230113 - Chatterbox

Well done to our international nurses

Well done to our most recent cohort of international nurses who recently completed their Objective Structured Clinical Exams (OSCE) and news hot off the press is that seven have passed with flying colours.

Two others are still awaiting their results so good luck to them!

For more than 16 weeks, they have learned and practised over 20 clinical skills to a very high standard. They have also had to adapt the skills and experience they already possess to complete APIE (Assessment, Planning, Implementation & Evaluation), Evidenced Based Practice and Professional Values.

The OSCE is 10 stations in total, taking nearly three hours to complete. Nurses travelled to Leeds for their OSCE with support from members of the International Nursing Team. Once they have passed, they will begin their roles as Band 5 nurses in their clinical areas.

said: “We are very proud to have been part of their journey so far! Please join us in welcoming them to our teams.”

The team is currently preparing a further 50 nurses, spread across three groups, for their OSCE and some of these nurses have already joined their clinical teams

while they wait. This gives them valuable time to get to know their teams, the Trust and how their clinical area is managed.

More international nurses are to be welcomed in the new year.

Over the last few years and during the pandemic the team has supported over 400 nurses through their OSCE to join SaTH.

Inside: Christmas tree competition winner, taking a dip for dementia, nurses

Penny Holman, Professional Development Nurse with the International Nursing Team,

The winning Christmas tree is...

Over the Christmas period, colleagues across the Trust helped to spread some festive cheer by decking out their wards and offices.

A number of teams sent in entries for our Christmas tree competition and the Executive team had the difficult job of narrowing them down to three finalists: Ophthalmology Co-ordination Team, RSH; Children’s Outpatients, RSH; and IT Service Desk, PRH.

You were then asked to vote for your favourite out of the top three. We can now announce that the winning tree belongs to Children’s Outpatients (right).

Festive raffle treat for Kerry

The Catering Department would like to thank supplier Bridge Coffee Roasters for kindly donating a festive hamper.

A raffle was held for customers in the Caffe Bistros over the Christmas period.

The lucky customer drawn out of the hat was Kerry from Cancer Care Pathway at RSH.

Kerry is pictured left receiving her hamper from Joe Warwick, Assistant Catering Manager.

Colleagues have been diving into a challenge to raise money for SaTH Charity’s Dementia Appeal.

Funds raised for the Dementia Appeal support the ongoing items needed for activity boxes for patients living with Dementia.

Karen Breese, Dementia Team Lead, said: “We raise money to buy items such as crayons, playing cards, comfort soft toys, domino's, reminiscent books, photos and radios – all items which are used to reduce confusion, anxiety and distress and to support stimulation to help people to remain alert and motivated whilst they are in hospital.

“This keeps people engaged and occupied as well as giving them a way to use their energy in a positive way.”

Karen was joined by friends in-

cluding Kath Preece, Head of Clinical Governance, Jess Mitchell, Quality Governance Facilitator, Jo Smith, Helen Edwards and Lou James and together they

raised over £950.You can support the team here: https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ sarah-brown293

EPR programme: CareFlow PAS Q&A sessions

The EPR Programme is holding two Q&A sessions to give colleagues the chance to learn more about the first phase of the EPR Careflow implementation (to replace SemaHelix, Wardvision and ED Whiteboard).

It is a great opportunity to get involved, meet the project team and have any queries answered.

The team is keen to ensure that colleagues are involved in the planning stages.

The events will take place on:

• Monday 16 January, 10:30-12 noon in Seminar Room 5, SECC RSH.

• Wednesday 1 February, 23.30pm in the Lecture Theatre, PRH

New mum of twins praises “outstanding” care

On 29 December, Alfie George (6lbs 6oz) and Willow Rose (6lb 14oz) were welcomed into the world.

Mum Nicola took the time to share her experience of having her twins at the Trust: "Just wanted to say a massive thank you to the amazing staff working in the antenatal ward and delivery suite who provided the most outstanding care during the wonderful delivery of our twins.

