The North East London Evidence, Innovation, and Connections Conference, held on 26 September 2020 at City Gates, Ilford, brought together health and care professionals from across North East London. 

At NELFT, our volunteers are an integral part of #TeamNELFT and provide a great service to our patients and staff. Many of our volunteers stay with us for a long time, including joining our staff Bank or as a permanent colleague.

Hear more about the volunteer route into NELFT from Stephanie McNichol, who was a media volunteer, then joined our staff bank and is now working as a substantive member of staff in a Project Support Officer role.

I recently graduated from The University of Essex, having studied a degree in Physiotherapy. During my studies I completed 6 clinical placements, the last of which was facilitated by NELFT within the Wheelchair and Specialist Seating Service.

It’s been another busy week here at NELFT. It was our NELFT Board meeting in public on Tuesday and it was great to see all of our new Non-Executive Directors in the room. You can find out more about them and their role here. As always, our Board meeting started with a patient story and it was a privilege to hear from Jamie, whose daughter Demi is supported by our children and young people’s services in Barking and Dagenham. Demi has epilepsy and ADHD and as well as sharing some of the challenges Demi has faced with regards to support, medication and treatment, Jamie also shared her own experiences as a mum and a carer.

I’ll start this week by thanking Dr Caroline Allum, our Chief Medical Officer and Simon Hart, our Executive Director of People and Culture who both covered for me last week when I was on leave. Taking time off work is so important to rest, recharge and of course to do the things that are important to you outside of work. I’d like to remind colleagues across health and care services to ensure you are taking your leave and prioritising your wellbeing.