Christmas staff magazine

Firstly I would like to thank you all for
your hard work in what has been a very
busy year where the NHS has seen a huge
and continued rise in activity. Despite this,
thanks to your continued efforts, we have
been able to maintain the high standards
of safe and effective care that our patients
deserve.
To maintain this high quality care in what we
expect to be an extremely busy winter, we have
taken the necessary step of temporarily altering the
opening times at our three urgent care centres and
changing four of our wards at The Northumbria
hospital. Making these changes will ensure that the
vital skills of our urgent and emergency care nurses
are concentrated where they are needed most and
will help with the flow of patients coming through
at times of increased demand - thank you all for
your understanding, support and help with this.
We mustn’t forget that even in our busiest periods
we are seen as a national healthcare leader. As
part of our vanguard work, we have now had 66
UK trusts and delegations from the governments
of China, India, Nigeria and Sweden visit us to see
our system of emergency and integrated care. This
is something to be extremely proud of as it shows
that you are all the best at what you do and our
visitors all want to learn from us and do things the
Northumbria Way!
As we approach the end of 2016, it is an excellent
time to reflect on all that we have achieved in the
last year - our ‘outstanding’ rating from the Care
Quality Commission, our first full year of delivering
our new model of emergency care, our 10th
anniversary as a foundation trust and achieving
gold level in the regional Better Health at Work
Awards. I am immensely proud of everything we
have achieved this year thanks to your hard work
and dedication.
Looking ahead to 2017, we have some exciting
developments in the pipeline through our
vanguard work which will continue to put
Northumbria at the forefront of developments in
the NHS and make sure we are in the best possible
position to meet the challenges facing health
services. Our new accountable care organisation
(ACO) model in Northumberland is the first of its
kind in the NHS - coming into place in April - and
will help us to better co-ordinate care and further
strengthen partnership working between all parts
of our health and social care system.
We are sharing this learning from our work in
Northumberland right across our trust and with
many others across the country.
That just leaves me to wish you all a happy and
healthy Christmas and all the very best for the
New Year. I know many of you will be working
over the festive season, however, I hope you have
the opportunity to enjoy some time with family
and friends.
David Evans,
Chief executive
ROLL YOUR SLEEVES UP!
Angela Forrest is a sister on Ward 9
at The Northumbria hospital. Here
she tells us why she has the flu
vaccination every year:
“I have my vaccination as it is
a simple and pain-free way to
protect me from the flu and its
complications - after all flu is
not just a heavy cold!
“The flu jab is really
important to me as three
years ago I had sepsis.
I went into multi-organ failure,
had bilateral pneumonia and
Time to
You can book your appointment by calling
01670 529214 ext. 33214
Or got a team meeting? Occupational health can come along
and vaccinate attendees – just give them a call to arrange.
Donʼt forget if youʼve had your vaccination elsewhere we still need
to know. Complete the quick form on the flu season intranet page.
after several complications I have
been left with a damaged left lung.
“I am a young lady in my 50s and have
many more years to enjoy my life, my
family and my job. If I caught the flu
I could become severely ill and it
could make my condition worse.
“There are many more people
like me for whom flu could be
life-threatening, please don’t
risk passing the virus on, protect
us and yourself by having your
vaccination.”
Angela Forrest
2
3

Staff magazine
Winter 2016
Be prepared this
WINTER
Winter is here and we all set out with good intentions, but when we are busy we forget the smallest
things. It is these small changes that can have a huge impact on our lives so it is important
to be prepared. Here are some tips to help you through the colder weather. For more information and
guidance please regularly review the winter intranet page under hot topics.
Your journey
At work
In the community
Key Contacts
4
Check the weather: is there a weather
warning? Are there any road closures?
Is it safe to travel?
Give yourself extra time to
defrost your car and remove any snow
from your roof so it doesn’t slide onto
your windscreen when you brake.
Do your tyres have adequate tread?
