TODAY: Covid-19 Services of reflection

We will be holding special services of reflection and remembrance across our hospitals from 11.45am today, Tuesday 23 March, to mark the anniversary of the first Covid lockdown and to remember those who have died. Our chief executive, Debbie Fleming, explains in this video that it is hoped this opportunity to pause and reflect will help us all in moving forward.

The simultaneous services at Christchurch, Poole and the Royal Bournemouth hospitals will be led by our chaplains and include the observation of a national minute's silence at 12pm.

Yellow ribbons have been tied to trees to remember our patients who have died, and after the service - and throughout the week - you are invited to tie your own ribbon for your own personal reasons.

You are welcome to join the services, but please maintain social distancing.

• Christchurch: At the front of Christchurch Hospital near the war memorial
• Poole: on the lawn behind Churchfield House
• RBH: by the lake

Alternatively, you can tune into the services as we stream them live on our social media channels, and you can download the order of service here.

• Christchurch: UHD Instagram
• Poole: UHD Facebook
• RBH: UHD Twitter

Ribbons will be available to collect after the services or in the marquees at RBH and Poole, and from the dermatology and Macmillan Unit receptions at Christchurch.

Purple ribbons will also be dedicated to colleagues who have been shielding throughout the pandemic. If you have been shielding and would like a purple ribbon to be hung on your behalf, please ask a colleague to collect one on the day or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Second dose vaccinations begin at Poole today

Second dose vaccinations begin at Poole today, joining those already running at Royal Bournemouth.

It is important that you turn up for your appointment at the scheduled time and not too early in order for the clinic to run smoothly.

Please remember to bring you NHS ID and NHS number with you when you attend your appointment.

A small number of staff who have had their first dose at UHD are yet to book their second - make your booking as soon as possible online here.

No further vaccinations are planned to be offered after 16 April - please take this opportunity for easy access to your second dose.

Use the right number for Covid-19 swabbing and screening

Covid-19 co-ordinators RBH site

The Covid-19 co-ordinators bleep for RBH is 2911 (eg 701 2911 plus your extension).

Extention 2911 is an actual extension in Poole Hospital and staff have reported numerous calls relating to swabbing and vaccination services. Please bleep correctly to prevent interrupting staff at Poole Hospital.

Fast swabs available in RBH and Poole Hospital emergency admissions

ED, AMU and older persons/frailty units should default to GeneXpert swabs during the day when the Samba suite swabs start to queue. This will reduce a backlog/delay in the suite and assist patient flow through ED.

See the flow chart in action card 3A for other emergency areas that are to routinely default to GeneXpert during working hours. Samba swabs in out of hours: after 7pm daily in Poole, and Monday-Friday in RBH with a 2.30pm cut off at weekends.

All agreed areas have access to the Microsoft Teams Excel referral file. Samba staff should highlight queuing in yellow. You need to act quickly to request a GeneXpert swab via the co-ordinator. The co-ordinator will upload your GeneXpert referrals.

Referral to the service:

Areas outside of the above emergency admission units should always bleep the co-ordinator before taking any swabs. Do not take a swab sample without the authorisation.

Some members of staff have been bleeping the co-ordinator after taking a swab, which is not correct for the platform available for analysis. This will lead to another swab needing to be performed which causes delays.

Returning shielding staff - manager guidance

Over the coming week members of staff who have been assessed as clinically extremely vulnerable will be receiving a communication from the Department of Health and Social Care advising them that from 1 April they can stop shielding and begin to follow the same national restrictions alongside the rest of the population. This means many will be returning to the workplace, although where possible, they should continue to work from home.

This decision is in recognition that a combination of both vaccinations and/or lower rates of Covid-19 are likely to reduce the risk to a level whereby shielding staff are able to be invited back into the workplace with relevant and adequate safety measures in place.

It is anticipated that this group of staff is likely to have received their first and second vaccines. Any staff raising concerns relating to this, should be asked to liaise with their GP or consultant for further advice. Should there be a medical decision for them not to return to work a fit note (medical certificate) will be required. This should then be recorded on ESR in the usual way.

HR has contacted managers who currently have staff shielding by email and asked them to make contact with their members of staff at the earliest opportunity to discuss the plan for their return to work and make appropriate advance arrangements. This will include completing a check list and new risk assessment form, both of which were sent with the email; also agreeing annual leave and any necessary adjustments to their role. When contacting staff please draw their attention to the on-line support session on 25 March at 1pm and encourage them to attend. Details of this session have already been sent by email to all shielding staff.

Please contact HR on ext. 4804 if you have any queries regarding shielding staff returning to the workplace.

