Cascade - August 2025

Cascade Live

Moving to excellence: Our performance

How we are doing

What we are doing

Thank you for your efforts to minimise impact on services and keep patients safe during the Resident Doctors’ strike

In recognition of significant improvement, we have exited NHSE Tier 1 oversight, and moved into Tier 2 for cancer and diagnostics and Tier 3 for elective performance

NHSE noted focus on governance and priority pathways made a positive impact on patients – and consistent improvement in reducing long waits

• DM01 – best performance in 5 years – 82.5% in June

• Mobilisation group in place to support transfer of GP out of hours provision on October 1 to Health Hero

• Expanding community rehab services to support patients to recover closer to home – includes enhancement of Care Transfer Hub

• Outpatient transformation programme - increase in utilisation of clinics and patient attendance

• Transformation work focusing on alternative pathways to ED and managing flow

• LINAC bunker operational in September

• Ward 5 for orthopaedic joint replacement surgery patients to temporarily close on Monday 15 September for state-of-theart ventilation units to be installed.

Improving our resilience and patient care

We are increasing our bed capacity through the addition of two new modular wards at RSH.

These new wards have now been delivered and are on track to open this winter.

Thank you for your patience whilst construction is ongoing.

Two further wards, currently used as Rehabilitation and Recovery Units by will be brought back into use for acute care at RSH and PRH.

This is alongside a £3.6m reinvestment in more community-based care, which will help to relieve pressures in the hospitals and provide a more positive urgent and emergency care experience for our patients #strongertogether

Our Vision: To provide excellent care for the communities we serve

Stronger Together: Adding value for patients

• We have delivered our plan for Month 4 and remain breakeven, after deficit support funding of £20.9m.

• In achieving our plan to date we have delivered £11.3m of efficiencies.

• We’re doing well, but we have to keep meeting targets to receive agreed deficit.

• It’ll get harder as the year goes on - there are things we can’t plan for.

• Keep challenging all non-pay expenditure – is it critical to patient safety?

• We will accelerate digital improvements to become more efficient.

• We have had a positive response to MARS and we are communicating directly with applicants. Thank you to all involved. We need to deliver our plan as a whole trust - we are in this together.

CIP efficiencies 2025/26

Target (£41.4m)

Better Together

ShropCom and SaTH are exploring opportunities to become a Group. Plans are in the early stages of development and we still need to go through an assurance process with NHS England before any final decisions are made.

Thank you to everyone who has joined engagement sessions.

There have been some brilliant ideas shared including:

• Shared education opportunities

• Making the most of our estates

• Having more services in neighbourhoods

During September we will be sharing more about the feedback you shared and also our Case for Change, which will be submitted to both Boards and NHSE in the Autumn 2025.

If both Boards agree the Case for Change and decide to form a Group, next steps include:

• Developing Governance and leadership structures - aim to become a Group by April 2026

• Involving you in developing our vision and values

• Encouraging conversations between teams to identify opportunities for collaboration

SaTH and ShropCom are pleased to announce the appointment of Jo Williams as Chief Executive in Common.

Our estate: Car parking

Purple zone parking

The purple zone is situated behind Stretton House and safeguards spaces for clinical colleagues who work outside the times of the Park & Ride, or those that may need to get to the hospital quickly for either cross-site or on-call work. If you think you may be eligible to park in the purple zone you should ask your line manger to email sth-tr.carparking@nhs.net. They will need to provide the reasons why a permit is required. They will need to tell us if the shift patterns do not fall within the Park & Ride timetable and the reasons why the Park & Ride cannot be used. You will need to hold a valid parking permit. Please note that these spaces are not guaranteed and are allocated on a first come first serve basis.Anyone found parking in this area without a valid purple permit could be subject to receiving a Parking Charge Notice (PCN).

Car share spaces

To park in a car share space, you must show at least two car-share permits on your dashboard, to indicate you are car sharing. Permits will need to be displayed on the Car’s front dashboard. One pink (driver) and one orange (passenger) or one pink (driver) and another pink (another driver riding as a Passenger) Failure to show two permits will result in a Parking Charge Notice (PCN). Please email sath.greenertravels@nhs.net to obtain a car share permit.

