Issue 111 • February 2013

Pennine NewsT O P R O V I D E T H E V E R Y B E S T C A R E F O R E A C H P A T I E N T O N E V E R Y O C C A S I O N

£1.8M INVESTMENT IN NEW EYE UNIT AT ROCHDALE INFIRMARY

• Andrea’s police first aid commendation

• New AMU service at Oldham

• Changes to mandatory training for all staff

• NMGH department gets European first

In the news2 February 2013

Contents£1.8m investment in ophthalmology ...................... Pg 4

Santa came early for Julie ....... Pg 5

Listening into Action ............ Pg 5

Music in hospitals .................. Pg 6

New system for cytology screening ................................ Pg 6

Mandatory training - big changes happening ............... Pg 7

Infection prevention awards .....Pg 7

Team talk ............................... Pg 8

Team focus on infection prevention team.................... Pg 9

Christmas cheer at hospitals .. Pg 10

Dementia training ................ Pg 11

Thought for the month ........ Pg 11

Is losing weight a new year’s resolution? .................. Pg 12

Forget-me-not scheme .......... Pg 12

Diary dates ............................. Pg 12

Andrea’s police first aid commendation ...................... Pg 13

Cadets’ baking success .......... Pg 13

Nursebank office new opening hours ...................... Pg 13

Charity round up ................... Pg 14

Ready, steady, bake for charity .................................... Pg 15

News from the Floyd unit ..... Pg 15

Service changes at TROH ...... Pg 15

Staff noticeboard .................. Pg 16

Inside NewsTHE Trust has several communication tools to help keep staff up to date:

Team Talk is sent round monthly, for use in all team briefings.

Weekly bulletins are emailed on Mondays and contain a range of operational and site information.

A medical director/nursing director bulletin is circulated monthly.

Online copies of all the bulletins and Team Talk, plus more, can be found on the Trust intranet at nww.pat.nhs.uk/communications

You can send your stories for either Pennine News or for local media to Trust communications at trust.communications@pat.nhs.uk, or call Nicola Berry on 44284.

If you have any ideas, views or suggestions regarding communications across the Trust, please email staff.views@pat.nhs.uk

A DEPARTMENT at the Trust has got a European first.

The infectious diseases department at North Manchester General Hospital is the first site in Europe to recruit patients to the ‘Comparative Assessment of Effectiveness of Hep C Antiviral Therapies’ study.

Run by a sponsoring pharmaceutical company (Bristol-Myers Squibb), the study is looking into the treatment of hepatitis C to measure how effective the treatment is, what kind of side effects they encounter and how the treatment affects their quality of life.

Cynthia Murphy, manager of the infectious diseases research department, said: “Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect and damage the liver. You can become infected with hepatitis C if you come into contact with the blood or, less commonly, body fluids of an infected person. In most cases, hepatitis C causes no noticeable symptoms until the liver has been significantly damaged. Patients suffer from depression, abdominal pain, tiredness and joint aches.

“We are looking to recruit 20 patients onto the research study, and we are already ahead of target, as the first patient was signed up 15 days in advance of the projected timescale for the UK.”

Patients who are referred to the infectious diseases department for potential treatment of their chronic hepatitis C infection are being selected as possible candidates for the research study. If they are eligible, they start on the study prior to commencing any treatment.

Cynthia continued: “Once patients have consented to participate in the study, they will complete a series of questionnaires at each of their routine clinic visits for the duration of their treatment. The clinical research nurse team will help to fill out the questionnaires and collate the required data, before a final set of questionnaires is completed once the patient’s treatment is finished.”

Dr Andy Ustianowski, clinical lead in infectious diseases, said: “We are one of the largest treatment centres in the UK for hepatitis C and have been very heavily involved in studies of newer drugs and pathways of care.

“The UK and Europe are traditionally quite slow at processing studies and therefore enrolling patients, and so it is really gratifying to be the centre that has enrolled ahead of schedule and to be the first in Europe on this study. This is largely down to our excellent research team in infectious diseases and the staff in Pennine Acute Trust’s research and development department.”

Front row, left to right: Dr Andy Ustianowski, associate clinical director and consultant infectious diseases physician; Cynthia Murphy, manager infectious diseases research department and HIV/Hepatitis support; Timothy Lubinda, clinical trials administrator. Second row, left to right: Jacinta Guerin, clinical trials assistant; Yvonne Clowes, clinical research manager and lead research nurse; Valerie George, senior research nurse. Back row, left to right: Helen Gee, research nurse; Andrew Thompson, research nurse; Patricia Jacob, research nurse.

