Edition December 2017

Transcription

1 Edition December

2 In this issue 3 Flu Fighter 4 HCSW spreads festive joy 5 Health Visiting maintains baby friendly status 8 Winter Wonderland snaps 10 Trust Board Matters 11 Care Certificate success From the Top 6 Staff Profile 12 User/carer experience certificates The festive period is a good time to reflect on the achievements and challenges which we have experienced as an organisation during the past 12 months but also look forward. As an organisation we have a lot to be proud of and the most notable achievement is the continued commitment and determination to delivery high quality and patient centred care which staff show on a day to day basis. conditions with snow and ice making travel conditions difficult. However, we are pleased that services remained functional and once again staff worked hard to ensure that they got to work. Be assured that your efforts during the bad weather did not go unnoticed by the Trust Board or the local communities who benefit from the care and support which you provide. During the last week this has been highlighted even more so as we have experienced significant pressures within the local health and social care system. Despite the relentless pressures staff have put forward heroic efforts to deliver the best for the patients and service users whom they serve. As Chairman and Chief Executive we would like to personally thank every member of staff for your willingness to go the extra mile and making sure that services remain resistant and sustainable. We appreciate that you are all working in difficult and sometimes stressful situations and for that we want to sincerely thank you for your continued support in caring for patients and service users. As you will be aware in December the Trust opened Brighton House as a short stay nursing facility. A group of colleagues from both SSOTP and SSSFT worked collaboratively on this project and were given only a short number of weeks to implement substantial changes to put Brighton House in a position where patients would receive safe, quality nursing care. Brighton House is now a vibrant environment which is supporting people to become well enough to go back to the place which they call home. The collaborative effort which was put into this project is a true representation of successful coproduction and a piece of work that we are both exceptionally proud of. In addition Brighton House is now playing a key part in supporting our acute colleagues to move patients into suitable care settings within the community and has very quickly become a valuable service across the local health and social care system. Earlier in the month many areas across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent experienced treacherous weather As Chairman and Chief Executive we are both very aware that there is and will continue to be significant change within the organisation as the proposed merger between SSSFT and SSOTP progresses. With this in mind it is important that all staff read updates which are sent via the Better Together newsletter and the Better Together website. Any staff with additional questions should speak with their line manager or submit questions to bettertogether@ssotp.nhs.uk. During this period of change we are pleased that many staff took the opportunity to complete the Staff Survey which closed on 1st December. The organisation successfully reached its target and this important feedback will ensure that senior leaders can review how to make your working environment a positive, engaging and happy place to be. Thank you to everyone who took the time to have their say. Looking forward, next year will provide opportunities to work in different ways with both commissioners and partner organisations; how we plan for winter will be particularly important moving forward. We should take hold of these opportunities and make sure that we use them to provide better and more effective care for our local communities. Finally, we d like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and all the very best for the New Year and once again thank you for your hard work, commitment and passion over the past 12 months. Of course, some staff will be working over the festive period and for that we thank you and encourage you to find some time to enjoy the festive period with your loved ones. Neil Neil Carr Chief Executive David David Pearson Chairman 2

