Cohort 1 Projects
Table of
Pack 1: Led by Amy Hunter Ultrasound services in early pregnancy
Pack 2: Led by Jill Foreman
Getting our staff more active
Pack 3: Led by Jun Saw
Virtual education and staff training
Pack 4: Led by Nicola Critchley Rainbow garden and stairs
Pack 5: Led by Rachel De Silva Wellbeing pack
Pack 6: Led by Lindsey Wallace
Reduce theatre waste and increase recycling
Pack 7: Led by Kath Tarn Networking service
Pack 8: Led by Neil Parks Buddy system
Pack 9: Led by Ish Ahmed Reducing bureaucracy
Pack 10: Led by Eoin Carroll Birthday holiday incentive
Pack 1: Led by Amy Hunter “Improving patient experience when accessing ultrasound services in early pregnancy” amy.hunter8@nhs.net Our courageous change Angela Stewart, an Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic (EPAC) Specialist Nurse, commenced a short course in training to perform first trimester ultrasound scanning at Sheffield Hallam University in September 2021. The aim is that Angela will be the first of many EPAC specialist nurses to undertake the course, creating a team that can run the One Stop EPAC service seven days a week (currently only a five day service) and eventually take the service into the community, away from the acute setting.
Our highlights and challenges Successful stakeholder meeting Keen interest to undertake the course from the EPAC specialist nursing team Working with two different departments (Radiology and Gynae) brought its challenges Staffing pressures Poor uptake of patient survey
Our ambition To create a dedicated One Stop Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic where ladies who are experiencing abnormal symptoms in the first trimester of pregnancy will be triaged, scanned, diagnosed and counselled in one area. For these patients, it is an extremely distressing and emotional time often involving multiple hospital visits and ultrasound scans and attending multiple departments. These patients and their partners attend for their ultrasound scans and share a waiting area with heavily pregnant antenatal patients.
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust • • • • •
Early pregnancy patients: Improved patient experience, streamline service and continuity of care. Antenatal patients: Every pregnant lady has the right to feel happy and excited about their pregnancy scans. Staff: Removing emotional challenges with co-localisation. Trust: Striving for excellence and working towards CQC outstanding, more patients will book with us. Trust: Relocating EPAC scans will free up capacity within Women’s Ultrasound for additional workload of Saving Babies Lives V2.
Pack 2: Led by Jill Foreman “Stockton and Hartlepool to
have the most active NHS staff” jill.foreman@nhs.net Our courageous change We will scope, plan and develop designated walking tracks across our hospital sites Assess and improve existing facilities available to our staff Increase the number of exercise classes provided by staff, for staff Provide pedometers for staff wanting to quantify activity Introduce and promote healthy competition between areas in the organisation
Our ambition To create an environment which supports and enables staff at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to become the most active workforce in the NHS. Supporting the mental health of our workforce through provision of opportunities to carry out physical activity at work Enable staff to quantify their physical activity and encourage healthy competition between staff groups, services and organisations. Normalise walking 1:1s as a healthy way to keep in touch with colleagues and team members.
Our highlights and challenges Connecting staff for the duration of the project and beyond Connecting ideas and ambition strength in numbers and diversity
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust • •
Timing and engagement • Outstanding actions
Happier, healthier staff Staff want to keep working at the Trust which enables us to deliver ‘outstanding’ services Patients have better outcomes and recommend NTHFT as a place to go to for high quality care
Pack 3: Led by Jun Saw
“Virtual education and staff training” jun.saw@nhs.net Our courageous change Develop e-learning package for Central Venous Access: Hickman line care module
Our ambition
The refresher course will help to expand knowledge and equip staff with the right skills to manage demand of care in patients with Hickman line
Staff education and training is pivotal in improving patient safety and reducing patient harm. Virtual education enables staff to access education and undertake development activities in a safe, supportive environment during the pandemic.
Staff engagement to complete the e-learning and survey questionnaires that assess benefits of online training
Our group project or strategic vision is to revolutionise mode of delivery for staff education and training to achieve the fast impact of training via e-learning.
