COLUMN: Stay healthy in winter

Without meaning to make the summer a distant memory so soon, winter is coming, writes Andrew Morgan.
Andrew Morgan.Andrew Morgan.
Andrew Morgan.

While Game of Thrones fans may smile in anticipation of the famous warning, winter in the NHS is a time traditionally associated with the most pressure on services.

I must stress these ‘pressures’ are no longer only seasonal and challenge our teams all year round, but the winter months do give us additional difficulties to think about.

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The responsibility for these challenges not only falls on us as leaders and providers of your health services, but to you and the way you choose to look after yourselves and access care.

Have you done all you can to keep yourselves healthy? Have you been a good neighbour to support the more vulnerable members of our communities? Most importantly, have you chosen the right service for your needs?

In the age of the world wide web, smart phones, tablets and apps, advice is available at our finger tips 24/7. Combined with the fantastic support available from voluntary and third sector organisations, a healthcare professional is not always the first or most appropriate person to see. I urge you to choose wisely and think about what you can do at home first.

September also brings us to our annual Health at Home event. The celebration combines our annual public meeting and Celebrating Success Awards, for which you, our patients and service users, have helped to 
nominate staff for the first time.

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It really is one of my favourite events of the year and I would love for as many of you as possible to come and meet our teams, find out more about who we are, what we do and share the occasion with us.

It takes place at the Princess Royal Sports Arena, Boston, on Wednesday, September 21. Doors will open at 12pm and the main events start from 2pm.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Andrew Morgan is chief executive of Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust

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