No 52 October 2009 Newsletter for the staff of NHS Barnsley

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

11 ENTER THE TEAM QUIZ

Mapplewell’s Comfort Club, originally set up two years ago by Cathrine Ward, Health Visitor, proved such a success that Comfort Club 2 has since evolved. Developed by local mum Collette Smallman, Comfort Club 2 is a support group where mums can continue to attend after the initial 6 week course the Comfort Club provides. This second club also involves community parents, local children centres and volunteers. “It is a great way of demonstrating how people across health, social and voluntary sectors can come together” said Cathrine, pictured with Collette at the recent event at Mapplewell Village Hall with Mayor, Cllr John Parkinson and the Mayoress celebrating the success of the groups with other local mums and community members. continued p3

Pictured (middle l-r) The Mayor Cllr John Parkinson, Collette Smallman, the Mayoress Linda Parkinson, Health Visitor Cathrine Ward with other mums and children involved in Comfort Club and Comfort Club 2.

Comfort club 2 meets the Mayor

6 SAFETY ISSUES

3 WELCOME ELIZABETH

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News from the Chief Executive

News from Care Services Direct

Staff opinions count

It’s the seventh year we’ve participated in the national staff survey and this year we’re doing things a little differently. In addition to the 800 surveys going to staff randomly picked we are doing 100% survey on all commissioning staff to help us with some base line data for future working. Historically the response rate from Commissioning has been lower than Care Services so Staff Side have pledged their commitment to helping us improve the survey return rates. On page 9 we’ve printed a rumour busting article to help expel the myths that surround the staff survey which is delivered in partnership with Quality Health. It’s 100% confidential and we need your honest opinions so please fill it in if you receive one.

Family Nurse Partnership

I was really pleased to hear the update from FNP (on page 8), a holistic programme for first time parents under the age of 19, who are less than 24 weeks pregnant. We are currently providing support to 105 young people in Barnsley. The programme aims to improve pregnancy outcomes including encouraging breastfeeding, reducing smoking, improving diet, improve child health and development and improve the economic self sufficiency of young families. Whilst we continue to work to reduce the trend of young pregnancies in Barnsley it is key that a high level of support is provided to maximise the health and wellbeing of local people.

NHS Choices Roadshow

Barnsley were fortunate to be successful in a bid for the NHS Choices mobile unit to visit us for a week. During that week a non-stop stream of members of the public visited the unit and were able to ask questions about the NHS in Barnsley, have their blood pressure checked and find out about the stop smoking services in Barnsley. Well done to those staff who volunteered to spend time on the stand over the days (including the weekend) at various locations. This level of engagement is an extremely positive move for us to find out more about what people want in Barnsley and educate and raise awareness about important health issues.

Welcome Elizabeth

It’s a while since we announced Elizabeth Shassere’s joint appointment to NHS Barnsley and BMBC as Director of Public Health, however, I am pleased to officially welcome Elizabeth who is now in her second month at NHS Barnsley.

World Mental Health Day – 10 October 2009World Mental Health Day falls on a Saturday this year, 10 October. During the week commencing 5 October there will be various events and activities to celebrate this event, including a football tournament at Barnsley FC. The Day was started in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health. It aims to promote greater public awareness and understanding of mental health and mental illness. We live in an era where discrimination against people with a mental illness is still real. Evidence suggests that only 4 out of 10 employers say they would consider taking on someone with a history of mental illness. I understand that people like Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, and Marie Curie all had some form of what we would now term as mental illness. Where would the world be now without these peoples’ contribution? Transforming Community ServicesYou will see on page 3 the outcome of the response to the Expressions of Preference, and a summary of what happens next. Many thanks to all of you who sent in your form, and particularly to those people who commented on the TCS consultation process itself. We can always do things better, and your comments will help this. The feedback varied from comments such as “I found the presentations and discussion very useful”, to “I believe that the roadshows for TCS were not advertised well at all. The roadshow should have been mandatory and all staff levels should have been made aware how important they were.” I appreciate that not everybody can access Connect, however regular updates will continue to be placed on there. I should like to place on record my thanks and appreciation to our Staff Side representatives who worked in partnership with me (and others) in the consultation, and put in a lot of time and effort to engage everybody. Lone Worker DevicesOn page 6 you will see an article on Lone Worker Devices. If you have one of these Devices, please make full use of them. They are an important part of our commitment as an organisation to your safety. If you are in any doubt about how and when to use this Device, please speak to your manager/supervisor or contact the Health and Safety team. Personal BestI couldn’t let this month go by without a boast about a recent run I did. On 13 September I ran the Wetherby 10k race in a time of 45 minutes 38 seconds, shattering my previous personal best time for that distance. Now, I could say that this was due to all the extra training I had put in recently. However, the real reason was teamwork, a theme I keep banging on about. At about 5k into the run, a woman completely unknown to me was running at about the same pace, and we ‘dragged’ each other along to the finish when it would have been easier to tire and slow down.

