In the midst of winter, an invincible summer

Since I wrote my blog earlier this week, we've all been made aware that the terrible situation in Ukraine has escalated. We watch the shocking and distressing news with horror - our thoughts and hearts are with all who are in Ukraine, and everyone else affected by this. We will do all we can to support our Ukrainian colleagues in Pennine Care.

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I’m sure you will have picked up in the news that all remaining covid restrictions ended yesterday. I know many of us are keen to get “back to normal”, especially as most people experience mild symptoms.  

But it’s important to remember that covid remains a significant risk for vulnerable people, including many of our patients. We need to be cautious, continue wearing personal protective equipment and follow existing infection prevention and control guidelines until we’re advised otherwise.

We’ve been told to expect further guidance soon which (I hope) will set out what things will look like going forwards. It’s possible that staff based in non-clinical buildings may not have to wear personal protective equipment, but this is not yet confirmed. So, until it is, we should all continue to socially distance and follow infection, prevention and control guidelines in the workplace. And as soon as we hear anything, we’ll let you know.

With the easing of all restrictions outside of care settings, it does feel as if a line is being drawn under the pandemic and, barring new variants, we’re about to head into a solid recovery phase. But it is important that in thinking how we do this, we take note of the impact that the pandemic has had on our services and the people who work in them and use them.

To this end, this week I had a look at the quarterly Pulse survey results, which provide insight into how people are feeling at the moment. On a positive note, the survey highlighted that more people have had a health and wellbeing conversation with their manager. It’s great to see this being taken seriously, and you are living our values of kindness and compassion by supporting each other.

However, a small but significant number of you said you are feeling stressed and demotivated. But by far the word that stood out the most about how you are feeling was the word ‘coping’. In some respects, it is positive that you are coping, but the word for me conjures up images of people having to dig deep, to draw on all your reserves and with a dogged determination to keep going against the odds.

I don’t know how you are all doing this. I know how exhausted and down people are feeling after two years of working under immense pressure and in such a strange situation. But hats off to you. You may feel that you are only coping, but the evidence of everything you are doing is writ large in the achievements and progress that is being made.

This was really evident in the Trust management board meeting last week, at which we heard lots of stories about positive changes and improvements which felt really energising and uplifting.  The meeting was jam packed with examples of the fantastic work you are all doing and there was a definite sense of hope in hearing about people’s achievements. That doesn’t mean our challenges will magically disappear, but it did make me feel awe and pride in the sheer grit and tenacity of Pennine Care people.    

The weather this week feels like a good metaphor for this. After a week of storms battering the UK, the sun has finally been making an appearance and it feels like there is a touch of spring in the air. That doesn’t mean there won’t be more bad weather, but there is hope of a slightly brighter future not too far ahead. So, I wanted to do a shout out to some of the brilliant work that is bringing a chink of sunshine through the clouds…

We’ve successfully recruited to several new roles as part of the community mental health transformation, including 28 senior mental health practitioners to support the new primary care networks and all posts in our new Trust-wide personality disorder pathway.

 

There’s been a fantastic response to our new trainee associate psychological practitioner roles and we’ve appointed two pharmacists to support our community mental health teams.

 

While these new roles are exciting, we’re also planning several focused pieces of work to support services that face ongoing staffing issues.

 

Our information technology colleagues have rolled out Office 365 to 3,600 users, and successfully upgraded our Paris electronic patient system. A huge thankyou to everyone involved, especially those who worked over the weekend. They’ve also successfully bid for £650k to buy new devices and a further £250k to allow us to plan how new technologies can benefit us in the future.

 

It was great to hear about our new mental health joint response pilot in Oldham and Tameside. Since launching on 31 January 2022, over 100 patients have quickly received the right support at the right time. The scheme has led to a reduction in the number of patients taken to A&E or one of our section 136 suites.

 

Thanks to this early success, the service is being rolled out in Bury on Monday. The evidence will be evaluated at the end of March, and we hope to permanently provide this service across all five boroughs.

 

Our child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Rochdale have been ranked in the top three in the country by the Children’s Commissioner. This is amazing given the challenges that we know services for children and young people are under as a result of the pandemic.

 

And it was brilliant to hear that we have improved our rating in the organisational strategy improvement matrix (a self-assessment tool to measure improvement), moving from ‘building’ to ‘refining’ out improvement infrastructure and approach. I am really pleased about this one, as it shows more and more people are getting involved in improvement work which given the pressure on core services, is a complete testament to your hard work and commitment to making things better.

