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 I am pleased to let you know that our waiting times are coming down and more of our patients are getting the checks and treatments they need. Staff have shown great commitment to the recovery programme, and week on week our elective and diagnostic performance continues to improve. We are working with our colleagues across North West London to ensure that waiting times keep coming down for everyone.
Our emergency departments are busy and with a more typical range of patients. Do consider the range of options for urgent care available through 111 although of course A+E is the first port of call for something life threatening.
We have only small numbers of Covid-19 cases in the hospital, but you will be aware of the new and more transmissible variant of Covid-19. Cases in London are increasing. The good news is that the vaccines clearly work against all variants including this one - there is a much lower rate of hospital admissions for Covid-19 among vaccinated people. Please get the vaccine as soon as you can, one dose provides significant protection but the data shows a real advantage to having the second dose. 94% of our hospital staff have been vaccinated.
Many of our staff are working hard in the mass vaccination centres including extra activity in areas hit by the new variant.
I was pleased to support International Clinical Trials Day. During the pandemic we enrolled 3000 participants in 23 trials, including the ones which found a cheap and beneficial drug treatment, and showed the safety of the Novavax vaccine. The future of the hospital lies in being innovative so we can provide better care within our resources. We also know that our staff are full of good ideas to improve our services and we continue to encourage them to come forward.
International Nurses Day
We were pleased to see so many teams celebrating our wonderful nurses on both hospital sites and across our community clinics. A theme of the day was nursing leadership and nurse education and how each of us can lead, whatever our role. Another was the diversity of nursing roles such as research.
Dying Matters Week
The first of our Trust Proud values is putting the patient first, which is especially important at the end of life. When we identify what matters to our patients, we can offer them better care. Louise Robinson and Shauna McCann from the palliative care team presented to the staff webinar, asking staff to start crucial conversations asking three key questions:
- What matters to you?
- Who matters to you?
- How can I help?
 Throughout Dying Matters week, the team has been active spreading the message, encouraging staff to start by thinking of what matters to them. Jessica Wood and Kate Powell are shown at ‘The Good Place’ with boxes of staff ideas.
The team shared a video promoting practical compassion that is applicable far wider than to end of life issues.
Professor Julia Riley from the Royal Marsden explained the Coordinate my Care system used in our Trust. This allows the patient to log their wishes, and their GP or other clinician to add their key information in a digital format – accessible to emergency and urgent care services. More services are using it and it has been demonstrated to have had a positive effect.
Simon Newell Award
Congratulations to Consultant Neonatologist Cheryl Battersby who has won the 2021 Simon Newell Prize given by the Royal College and Paediatrics and Child Health. Cheryl’s work used national data to substantially improve outcomes for preterm babies and, the College said, has global impact.
Her future work will be informatics-focused, using big data approaches to answer difficult questions, with a clear commitment to patient/parent involvement.
CW+ COVID-19 Response and Innovation
The CW+ COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund continues to welcome donations here to help us respond to the evolving needs of our staff and patients.
Ongoing support includes the increased provision of remote patient care and monitoring, including the UK’s first digital platform for colorectal patients, which launched last month. This innovative platform enables colorectal patients to record their symptoms in real-time from the comfort of their homes, without having to speak to a doctor, which in turn will help our hospital track patients’ conditions remotely.
Ballet dancers perform for patients and staff
As part of our managed return to business as usual, we are pleased to welcome back the CW+ Arts for All performance artists to the wards.
Last week, patients at Chelsea and Westminster enjoyed their first performance from students at the English National Ballet School.
Mental Health Awareness with the National Portrait Gallery
 During Mental Health Awareness Week, CW+ launched a series of mindful drawing video workshops with the National Portrait Gallery. Created for young patients with the Gallery’s artist educators, these videos encourage patients to take five minutes to relax and focus on a mindful drawing activity. All videos are available to watch for free on the CW+ online arts platform Virtual Connections.
The BBC visited the CW+ Studio at Chelsea and Westminster to interview some of our young patients, along with play team specialists, who were featured on the BBC London Evening News and BBC Radio London.
CW+ takes over Chelsea FC player’s Instagram
On 13th May, our charity CW+ took over Antonio Rudiger’s Instagram, giving his followers a tour of the hospital for ‘A Day in the Life at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital’. We introduced Toni’s 1.4 million followers to some of the staff who make it all happen, talked about the Trust’s role as an emerging leader in health innovation, and provided an insight into the challenges of COVID and how the hospital is moving forwards. Watch the full takeover on the CW+ Instagram Highlight named Day in the Life.
Your Experience Matters
We want your time at Chelsea and Westminster and West Middlesex Hospitals to be the best possible.
Learning of your first-hand experience of the hospitals' services would provide valuable insights and help us improve our performance.
If you would like to share your experience to make a difference, please contact the Membership Team on: [email protected] or T: 020 331 52885.
Meet a Governor Sessions
Our Council of Governors are elected by you. They play an important role in making sure your views as members, and those of the wider public are represented by the Trust.
If you would like to speak to a governor directly, please join one of our upcoming Meet a Governor sessions. For more information please click here.
Staying in touch
Your next e-newsletter will be out in June with more news and events. In the meantime, keep safe and well and thank you for your continued support. We will be in touch to tell you more about events and opportunities at the Trust.
There are several ways for you to keep in touch. We love to share information about our work, and you will find lots of stories about us on social media.
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