Hello everyone. Welcome to this week’s blog and a big thank you to Damian Riley for standing in as guest blogger last week.
I want to begin by reflecting on a wonderful comment made this week to our visitors from the North West Deanery, the part of Health Education England responsible for recruiting and training medical students and NHS junior doctors. Deanery staff visit the Trust regularly to get feedback from medical staff under their care and one of our junior doctors is of the opinion that “this place has a heart”. Just five words but they’re perfect to sum up what this Trust – and all our staff – have achieved in recent years. Back in 2013, the Keogh Report highlighted a perceived failure to provide compassionate care, an opinion that was difficult for many staff to hear. And so it’s wonderful to hear these latest words from someone whose experiences are of ELHT as it is today, not based on outdated impressions from the past.
Having a heart certainly helps all of us who are working hard to provide high quality care for our patients. Quite rightly, a patient’s experience of care sits alongside safety and the use of clinically effective treatments as the core to a quality service. And the ability of our wards and clinics to deliver better outcomes for patients is evident from the fact that the number of ongoing formal complaints against ELHT is at its lowest ever. Of course, the vast majority of our patients are happy with the care and treatment they receive. Every day we see wards and departments responding quickly and effectively to prevent small issues escalating into formal complaints. Key to the huge improvement in complaint performance has been the work of our staff, in particular Divisional Quality and Safety Teams and the central Customer Relations Team.
This week, Occupational Therapists (OTs) everywhere have been celebrating Occupational Therapy Week and nowhere have those celebrations been better than here at ELHT. I’ve heard allied health professionals, including OTs, described as the health and care system’s “secret weapon”. In fact, they are the only registered profession qualified to work across mental and physical health and in NHS and social care settings. This means they are uniquely placed to see a whole person holistically and have an important to play as health and social care becomes more integrated.
You may have noticed that I usually end my blog with encouragement to enjoy your weekend. I hope you do have a great weekend but I want to acknowledge that this weekend is Remembrance Sunday, a day for the nation to remember and honour those who have sacrificed themselves to secure and protect our freedom. For staff, patients, visitors and local residents, the Trust will host Remembrance Day Services in the Spiritual Care Centres at both Burnley General and Royal Blackburn hospitals. Both services begin at 10.50am on Sunday 11 November and include the traditional Two Minute Silence.
Until next time…