Hospital recognised as one of top 10 most improved NHS trusts at reducing urgent and emergency care waiting times

In her monthly Ward Round column, hospital CEO Alice Webster reflects on another busy month…It’s been a busy month at Team QEH but as always, our team here continue to dedicate themselves to the care of our patients. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate and welcome all our recently elected MPs following this month’s general election. We very much look forward to working with you all to develop services and bring a new hospital to Lynn and West Norfolk by 2030. There’s lots of exciting work continuing here at Team QEH with plans for the new building taking shape and we’ll keep you up to date with all the news of progress in the coming months.I am pleased to be able to share with you all, which illustrates just how hard our teams here are working to care for patients, that The QEH has been recognised as one of the top 10 most improved NHS trusts at reducing the amount of time patients wait for urgent and emergency care.

In March more than 70% of patients who attended our Emergency Department (ED) or front door services were seen, treated and either discharged or moved to a ward bed within four hours of arrival.I am delighted that figures for April-June show this performance has been maintained in spite of the unrelenting pressures at our front door and I would like to thank all involved in this transformation.Last week I had the privilege of being part of the launch of The QEH Youth Council. This is the first of its kind in healthcare in Norfolk and will give young people aged 16 to 25 the chance to have their say on what happens at our hospital, ensuring their voice is heard by our Trust Board and Council of Governors. I am deeply committed to ensuring we do everything possible to forge strong relationships across our communities – and young people are absolutely key to this. Their ideas, suggestions and connections are so important to us not only to help us continuously improve the care we give but to help us shape our new hospital and the services we deliver into the future.If you are aged 16 to 25 and are interested in joining our Youth Council we want to hear from you – sign up for regular updates at www.teamqehyouth.co.uk or email youth.council@qehkl.nhs.uk And please take a look at our promotional video on You Tube. Search for Join the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Youth Council or if you are reading this online follow this link. It is a fantastic opportunity to find out about healthcare opportunities, but we employ people in so many other areas too including IT, maintenance, portering, administration, logistics and communications. Whatever you are interested in and however you can help us, we would love to hear from you.At the end of this month we will host our Annual Members’ Meeting. This is an opportunity to hear about the Trust’s progress and achievements during 2023/24 and look ahead to 2024/25 and beyond. Attendees can also register for one of three 40-minute hospital tours covering our newly refurbished simulation ward, the Endoscopy unit and soon to open End of Life unit.Anyone can attend the meeting which will be held in The QEH Boardroom on Tuesday, July 30 between 3pm and 5pm. Register your attendance on the QEH website – www.qehkl.nhs.ukThank you to every one of you who support us and to all our staff.