WCT For You - Winter 2014

Local residents take the lead to live healthier lifestyles!

Full story page 12.

Wider NHS Focus

NHS England - an overview.

- page 4

Our New Values What we stand for, believe in and are passionate about.

- page 10

Nursing Strategy Delivering high quality, compassionate care with pride.

- page 16

Getting To Know You

Sandra Christie, Director of Quality and Nursing.

- page 21

Comment Simon Gilby Chief Executive

Welcome Let me first wish you all a happy new year and welcome you to this 2014 winter edition of foryou, the magazine for all our staff, members and volunteers.

This edition is jam packed full of information, stories and updates on what we have been doing and our plans for 2014. The launch of our Livewell Programme (page 12), Nursing Strategy (page 16) and refresh of the trust’s values (page 10) are three key features in this edition that reflect the commitment and the drive across the trust to do things well and strive to be the best organisation we can be.

Also in this edition I’m delighted to be able to thank the work of Wirral HeartBeat, the charity that has for over 20 years supported the trust and enabled us to invest in vital cardiac equipment and resources. A special thanks to the four retiring trustees of Wirral HeartBeat (see page 6).

I have in recent weeks been privileged to attend national award ceremonies and have been thrilled to see our Speech & Language Therapists and Continence Service recognised (page 15). It was great to see so many examples of committed NHS staff doing great things to improve the care of those who depend on our NHS services across the country.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

News Bites

3

NHS England

4

Volunteers

6

A Day in the Life

8

Stop the Pressure

9

Our New Values

10

FEATURE The Livewell Programme

12

One Patient One Record

14

CQC Inspections

15

Nursing Strategy

16

Trust News

18

Getting To Know You

21

Health and Wellbeing

22

Brain Training

23

So much of what I see as I visit our services measures up very well to these examples of national best practice and I am looking forward to our own ForYou Thank You staff awards on 27 February, where for a second year we will celebrate and recognise the hard work of individuals and teams across the trust.

And finally, the new year is a time to reflect on the last 12 months and look forward to what we hope to achieve in the year ahead. Many people I know will be making New Year’s resolutions this month to improve their health and wellbeing. I am confident that as a trust we will continue to provide quality care for the health and wellbeing of our patients and customers, invest in our staff ensuring that we are for you and with you in 2014.

PUBLICATION DETAILS Published by: Communications and Marketing, Wirral Community NHS Trust.

SUBMISSION DETAILS If you would like to submit an idea for an article, please contact:

Follow me on twitter @SimonGilby_WCT

foryou Communications and Marketing Wirral Community NHS Trust Old Market House Hamilton Street Birkenhead Wirral CH41 5AL E: communications@wirralct.nhs.uk

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News Bites

NewsBites

DRY JANUARY

Safe Staffing Programme

Staffing levels was a key topic in the Francis Report and is high on the national agenda. The National Quality Board has published “How to ensure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time” which sets out ten expectations that all NHS Trusts must achieve – one of these relates to safe staffing. We have started working on a Safe Staffing Programme to enable us to identify and monitor appropriate staffing levels based on demand, complexity and priority of patients. More in the next edition…

Flu Fighters

We are absolutely delighted with the response from staff to the 2013 staff seasonal flu campaign and were thrilled to have been named as one of the top five performing NHS trusts nationally and the top performing community trust in September and October.

The campaign officially ended with 835 members of staff being vaccinated.

Thanks to everyone who made this a great success.

Children in Need

During the crazy events that staff participated in for Children in Need the trust raised a total of £354.73. Staff and departments went Pudsey crazy. Ashley Zepeda, HR project support advisor hoola hooped for two hours non-stop, raising an incredible £146.49. The newly launched Livewell Programme brought in their childhood photos in a guess the baby competition raising £45.34. Other events included a Pudsey fun run competition, cake sale, book sale and a line of pennies stretching from one end of the office right across the building. If you participated in Children in Need tell us about it and send in your pictures to: communications@wirralct.nhs.uk

Tell us what YOU think…

We’d love to hear what you think about the magazine and what you’d like to see.

If you’ve got any comments, ideas or suggestions please get in touch using the postal address or email opposite.

Our Livewell team are challenging people to stay alcohol free in January as part of Alcohol Concern’s Dry January campaign.

For more information visit www.dryjanuary.org.uk or call the Livewell team on 0151 630 8383.

