Friday 23 August 2024
CHATTER BOX
Your fortnightly staff magazine
Your voice matters
We want our culture to be positive, compassionate, and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.
Following your feedback, in recent years we have implemented a cultural transformation programme built around three flagship programmes. This has brought about cultural improvements across all the People Promise elements and themes. It is really important that you all share how you are feeling at work. Whether that’s through the annual Staff Survey, which will launch next month, regular People Pulse surveys, to your line manager or any other route.
We’re listening
Your voice matters
The NHS is an extraordinary, world-class service.
Together we have achieved, and continue to achieve, the extraordinary. We should all feel immensely proud of this. We want our culture to be positive, compassionate, and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.
Spotlight on:
The Public Participation Team
The Public Participation is a team of 14 made up of three departments – Community Engagement, Volunteers and SaTH Charity.
Last year, Staff Survey results were good and above the results for the Trust average but showed areas of improvement in the ‘We are always learning’ and ‘We each have a voice that counts’ People Promise elements.
The Public Participation Team has since implemented positive changes to improve the working environment for colleagues through a culture programme supported by the OD Team.
Improvements include holding regular team away days, personal reflection/learning at the end of each weekly team meeting and protected time for colleagues to attend Civility and Respect sessions. The team are also attending DISC training which is a personal assessment tool used by more than one million people every year to help improve teamwork, communication, and productivity in the workplace.
Feedback from colleagues in the Public Participation Team:
• “It was good to take time out to think about how we can continue to improve our team performance and working effectively with other colleagues. Looking forward to the DiSC communication session with Marie in September.”
• “Any training to support the inclusion of teams and making SaTH a great place to work is always welcome.”
• “It was thought provoking - which for me was reason enough for us to do it. And to refresh with a whole team activity on occasion. The Team first aid session is a case in point, useful and doing it as a team helps build and maintain mutual respect.”
Do you want to share your team improvements following feedback?
Email sath.commsteam@nhs.net
Parking Updates
We are continuing with our vital work to improve car parking for everyone. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting us, including using the Park & Ride at both hospitals, working from home and using alternative transport where possible.
We are in the final stages of installing the new Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) system across our Trust car parks. This is due go live at RSH on Friday 30 August, with PRH and William Farr House expected to come online in September.
This means that if you park on-site and have not yet registered for a parking permit, you must do this by Monday 26 August. To register for a permit, please visit the NexusPlatform registration page.
As well as enabling us to effectively monitor both colleague and visitor parking, this will also provide us with critical data and a greater understanding of the parking requirements and improvements that can be made for now and in the future.
Q: Have you noticed the new double red lines around the hospital roads, and do you know how they are different to double yellow lines?
A: Our double red lines indicate that you must not stop or park in this area. Unlike double yellow lines, this applies to everyone including Blue Badge holders, and will ensure emergency vehicles, busses etc. can move safely around the hospital grounds.
Have you met fabulous lollipop They are doing keeping everyone cross the roads
If you choose a permit, the patient daily rate. You can ing machines, online payment on an app. The app these links:
met any of our lollipop people? doing a fab job of everyone safe as they roads around RSH
choose not to register for permit, you will need to park in patient car park and pay the rate.
can pay for this using the existmachines, or the new JustPark payment system also available app.
app can be downloaded using links:
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Park & Ride A great option for many of our colleagues looking for a quick and easy parking solution
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More and more of our colleagues are discovering the benefits of the Park & Ride service running at both PRH and RSH sites.
With ample parking spaces available and shuttles running every 15 minutes, why spend time trawling for those elusive on-site spots? If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go... you might just like it.
And to those of you who are already enjoying the benefits, thank you for helping to keep our car parks free for colleagues, patients, and visitors who need them most.
You can find more details including full timetables on the intranet.
Olympic success for Inese
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the public have been given an opportunity to participate. Inese Robotham, Assistant Chief Executive, completed the Marathon Pour Tous, a mass participation marathon for amateur runners from around the world.
The event was held at night on Saturday 10 August and followed the same 42.195km loop from Paris to Versailles as the one run by Olympic athletes earlier in the day.
In order to be allocated one of the much-coveted bibs, prospective applicants had to complete a variety of challenges during the two years preceding the Olympics. Following each successful challenge the participants were entered in a draw for a chance to be allocated one of the 20,024 starting spots in the mass participation marathon.
