Last week, the Trust was delighted to welcome Sir Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, and Georgia Butterworth, Senior Policies Manager for Finance at NHS Providers in a visit to the Trust.
The Board welcomed the pair at Dorothy Pattison Hospital and introduced them to the unique and wonderful qualities of the Black Country population and our goals as a Trust as the lead provider of mental health and learning disability services in the area.
During the visit Sir Julian and Georgia learned about the work we do for our communities, and also shared shared their experiences from visits to other NHS trusts.
One of the key conversations was around the positive partnership working with other organisations in the Black Country. Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer, Kuli Kaur-Wilson, expressed the importance of partnership working, such as working closely with the voluntary sector, local authorities, acute NHS trusts and ambulance services, to ensure patients receive high quality care.
Sir Julian and Georgia also had a tour of the new older adult mental health facility that is currently being developed in the grounds of Dorothy Pattison Hospital. They were accompanied by our Divisional Director of Adult Mental Health, Deborah Cooper, who gave insight of the benefits of the build for our patients’ care.
The team also visited some of the wards and spoke to members of staff who encouraged him about the challenging but rewarding work they do for Black Country Healthcare.
Overall, the visit was inspiring and provided lots of insight on how we can progress as lead provider in the Black Country.
NHS Providers is the membership organisation for the NHS hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services that treat patients and service users in the NHS. They help trusts to deliver high-quality, patient-focused care by enabling them to learn from each other, acting as their public voice and helping shape the system in which they operate.