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Your fortnightly bulletin focusing on staff & events at SaTH 11 FEBRUARY 2022

Apprentices play key role at Trust

Pictured L-R: Rhys Arnold, Kurran Singh Rai and Carnell McKenzie When three apprentices started on a pioneering programme within our Medical Engineering Services department (MES) little did they know within a few months they would have a key role to play as the pandemic struck.

Rhys Arnold, Carnell McKenzie and Kurran Singh Rai are the first apprentices in MES for over 25 years. They are part of a 33-strong team which manages a mammoth 34,000 medical devices of which over 20,000 are owned by SaTH. Nigel Watkinson, Medical Engineering Services Manager at SaTH, said: “To put this into context the apprentices had a few months to settle and then COVID hit. It has been a good grounding and we couldn’t have predicted that – they have had to hit the ground running at a time of a pandemic the likes of which the NHS has not seen before.”

He said that they looked at an apprenticeship scheme within MES as nearly half of the department’s staff were at or about to reach retirement age and there was also recognition within the mechanical engineering industry that there was a shortage of technicians.

“We looked at candidates who were of a good academic level and over the age of 18 so they could head straight onto a unique clinical engineering degree,” Nigel said.

At the end of their three-year apprenticeship they will be trained to the highest level and can take over from those who are retiring, he added.

Carnell, Rhys and Kurran are learning the basic disciplines of mechanical and electronic engineering.

They may then specialise in a certain field.

Most of the course is online with three block weeks spent at the university. The apprentices spend at least a day a week studying and then the rest of the week working at SaTH. They also move around the various departments in three-month blocks.

Nigel is hoping with the success of the apprentices they will be able to take on more in the future by showcasing SaTH as a great place to work and medical engineering as a fantastic career.

He added: “The apprentices come to SaTH and they want to stay and it is up to us to keep them. It is good that they are happy and motivated.”

To watch a short video of the three click here.

See our focus on apprenticeships, including case studies on our MES apprentices on pages 4-7.

Check out our new-look Chatterbox!

Welcome to our first academy recruits

Pictured: Some of the recruits receiving their certificates from Hayley Flavell and the first cohort

We have welcomed at SaTH our first cohort of aspiring healthcare support workers who have attended a two-week training programme at a new academy.

The 24 recruits were given the opportunity to train in an industry-standard, immersive suite at Telford College. The recruits will now go on to work in hospitals as part of a sixmonth pilot programme.

Hayley Flavell, Director of Nursing, was at the college on the last day of their programme to present them with certificates.

She told the recruits: “I would like to say a massive thank you as you are our future workforce in healthcare.

"It is brilliant that you have been brave enough to try it and you have shown great courage and determination.

"I hope your experiences with us are good as you know healthcare is hard work and the last couple of years have been incredibly challenging with COVID, but you are coming into an organisation where we are seeing real improvements, we have lots of exciting things happening and some real innovation.

"I hope you enjoyed your course.”

Rachel Armstrong, Lead Nurse for Education and Quality at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, said: “You have chosen to start your journey at SaTH and we are really grateful. As a cohort you are an amazing set of individuals - I think our patients are going to be really lucky to be looked after by you and our ward teams are going to be lucky to have you.”

The academy’s first intake were all from SaTH and applications are now open for the next cohort.

Set up by the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS), the Social and Health Care Partnership Training Academy consists of a two-week training programme.

The programme is to help newly appointed healthcare support workers from across the system prepare for their role.

Following the pilot programme, which was led

by SaTH, the academy will be broadened to include other roles in the health and care sector.

Chester's fundraising is 'out of this world'!

Instead of birthday presents, a generous young man called Chester, chose to raise money to buy dolls for dementia patients at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

His space-themed party for his fifth birthday took place at the end of January and raised over £150 for the Dementia Appeal. Lucy Davies, Chester’s mum, said “After hearing about doll therapy for patients in hospital, Chester, wanted to be able to raise money so he could donate these items instead of having birthday presents this year.

We prepared a booklet for people at the party to explain about the dementia fund and they thought the charity idea was brilliant.”

