Stakeholder update from Chief Executive Matthew Trainer: 15 May 2026
Dear colleague,
Thanks to newly installed solar panels on the roof of King George Hospital, we’re expected to save around £175,000 every year.
Not only will this help cut our energy bills, it also reduces our carbon emissions by 125 tonnes a year, and supports our commitment to becoming a more sustainable organisation. It’s all thanks to a £1.1million grant from Great British Energy.
Projects like this are an important part of how we build a more resilient NHS for the future. By reducing energy use and making better use of our estate, we can deliver long-term benefits and importantly, every pound we save on energy is money that can be reinvested into patient care.
Celebrating our midwives and nurses
We marked both International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses’ Day across our hospitals, recognising the compassion, professionalism and dedication of colleagues who support patients and families through some of the most important moments in their lives.
Across our Trust, 358 midwives and nearly 2,700 nurses from 90 countries provide care around the clock in a wide range of roles and settings.
Chief Nurse Nic Kane and her senior nursing team visited teams across our hospitals to thank them for the care and compassion they show every day.
Among them is midwife Marinela Laho, who was inspired to join the profession by stories of her great-great-grandmother caring for women during wartime. After moving to the UK, she worked long shifts as a maternity support worker while studying to become a registered midwife.
She said:
“Supporting families through both joyful and heartbreaking moments has shaped me not only as a professional, but as a person.”
We also celebrated colleagues including Jade Gesulture, a Charge Nurse on Mandarin A, who moved to the UK from the Philippines in 2021 and now cares for elderly patients at Queen’s Hospital. She described nursing as “providing the best care for the patient” and spoke about the compassion she brings to the role every day.
My thanks to all our nurses and midwives for the incredible contribution they make to our patients, families and our communities.
Best wishes,
Matthew