Dear colleague,

This week has been the first time both our junior and senior doctors have been on strike together for longer than 24 hours.

Whilst emergency care was covered during the 72-hour walkout, we have had to rearrange 1,317 outpatient appointments, and 64 non-urgent surgeries.

This has taken the number of outpatient appointments that have we have had to reschedule to nearly 13,000 and non-urgent surgeries to more than 1,000.

This is damaging staff morale, costing us millions of pounds, and leading to longer waits for treatment as we head into another challenging winter. The lack of any meaningful negotiations on pay is hugely frustrating.

Supporting young adults in our communities

Last month we welcomed seven interns who have joined our Trust as part of DFN Project Search – a transition into work programme for young adults with a learning disability and/or autism.

Working in departments across both hospitals including A&E, elderly care and outpatients, this experience helps to enhance their career prospects, supporting them to be able to live and work independently in the future.

This is important as on average, people with learning disabilities have less than a five per cent chance of gaining paid employment.

As well as helping the interns into work, the project is also an innovative new way of helping to grow our own workforce and I’m delighted we are a part of it.

UK firsts – at the forefront of care

Our state-of-the-art radiotherapy unit at Queen’s has been boosted by a new machine making us the first hospital in the UK to have this technology.

This Ethos radiotherapy machine is a win-win for staff and patients as it can take detailed images in just six seconds, compared to 43 seconds using the previous equipment, while also exposing our patients to less radiation.

We are also the first hospital in the UK to introduce an ultrasound guided procedure to treat women with Placenta Accreta Spectrum. So far it has only been performed in small numbers in China.

Well done to the team who were highly commended at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards.

Marking a busy October

This week, we have kickstarted our celebrations for Black History Month.

Throughout the month, we’ll be running a range of events to celebrate the history of black culture and the invaluable contribution that our black staff make to our Trust and to the NHS more widely.

Other events will focus on health inequalities and the impact sickle cell has on many local children and families.

October is also Speak Up Month and Paul Mancktelow, from the Guardian Service, is spending the next few weeks with us, meeting staff and letting people know how he can support them.

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes

Matthew Trainer

Chief Executive