Urgent and emergency care services across north east London (NEL) are under extreme pressure and our Emergency Departments (EDs) at Queen’s and King George hospitals are incredibly busy.

Our staff are doing a great job in very difficult circumstances to keep patients safe and see them as quickly as possible. The reality is anyone who does not require urgent care will wait a long time for treatment, as we must prioritise our sickest patients first. 

Visiting our EDs isn’t the quickest or most appropriate way to receive treatment for non-life-threatening conditions and we value your support in helping our communities understand where to get the best care.

Please do remind residents that contacting NHS 111 or visiting a pharmacy in the first instance will help them receive quicker treatment.

Celebrating Black History Month

One of our biggest assets is the diversity of our workforce and the communities we serve and Black History Month got off to a great start with two of our nurses being named among the Rising Stars of 2022.

Evelyn Asiam, a palliative care clinical nurse specialist, and Rabi Sani Santos, geriatric nurse, have been named in the London region for The Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) awards, which recognises nurses and healthcare support workers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds who have made an outstanding contribution to patient care.

Shining a light on our different cultures is part of what makes our Trust an inclusive place to work, where every voice counts.

As part of the recent National Inclusion Week, colleagues from our Cancer and Clinical Support division and our Tulip Ward spoke about what inclusion means to them.

Tulip Ward is a great example of how having a positive working environment translates into excellent patient care. The ward has over 95% patient satisfaction, which is a fantastic achievement. Well done to the team.

Volunteering opportunities

Some people may think that the volunteers in our hospitals are of a certain age but we’re lucky enough to have patient partners of all ages that give back to their communities.

Two of our younger volunteers, Alina Khan and Medhavi Mathur, have shared what they enjoy about their volunteering role, alongside their school studies.

If this has inspired you, email our Patient Experience team to find out about our volunteering opportunities.

Best wishes.

Matthew Trainer
Chief Executive