35 minute read
Learning from Lockdown
Staff share what they have learned about themselves during the pandemic and what they’re resolving to do differently
The coronavirus pandemic and the succession of lockdowns over the course of 2020-21 has caused many of us to take a long hard look at our lives and re-evaluate our values, goals, and how we spend our time. It’s caused us to ask questions about how we do things and what we can do differently to better enjoy the time we’re given. Here, colleagues share some of their insights and resolutions from the past year.
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Lisa Beaumont, Play Team Leader
“I learnt that I really need to get better at the worklife balance and have made some positive changes, but I find it hard especially with the children being at the heart of all we do at Leeds Children’s Hospital. I did try some mindfulness exercises but couldn’t get into this! I find it hard to switch off, but I have started to walk more with friends and I will ensure that this continues.
“I have always felt very lucky to have some amazing family and friends in my life, after losing my brother in a road traffic accident many years ago. I have each and every day felt truly lucky to have the strength and support of all my good friends, many who I have been lucky to meet at some point along the many years of working at LTHT.”
Sophie Blow, Advanced Clinical Pharmacist
“I work best when I have people around me - a bit tricky in a lockdown but I’ve learnt the importance of scheduling time with people to touch base, catch up and check in. It can be very easy when you’re not working directly with patients to find that you’re isolated from people, especially with people trying to work from home (where possible) you can find yourself working on a corridor with no-one else around. That’s why as part of planning my working time I try and ensure a mix of focused, alone working, group teams calls and one to one calls. It’s important to keep talking and feel connected. “My new habit is an old habit, but one I’ve got better at! I work at my best when both my mind and body are active. I’ve always run but through lockdown I’ve run more frequently. To avoid the crowds I’ve had to explore new routes as well as finding ways to run past the good spots for a take away coffee. I’ve also found it a way of connecting with my community, you smile at people as you run past, say thank you to people for giving you space. That’s been really great.”
Fatimah Bint-Hanif, vaccination administrator
“I fostered stray cats and their kittens during the first lockdown with Henry’s Haven Cat Rescue, then I paused to focus on university though I’m still involved with the cat rescue now (doing admin jobs). I think lockdown helped me learn so much about compassion and I thrived on helping others. At one point we had seven cats in the house! I’m studying speech and language therapy and I think this work with animals (I also helped nurture some birds) has helped my communication skills. I felt like I’m giving a voice to the voiceless.”
Jo Reynard, nurse in charge, Elland Road Vaccination Centre
“I have enjoyed the strong local community spirit that has risen during and post lockdown where I live in Bingley. With my background as an Infection Prevention Nurse, I set up a Coronavirus Resilience Group on Facebook and we have over 2,500 members now. It was a place to check in on people, to share community support and to post the right information about the virus and vaccines. There have been so few cases in the area. I really felt the closeness of my family at this time and with two parents working full time, it has taught my teenagers a great deal about the need to be more self-sufficient.”
Manik Chandra, Consultant Anaesthetist
“The pandemic allowed me to rekindle my love of cricket! I went about reseeding my back garden, preparing a wicket and setting up a cricket net, which allowed me to practice along with my two sons who also love the game!”
Mike Fulton, Research and Innovation Communications Manager
“When the first lockdown happened, all the social cycle rides I’d been enjoying immediately stopped and working from home became the norm. However, I soon realised that there was a fantastic opportunity to cycle like never before. The rush hour ceased to exist meaning the roads were open, quiet and safer. My evening commute rides turned into more adventurous rides cycling close to where I live in Calderdale. “Between lockdowns and as restrictions eased, I ventured further afield. As my fitness, endurance and stamina improved I was able to ride distances I’d not really done for years. I ventured all across the stunning countryside of the Yorkshire Dales and the Forest of Bowland. My physical fitness improved significantly. The fantastic endorphin rush of cycling coupled with the sense of achievement and taking in some of the best countryside in England helped me to manage stress, and had a greatly positive impact on my mental health. “As the cycling ‘season’ came to a close in October 2020, I looked back on my Strava stats and noticed I’d covered an astonishing (for me), 2400 miles, the distance from Moscow to Lisbon and 160,800 feet of climbing – just over 5 times the height of Mount Everest. I’ve carried on cycling in 2021, so far cycling 850 miles. As lockdown has lifted, group rides have started again with the club I’m part of which is great. I’ve led other cycling events and shared the joy I’ve got from cycling in 2020 with other cyclists.”
