Covid booster and flu vaccination bookings now open

Staff can now book their Covid-19 booster vaccination online for clinics also offering the annual flu vaccination.

The national Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) recommended to the Government that the Covid booster vaccination should be offered to healthcare workers earlier this week.

You must leave at least six months between your second Covid-19 jab and the booster – please do not try to book if this is not the case.

Bookings will be made using the same online system used at the start of this year. You will need your assignment number, found on ESR, to make your booking.

Clinics will operate at weekends only on alternate sites, beginning in the outpatients department at Poole Hospital on 2 and 3 October, followed by the outpatients department at the Royal Bournemouth on 9 and 10 Oct, etc. Parking for staff attending site to be vaccinated is free, just show your completed vaccination card at the car parking office on the day you attend.

The clinics also offer you the opportunity to have the annual flu vaccination at the same appointment. Almost three quarters of the 1,500+ staff who responded to our recent survey wanted us to offer both vaccinations in one appointment.

Make your booking here.

Look out for more news soon including an FAQ, options for staff who wish to have their flu and Covid-19 jabs separately, may only want the flu jab or have not yet had either Covid-19 vaccination.

Next junior doctors' forum on Tuesday (21 September)

The next junior doctors' forum will be held 21 September at midday in the lecture theatre at Poole to discuss the new doctors mess. All junior doctors across UHD are welcome to join. You can also join the meeting online via teams.

Click here to join the meeting.

How do you travel to and from work?

A big thank you to the more than 350 staff who have taken part in the UHD travel survey so far.

If you haven't already taken part, please find the link to the survey below. The survey asks you to record how you typically travel to/from UHD sites, and gives you the opportunity to share your views about travel and transport at UHD.

Your feedback is extremely valuable as it will help identify trends and areas of improvement, which will influence the Trust's Travel Plan going forwards.

The survey will take approximately five minutes to complete. You can find the link to the survey here.

Payment of nationally agreed back pay relating to the treatment of overtime within holiday pay

Earlier this year the NHS Staff Council reached an agreement with Trade Unions to resolve claims linked to overtime pay entitlements in respect of holiday pay under the NHS terms and conditions of service (Agenda for Change) section 13.9.

Where eligible, employees will receive a corrective payment as part of the regular September payroll process.

Section 13.9 of the AfC Terms and Conditions states that "Pay is calculated on the basis of what the individual would have received had he/she been at work". Recent case law has clarified that where overtime is regularly worked, this should be included in AfC holiday pay calculations.

National agreement has been reached for a corrective payment to be made in respect of current and potential backpay claims where employees:

• are employed by an NHS Employer (as defined by Annex 1 of the Agenda for Change handbook) on 31 March 2021; and
• have received payments in respect of overtime in a minimum of four months out of the twelve months in the financial year 2019/2020 (1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020) and/or 2020/2021 (1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021).

New NHS flexible working provisions

This week saw the launch of new NHS flexible working provisions terms and conditions handbook. The new provisions set out how you will be able to request flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. We are in the process of updating our policies and procedures in partnership with our trade union representatives and developing some training tools for line managers. Meanwhile, if you wish to request a change to your working hours or pattern of work read the guide on the 'workforce systems' pages under HR on the intranet.

If you require an ESR employee self-service login please contact:

RBCH – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Poole – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Leadership training opportunities postponed

We regret that the recently advertised leadership training opportunities have been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. All those who have expressed an interest in attending one of the sessions will be contacted by the education team.

Consultation on mandatory vaccinations for healthcare staff

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.

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.

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

POOLE: Fond farewells to inspirational Martin and Isabel

Colleagues in the therapies service at Poole Hospital are wishing Martin Hately, outpatient therapy service lead, and Isabel Moore, senior occupational therapist, very happy retirements as they each step down at the end of this month.

Both have been instrumental in developing and innovating the service over a combined 60+ years at the hospital – read more about their achievements below.

On behalf of the trust, all the therapy staff wish both Martin Hately, outpatient therapy service lead, and Isabel Moore, senior occupational therapist, a very happy retirement as they both leave the trust at the end of September.

