InTouch magazine - November - December 2023

November - December 2023

InTouch

Festive events Accolades for our people A Day in the Life Of...

Foreword 2

Welcome

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Festive events

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Festive events Emergency department team award

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Recognition for support for the armed forces

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New elective care hub

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Honorary degree for PAHT surgeon

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Freedom to Speak Up Ambassadors

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A Day in the Life Of...

Committed nurse attends Buckingham Palace recognition event Dedicated nursery nurse receives prestigious award

Florence Nightingale 12 Foundation Equality, diversity and inclusion strategy 13

IT team award win

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Our patients said...

15 Wise about wellbeing...

16 #PAHTPeople

Welcome to InTouch magazine – your insight into the latest news and updates from across PAHT. In this edition, you can find out more about the festive events that you can get involved in (p.3-4). We also celebrate a variety of accolades for our people, including a Gems of Harlow Award for our emergency department team (p.4); an honorary degree for PAHT surgeon Mr Ashraf Patel (p.7); and Kristle Bravo, international nurse educator and manager, attending a special recognition event at Buckingham Palace (p.10).

Suela Porja, former maternity support worker and now nursery nurse, has also received a Chief Midwifery Officer Award (p.11), and the IT team have secured an award win for a successful automated process project (p.13).

Congratulations to all.

Additionally, we have received the bronze award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) in recognition of the support in place at the hospital for the armed forces community (p.5). We also focus on an update on the new elective care hub to cut waiting times across two counties (p.6) and encourage our people to become Freedom to Speak Up Ambassadors (p.8).

You can also find out more about the latest in our A Day in the Life Of… programme, when Tom Burton, finance director, joined our sterile services department (p.9).

We encourage all of our nurses and midwives to find out more about The Florence Nightingale Foundation and the support available (p.12); we introduce our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy (p.12); the latest feedback from our patients (p.14); wellbeing tips (p.15) and much more.

This magazine is for and about you, our #PAHTPeople – please contact the communications team if you would like to see your team featured, at paht.communications@nhs.net.

Best wishes Lance McCarthy Chief executive 2

Christmas 2023: Events for our people

The Christmas countdown has begun and the festive season is upon us. For many people this is a time for festive cheer; but for many this can also be a lonely and stressful time too. Our chaplaincy team have arranged a number of different events for our patients, visitors, local community and our people to both celebrate and reflect as follows:

Join the festive spirit at our annual Christmas carol service

Warm up your vocal cords and get ready to join the festive spirit at our annual Christmas carol service on Tuesday 12 December. The service will take place from 5:30-6:30pm at St. Paul’s Church (College Square, Harlow Town Centre, CM20 1LP), followed by a glass of mulled wine and delicious mince pies. The evening brings our people and the local community together to listen to readings by the hospital teams and local people; and carol singing led by the Harlow Chorus and children from The Henry Moore Primary School and Milwards Primary School.

Add the event to your calendar here >

Blue Christmas event

On Monday 18 December, our chaplaincy team will hold a blue Christmas event to provide advice and support to anyone who may be feeling isolated or anxious during the festive period. There will also be a memory tree (pictured) for our patients, people and visitors to leave special messages or prayers for lost loved ones, which will be available inside the hospital sanctuary until the New Year. The event will be held at the main hospital site and at Kao Park as follows: y Main hospital site: 10am to 2pm, ground floor, outside the main lifts y Kao Park: 10 am to 12noon, first floor main office area

The day will finish with a simple service of reflection, music and prayer in the hospital sanctuary from 5pm to 5:30pm - all are welcome to attend.

Add the main hospital site event to your calendar here > Add the Kao Park event to your calendar here > Add the service of reflection to your calendar here > 3

Help bring the Christmas cheer to our patients: Carol singing around the wards You can help bring Christmas cheer to our patients and put a smile on their faces by joining our hospital chaplaincy team, our hospital choir and local church members on Friday 22 December as they tour the wards singing festive songs. You do not need to be a skilled vocalist - all are welcome. To join, please meet the group at the hospital sanctuary (lower ground floor) at 5pm on the day.

