Bucket-loads of love, togetherness and Christmas cheer

An important Christmas meeting on 'elf and wellbeing!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The bitter and bruising election campaign is finally over and whatever you feel about the outcome, we can get on with real life. Let’s hope we can rise to the challenges ahead as a nation with hope and unity. 

So, as we head towards Christmas, let’s try to rejoice the universal themes of love and togetherness that can be celebrated at this time of year; irrespective of religious faith or lack of it. Not just this Christmas, but also during Eid, Hanukkah and other religious festivals. 

It is fantastic to hear that we currently have 109 different nationalities working for our organisation (around half the countries in the world!). I’m therefore very aware that not only do we have people from a wide range of different faiths and cultures here, but that many might not be with loved ones over this holiday period.

Traditions have a habit of breaking free from their roots however and hopefully there is something for everyone, whether it’s the joy of helping others, or team celebrations, or simply making the most of good telly, lounging around, and eating our body weight in food!

We know the Christmas season can sometimes be fraught with tension and emotion, and never more so when there has just been such a divisive election; and there's plenty of criticism that consumerism, focus on materialism and advertising have taken over. But there is still something wonderful about the widespread sentiment of goodwill associated with this season. 

I’ve been blown away by your focus on kindness. The number of teams who are collecting goods for local food banks, donations for countless charities and gifts for the Cash for Kids appeal is truly wonderful.

You have shown the spirit of togetherness, hospitality and generosity in bucket loads. 

A lot can happen in a year.

It was exactly 12 months ago that our board made the decision to radically change as an organisation and transfer community services. It’s been a year of momentous change and you have been tremendous in how you have supported, managed and responded to this. Thank you.

There’s more change to come next year and I’m very conscious of the risks of ‘change battle fatigue’ and the fear factor this uncertainty creates. Evidence shows that the more we understand and are part of the process of change, the more positively we respond to it. So, we need to listen to you, support you, explain ‘why’, but most importantly keep you involved in bringing our vision and ambitions to life.

Engagement is key and so it was great to attend the latest Go Engage celebration event this week. 

We had colleagues from Prospect Place in Rochdale, Be Well Tameside, our Health and Wellbeing College, and from the pharmacy, organisational development and clinical system change teams. All of them said that they were experiencing change of some description, whether it was a change in leadership or the focus of the team. One of the attendees reflected this by saying  “everything changed this year”. 

Most of the teams talked about coping with change and the importance of strong engagement. They highlighted the difference that small things can make in terms of people feeling valued; from being recognised for accomplishments to having the opportunity to express their feelings freely.

It was brilliant listening to them and the progress they are making in improving engagement within their teams. There were lots of great examples; the clinical change team, for instance, have turned the corridor to their department into an information and forum zone which everyone can contribute to.

A final thought in my last blog for 2019. Never forget the amazing work you’re doing to add real value to our little bit of the world, as you should feel so proud to be part of the Yuletide hope for peace on earth and goodwill to all.

Thank you again for all that you are and all that you do. 

I hope you have a lovely break, and my immense gratitude goes to those who are working over the holiday period.

Merry Christmas. 

Claire

Snappy slogans and virtual assistants

As I listen to the political parties on the election campaign trail, I’ve been fascinated by how they are promoting and selling their different manifestos. Whatever your political persuasions, it’s interesting to see how each party is ‘pitching’ to get our votes.

I can even see some similarities between what our organisation is trying to do and the ways all of the parties are trying to convey their visions for change, albeit for very different purposes!

We’ve set our vision for the future around happier and more hopeful lives and maximising potential. And when you look at the main parties slogans, they all appear to be selling messages of hope.

The Conservative’s slogan includes ‘Unleash Britain's potential’, for Labour its ‘Time for Real Change’, the Lib Dem’s is ‘Build a Brighter Future’ and the Green’s ‘A Fair Society for All’. 

Their challenge, like ours, is to have one foot in aspiration and one foot in reality. People need optimistic visions of hope but, whatever promises are made, they need to be followed up by real delivery. 

The last year or so has brought a lot of uncertainty within our country, particularly with the challenges of Brexit, and all political parties are trying to sell a way out of this and to move on to other priorities.

