Omicron Covid-19 variant: updated guidance

Infection prevention and control guidance has been updated following the detection of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant in the UK.

Healthcare workers who return from any travel overseas, including from those countries not on the travel red list, should not return to work until they have had an initial negative PCR test. They should also do daily lateral flow tests until day 10 after return.

Patient testing, travel history and isolation guidance has been updated – please click here for more information.

Please continue to observe all Covid-19 guidance, including staying away from work if you have any symptoms and arranging a PCR test through our hospitals as soon as possible.

Reminder: flu jabs still available

Protect yourself against seasonal flu by having the flu jab this winter, available from our UHD drop-in clinics on our sites, as well as from trolley rounds at Poole and Royal Bournemouth.

Flu is present in our communities - it only takes five minutes to have your jab and protect yourself.

Full details of our drop in clinics are available in the latest news on the intranet.

Learning from LERNs

Learning Event Report Notification (LERN) forms (previously known as Adverse Incident Reporting (AIRs) and Datix forms) are now in use across UHD.

The forms are for when:

• a patient or staff safety incident has occurred and someone has, or could have come to harm
• you need to raise a safety issue
• something has been, or someone has, done really well
• you have a safety improvement idea.

We all know how important it is to learn when something doesn't go to plan or when we have a concern about safety or patient care but it's also important for us to learn from events that have gone well. Sharing concerns and reporting incidents and near misses allows us to improve safety standards, support high quality care and reduce harm. Sharing information about something working well can help others have this success too.

Help us build on our open learning culture by completing a LERN form whenever something goes right or wrong and if you have a concern or a suggestion to improve the way we do things.

Join the campaign, get involved and share, LERN because we all can!

POOLE: Traffic delays on Longfleet Road this week

There are traffic delays expected on Longfleet Road this week.

There will be temporary traffic lights across the junction with Birds Hill Road from 29 November until 5 December during Wessex Water's maintenance works. A single file traffic system is in place.

RBH: Fayrewood ward plan for winter from Wednesday (1 December)

Fayrewood ward is a community hospital ward within the acute trust and has been providing inpatient rehabilitation to patients prior to their discharge home.

However, there is now a significant displacement of older persons services (OPS) patients across RBH, leading to increasing numbers of frail older patients outlying across other speciality beds.

During the winter period to ensure our older people living with frailty are cared for by a specialist team, Fayrewood ward will operate as an OPS discharge to assess ward for patients who no longer require an acute hospital bed.

Referrals for patient transfer to Fayrewood ward will be made only by the discharge team, Fayrewood ward will not be taking any direct referral requests.

Please ensure Health of the ward is kept up to date as suitable patients will be identified and referred by the discharge team from this system.

To be considered for transfer to Fayrewood ward, patients must:

• Be triaged as OPS/OPM
• Be medically ready to leave hospital (no longer meet criteria to reside)
• Be OPAL assessed as discharged or deferred (Therapy assessed but requires on-going maintenance to prevent deconditioning)
• Waiting package of care, placement, or inpatient rehabilitation bed/community hospital bed
• D2A completed where required

Fayrewood ward cannot accept patients with cognitive/behavioural issues or on a DOLS- this is due to environmental risks.

If a Fayrewood patient deteriorates and their needs cannot be met on the ward, they will be transferred back to an acute OPS ward, and a "swap" made with a patient who has been identified as suitable for transfer to Fayrewood (patients are managed by advanced nurse practitioners and supported by consultant sessions 2-3 per week).

Click here to remind yourself of the Fayrewood process flow chart and the process for transferring a deteriorating patient.

Help ease winter pressures as a mealtime companion

Can you offer some time this winter to support our patients and staff with patient mealtimes and drinks rounds? Our volunteer team are offering mealtime companion and food hygiene training sessions on 9 December.

The sessions will take place in seminar rooms one and two in the education centre at RBH, but are open to all staff trustwide. Book via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ext 4161 or visit the volunteers office – places are limited so booking is essential.

UHD: Do you have spare patient controlled analgesia (PCA)?

The recovery team in main theatres at Poole Hospital would urgently like to hear from any services that may have surplus PCA, anywhere in UHD.

If you can help contact Karen Millroy, clinical team leader in recovery, on ext 2971 or 3576, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

RBCH: Changes to all resuscitation training from 1 January

To create a new UHD approach, refresher resuscitation training is changing.

The two hour session training on basic life support (level 2 resus) training is now spilt into two elements; eLearning and a 30 minute face to face practical session. Before the face to face session staff are required to watch a 45 minute video and pass the online MCQ assessment.

This training is an annual requirement for all clinical staff and other relevant staff groups

Training will not change at Poole or for new trust inductions and all sessions can be booked via ESR.

Times for immediate life support, immediate life support recertification and paediatric immediate life support have also changed, please check your session time when booking.

