Latest update to self-isolation guidance

The latest guidance on self-isolation following the onset of symptoms or following contact with someone with Covid-19 is now available on the latest news on the intranet.

Please note that this guidance is frequently updated so please check the bulletin or the intranet regularly for the latest version.

Suspending choice on discharge from wards

With immediate effect, the latest national guidance needs to be put into practice across UHD. This means that where a package of care, or care home, is found for a patient, there is a requirement to move the patient there without delay. It is recognised that each individual will have specific preferences and they or their families may wish to make alternative arrangements at a later date. However, given the current significant increase in Covid-19 cases, it is imperative that patients do not stay in hospital any longer than is absolutely required, and that beds are released swiftly to allow other acutely ill patients to receive the care and treatment that they need. With this in mind, packages of care or care home placement that become available should be taken up as they become available, with patients and their relatives free to explore other choices later on.

These are exceptional times, with the number of Omicron cases continuing to rise and very high levels of staff sickness across health and social care. Because of the national situation, the policy of choice on location of discharge has been suspended. This will need to be explained to patients, their relatives and usual carers in advance of the day of discharge – click here for a patient leaflet providing further details which will help with this.

If there are situations in which patients or their relatives need further explanation as to why it is imperative to take the package/care home offered, please escalate this before the day of the move where possible - firstly to the discharge team, who can then escalate to the executive on call where required. In extremis, we will move patients and continue any conversations afterwards, such is the importance of freeing beds.

By following the national policy and getting patients swiftly to a location that meets their care needs, we can make a small but very important difference to the overall safety of all our patients.

Thank you for your ongoing incredibly hard work and professionalism in caring for all our patients

- The integrated discharge services team

Covid-19 vaccinations for staff – time is running out

To meet the Government deadline of 1 April to be fully vaccinated – ie had first and second doses – staff should have had their first dose by 3 February.

Covid-19 vaccinations for staff are still available through our occupational health teams, whether that's for your first, second or booster jab. Please contact them to make your appointment, which are offered on these sites on the following days:

• Monday - Poole
• Tuesday - Poole
• Wednesday - Royal Bournemouth
• Thursday - Royal Bournemouth
• Friday - Royal Bournemouth

Bookings can be made by calling occupational health on extension 4217, or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., with your:

• Name
• NHS number
• Date of birth
• Preferred site

You will then be able to choose from the appointments available.

For more on staff Covid-19 vaccinations, check the occupational health pages on the intranet.

Lateral flow kits available to collect

Public Health Dorset will be parking a van at RBH and Poole once a week so you can collect lateral flow kits without the need to order them online. The packs of seven tests will be available from the Village Hotel car park opposite RBH, and in between the Patient Experience Centre and multi-storey car park at Poole at the following times, starting this Thursday at Poole:

• RBH (Village Hotel): Monday, 8am-7pm
• Poole: Thursdays, 9am-7pm

Please take your ID badge when collecting.

A message from Debbie Fleming, our chief executive on responding to the anticipated increase in Covid-19 cases and impact on staffing

You will probably have heard in the media about forecasts showing significant increases in Covid-19 cases among the public and the NHS workforce, and an increase in admissions to hospital, largely as a result of the new Omicron variant. You will likely hear terms like 'surge' and 'super-surge' more and more in the coming days to describe these forecasts.

Our hospitals routinely plan for scenarios in which our limited resources and staffing are very challenged, and we wanted to assure you that this escalation planning continues now, and takes account of these latest estimates. Our hope of course is that these escalation measures need never be called upon, but it is important that we make provision for a range of scenarios in order to ensure our hospitals continue to function for those patients that need us most.

In the event of extreme pressures, our duty to the public is first and foremost to preserve our core 'life and limb' services by continuing to provide emergency care to our most vulnerable of patients.

If we do find ourselves needing to enact these enhanced escalation plans, we will focus our efforts in these areas - reducing or temporarily suspending routine services as necessary, in order to use our available staff and bed stock as efficiently as possible. We will of course seek to maintain the most clinically urgent planned care services, for example, urgent cancer surgery/treatment.

Most importantly, we want to look after you - our staff - knowing how challenging all this must feel after all that we have been through already. With this in mind, we are working hard to develop and agree staffing arrangements that give us the ability to deliver the care we need, whilst ensuring that no one feels overwhelmed or that too much is being asked of them. We will need to call on the whole of Team UHD to help us deliver these plans, and support will be available to each and every one of you.

Some acute hospitals around the country are preparing Nightingale-style 'surge' facilities on site, in order to provide additional bed capacity. While we have not identified the need for this or been asked to establish such a facility at the present time, we are identifying places within our hospitals where appropriate care could be provided away from the usual inpatient ward setting. These locations will be very carefully clinically risk-assessed, and would only be open for as long as is absolutely necessary. I should emphasise that this is just precautionary work forming part of our planning and preparations, should we find ourselves involved in a 'super surge'.

Of course, postponing treatment for our non-urgent patients is never a decision we take lightly, and we shall avoid this wherever possible, recognising the impact that further delays might have on our patients. However, it is important that if things do escalate, we take all appropriate action to reduce the pressure on staff - and continuing to try to do everything to the same high standard will simply not be possible. Nevertheless, we know that all the services that we provide are vitally important to local people, and as such, if there is any disruption, we shall continue to "pull out all the stops" afterwards to ensure that our patients are seen as soon as possible. There is no better example of this than the recent opening of the new outpatient assessment clinic in the Dolphin Centre in Poole.

I hope that this update is helpful, and if you would like to find out more about how our hospitals plan and prepare for major emergencies and times of extreme capacity challenges, please see our escalation plans on the intranet. I am sure that you will agree that it is much better to plan for the worst, whilst of course, hoping for the best!

Please look out for further communications on this subject in the coming days in the Staff Bulletin, intranet, app and in emails like this one.

#YouMatter - a message from our health and wellbeing support teams

We know how challenging it is currently for all staff given the increase in Covid-19 cases, increased hospital pressures as well as additional pressures you may be facing at home.

Remember your own health and wellbeing matters too. Please look out for your colleagues and check-in with each other regularly. Our UHD health and wellbeing intranet pages have been updated with emotional wellbeing support, our mental health first aider directory, free apps to help with health and wellbeing and much more.

You can also reach out for urgent confidential support here.

If you have any queries or concerns about your wellbeing, or wellbeing in your working area, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Congratulations to Debbie Fleming our chief executive

Debbie Fleming has been awarded an OBE for services to the NHS in the Queen's New Year Honours List 2022.

Debbie has worked for the NHS for nearly 38 years and been a chief executive for 20 years, leading the merger of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospitals and Poole Hospital from January 2019 when she became joint chief executive over both.

Debbie said: "I am absolutely delighted to have been awarded this honour, and was incredibly humbled to receive this news. I am so very proud of the NHS, where it is a real privilege to work with such talented, dedicated and highly skilled people, providing such important services for local people."

"Throughout my time in the NHS, I have worked with many different individuals and teams, and I could not be more proud of our staff. I am grateful for all the opportunities that I have been given over nearly 38 years to develop myself and my career, and would like to say thank you to all those who have supported and encouraged me."

Debbie has a long career with the NHS. She spent seven years as the Chair of the Thames Valley and Wessex Leadership Academy and has led a number of commissioning organisations across Dorset, Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

In 2013 she was appointed to the post of Area Director (Wessex) for NHS England, responsible for overseeing the establishment of the new 'NHS architecture' in the local area at that time. In 2014, Debbie was appointed as chief executive for Poole Hospital, where she served for five years before being appointed as joint chief executive for both Poole Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospitals. She then led the merger of the two organisations and is now very proud to be chief executive for University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

Clinical ethics group - supporting staff facing ethical dilemmas

An update in leadership of the clinical ethics group has recently taken place with Peter Grenholm, consultant neurologist, and Sarah Chessell, head of innovation, taking on the role of joint chairs of the newly merged committee, with Martin Schuster-Bruce, consultant anaesthetist, as deputy chair.

They each bring a wealth of experience in leading ethical discussions, providing support and guidance to clinicians with dilemmas around patient care. The CEG includes a multidisciplinary team of medical, nursing and non-clinical staff. The CEG meet monthly as well as for urgent case discussions.

Please see the clinical ethics pages on the Poole intranet for further details.

Deactivating implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)

A video has been developed to demonstrate how to deactivate an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) towards the end of life, you can watch it here.

ICDs and cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) are implantable devices that provide protection against sudden cardiac death by treating life threatening arrhythmias.

When people with ICDs are approaching the end of life, advance care planning should include consideration of ICD deactivation. Deactivation involves "switching off" the treatment for ventricular arrhythmias so that the ICD will no longer provide protection against sudden cardiac death. ICD deactivation avoids the potential for the person to receive shocks from the ICD during the last hours or days of their life which can cause physical discomfort and emotional distress for both patients and their significant others

There will be circumstances when emergency ICD deactivation may be required. This may be because a patient has unexpectedly deteriorated, for example in the case of a sudden catastrophic event, or because the subject of deactivation has not been considered in advance. If a cardiac physiologist cannot be arranged to deactivate the ICD immediately, a ring magnet can be placed over the site of the ICD and used to temporarily deactivate the ICD. The magnet suspends tachyarrhythmia detection and treatment but does not inhibit bradycardia pacing.

The magnet will only deactivate shock therapy from the ICD while over the ICD site. In the event of the magnet being removed or becoming displaced the ICD will return to normal function therefore allowing shock therapy to be delivered for VF or VT.

The magnet is safe for all staff to use. Magnets can be located at:

RBCH: cardiac department, critical care unit, CCU, CIU, AMU, ED, main theatres, cardiac wards and the MacMillan unit. Please contact the clinical site management team or the outreach team out-of-hours if have any issues accessing a magnet.

Poole: cardiac department, ACU, ITU, main theatres and Forest Holme.

Following magnet placement, the cardiac physiology team should be informed. They can be reached by:

RBCH: Message for the cardiac nurse specialist ext 6154 or cardiac physiologists ext 2499, bleep 2770 with the patient details and location/

Poole: message for the cardiac physiologists ext 2255

Arrangements will be made to deactivate the ICD with an external programmer as soon as possible. Please refer to the standard operating practice for ICD deactivation towards the end of life and following death for more information.

Free staff bike maintenance this January

Bike Fixed will be returning next week to offer you a free bike tune up and will be on site at RBH on Tuesday (11 January), Poole on Wednesday (12 January) and XCH on Thursday (13 January)

If you suspect your bike may need replacement parts, Bike Fixed may be able to supply these, but they will incur a charge. If something is spotted which may need to be replaced, he'll advise you about this at the time of the service.

A limited number of appointments between 9am-3pm are available on each day.

If you'd like your bike to be serviced, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Get involved with Dry January

Dry January is the UK's annual challenge that encourages us all to abstain from drinking alcohol throughout January and teams and individuals from across UHD are encouraged to take part. There are a plethora of health benefits gained when we give up drinking alcohol from lowered blood pressure and lowered cholesterol all the way to better sleep and reduced stress and anxiety. Each week we will be sharing a fact sheet highlighting one of the benefits of giving up alcohol – this week, find out more about how alcohol can affect relationships.

If you are taking part, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - we would love to hear more about your experience, see pictures of you and your team getting involved, and offer encouragement to complete your challenge!

If you would like more information around alcohol please contact local health services We Are With You, REACH and Live Well Dorset.

Your wellbeing weekly

Start your new year on a positive note by visiting our wellbeing pages on the staff intranet, which are full of offers and information to help you stay healthy in 2022. This week, join mindfulness mediation drop-in sessions and get involved with taster sessions for mindfulness in life and work courses.

Critical incident stood down

We are pleased to confirm that the critical incident declared on Tuesday of last week has now ended. This is due to the incredible efforts of colleagues across UHD in a wide range of roles in ensuring our patients received safe, efficient and effective care.

A huge thank you to all those who have worked so hard for patients during this time, and to all those colleagues whose contributions enabled this care to take place.

It is evident though that we continue to face significant operational pressures, and will do for some time.

See below for news on a new positive and proactive initiative which aims to support the timely and safe discharge of patients, particularly in time for Christmas, and outlining a range of ways that you can be involved.

Home for Christmas

This week sees the launch of our #HomeForChristmas campaign. We want to support as many patients home safely for Christmas. This is going to be a huge team effort involving our clinicians, therapists, ward-based discharge facilitators and partnership working with discharge team, social care and community health services. We are also calling on families to do what they can to support loved ones in the community as well.

Today we start our daily virtual question and answer sessions for colleague to gain advice and guidance to support discharge via community services. Find out what more we can be doing to support patients back into the community. The sessions run from 1-2pm tomorrow, and Teams invitations will be sent out.

Do get involved and remember to ask of every patient - why not home? Why not today? If not, when? #HomeForChristmas.

For more information contact the discharge teams RBH ext 4321 Poole ext 8093.

Mandatory Covid vaccines – your questions answered

The Government have announced that healthcare workers in frontline and patient-facing roles should have had both the first and second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from next April.

On Thursday (16 December) staff can learn more at a briefing and question and answer session hosted by Professor Alyson O'Donnell, our chief medical officer.

The session will run from 12.30-1.30pm on Teams, and all are welcome. Click here to join.

How to book Covid-19 swabbing with our swabbing teams

Please could all departments referring patients to our Covid-19 swabbing team before elective procedures use these new email addresses, which will help the team organise swabbing between sites:

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

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

The team would also like to remind all departments referring staff members and household members for Covid PCR swabs to complete this referral form and email it to:

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

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

Please note children over the age of 12 can be swabbed at Poole and RBH, however if you have a child under 12 who needs swabbing, please email the Poole swabbing team.

Join our final all staff briefing of the year

Join the all staff briefing with Debbie Fleming, chief executive, and David Moss, trust chairman, next Wednesday (22 December) from 12.30 to 1.30pm.

Debbie and our executive team will be reflecting on the busy winter period so far, outlining our plans for the next few weeks, and acknowledging the incredible efforts of staff to support our patients and each other.

The briefing will also include more details for the appointment of our new chief executive.

RBH: Walk-in flu clinic today

From 4-5.30pm today (14 December) visit occupational health's walk-in flu clinic on the first floor of the Stour building to boost your winter immunity with your flu vaccination.

Please bring your staff ID badge and your NHS number with you (this can be accessed on the NHS app).

Tune in to the Virtual Charity Christmas Carol Service tomorrow!

The UHD Charity Virtual Christmas Carol Service returns for 2021 and will be available to watch online from 3pm tomorrow (15 December), featuring readings and prayers from the UHD chaplaincy team, as well as musical accompaniment for all to enjoy.

We had hoped to open the doors of Christchurch Priory to host an in-person service this year, but following careful review we felt the virtual event was more appropriate given the rates of Covid-19 are rising in our local community.

Watch the virtual service from 3pm on the UHD Charity website and across @UHDcharity social media channels tomorrow.

We hope you'll join us and help spread some Christmas cheer from the comfort of your own homes!

Kindness - Christmas Schwartz Round this Thursday

Christmas can be a difficult time of the year for many of us alongside the unrelenting uncertainty of COVID. It is often however the random acts of kindness, particularly at Christmas that connect and unite us together.

This Schwartz round allows us to remember those times of kindness and the power and impact they can have on us and on our patients.

The event is open to all UHD staff and takes place on Thursday (16 December) at 2pm via Teams. Please visit the Schwartz Round page on the intranet for the link and more information.

Electronic fit test reporting goes live today

Electronic reporting goes live today (14 December), replacing our current paper report.

This will make fit testing simpler and will collate information for reporting purposes. All designated fit testers are asked to check the fit testing pages (under infection control) on the Poole intranet to read the updated information and important changes.

Business intelligence will continue to develop the form to enable managers to extract reports and provide information directly to ESR, but until that is completed the fit testing team will provide monthly data available as they also add retrospective data from July 2021 to the online reporting.

Register your Point of Care Testing (POCT) devices for our audit

Point of Care is conducting an audit of which POCT devices are currently in use across UHD.

If you use any kind of device on your ward or clinic to test blood or urine from a patient instead of sending a sample to the main laboratory, please can one person be nominated to register every POCT device used using this form.

Examples of what you may be testing for with these devices includes: glucose, ketones, urine dipsticks, urine pregnancy test, INR, HbA1c, blood gas, haemoglobin, pH and lipids – though this is not an exhaustive list.

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

POOLE: Medical photographer unavailable next week

The medical photography service will not be available from the 22-29 December.

During this time a standby camera will be available for appropriate use provided by the equipment library.

Order your meals for Christmas Day by this Friday

Any staff member on duty Christmas day morning will be entitled to a voucher up to the value of £3 to purchase breakfast and any staff member on duty Christmas Day evening/night will be entitled to a snack bag. These are to be picked up from the restaurant between 1-2pm Christmas Day.

To receive your vouchers/snack bags please ensure you get your numbers into the catering department no later than 17 December. This can only be done by using the eforms portal (under managed bookmarks/clinical systems in Google Chrome on a Trust computer). You will be asked for a cost centre – please note you will not be charged for these against it, you will then be notified when the vouchers are ready for collection.

Please see the posters for breakfast and dinner for more information.

Take care of your trust IT devices

Please ensure you take good care of your trust IT devices.

There are currently global shortages of components and IT hardware, particularly laptops. Therefore, we are experiencing long delays in receiving new equipment.

We are currently lending out our limited amount of temporary equipment to departments where possible, however these stocks are finite.

Sometimes it's inevitable hardware will be accidentally broken, but please take all reasonable steps to care of your equipment.

Find out more about LERN forms at tomorrow's Teams event

We are focusing on our Learning Event Report Notification (LERN) forms this December, so we all know what these forms are and when to fill one out.

Help us build on our open learning culture by completing a LERN form whenever something goes right or wrong and if you have a concern or a suggestion to improve the way we do things.

Find out more about the new LERN forms by joining our Teams event tomorrow (15 December) at 1pm.

Find out more on the LERN pages of the intranet.

Join the campaign, get involved and share, LERN because we all can!

RBH: Help our therapy teams by returning unwanted therapy equipment

Our therapy teams need the correct equipment to help our patients get home safely and is appealing for the return of therapy equipment so it can be reused and recycled for other patients. Items include walking aids, crutches, toilet aids and kitchen trolleys.

Please ensure that you do not have any unwanted equipment, and advise patients that any unwanted equipment can be returned to the addresses on this page.

Don't forget to enter our Christmas decoration competition

Our Christmas window stickers are being delivered to departments to enable IPC-compliant festive window displays. Decorate a window in your department or ward with your stickers and send a photo of the display and your team (wearing masks and following social distancing guidelines) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm on 21 December. Staff and the public will then vote for their favourite and there'll be a prize for the department with the best one.

RBH, Alderney SSD and XCH dermatology departments can also decorate one of the new Christmas trees that have been put up outside. The trees are to be shared by the departments closest to them. Spruce up one of the trees, take a photo and then send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm on 21 December. All we ask is they are decorated in a traditional style (no medical equipment) with fire retardant decorations.

Winners will be announced in the Christmas Eve Staff Bulletin and we can't wait to see what you do!

Please note: All these trees are located outside and therefore meet infection control guidelines.

'Blue Christmas' tomorrow in our chaplaincy spaces

Blue Christmas has been put together especially for those of us whose days don't feel particularly merry or bright right now, it's a space for you to visit and gently acknowledge some of the tough realities that you may be facing this year.

Blue Christmas takes place 9am-4pm tomorrow (15 December) in our chapel/prayer room at RBH and our prayer space at Poole. Our chaplains will be available.

Dorset Police share their #SafeChristmas guidance

Dorset Police have put together guidance and advice for celebrating Christmas safely this year, including key messages that will help keep you, your family and friends and your belongings safe.

Read the guidance here.

Household Support Fund available to help residents in financial hardship across BCP

Vulnerable residents who are struggling to afford food and keep warm this winter are encouraged to access help through the council's Household Support Fund scheme.

BCP Council has been awarded £2.6 million from government and is working with partner organisations to provide assistance to local people who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic and who are in financial hardship.

For more information visit: www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/householdsupport.

Weekly Wellbeing

This week take a look at our wellbeing pages for all the latest offers including meditation sessions, posture courses, Motivational Mondays sessions and much more...

Catch up on yesterday's Covid-19 vaccination staff Q&A session

Thanks to everyone who attended the briefing on Covid-19 vaccinations, the national move to make these mandatory, the new Omicron variant and how to book your jab, hosted by Professor Alyson O'Donnell, chief medical officer. The session heard from a range of UHD experts, covering topics including HR issues, clinical effectiveness and common concerns.

The panel answered dozens of staff questions, from how mandatory vaccines might be implemented, guidance for staff who are immunosuppressed, pregnant or trying to conceive, as well as exemptions – watch it here.

We'll also be publishing a Q&A based on the session next week – look out for it in the bulletin.

Siobhan Harrington announced as new chief executive for UHD

Siobhan Harrington has been appointed as chief executive of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust and will take up her role on 1 June 2022. Siobhan will succeed Debbie Fleming, who announced in September this year that she would be retiring from the NHS on 31 March 2022.

Siobhan is an experienced director in the NHS and has been chief executive of Whittington Health NHS Trust in London since 2017. Read more here.

Supporting staff - hot food on-the-go from our catering department

There are now vending machines in the atrium at RBH and the Dolphin Restaurant at Poole which include food that can be heated up to provide you with a hot tasty snack outside of our usual catering hours.

We will be increasing the variety of the options in our vending machines in the coming months to give better food choices to our colleagues out of hours.

In light of the challenging Covid-19 situation, our senior teams are also working together to explore more options to provide on-the-go nutrition to our support staff.

How to book Covid-19 swabbing with our swabbing teams

Please could all departments referring patients to our Covid-19 swabbing team before elective procedures use these new email addresses:

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

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

All departments referring staff members and household members for Covid PCR swabs to complete this referral form and email it to:

For Poole staff and all children under 12 years, send email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For Bournemouth and Christchurch staff and children over 12 years, send email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you to everyone who joined our Christmas Schwartz Round

If you missed the Schwartz Round on Kindness yesterday you can catch up here.

If you have any feedback on the session that you would like to share please fill out this survey.

Updated care groups and operations structure available

The latest version of our care groups and operations structure table details our senior clinical and non-clinical management roles and is available to download here.

RBH: a reminder about staff parking

There have been recent examples of inappropriate parking outside ED and the UTC which is blocking ambulance and patient drop off parking in the area - this can cause patient safety issues.

Whether the car has a valid parking permit or not, a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) will be issued to protect these spaces.

We are aware that staff may be called to work in these departments at short notice and in this case there is a 'consultant on call' permit which can be given to those called in. This permits you to park in the spaces at the education centre and provides quick access to the hospital.

If you want to register interest for one of these permits or have any other questions regarding staff parking please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

You can find the latest staff briefing Q&As, including responses to many queries related to staff parking, here.

Deadline to order Christmas meals is today

If you are on duty on Christmas Day morning, you are entitled to a voucher up to the value of £3 to buy breakfast. If you are on duty Christmas Day evening or night, you can get a snack bag. Snack bags are to be picked up from the restaurant between 1-2pm on Christmas Day.

To receive your vouchers/snack bags, please ensure you get your numbers into the catering department no later than Friday 17 December. This can only be done by using the eforms portal.

You can access the portal through Google Chrome > managed bookmarks > clinical systems –> electronic forms (eforms) and search 'catering hospitality form' to access the form.

You will be asked for a cost centre – please note you will not be charged for the vouchers against it. You will then be notified when the vouchers are ready for collection. Please see the posters for breakfast and dinner for more information.

Haematology departments are changing method for the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

From the 15 of December at the RBH and from 16 of December at Poole the haematology department will be changing the analytical platform for its ESR tests and will be moving back to a Westergren method.

You should see no difference when ordering through ICE and the sample requirement of one 4mL EDTA tube will not have changed.

Reference ranges have been checked on the local population and have been found to be similar to those currently in use. However there may be a reduction in the ESR result for patients with high ESR values.

Please ensure the EDTA sample is at least half filled as the ESR test requires at least 1.4 ml of blood.

Paediatric samples will initially be run on the existing platform as we will not have enough volume in a single paediatric sample. We are currently investigating other options for this patient cohort.

The department will also be changing the full blood count analysers at the same time, but based on our verification work we do not expected you to see any difference in the values reported and the normal ranges will be staying the same.

RBH: Equipment library cover over Christmas

Over Christmas the equipment library will be covered as follows:

25 December - by porters through the SISO system. If you need any assistance please contact them by bleep 2108.

26 December – by EQL staff from 09am-1pm and by porters through the SISO system from 1-8pm.

27 and 28 December and Monday 3 January - bank holidays by EQL staff from 8am-12pm and by porters through SISO system from 12-8pm.

Any equipment request needs to be done through the SISO system, which can be found here.

Please note that SISO has been upgraded from the old version 5.4 to 5.7 and the new version will not work with Internet Explorer.

For any assistance please contact EQL on ext 4493 and porters on bleep 2108.

If this looks like your Pa55w@rd, get ready to update

Passwords are everywhere in life, performing the vital role of protecting confidential information from being accessed by those it is not intended for. So it's important to ensure you use strong, hard to guess passwords every time.

A new feature is being rolled out across Microsoft systems that encourages staff to avoid the common practice of swapping letters or symbols for similar-looking characters, like the example in the headline above. These swaps are well known to those who try to access data unlawfully, so now, when your password has expired and it's time to choose a new one, any password that looks as though it uses character substitutions will be rejected, and you will be asked to enter another, stronger one.

This is also really good practice away from work – consider whether you need to update your own passwords for personal accounts at home too.

Register your Point of Care testing device for our audit

Point of Care is conducting an audit of which POCT devices are currently in use across UHD.

If you use any kind of device on your ward or clinic to test blood or urine from a patient instead of sending a sample to the main laboratory, please can one person be nominated to register every POCT device with as much information as possible using the POCT e-forms portal (found under managed bookmarks – clinical systems on google chrome trust devices).

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

Help our porters by disposing of your cardboard properly

When disposing of cardboard please flat pack it before leaving it out for our porters to collect to help to make sure this waste can be recycled through our onsite baler.

Our porters don't have to time to flat pack the volume of cardboard which is currently being produced and any help with this would be very much appreciated. We do not wish to see any of this cardboard ending up in the general waste.

RBH: Food trolley collections

Please can all wards make sure that food trolleys are put out in the main corridors for collection when they are finished with.

Electronic fit test reporting now in place

Electronic reporting is now in place replacing our current paper report.

This will make fit testing simpler and will collate information for reporting purposes. All designated fit testers are asked to read the updated information and important changes, available on the Infection Control pages of the intranet.

Business intelligence will continue to develop the form to enable managers to extract reports and provide information directly to ESR, but until that is completed the fit testing team will provide monthly data available as they also add retrospective data from July 2021 to the online reporting.

Run the London marathon for our charity

The London Marathon will be returning on Sunday 2 October 2022. UHD Charity is excited to announce that this year, they have secured eight spaces.

If you'd like to take on the challenge of 26.2 miles to raise money for our hospitals, you can enter our marathon ballot, which will be drawn in February.

To enter, simply complete the form here, share your details and tell us why you'd like to run for #teamUHD.

You'll receive the full support of the charity team to help you achieve your fundraising target which includes motivational meet ups, a fundraising pack and a UHD Charity technical running vest.

Don't forget if you have received a place directly through the TCS London Marathon's public ballot, you can still be a part of #teamUHD and raise money for the Royal Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch hospitals. Simply contact us by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a fundraising pack.

Fraud warning – look out for emails from rhs.net

Our fraud team has let us know there have been cases of fraud where the fraudsters are imitating the ESR system. Emails were received from fraudster using @esrnhs.top email addresses.

The email states that there is a problem with an individual's national insurance number, and requests that they log-in to update their personal information via a link provided within the email.

Please remain vigilant when reading and responding to your emails, and if you receive one of these emails delete it and report to our IT team.

Join this week's ProAbility meeting

We are all welcome to join the ProAbility network's next network session. The open session will be offering peer support from the network following the developments of the new Covid-19 variant.

The session runs on Tuesday (21 December) on Teams from 1.30-2pm click here to join.

If you missed out on our talks with Dr Hannah Barham-Brown and Dr Liz O'Riordan you can catch up via the links on the ProAbility intranet page.

ICB chief executive arrangements

Last month Patricia Miller, currently chief executive of Dorset County Hospital, was successfully appointed to the role of chief executive designate for Dorset's new Integrated Care Board (ICB).

She will be starting in her new role from 1 February. While DCH works to recruit a permanent CEO appointment, deputy chief executive, Nick Johnson, will take over as interim chief executive from 1 February 2022.

Are you a budding photographer?

Do you have an eye for a good picture, or maybe are just someone who likes to share memories? No matter your level of experience this competition could be for you.

We are running a staff competition to select photos to brighten up the walls in our new DCRC; part of the new Dorset Clinical Trial Unit which is due to open in Spring of 2022.

The Dorset Clinical Research Centre and Dorset Clinical Trials Unit is an exciting new venture for our research department and will create new opportunities to set up and host research in the Dorset area and beyond – supporting local researchers and offering opportunities for local residents to take part in shaping the future of potential new treatment opportunities.

We are looking for staff to submit images that represent this unit, our local Dorset heritage, or something that might represent hope and opportunity for the future. Recognisable, or abstract – we will look forward to viewing your creations. We do ask that submissions do not have images of the general public for confidentiality reasons.

If you are interested in taking part, please complete the attached form and submit your photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Photographs should be:

• A minimum of 300dpi – the greater the resolution the better!
• Allow for a 3-5mm bleed area (i.e. we would be able to crop up to 5mm at the edge when printing at scale)
• Be in PDF, AI, PSD or JPeg format

Competition closes at 5pm on Friday 14 January, when it will be judged anonymously by a group from UHD research and development. Results will be announced by email on Friday 4 February.

Your wellbeing weekly

Check out our weekly wellbeing pages for all the latest offers to help you stay well over the festive period including advice for international colleagues spending their first winter in the UK, self-care webinars and much more.

Critical incident still in place as we head into the weekend

As we head into the weekend, we remain in critical incident mode with both sites still at OPEL 4. It was very challenging overnight, so thank you to all the teams who worked hard to keep our patients safe, and to everyone for your continued efforts. We know this level of sustained pressure has an impact on us all, but your efforts are making an enormous difference to our patients.

Mandatory Covid vaccines – your questions answered

With the Government announcing that healthcare workers in frontline and patient-facing roles should have had both the first and second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from next April, we've put together a briefing session for staff to learn more.

Nearly 90 per cent of Team UHD has already been fully vaccinated, helping to protect our most vulnerable patients against infection, as well as our colleagues and our families.

To support staff to achieve full vaccination status, a new series of in-house Covid vaccination clinics have been set up, starting next week. Full details, including how to book, are on the intranet under latest news. Please take advantage of these clinics (which also offer the chance to be vaccinated against flu as well).

Alternatively, first and second vaccinations as well as booster jabs may continue to be booked in the community through the national NHS booking website.

On Thursday (16 December) staff can learn more at a briefing and question and answer session chaired by Professor Alyson O'Donnell, our chief medical officer.

The session, from 12.30-1.30pm on Teams, will cover why vaccinations matter and what's involved, and there will be a chance to raise your own questions. Click here to join in at this time. If you can't make this date, the briefing will be available to watch later, and a Q&A will be shared shortly afterwards.

In the meantime, if you would like further information on Covid-19 vaccinations or have a question now, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have a query about how the national mandatory vaccination programme might affect your role in the trust.

Covid-19: Omicron variant update

The Trust is monitoring the impact of this new variant of concern on the local population and working closely with public health and UK HSA to investigate any results indicative of or confirmed as a variant of concern.

Currently there are no recommended changes to the type of personal protective equipment required to be worn or infection prevention and control practices.

It remains key to follow the principles of hand, face, space and ventilate and the guidance we set out within the REFRESH campaign is still relevant to protecting you and our patients.

As we learn more about this change in the virus we will communicate this with you.

Healthcare workers who return from any travel overseas, including those countries not on the travel red list, should not return to work until they have had an initial negative PCR test. They should also do daily lateral flow tests until day 10 after return.

All updates and changes in guidance are held on the intranet Covid-19 pages.

Covid-19: 'Plan B' measures and what they mean for us

The latest government guidance, called Plan B, is that people should work from home if at all possible from Monday 13 December. As a healthcare provider, many of us are responsible for the care and support of our patients so this is not possible and we should continue coming to work as normal.

Since the start of the Covid pandemic, we have been supporting colleagues to work from home where appropriate and will continue to do so. Our priority remains to keep staff, patients and the public safe, and we should all continue to follow our infection prevention and control policies and get the booster vaccination. To book a booster vaccination, please book here and details of how to book first and second vaccinations for colleagues at UHD will be available on the latest news on the intranet.

The Plan B guidance in England has so far not included any restrictions on private gatherings or parties. For any departments planning on holding a Christmas event, we recommend that teams carry out their own assessment, mindful of the risk of the additional pressures it would add to our hospitals if large numbers of staff had to isolate following an event. Our best practice guidance for off-site meetings and events is available on the intranet health and safety pages.

National Covid-19 inquiry and what it means for us

Earlier this year Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that there would be an inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic starting next year, covering many aspects, including the contribution of the National Health Service.

As an acute trust with a clear role in the pandemic we expect to be asked to take part in this and have set up a steering group to prepare for this, chaired by Professor Paula Shobbrook, our chief nursing officer and deputy CEO. We await the exact aims and remit of the inquiry that will be confirmed in the terms of reference and announced after a chair has been appointed, which should be by Christmas.

The last two years have been unlike any other and so the inquiry presents an opportunity for UHD to mark our contribution to the Covid-19 response: to celebrate all that we have achieved in our care for patients and our support for each other, and also reflect on where we experienced challenges, how we responded to these and what we have learned. The voices of UHD staff and the sharing of our experiences will be a valuable part of this work and so we are keen to involve our UHD team in this, with all support given to staff invited to take part.

We will be sharing further details about the inquiry as they are released, and in the meantime have begun collating any information which might be relevant to this work.

If you have any questions about the inquiry and the support available for staff, please contact Mandy Baker, Quality Support Manager or Marie Cleary, Organisational Development Practitioner and Staff Governor.

Join our final all staff briefing of the year

Join the all staff briefing with Debbie Fleming, chief executive, and David Moss, trust chairman, on 22 December from 12.30 to 1.30pm.

Debbie and our executive team will be reflecting on the busy winter period so far, outlining our plans for the next few weeks, and acknowledging the incredible efforts of staff to support our patients and each other.

The briefing will also include more details for the appointment of our new chief executive.

Staff taxis over Christmas

If you regularly use public transport to get to work, you may qualify for subsidised taxi journeys over the festive period.

Christmas Day is the only day when most scheduled bus services are not running. Therefore, if you are claiming for taxis outside of Christmas Day, you must evidence to your line manager that public transport is not available for any days claimed (eg that you would be delayed by an extra 30 minutes from your normal bus arrival or leave time).

Before you request a staff taxi for Christmas Day, or any date from the 24 December to the 3 of January, please check the guidance and fill in the form on the intranet.

Please note the form for booking Christmas taxi's must be returned by 12pm on 22 December, and you must travel using PRC Streamline taxis.

Prioritisation of porter duties today (10 December)

Due to staff shortages, porter services across Poole and the Royal Bournemouth hospitals are currently prioritising responses. This may regrettably lead to a delay for some requests and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

POOLE: Lateral flow test collection times

Please note that lateral flow test kits are only available for collection from 9.15 – 10.15am Monday to Friday from Cornelia Lounge, room CO1-01.

E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the details of how many test kits are required and which department they are for prior to collection.

RBH: Ensuring patients at the end of life have the equipment they need - T34 syringe drivers

All wards should ensure that T34 syringe drivers are returned to the equipment library when not in use.

These syringe drivers are used to keep patients in their last days of life comfortable and need to be returned promptly to ensure there is no delay in patient care.

Join our Christmas Schwartz Round on kindness on 16 December at 2pm via Teams

Christmas can be a difficult time of the year for many of us alongside the relenting uncertainty of COVID. It is often however the random acts of kindness, particularly at Christmas that connect and unite us together.

This Schwartz round allows us to remember those times of kindness and the power and impact they can have on us and on our patients.

The event is open to all UHD staff. Please visit the Schwartz Round page on the intranet for the link and more information.

Annual leave: carry over to 2022/2023 and selling back 2021/2022 leave

Last year the Trust enabled us to carry over leave we were unable to take due to the operational pressures arising in the pandemic. This was partly due to a government agreement that a two year arrangement should apply.

For our wellbeing, we expect the majority of colleagues to take their holiday in the given year. However, it is possible to sell back and/or carry over some leave into 2022/23 if operational pressures dictate.

The following guidelines apply:

• Carry over into 2022/23 is a maximum of 10 days net, pro-rated for part-timers (we anticipate most people will carry-over much less than 10 days as we are in the second year).
• Part days cannot be carried over and you cannot add any remaining carry over from 21/22 to this, so please ensure you manage any part day remaining hours locally as we wouldn't want employees to lose any hours.
• All carry over is subject to authorisation by the manager.
• Staff may also sell back up to five days of their 21/22 leave (pro-rata for part timers) with payment expected in the June payroll.
• Sell back and carry over taken together should not exceed the equivalent of 10 days.
• The authorisation process will be shared with managers and following submission of the necessary documents ESR and health roster will be updated.
• Booking of future leave is subject to usual authorisation with periods of extended leave only allowable in exceptional circumstances.

Please ensure your annual leave records are up to date so the workforce team are able to verify remaining leave to allow the requested carry-over/sell back. If annual leave records are not up to date this could delay the processing of carry-over/sell back requests.

Further details of the carry-over/sell back process for this year will be shared in January 2021.

Easy Expenses – a new expenses system for UHD

We are planning to implement a new expenses system, Easy Expenses. This is a national NHS system aligned to the electronic staff record (ESR) and is provided free of charge to UHD.

When Easy Expenses is implemented in early 2022, some information will be requested as part of your individual registration process if you make business journeys. Duty of Care requires assurances that appropriate business insurance, valid driver's licence, MOT and Vehicle Road Tax is in place.

We are planning for Easy Expenses to open for registration in February 2022. Please note that all expense claims should be submitted on a monthly basis.

If you have any queries please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. from our financial systems team.

New modular build planned on RBH site

In her latest video, Paula Rayson, head of clinical design for the strategy and transformation directorate, updates staff on the latest progress on the moves that will be taking place over the next six years to deliver UHD's transformation programme.

The video details a range of recent considerations including the provision of a new modular build on the site of the current catering department on the RBH site. The new building is designed to be able to house new catering facilities, three new theatres and support areas as well as three standard wards. Details of these plans alongside the timing of all other planned changes can be seen here.

Check your training is taking place before you attend

During these very busy times in our hospitals please check that training is taking place by looking at our work e-mails before attending.

The BEAT team try to let us know as soon as possible if training is postponed but often only have a work email addresses to send the information to. If you are unsure whether training will be going ahead, please get in touch with the department the training is being delivered by, or the team you booked it with.

There will be a reduced training offering throughout January across UHD in response to winter pressures this year, however mandatory training will still be in place and will always go ahead as planned.

If you have any questions about your mandatory training get in touch with the BEAT team on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for Poole and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for RBCH. If your training is department run, please contact the relevant department if you have any questions.

RBCH: Changes to all resuscitation training from 1 January

To create a new UHD approach, refresher resuscitation training is changing.

The two hour session training on basic life support (level 2 resus) training is now spilt into two elements; eLearning and a 30 minute face to face practical session. Before the face to face session staff are required to watch a 45 minute video and pass the online MCQ assessment.

This training is an annual requirement for all clinical staff and other relevant staff groups

Training will not change at Poole or for new trust inductions and all sessions can be booked via ESR.

Times for immediate life support, immediate life support recertification and paediatric immediate life support have also changed, please check your session time when booking.

POOLE: Employee self service (ESS) – a new way to book mandatory training

You are now able to book face-to-face mandatory training via ESS, part of the electronic staff record. ESS allows us to see which classes are running and how many spaces are left on classes, creating a simple way to self-enrol.

Managers who book mandatory training for their teams will be able to use manager self-service to enrol staff they directly manage and will also be able to see how many spaces are left on classes to manage team training effectively.

Over the next few months, we will be slowly moving away from the current method of staff booking via the intranet. Check the education and training pages of the Poole intranet for information, including the ESS user guide and course catalogue.

If you have any training class queries e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For ESS system or login queries e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Actions to take when unverifying letters in eCaMIS

If you unverify a letter on eCaMIS, you also need to remove it from EPR as this doesn't happen automatically.

Up until now our IT team has been doing this, but as of the 13 December they will no longer remove the documents.

If you have not attended training for document removal, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Christmas decorations competitions

Our Christmas window stickers are being delivered to departments soon to enable IPC-compliant festive window displays. Decorate a window in your department or ward with your stickers and send a photo of the display and your team (wearing masks and following social distancing guidelines) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm on 21 December. Staff and the public will then vote for their favourite and there'll be a prize for the department with the best one.

At RBH departments can also decorate one of the new Christmas trees that have been put up in the outside quadrants. The trees are to be shared by the departments closest to them. Spruce up one of the trees, take a photo and then send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm on 21 December. All we ask is they are decorated in a traditional style (no medical equipment) with fire retardant decorations.

Winners will be announced in the Christmas Eve Staff Bulletin and we can't wait to see what you do!

Please note: All these trees are located outside and therefore meet infection control guidelines.

'Blue Christmas' in our chaplaincy spaces at Poole and RBH

Not feeling much like celebrating? Missing someone you have loved and lost? Had a tough year?

Blue Christmas has been put together especially for those of us whose days don't feel particularly merry or bright right now, it's a space for you to visit and gently acknowledge some of the tough realities that you may be facing this year.

Blue Christmas takes place 9am-4pm next Wednesday (15 December) in our chapel/prayer room at RBH and our prayer space at Poole. Our chaplains will be available.

Have your say on local bus services

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council have recently taken their Bus Services Improvement Plan to public consultation and are inviting you to share your views.

To view the document and access an online survey to provide your feedback, please click here.

The deadline for sharing your views is midnight on 7 January 2022.

If you have any questions or would like the survey in a different format, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Job of the week – chef at the Bournemouth private clinic

We are looking for a suitably qualified chef to support the catering team to provide a specialised service to our private ward.

This is an exciting opportunity for you to show your creativity by introducing new recipe ideas and inputting to personal menus tailored to our patients needs for the private ward.

This is a full time position working 37.5 hours per week Monday to Friday (including bank holidays) with the occasional weekend to support the catering team. This is an attractive working pattern within the catering industry with all the benefits of working for the NHS.

Interviews week commencing 17 January click here for more information.

Weekly wellbeing

This week on our offers page join in with Motivational Monday's morning positivity session, find out more about the ICS Winter Wellbeing Convention and get crafty with a Christmas decoration needle felting workshop.