Nightingale News | 03.06.20

On Monday we informed our team that due to the steady reduction of people testing positive for COVID-19 and requiring hospital admission, and acute hospitals in the North West demonstrating that they are now able to admit all the COVID-19 patients who require treatment, Nightingale North West will be placed on standby at the end of June.

After the last patient leaves at the end of June, the Nightingale will be placed on standby, ready to resume operations as and when needed in the weeks and potentially months to come. In the meantime we will continue to provide the best possible care for our patients currently on the wards, and will receive further referrals for patients who will be ready for discharge before the end of June.

We appreciate this news may have been unexpected and many will feel disappointment given the recent increase in referrals we have experienced, however it does not mean the Nightingale’s role in the North West’s response to the virus is over. We must be ready for the possibility that the number of COVID-19 cases rises again as social distancing rules are eased.

Work is also underway to consider how the Nightingale’s role may further adapt as the NHS seeks to resume activity that had to be paused in the first phase of our response to the pandemic.

We have held a number of face-to-face and virtual briefing sessions over the last few days to help answer any questions you have. We want to make sure you feel informed and supported over the course of this month – and throughout the standby period – so will continue to have weekly team briefs and will organise additional sessions if needed. We have created a Frequently Asked Questions pack to help answer any questions you or your team have. This will be a working document that we will continue to update as and when we have more information for you. New questions will be included in the newsletter, and the latest version published on the Staff Hub. Please take a moment to read it. If you still feel like you have questions that haven’t been answered please raise them with your line manager.

Members of the Executive Team are currently working with their teams to review how we implement our stand down plan in order to move into standby at the end of the month. Thank you in advance to all our colleagues who will be supporting the delivery of this plan. The first two weeks and the last two weeks of establishing a temporary hospital are the riskiest, so it’s important that we all remain focused on doing the best job we can, and provide the highest possible standard of care for our patients throughout the coming weeks.

I think it is important that we also use this time to reflect on what we have achieved together at the Nightingale. Our fantastic team mobilised at incredible speed to build, create and operate Nightingale North West in order to support our regional healthcare system. As one team we have provided outstanding care to our patients over the last eight weeks. We have made them feel settled, we have helped them connect with their loved ones and we have helped prepare them to return home. To the patients we have treated, we have made a difference. And we will continue to make a difference to those patients still with us. We have created a short film which outlines patient experience in our hospital. It highlights the high standard of personalised care our teams are providing on the wards everyday – which our non-clinical colleagues are supporting them to deliver. You can watch the video here.

Keep up the great work.

Best wishes,

Professor Michael McCourt
Chief Executive

After reviewing the Government’s guidance around maintaining a safe working environment, the hospital is in the process of introducing the following measures to help keep those colleagues who need to be on site safe.

• A one way walkway system in the courtyard area. Please note this will affect your walking route between the reception and auditorium foyer
• Signage in stairways and corridors to remind colleagues to keep left and not stop for meetings or conversations
• Clear markings in the seating areas in the main foyer to help colleagues maintain social distancing
• Provision of hand gel and surface wipes at workstations to ensure colleagues are wiping down work areas before and after use
• Occupancy levels in meeting rooms has been assessed and signage outside each room will indicate the number of people able to meet in that space

The canteen and other breakout areas are still under review and more guidance will be issued soon.

These measures have been put in place to help ensure the safety of all colleagues whose jobs require them to be on site and it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure they are implemented – whilst also following general guidance around social distancing. It is also important that those colleagues who can work from home do so. The Executive Team are looking at how we further reduce the numbers of people on site in adherence to the Government’s guidelines.

Unfortunately the free travel offer for NHS and social care staff on the Metrolink concluded earlier this week.

The offer was introduced in April for a set period up until Monday 1 June, in recognition that a large number of the trips being made by tram at that point were by key NHS and social care staff to enable them to continue to provide critical services.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now confirmed that the number of passengers on Metrolink is now increasing steadily, particularly during the morning and afternoon peak periods, as more people return to work.

The Metrolink services are now running every 12 minutes during the week but, with social distancing guidelines in place, capacity on the network is far more restricted with the safety of passengers the main priority.

For more information about how this may affect you please visit the TfGM website.

There is a programme in place to look after your wellbeing during your time at Nightingale North West. We have a comprehensive occupational health offer, as well as an Employee Assistance Programme. We also want to remind you all of the facilities available at the Rest and Relaxation Centre at the Etihad Campus. The centre is open to all staff working at the hospital and is open 7:30am to 10:00pm seven days a week. Please remember to take your ID to gain access. Find out more information here.

At Nightingale North West, you are able to access independent support and advice from trained colleagues, if you have a concern about any practice or wrongdoing that you think will harm the service we deliver.

This might include:

• Unsafe patient care
• Unsafe working conditions
• Poor response to a reported patient safety incident
• Suspicion of fraud
• A bullying culture across a team or the hospital
• Concerns in relation to stand down/stand by

Our Guardians are here to support and encourages a culture of openness and honesty, and are:

• Róisín Reynolds (lead Guardian) [email protected] or 07970 274 923
• Louise Shalaby, [email protected] or 07973 696 036

The Nightingale Hospital North West’s Family Liaison Team (FLT)  have already had a phenomenal impact on patient experience at the hospital. The team, which being led by nurse Judith Ellis OBE (pictured), who has returned to the NHS after her retirement, work directly with patients and their families to help them feel connected to one another, and make sure everyone gets care tailored to their own individual needs, likes and dislikes.

From facilitating video calls with family and friends, to delivering each patient with their favourite newspaper every morning, the Family Liaison Team makes sure everyone gets the personalised care they deserve, despite while rules to protect families from the virus meaning they are unable to visit in person. As soon as patients arrive at the hospital a member of the Family Liaison Team rings a chosen close relative to reassure them that the patient has safely arrived and chat to them to learn about the patient’s life before they began hospital treatment for Covid, in order to personalise care whilst at the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West.

The team complete a ‘What Matters to Me’ poster to place over the patient’s bed which can then be used to help the clinical team motivate, occupy and distract the patients, aiding their recovery or, in a few cases, supporting them at the end of life. The team also works with families to bring in items like photos and trinkets that will help patients feel more at home, and makes sure spare spectacles, hearing aids and dentures can be brought to them.

A huge well done to the team for having such a positive impact on the lives of our patients and their families! You can read more here.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust is currently running a survey looking at recovery from work in frontline clinical staff, and will help inform organisations about how to best organise working patterns and recovery time in future crises. You can take part in this if you are a doctor or nurse at the hospital, and this will take around five minutes to complete. To access the survey please click here.

The Staff Hub includes helpful information about the facilities on site, staff offers, how to access accommodation, useful information and contacts as well as previous copies of this newsletter. Please email [email protected] if there is important information you would like to see on the hub.

We send this update by email every Wednesday and you can see previous editions here. Please email [email protected] if you would like us to use an alternative contact.