InTouch magazine - April - May 2024

InTouch

Celebrating our professions April -

Alex Health

Community Diagnostic Centre

Foreword

Welcome to InTouch magazine – your insight into the latest news and updates from across PAHT.

As you will be aware following the recent announcement, I am moving on from PAHT to a new role as chief executive of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey at the end of July. It has been a privilege to be the chief executive at PAHT over the last seven years, and I will forever have so many memories from working here. You can read more on p.3.

We share the latest on our Community Diagnostic Centre at St Margaret’s Hospital, Epping, having reached the significant milestone of submitting our planning application (p.4).

Please take a look at the latest update on our new electronic health record (EHR), Alex Health, as we work towards one of the biggest transformation programmes PAHT has ever seen (p.5-6). We also congratulate the blood transfusion team on being recognised for patient safety in the top ten nationally (p.7).

Additionally, we encourage our nursing, midwifery and allied health professional colleagues to find out more about the Celebrating our professions conference on 13 May, highlighting your amazing contributions and the care you provide (p.8). We have launched the DAISY Awards this month for patients, families and colleagues to honour a nurse or midwife who has made a real difference too (p.9).

You can also read about Ann Nutt, chair of the Patient Panel, winning a prestigious award (p.11); the latest feedback from our patients (p.14); wellbeing tips (p.15), and much more.

I hope you enjoy the read.

Best wishes

Lance McCarthy Chief executive

Message from Hattie Llewelyn-Davies, chair

I have some important news to share with you all, and that is to let you know that Lance McCarthy our chief executive is moving on from PAHT to a new role as chief executive of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey. He leaves PAHT at the end of July.

Lance has led PAHT for seven years and in that time, with your support, has successfully moved PAHT out of CQC quality special measures; made us part of the New Hospital Programme and extended care for our patients. He has also put in place the PAHT2030 strategy that underpins our continued transformation and improvement plans to see us becoming an outstanding organisation.

Of course, we will all need to continue to be involved in the proactive challenges that PAHT faces; provide the best care for our patients; support our colleagues and strive to continue to make a difference through our PAHT2030 aims and plans.

I know that you will join me in congratulating Lance in his new role and thanking him for his positive leadership.

The recruitment of a new chief executive is underway and I will keep you updated.

Best wishes

Hattie Llewelyn-Davies Chair

Message from Lance McCarthy, chief executive

Dear all

Thank you, Hattie.

It has been a privilege to be the chief executive at PAHT over the last seven years, and I will forever have so many memories from working here; from coming out of CQC quality special measures, to being part of the New Hospitals Programme and managing our way through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to all of you, we now have lower mortality rates, lower readmission rates and treat more than 50,000 more patients every year. PAHT is a

different place now than it was in 2017, when I joined, with nearly 1,000 more colleagues, £150m more income annually and with more than £200m capital having been invested in our facilities.

The next seven years will see PAHT implement and embed a state-of-the-art electronic health record, Alex Health; increase partnership working and integration of local services, and build a fantastic new hospital, as part of our PAHT2030 strategy.

So many of you have rightly been recognised for your outstanding care and team working through local, regional, national and international awards, and I will be looking on at developments here from a distance with very fond memories, and a strong belief that PAHT will continue to develop services and continue to provide excellent care to our local communities.

Best wishes and thank you

Lance McCarthy Chief executive

Significant milestone reached in submitting planning application for Community Diagnostic Centre

We are pleased to share that we have reached a significant milestone in submitting the planning application for the Community Diagnostic Centre at St Margaret’s Hospital, Epping.

We submitted the application to Epping Forest District Council, which is now available for the public to view on the Epping Forest District Council website >

This follows the public consultation held in January. The Community Diagnostic Centre is part of our plans to support quicker and more local access to diagnostic tests close to patients’ homes.

Planned to be open from summer 2025, there will be extended opening times and additional equipment at the St Margaret’s Hospital CDC, including:

y Two additional computerised tomography (CT) scanners;

y Extended hours for X-rays;

y New ultrasound equipment;

y New cardiology equipment;

y New respiratory equipment;

y Relocated MRI scanner; and

y More phlebotomists to be recruited – increasing the number of blood tests that can be carried out

Additionally, as part of the CDC programme, the services

provided at Bishop’s Stortford Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Herts and Essex Hospital, Bishop’s Stortford, will include extended hours for cardiology, ultrasound and X-ray. Extended hours for non-obstetric (non-pregnancy) ultrasound have begun to be provided, with additional hours to be available this year (2024). There will also be additional hours for X-ray this year (2024).

