Sympathy

Amidst all the Hubble and bubble of running an organisation, dealing with issues and advice, planning and briefings, complaints and budgets, emails and phone calls, it can be too easy to overlook that staff - and volunteers - have personal lives which require and deserve attention.

All are committed to delivering and making sure that our system is supported. And sometimes that is at the expense or or involves intrusion into family life. Despite efforts to redress the balance many go the extra mile to ensure that what needs to be done is done.

In the past fortnight 2 of the team have lost very close family - a father and a sister - after periods of illness. Another has been off with chickenpox. A fourth has had serious news about another relative. A fifth has a close relative in hospital. Others have colds or flu like symptoms and one has a family member with suspected appendicitis.

We are a small team and we seem to keep the NHS in business.

Throughout however everyone makes sure that work is delivered wherever possible. And in the majority of cases the issues are not known or talked about. Dealing with the pressures and emotions goes on behind the scenes.

Today we paused to reflect that we need to value those family ties wherever possible, notwithstanding the demands of work or volunteering.