Karen Breese, Dementia Nurse Specialist at the Trust said “What a wonderful young man! We are over the moon that Chester wanted to support the Dementia Appeal.

Hospital can be a disorientating and often frightening place for anyone, but this may be considerably worse for someone who is living with dementia. We try to provide appropriate activities to help people to remain alert and motivated whilst they are in our care.

The aim of the Dementia Appeal is to assist SaTH with the creation of dementia-friendly spaces and to buy equipment and resources that will help to reduce confusion, anxiety and distress for people living with dementia. Activities can also reduce like distress on the wards.

Julia Clarke, Director of Public Participation, said “Chester is possibly one of our youngest fundraisers to date and should be very proud of himself.”

You can find out more about our dementia appeal here: Dementia Appeal - SaTH.

Good luck to our Tissue Viability Team Our Tissue Viability Team – Sister Clare Checketts, Tissue Viability Clinical Lead Nurse and Sister Leanne Whitfield, Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist – have made it to the final of the Health Service Journal (HSJ) partnership awards.

They worked with the wound care industry to redesign our acute wound care service and by reducing unwarranted variation with foam dressings it reduced costs and waste.

Clare and Leanne have been nominated under the ‘Most effective contribution to patient safety’ category in the HSJ awards. They will present to the panel next week and the winners are due to be announced in March.

Their work was also published in the British Journal of Healthcare Management last year. Click here to read the research.

Focus on our apprent Building for the future at SaTH This week is National Apprentice Week and we are celebrating our apprentices.

The Trust sees it as a time to raise awareness about the diverse and wide variety of apprenticeship opportunities that are available at SaTH and the rest of the NHS. This year’s theme is ‘build the future’ and will reflect on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge for a rewarding career.

Apprenticeships introduced last year include Physiotherapist, Senior Healthcare Support - Maternity and Healthcare Science Assistant Audiology.

Some of the apprenticeship opportunities available later this year may include Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Operating Department Practitioner Trainee and Engineering.

At SaTH, apprenticeships provide an opportunity to support local people of any age to begin and progress on their journey in the NHS, providing them with a career option they might otherwise not have had or have even considered.

Here at the Trust we currently have 185 on apprenticeship programmes and there are a range of apprenticeships including Customer Service Practitioners, Pharmacy Technicians, Assistant Practitioners - Apprenticeship qualifications are Radiography and Registered Nurses. available to support the development

of both new and existing staff members and the Trust embraces this route to help people progress in their chosen career.

Rhia Boyode, Director of People and Organisational Development at SaTH, said: “People undertaking apprenticeships are an important and valued part of our workforce. There are so many different roles and apprenticeships are a fantastic opportunity for people to consider as a pathway into the NHS and to underpin their progression on their chosen career route within our organisation.”

For further information about SaTH apprenticeships please visit our website www.jobs.sath.nhs.uk/findjob/apprenticeships or contact Judith Tudor, Workforce Transformation Manager - judithc.tudor@nhs.net.

Case studies Aravind Bhaskaran, Nursing Associate “I have been working in Ophthalmology since 2015 and always wanted to progress in my career.

With the support of my manager, I got seconded to do the Level 5 Nursing Associate Apprenticeship, which helped me to develop in to my role through the academic training from University of Wolverhampton and clinical training/development from SaTH. “My job is all about holistic care of the patients, my favourite part is being able to act as an ambassador for my patients, providing person-centred care.

“Nursing Associates is a new terminology in the nursing career and the training that we undertake has got a completely different approach to the traditional training.

Whilst training, we are counted in the HCA (Healthcare Assistant) numbers.

Working as a HCA and finding the opportunities to gain all the relevant competencies is a big challenge.

“I managed to balance my family life and the Nursing Associate course."

Aravind is now a qualified Nursing Associate and has the opportunity to become a Registered Nurse through an apprenticeship route over 18 months.

iceships here at SaTH Case studies Molly Saunders, Legal Services Apprentice "I started by doing a Business Administration Level 2 Apprenticeship with SaTH. I wanted to do the Business Administrator Level 3 Apprenticeship to continue to grow my qualifications and stay within legal services and one day complete a Law Degree. Studying for my Level 3, which is an 18month programme, has helped me to gain a lot of knowledge and experience needed in my workplace to complete a degree.