Michael Meredith, director of strategy and estates at PAHT, said: “We are pleased to have reached this significant milestone by submitting our planning application for the Community Diagnostic Centre at St Margaret’s Hospital, Epping.

“I am so excited that we

continue to make such good progress with the development of outstanding facilities for the communities we serve. This is a big step towards our ambition for modern, integrated, and outstanding healthcare for our community. This is a significant investment in local services that will mean quicker and more local access to diagnostic tests for our patients.”

Photo one (top): An artist’s impression of the Community Diagnostic Centre at St Margaret’s Hospital (main entrance).

Photo two (below): An artist’s impression of the view of the Community Diagnostic Centre from the South Bungalow at St Margaret’s Hospital.

Alex Health: 27 weeks to go...

Alex Health training

sessions are now available to book online Staff training on Alex Health will take place from 12 August – 11 October.

The first four weeks of training sessions have just been released and are now available to book. Please note, this first release of training sessions applies to nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (AHPs) only.

Ward managers and matrons: please take responsibility for getting your teams booked onto their training. Ideally this should be done as soon as possible to allow for staff rotas and annual leave planning.

y Training can be accessed via a learning management system using the blue button below. The password is: alexhealth24!

y Please check the personal details for your team for any inaccuracies, making changes as necessary. And don't forget to apply these changes to the ESR records too

Booking instructions are on AlexNet > Please reach out with any questions. More training will be released soon, including for clinicians.

Spring into Alex Health

The two recent Spring into Alex Health days generated great engagement across the Trust across all four sites (pictured, overleaf). Thanks to

everyone who took the time to ask us questions and find out how Alex Health will transform our work.

First Look Fridays

First Look Fridays are your chance to see a live demo of our new electronic health record Alex Health in action.

Last week’s First Look Friday focused on the benefits in capacity management and patient flow including admission, transfer and discharge. This session was particularly useful for ward managers, clerks and nurses, as well as porters, cleaning and facilities staff.

If you missed it, all First Look Friday recordings are on AlexNet >

Team blog: Women’s health

Kirsty Savege, women’s health workstream lead on Alex Health has written a blog on how Alex Health will bring safety and efficiency benefits in women’s health.

This includes being able to clearly track every stage of a patient’s journey through the hospital so that clinical teams have immediate access to their full medical history and the care they’ve received.

You can read Kirstie’s blog here >

Pictured: Spring into Alex Health...

Blood transfusion team recognised for patient safety in top ten hospitals nationally

The blood transfusion team at PAHT has been recognised as 9th nationally for patient safety.

The NHS Blood and Transplant informatics team have compiled data from national comparative audits to determine this achievement; which has been made possible thanks to the hard work and commitment of the transfusion department team, particularly over the past 18 months.

This indicates that for patients at PAHT, the transfusion process is among the safest in the country. All aspects of the blood transfusion process were analysed, from sample collection, blood specimen receipt to processing, blood provision and transfusion of blood and blood components.

The blood transfusion team are focused on a high degree

of governance and oversight of all transfusion processes, and a comprehensive training programme.

They issue over 9,000 blood and blood components yearly, with approximately 170 per week. They have eight core team members, supported by colleagues across the hospital including laboratory staff, doctors, nurses, midwives, porters and more.

In February, the department also had confirmation of UKAS accreditation for ISO15189:2012, another representation of the high quality standards achieved.

Luke Groves, transfusion laboratory manager, said: “The recognition of this achievement has validated the team’s hard work and determination to provide the safest journey for our patients.

“Thank you to all of the team for your ongoing commitment.”

Fay Gilder, medical director, added: “I am extremely proud of the blood transfusion team for the outstanding service they provide to our patients.

“Patient safety is paramount and this recognition is testament to our patients being at the heart of their service.”

Celebrating our professions conference 2024

On Monday 13 May we will host our Celebrating our professions conference from 9:30am to 4pm in the Lecture Theatre at the Learning and Education Centre to celebrate our nurses, midwives, health care support workers and allied health professionals (AHPs). The event will give us the opportunity to highlight the contribution of all our professions, and reflect on the vital care that they provide.

We are keen to celebrate and shine the spotlight on our amazing nurses, midwives, health care support workers and AHPs who are committed to delivering high quality care every day.

A huge thank you to all for your care, compassion and skill over the last year, which has been particularly busy and challenging with an increasing demand for our services.