DID YOU KNOW? A glass of wine has similar calories to a slice of cake

A pint of bitter has similar calories to a slice of pizza

=

A spirit and coke has similar calories to half a doughnut

=

=

UNITS AND CALORIES Daily unit guidelines: 1 unit = 10ml of pure alcohol

3-4 units

=

2-3 units

1.5 pints of beer (4% vol)

=

174ml glass of wine (14% vol)

Bottle red wine (13% vol)

250ml glass red wine (13% vol)

Lager pint (5% vol)

Spirit shot (40% vol)

Gin and tonic (37.5% vol)

600 cal

200 cal

233 cal

61 cal

108 cal

9.8 units

3.3 units

2.8 units

1 units

0.9 units

REDUCE YOUR INTAKE Opt for smaller measures

Find an alternative to alcohol to relieve stress

Set yourself a limit before you start drinking

3-4 units 2-3 units for the facts about alcohol drinkaware.co.uk Winter 2014 foryou

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Wider NHS Focus

NHS England As the commissioning of health services changes, we explain how it works and the central role of NHS England. But what exactly do we mean by commissioning in the NHS? It’s the process of planning, agreeing and monitoring a service and in the case of health services it involves assessing the health needs of the population, designing services that will meet those needs, writing service specifications, negotiating contracts and continuous quality assessment.

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Wider NHS Focus

NHS England is central to the new commissioning structure managing and allocating the £95.6bn budget for healthcare services in England. It has a number of specific roles, these are to:

• provide national leadership for

improving outcomes and driving up the quality of care

• oversee the operation of the 211

• allocate resources to clinical commissioning groups

• directly commission primary care and specialist services

It operates nationally and includes four regional teams and 27 area teams. Wirral Community NHS Trust is in the area overseen by Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral area team.

clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)

1. preventing people from dying prematurely 2. supporting people to be as independent and healthy as possible if they live with a long-term condition

NHS England North

South

London

Midlands & East

Nine teams

Seven teams

Three teams

Eight teams

Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral area team

Overseeing CCGs NHS England allocates £65bn of the budget to CCGs who commission planned hospital care, rehabilitative care, urgent and emergency care (including out-of-hours contracts with external providers and A&E), most community health services, maternity services, mental health services and learning disability services.

It supports the CCGs to develop by providing information and guidance but their role is also to ensure CCGs are meeting their obligations, operating within their budgets and engaging effectively with the local population.

Directly commissioned services NHS England is responsible for commissioning £27.2bn worth of services directly and will hold around 35,000 contracts for: • specialised and highly specialised services* - rare conditions – eg cystic fibrosis - heart and lung transplants - cancer

NHS Outcomes framework So how is success measured?

The NHS Outcomes framework has been developed at a national level and provides NHS England with a way of measuring the actual outcomes being achieved for the population of England. It shows whether the NHS is:

- infectious blood diseases (eg HIV) - specialised mental health services and secure psychiatric services - trauma - complex women and children

3. helping people to recover from episodes of ill health or following injury 4. ensuring that people have a positive experience of care 5. treating and caring for people in a safe environment; and protecting them from avoidable harm Further reading: NHS Guide to the healthcare system in England (published May 2013).

Putting patients first – NHS England business plan 2013-16.

• paediatric cancer, complex gynaecological services, intensive care • primary care services (GP, dental, pharmacy and opticians) • out-of-hours primary care for GP practices delivering out of hours contracts • prison healthcare services • services for members of the armed forces On behalf of Public Health England, NHS England also commissions some public health services including: • immunisation and national screening programmes • public health services for offenders in custody • sexual assault referral centres • public health services for children aged 0-5 which includes health visiting

Visit: www.england.nhs.uk *Specialised services are those provided in relatively few hospitals, accessed by comparatively small numbers of patients but with catchment populations of more than one million.

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Volunteers

Recognising the fantastic contribution of...

Wirral HeartBeat

Wirral Heart Support Service, based at St. Catherine’s Health Centre, held an event on Friday 22 November to officially open the Derek Noble Suite and thank local charity Wirral HeartBeat who work in close harmony with the Heart Support Service.

L to R: Heartbeat Chairman, Ian Carson with Frieda Rimmer, Heart Support Service lead and Frances Street, Chairman.

Wirral HeartBeat provides invaluable support to patients accessing the Heart Support Service.

They are a key support network for people with heart conditions, and volunteer their time and host a range of events to raise money to: • buy specialist exercise equipment for the heart service gym • purchase a Cardiac ultrasound scanner • fund a full time Heart Failure Nurse and part time Cardiac Rehabilitation Nurse post • provide refreshments to people attending the heart centre programmes • set up and run seven outreach gyms to help people continue regular access after completing the cardiac rehabilitation programme Frieda Rimmer, Heart Support Service Lead, said: “Wirral HeartBeat has been the cornerstone of everything we have achieved in the service. Thanks 6

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They also took the opportunity to officially thank four Wirral HeartBeat trustees who had retired during the past year and had given over 50 years of volunteering between them to Wirral Heartbeat’s cause.

to their tireless fundraising efforts and time, people benefit daily from a community cardiology service that is simply second to none in the country.”

Chairman of Wirral HeartBeat, Ian Carson said: “The four trustees who have retired have done a lot of work for Wirral HeartBeat, and I would be happy if anyone joining Wirral HeartBeat could accomplish half as much as they have.”

Wirral HeartBeat is continually looking for volunteers to help and to continue their past success.

L to R: Retiring trustees Dave and Tina Holland and Dave and Margaret Somerville.

