221007 - Chatterbox

Our Celebratory Awards are back! Presentation of ERS award

The Annual Trust Celebratory Awards are back! This year they are bigger and better than ever as it will be our first Annual Recognition Week and Trust Celebratory Awards combined.

This is an exciting opportunity for you to be part of recognising and celebrating the incredible achievements made by you and your colleagues over the last year, of which there have been many.

The Celebratory Awards reflect the huge diversity of what you do, day in and day out, to support and protect our local community. They will highlight the incredible work and dedication made across our organisation. They will also recognise the hard work made by our partners including volunteers and fundraisers.

We have an array of award categories spanning how people are achieving our vision and living and breathing our values Each and every one of you will be able to take part by nominating and attending the ceremony will be live streamed so you will be able to watch from the comfort of your own home or at work.

Nominations for the Annual Trust Celebratory Awards are now open and close on Wednesday 12 October. To see the categories and details on how to nominate please click here

The Annual Recognition Week will kick off celebrations from Monday 7 November where there will be a number of events recognising and celebrating our colleagues, volunteers and partners. The Annual Trust Recognition Awards will take place on Thursday 17 November.

Please do take the time to make a nomination. We are so excited to recognise the incredible work and dedication made across our organisation, day in and day out, to support and protect our local community.

Rhia Boyode, Director of People & OD, recently visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire where she was presented with SaTH’s Silver Employer Recognition Award (ERS). Our Trust retained its award for its commitment to support Armed Forces.

Rhia said: “It was such a privilege to have attended this event and meet other businesses who also share our commitment to the Armed Forces community.

“

After attending this event, I feel inspired about supporting the great work already taking place and strengthening this I’m particularly keen on focusing on veteran partners and their families and learning and development.”

October marks Black History Month. We will be hosting an event on Friday 21 October from 10.30am- 3pm at SECC where attendees will have the chance to listen to a variety of speakers.

Please feel free to come along. Health stalls will also be set up

to include provision of Flu jabs.

There will be food stalls at the PRH restaurant on 12 October from 12 1.30pm and the RSH restaurant on 19 October from 12 1.30pm.

Visit our restaurants for a diverse menu that will be served on Tuesdays and Thursdays

throughout October.

Want to see some of your favourite recipes? Email suggestions to sath.edi@nhs.net.

More information about Black History Month can be found on the intranet

April completes epic scooter challenge

One of our nurses, April Napala, has crossed the width of England on a scooter to raise money for her father's cancer treatment in the Philippines.

April and her boyfriend, Jason, started the 124 mile journey in Workington, Cumbria, on 24 September and finished in Tynemouth on Friday 30 September.

April’s father is undergoing treatment for stage four colon cancer and they wanted to raise £5,000 (which has now been exceeded) so he

can undergo a delicate procedure in Manila to remove a tumour in his liver. where Ms Napala's family live, only has private healthcare provision.

April said: "We were so close to pure exhaustion. Our legs were giving way and held no strength, we were relying on each other's resolve and pushed on until we saw the sea”.

You can read more about April’s story and donate by visiting her GoFundMe page.

The NHS Staff Survey 2022 is now open! You should have received your survey via email.

We want to make our organisation a great place to work for everyone, so we would encourage all of you to please

fill your survey in. Thank you if you have already done this.

Just 15 minutes of your time will ensure that the changes we make now and in the future are informed by you.

Please click here watch a short video message from Louise Barnett and Rhia Boyode.

More information about the staff survey, including the work that is under way following last year’s, can be found on the intranet.

SaTH welcomes students from across the county

Last month we welcomed around 60 students from a variety of schools across the county to a Medical Experience Day organised by the William Farr Academy.

The academy has been established specifically to help gifted state school students realise their potential and dreams to become doctors.

The event was a huge success with aspiring doctors taking part

in a variety of activities throughout the day they had the opportunity to talk to our doctors regarding medical school and working at our Trust.

Thank you to everyone who made the group feel welcome.

Play in Hospital Week aims to raise awareness of benefit for children

Play In Hospital Week starts on Monday 10 October and aims to raise awareness of the benefits of play in the treatment of poorly children across the UK.

It is organised by the National Association of Health Play Specialists (NAHPS), which aims to promote and ensure the provision of appropriate therapeutic and stimulating play facilities in healthcare settings.

Play for resilience and good Mental Health is the theme of this year’s Play Week. The theme highlights the importance of play for everyone’s health.

Children, young people, and families all benefit from play in healthcare, and as play practitioners taking some time to

play will help you too!

#Playboostsmentalhealth

Play isn’t just fun, it’s therapeutic. It promotes healing and minimizes the trauma of illness. Play is powerful in normalising unfamiliar settings. It reduces anxiety, builds resilience and enhances skills like socialization, creative

Mahmoud selected for prestigious scholarship

gives them the opportunity to take their skills to the next level.

Mahmoud Elshehawy, one of our Junior Doctors, who has been selected for the Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) Scholars Programme. The prestigious scholarship - which involves a rigorous selection process recognises healthcare students and professionals with proven leadership ability and

Dr Elshehawy is a graduate of Mansoura University in Egypt. He started his career at Mansoura University Hospitals, where he worked as an Internal Medicine Resident. He is currently an Internal Medicine Trainee in his second year at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

He said: “It is a huge honour, and I couldn't be more appreciative. I wish to boost my leadership traits this year and contribute to positive change in the healthcare sector.”

expression, intellectual stimulation and sensory integration.

There will be a range of activities in our Children’s Ward as well as PRH and RSH Emergency Departments with themed days ranging from animals and beach to Hospital Play with crafts and even a visiting magician all to celebrate the Power of Play.

Long Service Award

presented with his 25 year long service award. Rebecca Gallimore, Director of Digital Transformation, handed over the award.

Surgical roadshow visits our hospitals

Ethicon, the Surgical Technologies Company of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, stopped off at RSH and PRH as part of its UK roadshow this week.

It provided an opportunity for colleagues from Theatres to speak with industry experts about digital innovation in healthcare and see first-hand a range of cutting edge

surgical products. They were offered a number of demos which gave a helpful insight into how the latest technologies can advance the work they are doing.

The initiative is part of an ongoing focus and commitment to the team, recognising that staff development is a key focus in staff retention.

Desert Island Discs is regarded as a radio classic that features renowned and distinguished guests from a wide variety of fields.

During the programme, Waheed shared the

colleagues, who have helped him overcome his painful past and to realise his dream to give back.

You can listen to it on the BBC website.

Success for SaTH at Birmingham Jobs Fair

Colleagues from our Recruitment Team represented SaTH at the Healthcare Jobs Fair held in the Birmingham NEC Arena on Saturday 24September.

The day was a great success, with the team being approached by 138 individuals who were looking for more information about SaTH.

Many visitors asked about Allied Health Professional (AHP) opportunities, with diagnostic radiography receiving a great deal of interest.

There was also interest from scientific candidates, Operating Department Practitioners, Pharmacists and HCA/Support Workers.

Since the event the team has been busy following up on enquiries and working to convert some of the interest into job applications.

Falls prevention sensor mat funded by SaTH Charity

Funds from SaTH Charity are supporting a falls prevention trial within the Trust. Almost £1500 has been invested in the trial so far.

Falls are the most common adverse event in acute hospitals, with over 400 individual factors contributing to cause a patient to fall.

Identification and close observation of patients at a higher risk of falling can help prevent and reduce the number of falls.

Leanne Morgan, Falls Prevention Practitioner, said: “A trial of a falls prevention sensor mats is being undertaken on Wards 10/11, Princess Royal Hospital. The mats are designed to sit under the patient either in bed or in the chair and will immediately alert staff to patient movement.

“

As well as the valuable eyes and ears of our staff, the mats provide another way of detecting

opportunity to prevent a fall before it occurs.

“

We hope to see a 40% reduction in the number of inpatient falls as a result, over the 2 month trial period. If this trial is successful, then the equipment will be considered for roll out to all inpatient wards across both hospital sites.

“Preventing falls is always one of our highest priorities due to the impact that it has on patients.

costs. We are grateful that SaTH Charity has been able to support this trial.”

Julia Clarke, Director of Public Participation, said “This trial is incredibly significant to the Trust and our ongoing dedication to supporting our patients. It is great to see charitable funds being put to a use that can track and improve real outcomes for our patients and if this intervention proves successful look to rolling it out more widely.”

Falls Awareness Week (FAW) is under way and both colleagues and patients have got involved.

Leeanne Morgan, Falls Prevention Practitioner, has organised activities throughout this week focusing on various themes each day there were competitions and prizes as well as webinars. It is a great opportunity to find out more about how to prevent falls.

She said the support of colleagues had been fantastic and .

Topics included ’Sit out to eat out’ campaign (encouraging patients to get out of bed to eat lunch); ‘End PJ paralysis’ ( the aim was to get as many patients as possible to be in their day clothes during the day and wards were encouraged to write pledges.); Lying and standing blood pressure; sensory impairment; the charity Community

Resource Group ran a stall in main outpatients at RSH demonstrating the collaborative falls prevention work being done with community projects and today (Friday) colleagues had the opportunity to have a chat with the Falls Prevention Practitioner/ the Quality Team, at both Apley and Mytton Restaurants.

Pictures above show a selection of the winners, Leeanne at a stall and some of the pledges.

World Mental Health Day - 10 October

Susan Vangenderen, pictured, has joined SaTH as Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist. Here she talks about the importance of mental health.

World Mental Health Day is a time to reflect on our own mental health and wellbeing and to also think about how we support others.

The stigma of talking about mental health problems is fortunately declining, which has led to people talking more openly about their mental health and help they have accessed.

The uptake of Talking Therapies has increased dramatically in the last few years as people are seeking help more readily.

Mental health services in England are currently under Community Transformation, which will see greater investment in Talking Therapies and other support, to meet the diverse needs of people.

The pandemic has been detrimental to the overall mental health of the population. There is also a clear link between financial stress and mental health. For those who were already vulnerable to mental health problems, there has been an increase in the severity and prevalence of issues.

For those of us who work in the NHS, the emotional impact of working in a healthcare setting has been acknowledged in the past two years. There has been a national focus on the impact of working during COVID on NHS staff, so it’s important that we take a moment to reflect on how we are protecting our own mental health.

Connections with people are the biggest protective factor in mental health.

Putting boundaries on our working life is also an important factor in staying well.

Self care is extra important as we are working in the context of caring

Psychologist, having worked in Mental Health Services for 26 years.

The organisation is keen to promote mental wellbeing across the workforce and also to support staff who are experiencing mental health problems.

Appointing a Consultant Psycholgist is testament to this and I will be recruiting a team of psychologists to support staff across the organisation.

There are a number of options for people who want to access support. Please also be assured your manager will be able to support you if you are struggling

Details on the support available at SaTH are featured in the Staff Support section of Chatterbox.

You can also refer yourself for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for low mood or anxiety. This is based on where your GP is Telford and Wrekin area can be found on TWIAPT.MPFT.nhs.uk

You can also see your GP if you want to discuss other options.

The Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Lead, Laura Westcott, oversees a comprehensive wellbeing offer for all staff, please see the intranet for all the available support. We also have a network of Wellbeing Champions, Mental Health First Aiders and Peer to Peer support..

Let’s Talk Mental Health

Residents across Shropshire are being invited to the Let’s Talk Mental Health event on Monday 10 October at Shrewsbury Abbey, in Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury.

The event, from 10am to 2pm, has been organised by Shropshire Council’s Enable Supported Employment Services, and will include 25 organisations, including SaTH, across Shropshire who’ll be offering support and advice and hosting a range of activities and workshops for people to try out.

Shropshire Mental Health Support (formerly Shropshire Mind) will be showcasing their new ‘wellbeing bus’ at the event, and will be offering both stress awareness and mental health in rural community sessions.

Arts 4 Health will be offering an arts based activity to promote mental wellbeing.

Renowned Top UK banjo player Dan Walsh will also be providing live music: don’t miss the opportunity to hear him play in this unique acoustic-rich environment.

Funding boost for young volunteers project

There will be more volunteering opportunities for young people at SaTH thanks to a recent funding boost.

The Trust has been awarded a grant worth over £86,000 from the Volunteering Futures Fund part of NHS Charities Together - and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

It has been announced to help people from under represented groups, including those facing socio economic disadvantages, people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and those with disabilities, to overcome barriers and get involved in volunteering.

The funds will be used to extend our young volunteer scheme for 16-18 year olds, which includes a 15 month programme to target, but is not limited to, underrepresented communities across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, and Powys.

As part of this, we will engage with schools, colleges, charities, community groups and individuals for suggestions on how to create a range of accessible opportunities for young people, which will support them in their aspirations whilst also improving patient experience.

Poppy Horrocks, Lead for the Volunteering Futures Fund Project at SaTH, said: “We are encouraging people who have an interest in healthcare to get in touch and have a chat with us about how we can support their future goals.”

Case Studies

Nimisha Venkatesh

I joined SaTH as a volunteer as it was the best opportunity for me to give back to my community through the NHS after it has done so much for me and my community. This also enables me to interact with patients from all walks of life and make a difference.

Going forwards, I would love to work in the NHS. I feel that this experience has been a good insight into the "behind the scenes" of the NHS and has, in fact, furthered my desire to help people. I feel that I have developed several skills here, including my communication skills and time management, which will no doubt help me to help people in the future.

Julia Clarke, Director of Public Participation at SaTH, said: “Our volunteering opportunities span over 30 different roles, in both clinical and non clinical areas. Volunteers make an enormous difference in our hospitals and allow us to go that bit further for our patients.”

Adam Caldwell

When COVID 19 suspended work experience programmes, I still wanted to get involved at the hospital. I spoke with like minded students at my college and they mentioned volunteering, so I did a bit of extra research into it and applied.

I hope that the experience will help me to become a good doctor in the future. It will also help refine my communication and teamwork skills within a multi disciplinary team.

Whilst most of my time is spent making teas and coffees and transporting patients between wards, I am also there as someone for patients to speak to at their most vulnerable time.

October marks Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Month which provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the ways we are encouraging a more honest environment at SaTH, where raising concerns is common practice.

Our FTSU Team has organised a calendar of events and we will be sharing further updates with you during the month. Please do get involved and visit the FTSU intranet page to learn more.

Introducing Musili Oshevire, a FTSU Guardian who has recently joined SaTH.

Tell us a bit about you.

Prior to working at SaTH as FTSU Guardian. I was in the NGO sector for over 12 years working on programmes aimed at people empowerment and behaviour change. My best memories have been from my interaction with people. My passion for reducing inequalities, drives my transition from a research biochemist to a public health specialist with focus on policy and people engagement.

As a young woman, born and raised in central Nigeria; I have picked up values which helped me survive racism and inequalities looming every fibre of life. I am strengthened and motivated by people who are supporting a respectful, civil, and inclusive working environment for ALL.

I have been privileged to participate in multi sectoral programmes aimed at improving quality of service and the work environment in different country context. These experiences will be a point of call in my new role. I can understand the waters people of colour and minority groups thread in their daily lives. Finally, this role aligns with my values and passion for improving people’s lives.

What is your favourite part about this role?

I love interacting with people and seeing the dynamics of life through them. I love to be a source of calm to someone. I love to

acknowledge people through listening and giving reassurance. I love learning about different values and cultures and its influence on people and workplace.

Do you have any favourite quotes?

“

Nothing is impossible to they who will try” Alexander the Great

“Spread love everywhere you go” - Mother Teresa

What’s your best piece of advice?

Speak up! Because you can, and even when you feel like you can’t, the FTSU guardians are here to support you get your concerns across. We all need help sometimes.

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Staff Support

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