WCT For You - Spring Edition

Issue Two Spring 2013

The Magazine for staff, members and volunteers

Oh what a night!

See page 9 The Francis Inquiry

We talk to Lisa Cooper, Director, Quality & Governance.

- page 4

A Day in the Life

We spend a day with Liz Barrington of the Physio team.

- page 8

Listening Events

Staff are invited to put forward their views at one of our events.

- page 13

Sexual Health Wirral It started with a bid.

Sexual Health made simple in Wirral.

- page 14

Comment

INSIDE

Simon Gilby

News Bites

3

The Francis Inquiry

4

Meet our Volunteers

6

Work Experience Pilot

7

A Day in the Life

8

Chief Executive

Welcome Welcome to the spring edition of ‘For You’, the magazine for staff, members and volunteers.

I’m celebrating a year in the job here at the Trust and have taken time to reflect on how quickly it’s passed and how much has happened.

There’s been a lot of change and we’ve done a great job responding to challenges. In the last 12 months we’ve seen over 1.1million patient contacts, hit our annual targets, launched a new sexual health service (see page 14 for details) and continue to progress our Foundation Trust application.

It was heartening to see that the Staff Survey results this year showed an increase in the number of staff who feel engaged. Amongst all the work I to do as Chief Executive, getting out and about talking to staff, patients and public members is definitely one of the highlights.

It’s invigorating to get feedback first hand and have great conversations that can help shape the future direction and success of the Trust. I hope more staff take the opportunity to be a part of these conversations by booking onto one of the Listening Events being held over the next couple of months (see page 13). Attending Governor Information Sessions in the last few months has meant I’ve also been able to meet members (public and staff) who are interested in standing as NHS Governors (see page 16).

In the past couple of months we’ve celebrated staff achievements at the first of our annual staff awards and as one of the judging panel it was wonderful to see such high calibre nominations even if it did make judging very difficult (see page 9).

Congratulations to everyone who were nominated and to those that won on the night.

Here’s to even more entries next year!

I hope you enjoy our second edition and hearing about some of the things that are happening in our Trust and the wider NHS. As ever I’m always keen to get your feedback on either your experience of our services or how we keep in touch with you.

THIS ISSUE

FEATURE Staff Awards

9

Listening Events

13

Sexual Health Wirral

14

Members & Governors

16

Getting to Know You

18

Healthy Corner

19

The Back Page

20

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:

foryou Communications and Marketing Wirral Community NHS Trust Old Market House Hamilton Street Birkenhead Wirral CH41 5AL E: communications@wirralct.nhs.uk 2

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News Bites

NewsBites New Non-Exec Director Former Chartered Banker Alan Wilson has joined us for six months as Interim Associate Non-Executive Director.

(Meet all our Non-Executive Directors on page 6).

Congratulations - The NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) has confirmed the re-appointment of our Chairman, Frances Street and two Non-Executive Directors, Garry Gray and Christine Allen.

UNCIEF Baby Friendly Accreditation - Working with Wirral’s Sure Start Centres we were awarded UNICEF accreditation as an organisation that delivers best practice care in support of breastfeeding.

Congratulations to the Infant Feeding Team for all their hard work in achieving this internationally sought after recognition!

Care Quality Commission - Our Walk-in Centre at Arrowe Park Hospital passed a routine inspection carried out by the Care Quality Commission (the regulators for all health and adult social care services in England) showing that we are meeting quality standards in care.

Victoria Central Health Centre - The Department of Health’s Director of Nursing Viv Bennett paid a visit to Health Visiting Teams at Victoria Central Health Centre and St. Catherine’s Health Centre taking the opportunity to see the innovative Early Years scheme and Healthy Child Clinics in action describing it as “…an interesting and insightful experience.”

Launch of 111 delayed As a result of the delays to the launch of NHS 111, we were asked to reinstate our previous GP Out of Hours arrangements. Thank you to all staff who acted so quickly and efficiently to ensure patients still had access to out of hours cover.

Staff Survey Results 2012 at a glance In all, 1,300 staff received a survey form, 52% responded.

97% ...

71% ...

64% ...

81% ...

82% ...

73% ...

94% ...

42% ...

90% ...

