Hello everyone, welcome to this week’s blog.
Temperatures have plunged so it’s bitterly cold; we’re expecting snow and ice; it might get very blustery. Such conditions make for lots of problems – difficulties getting about, dangerous road surfaces, not being able to keep warm. Please take care out there; get the flu jab if you haven’t already; wrap up; and tread carefully. Please also think about your neighbours and people who are more vulnerable in this weather. I have no doubt that the weather will put a greater strain on our already busy hospitals, so it’s important we all do everything we can to look after ourselves, and our nearest and dearest.
One of the upsides of winter is the approach of Christmas, and the many nice things that happen around this time of goodwill. On Monday, I attended by traditional North West NHS Carol Concert in aid of CLIC Sargent. It was a lovely evening and a great reminder that not only are our staff good, kind, compassionate and skilled, they are also very talented. Well done to everyone who took part, especially our own choristers and musicians.
We will be doing some ‘christmassing’ ourselves in the next few weeks as we host various schools, colleges and local groups who will be giving us their time and talent across our hospital sites. This has been organised by our Fundraising Manager, Denise Gee and we hope that people will give generously to our charity, ELHT&Me, in appreciation. I hope that many of you get the opportunity to see and/or take part in what is going on – keep a close eye on our website, Twitter and Facebook pages in the coming days!
I was shocked and disappointed this week when the Lancashire Telegraph printed a story on their front page bemoaning ELHT staff sickness rates. Although we had responded to their questions positively – our staff sickness rates are reducing, and we have invested heavily in staff support – it made front page news with a sensational headline. I hope if you saw the article you also saw my letter to the editor in response. I think you are all doing a fantastic job and am delighted that staff attendance (as opposed to absence) is over 95%. We pride ourselves on being a caring employer and we care about and support our staff when they are ill.
You will already be aware that our maternity services are widely respected for their exceptional quality. We were the Royal College of Midwifery (RCM) Maternity Service of the Year in 2014; we are the only Trust in England to be awarded the UNICEF ‘Baby Friendly’ ‘Gold’ standard. And just this week, we received news that the Trust has been shortlisted in three categories for the RCM 2018 UK Midwifery Awards, the only Trust in the UK to achieve this recognition. Midwife and Baby Friendly Coordinator Sue Henry, Maternity Support Worker Keelie Barrett and our Postnatal Maternity Support Workers are all shortlisted and I have my fingers crossed for a triple success when the Award winners are announced next March. Well done all of you.
Time to go now, and as ever, thank you – each and every one of you – for everything you do.
Until next time!
Best wishes, Kevin