Big thanks to everyone using Park & Ride. This September is Catch the Bus Monthwe’re rolling out competitions, incentives and events to get more colleagues on board.

Digital Transformation: Looking ahead

Secretaries Workstation

2 (SEW2)

SEW2 is being rolled out to all departments by November 2025, offering enhanced functionality such as audit trails, version control, and automated letter delivery to the Clinical Portal. This upgrade reduces printing costs, improves turnaround times for patient communications and supports sustainability goals.

Patient Engagement Portal (PEP)

Initially launched in ENT, PEP is now expanding to other PAC-managed specialties. From the provider DrDoctor, the PEP integrates with the NHS App, enabling patients to view appointments, access digital letters and request to reschedule appointments. So far, the project has reduced paper appointment letters in ENT BY 75%, as well as enhancing patient experience with the booking process.

Vitals upgrade

In early 2026, we will transition to a new version of Vitals. This upgrade will correct system bugs, streamline clinical workflows and support safer care delivery. It also enables the Trust to start using Vitals for clinical patient forms, an important next step in our digitisation of the patient record. Logging on to the system will follow the same format as Flow and Narrative.

Moving to Excellence: Creating a great place to work

Staff Survey

The Staff Survey opens on Monday 29 September and closes on Friday 28 November.

We will share how you can get involved in the coming week. Please do have your say.

Leadership programmes

Places are available on SaTH 1-4 Leadership Programmes with the next cohorts all starting in September.

Please visit the intranet for more information and email sath.leadership@nhs.net to book a place.

We are now accepting applications for our 2025/2026 Galvanise Leadership Programme. This opportunity is open to all colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds in clinical and nonclinical roles. Information can be found on the intranet.

Pay award

The NHS pay award will come into effect in August. The April to July back pay will be paid in the August salary.

If you have any queries, please contact payroll services.

Our Vision: To provide excellent care for the communities we serve

Information Governance What is a Subject Access Request?

The Data Protection Act 2018 gives a data subject the right to access personal information relating to them that is held by the Trust e.g. a copy of their medical records Staff must know how to support a subject access from a patient or relative by directing them to the Trust website where they can complete a request form https://www.sath.nhs.uk/patients-visitors/advicesupport/access-to-medical-records/ Initial requests are free of charge

The Trust must carry out a search for information and respond within one month

Reminder:

Patient confidentiality

We have a legal and ethical obligation to protect patient confidentiality and treat it with the utmost respect.

Exemptions may apply for non-disclosure e.g. safeguarding information

Penalties for non-compliance with or breach of the DPA/GDPR 2018.

Please be mindful of the information you share in public spaces, such as our hospital gardens and park and ride buses, as conversations can be easily overheard.

Update from the Risk Management Team

The risk management team supports teams Trust-wide with clinical and non-clinical risks. We provide assurance that the Trust is providing high quality care in a safe environment and that it is complying with legal and regulatory requirements. Below is a table that demonstrates how each division is managing its risks that affect its achievement of the Trust’s strategic objectives.

Meet the Team: Bookings

A few faces from the Bookings Team

The Bookings Team have been instrumental in the Outpatient Improvement Programme.

The team are proud to share some of the positive changes they have achieved through teamwork, commitment, and consistent effort across specialties:

• +3% increase in booked clinic utilisation (Trust-wide)

• +7% increase in overall outpatient attendances

• +309 additional weekly attendances across all specialties

• Demand and capacity models implemented across 12 specialities

How did they do this?

• A new booking rota for improved clarity and workload balance

• Broadcast messaging via DrDoctor to quickly fill short-notice slots

• Clinic Allocation Meetings to track and redistribute unused capacity

• Standardised slot conversion and booking rules to streamline processes

Officer

Eddie Williams, Clerical

Contact: Gareth Downes, Outpatient Services Manager

Email: Gareth.downes1@nhs.net

Thank you to everyone who have made this possible. The Bookings Team looks forward to continue to build on these improvements as the year progresses.