Martin is an inspirational leader, who has always given his clinicians the impetus and self-belief to thrive. He has personally supported and grown circa 500 staff over the last 27 years. He is an incredibly humble individual who leads by example and is respectful of the knowledge of others. He has empowered others and given clinicians the opportunities, confidence and freedom to develop services which have improved staff development and therefore the quality of patient care delivered.

Martin's unique skill is that he encourages the occupational therapists and physiotherapists he supports, to work in pioneering roles, which do not yet exist in other regions. His ideas are not confined to the existing models of service and he can spot potential opportunities and the contribution therapists can make to services ahead of others. This support has opened up new structures of career pathways and possibilities to physiotherapists and subsequently other allied health professionals. Amongst these many accomplishments Martin has been a driving force behind the adoption of advanced practitioner physiotherapists working as extended scope practitioners, taking on roles that previously a junior doctor would in orthopaedic clinics. He also encouraged and enabled the very first advanced practitioner physiotherapists to run fracture clinics in the region and first contact practitioner posts within GP surgeries to address patients musculoskeletal concerns instead of a GP. With his support the role of consultant hand occupational therapist has also developed.

Thank you so much Martin for all that you have achieved for the many staff you have supported and nurtured during the last 27 years whilst based at Poole Hospital.

Isabel has worked for Poole Hospital for a remarkable 35 years, having started as a Housekeeper in the maternity hospital, before moving across to therapy services as an occupational therapy (OT) assistant in 1988.

She has been an inspiration for her therapy colleagues and an enduring advocate for the OT profession. Having developed her skills and knowledge through a progression in therapy support roles, Isabel committed to her aspiration to train as an OT, undertaking two NVQs and an AS Level in human biology, whilst working and caring for her young family. At the age of 49, Isabel joined the first cohort of the OT degree course at Bournemouth University and graduated in 2008, returning to Poole in her first qualified OT post.

During her career Isabel was instrumental in embedding the newly established therapy service to ED, and became a long-standing and much valued member of the RACE MDT. She also proudly represented acute OT colleagues on the College of OT English National Board, influencing professional policy development for the benefit of patients and professionals. For many years she was also a formidable (!) Unison representative, tirelessly championing the best interests of her colleagues and facilitating fair and equitable service delivery.

Through all this time Isabel has been our 'work mum', nurturing and encouraging many a new therapy staff member, and enjoying seeing our development in the process. She will be really missed by all her colleagues: Isabel says "It's wonderful being an Occupational Therapist" and it's been wonderful having her in the therapies team for all these years.

Thank you both for your incredible contributions to patient care and staff and service development.

RBH: Additional resus support classes available

Additional resus level 2 courses are available at RBH if you need an update or are out of date. These dates are likely to fill up fast so book your place online on ESR.

23 September – Heart Club, 2-5 pm

24 September – conference room, 2-5pm

28 September – seminar rooms 3 and 4, 2-5pm

30 September – seminar rooms 3 and 4, 9-12pm

1 October – conference room, 9-12pm

21 October – Heart Club 2-5pm

28 October – seminar rooms 3 and 4, 9-12pm

If you have any questions contact the education and training team on 4947.

RBH: Do you have a staff locker?

Do you have a staff locker at RBH that you no longer use? Email the travel team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let us know – your locker can be reallocated to others that need it. A locker audit will be taking place this autumn.

Don't forget to share your experiences of end of life care in the NACEL survey

If you play any part in end-of-life care, your opinions matter in the National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL). Whether you work in a clinical or non-clinical role, share your views and help to ensure UHD gets end-of-life care right. At UHD we are aiming for 100 responses to this survey from across both of our sites, so far RBH has 73 responses and Poole has 53, and we want to make sure all our staff's opinions are represented as we use the results of this survey to make positive changes within our organisation and in the wider NHS.

RBH: click here to submit your survey.
Poole: click here to submit your survey.

Wellbeing weekly

Don't forget to check out all our wellbeing offers on the intranet.