Could you become a Wirral HeartBeat volunteer and help to continue its success?

You can help by getting involved in social activities and events such as: • Christmas parties • coach trips • raffles • clay pigeon shooting If you would like to get involved please contact Hazel Roberts, Tel: 0151 647 3109.

Member Events

Julia in Uganda!

Taking time out over the summer Julia Harrison, a lead dental nurse in the community dental service, took part in Ugandan health tour organised by local charity Rock of Joy. The opportunity to join the tour first came up when Julia was working at the emergency dental out of hours clinic with local dentist Paul Sherrard from Moreton Dental Care. Having heard about his previous visits to Uganda, Julia jumped at the chance to offer her support. The two week tour took her to remote Ugandan villages in great need of medical and dental care.

Her first week was spent working on the pharmacy table taking temperatures, urine samples, blood pressures, giving out worming tablets, performing eye tests with some time left over to play with the children.

During her second week she worked alongside Paul seeing 167 patients. They extracted 229 teeth, gave out 500 toothbrushes with toothpaste and provided dental health education. Julia said, “Thanks to the support and generosity of friends, family and work colleagues, I was able to raise the funds to cover the trip and buy medical supplies.

This trip was the most amazing experience of my life and one I will never forget. I met some remarkable people and hope to go again one day in the future”. You can find out more about the great work Rock of Joy does by visiting www.rockofjoy.co.uk

Julia pictured with some of the children she met on her visit.

b Wirral Community NHS Trust members’ events February Our February members’ event will include: • an update about community NHS services on Wirral • ‘Spotlight on…’ our inspirational Speech and Language specialists, who will be talking about how they help children and adults in Wirral • a chance for you to help us make our member communications even better. We would like to hear your views about ‘For You’, our staff and public member magazine, and other communications Venue: Victoria Central Health Centre Date: Thursday 13 February Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

March Help us set our Quality Goals Our Quality Goals are set each year to focus on particular things that will make our services even better. At this special members’ meeting we would like to share and discuss with you our proposed goals for 2014 -15.

Venue: Old Market House, Birkenhead Date: Friday 7 March Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm To come to either or both of these events, please contact your Membership and Engagement Team: Email: foryouwithyou@wirralct.nhs.uk Tel: 0151 514 2451

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A Day in the Life

A day in the life: Emma Bennett Our Health Visiting service includes community health nurses, nursery nurses and health visitors.

We have nine health visiting teams working with parents and families across Wirral to promote and improve the health and wellbeing of pre-school children and their families. The teams provide a range of information, support and advice to ensure that families are fully supported to give their children the best possible start in life.

Emma Bennett, Health Visitor for the Wallasey area, shares a snap shot of her day to day duties…

After my career began in community nursing 20 years ago I soon found myself in a health visiting role. Working with parents during the final stages of pregnancy and families with children under the age of five is extremely rewarding. My work includes help and support around breastfeeding, post natal depression, childhood immunisations, dietary advice and child safety. Being able to support parents and families in this way and seeing the impact it has on their lives always makes me smile.

I currently work in the Wallasey Health Visiting Team which is the largest in Wirral. We have approximately two thousand families on our caseload, which means we deal with a diverse range of needs.

Teamwork is vital and I am lucky to be part of a great team who work well together.

My day starts at nine and the average morning begins with phone calls to social workers, as they can be very difficult to contact given their busy schedule. The day can vary between an antenatal contact, a safeguarding meeting, breastfeeding

support and a child protection monthly contact. The end of the day requires a lot of record keeping.

I have recently attended the super user training workshop for SystmOne, a piece of clinical software which supports the ‘one patient, one record’ model of healthcare. It documents every appointment, medication, allergy and contact the patient has ever had.

The idea of having a patient record as a single source of information is fantastic and for somebody like me whose hand writing isn’t great it’s the best thing that could happen.

As breastfeeding champion in the team I am actively involved in supporting my colleagues and families with advice and information regarding breastfeeding. This is a part of my role that I really enjoy.

I work closely with the GPs and I am the health visiting link for two practices in Wallasey. I have recently worked closely with the practice manager of a large surgery to develop an effective process to discuss the needs of priority families at monthly

practice meetings. This ensures that safeguarding is at the forefront of integrated working and service planning for vulnerable groups.

The role of the health visitor is challenging, however I find the diversity of dealing with children and families to be gratifying by enabling them to achieve their optimum level of health. I feel it is a very interesting job and every day brings a different challenge.

Did you know?

• there are 22,000 children under five living across Wirral • we have dedicated Healthy Child clinics for families with children under the age of five • we have 135 staff working across our service supporting local families • our specialist Family Nurse Partnership service supports pregnant teenagers under the age of 19

What role would you like to learn more about? Email your suggestion for ‘A Day in the Life’ to: communications@wirralct.nhs.uk 8

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Stop the Pressure

Helping to stop the

PRESSURE Pressure ulcers are serious, distressing and can be painful. Did you know that the overwhelming majority of pressure ulcers are preventable?

