Weekly community update from our CEO - 8 January

Posted Friday, January 8, 2021 5:53 PM

Hello, 

This was a strange New Year but I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. We are now much busier than we were during the first Covid peak. Today we are caring for 159 patients with Covid in our three hospitals and we also have high levels of winter related activity. 

The teams at Sherwood are working flat out to provide care to those who need us. We are tired and stressed after a prolonged period of working at pace through this crisis, but we do also remain committed to providing patients with high quality, safe care.

We know this is a difficult time and we are all feeling the strain of the national lockdown and increasing Coronavirus cases in our community. The best way you can help us and yourself is by following the clear national guidelines and when you are in hospital, wear a facemask, sanitise your hands and socially distance when required. We also ask you to speak to hospital colleagues kindly and respectfully. We know the vast majority of patients and visitors follow these simple rules and we thank you for enabling our colleagues to work without fear, but we will not tolerate physical or verbal abuse of the people who are caring for you. Sadly this week we have seen a minority of people behaving inappropriately and this is unacceptable.

In more positive news, since December at King’s Mill Hospital, we have been vaccinating people over 80, care home staff, care home residents and NHS colleagues, in line with national guidelines about prioritisation. You may have seen last week the Government has recommended we lengthen the time between the first and second vaccination doses, to enable us to prioritise getting the first dose to as many people as possible. If your appointment has been rescheduled, we will contact you and let you know.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your continued support as we manage this situation and to reassure you the NHS is very much open to those who need our care, whether that is in our hospitals or in primary care through your GP, NHS 111 or community services. We are working closely together as a system to ensure the people of Mid Nottinghamshire get the care and support they need. Best wishes for a safe weekend.

Thank you, 

Richard Mitchell 

News Archives