Add the event to your calendar here > For further information about any of the events detailed above, please contact our chaplaincy team by emailing paht.chaplaincy@nhs.net.

Emergency department team recognised at local council awards ceremony The emergency department team (pictured) has received the Gems of Harlow Award for their hard work and dedication.

The event, hosted by Harlow Council on 6 November, celebrated the achievements of local organisations, services, charities and people who make a real difference in the community.

Polly Read, associate director of nursing for urgent and emergency care, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised by Harlow Council for the urgent and emergency care services we provide.

“Our amazing team work around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to assess, treat and admit patients to ensure that they receive the right care,

in the right place at the right time.

“Our sincere thanks also to our colleagues across the hospital, partner organisations, and the local community for their support.”

Stephanie Lawton, chief operating officer, said: “I am incredibly proud of the team for receiving this award, which demonstrates their commitment to putting our patients at the heart of everything they do.

“Along with emergency departments across the country, we continue to respond to a high demand for our urgent and emergency care services; the team go above and beyond to ensure that our patients receive high quality care and experiences.

“This award has helped to give the team a real morale boost and bring a smile to their faces.”

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PAHT recognised for support to armed forces We have received the bronze award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS), in recognition of the support in place at the hospital for the armed forces community.

The bronze award recognises organisations that have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and pledged to support those currently serving; as well as reservists, veterans, cadet instructors and military spouses/partners.

We signed the Armed Forces Covenant in October 2022 and support the armed forces community by: y Ensuring no-one is disadvantaged in the provision of healthcare, for example if they are reposted and are on a waiting list for treatment/procedures y Giving appropriate support, especially to the injured or bereaved y Signposting patients to veteran services run by charities and other organisations y Establishing a network of veterans’ champions across all divisions of the hospital y Setting up training for staff on the specific needs of veterans y Removing barriers within our recruitment processes to support the recruitment of veterans/armed forces personnel into our organisation

Kelly French, head of operations across urgent and emergency care, (pictured, left) whose brother is a veteran, has been at the forefront of PAHT’s ambition to better support the armed forces community. He said: “I know from personal experience how the needs of veterans may differ from other patients in our care; and through our growing network of veterans’ champions, and training for staff, we are already serving them better.

“We are delighted to achieve the bronze award under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, and are fully committed to maintaining this standard and improving our services and support even further.”

Forces Covenant in 2022 said: “To receive this bronze award within a year of signing the Armed Forces Covenant is a great achievement and recognises our commitment to supporting defence personnel, those who serve or have served in the armed forces and their families. Thank you to all of our people who have undertaken to be veteran champions and to those who support our armed forces communities.”

For further information on support for the armed forces communities at PAHT, visit the Veteran Aware workspace on AlexNet here >

Stephanie Lawton, chief operating officer, (pictured, right) who co-signed the Armed 5

New elective care hub to cut waiting times across two counties Shorter waits for surgery are a step closer in Herts and west Essex now that the green light has been given by planners to build an ‘elective care hub’ in St Albans.

Two new operating theatres at St Albans City Hospital are due to open in late 2024 and will be used to treat patients waiting for hip and knee surgery, spinal injections and ear, nose and throat (ENT) procedures.

Following planning permission being granted in November, the next steps are for the design to be finalised and for the business case to be approved by the boards of the four NHS organisations who are working together on this project: East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust and West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Elective care hubs are being created across the UK to improve access to planned surgery and other procedures.

In common with the hub planned for St Albans, they are managed separately, away from emergency care in order to protect planned activity from the surges and pressures that could lead to cancellations.

It is expected that more than 4,000 patients will be treated at the St Albans hub

in its first year, with scope to increase capacity by adding an additional procedure suite at a later date.

Patients will be carefully assessed to determine whether they are suitable for the hub. Those who need more specialised care will be seen at their ‘home’ hospital, which would be The Lister, The Princess Alexandra or Watford General. There will still be an option for patients who are deemed suitable for the hub to have their treatment at their local hospital.

Advances in surgery and anaesthetics, together with the focus on pre and postoperative care (which will be provided at patients’ local hospital) means that nearly half of the patients seen at the hub will be discharged home on the day of their treatment.

