Internal capacity incident continues

Our challenged position continues across the organisation – please look out for regular operational updates on the latest.

Mandatory vaccinations – time is running out

All staff are invited to an online briefing session on mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for NHS staff. All staff in patient-facing roles or who work in close proximity with patients must have had at least two vaccine doses by 1 April to comply. Staff who are completely unvaccinated must have their first jab by 3 February.

The briefing session will include the very latest HR advice on how the new rules may affect your role, and will be chaired by our chief medical officer, Professor Alyson O'Donnell, on Teams from 12-1pm on 20 January. Join it here at this time.

• You can arrange your vaccination, as well as your flu jab, at either Poole or Royal Bournemouth hospitals by following the instructions on the occupational health pages of the Poole intranet.
• If you are not fully vaccinated and have concerns and would like expert advice, please contact our occupational health team via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• If you believe you are exempt, please call 119 - the NHS' dedicated advice line for Covid-19 issues.

Don't forget to report your lateral flow tests

It's really important to continue to regularly do your lateral flow tests and report your results online at mytest.uhd.nhs.uk.

Details of how to restock your lateral flow kits is available on the Covis-19 pages on the intranet.

You can now report your results via a handy link on our staff app. If you don't have the app yet, search under 'a' on the intranet or click here.

XCH: collect your lateral flow kits today

The Public Health Dorset van will be parked in the main car park outside Outpatients at Christchurch Hospital from 9am-7pm today (14 January) so you can collect a box of lateral flow kits.

Please take your ID badge when collecting.

Update on hot meals for our night shift teams this weekend and Monday

From Friday 14 until Monday 17 January we're trialling the provision of subsidised hot food for our night shift teams.

Due to illness Vines catering will now be providing a van for both the Poole and RBH site offering a variety of meat and vegetarian hot dishes.

Vines will be providing one burger/hot dog van and one pizza van, which will alternate between sites from 11pm-3am over the weekend following this schedule:

• Pizza at Poole on Friday and Sunday (14 and 16 January) and at RBH on Saturday and Monday (15 and 17 January)
• Burgers and hot dogs at Poole on Saturday and Monday (15 and 17 January) and at RBH on Friday and Sunday (14 and 16 January)

As well as ordering at the van, staff have the option to order and pay for their food remotely and arrange to pick up from the van using the Vines app.

The app will be open for orders from 9pm each night, where the prices will be set to £4 for NHS staff. Please visit the app (vines.app4food.co.uk) to place your order from 9pm on the night of your shift.

See the latest news on the intranet for more information.

Your January edition of The Brief

The first edition of The Brief in 2022 is out now! This is your magazine, full of the latest news, events and updates from our hospitals. Printed copies have been distributed to departments and a digital copy is available here.

RBH: Tower crane arriving this weekend

This weekend (15 and 16 January), weather permitting, one of two tower cranes will be erected on site. This crane will be essential for the next steps of the construction of our BEACH building.

There will be some large vehicles arriving and leaving the site, however the operation is not expected to cause any significant traffic disruption and our helicopter team has been briefed.

Safeguarding - update to the standard operating practice (SOP) for injury to non-mobile babies and children

The SOP for injury to non-mobile babies and children presenting to emergency department has been updated by our safeguarding team and is available on the emergency department policies page of the RBCH intranet.

Do you need someone to talk to about your mental wellbeing?

Our mental health and wellbeing affects how we think, feel, and act as we cope with our work and daily life. We know that when we're under pressure, our mental health can begin to suffer, and so our wellbeing teams would like to remind us of the tools available to us to help us feel supported.

This week we are showcasing Steps 2 Wellbeing.

Steps 2 Wellbeing provide emotional support via self-referral. They offer supported courses and workshops on a range of wellbeing topics including overcoming stress, anxiety and depression, mindfulness, wellbeing with breathlessness and living with long COVID.

These courses are run across Dorset and can be used as standalone therapies, or in combination with one-to-one therapy. If you would like to make a referral to Steps 2 Wellbeing click here.

For access to more forms of support please look at our UHD wellbeing pages on the intranet.

Make your voice heard in the People Pulse survey

"This survey is important to understand the wellbeing, overall satisfaction and stress levels at work. It's important to share your point of view to make a difference." - Deepa Pappu, clinical educator

We know our experiences at work change over time, which is why we regularly ask how you are feeling. The quarterly People Pulse survey allows us all to be listened to and understood around a range of important topics.

This survey has a focus on our health and wellbeing, make your voice heard to help our teams understand how you would like to be supported.

Your January wellbeing update from Our Dorset

Don't forget to browse our weekly wellbeing offers page on the staff intranet for all of the latest health and wellbeing offers from the Our Dorset Here For Each Other team. Offers this month include posture courses, mindfulness sessions, menopause check ins and much more.

Easy Expenses launches next month

Easy Expenses is UHD's new expenses system and will be live for staff to use from 1 February. Please note all expense claims should be submitted on a monthly basis.

When you register for Easy Expenses some information will be requested as part of your individual registration process. Our duty of care requires assurances that appropriate business insurance, valid driver's licence, MOT and Vehicle Road Tax is in place. See the Finance intranet pages for more information on the new system.

Any expense claims dated before 1 February 2022 should be submitted via the old sel-expenses system here. These claims must be submitted and approved by 11 February 2022.

Do you have any unused linen receptacles?

Four linen receptacles are needed at the Poole site to ensure we have enough for our stock of linens.

If you have a spare, either single or double, at Poole or RBH please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange collection.

RBH: Marsden scale checks finishing next week

An engineer will be on site to finish checking Marsden scales next Monday to Wednesday (17-19 January).

If your scales have not been checked yet please ensure they are available for inspection.

RBH: Lavender Garden appeal success for UHD Charity

Following the launch of the Lavender Garden appeal in October 2021, the charity team at UHD is delighted to announce that we have hit our £35,000 fundraising target! The garden can now be created as a private area on the ground floor of the east wing at RBH for staff to remember, rest, reflect and recharge.

The success of this appeal is down to the outstanding contribution from #TeamUHD, including the RBH theatres team who initially proposed the project, members of staff who came on board to front the campaign as well as all of those who spread the word and fundraised.

244 donations were received, including an extremely humbling anonymous donation of £25,000.

Follow @UHDcharity as we continue to spread the word and share further development updates over the coming months!

POOLE: Confirmed - conflict resolution training

From February, staff at Poole will be able to attend face-to-face conflict resolution level 1 sessions. This was previously only available to Poole staff on the BEAT.

The training is designed to support staff to deescalate difficult situations with patients or relatives. It is mandatory for all medical and clinical staff, and anyone patient facing.

Staff can book via employee self service by searching for "153 UHD Conflict Resolution" and choosing "Poole site".

Available dates are:

• 9 February, 9am-12.30pm
• 22 February, 1-4.30pm
• 11 March, 9am-12.30pm
• 30 March, 1-4.30pm

Dates for April, May and June will be released during the last week of January. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

The Little Book of Big Scams

Our counter fraud team have given us access to the Little Book of Big Scams.

The book helps to raise awareness and offer information on the ways that criminals can target the public, and organisations, to obtain money and information.

You can read the book here.

Ticket offer for UHD staff from Lighthouse, Poole

Our friends at Lighthouse have offered UHD staff free tickets to see Total 90s, a celebration of the music of the 90s with tribute acts performing some of the biggest hits.

The event is on the 11 February, and there are 100 free tickets for UHD staff available on a first come first served basis.

Click here to book, using the code TOTALLYNHS at the checkout page.