Sue and Sara's keeping in touch blog: issue 8
Our Chair Professor Sue Proctor, and Chief Executive Dr Sara Munro, post a weekly keeping in touch blog for staff, partners and anyone with an interest in Team LYPFT. This week; how we are responding to the PM's roadmap, listen in to the Council of Governors Q&A session and catch up with the work of the Equality and Inclusion Taskforce.
The government has now produced a ‘road map’ for the country to move gradually from lockdown towards a more flexible way of living. At the time of writing there are still many questions about how this will work, and what it will mean for us as citizens, parents, carers, employers and employees. So, as we try to understand in practical terms what the new guidance means for us, we are sticking to the current messages: if you are already doing so, continue to work from home, maintain social distancing, wash your hands and practice excellence in infection control and prevention.
We will continue to ensure all staff who need it, have the right PPE in the right place at the right time, and feel safe and confident in their work. We want to support all our staff to continue the terrific work you have been delivering since the start of the crisis, and for you to know how to raise any concerns so that they can be dealt with swiftly.
This week we held a Zoom meeting with our Council of Governors. Governors have an important role in representing the people who elected or appointed them; staff, members of the public, service users and carers. Also, they hold the Non-Executive Directors on the Board to account. The meeting was an opportunity to advise governors of all the work that has taken place in response to Covid-19 and to answer their insightful questions.
You can listen in to the Council of Governors meeting here:
They were especially interested in service delivery, how services were supporting service users and keeping everyone safe. They wanted to know about work that has been ‘paused’ while we focus on the crisis and any risks this might produce. Governors were especially concerned about the risks posed by Covid-19 for BAME staff and what the Trust was doing to support staff who were concerned.
We were able to advise governors about the work being led by Wendy Tangen and Claire Holmes setting up the Equality and Inclusion Taskforce who are looking at issues and concerns among staff from BAME communities. Whilst there will be guidance coming from national work on this important matter, there is also a need for a local focus and the co-development of a plan that makes sense for our staff at this time. We look forward to seeing how this work progresses and are grateful for the leadership Wendy and Claire are showing on this issue.
Governors were also interested in opportunities for volunteering. Some were already volunteering in the Trust and spoke positively about this work. We were able to provide them the contact details to find out more about local volunteering activity and getting involved which is volunteering.lypft@nhs.net.
Last week we joined a call for Chairs of Mental Health and Learning Disability Trusts where Claire Murdoch (the MH/LD lead for NHS England) spoke. She said the work of MH/LD Trusts so far during the crisis had been ‘overwhelmingly impressive’. She confirmed that the levels of demand for our services are currently lower than normal, or ‘steady’ but that these are expected to rise dramatically.
Through the weekly communications Zoom meeting and the daily updates we hope you feel well informed about what is going on in the Trust just now. As more information becomes available, we will make sure we share it as quickly and effectively as possible. Please continue to ask any questions, and we will do our best to answer you quickly.
Please do look after yourselves. We thank each and every one of you for all that you are doing.
Sue and Sara