Similarly, Pennine Care has had a year of change and uncertainty as we re-shape ourselves following the transfer of most of our community services to other organisations. We still have some changes to make to our integrated leadership structures to strengthen clinical and professional leadership, and in developing our corporate services. But it does feel as if we are moving towards the home straight. 

The challenge for us, as it is for our political parties, is to recognise the different emotions people are feeling whether that is fear, cynicism and weariness, or excitement and optimism. We need to be appreciative of people’s concerns and sensitive to people affected by change, while also building confidence and hope about the future.

So, as I say, I’ve been watching how the different political parties frame their future vision with interest….

The radical elements of manifesto plans have brought praise for being transformative, but also criticism for not being realistic. Whilst the modest and cautionary proposals are appreciated for the stability they promote, but aren’t as engaging. And then the ‘all the eggs in one basket’ manifesto has strength in its simplicity, whether its Brexit or the climate, but some worry about the limitations of this ‘inch wide - mile deep’ focus.

All approaches have merit and I’m absolutely not advocating any one style, but, it’s tough isn’t it? I have been trying to watch with an open mind (while only occasionally shouting at the TV!) to see if there is any learning for us in the framing of our future strategy. 

On some of my recent visits I’ve also seen teams trying to make sense of how our future vision and ‘resized’ organisation may affect or change things for them.

If you’ve visited the second floor of Trust HQ recently, you will have seen that we have opened up the doors right next to my office so you can go from one side of the building to the other without having to change floors. It has been like going through the wardrobe to Narnia discovering what’s on the other side!

So, it was great to visit the HR department just a short walk from my office and hear about their work and how things are for them. It was clear they have worked incredibly hard on our community transfers and continue to work with great commitment, despite the challenges of workload.

They were obviously feeling the stress and anxieties that come with change, but there were many examples of positive practice. I loved the effort going into the Christmas quiz; and the ‘Wednesday walkabout’ where the HR business partner for corporate services goes around the building talking to everyone and checking if they have any HR issues they need support with.

And on my recent visit to the Tameside early intervention team, it was great to see the improvements that their enhanced physical space has brought, in terms of accessibility and welcoming environment.  They are an impressive team, with strong visible leadership and positive team work. I also appreciated their honesty as we had a really open chat about the things that don’t work as well as they should, with the Paris IT system being a major frustration.

Our occupational therapy conference that I attended a couple of weeks ago highlighted that change doesn’t always have to be transformative. The event, with over 100 people, was framed around a ‘small change, big difference’ theme. 

I loved hearing about their virtual personal assistant ‘Alexa project’, which is changing some of our service users lives in remarkable ways. Our therapists are helping people stay independent with Alexa reminding  them to take medication, attend appointments and do exercises, as well as assisting them to order food and taxis, dictate texts and get help.

Some of you will know my daughter is an occupational therapist, so I am well sighted on what a huge difference occupational therapy can make to an individual’s lives. I know that this profession and all of our staff working in it are making a huge and important contribution in helping us deliver our vision of maximising potential. 

There are always things to celebrate and applaud. And on that, can I give a huge shout out to some superb stars who have recently won awards.

We swept the board at the Royal College of Psychiatrists North West awards last week where we won six of the nine categories. Well done Roshelle Ramkisson, Prathiba Chitsabesa, Shafaq Sajid, Syeda Hasan, Cara Webb And and Marsha McAdam!

And while they were cleaning up at the psychiatrist awards, Carol Rushton who works in Stockport won a ’Best dementia nurse specialist’ national award and Linda Chadburn was crowned ‘Clinical audit professional of the year’.

We are very lucky to have you all working here. Well done and thank you.

Best wishes,
Claire

Guest blog from Evelyn Asante-Mensah - being your authentic self

Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE

Our chair, Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE, has written a blog this week.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to listen to the lived experience of a staff colleague which had a real impact on me, and I want to thank and affirm them for sharing their story with me. 

Sometimes we will hear a person’s story which is challenging and inspiring at the same time.  I'm sure we've all had the experience of the kind of story that you can’t stop thinking about for weeks afterwards.

As you know, we’ve been doing a lot of work on the development of our values and have agreed our new values of kindness, fairness, ingenuity and determination. 