New colleagues and roles

Deepal Mandaliya

Deputy Chief Pharmacist

Deepal has recently worked in Higher Education at University of Wolverhampton for a few years supporting NHS staff studying on a variety of postgraduate modules. She has previously worked in the NHS for 14 years in a variety of roles. She is passionate about enhancing patient safety, optimising digital prescribing systems and supporting multidisciplinary teams to improve service delivery. Her core personal values are trust, transformation and time. She looks forward to working with different teams as part of her new role.

Michelle Dewsnap

Research Midwife/Team Lead for Women & Children’s

She has worked as a Midwife at SaTH for the past 10 years and for the last two years, has been part of the Women & Children’s Research team. Michelle has been promoted to Research Midwife and Team Lead for Women & Children’s - a newly created role that reflects the significant growth in research activity within the department. This expansion supports our commitment to advancing evidence-based care and enhancing the patient experience and choices across W&C.

Julia McAdam

Lead Lung Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist

Julia is now the Chair of Lung Cancer Nursing UK, having been a committee member since 2018. She is looking forward to the opportunity to lead the charity, whose objective is to provide nurses who specialise in lung cancer with education. It also gives the opportunity to communicate and network with peers, as well as providing a national voice on clinical and strategic issues for specialist lung cancer nurses.

Our Vision: To provide excellent care for the communities we serve

Inclusion

Networks Survey

If you are a member of one of the staff networks, please take the time to fill out this short survey to help them shape their meetings.

East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month

September is East and Southeast Asian Heritage month.

To celebrate there will be cookery competitions:

PRH – Wednesday 17 September

3pm-4pm in PRH restaurant.

RSH – Monday 29 September 3pm-4pm in Mytton restaurant.

Rules can be found on the intranet.

Upcoming staff network meetings

Multi Faith & Belief staff network meeting

MS Teams, Monday 15 September, 12-12.45pm

DAWN staff network meeting

MS Teams, Wednesday 17 September, 1-2pm

Race, Equality & Inclusion staff network meeting

MS Teams, Wednesday 27 August, 11am-12pm

LGBT+ staff network meeting

MS Teams, Friday 10 October 1-2pm.

Recognising our colleagues: HSJ finalists

SaTH is a finalist for the Towards Net Zero category at the prestigious 2025 Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards.

This recognition highlights the exceptional work and innovation demonstrated by the team and is testament to the Trust’s progress towards delivering greener and more sustainable care for its communities.

SaTH’s shortlisted entry was selected following a rigorous judging process and has been recognised as a standout example of excellence in healthcare delivery.

Recognition Scheme Gold Award from the Military of Defence. It publicly recognises the commitment and support that SaTH has demonstrated, by being an exemplar employer and acting as advocates for the people in the Armed Forces community.

Hayley Roberts works as a cleanliness coordinator in Domestic Services and has been in the role for just under a year. She recently has completed the End-Point Assessment for L3 Team Leader CMI. Hayley is a credit to the team and doing the apprenticeship has increased her confidence not only in herself but also in how she deals with any situations that arise in the department.

SaTH has also been shortlisted for the Military and Civilian Health Partnership Award in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards.

Led by a group of staff, who are veterans themselves, the Armed Forces Improvement Project aimed to build stronger links with local veteran and serving communities. It also aimed to improve the experience of staff within the Trust.

Veterans, reservists, cadet force adult volunteers and military families bring invaluable experience to the workforce.

Our Vision: To provide excellent care for the communities we serve

Recognising our colleagues

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have awarded PRH a Highly commended for the overall and professional development award in the medium-sized hospitals category. This award was based on training data which is collected nationally and give each Trust a ranking.

SaTH has been awarded an Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award from the Military of Defence. It publicly recognises the commitment and support that SaTH has demonstrated, by being an exemplar employer and acting as advocates for the people in the Armed Forces community.