"I can honestly say working in the Legal Services Team and gaining the knowledge and experience I have and completing both of my qualifications is one of the best decisions I have made in my life.

"I love the course and my job and the training and the things I get to be a part of because of it."

Molly has since secured a permanent post within the team.

Skye Talbot, Plaster Room Assistant "I wanted to do this as I believe that I am a caring and compassionate person who likes the sense of achievement gained when helping people. From being a patient in the Plaster Room myself previously I could see this was a role that would give me that."

Alex Salisbury, Cyber Security Engineer "I never went to university when I left college, I decided to gain more skills and knowledge by completing a Level 2 IT apprenticeship. Completing this course allowed me get my first role in SaTH’s IT department five years ago on the bank. A couple of years later I started on a Level 3 IT apprenticeship whilst working on the support desk in the IT Department to help me gain some more skills and decide which area of IT I wanted to branch into and try to gain more specific knowledge in.

"I secured a post as a Cyber Security Engineer and after starting this role I wanted to gain more Cyber Security knowledge. This had led to me working towards a Cyber Security Technical Professional Level 6 - BSc (Hons) Degree Apprenticeship. In the back of my mind I have always wanted to do a degree so in October 2020 I started the three-year programme with De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, which is perfect for me. When complete I will be a Cyber Security Technical Professional."

"This Senior Healthcare Support Worker Level 3 Apprenticeship, which takes 18 months, seemed different to others I had heard about, more interesting with more opportunities that would come with it. An apprenticeship assessor sets me my work on a regular basis and organises meetings to talk about my progress. My work colleagues write and sign to say they have seen me do certain tasks.

"I am really enjoying my apprenticeship, it’s a fantastic department to work in. The plaster room team has been so welcoming and has a great way of teaching. I can truly say I’ve learnt and seen something new each day."

Focus on our apprent Case Studies Dave Lewis, Estates Site Manager at RSH “In 2006 I had been offered an opportunity by my manager at the time, to go through an apprenticeship (Level 3 Engineering), the Trust were willing to develop my skills and support me financially to go to college so I could eventually become a Mechanical Technician.

"I gratefully took the opportunity and committed myself fully to the advanced apprenticeship course which took three years to complete."

Rebecca Martin, Therapy Operational Manager "I knew that in order to develop my leadership and management skills further I needed to engage in a management qualification. This would help me to learn more about the skills, systems and processes required by managers to empower individuals and teams to be the best they can be and enable operations to be most effective so that patients across the system receive good quality treatment and care."

"Each term on the three-year Level 6 Chartered Manager Apprenticeship I am required to complete two modules; topics include those associated with HR, business operations and improvement techniques, economics and finance, digital business and research and development.

"Most of my learning I can put into practice straight away improving the way I conduct my work, job efficiency and job satisfaction. Each module challenges my thinking enabling me to reflect on current practice and apply improvement strategies."

"My life at work is made easier because of the skills I am learning and able to put into practice to improve services and help and support others.

I am very much enjoying the programme because it is so relevant to my job role."

"Following a further two years in higher education I studied and completed a HNC/HND in Electrical Mechanical Engineering.

"The apprenticeship programme and subsequent Higher Education has given me greater choice in my career path with the NHS. "I have worked in various roles within the Estates team, being exposed to a wide variety of experiences which have all enabled me to now progress to being a Site Manager.”

Hannah Littleford, Audiology Technical Officer Trainee "I started working in the Audiology department in June 2019 as an apprentice clerical officer, where I gained my Business Administration Level 2 qualification.

"Towards the end of the programme, I was offered a full-time position and joined the administration team as a clerical officer in February 2020. I worked all throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a telephone and postal service to our Shropshire Audiology patients and making visors for the wards as part of our department’s redeployment."

