WCT Magazine For You - Spring Edition 2014

#WCTAwardsWere youthere? b See page 11!

Health Visiting Service

For further information about our Health Visiting Service visit our website www.wirralct.nhs.ukor call our switchboard 0151 514 2888

Personal and informative advice and support around:• feeding, weaning and dental health• developmental checks• breastfeeding, immunisations and sleeping patterns• child safety • mental wellbeing, emotions and postnatal depression • referrals into specialist services such as Speech and Language Therapy

‘’My health visitorhas helped me so much.

She supported me with myemotional wellbeing andgave me practical advicewith my baby’s feeding.

I am so gratefulto her’’.

Simon GilbyChief Executive

INSIDE

News bites 3

Business plan 4

Trust news 6

Volunteers and members 7

Vision 2018 8

A day in the life 10

FEATUREStaff awards 2014 11

Trust news 15

In the spotlight 16

Trust news 18

Getting to know you 21

Health and wellbeing 22

Brain training 23

Welcome to this spring edition of foryou, the magazine for all our staff, members and volunteers.

The long nights are over and the days are getting a touch warmer. Always a good time for a renewed sense of energy as we take stock of the last year and look forward to putting our next set of plans into practice. We have achieved a great deal as a community trust already. On page 4, we share our plans for the future with our five year strategic objectives and our two year business plan goals. There are many opportunities and challenges ahead and I look forward to working alongside the great people in this organisation, sharing the energy and vision to make it happen.

Fantastic examples of our work to date were shared at our annual For You Thank You staff awards back in February (see page 11). It was a proud night for everyone involved and I couldn’t resist tweeting the picture of the event I took during my opening welcome... little did I know it would make the cover of the magazine!

One of our winning teams is featured in the Spotlight feature (page 16). Here you can take a closer look at how innovation and partnership working within the Speech & Language Therapy service has had an enormously positive impact for children in Wirral.

Another highlight for me so far this year was our careers event at St Catherine’s Health Centre (page 6). Over 200 young people came through our doors to find out about what we do and be inspired, we hope, to consider a career in the NHS. Thanks to all involved in what was such a great event.

You may have seen over the last few weeks information about a project called Vision 2018 (page 8). Vision 2018 is the plan to re-shape health services and social care in Wirral and throughout the year there’ll opportunities for you to get involved and help inform the further development of the project.

Finally, I have been making my own personal commitment to live well this spring, after my appointment with one of our Livewell health trainers earlier in the year. I have been eating a little more healthily and trying to exercise a bit more. And I may well have completed the Sheffield half marathon by the time this goes to print!

If you want to know how I get on you can follow me on twitter @SimonGilby_WCT or for trust news as it happens follow @wirralct.

Welcome

Comment

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:foryouCommunications and Marketing Wirral Community NHS Trust Old Market HouseHamilton Street BirkenheadWirral CH41 5AL

E: [email protected]

THIS ISSUE

2 foryou Spring 2014

NewsBites

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.

Information governance Claire Wedge from the Quality and Governance team has recently completed a six month training course in London to achieve her Information Governance Certificate. It demonstrates the trust’s commitment to IG and investment in an area that is gaining increasing public interest and concern.

Jo Chwalko QNI Award Congratulations to Jo Chwalko (Health Visitor Team Leader at VCHC) who has been awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse. Jo has been invited to attend a ceremony in London in May.

Celebratory event for local nurseries and children’s centres The Livewell team hosted an event to celebrate the fantastic work local nurseries and children’s centres have been doing around health and wellbeing. Our Chairman awarded certificates and organisations shared their good news stories about what they had been doing to improve the health and wellbeing of local children and their families.

Eye care on the high street Suffering from bloodshot or watery eyes? Seeing flashes of light or floating objects? In need of long term glaucoma monitoring? Did you know you can visit a number of local opticians across Wirral with common eye problems without an appointment. The highly trained Optometrists have been accredited by hospital consultants, and can often see you on the same day. For details of our community ophthalmology service visit our website www.wirralct.nhs.uk

Staff survey results 2013 -at a glanceIn all, 1,440 staff received a survey form, 57% responded.

96%

84%80%76%76%75%73%4%

89%received an annual appraisal – best score nationally!

received equality and diversity training.

said the trust acted on concerns raised by patients/ service users.

would recommend the trust to a friend or relative if they needed treatment.

feel supported by their manager.

believe incident reporting procedures are fair and effective.

suffered work related stress in last 12 months.

experienced violence from patients, relatives or the public.

agree their role makes a difference to patients.

Overall the survey shows:19 of the key findings were better than the national average for community trusts, including the number of staff who would recommend the trust as a place to work.

Two improved since 2012, two deteriorated, 23 stayed the same.

The full results are available on Staff Zone or at www.nhsstaffsurveys.com

We would like to thank all staff who completed and returned their form.

News bites

3Spring 2014 foryou

Our future...

Review of 2013/14Over the last year we have achieved an enormous amount and made significant progress towards our longer term goals.