3 There s still time to get your flu jab to protect you through the winter! Organisational Leads from the Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England have jointly produced a letter headed Protect yourself. Protect your patients. Have a flu vaccination. The letter reminds colleagues about the importance of having their flu vaccination and a healthcare professional s duty to protect their patients and colleagues. Please take a moment to read the letter in full by clicking here. The run up to Christmas is a busy time and getting your flu jab may not have been first on the list, but don t forget that getting the jab in the new year will still protect you through the winter months. Protect yourself against flu. Frontline healthcare workers are more likely to be exposed to the influenza virus, particularly during the winter when some of their patients will be infected. It s estimated that up to one in four healthcare workers may become infected with influenza during a mild influenza season a much higher incidence than expected in the general population. Protect your patients against flu. Influenza is a highly contagious infection and the patient population is much more vulnerable to its severe effects. Healthcare workers may transmit the illness to patients even if only mildly infected. Protect your family against flu. Some healthcare workers, aware that they are more likely to become infected with influenza, get the flu vaccination to protect their family members, particularly young children or other relatives who may fall into at-risk groups. Advice from professional bodies. Immunisation against infectious disease (The Green Book), recommends that healthcare workers directly involved in patient care be vaccinated annually. It is also encouraged by the General Medical Council as part of good medical practice, and by the British Medical Association (BMA). Although infection control measures are vital and a good diet is encouraged, these actions alone will not prevent influenza; vaccination is the best option for protecting yourself, your family and vulnerable patients from the virus. A message to team leaders. It s really important that the Trust reports accurate vaccination figures. Please remember to complete e-forms for staff who have had their flu vaccination at their GP, pharmacy or other provider or declined vaccination. Make it easier for your team to be vaccinated; contact the IP&C team by at flufighter@ssotp.nhs.uk to arrange a team vaccination session. #FluFighter Jab-o-Meter 53.3% of our frontline staff members have had their vaccinations so far. 52.2% South directorate 50.7% North directorate 56.7% Specialist services 33.8% doctors and dentists 57.1% qualified nurses 53% other professionals and AHP s Become a #FluFighter! Get your free jab. flufighter@ssotp.nhs.uk to arrange your vaccination. 3

4 Health Care Support Worker aims to spread a little festive joy to elderly patients this Christmas Sophie Bertelsen, a health care support worker based at Meir Health Centre has appealed for help in her attempts to give elderly members of her local community a Christmas to remember. Sophie decided to launch a Christmas gift appeal after seeing some of her patients go without any gifts or company on Christmas Day in previous years. Sophie and her colleague Jodi Hill, who works in a local residential home, will visit patients and other elderly people in need of the appeal today, the 22nd of December to make their day a little more special by giving them some company and a gift. Sophie and Jodi appealed for donations of presents from the local community via Facebook posts. Donations received included biscuits, chocolates, some tinned food, juices and coffee and tea, fluffy socks, gloves, hats, dressing gowns and toiletry sets. Sophie said: I work in community nursing in the south of Stoke-on-Trent and for the last three years I ve seen some of my patients go without anything on Christmas Day and not see anybody but us. My friend Jodi and I would like to spend the day of the 22nd of December giving them a little company and a gift, just to add a little smile to their faces. I m really pleased and grateful for the response to this appeal for our precious patients. Rose Goodwin, Director of Nursing and Quality at the Trust said: It s great to see a member of our staff so passionate about the wellbeing of our patients and so determined to help spread some joy to the community at Christmas. The Trust fully supports Sophie in her appeal. Sophie and Jodi. 4

5 Health Visiting Service maintains Baby Friendly status The Trust s health visiting service has secured a significant achievement after it attained reaccreditation of its existing UNICEF baby friendly accreditation. UNICEF assessors spent two days with the SSOTP infant feeding team/health visiting service staff, interviewing staff and parents, reviewing policies, training data bases, training curriculums, operating processes and evidence to see if the organisation meets global UNICEF baby friendly standards of care. Assessors randomly selected members of the health visiting service and evaluated their breastfeeding knowledge and skills against the UNICEF standards. They also interviewed a number of mothers over the telephone, at child health clinics and breastfeeding support groups asking them about the information and care they had received from service staff both during the antenatal and postnatal period. A number of premises in GP surgeries, children s centres and health centres were also reviewed to ensure that we are providing a breastfeeding friendly welcome to families. Achievement of full UNICEF reaccreditation is recognition of best practice and the ongoing excellent standards of high quality care being delivered to parents, by members of the health visiting teams, and the community breastfeeding team (Stoke). Infant Feeding Lead Pauline Evans said: The assessors recognised the challenges presented to the service by the recent organisational changes, with significant changes to staff numbers and working patterns and deemed the reassessment outcome as outstanding with a strong management commitment to ensuring baby friendly standards are maintained. There was also recognition that mothers consistently reported how they valued the support received from their health visitor and appreciated the kindness shown, with a strong appreciation for the support and excellent job done by the health visiting team. The assessors also acknowledged and highly commended the UNICEF implementation team, Pauline Evans and Judith Brandrick for their hard work, together with keyworkers and with teams, to integrate the revised standards throughout reviewed documents and processes. During the assessment feedback session, assessors stated that they looked forward to and enjoyed being involved with assessments with SSOTP and suggested, that if desired, the Gold award should be undertaken within the next 12 months. Pauline added: A big thank you to everyone for their continued hard work in delivering such a high quality, highly commended service. 5

6 Staff Profile Sarah Castledine-Pearce, Paediatric Physiotherapy Assistant Practitioner This month we are focusing on the Assistant Practitioner Higher Level 5 Apprenticeship scheme run by the Trust in conjunction with University College Birmingham (UCB) and speaking to one of the successful graduates from that scheme, Sarah Castledine-Pearce. Sarah has worked for the Trust for 26 years and her role involves providing physiotherapy support for qualified paediatric physiotherapists, working as part of a team and as an autonomous practitioner in a variety of settings, working with 0-19 year olds. These settings include special and mainstream schools, clinics, homes, leisure centres and child development centres. Sarah said: Our patients have diverse needs, with a range of complexities, requiring many modalities of treatment, specialist services and advice. This can include exercise both individually and as groups, baby clinic re-assessment, Aquatherapy, serial casting and equipment provision, alteration and advice. In February 2016, Sarah was one of 10 members of staff who were the first to enrol on the Assistant Practitioner Higher Level 5 Apprenticeship Course which was designed to offer staff who had already achieved NVQ/QCF Level 3 and were working in the health and social care setting the opportunity to gain a Higher Level 5 Apprenticeship. This provides the skills and knowledge needed to perform advanced roles within clinical practice and lead others in adult health and social care provision. The course ran over 18 months and the structure had a balance between taught elements and facilitated learning in the workplace that provided flexibility and transferability between nursing, therapies and social care disciplines. Sarah said: Having worked in paediatric physiotherapy for 26 years, little did I realise how much the course would develop me personally and professionally when I started. It allowed me, after 26 years of experience, to stop and question everything I thought I knew. I can look now at more evidence-based practice as I have that research knowledge behind me which is really important for the patient care I can provide. Colleagues have also commented on how much my note taking has improved as I have become used to writing at a more academic level through the course. It has been lovely to come out of my box after 26 years and learn more skills to compliment my experience It has also given me more confidence and resilience to try and change things positively for my patients. Additionally the course has enabled me, with the support of SSOTP, to progress to be currently doing a BSc Hons in Applied Health and Social Care, opening up other avenues of professional development. If you have any questions about the course please Clare.Spencer@ssotp.nhs.uk 6

7 NHS STAFF SURVEY 2017 Thank you for having your say The Trust would like to thank staff for their participation in this year s NHS Staff Survey. 50.1% of staff completed the 2017 survey and had their say on what matters to them in their working life. In the corporate division, Finance had the top response rate with 91.2% of staff completing their survey. In the North the research team achieved the best response rate at 93.8%, in the South the Rehab team came out on top with 84.2% and in the Specialist division the Young Pregnancy Support Service (YPSS) were top performers with an 87.5% response rate. Well done to all! Results from the survey will be released in the new year and will be used to help shape future improvements across the Trust. Director of Workforce and Development, Julie Tanner said: We hugely value the feedback we receive from staff and it is vital we use the results from this survey to improve care for patients and working conditions for staff. I d like to thank everybody for taking the time to complete the survey, particularly recognising that this has come at a time of significant change within the organisation. The survey is run by the Picker Institute on behalf of the Trust and they will be contacting the winner of the Staff Survey prize draw to let them know they have won the prize of 100 high street vouchers. Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Community Respiratory teams celebrate World COPD Day To celebrate World COPD Day on Wednesday 15th November, the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team and Community Respiratory Team organised a patient centred event. Over 60 people attended the event, which consisted of talks from some of the agencies and services the teams work with. It was also a great opportunity to introduce a new technology to the team s COPD patients, an app called mymcopd, which is designed to help with the daily management and control of patient s symptoms. There was a great atmosphere at the event with plenty of information for patients to take away with them from agencies such as Healthy Minds, Breathe Easy, The Douglas Macmillan hospice, Beat the Cold and Singing for Lung Health. 7

