AS you will understand, the focus of the Trust at this time is solely on supporting staff, patients and our communities during the Coronavirus outbreak. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of the way our staff have responded in these unique times. When we come out of this period, I will be able to tell you in more detail, the many ways our staff have served the community and the NHS. But for now, here is the Spring issue that was already in the pipeline.

It feels so long ago now but it was only in February that we launched the ELFT Promise at our Staff Awards Event. For some time, we have been aware that staff have a sense of doing things the ‘ELFT way’ or describe processes as ‘the way we do things at ELFT. So we were keen to come up with a shared understanding of what this means as it is an important part of our identity as a trust. The ELFT promise is a powerful undertaking to people in our care that we will use our energies at all times to help them to reach their goals – the ELFT way!

Our Staff Awards ‘Oscars’ was, as always a fun and uplifting event. The joy on the faces of the Newham Speech and Language Therapy team as they danced across the stage to pick up their Improving Staff Experience Award made everyone smile. Hearing one of our service users, Robbie Goddard, on stage to present an award, say “These are the awards that really matter” brought a lump to my throat. And as if that wasn’t enough, this year’s Awards Ceremony was the last one for our outgoing Chair Marie Gabriel CBE. Although she has assured us that she intends to be back next time as a guest presenter.

You can read all about the award winners on pages 10 & 11.

In February, I was delighted to meet new colleagues at Leighton Road GP Surgery in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. Joining forces with GP practices will enable us to support individuals and our communities at an early stage to equip them to go forward in the way they want to. We welcomed Bedford’s Caudwell Medical Centre into the ELFT family on 1 April. I look forward to meeting them in due course too. (Page 6)

We have a new Chair: Mark Lam was formally appointed by the Trust’s Council of Governors at a virtual meeting on 14 May. Mark is also chair of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust (BEH) and will divide his time between both trusts. Page 3)

We also welcomed Professor Sir Sam Everington to our Trust Board. Professor Everington was a GP in Tower Hamlets and Chair of the Clinical Commissioning Group, so he brings extensive primary care experience to the board which will benefit us as we expand into primary health care.

Mary Elford, our Vice Chair for Bedfordshire and Luton, has been appointed as Chair of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (CCS). Mary will start her new role with CCS on 1 April 2020 and remain in her ELFT Vice Chair role until the summer. (Page 4)

On page 5, you can hear about a brand new role that is going to be key in the way we support people with mental health problems. Our new Clinical Associates in Psychology, or CAPs as we are already calling them, form part of our mental health transformation strategy and will work intensively with individuals in a way we have never been able to before. This is a very exciting development and also establishes a new career pathway that will interest many.

I will end by saying how proud we are that our Chair Marie Gabriel CBE is going to be the Independent Chair of North East London Integrated Care System. She has had a profound influence on the way ELFT has progressed. She has been a strong, intelligent, sensitive and skilled Chair, who has brought dignity, humour and a great sense of fun in all her endeavours. I know she will bring this combination of talents to her new role and that ELFT will continue to feel her warmth and presence as a partner with our regional colleagues. As we go to print, recruitment is underway for a new Chair. In the meantime, Eileen Taylor, one of our non-executive Directors will be the interim Chair for the Trust.

On behalf of all our staff, governors, members and service users, I want to wish Marie all the best in her new role and thank her for the extraordinary contribution she has made to ELFT.

Many of you will be aware that I too am planning a change of role and will be joining Health Education England as their Chief Executive in September. So 2020 is a time of great change all round. But change can be exciting and stimulating – the NHS and ELFT never stops evolving. as has been borne out in recent times.

Stay safe and stay well.

Dr Navina Evans