Annual Report - Central Manchester University Hospitals - NHS ...

ongoing training as they undertake more and varied roles
across the Trust.
We have had very successful specific recruitment drives
to areas such as Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care, Maternity
Services and Paediatric Psychology. In addition to this the
service is also involved in the recruitment of volunteers to
Radio Lollipop which operates in the evenings within the
Children’s Hospitals.
In addition to the above the volunteers have supported many
projects and assessments across the Trust.
General Principles of Complaint
Management
The Principles of Remedy published by The Parliamentary
and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) supports our core
work – to investigate and resolve complaints, effectively and
efficiently. The basis for an effective complaints process is:
■ Getting it right
■ Being customer-focused
■ Being open and accountable
■ Acting fairly and proportionately
■ Putting things right
■ Seeking continuous improvement
Volunteer Services
The Volunteer Service has gone from strength to strength
over recent months. There are currently 73 volunteers in a
Hospital Welcoming role. This is a vital ‘front of house’ role
that is proving to be very successful as many patients and
visitors to the Trust benefit from the time and dedication
given by the volunteers. There are also an additional 20
volunteers supporting and enhancing the patient experience
in both clinical and non-clinical areas.
Volunteers are recruited from a wide range of ethnic
and cultural backgrounds from within the community,
including local schools and colleges. This year there has
been an increase in older people becoming involved in the
service. This has been really positive for the service as the
young people are very transient as they move onto further
education.
The Volunteers receive training to prepare them for the
various roles they will undertake. This has proved to be very
advantageous to the volunteers, helping them to carry out
their roles to the maximum. Volunteers will also receive
One of our younger volunteers has been elected as a Youth
Governor as part of the Foundation Trust and a number of
them are part of the Youth Forum that supports the Youth
Governors who represent the views of young people forming
part of the Council of Governors as part of the structure for
the Foundation Trust.
As the service looks towards the future, we are embarking
on a very exciting and historic time for the Trust. The
volunteers will play a very pivotal role in supporting the
opening of the New Hospitals Development and beyond in
to 2010.
Service Equality Team
The Service Equality Team is responsible for leading the Trust
work on promoting equality and diversity. It does this by
supporting the clinical divisions and corporate services to
improve services to meet the needs of the Trust’s diverse
patients and other service users.
Each of the Trust’s clinical divisions is required to produce an
annual Equality and Diversity Action Plan. The action plan
sets out the work that the division intends to undertake to
promote equality and manage diversity during the next 12
months. Action plans consist of Trust-wide priorities and
local priorities set by the divisions themselves. The work of
divisions included:
■ Improving information and communication.
■ Improving the quality of information on who uses our
services and how.
■ Improving the information to patients and carers so they
can find their way to service without requiring help.
■ Reviewing services and policies to ensure that they
promote equality and do not discriminate against anyone
(Equalities Impact Assessment).
■ Promoting equal opportunities in employment.
The team was involved in a number of areas of work. The
page 18
Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust