I am writing this column still feeling the glow from the ELFT Staff Awards 2023.  

It was a privilege and a real joy to be there with more than 1,000 colleagues from across East London, Bedfordshire and Luton and I felt so proud.  

There is so much incredible work taking place throughout the Trust and this was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this and to say thank you.  

All of the nominees and winners showed such commitment to improving the lives of the people we serve and to supporting the wellbeing of staff.  Congratulations to every one of the 700 colleagues nominated for an award on the night. 

As always, the awards helped shine a light on outstanding practice, innovation and a commitment from every service to deliver the best possible care.

This edition includes interviews with some of our incredible award winners and reflects that collaboration – working with our communities and our partners is becoming ever more integral to our work. 

This joined-up approach is hugely important as we head into winter and it’s wonderful to see both the breadth and depth of the relationships we’re developing with our partners across the system.    

We’re committed to working in-step with our partners, collaborating wherever this can make a difference to the quality and timeliness of the care we provide to the people we jointly serve. 

Helping keep our colleagues safe and well, so they in turn can help our service users, is also a priority. 

This edition showcases our Vax Challenge, a fun campaign promoting our seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccination programme for all ELFT colleagues. 

I hope as many colleagues as possible have their vaccinations to help keep themselves safe and to protect service users, loved ones and colleagues.

Thank you for all you do, every day. ELFT would not be what it is without its amazing people – we could not do what we do without all of you.

Lorraine Sundaza
ELFT interim chief executive