'Thank you' – two small words, one big impact. You may hear it many times in one day but you'll always notice when someone forgets to say it. On International Thank You Day, I've been thinking about the importance of saying thank you. Not only is it good manners, it means something to the person on the receiving end and keeps us mindful of acts of kindness that we may take for granted.

International Thank You Day reminds us why we ought to express our gratitude to those who've made our lives better in some way. The RUH is a place full of people who go out of their way every day to make people's lives better. It's my pleasure to send thank you cards to you, to give you small tokens of our appreciation like a coffee or cake and to see the thank yous that our patients regularly share with us. A million thank yous never feels enough but I want you all to know how much I appreciate everything you are doing for the people we care for.

Last week, a patient told us of the kindness they'd received from everyone on Robin Smith ward. Today, a Twitter follower as told us there are not enough words to express their gratitude to our gynaecology, oncology and radiotherapy teams. Before Christmas, our cleaning colleagues received sincere thanks for going out of the way to accommodate a family's religious beliefs. Significant acts every day that leave an indelible impression on our patents and their families and creates the feeling that at the RUH people matter.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone single one of you, on International Thank You day and every day, and if you get a chance, do tell just one person how much you appreciate them – it's guaranteed you'll make their day.