With Christmas fast approaching please remember to tick getting your Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations off your to do list as there are only a few weeks left for those eligible to book online to receive protection ahead of the festive season.

Walk-in options are available through to 31 January 2024 at limited sites, visit our website to find your nearest walk-in clinic.

Working in health and social care, you might be more likely to be exposed to viruses and vaccinations are the best way to protect you and your loved ones at this time of year.

Please also promote vaccinations to eligible patients you work with, including the Accessible COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics, visit our website for more information. It is never more important that we do all we can to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

You may have heard that the BMA has rejected the government’s most recent pay offer with Junior Doctors set to take industrial action over the Christmas period and into the New Year. The dates are 07:00 on 20 December until 07:00 on 23 December and then 07:00 on 3 January until 07:00 on 9 January.

We anticipate that we will have to cancel and rearrange a number of appointments, procedures and operations to allow staff who would have been doing them, to cover the work usually done by our junior doctors. We will, however, continue to work across the system to ensure we maintain emergency and life-preserving care during industrial action.

You can find out more information and guidance on upcoming industrial action on our website.

Finally, I wanted to share a video around Carers Identity Passports presented at our board meeting in November which really moved me. Local carers shared their experiences of using the Passports which have been co-produced by carers and staff across the system.

The Passports ensure Carers are identified and recognised in healthcare settings so they can be involved in decisions which relate to the prevention or diagnosis of illness or the care or treatment of the person they care for. They also enable them to be involved in plans relating to discharge from hospital as soon as feasible, if the person they care for is likely to require care and support.

Carers said they feel more listened to while using our services such as hospital or pharmacy and professionals have said they like the passports as it helps them to better identify and support carers. I was heartened to hear that young carers have also been proudly wearing their Passports while out and about, not just when they are with their cared for, and they feel they have given them a sense of pride and belonging.

Thank you to everyone who will be working over the busy festive period – it is much appreciated. I’d like to wish everyone who celebrates Christmas a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year and I hope that you have some time off during this period to celebrate with your friends and families. For those that don’t my sentiments remain the same, try and find some time to enjoy your relationships and do something together that makes you happy.

Kind regards,

Tricia D’Orsi

Executive Director of Nursing

NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System