“ “ Taking part in the Olympic Games was absolutely incredible and is an experience I will never ever forget.
Inese has completed 21 marathons, including all six Abbott World Majors in Berlin, Chicago, Boston, London, New York and Tokyo.
Inese said: “Taking part in the Olympic Games was absolutely incredible and is an experience I will never ever forget. The crowd support was incredible, it seemed that the whole of Paris was out on the streets having a party throughout the night. The course was also one of the toughest that I have experienced due to the heat and the steep gradient of the hills. We were spurred on by an absolute army of volunteers and other support staff until the Olympic finish line was within our reach. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be one of the few out of the hundreds of thousands of hopefuls worldwide who had a chance to experience the Olympic Marathon route in Paris.”
Improving Quality in Liver Services (IQILS)
Accreditation
Congratulations to the Hepatology department who has been awarded IQILS accreditation. The assessment team also highlighted the following areas of excellence in the service:
• The service demonstrated strong examples of shared decision making.
• It was evident that the team is very person centred in their delivery of care.
• The day case paracentesis service is excellent and should be commended.
• The service has made good progress on decreasing the waiting time for new patient appointments.
Well done to everyone involved, this is a fantastic achievement.
What is Donate 2 Motivate?
We are on a mission to improve patient experience by sourcing clothing for our patients to motivate them to get dressed and get out of bed!
What you can do to help
We would love if colleagues at SaTH can join the movement and donate any unwanted clothes to the donation boxes at both sites (purple wheelie bins at RSH in link corridor opposite Ward 25 and PRH in the old league of friends next to Amazon lockers).
We are looking for the following items which should be in good condition and generally suitable for those aged 60+, we are looking for a variety of summer and winter wear:
• T-shirts & blouses
• Cardigans and jumpers
• Skirts and dresses
• Trousers & joggers
• Pyjamas
Washed, organised and stored on Ward 28 at RSH and Ward 9 at PRH to give to patients
can get dressed out of hospital clothes and sit in their
What is deconditioning?
Deconditioning (noun, medical): The process of losing physical strength through being ill, injured, or not active. Deconditioning is a complex change that occurs in a patient's body following long periods of inactivity or bed rest. This a ects a patient's physical and mental health and ultimately results in functional decline, prolonged hospital admissions and increased mortality.
Why does this matter in the context of donating clothing? Long periods of time in bed wearing a hospital gown is not good for recovery. Providing patients with comfortable, warm clothes during their admission could motivate them to get up out of bed and mobilise. If you have any questions,
Clare Walsgrove: Ext 2525 or clare.walsgrove@nhs.net Lynette Williams: Ext 2285 or lynette.williams3@nhs.net
Clothes donations from colleagues
chair
SaTH 1 success
Congratulations to participants on our SaTH 1 Leadership Programme who attended their final day last month.
A pawsome visitor
The Children’s Ward at Princess Royal Hospital has a pawsome visitor every Wednesday morning – Lottie the dog.
The ‘Pets as Therapy’ Cockapoo loves her adventures on the ward and the children just can’t wait for her visits.
Here she is with Ehaan. Lottie is shortlisted in the Radio Shropshire Make a Difference Awards.
To find out more about improvements we are making to better support and care for children and young people, visit our website.
PAW PAW PAWPAW
Pay award details
With effect from 1 April 2024, there is a 5.5 per cent consolidated uplift for all Agenda for Change staff on NHS terms and conditions. All pay awards will be backdated to 1 April 2024.
The annual and hourly rates have been updated and can be accessed on the NHS Employers website
Colleagues are expected to receive the new pay rates (including back pay to 1 April) as part of their pay in October.
If you are in receipt of benefits, this could impact your benefit payments. For this reason, some colleagues may prefer to have their back pay spread in instalments. To provide additional support to colleagues, we are giving you the option to have your back pay payment spread across the remaining six months of the financial year (from October 2024 to March 2025).
Circumstances will vary by individual and by household and you should seek advice from your benefit provider and/or Citizens Advice. Some helpful information on Universal Credit can be found here. More information on benefits can be found on the GOV.UK website.
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If you are in receipt of benefits, this could impact your benefit payments. How to spread your pay award payments!