Richard Crockford and Allyson Davies with Evelyn King (centre).

International Stop Pressure Ulcers day, 21 November 2013, provided the perfect opportunity for a few of our nurses to pop along to Asda, Birkenhead to share advice and information with shoppers to help them spot and prevent pressure ulcers.

More than 300 people spoke with the team and at least two people were directed to getting more help with possible ulcer symptoms.

So would you know how to spot and prevent pressure ulcers?

Pressure ulcers can happen anywhere on your skin but here are some of the most common locations and five simple steps that you can take to spot and prevent pressure ulcers:

SSKIN – 5 simple steps to prevent and treat pressure ulcers Surface – make sure you’re on a supportive surface Skin inspection – check it isn’t discoloured or sore Keep moving – change position often Incontinence/moisture – keep clean and dry Nutrition and hydration – eat healthily and drink frequently

Visit the ‘you and your health’ section of our website for more about spotting and preventing pressure ulcers www.wirralct.nhs.uk

Sharing our expertise November also saw, Maria Hughes, Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist, invited to speak as an expert in pressure ulcer prevention at the international association of District Nurses in Coimbra, Portugal.

More than 400 delegates were able to learn from Maria as she shared some of the great work happening at Wirral Community NHS Trust around the SSKIN bundle (see left).

Maria said: “This was a real challenge as the presentation was not translated into Portuguese but luckily it was very visual the majority spoke very good English. It was a real honour to represent Tissue Viability Nurses and the trust.

Going to Portugal also showed me the huge difference between the UK and Portuguese healthcare systems and reminded me how lucky we are in the UK to have access to state of the art technology, dressings and the equipment to manage wounds.”

Winter 2014 foryou

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More Than Just Words

Since we became a community NHS trust two years ago our vision has been clear:

To be the outstanding provider of high quality, integrated community care to Wirral and beyond.

Underpinning this vision is a set of values which outline what we stand for, believe in and are passionate about.

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More Than Just Words Our vision and values have guided and supported the trust as we have delivered a high quality service over the last two years. We have made good progress and passed external quality inspections, increased integrated working across our own teams and with other health and social care organisations. And we have shown our ambition to deliver services beyond the Wirral boundary. Our vision

remains clear and is at the heart of what we do.

So, two years on we have reflected on what we have achieved and what we still have to do. In addition to this, external factors have had an impact on how we now operate and work as an NHS organisation, in particular recommendations in the Francis Report following the Mid Staffordshire investigation.

Whilst our vision remains, there are opportunities for improvements, particularly around the values and

behaviours we share with our staff and the positive impact that has on the relationships with our patients and customers.

So what have we done?... At the Listening Events in the summer staff supported a refresh of the original values and the development of an agreed set of behaviours, which set out what we expect of all trust employees. These have now been agreed by our Staff Council and Staff Side representatives as well as the Board.

Actions speak louder than words “I am passionate about us becoming the best organisation we can be and creating an environment where we all work together to achieve the best for our patients and each other.

Our values are more than

words, they are about how we treat our patients and each other, they determine who we are, what it feels like to work for this organisation and what we aim to be. Over the coming weeks and months we will

continue to engage with staff in the roll out and communication of the new values and ensure we turn our words into action.”

Simon Gilby, Chief Executive

New values at our HEART These refreshed values link to our visual identity and put an increased focus on how we all provide care to patients. b Health is our passion, with patients at the heart of everything we do b Exceptional care as standard b Actively supporting each other to do our jobs b Responsive, professional and innovative b Trusted to deliver They underpin what we do as a trust and how we do it. They define how we behave, treat each other and our patients. Our supporting behaviours are to: • provide compassionate care, with empathy, kindness, respect and dignity • act with honesty and integrity • communicate openly with patients and colleagues • act with courage when things are not right • build effective partnerships Feedback your thoughts to: Jo Harvey - email: jo.harvey@wirralct.nhs.uk

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Livewell

We’re excited to be launching our new Livewell Programme. Over the next few weeks our Livewell team will be out and about at different events to support people to make positive changes to their lifestyle. Teams will be telling people about our free activities and courses across Wirral, which include healthy cookery, relaxation and stress management, circuit training, Tai Chi, chair based exercise and singing for wellbeing.

Our Livewell name will also be appearing on the sides of buses and in bus stop shelters, on posters and dropping through a door near you.

Watch this space.

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Our teams work across Wirral to support local people to: • get more active • eat healthier • quit smoking • lose weight • relax and unwind We also help local organisations and workplaces with training, advice and resources around health and wellbeing promotion.

Livewell

2013 what a year!