NMGH department gets European first

A BRAND new unit for acutely ill medical patients at The Royal Oldham Hospital has been given the thumbs up from staff and patients.

The acute medical unit or AMU opened to patients on 14 December, following the transfer of the service which used to be called MAU, and was housed on wards F9 and F10 at the hospital.

Now residing on the ground floor within the new £44m women and children’s development, the AMU boasts a much bigger unit with improved facilities for patients and staff.

Clinical matron Tracy Shaw is the manager of the AMU. She said: “We have had some really positive reactions to the new unit from our staff, which I am sure our patients will echo. As this is a purpose built AMU, myself, the AMU lead consultant Dr Shubhra Pradhan, and clinical director Dr Nick Gili, have all been involved in discussions with the architects right from the start to design the right facility for the service, for our staff and our patients.

“There are smaller bays and multiple single rooms on the unit which will ensure single sex accommodation, along with increased privacy and dignity for all patients.”

The 48 beds are split into eight four-bedded bays, all with shower and toilet facilities, and 16 single ensuite rooms.

The unit also comprises a large seated reception area and a smaller adjacent meeting room, along with offices for the AMU consultants and matron, and a large

doctors’ hub for the junior medical staff to work from.

Adjacent to the AMU is the medical treatment unit (MTU) - this has eight trolley bays and is an ambulatory emergency care area. MTU receives patients who are referred from A&E or primary care for same day assessment and investigation, much like a day case unit for medical patients. The MTU operates 12 hours a day, seven days a week and is run by advanced nurse practitioners supported by the AMU consultants.

Dr Suresh Chandran, AMU consultant and training programme director for acute medicine, North West Deanery, said: “I am impressed by the fact that the acute medical unit is very bright, spacious and

3In the news

welcoming. We are planning to implement innovative ways of working which would further improve the quality of care provided to our patients, and also enable our staff members to have an enjoyable experience in the unit.”

Vanessa Kenny, emergency nurse practitioner in A&E, who visited the unit during an open afternoon, said: “The AMU has a warm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere which will benefit both patients and staff. A pleasant environment leads to happy staff and happy patients!”

Pictured left to right: Stuart Hook, A&E porter; Lindsay McKenna, senior sister AMU; Tracy Shaw, clinical matron AMU; Mary Thorpe, medical secretary A&E and Vanessa Kenny, ENP A&E.

doctors’ hub for the junior medical staff to welcoming. We are planning to implement welcoming. We are planning to implement

New name and new home for Oldham’s medical assessment service

MIDWIVES at the Trust are celebrating after achieving an outstanding result

in a breastfeeding support audit.

The audit, conducted by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, analysed how the midwifery teams at both The Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary cared for local mothers and their newborn babies before and after

giving birth.

UNICEF contacted 90 local women from Oldham and Rochdale borough

who had recently given birth at The Royal Oldham Hospital. They asked for detailed

feedback from new mothers on topics such as, breastfeeding and bottle feeding support and advice; the care they had received throughout their pregnancy and during labour, and about the care and help they had received after the birth by the community midwife team.

The Trust’s maternity and infant feeding teams have held a high

UNICEF accreditation since 1998. Each midwifery department must achieve a pass mark of 80%. The midwives at the Trust achieved above this in every category from postnatal support and neonatal support, to bottle feeding.

Carmel Duffy, UNICEF’s senior officer said that the mothers praised the experienced midwives. For example, one mother said that “... even though it is busy, they sat with us to build confidence in feeding and were really lovely.”

For the Trust, it means the midwifery team can continue to demonstrate exceptional quality of care and support for breastfeeding and bottle feeding mothers and infants.

Dr Val Finigan, consultant midwife for the infant feeding team at the Trust (pictured), said: “Despite the challenges of the recent redesign of inpatient maternity services and the merging of Oldham and Rochdale midwifery teams, we have jointly succeeded to sustain the UNICEF standards for breastfeeding, demonstrating the quality of services provided by the Trust. The pass rates achieved are an outstanding example of the midwives’ ability to work together to ensure local women receive the best standards of care in relation to feeding and caring for their babies.”

UNICEF praise PAT’s midwives in audit

£1.8m investment in ophthalmology at Rochdale

THE Trust’s ophthalmology service has transferred to a brand new specialist unit at Rochdale Infirmary.

Investing £1.8 million to improve and transfer the service from Birch Hill Hospital to Rochdale Infirmary, the development includes two co-located theatres, refurbished outpatient and support accommodation.

The unit which is now called ‘The Eye Unit’ provides a comprehensive ophthalmology service for both planned and emergency eye care for the population of Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale, Bury, parts of East Lancashire, Tameside and Glossop.

