System-wide pressure alert issued

In recognition of the operational pressures we and our partners in health and social care are currently experiencing, Dorset has now declared an OPEL 4 alert as a health system.

We recognise how challenging it has been this week within UHD, and would like to say a huge thank you to the teams working harder than ever for our patients and colleagues.

The Dorset health system is asking the public to support all healthcare organisations in Dorset in a range of ways – read more about this here.

Reducing Covid-19 risk and our professional responsibilities

The national leads for major clinical professions have written a joint letter to NHS staff outlining why – regardless of any mandate – having the Covid-19 vaccine is part of our professional responsibility.

"Getting vaccinated against diseases which can be passed person-to-person in healthcare settings is part of that responsibility."

This is a view that our clinical leaders here at UHD wholly endorse, and we would urge any member of staff who is yet to be vaccinated to make arrangements to do so. While we know, and the letter states, vaccinations may not provide a definitive guarantee against infection or re-infection, the vaccines offer significant protection to individuals and those around them, which in the case of UHD staff means greatly reducing the risk of avoidable harm to our patients.

Vaccines, and flu jabs, continue to be available within UHD and elsewhere. Please see the occupational health pages for more information.

Professor Alyson O'Donnell - chief medical officer

Our next hot food trial for night shift staff starts on Monday

Hot food for our night shift staff will be available next week (14-18 February) in our second trial.

New hot food vendors will be on our Poole and RBH sites offering jacket potatoes, Thai curry, paella, hot baps, pizza and more. A delivery service will also be available to Christchurch from RBH.

Further details including prices, menus and full locations for each site are available on the intranet. Please check this page throughout the week for any updates on the offering.

It's important to our wellbeing team that we get this right, so please use this survey to give your feedback on the trial throughout the week.

Reminder: show some love to your new intranet this Valentine's Day

Our new UHD intranet will be live on Monday (14 February), bringing together the RBCH and Poole sites via one new homepage.

Make sure you take the opportunity to get to know your new homepage, which will highlight the most popular sections from each of the existing sites, as well as quick links to latest news, policies, web mail, Covid guidance, and the ever-popular swapshop.

While you will still be able to access the existing sites for certain sections that have yet to be moved over, there will be just one homepage with at least 80 UHD sections sitting underneath.

Once the new intranet is established, we will start the process of training a limited number of superusers who will be able to update their own content. More details to follow.

If you need support with your pages in the meantime, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

POOLE: Overpayments in January wages

Some bank holiday enhancements for the 28 December 2021 were paid in error in our January wages.

The overpayment was caused by some cancelled shifts incorrectly generating bank holiday enhancements.

Payroll will be recovering the gross overpayments fully from the February wages. Due to the large number of staff this has impacted payroll are unable to give out any details to individuals, so we would advise you to check your January payslip to see if you received bank holiday enhancements in error.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Catch up on this week's staff briefing

You can catch up on Wednesday's all staff briefing with our chief executive Debbie Fleming, hospital chairman David Moss and our executive team here, and read the slides here.

The meeting included a question and answer session, and topics of discussion included learning to live with Covid-19, tacking our performance challenges, Covid-19 vaccinations, NHS England CEO Amanda Pritchard visiting us and more.

Did you miss Ask Aly this week?

If you missed the Ask Aly session yesterday, you didn't miss out. You can view a recording of the session here.

Thanks to all those who attended. Dr Alyson O'Donnell was joined by Dr Ruth Williamson, deputy chief medical officer, and they gave an update on our OPEL 4 status, the pressures on our hospitals, and what we are doing to support our patients and staff at this challenging time. Other topics covered included mandatory vaccinations, the relaxation of Covid restrictions, and the environmental impact of PPE.

Save the date for the next session: Thursday 10 March, 12pm.

Your February edition of The Brief is here

Take a look inside your February edition of the The Brief to find out all the latest news from across UHD.

Meet some of your colleagues, read an update on our hospitals from our chief executive Debbie Fleming, find out how we're improving your experience at work and more.

Read it here.

POOLE: Delayed service from the plaster room

The plaster room is currently experiencing delays due to short staffing, and this is expected to continue for the next two weeks.

This may affect ward requests and requests from other departments and we're sorry for any inconvenience caused by this.

RBCH: Tributes paid to David

A thanksgiving service is to take place at Canford School, April 24 at 2pm to remember our colleague Dr David Shepherd.

David was an inspirational interventional radiologist at RBCH for over 30 years, retiring in 2009. David was held in high regard by all those fortunate to have met him, both professionally and socially. His enthusiasm, humour and sheer hard work have resulted in the success of our radiology department today. He sadly passed away just before Christmas, leaving behind his wife Rose, daughters and grandchildren. A family funeral was held in early January.

All those who wish to pay their respects are welcome at the thanksgiving service. If you are planning to attend, please 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. to give them an idea of numbers.

