It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas Seasons greetings to all of our PAHT people

As the festive season approaches, we thank you for all of your hard work and dedication this year. Our executive team, colleagues from across the hospital, and some of our community, have sent special messages to all of our #PAHTPeople via our social media channels.

Some of the messages are included below. You can watch them all on Twitter @NHSHarlow or Facebook at ‘The Princess Alexandra Hospital’ over the coming days.

Lance McCarthy, chief executive

I wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of you for your hard work and commitment to our patients over the last year. It is a year that has certainly been challenging and a year that everybody has had to adapt really significantly to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’ve been in absolute awe of the amount of change and speed of change that everyone has dealt with to keep our patients safe and the absolutely amazing support many of you have provided to each other over the course of the last year.

If you’re celebrating Christmas and you’ve got some time off over the festive period, then have a fantastic, well-deserved break. If you’re working over the period then thank you so much for putting all of our patients first. A huge thank you to all of you, all of our patients, to the community, to everybody who has supported us over 2020 which has for sure been a very unique, different and challenging year. Have a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year

You will see a number of wonderful Christmas trees across PAHT this month.

A big thank you goes to contractor, Castons, for their kind donation.

Pictured is the Christmas tree at Kao Park. We hope the trees bring some joy and festive cheer to our patients and staff.

– thank you all.

Ogechi Emeadi, director of people, organisational development and communications

A big thank you for all you’ve done. I’ve been in total awe about all of the contributions everybody has made, but a big particular thank you for those people behind the scenes, staff health and wellbeing, the recruitment team, training and education, the communications team, you’ve all been fantastic. Seasons greetings and a Happy New Year, and for those working over the festive period, a big thank you.

Stephanie Lawton, chief operating officer

It’s that time of year again, and I’d just like to say a massive thank you to everybody, what a year it’s been this year. 2020 will certainly go down in history as one to remember.

A big thank you from me for everybody that has worked exceptionally hard this year in extremely difficult circumstances. The care, the compassion, the kindness, the looking out for each other has been truly remarkable. I’m really humbled to work with you, everything that I see on a daily basis amazes me.

A big thank you to everybody who is going to be working over the Christmas and New Year periods, thank you. Thank you for spending time with your patients, thank you for everything that you do.

I’d like to say thank you to the operational teams, the site team, the discharge planning teams, the associate medical directors, the nurses, the midwives, everybody who works in the organisation. I hope next year brings happiness and peace for everybody. I wish you a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year – thank you.

Sharon McNally, director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals

“Firstly, I’d like to say a true heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you, everyone working in this organisation for the amazing work that you have delivered throughout this year to our patients, our staff and to each other.

You deserve a huge round of applause and I am sincerely grateful, thank you. As we head into the Christmas period, I’d just like to say, each and every one of you, I hope you get rest and joy, whatever you are doing this Christmas, Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year to you. Thank

you.

Michael Meredith, director of strategy and estates

Wow, what a year 2020 has been. We’ve all had to work above and beyond in order to deliver outstanding patient care. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone in the team, everyone that’s been involved in delivering care right across the trust. You’ve really had to pull out all the stops and I really, really appreciate it. Thank you so much for your hard work. I’d particularly like to say a big thank you to the estates team, they’ve done a huge job and they’ve really transformed the site. I’d also like to say a massive thank you to our facilities team, caterers, domestics, porters, you’ve really gone above and beyond and I really appreciate it, the trust appreciates it and I know our patients really appreciate it.

Yes, 2020 has been hard, but let’s look forward to the future, we’ve got some amazing opportunities ahead of us. My team are working with you to develop the clinical strategy and PAHT 2030. That will really take us into the future as we drive towards the new hospital. We’re working really hard to ensure we have an amazing new hospital and I hope you’ll all get involved in the new year and be part of this amazing journey with me and the rest of the PAHT team – thank you.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

Simon Covill, acting chief Jim Mcleish, director of quality finance officer improvement

Very best Christmas wishes to We’re at this time of year all of you and thank you. It’s been where we take an opportunity a challenging, tiring, emotional to reflect back on the year that’s year for us all that has tested all coming to an end. What a year it’s our skills and I really wanted to been – we can definitely use the thank you for that. Thank you for ‘U’ word – unprecedented. Never your dedication, compassion, before has the NHS or indeed your care in keeping our patients our hospital seen such levels of safe with all that we’ve been demand and acuity of patients coping with and for playing a part, coming to hospital requiring our however big or little. In everything care and attention. you’ve done, you should be very proud of your achievements and I have been absolutely everything you’ve achieved in the amazed by how all of you have organisation and coping with this responded, your ability to deal pesky virus. I also want to thank with this pandemic in the most your families, the hidden army, the amazing way, ensuring all of our support networks that we have. patients receive the absolute

Thank you to everyone who unprecedented times. You all will be working over Christmas. approached the delivery of this It’s really important that everyone care in the most compassionate gets some down time and gets and kind way and went above to recharge as much as they and beyond your everyday roles can. Finally, I want to personally to make sure that PAHT did an thank my team for all their absolutely amazing job at looking achievements, the finance, after our local population. ICT and information teams that have supported us through this I want to say a particular difficult time with some fantastic thank you to each and every one achievements, keeping us safe of you, regardless of where you and under grip and control. I really work in the organisation, you all do appreciate that. committed to making sure we

Wishing the very best and a delivered the absolute best, so Merry Christmas to you all. Please well done and thank you. get some rest and thank you for best possible care in what are put our best foot forward and everything that you are doing. I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank my own team in the quality first and improvement world but also my teams across the community. Our community colleagues, including those in the CCG and transformation team, worked tirelessly to support patients in the community and also patients we needed to discharge from the hospital into the community. It has been an amazing team effort across the NHS and our local economy.

I’d also like to say a particular thank you to all of you who are working across the Christmas and New Year period. I hope you’re able to get some welldeserved downtime to spend with your family and friends over the festive period. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.