Under pressure: this week's leadership message from Sandy Brown, Director of Nursing & Clinical Quality

There is no doubt that right now the Trust is under incredible pressure. We have not seen call volumes like this ever and I know every person in this organisation is feeling the pressure. The one thing I know we are all trying to do though is our absolute best for patients, whatever the circumstances, and it is in that, that we are united.

Teamwork is surrounding us in abundance. It never ceases to amaze me at how we all pull together at tough times like these to continue to keep going and look after the people that need us the most. At the same time, it is important we look after each other.

The entire leadership of this Trust, along with I think every member of our eastern region community, is so thankful to every member of our staff for what you are doing. We are incredibly thankful to those people who are working extra shifts, who are putting workloads on hold and returning to the frontline to respond to patients, and to those support staff who are contributing to the greater effort of helping us get as many ambulances as possible out on the road.

Health and wellbeing is of huge importance to us at the Trust and we have very good support systems in place – please use them. We are so humbled by the commitment of our staff to work additional hours in these pressured conditions but it is important you look after yourself and each other during this time. Please seek out support through the health and wellbeing options available or by emailing wellbeing.info@nhs.net.

We are doing all we can to support our patients and staff during this tough time and already teams like PSIT are delivering results and helping us to get more ambulances back out on the road quicker. We know it may feel like things are getting harder and unfortunately, we expect them to get even tougher if the weather turns again. But as a leadership team, we are confident you all have the right attitude and care enough about those who need us, to work to the best of your ability during this challenging time. We cannot thank you enough.

Please have a good week and look after one another.

Sandy