Located on Level C at Rochdale Infirmary, the service comprises an eye outpatient clinic, an eye day case area and two ophthalmic operating theatres, with out-of-hours eye casualty care.

A full outpatient service is provided which includes assessment, investigation, diagnosis and minor operation treatments for patients.

Within the clinic there are dedicated suites for age related macular degeneration, the orthoptist service, glaucoma, Fundus Fluorescein angiograms, optical coherence tomography and Humphries Fields machine.

The day case unit has three wards, two for adults plus a dedicated children’s ward, where a variety of surgical procedures take place from Monday to Friday. The unit also provides a casualty clinic including an out-of-hours service up to 8.30pm. Staff at the pre-assessment clinic are trained to undertake routine investigations, initiate treatment and provide ongoing care if required.

Mr Hashmi, clinical director for ophthalmology at the Trust, said: “We are

all keen to improve the experience that our patients receive and this new

state-of-the-art environment at Rochdale Infirmary will provide

this. A lot of thought has gone into how patients will move

around the unit, which will enhance patient flow productivity, but most importantly provide safe, high quality care to all patients who are to undergo an ophthalmology procedure.

“There has been a considerable amount of commitment from all the staff involved in the development

of the new Eye Unit at Rochdale Infirmary and

the design will combine outpatients and treatment

facilities which represent a significant improvement to

both staff and patients.”

In the news4 February 2013

Farewell to Birch HillTHE transfer of the ophthalmic service from Birch Hill Hospital has finalised the completion of the sale of the hospital land to an external developer and completed the Healthy Futures programme.

The landmark Victorian hospital was built as a workhouse and opened in 1877. It had wards for ‘imbeciles’ and ‘fever’ patients, in addition to an infirmary block.

A modern hospital block opened in 1902, at a cost of £30,000, and part of the site was used by the military in the First World War. It was also used as an emergency medical facility in the Second World War, before becoming an NHS hospital.

Ophthalmology is the branch of Ophthalmology is the branch of Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine which deals with the medicine which deals with the medicine which deals with the diseases and surgery of the visual diseases and surgery of the visual diseases and surgery of the visual senses, which means that the senses, which means that the senses, which means that the ophthalmology team see and treat ophthalmology team see and treat ophthalmology team see and treat people with eye conditions such people with eye conditions such people with eye conditions such as cataract, glaucoma, age-related as cataract, glaucoma, age-related as cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic eye macular degeneration, diabetic eye macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, paediatric ophthalmology, disease, paediatric ophthalmology, disease, paediatric ophthalmology, orthoptics, vitreo-retinal surgery, orthoptics, vitreo-retinal surgery, orthoptics, vitreo-retinal surgery, corneal service and low vision corneal service and low vision corneal service and low vision service.service.service.

Ward manager Sr Janice Crabtree, and staff nurses Pam Hey and Berni Solaymani. Pictured on front page, Sr Val Smith.

5Feature

Santa came early for Julie

SANTA certainly did come early with an extra special present for an employee of the Trust.

Julie Lowe, who manages the receptionists working in the accident and emergency department at TROH, had never won anything more than £10 on the National Lottery. That was until she spent £2 on a raffle ticket for the first Listening into Action raffle, with the strap line ‘A Car 4 Christmas.’

The draw was held in the staff restaurant at NMGH on 14 December and Julie was informed by telephone that she was the lucky winner and the proud owner of a new Toyota Aygo from RRG Toyota in Bury. As you might imagine there were

screams of delight from the department as the news of Julie’s success spread.

When Julie drove to work for the first time in her car she said: “I have come to work in my new car today and it is wonderful. I am still in shock as you think it will never happen to you. I feel it has boosted staff morale Trust wide as a lot of people know who I am so it seems real.”

Vanessa Kenny, a nurse practitioner at The Royal Oldham Hospital, who sold the winning ticket said: “It is really nice to know that all my hard work of selling the raffle tickets across the Oldham site has paid off, with the winner being in my own department!”

IM&T team show that customers come firstTHE Trust IM&T team, lead by Christine Walters, associate director of IM&T, were eager to find out what comments had been made about their service after the eight staff conversations, hosted by John Saxby, had taken place. They took the comments and planned an hour long update and Q&A session built around the issues raised.

The result was a fascinating insight into the world of technology that was introduced to staff on all four sites. There was information about the work of the IM&T staff, why your PC goes wrong and details of the new programmes that are being introduced in the Trust. Christine emphasised that her team is there to ensure technology is available for clinical staff to do their job and they want everyone to know that customer satisfaction is their number one priority.

