Healthwatch Havering

Weekly updates from the NHS – 4 August

There’s a lot going on the NHS locally at the moment so this update is longer than usual – please enjoy!

From BHRUT:

Dear colleague,

I am pleased to tell you that we are now seeing very few admissions to our wards of patients who might have Covid-19 and the number of confirmed cases is down to single figures.  We continue to celebrate when people like Muthucumaru Yasocumaron are discharged home.  He told us the staff who cared for him for 98 days at Queen’s Hospital were “like angels sent from heaven to help me”.  Muthucumaru’s story of recovery is one of many we have been privileged to hear as we’ve responded to the pandemic.

Third phase of the NHS’s response to Covid-19

While there is understandable concern about the prevalence of the virus in the community, inpatient numbers have fallen nationally.  NHS England has written to health leaders outlining what it describes as the third phase of our response to Covid-19.  The letter’s authors write about a ‘window of opportunity’ between now and winter and call for an acceleration of the return to near-normal levels of non-Covid health services, making full use of the capacity available.

Our priorities

The letter sets out some demanding and ambitious targets.  Our focus in the coming months is on restoring our elective (planned) care; expanding our critical care so we can respond properly if there is a second spike in Covid-19; and ensuring we can cope with the increase in admissions that will occur once winter approaches.

The challenges these priorities present are significant.  As I’ve written before, we have a segmented workforce because we’ve created ‘green’ and ‘yellow’ zones to keep our patients and our staff safe.  We also have a workforce that is tired; we are encouraging colleagues to take leave and to rest and recover.

We are fortunate that we are not doing this on our own.  Rather, we are working closely in north east London with Barts Heath and the Homerton to co-ordinate the care we provide.

Planned surgery at King George Hospital (KGH)

One of the difficulties we’re encountering is people’s unwillingness to come into hospital for treatment. An impediment has been the length of time a patient was expected to shield before and after surgery. So, it’s good news that the latest NICE guidance is now offering a more flexible approach when it comes to such shielding.

People have also been concerned about being admitted to hospitals where the virus has been so prevalent.  Ray Potter’s message of reassurance is particularly welcome.  After undergoing complex surgery in our Covid-protected ‘green zone’ at KGH, Ray was keen to tell potentially nervous patients that they would be “well looked after” and there are “lots of checks in place to keep you safe”.

As you will read, Ray is full of praise for his surgeon, Thangadorai Amalesh.  Another of our surgeons, Sas Banerjee, is celebrating the fact he’s been appointed a regional director for the Royal College of Surgeons.

Attend Anywhere

It’s an inescapable fact that our waiting lists will increase in size before we succeed in reducing them.  Our limited capacity is being used for those deemed to be priority patients.  We are also focusing our attention on the patients who have been waiting a very long time for their treatment.

As well as exploring ways of increasing our capacity to treat both these categories of patients we will exploit all opportunities to conduct follow up appointments virtually and the NHS-wide initiative, Attend Anywhere, is likely to prove invaluable.

Risk assessments

In my July Board report, which I shared with you last week, I wrote about the priority we have been placing on conducting risk assessments for our at-risk staff, including our BAME colleagues.  I’m delighted that 96% of our BAME staff have completed their risk assessments (at time of writing).

The information we’ve gathered during this exercise will help us to understand where there might be areas of potential risk for colleagues and to support them as we restart our services and deploy individuals to the different coloured zones.  We’ve now been asked to undertake risk assessments for all our staff.

BHR Health and Social Care Academy

The recruitment and retention of our staff will have to underpin all of the work I’ve been describing.  With our partners in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge (BHR) we’re creating a BHR Health and Social Care Academy to train our workforce and to offer interesting careers to those who live in the three boroughs.

We have a steering group; we’re establishing what the ambitions are of those involved and what we can do together; and we’ve appointed a Programme Manager.  Narinder Chahal has extensive NHS experience and has worked on a number of projects across London.  She’s keen to hear from people who would like to share their ideas on how the Academy should work.