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If you wish to spread your payment, please email sath.pay.services@nhs.net with your full name and employee number by Monday 30 September. If you don’t have access to email, please speak to your manager who can email on your behalf.
If you have any questions about the pay award, please contact our People Advisory Team on ext. 2891 or email sath.hradvice@nhs.net.
Going off the block!
SaTH Charity has organised an abseil from the top of the Ward Block on Saturday 21 September to raise funds to support patients and their families across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid-Wales, in conjunction with the League of Friends and Lingen Davies Cancer Fund.
Angela and Joan
Angela Turner (82) and Joan Woodhouse (80) are going to be our first two abseilers taking on the challenge. The pair are raising funds for SaTH Charity’s Chemotherapy Day Centre (CDC) which is close to their hearts.
Joan said: “The care I received was second to none, and although I didn’t receive chemotherapy when I recovered, I wanted to give back and now I do a morning a week as a volunteer in the CDC. I chat to nervous patients and use my experience of the unit to calm their nerves.”
Angela said: “Cancer has affected four immediate members of my family, my late husband had bladder and bone cancer, two of my sisters have had breast cancer, and our younger daughter has the rare blood cancer Polycythaemia Vera. Hence my passion and desire to support the CDC and its patients of the future.”
Jules and Emma
Angie Cooper, Matron for Oncology & Haematology: said: “We are delighted to see Angela and Joan take on such this challenge to raise money for the CDC. The whole team at the CDC are proud of their bravery, we can’t wait to see them abseil down safely and we will be there to cheer them on.”
If you can, please donate to Angela or Joan’s JustGiving pages.
Jules Lewis, End of Life Care Lead Nurse, and Emma Gibbons, HCA, on Ward 28 and End of Life Care Champion, are raising money for the Swan Fund, which support patients and their families at End-of-Life. The Swan Fund was set up nine years ago and has raised £98,000 in donations.
Jules said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to abseil from the Ward Block at RSH and raise money for the hospital Swan Fund. I set the Swan Fund up in July 2015 in memory of my lovely Dad, to improve and support the last hours
and days of life care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital. I know I will be thinking of Dad on the day as he would have loved to see me do this abseil off the Ward Block.”
If you can, please donate to Angela, Joan, Jules or Emma’s JustGiving pages.
If you want to go off the block and abseil down the Ward Block, please contact SaTH Charity at sath.charity@nhs.net or call 01743 492256
Some people have a disability or health problem that is not easy to notice straight away. This can make everyday life difficult for those that have one.
The hidden disabilities lanyard is a tool for people to share that they have a disability or condition that we might not notice straight away. It tells us that they may need a helping hand, understanding or more time when they use our hospitals.
SaTH is supporting the hidden disabilities lanyard campaign and want to ensure that adequate support is given to our patients who need it.
A sunflower lanyard encourages our patients:
• To ask for extra support if they need it
• To use the lanyard to tell people about the type of assistance they need. For example, if they need some more time to understand something
• To let us know if they need any assistance with getting to the hospital
The lanyards are available in our hospitals and can be collected from the Treatment Centre at RSH or the Outpatient reception or the Women and Children’s reception at PRH.
You can find out more about the hidden disabilities campaign here
DON'T BE THE WEAKEST LINK IN THE SECURITY CHAIN
To reduce risk, you can:
Use a strong and unique “passphrase” - a passphrase is made up of a minimum of 15 characters, using three or more random words. You can also include separators or numbers to increase the strength if you wish Some examples are “ModifyDairyConform1”, “AppleFish-Pencil” or “phasing7#Common#Utilise”
Never reuse or share passphrases with multiple systems or with other people
Change your passphrase if you suspect it has become known
Planned Changes as of 5 August 2024
If your main SaTH computer passphrase is discovered to be weak or compromised you will receive an email from “SaTH Password Alert”, asking you to change your passphrase now or you will be prompted to set a new passphrase the next time you log in to your computer
If you use a ‘password’ you will have to change your password every 180 days However, by using a ‘Passphrase’ which is more secure, you only need to change the passphrase every 365 days unless it becomes compromised.
New ways of recording leave, rosters and shifts
Loop will soon be replacing your employee online account.
This will affect how you view and book annual leave, view rosters, make shifts requests, or book bank shifts.