You should carry:
» de-icer
» ice scraper
» blanket
» shovel
» phone charger
» map
» square of carpet for under your
drive wheels should you get
stuck in snow
Keep your speed down, brake and
accelerate gently and allow more
time to stop. Try to stay on main roads
and avoid back roads which are less
likely to have been treated.
Severe weather can cause damage
to buildings. If your area is damaged
in any way this must be reported to
the estates helpdesk team officer
immediately, or via the on-call estates
officer out of hours. If building
damage has an impact on the services
you can deliver, this must be escalated
to your OSM/GM as soon as possible.
Temperatures are likely to drop,
if you work on a ward make sure
you are familiar with where you
can access additional blankets for
patients. Thermometers in wards and
departments are essential especially
when reporting heating issues as estates
will require an accurate temperature.
Diarrhoea and vomitting/norovirus
are a higher risk in the winter season,
please ensure you are up-to-date with
your infection control training. If your
ward is affected please display the
appropriate warning posters for patients
and visitors. If you experience symptoms
please do not return to work until you
are symptom-free for 48 hours.
Use 4x4 pool car vehicles, these
can be booked via the pool car
system found on the intranet.
If the pool car system has been
ceased by the responsible director,
pool cars will be bookable via
your OSM.
» plan your travel
» check weather
» use main roads
Restock, make sure you and
your patients have enough food
and medicine.
Don't forget about those around us who
may be more vulnerable in the colder
weather. Keep an eye on elderly neighbours,
especially those living alone, or someone
who has a serious illness or even those who
may be a little bit lonely to make sure they
are safe, warm and well.
Emergency preparedness team:
0191 203 1568
emergencypreparednessteam@northumbria.nhs.uk
Estates team:
0191 293 4353
frontdesk.estates@northumbria.nhs.uk
Communications team :
0191 203 1664
communications@northumbria.nhs.uk
NHS Fleet Solutions Fleet Assist:
If you have a fleet vehicle ring the
Fleet Assist 24 Hour accident helpline.
0344 576 1526
www.nhsfleetsolutions.co.uk
Staff taxi service:
For full terms and conditions and details of how
to use the staff taxi service over Christmas/new year
please visit the winter information intranet page.
North Tyneside General Hospital or
The Northumbria hospital -
East Coast Taxis 0191 253 3777
Wansbeck General Hospital -
Phoenix Taxis 01670 540 222
Hexham General Hospital - Urgent care reception
01434 655388 ext. 5388

David bounces back with the help of
the dedicated staff physiotherapy
service
Do you feel like you’re on
‘autopilot’?
We can all lose touch with what’s going on and not notice our emotions -
with the stresses of work and busy lives it is easy to do.
David attended physiotherapy due to an episode of lower
back and right leg pain.
He said: “It had reached a point that I was starting to find
my normal home and work activities very difficult.”
David’s symptoms had reached such intensity that
his GP had signed him off work, he said:
“I was informed by occupational health that there
was a staff physiotherapy service and they arranged
a referral. Once I was referred, I was quickly offered
assessment and started treatment.”
With some advice and treatment from the service, and
pain relief from his GP, David’s pain slowly started to
become more manageable. Gradually he was able to start
increasing his activities and he recently started gardening
and walking the dog again.
He is now being supported back into work on a phased return
to his duties and enjoying getting back to normal.
He said: “I’m pleased to be back to work and enjoying my light
exercise. I am continuing to build up my general fitness and hope
to continue to manage my symptoms well in the future.”
You can self-refer to the staff physiotherapy service
for any musculoskeletal problem, whether it is
work related or not.
Call 01670 529094 / ext. 33094 or complete
the self-referral form on the health and
wellbeing intranet page.
“The service
was a fantastic help to
my progress and I would
recommend staff physiotherapy
to anyone in my situation.
I would definitely use the
service again if
needed.”
Most of us live our lives on a schedule. From
pressures at work to rushing home to make dinner,
doing housework and chauffeuring the kids around,
it’s hard to find a balance and look after your
wellbeing – that’s where resilience training can help.