Julie Atkinson, Clinical Supervisor
“With my husband, we learnt and performed TikTok dances in the garden during the pandemic and it has been great. It was something to do to get both me and the other half moving and it was a complete laugh. He hates dancing but I love it and it has kept us going and kept us (and our friends) entertained. Our daughter is turning 21 soon and we’ve a surprise planned for her…”
WIN a day out at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate, with Afternoon Tea in Bettys Café Tearoom and Shop
Enjoy a good dose of Vitamin G and experience the uplifting and restorative power of plants (and cake) with a visit to RHS Harlow Carr and Bettys Café Tea Rooms and Shop.
Garden-loving staff from Leeds Teaching Hospitals recently visited RHS Harlow Carr just ahead of National Gardening Week in April, to enjoy a hands-on learning session with the gardeners to improve their knowledge and develop their skills. Now it’s your turn to make some time for yourself and three guests and absorb the calm and tranquil setting in the gardens, before settling in for a much deserved cup of tea and treats as part of the Bettys Café Tea Room Afternoon Tea experience. To be in with a chance of winning, please answer the following question:
What does the G mean in Vitamin G?
Submit your answer via Typeform: https://leedsth.typeform.com/ HarlowCarrComp
Terms & Conditions
The competition is open to all staff working at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust. There is no monetary equivalent and the prize must be taken before the end of December 2021 and is subject to availability. Entry to RHS Harlow Carr Gardens and Afternoon Tea is based on four people. The winner will be notified by email by 31 August 2021.
Pictured: LTHT Chief Executive Julian Hartley with Lucy Nickson, CEO of Day One.
Day One launches as first national charity for patients with life-changing major traumatic injuries
Day One Trauma Support announced its official launch as the first national independent charity supporting survivors of major traumatic injuries across the UK in May.
Day One was created to offer financial, legal, practical and emotional support to help people cope with the wider implications of life-changing injuries, such as those resulting from car accidents, sporting accidents, physical attacks or falls from height. The charity was founded by Professor Peter Giannoudis, Orthopaedic Surgeon, and has been operating in West Yorkshire since 2014. While some rehabilitation support already exists for neurological and spinal injuries, Day One will now also serve a much wider group of patients, including those with musculoskeletal injuries, for whom no existing support exists. The charity, which has supported more than 1,000 patients locally since its inception, now looks to extend its reach to the 27 major trauma centres across the country. Julian Hartley, Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted that Day One is now able to share more widely the expertise it has developed alongside our clinicians not just in our Major Trauma Centre here in Leeds, but also in allied services and throughout the Major Trauma Network across West Yorkshire. It’s an important step forward to bringing this much-needed support to patients across the country.” The charity offers a broad range of support, including emergency funding for accommodation for families needing to be close to their loved one whilst in hospital, as well as longer-term funding to support survivors and their families. A dedicated team of volunteer Peer Supporters who have had similar accidents or injuries are able to support patients in person or over telephone by empathising and sharing their own experience of recovery.
Leeds Children’s Diabetes Team celebrate DigiBete App winning App of the Year
The DigiBete App – made in partnership with the Leeds Children’s Diabetes Team – won ‘App of the Year’ at this year’s prestigious UK Dev Awards in March.
The DigiBete App in partnership with Leeds Children’s Diabetes Team, was officially commissioned by NHS England under the COVID-19 emergency response in June last year, having already been adopted by NHS Wales. The app builds on the success of the established DigiBete.org digital diabetes platform to provide a bespoke digital self-management tool for young people and families living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), to help overcome barriers to good diabetes care.
