Southend Hospital Recruitment Brochure 2016

here wish you were

staff recruitment brochure

What our patients say about us “Staff on the ward were amazingly efficient and worked so very hard.”

“I cannot thank staff enough for the treatment I received. I was in so much pain which has been treated with utter kindness and respect.”

“Hardworking, dedicated, compassionate, kind, professional lovely staff from tea girl to consultant, almost a pleasure to be in hospital.”

“Southend Hospital is everything the NHS

contents

Published March 2015

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A long history of excellence and achievement

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High quality care for every patient, every time

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Benefits available to our staff

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At the forefront of innovation

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Dr Caroline Howard, clinical lead, ED

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Professional development and career progression

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Realising your full potential

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Paediatric nurse – an incredibly diverse job

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Pioneering research

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A day in the life of...a senior dietitian

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Our location: Southend-on-Sea

ALSO IN THIS BOOKLET Emma Matthews, ward manager cardiac and medical day stay team

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Sister Rebecca Simmonds, paediatrics

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Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta clinical director of research and and audit

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“A long history of excellence and achievement”

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outhend Hospital has a long history of excellence and achievement. We pride ourselves on our hardworking and highly-motivated staff and the friendly ‘family’ atmosphere which is so often remarked on by those who come here to work as well as by our patients and visitors.

As a trust, we continually strive for excellence and innovation in everything we do. This is borne out by the awards which staff at all levels have won, the academic papers which they have had published in leading specialist journals and the success of various research projects – and by the many letters of appreciation we receive from patients and their families.

As everyone knows, the NHS faces challenging times with more and more call on its resources and expertise. Here at Southend Hospital we are confident we can meet these challenges and continue to invest in new services and buildings.

Mr Neil Rothnie, medical director For example: n With Macmillan, we have recently opened a jointly-funded information and support centre for cancer patients and their families which is proving to be a well-used and highly-valued facility. n We now boast a regional clinical and research centre for assessing and treating unborn babies – the only one of its kind in Essex. This dedicated fetal medicine unit, which is affiliated to the worldrenowned centre at London’s Kings College Hospital, was made possible thanks to a £400,000 charitable donation from the foundation set up by world expert Professor Kypros Nicolaides. n We were chosen to run the National Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme (NAAASP) for the whole of Essex. n We have introduced a fast-track service for ophthalmic patients requiring cataract removal at our satellite clinic at Orsett Hospital. n A multi-disciplinary group of nurses, dietitians, catering staff and volunteer ‘Feeding Buddies’

was awarded a Patient Safety Award for the innovative and successful ‘snack round’ scheme designed to boost the nutrition of patients with exceptionally poor appetites. n Our multi-disciplinary stroke team has won awards both for its rapid access mini stroke service and also for its service redesign to ensure the highest quality of stroke care.

We are firm believers in career progression in all specialities and departments and continuing education plays a key role in our staff development.

We encourage everyone at every level to work together to ensure our patients receive the highest standards of care, feel listened to, comfortable and cherished.

You can read more about what both Southend Hospital and the surrounding area have to offer in this brochure.

Thank you for your interest in our hospital. You can be sure that, if you come to join our team, you will receive a very warm welcome.

“As a trust, we continually strive for excellence and innovation in everything we do.”

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539,269 outpatient attendances during 2014/15.

97,921 hospital admissions during 2014/15.

92,532 A&E attendances during 2014/15.

High quality care for every patient, every Our vision is to provide high quality care for every patient, every time. Achieving this aim relies heavily on teamwork and the recognition that each and every member of the Trust workforce has individual strengths and talents and a vital role to play in making sure that we consistently deliver good care to our patients.

Every link in the chain is as important as the next and, for that to work effectively, trust and respect of each other’s input is essential.

We firmly believe in providing care with compassion, working together, and being professional and accountable so we have adopted these as our values. They are at the foundation of everything we

do – respecting colleagues and their role is vital to the smooth running of a successful hospital.

At the heart of everything we do is the patient, and an integrated and engaged workforce creates a positive atmosphere in which to deliver care.

We actively promote an open reporting system where any mistakes at work can be reported.

We want to ensure that we learn from these and also offer our staff support.

We are able to offer staff expert counselling for any problems they may have – whether in their professional or home life (see Validium on page 5).

We recognise that patients are often distressed and apprehensive when they come into hospital and always aim to care for them with the greatest respect and dignity, treating them as the unique individual they are.

“Every link in the chain is as important as the next and, for that to work effectively, trust and respect of each other’s input is essential.”

Yvonne Blücher, chief nurse

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staff benefits available spanning 11 categories.

50%

off weekly and monthly Octopus bus passes.

14%

Pension contribution by Southend Hospital.

Benefits available to our staff As a Southend Hospital employee you are entitled to many discounts and offers on a variety of products.

There are now approximately 300 staff benefits spanning 11 categories including health and fitness, motoring, shopping, entertainment, beauty and eating out.

Staff can also get significant savings at Booker cashand-carry on food, drink, washing, cleaning and other products. We also have a salary sacrifice car scheme.

Every year, we run an annual staff benefits events which highlights all the fantastic benefits available to staff. You also get all of these great in-house benefits:

Childcare vouchers - Tax and NI Free Child and out of school care. Southend Hospital operates a childcare voucher scheme in order to reduce the cost of child and out of school care for parents working for the trust.

Bounty cards/packs - Free ‘mum to be’ bounty packs cards are available to hospital employees Validium - A confidential support service to assist employees with personal or work-related problems likely to affect the workplace, including: counselling, debt counselling, financial.

NHS pension scheme - In additional to the amount a employee contributes each month to their NHS pension, Southend Hospital also contributes 14%.

Occupational health and wellbeing - A range of services including: complementary therapies, counselling service, life style, fitness classes such as pilates and tai chi.

Cycle scheme - Enables employees to purchase a bicycle through a salary sacrifice scheme, saving them cost of the tax and National Insurance.

Ladybird NHS nursery - Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2014, the nursery has been specifically designed to support parents working for the trust and has a flexible booking system that caters for most NHS shift patterns.

Family support team - Offers a wealth of advice and information to support parents and carers working for the trust. This also caters for those who have dependants other than childcare such as eldercare.

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4,000 births every year at fetal unit.

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beds are available including cots and trolleys.

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Leadership programmes.

Award winning stroke

n Professor Iris Grunwald (above) has an international reputation in implementing acute stroke interventions

We already have a team of dedicated and highly skilled staff, which includes Professor Iris Grunwald, who has an international reputation in implementing acute stroke interventions.

Now we are looking to recruit more staff to enable the team to meet the standards of care currently only found in HASUs in London and Manchester to offer a full 24-hoursa-day-seven-days-a-week seamless service for acute stroke patients, right here in south Essex.

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We see each patient as an individual and aim to work in partnership with them and their families to ensure the best medical care and fullest possible recovery.

We have won several national HSJ awards for our stroke and TIA services, and the E-health insider award for best use of IT to support clinical treatment, thanks to our innovative TIA service model, which has now been adopted by the Stroke Association nationally as an example of excellence.

Combining cutting edge technology with the best quality care, our stroke unit is a fantastic place to develop your career.

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Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has a multi award winning stroke unit.

“We aim to be at the forefront of innovation” Professor Tony Young, consultant urologist, director of medical innovation, Anglia Ruskin University and national clinical director for innovation at NHS England We aim to be at the forefront of innovation and want to make Southend University Hospital a ‘can-do’ place for new thinking and action that brings improvements in patient care and experience.

We work closely with the Postgraduate Medical Institute at Anglia Ruskin University and the MedTech campus.

We want to help our staff take their ideas and transform them into leading products and services that will bring benefits to patients in the NHS and beyond.

New fetal unit - The unit, the only one of its kind in Essex, is a leading regional clinical and research centre for the assessment and treatment of unborn babies.

The state-of-the art suite, which includes seven scanning rooms, has been made possible thanks to a £400,000 charitable donation from the foundation set up by world leading fetal medicine expert Professor Kypros Nicolaides.

IT revolution - When the trust introduced its new Patient Administration System (PAS) it signalled the start of an IT revolution. A new radiology information system was in action within three months and is now being utilised by cardiology, the breast unit and nuclear medicine.

The Soliton Radiology+ system

n World leading fetal medicine expert Professor Kypros Nicolaides.

will enable us to streamline processes and make further progress towards a paper-light work flow.

We have also introduced ePrescribing, thanks to a £534,000 grant we won under the Government’s Safer Hospitals, Safer Wards technology fund at the end of last year.

Looking for a patient’s drug chart on the wards will hopefully be a thing of the past. ePrescribing will ensure the medication chart is available to relevant people, working in different locations, at the same time.

We were also successful in

securing £90,000 from the Government’s £30m Nursing Technology Fund.

The money will allow us to refine the way we conduct pre-op assessments as patients can link with us online and submit the vital information which is not usually taken until they are admitted for surgery.

Alan Tuckwood, head of information technology, said: “These really are exciting times – not just for the IT department but for the entire trust. These new technologies will allow us to develop new, more modern ways of working that will benefit both staff and patients.”

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“The best emergency department I have ever worked in�

In her own words, Dr Caroline Howard, clinical director, emergency department, admits that she came to Southend to make her mark as a clinical lead.

Southend Hospital offers me both a breadth of experience and excellent opportunities to make my mark as a clinical lead.

“

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I

came to Southend as a registrar in training in 2006 and found it to be the best emergency department I have ever worked in - I had to come back!

I also came to Southend because it offered me both a breadth of experience and excellent opportunities to make my mark as a clinical lead.

I also found that Essex was not what I had been led to believe, but is actually a beautiful county with everything I need in it.

Our diverse patient mix of approximately 100,000 attendances per year provides

varied clinical challenges and an excellent breadth of experience. We see lots of medical pathology with a busy resuscitation room for adults and paediatrics alike. In common with most emergency departments major trauma is not common, but being close to London we are linked with The Royal London Hospital as our trauma centre.

Our department is staffed by consultants that have chosen emergency medicine as their speciality - not a second choice - and are highly motivated to provide good quality emergency department care.

n Dr Caroline Howard (above) is helping to transform our ED and wants you to be a part of it.

We commit to provide all emergency care required to stabilise and treat the patient, including adult and paediatric sedation, for example.

We will not be a glorified triage service. We also have trustwide commitment in place to ensure that other nonemergency diagnostics and procedures do not stop timely referral and patient movement.

We realise that work life balance is of major importance and can develop flexibility in job plans to accommodate your needs. It’s also important that any specialist interest can be developed and continued.

We are committed to ensure

our emergency department consultants are able to develop special interests in their related field, which not only benefits you but our patients. We are supportive of development which can be seen across the department.

We are currently undergoing a transformation of our ED services focusing not only on enhancing the physical environment, but the clinical and nonclinical infrastructure and this is where you fit in. We want you to be part of that transformation.

Currently our staffing consists of 22.6 WTE middle grade doctors of varying training and non-training posts, plus 11 WTE more junior

doctors (FY2, GPVTS etc) often working in emergency medicine for the first time.

All of our doctors have formal clinical and educational supervision, whether training post or not, and all teaching sessions that run in the department are appraised and fed back.

The nursing staff complement includes matrons, ENPs and more recently physiotherapy practitioners as we diversify to ensure we have the right people to see the right patients at the right time.

The department also has full management support with strong clinical backgrounds.

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Professional development We have a learning and organisational development team who apply their vast range of sector experience, managerial expertise and educational know-how to create a wide range of learning resources and solutions, that develop and up-skill our staff, helping them reach their full potential whilst carrying out their role with greater impact.

Our staff have access to a range of learning interventions (clinical and non-clinical) to develop and enhance skills and competence in the areas of leadership; management; personal; patient/ customer focus; technical; clinical and hospital IT systems.

The team use practiced skills and cutting edge methodology to design and deliver learning, development and assessment solutions such as bespoke in-house eLearning packages; live

online learning (webinars); development centres; programmes made up of monthly face-to-face sessions; live operational simulations; coaching and mentoring; team specific interventions to ensure that staff have the most up-to-date and appropriate skills.

The learning and organisational development team help individuals discover new and dynamic learning approaches by sharing their knowledge and insight to help staff select the best interventions whether that be an academically accredited programme, inhouse programme or a one-off learning intervention.

They also provide learning and development consultancy, surveys, organisational development advice, change and transformation support, onboarding, 360 feedback tools, psychometrics and mediation services.

Career progression n We are firm believers in career progression in all specialities and departments, and continuing education plays a key role in our staff development. n We encourage everyone at every level to n Helen Sanderson and the vascular team, consultants Mr Mike Salter and Mr James Brown. work together to ensure our patients receive the highest standards of care, feel listened to become a vascular nurse specialist and then joined forces with consultant surgeon Mr Mike to, comfortable and cherished.

CASE STUDY: Helen Sanderson lead clinical nurse specialist (CNS), wound management team “I came here as a student nurse back in 1992 when the hospital had its own school of nursing, so career-wise, I am born and bred at Southend Hospital which has engendered a loyalty which is so important in the NHS. The hospital and I have invested in each other.

“After qualifying, I was a staff nurse for seven years and then a senior staff nurse before going on to be an associated clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in tissue viability.

“That opened all sorts of doors for me. I progressed

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Salter.

“Together, we developed the wound management team which brings together vascular and tissue viability.

“We now provide a service for both the trust and the local community teams which has brought great benefits to patients.

“It has been hard work but it shows what can be done. Southend Hospital has lots of great services and there are many more being developed.

It is a very friendly organisation with a family feel to it and lots of career opportunities. I know many doctors who have done their training here and come back as consultants.”

Realising your full potential The cardiac and medical day stay (CMDS) team has seen huge changes over the years, from becoming nurse-led to a massive reduction in patients waiting to be seen and a virtually non-existent cancellation rate.

These changes have had a positive impact on not just patients but also on those dedicated nurses on the ward, ensuring that both time and resources are used to their full potential.

Ward manager, Emma Matthews, said: “Five years ago we were very much a doctor-led area, where what the doctor said goes, whereas now, as nurses, we are a lot more proactive and we are working much more alongside the doctors.

“By doing that, although we have only got nine trolleys, it means that we are able to use them very efficiently to maximize their use, discharging patients earlier and they are having a faster recovery time because they are so well prepared for the procedure. We are very much about admission avoidance here on CMDS.”

“Turnover of staff is very low in this self-motivated and confident team, those who have moved onto bigger and better things.”

Emma Matthews, ward manager, cardiac and medical day stay team

Turnover of staff is very low in this selfmotivated and confident team, those who have moved onto bigger and better things.

Highly educated, CMDS staff go on courses and share their knowledge base with the rest of the team and newly qualified staff are nurtured. Nurses are able to use their skills to their highest level and are autonomous in their role.

Emma added: “Our staff are proud of the service patients receive; the minute they come through our doors until the minute they leave, they get an excellent standard of care. Because of this, patient anxiety levels are reduced dramatically and they leave with having had a positive experience at Southend Hospital.”

Paediatric nurse – an incredibly diverse job We are planning a number of developments in our paediatric department and can assure any children's nurses thinking of coming to work with us of a very warm welcome from our friendly team.

They will be able to work on the ward, in the paediatric assessment unit, outpatients or in the newly-built paediatric A&E area.

Sister Rebecca Simmonds said: “It is an incredibly diverse job. We are working with children from birth to up to 18 years of age which means we are always being challenged and learning new things and that is great for professional development.

“Children have a great capacity for bouncing back and nearly always have a smile on the face, although of course there are tears too. But those smiles are incredibly rewarding and one of the real positives about the job.

“We also build up very good and close relationships with the families. Some have been coming to us for years and we have watched the children grow and change.

“The children’s unit has a great team of nurses and health care assistants. It is a very supportive environment and new nurses will be warmly welcomed.

“Every day is different and I cannot think of anywhere else I would rather work.”

We are recruiting additional nurses to the paediatric team and offer a loyalty bonus twice a year as well as a relocation package for nurses coming into the area.

“Every day is different and I cannot think of anywhere else I would rather work.”

Sister Rebecca Simmonds, paediatrics 14

n Subspecialist maternal fetal medicine consultant Mr Mandeep Singh heads up our fetal service.

Pioneering research We consider research to be an intrinsic component of good patient care and are involving ourselves more and more in this key area.

l Our urology department gained international recognition for their cutting-edge prostate research and were featured in the influential British Journal of Urology.

Our clinicians frequently have their work published in prestigious international medical journals and have won awards for their trailblazing efforts.

l Rehabilitation staff have launched a pioneering research trial aimed at helping those paralysed by stroke.

Research allows the professional staff more job satisfaction, brings a higher profile to the hospital and brings new treatments and diagnostics to our patients.

Among the areas heavily involved in research are oncology, stroke, rheumatology, cardiology, renal, paediatrics, ophthalmology, neurology, surgery, rehabilitation, primary care and sexual health.

We have a team of dedicated research nurses and research fellows working in different areas; their role is to recruit patients on to a trial, act as their advocate and support them throughout their treatment and follow-up. l Our fetal unit is participating in international clinical research, including a study into pre-eclampsia

l Thanks to a £10,000 grant from the Department of Health, the rehab team will study the effects of “mirror imaging” on patients where one arm is completely paralysed as a result of the stroke.

“Our commitment to research gives the hospital access to cutting edge technology not available nationwide and presents significant educational opportunities to staff.”

Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta, clinical director of research and and audit 15

A day in the life of…

Henry Wood senior dietitian Henry, who works with head and neck cancer patients, starts his day with a yoga session before a brisk walk to arrive at his desk sometime before 9am.

After making tea and clearing his emails, he checks his diary for the day.

He is part of a multi-disciplinary team, which also includes a clinical nurse specialist, and a speech and language therapist.

Henry says: “We see between eight and 15 patients, each of whom will be at a different point in their treatment with a variety of side effects.”

These may include mouth and neck pain, pain on swallowing, reduced sense of taste, very dry mouth, increased thick secretions and associated nausea and vomiting.

“Weight, pain, constipation and

potential loss of swallow are what we are most concerned with. It is a balancing act to get the medication and nutrition right.

throat patients.

“Patients may also have memory problems, social needs or depression which all need to be addressed. It’s a full-on clinic.”

“I conduct quick diet histories, looking at a patient’s typical day’s nutrition, liaise with consultants and advise on feeding tubes, spot patients who are struggling and losing weight, and chat with those who are doing well.”

Lunch is on the hoof – usually a prawn sandwich and a pint of milk so that Henry practises the good hydration he preaches to patients.

An afternoon often has another clinic for 15 to 20 ear, nose and

The clinic finishes at 5.30pm – but not Henry’s working day. He still needs to write up his reports and start action plans which can take another hour before he heads home.

“We see between eight and 15 patients, each of whom will be at a different point in their treatment.”

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Whatever their contribution to the smooth and successful running of the hospital, volunteers are highly regarded and valued members of the hospital family.

Making a difference through volSouthend University Hospital is held in great affection by its local community and we are fortunate in having such a loyal band of volunteers and fundraisers.

Our 450 volunteers provide invaluable help by giving up their time to benefit both staff and patients. Aged from 18 to over 80, their commitment can be anything from a few hours a day to a few days each week.

They perform a wide variety of tasks from keeping our garden areas looking blooming lovely to

reassuring patients attending the busy blood testing clinics. Other areas where they make such a difference include: l Assisting patients at mealtimes through our Feeding Buddies scheme l Our Carecars drivers bring patients to and from their hospital appointments l Providing support to bereaved relatives l Bringing in their dogs to visit wards under the Pets As Therapy (PAT dogs) scheme l Acting as hospital guides to meet and greet patients and visitors l Running our popular hospital radio l Running the WRVS trolley service to the wards l Keeping patients stocked up on reading matter via the ward-based library service l Helping patients and visitors at our info centres l Providing general support to wards and department

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Our location:

Southend-on-Sea

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Super commuter Eric commutes to the hospital from Amsterdam thanks to our superb airport!

Find out more Âť

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IN THIS SECTION: n Arts & culture n Dining out n Local education n Sports & leisure

n This photo was taken just outside the Southend Marine activities centre

by Southend University Hospital staff member, Kevin Brown, a healthcare science assistant practitioner in radiotherapy physics.

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Arts Housed in the renovated Georgian Grade II listed building, Chalkwell Hall, Metal has established itself as a trailblazer in arts promotion. As well as a number of artists in residence, the hall boasts exhibitions, talent development and educational activities.

The regular programme of events includes Village Green, a music and arts festival which attracts around 40,000 visitors every year.

Leigh-on-Sea is famously bursting with artistic talent, which is proudly showcased every year during the increasingly popular week-long Leigh Arts Trail. The latest in contemporary work is featured, including paintings and photographis, sculpture, textiles and printmaking, ceramics and jewellery.

The highly-regarded Beecroft Gallery features a wide range of exhibitions throughout the year.

Other attractions in and around Southend include historic Prittlewell Priory; Central Museum with its collection of local and natural history and archaeology and a changing programme of exhibitions and events throughout the year; Southchurch Hall, a medieval, moated, timber-framed manor house and Southend Planetarium.

Theatre The Palace Theatre, built more than 100 years ago, is a fine example of an Edwardian auditorium, which hosts in-house productions, visiting companies, local amateur societies, one-nighters and Sunday concerts. Local bands give free Sunday night concerts in the foyer – often to capacity audiences.

The Dixon Studio complements the main house, offering a wider range of performances by visiting small-scale touring theatres, bands and puppet groups. Workshops, classes and educational events are also put on there.