The training is based on a psychological model
known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
(ACT) and is part of the new generation of cognitive
behavioral therapies, based on two key elements:
1. MINDFULNESS - bringing awareness to your
present moment experience which is helpful for
wellbeing and performance. Mindfulness gives us a
greater sense of self-awareness, improves positive
mental health, improves our ability to cope with
stress and helps create a more cohesive
team environment.
“At first I wondered why I needed this training,
I assumed after 20 years of nursing I was
resilient enough. This training has really made
me think about how I deal with the pressures
of a busy job and home life and that no matter
how resilient we think we are, there is always
room for improvement. With access to the
Headspace app my family can benefit too.
I would recommend this training to anyone.”
Leah Taylor, lead lung cancer nurse,
North Tyneside hospital
2. VALUES-BASED ACTIONS - are principles about
what is important to us in life. It's about taking small
steps towards living the life we want to live - a more
valued life leads to a greater sense of meaning
and fulfillment.
We first launched our resilience training in
2012 and have since secured additional funding for
one year to train band 5 to 8 nurses. Keep an eye on
our intranet page as we are going to launch this to
all staff in early spring next year. So take advantage
of this training programme and book your session,
some of your colleagues already have…
“The resilience training has given me tools to
deal with changes at work. The CD has been
of particular use, I found the values part of
the course enabled me to reflect on both my
personal and professional life.”
Barbara Stanton, cluster lead for health
visiting in North Shields and Wallsend
“This has helped me and my family through
a very difficult time. The support from
management and staff was excellent and helped
me return to work supported. There is no shame
in asking for support, I believe it enhances the
quality of your care delivery.”
Pauline Stewart, staff nurse in POAS
David Sexton - Theatre porter at Wansbeck hospital
If you’re a band 5 to 8 nurse and think you could benefit from this training, please contact the learning
and development team to book or ask your manager to book this using ESR. For more information
visit the resilience training tab on the 'occupational health' intranet page. All training is provided by
the staff psychology and counselling service.
6
7

We believe that our staff are the foundation
for all that we do. We recognise that a positive
staff experience is essential for good patient
outcomes, and we are committed to
improving the working environment
and the opportunities available
to staff. Health and wellbeing
and staff engagement are
essential components in this.
Over the past few years, we
have been taking part in a
scheme which supports and
recognises local employers
promoting health and wellbeing
in the workplace. We are proud
to announce that this year we have
been awarded the gold level of the
North East Better Health at Work
Award. This award recognises the
trust’s commitment to staff health
and wellbeing and the hard work
of the many teams involved.
To achieve this we ran several
campaigns which were all based on the feedback
you gave us in the last health and wellbeing survey,
such as the popular Beat the Board competition
and Work Out at Work Day. We couldn’t have
delivered these without the support of our fantastic
health advocates. We’d like to say a huge thank
you to you all for your support in achieving the
gold level award.
North East OUR NURSES PASS WITH FLYING COLOURS –
IN FIRST TRAUMA COURSE OF ITS KIND IN REGION
Better Health at Work
Award
There is a great deal of partnership working
taking place across the organisation to provide
support for staff. Last year we were identified by
NHS England as a spearhead organisation in
relation to health and wellbeing. As a result
we have been able to include a wider
range of options supporting issues
that are important to you –
including mental wellbeing,
weight management,
musculoskeletal problems,
smoking cessation, and
alcohol where we have made
a great deal of progress over
the past few years, and we will
continue to look at new ways of
supporting you in the workplace.
You can find out how to become
a health advocate online. Any
member of staff can apply to
take on the voluntary role, we
need enthusiastic and passionate
people who can help us raise awareness and
support staff to get involved.
To find out more information on the
health advocate role please contact
healthandwellbeing@northumbria.nhs.uk
or visit the health and wellbeing intranet
page for more information on roles,
resources and health and wellbeing
information.
As a trust we’re constantly striving to further
improve in order to deliver the best possible
care to our patients, that’s why it’s great to
hear when our staff have achieved amazing
things…
Four of our emergency care nurses - Nicola Parry,
Lisa Dandie, Claire McMurray and Lauren Nellins -
have recently passed the first higher level trauma
care (level two) course in the area, the Trauma
Nursing Core Course (TNCC), delivered by the
Northern Trauma Network.
