Dear colleague, 

It’s great to hear some of the praise local parents with children with sickle cell disease had for an event our team held at Queen’s recently. 

The event aimed to inform and educate parents on how to care for children affected by the condition. 

Alongside a range of speakers from different organisations and professions, the team hosted workshops to help parents overcome some of the challenges they face and make them feel more confident in caring for their children inside a hospital and at home. 

Feedback was brilliant with parents engaging and being very open in sharing their stories and participating in discussions and workshops. 

John James, Chief Executive of the Sickle Cell Society, also attended and described it as “outstanding” and I’m pleased to hear we’re already planning for more in the future. 

Improving care for stroke patients in north east London 

I’m pleased to see our Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Stroke Prevention Hub get shortlisted for the HSJ Digital Awards. 

The hub, which launched in 2022, works to prevent strokes by targeting those in the community who are at risk, especially those with AF (an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate).   

The team initially worked closely with four GP surgeries to identify and treat these patients, making a real difference in the prevention of strokes. They have since expanded to cover patients from 20 more practices. 

Best of luck to the team for the awards in June. 

We’re doing some great work which was also recognised by Steve Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, and David Hargroves, National Clinical Director for Stroke, when they visited Queen’s last week. 

They heard how we’re working with partners to improve access to mechanical thrombectomy for patients across north east London and were shown the journey of a stroke patient from when they arrive in A&E to when they leave. 

I hope you have a great weekend. 

Matthew Trainer 

Chief Executive