“We really did have the most beautiful birth and you’re all worth your weight in gold!

“Here is a photo of the wonderful consultant who delivered our beautiful babieshis face sums up the outstanding care, compassion and love that we felt from you all who looked after us so well.

The gift of sight for patient’s 100th Birthday

Colleagues recently operated on a 99year-old lady for cataract, just in time for her 100th birthday.

The team was over the moon to have done such a wonderful surgery on this patient and to restore her vision as a gift for Christmas and her very special birthday!

A big thank you to the surgical nursing team involved: Teresa, Bincy, Sally, Emily, Amy along with surgeon Devaki Nayak.

Former trainees reunite after 40 years

A group of nurses who trained at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital took a trip down memory lane when they celebrated their 40th anniversary with a tour of the site.

Steve Lennox, Jeanette Langley -Brown, Sue Cooper, Jane Kent, Elizabeth Leonard and Deborah Oliver were part of a group of 20 who started their training in January 1983 and qualified in 1986 – they were said to be the first group to all pass with flying colours.

The majority of the original group are still in the NHS and two now work together at NHS England as Improvement Directors – Steve Lennox and Cathy Geddes, who wasn’t able to join the reunion. Others have left the NHS with Jeanette now a gardener for the Cholmondeley Estate and Jane working in a Shrewsbury furniture shop after years working in A&E at RSH.

Sue is now Infant Feeding Coordinator for Maternity and Neonatal Services at Sheffield, Elizabeth is an Academic Course Director at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Deborah retired nine months ago from her role as a Specialist Nurse in Stroke at Great

People at SaTH, started her training to be a nurse in September 1983 and showed the group around RSH.

The group reminisced about members of staff they worked with, working procedures and the changes that had taken place on the site, including the Lloyds Bank

together and have a tour of the site. It’s interesting to see how much bigger the hospital site is now and to see how things have moved around. We were able to see our school which is now the Staffordshire University Education Centre.”

New EDI training opportunity: Find out more about identity, privilege and power

A new two-part training programme is now available for all staff across the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS).

‘Identity, Privilege and Power’ explores who we are and how we experience power in society, so we can take meaningful action to play our part in an inclusive workplace.

The training will take place online, and there are a variety of dates in February and March 2023 to choose from. Please go ahead and get booked on as soon as possible.

Part One - An Introduction (eLearning)

The first session is a one-hour elearning course which explores what makes identity and how intersectionality and power affect us

our own power to make work better for everyone through allyship.

This module is available to access via the ICS Learning Management System (LMS) which can be accessed here: https://mellms.online/stwicb/signup

You may be asked to sign in or create an account for the first time, which is quick and easy.

’

Part Two - Let

s Talk! (Webinar)

The second session is a one-hour webinar on the topics covered in part one.

Facilitator-led group discussions and exercises will explore identity, privilege and power and how social factors influence health. Through active conversation, we will identify

This webinar is now available to book and will be delivered virtually. Delegate numbers are set at a maximum of 20 delegates per session.

Please use the link to sign up: https://mel-lms.online/stwicb/signup

Confirmed webinar dates and times are listed below. Further dates and times will follow in due course.

14/02/2023 - 14.30 - 15.30

17/02/2023 - 9.30 - 10.30

17/02/2023 - 14.30 - 15.30

01/03/2023 - 14.30 - 15.30

01/03/2023 - 19.00 - 20.00

03/03/2023 - 9.30 - 10.30 08/03/2023 - 9.30 - 10.30 08/03/2023 - 14.30 - 15.30 09/03/2023 - 19.00 - 20.00 16/03/2023 - 9.30 - 10.30 16/03/2023 - 14.30 - 15.30 20/03/2023

Asha Nair, a Practice Education Facilitator, has developed the above poster to improve staff understanding about CQC inspections. There will be more resources coming out soon to support and prepare staff for CQC inspections.