• Our Care Aware project has supported 80 carers across Wirral • As part of our mental health and wellbeing support we worked with Phoenix Futures to help set up Phoenix Voices, a choir, who were announced finalists for the national music contest Re:Cover. Voting was extremely close with Phoenix Voices awarded second place • Working with local primary schools we have supported teachers and parents through our healthy lunch project to help ensure that children’s lunches are healthy and nutritionally balanced • We have supported 51 local organisations to achieve Young People Friendly status • Over the past 5 months our touring campervan has supported over 500 people with free health MOTs • 10 September saw the Stoptober national road show roll into Wirral. Throughout Stoptober we supported over 65 people on their journey to becoming smoke free • Working with local workplaces our teams supported the Dry January campaign, Alcohol Concern’s national initiative, which challenging people to go alcohol free for 31 days in January. 65 people signed up to the challenge Above: Winners of the campervan initiative with Simon Gilby receiving their shopping vouchers, donated by local Asda stores.

Below: Stoptober rolls into Wirral, Phoenix Voices sing their way to the Re:Cover national final, campervan initiative offers free health MOTS to locals, Simon Gilby presents local youngster with certificate after completing an active lifestyle course.

New Year, New You

It’s the time of year when around 7 million of us will make a New Year’s resolution to improve an aspect of our health and wellbeing.

It can be tough to stick to your resolution, but our team will help and support you all the way. Whether it’s losing weight, getting more active, stopping smoking or eating more healthily, we’ll help you achieve your goals.

For help and support to achieve your New Year’s resolution call 0151 630 8383, speak to a member of the team at one of our many engagement events, follow us on Twitter or visit www.wirralct.nhs.uk

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Trust News

One Patient One Record In previous editions of the magazine we’ve updated you on SystmOne, an electronic clinical nursing system which is being implemented initially across our Community Nursing, Specialist Nursing and Health Visiting teams.

SystmOne is already used by over 150,000 NHS staff across England and hosts electronic records for more than 30 million patients. It is a tried and tested system for community services with over 70 providers using the system.

As our ‘go live’ date approaches on 10 February everyone involved is

excited about using SystmOne and taking advantage of the benefits to staff and patients that it offers.

Below are a few comments our staff have made.

Plans are also in place to roll out SystmOne across other services over the next 12 months... watch this space!

“it will create more time to allow face to face consultation with our patients” “SystmOne will enable us, as community nurses, to provide a more streamlined holistic service to our patients” “instant access to up to date information about a patient’s health at our finger tips. It will also stop a lot of duplication and avoid misunderstandings because all information is readily accessible” “it will increase efficiency” “it will increase the flexibility of the team and the individual practitioner” “it’s a safer way of working” “using SystmOne will free up time for staff, as the data will be entered ‘there and then’ instead of coming back to the office to do paperwork”

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Foundation Trust Update When an NHS trust applies to become an Foundation Trust (FT) it must demonstrate that it is well run and financially sustainable. A great deal of evidence is needed and there are various stages that an aspirant trust must pass through before it can be authorised.

In 2012 the Strategic Health Authority approved our FT application being passed to the Department of Health for further development and scrutiny.

In April 2013 responsibility for ‘pipeline’ trusts was given to a new body, the Trust Development Authority (TDA) who decides whether our application is ready to go to Monitor, the independent regulator, for approval.

Our Board met with the TDA in July 2013 to discuss our application and we were expecting the TDA to approve our application at their board meeting in September 2013. Instead, just before that meeting, we heard that the TDA would not be able to submit any trust applications (including ours) to Monitor. This was because enquiries into failings at some NHS trusts led to the creation of a new national Chief Inspector of Hospitals post. This, in turn, led to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) reviewing its inspection regime.

Monitor wants all trusts to have been inspected under the new regime before they will approve an application. For non-acute trusts, including community trusts like ours, the CQC are developing their new inspection methodology, with the first inspections due to start next year.

We currently anticipate our application will be passed from the TDA to Monitor some time in 2014 and expect that Monitor will start to assess us sometime during 2014.

Trust News

Services pass CQC inspections with flying colours!

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors confirmed that our services are meeting quality and safety standards when they visited Eastham and Victoria Central walk-in centres and the community dental services.

Making sure healthcare services are providing safe, effective, compassionate care, CQC inspectors: • check we meet national essential standards of care • focus on the experience of people when they receive care • spend time talking to patients and staff • speak to staff at all levels to ensure they understand their role in providing good outcomes for people Sandra Christie, Director of Quality and Nursing said: “The CQC

inspection reports clearly highlight the tremendous work of our staff in delivering high quality, safe services that staff and patients can be proud of.”

The CQC essential standards of care 1. You should expect to be respected, involved in your care and support, and told what’s happening at every stage 2. You should expect care, treatment and support that meets your needs 3. You should expect to be safe.

4. You should expect to be cared for by staff with the right skills to do their jobs properly 5. You should expect your care provider to routinely check the quality of their services.

Celebrating national recognition for two of our services

entry for the Health Service Journal awards for the category of ‘improved partnerships between health and local government’ as ‘inspired’.

The Continence Service and the Speech and Language Therapy Service attended prestigious awards ceremonies in London after being shortlisted for the Nursing Times Awards and Health Service Journal Awards.

