Another week, another blog and once again COVID-19 is at the top of everyone’s agenda. As ever, my message starts with a word of thanks and encouragement to the frontline teams across all our organisations who are continuing to provide care and support for all those who need it, often in very challenging circumstances.
I also want to say thank you and provide encouragement to those who are in leadership positions at all levels across Humber, Coast and Vale. It can be immensely challenging for those responsible for making difficult decisions that impact upon the safety and wellbeing of staff and the lives and the livelihoods of those in our care and this mustn’t be ignored. The King’s Fund recently launched a project called Leading through Covid-19. This series of online resources is added to regularly and provides a wide range of practical support to support leaders during this time.
There is also a role for the Partnership to support leaders across Humber, Coast and Vale utilising both formal and informal networks. I continue to hear positive stories of the ways in which our different partner organisations are providing practical support to one another, through the provision of mutual aid and sharing of equipment, staff and expertise across our health and care system. It is important too that we utilise the personal relationships that we have built up through our Partnership to provide peer support to one another as leaders within this system. I would like to encourage colleagues to continue to lean on the strength of the Partnership at this time and share your challenges and concerns.
Over the last few weeks, colleagues have been sharing with me their concerns that there are people in our communities who have urgent health needs that are not being met because people are scared to come to our hospitals or are choosing to stay away from services for fear of overwhelming them. Whilst some treatments and interventions can wait, it is important that where people feel able to ask for help and to come to our A&E departments when they have an urgent need for medical help.
Over the course of this week, we will be sharing a series of video messages from our lead clinicians to reinforce this message with our local citizens. Please do support the Partnership by sharing these messages far and wide.