 

These are just some of the highlights I wanted to share from last week, but I know there are many more examples of outstanding work across the Trust. I see this every week when I read our Together We Can update, which never fails to inspire me. 

 

Although you are finding things hard and having to dig deep to keep going, you really are making a huge difference and we are making progress towards a better future.

I’d like to end with a quote by French philosopher, author, and journalist, Albert Camus. I have never read anything by this author (far too intellectual for me!), but I fell in love with this quote many years ago and feel it really sums up the fighting spirit, grit, and determination of our Pennine Care people:

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

From all of the examples I have heard about over the last few weeks, I know that even in the most difficult scenarios, you are keeping that invincible summer within you: confident in the knowledge you are making a real difference to the lives of everyone in our communities.

Best wishes,
Claire

You can follow me on Twitter @ClaireMolloy2

The Arc is Long

Claire Molloy (top) and
Rossella Nicosia (bottom)

Well, it’s been an eventful couple of weeks.

We’ve had the Government’s decision to scrap mandatory covid vaccinations for NHS staff. I know an immense amount of work has been undertaken by managers and our HR team leading up to this U-turn, and it’s been one of the most difficult times for everyone, creating anxiety and concern in colleagues. So I share the frustration people must be feeling.

It’s positive and such a relief that the NHS won’t lose any more staff when we have colossal staffing difficulties anyway, but we must keep promoting the huge benefits of the vaccine and encouraging staff to make that personal choice themselves. It’ll be a tragedy if that message is undermined.

My successor has also been confirmed as Anthony Hassall, who will pick up the reins in April when I retire. I wasn’t involved in the process and don’t know Anthony, but as you’ll know from her guest blog yesterday, Evelyn has worked with him for a couple of years. It’s clear from her experience of working with him that Anthony is a real champion on the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda, which is so positive. As you know, this is a big focus for our organisation, so it’s good to have someone who can continue to steer this forward with absolute commitment.

And on that note, its LGBT+ History month and I’m delighted that Rossella Nicosia, our Step 3 manager at Bury Healthy Minds has written a guest blog.

The month focuses on the celebration and recognition of LGBT+ people and culture, both past and present, who were the agents of change rather than just victims of prejudice.

This year’s national theme is Politics in Art: 'The Arc is Long'. It’s inspired by a Martin Luther King quote: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’ So, although it is taking a long time, we are curving/moving towards social justice and fairness. 

Our LGBT+ staff network was the first of our networks to be established almost five years ago, and they have done some great work to support colleagues and help us in our ambitions to reduce prejudice and intolerance. I’m also proud that we published our transgender and non-binary statement last June to publicly demonstrate our support for our LGBT+ colleagues, and our zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, victimisation or harassment on the basis of a person’s gender identity.

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Rossella Nicosia – Step 3 manager, Bury Healthy Minds

Rosella Nicosia

LGBT+ History month is a great opportunity to learn about the journey that has led our community to where we are today. 

When I joined Pennine in April 2021, I was very reassured by the fact that there is an explicit commitment to equity of access for patients and to the inclusivity of all patients and colleagues, an ethos that is very close to my heart. Continuous learning supports that aim and helps us develop more in-depth cultural competence. 

In writing this guest blog I don’t mind sharing that I feel somewhat anxious about being visible, and anxiety is a familiar feeling when joining a platform to talk about a subject matter that is such a big part of my life and of my me.

So why the anxiety? Friends and family will tell you that I am forever talking about LGBTQIA+ culture, issues that impact our lives, and getting really excited about queer representation in mainstream media.

The main reason is that visibility has not always meant something positive for our communities, and for many it still doesn’t.

Growing up, I quickly learnt that visibility was often not a safe option for LGBTQIA+ people. We were often not depicted positively, and history lessons did not include any of our pioneering people, such as Marsha P Johnson or Alan Turing (definitely look them up if you’re not familiar with them) or any of our milestones.

Moving to the UK at the age of 14, I felt hopeful that I would finally learn more about our community, past and present. As a young LGBTQIA+ person I was really longing to see that my peers and community did exist. Years later I would learn that Section 28 was (and at times still is) responsible for a lot of the silences in our school years.

As you’ve probably noticed, history has always been one of my favorite subjects, back when I was in Sicily every subject had an element of history built in, even in maths we would get some historical insight to the learning.

So naturally, in a new space I gravitate towards its story, and when I started working in an LGBT charity, I soon became aware of all the things I didn’t know, and I became invested in our community’s history. I saw this as a key part of developing my cultural competence within the role I held. The opportunities to learn were all there, and so varied.

