Nightingale News | 17.06.20

Good progress continues to be made in preparing us for moving into standby at the end of the month. Our clinical colleagues are doing a fantastic job in caring for the patients who are still with us, and our operations team are working closely with them to support safe discharges for those patients who are ready to return home or to their usual place of residence. As was confirmed at Team Brief on Monday, we have now stopped receiving new patients. Conversations are ongoing with colleagues around how long individuals will be required on site, with as much notice provided as possible. Although we appreciate some colleagues may have completed their last shift on site earlier than expected and moved onto a ghost roster due to the decrease in patient numbers. We would encourage these colleagues to join an onsite debriefing session (more information below) to help give some closure. If you have any questions please make sure to raise them with your line manager. You will also find the latest FAQ document here – please take five minutes to read this information.

This week all colleagues have been required to wear face masks on site, even in green areas. We know this has been challenging and can make working on site difficult, however it is important that we follow these measures to ensure the safety of everyone on site. It is also important that those colleagues who can work from home do so. You can read the full guidance on the Staff Hub here. We would like to thank G4S colleagues for their support in implementing this measure so effectively and swiftly. When the last patient leaves, colleagues still on site will no longer be required to wear a face mask. We will inform you when this applies.

Over the last week, you will notice there has been an increase in requests for information and actions. Some of these are an ordinary part of running a hospital, some are required as part of our response to working with COVID-19 and some are helping to prepare us for standby. It may be helpful to refer to the list below – which summarises the current actions required from all staff:

• Attend a debrief session  – to share your valuable experience and prepare you for finishing your time at the Nightingale
• Complete the Staff Pulse Survey – give your feedback and help us improve the way we work should we need to reactivate
• Complete a self-assessment risk assessment – to help us keep you safe at work
• Nominate your Nightingale STARs – help give recognition to those colleagues who have gone over and above for our patients and each other
• Share your stories – visit the ‘What makes us proud wall’ in the main reception to share your proudest moments from your time at the Nightingale and help us capture those stories.

There is more information on all of these below – but hopefully you will find this list helpful.

Thanks again for all your hard work and dedication – whatever your role.

Best wishes,

Professor Michael McCourt
Chief Executive

The latest FAQs are attached and held on the Staff Hub here. Please email [email protected] if there are any answers you would like including.

If you don’t have one already, please make sure to collect your Nightingale rainbow badge before your last shift. The badges are available to collect at the Interserve reception desk.

We would really welcome hearing about your experiences working at NHS Nightingale Hospital North West. It is important to us to understand what is working well and where we can do better. This pulse survey provides the opportunity for ALL staff to share your feedback – including NHS, Interserve and G4S colleagues. Your individual responses will NOT be identifiable.

Click here to complete the survey.

The results of this survey will be used to capture the things the hospital is doing well – and most importantly, help us to understand where we can make improvements moving forward. This information is especially important to support reactivation planning should the hospital need to reopen; to make sure we are getting things right for patients and staff. We will share the findings with you, along with any actions taken in response to your feedback. The survey is open from today and should be completed by 30^th June 2020.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Jackie ([email protected]) or Sheni ([email protected]).  For technical issues with the survey, please email [email protected].

Help us recognise members of our team who have gone over and above for our patients and each other and nominate your Nightingale STARs today. Do you know of a colleague that deserves recognition for their role in creating the hospital? Or someone who should be acknowledged for their work in providing care and support to patients and staff every single day here at the Nightingale? Help us recognise those outstanding individuals who have demonstrated our STAR values and gone over and above to support our patients and our colleagues. Click here to nominate.

Nominations are open until midnight on 22nd June 2020 and open for all staff to nominate each other – including those members of staff who are no longer on site. All nominations will be reviewed by a panel of your peers, and the winners will be announced on 26th June 2020. Good luck!

All staff are invited to attend a debrief session to reflect on and learn from our experiences of building and working at NHS Nightingale Hospital North West. These sessions are open to all staff groups – NHS, Interserve and G4S colleagues – and you are invited to attend one of the below dates.

As we prepare to go into standby, these sessions will capture your experiences and learning from your time here, share some tools to help you transition back, and help inform the future of the Nightingale should we be required to reactivate. We encourage all colleagues to make the time to attend a session before your last shift.

The sessions will be held in Exchange Hall, and facilitated by the onsite OD and Wellbeing team, and if you have any queries or thoughts beforehand please contact Jackie or Sheni. There are also two additional virtual sessions – details circulated on booking.

• Thurs 18^th June – 2pm to 4pm *Virtual only
• Mon 22nd June – 2pm to 4pm
• Wed 24^th June – 10am to 12noon *Virtual only
• Thurs 25^th June – 2pm to 4pm
• Mon 29^th June – 2pm to 4pm *Virtual only
• Tues 30^th June – 10am to 12noon
• Wed 1^st July – 10am to 12noon *Virtual only 

To book onto a session, please click the date and book via Eventbrite.

This simple self-assessment helps to identify and manage any risks or additional support you may need to protect you from infection and the transition from work to home life. Regardless of how you self-score on the assessment, please share the outcomes of this self-assessment with your line manager, clinical supervisor or ward manager – and email [email protected] with subject header Risk Assessment. 

You need to specify one of the follow four outcomes: No Risk / Low Risk / Moderate Risk / Significant Risk. It is advised that a full risk assessment is completed with your line manager if your outcome is moderate or significant risk.

The national Test and Trace scheme contracts people who test positive for COVID-19 to identify people who do not live in the same household but may have had close contact with them, which puts them at risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19.

National guidance for health and care organisations requires us to identify contacts of a positive case, conduct risk assessments in conjunction with local infection prevention and control (IPC) policies and make decisions regarding whether the individual is a significant contact and needs to self-isolate for 14 days.

A staff member who is required to self-isolate because they have been notified that they are a contact of a COVID-19 case will be required to report their absence via Absence Manager or their local reporting process. The Attendance Team will arrange for a COVID-19 swab test to be undertaken or confirm if the member of staff has secured a swab already through a community testing Centre.

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.