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Continued from p1

Collette Smallman, a mum who took part in the initial 6 week course run by the Comfort Club said “I enjoyed the group so much I decided to set up my own group,” resulting in the development of the mother support group – Comfort Club 2.

The group held a celebration at Mapplewell Village hall on 11 September using the prize money they were awarded at the NHS Barnsley Staff Recognition Awards earlier this year. Community parents Collette Smallman and Rachel Jones organised the event and also organise other fundraising events for the club.

As well as a generous buffet for the mothers and children to enjoy, the afternoon provided an opportunity for all aspects of the community involved in the groups to come together; members of the comfort club, community parents, members from the local children’s centres and volunteers all joined together for the afternoon. “It’s just great to see so many people from across the community here today, knowing that it stems from the original Comfort Club,” said Collette.

Welcome ElizabethWelcome to Elizabeth Shassere who began work in Barnsley last month as Executive Director of Public Health in a joint appointment by Barnsley Council and NHS Barnsley.

Elizabeth was previously the Director of Public Health at Stockton-on-Tees Teaching PCT/Stockton Borough Council. Elizabeth can be contacted on 01226 327199 or by email: ElizabethShassere@barnsley.gov.uk

Look out for further information about Elizabeth’s work which will be published in the next issue of NHS Barnsley News.

Transforming Community Services: Expression of preference outcomeSince April, we have been consulting with staff on the Transforming Community Services (TCS) national agenda, and as requested and discussed at a number of road shows we are pleased to share the outcome of the expressions of preference received from staff following the attachment to July pay slips.

Firstly we would like to thank everyone who took the time to return their slips. In addition to your preference in relation to Community Foundation Trust and Social Enterprise, your feedback comments were extremely helpful and have given us some useful ‘lessons learnt’ feedback we will use for future consultations.

The response rates demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of staff who expressed a preference preferred the NHS option of a Community Foundation Trust. Here is a breakdown of the results:

• 49.46% of staff expressed a preference. • Out of 2087 staff in Care Services Direct (this includes 196 staff seconded to BMBC under the Partnership in Action agreement), 1036 replied. • 1024 staff expressed a preference for an NHS Community Foundation Trust. • 8 staff expressed a preference for Social Enterprise (based across a range of service areas). • 4 staff submitted blank forms.

The engagement from staff during the consultation was excellent and the support from staff side, who worked jointly to help deliver information to staff, was extremely helpful during this time.

So what happens next? A report outlining the above information will be made to the Care Services Board in September. A further report containing recommendations will go to the October NHS Barnsley Board, as outlined in the staff participation plan. This will be considered alongside the outcome of public consultation and a report from Commissioning to help inform the Board’s decision on a way forward.

For those staff employed by BMBC and seconded to Care Services Direct, any recommendations or decisions which may affect your employment will be referred back to the Council to decide, and as such may be subject to further consultation involving the trade unions. Information is still being updated on the TCS Page on Connect so please remember to visit to keep up to date on this important area.

Comfort club 2 meets the Mayor

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Staff from NHS Barnsley received a welcome reception from members of the public during the week the mobile choices unit (pictured) visited areas of Barnsley.

During the week, staff from stop smoking services, Contraception and Sexual Health (CASH) with support from the Terence Higgins Trust and health trainers who undertook blood pressure checks for members of the public.

“It was a great opportunity to promote the NHS in Barnsley and we had a lot of interest thanks to having some freebies to hand out!” Said Stuart Smith, Commissioning Manager, who coordinated the Choices week in Barnsley. “My local knowledge was truly tested from people wanting to know about all sorts swine flu through to diagnosis – luckily I was able to refer people to the new walk in centre which is in Barnsley Centre.”

