Book your Covid-19 vaccination now

Appointments for the Covid-19 vaccination can now be made by staff in any role. This follows the successful roll out of the vaccine to our most vulnerable staff and those who carry the greatest risk over the last few weeks.

Bookings can be made for either Poole or the Royal Bournemouth hospitals, and must be done through the new online booking system – to do this you will need to have your assignment number handy at the time of making the booking. If you have previously tried to book an appointment and have been unsuccessful, please try again as there are now no restrictions.

For more information on the vaccination programme, please check the intranet.

If you have had your Covid-19 vaccination elsewhere, e.g. in primary care, please let occupational health know.

We are currently only taking bookings for the first dose of the vaccination. Information on how to book your second dose will follow soon. The second dose will be given between 10-12 weeks after the first, in line with national guidance. You will be able to choose to have your second dose at either hospital, availability permitting.

New 'long Covid' clinics

Help is available for those living with the long-term effects of Covid-19, which include breathlessness, anxiety and chronic fatigue – also known as 'long COVID'.

GPs and primary care staff will be able to assess and recommend a range of support - click here for more information.

Flu vaccinations

Having the flu jab is a great way to further protect yourself. Our incredible peer vaccinators are still available to vaccinate colleagues wherever possible, check the intranet for a list of how to find your nearest.

All-staff briefing with our chair and chief executive

The first all-staff briefing of the new year will be held on Wednesday 10 February, 12.30-1.30pm. David Moss, our chairman, and Debbie Fleming, our chief executive, as well as fellow executives will provide the latest on managing the Covid-19 pandemic, an operational update and development plans for the year ahead.

Please join us if you can, or a recording of the briefing will be available afterwards on our intranet. The Teams link is available here.

Ask Aly...

Join us for a virtual drop-in session with our chief medical officer, Dr Alyson O'Donnell, and guests, on 29 January, 1-2pm. Click here to join.

All staff are welcome and we encourage you to ask questions, raise issues or share your experiences via the 'raised hand' function or chat bar in Teams.

Appointment of deputy chief executive

I am delighted to announce that Professor Paula Shobbrook has been appointed deputy chief executive for University Hospitals Dorset.

Paula is also our chief nursing officer and she joined RBCH as director of nursing and midwifery in 2011. She was previously director of nursing at Winchester Hospital where she worked for 10 years. Paula's NHS career includes working as a ward sister in acute medicine, cardiac and respiratory specialities.

- Debbie Fleming, chief executive

Service personnel support

We are pleased to confirm that the MoD will be deploying service personnel to support hospitals in the south west region for the next few weeks to help manage our Covid-19 response. Medical support officers, medical technicians and general duties personnel will be joining us today for an induction session and deployed to wards and support services as appropriate.

ID badge update

We still have around 2,500 badges to issue across the trust and need more old badges returned so that the system can continue to operate during this transition.

To facilitate any early returns of badges:

1. Photocopy the template sheet as it is now (this would have been provided with the original pack of IDs)
2. Return this with the cards currently collected and entered on the sheet/s
3. Continue with original sheet for rest of returns
4. Use the return information provided on the template

The project team would like to thank all staff for their efforts so far in issuing over 10,000 badges in a short time frame.

POOLE - Fit testing

Due to the redeployment of staff to support other clinical areas there is an increased need for fit testing.

Any staff who have not been fit tested for the Segre GVS, or the Fang Tian FT-045, or need to be tested on the Porta Count, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Mortuary viewing rooms - reminder

Staff are reminded not to tell relatives that they can come in to view their loved ones in the mortuary viewing room.

This has not been permitted since the start of the first lockdown and continues to be the case now.

Use of FFP3 outside of ICU/areas with aerosol generating procedures

Public Health England has reviewed the use of FFP3 outside of ICU and areas with aerosol generating procedures (AGP) and their guidance remains the same. Please use FFP3 in ICU/areas with AGP and there is no change from current guidelines for other clinical areas. Video on PPE for ICU/AGP here and video on PPE for other areas here.

RBH – Philips defibrillator upgrade

These defibrillators will be standardised across RBH and function in the same way as the current defibrillators. Each defibrillator can be used in either manual or AED mode. EtCO2 is now built into the device and all have the capability to externally pace a patient.

The upgraded defibrillator can provide CPR feedback during the cardiac arrest by applying the CPR meter to the patient's chest beneath the chest compression providers hands. Feedback will display on the monitor and you will hear verbal prompts.

Resuscitation officers plan to revisit wards/departments from 20 January onwards and can be contacted on bleep 2248 all week.

Retirement of Dr Martin Hussey

Colleagues came to together yesterday to mark the retirement of Dr Martin Hussey, paediatric associate specialist, who leaves after an amazing 28 years' service to Poole Hospital.

Dr Hussey was a winner of Poole's 'Living the Values' award at the 2018 Poole Hospital Awards, nominated by a patient's grandmother for "consistently treating her and us with outstanding care, support, patience and understanding".

Commenting at the leaving event, Debbie Fleming, chief executive, said: "Martin, we're really proud of you and really grateful to you as somebody who has done so much for the reputation of the trust".

The event was organised by Dr Steve Wadams, clinical director, and can be viewed here.

POOLE – Tributes paid to Mandy

It is with much sadness that we inform staff of the loss of our dear friend and colleague Amanda (Mandy) Tomey.

Mandy passed away on 5 January. As many of you will know she was the wife of our colleague Philip Tomey.

A senior healthcare assistant for many years at Poole Hospital, formerly within older people's services and for the last 20 years in the outpatient department, Mandy was a much loved and respected friend and colleague to many.

Her well known wit and sense of humour will be missed by all who had the pleasure to work with her. Mandy would always go that extra mile for the patients and everyone that she came into contact with. Her kindness and generosity was extended to all her colleagues throughout the years.

Mandy was a cherished member of the Poole family and will be sorely missed.

- The outpatients team, Poole Hospital

Wellbeing updates – You Matter

The last few weeks have been unsettling for many staff with the challenges of another lockdown and increasing numbers of patients. Please know it's okay not to feel okay and support is available for you.

• Safe spaces and rest areas: Rest areas are where staff can eat and safe spaces are where you can relax. Please take your rubbish away in both areas and don't eat in the safe spaces, such as the Bubble at Poole, so we can keep them clean. The Eye Unit Seminar Room in RBH is available as a safe space and rest area.
• Marquees: The marquee at Poole will be heated from this week providing an additional rest area. Please take your rubbish away with you, thank you.
• Staff resilience: A range of short information sessions to support staff resilience will soon be available – communications on booking and attendance will follow.
• Further support: Access the wellbeing and emotional support pages here.

Feedback: We know that we are in a period of change so please tell us what you need by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Your new bulletin

The style of your staff bulletin has changed. The new style allows for easy-read access on all devices and can be easily printed for display on department staff notice boards.

The bulletin is sent out twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Please submit items by 10am Monday for consideration in Tuesday bulletins and by 10am Thursday for consideration in Friday bulletins.

New year, new you?

Want to pick up a new skill this year? Keep up-to-date on the latest research, but not sure how?

Join your trust library service. You can fill in an online form to join. You can gain access to a wide range of resources by registering with NHS OpenAthens. We can send you a monthly bulletin straight to your email on a variety of topics. Check out our YouTube video to see what else we can do for your teams/department.

Care First webinars

Care First, our employee assistance programme, is putting on webinars this week and next. The themes are:

• Tuesday 19 January, 12-12.30pm - Lockdown
• Wednesday 20 January, 12-12.30pm - Keyworkers
• Thursday 21 January, 12-12.30pm – Health anxiety
• Friday 22 January, 12-12.30pm – Home schooling and children at home
• Monday 25 January, 12-12.30pm – Care First
• Tuesday 26 January, 12-12.30pm – Winter blues
• Wednesday 27 January, 12-12.30pm – Children
• Thursday 28 January, 12-12.30pm – Working from home
• Friday 29 January, 12-12.30pm – Burnout and tiredness

Roadworks

Click here for a list of the current roadworks taking place.