Annual awards –nominations now open Our annual awards ceremony will also take place, starting at 4pm in the Lecture Theatre at the Learning and Education Centre.

Nominations are now open for you to recognise colleagues and teams from across nursing, midwifery and AHPs in the following categories:

y Team of the year

y Midwife of the year

y Nurse of the year

y Allied health professional of the year

y Maternity support worker of the year

y Healthcare support worker of the year

y Rising star

y Inspiring leader

To nominate a colleague/team for one of the awards listed below, please complete the short nomination form using this link here >

For further information visit the dedicated workspace on AlexNet here >

Special DAISY Awards programme launched to recognise nurses and midwives

On Friday 12 April we announced the launch of the DAISY Awards® programme for patients, families and colleagues to honour a nurse or midwife who has made a real difference.

The DAISY Awards® aim to shine the spotlight on nurses and midwives who go the extra mile to ensure that their patients receive high quality care and experiences and the announcement of the first winner will coincide with International Day of the Midwife (5 May) and International Nurses' Day (12 May).

The DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an auto-immune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired the family to create the awards programme to express their gratitude for the profound difference they made during a very distressing time.

Sharon McNally, chief nurse and deputy chief executive, said: "We are encouraging patients, visitors and staff to nominate midwives and nurses as part of the DAISY Awards® programme throughout the year. Each month, nominations are read and scored by the judging panel using a criteria that focuses on putting the patient at the heart of everything we do and aligns with our overarching vision, goals and values of the trust.

"Winners will be presented with a DAISY Awards® certificate, a beautiful hand carved Healer's Touch Sculpture from Zimbabwe, a pin badge, a copy of their nomination and a gift bag. They will then be eligible for numerous professional development, education and wellness benefits as part of the DAISY Awards® programme.

"I'm incredibly proud of the clinical and compassionate care that our nurses and midwives provide. This is a great platform to say a heartfelt thank you to exceptional individuals who go above and beyond and we look forward to awarding and recognising our first winner."

Find out more via the dedicated DAISY Awards® AlexNet workspace >

Pay date is changing

From June 2024 the monthly pay date for all staff directly employed by PAHT is changing from the 28th day of the month to the 24th

We are paid for the full month on the pay date and this stays the same. This change will not impact your standard pay each month.

The reason for bringing the date forward is to allow more working days for our payroll team to process any additional payments due before the end

of the month. The 2nd of the month will be the payroll cut off date for each month.

When the 2nd falls on a weekend or bank holiday, payroll cut off is the preceding working day of each month.

If the 24th day of the month falls on a weekend or bank holiday, then, as now, the pay date will be the preceding working day.

If you have any questions, please contact paht. peopleinformation@nhs. net or read the your questions answered sheet >

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) requests now open for 2024-25

As part of our ongoing commitment to professional development and growth, we have now opened the window for the new Continuous Professional Development (CPD) requests. All line managers have been sent instructions on how to submit these requests. The deadline is Friday 31 May

Note: budgets are expected to be confirmed late June/July and all requests are subject to funding availability and final approval from our CPD team.

For a CPD request to be eligible for consideration you must:

y Be fully compliant on your appraisal and statutory and mandatory training

y

y Ensure it is relevant for your professional development and the needs of your service/department

An example CPD request can:

y Be in the form of a course, qualification, webinar, conference/seminar, inhouse training or workshop

y The learning from the request can be to develop your:

y Technical skills such as clinical, digital, workplace

competencies etc.

y Soft skills such as communication techniques, teamworking, personal resilience, management and leadership etc.

Please take this time to reflect on your current role, your career aspirations, and any areas where you feel additional training or development would be beneficial and discuss these with your line manager. Once you have identified your training needs, your manager will need to submit your CPD requests using the designated template by Friday 31 May

If you have any questions, you can email the CPD team: paht. cpd@nhs.net.

Chair of Patient Panel wins NHS Unsung Hero Award

Ann Nutt, chair of the PAHT Patient Panel, has won an NHS Unsung Hero Award in the category of Individual Volunteer of the Year. The awards aim to shine a spotlight on the extraordinary contributions of non-clinical and non-medical NHS colleagues and volunteers.

Ann won the award for her contributions to putting patients at the heart of all the hospital does. She has generously given her time to chair the Patient Panel over the last 10 years. The Patient Panel is a group of local people who volunteer their time and skills to work with the hospital on improving the overall experience for patients.

Sharon McNally, chief nurse and deputy chief executive, said: “I’m delighted that Ann has won the NHS Unsung Hero Award, this is testament to her passion and commitment to support our hospital, our patients, their loved ones and the wider NHS. The Patient Panel at PAHT is highly respected both within and outside of the trust and Ann has been at the forefront of its success.

“Ann works tirelessly for the wellbeing of patients; organising conferences to raise awareness of health issues in the local community and collaborates with staff on patient-focused initiatives. She also sits on interview panels and organises celebratory tea

parties for patients. A huge congratulations Ann and thank you for all that you do.”

Reflecting on her award win, Ann said: “I was surprised and delighted when I heard I had been nominated for the award. I had a mixture of emotions, at first, I was surprised and excited, then nervous, but most of all proud to have made it to the final five nationally.

“I attended the awards evening in Manchester, which was a fantastic evening. There was a mix of celebrations and inspirational talks, including one by Aaron Phipps, Paralympian wheelchair rugby player, who was part of the team who won the gold

medal in the 2012 London Paralympics. As the awards evening progressed, I was in awe of the winning teams and individuals and their stories. As they read out the finalists in my category, I was not expecting to win – it’s safe to say I was speechless when my name was called out as the winner.

“Winning the award was such a special moment that I will treasure, especially being able to celebrate with my family in attendance. I’m incredibly proud of this achievement and thoroughly enjoy all aspects of working with my team, colleagues at PAHT, patients, visitors and the local community.”

Dedicated teams relaunch sepsis and acute kidney injury champions day

The sepsis and acute kidney injury (AKI) champions day relaunched on Friday 22 March in support of raising awareness of sepsis and AKI. The day included the following:

Sepsis in my family

The day began with a presentation about sepsis, by Dr Andrea Annoni, associate medical director and clinical lead for sepsis. Colleagues then shared their experiences of sepsis through a new sharing concept called ‘sepsis in my family’ which highlighted the importance of early detection of sepsis and AKI.

y Eva Nkansah, haematology lead biomedical scientist, shared her experience of developing maternal sepsis. Eva’s survival led to her developing the blood culture pack within the trust to help prevent delays in diagnosis of sepsis.

y Marie Parsons, clinical lead for AKI, shared how she sadly lost her sister to sepsis due to a missed diagnosis. This encouraged Marie to develop sepsis polices and protocols in line with national guidelines with the wider hospital team where her sister died (not PAHT).

y Carrie Cole, band 6 nurse in Henry Moore Ward, shared how she sadly lost her mum from urosepsis in

y the elderly. Carrie’s story shared how vital it is to update and communicate about the status of deterioration within the first hour and she volunteered to be part of the sepsis awareness for the trust.

y Aan Rachel Easo.K, lead nurse for sepsis and AKI, shared how she has cared for her daughter who had repeated episodes of sepsis, due to a missed diagnosis and generalisation of symptoms, and how this inspired her to dedicate her role to raising sepsis awareness.

Poster competition

Groups were given 45 minutes to create a sepsis awareness poster with limited resources. Four posters were created and the winners were awarded by the judges Janice Bernardo, Older Person’s Assessment and Liaison Unit lead, and Polly Read, associate director of nursing for urgent and emergency care.

Sepsis in children and adolescents

Katie Ayers, practice development High Dependency Unit (HDU) nurse, highlighted the importance of identifying sepsis in children

and adolescents though a series of activities and case studies.

AKI

Dr Marie Parsons and Dr Sophie Cooper held a session that focused on the early identification of AKI and the importance of fluid charts and the FLUIDS management tool. Dr Parsons shared her story of how she acquired an AKI following the birth of her son.

Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified as one of the most pressing global challenges we face this century. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats, and AMR is listed on the UK Government’s national risk register. Jessica Mann, antimicrobial specialist technician, held a

Help shape improvements for end of life care

training session on common antibiotic errors, the vitality of AMR awareness, and the importance of following the trust antibiotic guidelines to reduce AMR.

Resources

Thank you to the library team who set up a table with NICE guidelines and sepsis/AKI resources.

The National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) aims to understand the delivery of end of life care across the UK, how they can support the ongoing development of care and provide support to our people, patients and those important to them.

Please take the time to complete the short survey via this link - the survey will close on 30 June.

The survey questions may bring back strong memories and emotions, and you might find some of the questions difficult to answer. If you feel upset or distressed, you do not have to continue with the survey, or you can stop and complete it later.

The information you provide in the survey is anonymous and confidential.

