Christmas staff magazine

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
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