Our hotel room has a windmill in it, tulip chairs and a bed made to look like giant clogs. This has to be approaching peak Dutchiness! 🇳🇱

Our first visit to Teesside International Airport. Wow!! So easy. Parking right outside. Calm and peaceful inside. Easy check in. Good coffee. Next stop, Nederland! 🇳🇱

First time walking this year without a coat ☀️

Ready for the fresh air. My days of strategic Chief Exec meetings are ended. Today I’ve glossed the porch (badly, my Dad would be ashamed!), cleaned the house and washed the car. My head is empty of anything serious and I love it!

Reading papers for next weeks Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust Council of Governors. Absolutely love the consistent messaging on values and behaviours. The clear descriptions in simple language of our shared expectations and why they are important. Great work! #Humbelievable

The #CassReview into Gender Identity Services is trending today. Interview here with its author Dr Hilary Cass and The Guardian. Lots to think about.

theguardian.com/society/2024/a…

Responding to #CassReview of gender identity services Lade Smith CBE says 'It’s extremely important that every child who is gender questioning has timely access to services that are holistic and respond to their individual needs.' More here: shorturl.at/AIKNX

My letter to the Guardian responding to its editorial on 'Labour doing God', which overstated the party's Christian origins & underplayed the role of secular charities in supporting those in need.

Firstly:

1) Labour's first prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald, was early president…

It's good to see Together for Short Lives shining a light on the critical issues surrounding children's palliative care on BBC Breakfast.

Urgent action is indeed needed to address these challenges. See below their open letter calling for crucial reforms. 👇

Lifting the 50% cap on faith school admissions would be obscene. Catholic bishops may want a new wave of religiously exclusive, segregated schools – all funded by taxpayers. But I doubt most voters do.
secularism.org.uk/news/2024/04/n…

Andrew Copson It is bizarre.

Even before one debates the rights & wrongs of having state faith schools, why should we increase the number of places in the state sector reserved for the children of the religious when the proportion of parents identifying as religious is rapidly declining?

Been to York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS FT for bloods today. Nothing serious. Expected a good wait so settled down with a book. Five mins later I’m done, finished and back out again! Awesome work from the phlebotomy team 😊 #ThankYou

Be sure to join the amazing Ellie Macdonald on Kielder Observatory’s facebook page tomorrow for live coverage of tomorrow’s #SolarEclipse from Texas

facebook.com/KielderObserva…

Buffet and sherry trifle today with my in-laws. Four rounds savoury, three rounds sweet. Life is good 😊

We already allow our (100% state funded) religious state schools all sorts of discriminatory powers. Increasing their power to discriminate against families of no religion or the 'wrong' religion even further is crazy. State schools should not be places for segregation.…

Listening to Together for Short Lives Andrew Fletcher on BBC Breakfast. Very clearly articulating the impact hospice care has, its benefits to the system and the bizarre position with the small but important NHS contribution agreed by Helen Whately still to be confirmed by NHS England.

Andy Bell Victoria Bleazard Great article from you Andy. You are spot on when you say, now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal when it comes to MH expansion. Further, faster! The 24/25 planning guidance seeks to protect the gains made and to provide the basis for the next big push toward parity

Plus continued expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and availability of ‘transformed’ community mental health services for adults and children. This is vital to sustain progress made in Long Term Plan implementation

There’s a message for integrated care boards the the Mental Health Investment Standard remains & some important targets towards ending out of area hospital admissions and expanding physical health checks for people with severe mental illness

The use and impact of surveillance-based technology initiatives in inpatient and acute mental health settings: A systematic review (pre-print, before peer-review).
New paper from a great team @mentalhealthPRU
medrxiv.org/content/10.110…

A super day sharing with University of Hull MSc students sharing my own journey and experience whilst getting to listen to and learn from some phenomenal leaders!