The achievement is no mean feat according to
Jacqueline Gregson, emergency care consultant
for our trust and clinical director for the Northern
Trauma Network.
Jacqueline, who has played a key part in delivering
the nursing education regionally, said: “It’s not only
fantastic for our emergency department but also for
our trust that four of our nurses have passed this
course. It is a real challenge that many nurses in
the region have not successfully completed so it
is amazing that our nurses have done so well. I’m
extremely proud of them all.”
Lauren excelled on the course and stood
out as having the potential to be
an instructor, she said:
“I have always wanted to care for people and am
always looking for new ways to improve my skills
and further my career. I am honoured and hope I
can succeed in becoming an instructor, as I would
like to bring these new skills to our trust to further
improve the training we deliver to the emergency
care teams.”
“The course was fantastic, it was very thorough
and well-structured to nursing roles within trauma
which has improved the way I organise and deliver
trauma care. I would recommend colleagues
register their interest in the training although the
pre-course manual is very extensive, so it’s not
for the faint-hearted”.
Jacqueline added: “Lauren is enthusiastic and
passionate about trauma so it isn’t a surprise that
it has been recommended she pursue the role of
an instructor. I’m looking forward to supporting
Lauren, she has a wealth of knowledge she can
draw upon with over eight years of nursing
experience. She also has a great ability to engage
with students so I know she’ll be great.”
Funding has been secured to provide a further
three courses between April 2017 and March
2018. Places on the course are limited and are
predominantly for emergency care adult and
paediatric nurses and trauma coordinators.
If you are interested in taking part keep an eye
out for posters in the emergency department
coffee rooms.
For more information please email
jacqueline.gregson@northumbria.nhs.uk
8 9

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
THE BUGS ARE
BITING BACK
Resistance to antibiotics is rising at an alarming
rate. It is estimated that 700,000 deaths per
year worldwide are due to infections caused by
bacteria resistant to antibiotics. It is projected
that by 2050 this figure will have risen to 10
million – many more deaths than caused by
all cancers put together.
Without effective antibiotics, many routine
treatments such as basic operations, fracture
fixation and chemotherapy will become much
more dangerous. Just try to imagine for a
moment, what modern healthcare would look
like without antibiotics…
So what can we all do to help? Consultant
microbiologist Dr Tamsin Oswald has produced
this useful guide.
Antibiotics are a powerful tool in the
management of infectious diseases and must
be given immediately in patients with sepsis.
But, they must be used appropriately to reduce
the risk of adverse effects for the individual and
to slow down the development of resistance and
preserve their usefulness for the next generation
and beyond. This will require working together
(as a team) locally, nationally and globally.
If you are a healthworker you can:
Top tips for everyone
Don’t ask for antibiotics to treat cold and flu symptoms
Take antibiotics exactly as prescribed
Discard any unused medication – don’t take them at a later date
Never share antibiotics with others
Prevent infections by regularly washing your hands, avoiding close contact
with people who are ill and keeping your vaccinations up to date
Help us spread the word, tell all of your family and friends.
Did you know?
We've been warned about antibiotic resistance
since at least 1945, we just haven't been
listening! Alexander Fleming (the chap
who identified penicillin) predicted that the
misuse of penicillin would lead to resistance
and increased mortality.
The biggest consumers of antibiotics are
farm animals - they are used as growth
promoters or as prophylaxis when they are
kept in poor sanitary conditions. The second
biggest users are children - who are usually
poorly with viruses!
Prevent infections by:
- Ensuring that your hands, instruments
and environment are clean
- Ensuring your patients’
vaccinations are up-to-date
Only prescribe and dispense antibiotics
when they are truly needed (i.e. not for
coughs and colds)
Prescribe the shortest antibiotic
course likely to be effective
Always select agents to minimise
collateral damage (such as multi-resistant
bacteria or Clostridium difficile)
Monitor antibiotic levels when relevant
(e.g. gentamicin and vancomycin)
Don’t forget to consult our infection specialists and the antibiotic handbook, available on the intranet.
