Over the last couple of weeks I have set out some of the challenges we’re facing as a Trust in the blog in a bid to be open and transparent, but this week I am going to redress the balance and celebrate some of the many good things that continue to make me proud of everyone and everything we are doing at East Lancashire Hospitals.
On Tuesday I met with colleagues who make up the Senior Leadership Group (SLG) face to face in an actual meeting for the first time in a very long time. It was brilliant to see everyone and although I know we are busy and focused on delivery every minute of every day, I was grateful to them for making the effort to get together in this way.
Of course, with the advances and benefits of digital technology and virtual meetings now in play, this won’t be something we’ll do every time – but with the topic of conversation centred on complex and detailed planning for 2023-24 and the very real ask to make improvements whilst also balancing the books, I thought it was worth doing.
It was and I want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to take part.
I was especially grateful for the way we tackled the issues and asks – as an opportunity to further improve rather than a straight ‘cost cutting’ exercise. There is always room for optimism and I believe a real strength of the ELHT team is that we are always looking for the opportunity and always, always, focused on the difference we can make for patients and their families.
This was again very clear to see when I visited colleagues in the therapies team as part of their own planning day on Tuesday. They had taken some time also as a team to focus on what they want to achieve in the next year, as well as celebrating everything that had been delivered in 2022-23.
I joined them for an hour at the event at Accrington Pals primary health care centre and met a really diverse range of colleagues who are so obviously working effectively together as part of our brilliant and pioneering integrated community services team.
I have said before and make no apology for repeating the mantra that strong, integrated and effective community services are pivotal to the success of ELHT and everything we are trying to improve about our services for local people.
What struck and impressed me was not just the current high quality of care provided, but how switched on the team were to what more they could do, how they could improve and do things better. Their perspective never wavered from having the patient at the centre of everything they were trying to achieve with a clear determination to join services up around people and not organisational boundaries.
The team asked lots of really pertinent questions about how they could get more involved and ensure their voices and experience were heard in decision making in the future. Thank you to everyone who took the time to listen and discuss the key issues and opportunities.
It is great to get different perspectives and I have given the conversation a great deal of thought indeed. It would be remiss of me not to also say thank you for lunch – another fabulous team effort that I thoroughly enjoyed.
On the subject of diverse perspectives and hearing from people with experience, I was fortunate to join the Trust’s Chairman Shazad Sarwar, colleagues from the patient experience team and leaders from our paediatric department to welcome a group from Blackburn Central High School to Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital.
The visit was organised after a number of students from years eight, nine and 10 at the school conducted a survey about their experiences as young people coming into the Trust for care.
I really enjoyed meeting everyone and hearing how they had found things. I was impressed by their interest in the Trust and how they wanted to help us improve by providing a different view of the organisation from a different perspective.
It was great to hear this was, in the main, positive but there were some really good pointers about where we could be better and consider making changes that really matter. Rest assured we have taken it all on board.
As an organisation at the centre of life in East Lancashire, with many colleagues and their families resident in the area too, it’s important that we make space and time to listen to people and pay proper attention and act in response.
I really enjoyed meeting everyone and I hope the students took a positive impression away of the Trust. It is no surprise, of course, that I am always hoping to encourage and inspire young people into the NHS and ELHT in particular as a career – the group were so impressive, we would be very lucky indeed to have any one of them in the team.
Yesterday I accompanied Dr David Levy, who is Medical Director of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), to see colleagues at Burnley General Teaching Hospital. We saw lots of people across the hospital during the visit, including in the Elective Centre. I want to say thank you to everyone who made us feel welcome and gave such a positive and warm impression of the Trust.
We also called into the Lancashire Women’s and Newborn Centre, which is another ‘jewel’ in the ELHT crown and to see the team in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in particular. I mentioned last week that the Family Care division regularly receives very positive feedback on its services – not just from parents but also from our regulators and colleagues from specialist audit teams such as the Ockenden Review.
It was no surprise then that David was wowed by everyone he met and impressed by what his saw. Another proud Chief Executive moment for me.
Which brings me to the Employee of the Month for April which I presented to the very deserving Michelle Ayrton who works in and is an absolute credit to the Emergency Department. I want to pay tribute and say thank you not just to Michelle but the whole team in urgent and emergency care.
It is not an easy or straight forward part of the hospital, often dealing with fast paced and unpredictable situations which take energy, dedication and an unwavering amount of personal resilience. More recently the Trust has reduced the number of beds we have to support delivery of some essential estates work as well as helping with the financial position and I know this will have created more pressure in ED.
It was touching to see how much the recognition meant to Michelle and I am so pleased to have been there to say thank you to her for everything she is doing in person. I will extend that to everyone in the team and across all services and settings – you’re doing a great job and it is much appreciated.
Lastly, a couple of things which are different but important to the Trust, our team and our patients and their families.
The first – and I know I mentioned it last week – is another plug from me around the importance of the next few weeks for the EPR (electronic patient record) project which is due to launch in June.
I know these next few days and weeks are going to be intense and stressful as we get the system live for the benefit for all colleagues and patients – so thanks to everyone who is working so incredibly hard to make it happen in the team.
To colleagues: if you haven’t already, please book on the training, start to understand how the changes will impact you, your team and patients and their families – it has such huge potential to improve the way the Trust fundamentally operates but we do need to get ready for it as effectively as we can.
And secondly, mindful of the events which have escalated in the Sudan in recent days I want to reach out to everyone who is either from the region or has ties to it, especially colleagues but also people in our community who are worried about family or friends caught up in the conflict too.
I cannot imagine the worry and heartache it is causing but I want to say we are thinking of you and offer our support at this difficult time.
The Trust has reached out individually to those we think might be affected, but if you are within ELHT and need some support please do mention it to your line manager or get in touch with the Well team to access what you need.
Take care,
Martin