Every resource on the app is co-designed and clinically approved by the Leeds Children’s Diabetes Team based at Leeds Children’s Hospital. The DigiBete Team incorporates clinical staff including Dr Fiona Campbell, paediatric diabetes specialist nurse Caroline Mulier and dietician Frances Hanson.
The DigiBete app provides a wide range of clinically approved, age-appropriate resources to help with the selfmanagement of T1D. Users can favourite and save video resources to their device, store insulin ratios/doses and pump settings, add appointments and school healthcare plans and much more. After only 9 months, the app has already been rolled out across 95% of clinics in England and Wales with nearly 40% of the 30,000 strong patient cohort for this app now actively using it. This is not only resulting in some significant cost savings for the NHS but is also having an extremely positive impact on the lives of thousands of children and their families.
The DigiBete app is also the only app of its kind specifically aimed at children and their families. The app was developed using a co-creation approach with parents, clinicians and the wider T1D community. The app was praised for its impact and creativity, with the judges commenting; “This app has clearly made an incredible impact and has creatively solved a need that hasn’t been addressed before. An impressive focus on their metrics for success really stood out to the judging panel.” The UK Dev Awards celebrate innovation in digital communication, recognising those who are optimising user experiences, and improving accessibility.
A for effort to AAA Team
Following an extraordinary effort, the Central Yorkshire Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screening team has successfully screened all men who were due to be invited for screening during the 2020/21 year.
The team, based at Seacroft Hospital, would usually perform ultrasound screening scans for over 7,000 men each year, operating from 140 locations in the Leeds and Wakefield area. Screening was suspended during the first national lockdown and recommenced in June 2020, however with a disrupted service. The team has since brought the programme back up to date, with all eligible men invited for screening with an impressive attendance rate of 81% - only 2% lower than the average prepandemic attendance. One of the few programmes in the country to have achieved this goal, the team can now continue to offer this service to the benefit of local communities.
Junior Doctor Wellbeing Champions’ projects improve trainees’ experience at Leeds
Inspired by our junior doctors’ genuine interest in improving working conditions, the Guardian of Safeworking Team created a voluntary role to enable junior doctors to follow their passion and support their colleagues in this area.
Twelve Junior Doctor Wellbeing Champions were appointed, after which a series of training days on different aspects of health and wellbeing were held together with mentoring and leadership training. Although this was all held virtually, the Guardian of Safeworking Team have really enjoyed working with the Champions and feel very much part of a big team. As part of their new role, the Champions organised two wellreceived surveys exploring health and wellbeing among their colleagues during the pandemic alongside testing knowledge about wellbeing resources. Over 70% of respondents described a significant impact on their health over the last 18 months. The results also showed that few doctors were aware of all the support available from the Trust for their health and wellbeing. These include simple practical things like where you can make a cup of tea at 2am through to accessing support from our team of staff clinical psychologists and our Professional Support and Wellbeing Team. The Guardian of Safeworking Team have been working with the Wellbeing Champions to find ways to address these findings. Their first practical project has been developing a wellbeing handbook, which is hoped to be a physical aid rather than an online resource, in response to feedback suggesting that IT contact can sometimes feel overwhelming. This will ultimately form part of a welcome pack which will be included in face-toface induction when permissible. If this proves successful then the team hope to extend these resources across more staff groups so everyone can benefit. Despite being a challenging year, the Wellbeing Champions have provided enthusiasm and positivity for the future. Their individual projects have touched on many aspects of life as a junior doctor that have been enlightening, and has empowered them to be active throughout their career in supporting colleagues of all disciplines within the NHS. The Junior Doctor Wellbeing Champions talk about their experience in their roles over the past year: Jo Corrado “I have absolutely loved being a Wellbeing Champion for the second year running. This year the role expanded to enable me to mentor the 2020/2021 Wellbeing Champions. It has been really satisfying to see their creative ideas come to fruition as they developed projects and interventions to support the wellbeing of all junior doctors within the Trust. It’s amazing that even though clinical pressures have been enormous over the past 12 months, promoting the wellbeing of doctors has remained top of the agenda for the Guardians of Safeworking and the Professional Support and Wellbeing Team.” Moruf Salawu “Being a Wellbeing Champion for me has been about service and improving the welfare of my colleagues. It has been a good platform to offer help and ideas for the wellbeing of doctors.” Azza Almaremi “I enjoy my role as a Wellbeing Champion because it allows me to advocate for junior doctors, to help them have a positive experience while working at LTHT. It is also a chance to work with highlymotivated individuals who are invested in the wellbeing of others. The LTHT champion network has been an incredible source of support for me and many colleagues who struggled during the pandemic.” Josh Wren “It has been a pleasure working with similarly-minded people with the aim of promoting junior doctor wellbeing. I hope to continue wellbeing related work throughout my medical career and this role has bolstered this hope!” Laura Yeates “Being a Wellbeing Champion gives me the unique opportunity to improve working lives and gain the skills needed to support my colleagues in a difficult role. We help to communicate junior doctor needs and direct change. I have also been able to signpost colleagues to wellbeing resources which previously I had not known were available following our training days. This has been especially important during the pandemic where methods have support have needed to be adapted and I am proud to have contributed to the improvements.”
