I would like to introduce myself – I’m Paula Gardner and I am so proud to be at the Trust as Interim Chief Nursing Officer.
I look forward to sharing the latest news from our hospitals with you.
This is my fifth Chief Nursing post, I have worked in NHS hospital trusts for over 40 years, including most recently as Interim Chief Nursing Officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and before that as Chief Nurse at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
I have joined the Trust at a time when we are facing winter pressures and I am working alongside colleagues and healthcare partners to ensure that our patients get the care they need.
The welcome I have received has been tremendous – I have been out and about on the wards and around our hospitals speaking to colleagues about the challenges they face learning from patients about the care they are receiving.
Since my arrival, I have been impressed with the kindness and compassionate care our staff show to our patients and acknowledge how hard they are all working in sometimes difficult circumstances.
I have been listening to their ideas and suggestions about how we can deliver high quality care for our patients.
I’ve also been finding out from patients and their loved ones about their experiences, so if you see me around, please do stop me and have a chat.
Our emergency departments (EDs) continue to be extremely busy, so I would urge you to think about which service best suits your needs should you unfortunately become unwell.
If you have a life-threatening emergency, our emergency departments remain open 24 hours a day, so please continue to come forward as normal.
You can also visit NHS 111 online or call 111 if you need urgent medical help or consider visiting your local Minor Injury Unit in Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Oswestry and Whitchurch. These can provide rapid treatment for injuries and illnesses that don’t require emergency hospital care.
For further information about Think Which Service, which aims to help you to know where to go to get the right advice, support and treatment for your health needs as quickly as possible, visit: http://thinkwhichservice.co.uk/
We have seen a rise in the number of cases of norovirus, which brings on diarrhoea and vomiting, and other respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in our communities this winter.
Could I please remind you to help keep our patients and colleagues safe by not visiting our hospitals if you have flu-like symptoms (cough, fever, cold), if you know you have COVID-19 or flu, or any other infections, or diarrhoea and/or vomiting within the last two days.
With the increase in flu and COVID-19 cases, please make sure you get vaccinated if you are eligible.
It’s an exciting time to be at the Trust with a huge amount of transformational work underway.
From this week, patients and visitors will be able to use the Park & Ride to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) between 10am and 3pm Monday to Friday as part of a trial.
This is a positive move and gives our patients and visitors more options when they are visiting RSH. We have introduced the trial after listening to feedback from our staff, patients and visitors.
We are working with Shropshire Council and Arriva to provide the service, which runs every 20 minutes from the car park at the Oxon Park & Ride site to the Treatment Centre – the new main entrance of the hospital. The service is free to patients and visitors during the trial.
There is also a walking route from Oxon Park & Ride to the hospital which takes approximately 20 minutes.