Leeds hospital boss praises 'flexibility and resilience' of staff during Covid-19 pandemic

Julian Hartley, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, said since the outbreak first hit back in March, he has been “struck” by the response “across all teams in the Trust and our partners”.

Writing in his report to the Trust’s November board meeting, he spoke of the “sustained increase” in Covid-19 patients seen at hospital since the beginning of October and added: “By the end of October we surpassed the peak of inpatient admissions we experienced in the spring and have continued to see steady increases.

“This has presented significant challenges across the organisation and there have been huge efforts to respond.”

He said one-to-one meetings with all clinical leaders at the Trust had left him impressed by the level of “dedication and teamworking” across all areas - both those directly involved in treating Covid-19 patients and others involved in the reorganisation of other services.

“I am convinced that our brilliant staff...means we are as well prepared as anywhere in the NHS to meet the challenges ahead.”

The Trust has been further bolstered by health organisations across the city rallying together against the virus in a “demonstration of mutual support” which Mr Hartley said had been “crucial” in the pandemic so far.

The Yorkshire Evening Post has seen a letter of support written to the hospital Trust by Leeds’ GP leaders on November 2 which pledged to help “in any way that we possibly can” as the city battles the second wave of the virus.

It read: “During an unprecedented period of pressure on the health and care service, and the staff within it, we wanted to write an open letter of support to you.

“We face the same challenges in regards to estate, staff sickness, staff fatigue and morale, patient expectation and demand, and concern regarding the care that the system has been unable to provide as it normally would during 2020.”

The letter said they were “frequently reviewing” how to adapt critical elements of out-of-hospital care to best support the Trust and “will work with you at pace to see how we can best actively assist”.

In his report, Mr Hartley said: “We all hope that the national lockdown we are currently under is creating a sustained decrease in the transmission of the virus across the country and we see this reflected in the number of patients who need treatment in hospital.

“Should this not be the case, we have plans to continue to increase capacity in order to treat more Covid-19 patients,” he said, but warned: “We are also entering into the winter period, and the additional demands that we see on our services during this time of year.”