Julie Owen, Listening into Action lead, said: “The response from this team was phenomenal – they listened to what was said about them and they immediately set about making changes and engaging with Trust staff. The sessions themselves were interesting and informative and Christine and her team are to be commended for their efforts.”

Help shape our future at Pennine THE Trust is in the process of developing a new five to ten year strategy. As part of the Listening into Action (LiA) staff engagement programme, we want your views to help inform our future plans for the services we provide, how we provide them, and where they are provided from. Following January’s Team Talk, a series of big conversation sessions for staff have been planned across all sites during February to begin finding out how staff wish to become involved in shaping the Trust’s future.

Session dates

Mon 11 Feb - 4 to 6 pm, NMGH Post Grad Centre, lecture theatre

Wed 13 Feb - 4 to 6 pm, Oldham Education Dept, room F17

Tues 26 Feb - 4 to 6 pm, Fairfield Education Dept, lecture theatre

Thurs 28 Feb - 4 to 6 pm, Rochdale Education Dept, room D3

By attending any of these sessions you will:

find out why the Trust needs to change and plan its future strategy

tell us how best staff can become involved in shaping the Trust’s future

have an opportunity to give us your views on the Trust’s future.

Julie Owen, Listening into Action Lead for the Trust commented: “Julie was overjoyed at winning the car after buying just one ticket – it was a fantastic experience for me to be able to take her to pick up her new car and to see her drive it away.”

Staff are now looking forward to the next Listening into Action raffle ‘Escape for Easter!’

New system for cytology screening

Music in hospitals

News - Trust stories6 February 2013

THE wards were alive with the sound of music recently, courtesy of a national charity.

‘Music in hospitals’ arranged for two concerts for patients which had them ‘rockin’ in their day rooms!

Funded by Skelton Bounty and The Gladys Jones Charitable Trust, the concerts took place on ward F11 at The Royal Oldham Hospital and ward J5 at North Manchester General Hospital, both of which have patients who are undergoing treatments for cancer.

Carefully chosen to bring moments of warmth and joy to patients through the medium of music, the concerts are intimate and designed to reach each member of the audience.

Sid Richards, development manager at Music in Hospitals, said: “Live music can improve the quality of life for patients, residents, and carers by enhancing the environment within which they live and work.

“Music forms part of the social fabric of our lives. Sharing the experience of a live musical performance can help reduce

levels of anxiety, pain and depression, as well as break down social and cultural barriers. As a therapeutic tool, music has numerous emotional and physical benefits. Music has an inherent ability to generate an emotional response in the listener. It stimulates relaxation leading to physiological changes in the body by reducing stress leading to lower blood pressure, improved respiration, reduced heart rate, and an easing of tension in muscles.”

‘This is what we do’ aka Simon on keyboards and Kevin on the trombone, played and sang popular songs from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, along with show tunes, to patients at The Royal Oldham Hospital.

Down at North Manchester, patients on J5 sang along to Simon and Garfunkle classics, The Beatles songs and a rousing version of ‘Folsom Prison’ by Johnny Cash. Liz Eccleston, ward manager, said: “The patients thoroughly enjoyed the concert as singer/guitarists Matthew Cleghorn and Ben Hayward, with percussionist Kevin Morel, also played acoustic guitars. They were really talented and had a lovely manner with the patients.”

A separate concert also took place on the Floyd rehabilitation unit at Birch Hill Hospital. Robin Sunflower and Daniel Blomeley entertained patients, relatives and staff.

THE cytology department within pathology at PAT is now the sole provider of cervical cytology screening services for all the Greater Manchester area.

This has seen the department’s workload increase considerably with the laboratory now having the largest workload of any laboratory in the country, examining approximately 180,000 samples per annum.

The department has also become the first service in England to formally adopt the BD FocalPoint system for the application of ‘No Further Review’ (`NFR’) in the cervical screening programme.

The BD FocalPoint, supplied by Source BioScience Healthcare, is the only automated technology for cervical cancer screening approved for use by the NHS and is able to analyse and

identify up to 25% of screening samples that can be reported as ‘all clear’. The system eliminates the need for a full manual screen on these samples enabling staff to perform only the compulsory ‘rapid review’ which forms part of the departmental quality control procedure.

Following recognition in the MAVARIC study of its utility and the recent publication by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme of specific guidelines for the use of BD FocalPoint technology, Pennine can now confidently implement the system into the screening programme. BD FocalPoint will assist the

laboratory to sustain turnaround times within the defined standards and enhance the quality of service that it provides for women in the Greater Manchester area.