"In September 2021, I started a new clinical role as an Assistant Technical Officer trainee. This role involves face-to -face repair clinics where I will eventually see my own patients and carry out hearing aid services, maintenance, programming up replacement hearing aids and doing otoscopy and impression taking for new ear moulds.

"I am really enjoying my new role as an Assistant Technical Officer in Audiology. I love the hands on and patient interaction aspect of it as I feel I am making a difference to the patient’s everyday life. I have always wanted to progress into a clinical role but was never sure if this would be possible for me as I have not been to university, however my department and management have been so supportive and given me the opportunity to do just that."

iceships here at SaTH Cont fromstudies page 1.

Case

Kurran Singh Rai Medical Engineering Apprentice "From a young age I was interested in repairing various things around the house for my grandparents and from this I found that I wanted to help people. Growing up as an elder brother, I wanted my younger siblings to see what working hard, both practically and in studies would bring.

So, working at SATH as a Medical Engineering Apprentice was perfect."

"From when I came for my work experience and later my open day, I knew this was where I wanted to work.

"There is a good dynamic within the department, and I find that each day I can improve my ability due to the support I am given by the team. I can’t see myself working anywhere else after this apprenticeship, I want to stay here for the rest of my career.

"It’s allowed me to do what I was good at (repairing equipment) and study, with this combination I’m following my aspirations and helping to improve people’s lives."

Rhys Arnold Medical Engineering Apprentice "My interest in engineering started with my dad. He’s been an electrician for decades and I always found it fascinating watching him and helping him work on fixing things at home. I also watched a lot of engineering-based programmes on the telly from a young age which always interested me.

"I was attracted to SaTH by my parents; both of whom still currently work for the Trust. They told me it was a great place to work and being local to Shrewsbury it is very close to home. I have several friends who have also worked for the Trust, all of whom have recommended it as being a friendly place with helpful staff.

Carnell McKenzie Medical Engineering Apprentice "Since a young age I have been fascinated by how things work and have always enjoyed the challenge of fault finding and repairing any household appliance that would break down. I have always enjoyed the practical side when it comes to engineering.

"Taking part in the medical engineering apprenticeship with SaTH has given me

the opportunity to experience working as an engineer within a professional environment, alongside other skilled and experienced engineers.

"Once the apprenticeship is finished, I would like to continue working alongside my colleagues at SaTH to further develop my skills enabling me to one day become a specialist renal engineer."

"I like my department because my colleagues are all very helpful and have a lot to teach me! The work is self-rewarding and comes with a high level of job satisfaction. I get to work on many different types of equipment which I enjoy, and I also get to indirectly help patients and staff with providing the best care possible by ensuring their equipment is fully up to standard and fit for use.

"My future aspirations are to eventually become a senior engineer in my department, and possibly becoming a team leader or department manager."

Women urged to take part in survey to shape services Nearly 2,000 women have filled out a survey on women’s health but we are urging more to take part and help shape services in the future.

The survey is the first of its kind in the county and mid-Wales and there is still time to have your say with the survey closing on Monday 28 February.

A Women’s Health Project Group made up of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS) and patient representatives across the county and mid-Wales set up the women’s health survey to try to find out

the reasons why some women are at menopause as on average half of not coming forward for screening and women aged 45-65 who have asking for help with the menopause. experienced the menopause in the past 10 years, have not consulted a Part of the women’s health survey healthcare professional about their looks at Cancer Screening services menopausal symptoms. for women, as locally the number of women coming forward for breast The group would like to know more and cervical screening services has about how much women living locally been falling. The aim of the survey is know about the menopause, how it to find out what local women know affects them and their experience of about screening, what they feel healthcare and what can be done to about taking part and what barriers improve this. they may face when they are invited to a screening appointment.

We would urge all women colleagues to take part in the survey here and The second section of this survey please share within your network. looks

CQC Maternity Survey results

ImproveWell app launched

The Care and Quality Commission (CQC) published the 2021 survey of women’s experiences in maternity care, as part of the NHS Patient Survey Programme, this week.

The 2021 Maternity Survey, which involved 122 NHS Trusts in England, identified SaTH as performing at a “better than expected” level.