David's wife Rose has requested that people should please NOT wear black. Please pass on this information to anyone you feel may wish to attend, in particular, retired members of staff who knew David.

David had a lifelong connection with Africa after moving to UK at 10 years old, and so his family have asked for contributions to 'Send a Cow', a charity that aims to equip African communities with skills for sustainable living. Tapper Funeral Services are coordinating the service and contributions can be made here or by contacting 01202 549555 (ask for Alan Rice or Kathleen).

POOLE: Remembering Mary

It is with deep sadness we inform you of the recent death of our colleague and friend Mary Sainsbury.

Mary was known to many throughout the trust, and worked in the emergency admissions office at Poole for nearly 25 years. Mary cared deeply about her work, loved her job and remained working until she was 79 years of age, which was exactly her wish.

Our deepest sympathies have been sent to Mary's family.

POOLE: Lymphoedema service closed next week

The lymphoedema service, based at Forest Holme, will be closed from the 14-21 February, and from 21 February there will be a reduced service for the following month.

Continue to refer patients as usual but advise them of possible delays and please continue to leave phone messages and emails for the team and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

POOLE: ID badge office closed on Monday

The ID badge office will be closed on Monday (14 February), we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Support for you to get better sleep

Poor sleep is one of the most frequently reported difficulties impacting our staff wellbeing. Recognising the severe impact that lack of sleep can have on our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, #TeamUHD now has free access to Sleepstation. This access has been secured by our psychological support and counselling Service.

Sleepstation helps you to identify what might be going wrong with your sleep and helps you to fix it. Once you have completed an online assessment and sleep review you will be able to use Sleepstation's sleep improvement programme, which includes access to therapy, personalised sleep plans and more.

Click here to register to use the service.

POOLE: Access to Churchfield Road and swabbing pod will temporarily change

Churchfield Road will be closed at the Birds Hill Road entrance from 21 February for eight days with no through traffic whilst Wessex Water fix the sewer.

During this time, the access to our swabbing pod and car park on Churchfield Road will change.

The 'No Entry' traffic order, bollards and signage, will be temporarily removed from the Parkstone Road roundabout for access to the swabbing pod and car park.

The route from the hospital through the underpass and out to Churchfield Road will not be impacted - more information here.

Reminder: our IT team is trialling extended opening hours

Our IT service desk team is currently trialling extended opening hours from 7am-10pm. During this trial the shortened out of hours service will be reduced to 10pm-7am.

The helpdesk can be reached via ext 4222 at RBH and 2347 at Poole, or by using the IT Service Portal.

Don't forget that you can reset, unlock, or change your password without having to contact our IT team by registering for self-service password resets.

Complete the sign-up process here using your existing username and password and after you register if you ever forget your password, you can reset it again yourself.

Do you want to understand how the NHS is funded?

In partnership with Healthcare Finance Management Association (HFMA), we've developed online course to help you understand how NHS services are paid for, and how money flows through the NHS. These courses are open to all, and are an asset for any of us who want to know more about how our finance systems work.

Course topics include finance, governance, budgeting, charities, commissioning and more – read the full list here. These short, approachable and accessible bitesize online learning courses help to demystify NHS finance and governance, boosting your knowledge so you can communicate about finances and make decisions with confidence.

Completing five of these courses, including the mandatory 'NHS finance course' counts toward your continuing professional development hours, and you will be awarded the Introductory Award in Healthcare Finance certificate. If you are interested in finding out more about any of the courses, or would like to sign up 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..

LGTBQ+ History Month in the library

Pop down to the library to see our LGBTQ+ stand and make a pledge of support for our LGBTQ+ colleagues to get a NHS rainbow lanyard and badge.

We also have a copy of the film PRIDE in both our libraries, and a copy of the book in our Poole library. PRIDE is based on the true story of a group of London based LGBTQ activists raising money to support the families of miners in Wales during the 1984 strike.

At the end of the month we're planning on holding a group to discuss the story. If you would like to take part email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will send you the details.

You can also take a look at our padlet for interesting facts and figures on LGBT+ history.

Wing walk to support our UHD Charity

Wing walking is an exciting way to fundraise, and our UHD Charity are offering us the opportunity to do it in 2022. You'll feel the wind in your hair as you soar over 2,000 feet above sea level, through the skies at speeds of 130mph on the wings of a Boeing Stearman biplane, making memories to last a lifetime.

You can take part on our charity day on Friday 1 July or if you can't make that date, get in touch for alternative availability. For further information click here or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Only use designated charging bays for your electric vehicle

If you have an electric vehicle, please only charge this in approved EV charging bays.

Using other sockets and extending a cable across the car park floor is a trip hazard, and any vehicles found to be charging in this manner will be disconnected from the socket for safety reasons.