Inquiries on Covid-19 vaccinations

We know you are eager to hear more about the Covid-19 vaccination programme and when this will start in our hospitals. We are just as keen to provide this information to you, as soon as we are able to.

Please be assured that when we have an update, we will share it with you first and as soon as possible. In the meantime please avoid contacting our occupational health teams with queries about the programme as they are unable to provide any further information.

All staff briefing with our chief executive

Join us on Monday 14 December, 12.30-1.30pm, for our all staff briefing. David Moss, our chairman, and Debbie Fleming, our chief executive, as well as fellow executives will provide updates on Covid, the rollout of the vaccine, staff testing, EU transition, and our building and development plans for the years ahead.

Please join us if you can, or a recording of the briefing will be available afterwards on our intranet. Click here for the Teams link.

'Covid Christmas: Silver linings' Schwartz Round

We are excited to be hosting our first UHD Schwartz Round on the subject 'Covid Christmas – silver linings' on Thursday 10 December 1-2pm. This will be a normal Teams meeting – not a live event. Everyone will be asked to mute themselves but they will be invited to put their hand up/unmute if they wish to contribute/participate. You can join on your computer or mobile on Microsoft Teams by clicking here.

Unfortunately the meeting will be limited to 100 people so if you can safely socially distance around a PC or laptop then more people will have access to the event.

At the end of the round we would really value your feedback via this link. This allows us to continually develop our rounds and make them even better. Thank you.

New staff benefit: Salary Finance

When thinking about your wellbeing, an important - and often overlooked - part is financial. 2020 has been a particularly challenging year for many reasons and these challenges may have created financial pressures.

To support you with your money, we are pleased to announce the launch of a new staff benefit: Salary Finance. To find out more about this new staff benefit, please go to the intranet.

Staff Christmas taxis

Staff working over the Christmas period, who are dependent on public transport to get to work, can click here for instructions about arranging a Christmas taxi and here for the booking form.

Still time for your flu jab

There's still time to join 63.3% of your frontline colleagues who have had their flu vaccination this year.

As our Covid-19 staff vaccination plans adapt to reflect the national programme and ahead of the Covid-19 vaccines arriving, now is the perfect time to have your jab if you have not already done so.

Our fantastic team of peer vaccinators is available to vaccinate colleagues and where possible, nearby colleagues too. You can find the complete list for Poole here and the Royal Bournemouth here.

Everyone who had their flu jab on or before 4 December has been entered into a prize draw to win one of five £50 Amazon gift vouchers. The draw will be made on Friday, with the winners announced in next week's bulletin.

Support for our valued EU colleagues

Our chief executive, Debbie Fleming, has reiterated her appreciation and support for our EU staff support, as the UK approaches the date when it is scheduled to leave the union. You can read the letter here.

The letter includes information on how EU staff can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and where to get support within UHD and externally to help with applications.

It details a wide range of other support available, including from our HR teams, Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, chaplaincy teams and The European Staff Network

We really value our EU staff – please take time to read the letter and share it with your colleagues and teams.

Pregnant staff, Covid-19 and risk assessments

The latest Government information regarding pregnancy and Covid-19 advises that if you have no underlying health conditions and have a healthy pregnancy with no complications, you should follow the guidance for clinically vulnerable people or if you are pregnant and also have certain underlying health condition you should follow the guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable people. If you are concerned about continuing to work in your current role while pregnant please discuss with your line manager the possibility of alternative working arrangements. Advice may also be sought from HR or occupational health.

Our Covid-19 risk assessment has recently been amended to reflect this advice. If you have completed a Covid-19 risk assessment while pregnant, you will need to review this with your line manager. If you haven't completed a Covid-19 risk assessment since becoming pregnant, please complete this as soon as possible with your line manager. The risk assessment can be found on the intranet.

Further information can be found in Section 9 of the staff Covid-19 FAQs here.