The department has been at the forefront of new innovations within the cytology screening programme, embracing new developments such as electronic requesting and reporting, and the introduction of Lean working systems.

 

Music in Music in

Mandatory training - big changes from 31 JanSTAFF are required to undertake mandatory and essential job related training pertinent to their role within the organisation. All training attended via classroom, e-learning, training boards and undertaken on site/within departments is recorded on the electronic staff record (ESR).

A database which is populated from the ESR has been available to managers within the organisation to monitor their staff mandatory training compliance since May 2012. This database provides an up to date record to support the monthly reports submitted to Trust Board and divisional directors.

From 31st January 2013, there will be open access to the mandatory training database making it available to all staff from any Trust PC. This will enable any staff member to produce a report of their own training record for their PDR and portfolio and help them keep up to date.

Managers will be able to view their own and those of their staff/department’s mandatory training records at any time (except whilst the database is being updated on a Monday morning) and generate reports for individual staff members or the whole department. It is also possible to generate a report for a specific topic. This will assist managers in facilitating staff attendance and to keep up to date with mandatory training monitoring. There is also a requirement for managers to ensure staff are up to date with their job related training before considering funding for external events / training or supporting them for academic study.

To assist with the recording of all training, the learning and organisational development department have dedicated data input and administration clerks, Anne-Marie Kearns and Rory O’Brien who are based at the North Manchester education centre and are managed by Bronwyn Driver. The team will be responsible for inputting in excess of 100,000 training episodes initially. The departmental standard is that mandatory training will be inputted to ESR within 48 hours of receipt by the dedicated team.

The database will be updated every Monday morning from all training entered into ESR and recorded by 5pm on the previous Friday, and available for accessing the most up to date records from 1pm. Of course this relies on the registers for training delivered away from the L&OD department being with the dedicated inputting team at North Manchester L&OD department by 10am on the previous Friday morning. Therefore all subject matter experts (SME) and staff responsible for arranging training in their own departments must now send all of their registers of attendance to the team at NMGH via internal mail, fax (0161 720 (4)2463) or scanned and e-mailed to NorthManchester.EducationCentre@pat.nhs.uk. A copy of any register should also be retained by the ward/department in case of query.

If any staff member finds that they are red for a specific topic, which they believe is not relevant to their job profile, then they must discuss this with their line manager in the first instance. If it is agreed that the specific topic is not a requirement for that individual’s job profile, then this can be amended by the manager emailing the request to the education centre data inputting team on NorthManchester.EducationCentre@pat.nhs.uk

The mandatory training bulletin is now available from the home page of the intranet.

Staff can book their mandatory training via OLM self service, they can also attend drop in sessions on sprints and marathons when available. For access to training via e-learning please contact the e-learning team on ext 83436.

From April 1st 2013, L&OD will stop accepting application/nomination forms for every mandatory training event.

A change to the ESR System that is scheduled to take place at the end of December will enable any member of staff with e-learning access to self enrol onto classroom based training as well as e-learning.

7News - Trust stories

Infection prevention accreditation awards

CONGRATULATIONS to the departments pictured below who have received infection prevention accreditation certificates.

Main theatres at Fairfield have achieved their infection prevention accreditation. Presenting their certificate, Sylvia Maxfield, infection control nurse at Fairfield, thanked all the staff for their hard work and support in infection prevention and control. Special thanks to Caroline Hampson for collating the file and many thanks to Sandra Partington, ANTT cascade trainer, and Kim Ridgway, theatre team manager, for her support.

Pictured left to right: Darren Mills, Jane Kempson, Sylvia Maxfield, Caroline Hampson, Kathryn Brewood and consultant anaesthetist Dr Yadav.

Well done to the pre op assessment clinic at Rochdale Infirmary who have achieved their infection prevention accreditation. Their file was collated by Tricia Richardson.

Pictured left to right, front row: Jo Taylor, Anne Taylor, Tricia Richardson and Carolyn Hepworth. Back row: Kimberley Adshead, Kay Byrne, Ruth Clarke and Janet Partington.

CONGRATULATIONSto the departments pictured below who have received infection prevention accreditation certificates.

Main theatres at Fairfield have achieved their infection prevention accreditation. Presenting their certificate, Sylvia Maxfield, infection control nurse at Fairfield, thanked all the staff for their hard work and support in infection prevention and control. Special thanks to Caroline Hampson for collating the file and many thanks to Sandra Partington, ANTT cascade trainer, and Kim Ridgway, theatre team manager, for her support.

Pictured left to right: Darren Mills, Jane Kempson, Sylvia Maxfield, Caroline Hampson, Kathryn Brewood and consultant anaesthetist Dr Yadav.

