Dying Matters Awareness Week (6 to 12 May) focuses on ‘how we talk about dying matters’. This year’s national week comes as we’re a few months into a new project between our Palliative Care and A&E teams to improve care for palliative patients.

In the week of International Day of the Midwife (5 May) our Trust joined other healthcare organisations in highlighting the vital role of midwives. We employ 494 midwives and maternity care support workers who come from 54 different countries of origin.

Louise Hulbert, who had a stroke 10 years ago and now volunteers as a patient partner at our Trust, has raised £900 for our charity by completing a 5k walk in San Sebastian, Spain.

On Saturday (27 April), our sickle cell team held an event at Queen’s Hospital focussed on educating parents and carers about the disease. It provided essential information on how to care for children affected by this condition.

Steve Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, and David Hargroves, National Clinical Director for Stroke, visited Queen’s Hospital to hear how we’re working with partners to improve access to mechanical thrombectomy for patients across north east London.

As the nine-month tenure of cohort two in our Shadow Exec ends, it's time for cohort three to step up. To pass the baton, a special lunch was held, hosted by our Chief Executive Matthew Trainer and members of the Shadow Exec team, to allow staff from each cohort to share their experiences and aspirations.

The Shadow Exec is made up of staff from across the Trust who provide a fresh perspective on the decisions made by our Executive team, and an understanding of how these decisions impact on colleagues. The newest group is made up from 13 colleagues from a range of departments across our Trust.

Our charity, the King George & Queen’s Hospitals Charity, has launched a new website: https://www.supportyourhospital.org/.

Our AF (Atrial Fibrillation) Stroke Prevention Hub has been shortlisted in the HSJ Digital Awards, in the Optimising Clinical Pathways through Digital category.

Pouya Akhbari, a locum trauma and orthopaedic consultant at our Trust, completed the London Marathon on Sunday 21 April to raise funds for King George and Queen’s Hospitals Charity.