Update to visiting restrictions

As the spread of the Covid evolves, we have had to make changes to the usual guidance on visiting. We need to reduce the number of people visiting our hospitals which will help us maintain social distancing and ensure we are protecting our staff, patients and their families as best as we can.

Please take note of the current visiting restrictions to avoid misunderstanding with visitors visiting patients.

Messages of support to #TeamUHD

We've received some beautiful messages to you, our NHS Heroes, as part of our wellbeing advent calendar. John from Boscombe's Salvation Army, left a heartwarming message and played a festive tune; teams from across UHD, including our LGBTQ network and IBD team, have also left messages of hope and gratitude to give colleagues a boost. To take part, just send a photo or video of you or your team or network (in landscape if possible) with a message to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can follow the latest advent calendar openings on our Twitter page @UHD_NHS with the hashtag #TisTheSeasonToCare.

Dolphin Restaurant now open

Following a major refurbishment, the Dolphin Restaurant at Poole is now open to staff. A huge thank you for your patience during the building works.

The scheme includes the provision of new tables, upgraded decoration and a dedicated soft seating area giving staff an area to relax. There are also charging points for phones/laptops. In addition, the servery area will be upgraded to improve the flow and circulation, along with enhanced menu options. The marquee will remain open to support social distancing for restaurant users.

Confirmation of emails before sending messages

Since the change to @uhd.nhs.uk email addresses, some departmental email addresses have changed completely. Please check that you are sending to the correct, up-to-date email address.

We also ask departments to make sure they use their correct new addresses on all correspondence including email signatures and on intranet pages.

RBH - IT training

Please be aware from Monday 14 December, IT Training at RBH will no longer be contactable by phone. To book IT training or for any queries email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or log a call via the service desk.

Using email through a web browser (Outlook web access)

When accessing your email through a web browser, especially on a shared PC, you must log out of your email account when you finish. Closing the browser window will not log you out automatically, so the next person using the PC will automatically have access to your emails.

To do this, click the circle with your photo or initials in the top right corner of the screen, and then click 'sign out'.

Doctors, ANPs and ACPs: we want you!

We're looking for prescribers across the trust to be involved in our multi-disciplinary project to improve the supply of medicines on discharge and help patients and GPs understand the medication being given. What can we do for you?

• We can offer quality improvement training and coaching.
• Support with data analysis and publicity.
• Opportunity to gain a quality improvement project certificate of completion.
• Opportunity to present your project to senior managers and clinicians.
• Opportunity for poster presentations and publications.

To register your interest and get more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

RBH - Phone upgrades

During the coming months our telecoms team will be visiting all departments at RBH to upgrade the old analogue phones to the new IP system. The new IP phones will be connected via the IT network data points, in most case though the PC or laptop. This will need a short disconnection of the network cable to the PC/laptop.

You will need to log out of any applications you are running but won't need to shut down. In most cases this should take no longer than 10-15 minutes per user.

Student update from Bournemouth University

Bournemouth University students must finish their clinical placement with us by 18 December as the university is closed from 19 December. Any requests to do additional student shifts during the Christmas closure must be denied. If a student wishes to leave placement early to make use of the national travel window, please inform the placement coordinator via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

POOLE - Outside staff seating area renovation

Poole Hospital Charity have been approached by the Shane Stanley Fund who would like to renovate the outside seating area for staff by Churchfield and Cornelia House. You may have already noticed the fencing has been provided for added privacy and extra seating will be made available. The Shane Stanley Fund have come together to provide something extra special for our staff at Poole Hospital to be able to take some time out and enjoy the fresh air – read more here.

POOLE - Changes to Moving and Handling Level 2 for 2021

As part of the alignment work across the sites and in line with the Core Skills Training Framework, the Moving and Handling Level 2 sessions for 2021 will be changing from two to three hours and relevant staff will be required to update this every two years by attending a face to face session.