Long shifts in full PPE. No time for a break. Lost opportunities to connect with colleagues. All this and more, has unfortunately become all too familiar throughout the pandemic. Where once you could at least rely on a quick cup of tea and a chat with a colleague for the most basic of physical and mental rejuvenation, the pressures of the last 12+ months have seen staff dedicate their all to their patients, often at the expense of their own wellbeing.
In recognition of this, LTHT has introduced numerous measures to try and increase support for staff wellbeing. These initiatives have been aided by more than £1 million in donations for our NHS heroes, provided by Leeds Hospitals Charity and including a £400,000 donation from NHS Charities Together, raised by fundraisers from all over the country. Appointed in early April, the recruitment of Andrea Farley-Moore as the new Staff Support Chaplain has been an integral step to provided more holistic support to NHS staff across all LTHT sites. Andrea said: “This year has affected us all differently, producing a whole range of thoughts and feelings from anger to anxiety, exhaustion to confusion. Some people just feel numb, others feel their deeply held values have been jeopardised during this time. These are all normal responses to abnormal events and it can be helpful to talk them through in a safe space with someone outside your immediate work context.”
Staff Support Chaplain Andrea Farley-Moore
Appointed to the Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care team, Andrea is keen to highlight that support from the Chaplaincy is open to everyone, regardless of their background, faith and beliefs: “Even if someone just wants a five minute chat, I’m here to listen.” “We all need to discover a sense of wellbeing…and work out what gives us strength. You don’t need to be feeling at the end of yourself to talk to a chaplain - we are here for the good as well as the challenging times, to uncover hope in the busyness of life, to celebrate the small wins and share the life changing moments.” Staff from all areas and roles at LTHT are welcome to contact Andrea for support - or just a chat - by emailing andrea. farley-moore1@nhs.net, calling 07385 460931 or via the Chaplaincy Office on 0113 20 65935.
What is Civility Saves Lives Training?
Evidence shows that rudeness impairs performance, and can lead to negative outcomes for patients. When healthcare staff experience rudeness, 80% of people lose time worrying about it and 38% reduce the quality of their work.
The 15 minute short training video provides an overview of the importance of civility in the workplace, and the possible impact of incivility on our team members and the people we care for. The training is delivered in the form of a Ted Talk and provides an interesting and educational perspective on civility. By accessing this learning you will be referred to the Civility Saves Lives website, where you can access further information and resources to support you to embed the learning.
How do I access the learning?
This learning can be accessed through the LTHT Training Interface: Leeds Teaching Hospitals (leedsth.nhs.uk) under the local compulsory section. Or you can visit the Civility Saves Lives website directly: www.civilitysaveslives.com Please note: You will need to access the training either through Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
New hospitals on track despite the pandemic
Our plans to build two new hospitals at Leeds General Infirmary have been making great progress despite all the challenges that the Covid pandemic has brought about.
The Trust’s plan to develop a new state-of-the-art adults’ hospital and a new home for Leeds Children’s Hospital are on track and we will be shortly announcing those companies who will be producing the designs – a significant step forward for the project. The new hospitals, which will be completed in 2025, will focus on patient-centred care with modern and forward-thinking environments allowing staff to provide the most advanced care and treatments in hospital or remotely. The development is one of the most significant in the UK covering more than 94,000 square metres with initial funding of £600 million for the project confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The project, known as Building the Leeds Way, also includes a new pathology laboratory at St James’s Hospital that will provide state-of-theart pathology facilities for Leeds, West Yorkshire and Harrogate. LTHTChair, Dame Linda Pollard, said: “We are trailblazers here in Leeds, and this significant investment in health services for patients from Leeds and the wider region is moving forward at pace despite all the challenges we’ve faced with the Covid pandemic.” The new hospital development will also release estate at Leeds General Infirmary to support a new Innovation District in the centre of Leeds, bringing huge economic benefits for the city and wider region. It is predicted that the LGI Development Site project could deliver direct and wider economic benefits estimated to be up to £11.2bn in net present value terms - and more than 3,000 jobs. The design company for the new hospitals will be announced soon and, shortly afterwards, there will be a first set of concept designs available for people to see. This will be followed by further engagement with staff, clinicians, patients and the public to give their input as the detailed designs are taken forward.
Demolition is progressing on the old buildings, with the contractors currently sensitively deconstructing the empty building that adjoins Jubilee Wing to reduce any disruption to patients and staff. Hoardings around the LGI site have been completed and depict staff and patients who use the hospital services – as well as some of the designs produced by young children showcased along the Calverley Street side of the site.
Further demolition will be continuing throughout 2021 to prepare the site for the start of construction on the new hospitals sometime in late 2022. Engaging with patients, staff and wider stakeholders is a key part of the Building the Leeds Way programme. Their input is crucial throughout the project, from taking part in the public consultation on co-locating inpatient maternity and neonatal services to sharing feedback on the hospitals’ design. Engagement with staff, clinicians
and young patients and their families has been particularly important for the new Leeds Children’s Hospital who have all had an input into the design process. Recently the Countess of Wessex, who is patron of Leeds Children’s Hospital, heard all about the development plans from some of the children when she paid a virtual visit to the hospital. She also heard from some of those working on the new buildings on what it means personally to them. DSM demolition site supervisor, Mark Neave, spoke to HRH about his role and how the hospitals have a special meaning for him after the stillbirth of one of his children and the premature arrival of his son Kobi. He told her how special the care was that he and his family received at the time, and said he was delighted to now be involved in helping with the development of the new hospital.
There has also been excellent progress with the new pathology development with the site at the lower end of St James’s Hospital now cleared and prepared for construction to begin later this year once designs have been finalised and approved. The new facility - which will also provide pathology services to hospitals across West Yorkshire and Harrogate - will allow Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to bring many of its pathology services together into a purpose-built stateof-the-art laboratory. Due to be completed in Spring 2023 – the new laboratory will be designed for fast, accurate, routine and specialist testing. New concept designs showing what the new facility may look like have been produced and are currently part of the engagement with staff and stakeholders leading to final designs and a start of construction later this year.
Recognition and reset
As part of the goal to make Leeds Teaching Hospitals the best place to work, supporting colleagues through challenging times at work and at home is key. When you spend most of your working life looking after others, it’s important to often have a reminder to take care of yourself too. The time to prioritise your health and wellbeing is always now.
In April, LTHT organised some special events to recognise the hard work that has taken place over the last year.
LTHT cocktail party
Over 70 colleagues from across the organisation joined a special LTHT cocktail party hosted by Mix & Twist in April. Each were gifted a fabulous cocktail making kit, including all the ingredients needed to make three delicious cocktails.
