Unlocking flow and improving our staff and patient experience

Earlier this week you will have seen a message about how we can all support each other as our hospitals face unprecedented pressures.

I thought it would be helpful to share some of what our executive management team and the wider Dorset health and social care system is doing to support you too.

It's important to say that the current demand on health services isn't just a problem for UHD – all our partners in Dorset are under similar pressures. Regionally and nationally, the NHS is facing high demand for urgent care.

That's why it is vital that we agree solutions as a system, involving every organisation involved in the care and support our patients receive, including community and mental health services provided by Dorset HealthCare, our local authorities and their social care teams, the ambulance service and our GP and primary care colleagues.

At executive-level and with our partners, we are involved in programmes of work including:

• understanding why people present to emergency departments, and why they are admitted
• recruiting further community-based support, like occupational therapy, to promote earlier supported discharges from hospital
• enhancing GP cover in urgent care settings
• establishing 'wraparound' post-acute care support, eg mental health, therapies and district nursing, to support an increase in bed numbers.

I am personally working with my opposite numbers at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset councils to reduce the increasing numbers of patients we know are ready to leave hospital but cannot do so safely. Improving this single issue will make an enormous difference to the health and wellbeing of every patient unable to be discharged, and to the flow of patients through our hospitals.

As a Trust board, at our most recent meeting we agreed to fund additional posts to promote the flow of patients in our hospitals, and to draw up plans to create additional escalation capacity later in the year, should it be needed.

There are no easy answers to these thorny problems, but we are doing all we can to find solutions with our partners. Where it is within our gift to act, we can and will.

I would also encourage any member of staff with a suggestion to improve flow or efficiency in their area to raise this with their care group lead.

We know the strain that working under these pressures places on every member of staff. 'Thank you' doesn't seem enough at these times, but please know that your commitment and dedication are recognised and truly appreciated.

Debbie Fleming, chief executive

Beales confirmed as location for our new "think big" outpatient clinics

We want to tackle the number of outpatients waiting for a face-to-face appointment and the time that they have to wait. We have been developing plans with our partners across Dorset to run some outpatient appointments and assessments in a completely different way and can now confirm that this will involve us taking over the top floor of Beales department store in the Dolphin Centre in Poole.

This space will be converted into a safe, clinical area for tests and screening and is planned to welcome its first patients in the autumn. The centre is initially planned to cover dermatology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and breast screening

Mark Mould, our chief operating officer of UHD, said: "Last year our hospitals had to respond to the rise of Covid-19 and completely redesign our services and estate across our hospitals. This meant we had to, very reluctantly, cancel many appointments. With all the social distancing guidelines, our hospitals are not going to be able to tackle the subsequent rise in our waiting lists so we needed to "think big" to deal with the problem, as we know what an effect this can have on the patients waiting and their families. Using this fantastic space in Beales, we can design the area specifically so we can see more patients, more quickly and we hope this will make huge inroads into our lists."

Dr Ruth Williamson, our deputy chief medical officer, said: "Across Dorset we really want to do our best to provide the healthcare that our patients need and this space will be fantastic as one of the many things we are doing to catch up. We look forward to welcoming patients to the new centre in Beales to help progress their treatment as we know how frustrating and challenging these delays can be. As healthcare professionals, we are really excited to be part of this project as we hope it will be of huge benefit to many of our patients."

New LIMS – what you need to know ahead of next week's launch

Pathology and IT teams have been working on a major project across Dorset to implement a new Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) which will provide a single pathology system for Dorset. The existing LIMS will be replaced by Clinisys WinPath Enterprise and the new system will go live next Tuesday (17 August).

Urgent Requests

• In support of the go live please limit pathology requests to urgent only on Monday 16 August and Tuesday 17 August.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) alerts

• Acute kidney injury (AKI) alerts are determined by comparing the current result with a previous result issued within the last year
• The change in the LIMS on 17 August will result in a number of a AKI patients alerts not being released due to a gap in the availability of historic results
• We anticipate that the historic creatinine results will be available by 23 August. As always, correlate biochemical results with the clinical picture
• Please be extra vigilant if a patients is at risk of AKI.

Blood Transfusion

• From Tuesday 17 August the Blood Transfusion Laboratory will not be able to use historic blood group data for the provision of group compatible blood components due to the installation of the new (LIMS) containing a blank database.
• This means any patient requiring any blood component will not have a historic blood group on record. Therefore all patients will require two samples, taken separately, for group compatible blood component issue.
• Emergency group O red cells (and group AB plasma) will still be available if absolutely necessary – as per Major Haemorrhage protocol
• From 09:30am on 17 August BloodTrack will be unavailable across the two hospitals for the majority of the day whilst it is being interfaced to the new LIMS.
• During this downtime all blood components will require collection from the laboratory using the contingency paper based system.

Results look up

• Please be aware that there is an issue with Graphnet EPR where multiple versions of the results may be visible. All of the results are correct. Unfortunately the number of these results will increase with the new system until Graphnet can resolve the issue or when the method of sending the results is replaced later in the year. This does not affect the graphing function, hence this may be the clearest way to view numerical results.
• Please use additional care to ensure you are viewing the most recent update.

There may be some service disruption next week during the implementation and we apologise for any inconvenience. If you have any issues or queries please contact Paul Massey - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or ext 4780.

Pharmacy reduced service update

Due to a significant level of pharmacist and technician vacancies on all sites we have to reduce the level of services for all areas.

So we will be prioritising admission areas and high risk e.g. Cancer / Aseptic, Critical Care and Paediatrics. We will focus on discharges and new admissions but will not be able to review prescriptions for all patients or on a daily basis.

We are aware that there are low staffing numbers in other areas across the Trust too.

The impact will be seen as;

• Increased time to process TTAs and ability to supply medicines within 4 hours. This may lead to delays in discharges and increased missed or delayed doses.
• Pharmacy time on individual wards throughout the week will reduce as teams will need to cover multiple wards and provide a weekend style / discharge only service.
• The "safety net" that Pharmacy provide will be reduced
• Prescribers will need to interrogate DCR and SCR for drug histories and not rely so heavily on the Pharmacy teams.
• Reduced input to ward areas at weekends.

How to help us and maintain safety;

• Nursing staff to identify any medication needed either for in-patient supply or ward stock and alert pharmacy. Please ensure you check the stock locator to avoid doses being missed when pharmacy is closed.
• Ensure you have the right patient, right drug, right route, right dose.
• Prescribing for same day discharges;
  • Poole - MUST have a reconciled / screened e-discharge before 4.30pm or written prior to 4pm to facilitate safe processing of discharge medication
  • RBCH – 4pm deadline
• Complex TTAs – please prescribe earlier in the day or day before;
  • Controlled Drugs, palliative, compliance aids
• Daily ward rounds – review prescriptions and respond to pharmacy queries
• Prescribe accurately - all medicines can cause harm if not prescribed correctly and reviewed regularly.
  • Recent examples of inaccurate prescribing;
    • Methotrexate 175mg should be 17.5mg
    • Levothyroxine 12.5mcg should be 125mcg
    • Numerous errors with types and doses of insulin, DOACs and prescribing for VTE with no adjustment for weight or renal function and duplication with DOAC and LMWH

We will continually review and will reinstate normal services as soon as new staff are in post and trained.

Jacqui Bowden, Associate Director of Pharmacy. August 2021

Supporting each other - message from chief nursing and chief medical officers

As you will all know, our hospitals remain extremely busy. Our care group leadership teams are doing all they can to support you in providing the care our patients need and expect from us, and it's vital that we do all we can to support each other too.

Keeping our focus on good infection prevention and control (IPC) practices is an extremely important way of doing this. We know this is a familiar message, but as we continue to see high Covid-19 rates in the communities of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole at almost twice the national average, it is worth underlining.

The good news is it isn't complicated and we already know what to do. Wearing the facemasks provided properly so they cover both nose and mouth, and ensuring there are good supplies of surface wipes and alcohol hand gel in your area, are straightforward. As is maintaining good hand hygiene and ventilation and adhering to room risk assessments for any face-to-face meetings you may have.

Staying completely bare below the elbows, changing into or out of the uniform or clothes you wear in a clinical setting as you start, finish or take a break off-site, and keeping socially distanced when collecting food or a hot drink, will all help keep us safe.

An increase in levels of Covid-19 in the population was always a risk as the Government relaxed legal restrictions earlier this month. And while we wholeheartedly support using these freedoms to enjoy time away from work, and to catch up with friends and loved ones, please remember that the pandemic has not gone away. Outside of work, use judgment and caution, especially if meeting in larger groups, and try to do this outside where possible.

The restrictions and IPC guidance within our hospitals are still in place and they need to be. Only by observing all of these measures are we doing all we can for ourselves, our colleagues and our patients.

Thank you.

Prof Paula Shobbrook, chief nursing officer and director for infection prevention and control

Dr Alyson O'Donnell, chief medical officer

'Long Covid' – September's Schwartz Round

The next Schwartz Round focuses on 'Long Covid – how it is affecting our staff' and will take place on Friday 3 September, 1-2pm. It is open to all staff and is a great chance to share your experiences.

This Schwartz Round will run face to face and via Teams. All panellists and a small audience will be in the conference room at RBH and there will be an audience and Schwartz Round facilitators in the lecture theatre at Poole.

We encourage you to attend the event in person but please arrive early as seats will be limited. If numbers reach capacity, you will need to log on to the event via Teams instead.

To attend virtually and contribute to the event using the Teams chat box, please go to the Schartz round pages on the RBCH intranet.

Changes to cancer multi-disciplinary team (MDT) referrals

A new electronic process to refer patients to cancer MDT is due to be launched on 23 August. To refer a patient to a cancer MDT please use 'managed bookmarks' via the intranet and select 'clinical systems – electronic forms -cancer MDT referral'.

You will be prompted to answer a number of questions about the patient you are referring, including which cancer MDT you want to refer to and at which hospital site (if applicable).

Once the referral is submitted, the MDT clinical lead / representative will either accept the referral for discussion at the MDT (and will appear on EPR) or decline for a specific reason or if more information is required.

If you require further information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Further recall of some Clinell Universal wipes

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has issued a recall notice on some batches of Clinell Universal wipes (green packet), which may be in use in some areas of the trust. This is the second recall of this product.

Five batches were originally affected (LOT UBV1033020A, LOT UBV2033020A, LOT UBV3033020A, LOT UBV4033020A, LOT UBV6032920A), while further investigation by the MHRA has identified four further batches: UBV3032520A and UBV3032520B LOT UBV1032720A, LOT UBV7032720A, produced in June/July 2020.

Action to take:

• Look at above batch details against all your stock
• Keep records of how much stock you have of above batches of wipes
• Throw away packets that have already been opened as these cannot be returned – give details to materials management/logistics
• Let materials management/logistics know how many unopened packs you are looking to return and arrange either collection or return by contacting:
  • Poole site This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Bournemouth/ Christchurch sites This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Safety message for Tympanic thermometers

Please ensure that Tympanic thermometers are properly cleaned and dried before use.

If the device is used before the cleaning fluid has completely dried the device can overheat. Do not use the device if the ring around the measurement button shows a green blinking light or if the device requires multiple power up's before showing a green solid light.

If you experience an overheating probe tip, or a faulty device do not use it and contact equipment library or clinical engineering to report the fault.

Click here for a guide on how to clean the device.

Tributes paid to Elaine

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Elaine Wall who was a member of the catering team at RBH. Elaine died peacefully at home on Tuesday 3 August surrounded by her family.

The funeral is being held on Thursday (19 August) at Poole Crematorium, followed at The Tap and Grape in Broadstone.

Elaine joined the Trust in November 2001. She retired and re-joined as a chef on 2 July 2018. Elaine was a valued and popular member of the team.

Donations in Elaine's memory can be made to the Margaret Green Animal Rescue.

The donations can be sent online to https://www.margaretgreenanimalrescue.org.uk.

Putting safety first

Building on a safety checklist culture has been identified as a top quality improvement (QI) project for this year and we want your views on checklists - why you use them, what stops you from using them, what would you want changed?

The QI team has produced a short survey to find out your views.

Improving care for deteriorating patients

The deteriorating patient QI programme team filmed an insightful video of their launch event, which identified eight areas to support improvements to the care deteriorating patients receive in our hospitals. Click here to watch the short version, and here for the long version.

These videos show an overview of the event and those involved and how we reached our initial eight sub-projects which are:

• treatment escalation planning
• sepsis
• communication/referral pathways between wards and ITU
• "soft signs" patient and carer self-referral
• safe medical staffing
• training
• useful data and platform integration
• standard proforma for high NEWS.

If you would like to be involved in any of the 8 sub-projects please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Social media use by patients and visitors

It's important that when patients and visitors are in our hospitals they are respectful of their surroundings and the privacy and dignity of others.

No one is permitted to make pictures, videos or audio recordings in healthcare settings that show other service users, visitors or staff without the knowledge and consent of those individuals.

All instances of pictures/videos/recordings being taken inappropriately in clinical areas must be reported via the Trust's Learning Event and Reporting Notification (LERN) procedure.

For our full social media policy, see the policies pages on the intranet.

New interactive tool to detect malnutrition in older people

Find out how an interactive tool is helping to detect malnutrition at an early stage in older people at the next meeting of the Dorset ICS Innovation Hub Programme Group on 28 September at 1pm.

Jane Murphy, professor in nutrition and registered dietitian, from Bournemouth University will be discussing 'Nutrition wheels in motion: an interactive tool to detect malnutrition at an early stage in older people, with signposting to support'.

If you are interested in learning more from Jane and the team, you can join the Teams event here or for more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Understanding if your NHS Pension is affected by changes to public sector pensions

You will be affected by the changes if you joined a public service pension scheme on or before 31 March 2012 and:

• you were a member of the scheme on or after 1 April 2015
• or you left service after 31 March 2012 but returned within five years.

You will be asked to decide which pension scheme benefits you'd like to receive for the remedy period. The remedy period refers to the timeframe the discrimination could have applied, which is between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.

If you have any questions, you'll find more information on our NHS pensions knowledge base.

www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/changes-public-service-pensions.

More dates for the Leading Teams Through Change workshops

The virtual leadership development workshops are designed to build the skills needed to help lead teams through times of uncertainty. They are also a great opportunity to network with other leaders.

The new dates available are 19 August, 7 and 28 October and 17 November. If you would like to book, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Job of the week PA to consultant paediatricians at Poole

This role provides a comprehensive secretarial and administrative service to the consultant paediatricians and the oncology service. The successful applicant will have previous personal assistant experience, good organisational skills and the ability to work unsupervised.

This post is 22.5 hours per week on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Click here for more information, the deadline is 20 August.

Weekly Wellbeing offers

This week, sign up for the Strengthen Your Resillience programme, Care First sessions, Nurse Lifeline listening service and much more...

Please check the intranet A-Z under W for the wellbeing pages.

Exemption from contact isolation

We have a duty to help protect our patients, visitors and colleagues. If staff are told to self-isolate through NHS Test and Trace or the NHS Covid-19 app, we would expect them to follow all the rules to self-isolate immediately and stay away from our sites for the required time, except in rare and exceptional circumstances.

There may be very rare and exceptional circumstances for frontline clinical staff who have been fully vaccinated to agree to come into work even if they have been told to isolate. If any colleagues think there will be a risk to delivery of critical services and patients could come to harm if they don't come to work, they need to contact their care group director of nursing who will oversee the risk assessment process and testing necessary to confirm they can return to work. They must not come in until this has been signed off.

This will not apply to any colleagues who are isolating because of a contact within their own household. They must not return to work until their isolation period is over under any circumstance.

Our duty as a healthcare setting also means that we also continue to keep our social distancing and PPE guidelines for all.

National guidance for allowing essential frontline staff to return to work if they have been asked to isolate due to potential contact with Covid-19 is available here.

Professor Paula Shobbrook, chief nursing officer and deputy chief executive

Are you an infection prevention and control (IPC) champion?

Are you currently an IPC champion for your ward or department? Or are you someone who is enthusiastic and passionate about IPC?

The IPC team will be delivering a series of presentations on a variety of subjects through monthly Teams meetings - come and help us develop this new role. This is an opportunity broaden your understanding, bring questions to the table and disseminate information to your teams.

The first session 'Public health and us - what to do about notifiable diseases?' is on 22 September 2.30-3.30pm.

Anyone with an interest in IPC can become a champion. The IPC champion role is aimed to inform and empower people to actively look after their own health, influence colleagues behaviours and to help promote and maintain a positive IPC culture.

The IPCT will be delivering a series of interesting presentations on a variety of IPC subjects through monthly MS teams meetings. If you are interested in becoming a champion, please speak with your ward/department lead. This is an opportunity to understand more, to bring questions and to disseminate this information to your teams, come and help us develop this new role.

For further information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Next meeting dates:

27 October 2.30-3.30pm: PCR testing and CT values

24 November 2.30-3.30pm: Introduction to the new fit testing programme

RBH: Wayfinding

With the main entrance at RBH now closed, please familiarise yourself with the updated map to find the nearest alternative entrance. Please note, the ED entrance is for the emergency department only, and access to the east wing should be via the ED minors and UTC corridor.

Our estates team is also reviewing signage across the site to aid wayfinding and additional signs to direct patients to the relocated Boots pharmacy will be installed next week. Thank you for your patience at this time.

Close your windows

When leaving your work area please ensure it is secured and the windows are closed and locked. Windows should only be open when a room is occupied.

Windows left open while rooms are unoccupied, both during the day and overnight, are a security risk for our staff, patients, data and equipment.

Help eliminate discrimination in the NHS

The five-year National NHS Race Equality Strategy will be published in October.

The strategy aims to establish a standard across operations to advance race equality, eliminate discrimination and foster good relations across our organisation.

All NHS staff, regardless of race or profession and including bank and agency workers can contribute to this work.

Give your feedback on this online form.

The UHD charity office at RBH has relocated

Following the closure of the charity office in the main atrium, our new charity hub can be found on the first floor of the east wing in the trust management offices.

Free staff bike maintenance

Bike Fixed will be returning next week to offer a free bike tune up for staff. Bike Fixed will be on site at RBH on Tuesday (10 August), Poole on Wednesday (11 August) and Christchurch on Thursday (12 August).

If you suspect your bike may need replacement parts, let Bike Fixed know as they may be able to supply these, however replacement parts aren't covered in the free tune up and will incur a charge.

Appointments are available between 9am – 3pm.

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to book.

Understanding our travel decisions

Take part in new study to help us understand staff attitudes towards cycling to work, to inform our travel strategy.

This survey, supported by our clinical audit department, aims to identify what can be done to support people who would like to cycle but currently don't. The survey is run by Kerstin, who is studying towards a MSc in Public Health at Bournemouth University.

Click here to take the survey.

Make the most of the Dorset Care Record (DCR)

The DCR enables health staff to give the best possible care to patients by providing their comprehensive health information, which can be instrumental in caring for patients who cannot let us know their health information themselves.

There are regular 30 minute training webinars available for the DCR e-learning, which will help you learn how to use this invaluable resource.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your name, job title and preferred slot to participate, sessions run at 1pm:

• Wednesday 11 August
• Thursday 9 September
• Thursday 16 September
• Wednesday 22 September
• Wednesday 29 September

For further information about the DCR, what is included and how you can get access via the stand alone portal and via the Graphnet EPR interop please visit the DCR page on the trust intranet.

Be 'stronger together' at Bournemouth's Pride festival

We are joining our NHS colleagues from across Dorset at Bourne Free pride festival (20-21 August) to show our support to our LGBTQ+ staff, patients and communities.

We are joining the walking parade on the Saturday (21 August) midday at Meyrick Park, finishing at the Triangle around 1pm. Numbers in the parade are limited and we have 15 spaces if you would like to join us.

This year's theme is stronger together.

There is also a family night on Friday (20 August) at the Triangle with free tickets available on the website.

Want to join in but can't attend on the day – share a video message with us for the day, follow on social media and tag @uhd_nhs #UHDInclusion #StrongerTogether

For more details about the event, including information on how to support by volunteering, click here.

If you would like further information about our involvement, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

RBH: Mindfulness sessions

Weekly mindfulness sessions will recommence in the chapel on 7 September, led by nurse Jools Kilbey. Sessions run from 12-12.30pm.

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to attend.

Your weekly wellbeing offers

This week, book into Care First sessions, sign up to Nurse Lifeline peer-led listening service and register to join our childless listening event.

Please check the intranet A-Z under W for the wellbeing pages.

Support for colleagues with 'long Covid'

Help is at hand for UHD staff who may be experiencing longer term health issues effects after contracting Covid-19.

Staff can now refer themselves for a rehabilitation and support programme, run jointly between occupational health and the acute therapy teams.

'Long Covid', also known as post-Covid-19 syndrome, is the term used to describe a variety of symptoms associated with people who have had Covid-19, including fatigue, cognitive impairment ("brain fog"), shortness of breath or general muscular aches.

The programme, thought to be the first in the south west run by an acute hospital exclusively for its staff, focuses on education, group support, rehabilitation and exercise at the level each participant is comfortable with.

The course is offered in two ways: either eight weeks of regular group sessions, or a single two hour education-themed session.

An initial cohort of 12 staff are currently taking part in the programme, with self-referrals now invited to take part in the next group, beginning in October.

Places are strictly limited – if you are interested, please download and complete this self-referral form on the occupational health intranet page (under referral form) and follow the instructions within.

The NHS.uk website has a more information on long Covid, a list of common symptoms, and information on accessing further support here.

RBH: New location for drive-through swabbing

Due to building works, the Covid-19 swabbing drive-through service will be moving to the Village Hotel car park opposite the hospital on Sunday 22 August.

The service will operate as usual from car park B up to and including Saturday 21 August. On 22 August, it is scheduled to temporarily move the service to the ground floor of the multi-storey car park. This will be confirmed as soon as possible.

The swabbing team will then operate from the Village from Monday 23 August and signs will be placed on the road to direct patients and staff.

New One Dorset laboratory information system – one week to go

Pathology and IT's new laboratory information management system (LIMS) goes live next Tuesday (17 August).

The LIMS which will provide a single pathology system for Dorset. Please be aware there may be possible service disruption next week as the current LIMS transfers to the new WinPath Enterprise system.

You can keep up to date through the project's Twitter account.

If you have any questions please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

RBH: Paging system replacement live today

As part of the development of the RBH site, the paging system will be migrated to a new service from 12pm today (Tuesday 10 August). The new system will be from the same supplier, using existing paging devices, and should take around 15 minutes to complete.

If you experience problems after this time, please log a ticket via the IT Service Desk, where it will be picked up and addressed with the supplier.

A fully integrated chaplaincy service

From the 1 September the chaplaincy service across the trust will be fully integrated.

A core team will be present at both RBH and Poole 7 days a week from 8am-4pm, and the Christchurch service remains unchanged. After 4pm each day there will be an urgent on-call service with one chaplain available to cover all sites.

The extension numbers remain the same for all sites, but when you are leaving an answerphone message or contacting via the switchboard state clearly which site and department you are requesting a chaplain for.

We look forward to serving our Trust in new ways and please be patient with us as we learn our way across new sites.

Chaplaincy extension numbers:

Poole: 2167 RBH: 4221 Christchurch: 5111

RBH: Changes to dementia and delirium service this week

There will be no dementia and delirium service this morning (10 August).

There will also be no dementia and delirium nurse service on Thursday (12 August) in the case of an emergency please contact liaison psychiatry on 4379.

RBH: No homeless care team service tomorrow

Tomorrow (11 August) the homelessness care team will not be offering a service. In the case of an emergency please contact Lyn Kenyon on 07464 645 272.

Is cold water good for your mental health – volunteer for an MRI study to find out.

If you are aged 18-45, healthy, and do not regularly swim outdoors you could join a collaborative study between UHD, Bournemouth University and Portsmouth University.

Many people have taken up open water swimming during the pandemic and reported mental health benefits. We are investigating this using functional MRI (fMRI) scanning, looking at the effects of cold-water immersion on brain activity. We will be asking participants to have an MRI scan before and after a cool bath.

By carrying out this research we hope to make a first step toward the goal of developing fMRI as a technique to evaluate alternatives to drug-based management of mental health conditions.

If you would like to be involved, and see the effects a cool bath has on your brain activity please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ext.4578.

Recognising your team's hard work

Some teams still have funds left in the team recognition fund.

This charity-funded money has already positively benefitted us in many ways, and all team leads with remaining funds are offered the opportunity to request vouchers by the 30 September.

The trust will purchase the vouchers and then we will distribute them according to each request.

Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with subject line Team Recognition Fund if you have any queries.

TempRe is live – one service for all medical, allied health professions and healthcare scientist agency bookings

Our new single direct engagement (DE) platform TempRe is now live.

All system users should have either been trained on the system or sent links to the training videos.

If you are a DE user and still unsure or have any questions regarding this, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Job of the week – emergency department receptionist at RBH

Full and part time admissions clerks are needed to work in the emergency department. The post holders will be expected to work flexibly over a 24-hour period including weekends, nights and Bank Holidays as part of a rolling rota.

Responsibilities include:

• being the first point of contact for visitors to the department,
• being responsible for registering patients in a timely and efficient way,
• providing clerical support for the department,
• Being competent with taking telephone calls,
• having good communication and interpersonal skills.

Click here for more information, the deadline to apply is 30 August.

Your wellbeing weekly

Sign up for your Care First sessions, register you interest for our childlessness in the workplace listening event and more.

Please check the intranet A-Z under W for the wellbeing pages.

Together - our new publication is hot off the press

Our new magazine brings together our latest news, views and insights from our trust-wide community. The magazine will keep our staff, members, governors, and supporters up to date with all the innovation and developments happening across our hospitals.

Look out for a copy for you and your team in the internal mail or read it online here.

RBH: Important office relocations

The patient affairs/bereavement services office and the medical examination team have moved from the main atrium and are now located at the front of orthopaedic outpatients.

The patient transport booking team, formerly based in the discharge lounge, has relocated to a Portakabin outside the urgent treatment centre (UTC).

ESR smart cards no longer managed by IT app support teams

All ESR smart cards will now be generated and managed by the workforce systems teams on all our hospital sites.

The workforce systems intranet pages are being updated with further guidance, but if you have any questions please contact the workforce teams.

RBH: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Poole: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sharing patient information over messaging apps

All staff are reminded that our trust does not permit the use of WhatsApp or similar applications for the sharing of patient identifiable information.

If it is necessary to send short group messages, MS Teams should be used. Teams is accessible as an app that can be downloaded to your personal mobile phone, and so can be used in the same way as WhatsApp. Please see the trust's social media policy for more information.

POOLE: Be prepared with fire warden training

Fire warden training will be available at Poole from September for staff identified as fire wardens in their local area.

Further details and dates for training can be found on the education mandatory training intranet page.

If you have any concerns or queries regarding fire safety please contact your trust fire safety advisor - for RBCH This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or ext. 5785, for Poole This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or ext. 2750.

RBH: Are you due to update your bloods face-to-face and medicines management training?

We are running additional sessions for bloods face-to-face and medicines management training on 5 October and 9 December. These are separate sessions so you can book on one or both depending on your training needs.

These courses can be booked via ESR, search for '153 essential core skills update' then look for the courses labelled 'blood transfusions only' and 'medicines management only'.

If you have any questions regarding these courses, please contact the education and training team on ext 4947.

New appointments boost patient safety

I am happy to share that Dr Jules Cranshaw has been appointed as lead medical examiner and Dr Ann Dewar as deputy lead medical examiner. Both bring a wealth of experience to their roles where they will bring medical examination processes together across UHD and ensure that the learning from deaths reviewed feeds into our governance processes.