Did you know we have an app with guidance? It’s available on iOS, android and windows devices,
just search for Microguide and select our trust.
When Sir Fleming first isolated penicillin
from the fungus, Penicillium (in 1928),
he called it "mould juice". He discovered
it by accident.
When penicillin was
mass-produced for
WWII, it was nicknamed,
‘The Wonder Drug’ - not
to be confused with the
'cure all miracle drug' at
the time, cocaine!
Children who are given broad-spectrum
antibiotics before two years of age are three
times more likely to develop asthma than
children who are not.
Typically there are between 10,000 and
10million bacteria on each hand and this
doubles after a visit to the toilet!
Bacteria 40million years old have been
extracted and successfully grown from a
fossilised bee (Bacillus sphaericus).
11

The right care, in the right place, by
the right people, at the right time.
As demand for NHS services continues to rise with more people needing our care we
need all parts of our trust to work in a coordinated and consistent way so that people
can flow through the system in the most efficient way for their needs. Lots of work
has been taking place to ensure that we all work together and play our part in
improving patient flow.
1
Patient attends The Northumbria with a serious problem
An overcrowded emergency department runs the risk of delaying the assessment and
treatment of seriously ill patients both inside our hospital and outside by ambulance
services. Our emergency department continues to work hard to improve ambulance
handover times, triage time and our four hour performance target supported by our
ambulatory care teams. All of these are very important to patient experience and care.
The Northumbria
Where will this
patient be
transferred to
safely?
2
Patient requires admission to a specialty ward at The Northumbria
We’ve introduced a number of initiatives to ensure that beds are available earlier in the
day right across the trust and this means we are able to move patients to the right place
and progress their care at the right time. Discharge co-ordinators on wards 9 and 12 at
The Northumbria are helping us to create capacity before 11am and all wards
participate in the full hospital protocol which sees people proactively moved out of the
emergency department at 11am and 4pm. Flow only works if everyone plays their part,
patients need to be able to flow to our general and community hospitals and out into
the community with the support of community services and adult social care.
We see 250 to 300 patients a day in our emergency department at
The Northumbria. Of these we transfer an average of 30 people to
ambulatory care and admit 70 to 80 patients onto specialty wards.
GENERAL HOSPITAL
There’s no bed like your own bed!
4
Patient is well enough to be discharged
We are about to start a pilot, using multi-disciplinary team board rounds, to help
improve communication within teams on wards so that everyone, including the
patient and their family, understands their care and discharge arrangements. This
will take place in our community hospitals and supports all of the work taking
place with local GPs as part of our vanguard programme to further improve out
of hospital care and access to timely advice.
3
Our red and green day pilot aims to ensure people don’t stay in hospital longer than is
necessary. It runs on two wards at North Tyneside and two wards at Wansbeck and will
soon be expanded to cover Hexham. Days are marked green if care has progressed as
we want it to, and red if there are areas where we can improve flow. This is helping us
add value to the time that people spend in hospital, making every hour count and
ensuring that plans are made and diagnostic tests are done in a timely way.
Our community teams, including our Hospital2Home team, are essential in helping
support early discharge (please see page 15).
Thank you all for your work so far and remember everyone’s contribution
really does count in improving patient flow.

to our local communities
HOSPITAL2HOME
here to help you this winter
We regularly engage with our local communities
and in autumn took our 'We're listening' trailer across
Northumberland and North Tyneside. Joined
by our health and care partners and public governors,
we spoke to over 200 people gathering their
feedback on the care we provide. Here are some
of the comments we received:
“All the hospitals I have had to go to -
Hexham, Wansbeck, North Tyneside and
Cramlington - have provided excellent care.”
“The staff at Hexham oncology are absolutely
amazing. I am very glad that Hexham has
a wide range of services that I can use and
means I don’t have to go further afield.”
“Such kindness and great care from
Mr Youseff at Wansbeck.”
“Wonderful care from Mr Carr and the
breast team.”
“Great treatment at Berwick.”
“Northumbria Healthcare is excellent and
I can’t say thank you enough for all the
help I get.”
We used the roadshow as an opportunity to remind
people about the most appropriate place to attend for
urgent or emergency care and the services available in
their local area.
There was overwhelming praise for our caring
and compassionate staff - thank you for going the
extra mile.
A timely discharge from hospital is a key focus
for everyone as wards get busier over winter.
Don’t forget our Hospital2Home (H2H) team
can support you with this. H2H are present
on wards at general hospitals and at The
Northumbria hospital, seven days a week to
help patients flow through our care system.
We all know H2H can help discharge patients
safely to their homes but did you know they
can also assist care home patients?
New care home residents:
Is a care manager or social worker able to
attend the planning meeting? If not, a H2H
representative may be able to help.
Patients returning to a care home:
Has the patient’s condition deteriorated since
he/she was last in the care home? If yes, the
care home will need to review the patient.
Please encourage them to do this once the
patient is back in their care, this helps to free
up our hospital beds for patients who need
them. If you have any problems, please
contact H2H.
Are you experiencing delays in discharging
the patient? Even if this is only a short delay,
alert H2H – the team want to hear from you.
Is the care home struggling to care for the
patient? H2H can help and give you guidance
on the next steps.
If you need to escalate a concern, or report
a delay, please contact the H2H team:
Wansbeck hospital - ext 33498/33499
North Tyneside hospital - ext 2731
The Northumbria hospital - ext 72124
Hexham hospital - ext 5393
Blyth
North Shields
Berwick
15

YOU’RE FAB!
Annie was blown away by the pledges we received
on fab change day. She said:
“In our trust we embody continuous improvement and we're
extremely proud of the culture we have created, empowering
every member of staff to suggest improvements and make a
difference to patient care.
“It is encouraging that the emphasis the organisation has made
to improve staff and patient experience is reflected in the pledges
we received. For example 12% were to make a warm and friendly
environment, 16% to support colleagues and 14% to support
patients. It’s incredible that despite being busy and working under
pressure, especially coming up to winter, ‘being positive’ was a
popular pledge theme with a ‘can do’ Northumbria culture.“
Annie Laverty,
director of patient
experience
Here are a few pledges that stood out for Annie...
Alison Appleby
Becky Clark
Sarah Lindman
Make a
difference on
returning to
nursing
Volunteer as often as
I can, do arts and
crafts with the patients
to brighten their day
Be a fab ambassador and
encourage my colleagues and
others to tell me about the
great work they are doing and
use social media to share our
work here
FAB CHANGE DAY 2016
Hundreds of members of staff have vowed to make a ‘fab’ difference to patient care as part
of a national day of action. For NHS Change Day - dubbed #FabChangeDay - on Wednesday
19 October, our colleagues pledged their support and committed to make one positive
change in the work place and, most importantly, to turn ideas into action.
This is really interesting,
I am keen to find out how
it was for Alison when she
returned to work.
Gill
Be cost cutting champion.
Reduce waste, be
mindful of the cost of
equipment, i.e. reduce
use of disposable finger
probe monitoring
It's brilliant that Gill is
conscious of this, cost
improvement and waste solutions
are something we can all think
about. What ca we do better and
can something be done in a more
cost effective way with no negative
impact on patient care?
I've been overwhelmed by
the kindness of our staff in
their pledges. I love Becky's
willingness to brighten the day
of her patients.
Robina Walton
Continue to be passionate
about cleanliness of the
ward. Our legacy to Rachel
Watson and her work in
infection control
Rachel was a much loved
member of staff who passed
away recently so it is heartwarming
to see a pledge to ensure
the ward environment is the
cleanest it can be.
One in five members of staff
pledged to support and celebrate
their colleagues' great work.
Sarah’s pledge reflects that
commitment and use of social
media is a great tool to share
success, encourage ideas and
promote good work.