Happy New Year to all those celebrating Chinese New Year next week. We wish you wealth and prosperity in the Year of the Rabbit.

Those born in the Year of the Rabbit are said to be talented at many things.

They’re affectionate people, often excelling at forming close relationships. However, they also appreciate tranquillity and seek out peace.

This serves as a timely reminder to consider all our health and wellbeing offer (https:// intranet.sath.nhs.uk/hr/health_wellbeing) that focus on looking after yourself.

Restaurant menu

We are delighted that our two restaurants –Mytton and Apley – will be serving a Chinese

menu. Details coming soon.

Did you know?

• The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

• The celebration lasts for over two weeks in China, but people mark the occasion similarly in other places like East Asia too.

• The date of Chinese New Year changes every year, but it always falls between 21 January and 20 February.

• The day of Chinese New Year is a new moon day, usually the second after the winter solstice.

• Offices, banks, factories, shops, and most non-essential services will close doors for a week's holiday in China.

Your wellbeing matters

Thank you for your phenomenal efforts in continuing to keep our patients safe and look after each other.

The impact on mental health and wellbeing must not be underestimated and it is really important that we look out for each other, and take proactive and supportive actions to support everyone’s mental health and wellbeing.

We want to ensure that our people are provided with the correct support and an environment that enables and encourages each of us to lead healthy lives and make choices to support our wellbeing.

There are many resources available to you to help with your health and wellbeing and for you to be able to raise concerns with confidence if necessary.

Details on our wellbeing packages are available on our intranet here. This includes physical, mental, financial and emotional support. Please know that this support is available to everyone

• It’s so important that everyone takes time for fresh air and exercise, stays hydrated and has the opportunity to rest.

• Care First can offer you counselling support that can be accessed 24/7. Please call 0800 174319 or click here for more information.

• The Trust has 18 trained Mental Health First Aiders and 19 trained Champions within the organisation. Mental Health First Aiders/ Champions are a point of contact if you, or someone you are concerned about, are experiencing a mental health issue or emotional distress. They are not therapists or psychiatrists but they can give you initial support and signpost you to appropriate help if required. There are plenty of different types of support out there, and Mental Health Aiders/Champions can help you access them. Click here for more information.

• In many situations, having someone to talk to can lighten our load; when we are listened to this helps us to feel valued. Therefore we have trained a group of staff from across the Trust as Peer to Peer (P2P) Volunteers to help support colleagues. P2P are trained to provide confidential, non-judgmental peer

support, signposting to other internal contacts where appropriate. P2P listeners are trained in supportive listening skills but they won’t be acting as counsellors. More information can be found here

• We have a number of network groups (the Disability, Ability & Wellbeing Network, the Race Equality & Inclusion Network and the Hospital Pride Network) who support our aims to improve our culture and I would encourage anyone who is interested in joining to click here to find out further information.

For a full list of other support available to you, including counselling, online support and free wellbeing apps, please click here

Please contact our wellbeing team at sath.ahealthieryou@nhs.net and they will be able to signpost you to the most appropriate help and support.

1st - £400 - Mrs. Sarah Thomas, Corporate Education

2nd - £200 - Miss Danielle Shropshire, Pathology

2nd - £200 - Mrs. Joanne Harris, Clinical Audit Officer

3rd - £100 - Mrs. Clare Prime, Estates

3rd - £100 - Mrs. Anna Sadler, Audiology

The final word...

On the afternoon of Wednesday 28 December 2022 my husband and I brought our 10-year-old grandson to Shrewsbury A&E dept. He had a nasty cut to his head caused by an ice skate. He was seen immediately and I would like to commend all the staff who dealt with him. They were all most efficient and extremely kind, giving him reassurance and even a Christmas present! Both the nurse who first saw him and the doctor who glued his cut, also took the trouble to talk to his mother on my mobile phone, to explain the nature of the injury and the follow-up care needed.

The service we received was indeed first-class, we could not have wished for better. Thank you.