Improving Together – CEO Caroline Donovan’s Blog – 28 October 2024
Hi all and welcome to my blog
I want to begin with a huge thank you to everyone who has nominated a colleague or a team in our Safer, Kinder, Better Awards. I am really excited to tell you that we have had over 500 entries! This smashes our previous entry record at NSFT, and goes to show how keen we are to celebrate our shared progress and success. Now we move to the all-important judging, and then we can start to look forward to a glittering night of celebration on Thursday 12 December. There isn’t a venue big enough for everyone to join sadly, but for the first time we will be live streaming our awards ceremony so that everyone who wants to can join in. More to follow on this very soon.
Many of you will have seen the launch last week of the Government’s ‘Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future’ programme. The secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, is keen to place staff at the centre of reimagining the NHS, and the government is committing to co-designing this new plan. If you want to get your voice heard, please submit your ideas and experiences on the national change.nhs.uk website
I was really pleased to join our celebration as part of Black History Month which took place on Friday 26 October in Kesgrave, Suffolk. It was a brilliant event, facilitated by our Chief Finance Officer Jason Hollidge, who is the executive director lead for our BME International Staff Network. There were more than 50 members of NSFT there, with the event opening with an inspiring welcome from Yvonne Coghill CBE, FRCN, and followed by discussions on a wide range of topics including health inequalities, allyship, and individual career journeys. Thank you to everyone who made it such a success. Alongside our own event, Thandie Matambanadzo, our Chief Operating Officer spoke at the Black Health and Research Conference Wednesday 23 October, the first of its kind in Norfolk. It is vital that we take every opportunity to learn and educate others about the diverse experiences of black people who work for NSFT and who we care for.
Myself and some of the team were pleased to meet members from the Campaign to save mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk recently, discussing with them our improvement journey and hearing about the experiences of people who are in touch with the Campaign group. We agreed at our next meeting in January 2025 we will discuss co-production and how we can develop and strengthen our approach.
Our Chair Zoe Billingham and I had a really good meeting with the Chair and Chief Executive of Healthwatch Norfolk last week. We spoke about supporting our five new localities and developing more partnerships at place. And the Healthwatch Norfolk event on 15th October with ourselves and many local carers went well too. Many of our senior leaders and staff were able to attend and discuss how we can improve our work supporting those caring for someone with a serious mental illness. The key is to make change that everyone can see and feel that we are a ‘carer-friendly’ Trust.
I am proud to share that service users and carers who have contributed to this work will be joining us throughout the day at our LiA (Listening into Action) Pass It On event to share their experiences, including Trevor Stevens who has been fundamental in supporting our Think Family and Carer team. Preparations for the LiA event, which takes place on Thursday 7 November from 9am to 4pm at Great Yarmouth Town Hall, are gathering pace, with a full agenda of creative presentations, video shorts and care delivery updates all taking shape. This will be a real opportunity for us to showcase our LiA journey so far, celebrate the changes our teams have achieved, launch our Wave 2 Pioneer Teams, and share our plans to embed LiA as ‘the way we do things around here’. I hope many of you can join us at this interesting and inspiring event. For more information and to book a place, please email lia@nsft.nhs.uk.
I am delighted to have recently announced the appointment of our new Chief Patient Experience Officer, Cath Byford who will will be prioritising and supporting this work.
Importantly on this theme, our brand-new Service User and Carer Council met for the very first time on Thursday 17 October. There was a real enthusiasm from members. I am looking forward to seeing how this new group will improve how we listen to and hear the voices of service users and families and welcoming the chair to our board meeting in the new year . My sincere thanks to everyone who makes time for these discussions, even when their own personal mental health or caring demands can make this tough to do. It really is very much appreciated.
Improving culture is one of our Trust’s four strategic priorities, and we continue to work to foster a positive culture where everyone can speak up and their voice is heard in NSFT. I was very pleased to be involved recently in recruiting our new Head of Speaking Up. Holly Stephens, a mental health nurse by background, has been appointed to the role, and joins us from her current role as a service manager in West Norfolk. Holly is passionate about her new role, and will be working very closely with me, providing strategic leadership and direction for the Trust’s freedom to speak up function (FTSU) function. Holly will help us to develop a robust systems that addresses concerns quickly and consistently. She will work independently, impartially and objectively, and alongside the independent Guardian Service and Dean Hunter, to drive forward our organisation in becoming a more open and transparent place to work, enabling a culture of ‘speaking up’.
Finally, don’t forget to complete your staff survey! We are already well ahead of other Trusts, but with just four weeks to go, please take 10 minutes to fill the NHS Staff Survey 2024 in.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and to complete the NHS Staff Survey 2024. Your voice will help us to continue to improve together.
Until the next time
Caroline