Top pledge themes:
1. Supporting staff
2. Supporting patients
3. Creating a warm
friendly environment
4. Staff fitness and
wellbeing
5. Being positive
17

CHARITY ROUND-UP
Charity
International
Northumbria Tanzania link hits the big screen
In November last year, a film production team joined
our international volunteers to visit Kilimanjaro
Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Tanzania to
make a documentary film about our unique, awardwinning
international partnership with the hospital.
The film, ‘Novemba’, provides a behind-the-scenes
insight into our Tanzania partnership and shows
the many achievements and challenges faced
by our international volunteers as they delivered
healthcare in one of the poorest countries in the
world. The film also shows the special friendships
which have formed between Northumbria and our
colleagues in KCMC, through years of working
together to help improve healthcare in the country.
The film was selected for the prestigious Global
Health Film Festival which took place (coincidentally)
in November in London, following its national
premiere on the big screen, 'Novemba' will be
shown in the trust for staff to enjoy.
Gifted
Newly-refurbished day room at Berwick
We have been working closely with staff from
Berwick on the redevelopment of the Ward 1 day
room. It has been converted into three spaces to
include a reading area, a games/social interaction
area and a TV/music area to cater for a range of
uses and tastes. Matron, Annaluisa Wood said: “The
difference is immense. It’s been an absolute pleasure
to be part of this project, and to see patients
coming together to use the room. It’s been a hub
of activity and it is fantastic to hear the positive
comments from patients, their relatives and staff.”
Thank you to our Bright runners
Around 50 runners took part in this year’s
Great North Run (GNR) to support our charity,
Bright Northumbria. A huge well done and
thank you goes to everyone who took part.
Each year the run raises thousands of pounds
for our charity which makes a huge difference
to our patients. If you are interested in
taking part in next year’s GNR please contact
brightcharity@northumbria.nhs.uk
Arts
New artwork for MHSOP
We have been working with staff from Mental
Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) to
provide accessible dementia-friendly artwork
for the new wards, part of the trust’s longstanding
healing arts programme which uses
art as a therapeutic medium to improve the
hospital environment.
This includes a large-scale vinyl photograph
of Beamish Burn by staff member Ian Taylor,
large-scale photographs of local landmarks,
an illuminated ‘mandala’ mosaic with changing
colours (pictured), projected landscape images
and an interactive crafted ironwork tree.
Further artwork will be installed over the
coming months.
The Retreat
A new quiet garden at The Northumbria
hospital has been designed by celebrity
gardener and former staff member Sean
Murray (pictured). The garden has been
named The Retreat following over 40
suggestions and an almost unanimous
decision from staff.
18
19

Leading change - adding value
CONFERENCE INSPIRES AND MOTIVATES OVER 200 OF OUR NURSES
Over 200 nurses and midwives from across the
trust attended our third annual nursing and
midwifery conference in November
where they were inspired to make
even the smallest change to
improve quality of care from
a host of internal and
external speakers.
These included; Jim
Mackey, chief executive
of NHS Improvement,
professor Jane Cummings,
chief nursing officer of
England, Dr Ruth May,
executive director of nursing, NHS
improvement, and Tommy Whitelaw,
project engagement lead, Dementia Carer
Voices, who gave an emotive account of being
a carer for his mother, who had
dementia, which resonated deeply
with the delegates.
The afternoon consisted
of participation taster
sessions presented
by our staff proving
that talent and drive is
alive in our trust. This
featured an informative
presentation on how to
start your nursing research,
an interactive session on team
transformation leadership style, the
thought-provoking coaching model which is
part of the trust's wider approach to collective
leadership, the inspirational service improvement
projects presented by newly-qualified nurses and
the hugely-popular Jack and Josephine
learning disability resource from
Northumberland Community
Services.
The final presentation
was by Kristina Henry,
our head of learning
and development, on
collective leadership which
reflected the theme of the
day - everyone can make a
difference.
There were a series of exhibitions
including occupational health who gave
over 50 nurses the flu vaccination. The library
and knowledge services, learning and
development team and learning
disability services all ran
demonstrations showcasing
the resources available
to staff. New concepts
‘the nerve centre’ and
Dinwoodie Assessment and
Simulation Hub brought
equipment along for staff
to try. The transformation
team encouraged staff to
lead change by submitting ideas
no matter how small using our
improvement cycle. They brought a
fun smoothie bike which made over file miles
worth of smoothies.
Here are some of the pledges attendees made
after hearing Tommy's speech:
“To put a smile on the face of each and
every patient I care for.”
Claire Dixon
“I pledge to recognise each patient as a
person, with their own values and dreams and
hopes. To support them and ensure they feel
comfortable and cared for in the right place.”
Jacqueline Beattie
Debbie Reape, director of nursing brought the
conference to a close highlighting the themes of
the day; inspiration, motivation, a pride in nursing
and midwifery and a sense of moving forward
with ambition. See what our nurses and midwives
thought of the day:
“A fast-moving and stimulating conference.
Tommy was amazing, made it real for everyone
and grounded us in what really matters.”
Bev Davison
“I’m proud to be a nurse working in an
inspirational, outstanding organisation.”
Gillian Emmerson
“I pledge to have tea once a week with
my next-door neighbour who is alone with
dementia and family live away. She looked
after my children when they were little.”
Annaluisa Wood
“I pledge to support Tommy's return to the
trust to share his story with many more.”
Debbie Reape
“Useful for newly qualified staff nurses
joining the trust.”
Beth Shepherdson
“I have appreciated the day, it helps you
keep thinking about improvements in your
area.”
Jennifer Sommers
“I found it uplifting in a tough time.”
Christine Morgan
“A little more emphasis on community and
public healthcare issues is required.”
Anne Johnson
20
21

Staff magazine
Winter 2016
THE IMPROVEMENT CYCLE
Make changes in cycles, testing your
ideas before moving to the next cycle.
P
D
NHS NUMBER
keeping patients safe
S
STARTING AN
IMPROVEMENT
JOURNEY
P
D
A
S
A
What are you trying
to accomplish?
How will you know
that a change is an
improvement?
What changes can you
make that will result
in an improvement?
This is the safest and easiest way to record a patient’s
identity and reduces the risk of errors.
1. PLAN
Think about what would you like to improve or change and why.
Be clear about what you want to achieve as it will help
you move through the next steps
Try setting some SMART objectives
Think about what the best way might be to test your idea
What information do you need to collect
to measure whether the change has had
the impact you wanted
Who needs to know about your change –
think about the people it may impact on
Cycles of improvement
2. DO
Follow your plan
Deliver the change cycle over a time period that makes
most sense – an hour, a day or a number of weeks
Remember to collect your data
Communications is important to success so make sure
people understand what you are doing and why
Encourage involvement and seek feedback –
good and bad
One of the largest single sources of nationally
reported patient safety incidents relates to the
misidentification of patients, according to the
National Patient Safety Agency.
The safest way to record a patient’s identity is
to include their NHS number in their records.
Staff should not use the trust identification number,
known as the T number, as the sole identification
of a patient. This is because patients with the same
name known to the trust prior to 2001 can have T
numbers with only one digit difference.
Always use the NHS number if it is known.
This will reduce the risk of errors in patient
identification. Only use the T number if the NHS
number is not available. And whether you use
the NHS number or the T number, be sure to also
check the patient’s surname, forename, date of
birth and first line of their address.
NHS number - If you have it, use it.
The NHS number makes it easier to find
the right patient quickly.
4. ACT
3. STUDY
Share your learning and
progress with others
Think about what worked well
and implement it
Consider what areas may require a further change
What might you need to stop doing?
Start to plan your next cycle
Analyse the information you collected
to measure the change
Determine whether your change has had the
impact you want
Think about what you have learnt
Is there anything missing that you should consider collecting next time?
Were there any unexpected benefits or implications of your change?
Let the transformation team know if you are making an improvement or if you need help.

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