Conor and Anthony from Mix & Twist led a special Zoom masterclass showing everyone how to create their cocktail masterpieces. This was a fantastic opportunity for teams to come together virtually and enjoy doing something fun together. The cocktail kits were gifted by Mix & Twist and their suppliers - Neils Catering Division, Drinkstuff, Leeds Parcel Company, dine delivered, Involution - Uniform & Merchandise Supplier and Preston Baker. pandemic, every member of staff at Leeds Teaching Hospitals received a special staff recognition medal. These were a small token of appreciation for all the hard work and commitment teams have shown in managing the response to Covid-19, and recognition of the continuing work as part of stabilisation and reset for hospital services. Included with the medal, a voucher announced the introduction of a special ‘Birthday Leave’ day this year, to provide staff with an extra day of much needed rest and relaxation.
Comments from staff included:
“Felt proud and emotional receiving this. It means a lot. It prompted moments of reflection, gratitude for the people around me at home and work, a few tears, and the kids insisted on a cake.”
“Thank you for this very special gesture. The words mean so much. It has been a privilege to be able to care for our patients through such difficult times. We couldn’t have done this alone.”
“It’s been a year which has tested our limits and shown us all we can be supported by each others strength, courage and laughter during the most testing of days. Thank you for recognising our compassion and courage.” “I glow with warmth & perhaps some reflection as I opened this. It has not always been easy but huge thank you. I’m eternally grateful that I work alongside so many amazing colleagues who supported me during my ICU shifts.”
Millions now protected in vaccination surge
The number of people vaccinated in the West Yorkshire region continues to climb at a striking rate, at the last official count there were 1.3 million people who had been vaccinated, with just under 1 million now equipped to emerge fully from the lockdown with their two doses.
Dr Phil Wood, Chief Medical Officer and lead Senior Responsible Officer for the vaccination programme across West Yorkshire, recently praised the work of the project; “This tremendous achievement is down to the hard work of our teams, pharmacies and GPs across West Yorkshire and the vital support from our partners and many volunteers.” With the landscape changing at such a pace, by the time you read this article, all adults may already be receiving their vaccination and trials into third ‘booster’ doses will be well underway across the country.
The findings of Public Health England published recently showed that the vaccines are effective against variants of concern, including the newly renamed Delta strain, and that second doses are particularly important for protecting people. Work is ongoing to bring forward second doses for people in the nine priority groups, with the NHS contacting those whose appointments can be brought forward. For staff in those priority segments, they are being encouraged to make contact with the booking team and check availability to re-schedule their appointment earlier. With increased capacity to ensure people can get vaccinated even faster, including opening four additional pharmacy vaccination centres in both Kirklees and Leeds, additional clinics and roving services are helping to reach more people in the priority groups who have not yet had their vaccinations and dropin services have proved popular, with further planned.
This year, the DIT team is working on a number of important projects and upgrades that will make a real difference to the speed and efficiency of our IT systems. This includes upgrading our Patient Administration System (PAS), building a new Data Platform, continuing work on our new IT Service Desk and migrating PPM+ to the Cloud, which will improve its resilience and support continued growth of the system.
This work will start to deliver some of the IT priorities you’ve told us about, improving the way we work across the Trust.
Much of the work we’re doing this year focuses on building the foundations for the long term. This will make sure we can continue to build a digital environment that supports our staff in providing excellent clinical care, putting patients at the centre of everything we do. More information about our longer term plans is included in our DIT vision and strategy, which can be accessed from the IT requests and support page on the Trust Intranet. We’ll also be running regular Q&A sessions this year to give colleagues an opportunity to find out more about the work we’re doing. These sessions will be advertised in the Trust’s communication channels so please take the opportunity to submit a question if there’s something specific you’d like to ask.
Some of the IT projects delivered so far this year
New IT Service Desk
• A new digital portal, available from the link on your desktop, provides a quicker, easier way to request support and track progress. • Improved colleague experience and first time fix rate.