Our highlights and challenges
Conventional training requires much planning and coordination. Adapting the delivery of this training will support staff by offering greater flexibility and enhance learning experience.
95% of those who completed the Hickman Line online training found the training package useful as a refresher The time saved (30 minutes per staff member) can be used to provide care to patients and reduce shifts and 2 hours on eroster (based on 24 staff) to manage staffing and support patient care Evaluation identifies gap in current surveillance (no Hickman line infection data nationally or locally) - need to develop ways to capture information
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust The evaluation shows positive impact on patients, staff and the Trust and it also embeds the trust values, direction and foundations. The model can be replicated for other staff training and education package.
Pack 4: Led by Nicola Critchley “Rainbow garden and stairs” n.critchley@nhs.net Our courageous change To bring music back to the dining room by connecting us to Radio Stitch Linking the dining room to the rainbow room by installing doors and a staircase, connecting the two spaces together by utilising the outside space between us Our highlights and challenges Our biggest challenge has been trying to achieve this during all the COVID restrictions But together we have achieved our end goal and have met some amazing people along the way
Being given this opportunity to make this huge difference for our staff, patients and visitors is just phenomenal
Our ambition To create a better dining and break time experience for our staff and patients by creating an outdoor seating area, and at the same time linking the dining room to the rainbow room to maker it easier for everyone to enjoy. This area can be so much more with a bit of TLC and some colour which can be achieved by adding plants and flowers in time for the summer season. It will also be beneficial for hosting outdoor events and barbecues.
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust We held a staff survey and also recorded journey times from different areas around the hospital. The feedback was positive, and in favour of our courageous change. We even proved that for some staff it would reduce the journey time by up to 15 minutes, which for some is their entire break. So by achieving this we are creating a massive improvement on staff and patient health and wellbeing.
Pack 5: Led by Rachel De Silva Wellbeing pack
rachel.desilva1@nhs.net
Our courageous change We decided to create a ‘Wellbeing Pack’ which would be distributed to ALL staff and volunteers across the organisation The pack would have practical wellbeing support information and also useful goodies and novelty items which would show staff they are valued and appreciated within the organisation
Our ambition To support staff morale and wellbeing and ensure our Trust staff and volunteers feel valued and part of our community. We wanted our project to align with Trust values.
The pack was designed to improve staff awareness and ease of access to support services for their mental health and wellbeing through a compassionate leadership approach.
Our highlights and challenges Financial investment, navigating processes within the organisation Pack distribution the week of Christmas Feeling the buzz of staff around the Trust Messages of thanks from staff
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust • • •
Improved morale amongst staff Sustainable gifts will impact on use of throwaway plastic Improved awareness of support services available to support staff mental health and wellbeing
Pack 6: Led by Lindsey Wallace
“Reduce general theatre waste and increase recycling” lindsey.wallace2@nhs.net Our courageous change Challenge current practice Phase one starting in theatres, recycling the correct packaging Longer term sustainable change is needed Change behaviour and culture Our highlights and challenges Our mission was to be proud of our waste management and recycling scheme Highlight include meeting new people, new working environments, behind the scenes of waste management, team work, meeting new people One of our challenges getting staff to adopt the change as recycling was not historically practised
Our ambition To reduce general theatre waste and increase the levels of recycling, this is to help reduce carbon costs to the environment (enhancing our green pledge) and to reinvest in patient care. To roll out good practice across the organisation in appropriate areas
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust The benefits outlined within our project was to ensure more effective waste disposal and help drive the Trust’ s green agenda.
Pack 7: Led by Kath Tarn “The networking service” kathryn.tarn@nhs.net Our courageous change Building relationships across the organisation Breaking down barriers such as hierarchy, professional boundaries and time Creating a human library of Trust support Embedding a culture of inclusivity and innovation Making connections to make a difference Collaborating as a project team to build longevity Our highlights and challenges
Our ambition To provide opportunity for staff to network and grow into new roles in the organisation.
Aims • To help support staff wishing to develop professionally or those who have recently, or are due to, progress into new roles. • To establish a personalised pathway which allows staff to utilise the skills of our networking champions, drawing on their expertise of their respective areas to support staff in achieving their ambitions and develop new ways of thinking.
