How to sign up for lateral flow test priority ordering

NHS staff can now use priority ordering on the Government's lateral flow test online ordering portal. To obtain priority ordering please select 'continue without an account' and put in your details manually, the system will then ask you to confirm whether your work for the NHS, which will give you priority ordering.

Please continue to do lateral flow tests regularly and upload your result – especially now as cases of Covid-19 in the community are significantly high.

Tests may be ordered here https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests.

Change in our monthly pay date

From April, our monthly pay date will change from the last working day of the month, to the 28th of the month. Where the 28th of the month falls on a weekend or bank holiday, payment will be made on the working day prior to this date.

This change is required as part of the NHS changes, and we hope no member of staff will encounter any issues due to this change.

Dietetics team seeing high priority referrals and reviews only

Currently only high priority referrals and reviews will be seen by our dietetics teams, due to significant pressure with staff sickness and vacancies. High priority referrals include patients who are being tube fed and referrals which support patients being discharged.

Please ensure all referrals are appropriate and have enough information to assist the team to make decisions regarding priority.

You can see the nutrition and dietetics pages on the intranets for more information including emergency and out of hours feed regimes.

POOLE: Speech and language therapy team seeing high priority patients only today

The adult speech and language therapy cover is significantly reduced today (Friday 25 March) and only high priority patients will be seen.

High priority includes those who are nil by mouth (NBM) with no alternative hydration/feeding in place, and those who are genuinely discharge dependent. Please ensure this is specified on the referral form if applicable.

For patients who are placed NBM due to an unsafe swallow and cannot be assessed today, please ensure a medical plan is in place for the weekend with alternative routes for hydration, medications, and nutrition.

POOLE: Please only send urgent samples to the microbiology laboratory

The microbiology laboratory is currently under significant pressure (Friday 25 March) due to staff shortages and this is likely to impact result turnaround.

Specific sections such as blood cultures and Covid-19 PCR tests will be prioritised.

We kindly request for the laboratory to only receive urgent samples at this time and to limit telephone calls to critical results.

Complete all annual leave carry over and sell back forms by 31 March

All annual leave carry over and sell back forms must be completed by next Thursday (31 March), with the forms available on the e forms portal.

To access the portal open Google Chrome > managed bookmarks > clinical systems > electronic forms. The forms are titled 'annual leave adjustment form for carry overs' and 'annual leave sell back form' for sell backs.

If you have any problems, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

New single PAS care group and operations weekly update

Our single UHD PAS is already rolling out in many areas across outpatient services in the trust. By 17 May this year, all PAS activity will be on the new shared UHD PAS. A regular update has now been created to keep you up-to-date with the latest progress, covering topics including outpatients, theatres and admissions, inpatients and information for medical secretaries.

UHD PAS will allow:

• the creation of single waiting lists at specialty level across all sites
• standardised waiting times across UHD
• improved patient choice about where they are seen
• more efficient booking processes, utilising just one PAS episode
• more efficient use of our resources

Read the first edition here.

POOLE: Our library is temporarily closed

The Poole Hospital library in the LLoyd Adams building, has closed temporarily to allow Estates to undertake some internal and external works.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience, library services remain open at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and via the intranet.

Do you know the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer?

March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Gynaecology specialist nurses, Mary Brinson and Jacqui McQuillan, have made a video to remind patients and colleagues of the symptoms to look out for. You can watch the video here.

Catch up on our all staff briefing

Click here to catch up on this week's all staff briefing with our chief executive Debbie Fleming, chairman David Moss, and our executive team.

Topics of discussion included current operational pressures, parking, updates on support for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine as well as the latest news from across our trust.

RBH: No hospital palliative care team cover this weekend

There will be no hospital palliative care cover this weekend (26 and 27 March).

For urgent concerns, 24 hour advice is available from the Macmillan Unit - please call ext. 5470 and select option 1 between the hours of 8am-5pm or select option 3 between the hours of 5pm-8am.

For non-urgent queries, leave a message on ext. 6021 and these will be picked up on Monday (28 March).

New trial launching from our difficult intravenous access (DIVA) team

From 4 April we are starting a two-week trial for patients who are difficult to cannulate.

To be referred for the trial your patient must:

1. have a genuine need for IV access
2. have had two failed attempts at cannulation by a skilled professional at ward level or have no veins palpable or visible on peripheral vein assessment

If your patient meets these criteria during the trial period, please contact the DIVA team on:

• Poole: bleep 0139
• RBH: bleep 2727 Monday-Friday 8.30am-5.30pm, or hospital at night (H@N) 'DIVA request' out of hours.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions.

Results from our strategic allied health professions workforce project

The strategic AHP workforce project, which has involved engagement from all AHP groups across our trust, comes to an end this month.

The team has taken a deep dive into the workforce challenges in the areas of finance, workforce intelligence and data, retention and support for students, newly qualified and early careers, return to practice, international recruitment, apprenticeships and the support workforce.

Documents detailing the ongoing support for these work streams are available on the AHP intranet pages.

For any further information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Reflecting with ribbons

Thank you to all who attended and were involved with this week's special Covid-19 reflection services.

If you missed the services, you can watch recordings and see photos from the day on our social media channels Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Windrush nurses and midwives leadership programme

Health Education England has partnered with the Florence Nightingale Foundation to recognise the contribution of Windrush nurses and midwives. They were, and their descendants remain, major contributors to the NHS workforce and we want to acknowledge their contribution.

The programme offers 44, band 5, 6 and 7 nurses and midwives from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background, bespoke leadership development to become Florence Nightingale Foundation Nurses and Midwives, and to develop as future leaders of healthcare.

Click here for more information.

Improve your leadership skills with a coaching professional apprenticeship

Places are available on the level five coaching professional apprenticeship offered by the Our Dorset network and BCP. Effective coaching is future focused, releases potential, and enables transition, transformation and change for business improvement.

You will need the full support of your line manager and once qualified, you will be required to be available to coach individuals across Dorset, including colleagues at UHD.

For further information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Join the south west NHS military challenge

After a two year break the south west NHS military challenge is back. Twenty teams of eight will compete over two days for the south west NHS challenge trophy, and our Armed Forces Support Group would like to enter a team representing all departments at UHD.

The event takes place in Salisbury from 16-18 September. If you would like to represent UHD and have a fun filled exciting weekend, 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. to register your interest.

Late applications to the EU settlement scheme

If you are a member of staff from the EU and you missed the deadline for the EU settlement scheme, you can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to make a late application by September.

Job of the week - recruitment administrator at Yeomans Way

The duties of this band 3 role will include issuing offer paperwork and contracts, checking pre-employment documents such as offer letters and contract, sending employment reference requests, managing the end to end recruitment process for part of the trust, answering and responding to telephone calls and general administrative duties.

Full or part time hours will be considered, click here to apply.