I hope this finds you well.

The Omicron variant is a concern for all of us. We’ve enjoyed more freedom in recent months, but the number of new cases being recorded means we cannot ignore the obvious, and we all must do what we can to protect our residents.

With cases across our boroughs rising, we’re also seeing a steady increase in hospitalisations. We currently have 91 in-patients with Covid 19, a figure which has continued to rise in recent weeks. The latest Covid 19 data for our hospitals is on our website.

Following the Government announcement that all adults will be offered a booster vaccine, I’m pleased that we’ve seen a spike in appointments at our vaccination centre at King George Hospital (KGH). On Monday, 720 people received their jab, compared to the 200-300 people we’ve been seeing each day recently.

Omicron is the most transmissible variant yet, so please protect yourself and your family by booking your booster jab, and also encourage others to do the same.

This week was also the one-year anniversary since our first vaccination hub opened at Queen’s Hospital and in the last 12 months, we’ve given more than 136,500 jabs.

West Ham treat staff to a training ground visit

I was delighted a few of our staff enjoyed a visit to West Ham United’s training ground last week, as a thank you for their continued hard work throughout the pandemic.

Joining colleagues from Barts Health, the club arranged a great day which included watching the training session at Rush Green and meeting players, before being treated to a match at the London Stadium. We’re very grateful for West Ham’s support over the past year. They are a huge part of our community and it’s fantastic that we have such a close relationship which continues to grow.

As part of our focus on the wellbeing of our workforce we’ve been spreading some Christmas cheer. We’ve shared video messages of thanks from our senior leaders and increased wellbeing budgets for teams; we’re sending out gift boxes and have held daily prize draws; and we’ve also organised special events such as religious services and tree lightings.

I hope you have a restful weekend and please stay safe.

Kind regards,

Matthew Trainer
Chief Executive