Better Together e-news issue 45

Better Together e-news issue 45

Welcome from the Chair, Kevin Lockyer

Kevin LockyerWelcome to another winter issue of Better Together – our magazine for members. I hope you will take some time to read updates from the Trust and learn more about exciting projects and developments taking place.

This has been another year of incredible care, dedication and innovation, and it was a pleasure to be able to celebrate just some of our fantastic staff and volunteers at the Team LPFT Values Awards back in October.

In this 75th NHS anniversary year, we received an incredible number of nominations, with nearly 300 submitted. You can read more about our awards and this year’s winners in the celebrating success section of this edition, as well as several external awards and accreditations we are rightly proud of achieving this year.

As we close this year, I am pleased that we will soon be able to reopen our Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit in Lincoln, following its temporary closure last year. Much work has been done to tackle our workforce challenges in this area and we are very pleased to be in a more stable and sustainable position to safely reopen the ward soon.

We now look forward to 2024, and even more development, collaboration and innovation. We recently launched the Macmillan psychological support service, which helps people struggling with complex psychological needs as a result of their cancer diagnosis and this shows just some of the collaborative work we are doing with our partners in physical healthcare to join up our services more cohesively for the benefit of our patients, and I look forward to much more.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new governors who have joined the council of governors following the recent elections. We very much look forward to working with you. A further by-election for remaining vacant seats in our staff and service user constituencies is currently taking place and I’d encourage anyone interested in making a difference in local services to think about putting their names forward.

As we are now in the festive period, it is important to remember that this time of year can be particularly difficult for many. It is vital that we continue to look after our mental wellbeing, as well as reach out to those who may be quietly struggling. Talking is extremely powerful, whether that be with friends, family, or to a professional through our 24/7 mental health helplines. Please seek support if you need to and know that you are not alone.

I will end my welcome by saying a very important thank you to all our staff and volunteers who have lived and breathed our LPFT values throughout another challenging year. Without their compassion and collaboration, we could not provide the support and care we deliver every day for service users, carers and families.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy festive period.

Kevin Lockyer, Chair

 

Click on each of the items below to expand the news story.

News in brief

Use this link to read all of the following news in brief items.


60 seconds with… 

Lee Wing, Associate Director of Operations for the Adult Inpatient & Urgent Care Division.


Amazing fundraising for Lincolnshire NHS Charity

Ten staff runners have been confirmed for the London Landmarks Half Marathon next April, and congratulations to Lee Wing who ran her first marathon in York on Sunday 15 October.


Lincolnshire Talking Therapies

Did you know steps2change is now known as Lincolnshire Talking Therapies?


Sandra’s 24-hour ‘dance-a-thon’

Congratulations to Sandra Townsend, a Research Support Officer in the LPFT Research Team, who completed a 24-hour ‘dance-a-thon’ to raise awareness for Join Dementia Research.


New courses co-produced at Lincolnshire Recovery College

Recovery Colleges operate with co-production at their heart, bringing together people with different expertise, experiences, skills, and viewpoints in a process of shared decision making.


Celebrating our volunteers

Congratulations to Vanessa Herdzina who was crowned as Volunteer of the Year for her incredible work on The Wolds, helping to transform the garden areas.


Updates from our Energy, Environmental and Sustainability Team

The team are dedicated to making sure that all Trust sites become more energy efficient, which will help to reduce our carbon footprint, as well as financial costs.