The first edition of the Web Health Intelligence Directory has been published and can be found under the Strategy and Contracting section of the Connect site.

The Web Health Intelligence Directory currently contains over 50 different websites with information that supports the commissioning arm of NHS Barnsley. It is designed to provide commissioners with vital information to take forward many different pieces of work, such as:• Comprehensive Service Redesign • Service Specifications • Performance Monitoring • Practice-Based Commissioning • Background Information

The Web Health Intelligence Directory has been developed in a ‘user friendly’ way, providing web hyperlinks to specific websites and pieces of work within those sites. In order to build upon what we have developed we have also developed a questionnaire for your feedback.

This feedback is imperative to help us improve and build upon what we already have.

If you have any queries about the Web Health Intelligence Directory or you think there are some websites that should be included into the Web Health Intelligence Directory that aren’t already, please contact James Townsend with the relevant information on the below contact details:E-mail: James.Townsend@barnsleypct.nhs.uk Phone: (01226) 327115 or Ext: 6815

The Web Health Intelligence Directory will be managed, updated and maintained on a monthly basis. Each month an updated version of the Web Health Intelligence Directory will be published on the Connect site.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone that has contributed towards the collection of the websites so far and I hope you find the Web Health Intelligence Directory beneficial to your area of work whatever it may be.

Web Health Intelligence Directory

“Everyone has a story to tell,” continued Stuart, “It was good to be able to listen to them, gather intelligence and promote choice and the choose and Book system in Barnsley. I think there is definitely enough interest to do this again in the future. Our service colleagues from stop smoking and CASH generated lots of future leads for business too!”

During the week the Roadshow visited Goldthorpe Market, Barnsley Market, Penistone Market and Barnsley Town Centre. Information on local services was handed out along with environment friendly NHS Choice and Constitution branded recycled shopper bags.

The Choices Roadshow was a popular attraction in Barnsley centre.

Choices Roadshow gets top turn out

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Margaret’s the accountable officer for controlled drugsThe Shipman Inquiry was set up in January 2001, following the conviction of Harold Shipman for the murder of 15 of his patients.

The fourth report from that inquiry was published in July 2004 and considered the use of Controlled Drugs (CDs) which led to changes in the law requiring each health organisation registered with the Care Quality Commission to have an Accountable Officer for CDs.

Margaret Kitching, Director of Professions is the Accountable Officer for NHS Barnsley.

The Accountable Officer is responsible for ensuring that all CDs are prescribed, supplied, administered and destroyed in accordance with the legislation

How does this affect you? All Incidents relating to CDs must be reported to the Accountable Officer. NHS Barnsley has a legal responsibility to share information regarding CD prescribing and incidents with other NHS organisations, the CQC and the RPSBG. This is done through the CD Local Intelligence Network (LIN).

Get ready for Care Quality Commission visits The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is inspecting a proportion of all types of NHS provider trusts in 2009 / 10 to assess whether they are meeting the new regulation on Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) and following the supporting Code of Practice.

Margaret Kitching, the lead director for Infection Prevention and control said: “Community hospitals are high on the priority list of the CQC so all staff need to be ready with the assumption that it will be ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ they visit.”

The inspections will be unannounced, lasting between one and two days, depending on the number and geographical distribution of the trust’s hospitals.

What should we expect?

The inspection team may visit any community site unannounced and will want to interview community staff eg. Matrons, District Nurses. They could visit health centres and clinics and will speak to any staff, any grade, volunteers and contractors.

The method and approach will include:

• Inspection of community inpatient facilities eg. Mount Vernon, the Oakwell Centre or Wards at Kendray.• Discussion with clinical and support staff on wards• Interviews with relevant management personnel in respect of inpatient care

It may be necessary to provide key documents and policies to the inspection team during their visit so please make sure you know where to find them (hint: they are all on the policies and procedures section of Connect).

NHS Barnsley is committed to ensuring Equality for all staff and will be holding focus group sessions on equality issues to ensure all staff have had the opportunity to engage and influence policies which are likely to have an impact on their working life.

