A window of opportunity

The coming months have been referred to as a “window of opportunity”, a chance to treat more non-Covid patients before we have to deal with winter and a possible second surge in the virus. It’s an opportunity we’re seizing. We have only one Covid ward and just a handful of patients who have tested positive. We continue to be heartened by the stories of recovery and touched when patients and relatives take the time to praise our care.

We are focusing on utilising our capacity as best we can, so we can treat more people. At King George Hospital (KGH) – where our ‘green’ and “yellow’ Covid zones are now well-established – we have seven theatres in operation, and we are looking at increasing our sessions in the evenings and at weekends. We need to develop our ‘green zones’ at Queen’s Hospital so we can do more surgery there.  

As we seek to maximise what we do - within the confines of the infection prevention and control guidelines that we are adhering to – we must ensure that we do not make existing inequalities worse. This is something we need to monitor across north east London with our colleagues at Barts Health and the Homerton. 

We are aware that many people are still not willing to come to hospital for their operation and we need to see if there is a pattern to this. We continue to do all we can to reassure people about the safety of the environments we have created. A study in June showed that none of the 260 people who had endoscopy procedures with us developed Covid as a result of their appointments. 

Fulfilling careers at our Trust

Our workforce is crucial to all that we do. We need to continue to look after our staff and develop them. 

Their skills are on display inside the Trust every day and we are constantly looking for ways of sharing their expertise with the wider world. Gemma Norburn, who works in our mortuary, was interviewed by the London Evening Standard about the death cafes that she runs for us and in the community. And Louise Daniels, one of our consultant rheumatologists, spoke last week to BBC Radio Essex about gout and what to do if you have the condition.  

We hope these articles and broadcasts inspire readers, listeners and our staff – both existing ones and those we may recruit in the future. My colleague, Kenye Karemo, is doing a lot of work on developing careers at the Trust. She’s written about some of it in a newsletter that I would recommend you read. It captures the stories of our staff and the life-changing experiences they’ve been through. 

I am particularly proud of the fact that, at the height of the pandemic – when the future of their training was in doubt - we recruited more than 100 student nurses and gave them paid roles across our Trust. 

Supporting parents

One of the many painful consequences of Covid-19 has been the restrictions on visiting we have had to enforce. They are in place to keep patients and staff safe and we keep them under review. 

Their imposition has meant that teams have had to redouble their efforts to keep relatives informed. The restrictions have had a particular impact on our neonatal intensive care unit where parents’ access has been limited and other family members haven’t been able to attend. 

Baljit Wilkhu and her colleagues have come up with ways of keeping families informed, including the creation of digital baby diaries. 

Our stroke services

I’ve written here before about how they’ve been transformed. Just last week we conducted a successful thrombectomy on a patient who was transferred to us by air ambulance from Norfolk. And the improvements we’ve seen have meant we’ve been shortlisted for a national patient safety award. I am keeping everything crossed!

An inspiring read

As a regular reader of this newsletter, you will have sensed the pride I feel working alongside so many amazing individuals. As well as keeping you up to date with how we are living with Covid, I have also used this weekly message as a way of sharing our stories of achievements.

 “In Conversation With” is one of the channels we use to learn more about colleagues. The most recent instalment features Maria Benedetti. She is our Lead Midwife for Multi-Ethnic Empowerment and she provides support for our BAME pregnant women. 

I am sure you’ll agree that her interview is an inspiring read. 

I hope you have a productive week and survive both the intense heat and the storms that are forecast to follow.

Best wishes.

Tony Chambers
Chief Executive