An Open Letter to NHS Staff – This ‘crisis’ is not your fault – you’re doing a great job!

If you work in the NHS, in any capacity, this letter is for you, no matter what your role.

 

Dear NHS Staff Member,

 

I write this to you as a GP, who cares for many people who work in the NHS and sees the huge stress many of us feel under. I write it as a ‘system leader’ in my role as Director of Population Health and as someone who has been a patient myself, twice in the last 12 months.

 

We are constantly told that the NHS is in crisis (I’ve even written blogs about it myself!), that we’re not meeting targets, that we’re getting things wrong, that we’re struggling to cope under the strain of demand but not being efficient enough and it can feel like what we’re doing isn’t up to the mark. With all the other current surrounding narratives we live with (like Brexit and Climate Change), things can so easily feel overwhelming.

 

So, I just wanted to write and tell you that the NHS is not in a crisis. We’re just underfunded and understaffed and we’re doing the best we can in those circumstances. Demand is growing year on year and we’re dealing with real complexity. We’ve been under the biggest and longest squeeze on our finances in NHS history, for the last 9 years, and the 3.4% uplift we’ve been promised, although welcome, is not enough to keep us running as we are and do the transformational work required of us. We don’t have enough people to deliver the work we’re being asked to do and so it’s no surprise that morale is low and burn-out levels are high. None of that is your fault. You are doing an amazing job. Every day, you turn up to work, in the context of everything else you have going on in your life and you are helping to deliver a truly world-class health service. Good job!

 

Amidst all the rhetoric you hear, the targets you feel under pressure to meet, the constant flow of people through the doors, the blame and complain (and sometimes bullying) culture that can grind you down, the traumas that you deal with every day, the pain that you help people process, the love and compassion that your pour out, the siloes and frustrations with the clumsiness of the system at times and the long hours – of which you work above and beyond most of the time…..know that you are more than your job and you are valuable just for who you are.

 

So, in all the busyness, remember to listen to and look after your own needs and those of your team around you. You can only do what you can do, and you’re doing a great job. Think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how much you are attending to those things.

 

Physiological Needs – are you listening to your body? Are you getting time to have a drink, eat well, stretch, sleep and get to the toilet ok?

Safety – Are you feeling safe in your work? Do you feel protected? Are you worrying all the time about making mistakes? Do you feel it’s ok to make a mistake and be able to talk about it and learn from it, without fearing some awful consequences?

Love and Belonging – Do you feel like you are an important member of your team – that you matter, that you belong, that people around you care about you? Maybe in the humdrum and mayhem of everyday, we forget to tell each other.

Esteem – How is your self-esteem? Do you feel confident in who you are? Are you treated with respect and kindness and treating others with the same – no matter who they may be?

Cognition – Are you in a place where you can think clearly, make rational choices and in an environment which values learning and development?

Aesthetic Needs – Are you taking time to admire the beauty around you and enjoy life? Without this, it’s really hard to keep motivation alive, especially when things are tough and work feels really pressured. Taking time for this changes your perspective on everything else. How is your perspective? Is it in or out of kilter?

Self-Actualisation – Are you able to be spontaneous, making wise and creative, moral choices, problem solving without prejudice whilst accepting the facts in front of you?

Transcendence – This is the place we are aiming for as human beings – that ability to move out of our ego and into the place of gift from which we can love the ‘other’ and even our ‘enemy’ with the kind of transformative substance that changes the world.

 

The truth is, you can’t get to this place of self-actualisation and transcendence if the other areas aren’t looked after – so what needs attention? What are you noticing that needs taking care of? Don’t worry about all the pressures from on high – it’s all part of a system of biopower that needs to measure things to keep control. You – yes you, are valuable and important and the contribution you are making every day is phenomenal. You will certainly make some mistakes. It’s likely that you’ll feel overwhelmed at times, so listen to what your body, mind and heart needs and give yourself some space to attend to those things. Your own health and wellbeing really matters. So if you need help – and most of us do at different times, then please talk about it and give it some focus. We need to take care of each other – it’s ok not to be ok. Only when we create supportive environments for each other can we bring our ‘A game’ and keep providing the phenomenal care, innovation and transformation that we do every day.

 

Thank you a million times for everything you are doing, despite the struggles and pressure. Together, we need to create a culture of joy and kindness. That is partly the responsibility of leaders, but its incumbent on all of us, to treat ourselves and those around us with gentleness and respect. Go ahead and keep doing the great work you are doing every day – you really are a wonder!

 

Love and gratefulness

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

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The Morecambe Bay Approach to Population Health – The Double Pentagon

In this podcast (iTunes or Spotify), I give an overview, as Director of Population Health in Morecambe Bay, about the approach that we have developed as ‘Bay Health and Care Partners’ (BHCP) around population health. The double pentagon model draws on learning from across the UK and the world, leading think tanks, like the Kingsfund and local communities. The model has been developed with Dr Jane Mathieson – our wonderful Public Health Consultant, who retires this month, Prof David Walker – Medical Director at UHMB, Marie, Spencer, Jacqui Thompson, Hannah Maiden and Vicky Hepworth-Putt. BHCP is an Integrated Care Partnership which includes the GP Provider Alliance, The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust, Lancashire Care Foundation Trust, Morecambe Bay CCG, Cumbria County Council and Lancashire County Council and is committed to ‘better health, better care, delivered sustainably’.

 

So – if you’re interested in Population Health and/or you work as part of one of the organisations within BHCP, then listen in, enjoy and let’s continue this conversation.

 

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Poeting an Alternative Future

Tweet As part of the ‘love and kindness’ series on the Black Swan Podcast, I interviewed the brilliant  and award winning Spoken Word Poet, Matt Sowerby. Matt is 18 and lives in Morecambe Bay. I find his words to be beautiful, challenging and moving. Here are the links on iTunes and Spotify if you want [Continue Reading …]

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The Poverty Truth Commission – Podcast

Tweet One of the things I have most enjoyed and also felt privileged to be a part of over the last couple of year has been the ‘Poverty Truth Commission’. Here is a podcast I have done with some of the incredible community commissioners, here in Morecambe Bay about how a ‘together with’ approach to [Continue Reading …]

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World Autism Awareness Day

Tweet Autism affects so many of our lives and families, and yet so many of us know very little about it, make unfair assumptions about people who live with it, or make crass jokes about people, using it as a derogatory term. In this episode of the Black Swan Podcast, I interview, the amazing Deborah [Continue Reading …]

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