We are always trying to keep our patients and colleagues safe and one of the ways you can help is by ensuring you wear a face covering when you visit our hospitals.
As you are aware we look after the most vulnerable in our communities and we have to do all that we can to protect them.
Could I remind people to wear a face covering if you are visiting our hospitals unless you have a medical exemption, whether it is in a communal or clinical area.
Please do not attend our hospitals if you are COVID-19 positive, are showing relevant symptoms, feel unwell, or are isolating.
By wearing face coverings and masks it can help reduce the risk of spreading infections to others and may also protect you from becoming infected by some respiratory viruses.
I would also like to say thank you to my colleagues who have recently been awarded certificates for the fantastic work that they do – always going above and beyond.
Special contribution certificates have been given to a wide range of maternity staff, including midwives, consultants, housekeepers, women’s services assistants, health visitors and mental health services.
The certificates were created by the Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin to recognise “a special contribution to service user care”.
More than 150 nominations were received for 101 people and everyone who has been awarded a certificate was nominated by at least one member of the public who has used maternity services at SaTH in the last year.
Emily Evans, MVP Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Service User Chair, said that kindness and compassion had come across clearly and frequently in the nominations staff had received. Each person who has been named has made someone feel very special at an important time in their life.
I also had the pleasure of presenting seven of my colleagues with their Certificate of Achievement for successfully completing a Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) Training Programme.
A PNA is a nurse who is qualified in offering support, both personally and professionally, to their colleagues.
It was so good to hear about their positive views of the programme and how it has helped them in their work and personal life.
Special thanks should also go to a local family who generously donated money to the Macmillan team at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital benefiting cancer patients and their families in memory of their husband and father, Kev Price.
Throughout their journey, Kev and his family wished to try and help others in the same situation as them.
Kev was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour in December 2015 and underwent several operations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He passed away in May 2020.
Since 2015, they have raised over £20,000 to date by holding fundraisers, coffee mornings, fun-days, tournaments and much more.
The money raised has been used to help other families affected by cancer, through various charities including Macmillan, Severn Hospice, The Brain Tumour Charity and Brain Tumour Research, to name a few.
A portion of the money raised has been donated to the Macmillan Integrated Therapy team at RSH which has been used for iPads to aid in the care and communication with cancer patients and their families, as well as a memorial bench in the garden at the Hamar Centre.
The money they have raised will make such a difference to our patients and their families who are being cared for by our cancer services.