The first of three sessions is planned on disability, all staff who have declared, or have an interest in disability, are invited to a focus group, the aim:- Open discussion on experiences in the workplace- Good practice and support in place- Issues identified requiring further development and clarity - Next steps and future meetings

The focus group session is to be held on 29th October 2.30-4.30 at Kendray. If you are interested in attending please contact Amanda Heenan or Narinder Kaur on 01226 43 3760.

A Disability Voice in Communicating Equality

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Lone worker devices - amber status is importantAre you a lone worker and if so, do you use your lone worker device properly?

The amber alert function is essential in enabling the alarm handling operator to quickly escalate an alarm to the emergency services if warranted - it’s the most accurate method of locating the device holder when an alarm is raised.

NHS Barnsley deliberately selected the monitoring station device for its category 2 status, which means the police response will be quicker.

“Amber updates make the red reports work better on the lone worker device,” explained John Sanderson, Health & Safety Advisor. “Our advice to staff is to leave an amber alert as a minimum prior to entering any new environments, whether it’s a home visit or on-site meetings with patient.” “Common sense is the key element here. Amber alerts utilise a form of dynamic risk assessment and that’s the area that’s most important. If staff think more about the risks and are proactively managing the risks via the amber alerts they are demonstrating an element of responsibility for their own safety.“

It is recommend to do a quick update on the lone worker device under the amber alert before each visit. This helps to combat any misunderstanding when diaries change. “It’s not about us checking up on where staff are at any given time of the day, it’s about putting people’s safety first.”

Make NHS Barnsley SecureAll employees are reminded that tailgating remains to be a large problem within the organisation, and that we must all remember to be vigilant and careful when entering and leaving buildings.

What is Tailgating?

Tailgating is when an unauthorised person gains access into a building by someone who works there. For example, staff may politely hold the door open for someone who should not be permitted access. It may be done unintentionally, but can open the door to intruders.

What are the main problems within NHS Barnsley with regards to security?

Tailgating remains to be a large problem within the organisation. However, as well as this, we also have a problem with staff propping open the controlled access doors and locking the mechanical keypad access doors to by-pass the lock. Doing this could lead to a dangerous situation and could lead to prosecution under section 7 of the H&S at work act 1974 Employees’ duty to:

(a) To take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and others who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work.

What are the dangers of Security breaches?

It we do not take security seriously then the consequences can be very dangerous. If unauthorised persons are allowed access into NHS Barnsley buildings then staff will be essentially putting their own safety and that of their colleagues at risk. The organisation could also be put at risk of theft and the possibility that confidential data could be stolen.

How can staff protect NHS Barnsley?

One of the main ways of checking whether or not someone is an NHS Barnsley employee is through their ID badge. If a person is not wearing an ID badge, they must not be allowed access into buildings without first being questioned and their identity checked. Staff should also wait until a door has fully closed, especially those which are secure, to make sure that a ‘tailgater’ isn’t waiting behind to gain access. It is also important to make sure that you remind colleagues that it is not permitted to prop open security doors and/or lock the mechanical keypad in order to bypass secure locks. Doing so may result in serious consequences.

If you are ever worried about your security, please do not hesitate to contact the Health and Safety department on ext. 5617. If you would like any more information about tailgating, please contact John Sanderson on this number or email John.Sanderson@BarnsleyPCT.nhs.uk.

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Round Two Recruitment Cadet ProgrammeFollowing the success of the first wave of cadets who started in May 2009, the Facilities directorate have started round two of recruitment, and this time round are extending the range of posts, which now include housekeeping, catering, domestics, portering, administration and seamstress.

A daytime and evening presentation was held at Barnsley College to establish interest in the posts and enable potential cadets to ask questions about the course and programme content.

Sue Norwood, Assistant Director of Facilities presented at the event to more than 26 people aged between 16-65 who were interested in accessing the cadet programme. “This is a great opportunity to have some early contact with the people who may be working with us in the future, and also promote the NHS as future employers,” said Sue.

“I firmly believe there is a lot of local talent out there in Barnsley and adopting a ‘grow your own’ strategy is proving to be a great success for us so far”.

“Working closely with the Employability Team and Barnsley College has been a really positive experience for me and helped us to recruit into positions that have historically been difficult to fill.”

Phil O’Neil (pictured) was also present at the event representing Barnsley College and gave further information on the apprenticeship framework.

