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Last Friday Amanda Pritchard, Chief Operating Officer at NHS England and Improvement and Chief Executive of NHS Improvement, made a visit to HCT’s inpatient unit at Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford.

Amanda was given a guided tour by HCT’s Medical Director Dr Elizabeth Kendrick and Emma Whiteford, Director of Adults and Children’s services, meeting with many of our staff and patients from the hospital. Amanda also had the opportunity to talk with colleagues from our local community nursing team, as well as representatives from Children and Young People’s Therapy Services and Public Health Nursing.

 

Alongside HCT colleagues, our Chief Executive Elliot Howard-Jones briefed Amanda on the raft of initiatives introduced by the Trust to meet the challenges brought on by the pandemic, working closely with its partners across the system. Amanda was impressed by how HCT has been able to modify and strengthen the way it delivers its services to patients and, as we emerge from COVID-19, how we continue to incorporate valuable lessons learned during this challenging period.

Amanda said: “Thank you for a fantastic visit. It was really impressive to hear about the ways staff from across the organisation worked flexibly and adapted services in response to COVID-19. The Trust’s determination to continue to support staff, to focus on restoring services that have been disrupted by the pandemic, and to build on the opportunities for innovation and closer partnership working that the past year has brought, came across strongly. Thank you again for the invaluable role that community services have played during COVID-19 and continue to play as the NHS responds to the challenge of recovering and transforming services for patients in the years ahead.”