Simon Gilby, Chief Executive said: “It’s a proud moment for the trust when our services are recognised

Here’s what our patients told the inspectors: “Always been really happy with the service” “I am really impressed by the service” “Staff are lovely” “The staff made me feel very calm and explained everything to me” “A good experience”

on a national level. Both teams did exceptionally well to be shortlisted.

Both events were wonderful and it was fantastic to see the work our teams dedicate to the community having a high profile at national awards.”

The continence service did fantastically well to be shortlisted twice from hundreds of entries for the Nursing Times Awards category for ‘continence care and promotion’. Whilst they did not win, the team had a wonderful evening at the awards ceremony.

Just missing out on the top spot, the Speech and Language Therapy Service were highly commended with the judges describing their

L to R: Jenny McCarthy, Norma Hayes, Deb Ollerhead, Adrian Evans, Alison Nugent and Sandra Christie.

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Nursing Strategy

Our Nursing Str Delivering high quality compassion Our Nursing Strategy sets out a shared purpose for nurses in the trust to deliver high quality, compassionate care and to achieve excellent health and well-being outcomes over the next three years.

The 6 Cs of Nursing

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Responding to various national reports which have highlighted instances where NHS care has fallen short of what patients have the right to expect, in December 2012 ‘Compassion in Practice’ was published.

It is the national three year vision and strategy for nursing, aimed at building a culture of compassionate care for nursing, midwifery and care staff. The vision is based around six values (the 6Cs) - compassion, courage, communication, competence and commitment and aims to embed these values in all nursing, midwifery and care-giving settings throughout the NHS and social and care to improve care for patients (for more information please visit www.england.nhs.uk).

Nursing Strategy

ategy 2013-16 ate care with pride.

Wirral Community NHS Trust’s Nursing Strategy describes how we plan to respond and deliver high quality, compassionate care with pride. Based around the trust’s Integrated Business Plan, patient and commissioner requirements and the national strategy, it identifies five key objectives for nurses within the organisation: • To show care and compassion in how they look after patients • To show competence means having the right knowledge and skills to do the job and the capability to deliver the highest standards of care based on research and evidence

• To find the courage to do the right thing and to act for the patients best interests, in a complex and pressured environment • To demonstrate commitment to patients and each other • To make sure they communicate well at all times Helping the delivery of each of the objectives, three associated priority action areas have been identified for each (see summary diagram below).

Sandra Christie, Director of Quality and Nursing said, “Over recent years it has felt very challenging to hear in the media about the lack of care in

our area of profession and yet see on a daily basis exceptional examples of nursing in action. Our strategy defines the professional care that we expect all our nurses in the trust to deliver and how we will ensure that they are supported in their work. It will help us to monitor our performance and shows our commitment to our patients and our staff.

She added “Going around the trust to support the launch of the strategy, I have once again been energised by the enthusiasm of our staff and their commitment to deliver exceptional care.”

Nursing Strategy 2013 - 2016 Delivering high quality compassionate care with pride Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

Objective 4

Objective 5

To show care and compassion

To have a competent workforce

To have the courage to do the right thing

To demonstrate commitment

To communicate well

b Priority 1

b Priority 4

b Priority 7

b Priority 10

b Priority 13

Introduce values based recruitment

Supporting nurses to develop specialist skills

Supporting staff to raise concerns

Promote nursing in the organisation

Listening to patients

b Priority 2

b Priority 5

b Priority 8

b Priority 11

b Priority 14

Listening and responding to patients

Reviewing mandatory and clinical training

Supporting staff to make effective use of resources

Providing supervision and mentorship

Introducing team based quality measures

b Priority 3

b Priority 6

b Priority 9

b Priority 12

b Priority 15

Using the Friends and Family Test to listen to staff

Introducing a leadership development framework

Supporting staff to lead for quality and patient safety

Provide safe staffing levels

Introducing mobile technology

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Trust News

Phoenix Voices

‘Watch the Phoenix Rise’ is recorded at local studio Fallen Industries.

Local choir Phoenix Voices were announced as one of nine finalists for national music contest Re:Cover, organised by Phoenix Futures.

The choir was set up as part of the Livewell Programme’s mental wellbeing initiative and their track was shortlisted from 60 entries.

All finalists recorded their tracks in a recording studio and they were uploaded to Phoenix Futures’ website for public voting. Local radio station BBC Radio Merseyside visited the choir and broadcast their entry to

encourage local people to vote.

Voting was extremely close with Phoenix Voices finishing in second place. The choir are thrilled with their achievement with one member summing it up as, “the best experience of my life.”

Livewell team member and choir mentor Carey Marsden said “watching the enthusiasm grow in the choir has been wonderful. It’s great to see smiles appear and feel spirits lift through the shared experience of singing together. This experience has been a fantastic achievement for everyone involved.”

Working in the NHS – the next generation Are you in year 10 or 11 and thinking about career options?

Drop in to our careers event and meet staff who work for the NHS. You’ll get the chance to talk to Doctors, Nurses, Community Dentists, Health Visitors, Physiotherapists, Speech & Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Public Health Specialists as well staff from Human Resources, Finance, Corporate Affairs and Communications & Marketing.

