RBH new departure lounge is opening today

To support patient flow, Royal Bournemouth's new departure lounge will be open from 9am-5.30pm Monday - Friday. To use the lounge, all patients must have transport booked by 1pm on the same day. To contact the lounge ring ext. 4172 when the patient is ready.

To find the departure lounge, follow the signs to UTC on the east wing and then follow signs to the departure lounge.

The departure lounge at Poole Hospital will reopen as soon as possible – look out for news on this in future communications.

Ask Aly Matt!

Join us at 1pm on Thursday (26 May) for Ask Aly, this month hosted by our deputy chief medical officer, Dr Matt Thomas. It's a great opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns or share your views. You can join the meeting here and if you'd like to send any questions in 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.

Last few tickets remaining for this week's UHD Staff Revue Show

Don't miss your chance to see your colleagues as you've never seen them before in an evening of songs, performances and laughter at Pandemonium, our staff revue show.

Which VIPs have found themselves on the surgical ward? What really goes on in Teams meetings? Which trust executives transformed themselves into a chart-topping pop group?

Find out the answers to all these and more, at Pandemonium, this Wednesday and Thursday (25-26 May) from 7pm at the STEAM Hub, Talbot Heath School.

Only a few tickets remain, with all profits going to our University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity. Don't miss out; buy your ticket today at www.tinyurl.com/UHDRevue2022. Please note tickets will not be available on the door.

Poole's new theatres are officially 'topped out'

The new theatres building at Poole was officially 'topped out' in a sunny ceremony last Friday (20 May). Commenting at the event, Edward Argar MP, Minister for Health, said the facility "will make a significant difference in helping patients in Dorset get the care they need as quickly as possible". More details, including photos and a link to a video of the ceremony can be found here.

Have you updated your PC?

In order to stay compliant with national guidelines, all desktop PCs, laptops and surface tablets need to be updated to the latest version of Windows 10. IT will be rolling out a programme of updates, but you can do this in advance by taking the following steps:

• open the software centre via the desktop or start menu
• click the update tab on the left hand side of the screen
• click install to update your machine

The install usually takes up to 60 minutes to complete and may require a reboot.

Do you have an unused iPad or iPhone lying around?

If you have a trust issued iPad or iPhone and it has been unused for over 90 days, it will be automatically decommissioned and removed from trust systems on 30 May.

This means you will no longer be able to use this device to access trust emails, applications or other services from this date. In order to prevent automated decommissioning, you will need to connect your device to a wireless network at least once before this date.

If you have kept an old device but no longer need to use it, please return it to the IT desktop support team at either Poole or RBH and quote 'iPad amnesty'.

Nominate your healthcare heroes by 2 June

Nominations are now open for the second annual Dorset Hero Awards, in association with Talbot Village Trust. Last year a number of UHD individuals and services were recognised.

There are a total of ten categories to nominate in, including best healthcare team or individual, before the 2 June deadline.

A shortlist of finalists will be published in both the Daily Echo and Dorset Echo on 15 June followed by a winner's supplement on 24th June.

Click here for more information and to make your nomination.

Help shape the future of our NHS

We've been asked to contribute to the development of our national NHS Staff Survey.

The annual survey, commissioned by NHS England and Improvement, is our opportunity to anonymously have our say on what life is like working for the NHS, to improve our experiences and make our healthcare settings better, safer and more inclusive places to work.

Picker, the healthcare research charity developing the survey, would like staff in a range of job roles to help test a questionnaire to ensure this year's survey questions are clear and easy for us all to complete. Testing the questionnaire will take an hour in an informal one-to-one session over Teams, and all conversations will be completely confidential.

Click here for more information and to register your interest.

Calling all bank-only workers

NHS England and Improvement is working on a new anonymous NHS Staff Survey specifically for bank-only workers to ensure they can have their say on what it is like working for the NHS.

This is brilliant news, and will provide our bank staff with the opportunity to influence real change at UHD, and across the NHS.

Picker, the healthcare research charity developing the survey, would like bank workers to help test a questionnaire to ensure the survey questions are clear and easy to complete. You may be eligible to take part if you are employed directly by UHD to do bank work, but do not hold a substantive or fixed term contract.

Testing the questionnaire will take an hour in an informal one-to-one session over Teams, and all conversations will be completely confidential.

Click here for more information and to register your interest.

RBH: Restaurant tables and chairs amnesty

If you borrowed any tables or chairs during the pandemic, please return these to catering as we will be increasing our restaurant capacity in the coming weeks.

Join the action with the next NHS Sustainability Day (8 June)

It has been found that the NHS is responsible for an estimated 5% of the UK's carbon footprint. Join an online webinar hosted by NHS professionals from a multitude of departments to speak about their sustainability journeys and the challenges they have faced and overcome. Sign up here.

Keep an eye on future communications to find out how UHD is joining the conversation and celebrating

Do you want to know more about Dorset innovation hub?

The innovation hub team at Our Dorset is hosting an online event to help you find out more about the resources and support available for your innovation project.

At the two hour meeting you will have the opportunity to meet the team and ask questions about innovation in healthcare settings. The meeting takes place on 21 June from 1-5pm. Book online here.

RBH: Chat with UNISON tomorrow (25 May)

UNISON representatives will be by the lake from 11am-2pm. Please visit to find out more about the NHS pay campaign, membership and support. Further visits will be planned at Poole soon.

Job of the week – transformation workforce lead

Do you have the drive to bring about change and support new ways of working? An exciting opportunity as a transformational workforce lead has arisen.

Working closely and collaboratively with clinical teams and colleagues, you will assist in the design of their workforce models; monitoring the progress of project plans and helping them meet timelines for delivery of the New Hospital Programme.

Find out more or apply here.

UHD staff offer from Lighthouse – Housewives on Holiday, 29 May

Get away from it all and join the Housewives on Holiday at Lighthouse this Sunday – tickets are £10 (£11.75 with booking fee, limited to two per customer) using the code NHSHOUSE (the offer will work on adult tickets only and is available on all price bands). For more information and to book, click here.