Engagement: 46 staff connected in the pilot Teamwork: Seven diverse leaders achieved change together Journey: Eight month mission to drive a project to success during a pandemic and winter pressures Network: Endless possible connections created
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust 100% of delegates found the experience helped them to identify further development aspirations 100% of delegates would recommend to others 100% agreed it effectively reflected the Trust value of being ‘Collaborative’
Pack 8: Led by Neil Parks “Buddy system”
neil.parks@nhs.net Our courageous change Creation of a ‘buddy’ system that provides a support for junior staff Creation of a survey to demonstrate the need for the buddy system including utilising rostering systems Creation of buddy support and training packages for senior and junior staff Our highlights and challenges Research at the beginning of the project demonstrated the need for the change Positive uptake in the areas of focus for those who wanted to be trained to be a buddy support
Positive relationships were formed between those who utilised the system Time constraints due to pandemic Communication barriers due to utilising new technologies and limited face to face contact
Our ambition To enable junior staff to deal with the many difficult and challenging scenarios the NHS throws at them.
It gave them access to skills and knowledge from senior staff members. The aim of the project was to give them confidence and the ability to resolve difficulties on their own in a timely manner. One of our Trust aims is to value people. By investing in our junior staff, we will be empowering them to thrive in the early years of their careers. This will then help them to build confidence and increase their capability to care for our future generations of patients.
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust The project built relationships between different professions. Feedback indicates that people have benefited from the concept and found the experience positive overall. These experiences help to expand skills and knowledge, having a positive impact on patients and the care they receive.
Pack 9: Led by Ish Ahmed “Reducing bureaucracy that can stifle innovation and change” ish.ahmed@nhs.net Our courageous change
A new process will be developed which provides a framework for staff to follow in order to undertake audits and improvement work, enabling this work to go ahead where CEU oversight is not deemed appropriate.
Our highlights and challenges Difficult topic: How do we nail this down? The decision to look at the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU) and audit registration
Our ambition This project looks to understand the barriers in undertaking improvement projects as a result of the restrictions placed on audit completion by having to pass each audit through Clinical Effectiveness Unit. The initial work has taken place to understand how many audits are being completed which are not submitted for monitoring via CEU, and aims to draw themes which prevent or discourage staff to follow the usual processes.
Engagement: We were ‘selected’ and some did not have time to dedicate to the project
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust
Some pack members were community based
Networking within the pack leaders created ‘golden opportunities’ to drive other projects such as Emergency Theatre Capacity, Admission Guideline and NELA - High Risk Emergency Laparotomy.
Limited understanding of the clinical effectiveness unit, meaning it was difficult to progress the project
Pack 10: Led by Eoin Carroll “Birthday leave incentive” eoin.carroll2@nhs.net Our courageous change The reward of birthday leave will be given to staff who meet a number of pre-requisites considering mandatory training compliance, appraisal completion, and attendance rate. This ensures the organisation, and the patients we serve, benefit from the scheme alongside our workforce.
Our ambition This project focuses on rewarding our workforce with one day of annual leave, which they can take around the time of their birthday. The reward and recognition of our workforce is fundamental in maintaining a happy and satisfied workforce, and is shown to improve performance and organisational attachment in other sectors.
Our highlights and challenges Agreeing and clearly defining the success criteria for staff to achieve Illustrating the benefits and identifying the potential risks involved Engagement of the group through such a challenging period of COVID-19 activity and recovery
Our impact on patients, staff and the Trust Improved performance in mandatory training compliance and appraisals for staff Reduced absence rates resulting in potential for increased productivity, reduced temporary staffing expenditure and improved workforce morale Improved patient experience as a result of reduced staff absence and a happier workforce
Cohort 1 overview For more information… We have produced a YouTube video on cohort 1. Please click here to view the journey so far. Congratulations to our first cohort of 100 leaders, we have seen several courageous change projects take shape over the last six months. All working to improve the services we offer to patients and staff. Now on to inspiring the next generation of leaders in cohort 2.