A favorite of mine was ‘Out North West’, a magazine that the charity printed regularly. One of the walls in the building had every single cover framed and hung up. Each cover reflecting the social issues that our community was navigating at the time. From sexual health articles amid the AIDS pandemic of the 80s and early 90s, to naming issues like rainbow racism, the lack of inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA+ disabled people, the first Manchester Pride in 1990, barriers to healthcare, the gender recognition act in 2004 and of course dozens of stories celebrating our community and culture. It was a window to our lives. 

Whilst the magazine is no longer being printed, the need to keep on learning about our history, and our community to better understand our context is very much present.

LGBT+ history month can be a good opportunity to gain some insight as to why some people may choose not to be visible (being out and/or visible is and will always be the person’s choice), and to understand the context in which many of our friends, family members, patients and colleagues have lived and often continue to live in.

Our commitment to inclusivity is a commitment to a journey of education, in which we continually become aware of the barriers and discrimination that impact the diverse facets of society. Learning about the history of different communities is part of that journey of development. 

So, whilst we may see people march loud and proud across the globe during parades, that queer joy comes with a history that is important to shine light on. As allies to the LGBTQIA+ community, but also as part of the community, we can show solidarity by actively learning about the journey that led people to where they are now. This insight will help us to understand how we can write history today, using our privilege to enable meaningful social change.

I am proud to see that our Trust is committed to creating opportunities for learning and development for equity of access for all communities. In addition to the resources available on the intranet, the LGBT+ staff network will be hosting two learning events over the next couple of weeks which will give people the opportunity for meaningful learning, discussions, and reflections. It would be great to see colleagues from across our organisation attend these events in support of this important month.

Here's to writing history together. 

A new relationship

Evelyn Asante-Mensah

I remember getting the job at Pennine Care so clearly. 

It was five years ago, but the feelings
of elation and excitement, along with a healthy dollop of anxious trepidation, will always stay with me. I felt a huge weight of responsibility and expectation on my shoulders, but also excitement
at landing such a privileged role. The passion to add value and make a difference burned brightly. I’d always had a big interest in mental health and learning disability services, and I was in awe of the work that you did.

If I were to use the analogy of a new relationship; I went from admiring you from afar, to the exhilaration of the first dates, then getting to know you and all your wonderful traits, followed by the growth of understanding, respect and love. Yes, there have been some bumps along the way and it’s not all been plain sailing, but that has only strengthened my commitment. Perfect doesn’t exist and who wants that anyway.

And sitting alongside me throughout this time has been Claire Molloy, our chief executive.

The job of the chair is multifaceted, but the one element in every successful chair is an effective relationship with their chief exec. It must be based on mutual respect and trust. The demands on the chief exec are extraordinary and I can hopefully make life less lonely at the top for them by acting as a sounding board, mentor and advocate.

That’s why this role is so important to me, but not just to me of course; to you, the board, our partners and the people we serve.

We’ve been so fortunate to have Claire lead us these last five years (it’s estimated that the average chief exec lasts only around three years, so how great that we got an extra two). Claire has transformed and improved so much in so many different ways, and will soon be handing the baton over to Anthony Hassall.

Anthony Hassall
our incoming chief executive

Most of you won’t yet know him, but our new chief exec Anthony Hassall is a ‘known quantity’ to me, as I have worked with him in my role as chair of the North West Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Assembly since the beginning of the covid pandemic. His equality, diversity and inclusion work has been tremendous, hugely influential and something he’s totally committed to. 

Anthony is known and admired for his strong integrity, alongside positive team building skills and collaborative approach. Our values will never change and that’s why we placed a huge emphasis on values-based leadership throughout the whole recruitment process.  It’s something I’ll never be prepared to compromise on.

Anthony will also bring something else, which I think we help us immensely; an important final jigsaw piece that we were perhaps missing. He has a regional and national presence in the NHS and social care system, and impressive networks, which will really add value.

Our direction of travel will stay the same, but we can’t underestimate the benefits of the great work we are doing being seen in the system. We need that external understanding and recognition.

I know Anthony wants to spend time getting to you know you when he joins, and importantly let you get to know him. We’re really lucky that he’s able to join us at the start of April, when Claire retires as chief exec, so we can have a seamless handover.

Anthony knows, especially through his current role as chief people officer for NHS England North West, that almost everything in leadership comes back to people and relationships. He’ll no doubt have many of the same ‘start of a relationship’ feelings as I did five years ago. But wow, what an exceptional and awe-inspiring group of people to be starting it with.

Best wishes

Evelyn