Marie Lyons, who is a consultant ENT surgeon at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust and also the clinical lead for the elective care hub, said: “Elective care hubs are being developed across the country, concentrating on a defined set of non-complex procedures that can be delivered efficiently. Our hub is a partnership project and will draw on the best clinical practice across three hospital trusts to provide patients with a first-class service in modern buildings.”

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Honorary degree awarded to PAHT surgeon A surgeon at PAHT has been awarded an honorary degree from Anglia Ruskin University in recognition of his outstanding contribution to healthcare.

Mr Ashraf Patel, associate specialist in breast surgery, received the award of Honorary Doctor of Health Sciences at the graduation ceremony at Chelmsford Cathedral on 22 November.

He has worked at St Margaret’s Hospital, Epping and The Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, since 1993.

Prior to this he completed his medical education at Grant Medical College and surgical training at Tata Memorial Hospital, both in Mumbai.

At the Breast Unit, with the support of his patients, their families and friends and partner charities, he has helped to raise more than £5.3 million for The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Charity.

This has funded fantastic improvements including breast cancer clinical trials, specialist equipment and health and wellbeing programmes, benefiting patients with breast cancer.

Ashraf said: “I am delighted to have received an honorary degree – it means a great deal to be recognised in this way.

“Thank you to everyone who continues to support me, from my family, friends and

colleagues to everyone who has donated to The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Charity.”

Lance McCarthy, chief executive, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is recognition of Ashraf’s amazing contributions to supporting our patients.

“Congratulations and thank you to Ashraf on behalf of all at PAHT.” Professor Roderick Watkins, vice chancellor at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “Ashraf’s passion and determination to support patients with breast cancer over many years is inspiring.

His personal commitment to supporting patients whilst still undertaking research and raising considerable funds for clinical trials, specialist equipment and health and wellbeing programmes demonstrates his compassion and integrity.

“His approach to his patients and research has made a huge impact on people's lives, and he is a powerful role model for our students.”

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Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Ambassadors: Would you like to support colleagues at PAHT? Would you like to make a difference and provide support to colleagues at PAHT?

If the answer is yes, you’ll be an ideal person to become a Freedom to Speak Up (FSTU) Ambassador…

Here at PAHT we currently have 17 Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Ambassadors, but with over 4,000 people employed, we want to expand the team even further to ensure we have ambassadors representing many different staff groups.

Becoming a FTSU Ambassador would become part of your normal role and you will be given appropriate training and support to undertake this. Our Lead FTSU Guardian will support you and liaise with your line manager about the expected time commitment and details about the training.

What is the role of a FTSU Ambassador? y Be a point of contact for staff to listen to their concern(s) y Provide immediate support and signposting for our people raising concerns, advise them of their options and helping them to determine the best course of action

y Act as the interface between the staff member in cases where they wish to remain anonymous, in consultation with a Freedom to Speak up Guardian y Feedback concerns raised to a Freedom to Speak up Guardian, capturing headline details y Attend initial training sessions and designated meetings with other ambassadors and the Freedom to Speak up Guardians y Help to raise awareness and the profile of the speaking up service y Champion a culture where raising concerns becomes ‘the norm’ y Contribute to creating a culture of openness and honesty y Role model the trust values and behavioural standards expected y Maintain confidentiality, impartiality and discretion

y y y y

y Liaise with staff health and wellbeing (SHaW) champions and mental health first aiders to keep up to date with their roles What attributes do you need to become a FTSU Ambassador? y Caring and kind y Effective listener y Knowledge of how to access relevant Trust policies and procedures in order to signpost employees appropriately (training provided) y Understanding of and ability to work within the scope of the role y High level of trust and integrity y Confidence to escalate You don’t have to decide straight away.

If you’re not sure if you meet the required attributes, you can contact one of our current FTSU Ambassadors or Guardians who will be happy to meet and discuss this further with you.

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Continued support Please be assured after you have completed initial training you will be mentored by one of our FTSU Guardians. There will also be support groups with other Ambassadors every two-three months where you can share experiences with each other.

