Caroline Walker, chief executive of the trust which runs Hinchingbrooke Hospital:
The festive period is usually a time we spend with our families and following the government announcement at the weekend, I know it will be especially tough for a lot of us not to be celebrating with loved ones in the coming days.
The Christmas plans for our hospitals have had to be modified this year in order to reflect current guidance but we have still tried to spread some joy and goodwill where possible. Our ‘A Hamper from Santa’ campaign was very popular last year and our staff were even more wonderfully generous in giving to local foodbanks this year. In total over 2500 kilos of food has been donated to foodbanks in Peterborough, Huntingdon and Stamford.
Peterborough has now moved into Tier 4 and I would just to like to remind everyone of our current visiting restrictions across all of our hospitals, which will regretfully remain in place following this announcement. You can find updated information on our website for visiting, including maternity visiting arrangements.
I would like to say a big thank you to those staff who will giving up precious time with their own families to care for patients over the Christmas period. 2020 has truly shown how amazing the NHS is as an organisation but I am especially proud of our hard-working and dedicated workforce for continuing to cope during the pandemic. It’s an absolute privilege to be your Chief Executive and I wish you all a peaceful Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.