Sue and Sara's keeping in touch blog - issue 14

Read the final lockdown blog from Chair, Professor Sue Proctor, and Chief Exec, Dr Sara Munro.

Since the end of March, we have transformed so much of the way we work in the Trust. Staff in every department and team have worked flexibly, some taking on new roles with new colleagues. We have used Zoom and other platforms to keep in touch, to ensure key messages are communicated and heard, and in many cases have adapted how we deliver care to our service users and their families.

In working together we have strengthened our sense of ‘Team LYPFT’, and repeatedly, have been inspired and amazed by the creativity, innovation, leadership and compassion shown by so many in this Trust.

Outside the NHS, as lockdown starts to ease, we recognise we are currently in a prolonged state of transition. All of us are adapting what we used to do and trying to work out how best to learn from the last three months, take the best practice with us into the future, and move on to the next stage of this extraordinary year.

This week each member of the Trust will be sent a letter from Sara setting out how we want to respond to one of the major challenges emerging from the Covid pandemic. In the letter, she outlines how we want to address the inequalities for our BAME colleagues and service users, which have been thrown into sharp focus by Covid. We also want to learn from our colleagues and work together to eradicate racism in our organisation. This is something so important, and the Board are committed to leading this work, by listening, learning and working alongside our BAME colleagues.

We want to make LYPFT an inclusive family, where we can work together to make real and lasting change happen. Only by valuing each of our colleagues, respecting difference and recognising how this makes us stronger will we achieve our purpose of Improving Health; Improving Lives.

The past few months have presented us with huge challenges that have affected all of us personally and professionally. We’ve made decisions, often at speed, which have changed the way in which we work.

As we enter the next and largely unknown phase of Covid, we want to build on the strong feeling of shared commitment across the Trust and continue to make a real difference, not just through the pandemic, but for the foreseeable future.

This is the last of these regular blogs from us both. So can we take the opportunity once again to say how proud we are of how everyone in the Trust has pulled together, adapted, taken action and continued to deliver great care whilst supporting each other during the pandemic.

Thank you.

Sue and Sara

Further information:

Visit the ‘Tackling racism and inequality’ section of our website.