8 Your winter wonderland snaps This month we put out the call for your best wintery photographs to feature on the Trust s Christmas E -Card and you did not disappoint! We have been inundated with some fantastic snaps following the recent snowfall so we thought we would share some of the best here. Thank you for taking part! Sarah Castledine-Pearce Chris Scullion Chris Scullion Sarah Castledine-Pearce Suzanne Andrews Susan Jackson Judith Brandrick Judith Brandrick Merry Christmas from the Track & Triage team too! Some of our teams also got into the spirit by sending out their own E-Cards this was the festive offering from the Track & Triage team 8

9 And the winner is This photo submitted by Lindsay Cary was chosen as the winning image for the Trust s Christmas E -Card. 9

10 Welcome to December s edition of Board Matters, my regular feature in The Word which helps give staff an overview of the discussions which take place during the Trust Board meeting. It was a pleasure to welcome to the meeting three members of staff from the Children s Speech and Language Therapy team based at Bentilee Neighbourhood Centre who told the board about the remarkable transformation in their service over the last few years which has seen them become nationally recognised for best practice and rated as Outstanding in their most recent Quality Review. Karin Evans, Sally Parkin and Janet Cooper spoke with tremendous passion about the service and the creation of Stoke Speaks Out. This is a multi-agency approach to tackling language deprivation in the city, which has been a national leader in early prevention and intervention, and has strong involvement from SSOTP s speech and language therapy service. Its reputation has also led to investment in the speech and language therapy team to lead a school readiness programme for the city. As a result of the first year of this work they have seen an increase in the number of children aged 2 to 5 years on track with their language skills from only 35% to 54%. This brilliant work was highlighted when I was honoured to be in attendance, along with some of the team, at the Stoke City football ground in late November when Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall met with school children who had benefitted from the programme. I saw first-hand just how well regarded the team are across the local health system and they deserve to be applauded for their fantastic work. these projects around quickly and I would like to thank everyone involved for helping to make this happen. The Board heard some extremely positive news this month with it being confirmed that the Trust has been awarded the Children and Young People s Health and Wellbeing programme (0-19) contract by Staffordshire County Council. Well done and congratulations to all staff within the Trust who worked extremely hard to develop this bid. It was also great to hear we have now had confirmation that SSOTP and SSSFT have been given approval from NHS Improvement to proceed with the Full Business Case for the proposed merger, keeping everything on track for the new Trust to launch on April 1st The safe staffing report was delivered by Associate Director of Quality, Karen Urbicki. Assurance was received that safe staffing was maintained during October and I would like to thank staff for their commitment on a day-to-day basis. Director of Finance and Resources, Jayne Deaville presented the monthly finance paper and I was happy to see we are still on track to deliver the 10m deficit plan by year end. We are reporting an actual YTD deficit of 6.1m at the end of Month 7. The position is 2.4m below the planned deficit of 8.5m. Finally, this is my last column before Christmas and of 2017 so I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The Board received the Chief Executive s report from Neil Carr. He informed the board about the work the Trust is doing to support the local health system and particularly our colleagues in the acute Trust as we see winter pressures begin to take hold. Neil informed us that the Trust is providing 25 short stay general nursing care home beds at Brighton House and Jackfield Ward at Haywood will come back into our permanent estate to support the urgent care model in North Staffordshire. It is clear that a lot of hard work has taken place to turn David David Pearson Chairman 10

