A New Year message from Peter Axon

I want to take this moment to thank each and every one of you for all you have done throughout this extraordinary year for each other, for our Trust and for the communities, families and people we serve.

​During the worst of times, you have displayed the very best we can be.  And as we continue together to rise to the challenge of this dark Winter, I genuinely believe we can look forward to a Spring of hope.

One reason for this, of course, is the news just yesterday of approval for the Astra Zenica vaccine.  Our staff and fellow NHS colleagues, particularly in primary care and at UHNM, have been moving heaven and earth to deliver the initial Pfizer vaccine to as many vulnerable people as possible and it has enabled us to begin to take the very first steps to vaccinate our own staff.  The AZ news will give us the opportunity to ensure our front line teams have greater access to vaccination early in the New Year.  We will, of course, be able to give everyone further details of our plans for roll out in due course.

In the meantime, I thought it might be worth taking a step back and looking at some of the highlights of what we have achieved during the year ending today, as well as looking at some of the fantastic plans and progress we have coming up the rails to make 2021 a truly memorable year for Combined Healthcare for all the right reasons.

​Have a great New Year and see you all in 2021!

Peter

COVID-19 – YOUR AMAZING RESPONSE TO AN UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGE

Of course, the year has been dominated by Covid-19.  And your response to this unprecedented medical and organisational challenge has been nothing short of magnificent.  Together we have not only risen to the challenge, but in many ways, we have changed and improved how we work in ways that will last long after the current times have faded.

Just a few of the highlights include:

• working together at speed to identify, prioritise and maintain our ‘critical’ services throughout the year;
• transforming the ways we deliver all of our frontline and back office services, harnessing in real-time new technologies, new techniques and new ways of remote and dispersed working  – including mobile messaging, video conferencing, telephone and video consultations and of course MS Teams;
• deploying support materials, guidance and advice – as well as new online support and counselling services – to ensure we have protected the health and wellbeing of our staff – one of the most important duties of the Trust;
• applying additional measures to protect our staff from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds during the coronavirus pandemic, in response to reports from Public Health England which show that these groups of people are more likely to be adversely affected by COVID-19;
• moving significant parts of our business from a largely buildings and desk-based operation to virtual and cloud-based;
• equipping scores of teams with the most up-to-date laptops and mobile devices to facilitate federated working;
• significantly reducing our carbon footprint through slashing the number of car journeys needed to get our people to work; 
• introducing Exec Drop-Ins Online to maintain the momentum and welcome for our new Exec Drop-In face to face sessions;
• creating new and innovative digital communications and engagement channels and tools – many of them unique in the NHS – including “Ask the Board Online”, Patient Story Plus and our new Digital Avatars; and
• introducing enhanced service user risk assessment processes to ensure we maximise the effectiveness of our service offer. 

The sheer range of things we have done is so vast I could provide a list a mile long and still not capture it all.  But sometimes the things our staff say to each other is more powerful than any words a Chief Executive is able to provide.  In that vein, you might really enjoy spending a few moments with a cup of tea or coffee looking through the fantastic tributes and messages of support and recognition we have provided to each other through our “Combined United” facility on our website – which is still available and open to any of you to post further tributes and items of recognition for your teams and colleagues.   You can click here to see it all.

And, as we all know, a picture or film says a thousand words.  You might also wish to cast your mind back to early April, when we all came together to deliver a truly moving act of solidarity and support for our frontline colleagues on Ward 7 – one of the first of many, many times our staff had to cope with the most acute of challenges in delivering care.   The continuing and unwavering spirit of solidarity and support for each other epitomised early on in this gesture is something which I have been proud to witness throughout all parts of the Trust week in week out to this day.