Through the cadet course, participants are given hands-on experience of the role and are also released from work to undertake training and study one day per week. On completion of the 8 to 15 month courses, the cadets are qualified and encouraged to apply for roles in the field they have studied in.

The relationships between NHS Barnsley and the College are all thanks to the dedication of the Employability Team based at Kendray Hospital. They have been working together since October 2008 on the Cadet Programme and have placed 32 people throughout various departments of the Trust.

Pictured: Sue Norwood and Phil O’Neil presented the course at the open day events held at Barnsley College’s Sci-Tech building.

Beware Phishing scamsThere have been an increasing number of incidents reported by staff in relation to bogus emails which could lead to online identity theft. This practice is known as Phishing.

Phishing is the practice of sending e-mails which falsely claim to originate from seemingly trustworthy sources like banks or other institutions such as The Inland Revenue. The sender will ask for personal details and may even threaten to close your account(s) if you do not reply immediately. In addition to stealing personal and financial data, phishers can infect computers with viruses and convince people to participate unwittingly in money laundering. These e-mails can look very convincing, have logos, tick and drop boxes and may be personally addressed to you.

The best way to avoid becoming a phishing scam victim is to use your best judgment. No financial institution with any sense will email you and ask you to input all of your sensitive information. In fact, most institutions are informing customers that “We will never ask you for your personal information via phone or email”.

The advice from Health and Safety is as follows: “To protect yourself against Phishing never click on links in e-mails that appear to come from these types of institutions and never enter or confirm your financial details. Institutions may contact you by e-mail; however they will never ask you for sensitive personal and financial details.”

If you have any questions or concerns about phishing, please contact John Sanderson on (43) 5617.

Children and Young People’s PlanBarnsley Children’s Trust has recently published its second Children and Young People’s Plan, which is an integrated plan that sets out Barnsley’s vision, ambitions, strategy and priorities specifically aimed at improving outcomes for children, young people and families across the borough.

The plan is underpinned by four major strategies: the Early Childhood Strategy pre-birth to 11 years, the Integrated Youth Strategy 11 to 19 years, the Parenting and Family Support Strategy and the Health and Disability Strategy. The combined actions within the strategies are designed to deliver integrated working at all levels, but particularly at community level through the locality based wellbeing partnerships and teams.

The purpose of the plan is that the council and its partners - all of those who contribute to the work of Barnsley Children and Young People’s Trust, including schools, children’s centres, childcare, social services, community health services, hospital services, play and leisure services, voluntary and community sector services - are committed to working together to deliver the priorities outlined in these plans. As well as forging new and improved relationships with children, young people, families and communities, the aim is to work with partners from statutory, voluntary and community sectors to deliver ‘joined up’ services, wherever possible at a local level, that are fully supportive of families’ needs.

A full copy of the plan is accessible now on Connect.

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Although still in its pilot stages The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is proving to be a phenomenal success with the nurses and the families that are engaged in it. One young parent says “The programme has given me the confidence to realise I really can bring up my child and do as well as everyone else in the world. As much as I am excited about the future I will definitely miss my nurse a lot, she is just brilliant and I wouldn’t be here without her”.The programme was rigorously tested in the USA and we are now looking to measure the effectiveness of the programme in England.

At NHS Barnsley we were privileged to win a bid to be a part of the first wave of pilot sites in England, and embrace this new and innovative way of working. FNP is aimed at first time parents under the age of 19, who are less than 24 weeks pregnant, and is currently providing support to up to 105 young people in Barnsley. The programme provides holistic support for the whole family from the early stages of pregnancy until the child is 2.

The programme aims to improve pregnancy outcomes including encouraging breastfeeding, reducing smoking, improving diet, improving child health and development and improving the economic self sufficiency of young families. The team is made up of 6 family nurses and 2 supervisors, all of who share a wealth of experience and information allowing them to offer a quality service to the users.

The first cohort of families to take part in the FNP are due to leave the programme later this year, and the event gave them advice and information which will support them when they leave. One young mother at the event expressed how much she will miss the service. She said: “My nurse is not like anyone else, she gives me respect and it gives priority to my wishes and what I want.”

A multiagency event recently brought together agencies that the programme and the families identified as being able to offer ongoing support to them as parents when they leave the programme. The event also strengthened the links between the programme, families and local agencies which is integral in ensuring that the services provided meet the needs of families.

