HELLO and welcome to this week’s blog.
Things remain busy and there has been plenty to discuss again this week with the continued development of our winter plans, the reintroduction of patient visiting and an increasing focus on COVID-19 as the figures begin to rise again across the country.
All the above means there is a lot to consider in our already busy daily working lives. One big call for me is that we all focus closely on the national guidelines by wearing masks where we need to, maintain our emphasis on wearing appropriate PPE in clinical settings and stay two metres apart wherever we can. These are all vital to protect ourselves, our colleagues, our families and our patients and visitors and I cannot stress enough how important these factors are.
There are a number of other campaigns that are approaching quickly that I want to alert staff to.
Our staff flu vaccination campaign is set to begin soon and we also have the national NHS staff survey coming up in the next few weeks.
Both of these are really important campaigns. The flu vaccination is important not only for individual health and wellbeing but is also a means by which we can all contribute to reducing pressure on our health and social care system this winter.
We’re currently seeing the impact of COVID-19 in our systems and are realistic that this winter we may be faced with co-circulation of COVID-19 and flu. Those most at risk of flu are also most vulnerable to COVID–19 and it’s our duty to protect them so I’m calling on everyone who is eligible to protect themselves, each other, and our most vulnerable by having a flu vaccination because now more than ever we need your help to keep each other safe and be an inFLUencer.
We’re expecting the first of four allocations of the flu vaccine to arrive mid-September so watch out for further communications around our inFLUencer campaign and information as to how to access your vaccine.
I am also alerting staff to the fact that the national Staff Survey will be launched on September 21st. The survey is absolutely vital to making our Trust a better place to work, with executive teams scrutinising the data at organisational, team and departmental levels. Last year we had our best ever response and as a result we were able to make some significant changes based on your feedback.
One thing I want to stress at this point is that the survey is entirely confidential. No one at the Trust sees the response of any individual as the survey is administered by an external company. We actually want to know exactly what you are thinking, good and bad, because it is only be being open and honest that we can make the changes you want to see. So again, more than ever, we need your input.
Congratulations
I WAS delighted to see Trust Consultant, Dr Jason Cupitt, play such a central role in the Illuminations switch-on after being chosen as one of the country’s Corona Heroes. It was a huge honour for Jason and the Trust to be involved in such a fantastic occasion that I am sure he will never forget.
It is also great though to see so many other staff members chosen to have their faces placed central to a major section of the illuminations to mark their contribution to the COVID response. If you get chance please go along and see the illuminations and see your colleagues along the way.