There’s something for everyone.

Date: Wednesday 12 February 2014 Venue: St Catherine’s Health Centre,

Derby Road, Birkenhead, CH42 7HA. Time: Drop-in between 6:30 – 8:30pm

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Trust camper van tours Wirral Over the past five months the Livewell team toured Wirral in the trust’s branded camper van, offering people free health MOTs. The initiative encouraged people to spot the camper van at various locations and say ‘I’m ready to make a change’ to one of the team. After receiving their health MOT, which included a blood pressure check and personalised action plan, people were entered into a prize draw to win three £100 shopping vouchers donated by local Asda stores. The initiative supported over 500 local people to take action to help them live longer, healthier lives with health trainers advising people on a range of lifestyle issues including stopping smoking, getting more active, losing weight, eating more healthily and looking after their mental health better.

Camper van project lead Matt Shannon said, “The camper van initiative has been a great opportunity for Wirral residents to improve their health, lifestyle and fitness as well as finding out more about what the trust can offer them in their efforts to take potentially challenging steps to move forward. Look out for the campervan in 2014.”

Trust News

Competition winners!

School and Youth Club to get their adverts on the airwaves.

Radio adverts, developed by young people at Bebington Youth Club and Wirral Grammar School for Girls, hit the Juice FM airwaves during October half team following a competition to produce the best advert to promote sexual health.

Young people from schools and youth organisations across Wirral took part in a competition to create their own radio advert, which were aired on Juice FM. Their adverts encouraged listeners to access Sexual Health Wirral’s free and confidential service.

Over 30 entries were submitted and shortlisted. The winners were invited

Staff get Road Safe The trust working in partnership with Merseyside Police and Wirral Council held drop in road safety events for staff in late November. Staff got advice on driving in cold weather, dealing with ice and snow, personal safety and alcohol awareness. Those who came along were also in with a chance to win one of five FREE winter car checks or a FREE MOT. Thanks to all the garages who supported the event: Vernons Garage Heswall, A1 Autocare Moreton, Durley Garage Prenton, Lower Village Garage Lower Heswall and Wirral Motor Services Ltd Moreton. Vernons Garage are also offering 10% discount off advertised labour costs to NHS staff.

Competition winners record their winning advert at the Juice FM studio.

into the station’s studio to produce their advertisement. The project gave the young people involved the opportunity to learn more about the service and to develop an advert that

would appeal to listeners to get this important message out to a much wider audience. Hear the entries at www.sexualhealthwirral.nhs.uk

For You Thank You Staff Awards 2014 We have had over 70 nominations and on Thursday 27 February staff from across the trust will gather for the 2nd annual staff awards, an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the excellent work that goes on across the organisation from both our clinical and non clinical teams.

This year’s event sees nine awards categories: b Customer and Patient Care Award b Best ‘NEW’ Initiative b Volunteer of the Year b Inspirational Manager / Team Leader of the Year b Outstanding Achievement Award b Promoting Equality and Diversity b Sustainable Future – ‘No idea too small’ Award b Non-clinical Team of the Year b Clinical Team of the Year Judging is taking place in early January involving staff and public members, with the final shortlist due to be announced towards the end of the month.

The winners will be announced at a celebratory evening at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton!

Look out on our website www.wirralct.nhs.uk for updates and our staff awards feature in the next edition of the magazine.

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Trust News

Cardiology in Practice Wirral Heart Support Service successfully held their first six week Cardiology in Practice course for Wirral Practice Nurses looking to improve cardiology knowledge and skills.

Describing how the course engaged with practitioners Frieda Rimmer, Heart Service Manager, said, “the modules matched the patient experience and supported practitioners in how to best motivate and support their patients to take an active part in their treatment. We also gave practical pointers on where and when to refer patients on, referencing the latest guidelines covering cardiac disease areas which, if correctly applied, have been shown to improve patient outcomes in various ways.”

The course was awarded accreditation by the Royal College of Nursing and the service has offered all practitioners

Estates Programme How we use our premises to deliver services was raised at our Listening Events last year. We know it’s important so here is an update on how we are addressing some of your concerns.

As part of our Estates Strategy and Estates Review we are already looking at what buildings we use, how we use them and whether changes to our approach would bring operational and cost efficiencies, whilst maintaining or improving our quality of care.

We have 37 premises within the estate and we have a clear plan of the buildings that we own, lease and lease to others, including when they expire or when contracts can be renegotiated.

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Practice Nurses completing their Cardiology in Practice course.

who completed the course hands on supervision in setting up clinics for heart failure patients in the community.

Feedback has been extremely positive, with one practitioner summing it up as, “a really interesting and interactive course, which used case studies to help put knowledge into practice.”

The Estates Review has included a detailed analysis of costs for each building and audits of how and when we use the space within them, including how we might use them in the future.