Thank you for taking part in the survey - your input will help ensure that the best possible care can be delivered to people at the end of life and those close to them.

InTouch briefing: NHS Staff Survey results recording

As you know, our NHS Staff Survey results, which were published on 7 March, showed our highest response rate ever at PAHT that put us 5% above the average response rate for acute and community trusts.

We also have improved in all seven of the NHS People Promises with a significant improvement in six of the seven. This is thanks to everyone and is great feedback. The detailed results also show significant variations in experiences from across PAHT – the InTouch briefing on 12 April was an opportunity to find out more about our ongoing plans for improvement.

We took a look at our results and importantly, our next steps to put your feedback into action and making these actions part of everyday. You can watch the recording of the briefing via this link >

Our patients said...

"Thank you for looking after my mum in A&E who had fallen and lacerated her hand and arm. We were there for one hour and 20 minutes - excellent and compassionate care that was delivered swiftly."

"I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the staff that looked after my son in the emergency department, the Day Surgery Unit and Penn Ward recently when he fractured his knee. I can't thank you enough for all that you do."

"I had my birth reflections meeting and left feeling super grateful for the amazing care I received from booking the appointment to discharge.

"My birthing plan was honoured, my concerns were heard and the care was consistent and compassionate. Thank you."

Wise about wellbeing

While you are caring for our patients, or supporting those who provide care, it is extremely important to remember to focus on your wellbeing and to check in with your colleagues too.

There are a wide variety of resources available to you to support your health and wellbeing. Each month, we share practical information and tips as part of our wise about wellbeing feature. In April, we are focusing on Stress Awareness Month.

This year, Stress Awareness Month has the theme #LittleByLittle. This aims to highlight the transformative impact that consistent, small and positive actions can have on your overall wellbeing. The Stress Management Society are keen to emphasise how even the smallest steps taken each day towards self-care and stress reduction can result in significant improvements in mental health over time. They encourage you to focus on making manageable adjustments to your daily routine. While the impact of small actions on their own may seem little, the cumulative effects of these habits can end up being profound. You can find out more here >

Our staff health and wellbeing team are also proud to have supported us to achieve the third and final level of the Working Well accreditation. To achieve this level of the accreditation, the team provided further evidence of 10 key actions that showcased how we are promoting, educating and supporting staff health and wellbeing at PAHT. The accreditation recognises our robust health and wellbeing strategy and commitment to providing a varied programme in order to support and develop our people further. Thank you to all involved.

You can access details of the full range of health and wellbeing resources on the staff health and wellbeing workspace on AlexNet >

Welcome to our new #PAHTPeople

In the last month, 67 new #PAHTPeople have joined us:

Abdulwarith

Abdulfatah

Frank Acquaah

Abisodun Adekoya

Ivy Adu

Olamide Afolayan

Chukwuemeka

Aharauka

Naveed Ahmad

Pauline Akoh

Ahmad Alkanas

Ajay Asokan

Ayushi Ayushi

Daas Bandara

Kerry Barron

Daniel Batoon

John Bowhill

Enver Caliskan

Anu Chandran

Harriet Doran

Andreas Fontalis

Anthony Garnett

Rory Gleeson

Karen Grant

Amalia Green

Barbara Hannay

Raashad Hasan

Maria Jericah

Natasha Hernandez

Elizabeth Hines

Rosa Hodgkinson

Elaine Huggett

Ekene Imoh

Jerin James

Ajith Kattuvalliyil

Surendran

Sandeep Kumar

Vandana Luthra

Ahmed Mahmoud

Huma Mansoori

Katharine Marsh

Nisha Mathew

Janette Mauro

Stefani Metodieva

Kerry Milczarek

Ifeoma Mofunanya

Christopher

Nwalozie

Joseph O'Connor

Odueki Okojie

Gbenga Olaniyan

Atinuke Olukoya

Dorothy Opoku

Beverly Osei

Ilie Petrea

Rhoda Quaye

Renjith

Raghavakurup

Rudra Roy

Mohamed Saleem

Anna Skrzypczyk

Ramkumar

Sreenivasan

Jennifer Stanley

Christopher Strong

Superna Tandon

Emma Telfer-Maleary

Jaison Thankachan

Zoe Turvill

Nicole Tyler

Neha Upreti

Raju Varghese-Titus

Fahas Vattiyam

Veettil

Naomi Woodington

In this time, 45 people have left PAHT - thank you for supporting our patients and our people.