Newsroom
Ewen's first impressions and views for the future
I have now been here for six weeks, and I am continually impressed and overwhelmed by the dedication and passion shown by all the staff in the more than 70 teams I have met so far across the hospital and community services that serve West Suffolk.
Our staff are our greatest asset, and I am committed to doing my utmost to support them to continue to improve the quality and safety of the care we deliver to you all.
It has not been an easy time for colleagues working across both health and social care in recent years. This is evident in our recent NHS Staff Survey results, which, like the results from across the country, highlight the immense strain staff are under, and how their wellbeing must be at the forefront of our minds.
A significant amount of work has been undertaken to improve the culture our staff work within but there is always more we can and will do. I am committed to further strengthening the ‘speak up’ culture so that all our staff feel comfortable and supported when raising a concern and know that we will address those concerns where we can. I am also committed to making sure we support our colleagues whenever we can, both in and outside of the workplace. Included within this wellbeing offer are our dedicated psychology and physiotherapy colleagues who are there whenever our staff need them.
To continue improving the care we provide, recruitment is key. While we have strong international recruitment initiatives which attract talent from across the globe, as well as a strong benefits package to encourage those in our local communities to consider a rewarding career in the NHS, we are always looking to grow and strengthen our workforce.
We are working hard to ensure that we retain those we recruit by developing our staff to help them have rewarding and successful careers, which we call ‘growing our own’. Two major parts of this are by educating and training our existing staff so they can progress to more senior positions and by maintaining strong links with local educational institutions, which also enables us to offer valuable and insightful work experience opportunities.
Despite the sustained pressure we have been under in recent months, there are numerous examples of great care we can be proud of which I would like to highlight.
Our maternity services have recently undergone an astounding transformation following a disappointing CQC review in 2019. As a result, Karen Newbury, our head of midwifery, has been awarded the ‘Inspiring Leader Award’ from the NHS East of England Regional Maternity Team Awards.
The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) general surgery High Volume, Low Complexity (HVLC) review has been commended as the best example of system working in general surgery by our NHS England colleagues. This clearly demonstrates our commitment to, and the importance of collaboration in improving outcomes for patients.
Our stroke team have retained an ‘A’ rating in the Stroke Sentinel National Audit Programme for 19 consecutive quarters, which is a massive achievement and testament to their commitment to upholding high standards.
Becky Taylor was recently nominated for a Community Inclusion Award at the National Augmentative and Alternative Communication Awards by helping families integrate communication aid equipment into all parts of their lives to improve patients’ quality of life. While Becky was unfortunate to not receive the top prize, this is an incredible achievement.
We have recently announced our latest ‘Putting Your First’ winners, who are nominated for outstanding work by their colleagues: Michael Round (vaccination team leader), Lianne Thorpe (communications aids assistant) and Chantelle Richardson (stroke clinical nurse specialist). Well done to you all.
I would like to express my profound gratitude to all those mentioned here for their outstanding work, and I look forward to highlighting more examples of the great work my colleagues do in the future.
Finally, many of you will know that the British Medical Association have announced further junior doctors’ strikes taking place from 11 to 15 April. While by the time you read this there will only be 24 hours left, you can still help us by making the right choices. This includes going to your local GP, pharmacist or using NHS 111 for all non-urgent care needs, and by taking care not to put yourself at risk of harm or injury where possible.
However, if you or someone else needs emergency care, we are here for you, so please call 999 or attend our Accident and Emergency Department in these situations.
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