Well done to the pre op assessment clinic at Rochdale Infirmary who have achieved their infection prevention accreditation. Their file was collated by Tricia Richardson.

Pictured left to right, front row: Jo Taylor, Anne Taylor, Tricia Richardson and Carolyn Hepworth. Back row: Kimberley Adshead, Kay Byrne, Ruth Clarke and Janet Kay Byrne, Ruth Clarke and Janet Partington.

Team talk8 February 2013

Have you been briefed?Team Talk takes place once a month and is a way of updating you about the latest news from the Trust.

Foundation Trust applicationTHE Trust Board is committed to achieving Foundation Trust status. We know from feedback from the recent Clinical Congresses that our consultants feel it is particularly important that we achieve FT status as quickly as possible. In order to achieve the necessary changes in how we provide our services and to develop our future strategy we have recently proposed a new timetable to the Strategic Health Authority. The key date in this timetable is submission to the new NHS Trust Development Agency (NTDA) by 31 March 2014 which would then see authorisation as an FT by December 2014.

Talk back – how would you like to be kept informed about progress with our FT application?

Savings targetsWE are all aware that the NHS across England must continue to make efficiency savings every year. This Trust has already made very significant savings and has also decommissioned several services where our local commissioners decided to buy less from us in a number of specialties. Through all of this work to balance our budget, quality of care and patient safety remains our top priority.

In meeting our targets last year and this year, some of the savings we made were of a short term nature. We need to convert these short term savings into permanent changes to the way we deliver our services. In some cases this will take longer than a single year and we are working with our local commissioners while we make the necessary changes to our services to ensure the Trust is financially viable in the future.

Talk back – What changes to our services can you and your team achieve to deliver further cost savings?

Future strategy development WE are in the process of developing a new five to ten year strategy for the Trust that recognises and positively responds to the reality of the NHS we are now working in. We must look at a wide range of scenarios for the future of our services working closely with all of our staff and taking account of the views of our local GPs. Exploring strategic scenarios in this way will help us develop plans to ensure that local people continue to receive the best quality healthcare in the future. This work will also make sure that the Trust continues to deliver the savings required this year and in future years. Our emphasis will always be on transforming the way we deliver our services to our patients to ensure quality and efficiency.

We will need to look at what services we currently offer, and where, and our current services may need to change to realise the benefits to patients.

We have started this process by involving all of our clinical directors in a series of workshops and over the next two months there will be opportunities for all staff to become involved through a series of ‘Big Conversations’. It is important that you take the opportunity to contribute and help shape our future.

Talk back – How would you transform your service for the future?

Eliminating waste and improving efficiency

We all encounter, in our daily working lives, areas where we are aware that the ‘system’ or individual practice could be substantially improved and yield significant benefits.

Often this does not need senior management intervention or a Trust policy to address and rectify. I would therefore ask you all individually and collectively to rise to this challenge in your own areas of responsibility.

Talk back – consider more areas of inefficiency and waste that you both individually and in clinical teams can action directly.

Discretionary spendDISCRETIONARY spend are areas of expenditure, normally of fairly low value at an individual level, but at a Trust wide level can result in very material sums being spent. Chief executive John Saxby asks for your contribution in avoiding, mitigating or deferring all areas of discretionary spend.

Talk back – can you help identify where discretionary spending can be reduced while still making sure we achieve all our quality and performance targets?

Welcome to the first edition of Team TalkWELCOME to the first issue of Team Talk which replaces Core Brief. Team Talk will be published in the first full week of the month after Trust Board and will be briefed face to face through a cascade system across the whole of the Trust. The aim is to inform and enable staff to raise questions directly with their managers during team meetings. Staff are encouraged to feedback ‘or talk back’ via their line manager or via staff.views@pat.nhs.uk about items included in Team Talk. More information can be found on the intranet homepage.

Team Talk

A typical dayA typical day starts at 8.00am and if there are any wards closed due to an outbreak, the ward is visited to gather information regarding the status of the patients and staff, and risk assessed in terms of staying closed or re-opening. I answer any emails relating to any department within the hospital on infection prevention and then the rest of the day can be taken up with data collection, data inputting and providing ward staff with information regarding the care and management of patients with infections. Mandatory training is also given and telephone advice is given on a broad range of issues and subjects.

What are the highlights of your job/service?

What don’t you like about your job/service?

What would make your job/service better?

What word best describes your job/service?

What is the current biggest challenge in your

job/to your team?

What is the one thing you would change about your

job/service?

How do you see your role developing?