Remember that if a member of staff gives permission for escalation to a FTSU Guardian, then the role of the FSTU Ambassador is to capture any headlines of the issues/concerns raised and to

handover details to one of the guardians.

What type of training will I receive? y Listening skills y Good questioning skills y Signposting to appropriate resources y Relevant policies and guidance y Escalation process to guardians Expressions of interest For further information, and to express your interest in becoming a FTSU

Ambassador, please email our lead FSTU Guardian, Lindsay Hanmore or contact her via MS Teams.

Alternatively, you can also contact one of our FTSU Guardians or Ambassadors if you would like any further information using the contact details published on AlexNet here > The deadline to apply is 31 December.

A Day in the Life Of...

The sterile services team Tom Burton, finance director, joined our sterile services department for A Day In The Life Of... on 9 November.

Tom started the morning by listening to the team briefing, followed by an in-depth tour of the department to understand the processes that take place.

He then went on to support with preparing instrument trays for future surgeries and procedures. This involves checking the number of instruments in the trays are correct and that they are fit for purpose, before packaging them for sterilisation.Last on the list was for Tom to code the packed instruments so that they can be traced, put them into the autoclave to be sterilised and stored ready for distribution.

You can watch the highlights video via this link >

You can watch a video of Tom’s reflections here > To learn more about the sterile

services process in general, watch this video explaining the four-hour turnaround.

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Committed nurse attends special recognition event at Buckingham Palace A committed nurse from PAHT attended a royal reception hosted by His Majesty The King on 14 November.

The reception, that took place at Buckingham Palace, was an opportunity to celebrate the contribution of nurses and midwives working in the UK’s health and social care sector.

Kristle Bravo, international nurse educator and manager at PAHT, was nominated to attend the reception by her senior nursing management team.

Giuseppe Labriola, deputy chief nurse, said: “We were delighted to receive a request to nominate one of our amazing nurses to attend the celebration reception at Buckingham Palace.

“The aim of the reception was not only to thank and recognise the contribution of nurses and midwives, but also our international nursing and midwifery colleagues who have joined the NHS to make a real difference.

“When we were asked to nominate a nurse to attend the reception, Kristle immediately came to mind because of the amazing work that Kristle and her team does to support our international nurses joining the hospital and settling into working life.

“Congratulations Kristle and thank you for all that you do for our people and patients.

We hope you thoroughly enjoyed the special event at Buckingham Palace.”

Kristle said: “I am absolutely thrilled and deeply honoured to have been nominated for such a prestigious invitation to Buckingham Palace. This was an extraordinary opportunity, it's a dream come true, and I can't thank the senior nursing management team enough for this incredible privilege.”

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Dedicated nursery nurse receives prestigious award A nursery nurse at PAHT has received a Chief Midwifery Officer Award for her hard work and dedication in her previous role as a maternity support worker.

The Chief Midwifery Officer Awards have been developed to reward the significant and outstanding contribution made by midwives in England and has been extended to recognise the exceptional contributions of maternity support workers.

In order to receive the award, maternity support workers have to meet criteria that includes consistently demonstrating the values of the NHS, delivering high quality and compassionate patient care, ensuring patient respect and dignity, building good relationships with patients and championing equality and inclusion.

On 6 November, Suela Porja, maternity support worker at PAHT (pictured above) who moved into a new role as a nursery nurse, supporting younger patients and their families, was presented with the award by Matthew Fry, head of the maternity clinical network for NHS England and the wider senior midwifery team at PAHT (pictured with Suela and team, bottom right).

The award was presented on behalf of Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for England.

“Suela is highly-skilled and during her time within maternity she has taken on additional responsibilities and developed her skills further to support the midwives she works alongside.

Joanna Keable, deputy director of midwifery, said: “Maternity support workers are at the heart of our maternity department and make a real difference every day to the lives of the mothers and birthing people they care for and the midwifery colleagues they support. They are integral to our workforce and I’m thrilled that Suela has received this well-deserved recognition and celebration for all that she does.”

An extract from Suela’s citation reads: “Suela consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that she meets the needs of women, birthing people and their families, both physically and emotionally.