Food If you love dining out, Southend-on-Sea is the perfect place for you. With more than 300 places to eat, it’s home to some truly exceptional eateries.

Although it is perhaps most famous for traditional seaside fayre, Southend-on-Sea now has so much more to offer. In fact, the town’s cosmopolitan nature means it boasts flavours from all corners of the world – from French to Thai, Japanese to Italian.

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At Leigh on Sea, enjoy good food at stylish contemporary restaurants or traditional pubs and don't miss the Cockle Sheds for a taste of top quality seafood.

Family feasts taste even better in the open air.

Bag a table with a sea view at the Archway Cafés on the seafront, relax in a pub garden or try our delicious fish and chips or simply sit in the sun and enjoy the seaside delights.

A full list of eateries is available here: www.visitsouthend.co.uk/food-drink/

1.33m

is the length of Southend’s famous pleasure pier.

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Film festivals run annually including Horror-on-Sea.

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Parks, gardens and nature reserves in the borough.

The town is renowned for its wealth of parks and gardens

n The picturesque landscaped-gardens of Priory Park which also includes Prittlewell Priory Museum

Recreation The town is renowned for its wealth of parks, gardens and open spaces. What’s more, with three Blue Flags and seven Quality Coast Awards, Southend’s seven miles of beaches is one of the cleanest stretches of seaside in the UK. Both Essex Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have a large number of nearby reserves including those at Wallasea Island and Canvey Marsh.

Sports and leisure Southend offers a wide, comprehensive range of sporting and recreational facilities for all ages and abilities.

These include a bright and airy leisure and tennis centre with a 150-station fitness suite, world-class diving pool, 10m board and swimming pool, multipurpose sports hall and athletics track.

There are a number of other gyms as well as a wide range of golf courses, bowling greens, sailing and water sports clubs.

Mountain bikers can challenge themselves on the Olympic course at nearby Hadleigh Park country park.

Education Southend enjoys a justifiably high reputation for the quality of its education, with no less than four soughtafter grammar schools which are consistently ranked among the top performing in the country, with a high percentage of students going to the Russell Group universities.

There is also a wide range of excellent non-selective schools with strong reputations for dance, drama, media, business and enterprise.

The University of Essex, ranked sixth for overall satisfaction in the last National Student Survey, also has a campus in the town.

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20

destinations available with more being added.

53

minutes to travel from airport to London

100

paces between the terminal and railway station.

London Southend Airport – gateway to Europe

“People are completely taken aback when they hear that I commute to Southend University Hospital from my home in Amsterdam.” n We have a busy multi-professional education centre (above) which caters for all grades of staff.

Europe is only just a hop away, thanks to the thriving Southend Airport, which was voted best by passengers in the 2014 ‘Which? Airport Passenger Survey’ for the second year running.

Flights operate to the Channel Islands, Republic of Ireland, Canary Islands, Germany, Spain and the Balearics, Portugal, Switzerland.

With the terminal just 100 paces from the railway station link to London’s Liverpool Street, the airport takes all the usual hassle out of flying.

It promises passengers will wait a maximum of four minutes to go through security and those arriving with hand luggage only can expect to travel from plane to train in just 15 minutes of the aircraft doors opening. From there, London is just 53 minutes away.

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Road links in and out of Southend provide easy access to London and the M25 as well as the A12 and the beautiful Essex countryside that inspired the likes of artist John Constable.

Eric Foggitt, team lead speech and language therapist, commutes from Amsterdam to Southend every fortnight.

Eric said: “People are completely taken aback when they hear that I commute to Southend University Hospital from my home in Amsterdam.

“I go back there every fortnight and my wife comes here on the other weekends. But I thoroughly enjoy my work here. My close-knit and dedicated team are second to none in the way they really care for patients and support each other.

“It makes work a pleasure and the cross-Channel commute totally worthwhile.”

What our patients say about us “From the moment I entered the hospital I received nothing but kindness and attention.”

“I knew I was in the hands of real experts with the level of care I was receiving.”

“I felt very well looked after.

Everyone at the hospital was great, like being pampered on holiday.”

“The care is exceptional. I am amazed at the energy and enthusiasm shown

All of Southend Hospital's vacancies are advertised through the central NHS Jobs site:

www.jobs.nhs.uk/ To see all Southend-based NHS jobs visit:

jobs.southend.nhs.uk

@SouthendNHS

SouthendHospitalNHS

www.facebook.com/SouthendNHS

Telephone 01702 435555 www.southend.nhs.uk