With a number of buildings up for lease review in 2014, we are focusing on these as a priority.

Where we deliver our services from is an important part of how we care for patients. We have to be extremely flexible to meet the needs of our population and our commissioners.

Many of our services are delivered in patients’ homes and we are exploring ways to ensure we use facilities effectively to provide suitable bases that underpin our services.

Dawn Williams, Head of Estates said, “Where we deliver our services is a key part of being a community trust.

They need to be accessible to our

So what next?

The service are looking to schedule and facilitate more courses for practice nurses in 2014 and eventually for GP registrars too, as well as developing a local Diploma in Cardiology which will identify Wirral Community NHS Trust as the place for expert tuition in community cardiology! patients, cost effective and suitable for the type of care we deliver and the time of day that we deliver it.

As technology makes some of our services increasingly mobile, the need for staff to return to established bases will change and our estate needs to reflect that”.

We are actively reviewing how we utilise our estates to ensure we provide appropriate bases for clinical services and staff accommodation.

Staff and patients will be fully engaged with in relation to any changes made to ensure solutions meet everyone’s needs.

Who would you like us to put questions to next time?

Email your suggestions to communications@wirralct.nhs.uk Winter 2014 foryou

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Health and Wellbeing

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe provided courtesy of the Livewell Programme, Healthy Cookery Course.

Our Livewell Programme provides a combined approach to support local people and their families to improve their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

The team offers a variety of courses and sessions including healthy cookery, circuit training, relaxation and Tai Chi. With Chinese New Year approaching we thought we’d share our chicken noodle soup recipe, from one of our healthy cookery courses, to prepare for you and your family. Serves 4 – enjoy!

Ingredients

Method

1 teaspoon of olive oil

Heat the oil in a large pan, adding the carrots and spring onions.

Stir well and cook for two minutes.

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced length ways 1 bunch of spring onions, cleaned, trimmed and sliced

Add the garlic and curry powder. Stir well and cook for a further two minutes. Add the chicken.

1 clove of garlic, minced

Finally, add the noodles and the stock to the chicken and vegetables. Stir well and leave to cook for approximately four minutes or until the noodles are soft.

1 tablespoon of curry powder 12oz/300g cooked chicken, thinly sliced

Add the soy sauce and serve.

3 blocks of dried egg noodles 1 chicken stock cube, dissolved in 1 pint of hot water 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

This soup is low in fat and a great source of vitamins. You can also try adding different vegetables.

Send your ratings and photographs of the soup to communications@wirralct.nhs.uk

Britain’s personal best - what’s yours?

Remember London 2012? Remember how we came together and shared something special?

Remember how we celebrated the achievement of individuals and teams? Do you want to make a positive change or try something new?

Could achieving your personal best be your New Years’ Resolution?

It could be something that you have always wanted to do such as learn a new language, learn to swim or run a marathon. For a host of inspirational ideas visit www.whatsyours.org Don’t forget our Livewell Programme can also help you make a positive change to your health and wellbeing (see page 12).

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BrainTraining Fun stuff for while you have your tea break.

Wordsearch D O R K C N Q P D C E S W P H J Y J T T O Y V E N X W M F V

New Year’s Resolutions

Q Y W G R H S L R I E L S A I I B N G E T V C O V R W S P S A B T S I A M L M T C B S Y I F X H C H R X N S I I E E B T D V G C T A A F D F S K L F F T X I Y L M L V N T E I K C A G G E C A A E J E E M N N O M C U W L E N R B I G O D I H I C C E E H U S H R Z R E R L L Z A S F T R K Y F E E R D X Y V C O K A X K R E K K R S P F E A L Q E X Y A E S X D H J C L E A R N N E W S K I L L S L

LEARN NEW SKILLS RELAX EAT HEALTHIER CYCLE GET FIT LOSE WEIGHT DRINK LESS QUIT SMOKING RUN A MARATHON EXERCISE MORE BE KINDER VISIT FAMILY SEE FRIENDS MORE

Sudoku

8 6 4 5 3 8 3 9 8 9 5 1 7 5 4 1 4 6 2 3 1 9 3 7 3 1 8

Health & Wellbeing Recommended websites Smokefree 2014 Looking to go smokefree in 2014? This website is filled with tips, advice and success stories. It also highlights that you’re up to four times more likely to quit successfully with support from your local NHS Stop Smoking Service. www.nhs.uk/smokefree

Winter health For advice on keeping warm and safe during winter weather, tips about where to go for the right care and treatment over winter and how the NHS plans nationally and locally for winter. www.wirralct.nhs.uk

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Keep in touch with us in 2014... b Find out about our services: www.wirralct.nhs.uk

b Keep in touch with us: Compliments, concerns, complaints.

patient.experience@wirralct.nhs.uk or 0800 694 5530 Membership Team: 0151 514 2452 or 0800 694 9985. Email:foryouwithyou@wirralct.nhs.uk

b Follow our activities:

Wirral Community NHS Trust

@wirralct @SimonGilby_WCT