salima Akuji
- Rising Star Award – Eleanor Balshaw
- 2024 Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Achievement – Tracy Barnes-Clark
Please, enjoy your moment in the spotlight as a winner and a star today.
And I can’t end today without saying I do hope it’s infectious when we get to the big match on Sunday. Come on England.
Martin