I hope this finds you well.

Working together with Barts Health

We’ve kept you updated in recent months on how we hope our closer collaboration with Barts Health will deliver better, quicker and more effective services for residents across north east London (NEL), and we are now starting to see the positive impact our partnership is having.

Winter pressures are challenging and Barts clinicians are supporting us, as we deal with emergency care pressures.

We’re also helping Barts clear their backlog of appointments by inviting patients for scans and procedures, where there is spare diagnostic capacity. You can read more about our progress here.

Leading doctor “inspired” by our innovative surgical work

Surgery backlog is another area where our partnership with Barts is having a positive impact.

Initiatives like our ‘super’ clinics has seen us have one of the lowest number of patients waiting more than 52 weeks for treatment, and because of this, we’ve been able to offer some Barts patients ear, nose and throat operations.

The leadership of our Surgery Division during the pandemic has been recognised across the NHS and this week I was delighted to welcome Professor Neil Mortensen, President of The Royal College of Surgeons of England, for a visit of our Elective Hub at King George Hospital.

Our Chair Jacqui Smith, senior surgical colleagues and I were also joined by NHS England Diagnostic Programme Director Louise Dark on the visit and we had some great conversations about how, by working together, we will continue to tackle waiting lists and treat patients as quickly as we can.

We are proud of the surgery team for their continued hard work in support of our patients and for each other.

Recruiting ward clerks to help relieve clinical pressures

Our hospitals are very busy and clinical staff are treating a lot of very sick people. We know they are working in difficult circumstances and our senior leaders continue to do what we can to make their jobs easier.

More staff will help and over the coming months we’re recruiting 50 additional ward clerks, who will play an integral role in the day-to-day running of our wards, while relieving pressure on our nurses.

Increasing the number of ward clerks across the Trust will allow clinical staff to concentrate on clinical duties, which I hope will improve nurse wellbeing and improve the flow throughout our hospitals.

The role of a ward clerk is a great way to start a career in the NHS and develop skills. We’re proud of the boroughs we serve and we want to employ within our communities, so please do share details on how to apply.

I hope you have a restful weekend.

Kind regards,

Matthew Trainer
Chief Executive