Storm Eunice - safe service for our patients, supporting our staff

With the severe amber weather warning in place today for our region and the significant disruption expected, we are doing all we can to ensure we can provide a safe service to our patients and support our staff.

A control room is in place and senior operational cover is available to provide management support if needed, on ext. 8015. Please also refer to your departmental business continuity plans. Elective swabbing has been cancelled across our sites for today with patients being rebooked for the weekend. Patients have been advised to only attend our hospitals if it is safe to do so and to contact us if they do not plan to attend.

In non-clinical areas please close windows, blinds and doors wherever possible.

The top floors of the multi-storey car parks are closed today, with the car parking teams making assessments throughout the day to ensure that we continue to give people space to park.

For colleagues wanting to wait before leaving shifts to go home or to those coming in a little earlier we are making free teas and coffees available in these main dining rooms, between 1pm and 3.30pm only:

• RBH - Shelly
• Poole - Dolphin
• XCH - Fairmile café (closes at 2:30pm).

Thank you all for your flexibility and support for our patients. #TeamUHD

Lateral flow kits

There are a number of lateral flow kits still available within the hospitals. Please contact your care group to arrange to collect one. If you are unsure what care group you are in, click here. It is really important to test regularly and report your results on our secure portal. Read more on the intranet or access the portal via our staff app. The app also contains the latest self-isolation guidance, HR FAQs and details of how to arrange a PCR or book a vaccine.

Poole hosts Sajid Javid visit

We were delighted to host Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, yesterday to see great partnership work in action at our new diagnostic outpatient assessment clinic at Beales department store. Colleagues were invited to talk about the positive impact the facility is having on tackling waiting lists. You can read more about his visit here and see a short video from his day here.

Second hot food trial for our night shift workers ends tonight

Tonight (18 February) is the final night of our second hot food trial and from 11pm-3am hot food will be available to our night shift teams.

We have had some fantastic feedback already, and we would like to hear as many opinions as possible so please if you use the service fill in this short survey about your experience.

Tonight, at Poole Tattie McSpudface will be outside the main hospital entrance, and at RBH Rob's Filling Station will be outside between Ward 1 and medical physics.

The engagement with these trials is helping us learn more about how we can provide a long-term solution to bring hot meals for our night shift teams, so don't forget to check out the vendors and share your feedback if you use the service.

More details are available on the intranet.

Poole: temporary road closures next week

Churchfield Road to Birds Hill Road will be closed for emergency works from 21 February - 2 March. A temporary access to Churchfield Road will be available from the roundabout at Parkstone Road (the bollards will be removed) so people can access the swabbing pods and car parks at the rear of the hospital.

RBH: No medical photographer next week

The medical photographer at RBH will be on annual leave from 22-25 February. In an emergency a camera is available from the site office.

Could you reduce your departmental waste?

The NHS produces over 500 tonnes of clinical waste bags a day. One thing we can all improve on is using clinical waste streams correctly, for example not disposing of domestic waste into the clinical waste.

If you are unsure on how you can promote better waste segregation in your areas of work, contact our waste and environment manager This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange a visit to your department.

A message from Dorset CCG

Relatives play a critical role in helping loved ones to leave hospital. Our health and social care partners have thanked the community for their help and support. You can read the extended thank you message from our NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group here.

Poole: Stair lift in Education Centre has been removed

The clinical training suite is located on the second floor of the Education Centre at Poole. If you have trouble using the stairs please let the education team know and we will make alternative arrangements.

If we can make any adjustments to improve accessibility please contact Miriam Lester (RBH site) or Tom Jeffery (PH site). Any general comments are welcomed about the inclusivity of training and the team will work with you to address your concerns.

Poole: Amigo convenience store new opening hours

The Amigo convenience store has extended its opening times to 7am-5pm, Monday to Friday.  Additionally, the store will be open on Saturdays from 9am-4pm from 5 March. The store will also offer a wider range of goods.

