Today (Wednesday 31 March) is International Transgender Day of Visibility, an opportunity to celebrate transgender people’s contributions, while also raising awareness of the discrimination they face.

Our staff have been going above and beyond to still deliver the best possible care for their patients – our Ophthalmology team is one example, who have been successfully operating throughout the pandemic.

We’re piloting the use of body-worn video cameras by senior nurses in our Clinical Operations team to help keep our patients and staff safe. Feedback from staff so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

We are delighted to have launched Connected Care, working together with our healthcare partners to provide faster care for patients.

While Covid-19 continues to impact all of our lives, we must also remember that other illnesses will not wait until the end of the pandemic. Cancer causes heartache for many families across our communities and early diagnosis is crucial.

This is why we are delighted to announce that our Trust has been chosen as part of a launch for a pioneering clinical pilot, which will save lives and diagnose early pre-cancerous conditions of the stomach and oesophagus.

Abbi Spurdle, a registered play specialist at our Trust, provides specialised play supporting children who come into our Children’s Emergency Department.

We’ve opened new facilities in our Emergency Department (ED) at Queen’s Hospital, including a larger rest area for our staff with better facilities, training rooms, and Point of Care Testing (POCT) hot lab, which will speed up treatment times for our patients.

Comedian Jimmy Jones has praised how well he was looked after at King George Hospital, after recently staying overnight following a routine ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) procedure to pin back a pocket in his throat.