The event was organised by Michelle Barnes (Teenage Pregnancy Advisor) and Jodie Harris (Health improvements), who were both extremely pleased with its results. Michelle said “the event has been a real success and the families have been able to access information to support them when they leave the programme.”

Thanks goes to Barnardo’s, Family Support Workers, Public Health Locality Specialist, VAB Breastfeeding peer support, Teenage pregnancy midwife, Vinspired, carr gomm, BMBC Family Learning and Tracey Turner, Dental Health Educator for kindly donating information and toothbrushes.

For more information about the Family Nurse Partnership please contact 01226 748808.

Support for Young Parents in Barnsley

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It’s that time of year again. Each year every NHS organisation runs a staff survey with nationally set questions. These are set by the Care Quality Commission (CQC - previously the Healthcare Commission). In NHS Barnsley, the random samples were drawn up in August and submitted. The 2009/10 staff surveys have now been distributed in the internal post to 800 staff across the Care Services and Commissioning parts of NHS Barnsley.

What is it?

The staff survey results are a snapshot of what it’s like to work for us, and we can build this picture up each year through comparison. The survey examines a number of key areas including staff satisfaction, training, communication, staff involvement, infection control, heath and safety and equality and diversity. It helps to highlight the areas we are good at and also where we need to improve as an organisation.

Rumours and myths….

As always, along with the surveys, the same old rumours and myths are doing the rounds. Many employees are suspicious that the survey is simply a way for the trust to check up on certain individuals and what is being moaned about at work, and some staff think that their personal views are revealed to local managers, and are therefore reluctant to respond.

…Busted!

However, this is not true. We do not get to see individual surveys; they get inputted and analysed as percentages. NHS Barnsley only get to see a breakdown of results at the

Busting the Myths around Staff Survey

end of the process - we never receive any individually filled in surveys. It is against the law for Quality Health to reveal individual responses. If personal data were revealed, it would be a clear breach of the Data Protection Act! We aren’t interested in your view as an individual; we are more interested in the wider trends in results. It is also worth noting that the staff survey is now in its 7th year and there has never been a breach of security.

What happens next?

As you may already know, the results from each staff survey are published on Connect every year, and responses are presented as percentages. This is the only form that the results will ever be analysed in. Some members of staff are suspicious about the bar code on the survey, but this is simply so that we can send reminders out to the people who haven’t replied. It would be a huge waste of public money if we sent out reminders to everyone! If you get a reminder survey, this is administrated by Quality Health and is part of the process to ensure we get as high a response rate as possible. The bar code will never be matched up to your personal details.

Why is it important?

Internal Communications Manager Katy Jarvis-Morgan said “It is very important that staff take part and complete the staff survey because it helps us to improve your working environments. Last year we achieved a 57% response rate which was lower than the 2007 survey response rate so please help us by filling in your survey as a higher response ensures more accurate results for the organisation.” If you have any questions about the Staff Survey, you can contact Katy on 01226 43 ext. 4298.

Got a story? - everyone would love to hear it!email it to: katy.jarvis-morgan@barnsleypct.nhs.uk

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New lead for KSFLorraine Whitworth has joined the team at the Centre for Learning and Development as Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) lead. Her first priority will be to review the staff development review (SDR) policy and procedure and also raise the profile of KSF.

The new role will also include delivering awareness training and KSF manager training. “The latest staff survey figures demonstrate that staff having an annual SDR have dropped so I’ll be raising the profile of KSF and trying to make our processes more user-friendly.” Said Lorraine.

Every member of staff should have a mandatory SDR each year and this is underpinned by the national KSF process.

For more information on KSF or to make a suggestion to help as part of the process review, contact lorraine.whitworth@barnsleypct.nhs.uk or telephone 01226 43 ext xxxx.

As part of the consultation process to change their name, the Community Recovery Team held a BBQ at their base at Moorland Court Resource Centre. The team are now known as The Recovery & Wellbeing Team. The new name was decided upon following extensive consultation with service users, carers, staff and other agencies.