All-staff briefing with our chair and chief executive

The next all-staff briefing will be held on Wednesday 21 April, 1.30-2.30pm. 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 future development plans. Please join us if you can, or a recording of the briefing will be available afterwards on our intranet. The Teams link to the session will be shared shortly.

Reminder: HealthROSTER, EmployeeONLINE and BankSTAFF unavailable

HealthROSTER, SafeCARE, BankSTAFF and EmployeeONLINE is unavailable until Friday 26 March due to for planned upgrades.

For queries, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for RBCH or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for Poole.

Temporary staffing

Our temporary staffing offices will be operating as usual, and will hold limited daily visibility of live roster data and will be available to support you with your daily staffing needs.

Please provide clear communication of any staffing requirements or changes in a timely manner to avoid issues with rostering and pay.

For queries, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for RBCH, and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for Poole.

We apologise for any inconvenience this downtime may cause.

Ask Aly...

The next 'Ask Aly' event with our chief medical officer, Dr Alyson O'Donnell, will be tomorrow (24 March), 12-1pm. It's a great opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns and share your views. Do you have a question about Covid-19 vaccines or the staff vaccination programme? You can join the meeting here and if you'd like to send any questions in an advance, pop them through to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we can ask on your behalf.

Home First support services - information for front line staff

Home First is all about helping people out of hospital to recover in the community, as well as supporting them to stay well at home and avoid going into hospital at all. This work isn't just down to health and social care teams. There are a host of council, voluntary and community services across the Dorset and BCP areas that we can draw on to support hospital discharge and admission avoidance work.

The pan-Dorset Home First team have created this document which provides contact details/links and basic information about what each organisation offers.

POOLE: New information boards erected

Look out for two large information boards on the Poole site showcasing the future developments for the hospital. The posters were unveiled by Jackie Coles, deputy chief operating officer together with Stuart Mondon, capital projects manager, Stuart Dixon from IHP (principal contractor), as well as Eren Husseyin, from our pathology team who's featured in the design. You can read more about our plans here.

UHD Datix system to go live

The trust's Datix system will be active from 1 April.

There will be no change to the process of submitting incident or LERN forms, and the links to the system on the intranet will be updated. (You may need to update your own saved favourites).

In most cases, staff with a user log in will have the same username and access details. If you have not yet accessed the UHD system you will need to create a first password. From the Datix login screen enter your usual username, then ignoring 'password' press the grey 'log in' button where you set your own first password.

If you require assistance email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call ext. 4014.

Upgrade to Microsoft Edge

IT is deploying an update to Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 PCs and laptops. This is due to the current version installed no longer being supported by Microsoft. There will be no changes to other installed internet browsers e.g. Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.

If you have issues accessing websites using the new version of Edge please try an alternative browser and if the issues persist then please contact the IT service desk.

RBH: Fond farewell for Cheryll

Cheryll Macdonald from the RBCH clinical audit team is retiring at the end of March after 19 years of dedicated service in the team.

"Cheryll has been a hugely popular, hard-working and well-respected member of our team. She will be greatly missed, and I would like to pay tribute to the amazing job she has done over the years," said Craig Murray, clinical effectiveness manager

If you would like to send Cheryll a message, please get in touch via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

IV administration of medicines: what references do you use?

We are running a short online survey (no more than four minutes), aimed at anyone who administers IV medication.

This survey will help us understand what drug-specific information sources are most commonly used, and if there are any barriers to using particular resources. We will use the information to support delivery of up-to-date information in the future for all UHD staff, so everyone's input will be valuable.

If you have any questions, contact medicines information (ext. 4098) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Freedom to speak up training

'Speak up, listen up, follow up' is a new e-learning package co-produced by the National Guardian Office and Health Education England. It is aimed at anyone who works in healthcare. It is divided into modules and explains in a clear and consistent way what 'speaking up' is and its importance in creating an environment in which people are supported to deliver their best.

Module 1: Freedom to speak up: Speak up - This is core training aimed at all workers including volunteers, students and those in training. Its aim is to help everyone working in health care to understand what speaking up is, how to speak up and what to expect when they do speak up. It involves watching short, animated videos, optional reflections and a small quiz at the end. It takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Module 2: Freedom to speak up: Listen Up - This training is for all line and middle managers and is focussed more on listening up and the barriers that can get in the way of speaking up. This module includes topics such as fostering a speak up, and a listen up culture, supporting speaking up and listening well, perceptions of yourself and others, understanding conflicts of interest and welcoming feedback as a gift. It takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Both courses can be accessed via the BEAT VLE. Go to 'Find eLearning' on the VLE homepage and search for 'Speak Up' or 'Listen Up'. Once you've registered it will appear on your heart page. Poole staff, who do not currently have the heart set up on the VLE, will see this as a new tab next to their 'brain'.

