‘Unbelievable amount of work’

I’m writing this in the name of the 5,500 people who work with me at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust – and if they could add their names to the end of the letter I know they all would, because each and every one of us has been so grateful for the outpouring of support shown during the coronavirus outbreak.

The generosity of local people, young and old, community groups, religious organisations, pubs and restaurants, volunteers, businesses, schools and the University of Reading, charitable trusts and our other partners across Berkshire has been truly amazing. It’s touched on the lives of everyone who works for the Trust as well as our patients and their families.

What’s been so humbling is that the support hasn’t just been a ‘one off’ – people’s donations, offers of help, voluntary work and the rest has just kept on coming at a time when all these people are themselves worried about the virus and how it could affect them and their loved ones.

It’s hard to single out some of the highlights since every one of them, big and small, has been such a genuine act of kindness from big hearted people who want to show their respect and appreciation to our fantastic staff.

I’m talking here about the volunteers running the wellbeing centre at the hospital, often at weekends and late into the evening so our teams can enjoy a well earned break, the people delivering medicines and equipment to our other healthcare sites around the county, those collecting and cleaning wheelchairs, people sewing face coverings and scrub bags, companies donating visors and ear protectors, other donating iPads so isolated patients have some contact with their families, teams delivering donated goody bags for the wards, people fundraising from home, and all the many, many welcome donations of flowers, hot food, toiletries, easter eggs, drinks,cakes – the list is endless.

Then there’s the schools, University of Reading and businesses who have worked with our clinicians and financially supported the development of masks, and Reading School which generously allowed us to set up pop up staff accommodation and a supermarket to ease the burden on our teams.

Each and every one of these acts of kindness, along with the weekly clap for carers and the rainbow pictures we all see as we make our way into work, have been a big boost to our staff.

This pandemic has put enormous pressure on everyone (not just the NHS). People are worried about their livelihoods, children’s education and vulnerable relatives and friends and this is what makes their show of support all the more remarkable and appreciated.

I would also like to pay a public tribute here to my amazing Trust teams.

Your readers won’t have witnessed the unbelievable amount of work that’s gone on behind the scenes as staff strive to keep our patients and communities safe. I’ve seen it day after day and I’m in awe at what they’ve achieved. Thank you.

Steve McManus, Chief Executive, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust