For Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust staff and volunteers April 2013

The building, at the side of the tower block, willprovide a calm and tranquil area where patientswith cancer can find support away from all theclinical paraphernalia. Designed by experts in thefield with extensive patient involvement, the£650,000 centre is being jointly funded by thecharity and the hospital.

Michelle Bath, Macmillan development manager,said: “Our aim is to make sure no one in Essexfaces cancer alone. This centre has been speciallydesigned to be a friendly, relaxing and non-clinicalplace where people affected by cancer can drop infor all-round support.”

We’ve hooked up withMacmillan Cancer Support

Everybody Matters week in February gave us all the opportunity to find out more about otherdepartments and flaunt our own skills and expertise.Now we are flinging open our doors to the localcommunity and holding an open day on Sunday, June 23.

As well as a chance to engage with patients, families and visitorsand show off what we do, we will also be holding a traditionalsummer fete to raise money for wards and departments.

We are planning to put on clinical talks, exhibitions andcompetitions, give away some goodies and have lots of fun with,hopefully, a celeb to get everything under way. It’ll be a great dayout for all the family, so please get involved with what your ownarea is planning – and show just how good we are.

Building is about to start on an informationand support centre for cancer patients andtheir families and we are hoping it will beopen for business by late summer.

Strutting our stuff

2

EverybodyMatters Everything Counts Everyone’s ResponsibleThe week we broke down barriers

Everybody Matters week more thanlived up to expectations. A buzz of enthusiasm and more than a whiff ofpride in our many achievements pervaded thewhole hospital as we got the chance to meetcolleagues from other areas, learn about what theydo and show off our own expertise. We could peerdown microscopes, see the internal workings of theIT system, find out how we store patient records,get ourselves (literally) plastered…… Here we capture just some of the events, tours and demonstrations:

“Everyone I met wasvery enthusiastic about

the opportunities to visitother areas and I felt

there was a real feelingof camaraderie amongststaff who had never met

before. It certainly didthe job of encouragingstaff to realise they areall part of one big team

and will help to breakdown those ‘silos’.”

Kay Bell, Choose andBook manager

“It felt like old times, talking, sharingand resolving together as one withoutan email in sight!!”

Nicky Kitchener, head of central services,estates and facilities

3

EverybodyMatters Everything Counts Everyone’s ResponsibleThe week we broke down barriers

“I learned a lot about howdifferent departments work –clerical and clinical; I feel that weall have an important link withinthe hospital, whatever we do.

“I would strongly recommendthat this Culture Week isrepeated on a yearly basis.”

Jo Warwick, medical educationadministrator

“I liked the opportunity to meet lots of differentpeople from around the trust. Also the overallfeeling that came across was that there is so muchpride in what we do. Everyone seemed genuinelyenthusiastic about their area of the Trust.”

Julie Champney, telecoms team leader

And well done to our Everybody Matters weekcompetition winners:

Through the keyhole:Ruby FallowsStaff uniforms:

Naomi MooreEverybody Matters

Stephanie Rawlinson

4

We have come a long waysince the bad old days of so-called ‘bed blockers’ when itoften took weeks, if not ayear or so, to discharge apatient who had beenpronounced fit enough to leave.Apart from the expense (with ahospital bed costing £400 a day), italso meant fewer beds were availablefor new patients.

Now, thanks to discharge managerSandra Steeples and her stalwart team,the delay for patients with complexneeds is down to just over two days.

It has all been achieved through closecooperation with social services, rehabtherapists and our own ‘home fromhospital’ team.

And the dramatic drop certainlyimpressed the NHS Emergency CareIntensive Support Team who paid us atwo-day visit earlier this year: they havenow asked Sandra to pass on herexpertise to other hospitals.

Whereas most other hospitals have

two or three discharge coordinators,we have nine – all of them experiencedsenior nurses who are used to dealingwith tricky and confidential situations.

“You really need one coordinator forevery three wards”, says Sandra. “Wealso spot purchase beds in residentialhomes for patients recovering from anacute illness and provide rehab.”

Every day, Sandra’s team produces alist of patients who are medically fit toleave, based on information receivedelectronically from the wards. Theyimmediately share it with social servicesso care packages can be put into place.

Sandra devised the system herself andbelieves it is exclusive to Southend. “Itpulls all the information together –without it, we would not know whereto start.

“Our aim is to discharge all patients onthe day they are pronounced medicallyfit to leave.”

Sandra has already helped otherhospitals, in one instance saving theparticularly trust more than £1m in ayear. Now the Emergency Care

Intensive Support Team wants her toshare her methods still further.

Sandra’s team holds weekly teachingsessions for doctors, nurses, therapists,students and social services to instil theurgency of safe and timely discharges.

She said: “The team works so hard. Idon’t think anyone really knows howwell they do – we are dealing withdifficult relatives, financial issues andother confidential matters. It is notsomething you can just teach andthere is no training programme.”

The acid test of any hospital or health service is if users would recommend their family orfriends were treated there – the answer speaks volumes.Now all our patients who receive care or treatment as an inpatient or in A&E will be given the opportunity tostate their view of their experience – and whether they would recommend our services.

The Friends and Family Test is an easy to understand patient survey. It has been piloted on six wards as well asA&E. Now all wards are getting involved with the official start date on April 1.

We need to receive 110-115 completed forms each week so it is really important staff encourage patients tocomplete this at discharge. Their answers should help us continually to improve the quality of care we provide.

Friends and Family test

Sandra’s team shows the way

With their sunny smiles,volunteer befriendersBarbara Cronin, Millie Bealingand Chris Stevens (picturedleft to right), are just thetonic for patients withoutfriends or family coming in to visit.The cheerful threesome each spend

two hours each week having abedside chat with patients who havedementia, memory loss and othersimilar conditions.

Consultant physician and dementialead, Dr Ioannis Liakas, said: “Thedays can seem very long for patientswho don’t have anyone coming in atvisiting time. Our volunteerbefrienders bring stimulation and

interaction which really help brightenup their afternoon.”

Friendly faces

Sue Bunn, reception supervisorin our eye unit over at OrsettHospital, was nominated for herrole in operating the satelliteclinics there.

Despite organising clinics for 200-pluspatients every day and having to linkwith other trusts’ systems, Sue alwayshas time to help a colleague or patient– and always with a ready smile!Recently, much of her time has beentaken up with helping the doctors findtheir way around electronic patients’notes after they were transferred frompaper.

Sue knew nothing about her namebeing put forward until she receivedthe email to say she had been selected.

“I was a bit flabbergasted. I did not

know I was held in such high esteem. Ijust love everything about my job.”

Like all our hospital heroes, Suebelieves fervently in our values and triesher hardest to uphold them: “Patientcare is so much more important thantargets. The patient comes first.”

And an added bonus of her award isthat is has helped to raise the profile ofthe Orsett clinic.

“I don’t think a lot of people realise weare part of Southend UniversityHospital.”

First up is activities of dailyliving advisor (ADLA), MaxineEvans, from the rehabdepartment.

She was nominated for the ‘fantastic’work she does with patients: agreeingto see them at a moment’s notice,taking a genuine interest in theirwelfare and making their stay inhospital more bearable and fun.

Maxine , pictured receiving her awardfrom non-executive director TimYoung, was originally seconded to thehospital eight years ago to set up itsdischarge planning unit.

She says: “I am very lucky. I don’t justenjoy my job – I love it, which is why Istayed. Every day is so varied and wereally can make a difference topeoples’ lives, which is what I like.”

There’s been a whole bevy of hospital heroes since our last edition – each of themembodying our cherished values that (all together now) everybody matters,

everything counts and everyone’s responsible.

Every one’s a winner!

Leanne Griffiths, Rochfordward. Since joining the heartand chest clinic as a new staffnurse last May, Leanne has beena brilliant help to patientsneeding a nebuliser.

She has brought in a system to contactnearly 2,000 patients directly whentheir annual check is due and ward

staff come directly to her when anebuliser is needed for a patient beingdischarged.

Nominated by the whole heart andchest clinic staff, Leanne was praisedfor her ‘great empathy for patients’, fortaking a real personal interest in themand their care and for ‘making such adifference’ to the department.

With so many examples ofexcellence abounding, it is alwaysa tricky job for the judges. So, onceagain, they have honoured othernominees with a ‘highlycommended’ award:

Josie Parsons,deputymanager on the post-oprecovery ward (J Alfred Lee).An impressivetestimonialfrom hercolleagues

states: “She is our post-op ‘mum’ –nothing is too much trouble. We loveher and to us she is our ‘hospitalhero’.”

LaviniaRomero, headof radiotherapyphysics who,say her fans, ‘isthe kind ofselfless anddedicatedworker everyone always relies on’.

And last, but certainly not least,Wojciech (‘Peter’) Juszcczyk, warddomestic (catering) for the critical care

unit andGordonHopkins ward.As well astaking greatcare of thepatients, Peterstays on afterhis shift to help lug out bags of linenor serve food to patients arriving afterofficial mealtimes.

The words ‘busy’ or ‘can’t do’ are notin his vocabulary.

So, let’s hear it for our other hospitalheroes – and keep the nominationscoming. See STAFFnet for details.

What is quality, and why is it important?

What does qualitymean to you? Gettingthe right service, freefrom mistakes, whenyou need it?It’s no different for our patientswhen they visit the hospital.

Some people think that gettingquality healthcare means seeing adoctor right away, being treatedcourteously by hospital staff, orhaving the doctor spend a lot oftime with the patient and theirfamily

And while those are importantelements, for us as an organisationclinical and safe quality of care isparamount.

This can easily defined as doing theright thing (getting the healthcareservices you need), at the righttime (when you need them), inthe right way (using theappropriate test or procedure andbeing treated with respect), toachieve the best possible results.

Our quality strategy sets out ourplans for making our healthcaremore safe, effective, patient-centred, timely, efficient and fair. In short our vision of Excellent Careby Excellent People.

Quality at SouthendHospitalAncient Greek philosopher Aristotleis credited with saying “quality isnot an act but a habit”, a habit weaspire to develop here.

Our Quality Strategy 2012-2016links our top three qualitypriorities; leadership for quality,improving the patient experienceand improving clinical outcomesand avoiding harm to our values(the full version of the strategy canbe found on STAFFnet).

EverybodyMatters Everything Counts Everyone’s Responsible

Everythingcounts

All patients and staff should beaware that every contact with

every patient and member of staff isan opportunity to make a positive

difference and that we strivecontinuously to improve systemsand processes that we have inplace to ensure the patientexperience is the best it

can be.

Everybodymatters

We aspire to excellence byattention to detail and zero

tolerance to anything less. Patientsand staff have the right and trulydeserve both to receive and givehigh-quality care that improves

both patient and staffsatisfaction in theirexperience of our

hospital.

What is quality, and why is it important?

These values arebrought to lifethrough a number ofwork streams underthe Quality StrategySteering Group:

Patient safety – lead: DeniseFlowers, associate director ofclinical governance

This is about putting the safety ofour patients at the heart of howwe work and include strands suchas the the model ward project andthe SSkin zero tolerancecampaign.

Patient involvement – lead:Denise Flowers, associatedirector of clinicalgovernance

Talking to and understandingour patients ensures that the

care we give reflects their needsboth physically and emotionally,leading to a reduction incomplaints and better outcomes.

Safe 24/7 – lead: Mike Salter,consultant and business unitdirector for surgery

How we function out of hoursand how we ensure that, nomatter when they are admitted,patients still receive the same highstandards of care, led by ourconsultants.

Leadership at ward level –lead: Cheryl Schwarz, associatedirector of nursing

Ensuring that those who are atthe frontline of services aresupported and developed toinspire our care teams to be thevery best.

Communication and culture –leads: Gina Quantrill, associatebusiness unit director,women’s and children’s andJulie Lander, associate businessunit director, musculoskeletal

How we interact with our patientsand each other, the language weuse and our behaviours allinfluence the quality of our care.Events like Everybody Mattersweek aim to encourage us tosolve things together rather thanblame someone else.

Research, education andinnovation – lead: CraigMackerness, research anddevelopment manager

Ensuring staff get the righttraining and development and areencouraged and empowered tolook at new approaches.

If you would like to becomeinvolved any of the abovework streams or have ideas tomake a difference, contact thelead to discuss.

EverybodyMatters Everything Counts Everyone’s Responsible

Everythingcounts

All patients and staff should beaware that every contact with

every patient and member of staff isan opportunity to make a positive

difference and that we strivecontinuously to improve systemsand processes that we have inplace to ensure the patientexperience is the best it

can be.

Everyone’sresponsibleBy each individual

acknowledging and believing thatall staff are responsible

and can make a real difference topatient care, regardless of their role,

we will put quality at the heart of all we do.

Medical students go out on the road

Since coming to work with uslast year, consultantcommunity geriatrician DrLeila Bafadhel , together withher consultant colleague DrSumathi Ragavan, has beenon a mission to improve carefor the elderly – both insideand outside hospital.The latest step has been to get togetherwith local care home managers toestablish a ‘best practice’ steering groupso that communal care becomes less ofa daunting prospect for the manyhundreds of people who can no longerfend for themselves.

With the emphasis increasingly onhealth care in the community, such aclose relationship with the care sectorcan help prevent elderly patients beingadmitted to hospital unnecessarily,while at the same time improving theireveryday quality of life.

Leila said: “Moving from your ownhome to live in a care home is naturallya massive step for anyone to take.Elderly people fear it will mean loss of

independence and purpose. But it canbe a very stimulating and motivatingexperience – if the quality of care withinthe care home is good.”

The best practice initiative has beenenthusiastically received by many carehome proprietors in south Essex. Leila,who trained in Sheffield where there isa long-established community geriatrichealth service, added: “The ultimategoal is to drive up standards of elderlycare.

“As part of the community geriatricsservice and along with lead local GPsand professionals in the area, we areproviding teaching on the so-called‘geriatric giants’ – falls, continence,cognition, mood, and nutrition andaddressing the burden of multiplemedications with associated side effects- to care home managers and staff.These multi-disciplinary inreach teamsfor care homes help to strengthenrelationships between care homes,community specialists and the hospital.

The steering group will be meetingagain on May 9.

Leila added: “We will be sharing moregood ideas in line with the national ‘Myhome life’ project. The best practicesteering group initiative is designed tohelp to try and prevent our frail elderlypopulation from feeling isolated and tofind the most effective way of engagingwith them and with one another. Thefeedback from care home managers isthat they feel lines of communicationare beginning to be made. It soundsvery simple, but we need to get itright.”

8

The ultimate goalis to drive upstandards of

elderly care.

Connecting with care homes

Final year medical students on placement here have beengetting a broader picture of the patient journey, with thehelp of colleagues in the East of England Ambulance Service.The chance to shadow a paramedic for the day has given the aspiring doctorsinsight into how the patient’s condition is managed without all the equipmentwhich is readily available at the hospital. A&E consultant Mr Hamid Rokan, oneof the students’ tutors, said: “As the students spend almost three weeks in ourdepartment, I feel this opportunity will enhance their clinical skills in managingthe acutely ill patients who arrive at our door.”

A&E consultant Mr Hamid Rokan; medical students David Brooke and Ciara McClenaghan;behind, medical students Priti Narshi and Saoirse Lyons and (rear) paramedic TeresaShadforth with student ambulance paramedic Mark Nelmes, both based at Shoebury.

and how else than with cake?Education centre staff welcomedstudents and visitors to their hubof information and knowledge tocelebrate National Libraries Day.Libraries throughout the countrywere promoting their services

with the slogan ‘use it or lose it’.With the results of hundreds ofyears of academic research andlearning contained within thepages of the thousands of bookson our shelves, it was a messageworth promoting.

Celebrating a wealth of learning…….

They are a tenacious lot, our worker governors:not easily shaken off. Like a dog with a bone,once they get their teeth into something, theydon’t drop it until they get an answer. And when you consider there are just seven of them torepresent well over 4,000 staff, you start to realise what amammoth task they undertake.

So, take a bow, Kym Popplewell, Kay Bell, Sam James, MelBurgess, Sharon Wallace, Liz Leigh and Bob Bradbrook, wholisten carefully to what we have to say before beating a pathto the executive offices to see where improvements to ourworking lives can be made.

Over the years they have dealt with dozens of questions andsuggestions, channelled them to the right people andreported back on the outcome. Kym, chair of the workergovernors, said: “As a group, we empower staff andvolunteers to explore their concerns and suggestions, helpthem to have a voice and keep hot topics on the agenda.

“Some of the issues raised may stay around for a while butwe keep at it until we get an answer one way or another.”

The governors would love to see more staff at their monthlyboardroom meetings, including doctors, nurses, HCAs andporters.

To find out when the meetings will be, emailFoundation Trust membership manager DavidFairweather or give him a call on ext 5622.

9

Ladybird spreads its wingsOur Ladybird nursery is now open from 6.45am until 8.30pm to meet parents’ needs and fitin with new NHS shift patterns.The onsite nursery (at the Cardigan wing side of the hospital site) takes children from birth to eight years, andoperates a school run to and from Earls Hall.

Lisa Green, childcare and staff benefits business manager, said: “We pride ourselves on our unique flexiblebooking system which means parents only pay for the hours they need. They contract to a fixed number of hourseach week and can use them how they wish.”

Where possible, Ladybird also offers ad-hoc and emergency cover places and provides 11 hours of freeeducational time to three-year-olds. Call 01702 385530 for more information.”

Here to make a difference

…..that is the advice fromour LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-and trans) group. Co-chairand cardiology CNS KatieTaylor-Blow, warned againstmaking assumptions aboutpatients, visitors orcolleagues based onappearances. According to government statistics,six per cent of the population comes

under the LGBT umbrella.

Amit Popat, equality and diversitymanager, says: “It is important toknow the demographics of who iscoming through our doors. We areworking with the PAS managementgroup with the view to recordingsexual orientation and are launching apatient survey to gauge how well weare meeting the needs of the differentcommunities who use our services.

The hospital has been working closelywith Lorna Fulton from the

campaigning and lobbying groupStonewall to benefit from herexpertise.

Anyone wanting to learn moreabout our LGBT group can emaillgbt@southend.nhs.uk

Assume nothing...

10

Welcome to:Dr Rosalyn Foo,consultant inpalliative medicine,who joins us fromSt Francis’sHospice, Havering.Rosalyn is anotherof our growingband ofconsultants who have worked herepreviously on their way up the careerladder. She did her SHO rotation withus 11 years ago and still has fondmemories of that time.

Rosalyn is splitting her time betweenthe hospital and the community topromote joint working and seamlesscare.

She says: “Palliative medicine is a fairlynew medical speciality and quitechallenging clinically. It is also a greatway to get to know everyone as weget referrals from all over the hospital.

“It is not just end-of-life care, butabout managing symptoms of a rangeof conditions and looking after thepatients, their families and friends.”

In her rare spare time, Rosalyn enjoysbaking – much to the delight of hercolleagues who benefit from thecakes of her labours!

Farewell to:Consultant clinicaloncologist, DrAnne Robinson,who has retiredafter 23 years withthe Trust.

Anne’s manyachievementsinclude beinginstrumental in securing treatmentslike Herceptin for Southend breastcancer patients and being a keenadvocate of participating in clinicaltrials to improve patient care.

She also helped introduce the ‘LookGood, Feel Better’ confidence-boosting programme for women whohave undergone breast cancertreatment.

During her time here, Anne hasalways been held in very high esteemby both colleagues and patients. Shehas been the consummate

professional, but always with a greatsense of fun. She established awonderful rapport with her patientsand possessed excellent teachingskills.

Gill West, one of our breast carenurses, said: “It has been a privilegeto work with such a dedicatedprofessional who has always beenprepared to ‘go the extra mile’ for herpatients. The breast care nursing teamwill miss her on both a personal andprofessional level.”

Patient Caroline Swain credits Annewith helping to save both her and herunborn son 10 years ago when sheneeded chemotherapy to treat anaggressive cancer.

She said: 'Using the very latestknowledge, she not only saved my lifebut that of my then unborn child.Today, many doctors are only justdiscovering that this treatment is infact possible. We as a family wouldvery much like to thank Anne andwish her much happiness in herretirement.'

Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, clinical lead foroncology and haematology, said Annehad been a dedicated member of theteam and would be ‘sorely missed’.

“She is one of our much admired andlongest serving consultants.”

Dynamic duo John and DeniseBlundell who have retired from ourprint and design centre. Over theyears John has run the departmentfrom the hospital basement, RochfordHospital and finally Britannia House,during which time he has developed itinto a complete design and printservice. Denise has worked alongsidehim in the print store, sorting out andsupplying orders to wards anddepartments.

John said “I am extremely fortunate tohave had a wonderful group of staff.It has been an amazing journey and Ihave loved every minute. Not manypeople can work with their other

halves but Denise and I get on so welltogether it’s never been a problem.We will really miss all the friends wehave made over the years.”

Gynae clinical nurse specialist, CarolHolborn, who had a bumper turn-outat her retirement send-off and isclearly going to be hugely missed.

Carol was described as ‘a loss to theArmy’ when she came to us in 1971after a stint in Queen Alexandra’sRoyal Army Nursing Corps. Apart froma short stint as a community nurse inthe late 1980s, she has been with usever since.

Sharon Murrell, acting head ofmidwifery and gynaecology, describedCarol as ‘a woman of integrity withhigh professional standards’.

By 1999, Carol was honing herbereavement counselling skills andcreating information packs for womensuffering pregnancy loss. Sharon said:“Her work dealing with grief, painand sorrow has made such a bigcontribution to the women ofSouthend and her retirement is agreat loss to us – we really appreciateall she has done.”

And consultant obstetrician andgynaecologist, Mr Khalil Razvi,described Carol as ‘a rock’.

Carol is now looking forward togetting more involved with theUniversity of the Third Age (U3A),having taken on the role of socialsecretary of the newly-formed Hockleybranch.

She said: “I feel so proud to haveworked with such lovely people whohave always put our patients first.”

AlisonRainforth,clinical servicesmanager fororthopaedics,who has left usafter 45 years.Alison started

Welcomes, congratulations and farewells

11

her enrolled nurse training atWestcliff Hospital back in January1968 and spent many happy years inA&E and orthopaedics. She did thefull nurse training in the nineties, waspromoted to ward manager onBalmoral and then Shopland wards,where the job ‘just evolved’.

She said: “I loved nursing and wouldrecommend it as a career.”

But now she is looking forward tomore family time with the twograndchildren and getting away fromit all with husband Allan at theircaravan on the River Backwater.

Midwife BarbaraShapiro, whostarted working for us at RochfordHospital in 1978.She then spentthree yearsworking on akibbutz in Israel,where she married and had her sonDaniel before returning to work herein 1984.

Barbara is looking forward to gettingmore involved in the Mount CarmelMessianic Congregation which sheand husband Gary help to run, aswell as devoting more time to herelderly parents. A return trip to Israelis also on the cards.

Daphne King.staff nurse onShopland ward,who has retiredafter 38 years(although stillworking for us onenight a week onthe bank). Daphneworked on various wards beforefinding her niche in orthopaedics 20years ago. She is planning to spendmore time with family and to travel –a trip to South Africa later this year isalready booked!

GwenGreenwood,medical secretaryin clinicalhaematology, whohas left us after 15years. Gwen is

unlikely to find time weighingheavily: she is looking forward tospending more time playing tennis,doing pilates and body pump, as wellas enjoying some pub lunches,rambles and taking up genealogy.

Mike Gamble,porter for thesurgicalassessment unitsince 2005, who is leaving to carefor his wife, Jean,who hasParkinson’sdisease. Mike previously spent 26years portering at Barts and theLondon Hospital, having started hisNHS career in 1976.

It was a wrench for him to leave thejob he loves so much: “It has been aprivilege to work as part of a highlyprofessional team. I have alsoenjoyed making patients feel at theirease and building up workingrelationships with other wards anddepartments.”

HCA Jan Johnson, who has workedfor the Trust for 26 years – originallyin Westcliff and Rochford Hospitals,switching to A&E in 1995. Jan wasone of the very first HCAs to work inthe department.

After getting some decorating choresout of the way, Jan is lookingforward to taking her twograndchildren to Florida in Novemberand making return trips to both anative American ranch in Tulsa,Oklahoma, where she will besleeping in a tepee and learningmore about the culture, and to awolf sanctuary in Indiana .

Congratulations to:Our sexual health services whichhave won through to the finals of theCare Integration Awards and PatientSafety Awards 2013, organised bythe Health Service Journal and theNursing Times to recognise serviceswhich ‘provide high-quality, effectiveand seamless care to patients andservice users’. Consultant Dr HennaJaleel has been shortlisted in theclinical leadership category for apatient safety award, while fellowconsultant Dr Kieran Fernando hasgot through to the final in thewomen’s health category. Bothinvolve improving the take-up ofcervical screening for HIV-infectedwomen. The finals of the prestigiousawards will take place in London’sPark Lane in July.

Also our snack round service whichhas been shortlisted in the samePatient Safety Awards in the care ofolder people category.

Our midwives who secured a£88.5k award from the Departmentof Health to create a maternity triageservice on the CDS. The money willalso enable the maternity unit toimprove its service for womenexperiencing early pregnancyproblems by creating special areas forscans, examinations and counsellingto consolidate care on the gynaeunit.

Gokulavani(‘Vani’) Balaji,clinical coder, onpassing her toughAccredited ClinicalCoders (ACC) exam.It meant sitting athree-hour theorypaper on the same day as a three-hour practical exam.

Clinical coding trainer, Deborah Szul,said: “It is a difficult exam to pass,with a 90% pass mark which leaveslittle margin for error. A coder has todedicate a lot of time for home study.Well done to Vani for passing bothpapers first time!”

12

Saturday, April 13 - 7.30pm start

Charity Race Night at Mazenod Hall,St Peter’s Church, Eastwood RoadNorth, Leigh, in aid of SouthendOncology Supporters (SOS).

Call 01702 478564 or 711189 formore details.

Tuesday, April 23 - 7.30pm

In the education centre

Mini masterclass: Management ofTIA and stroke including when andhow to use TIA pathway.

Speaker: Dr Paul Guyler, consultantphysician, department of medicine forthe elderly.

Sunday, April 28

On the buses fundraiser for BosomPals Appeal On The Road. Vintagebuses travel from Southend to eastLondon. Rides for a donation. Pleasewear pink. 07570 255405 for details.

.

Diary Dates

Welcomes, congratulations and farewells (cont.)Sterile services staff Jakub Cesak,assistant manager, Dawn Skinner,senior technician and Dale Marjoram,junior technician, on gaining theirEuropean diploma supplement in‘decontamination of reusable invasiveflexible endoscopes’ from AngliaRuskin University. This is a new coursewhich has only run twice so it is a realcoup for the three to have beenamong the first in the country to gaina university qualification in this subject.

Our learning disabilities committeeon receiving £5,000 from the Rix

Thompson Rothenberg Foundation toproduce an information video for thisgroup of patients and their families.

Good luck to:Staff nurses Tina Kidd and ShirleyFrost who, along with two othercolleagues, will be hiking 84 milesalong Hadrian’s Wall in six days inJune. Tina and Shirley will be hopingtheir efforts will raise extra funds forthe surgical assessment unit(Chalkwell ward) where they work.Tina has a sponsorship form on theward if anyone would like to supporttheir efforts.

We are delighted that our local dailynewspaper, the Echo, has thrownitself behind our Bosom Pals AppealOn The Road to help raise the final£125,000 needed to reach our£500k target.As always, our loyal supporters havecome up trumps to bring in thefunds to buy digital equipment forthe breast screening vans whichtour around south Essex, bringingthe mobile service in line with ourhospital-based breast care unit.Thanks to everyone’s efforts, by theend of the year all eligible women insouth Essex should be screenedusing the latest technology.

Echo backing for ourfundraising appeal

Say it like it is

There is no escaping theannual appraisal – everyonehas to go through it. Butwhat do you hope that houror so spent closeted withyour manager will achieve?Most of us want the chance to discusshow we are getting on, what wewould like to achieve and any nigglingproblems we may have in theworkplace. In other words, it is a timefor some plain speaking on both sides.

That’s partly why we are introducing anew appraisal which, although quite ahefty document, is a lot morestraightforward that its predecessor,PRIDE.

Sarah Lee, learning and developmentconsultant, says: “Our new appraisal islinked with the Trust values: EverybodyMatters, Everything Counts, Everyone’sResponsible.

“Hopefully it is simpler than PRIDE

which some staff found ratherconfusing. The new format shouldpromote a good quality two-wayconversation. It will review pastperformance – achievements andchallenges – and think about thefuture. Everyone should haveobjectives when they leave theirappraisal.”

The form lists each value with its ownset of behaviours to assess areas likecommunication, adaptability, focusand learning from past mistakes. And,for the first time, there will befeedback for the managers too.

Sarah hopes the new format, which isbeing introduced from April 1, willencourage all of us to adopt a‘continuous improvement’ mind-set.

“Reflecting on your performance oncea year is good practice, and we shouldalways be trying to improve on whatwe have done before, rather than justmaintaining the status quo.”