Covid-19 vaccinations continue

Appointments are available for any staff member who is yet to have their first Covid-19 vaccination.

If you would like more information or have questions about the vaccine, visit the frequently asked questions page on the intranet.

When booking our appointment online you do not need to complete a separate consent form. And when arriving for your appointment, it will help our clinics to run more smoothly if you have your NHS number to hand (if known).

Once you have had your vaccination, you will still need to follow all current precautions, including social distancing in and out of work, good hand hygiene and adherence to face covering and PPE guidance. You will still not be able to work in certain areas that a previous risk assessment had indicated were inappropriate for you.

Patients in priority groups are being invited to have a vaccination by their GPs as part of a separate vaccination programme. Please do not encourage patients to contact their GP practice as they are unable to deal with the volume of calls this generates. All patients who are in the priority groups will be contacted by their surgery directly.

We will let staff know about arrangements for second doses as soon as possible. Following national guidance, this second vaccination will follow 10-12 weeks after your first.

Covid-19 self-testing kits

We have now received a further delivery of lateral flow kits so all staff are able to self-test at home for Covid-19 as part of the government's response to the pandemic.

Some 9,500 members of staff are already using the kits, enabling us to identify cases of Covid-19 where staff haven't displayed any symptoms and crucially helping us prevent further spread in our hospitals.

Each box provides a 12-week supply of testing kits and is for personal use only, so please only take one. If you have yet to receive your box, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you require replacement buffer solution, a limited number are on order. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Further orders have now been placed for staff nearing the end of their first boxes and needing to move on to their second 12 week supply in February. More information on restocking will follow.

Our Covid intranet pages are here to guide you through the testing:

• Watch: How to do a swab and record my result
• A guide to Covid home testing
• Covid self-testing picture guide
• FAQs
• Roles and responsibilities
• Record my results

Please note: if you have any symptoms of Covid-19, please make sure you self-isolate and arrange a PCR swab from our swabbing team. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This swabbing service may also be used for household members, so please do not use the lateral flow kits for anyone other than yourself.

You must record all your results using the dedicated web portal: mytest.uhd.nhs.uk.

Managers must complete the registration form on Teams when issuing the testing kits to staff.

Our bank staff colleagues should get their kits from the line manager who books them.

Helping patients and families stay in touch

Paula Shobbrook, our chief nursing officer, has recorded a message that we are sharing across social media to explain to relatives and friends of patients why there may be a delay in answering calls and getting messages to patients. We appreciate the pressures all of our ward staff are under and we are keen to try and help the public understand why we have to prioritise the care we give our patients. Details for contacting patients are available on our website.

NHS Test and Trace

If you have been instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the Covid-19 app, you must follow this guidance.

If you receive an isolation alert, you shouldn't perform your own lateral flow test as a means of shortening the isolation period. Our IPC team is also not able to review and assess each case, nor change any instructions given by Public Health England.

Remember when you're working in our hospitals, it is Trust policy to turn off your app when you don your mask.

Remember: mask on, app off!

New action cards covering green and blue pathways, and mixed cohorts

Additional action cards have been added to the infection prevention and control intranet page.

• UHD Action Card 4b - Maintaining green pathways
• UHD Action Card 4c - Placing blue pathway patients onto outbreak wards
• UHD Action Card 6 - Staffing mixed cohort

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 we regret this continues to be the case now.

Please refer to the intranet to see the new action card.

Transfer of patients to care homes and home with care agency – updated guidance

The guidance relating to the transfer of patients to care homes and home with care agency has now been updated. Please refer to action card 50 on the intranet to review this new information.

A video update from our chief executive

Debbie Fleming shares her pride in how our hospitals have reacted to the latest steep rise in Covid-19 patients and thanks staff for all that they have achieved to care for our patients. She also celebrates the rollout of the vaccine for our staff. Watch Debbie's message here.

Access the Covid toolkit via the BEAT VLE

The COVID Toolkit, which all staff are required to complete, is now available on the BEAT VLE for staff on all sites. If you've already completed it via the intranet you don't need to complete it again – it will appear as a green line on your VLE profile.

If you haven't completed it yet please login to the BEAT VLE and complete it as soon as possible.

Managers please note - when staff complete it via the VLE it will automatically enter the competence into ESR the following day – you no longer need to do this. If any staff have completed it via the intranet but you haven't entered the competence into ESR yet it will appear as a red line on their profile. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will rectify this for you.

All Poole staff who log in to the VLE during January will automatically be entered into a free prize draw to win a £50 Amazon voucher.

Advice on receiving the flu jab following Covid-19 vaccination

We are still offering the flu vaccination for staff yet to have theirs. You will need to leave seven days between having your Covid-19 and flu jab (and seven days after your flu jab before your Covid-19 one). Find you nearest peer vaccinator – trained staff able to provide the jab to colleagues in their clinical area on the intranet.

Dr David Shortland bids farewell to the trust

Dr David Shortland, consultant paediatrician, retires today (22 January 2021) after an amazing 41 years' service.

If anyone wishes to sign David's card or contribute to his collection, please contact his secretary Jenny Pulley, in the acute secretaries office, on ext. 2039.

A leaving do will be arranged for later in the year when restrictions are hopefully relaxed.

RBCH - advance notice of entrance closure and construction works

The orthopaedic entrance from the car park into both the department and onto the Hospital Street will be closed from 1 February. This is to enable works to start on the building of the new retail pharmacy, general office and lily suite in preparation for the works within the main entrance and commencement of the maternity, childrens, emergency and critical care centre. Staff and patients will be directed to either the main entrance or the Eye Unit entrance.

Construction works will be starting on the Eye Unit and Jigsaw entrance from 1 February. This is to create a larger entrance which will contain a new reception area and coffee shop, as this will become the primary entrance for patients and staff during the construction works by the current main entrance to create the maternity, childrens, emergency and critical care centre. The entrance will remain open for access and exit. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Thank you letter to NHS and social care staff

Chief Constable James Vaughan on behalf of the Dorset Local Resilience Forum has written a thank you to all NHS and social care staff. Click here to read the full letter.

RBCH - missing robotic scope

A robotic scope, worth £16,000, has gone missing. It was delivered to the trust on 24 December to AMU and has not been directed to theatres.

This is an essential and expensive piece of equipment. If it has been seen by anyone please contact theatres fishbowl on ext. 4183

March for Men goes digital!

Registration is now open for March for Men 2021. This year we would like you to walk, jog or run either 1km, 5km or 10km at a location of your choice between Friday 12 and Sunday 28 March. You will be supporting the thousands of men from every part of our community facing men's health concerns, such as prostate or testicular cancers. New for this year you can sign up to march for Bournemouth Hospital Charity or Poole Hospital Charity! Find out more and sign up now at BHCharity.org/m4m or poolehospitalcharity.co.uk/march-for-men/

POOLE – Costa click and collect

Click and collect is now available at Poole Hospital's Costa Coffee. Download the Costa Coffee app, make your selection and you will be notified when it is ready to be picked up.

NHS counter fraud authority Fraud Prevention Notice

The NHS counter fraud authority was alerted in January 2021 to a private company approaching various GP practices offering to give a 'donation' to charity or offering individual staff members a cash amount for 'unused' Covid-19 vaccinations.

The approach was by email to the practice inbox and required a reply to advise of the availability and take up the offer.

Click here to read more and see ways to prevent it if you are approached.

Care First webinars

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

• 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.