I’d like to start this week’s post by acknowledging the news of our new Chief Executive, Paul Calaminus. I have already had the chance to congratulate Paul on his appointment and look forward to working with him when he joins later in the summer. Until then I will continue in the role as acting Chief Executive. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your support over the last 18 months in the role, it has been a real privilege and I am sure there will be an opportunity for me to say more by way of a thank you as I hand over to Paul when he joins.

I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine, I certainly have been enjoying spending more time in the garden getting my daily dose of vitamin D. Having said that, please do make sure you are taking care to keep hydrated, wear sunscreen and all the other precautions, as well as looking out for others who may need some extra support during this spell of hot weather.

It has been another busy week here at NELFT and I would like to start this week by acknowledging the courage of Marcella and Hazel who both shared their personal stories with the Trust Board yesterday. Marcella shared her journey as a carer for her son Mitchell who has a learning disability. It was really moving as Marcella was so generous in sharing both her challenges and the things she has put in place to support her son. There were some real lessons for us in health and care about how we truly listen to and enable people with a learning disability and their families to have a voice and access the care they need, when they need it most. Hazel is a patient involvement representative with us and shared her experience of COPD and anxiety and again, gave us lots of food for thought about how we can improve our respiratory services and the lives of those with respiratory conditions. I am so grateful to those who use our services for their time and energy helping us on our improvement journey.

I would like to start this week by thanking colleagues across NELFT and the wider health and social care services who worked over the Bank Holiday weekend to keep our patients safe. I hope those of you who didn’t work managed to enjoy the additional day off. I enjoyed seeing the pictures on social media of the artwork and creative activities that our patients got involved in to mark the Coronation, I was very impressed by the talents of many of our patients and colleagues that were on display.

I hope you enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend and a huge thank you to our colleagues across NELFT and beyond who worked over the Bank Holiday to ensure our patients and their loved ones received the best possible care. As we head into the extra Bank Holiday weekend for the King’s Coronation I would like to remind you  to check pharmacy service opening hours and any other key information you may require over the long weekend to ensure you have access to everything you need for your care.