Scan4Safety Transfers
• A fast, easy way to transfer patients, saving around 10 minutes per transfer. • Supports a precise Live Bed State down to bed level, and provides a record of the patient’s journey around the Trust. • Working in partnership with the
Scan4Safety team
Dose
• Enables the Trust to proactively monitor patient radiation doses from x-ray equipment, allowing us to provide assurance around radiation dose levels to CSUs
• Automated reporting • Direct access to patient dose data, enabling more efficient, patientcentred ways of working • Working in partnership with Medical
Physics & Radiology
Oscopies (Phase 1)
• An efficient, paperless, reliable solution
• Automatically provides quality, safety and coding data, integrating with core systems to ensure information is available across the Trust.
• Working in partnership with AMS &
Bronchoscopy
Transforming our operations for the post-Covid future
The Leeds Hospitals’ response to Covid-19 has been a truly collaborative effort, between everyone in the organisation, the region and beyond.
And now, with a successful vaccination programme underway, and with less Covid patients coming to hospital than during the winter, thoughts turn to what happens next. There is still a long way to go and although we may have become tired of Covid-19, it certainly hasn’t become tired of us. It is more important than ever that everyone continues to maintain the enhanced social distancing and infection prevention practices that will keep our loved ones and those that are most vulnerable in our society safe. However, while everyone wants to bring our service delivery back up to ‘pre-Covid’, there are so many challenges that staff have faced over the last year. It is important that this is taken into consideration and that wellbeing is at the heart of any future service planning. At Leeds Teaching Hospitals, the next stage is ‘reset and stabilisation’. This work is being delivered in seven programme areas, each with a designated project group to focus on how to move forward. The seven programme areas are: • Unplanned care • Planned care and cancer
• Outpatients • Diagnostics • Maternity, children and young people • Pharmacy LCP integration • Covid response and learning All of this is underpinned by a commitment to support all colleagues working in the Trust with an ongoing programme of health and wellbeing support. This programme recognises that LTHT people need time and support to regroup from this experience to be in the best possible position to tackle the challenges ahead. Led by Jenny Lewis, Director of HR and OD, there are some key principles around how teams will work going forward. As a Trust, we: • Empower, listen and engage • Recognise and seek to address tensions • Re-build teams; purpose, priorities and belonging • Acknowledge our feelings and are kind
• Look back, acknowledge, learn and improve • Create time to work this way
Latest news from Leeds Hospitals Charity
Leeds Hospitals Charity Shops
After opening our first charity shop at Crossgates Shopping Centre in Leeds in April, we’re excited to have recently opened our second charity shop at the Merrion Centre! Both of our fantastic charity shops sell a wide variety of pre-loved items from homeware, to clothing, accessories, books, toys and more! Every item sold will help Leeds Hospitals Charity continue to support the incredible work of over 20,000 staff working across Leeds Teaching Hospitals, helping them provide the best possible care and support for patients and their families. If you’re interested in volunteering in one of our charity shops you can find out more and apply here on the Leeds Hospitals Charity website.
Get involved in our 2021 events!
Our fundraising events are back this Summer! This is a great opportunity to take on a personal challenge, or get a team of friends together to raise funds for your local NHS hospitals. We have an amazing calendar of events, from walking, to running, skydiving, obstacle courses and more! Your donations will help us continue to fund medical equipment, life-saving equipment and other projects to improve the hospital experience for staff, patients and families.
If you’re interested in taking part in one of our events to raise funds for Leeds Teaching Hospitals, you can find out more and register here on the events page of the Leeds Hospitals Charity website.
Meet our ambassador… Dr Amir Khan!
Leeds Hospitals Charity are thrilled to announce Dr Amir Khan as our very first ambassador. Bradford-born Dr Amir Khan, who has been a GP in West Yorkshire for over a decade, first appeared on hit TV series GPs: Behind Closed Doors and is now well-known for regular appearances on ITV’s Lorraine and Good Morning Britain. To announce his new role with the charity, Dr Amir joined volunteers on Friday 12th March at the Leeds Covid-19 Vaccination Centre- Elland Road, which is being run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals, as part of a city-wide partnership. Dr Amir said: “It is an absolute privilege to be joining Leeds Hospitals Charity as their first ever ambassador. Being from Yorkshire, and working within the NHS myself, I can see first-hand the great support these charities provide to our NHS organisations. The NHS is fantastic, but Leeds Hospitals Charity provides that over and above support to staff and patients, funding the things the NHS wouldn’t usually provide.”