11 Leanne Sandford, Natalie Cocksedge and Cindy Glover Care Certificate success for the SPA team Natalie Cocksedge, Cindy Glover and Leanne Sandford are three intrepid Social Care Assessors from the Single Point of Access (SPA) team in Lichfield and Tamworth, who recently took on the challenge of the Care Certificate. Although primarily aimed at social care workers employed in care settings, this 12 module course was found transferable to the role of social care assessor. Included in the course is a work book which requires the learner to document competence areas, personalisation outcomes, safeguarding, risk assessment and other areas related to work within a social care environment. Daniel Keeler, Advanced Social Work Practitioner, who undertook the role of Buddy commented: This has been a great opportunity for us to question together why we do what we do on a daily basis in responding to adults with complex needs both in screening and assessment of need and what policies, procedures and frameworks lie behind the decisions made. I have been very impressed at the level of commitment from all three individuals, balancing the day job, with completing the modular course. I would certainly recommend the course. Natalie Cocksedge had this to say about completing the course: I found the Care Certificate very useful and it was good to look at the 15 standards set out in health and social care in detail, which helped provide additional skills, further my knowledge, identify additional training needs and ensure a compassionate, safe, high quality of person centred care is applied in my job role. I really enjoyed completing the qualification and would highly recommend it to health and social care staff. Cindy Glover added: Via the Care Certificate I have been able to transfer previous experience gained in residential settings and ensure knowledge, skills and experience are refreshed. On completing the course, Leanne Sandford said: I was initially very sceptical about the Care Certificate as I didn t feel I would learn anything from it. However this was not the case and I found that I actually learnt or refreshed a great deal of information and enjoyed doing it. For further information about the Care Certificate, please contact Joanne Hancock on: or Joanne.Hancock@ssotp.nhs.uk 11

12 User/Carer Experience In November 2017 the Partnership Trust received 3106 Service User and Carer Experience surveys and comment cards for real time reporting about their experience of the treatment and care they received. There is a great deal of hard work involved from all staff to ensure we can collect this feedback. The Experience Team would like to recognise the teams from November s award scheme. GOLD is awarded to Home First - Moorlands For the completion of their monthly target sample of Service User and Carer experience surveys Achieving a Friends and Family Test score of 100% of respondents who would recommend the service SILVER is awarded to Falls Prevention Team South For the completion of their monthly target sample of Service User and Carer experience surveys Achieving a Friends and Family Test score of 100% of respondents who would recommend the service BRONZE is awarded to Meir, ILCT District Nursing For the completion of their monthly target sample of Service User and Carer experience surveys Achieving a Friends and Family Test score of 100% of respondents who would recommend the service Congratulations to each of the teams. Each team will receive a signed certificate to acknowledge their achievement

13 Art at the Haywood Patients, visitors and staff at the Haywood Hospital were able to view a unique display of art created by patients in late November. Art at the Haywood was a display of work in various forms created by patients who have been recovering on the Scotia, Sneyd and Broadfield wards. The artwork was created under the supervision of art action therapist, Briege Cullinane who has worked on the project for over 10 years. Briege said: The range and quality of the works reflects the numerous and complicated diagnosis experienced by patients involved. Hopefully the determination and resilience of these patients can be seen in each of these very individual works. Diverse mediums have been applied to the creation of the works from acrylic to watercolour paint, plaster and others. The display also included clay pieces made by patients in 2016 at clay therapy workshops, positioned into a work entitled Movement in Clay by Haywood Foundation project manager, June Brammar. Important Reminders ESR Downtime Due to updates the ESR system will be unavailable from 12pm on Wednesday 27th December 2017 until 8am on 2nd January During this period you will be unable to access the following in ESR: Manager Self Service, Employee Self Service and e-learning. If there are any queries in relation to your pay you should contact SBS Payroll on The ESR Team will not be in the office during the period and any queries will be dealt with upon their return on the 2nd January The Better Together newsletter with regular updates and information regarding the work taking place to formally bring SSOTP and SSSFT together can be found at 13