What aspect of your job/service is the most

rewarding?

How has your job/ service changed?

Team focus - a day in the life of

I have been doing this job for 17 years and have seen many changes! One of the major changes has been the amount of time we have to spend using computers for accessing and inputting data. Although this enhanced level of surveillance is important and necessary, the sheer volume can sometimes become onerous, but obviously still needs to be done. Also in recent years, infection prevention has been much more important from a political perspective, in terms of MRSA and CDT reduction targets, which is fantastic from a patient’s point of view.

Working with clinical staff to achieve reductions in infection rates. It’s really good to be able to measure the Trust’s achievements in this area, but these reductions could not have been delivered without the goodwill and hard work of our colleagues. I feel we have an excellent working relationship with all our staff which I find very positive.

Infection prevention/control is not a static service and each time you think that you have one infection causing organism ‘under control’, a brand new organism rears its head, with a whole new set of challenges and then new and increased surveillance is necessary. In the future I see greater links and cross working with our community colleagues as post patient discharge surveillance becomes increasingly important.

I can’t think of anything I would realistically want to change.

The biggest challenge for our team remains the continual effort to reduce the number of patients who acquire infections whilst in our hospitals.

Interesting.

It’s something that everyone strives towards but sometimes proves elusive! Better communication in a general sense!

When I started this job it was very much a ‘Cinderella’ service, but now infection prevention is a pivotal service within the Trust and sometimes the pressures that come with this are intense. However if you look at the success we have had with MRSA bacteraemia reduction, the extra work that we have put in, and the extra work that all the other staff in the hospital have put in, to achieve this target, has been well worth it.

I particularly enjoy aspects of the job that involve me interacting with all levels of staff, especially when this involves education and training

Roz Kaufman is the infection prevention nurse, based in the infection prevention team at North Manchester.

9

Team focus on infection prevention team

The 60 second interview

NMGH staff play secret Santa for Key 103

Feature10 February 2013

COMMUNITY midwives and staff from the maternity unit at North Manchester General Hospital helped to put smiles on children’s faces over Christmas by becoming secret Santas.

The group of approximately 50 community midwives and around 20 other members of staff within the maternity department donated toys to radio station Key 103’s Mission for Christmas toy appeal which handed out presents to underprivileged children who live in the Greater Manchester area.

Statistics show that one in three children in Manchester will have woken up on Christmas morning without any presents. This fact spurred ward clerk Kathy O’Halloran into action to organise a collection at the hospital.

Kathy said: “We normally organise a secret Santa between ourselves, but after hearing about the 150,000 children who don’t receive any presents, we thought it would be a fantastic idea to spend the money on toys for them, rather than on presents for our work colleagues.”

Word soon got around the maternity unit and North Manchester community midwives’ office was inundated with over 100 toys and gifts for children ranging from birth to 18 years old.

DJ Matt Haslam came to North Manchester General Hospital to collect the gifts on behalf of Key 103 and was so overwhelmed that he invited community midwifery matron Denise Woods to speak live on air to DJs Mike and Chelsea, as to how they had managed to collect so many gifts.

Denise said: “As community midwives we see poverty first hand, I thought Kathy‘s idea was great and certainly a good cause. It encouraged us to think of others less fortunate than ourselves.”

Pictured left to right at the handover are: community midwifery matron Denise Woods, midwives Natalie Crompton, Bernadette Woodhead and Tracey Beaton, DJ Matt Haslam and ward clerks Kathy O’Halloran and Kelly Butterworth.

RADIO station Key 103 has helped to spread some festive cheer with an extremely generous donation of toys to the children’s A&E department at North Manchester General Hospital.

The department was lucky to get an allocation of presents from the radio station’s appeal (mentioned above), and staff were busy wrapping around 500 of them to hand out to children.

Dr Andrew Rowland, consultant in paediatric emergency medicine, said: “We were absolutely staggered when we saw the huge amount of gifts which the people of Greater Manchester had donated to the A&E department at North Manchester General Hospital. They filled an entire office in the department and ranged from toys for a baby’s first Christmas, to board games, lego, and make-up for our older children. We can’t thank Key 103 and its listeners enough for the generosity they showed in giving up their own money to make Christmas a happier time for those children who are either under privileged and don’t receive a present on Christmas morning, or those children who are unfortunately ill over the Christmas period.

“Our staff handed the toys out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to those children who had to come into A&E and I am sure that they will have left the department with big smiles on their faces due to the kindness of the public of Manchester and Key 103.”

