CEO’s Blog

Dear all,

I’ve spent a lot of time in my office this week, which isn’t how I like to spend my time but there are weeks when it has to be done. Some days, there seems to be endless MS Teams meetings. I like the idea from Debbie Loke, our Interim Director of IM&T, about starting meetings before or after the hour, to at least give everyone a bit of a gap in between. I’ve also been doing the appraisals for my team and writing them up. These are really important. Everyone at UHDB should get an annual appraisal with their manager and on the whole in any normal year most people do. This year has been different and I know many of you will have been working under exceptional circumstances, such as being redeployed to other areas, or working in different ways, or perhaps shielding. If yours has been delayed and you haven’t yet had your annual appraisal, then please do speak to your manager about this, as it’s a really useful way to help you to be even better at your role.

Dear all,

I was thinking about the CEO blog the other day and just how important it is. It’s probably because Gavin does it so well that it’s kind of taken for granted, but each week he tries to capture a bit of what is going on across our vast organisation. I don’t think that’s easy over 800 words, given everything you do. I also think that throughout the pandemic, Gavin’s blog has taken on more significance as we all try to make sense of everything that is going on around us. That’s why, when he does take a rare few days off and hands over the keys to the blog, I spend more time thinking about what I’m going to say than I realise.

Dear all,

There have been four really big events across the globe this week and although we may be tucked away in a small but beautiful part of the Midlands, the repercussions do reach us quite quickly. Although our numbers of Covid-19 positive patients are now very low, on some days in single figures, this isn’t the case in other parts of the world. One of the countries severely affected is India, which has just been added to the list of countries that now have travel restrictions. Many of my colleagues from the subcontinent will have family there and many have planned a trip to see them this year. I know this is a difficult time for these staff and I hope they get to see their close families soon.

Many of you will have had some much needed time away over Easter, or the last two weeks, while it has been the school half-term, so I hope you feel a little bit rested after what was a winter like no other. And the sun even shone, even if outside it felt like -5 for most of the time. Even snow in places!

Dear all,

This week, there continues to be really good news on the Covid-19 front. At the moment we have fewer than 20 positive patients in our hospitals, which is a massive reduction on the peak of over 500 earlier this year. The total number of patients in our critical care units at Royal Derby Hospital and Queen’s Hospital Burton is also down to the level of our standard capacity. As you know, I am a little bit anxious about the relaxation of lockdown measures but so far so good.  As ever though, within our hospitals we need to maintain our vigilance. So, all of the important stuff about Hands, Face, Space remains absolutely vital.