Staff who are already booked for sessions next year will be moved into the new time slot and managers will be informed. If you have any queries regarding this training please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Guides for reading encrypted emails

When patient or private information is sent via email it should be encrypted to ensure the data is secure in transit. Unfortunately this does sometimes involve additional steps for the email recipient to read these emails. Information and guides for reading secured emails can be found in the Guidance for Recipients of Encrypted Emails section of the Sending Secure and Encrypted Emails intranet page.

Advanced clinical practice conference resources

Health Education England's national conference for advanced practitioners was held recently online as a virtual event. Click here to access all of the recordings and materials.

Education and training

With the ongoing UHD merger of processes within education and training, here are the latest updates:

• Resus level 1 annually for all non-clinical staff- a new line will appear on the VLE, please complete as soon as you can.
• Aligning Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole to join up the BEAT VLE e learning system to start in January.
• Changes to mandatory training to be fit for purpose across UHD.
• Aligned trust induction to reflect whole UHD trust from January 2021.

Care First webinars

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

• Tuesday 8 December, 12-12.30pm - How Care and Support can help you
• Wednesday 9 December, 12-12.30pm - Supportive information for vulnerable groups during COVID-19
• Thursday 10 December, 12-12.30pm - Coping with burnout and tiredness
• Friday 11 December, 12-12.30pm - Maintaining structure and routine

Free bike maintenance at RBH and Poole

Bike Fixed will be visiting RBH on Tuesday 15 December and Poole Hospital on Wednesday 16 December to tune up bikes and ensure they're in good working condition over the winter months.

The tune up is funded by a national cycling charity, Cycling UK, as part of their Big Bike Revival campaign. It is completely free for staff. Dave, the mechanic, will make minor adjustments such as tightening brakes, pumping up tyres and indexing gears.

If your bike needs any replacement parts, Dave may be able to supply these however this will incur a charge. If Dave spots something which needs to be replaced, he'll advise you about this at the time of the service.

A limited number of appointments between 8am-3pm are available for both days. If you'd like your bike to be serviced, please email Elliot Prescott, travel and transport manager: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Christmas trees brightening up our hospitals

Although we are unable to have Christmas decorations as we usually do in the hospitals, we have been able to get festive by putting up more Christmas trees than in previous years. Decorated trees have been popping up across the hospitals and brightening up the cold days and nights. Some of the trees are/will be located in the Dome at Poole, the courtyards at RBH and the main recpetion area at Christchurch. There are more to go up so look out for these this week.

All tree locations adhere to IPC guidelines and we hope that our staff, patients and visitors enjoy them.

Wipeable Christmas decorations are also coming so keep an eye on the intranet for more about these very soon.

Help us to celebrate Christmas through photos

This has obviously been a year like no other and unfortunately Covid is going to affect not only how we celebrate Christmas at home, but also how we celebrate at work. To try and bring a bit of cheer this festive season we are asking for staff to submit photos from Christmas past to be shown on screensavers across the trust.

If you can help us spread some happiness and colour please submit your images to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Check the intranet to see details on Christmas across our Trust.

NHS Carol concert 2020

The NHS in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is holding a virtual NHS Carol Concert on Thursday 10 December 2020 at 7pm. The concert will be an opportunity to come together for an evening of festive celebrations in what has been an unprecedented year. To join please visit; https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/nhs-christmas-carol-service/.

There's still time to join the Reindeer Run!

Bournemouth Hospital Charity's festive fun-run is still open for entries. We want you to run, jog or walk 5km before Sunday 20 December. You can complete your run wherever you like (please adhere to restrictions and social distancing), but there is a route at Avon Heath Country Park you can follow using the signs or Strava running app. Registration is £8 per person of £20 for a group of four. Sign up now at BHCharity.org/reindeerrun Don't forget to show us your pics on social media by tagging us or using #BHCReindeerRun.

