As Ramadan draws to a close this weekend, on behalf of everyone at NELFT, our mental health chaplain, Mohammed Rashid, is wishing all our patients, people in our communities and all our staff a safe and blessed Eid.

In his message, Mohammed talks about the challenges this year has brought to marking Ramadan but how, despite the pandemic, we have continued to see compassion and care from all communities, and the human spirit coming together in a way perhaps not seen before.

We wish everyone who will be celebrating a safe and blessed Eid.

Today marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 (Monday 18^th - Sunday 24^th May). The theme this year, is the power and potential of kindness. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve seen an incredible show of kindness across the country, from the weekly clap for the NHS and keyworkers on a Thursday evening, to Captain Tom Moore raising millions for the NHS to looking after the vulnerable in our communities. This week will be a time to celebrate our own acts of kindness that are so important to our mental health.   

Volunteers' Week takes place 1-7 June every year. It's a chance to celebrate and say thank you for the contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK. 

It can be quite the experience to start a new job filled with many questions and unknowns. But what happens when you start a new job in the middle of a pandemic? 

In celebration of nurse’s day, Anne Motley shares her family story which incorporates a deep history with the NHS.

My name is Mog Heraghty and my day job is the associate director of quality and patient safety in the Nursing directorate.

As COVID emerged in February 2020, I began supporting the community swabbing team in London. When this was stepped down in early March, I proactively redeployed myself to the Acute and Rehab directorate, with the support of my line manager Diane Searle, director of nursing. The reason for this was that I am a mental health nurse by background, this was a high risk critical service and I thought my skills would best be used there.

This International Nurses Day, I want to share my nursing story. My name is Karen Hampson, I am 49 years old and born in Radcliffe, Manchester. I have had dystonia, a movement disorder which causes tremors, spasms and incredible pain night and day, since I was born. This causes me extreme struggles with day to day tasks and personal care.