This means that the proportion of women who answered positively to questions about the care they received from us during labour and birth was significantly higher than the average for the other trusts in the survey.

The survey contained some real positives for our Maternity Services and showed us as doing well in particular areas such as women being actively involved in making their own birth choices and being listened to and engaged with.

We still have more we need to do but, building on the examples of “outstanding practice” highlighted in the recent Care Quality Commission report, it is another clear sign that you are all driving real improvements in the care we provide.

The survey also showed that we performed ‘better’ than other Trusts in 10 questions, ‘about the same’ than other Trusts in 40 questions, and ‘worse’ than other Trusts in 0 questions.

Pictured L-R: Louise Barnett, Vicki Robinson, Claire Eagleton and Cris Knill at the launch

ImproveWell, a digital engagement tool, was launched across our Maternity Services last week giving colleagues a place to make their ideas heard.

To mark the launch, a team from ImproveWell along with our SaTH ImproveWell leads visited Maternity teams across our Princess Royal Hospital, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Oswestry and Bridgnorth units to introduce colleagues to the app.

Over 100 colleagues across Maternity have already downloaded the app, with 23 improvement ideas shared so far. The improvement platform can be accessed through any desktop or mobile device and provides a space for colleagues on the shop-floor to share their ideas for how they would improve their areas of work.

If you are a member of Maternity Services, make sure to get involved and download the ImproveWell app today. £30 Amazon vouchers are also up for grabs for anyone who registers with the platform, with the first winner already chosen. Make sure to sign up today to be in with a chance of winning, for details of how to join simply search ‘ImproveWell’ on the intranet.

Putting Colleagues in the Picture

Our staff were put in focus when they took part in a photography workshop as part of the Healthcare Art Club.

Three therapists, one mental health nurse and seven doctors went along to the Portrait Photography workshop which was held in Telford with Life Group. Life Group studio has also offered a discounted price of £20 per hour for any Healthcare Art Club members who would like to use the studio.

The art club is free and available for any NHS worker to attend. Classes are supported by SaTH Charity - Small Things Big Difference. The club has been such a success that it has now expanded nationally with the recruitment and appointment of regional leads in six different hospital trusts across the UK. At the next session of the Healthcare Art Club you have the chance to try origami. It is on Wednesday 23 February between 6pm and 7pm. The virtual class will be on the big screen in the resource room of the health library at RSH and all the paper will be provided so you can follow. You also have the option of logging on virtually using this link: Join Virtual Class March’s session is on surgical art. If you would like any more details about any of the sessions please contact the art club on healthcareartclub@gmail.com

Sitting pretty to raise funds for SaTH Charity Could you do 100 squats every day for 28 days? That’s just what a team of colleagues at SaTH intend to do.

Clare Walsgrove, Quality Matron, said: “A team of us wanted so do something to raise some money for SaTH Charity, as well as kick-starting our health and well-being challenge.

Like many of us, the pandemic stopped our usual routines, and we want to get back into the swing of things like we did before – any donations we receive are just going to spur us on so please consider donating!”

Day, and money has also been used to buy wellbeing items such as hand creams, enhance staff rooms and provide outdoor seating areas to offer the opportunity of eating Al Fresco.

Joining Clare on this challenge are: Louisa Bowen, Lynette Williams, The team plans to raise money for the Lisa Walker, Angela Windsor, staff’s ‘Small Things’ fund which Teresa Cole, Sally Childs, enables SaTH Charity to purchase Pete Jeffries, Sharon Beza, Judith those small things that make a big Barnes, Debbie Holland, Tracie difference to working life such as Black, Lisa Marsden and Eleri Mills. fridges and kettles. The fund has supported International Day of the Click here to donate to the team and Midwife/ODP/International Nurses watch their progress.

About the Small Things Fund It might be that your office needs a new fridge or microwave, or you might be able to utilise a bench or outdoor seating adjacent to your dept.

Do you need something to brighten up the staff room, or add some additional chairs for comfortable seating?

Grants for up to £300 are available and can be applied for. There are restrictions on the types of applications made. Find out more here.

Monster press-up challenge for Paul PRH Theatres Orderly Paul Twitchell has set himself a monster of a challenge for 2022. He is going to do 100 press-ups every day in 2022 to raise money for SaTH Charity.

Paul said: “I know it’s something I can achieve as I did a similar challenge last year where I raised over £900 for Cancer Research UK. I have completed the first month with 3,100 press-ups done, only 33,400 to go for the year!

Any money raised will go to the children’s ward for them to buy important items and I would love to beat last year’s target.”

Julia Clarke, Director of Public Participation (which includes SaTH Charity) said: “Paul has set himself a great challenge and I’m really looking forward to hearing about his progress.

We are delighted he has chosen to support SaTH Charity and all

the money raised will be spent on a great cause supporting children and young people cared for at SaTH. To sponsor Paul follow this link: Paul Twitchell is fundraising for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust Charity (justgiving.com).

Telford College courses

New car parking spaces at RSH

Telford College is running HR (CIPD) qualifications starting imminently for both Level 3 and Level 5. To enrol on to the qualification or if you are a manager looking at developing your team please contact the College. These programmes can be offered remotely.

The Trust has created 75 extra car parking spaces which are located via Edgecombe Way near the old accommodation blocks at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and are signposted to a newly created floodlit back car park. Please see below the map of the car park's location.

The qualifications are available as a standalone option (may be a fee) or as part of an Apprenticeship programme where funding may be available. If looking at the Apprenticeship option, please also contact Judith Tudor - Trust Apprenticeship Lead: (judithc.tudor@nhs.net OR Ext. 2956/MS Teams) Team Leading Principles Level 2 short course starts on Wednesday, February 16. There will be three morning sessions from 9.30am- 12.30pm (16 Feb, 23 Feb and 2 March) with work then set to complete for each participant. The qualification is fully funded but conditions apply.

For either of these courses, please email engage@telfordcollege.ac.uk or call 01952 642452.

Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Ambassadors play a crucial part in SaTH and are available to raise awareness of FTSU, its role and purpose. They are also there to signpost and support staff who wish to raise concerns. Once a month, we will focus on one of our Ambassadors. For this edition of Chatterbox, we will find out more about Anjali Anandam.

I qualified as a neo-natal nurse in 2008 in Trivandrum, Kerala, a beautiful part of the world. I had no ambitions to leave Kerala but I saw an advertisement for nurses in the United Kingdom and it sparked something in me to pursue a different experience and adventure.

I started work in Telford on the 19 March 2020 on Ward 9 right at the beginning of the pandemic, which meant the international nurse’s qualification was delayed and we were restricted in what we could do on the wards.

Anjali Anandam and one of her paintings

I would always encourage people to raise concerns through any of the channels we have and if worried you can contact myself or any of the ambassadors or Guardians who will be able to support you.

There were many challenges here in the UK not only with the pandemic but getting used to the climate; leaving my family behind and adjusting to the British lifestyle.

This year I brought my family over to England. My husband is also a nurse and is in the process of qualifying to practise to work at SaTH and I have two children – aged nine and five. I now work as a staff nurse on Ward 4 where the teamwork and support are brilliant, my future aspirations are to be a specialist nurse. In my spare time I am also an artist and love cooking.

Nursing is also very different here to India, there is no OT support or social considerations and whilst my English was good, I found it hard to follow the subtleties of the language, not being able to follow handover for example and made many mistakes.

Anjali can be contacted at anjali.anandam@nhs.net You can also contact the Guardians at: sath.ftsu@nhs.net Helen Turner – 07880 885368 Chan Kaur - 07773976983

There was a time when I felt I wouldn’t be able to survive here and found it really tough navigating it all. However, I battled through and realised that your capabilities are inside you, you just have to be determined and keep going. I share my story a lot with the newer international nurses so they don’t feel isolated getting used to a whole new world.

I became a FTSU ambassador after realising what a great opportunity it was to bring concerns to light either from myself or colleagues so that they could be resolved. One example I have is where I spoke up about the unfair distribution of work on a ward and this was looked into and resolved quickly.

