North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Nhs Trust

We'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a joyful New Year.
Remember, if you need to contact our services during the Christmas period, our Access Team is available 24/7 on 0300 123 0907 (option 1)
#MerryChristmas

The Flu Fighter iPad winner is...

All together now! The Harplands choir treated us to a festive performance in reception today and even Santa made an appearance 🎅 🎄 🎼

LAST CHANCE to WIN an iPad!
Not had your flu jab yet? Don't leave it any longer, as you only have a few days left to be in with a chance of winning an iPad by becoming a Combined Flu Fighter!
We're announcing the winner of the prize draw on Thursday 20 December at Harplands reception, so make sure you get your vaccination by then.
... To arrange your jab, simply contact one of the team on x60122 or email flufightersnscht@combined.nhs.uk
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Welcome to the Inclusion Council - really getting to grips with our exciting agenda for promoting equality, diversity and inclusion youtu.be/ogfzzkl5Q_0 via @YouTube

Today was our 2nd Annual Critical Incident Stress Management Conference and what an inspiring day it was!
We welcomed a variety of speakers including Colin Burgess from RCN, our very own Maxine Tilstone, Professor Stephen Regel OBE, DS Mark Naylor, A&E Consultant Julie Norton and PSA’s Angela Lewis.
It was a fantastic day of insightful theories, emotional experiences, collaborative approaches to CISM and engaging Q&A sessions. Attendees left the day not only with a certific...ate and a badge, but with a buzz and enthusiasm about CISM and how to put it to practice.
Thank you to everyone who attended and to those who organised the day.
#CISM #stress #stressmanagement
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There's just one day to go until our staff survey deadline - have you completed yours yet?
Our staff are our most valuable resource and ensuring the Trust is a great place to work, is absolutely essential. Happy staff means happy patients!
Please complete your survey before the closing date on Friday 30 November! If you have already completed your survey, encourage your colleagues to complete theirs too!
... Your views really do make a difference...
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We love Father Christmas using BSL (British Sign Language) in this great video from the National Trust. Please share!
Did you know the Trust has a Deaf Awareness Group? Our team have monthly meetings to improve mental health services for the local deaf community!

The Board also was delighted to thank and congratulate the fabulous Dean Burgess on the occasion of his retirement, after an NHS career stretching back to 1981, when he started work as an ‘NA’ on Ward 21 at St Edwards Hospital.
He qualified as a staff nurse in September 1985 and immediately started his new role at Wilkins House, an adult admission ward. His first charge nurse being Patrick Sullivan who is now one of our Non Executive Directors.
Dean can only be described as ...a constant source of support and advice for staff. He keeps up to date with all matters relating to the reduction of violence and aggression. He is there to support staff who have been verbally or physically assaulted, he is a passionate advocate of patient care and staff support, believing that when staff are supported to do a good job, staff morale and patient care noticeably improve.
Fortunately, Dean is not leaving us completely – he aims to continue to work part time in the MAPA training role.
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This month’s Individual REACH Award at the Board goes to nurse Adam Chambers, a fantastic member of our Substance Misuse team at Stoke Heath Prison.
This clinical role entails assessing prisoners for substance misuse and offering interventions to support withdrawal, harm reduction and abstinence. The new integrated Healthcare Team at Stoke Heath offers their patients a new approach to service, where the patient is seen as having multiple needs that the whole team need to add...ress and not as it has been in the past, where each service offered their intervention in isolation. This new way of working will require shared records that are easily accessible and conform to a set of common standards.
Adam has commenced an assessment of the current workflows and hardware to support this development across the services. This has not only been praised by NHS England commissioners but has been recognised as a key enabler in offering improved services to patients at Stoke Heath.
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Carol Sylvester, Clinical Director for Acute and Urgent Care, is supporting Clinical Audit Awareness Week #CAAW18. Here’s how a Section 136 audit helped the Adult Inpatient Directorate…
“In 2017, the Adult Inpatient Directorate identified a gradual rise month on month in Section 136 detentions, requiring further analysis to understand the reasons driving the increase and to understand any impact on inpatient bed occupancy.
Requesting support of the Clinical Audit Team and Sen...ior Clinical Manager, we identified terms of reference and undertook a 6-month review of Section 136 activity.
The structured audit approach concluded a number of key themes and subsequent actions to address the increase. The audit concluded that we will continue to strengthen our person-centred approach in complex clinical cases enhancing the CPA framework, care planning - in particular crisis care planning.
This audit enabled the directorate to articulate a reasoned explanation through structured monthly directorate performance monitoring and clearly defined outcomes to drive high quality services”.
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We had a brilliant day at the careers event at Staffordshire University and spoke to lots of people from many branches of nursing - hopefully we'll see some familiar faces from today working with us in the future!

Head over to Harplands Hospital and check out our flu stand in reception!
Staff can also get their flu vaccination there unitl 12.30pm as we have our fantastic roving vaccinators there too!
If you have your flu jab, you'll also be entered into our Christmas prize draw to WIN an iPad, with the draw taking place on Thursday 20 December!

Today is Trans Remembrance Day - an opportunity to reflect and remember the lives lost by acts of transphobia.
A recent report by Stonewall, in conjunction with YouGov, stated that over 60% of trans people fear NHS staff don't understand their health needs. This year has been a challenging year for members of the trans community, with a huge amount of transphobia being seen in media and social media.
Here at Combined, we send love and support to trans people who face daily abuse for simply being who they are. #TDOR

Staff can WIN a brand new iPad by becoming a Combined Flu Fighter!
Get your flu jab and you'll be entered into our Christmas prize draw to win a 6th generation iPad! 😃
To arrange your jab, simply contact one of the team call on x60122, or email: flufightersnscht@combined.nhs.uk!

This week is Clinical Audit Awareness Week #CAAW18
We’re celebrating by looking back at past audits and sharing how they’ve helped drive high-quality services at the Trust, and most importantly how they’ve strengthened our person-centred approach to care!
Look out for our daily case studies, feedback from staff on the ground about audits they’ve been involved with, and our clinical audit information stands at Harplands Hospital ... on Wednesday and Lawton House on Thursday.
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The Zero Suicide Alliance offer training which can help save a life.
Officially recognised by #EngageAwards for the 'Best Use of Training', it only takes 20 mins to help someone in trouble: http://bit.ly/2P5M0nc
#SuicidePrevention #SuicideAwareness

Our young people at the Darwin Centre got creative again - this time to mark Remembrance Sunday!
A big thank you to Marks & Spencer for donating a mannequin for the project, which the group named Norman - check him out below 👇
It's yet another creative success for our young people who were recently featured in the Sentinel following their NHS 70 nurse display, made out of old newspapers!
... Well done to everyone involved!
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Cakes, quizzes and puzzles - just some of the things we did to celebrate Occupational Therapy Week this week! And what a brilliant week it's been - here's a round up of the week from our OTs in the Learning Disabilities team.
They held a coffee morning with lots of homemade cake, hosted a quiz to guess the OT items and showed off some of the handiwork of the LD Work Skills Group.
Thank you to everyone who helped to celebrate with us and for making the week lots of fun! #OTWeek2018 #OccupationalTherapy

as staff we try to give the best service possible the staff are the most caring people you could meet

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