68% ...

know how to report concerns about fraud or malpractice.

feel able to raise a concern. feel confident that the organisation would address these concerns. are happy with the quality of work and patient care they provide.* received job relevant training, learning and development. would recommend the Trust as a place to work or receive treatment.*

received an annual appraisal.

thought the appraisal was well structured. of staff agree that their role makes a difference to patients. of staff feel able to contribute towards improvements at work.

Overall the survey shows that for Wirral Community NHS Trust: 23 of the 28 key findings have improved.

18 key findings show better than average performance.

You can find full results on the Staff Zone or by visiting www.nhsstaffsurveys.com We would like to thank all those staff who completed and returned their form. * Key indicators

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The Francis Inquiry

Between January 2005 and March 2009, an estimated 400 - 1200 patients died as the result of poor care at Stafford Hospital run

by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

The Francis Inquiry Robert Francis QC led two inquiries to find out what went so badly wrong. The first inquiry report, published in February 2010, looked at what contributed to the failings at Mid Staffordshire.

His second inquiry report, published in February 2013, examined why the wider NHS failed to recognise what was going on and intervene. In all, 290 recommendations were made as part of this report.

We talk to Lisa Cooper, Director of Quality & Governance about the second report and what it means to us…

Q. Why is the Francis Inquiry Report so important?

For anyone working in the NHS, it’s hard not to feel upset by what happened.

This report is not just about nurses and doctors, it’s about everyone who works in the NHS and how their role affects patient care.

It reminds us about what can happen if all the different areas of the system don’t work together and focus on why we are here; providing safe, quality care to patients.

Q. Isn’t it just about Mid Staffordshire Hospital?

No, it isn’t just about Mid Staffs; it’s about the circumstances that enabled it to happen. We need to ensure it can’t happen and won’t happen anywhere else.

There is a real commitment from the whole of the NHS to learn from what happened and make meaningful changes.

Mike Farrar, NHS Confederation Chief Executive said: ‘People tend not to define something as bureaucratic if they can understand its relevance and impact’.

I think that’s so true – if changes are to be meaningful and implemented well, then 4

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all staff need to understand their relevance and impact.

Q. What are some of the key issues Francis identified?

It’s clear from the report the basic standard of care was missing at the hospital, with some patients going unwashed for weeks and family members having to clean the wards for fear of infection.

There was a culture of fear and disengagement amongst staff. Warning signs were ignored and staff didn’t feel able to raise concerns or weren’t listened to when they did. Patients felt intimidated by staff which discouraged them from speaking out.

Commissioners, regulatory bodies and local health and social care organisations failed to protect patients by recognising or intervening in what was happening.

Q. How do the recommendations in the second report relate to us?

The Trust Board has reviewed the report and recommendations, some relate to all organisations, but we have to also look at those that apply to hospitals to see if there

are any lessons we could lean in a community setting – irrespective of where the patient is.

Whilst we are confident that we are already implementing many of the actions and recommendations identified, we have a clear plan on what changes need to be made.

The Government has published their first response to the report which focuses on preventing and detecting problems, reinforcing individual accountability and ensuring staff are effectively trained and motivated.

Q. What are some of the things we will be doing?

As a Trust we feel that we are very different from Mid Staffs and patient and staff research suggests that we are in a positive place – but we are not complacent.

One of the first things we are doing is holding a series of ‘Listening Events’ and we’re keen that staff attend one of these sessions so we can collectively discuss issues/concerns and potential solutions.

(See page 13 for details of events.)

The Francis Inquiry We already have in place some of the things recommended in the report but we want to continue to improve. Some areas we are already looking at strengthening are around patient experience, raising concerns (how they are managed, investigated and what we can learn from them) and encouraging staff to share their ideas on how to improve quality.

Q. What are some of the things we do already?

We have worked hard to ensure that we have a clear focus on safety and quality in our services. Together we agreed a set of values that underpin this and put patients at the centre of what we do. We have supported this by investing in staff skills and training and introducing strong governance structures and processes, designed to ensure that collectively we know how well we are doing.

Feedback from staff indicates that they feel able to look after patients safely and our patient feedback shows that they highly rate the quality of our services.

Staff and patients consistently tell us that they would be happy for their family and friends to be cared for by our Trust.

We have a Quality Strategy which says how we will improve quality and every year we publish our Quality Account and the Annual Report & Accounts, these documents share our achievements, objectives and financial performance in an open and transparent way.

We regularly seek patient and staff feedback through a variety of channels including Safety and Patient Experience Walkrounds, where members of the Board spend time with services seeing for themselves and hearing from staff and the people using our services.

We are confident that we are developing a culture which allows everyone to express their views so that we can continue to deliver safe, high quality and effective services.

By constantly reviewing how we are delivering services, we aim to spot problems before they happen and learn from them.

Q. Where can people find a copy of the Francis Inquiry Report?

There are three volumes and an executive summary.

The Government’s initial response to the report can be found at www.gov.uk Q. Doesn’t it just apply to hospitals?

Everyone in the NHS has a role to play in ensuring safe, effective patient care whether they work directly with patients in hospital, the community or work in a role which supports the patient facing services. We must recognise the importance of working together to make sure all patients are well cared for.

The majority of recommendations are relevant to the whole of the NHS irrespective of where the patient is located; it’s our duty to protect patients.

Q. If you could sum up the Francis Inquiry Report in one sentence, what is it about?

The report clearly shows the important role every member of staff has to play in the delivery of quality care to all people who access our services.

The report can be found on the inquiry website www.midstaffspublicinquiry.com

Mid Staffs Timeline 2002 Commission for Health Improvement publishes highly critical report describing lack of governance, poor culture and some staff “under constant pressure.”

“appalling” care at Mid Staffs and says hundreds of patients died between 2005 and 2008 as a result of inadequate treatment and neglect.

Lansley, Conservative Health Secretary announces a public inquiry into how the regulators failed at Mid Staffs.

2003-08

July 2009

Nov 2010 – Dec 2011

Andy Burnham, Labour Health Secretary announces an Independent Inquiry into care provided at Mid Staffs between 2005 and 2009.

Inquiry hears from 181 witnesses over 139 days of hearings.

Public inquiry report published.

Feb 2010

April 2013 Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust goes into administration.

Healthcare Commission rates Mid Staffs hospital “good” in its star ratings.

First Francis inquiry report published - inquiry finds a bullying culture that was target focused in which the needs of patients were ignored. “An appalling failure at every level,” he said.

March 2009

June 2010

Healthcare Commission finds

Second Francis inquiry – Andrew

Mid Staffs Hospital death rate rises to 27 per cent above national average.

2004 Mid Staffs receives zero star rating from Healthcare Commission.

2006

6 Feb 2013

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5

Meet our Volunteers

Trust volunteers and public members Carol and Malcolm Allanson embody the very best of volunteering at Wirral Community NHS Trust. This led to them winning ‘Volunteer(s) of the Year’ at the ‘For You, Thank You’ staff awards.

Meet our volunteers Carol and Malcolm talk about what it’s like to be volunteers in our Heart Support Service.

“I got involved with volunteering in 2000 because Malcolm had angina”, says Carol.

“He was treated at St. Catherine’s and it was just a way of giving back and helping out”, she continues.

They helped in the tea bar at the Heart Support Services, and soon “got involved with everything, including fundraising for local charity Wirral Heart Beat”.

They mostly help with the filing and their

enthusiasm is apparent, even coming in on bad weather days and near Christmas.

She goes on, ‘It’s for my benefit, and that’s the way I look at it. It’s one great big happy family”.

Malcolm summarises their experience perfectly. “Volunteering’s been brilliant – it gives you peace of mind because you’re helping out and getting out and meeting other people”.

Frieda Rimmer, Heart Support Service Lead, says “Their help is invaluable.

They keep us grounded and focused on the patient and what matters to them.”

Volunteering factfile: • We have 106 volunteers and 47 pending volunteers • Aged from 16 - 84 (soon to be 85!)

• They support 20 of our services • The longest known serving volunteer has been here 25 years.

Interested in becoming a volunteer? Then contact: linda.gorham@wirralct.nhs.uk

b Board profile Our team of board members set the strategic direction for the Trust and oversee how we do our business.

As well as dealing with formal meetings and reports they work hard to stay in touch with staff and services. You’ll see them out and about on leadership walk rounds and over the next few weeks you can meet them at our Listening Events (see page 13).

Our non-executive directors (featured) each bring insight and experience from a range of professional backgrounds.

They are not involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation but offer an independent view which contributes to the performance and management of the Trust.

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Frances Street (Chairman)

Garry Gray

Chris Allen

Brian Simmons

Murray Freeman

Alan Wilson

Work Experience

Work Experience Pilot During April, we were joined by students from Ridgeway High School as part of our Pilot Work Experience Scheme.

Students were able to learn about different roles in the NHS and experience a week of what working here is like!

Thank you to everyone who supported a placement, we’ve had excellent feedback from Ridgeway’s Work Experience Supervisor who said: “What struck a chord was just how staff had provided a range of tasks for our students and helped them contribute in such a valuable way. The staff have been brilliant. The students have loved the placements and I can’t speak highly enough of the opportunities they have been given.”

In June, we will be joined by students from Birkenhead Sixth Form College in the second part of this pilot; we hope they can get as much from the experience.

If you want to know more about work experience placements, please email david.hammond@wirralct.nhs.uk

We had 12 placements, (many of whom joined as public members) working with a wide range of our teams, here is what some of our students said:

“I was involved in different activities all week. I have enjoyed learning how to do ECGs and measure blood pressure and pulse rates. All the staff have been lovely and I’ve felt very welcome. I’m now considering a clinical career in the NHS.” Rebecca, Heart Support “I’ve been out and about a lot, not spending all my time in an office as I was expecting. Overall, it’s been a brilliant week and has opened up my thinking about future jobs.”

Paul, Health and Safety “I’ve learnt a lot about the range of work and teams within the Trust. I had lots of different jobs to do. I really liked taking responsibility for designing the Infant Feeding Team’s display boards and really felt that I was treated as an adult.”

Chloe, Community Nursing Administration “Everybody made me feel so welcome and was so helpful, I never felt lost. Overall, my placement was been very interesting. It has certainly given me a different view of the NHS.” Jack, Membership & Volunteering (Photographed)

Jack, Work Experience, Membership and Volunteering.

“Even though I was on work experience I was doing real work so felt I was helping too.”

Ben, Community Equipment Stores

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A Day in the Life

50 years in the life: Liz Barrington This time it’s a special edition of ‘a day in the life’ as Liz Barrington celebrates achieving an astounding 50 years NHS service as a practicing physiotherapist.

Currently working in the Community Therapy Service, Liz looks back over the years from the start of her career and talks about how things have changed in a snapshot of her 50 years with the NHS. As a child I was horse mad and wanted to work with horses, luckily for me my headmistress forced me down the physiotherapy route. I didn’t want to do it at the time but I’m glad, as here I am 50 years on.

To me 50 years isn’t an achievement, I enjoy doing it and I’m well enough to do it… I’m lucky! I still love horses and my horse Oscar is the love of my life. He’s 20 now, he’s getting old like me.

I was 18 when I started my training in Liverpool Training to be a physiotherapist was hard, it took three years with no degree in those days. I was 18 when I started my training on Upper Parliament Street in Liverpool. The bit I remember most was having to wear a bottle green school uniform, how things have changed.

My first job was at Birkenhead General, which I started on 2nd December 1963. In those days you just walked into a hospital and said “I’m a physiotherapist can I have a job” and you got one.

We have gained much more control over the treatment we give to patients than we had in the past and I have seen how positive these changes have been to our patients.

very rewarding. The majority of my patients are super, especially my patients in Birkenhead. Sometimes I’m not sure who is caring for who!

I became a community physiotherapist in 1979 where I built up the Birkenhead service. Later we amalgamated with other services and became the Community Therapy Service we know today. The service has grown a lot over time, we now have Occupational Therapists, Rehabilitation Assistants, Technical Instructor’s, Falls Team and of course Physiotherapists. It’s great.

I have definitely found that my age helps me to form greater bonds with my patients, they listen to me and show a lot of respect.

I treat lots of patients for different mobility related conditions. Some people might not be aware that a major part of my role is to build people’s confidence after having had a fall, most of my patients are over 50 and really benefit from help and support from us.

There have been so many changes over the years My favourite part of the role is definitely seeing my patients and helping them, it is

When I’m not doing my rounds I’m either out and about with Oscar or in my holiday home in Portugal which I visit three times a year.

Physio... did you know?

• Physiotherapy dates back to 460 BC • The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy was founded by four nurses in 1894 • 227,000 people are treated for back pain in the UK every year • Over 80 physiotherapists work at our Trust • In the past year we carried out over 72,000 consultations through the Musculoskeletal (MSK) and Community Therapy Services • If you are referred by your GP for Physio, ask for Wirral Community NHS Trust – you could be seen the next day.

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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Feature

Oh what a night...

Staff and volunteers gathered at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton on 14 March for the inaugural 2013 ‘For You, Thank You’ staff awards.

The awards were established to recognise the fantastic work of individuals and teams across the Trust and to celebrate this year’s fine achievements.

Check out the highlights from the evening and be inspired to enter next year’s awards.

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Feature

The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement as guests started to arrive. A chance to have a drink and a bite to eat and to chat with colleagues and friends about the evening ahead. Anticipation mounted as host Roger Phillips from Radio Merseyside got the awards ceremony underway.

After being welcomed by Trust Chairman, Frances Street and Chief Executive, Simon Gilby the first award to be presented was the Customer Care Award.

Winner, Maureen Jones from the Independent Living Centre said “It’s very hard to say what it feels like to win the award as I feel like I’m just doing my job.

It’s quite an honour to be recognised.”

We had over 65 entries for the 2013 awards and everyone a winner in their own right. Our two patient representatives who helped judge all the awards said it had been a privilege to be involved and read all the amazing stories about the work we do. To see a list of all the nominees - visit StaffZone.

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Next was, Most effective initiative. It was ‘Life with an ICD’ * (Kathryn Jones, Stephanie Barrows, Natasha Porter) that took the award against strong competition from Calm & Create and the Breast Start App. Stephanie said about winning the award “it feels pretty amazing - it’s really nice to be recognised as a lot of hard work has gone into the course. It makes you just want to strive for more.”

It was now time to recognise the excellent contribution of our volunteers. Carol & Malcolm Allanson won on the night and their story is featured in this edition of the magazine. Runners up Ann Kaye and Bob Giles were also thanked for their commitment and dedication to the Trust.

Feature

The evening quickly moved on as awards were presented to the Inspirational Manager of the Year/Team Leader of the Year - Karen Rutter; the Outstanding Achievement of the Year award went to the Outpatient Department (Musculoskeletal Services) and the Promoting equality and diversity category was won by Phil Baines & Richard Lacey for the Homeless Hostels Project.

Finally the two team awards of the night Non-clinical team and Clinical Team of the Year. With four shortlisted for the nonclinical team award, competition was tight.

The Community Equipment Service walked away with the winner’s title and Diane Hunt from the team said, “It’s good recognition for the Community Equipment Store. It’s great for the team and good for morale as I don’t think many of us thought we’d win”.

Last, but not least, Clinical team of the Year was won by the Continence Service.

Debra Ollerhead from the service said, “The team are thrilled with becoming winners. It was great to see so many teams and individuals demonstrate compassion and commitment to the organisation. It was

truly inspirational and every member of the team felt rewarded and valued”.

In total 24 presentations were made - eight staff awards, the long service awards (recognising those individuals who have given 25 years to the NHS) and finally the national ‘NHS Hero’ nominations from our Trust. * Life with an ICD (implanted cardiac defibrillator) - a 3 week education programme for patients with an ICD to reduce anxiety and improve the lives and experiences of patients.

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Feature

The awards capped off an excellent year for the Trust as a whole.

More importantly, individuals and teams have been recognised for their many accomplishments. It was particularly great to see staff nominating and recognising the contribution of teams outside their own.

Congratulations both to award winners and those who were nominated and a big thank you to all who were involved.

Winners collected their awards to music... can you match up the music to winners?

Winner

Music

b Maureen Jones, Independent Living Centre

b A good heart - Fergal Sharkey

b Life with an ICD

b She’s got it - Little Richard

b Carol & Malcom Allanson

b All together - The Farm

b Karen Rutter

b Help - The Beatles

b MSK Services - Outpatient Dept.

b Heroes - David Bowie

b Homeless Hostels Project

b Place your hands - Reef

b Community Equipment Service

b I’ve had the time of my life -

Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

b Continence Service

b Our house - Madness

b Long Service Awards

b Signed, sealed delivered -

Stevie Wonder

b NHS Hero

b Heartbeat - Buddy Holly

The awards were funded by the trust and corporate sponsors, Hill Dickinson, LT Print Group Ltd and Paul Hartmann Ltd.

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Staff recognition is not simply an annual event.

It can be a daily occurrence as we extend a word of thanks to a colleague or team for a job well done.

Think about how you can celebrate and recognise each other throughout the year... and get your nominations ready for the For You Thank You awards 2014!

Listening Events

Integration Programme Wirral CT is playing a leading role in developing the structures and processes that underpin the delivery of more effective integrated care to patients across Wirral.

Bringing together health, social care and third sector organisations, as well as members of the public, the Integration Programme is initially focusing on supporting people who have long term conditions. Working together we are developing new services that will completely change the way that people receive care in a community setting... using integrated teams we will focus care around the individual providing services in

their own homes and help to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

The project has been divided into three sections, an IT model that is currently being trialled to identify people who may be a risk of long term conditions; a self care system and developing integrated teams of professionals that support care around the individual. More info in the next magazine.

Focusing care around the patient.

If you are a member of staff, make sure you book your place on one of the upcoming...

We want to encourage wider involvement in how we do business and this is your opportunity to join the conversation

• What we are getting right?

• What we could do better?

• What else should we be doing – for our staff and our patients to promote quality and safety?

We want staff to come along to one of our listening events to talk about what we do and the way we do it, and to tell us what you think.

Please come along and give us your views - help us to make Wirral Community NHS Trust even better at caring for our staff and patients.

Event dates have been communicated in our weekly bulletin and can be found on the StaffZone.

See page 17 for details of forthcoming member events.

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Sexual Health Wirral

It started with a bid...

When the commissioners decided to put Sexual Health services out to tender last year, we knew that we wanted to bid for it and win it. We felt strongly that as a Community Trust we were best placed to continue to deliver sexual health services across Wirral.

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Sexual Health Wirral The brief for the bid was bigger than we had previously delivered alone – but in partnership with Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (WUTH) and Brook - we felt that we had all bases covered.

We put in a strong joint bid and found out in January 2013 that we had successfully won the three year contract - so all we needed to do was to bring sexual health services across Wirral together and integrate three organisations by 1 April!

The new, integrated service is called Sexual Health Wirral and aims to live up to …

Sexual Health Made Simple.

So, what does the new service have to offer?

• Clinics in seven locations across Wirral, open seven days a week with extended opening hours • Single sex clinics (male and female) and young persons (under 25) clinics • the same FREE, professional, confidential service, no matter which clinic you’re at • A colourful new brand • one dedicated website • a confidential helpline.

We are now even able to offer the majority of our services from contraception and STI

testing through to treatment at ALL our clinics, many on a drop-in basis!

Making the bid come to life, and the new service a reality has involved a cross organisational project team to ensure that the appropriate people, skills and information were in place to support the delivery. There have been challenges in the re-design of staffing structures and schedules and the creation of a robust and secure shared information system.

Neil Perris, Divisional Manager for Lifestyle Services said: “It has been challenging to implement the bid in such a short timeframe. But it is great to have successfully bid for and won the contract and retained the delivery of this vital service within the NHS and within the Community Trust. I am sure, with the changes we have made, we will be delivering a service that will be well received by clients“

Wirral now has a new sexual health service, with clinics at: Gemini Centre St. Catherine’s Health Centre, Birkenhead Victoria Central Health Centre Mill Lane, Wallasey Birkenhead Medical Building Ground Floor, Birkenhead Pasture Road Health Centre Moreton Eastham Clinic Eastham Arrowe Park Hospital 2nd Floor, Upton Brook Wirral Young Persons Clinic Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead

Toni Gleave added “We always knew that across the three organisations we had all the ingredients to deliver a great service. Many people have worked really hard over recent months to get the new service up and running. We recognise that our staff and clients have had to cope with a lot of change but it was all achievable and we achieved it and everyone shared a common goal; to design and deliver a seamless service for local people.”

KEY FACTS ONE...

New integrated sexual health service across Wirral.

TWO...

Ways of getting in touch. www.sexualhealthwirral.nhs.uk 0151 514 6464

THREE...

CLINICS

Organisations working together to deliver Sexual Health Wirral - Wirral Community NHS Trust, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Brook.

SEVEN...

Clinics available across Wirral, SEVEN days a week.

EIGHT...

Phone lines available.

8.00am to 8.00pm 0151 514 6464 Check out the new website for information about the service including clinic opening times and the downloadable timetable: www.sexualhealthwirral.nhs.uk

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Members and Governors

As members, you are the people who will vote for our Council of Governors.

The Council will be made up of public, staff and appointed governors to represent local people, employees and partner organisations. They will work with the board of directors to represent their constituencies, set the direction of the Trust and ensure we operate effectively. Our governor elections will take place when we are near to becoming a foundation trust.

Kevin Mason is an elected public Governor with the North East Ambulance Foundation Trust (NEAS). He gives us his take on what it means for him to be a Governor in the NHS… How would you describe your first months as a Governor?

Exciting There is a genuine sense of excitement, waiting for the announcement of Foundation Trust status, and by now we feel we “belong”… this is our Trust. The (largely unrecognised) work that goes on daily, to run an organisation like an Ambulance Trust, is awesome. Everyone seems enthused, and I have a new respect for the managers and support staff that work behind the scenes keeping the whole business running.

Proud It is becoming clear that we are lucky enough to be part of an Ambulance Trust that is on top of its game.

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An education Prior to becoming a Governor, I was familiar with the work of front line staff, but the eye opener for me was the sheer volume of unseen activity, and the extent of the Ambulance Service organisation.

Hectic Nothing quite prepares you for the mountain of information that will be thrust your way…. reports, PowerPoint presentations, meeting new people, new venues etc. Initially we all sat around and wondered what we were supposed to do as Governors, but the support from the Trust was excellent. It’s a rapid learning curve, but it’s important not to give in to information overload.

What have you found interesting about the role?

Being made aware of just what it takes (physically and financially) to run a Trust the size of NEAS. Learning that NEAS is a Trust at the forefront of working practices and clinical development, and how this is impacting favourably on services.

Meeting people from a wide range of social, cultural and employment backgrounds, and seeing how each has a contribution to make to the Governor body.

Being given the opportunity to be involved with committees that shape the future direction of the Trust.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about standing for election as a Governor?

Have a clear idea WHY you want to be a Governor. Be prepared to put in the time required for travel, meetings, training, committees etc. Talk to other Governors about their experiences.

Don’t be shy… seek answers to questions, and question the answers.

If you are interested in becoming a Governor, contact the Membership Team on 0151 514 2452.

Members and Governors

member

EVENTS We aim to hold a range of interesting and informative events to share more about our Trust and some of the things you can get involved in.

Governor Information Session If you want to find out if being an NHS Governor is for you, why not come along to our next information session where we’ll share more about the role, what’s involved in the election process and answer any questions you might have.

Date: Thursday 23 May Time: 2:30 – 4:30pm Venue: Old Market House, Hamilton St, Birkenhead NB: This is a repeat of previous information sessions for those who haven’t yet had a chance to attend one.

Visit the All Day Health Centre In the last edition of ‘For You’ Receptionist Roz Parry shared a snippet of what her role involves at the All Day Health Centre.

This centre hosts a GP Practice with extended opening hours (for registered and non-registered patients), a Walk-in Centre and a complete range of services and clinics throughout the week, for the residents of Wirral.

Members can meet the team, talk to them about their roles and take a short behind the scenes tour.

Date: Tuesday 18 June Time: 6:00 – 7:30pm Venue: All Day Health Centre, Arrowe Park Hospital Getting it right: Tracking quality, improving services and the patient experience Sandra Christie, Head of Nursing, Quality and Governance, will be talking about how we provide high quality care to patients, our achievements and Quality Goals, and how we use information and involve patients to ensure we know how good our services are.