Hayley Roberts works as a cleanliness coordinator in Domestic Services and has been in the role for just under a year. She recently has completed the End-Point Assessment for L3 Team Leader CMI. Hayley is a credit to the team and doing the apprenticeship has increased her confidence not only in herself but also in how she deals with any situations that arise in the department.

Congratulations to Musili Oshivire, Emergency Planning & Business Continuity Officer based at RSH who has been shortlisted in the BCI Europe Awards 2025 in the Continuity & Resilience newcomer category.

Congratulations to the cancer support group Men Like Us which has been shortlisted for a national patient experience award. Katey Evans, Personal Care Navigator, pictured with volunteers at Telford, said it was an absolute honour to be shortlisted for the Picker Experience Network Awards (PENA) for Personalisation of Care. The winners are announced in November.

Our Vision: To provide excellent care for the communities we serve

Congratulations to Moving to Excellence Award winners

Corporate Winner

Sally Orrell

Business Change Manager

Highly Commended

Hannah Morris

Head of Public Participation

SAC Winner

Michelle Cowell

Medical Secretary, Haematology

CSS Winner

Linda Watkins

Radiology Bookings

Highly Commended

SaTH Radiographers

MEC Winner

Marta Raton

Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Highly Commended

Greg Livesey

Charge Nurse

Highly Commended

Kat Suffolk

Critical Care

Women and Children’s Winner

Senthil Sethuraman

Paediatric Consultant

Highly Commended

Vic Nolan

Midwife

A new chapter for SaTH Charity

SaTH Charity is excited to announce an important milestone in our journey.

As part of our five-year strategy, we are rebranding the Charity logo. This change reflects our commitment to evolving alongside the needs of our community and enhancing our brand to better represent the values we hold dear.

At the same time, we’re also thrilled to introduce our newest, cuddliest addition to the SaTH Charity family—an adorable teddy bear that needs a name.

You now have to opportunity to vote for your favourite logo and name for the teddy bear - You have until the 12 September to cast you vote:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SC2508Int

September launches for SaTH Charity

A buggy to transport patients from the Treatment Centre to the Outpatient’s Department at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) has been bought by SaTH Charity and the League of Friends of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital.

The initiative will assist patients who may find it challenging to walk long distances within the hospital, particularly since the closure of the Outpatients Entrance in July 2024. The buggy will be operated by a team of dedicated volunteers once their training is complete. It will run weekdays from September so that patients can be picked up and collected after their outpatient appointment at designated “bus stops”.

Transforming PRH Hub

SaTH Charity is opening a new charity hub in the main reception area of PRH in early September. The hub will raise awareness of the exciting new developments which are planned at PRH aligned with HTP and support fundraising efforts of SaTH Charity, Lingen Davies and Friends of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital.

The Charity has been successful in bidding for £50k from NHS Charities Together (with funding from NHSE) to deliver the Staff Menopause Clinic. Details will be shared soon.

Looking forward: Key messages

Please continue to use the two Park & Ride services and be mindful that patients are using it at RSH

Please get involved with, and support, Moving to Excellence and Stronger Together

Please familiarise yourself with the finance communications

Did you know there is a Loop app? Download now via your app store

Windows 11 migration continues

Please consider joining our Staff Networks

Join the next Schwartz Round on 10 September, 12.30-2pm, SECC (RSH) and at the Education Centre (PRH).

Email sath.schwartz@nhs.net to register.

Summer bank holiday (25 Aug)

World Suicide Prevention Day (10 Sept)

World Sepsis Day (13 Sept)

Housekeepers Week (from 14 Sept)

Inclusion Week (WC 15 Sept)

Falls Awareness Day (“2 Sept)

We are here to help and support you

If you would like to raise a concern, you can contact our FTSU team

Contact sath.ahealthieryou@nhs.net for support if you are facing pressures due to rising cost of living

Familiarise yourself with the health and wellbeing support available – details on the intranet

Thank you