I have chosen this quote from Henry Ford as the heading for this article, because in my view it encapsulates everything we need to do to overcome the challenge posed by this pandemic.

Amongst all the adversities caused by Covid-19, it has also played a major role in bringing families and communities together, to join hands against this common enemy. We are now in our second phase, where complacency can’t have a place, and our efforts to stick to our resolve will help prevent local outbreaks and lock downs. The National Health Service is now working hard to perform a balancing act of planning for a Covid-19 surge, working to prevent surges and also continue delivering routine care and services which have suffered in the last few months.

I am sure all of you can imagine this is not going to be straightforward and the usual capacity and waiting times will be adversely affected, and it cannot be achieved without collaborative working between service providers and service users.

Locally we are working very closely with our colleagues from North Lincolnshire Council, local hospital trusts and Public Health to plan and deliver good social, mental and physical wellbeing for our residents. I am very grateful for the efforts all of you have made to adapt to new rules of personal hygiene, social distancing and adjusting with changing models of care in primary and secondary care.

I would like to thank you all for your ongoing support and also appeal to your good self for ongoing understanding and support when you use any health and social services. I sincerely hope that you will be kind and patient whilst we all work hard to meet the health and social care demand in the best possible way.