Hello, and welcome to this week's blog. I hope you are all well.
This weekend sees Diwali, one of the biggest Hindu festivals. Sadly, this is yet another major occasion where we cannot celebrate in the traditional way, with friends and families all together. Nevertheless, I do hope colleagues, patients and communities are able to mark it in a safe way, reflect on its meaning and enjoy it. I'd like to take this opportunity to say Happy Diwali to everyone reading this, especially those in the Hindu and Sikh faiths.
Even without the added pressures of the current pandemic, Winter, and the approach to it, are always an extremely busy time of year for us. This is why I am delighted to say that the work on our new Acute Medical Unit remains on track to receive its first patients on the 27 November. This will be a fantastic asset for our patients and a much-improved working environment for our staff. A huge thank you goes to Matron Lesley Gaw and team for all their work to streamline two units to bring them together as one. Also, to the estates and facilities team and contractors for the excellent planning and implementation of the project. Keep an eye on our intranet and our website for the latest updates on the final stages of work. You can have a sneak preview of the inside here. It's absolutely fabulous.
We held our public Board Meeting on Wednesday this week (online) and I wanted to pass on a few messages from that meeting. Firstly, our Chairman, Professor Eileen Fairhurst gave thanks, on behalf of the whole Board, to all staff for their incredible efforts and achievements throughout this year, with many going way above and beyond what is required of them. The Board were eager to extend this thanks to all key workers across the Pennine Lancashire system.
It was also time for the Board to say a fond farewell to Christine Hughes, our Director of Communications and Engagement, who leaves next week to join the Cheshire and Mersey Health and Care Partnership. Myself and Eileen - indeed the whole Board - are very grateful to Chris for her dedication to ELHT over the last seven years. She has been instrumental in the transformed reputation and positive high profile of the Trust and its staff, as well as being a great support to me as one of my team. Thanks Chris, we wish you well.
To date, 84% of our staff have already been vaccinated against flu. This really is incredible and is down to the hard work of everyone involved in delivering the vaccines, as well as the willingness of our staff to get vaccinated early. But there has also been success in delivering the flu vaccination programme to patients out in the community. Our District Nursing Teams have been key this year and worked alongside primary care colleagues to vaccinate all housebound patients (not just those on the district nurse caseload). A special thanks goes to Joanne Hartley, Amanda Hobson, Nat Wood and Jane Tancock who co-ordinated activity across teams – and of course to our team leaders for ensuring delivery to our most vulnerable patients and protecting them throughout the coming year. As ever, I am immensely proud of our staff in providing Safe, Personal and Effective care to our communities.
We at ELHT, truly recognise our staff as our greatest asset, and your feedback is essential to the Trust if it is to continue to thrive. We want to check that everyone in our ELHT family is okay, and find out what we can do to make things even better? That’s why we really want you to have your say through the annual National Staff Survey. Already, 46% of staff have taken part - that’s over 4000 people - so please, let's get this number even higher. If you haven’t completed your staff survey yet please take five minutes to let us know your thoughts. Every voice counts! The survey closes on Friday 27 November.
As Christmas is approaching (can you believe it? Already!) our charity, ELHT&Me is launching its seasonal fundraising campaign. Like many other things, it cannot be the same as it has in the past, and many activities will be 'virtual'. We know that our staff across the Trust will be keen to get hold of gifts for their patients. The Trust’s official charity, ELHT&Me are here to help make Christmas special for everyone who finds themselves in hospital, or receiving treatment, over Christmas. You can find out full details about how they can help wards, departments and services to do this in our staff newsletter.
Our local community is always so generous at this time of year and their help and donations are gratefully received. Even though our campaign is virtual, there are a number of ways people can support us. The charity has launched three initiatives and you can find out more here - www.elht.nhs.uk/christmas-2020.
Please continue to stay safe, and make sure you continue to follow the rules - hands, face, space - even when (indeed, especially when) you are in work, and encourage you friends and families to do the same. You are all doing an amazing job, in incredibly difficult circumstances, and I thank you.
Keep up the great work.
Until next time,
Kevin