Fond farewell to Shaun

Shaun Bundy who works in our pharmacy stores at Poole Hospital is retiring after just over 24 years of service in the trust.

Shaun started working with Poole's portering team on 7 April 1997 and shortly after moved into his role in pharmacy, where he continued his service; receipting vital daily deliveries, maintaining stock and supporting the wider pharmacy team. Shaun has witnessed and been part of the pharmacy department's evolvution throughout the years, including the installation of the innovative Pharmacy robots.

"It is rare in today's NHS that someone dedicates almost their entire professional carer to one hospital, but our wonderful Shaun is one of these priceless people and we'd like to thank him for his dedication to the pharmacy service at Poole. With this tremendous commitment comes the skills, knowledge and organisational memory which is hugely appreciated. Over the 24 and a half years you have supported countless patients get better and on the road to recovery, albeit behind the scenes. The entire team wish you the very best retirement, full of fun, rest and enjoyment" – the UHD Pharmacy Team

POOLE: LOLER tags on all hoists and slings

The new green LOLER tags should be in place on all hoists and slings, following their testing by Zurich Insurance last month. If any piece of equipment does not have a tag please do not use it and report it to the estates team.

POOLE: ID badge office closures

Due to unforeseen absence, the ID Card admin office will be closed on 30 November, 1 December and 4 December.

The office will be open but offering a reduced service on 2 December from 11am-2pm.

Any emergency ID card access issues can be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Modified moving and handling sessions available from January

From January, we are offering modified moving and handling sessions, which can be booked through ESR. These shorter sessions are a hour long and are for staff who are not ward based.

Staff who do not undertake do not undertake lateral transfer movements or hoist patients within their daily roles can take this new training.

If you have a bank contract alongside your normal contract you must book and complete the full moving and handling training sessions not the modified versions.

Blue Christmas in our prayer spaces at Poole and RBH

Not feeling much like celebrating? Missing someone you have loved and lost? Had a tough year?

Blue Christmas has been put together especially for those of us whose days don't feel particularly merry or bright right now, it's a space for you to drop into and gently acknowledge some of the tough realities that you may be facing this year.

Blue Christmas takes place 9am-4pm on 15 December.

Get ready for #PurpleLightUpDay this Friday

#PurpleLightUp is a global movement that celebrates the contribution of the 386 million disabled employees around the world.

Our Purple Light Up Day celebrations are being organised by our ProAbility network. You can attend Teams talks with influential speakers Dr Hannah Barham-Brown and Dr Liz O'Riordan, get involved on our social media pages, and listen to the lived experiences of some of our colleauges who work with disabilities.

Find out more on the Pro Ability network pages and if you want to know more email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

World Human Rights Day service

Friday 10 December is World Human Rights Day and there will be a ten minute service commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Poole Hospital prayer space at 12pm.

The service will be streamed live on the UHD Facebook page. Staff are welcome to attend in person however the space is limited to 12 people so please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are planning to attend.

Removing the age discrimination - busting common myths for staff moving to the NHS 2015 pension scheme on 1 April 2022

The McCloud judgement ruled that to stop age discrimination staff under protection to stay in their previous pension scheme will be moved to the 2015 scheme in April 2022.

All pension scheme members with the protection will end on 31 March 2022 and all members will move to the 2015 NHS Pension scheme on the 1 April 2022 regardless of age and scheme membership.

We are keen to help staff understand some common myths around this change.

• It is a myth that if you don't retire before 1 April 2022, you will have to wait until state pension age to claim your pension.
• Your Pension benefits already built up in the 1995/2008 schemes will not be lost – you do not need to retire in March 2022 to ensure your current 1995/2008 pension benefits are secure.
• All scheme members will be in the 2015 scheme from 1 April 2022.
• You do not need to make any decisions about retiring before March 2022 to secure your current benefits.

There are more helpful documents around how NHS employers is supporting this change here, and please see these FAQs about the change for further clarification.

Job of the week - recruitment marketing and communications officer

We have an exciting opportunity for a passionate and self-motivated communications professional to join us as part of our HR resourcing team, working closely with our communications team.

You will tell prospective employees what it's like to work for us, promote our job vacancies using effective techniques and technologies and attract candidates who share our UHD values and who will love working for us.

You will set up and run recruitment social media platforms, improve our careers website and recruitment intranet pages, write excellent job adverts, film interviews with staff, take and edit pictures, tell stories and effectively show candidates what it is like to be part of team UHD.

Interviews take place on 14 December click here for more information or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Your weekly wellbeing

Don't forget to visit our weekly wellbeing pages to keep up with all of the offers from across UHD including our posture courses and yoga sessions. You can also find details of Nurse Lifeline, a free listening service available to all nurses, midwives or healthcare support workers; newly qualified or experienced students.