“Suela’s adaptability and transferrable skills make her an asset to her team and colleagues. She is a role model to all within the NHS and her contributions deserve to be recognised.”

Suela said: “I’m honoured to have received this prestigious accolade. I wasn’t expecting this at all, so it was a fantastic surprise. I feel so privileged that I was able to support women and birthing people as they embark on their new adventure into parenthood and now in my new role providing support to younger patients and their families.

“Thank you to my colleagues who I thoroughly enjoy working with and my senior leadership team who continue to support my professional development.”

“Suela plays a vital role in keeping families safe and comforted through one of the most life-changing events they may experience.

With a friendly and calming approach to all those she comes into contact with, Suela immediately puts people at ease.

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Florence Nightingale Foundation Academy We are delighted to announce that PAHT has become a member of The Florence Nightingale Foundation Academy (FNFA), giving all our nurses and midwives access to an online platform filled with a host of resources to help support career development.

The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) is a charity that supports nurses and midwives to improve care and save lives. The Florence Nightingale Foundation Academy (FNFA), which PAHT joined last month (November 2023), connects nurses and midwives from a range of sectors including

the NHS, military, social care, primary care, charities and independent sectors. y Membership of the FNFA gives our nurses and midwives at PAHT access to leadership programmes, scholarships and online training modules y FNFA also develops people to become leaders, and to build confidence and knowledge to help influence policy at all levels y Further information is in the FNFA brochure here > Hundreds of thousands of nurses and midwives already benefit from the collective engagement, energy and

influence that membership brings. By 2027, it is anticipated that FNF will be reaching one million nurse and midwife leaders worldwide.

Watch this video to hear from other member organisations about why they are members.

Visit the new workspace on AlexNet for an overview of the membership benefits, how to access the online members’ area, and other useful resources you may need.

Everything equality, diversity and inclusion...

We have launched our first equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) strategy to build a naturally more inclusive organisation, outlining our vision, commitment and goals to drive change inside the organisation and within and beyond the NHS. Our mission is to build a more diverse and inclusive organisation that represents the communities we serve.

As the largest employer in Harlow and a significant NHS provider in Herts and West Essex, we are determined to play our part

in creating a health care system where anyone can build and advance their careers, and everyone gets the best care possible, whatever their background.

This strategy is an important step in our journey. The strategy outlines our plans to develop and adapt our activities and champion EDI best practice across three pillars: our people, our patients and our community. The strategy has been developed by the EDI team and staff networks following hours of conversations with

stakeholders. It is hoped that the new strategy will allow every member of staff to develop their EDI understanding to enable them to confidently advocate for change in their teams and departments and to use our voice to talk about the importance of diversity.

You can read more on AlexNet here > Monika Kalyan Head of equality, diversity and inclusion

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IT team secures award win for successful automated process project The IT digital automation team at PAHT have received a Network Designs Limited (NDL) Community Award 2023 and generous charitable donation in recognition of their commitment to enhance patient care and experiences.

NDL are a software and services company who support public sector organisations to uplift, transform and expand technical services through robotic process automation, mobile apps, electronic forms, workflows and interconnectivity of systems.

The NDL Community Awards are an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the efforts in providing high-quality services for the general public and advances in technology over the last year.

The team were nominated for their project which focused on streamlining patient referrals, from their GP to attending their first hospital appointment, to ensure that their experience was as straightforward as possible.

Marcel Horst, digital automation programme manager at PAHT, said: “We’re delighted to have received the Driving Value Silver Award.

“This was achieved through the introduction of robotic process automation and electronic forms. Initially, our

teams would manually process over 2,300 referral forms every month, taking around five minutes to process and the information is available to clinicians almost instantly. The introduction of robotic process automation means that each patient referral now takes seconds to upload.

“This has allowed us to release time back to our clinicians so that they can continue to focus on patient care, further reduce the risk of data breaches, improve the quality of our data, and ultimately improve care and experiences for our patients.

