Last week we welcomed the NHS England Chief Nurse for North East and Yorkshire, David Purdue, to CHFT. He was keen to visit CHFT to hear about some of our work, and any thoughts and ideas. 

David’s first stop was to the new Respiratory Support Unit on Ward 5C at CRH. The team talked through the progress and learning they have made since October, when the unit opened, and the ongoing changes they are making as they continue to learn and develop this model of care. He also heard how some of the team had been involved in the plans for the new clinical build at CRH as part of our Foundations for our Future programme, and how patients will benefit once it’s built.

He then moved on to visit the Children's Ward and Children's Outpatient Department where he heard how the service is flying the flag for children and young people locally. He was particularly impressed with the changes that the team were making to support a safer environment for children and young people with mental health issues that demonstrated learning from a national report.

Chief Nurse, Lindsay Rudge, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome David to #TeamCHFT and share just a snippet of some of the improvements we’ve made to support patient-centred care.

“I know that he’s keen to work with all chief nurses across the region so that we can share best practice together. Given what he saw today, I know that we’ll have plenty of ideas to share with other trusts in the future.”

After the visit, Deputy Chief Nurse, Jo Middleton, said: "David was really impressed with the knowledge, enthusiasm and passion from the teams that he met. He commented on how well we are doing as an organisation in terms of quality metrics, performance, and patient experience. He was keen for us to showcase many of the things, that in his view, we assume everyone is doing, at a national level.

"He's new in post and wants to support us with many of the challenges going forward and look at how we can work together across the patch. It was nice for some of our teams to get to meet him and showcase the amazing work that they are doing, and he committed to a return visit in the future." 

David, began his nursing training in 1987 and has been in post for around three months. He was previously the Chief Nurse at North East and Cumbria Integrated Care Board and prior to that Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHSFT.