Nominations open for our Patient Choice awards!

Your local hospitals are giving you the chance to put forward staff or volunteers you feel have gone the extra mile for special recognition.

The Patient Choice Team Award and Patient Choice Individual Award are two of the categories seeking to highlight some of the incredible individuals and teams that make up University Hospitals Dorset – Christchurch, Poole and Royal Bournemouth hospitals.

They form part of the UHD Awards 2024, which recognise and celebrate hospital staff, those working for key partners in our hospitals and for volunteers who freely give their time and skills.

Nominating is simple – just click here to find an online form and guidance on what judges will be looking for to help your nomination stand out.

Judges will be looking for individuals and teams for who nothing is too much trouble, provide great care or service, treat others with kindness and respect, and are a great example to others.

Siobhan Harrington, chief executive for UHD, said: “Ultimately we are all here to provide the best care we can for our patients. For me, this means the complete experience patients have from the moment they step foot in our hospitals or speak to a member of our team on the phone or online, not necessarily just the clinical care we provide.

“Every member of our staff can contribute to the care a patient experiences, and I hope as many members of the public as possible take the opportunity to put someone forward in the Patient Choice categories.

“We saw at our first awards last year how much that recognition from the public means to our UHD family, so we’d love to see as many nominations in this category as possible.”

The winners will be decided by a judging panel representing a wide range of UHD staff and announced at an awards event at The Pavilion in Bournemouth on 20 June.

Nominations must be made by midnight on 3 May 2024.

Click here to make your nomination!

Our 2023 UHD Awards winners

Patient Choice Awards judging criteria

Recognising an individual or team who (some or all criteria may be relevant):

• actively promote a positive and memorable experience of our hospitals
• go the extra mile - nothing is too much trouble
• deliver consistently great care or service
• treat others with kindness and care, dignity and respect, and are supportive and compassionate
• are a great example and role model to others

NHS Covid time capsules capture moment in history

Hospital staff at the Royal Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole hospitals have buried time capsules on each site, providing a lasting memorial for those who worked in the NHS during the pandemic and all the patients they cared for.

The capsules were buried as part of special services across the three hospitals, held in the weeks following the anniversary of the global pandemic being declared and leading up to the anniversary of the first full UK lockdown.

Children from local schools – Park School in Bournemouth, St Peter’s in Southbourne, and St Joseph’s in Poole – performed songs at the three services, which were also attended by Dame Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, Dr Michele Board, Bournemouth University’s deputy head of department for nursing science, and by the chair of BCP Council, Councillor Lesley Dedman.

Items in the capsules were chosen by hospital staff, and include a special book of reflections with a number of photos and recollections from those working in the NHS at the time. Other items include personal protective equipment worn at the height of the pandemic, lateral flow testing kits, Covid vaccines, photos and videos produced to support staff and patients, glass rainbows made by one of the hospital’s consultants, and knitted hearts given to the loved ones of those critically ill in intensive care or those at the end of their lives.

The capsules will be opened again on the 100th anniversary of the NHS – 5 July 2048 – and the capsule sites have been marked by a special memorial stone to create a lasting space for colleagues to spend time reflecting on the pandemic, the way it changed NHS life as we know it, and the very personal impact it had on them and their loved ones.

Dame Ruth said: “It’s important that we continue to reflect on the lasting impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had. I will remain forever proud of our nursing and midwifery workforce, and all our colleagues across the NHS, for the extraordinary contribution they made during this time.”

Siobhan Harrington, chief executive of University Hospitals Dorset, added: “Covid was a challenge, a test of our skills, our courage, and our ability to provide care under the most extraordinary circumstances. And it was a challenge we rose to despite every obstacle thrown in our path, and despite the very personal toll it was taking on everybody in our UHD family.

“I hope these capsules and memorial stones give us all a time and space to pause, reflect and mark this moment in history.”

Sue Doheny, NHS England South West chief nursing officer, said: “It was a privilege to be invited to attend the Covid time capsule event. It is four years since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic and these services marked a poignant moment in history. They also provided time to reflect on how the Covid pandemic changed working for the NHS family, and the personal sadness, loss and impact it had on their own lives, those of their families, their loved ones and their community.”

You can find out more about the capsules and what’s inside at www.uhd.nhs.uk/news/covid-19-time-capsule

Newly qualified nurses recruitment day

University Hospitals Dorset is inviting all new newly qualified nurses or those due to qualify in September 2024 to sign up for a recruitment day at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

The twice-yearly event, hosted by UHD, will be based in the education centre at RBH on Saturday 11 May from 9am – 5pm.

The day includes presentations from matrons, information on our bespoke training and development programmes offered by our nationally-recognised education team and a talk from a newly qualified nurse a year into her nursing career with the hospitals.

Attendees will be interviewed at the event, with provisional job offers to successful candidates on the same day.

Sue Davies, senior matron for trauma and orthopaedics said: “We’re very excited to show off our wonderful facilities. We have vacancies in a number of areas, so there’s something for everyone.” 

To sign up and secure your place, click here 

Understanding Health: raising public awareness of the menopause

On Wednesday 6 March, expert speakers from University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) and Bournemouth University (BU) delivered their first event in a series of free Understanding Health talks in 2024, with the first focusing on menopause.

According to NHS England, it is estimated that one-third of the entire UK female population is currently peri- menopausal or menopausal in the UK.

Presenters Rosie Harper, clinical specialist physiotherapist in Pelvic Health at UHD, and Dr Emma Thurston, senior lecturer in Physician Associate Studies at BU and GP with a special interest in women’s sexual and reproductive health, discussed lifestyle advice, tips, information and support to improve the experience of the menopause journey.

Rosie and Emma took questions from an in-house and online audience. One of the questions was around the impact of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction on activity. Rosie spoke about the misconceptions of menopause, for example, that the menopause experience is the same for everyone. She explained how women's experiences differ and spoke of her work to support women in finding the right level of exercise to support them with reasonable adjustments throughout their menopause transition.

Rosie said, “educating women about the common pelvic floor symptoms that can arise around menopause will prepare and support them through this predictable stage in life.”

Emma was asked why there is still a taboo surrounding menopause, to which she highlighted the positive progress that has been made in recent years supported by the Women’s Health Strategy for England. Additionally, she spoke of the impact of social media on changing public perceptions of menopause with women sharing their individual experiences online. 

Emma said, “Breaking down health taboos for women across all life stages is vital to ensure women feel empowered to advocate for themselves, know when to seek medical support, and remove any shame or stigma which historically surrounds “women’s issues”. This includes discussing previously “taboo” topics, such as sexual pleasure.”

Through greater education and awareness such as through these ‘Understanding Health Talks’, Bournemouth University in partnership with University Hospitals Dorset hope to share its expertise with a public audience. This event helped improve the public's understanding of the menopause.

Two further Understanding Health talks have been scheduled for later this year with Understanding Concussion in Sports and Practice taking place on 2 May and Understanding Pathology – Health under a Microscope on 4 June. 

To view the talk, please click here.