Date: Wednesday 24 July Time: 2:30 – 4:30pm Venue: Old Market House, Hamilton St, Birkenhead Contact the Membership Team to book your place on any of the events above by Tel: 0151 514 2452 / 0800 694 9985.

Foundation Trust Journey Becoming a foundation trust will give us greater freedoms and will allow our staff and the public, as members and governors, to have a much greater say in the running of the Trust.

The application process to achieve foundation trust now sits with the NHS foundation trust status is extensive and Trust Development Authority (TDA). rigorous, involving several stages of external assessments.

We are now working closely with the TDA in preparation for our final stage Over the past year we have made significant of the journey. Once they have given progress in our application and at a review their official support for our application with the North West Strategic Health we will go through to the final stage of Authority in January, it was recommended the application with Monitor for us to be put forward to the next stage (independent regulator of foundation of the process… assessment by the trust organisations).

Department of Health.

The final decision on whether we become However, changes in the NHS structure an NHS foundation trust rests with since then mean that responsibility for Monitor. We are hopeful that we will assessing whether we are ready to be a achieve this during 2013/14.

Changes to Commissioning The NHS reforms introduced by the NHS Health and Social Care Act 2013 formally came into operation on 1 April 2013. This has led to the abolition of NHS Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities across England.

Locally that means the roles previously provided by NHS Wirral (Wirral PCT) and NHS North West (The North West SHA) are now being undertaken by the new organisation’s established by the Act.

commissioning groups across Wirral, the Local Area Team of NHS England and Public Health commissioners at the local authority are playing a pivotal role in the contracting process.

The majority of our services are provided through block contracts with NHS Wirral.

We signed a three year contract with the PCT in April 2011 which will end on 31 March 2014. During the transitional period the three emergent clinical

The new NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) take on a number of the responsibilities previously carried out by the SHA and the Department of Health including managing the Trust performance and progression to foundation trust.

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

Email your suggestions to communications@wirralct.nhs.uk 18

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Healthy Corner

Strawberry and Banana Smoothie Ingredients

Method

125gm (4oz) Strawberries 1 small Banana, cut into chunks 1 small carton of vanilla low fat yoghurt 4 tablespoons of milk (plus extra if necessary)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor / blender or you can use a hand held blender. Blend until smooth and add extra milk to thin if necessary. Pour into a glass and chill for 10 to 15 minutes if possible.

Fruit and yoghurt smoothies make tasty and nutritious drinks!

This recipe was kindly provided by our Public Health team from their Healthy Cookery course. Find out more about the range of courses on offer by visiting the Community Programme page at www.wirralct.nhs.uk Tell us how your smoothie turned out and if you enjoyed it - send us your pictures - communications@wirralct.nhs.uk

Health and wellbeing tip

10 Benefits of Drinking

Health and Wellbeing Recommended websites NHS Choices www.nhs.uk

1. Increases energy & relieves fatigue 2. Promotes weight loss 3. Flushes out toxins 4. Improves skin complexion 5. Maintains regularity 6. Boosts immune system

NHS Choices is packed with information about the NHS, a wide range of health conditions, lifestyle advice, local health services, the latest health news, advice about care & support and much, much more.

PAM Assist (for Wirral CT Staff only) www.pamassist.co.uk/ PAM Assist is a free confidential advice and support service for Wirral CT Staff. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

9. Puts you in a good mood

You can get confidential advice and support about a wide range of things including stress management, managing money, personal life, retirement, having a family, coping with illness, personal crisis and debt advice.

10. Save money!

Visit the StaffZone for more information.

7. Natural headache remedy 8. Prevents cramps & sprains

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The Back Page!

Fun stuff for while you have your tea break.

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Volunteers Wanted!

Wirral Community NHS Trust is looking for volunteers to be part of a new Welcome Team at St. Catherine’s Health Centre in Birkenhead.

As a friendly, approachable volunteer at St. Catherine’s you can help improve the experience of patients and visitors by providing information and assistance.

To find out more please call 0151 514 6342 or email foryouwithyou@wirralct.nhs.uk

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