It perhaps goes without saying – as I pen another weekly blog – that I am someone who likes to communicate openly and keep people up to date where I can.
The need to do this is becoming more and more important too, as we enter the winter months officially, share the challenges we face and the operating context we’re dealing with, whilst simultaneously trying to support record numbers of people and box off a seemingly never-ending to-do list.
With the clocks going back, the advent of dark mornings and nights drawing in, it’s clear the season is now upon us and no amount of wondering where the year has gone or disbelief at how quickly winter has arrived will prevent the inevitable annual onslaught faced by the NHS.
Make no mistake, winter takes monumental amounts of planning and preparation to survive and represents the toughest, trickiest time. If you listen closely enough, you might hear a collective groan as the diary clicks onto November 1, like the 7am alarm clock moment on the film Groundhog Day, only louder and on year 75.
It has previously been the case that we would use quieter months, traditionally over the summer when people take time away and things naturally slow, to take some time to rest and recover ourselves then get ready for what we know will come.
But regular readers of this blog will recognise that this respite has just not happened since before the pandemic reset the focus and pace of the NHS and there is just no ‘quiet time’ any more – and absolutely no moment to take a breath before we have to go again.
I know everyone in the NHS, across England, is nervous about what winter will bring on top of what we are already dealing with – and how that will impact everyone including already exhausted staff and already frustrated patients and families who find themselves waiting for help and support.
What I want people within both of these groups to understand is that colleagues – everyone – is doing their best and it’s important this is recognised as good enough. Of course, the spirit of ELHT is that we always want to do better, to be better, and we channel this constantly by asking if we could be tackling something differently or trying another way to achieve improved results.
But I know we are doing our best and for everyone who is part of the ELHT family it’s important to recognise this incredible ongoing commitment, each and every day and night. Thank you for everything you are doing for our patients and their families – I know it feels never ending but we are achieving great things, together, all of the time.
That patients, families, carers, visitors and our partners understand this dynamic is of paramount importance to how we cope through winter because, in my mind, to get through it will require a joint effort from everyone.
For this reason, we share massive amounts of information, both internally and externally, every day through our social media channels, updates in local news outlets including the press and radio, through our own website and direct to patients through various forms of correspondence.
This includes updates on how busy urgent and emergency care is, where alternative places for treatment are and advice and guidance on staying well and managing your health proactively and reactively without intervention if you can.
I think this message has landed with local people, to be fair, and where we used to get lots of cases in A&E that where neither urgent nor an emergency, we have made progress in this respect and we do also redirect people to more appropriate services, which makes a difference too.
Thank you to everyone who pauses for a moment and thinks about their needs and alternative avenues for treatment before simply turning up at hospital – we appreciate it. If you do need advice or guidance on where to go or what to do, you can find it here or please give us a follow on any mainstream social media, as we’re always updating with information for you.
This week I have also been providing honest and open updates to colleagues from the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which has wider responsibility for health services in the area, ensuring that they are working well together and providing high quality care equally for all communities.
This includes a focus on balancing our budget, of course, which continues to be one of the most difficult challenges we have ever faced in the Trust and the Executive Teams from each organisation talked about how we do this whilst inevitably coping with the huge pressures and demand and not compromising on patient safety. This was informed by a detailed and comprehensive discussion with members of our Finance and Performance Committee (F&P) on Monday, who are focused on how we manage this difficult balancing act too.
It was important to me that as well as providing data on our performance or an update on the money we have saved, the conversation was related directly to the unrelenting hard work and dedication of all colleagues. For every person with an appointment, who is seen and treated either in hospital or in the community, there is a mass of activity before, during and after. It happens as if by magic but, in reality, there’s a lot of time, effort, energy and enthusiasm behind the scenes from a great deal of people indeed.
I think both the ICB and members of the F&P Committee recognise this and whilst it’s their role to push us hard on the numbers, the budget and outcomes for local people – they know how much pure graft goes on to deliver everything that we do.
If you’re interested in knowing more about any aspect of our work, the Trust’s Executive Team, including myself and the Chair as well as other members of the Trust Board, are hosting an online ‘stakeholder event’ on Monday, starting at 5pm and due to end by about 6.30pm.
Don’t let the title mislead you and think you’re not a ‘stakeholder’ – if you work alongside the Trust, have a vested interest in Pennine Lancashire or live locally and just want to hear more, you’re welcome to come along by simply clicking this link. We picked this time thinking some people would listen in before leaving work, others would be home and could dial in before tea and anyone who had small kids could still manage bedtime. If the time isn’t ideal though, let me know what might be better. To this point there will be an open chat box for anyone to leave comments or ask questions during the session, which we’ll try and answer either in the moment or at the end.
Following this, you can also find out more by joining the November meeting of the Trust Board via a live stream on Wednesday for its November meeting between 12.30pm and 2.30pm. This will include more information. In the future we are hoping to take this meeting out into the community, so that people can join us in person if they wish. I’ll share more when I know when and where we will be.
As I have said, sharing information and updates – especially to local people, patients and their families, as well as those who work alongside us in any capacity – is going to remain key for us as a Trust – but equally important will be listening and hearing feedback and experiences of our services and acting on them to improve.
I am always open to this and happy for anyone to drop me a line or speak to a colleague about anything, positive or which could have been better.
In the meantime, let me close this week by sharing a couple of shout outs.
On Wednesday I was part of three great things. The first was making the smokefree pledge with colleagues who grouped in the reception of Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital. This work is important as we seek to support a reduction in smoking on site but also supporting smokers who come into hospital and struggle to manage their addiction. Please, respect our commitment by not smoking anywhere on site and if you need help to manage this, shout.
The second was taking the opportunity to support pancreatic cancer awareness month, which will culminate in World Pancreatic Cancer Day on November 16 when we encourage as many people as possible to wear purple to remind others of the importance of being aware and taking actions on concerns.
And, thirdly, I was completely beyond proud to join most of the winners of our recent colleague recognition event the Star Awards in an event where we presented trophies and said thank you in person. This was one of the highlights of the week – one of those moments which refills personal energy – and whilst the virtual ceremony was emotional and moving on the night, it really was amazing to be in the room with some very special people who do so much for the Trust and our patients and their families. If I didn’t say it enough on Wednesday, thank you again, you really are all complete stars.
On that note, some news hot of the press after our catering team won the prestigious Chef of the Year title for 2023, which makes it a victory for them in this competition two years out of the last three. There will be more details about the team and the winning recipes shared next week – but I couldn’t blog without mentioning how proud we are of the team and everything they achieve for patients and colleagues. It’s massively appreciated and we’re so proud of you.
Lastly, before I sign out for this week, a quick thank you to the audiology team who invited me back for a catch up after I presented an employee of the month award there a couple of months ago. My initial impression of a cohesive, engaged and happy team ensued, and it was great to hear more about the service.
I know there are lots of teams who are getting on with their work each and every day like this and perhaps feel unseen and undervalued. If you’d like me to bob in for a visit please let me know, it will be my pleasure and an opportunity to recognise everything you are doing properly.
Take care,
Martin