We've also been working hard on our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).   A few months ago we had an EDI workshop and I was asked to open the event with a few words.   I was able to share my experience of EDI and also my expectations of us as an organisation and, as Chair, how I wanted us to drive forward this agenda and ensure that everyone is able to help shape our strategy on EDI. 

It was really good to see so many people from right across Pennine Care come to share their experiences and say what they think we should be doing.  It was a great afternoon.  I really enjoyed being part of it.

So, it was a couple of weeks after this EDI event that the member of our staff came to see me to share her story and lived experience of EDI.  I felt both humbled and privileged that she felt safe enough to open up to me, but also so sad to hear about her experience and how it made her feel; especially in work, because she can't  come to work and be her authentic self for fear of how others would respond or behave around her.  Sometimes the way colleagues spoke and the language they used made her feel uncomfortable and silenced.

Being truly inclusive is not just about being aware of those characteristics and differences you can see, it’s also about those you can't. 

We therefore need to be mindful of our language and the words we use, because we might unwittingly be making those around us feel excluded.  Sometimes we say things in passing, or as part of 'banter' and we don't realise the impact it might have on those around us: I'm sure we’ve all done this. 

People can see I’m a black woman, but when I recently went to use the disabled toilet at a local council building I was told “This is a disabled toilet”, clearly implying I shouldn’t be using it. I had to explain that I struggled with stairs and that not all disabilities are visible.

Sometimes it's difficult for people to raise their voice and speak out. As Chair, I have the privilege of being able to be an Ambassador and use my voice to help others raise their voices. 

When our colleagues don’t feel heard, don’t feel valued, don’t feel safe , its often because they can’t bring their whole and authentic selves to work and have to hold part of themselves back and then worry  about being 'found out'.

We want a supportive culture where everyone is treated with fairness, kindness and respect; irrespective of their race, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, faith, accent, class or disability. Differences we see and those we don't.  This includes our equality and diversity work and developing workplace networks for disability, LGBT+ and BAME.

It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. The evidence shows that a team’s performance can improve by 50% when everyone is included.

Our differences add infinite spice and dimension to our lives. Our stories illustrate how our uniqueness makes each of us special and beautiful in our own way. 

Most of the outer labels of our identity place us in boxes or categories. We might identify ourselves by race, gender, religion, political views, occupation, and so on. Many of those labels were given to us by birth or circumstance and all of them inform our point of view. But none of them is the totality of who we are.

Most of us have a work persona. Especially minorities who feel they need to leave a big part of themselves at the door to be accepted at work. We often resort to wearing our masks, as a means of self-protection and gaining acceptance.

Often, to get on and get ahead, we feel like we have to conform—and thus we ‘perform’.

We then spend and waste too much time trying to fit in, and do or say the “right” thing and aren’t able to do our best, most innovative work.  We suffer and our well-being is diminished. 

Everyone loses from this. It’s difficult for an organisation to thrive and perform at its highest level if people feel they have to hold back some of who they really are.

Diversity is strength and we need a wide swath of voices, experiences, and perspectives – for our workplace and for the communities we serve, which are truly diverse.

Bringing our whole selves to work means showing up authentically and remembering that we’re all vulnerable, imperfect human beings doing the best we can. That strengthens us all.

We want to get to a place where people feel able to call things out, speak up, ask for help, connect with others in a genuine way, and allow ourselves and others to be truly seen. I know it’s not always easy, especially at work. It takes leadership, commitment, intention and guts, but I go back to our values of kindness and fairness.

It’s also about thinking about what we say and the impact that might have. Words really matter. When someone claims they’re tired of being “politically correct”, why does it seem wielded in protest at being asked to be respectful and mindful to people who aren’t like them?

I feel that I have to stress, at this point, that I’m all for humour and light-heartedness. It can be so positive, bring joy, get us through difficult times and provide a great sense of togetherness. I’m simply saying we need to be careful that the office ‘banter’ doesn’t isolate others.

Wouldn’t it just be amazing if everyone could bring their whole and authentic selves to their job every day?

How great if we could create an environment where people feel totally safe to say they are struggling with depression or be comfortable putting a picture of their same-sex partner on their desk.

My grandchildren go to a UNICEF Rights Respecting school, where they teach that every child has the right to be the best that they can be, regardless of who they are. 

