Hello everyone!
Quite possibly our single biggest event of the year at ELHT is the annual STAR Awards ceremony which this year takes place on Friday 1 May. Nominations closed in January and the judging is well underway. Launched this week are the public votes for Employee of the Year and Patient’s Choice. If you are a patient and you would like to vote for one of the three outstanding members of staff, click here. And if you are member of staff who would like to vote for one of your remarkable colleagues, click here. It was fantastic to see that 365 teams and individuals received nominations this year, a very deserving list of people who represent such a broad spectrum of our work. Have a read of the full list of nominations which was published this week – certificates will shortly be on the way to each and every one of you. Well done and look forward to meeting many of you at Crow Wood Leisure Hotel and Spa on 1 May.
As every nurse and midwife will tell you, 2020 is the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife (YONW), a 12-month celebration to highlight their work and advocate for increased investments in the global nursing and midwifery workforce. ELHT’s latest YONW event is a show of support for our male nurses with the launch of ‘My Daddy is a Nurse’, a new book for four-to-seven-year-olds which defies the assumption that all nurses are women by showcasing men working within the traditionally female-centric profession. According to the World Health Organisation, the world needs 9 million more nurses and midwives to achieve universal health coverage, so there are lots of opportunities for many more nurses and midwives of all genders. If you are interested in working at ELHT and joining our fabulous workforce, check out our current nurse and midwife vacancies. You will be warmly welcomed!
Further evidence of the excellent staff we have at ELHT came this week with the publication of ground breaking research undertaken by Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Professor Robin Paton. Part of the team that initially developed the UCLan Medical School, Professor Paton joined two fellow orthopaedic professionals to evaluate the current hip checks for six to eight-week-old children. And the trio’s research findings made national news headlines with a recommendation to change UK screening to reduce the high number of children with developmental hip dysplasia. Well done, Robin!
Each month throughout 2020 we’re celebrating one of the Trust’s Allied Health Professions and in March we’ll be shining the spotlight on our amazing Speech and Language Therapists. The breadth of help this service offers to patients is truly amazing so keep an eye out for daily social media posts @ELHT_AHPs and find out more.
One thing we’ll be seeing less of at ELHT – the humble fax machine. As you are probably aware, the deadline for the total phase out of fax machines in the NHS is fast approaching. Health Secretary Matt Hancock banned the purchase of fax machines in the NHS from January 2019 with the use of fax machines in the NHS to cease completely on, or before, 31 March 2020. We would like to thank everybody who has given up their fax machine and worked with us to test and implement other modern methods of communication to replace their fax machines. So far we have removed nearly 200 faxes and have only a handful left to go! If you still have a fax machine in your department that hasn’t been removed or if it is still in use, please email ImprovementPracticeOffice@elht.nhs.uk
The coronavirus has dominated all our news bulletins recently, and lots of information and guidance has been published for both the public and healthcare professionals. One of the key ways we can all help avoid catching and spreading infections like coronavirus is to practice good hand hygiene, and of cause the great guidance of ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’ when we have coughs and colds. If you are concerned, or would like more information the best place to start is with Public Health England’s guidance here. For our workforce we will continue to issue our regular Staff Notices and updates on OLI as the outbreak continues.
And finally, I would like to say a fond farewell, but hopefully not goodbye to and ELHT Comms legend, Steve Whittaker. Steve has been a familiar face around the Trust for many years, and through his vast NHS knowledge and experience has helped to make a real difference to the way we communicate both inside and outside of the organisation. I hope you will join me in wishing Steve a long and happy retirement.
Thank you for reading.
Martin