Our surgical hub at King George Hospital (KGH) was showcased recently in a Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) report. The report looked into the case for more of these hubs, which separate planned and emergency care, keeping surgical beds free for patients waiting for planned operations.

Our hub was key in enabling us to continue to treat patients throughout the pandemic safely and has been integral in helping us reduce our waiting lists.

Last week, I welcomed NHS England's Regional Director for London Andrew Ridley to the hub and to open a new unit for treating kidney stones. Andrew commented on our “wonderful work” and the “fantastic environment with a really good focus on patient care”.

It’s through innovative ideas like our surgical hub and super clinics that we’ve been able to lead the way in tackling the backlog. This has seen us clear our waiting list for patients waiting more than two years for treatment, which sat at 218 at the start of May. Well done to all involved in this incredible effort.

Supporting our staff

The cost-of-living crisis is impacting families across the country and our staff are no different. As an Executive team we’re making sure we can do all we can to help our staff during these tough times and our Cost-of-Living Project team are working on a number of initiatives.

These include new school uniform vouchers, an extended shuttle bus service and marketplaces at Queen’s and KGH to donate or swap second-hand school uniforms and non-clinical office wear.

Our staff work incredibly hard every day and I was reminded of this recently when I presented Senior Staff Nurse Shaida Ghazala Akhtar with a long service award and a retirement certificate, following 40 years of service to the NHS.

Endometriosis Awareness Week

Endometriosis Awareness Week starts on Monday (18 July) and our Chair Jacqui Smith spoke about the importance of raising awareness of the debilitating condition, which affects around 1.5 million women every year.

The team have arranged a number of events for our staff, GP colleagues and general public, including a public open day on Saturday 23 July at KGH, where guests can learn more and meet our Endometriosis team. Please do share details.

I hope you enjoy the good weather this weekend.

Best wishes,

Matthew Trainer
Chief Executive