My experiences of speaking up in our organisation have been positive but I also know that some colleagues are concerned that they may be targeted if they raise a concern whether that be through a Datix or through the management chain.

FTSU drop-ins Louise Barnett, Chief Executive, and Hayley Flavell, Director of Nursing, are holding a number of drop-in sessions for colleagues across the coming weeks to ensure everyone has the opportunity to raise any issues they want but also, specifically, to seek to address concerns that have been anonymously raised.

Fri 25 Feb, 09:30 – 11:00, Room B, Telford Education Centre, PRH (Louise) Mon 28 Feb, 11:30 – 13:00, Director of Nursing Office, PRH (Hayley) Wed 2 Mar, 13:00 – 14:30, Syndicate Rooms 3 & 4, SECC, RSH (Louise) Mon 14 Mar, 14:45 – 15:45, Director of Nursing Office, PRH (Hayley) Wed 16 Mar, 13:00 – 14:30, Syndicate Rooms 1 & 2, SECC, RSH (Louise) Tues 29 Mar, 15:00 – 17:00, Venue TBC (Louise & Hayley)

Drop-in sessions for mandatory vaccinations Following the Government announcement of a review of the mandatory vaccines regulations with a view to removing them two further drop-in sessions have been organised to enable you to share thoughts, feelings, feedback, worries and questions (there is no need to book for these sessions).

By getting vaccinated you are helping to protect yourself, your colleagues, and those we care for and we would like to say thank you for this.

Thursday 17 February, 1pm to 2pm - click here to join Tuesday 1 March, 3pm to 4pm - click here to join

You can continue to book your COVID-19 vaccinations by following the links below: Royal Shrewsbury Hospital | Scheduling and Booking Website (nhsbookings.com) Princess Royal Hospital Fracture Clinic | Scheduling and Booking Website (nhsbookings.com)

In light of this announcement, we will no longer be inviting colleagues who are covered by the scope of the regulations to discuss redeployment or next steps as a result of their vaccination status.

We will continue to work with you all to understand the vaccination status of all colleagues and we would encourage anyone who hasn’t yet been fully vaccinated to get their first and second doses, or boosters, as soon as possible.

You can also contact the Mandatory Vaccines Team at sath.vcod@nhs.net if there is anything you’d like to ask or are unsure about.

We would like to thank all those colleagues who have taken up the offer of a vaccination along with all those who have supported them to do so.

Chinese New Year marked Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, fell on Tuesday 1st February 2022 this year, starting the Year of the Tiger. People born in a year of the Tiger are predicted to be brave, competitive, unpredictable, and confident.

To mark the Chinese New Year SaTH projected the Year of the Tiger onto the outside of PRH and RSH for four evenings.

1st prize – £343 – Julie Cartwright, Gynaecology 2nd prize – £171.50 – Katey Ann, Ward 23 2nd prize – £171.50 – Ercilia Maria Sousa dos Santos Costa, Phlebotomy 3rd prize – £85.75 – Coral Llewellyn, Oncology 3rd prize – £85.75 – Samantha I’Anson, Corporate Education

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Final Word...

I slipped outside Shrewsbury Rail Station on 20 January, and recognising that I had been injured, station staff called a taxi to bring me to your ED. I was on a few days' holiday in Shrewsbury, and I don't know the area...

From start to finish your staff treated me promptly and helpfully. As I was in pain - it transpired I had broken my wrist - your receptionist even told the triage team that I had requested painkillers, which were duly provided. I was particularly grateful to the CNS who attended me, Darren or Daryl Davies. He was calm, engaged me in conversation, told me what the team would be doing - but not in so much detail that I would become alarmed.

He even plastered my arm on the bed, which was less disruptive for me. The whole team in that area were kind to me, even after I had had to go back to X-ray. I say all of this as a chaplain at an acute hospital in London; you can be proud of how the team worked with me that morning. I am very grateful.

Please tell Darren that his instinct was right: the doctors at Lewisham did recommend my wrist be plated, which it was the following Monday.