IT has been another busy and poignant week for everyone as we continue to do all we can to get through the Coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday saw a national minute’s silence at the Trust in memory of all those carers who had died through Coronavirus. It was an occasion that coincided with International Workers Memorial Day where every year, all around the world, trade unions, organisations and colleagues unite to remember those who have
lost their lives at work, or from work-related injury and disease.
It was a very sombre moment and a big thank you from me to everyone that took part at the Trust. A video was produced to mark the occasion and can be accessed here.
We have also spent much of the week talking about preparing the NHS as a whole, and the Trust in general, for the next stage of the Covid response. Sir Simon Stephens, NHS Chief Executive, published a letter regarding the ‘second phase of NHS response to COVID-19 which focuses on how we need to look at how we step up non COVID-19 services and prepare for increased demand over the coming weeks. For details you can click here to read the key points.
On a similar theme the Trust featured heavily on the BBC regional news this week talking about the concerns we have across the system about people not seeking treatment for symptoms of illnesses which could have major effects on their health in the future.
The NHS has launched a national campaign to highlight that it is very much still there for everyone with serious conditions such as stroke, cancer and cardiac issues and the news featured one of our patients called Kelvine Tomlinson who had successful cardiac treatment recently.
The news item also featured a fantastic innovation from the Trust led consultant cardiologist, Dr Billal Patel, who with 11 colleagues from the Cardiac Centre got together to share a ‘Call 999’ message in multiple languages to try to reach out to as many people as possible who may be suffering the symptoms of a heart attack.
The 11 videos are all available on our website as well as on many other media sites. To watch the English version click here. The other versions, which include: Urdu, Arabic, Pushto, Bengali, German, Polish, Cantonese, French, Greek and Punjabi are available through our website.
SWAN Suite launch
I was delighted to be invited to the launch of the new Swan Suite which officially opened at Blackpool Victoria Hospital this week.
The Swan team is made up of staff who work in end-of-life care and a member of the team will be in the office throughout the week for staff to speak to for support and reassurance. The suite has many resources for staff to use for their patients, there is space for staff to use for their breaks and some refreshments can also be found so staff can replenish. There is a separate room which could also be used as a space to contact family members. It is a fantastic addition to the Trust and I’d like to thank everyone who helped set it up. There is a video giving details of the suite here.