We have: • received three successful

inspections from the Care Quality Commission – our quality regulator

• developed the model for Integrated Care Coordination teams so that along with colleagues across the health and social care economy we can make services more joined up, particularly for those people with long term conditions

• bid for and successfully retained a number of services and learnt valuable lessons from those that we did not win

• worked hard to achieve the financial and efficiency challenges set for us

• continued to deliver high quality patient care in an organisation that the majority of our staff and patients would be happy to recommend to a friend

Our Annual Report which is published in June will detail exactly how we got on last year.

our two year business plan!

As the NHS continues to change, we have taken the

opportunity to refresh our FIVE year strategic

objectives and ensure that they continue to be linked to

our commissioner’s plans – our key priorities continue

to be our patients and community; our services;

our people; and our sustainability… all the

things that will make us the organisation that

we want to be.

Each of these five year strategic objectives links through to organisational goals in our Two Year Business Plan and through to divisional and team plans and ultimately to our employees personal objectives.

This golden thread will help ensure that ALL members of staff, irrespective of grade, can see how they contribute to us achieving our goals and remaining a successful organisation.

Our future – our business plan

The golden thread

Divisional/service plans

Two year business plan

Five year business plan

Commissioner intentions

Individual objectives and our plan

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Business plan

foryou Spring 2014

Behind each of our goals are a series of measures, so that we can keep track of our progress – some we have been measuring and reporting regularly to board and some are new to give the board even greater assurance and scrutiny.

It is crucial to the success of the trust that we all understand our role in the Business Plan and what we need to achieve. The details of the

What do you need to do?It is important that all employees, members and stakeholders:

• understand what we are trying to achieve, so that we can all work together to achieve our vision• understand our priorities so that we can constantly check that what we are doing will help us achieve them • help us to deliver innovative solutions to achieve our goals

Our staff and our patients are important to us and we need to be able to take everyone along with us on our journey. The board listens to your views and we are proud of the record we have around staff and patient satisfaction. Please email [email protected] if you have any feedback on our Business Plan.

To deliver our plan there are things that will need to change – but what we won’t change is our vision to be the outstanding provider of high quality integrated care to the communities we serve.

The challenges aheadThe next few years will be challenging and whilst there are many opportunities for us to take advantage of, equally we have some difficult issues to tackle. We will continue to have to identify ways to deliver good quality care ever more efficiently if we are to continue to operate within the

Five year strategic objectives – two year organisational goals

organisational goals in our Two Year Business Plan are available on our website and Staff Zone and events will be held over the coming months to ensure that employees throughout the organisation have the opportunity to hear about them from our directors.

The plan belongs to us all and it is only with everyone committed to the same plan that we will be successful.

To see the full details of our five year strategic objectives and two year organisational goals – check out our website or StaffZone to download our summary documents.

budgets we have been set. This will mean that we will:

• have to find more efficient ways of working – doing more for less

• need to ensure the best possible use of resources – our people, our estates and the technology we use

• continue to operate in a commercial environment and work to protect our existing services and build on opportunities when we can

All this needs to be achieved in such a way that we are able to continue to deliver high quality care.

Business plan

5Spring 2014 foryou

Careers event

Thank you to all staff and members who braved the weather to make the careers event at St. Catherine’s Health Centre, in February, such a big success. An impressive 200 pupils attended the event so they could receive careers advice from our teams.

The centre was buzzing with activity as students began interacting with the many different exhibitions. The most popular stand, nursing, had a busy evening as the knowledge hungry pupils looked to quiz them about a potential future in the nursing profession. Other popular services included Speech and Language Therapy, Health Visiting, and Community Dental.

Feedback was extremely positive. Those who attended said they found it very useful and appreciated the friendliness of the staff there and the quality of the information provided.

It was great to have the opportunity to broaden young minds and get them thinking about the range of careers that are available in the NHS.

Here’s what our visitors said:

“We wouldn’t change anything, it’s been very informative and very friendly, and it has helped us so much”.

“This has been very useful, very informative. Glad we attended, everyone was very helpful”.

“I couldn’t improve anything - very impressed”.

“Can’t think of anything else to make it better. Very welcoming, helpful staff. Lovely new building.”

“I wouldn’t change anything, it was great! Very happy with the event”.

“The event provided me with enough information and was very useful. It has also provided me with a greater knowledge of what I would like to do for my future career”.

Despite the weather there was a terrific turn out for our first ever careers event.

Family Livewell CourseThe Livewell team are launching a new fun and interactive wellbeing course for local families.The course has been developed in conjunction with children, young people and their families. The team carried out surveys, one to one interviews and taster sessions to gain valuable feedback around how we should develop an effective weight management course which meets the needs of families across Wirral.

Family approach to healthy living.

The course focuses on healthy eating, meal preparation, physical activity and ways for families to make small lifestyle changes one small step at a time.

For more information about the new course call the Livewell team on 0151 630 8383 or visit our website.

Trust news


In February, our members meeting at VCHC featured John Lancaster (Director of Operations) talking about the closer working of health and social care on Wirral, Jacqui Irving and Emily McArdle (joint Speech and Language service leads) presented some of the amazing work their service has been doing, and Helen Norris, Fiona Fleming and Amy Sclater (from the Communications and Marketing team) came along to find out members’ views on our trust communications.

In March, Paula Simpson (Head of Quality and Nursing) and Sam Lacey (Patient Experience Lead) provided an update on our Quality Strategy and Quality Goals for 2014/15. At both events, members shared their ideas and asked thought-provoking questions.

Our next member event is at St Catherine’s Health Centre on 16 May. Our renowned Heart Support service will be showcasing its leading work in cardiac rehabilitation and we’ll also be looking in more detail about how we collect and use patient experience feedback to improve services.

Event: May members’ meeting (Heart Support showcase and Patient Experience)Venue: St Catherine’s Health Centre, BirkenheadDate: Friday 16 MayTime: 2.00pm – 4.00pm

To register for this event, please contact your Membership and Engagement Team.Email: [email protected] Phone: 0151 514 2451

Member events updateThanks to the many members who attended our first two events of the year.

Did you know…?Each year the Wallasey League of Friends raises thousands of pounds to help patients in the local area, by running a tea bar at VCHC Walk In Centre. They were first constituted in 1962 to ‘support the work of the Wallasey Hospitals’. Over the years they have donated tens of thousands of pounds to NHS services.

Each year they invite applications for funding from Wirral Community NHS Trust’s services that operate in the CH44 and CH45 postcode areas. Their funding doesn’t replace core NHS expenditure but pays for additional items that will improve the service for our patients.

Decisions about which applications to fund are made by the League of Friends in the summer. This year, all services working in CH44 and CH45 should receive application forms automatically so, if you work in Wallasey, keep an eye out for these in the next few weeks.

Wirral Community NHS Trust volunteering opportunities now online!

Since January this year, we have been advertising our volunteer placements on our Wirral Community NHS Trust website www.wirralct.nhs.uk.

The Membership and Engagement team work with services across the Trust to identify placements that will be of value to both services and volunteers.

Trust members who are interested in volunteering then receive an email or text message to let them know a new opportunity has been posted. They can then decide if they want to apply. If you know someone who is interested in volunteering, please point them towards our website!

Could you help to co-ordinate research?We are looking for two public members to join a research steering group, helping to improve our clinical services.

We are currently working with the University of Chester on projects around chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), end of life care and leg ulcer treatment. The steering group oversees these projects and ensures they are well run and stay on track.

This is an important and interesting role but you don’t need to be a research expert! You will share your views as a member of the public, being ready to add ideas and give constructive challenge if needed. The steering group meet for up to two hours every three months until the end of 2015. Meetings take place in Birkenhead or Chester. The next one is in Birkenhead at the end of May.

To find out more please contact Claire Wedge, Governance Manager, on 0151 514 6286 or email: [email protected]

Members and volunteers

7Spring 2014 foryou

To ensure the residents of Wirral enjoy the best quality of life possible, being supported to make informed choices

about their own care, and being assured of the highest quality of services

You’ve probably heard the words ‘Vision 2018’ mentioned

somewhere over the last few months. What started off as a

visionary dream is now quickly gathering pace and looks set to radically transform the way we

deliver health services and social care in Wirral.

Over the next 20 years the number of over 85s in the UK

will more than double, meaning many more people with

multiple, long term health conditions. The current system

simply won’t cope, physically or financially. We have to change.

Vision2018Vision 2018


The three strands of Vision 20181. Integrated Care - health and

social care professionals working together, helping people to plan their own care and take more responsibility for looking after their health. People will have one key contact who co-ordinates their GP, hospital, community and social care. Systems will be able to talk to one another and budgets will be pooled:

• one number to call • telling your story once • helping you to help yourself • timely intervention when you

need it • the right person to support you • one assessment and care plan

2. Primary care – expanding health services in local communities:

• working towards services 7 days a week

• more services available at GP practices

• care closer to home - less reasons to go hospital

• more involvement in determining the local services you need

3. Hospital care - expanding services in primary care will change hospital services:

• some traditionally hospital based services available in the community

• consultant led teams in the community

• fewer trips to outpatient departments

• shorter stays in hospital • quicker response to urgent

care needs in the community

CASE STUDYMeet Sam. He’s 87, lives alone and has emphysema, diabetes and arthritis. When he can’t get hold of his GP he calls an ambulance. He goes to A&E, ends up being admitted to a ward, and repeatedly has to explain his conditions. He needs a social services assessment before he can go home. A lack of co-ordination between his GP and social services means he doesn’t get the support he needs. So he’s back in A&E again. Eventually he’s admitted to a care home.

INTEGRATED CARECommunity nurse Kathy co-ordinates Sam’s care. With Sam, his GP and social worker, she designs a care plan which they can all access online. Kathy visits Sam at home more often, which helps him manage his conditions. He can call Kathy in a crisis, instead of an ambulance. If he does need hospital, he’s discharged after a quick review of his care plan.Sam’s health and social care is funded from a joint budget. The team decides to get him a shower seat and a voice reminder for his tablets. They organise trips out with a local befriending charity. He doesn’t need a care home… he’s happier and healthier in his own home.To see Sam’s story in full visit www.kingsfund.org.uk

Next stepsFeedback from the first public consultation event (held in February) is already being used to develop the three strands. A survey has been launched to find out what changes the public would like to see. More information is available on the CCG website: www.wirralccg.nhs.uk

Over the next few months there will be more engagement with staff, patients and the public, followed by a formal public consultation to help develop the final strategy.

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Vision 2018

Spring 2014 foryou

A day in the life:

The GP Out-of-Hours service is part of the primary care division. It’s open from 6.30pm until 8.00am during the week and 24hrs at Weekends and bank holidays. It’s available to all Wirral residents (including visitors) who require medical attention when GP practices are closed.

Dr Baha Ali shares a snapshot of his role...

What role would you like to learn more about? Email your suggestion for ‘A day in the life’ to:[email protected]

Dr Baha Ali

I have been working as a doctor in the service for the last 10 years and am proud of the developments made since the service first started. My work starts at 8.00am at the weekend or 11.30pm during the week. Patients contact the service and their details are taken by the call handler on duty. I then phone the patient or their carer back and carry out a medical assessment. Once their needs have been identified, I then plan any further care that’s required. This could be giving them appropriate medical advice, arranging to go and visit them at home, asking them to come in to see us, prescribing appropriate medication or directing them to other appropriate services.

I work as part of a team that includes the administration staff, drivers and navigators, shift managers and other doctors. I also work closely with community nurses, staff in the walk-in centre and the local pharmacy.

As part of my role I also attend regular monthly GP Out-of-Hours forum meetings, to be updated with the latest policies and procedures. These meetings also enable us to review and

reflect on the service, and discuss ideas of how we can continue to take it forward.

Mandatory training is also an essential part of our role, ensuring we are up to date with the latest information and practices in areas such as Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and Safeguarding.

Patients come to us with various problems, from people with abdominal pain to palliative care patients needing symptom relief. They are classed as requiring urgent care that can’t wait for their own GP, but doesn’t warrant going to A & E.

The most difficult thing about my job is the unpredictability of the workload, especially in winter when targets must be met. When the pressures are great and the demand on the service is very high it can be stressful. But despite the challenges we appreciate that each patient has individual needs, and we work closely with them or their carers to try and address these needs as fully as possible. No two days are ever the same!

The thing I love about my work is the ability to help patients when they are feeling ill and vulnerable. It is very satisfying to help a patient who has arrived feeling very distressed but then leaves the department satisfied and comfortable.

At the end of a busy day I like to relax by listening to the world news on my drive home and catching up with general, everyday goings-on.

Did you know?

• Nearly 50,000 people contact the GP out of hours service every year

• We care for approximately 650 people every weekend

• As per the national targets all emergencies have to be seen within an hour, all urgent cases within 2 hours and the less urgent within 6 hours

• There are three GP out-of-hours centres (in Wallasey, Eastham and the All Day Health Centre at Arrowe Park)

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A day in the life

foryou Spring 2014

The ‘For You, Thank You’ staff awards 2014 at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton, was a fun filled night that gave us the chance to recognise the great work and achievements from people throughout the trust.

The calibre of all nominations was incredibly high, so to all nominees, runners up, and winners – CONGRATULATIONS!

Staff Awards 2014

The winners.

The awards were kindly sponsored by:

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Staff awards 2014

Spring 2014 foryou

Radio Merseysides Billy Butler hosted the presentations, keeping the crowd entertained with his legendary banter.

The first award presented was ‘Customer & patient care’. Out of three shortlisted nominations, Wirral Heart Support won the coveted title. Next was ‘Best NEW initiative’. There was tough competition in this category. There was rapturous applause as Speech and Language Therapy walked away the winners for their Partnership in Early Years Communication programme.

Rt Hon Esther Mcvey MP took to the stage to acknowledge the brilliant contribution from our volunteers by

presenting Volunteer of the year. Winner Sean Hancox, who worked tirelessly with Physiotherapy said: “I want to say thanks for the opportunity to help people. I really enjoyed coming down and helping with the rehabilitation classes, and it’s made me more determined to do well with my studies”. Volunteers Dave Bestwick and Chole Walkden-Smith were also thanked.

Winner of Inspirational manager/team leader of the year was Frieda Rimmer, who received a standing ovation from her team (Heart Support)as she went up to collect her trophy. Afterwards she said: “It’s overwhelming! The team has been around for a long time, we’ve worked

After a warm welcome from Trust Chairman, Frances Street, the evening quickly got into full swing as Chief Executive Simon Gilby took out his phone and got the awards twitter feed underway with a celebratory twit pic #WCTawards.

very hard and they are all absolutely passionate about what they do, and completely committed to the patients. Winning Inspirational Manager means so much to me because it came from the staff. I don’t have the words to describe how I feel, because they nominated me. I could never ask for more than that. It was a complete surprise”.

Anticipation mounted for those still left in the remaining categories. Winner of Outstanding achievement, Sarah Love, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled, but it’s a team award for me, because I wouldn’t have done this without the support of our fantastic and talented Communications & Marketing team”.

Tissue Viability service – Clinical team of the year sponsored by Hill Dickinson.

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Staff awards 2014

foryou Spring 2014

With only four categories left to go and 13 possible winners, the remaining people waited on the edge of their seats. In an unexpected twist there was then a first at the ‘For You, Thank You’ staff awards, as joint winners were announced in the Promoting equality & diversity category. Livewell, Singwell and Helen Webster both scooped the gong.

The Continence service emerged victorious in the Sustainable Future category, leaving only the two team awards of the night to be announced.

It had been a long wait, but the time finally came to declare the winner of Non clinical team of the year. The competition was tough, but it was the Centralised Booking service who took home the accolade. Diane McGonnell said: “This is for the whole team. We are united in achieving this award, we’ve had an absolutely fabulous time, and we represent the people who aren’t here but have lots of commitment. We wouldn’t be here without them”.

Finally there was a roar of delight from the Tissue Viability service as they were honoured as the winners of this year’s Clinical team of the year. Ian Mansell, Tissue Viability service Lead said: “We’ve worked busily in the background, supporting staff and patients in many innovative ways. It’s fantastic to be recognised with this award and as a team we’d like to show our great appreciation”.

Livewell – Singwell and Helen Webster – promoting equality and diversity.

Centralised Booking service – non clinical team of the year.

The Rt Hon Esther McVey MP presents Sean Hancox with Volunteer of the year award.

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Staff awards 2014

Spring 2014 foryou

Speech and Language Therapy service - Best new initiative winners.

Inspirational manager of the year – Frieda Rimmer with Billy Butler and Frances Street.

For those of you who entered the awards music quiz, the answers were as follows:Customer & patient care Wirral Heart Support: Groove is in the Heart – Deee – Lite

Best NEW initiative Speech & Language Therapy Children’s Team: Happy Talk – Captain Sensible

Volunteer of the year Sean Hancox: Help – Beatles

Inspirational manager / team leader of the year Frieda Rimmer: My First, My Last, My Everything – Barry White

Outstanding achievement Sarah Love: She’s so Lovely – Scouting for Girls

Promoting equality & diversity Helen Webster Livewell, Singwell: Sing – Military Wives / Gary Barlow

Sustainable future Continence service: Changes – David Bowie

Non clinical team of the year Centralised Booking service: Call Me – Blondie

Clinical team of the year Tissue Viability service: I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra

The awards bring a fabulous year to a close for the trust. They recognise individuals and teams that have gone over and above what is expected of them, and it’s fantastic to have the opportunity to say thank you. It’s always wonderful to see so many staff nominating each other and acknowledging teams outside of their own. A big thank you to all who were involved.

Recognition doesn’t stop with the staff awards. We can congratulate and thank colleagues and teams for a job well done on a daily basis. Think about how you can celebrate one another throughout the year and make sure you get your nominations in for the ‘For You, Thank You’ awards 2015!

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Staff awards 2014

foryou Spring 2014

Wirral locals take the first step to becoming smoke freeOur Livewell team were out and about on national No Smoking Day to support people to take the first step to becoming smoke free.The team held four successful events in Moreton, Birkenhead, Wallasey and Bromborough to let people know about the support available to quit smoking and to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking and the health benefits of quitting. Over the course of the day the team talked to local residents and offered free blood pressure checks and carbon monoxide tests.

“I have been smoke free for 10 months. My health has greatly improved – I am not out of breath anymore! Since quitting I have also saved a lot of money. The support I received was fantastic – I couldn’t have done it without the help from my advisor.”

Smoking is one of the largest preventable causes of premature death in the UK and local anti-tobacco

organisation Tobacco Free Futures estimates that there are currently 55,045 smokers living in Wirral.

People are up to four times more likely to quit successfully with support from their local NHS Stop Smoking service and our Livewell Team offer motivational advice and practical support, including:• drop in and appointment only

clinics in a number of local venues across Wirral

• daytime and evening support sessions

• telephone support• nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)

via voucher scheme*• support at workplaces

*prescription charges may apply

For more information about our stop smoking support call 0151 630 8383.

Social mediaOver the past few months the trust has been getting more active around social media. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Twitter or Facebook user, we’ve been using both and so far it’s been very exciting!

Our Twitter account is in full swing. We’ve gained over 130 followers since we first started tweeting in late December and we’ve tweeted over 240 times! We’ve been tweeting about our Equality and Diversity Strategy launch, national No Smoking Day, free health and wellbeing courses, engagement events, Staff Awards and much more. Our followers are also re-tweeting some of our tweets.

We also launched a trust Facebook page in late January to promote our careers event at St Cath’s Health Centre. In the four weeks the page was active our messages reached over 5,000 people with one message viewed 280 times. We used Facebook to spread the word about the event, and to enable people to contact us direct with questions about a career in the NHS.

If you would like to keep up to date with trust news follow us on Twitter @wirralct. Even our Chief Executive Simon Gilby is in on the action @SimonGilby_WCT. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for future trust Facebook pages!

Matt Carlin, Livewell team.

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Trust news

Spring 2014 foryou

Screen and interveneSpeech and Language Therapy teamFrom the moment we wake up each day we are surrounded by language. We might listen to the radio, watch TV, read a paper, talk to members of the family. Imagine if you were to wake up tomorrow being unable to understand what people said, or unable to remember the right words for things, or unable to make the sounds you need to speak.


Problems with speech and language can severely limit a person’s participation in family life, the community, education and the world of work.

The Speech and Language Therapy service provides invaluable support and treatment for babies, children and adults. Their work can transform someone’s future by unlocking their ability to participate and communicate throughout their whole life.

The service can assess and treat:

• speech or language difficulties• swallowing problems (dysphagia)• stammering (dysfluency)• hearing loss• problems with communication

and language• learning difficulties• autism or difficulties with social

interaction• speech, language and feeding

problems following a stroke, head injury, cancer or due to long term conditions eg Parkinson’s disease

The team of therapists work closely with parents, carers, teachers and other health and social care professionals, in a range of settings including nurseries, schools, homes, hospitals and clinics.

They are proud to have achieved Young People Friendly status!

The winning strategy! Wirral has an immensely diverse population with some of the poorest and wealthiest council wards in England. Nationally, 50% of children enter school with below average speech; in areas of deprivation this figure is as much as 83%*.

As a result, these children are less likely to access higher education and employment. The majority of young people entering the youth offending process also have language and communication difficulties.

Working in partnership with Wirral Borough Council, the Speech and Language service developed a strategy to improve and support speech, language and communication in the early years. The strategy focused on providing training in pre-school settings, children’s centres and schools to help young children with speech, language and communication needs be identified early.

Practitioners were also given resources to start intervention with those identified with a speech and language delay without needing to wait to see a Speech & Language Therapist. Alongside this, the service re-located all assessments of school aged children to their local school rather than clinic. Schools were given the opportunity to buy in additional speech & language therapy to support a whole school approach to speech, language and communication

As a result, all of the 18,500 under 5s in Wirral have access to screening and intervention (either at two years through Health Visitors, in pre-school/daycare or on starting school). There are now fewer children needing to be referred to the Speech and Language Therapy service (reduction of 500 last year - 25%) and children with difficulties are being seen more quickly.

*figures according to children’s communication

charity I CAN

Did you know?

• Communicationdisabilityisthemostcommondisorderseeninchildhood, affecting up to 10% of all children

• Upto55% of children in deprived areas start school without the communication skills needed to learn to read and write

• Six out of 10 young offenders have a communication difficulty so severe that they can’t benefit from prison education programmes

• StrokeisthemostcommoncauseofdisabilityamongadultsinEngland. One third of stroke survivors have communication problems

• 700,000 people with dementia have speech, language and communication needs and the figure rises each year

In the spotlight

17Spring 2014 foryou

Equality Diversity launch getting it right for everyone.

Shocking statistics:• 38% of people in the UK regard disability as a drain on resources

• 53% of people in the UK regard disabled people as ‘inferior’

• 36% of people in the UK think sexual relations between two adults of the same sex is “always or mostly” wrong

• 32% people want to work past the age of 65

• Half of lesbian and bisexual women report a negative experience in accessing healthcare

• On average 30 out of 100 people in a room will be dyslexic

Equality and Diversity - it’s a phrase that we are all no doubt very familiar with. It’s batted around frequently; we probably think we know what it means; we probably think we already adhere to it.

It’s easy to believe we treat all of our colleagues and all the people we care for equally and fairly. But equality and diversity is much more than just making sure we promote equal opportunities and trying not to offend anyone.

The Equality Diversity Strategy launch in March highlighted how easy it can be to miss a person’s real needs. More than fifty staff, representing almost every service across the trust, heard first hand from patients and local community groups about some of the barriers people face when trying to access health services.

Examples ranged from a lady who described the upset of having to tube-feed herself in a toilet cubicle, to black and racial minority groups lacking support for specific health problems. Other thought-provoking experiences included people with learning difficulties who nod in agreement with health professionals, despite not really understanding what is being said, and health professionals not knowing how to address transgender patients.

Guest speakers from Wirral’s Mencap, Lesbian Gay Bisexual and

Transgender Network (LGBT), Healthwatch and Cultural Diversity Network all spoke first hand about the experiences of people who have faced discrimination and the role we can all play in preventing it.

Jo Harvey, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, said:

“The launch was a big success, and marks the start of an exciting new era for the trust. As part of the strategy, we have established a community panel, to gain expert insight into different people’s needs (including disability, race, sexual orientation, age and beliefs). We’re also launching three staff support networks (Disability, LGBT, Black and Ethnic Minority) to empower staff, offer peer support, raise awareness of any issues, and advise the trust on equality and diversity.”

The new Equality & Diversity Strategy is available on our website and StaffZone.

FT applicationWe remain committed to becoming a Foundation Trust, however, there is currently little new to report. Our quality regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has recently released its schedule of planned inspections between April and June 2014, and Wirral Community NHS Trust is not on the schedule. We remain hopeful that this will happen in the not too distant future, as the CQC processes its learning from the pilot inspections it is carrying out with other community trusts. We remain in a strong position in terms of our board and quality assurance arrangements and will continue to apply the rigour we have in place in readiness for the next stages of the assessment process when announced.

Phlebotomy serviceWe are delighted that following a successful bidding process, we have retained the Phlebotomy service across Wirral. Whilst we continue to deliver the existing service, we look forward to delivering the new model from 1 July, as agreed with the commissioners. Congratulations to all involved in the process, and to all phlebotomy staff for maintaining a high level of service through what must have been a challenging and uncertain time.

Estates updateAs part of the estates efficiency review it has been agreed that we will close our offices at Port Causeway in the summer and Hind Street towards the end of the year. The closures will mean that we will need to relocate staff and some of our services to our other buildings and save us £650,000 pa in rental income per year. We are currently consulting the services affected by the change. Once finalised, we will advise patients of any relevant changes.

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Looking after Wirral’s hearts and minds!More than 80 people came along to the Heart Support service’s very first Hearts & Minds event in February, which aimed to raise awareness of the range of services available to support people living or caring for someone with a heart condition.

Held at St Catherine’s Health Centre, the event included:

• mini health MOTs • advice to help manage stress, quit

smoking, eat healthier and stay active

• tips for spotting the symptoms of heart disease and for reducing risk

• advice about safe drinking• talks from experts about living well

with a heart condition • information about the range of

support available across Wirral

A raffle held on the day raised more than £190 for local charity Wirral HeartBeat, which continues to provide invaluable support to the service.

Feedback from the event has been fantastic…here’s just a snippet:

“Speaking to the different people was very helpful and informative.”

“Stall holders made me very welcome, all the information was relevant & interesting.”

“Found the programme very enjoyable and helpful.”

“Great partnership, very well organised, look forward to the next event.”

“Enjoyed very much, and I learnt a lot.”

Patient shadowing re-launched

The patient and family shadowing scheme has been re-launched, to gain invaluable first-hand feedback about care experiences.

The project is led by the Quality and Governance service, and involves a staff member shadowing a patient and or a family member whilst they are receiving care from one of the Trust’s services (it could be an appointment, home visit, assessment, procedure or any other aspect of care).

The shadower observes the environment and the interaction between the patient or family member and staff, and talks to them afterwards to find out what they felt about their experience.

The information gathered through observation, discussion and analysis provides invaluable insight into the person’s experience. It can be used to try and ‘perfect’ the patient and family experience in the future.

Shadowing has already led to:

• improvements to patient appointment letters, clinic signposting and improved self- assessment documentation (Continence service)

• improvements in the information client’s receive about health trainer appointments (Livewell)

• a new project providing a hand held record for patients containing relevant information (leg ulcer clinics)

It has also demonstrated exemplar patient experiences across many other services. Staff who participate as a shadower say how positive the experience is and feel more confident in engaging with patients in the future.

Safe Staffing ProgrammeStaffing levels was a key topic in the Francis Report and is now high on the national agenda. In response to this, 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.

At the trust we had already started working on a Safe Staffing Programme prior to the reports’ publication, led by the Director of Quality and Nursing and the Director of Operations.

We are currently developing a framework to enable us to identify and monitor appropriate staffing levels which is based on demand, complexity and priority of patients. At the same time we are taking the opportunity to standardise processes across the organisation so that all teams are working as effectively as possible.

Starting with the Community Nursing service, and involving clinicians at every stage of the programme, the work will be rolled out across the trust in a phased approach.

Trust news


One patient – one record

Ian Hogan, Head of Technology, said, “The SystmOne go-live was extremely successful with very few problems encountered. Around 640 staff across community nursing, specialist nursing and health visiting are now using it on a daily basis, instead of the previous paper systems”.

SystmOne is the flagship clinical system of TPP (a British small to medium enterprise). It’s been deployed extensively throughout England and is now used by around 70 community service providers and 2000 general practices. Ian Hogan added, “The fact that SystmOne is tried and tested and now processes 35 million patient records nationally was an important factor in choosing which system to use. Having successfully implemented phase one, we are now planning to roll it out across all services.”

On Monday 10 February we became the second trust in the North West to go-live with SystmOne – an electronic patient record system funded by the National Programme for IT (through the Health & Social Care Information Centre).

The trust’s Nursing Strategy calls for all patient records to be in a hand-held digital format, so staff can access them whilst out visiting patients. Introducing mobile working and digital care records will enable nurses to spend more time listening to patients, providing high quality, compassionate care with pride.

Computer Sciences Corporation (the main North West contractor under the national programme) worked closely with the trust throughout the process and continued to provide support when the system went live.

Doreen Shaw, team leader, community nursing, the first to login when the system went live.

The second annual Young People Friendly awardsCongratulations to those accredited at the ‘Young People Friendly’ awards ceremony in March. Merseyside’s Lord Lieutenant presented certificates to the services and organisations that have achieved ‘Young People Friendly’ status, including our very own Speech and Language service, Community Dental service and Livewell Programme. Others included Forum Housing, Terrence Higgins Trust and Wirral Metropolitan College. The ‘Young People Friendly’ initiative is part of a national programme to improve services for young people.

Healthy Settings Programme Manager, Trish Barnes said, “Around 1000 local

young people helped us to develop the Young People Friendly programme. We work closely with aspiring organisations providing support and toolkits to help them gain the accreditation. 25 services have so

Simon Gilby (CEO), Emma Carvell (Speech and Language service), Hana Whitty (Speech and Language service) and Merseyside’s Lord Lieutenant, Dame Lorna Muirhead.

far achieved the status, and we are currently helping over 50 more.”

For more information about Wirral’s Young Person Friendly initiative call 0151 630 8383.

Trust news


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

Email your suggestions to [email protected]


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

Bacon, pea and potato frittata

Ingredients1½ tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion (lightly chopped)

2-3 slices of bacon

350g / 12oz new potatoes - cooked and halved (quartered if large)

55g / 2oz petit pois (frozen)

6 free range eggs

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method (Serves 4 – enjoy!)

1. Preheat the grill. Grill the bacon until crisp and allow to cool slightly. Cut into small pieces and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based ovenproof frying pan. Add the onion and sauté for five minutes or until softened and tender. Stir occasionally.

3. Add the potatoes and cook for a further five minutes or until golden. Stir to prevent them sticking to the pan. Add the bacon pieces and peas and spread the mixture evenly over the base of the pan.

4. Reheat the grill. Season the beaten eggs, then pour them carefully over the onion and potato mixture. Cook over a moderate heat for five-six minutes, or until the eggs are just set and the base of the frittata is lightly golden brown.

5. Place the pan under the grill and cook the top for three minutes or until set and lightly golden.

6. Serve the frittata warm or cold, cut into wedges or fingers.

Our Livewell Programme provides a combined approach to support local people and their families to lead healthier lifestyles. The team offers a variety of courses and activities across Wirral including healthy cookery, relaxation, Tai Chi, singing for wellbeing and chair based exercise. Fancy getting involved?

Call the team on 0151 638 8383.

Send your ratings and photographs of the frittata to [email protected]

Put the spring back into your step with the ‘5 ways to wellbeing’. The ‘5 ways to wellbeing’ can boost your mood and improve your overall emotional and physical wellbeing.

• Connect – say hello to your neighbour, keep in touch with people

• Be active – do the garden or go for a walk

• Take notice – stimulate your senses: listen to music or watch a film

• Keep learning – try something new or rediscover an old interest

• Give – hold the door open, smile and give compliments

To find out about free health and wellbeing activities and courses in your area call 0151 630 8383.

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Fun stuff for while you have your tea break.

C Y R R S S S E T A L O C O H C

Y C P E P B D E C Y Y B T E E G

I E A R U G V Z S V O R A L L X

J O I J W W D S O N X S A T B Y

R N Q G X K N U N R T V O D N R

G L A Y N R A E P E Y I P N L G

J W J J H F T B R U Q G U B F G

Y R J K S O A R K Y D B A U A G

G L A M B S L G U A R M U C M E

M Y L E K E C I F G Q S L W I R

S T H E O P L F D W Z A C H L E

X D T Z K H O I T A X F N T Y T

H R R V J D K G R C Y N U S G S

H T C H I C K B B P T V K R G A

P P X L E V B M D Q A D A R J E

R W B B K V U S O Z N V K Z C U

Sudoku

BrainTraining

Health & Wellbeing

AprilBasketBonnetBunnyChickChocolateDaffodil

WordsearchEasterEastereggFamilyHolidayLambSpringSun

Can you crack our Easter wordsearch?

Recommended websitesTime to ChangeLots of simple, everyday ways you can support someone who has a mental health problemwww.time-to-change.org.uk

Change4LifeHealthy eating tips, recipes and fun ways to exercisewww.nhs.uk/change4life

Smokefree Successful video stories from people who have quit smoking www.nhs.uk/smokefree


Health Visiting Service

For further information about our Health Visiting Service visit our website www.wirralct.nhs.ukor call our switchboard 0151 514 2888

Personal and informative advice and support around:• feeding, weaning and dental health• developmental checks• breastfeeding, immunisations and sleeping patterns• child safety • mental wellbeing, emotions and postnatal depression • referrals into specialist services such as Speech and Language Therapy

‘’My health visitorhas helped me so much.

She supported me with myemotional wellbeing andgave me practical advicewith my baby’s feeding.

I am so gratefulto her’’.

WCT Magazine For You - Spring Edition 2014

Documents

Transcript of WCT Magazine For You - Spring Edition 2014