NHS pension update on government changes to public service pension schemes

The court of appeal ruling on the 'protection' given to members within 10 years of their normal retirement age was found to be discriminatory, known as the McCloud judgement. The period that was protected between 1 April 2015-31 March 2022 to remain in the current pension scheme is being removed. NHS pensions has published an article for members with FAQs to try to answer commonly asked questions.

The full article can be read here. No further information is available in the pensions department at this time.

British Indian Nurse Association

Deepa Pappu, Clinical Nurse Educator, will be delivering a virtual British Indian Nurse Association (BINA) career progression session on OSCE support on 27 March, 4.30pm. BINA has recently launched and provides support for our BAME network.

Click here to join the Zoom meeting (meeting ID: 848 1407 3603 / passcode: 029105).

Click here to see how BINA can support and help you with any issues or questions you may have or click here to visit the BINA website.

If you have any questions about BINA contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Congratulations to Mr Heath Taylor, new President of BOFAS

Mr Heath Taylor, orthopaedic consultant, has now begun his term as president of The British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (BOFAS). Heath has been a member of the BOFAS council for the last seven years and this role is recognition for his hard work for the society. He now sits on several national working groups and at the end of his presidency, will host the annual scientific meeting, attended by over 500 orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons at the Bournemouth International Centre in March 2022.

Job of the week

We are looking for a band 5 corporate governance manager (committee and membership).

The post holder will assist the company secretary in the development and implementation of the Trust's membership strategy and play a role in the link between members and the Trust. The post holder will act as the central point of contact for the provision of information to existing and prospective foundation trust members, within the public and staff constituencies.

Internal candidates can apply for this position on a 6six month secondment basis. Click here to view the full job description and to apply.

To view and apply for all our internal and external vacancies click here.

#RidesForHeroes: Free Beryl bike and e-scooter minutes for UHD staff

To help support key workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Arts University Bournemouth and Bournemouth University have generously donated a package of 200 minutes free riding on Beryl bikes and Beryl e-scooters for up to 400 UHD staff. This is valid for all bay-to-bay rides in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area.

To sign up and claim your free minutes, simply download the Beryl app on your smartphone, register with your UHD email address and use the code BCPNHS0221. The first 400 registrants will be able to claim their free minutes.

HSJ Awards: UHD shortlisted as 'speak up' organisation of the year

We are proud to celebrate our success for being shortlisted for the HSJ Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Organisation of the year. Our submission, led by Helen Martin, Professor Vassallo and Dr Mohammed Elmasry, celebrated the development of our International Medical Graduate (IMGs) programme.

This programme was set up following FTSU feedback that some IMGs were experiencing bullying, discrimination or exploitation, resulting in a loss of confidence, loneliness and helplessness.

The programme aimed to improve equal opportunity by reducing differential attainment and by developing a supportive culture required to achieve this. The programme promotes a network for peer support mentoring, a forum supported by our FTSU team to facilitate speaking up, as well as offering leadership and teaching opportunities. All these steps have helped to mitigate culture shock, social isolation, restoring confidence, career choices as well as supporting health and well-being. The video from Shilpa was a powerful staff story that was integral to this work.

The awards ceremony happened last Wednesday evening, and whilst the winner went to the work at Leeds Community Healthcare Trust, we are proud of this work and how it will support our culture going forward.

Are you concerned about fraud?

Our counter fraud team are here to help staff with anything they may feel is fraudulent.

They recently received a received a referral from UHD alleging that an HCA fraudulently removed a patient's bank card from their possession whilst they were undergoing palliative care and subsequently used it to make purchases and withdrawals totalling £17,250.00.

Click here to see how our counter fraud specialists investigated and how to contact them.

Care first webinars

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

• Tuesday 23 March, 12-12.30pm – Stress and finding ways through it
• Wednesday 24 March, 12-12.30pm – Separation anxiety
• Thursday 25 March, 12-12.30pm – How Care first can support you
• Friday 26 March, 12-12.30pm – Planning for summer holiday
• Monday 29 March, 12-12.30pm – Spring clean your wellbeing
• Tuesday 30 March, 12-12.30pm – Isolation after lockdown
• Wednesday 31 March, 12-12.30pm – How Care first can support you
• Thursday 1 April, 12-12.30pm – Managing pressure

Roadworks

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