Sue and Sara's keeping in touch blog: Autumn

Read the latest blog from Chair Professor Sue Proctor and Chief Exec Dr Sara Munro

Well, this year continues to be both challenging and relentless in the pressures and demands we are all experiencing both at work and at home. As we  note the change in the season to darker, cooler, wetter days, and the annual return of autumn staples such as spooky paraphernalia in the shops, and the central heating back on (if we are lucky enough to have it), there is also the notable return of Covid. It never really went away, but it is clear that the virus is active in many communities, including some in Leeds and York, and is casting a cloud over all we do.

We have learned a great deal from our experiences in caring for service users, and for each other over the last eight months. Some changes we have made are probably going to stay as part of our future practice, and we have adapted and embraced change far more extensively than many of us thought possible. We understand more about the virus, and its impact on health and wellbeing. We know more about the risks of catching and spreading the virus, and how to minimise them.

However, many of us will be feeling weary of all the events of this year, desperate to reconnect with our families and friends, and for some glimmer of hope and optimism on the horizon. This personal response to the pandemic is perfectly normal, of course. As health and care professionals though, we often spend more time focusing on supporting others, and less on our own needs. We need to get this balance right, especially as we start gearing up for the coming months and the ongoing demands of winter, the economic fall-out of any further lockdowns, and the prevalence of Covid in our cities and local communities. You don’t need us to tell you its going to be a tough winter season for the NHS. But none of us can ‘run on empty’.

As a Trust we want to make sure we support you to do your job to the best of your ability, in a safe environment, with the support you need. We will continue to do this. At a practical level, the Infection Control Team are already working hard to ensure everyone who wants one has access to a flu vaccine. More information is available on Staffnet for staff to book an appointment, and we would encourage you to do this.

We are launching a refreshed reward and recognition campaign, starting with ‘Team of the Month’ so if you know a brilliant team , who do great work, we really want to encourage nominations. You can complete a nomination form (on Staffnet) and send to award.lypft@nhs.net by Friday 30 October. Nominations will be judged by EMT who will choose the first ever winner!

As a Board, we haven’t met together physically since February. All our business has taken place in virtual formats, and this will continue until at least the Spring. However, our public Boards (last Thursday of each month) are open to the public, staff and governors to join and observe. We will start conducting virtual service visits later this month. These will involve a couple of directors and governors to meet with teams and if appropriate, service users,  to listen and understand better the challenges you are facing, and also to hear what you are proud of and keen to share.

Recently a number of Freedom to Speak Up Ambassadors have been appointed. These people will work with John Verity, our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and will have a clear link directly to the Board to raise any concerns or ask questions on behalf of our staff. More information about these posts is available on the Raising Concerns page on Staffnet. We look forward to welcoming them to attend Board and Council of Governors as part of their new and important roles.

A key way for us to really understand how it feels to work at LYPFT is the Annual Staff Survey. Another regular feature of Autumn. We are aware some of you have already completed this survey, and would encourage everyone to allocate 20 minutes or so to complete it for return by Friday 27 November the deadline.

We will continue to do the regular Zoom briefings led by Sara every fortnight, and take a view as to whether they need to be more frequent by inviting your views and questions as before.

Thank you for all you do for the Trust, our service users and for each other.

Sue and Sara