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.