Bournemouth Hospital Charity's Light Up Our Tree

You can still make a dedication to remember your loved ones this Christmas. Make a dedication before 5pm on Friday 11 December and your loved one's name will be put in our book of remembrance. We will also place a personalised candle decoration with their name on it on our tree in the Chapel at RBH. To mark this special event, there will be a virtual Light Up Our Tree service that you will be invited to after signing up. Find out more and make your dedication at BHCharity.org/ourtree.

Virtual Elf Dash 2020

After its success, the Your Virtual Elf Dash will be continuing throughout December, so if you or anyone you know fancy an elf dash, please get in touch here. Not only will you receive a downloadable race bib, medal, certificate for all entries PLUS free elf hat for anyone raising £10... you'll also receive a message from Father Christmas himself! Still rather 'fan-DASH-tic', we think.

Virtual Christmas card available online

Leave your virtual Christmas message to friends, family and colleagues here with a donation, big or small. Let's spread some festive joy! Especially in what has been a very difficult year.

Christmas trees

Have you bought your Christmas tree – look no further. Brothers Farm in Wimborne, have Dorset's finest Nordmann fir Christmas trees for sale and they have kindly chosen to donate £2 of every tree sold to support Poole Hospital Charity again this year. Read more here.

Forest Holme news

Forest Holme Hospice has announced details of its 'Forest Holme Made Christmas' pop-up shop, which has now opened its doors to the public until Friday 18 December from 9.30am-4.30pm daily except Sundays.

The shop is situated in the new Eco Hub (opposite Wilkos) on the first floor of the Dolphin Shopping Centre and will be selling everything from Christmas cards, merchandise and decorations to stocking fillers, chocolate bouquets and wreaths. There will also be a range of beautiful handcrafted items made by the Forest Holme Craft group as well as the popular mystery boxes.

People can also make an in-store star dedication in memory of a loved-one, which this year will be displayed on the Forest Holme Hospice Remembrance Tree in Falkland Square.

Free drive in panto tickets for UHD staff

Flix Drive In Christmas presents a fantastic festive treat. They are offering free tickets to NHS staff and their families to the premiere of Cinderella, a unique drive-in pantomime experience played out on the big screen, on Friday 11 December at Advernture Wonderland, Hurn.

To find out more please chect the intranet. Please note that tickets are strictly limited and will be issued FREE on a first-come first serve basis. (Full price ticket would normally be £60).

Celebrating International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD) in a purple haze

UHD's Pro Ability Staff Network celebrated #PurpleLightUp campaign on Thursday 3 December, to help draw attention to the economic contribution of disabled employees around the world. Network members and allies dressed in purple, where appropriate, and posted a timeline of success stories on Twitter. See all the outfits and read all the updates on Twitter with the hashtag #PurpleLightUp. Carry the spirit of the day forward, by asking what else our teams can do to improve working conditions for disabled employees.

Epilepsy awareness training for 2021

Did you know that over 10,000 people in Dorset have epilepsy? There are over 40 types of seizures. Would you know what to do if someone had a seizure? Come and find out more! Dorset Epilepsy Service has organised epilepsy awareness training for 2021. This is held in Poole and also Dorchester. Training is open to all NHS staff free of charge and suitable for everyone.

Dates are as follows:

Poole (St Mary's church centre) 2021

• Monday 18 January
• Monday 22 February
• Monday 15 March
• Monday 12 April
• Monday 10 May
• Monday 14 June
• Monday 13 September
• Monday 11 October
• Monday 8 November

Dorchester (Dorford Centre) 2021

• Monday 24 May
• Monday 29 November

Epilepsy awareness training runs from 9.30am-1pm and rescue medication training including buccal midazolam administration runs from 2-3.30pm. Places are limited. To book a place please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your name, place of work / title, contact number and preferred date.

View the staff bulletin from home

If you have team members who work from home or who work for the staff bank, please forward https://www.uhd.nhs.uk/news/our-publications/staff-bulletins to them so they can read the bulletin from home and keep updated with news from the trust.

Roadworks

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