Dear colleague,

It was an honour to welcome the Tanzanian High Commissioner and the country’s Health Minister to our first Global Health event at Queen’s Hospital this week.

Local, regional and international colleagues were welcomed as we celebrated the partnerships and collaborations established by our staff around the globe in countries including Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda and Bangladesh to improve healthcare.

It was inspiring to hear from colleagues about the work they’ve done overseas and to hear the impact they have as shared by the Health Minister of Tanzania on the day.

I want to thank all of those involved in making yesterday happen, in particular Professor Gideon Mlawa who has been instrumental in this work including the signing of a memorandum of understanding with our Trust and the Zanzibar Ministry of Health last year.

Our colleagues come from 146 different countries and it’s vitally important to give back which is why I affirmed our commitment to continue this work with our partners all over the world.

Celebrating our volunteers

Earlier on in the week, I had the privilege of celebrating our near 400 volunteers.

Our volunteers play a vital role across the Trust, offering their time, energy and compassion to support our staff and patients in many ways from helping patients and visitors find their way in our hospitals, and offering extra support on wards.

I want to personally thank all our volunteers for their contributions. Volunteering is a fantastic way to give back and make a real difference in our community. If you or someone you know would be interested in becoming a volunteer, visit our website.

All eyes on our Ophthalmology team

Well done to our Ophthalmology team which carried out more than triple the usual number of cataract surgeries last month.

Their work is part of a project aimed to cut down our waiting lists for those needing cataract surgeries. The team completed 40 operations across two days in November, compared to six on an average day previously.

The team plan to do more in the new year as patients are currently waiting just under five months for this surgery, and our aim is to reduce it to three.

In other good news, I’d like to congratulate Bluebell A Ward for achieving gold in our ward accreditation scheme.

The scheme is part of our ongoing efforts to improve and standardise the quality of care given to patients.

They are the third ward to receive the gold accreditation and the first at Queen’s Hospital.

You can see how proud they are in our video on our website.

Have a good weekend.

Best wishes,

Matthew Trainer

Chief Executive