The countdown is on - make a staff lottery bid to benefit your team

Time is running out to place your staff lottery bid for something that could benefit the wellbeing of your team or department. Previous items funded by the Staff Lottery Committee include: items for the pharmacy garden, pictures to improve staff rooms, medical reference books, part support of staff by a physiotherapist and much more.

The bids should be made for resources that are not available for funding through any other route. This is a great opportunity to promote your team or departments wellbeing, and to think of what extra support could really benefit you and your colleagues.

Find out more on the staff lottery pages of the intranet. We have until 31 March to make our bids.

Diagnostic cytopathology has moved

Our diagnostic cytopathology service, previously provided by the histology laboratory at RBH and the cytology department at Poole, has merged at Poole. The team will continue to provide a first class, UKAS accredited service for all users wishing to submit samples to the laboratory. The on-site clinic attendance service across all hospital sites will be maintained and the clinic service currently supported on the RBH site will not be affected by the service relocation.

Any enquires please contact the laboratory on ext. 2793.

How well do you know our patient menus?

Our UHD dietetic team is running a short survey for all ward based staff around their awareness of the different patient menus available. Four student dietitans will be visiting all wards over the next few weeks so please take two minutes to answer their questions. The results will help inform our work on digital systems, staff training and planning.

If you would like to arrange a specific time to complete the survey, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Charity: can you help our patients with their rehabilitation? 

Our UHD Charity has launched a new campaign to raise £190,000 for the purchase of a robotic tilt table for both RBH and Poole so that patients with severe neurological damage can recover sooner.

Prolonged horizontal bed rest for patients with a range of conditions can lead to loss of function and weakness in their lower limbs, as well as damage to the cardiovascular system. The robotic tilt table offers physiotherapists a safe solution for early rehabilitation, improves recovery and can reduce the amount of time that patients spend in intensive care.

There are a number of ways you can help the charity reach their target including: taking on a sponsored challenge like skydiving, wing walking or if you prefer to keep your feet firmly on the ground, running a marathon or even just by spreading the word and sharing their @UHDCharity social posts!

Head to their website to find out more about how you can get involved!

LGBT+ History Month - join our gender identity workshops

Our gender identity workshop will give LGBTQ+ and gender identity awareness training to attendees, enabling them to discuss and understand the complex issues around gender. The workshop takes place on 25 April from 9.30am-12.30pm, click here to register.

IT reminder for managed bookmarks

Managed bookmarks in Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome are the go to place for quick and easy up to date links to your web based services. Find the link on the top left of your favourites bar.

Need a bookmark added? Then go to the IT Portal and fill out the form.

RBH: Do you own a locker?

If you are you moving offsite and have a staff locker in the main changing rooms at RBH,  please empty it, leave the padlock locked and then return the key to travel team in the main atrium. Please do not pass your key on to someone else.

Reminder: Dogs on site

There have been reports of an increasing number of dogs in the grounds in our hospitals that are not assistance dogs. Assistance dogs should be with their owners while on site and remain on a lead at all times, and are identifiable by a specific coat or harness. Should it be unclear whether an animal is a service animal, please ask and alert security if there are any issues. Signage will be increased across all sites.

Poole: Fire extinguisher update

A changeover for fire extinguishers will begin on 28 February and will take three weeks to complete.  Our suppliers will remove all existing fire extinguishers and replace with new ones. The new P50 fire extinguisher is multipurpose and can be used on all of the types of fires that the CO2 and foam fire extinguishers are used for. The new extinguishers are extremely environmentally friendly and will represent significant cost savings to the Trust. Find out more here.

Any queries, please contact fire advisor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Well done to our talented staff!

The team from our newly formed Dorset Clinical Trials Unit and Dorset Clinical Research Centre have been running a photo competition to brighten up the walls ready for its launch. Over 100 photographs were submitted and many pieces of work will now be displayed. Well done to the well-deserving winners - Julie, research data manager, Emma, oncology research nurse and Steven, ophthalmic technician.