Major changes to hospitals access this weekend

As the next stages of our building transformation works begin there will be new site access arrangements at RBH and temporary road closures at Poole this weekend:

• RBH - the main entrance will be closed from 2 August. Please use the updated map to find the nearest alternative entrance, and you can find details of the relocation of key offices here.
• Poole - Longfleet Road will be closed outside the hospital over the weekend as a new 50m tower crane is installed on-site. The closure is scheduled to begin at midday on Friday (30 July) and be completed on Sunday (1 August). The closure has been coordinated with BCP Council's highways department with access for ambulances and pedestrians maintained. Find out more here.

We apologise for any disruption caused by these essential changes and we are doing everything we can to make sure that any inconvenience is kept to a minimum.

Click here for further information.

Obtaining new lateral flow kits

NHS England is no longer supplying the trust with lateral flow testing kits for us all to use. This will eventually mean we have to order our own kits online to be sent to our home addresses.

While we have stocks remaining, if you have run out of lateral flow kits please order them using the information on the Covid-19 pages on the intranet.

These tests are really important, especially with the increase in cases of the Delta variant. Please remember, every time you take a test you need to upload your results to our portal – mytest.uhd.nhs.uk.

Reminder on uniforms

If you wear a uniform as part of your work, please make sure that you go home and arrive in non-uniform clothing as this can reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19, and supports our infection prevention and control measures.

Deteriorating Patient QI programme

Last Thursday we held our launch event for the Deteriorating Patient Quality Improvement programme. This was a provocative and powerful event, full of patient stories and staff views. We emerged with an agreement to progress an initial suite of 8 projects of varying sizes and complexity. These are:

• Treatment Escalation Planning
• Sepsis
• Communication/referral pathways between wards and ITU
• "Soft signs" patient and carer self-referral
• Safe Medical Staffing
• Training
• Useful data and platform integration
• Standard proforma for high NEWS

We would love involvement from all types of staff in these projects.

There is always room to improve, and in the past the majority of the best ideas have come from people like you - who work clinically or operationally alongside patients, and have vast experience both in and out of hours. Involvement does not have to mean a huge time commitment or endless meetings – we can flex to accommodate you – and sometimes we may be able to simply ask you to look something over to see how it looks to you, or to try something out.

Please do volunteer to be involved in any of the projects by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 6th August 2021.

Further information and plans arising from the event will be sent out in the coming weeks, including a short video. We look forward to continuing to keep you updated on what is such vital improvement.

RBH: Pharmacy running a limited service this week

This will be similar to a weekend service and turnaround times may be longer than usual. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Put a stop to 'tailgating' when travelling through the hospital

Please remember the importance of checking that doors are closed and secured behind you when traveling through the hospital.

Securing doors and checking for 'tailgating' ensures the safety of both our patients and staff by keeping patients in the correct areas for their care and by preventing unauthorised access to 'staff only' areas.

Ensure all doors are secured and that fire doors are kept closed at all times.

Health records operational manager appointed

We are delighted to announce that Sharon Murawski has been successfully appointed as the trust-wide operational health records and EDM manager for UHD.

Sharon has been acting as interim in this role since the 1 October 2020. Sharon has a wealth of experience to bring to this role for the joint medical records areas.

Ensuring patients at the end of life have the equipment they need - T34 syringe drivers

All wards should ensure that T34 syringe drivers are returned to the equipment library when not in use.

These syringe drivers are used to keep patients in their last days of life comfortable and need to be returned promptly to ensure there is no delay in patient care.

There are only 20 of these drivers in the trust and currently only two are in stock with the equipment library as the rest are being kept on wards, if you have one on your ward please ensure you return it as soon as possible.

POOLE: Applications for junior doctor forum chair are open

Applications are now open for the role of junior and senior Poole Hospital junior doctor forum chair for 2021-2022.

These roles are open to junior doctors of all grades, with the junior chair position best suited to a foundation doctor, and the senior chair to any grade above foundation and below consultant.

We'd also like further representatives from different specialties - please let us know if you would be interested in this role. The junior doctor forum currently involves planning and chairing regular meetings on site specific issues at Poole and working alongside the RBH chair to represent the junior body across the whole of the trust.

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. explaining why you would like to apply in no more than 300 words by 6pm on Tuesday (3 August).

Help shape improvements to end of life care across our hospitals

If you play any part in end-of-life care, you are invited to share your opinions and experiences in the National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL). Whether you work in a clinical or non-clinical role, your views matter, and will help to ensure UHD gets end-of-life care right.

This year's survey is also an opportunity to reflect on the impact of Covid-19 on end-of-life care.

RBH: click here to submit your survey.
Poole: click here to submit your survey.

Staff encouraged to tie a yellow ribbon at Forest Holme

Forest Holme will be hosting Tie a Yellow Ribbon on Thursday (5 August). The event is a special commemorative day that brings the community together in joint celebration of loved ones, irrespective of whether they were cared for at the hospice or not.

Forest Holme will have a stand set-up in the car park at the front of the hospice to allow visitors to write a message of dedication for a loved-one on a ribbon which will be put on display in the garden throughout the summer.

Please visit Forest Holme at 5 Seldown Road, Poole on Thursday 5 August between 11am - 4pm.

Plane and simple – the sky's the limit for our charity

We're excited to announce that Dorset Plane Pull returns on the 30 August and we have a limited number of team places available.

This is an amazing opportunity to get together with friends and colleagues and take on the epic challenge of pulling a Boeing 737. We have team places available for both UHD Charity and Gully's Place, giving you the chance to come together as a team to support your hospitals. Team entry is now free with a team sponsorship target £1,000 and the event will be held at European Skybus, Bournemouth Airport.

If you're ready to say yes to doing something amazing, get in touch today by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Work experience requests update

We regret that we are still unable to support work experience placement requests. Please continue to forward any requests to:

RBCH: Paula Sim, youth development officer, via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Poole: Joy Heelan, voluntary services lead, via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

POOLE: Card machine now working in shop at north entrance

Card payments can now be accepted again in the shop at the north entrance at the hospital.

Job of the week – Poole moving and handling assistant

We are seeking a dedicated band 3 moving and handling assistant to join our multi-specialty clinical practice team. This is a developmental post and following the successful completion of the assistant practitioner degree this will be a band 4 role.

The main purpose of this role is to assist and support the moving and handling risk advisor in maintaining, developing, and delivering the moving and handling policy through the organisation, providing on-going support and education within the classroom.

Click here, applications close on Thursday (5 August).

Weekly wellbeing offers

This week we are highlighting woodland wellbeing sessions hosted by Wayne and Mick of the Surviving Minds Foundation just a 40-minute drive from Poole and one hour from RBH.

The sessions are an opportunity for your team to take time out, reconnect and recharge together. You'll spend a morning or an afternoon immersed taking a woodland walk, talking, listening and connecting with each other and with nature.

Please check the intranet A-Z under W for the wellbeing pages.