Great teamwork showed by all

Hello,

We have to start by acknowledging that the last few days have been exceptionally busy for many teams across the council as a result of the most extreme weather we’ve seen for years, which resulted in a major incident being declared for Wiltshire.

The teamwork, both internally and with partners, has been nothing short of outstanding and demonstrated that we did everything possible to keep people in Wiltshire safe and the services running smoothly, given what we faced.

Our thanks go to everyone for doing such a fantastic job in some of the most challenging circumstances we faced for many years.

Being able to respond in the way we did doesn’t happen by chance. It’s a result of being prepared and our Emergency Planning and Highways teams who did an exceptional job, not just in coordinating activity over the last few days, but also ensuring we had the training and business continuity plans in place to be able to manage the situation effectively.

We recognise that it will take some time for services to get back to normal due to the disruption caused and the backlog in some cases but we are now officially back to business as usual.

Although… some of you may be aware that another major incident was declared yesterday (Monday) following an incident in Salisbury where two people were exposed to an unknown substance. While the details of exactly what happened and the impact is still not clear we are working with other agencies including the police and health partners, to ensure people are protected and safe. Whilst this incident has been widely covered by the national media, we will keep you updated of the position as more information is available.

On a separate and hopefully more positive note, tonight we will find out if our community hub programme has been successful in the Community Focus category of the iESE Public Sector Transformation Awards. Baroness Scott, John Thomson and Laurie Bell are attending the event and while we are really pleased to make the final shortlist for this national award, it would be great if they come back with the winner’s trophy!

Finally, this week is Women’s Health Week and we hope all our female colleagues will engage with at least one of the many events taking place this week. Yesterday a webinar took place with a discussion about the menopause, breast and gynaecological cancers, screening and mental health, among other things. Today some of our female staff will share their own personal experiences in the Council Chamber, and throughout the week at each hub female health MOTs will be taking place. Please get involved in what is a really great initiative, and follows the successful Men’s Health Week held last year.

Alistair, Carlton and Terence