You can access your Loop account by downloading the Loop app on your mobile phone from your Google Play store or Apple Store by searching ‘Allocate Loop’, or you can use the website then click launch.
If you have any problems with accessing Loop, please contact the HealthRoster Team on: Ext. 7030 or Email sath.erostering@nhs.net
We are delighted to announce that we are marking Armed Forces Day on Wednesday 18 September.
Please do join us from 12-2pm in Captain Tom’s Courtyard, PRH and Captain Tom’s Garden, RSH on Wednesday 18 September. It is a chance to meet and show your support for these men and women who make up our Armed Forces community. We will be joined by serving personnel from RAF Shawbury and the Royal Yeomanry Army.
There will be refreshments and a raffle where you could win a family pass to RAF Cosford - a brilliant day out for all.
If you would like to support on the day, please contact Charlotte Hill by email on chill13@nhs.net
Dementia appeal wedding donations
Newlyweds Karen Breese, our Dementia Care Clinical Specialist and her husband Clive Coxton asked for donations to SaTH Charity’s Dementia Appeal in lieu of gifts and raised £500 for the Dementia fund.
Karen said “Clive and I decided to use the wedding to raise money for the Dementia Appeal which is so important to us both. We can use this money to purchase more reminiscence items like dolls or teddies to support patients admitted to the hospital who are living with Dementia. These items give them something to focus on and relieve some of their anxiety in an unfamiliar environment. We are so grateful our friends and family were so generous and helped us to raise so much money for our patients.”
Julia Clarke, Director of Public Participation said, “We are grateful to Karen and Clive for thinking of others on their wedding day and using that happy occasion to raise funds for the Dementia Appeal. Thank you to their generous friends and family for raising this money which will have a direct impact on patients and their families. On behalf of the hospital and SaTH Charity I’d like to wish Karen and Clive the very best for the future”
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital’s
Key speakers include:
+ Sepsis Survivor
+ Sim Session
+ Legal Services
+ Psychology Hub
+ and more
Also included:
+ Rock Choir
+ Shrewsbury College beauticians providing free treatments
+ various stands from different areas including unions, chaplains, art club etc
To reserve a place (staff) please contact: sally.childs5@nhs.net
hour time slots
Friday 25th October, doors open at 7pm
Book early to avoid disappointment! Radbrook Community Centre, Calverton Way, Radbrook Green, Shrewsbury SY3 6DZ
Questions from Quiz Setter Lucy Goff
Tasty Light Refreshments,
Rafße
& Bar
Tickets £12.50 per person (teams max 4 and can be made up on the night)
To book please contact sallydavies365@gmail.com or Sue in the LoF ofÞce 01743 261007
In aid of The League of Friends of the Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital
The Trust has Secure Staff Cycle Shelters at both RSH and PRH sites.
To access please email sath. greenertravels@nhs.net with the following details:
• Type of bike ie hybrid, commuter, racer, mountain, folding, ebikecolour and brand.
• Where you intend cycling from? District (Gains Park / Hadley).
• Contact details ie department, NHS email & Ext number.
Location RSH/PRH
STAFF LOTTERY
Winners for JULY
1st £500
Maggie Davison
2nd £250
Tracey Bennett, Microbiology
2nd £250
Thomas Roker Pathology Blood Science
3rd £100
Ellie Smith, A&E CYPU
3rd £100
Sarah Perks, Orthodontics & Maxillofacial
3rd £100
Danielle Walker
4th £50
Sue Rigby, Ward 11
4th £50
Yvonne Draper, Medical Education
4th £50
Colin Bernard Brewer, Outpatients
4th £50
Jane Wilde
10 cash prizes every month!
Payment will be deducted from your salary; winnings are paid into your salary the following month
Why not join our lottery?
50% of profits are given out in prizes and the other 50% is adding to our Small Changes Make a Big Difference Fund all of which is spent on items for staff.
The SaTH Small Things Make a Big Difference Fund aims to improve the working environment and amenities for all employees.
Click here to download the T&C’s and enter the staff lottery
Thank you to the Radiology Team - for helping me when it was difficult to get on and off the couch, being that extra bit of support I needed at the time. And those beautiful smiles which made me feel braver.
You are all “Stars” and credits to the NHS.
Thank you