14 Thank You A Social Worker who is a member of the Codsall, Perton and Bilbrook Integrated Local Care Team received a letter of thanks form a service user: "We would like to show our appreciation and thanks she has been empathic, kind and efficient. With each contact with her we have felt that she has given her best attention to the situation and has produced a considered and understanding response. The Social Workers care for my dad and the family has ensured we are able to move forward at this difficult time with security and optimism. Thank you." The Community Breastfeeding Service in the North has received praise this month, including: Many thanks for your extraordinary input into our lives during the first few weeks of baby's life. At 11 weeks old now still ongoing and LOVING the breastfeeding!" A Paediatric Dietitian based at Sir Robert Peel Hospital in Tamworth received a thank you card from a patient's Mum: Thank you for all your help and advice. You are always extremely helpful, friendly, knowledgeable and professional and take time to listen. I have never felt rushed. Thanks again and best wishes." A Nurse based in the End of Life/Palliative team in Cannock received thanks this month: "We would all like to thank her from the bottom of our hearts for all the support she gave dad and us. Nurse was there from the beginning of dad s diagnosis and at the end. Dad thought the world of her and often asked when she was next coming. Nurse was definitely someone dad opened up to. We can't thank her enough. Her regular visits to Dad made his diagnosis that little easier to understand and cope with. Please pass on our sincere heartfelt thanks for her understanding, loyalty, kindness and support. The Community Occupational Therapy service based at Bradwell Hospital received positive feedback from a patient s daughter in law. She stated that within a matter of a week of the OT receiving the referral, the patient is confident enough to get out of bed on her own again, make her way downstairs and this morning was even attempting making her own breakfast. The OT was not only responsive to the needs of the patient but the service was delivered with a smile. The increased independence of the patient has eased the worry for the family and they can't believe that their mum has got her spark back! The Podiatry team based in Fenton Health Centre received a letter of thanks from a patient: I must say that I had first class treatment during surgery and was well informed before and after surgery. I was treated by Podiatrist AS and the lady assistant who works alongside her. Please pass on my thanks to the both of them. First class ladies." The staff of Broadfield Ward at Haywood Hospital received thanks from the husband of a patient: My wife spent more than five months on Broadfield Ward. Her care was exemplary. The atmosphere in the unit was very warm and friendly but underneath the family environment it was clear that there was a well-trained and committed ethos. The rehab services from the therapists were frequent and targeted and the clinical involvement of the medical staff was obvious, as was any necessary access to the services of the main hospital. We really can't speak too highly of the care my wife received, especially as she has had such a successful outcome from such a serious condition." The Speech and Language Therapy team based in the Moorlands received thanks: "Thank you so much for your support with E over the last few years. She has totally transformed from a withdrawn, shy, young lady unable to communicate socially, to a socially confident young lady. This has enabled her to build a circle of friends and to have an extremely active social life. I would also like to loudly applaud the outcomes of the Speech Therapy Social Group. All of the participants not only developed their speech and language skills but developed ongoing friendships. The Living Independently Staffordshire team based in Tamworth and Lichfield received a note of appreciation from a service user and his wife: l would like to pass on a sincere thank you to the staff as we have found each and every one extremely helpful, polite and caring - and don't think we could have managed without them." Staff can now log their own compliments on the Safeguard database. Please click here for a guide on entering compliments from patients/service users. When forwarding compliments please ensure specific details of the message are included so that all messages can be passed on, and credit can be given, to the correct teams.