It’s no different for us. EDI is not a project, for me, it's personal and professional. It’s about a way of being as an organisation – part of everything.

So, let’s create a place that allows everyone to show up as their authentic self.

Inclusion elevates us all.

Best wishes
Evelyn

Inspiring, imaginative, incredible

Our brilliant feather wall at our staff awards
was designed by our creative patients

What really matters in the workplace is making a difference and feeling appreciated. Praise and recognition are essential to an outstanding workplace because applauding and celebrating people, as a valued part of our organisation, inspires and lifts us all.

There are many ways to do this, but the annual staff awards have a special place in all of this, as they are all about recognising exceptional individuals and teams who make us all feel proud.

It can be so inspiring to hear about the fantastic commitment and achievements of people, so I was bowled over by the love in the room at the awards ceremony, with people cheering and clapping for their colleagues and other teams.

So, huge congratulations to all the winners and finalists at our Pennine Care People Awards ceremony this Wednesday. It was a spectacular setting at Rochdale Town Hall for spectacular staff. Despite the cold (as their heating broke that day), our hearts were more than warm enough!

I felt so proud hearing about the amazing work of the different individuals and teams on the big screen. And more than a bit nervous opening the ‘golden envelope’, as I didn’t want to ‘do a Terry Wogan’ who announced the wrong winner of the UK Eurovision song, or an Oscar’s ‘La La Land’ gaffe. 

Because of the set-up of the different judging panels, I didn’t actually know who had won any of the categories, so I was grateful that the person handing me the correct golden envelope had steered away from the bar before the event!

It was a long day, as we’d had the board meeting that morning, followed by our Annual General Meeting (AGM), with flu jabs in between. And at both the AGM and staff awards, two very different personal stories from bold, spirited and inspirational women really impacted me.

Marzia Babakarkhail, a former judge in Afghanistan, spoke at our AGM about her dramatic and terrifying journey fleeing from the Taliban who had tried to kill her for her activist work on behalf of women. 

Here I am at our AGM with
our inspiring AGM patient story speaker,
Marzia, and our chair, Evelyn

She fled first to Pakistan and then eventually arrived alone and traumatised in Oldham.

Unsurprisingly, her mental health suffered with such trauma and she credits our Oldham Healthy Minds service with ‘saving her life’ in a different way. It was humbling, upsetting, moving and also an honour to hear her story.

And then Chizzy Akudolu, a successful actress, comedian and TV personality, talked about coping with her ‘black dog’ of depression at the start of the staff awards and her dad struggling to understand as he asked, ‘what do you have to be depressed about?’

Chizzy talks publicly about her depression in the hope that she might help others who are suffering. And what really struck me about her story was how, when she finally plucked up the courage to tell people what was going on, everyone she spoke to knew someone with, or who had been personally affected by, mental ill health.

It is so positive that we are beginning to be more open about our mental health as the stigma surrounding it is gradually reducing.

Stories are so powerful and we all have one, as we have all gone through things that have impacted and changed us. As these truly impressive women articulated so beautifully, we can’t go back to the beginning and ‘change’ our stories, but we can start from where we are and try to change the way we go forwards.

We’re crafting ‘our organisational story’ at the moment, and even though it’s not a personal story, it’s still about people: our employees, patients, carers, their families and everyone in our communities.

Our business is all about people - and in the most profound way. You change and help people to live their best life, and what is greater than that?

That’s why we want to thank you and celebrate your work, and also why we want your views on our Pennine Care story, which is the framework for our refreshed strategy.

We’re sharing it with everyone who attended the AGM as well as all of our teams via team brief, so please give us your views about whether this is going in the right direction.

We also want your individual views on your working lives, not just our future direction, as this is an important part of how we become a great place to work.

It can take time for changes to embed, for results to show and resources are of course a challenge and obstacle sometimes. But, we are listening and we want to keep on improving things for you.

So, if you haven’t yet done it, please complete your staff survey. It matters because you matter.

And finally, we say goodbye to our Rochdale children’s community service staff today. They have been with us for seven years and we have learnt so much from them. We wish them the very, very best, with a huge, heartfelt thank you.

Best wishes
Claire