I am very proud of the diversity of our staff, which reflects our local population and greatly benefits patient care. Like other trusts across the country, we are extremely concerned about emerging evidence suggesting Covid-19 is having a disproportionate effect on our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. We are extremely keen to support the government’s review and have already started to collect views, experiences and data to support this important piece of work. I will keep you informed as this work progresses.

Tomorrow (Tuesday 28 April) at 11am, our staff at both of our hospitals will be joining a national one minute silence in memory of all NHS workers who have sadly died of Covid-19. Our thoughts and prayers go to the families of all our key workers and loved ones who have died.

We recognise how difficult this time can be for loved ones, particularly for families and friends, unable to visit their loved ones in our hospitals at this time. You can hear one of our anaesthetists Anushka Aubeelack on BBC News talking about how we are supporting dying patients and their relatives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We now sadly have a total of 324 patients to date who have died, who tested positive for Covid-19. However I am very pleased that we continue to discharge many patients, for example 51-year-old Tracy Brace, who has cerebral palsy and asthma - you can read her story on our website.   

I was also extremely proud to hear the work of our intensive care unit being featured on BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend with our Chief Medical Officer, Magda Smith and Intensive Care Consultant Tomas Jovaisa. They put forward the human side of what is a very challenging time for our staff, who have completely changed how they work to continue to provide high quality care for our patients and to support each other. 

However I am extremely concerned to hear that people maybe avoiding coming to our Emergency Departments due to their concerns about coronavirus.  Our hospitals have been set up to manage both Covid and non Covid patients and I would strongly urge everyone to visit our hospitals in an emergency to avoid risking their long-term health.  Please share this message yourselves and ask others in your networks to do likewise. You can read more about the changes we have made to our services on our website.

Lastly I’d like to assure you that we are supporting our staff who are observing the month of Ramadan, with advice and guidance, to help them manage fasting during these extraordinary times. I would like to wish everyone observing the fast, a happy and peaceful Ramadan.

Thank you as always to everyone for your continued support and generosity.

I hope you and your families continue to keep well and stay safe.

Tony Chambers
Chief Executive