As part of our award win, we received £250 to donate to a charity of our choice. As a team, we decided to donate the funds to our hospital charity, The Princess Alexandra Hospital Charity, which aims to enhance patient care, purchase special equipment, improve facilities and invest in vital research that supports patients now and into the future.”

Phil Holland, chief information officer, said: “The team work exceptionally hard behind the scenes to ensure that changes to the way we work are seamless and effective. I’m so proud to see them recognised for their hard work and dedication.We’re on a journey to improve automation within the NHS, helping our clinical teams to spend more time with their patients by reducing the amount of time they spend completing paperwork.

“Not only has the project delivered significant time and resource savings, it has paved the way for a sustainable governance framework.

Automated processes play an important role in the care and experiences we provide to our patients and we are committed to building upon this success and future projects.”

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Our patients said...

"I could not have asked for a greater experience. The nurses in the pre-operation rooms were fantastic, they treated me really well. The staff in the recovery room and on discharge were also fantastic.

"I can’t fault the nurses, doctors or the staff who helped with my knee tests. Thank you so much for looking after me."

"The volunteers on the front desk were so smiley and friendly.

"These two people who try to do their job perfectly should be in every hospital.

"Thank you very much."

"I just wanted to say a sincere thank you to the staff on Harold Ward who cared for my late brother.

"The service and care he received was exemplary.

"Thank you so much."

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Wise about wellbeing...

While you are caring for our patients, or supporting those who provide care, it is extremely important to remember to focus on your wellbeing and to check in with your colleagues too.

There are a wide variety of resources available to you to support your health and wellbeing. Each month, we share practical information and tips as part of our wise about wellbeing feature. This month, we are focusing on Vivup, who provide our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).

The support available includes: y Advice and information to help with your mental health and wellbeing y Telephone access to appropriately qualified professionals, 24 hours a

day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year y Independent confidential counselling support y An online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme and extensive range of CBT workbooks

Help is available 24/7, 365 days a year, by calling 03303 800658 or 0800 023 9324 free from any standard UK landline or mobile phone. You can find out more about the full range of services by visiting www.vivup. co.uk.

We are also proud to share that our staff health and wellbeing team has supported us to achieve the level two Working Well accreditation. The second level of the accreditation allows us to build upon, maintain and evidence a robust health and wellbeing strategy and programme for our people. In order to achieve this, the team provided evidence against a further six key actions that are centred around how we are promoting, educating and supporting staff health and wellbeing at PAHT. Thank you to all involved and for your support in working towards level three of the accreditation.

You can access details of the full range of health and wellbeing resources on the staff health and wellbeing workspace on AlexNet >

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Welcome to our new #PAHTPeople In the last month, 65 new #PAHTPeople have joined us: Ashwathy Ann Abraham Osama Ahmed Eseoghene Akporiaye Akosua Owusuaa Akuoko Mohammad Ali Md Shawkat Ali Hazem Ali Deborah Amoakoh Jose George II Balmaceda Aleisha Barrett Morgan Barton Faiza Bokhari Alice Brock Angela Bushell Ruth Champion Eruore Hope Chandon Allwyn Cheeramban Joanna Childs Vahe Cooper Katherine Day Ehab Elghaysha Christopher Falkenthal Leah Firmstone Hannah Fowell Alison Gillman

Paula Glavu Brian Gomes Charles Hancock Andy Hoad Paige Hope Bakur Jamjoom Ashly Jomon Nyci Joseph Akash Joshy Pooya Khanmohammad Beigi Anu Lakshmanan Priya Mathew Amanuel Mekonen Rima Mohamednour Asadullah Nawazani Chiamaka Onyema Charity Opoku Amelia Palas-Smith Hayley Peermamode Sneha Philip Sarah Plumb Bethany Plume Kurian Royce Matthew Rutter Francesca Salvo Rosemary Samuel Okuo Dhruv Shah Malcolm Shoebridge

Lily Smith Shathushan Somasundaram Teena Soosa Naushad Uddin Praveen Unki Patrick Uy Georgia Walker Peter Watson Chantelle Wells Stacey Wilson Paris Witham Eureka Zaman

In this time, 42 people have left PAHT - thank you for supporting our patients and our people.

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