Our volunteers return

We have many very dedicated people who give up their time to help us in different ways across our sites. One of them, Edie Lay – who celebrated her 90th birthday recently – has notched up more than 28 years of volunteering with us.  At the height of the pandemic we had to pause our volunteering programme, so we’re delighted that we are now in a position for some of them to return.  For Janne Cassidy, it was a no brainer when she was asked to help out at the ‘green zone’ at KGH.

Time for reflection

The past few months has generated so much for us all to reflect on, not least the kindness many people have shown.  Otis Griffith’s love for the NHS (in the form of a metal sculpture) is now on display at KGH.

Our Lead Chaplain, Phil Wright exploited a brief lull in his busy workload to write about his personal experience of living and caring through Covid-19. The honesty of his account makes it a very compelling read.

Thank you for reading my weekly updates and I trust you continue to find them helpful. I hope you have an enjoyable and productive week.

From Barts Health:

Webinar: The future of outpatient services at Barts Health NHS Trust, co-hosted by Healthwatch network 

From East London Health and Care Partnership:

Personal protective equipment (PPE) update
Preparations are underway to make sure we have enough PPE for winter or a potential second Covid-19 surge. The NEL PPE emergency hub has a dedicated team in place for the next 12 months at a minimum, to provide additional assurance on making sure organisations have the PPE they need to keep their staff safe. This hub is in place as an emergency route as business as usual supply chains have returned to normal, which means we are even better placed for winter and a second surge. We are also looking at how we can increase the quantities available to order for organisations from the end of August onwards, to help prepare for the additional PPE required for administering the flu jab.

Obesity strategy
The Government’s obesity strategy released this week, is particularly timely, given that in the last few months we have seen that being overweight or living with obesity puts you at risk of dying from Covid-19. We are looking at the strategy and how we can work together across north east London to implement it. The strategy recognises that GPs and health care professionals are often the first port of call when people need health advice and support and will bringing forward a programme with incentives for GPs and referral pathways into weight management services in every local health care system. Read the strategy here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-obesity-government-strategy/tackling-obesity-empowering-adults-and-children-to-live-healthier-lives

In support of the strategy, the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England have launched the Better Health campaign, which highlights how our current health could determine our ability to fight diseases such as Covid-19, as well as cancer and heart disease and encourage people to ‘start their journey to better health’. Find out more here: www.nhs.uk/better-health/

Travelling abroad this summer?
We are receiving queries about people travelling abroad who want a certificate to prove they do not have Covid-19, as some countries may require proof of recent COVID-19 testing for entry. Our advice is to check this Foreign and Commonwealth Office webpage: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice (see the summary, health and entry requirements sections).

Travellers can also get advice from this website https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/news/499/covid-19-coronavirus-general-advice-for-travellers which was set up by the Department of Health and Social Care and is sponsored by Public Health England.

A number of commercial Covid-19 tests are available. Testing for international travel purposes is only available as a private service with private providers e.g. some private GP services, travel clinics or other private testing services. There would be a charge made for the test and any paperwork issued.

How you can help us

During this time of incredible pressure on the NHS, you can help us by:

1. Staying alert to stay safe, by staying home if you can, and taking precautions when out and about, such as wearing a mask if appropriate. You can find all the latest information, guidance and support here: www.gov.uk/coronavirus

1. Sharing our survey looking for feedback on people’s experiences of accessing health services during lockdown: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PRN8G52  – it closes on Sunday, so please share now.

1. Sharing the details of a public event on Thursday 13 August about how outpatient services are changing across Barts Health NHS Trust. Co-hosted by Healthwatch, this is the first in a series of webinars for patients and communities to hear about how hospital outpatient services have changed in response to the pandemic and provide their feedback on future plans. Details here: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/news/public-event-find-out-about-changes-to-outpatient-services-8744

If you have any queries about our response to the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like covered in future updates, please email 

From London Ambulance Service (LAS):