The barbeque was well attended by over 80 people including service users, carers, visiting health professionals and local residents. A number of workshops and activities were held, for example there was a card making workshop and a relaxation/wellbeing area where people could experience hand and head massage and exhibits from the Recovery & Wellbeing Group. Service users and volunteers were involved in organising the day and feedback & suggestions were invited from everyone regarding the new voluntary work and courses available at Moorland Court Resource Centre and how we could improve our service.

BBQ at Moorland Court Resource Centre

Jane Taylor, Team Manager, was enthusiastic about the name change, she said “This is a small but significant change as the new name better illustrates the ethos of the team and highlights the intrinsic link between recovery and physical/mental wellbeing.

The team working philosophy is focussed on recovery and fundamental to this is the integration of the Emerging Best Practice Recovery Model into our working practices. We have appointed a Recovery & Wellbeing Practitioner and we have a clear vision to promote recovery as a real and achievable goal for our service users”.

COMING SOON: Look out for our regular Staff Side feature page

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StaffQuiz

Send all answers by6th November with Name, contact number and area of work to: Quiz Entry, Infection Prevention and Control Team, Mount Vernon Hospital.

1 Who is the Director of Infection Prevention and Control (DIPC)?

2 Who is the lead for decontamination?

3 What would you do if you had a needle stick injury?

4 Where are infection control policies and procedures kept, how would you access these?

5 Is there a treatment pathway for MRSA & C difficile? If yes where would you find these?

6 Do you know what to do in an infection outbreak? List the things that you would need to do in an infection outbreak.

7 How many steps are there in an effective hand hygiene technique?

8 How is the organisation assured that its premises/environment/buildings are clean?

9 Does the organisation have a uniform/work wear policy? If yes identify five criteria to which you should adhere

10 What infection prevention and control leaflets are available to patients and the public?

11 Where is the infection prevention and control team base, and how do you contact them?

12 In your KSF how would you define your responsibility for infection prevention and control? Good Luck

win a prize for your whole team

This month we celebrate infection control week. To celebrate, we’ve put together a staff quiz with local themed questions around infection prevention and control.

To enter, fill in the page (photocopies will be accepted) and return to the address below.

Look out for the winning individual / team in a future issue when answers will be made available.

Thanks Rebecca AndrewsJames DelaneyJodie HarrisLee HoughStephen JonesJoanne LloydMartha RobertsJohn SandersonAndrea ScholeyStuart SmithJane TaylorAlison ThomasJames TownsendJody WhiteLorraine Whitworth

16www.rabbitdesign.co.uk

Tell us your news! We love to hear from all parts of the organisation. You can submit your ideas or stories and pictures to: katy.jarvis-morgan@barnsleypct.nhs.uk

Congratulations Lee!Congratulations to Lee Hough, a senior charge nurse for the Rapid Response Team within Intermediate Care, whose band, The Sighting, has been having much local success recently.

Amongst their achievements, they have recently been Hallam FM’s band of the week and the band recently opened a Wakefield Wildcats rugby game (the last of the season) in September, being the first band ever to do this. Also, they recently won the 2009 battle of the bands competition in Barnsley and will be playing on the main stage at Party in the Park this summer alongside McFly!

Their debut album is currently for sale on iTunes and Amazon worldwide.

French student Marjorie Abrial recently completed a six week work experience programme at NHS Barnsley, working within the IT department with Elaine Dresser, PA to the IT Director mentoring and supporting her during her placement.

Marjorie’s course is providing real experience towards becoming an executive manager in her business studies course in France. She explained how working in the NHS in Barnsley had opened lots of opportunities for her to learn about health in the UK, particularly in the field of IT and administration.

“I’ve been issuing encrypted memory sticks, attended a time out session with the IT directorate, and have shadowed Elaine’s role which has helped me to learn a

Work experience over the channel

lot.” Said Marjorie. “It’s been a great opportunity for me to practice my English but I have enjoyed this and met lots of new people too.”

Elaine added: “It’s been a real pleasure having Marjorie’s assistance over the weeks and she has been very engaged in her work. It must be very challenging for her, speaking a second language, but she has adapted really well and we’ve been able to show her lots of systems and procedures here, I’ve even learnt a bit of French!”

When she returns to France Marjorie’s next job will be working in a secretarial role in a vineyard. During her stay in Barnsley Marjorie has enjoyed a visit to Meadowhall and when asked what she thinks of Barnsley, she said “It’s cold compared to France but other than that, I like it!”