Thank You - Ariel Lanada

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many parts of our community with sadness and loss, not least the Filipino community, to which many of our staff belong.

Step forward Ariel Lanada - our Divisional Educational Lead for the Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, Trauma, Specialist Surgery, Children's and Neonates Division. His response and attitude over the last few weeks has been simply phenomenal. As a leader of the Filipino community in Oxford, Ariel has also been providing support and helping to hold the community together.

He has pushed the boundaries of his role to ensure that all our hospital workers, whether directly employed by the Trust or by one of our industry partners, are receiving the high standard of personal protective equipment (PPE) training and fit testing for respirator masks appropriate to the level that they require.

Ariel quickly reorganised his time and resources and initiated a response that was swift, calm, evidence-based and measured, delivering all-day teaching and fit testing sessions for workers right across the Trust.

Despite this physically and mentally exhausting programme he has not complained once, driven by his passion for ensuring that all our colleagues are appropriately protected whilst caring for our patients. He has also been instrumental in identifying new sources and suppliers of essential protective equipment.

We are very proud of his ability to put his own grief to one side to support others, and to continue his vitally important work.

Staff members he has trained have described him as 'engaging and very thorough, spending time with each individual to ensure their masks fitted correctly'. They talk about the confidence that this has given them that they will be properly protected while caring for patients.

They have also commented on his 'professionalism and courtesy' and how it makes them proud to have him as a colleague.

Prof Sir Jonathan Montgomery, OUH Chair, says:

"Ariel's tireless dedication to his role, and the respect he has earned from staff from across the Trust, are invaluable to our organisation - not only in relation to staff training, but in relation to our morale, and how we all work together as a team."

Thank you Ariel for what you do!