Babi Leeds Project
Thanks to donations, Leeds Hospitals Charity has contributed over £60,000 to support a ground-breaking research study for mums-to-be in the city. The ‘Born and Bred in’ (BaBi) Leeds project will see midwives asking pregnant women in Leeds to consent to become part of BaBi Leeds. The project will mean health researchers will join together lots of health information so that they can build up a much clearer picture of people’s lives and look at ways to improve inequalities, health and care through research and planning of services in Leeds. They will be asking every pregnant woman in Leeds to join the project. Kate Robinson, Senior Research Midwife and Manager of the Reproductive
Health and Childbirth Research Team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals is one of the NHS staff leading the BaBi Leeds project. She says “It’s fantastic to have received this funding as we really believe this project has the ability to improve healthcare for pregnant women and their babies across Leeds.
Being able to link data like this is a fantastic opportunity. It means we can use this data to analyse the current health trends for maternity and early years care in the city and see where we might be able to make improvements. We’re really excited about getting this project underway.”
Specialist shower chair helps patients like Stellio
Thanks to donations, we recently provided £2,843 to fund a specialist seating shower chair for the Neurology ward at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. This shower chair is designed to ensure that patients are safe and comfortable in the shower and can be easily cleaned in between uses. After spending 72 days in hospital, patient Stellio was finally able to have his first proper shower since being admitted to hospital thanks to the new shower chair.
Jess Farman, Senior Sister on the Neurology ward said, “We’re so grateful to Leeds Hospitals Charity for funding this shower chair. It means so much for our patients to be able to have a proper shower and have their hair washed, you can see how much joy it brings them, and it definitely makes a huge difference to their mental wellbeing.”
Courtney Lewis
Courtney is an HR Advisor for Apprenticeships, and has worked at LTHT for two years.
What else have you done in your career so far?
The most rewarding part of my career so far is being involved in and supporting the Reciprocal Mentoring Programme which supports the organisation’s objectives for greater inclusivity and the Equality and Diversity agenda.
What’s the best thing about your job?
I work within a team of approachable individuals who have a variety of different skills and knowledge that I can learn from. Each day I learn something different which helps my own personal development but also supports the team in moving forward to achieve their goals and ambitions.
What is the one thing you would change at LTHT to help you do your job better?
If I could change one thing at LTHT it would be to have dedicated accommodation which was suitable for a variety of different delivery models (face to face and virtual) allocated specifically for Training and Education activity.
Summarise the main aspects of your role?
My role is to support and promote a consistent and effective development and management approach to all apprenticeship programmes; providing best practice advice and support to line managers who host apprentices.
What’s your best advice to a new starter at the Trust?
Join the networks to widen your accessibly to learning and attend learning and development opportunities that are available to develop your own skills and knowledge.
Staff Lottery – what’s on your wishlist?
Did you know that, as an LTHT staff member, you could be in with a chance to win up to £1,000 every month? Did you know you can apply for funding to improve staff amenities in your workplace?
Join the Staff Lottery and you will be automatically entered into the monthly draw with the potential to be one of ten lucky winners. Prizes range from £50 up to a jackpot of £1000! Membership costs just £2 a month and comes from a salary deduction, so once signed up you don’t need to worry about a thing. And if you fancy your chances you can increase your likelihood of winning by paying for multiple entries – for example, paying £10 a month will give you five entries into the monthly draw, making you that more likely to be a winner! Look out for special bonus prize draws also held throughout the year. The Staff Lottery bidding process is a simple concept – your money, your projects. Funds are drawn from staff membership and allow any member of staff to apply for funds for an improvement to amenities in their work environment. This could be almost anything – from a new kettle or fridge, to outdoor picnic benches or rest room makeovers – the lottery team want to hear what’s on your wishlist. For more information on how to sign up or on making a bid for funding, head over to the Staff Lottery Intranet page. Good luck!
