Hello all,
This week for me has been all about preparation. Preparation for our services over Easter, our Board meeting next week alongside our belated annual AGM, as well as the long-awaited Star Awards next Thursday – where I look forward to celebrating the inspiring and brilliant work of you and your teams over the last year.
I have also been planning for our next TeamTalk which takes place on Monday 27 March at 3pm in the lecture theatre. As we look ahead to the next business year, we are looking at how to improve the way we work and do a bit of a reset. With this in mind our TeamTalk’s will now be focussed on specific themes, with more time for you to ask those all-important questions. This month we will be reflecting on our recent business continuity work, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your efforts. I know it’s been an immense challenge alongside the vital work divisional teams have been doing on our operational planning for next year. In this session we’ll discuss the experience of those who have taken part, as well as what we can learn from recent weeks.
In the last week I have also met with our colleagues at Healthwatch to consider how we can work more closely with them on the shared issues we face in the year ahead. I also met with The Surrey Coalition of Disabled People on how we can work more proactively with them on better access to our site and services for patients and carers, which is obviously incredibly important to get right.
I also feel lucky enough this week to have been mentioned in the Health Service Journal’s list of Top 50 Chief Executives. My work and successes are all about how we all work together and deliver as a team, so this is very much a trust wide accolade and reflects our work with system partners. It is therefore particularly nice after such a tough and challenging winter – some of the effects of which we are still feeling – for us as a trust to be recognised.
And on that note, I hope you all have a lovely weekend. While it’s never easy to switch off, I will be enjoying some level of downtime back in (hopefully sunny but probably rainy) Glasgow. It’s so important to take time for family and friends when we can so I hope you all manage some too, wherever that may be.
Best wishes,
Angela Stevenson
Chief executive