Chatterbox - 250801

CHATTER BOX Your fortnightly bulletin for SaTH colleagues and events Friday 1 August 2025

Help shape the look, feel and naming conventions for locations within our new building Construction is now well underway of a multi-million pound expansion of healthcare facilities at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Please take a moment to cast your vote in our short survey to help shape a space that reflects our vision and values. The survey will close on Friday 15 August at midnight, so make sure your voice is heard before this date.

Help us raise £5 million to develop cancer services at Princess Royal Hospital Click here for more information

Trust Celebratory Awards nomination window extended The Trust Celebratory Awards 2025 are open for nominations!

Mercure Telford Centre Hotel on Friday 17 October 2025.

This year we are incredibly lucky to have some of our absolutely brilliant partners sponsoring the awards. You can read about them and their support on our awards website.

The closing date for nominations is Friday 8 August.

To see all the categories and details on how to nominate, please visit the awards website.

The Trust Celebratory Awards reflect the huge diversity of what our colleagues do, day in and day out, to support and care for our local communities.

This is your opportunity to nominate and celebrate the outstanding dedication and commitment of colleagues and teams.

To watch an overview of last year’s awards ceremony, you can watch this short video on YouTube.

This year the awards ceremony will be held at The

DrDoctor dropped in On Tuesday 29 July, the Trust had a visit from our Patient Engagement Portal providers DrDoctor, who joined us to meet with the Digital Services Team and Patient Access Team.

They spent time shadowing the booking team to get a better understanding of how the Trust processes work, with the ultimate aim of deploying the Patient Engagement Portal in the most effective way to enhance patient care.

Together, they had discussions about the future of the system and mapped out some key

decisions of our patient booking experience.

Sally Orrell, Digital Business Change Lead, said: “It was great to spend some time on site with the DrDoctor team, for them to see the booking processes in action. The project will be massively beneficial to the Trust – saving money, enhancing patient experience and ultimately improving the care delivered.

We would like to say a big “thank you” to the DrDoctor team for being so engaged and taking time to travel to see the Trust”.

Celebrating South Asian Heritage Month We are recognising South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) from Friday 18 July until Sunday 17 August.

People of South Asian heritage are a significant part of the British population, with about one in every 20 people in the country being of South Asian heritage. The countries that are included in this celebratory month are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The theme for 2025 is “Roots to Routes”.

The website www.southasianheritage.org.uk highlights a number of themes that resonate with the South Asian community and embody the spirit of the “Roots to Routes” message.

Cooking competition We hosted a SAHM cooking competition to celebrate the diverse cultures that our staff represent. Congratulations to our winner, Geeta Mal, Ophthalmic Assistant, who won with her South Asian pakoras.

Food stalls To celebrate South Asian Heritage Month, we hosted a food stall at PRH and RSH. Thank you to everyone who attended and sampled the South Asian delights!

Library stands The libraries at both PRH and RSH will have educational displays throughout South Asian Heritage Month - make sure you visit to find out more.

REIN network If you would like to find out more about the Race, Equality and Inclusion Network (REIN), please visit their intranet page. Email sath.reistaffnetwork@nhs.net to find out more. The next REIN network meeting is being held on Wednesday 27 August on MS Teams, from 11-12pm.

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance engagement and connectivity within the Race, Equality and Inclusion Network (REIN), an informal WhatsApp group has been created for REIN members.

If you would like to join this group - the WhatsApp link is available through sath.edi@nhs.net, sath.reistaffnetwork@nhs.net or any of the REIN co-chairs.

If you are a member of one of the SaTH staff networks – DAWN, REIN, PRIDE or the Multi Faith and Belief Network, please take the time to fill out this survey.

Cavell Star awarded to ITU nurse Nurse Jan Meredith who has helped train hundreds of students on RSH ITU has been presented with the prestigious Cavell Star award.

Star Awards are given to nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare assistants who shine bright and show exceptional care to their colleagues, their patients or patients’ families.

She has been a nurse for nearly 48 years has dedicated her professional life to nursing and education – making an impact on hundreds of student nurses and also her colleagues.

Rachel Armstrong, Head of Non-Medical Education, presented the Cavell Star award to Jan and described her as a ‘shining light’. Donna Clark, Lead Nurse for Education, nominated her for the award.

She said: “Jan is such a worthy winner of the Cavell Star for her dedication and commitment over her long career to her colleagues, ensuring they are always supported and listened to. She is always striving to be the best team mate and educator possible through compassion and excellence. She is an inspiration.”

An inspiring national awards programme, Cavell

Jan who is retiring was nominated for the Practice Supervisor of the Year category at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2025 earlier this year. She started her nursing career in 1977 and “absolutely loved it” after not really knowing what she wanted to do. She has spent most of her career in ITU. “I found that people were very unreceptive to students and I changed the way that we looked after students. They are the ones we need and they are our future. If people didn’t teach me, we would not have nurses of the future who can provide the best possible care for our patients,” said Jan. Pictured: Kelsey Williams and Pam Williams, both Pre-Reg Practice Education Facilitators, Jan Meredith, Donna Clark and Rachel Armstrong.

World Breastfeeding Week During World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August), a global campaign to promote and support breastfeeding, we would like to thank all our colleagues who are supporting women and their families every day.

Sam Petridis is a lactation consultant and the Neonatal Baby Friendly Lead. Sam support families on the unit with expressing their milk, transitioning to breastfeeding and supporting with any problems.

Sam also teaches the nursing staff and doctors about the importance of breastmilk, positioning

and attachment, hand expressing, bottle feeding and much more.

Sandra and Emma are both Midwives and Lactation Consultants who consult mothers with complex feeding issues, they also deliver training to staff and parents and drive the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative forward within Maternity.

They can offer 1:1 breastfeeding support, outpatient appointments of one hour, on the postnatal ward when there is a complex issue staff will alert them to attend.

Sponsored silence to boost funds Silence was golden when a renal dialysis patient at the CDC in Telford completed a week’s sponsored silence to raise money for the Shropshire Kidney Patients Association (SKPA).

Patient Thomas Pettitt was fundraising for SKPA, which has supported the renal patients at SaTH with mobility scooters, heat pads, blankets, subsidised trips to the seaside and train trips.

They also have funded many transplant patients this past year with financial support for their travel costs to the transplant centres, as patients have to fund themselves the multiple journeys to either Birmingham or Cardiff.

the question, so these trips are a great way for patients and staff to enjoy a day away from the weekly treatment regime.”

Rachel Williamson, Renal Social Care Coordinator, said: “Thomas does four days of dialysis a week, with each session being fourand-a-half hours. Usually he is very chatty, so I imagine this challenge was very difficult for him!

Thomas raised an incredible £285 for the charity and everyone in the unit is so proud of him”.

Thomas said: “I could see how much the outings to the seaside mean to a lot of the patients and I wanted to do something to raise funds, so they could continue to have these great trips out with other renal patients and their family and friends.

“With dialysis treatment, there is no ‘break’.

It is a life saving treatment and you have to have it. For a lot of people, holidays are out of

Thank you from the Renal unit The Renal Unit team would like to offer their sincere thanks to Nik and the Newtown & District Male Voice Choir.

Nik recently completed the 46-mile Rotary Across Wales walk to raise funds for two charities, one of which was the Shropshire Kidney Patient Association.

This money will help to support our Renal Unit patients. Earlier this year the choir also held an event in aid of the Renal Unit.

FOSATL leadership programme Eighteen colleagues recently graduated from the FOSATL Programme.

The class of April 25 includes Ashley Harris, Craig Cantwell, Kelly Warren, Febin Jose, Rinju Raju, Anna Fitch, Inyene Idiokune, Akhill Suseela, Francesca Farruggio, Inaki Aguero, Jess Briscoe, Funmilola Odunywemi, Emily Davies, Lorna Green, Kerry Lawrence, Andrea Ellis, Michelle Causier and Jenny Malton.

All 18 confirmed they would recommend this programme to colleagues.

The next cohort commences early September and is fully booked. If you are interested in applying for the programme, a waiting list is now being built whilst we finalise dates for our 2026 cohort groups.

Please reach out to marie.mason6@nhs.net if you are interested.

We encourage you reach out sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment.

John O’Groats to Land’s End charity bike ride One of our resident doctors Pippa Morris has completed a mammoth 12-day 1,000-mile cycle across the length of the UK from John O’Groats to Land’s End. Pippa and her friend Hannah started the ride on Saturday 28 June. They were raising money for the British Red Cross Disaster Fund, which helps provide essential support for those affected by global disasters.

Pippa said: “We have battled 50mph winds, torrential rain, a few tumbles and broken bikes but alongside all of this we have met some incredible people and really appreciated the kindness and warmth of complete strangers!”

There’s still time to donate to the pair’s JustGiving page here.

REIN Network walkaround The Race, Equality and Inclusion (REIN) EDI network visited colleagues at RSH on Monday 21 July to promote the work they are doing across the Trust and to boost their membership.

They also gave out snacks and drinks, kindly donated by SaTH Charity.

The staff networks engage with our staff to help us drive diversity and inclusion within SaTH

and, in line with our new People Strategy. We are committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive organisation and ensuring that we harness the talents of all our staff fully. These networks will help create a sense of belonging for all staff and an inclusive and safe work environment.

You can find out more about the EDI Networks on the intranet.

Risk management team SaTH’s Risk Management team (James Webb and Holly Burrows) offer support and training to help you assess your risks and manage your risk registers on Datix.

To make risk training accessible for staff James and Holly offer: Face-to-face and online training sessions with e-learning modules available on LMS - click here to book onto the risk management training Please click here to view our risk management intranet page for “all things risk”. Click here to access the risk assessment form.

Email: j.webb19@nhs.net and holly.burrows4@nhs.net.

Thank you for continuing to contribute to the Trust values as open reporting helps us learn, improve systems, and provide safer care.

Embers of Care “Embers of Care” is a 100-painting series celebrating the strength, resilience, and profound contributions of migrants in the UK healthcare sector.

The project was created by John Yayen, a Cambridge-based nurse and artist who gained funding from the Arts Council to create a series of portraits of international healthcare workers from within the NHS. He said: “This project draws inspiration from my personal experience transitioning to a nursing role in the UK, which has exposed me to a diverse array of stories and challenges faced by migrants. Relocating to a new country unveils the extraordinary resilience within migrant communities, who bravely navigate cultural shifts, isolation, and demanding work environments. As a migrant myself, these experiences deeply resonate with me and I am compelled to use art to celebrate these achievements, highlight resilience, and foster a sense of pride and belonging.”

Two colleagues from SaTH were chosen to have their portraits painted as part of the series.

This painting depicts the journeys of Nandini, a GP, and Prisha, a nurse, highlighting themes of growth, humour and adaptation.

Nandini’s journey spanned three countries. In India, she evolved from a sheltered student to an empathetic professional while working with HIV patients in rural settings, understanding poverty.

“You go beyond materialistic things. You see people suffering in real life,” she recalled. In Dubai, she managed COVID-19 communications, gaining insights into the importance of collective action. In the UK, the NHS’s ethos of universal care resonated deeply with her. “I don’t have to say no to anybody because I’m supposed to be serving them,” she said. Her overarching reflection: “I became much more grateful in life. For us, it’s a daily thing to come to the hospital, for the patient, it’s a once-ina-lifetime thing.”

A lighter, yet symbolic anecdote, her first visit to Wellington’s Cock Hotel, showcased her experience of cultural differences. Embarrassed to pronounce the hotel’s name to a bus driver, she later learned it was tied to the town’s history of rooster fighting.

The story became a metaphor for her migrant experience: misunderstanding transformed through curiosity and humour. She said, “I just smile through it,”, summing her approach to life.

Prisha arrived in Shrewsbury from a bustling

Indian city, facing the challenge of her new quiet environment. “It’s beautiful, calm, serene - but where are the happenings? It’s too quiet for me,” she recalled. Encouraged by her manager, she stepped into a Practice Education Facilitator role, creating a transition programme for new international nurses, something she wished had existed when she arrived.

Her early days were filled with difficulty. She faced COVID-related challenges, inadequate PPE, delayed OSCEs, no support system, and housing and transportation issues. “We had to look for houses on foot, taxis weren’t even running.” she said.

She was among the fourth cohort of international nurses at her Trust, arriving before structured support had been established.

One particularly tender moment stands out. When Prisha was unwell and alone, her colleagues brought her food and companionship. “They filled that void,” she said.

Through art, Yayen seeks to bring visibility and recognition to the often unseen hands and stories that sustain the healthcare system.

The painting will be unveiled during Inclusion Week in September 2025, in the Mytton Restaurant, RSH. You can watch a video of the artist, talking about his work and the process here.

Please take the time to fill out an impact survey on the project.

Please see below some of the paintings that Yayen has completed for other Trusts.

Parking update Park & Ride Thank you to colleagues who are regularly using the Park & Ride service at both RSH and PRH. Have you got your loyalty card? you can still earn stamps for each return journey and claim your free drink.

You can find both timetables below and details of how to register for the PRH service.

Parking on site? You must register Please remember that to park on site in one of the staff car parking spaces then you must register on the GroupNexus platform. This includes staff members who receive free parking and those that use the pay-as-you-go option.

Please also make sure your details are entered correctly and you include the full registration.

Patient parking All the details for patients and visitors parking are on our website here. If patients ask about parking please encourage them to view the website for all the latest information.

This includes details about concessions such as free parking for cancer patients and how to register for disabled parking.

PRH Parking changes An area of parking will be closed off for the next two weeks as part of the works to construct a new substation. There are more details on the intranet.

Coming soon ...

We will be celebrating catch the bus month in September.

If you haven’t tried the Park & Ride then why not get on board in September?

Challenge your teams to take the bus to work for a week or longer and see which team can clock up the most hours of bus travel.

Send us your pictures of you on your colleagues on the bus.

We will be adding extra incentives for September, alongside our loyalty card which helps you earn free drinks.

Contact us For issues involving car parking at any of our hospital sites you can email # sth-tr.carparking@nhs.net.

Please note we cannot help with PCN appeals PRH Park & Ride Timetable

To register your vehicle for the PRH Park & Ride please email sath.prhparkandride@nhs.net

RSH Park & Ride NEW Timetable

Colleague Notice Board New and updated—FREE eBooks, eAudio and eMagazine service

Nursing, AHP and Midwifery Conference

to enhance patient experience

09:00-17:00 Friday 26 September, SECC & SERII th

Come and join us for our joint conference to celebrate all of our national and international recognition days this year.

Key speakers, treats and surprises throughout the day.

NEW LINK to step by step guides now available at www.library.sath.nhs.uk/ebooksforpatients

for use on wards and in waiting areas.

Key speakers include:

Also included:

+ Professor Brian Dolan

+ Shrewsbury College beauticians providing free treatments + Sim Bus

+ Hospital Transformation Programme

For more information, updated posters + various stands from different areas including unions, chaplains, simulation etc

+ and more

Book via Eventbrite

or multiple copies of leaflets contact Sarah Rochelle at Telford Health Library ext 4440

sarah.rochelle@nhs.net

Leaflet compiled by Shrewsbury and Telford Health Libraries

For more information please contact: sally.childs5@nhs.net

IMPORTANT LIBRARY INFORMATION As from 7th July 2025 Due to available staffing

Telford Health Library

will be reducing the staffed hours to:

The library service has created a reading list of books about disability and neurodiversity for Disability Pride Month.

08:30 Ͳ 16:30 Monday to Friday

Out of hours access is still available to eligible members Please ask library staff for further information

All of the books on the list are available to borrow. Visit our website www.library.sath.nhs.uk for more information about joining the library.

Scan the QR code to find the full reading list on our library catalogue.

Or call ext: 4440

If you need to speak to a member of library staff after 16.30 MonͲFri, Shrewsbury Health Library will remain staffed until 17.00 Contact Shrewsbury Health Library on ext: 2512

We apologise for any inconvenience and will regularly be reviewing our opening hours

Colleague Notice Board

The National Quarterly Pulse Survey Take part in our quarterly pulse survey today. Your voice counts.

Severn Diabetes Conference An educational event focused on the management of diabetes and its associated complications FREE to healthcare professionals within Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales

Thursday 11th September 08:30 - 16:30 full or half day Albrighton Hall Hotel, SY4 3AG REGISTER NOW !

Scan the QR code or visit https://bit.ly/43U9bcI to book your free ticket

For more information email:

sath.severndiabetesconference@nhs.net

Please scan the QR code to participate in the National Quarterly Pulse Survey The hospitality of the conference has been sponsored by pharmaceuticals but the agenda and educational content is non promotional. All lectures are on an unpaid honorary basis.

Would you like to communicate more effectively and powerfully with patients, colleagues and other stakeholders ?

PREVIOUS ATTENDEES: "The most fun I have ever had on a training course. A fantastic way to improve advanced communication skills, mindful, refreshing and inspiring!"

Prof. Ruth Green – Respiratory Medicine Consultant

“I was delighted to be challenged in my practice by the medical improvisation course and have been able to use activities from the day in delivering communication skill training ” Dr Luke Feathers, Palliative Care Consultant

"I learn a profound communication skill from every session of improv I attend. I believe that every trainee should do improv as a way of learning communication skills" Dr. Huda Mahmoud, Nephrology Consultant

ADVANCED COMMUNICATION SKILLS a medical improv workshop A 1-day study day highlighting the power of Medical Improv to boost teamwork, communication, cohesion and other human factors.

Friday 19th September 2025 10am to 5pm Cost: £120 including lunch

This will be a day of experiential learning in a fun, safe and supportive environment

FAST-TRACK YOUR RETURN TO NURSING Step back into the profession you love – on your terms and with confidence.

Join our fully funded, three-week Return to Practice programme – uniquely designed as a Test of Competence route.

Full support every step of the way

Experience Medical Improv training for yourself and see how it fits into the medical curriculum in clinical practice and in your teaching.

Travel and accommodation options available

Suitable for all health professionals, and those involved in communications training.

Guidance to explore your career options once complete

CPD applied for.

Led by Dr Esther Waterhouse, Consultant in Palliative Medicine and communication skills trainer, and Jon Trevor, Founder and CEO of Improv Initiative.

In improvisation there is no script and no plan.

Participants learn to listen, to accept what they are given, and to support each other when things go awry.

Sound familiar?

10am to 5pm.

F r i d a y 19th September 2 0 25

Zellig Building, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AT

These are the ‘non-technical’ and listening skills that healthcare professionals need in order to work effectively with patients, families and colleagues.

More details and booking at medicalimprovgb.com/study-day/

All you need to sign up is a lapsed NMC nursing registration and a desire for restarting your career.

STAFF LOTTERY This month ’s winners...

JOIN THE STAFF LOTTERY AND BE IN WITH A CHANCE TO WIN 13 CASH PRIZES EVERY MONTH!

1st £600 Lindsay Barker, PALS & Bereavement 2nd £300 Charlotte Harris, Ophthamology 2nd £300 Charlotte Goddard, Cancer Services 3rd £150 Donna Berry, Therapies 3rd £150 Andrea Hughes 4th £100 Imogen Brown, Pharmacy 4th £100 Kelsey Williams, Clinical Placement Team 5th £75 Kai Farmer, Communications 5th £75 Nicole Cowlishaw, Medical Secretary 6th £50 Sherrie Nuarin, Children’s Outpatients 6th £50 Lyn De Leon, A&E PRH 6th £50 Rachel Cornes, ED RSH 6th £50 Caroline Cross, Communications

Tickets only £1 Payment will be deducted from your salary; winnings are paid into your salary the following month.

Why join our staff lottery?

50% of profits are given out in prizes and the other 50% is adding to our Small Changes Make a Big Difference Fund which is all 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

One only tends to hear criticism of the delays and service given by the NHS but I would like to say what efficient and courteous care I have received at the RSH.

I recently attended the A&E dept after falling on my shoulder and suffered a rotator cuff injury.

I received a triage appointment, examination, X-ray and results and was out within 90 minutes plus a follow-up appointment made at the fracture and orthopaedic clinic within a week plus continuing physio.

The staff and clinicians have all been very helpful caring and professional throughout.

I would like to convey my continued thanks.