Board to Ward February 2026
In February’s Board to Ward we share three highlights:
• Hearing from young carers
• Celebrating some of our finest colleagues and volunteers
• Improving the working lives of our resident doctors
Young Carers
The work we have been doing with our Young Persons Patient Council has highlighted the issue of young carers, and their need to be seen, heard and supported. Siobhan and Becky shared two powerful stories with our Board leaders about being young carers, stories which reminded us that not all caring roles are visible.
The first video story, heard at today’s meeting, was shared was from Siobhan, a young carer who from childhood, carried significant responsibility supporting siblings with complex needs and navigating a complicated home life shaped by illness, disability and addiction. Her story is one of courage, protection, loss and resilience in which she made the point that as a young carer she experienced “losing your childhood while still living it”.
The second video story, shared afterwards with our Board, is from Becky, who reflects on her journey as a young carer beginning at the age of 8, navigating the complexities of love, sacrifice and loss as well as exploring fluctuating identities as a young carer, child, daughter, healthcare professional and being Becky beyond the caring role.
Both stories challenge us to better identify, understand and support young carers - not only for the people they care for, but for their own wellbeing, safety, and future.
After watching Siobhan’s story, our Chief Nurse Darryn Allcorn talked about how we work with young carers, children’s social services, the police and other agencies to support young carers. Our Board also agreed to follow up at a future meeting to look at the support we give to young carers.
If you have been affected by the stories shared, or would like to find out more information about young carers and the support available, please visit the links below:
- Young carers: who are they and why do they need support? | Action For Children
- Support for young carers | Carers UK
- Help for young carers | PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK
- Young Carers - Plymouth Information Advice and Support for SEND.
- Plymouth young carers service | The Children's Society
Celebrating some of our finest colleagues and volunteers
Congratulations to Manuela Cresswell, Consultant Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon who has been chosen to have her portrait displayed at the Hunterian Museum, inside the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in London , as part of the ‘Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery’ exhibition which shines a light on women working in surgery across the UK. The portrait was taken by Paige Nola, from our Communications Team.
Well done to Matthew Lamerton, Improvement and Planning Lead for our Specialist and Emergency Care Division, who was voted Apprentice of the Year. Matthew is currently undertaking the Level 6 Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, which includes the Mary Seacole NHS Leadership Award, alongside a Responsible Business Management Degree. Congratulations, Matthew, on this outstanding and well deserved achievement.
A big shout out to Kelly James, the most recent winner of our VIP Award to Kelly James, Patient Services Administrator. Kelly was nominated for consistently demonstrating a profound commitment to the Trust's core values, making an unmistakable difference in the lives of patients, volunteers and colleagues.
It’s great to see the team at Hospital Radio Plymouth (HRP) have been shortlisted for seven awards at the 2026 Hospital Broadcasting Awards. These nominations include awards for newcomer, station promotion, presenter awards and station of the year. The awards finals take place in Bolton in March 2026, good luck to the team at HRP and congratulations on all your hard work in receiving these nominations.
As part of national coverage ahead of World Cancer Day, BBC Radio 5 Live featured a segment highlighting the exceptional care delivered by our teams at Derriford Hospital. A local resident spoke warmly on air about the support she and her family received from our Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) service, and nominated one of our Oncology Nurse Specialists, Claire Westlake, for a BBC “Big C Star” award in recognition of her outstanding compassion and guidance. Claire was also invited for a live interview during the programme, which can be accessed on the BBC online
And finally thank you to Jim Griffiths, Chair of our Patient Council who has contributed to the trust generously in leading our patient council for many years, including his role in attending public board. This was Jim’s last public board meeting and our Chairman James Brent thanked him.
Looking after our resident doctors
In 2024, NHS England set out a national programme to improve the working lives of resident (junior) doctors’, making sure they have high-quality training and working environments. This resulted in a formal 10-Point Plan issued to hospital trusts in August 2025.
The plan sets down mandatory expectations with a 12-week delivery window for initial actions and ongoing milestones into 2026. The plan focuses on:
• Access to basic workplace facilities
• Compliance with rota notice requirements
• Annual leave equity
• Reduction of payroll errors
• Board-level accountability structures
Every NHS organisation is required to action the plan and progress is reviewed nationally and locally. At UHP, we are making good progress against the 10 Point Plan, reporting 91% improvement against the 12-week baseline and we have ongoing actions to address remaining gaps.
We are working with Resident Doctor Committee Chairs Dr Oscar Andrusier and Dr Krishan Venu-Gopal, not just on compliance against the points in the plan but to ensure that we engage well with our Resident Doctors and they feel like they belong and are valued by the organisation.
Dr Venu-Gopal joined the meeting and explained that a lot of work required by the 10 Point Plan was already underway in Plymouth, before the national requirements. He talked about feedback from resident doctors highlighting, job security and increasing competition for training posts.
Chief Medical Officer Anjula Mehta said this was understood and described the offer of additional partially funded training posts across Devon and UHP’s continued work with NHSE to expand local training capacity for August 2026 recruitment.
There are regular structured meetings with resident doctors through the Resident Doctor Forum. This provides an active feedback loop between resident doctors and Trust leadership, ensuring concerns inform operational and strategic decisions.
Thanks for reading.
****