Dr David Morgan, previously associate medical director for patient safety at Bournemouth, is chair of our quality governance role and will now lead on the oversight of patient safety across UHD.

Dr Tanzeem Raza has stepped down as guardian of safe working on our Bournemouth site after five years of excellent service in the role, and so as with other roles we have looked to establish a UHD-wide team. Dr Ram Jayaprakash will step into the lead guardian role and will be supported on the Bournemouth site by Dr Mike Vassallo as deputy guardian.

I would like to thank everyone for their enthusiasm in stepping into these new roles and to thank Tanzeem for the great job he has done supporting our junior doctors over the years.

- Dr Alyson O'Donnell, chief medical officer.

Use the right templates when recruiting in your team

Our job description and person specification templates have recently been updated to reflect our UHD trust values.

When you are recruiting please always ensure you use the new templates, please see the recruitment intranet pages for details.

Peer support for Indian nurses

The British Indian Nurses Association, British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and National Forum for Health and Wellbeing are running virtual support sessions for Indian nurses in the UK impacted by the pandemic.

The sessions run on 14 August from 4-6pm. To register, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

See the end of this bulletin for more on wellbeing support.

Discuss decision-making capacity assessments at the older people's medicine journal club

The next journal club is on Friday (6 August) at 1pm, discussing 'Decision-making capacity assessment for confused patients in a regional hospital: a before and after study'. You will be sent the paper beforehand to prepare for the discussion.

If you would like to join us in the library on the RBH site or via Teams please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Progress your career with a healthcare support worker (HCSW) apprenticeship

Applications are now being taken for the HCSW level 2 and 3 apprenticeship this autumn. This is a huge opportunity to gain new qualifications and the ability to apply for registered nurse training programmes and other further training.

The programme is funded by the levy and will be provided by Bournemouth and Poole College. You will need to attend the college for one day, every other week. Have your Care Certificate and GCSE maths and English at grade C or above (or equivalent).

If you do not currently have these, please contact us as we can provide training.

For an expression of interest form please contact:

Poole: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. RBH:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Dorset Indian Mela supporting the Portland Ward at Poole Hospital

Head to Poole Park on 8 August and join a celebration of Indian culture at the Dorset Indian Mela, which is raising funds to support the Portland Ward in Poole Hospital.

The event is free to attend and offers fun for the whole family with a wide range of entertainment including chendamelam, live music, handicrafts, food stalls and henna painting.

Care for a picnic?

The past 16 months have been a challenging time for carers, putting those they care for first and above everything else. As a thank you, Dorset Carers Hub is hosting a carers picnic on Saturday 28 August, at St Osmund's School, from 12-4.30pm.

This family day out is an opportunity to meet Dorset's carer network organisations, including our UHD network.

Click here to book and for a full list of activities.

For further information please contact Dorset Carers Hub, call Karen Uphill on ext 8714, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

UHD joins exclusive list of global heart centres of excellence

We have been named by Arrhythmia Alliance as one of only nine centres of excellence in the world for the treatment of the heart condition SVT. A huge congratulations to the cardiology team at Royal Bournemouth Hospital for this fantastic achievement.

Don't forget to share your good news and achievements from around UHD with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Job of the week – RBH private clinic staff nurse

Bournemouth Private Clinic provides private healthcare in an NHS setting, with all the proceeds going back to the NHS.

We are looking for nurses who want to give excellent care as standard and are looking to develop their advanced clinical skills.

We have seven inpatient rooms, a treatment room and outpatient area set in the centre of the hospital, caring for a variety of patients with much of our work being surgical.

The closing date is 11 August, click here for more information.

This week's wellbeing offers

This week, sign up for our childness listening event on 12 September at 1pm. This event follows our inclusivity approach, supporting colleagues through the often-misunderstood topic of childlessness.

Also available are this week's Care First sessions, woodland wellbeing walks and much more...

Please check the intranet A-Z under W for the wellbeing pages.