Staff Bulletin 14 September 2021

Missed it? Catch up on Saturday's virtual Open Day

Thanks to everyone who dropped in on Saturday to our virtual Open Day, a brilliant showcase of our people and services.

With live presentations on child health and winter bugs, understanding radiotherapy, our maternity services, and why UHD is a great place to work, coupled with video tours in a range of departments, the event aimed to provide the public with a greater understanding of what we do.

Don't worry if you missed the event live – you can still watch it on catch up, and take advantage of the tours and other multimedia content here.

A huge thank you to all those teams and services who contributed to the success of the day – feedback from the public has been very positive.

Have your say in consultation on compulsory vaccinations for healthcare workers

The government is seeking views on whether or not to extend compulsory vaccination requirements to other health and care settings for COVID-19 and also for flu. Recent research has shown people infected with both flu and COVID-19 are more than twice as likely to die as someone with COVID-19 alone and nearly six times more likely than those with neither flu nor COVID-19, so it is right that both are considered within the consultation.

The consultation proposes that, if introduced, requirements would apply to frontline health and care workers– those with face-to face contact with patients and clients though the delivery of services as part of a CQC regulated activity. It would mean only those workers that are vaccinated could be deployed (or those with a legitimate medical exemption) to deliver those services.

These are complex and important issues and the consultation seeks to gather a wide range of perspectives from the public and across the health and care sectors about whether such requirements should be introduced and how they could be implemented.

Take part in the consultation, which closes on 22 October, here.

RBH: Temporary closure of west wing entrance and overall changes to road layout

The new west wing entrance at RBH will be temporarily closed on Thursday morning (16 September) to allow for some essential works to be completed. The entrance will be closed from 9am for approximately three hours. During this time visitors to be hospital will be directed to the nearest alternative entrance/exit, which will be via the Outpatients Department. Please contact Richard Brennan, Estates Project Manager, if you have any questions (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

From 17 September there will be a number of changes to the road layout at the site. More information, including the updated site map showing the changes in operation, is here.

A digital treatment escalation plan (TEP) – demo at midday today

A team led by Dr Amy Pharaoh, consultant in palliative medicine, has been working to embed consistent treatment escalation planning throughout UHD to support good clinical care and shared decision-making. The UHD-wide team has drafted a digital TEP form which we would like to invite you to watch a live demonstration via Microsoft Teams. You will have the opportunity to give feedback which will be valuable as we finalise the new TEP form for UHD.

The demonstration is today (14 September) at midday – click here to join it.

How do you travel to and from work?

We would like your views on staff travel to help us determine how staff typically travel to/from work, and what barriers may be preventing more people from travelling sustainably, eg by bike, bus, or on foot.

Your feedback is extremely valuable as it will help identify trends and areas of improvement, which will influence our travel plan.

The survey takes approximately five minutes to complete and closes on 1 October.

Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) – what's been happening?

The EPMA team has been concentrating on testing an upgrade which will benefit existing users at Poole and mean a smoother deployment at RBH. There are some helpful new features for prescribers such as right-click menu for prescriptions, and for nurses, Quick Chart will allow easier administration of multiple medicines, aligning more closely to the nursing workflows.

Testing is almost complete, with the aim to upgrade the software next month, then start deployment at the RBH site soon after. Deployment at RBH will be ward by ward, piloting on Ward 4, with plenty of training and prep beforehand, alongside all-day floor walking support throughout.

The EPMA team will present roll-out plans and more specific updates to the EPMA project board at the end of this month for approval, and will then be in touch with ward leads.

Look out for more updates in future bulletins. For anyone unfamiliar with the EPMA concept, check out this fun film which explains the benefits.

Gypsy, traveller and Roma communities awareness workshops

These half day workshops are aimed at all staff to help ensure the visitor and patient experience for those communities is easier and more comfortable. They wil be held on Zoom, and may be of particular interest to staff working in chaplaincy, PALS, complaints, ITU, ED, security or portering.

The workshops take place on 6 October and again on 4 November – complete this form to sign up.

Elizabeth helps celebrate Dorset Care Record milestone

More than 40,000 patient records within the Dorset Care Record were viewed during August, enabling professionals to have the most up to date health and social care information. Dr Elizabeth Williams, consultant gastroenterologist, was the 3,000th professional to complete the mandatory information sharing and security training, ensuring that the records are used correctly and stored safely.

You can find out more on this milestone as well as how Elizabeth believes the system will help her know more her patients here.

RBH: window cleaning heads up

Window cleaners will be on site from 27 September to clean the atrium and both phases of the hospital, cleaning inside and outside.

Please make sure that you are satisfied with the cleanliness of your windows. Any problems with the service must be raised whilst they are on site on ext 4454.

Job(s) of the week - twins and multiple births midwife

We are looking for two experienced midwives to work in the community and carry a caseload to include twins and multiple births. The successful midwives will be allocated 15 hours per week for twins and multiple births to include working as part of the MDT for a specialist clinic and to cover for annual leave etc. The other areas will involve carrying a community caseload and will include evenings and on call.

Click here for more information. The closing date is 22 September.