“It’s been absolutely brilliant to talk to staff on the ground again” – our governors visit St George’s to meet with staff
After over eighteen months, the Trust’s Governors recently paid visits to St George’s to meet with staff and receive tours of a wide range of wards and departments, including our Emergency Department and our newly refurbished Cardiac Catheter Labs.
Our Governors, who represent the interest of our members and the local communities we serve, were not able to visit the Trust’s hospitals as normal due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Richard Mycroft, Lead Governor and Public Governor (South West Lambeth), met with staff during a visit to the onsite energy centre at St George’s. As part of the tour, our staff explained how the hospital is supplied with power.
Richard said: “We’ve recently discussed the Trust’s forward looking Estates policy and Green Plan at the Council of Governors meetings, so a guided tour of the site highlighting where changes will happen helped us understand the implications.
“It’s been absolutely brilliant to talk to staff on the ground again.”
Governors also had a sneak preview of one of the newly refurbished Cardiac Catheter Labs, which have the latest state of the art specialist equipment to diagnose and treat heart conditions.
Hilary Harland, Public Governor (Merton), is pictured above with Alex Grimster, Principal Cardiac Physiologist, showing her some of the new equipment. Alex was keen to explain how the new labs and equipment would help give the very best service to patients.
Sarah Forrester, Appointed Governor for Healthwatch Wandsworth, was with other Governors who visited our Emergency Department, the Ambulatory Assessment Area, Richmond and Nye Bevan wards to understand the significant improvements put in place to meet the needs of Covid-19 compliant emergency care.
Sarah’s background was as a qualified Nurse and Health Visitor so she was well placed to discuss the issues with Ann Broughton, Head of Nursing, and Tim Hardiman, Matron in our Emergency Department (pictured below).
Following the visit, Richard told us that one of the key things Governors needed to do to represent the interests of Trust Members, patients and the general public is to understand how the Hospital ticks, “especially some of the changes in ways of working and organising the hospital, the pressures but also the satisfaction that many staff have felt at being able to help our patients during a time of national crisis.
“We’ve been so grateful for the staff who have spared time willingly to give us these insights and who are rightly proud of the service they have been providing and continue to provide.”