Key 103 return the favour for NM A&E

Christmas cheer at hospitals

for Key 103COMMUNITY the maternity unit at North Manchester General Hospital helped to put smiles on children’s faces over Christmas by

The group of approximately 50 community midwives and around 20 other

department donated toys to radio station

appeal which handed out presents to

Greater Manchester area.

Statistics show that one in three children

Christmas morning without any presents. This fact spurred ward clerk Kathy O’Halloran into action to organise a collection at the hospital.

secret Santa between ourselves, but after

don’t receive any presents, we thought

The caring arm of the lawPOLICE officers from the North neighbourhood team went the extra mile over Christmas to help those who needed it most.

PC Rhys Ibbotson and PC Mike Cartwright visited the Urgent Care Centre at Rochdale Infirmary to give presents to staff to hand out to children who attended the department over the Christmas period.

Inspector Umer Khan, said: “It’s important for our community to know that their neighbourhood officers are there to provide care and reassurance throughout the year, but Christmas is the perfect time to remind people of that.

“I would like to thank all those people who donated gifts, especially Key 103’s Cash for Children charity, for us to be able to help bring a happy Christmas to those who needed it most.”

The police officers are pictured below handing the presents over to staff at Rochdale Infirmary. Photo courtesy of MEN.

Step 1 - Essential Training. All Trust staff can access the video via the link on the Trust webpage. This is a short video highlighting essential knowledge and skills required to respond to patients with dementia

Step 2 - Awareness Training. This can be accessed via an e-learning programme or alternatively staff can attend classroom based face to face training.

Contact your education centre for dates for face to face training in 2013, or to arrange a workbased training session.

Step 3 - Intermediate Training. Further dates for 2013 will be released soon.

Step 4 - Advanced training. This will provide training opportunities at an advanced level for registered staff who frequently care for patients with dementia and will be delivered by Trust subject matter experts. It will cover subjects including delirium, differing realities, challenging behaviours, and pharmacology.

Contact your education centre for further details on training opportunities.

Want to improve your own knowledge and skills?

Dementia care training in best practice celebrationA video which is being delivered across Pennine Acute as Step 1 essential training for all staff has been created entirely by staff in the learning and organisational development and e-learning department.

Lindsay Eavis who starred and produced, Jo Williams who narrated and Kieran Simpson who filmed and edited the video were on hand at a best practice in dementia celebration event at the Reebok stadium, to share their experiences in the creation of this learning resource. It generated lots of interest and positive feedback from visitors.

Thought for the month by chaplaincy co-ordinator Rev John Hall

WE’VE all heard the saying ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’, but what does that mean to us?

Most often it is used to describe the glimmer of hope on the distant horizon, something to work towards, a feeling of hope.

On those occasions where we are surrounded in total darkness or feel we are, that can be a scary place to be. As our eyes try and re-adjust to the darkness, desperately trying to pick something out, we are always drawn towards the direction in which light comes from.

Towards the end of last year a number of major religious festivals took place that focussed upon light - Hanukah, Christmas, Eid and Diwali all talk about light.

In the Christian faith we talk about the light is always stronger than the darkness. It can be too easy to forget that when we go through tough times.

We know that as NHS staff. Patients know that when they don’t know how long they are going to be in hospital. Carers know that when they see loved ones suffering.

Yet despite the tough times, often light is represented in simple acts of kindness. Light is found in the meaningful words of faith. Light is shared as recovery takes place.

When we respect one another, listen proactively, share our burdens and look for glimpses of light, that stirs our calling to our commitment to healthcare, commitment to high quality patient care and commitment to staff.

It’s not all doom and gloom, there are plenty of examples of light, sometimes we just need to look a little bit harder.

11News - Trust stories

Dementia training for PAT staffMORE than 70 staff at the Trust have taken their training further and have recently completed the Trust Step 3 intermediate training study day aimed at staff who frequently deal with patients with dementia. Topics included communication, nutrition and end of life care.

Following this training, the Older Peoples RAID team will be supporting students to apply their learning in practice.

The key learning and improvements to practice reported by participants included:

Knowing more about the condition including the early signs,

Having more of an insight into how it must feel to have dementia

Remain calm giving reassurance, listening will help manage behaviour and avoid triggers

Having more awareness to know what to look for will assist me in giving the correct care.

Dementia training for PAT staff

News - Trust stories12 February 2013

WINTER weight gain isn’t just an urban myth. Research has shown that most of us could gain around a pound (half a kilo) over the winter months. This doesn’t sound like much but over the course of a few years this can soon add up. Evidence has shown that the more overweight you are, the more likely you are to put it on, and keep it on.

One of the main reasons people put on weight during winter is over-indulging at Christmas. What used to be a couple of days of parties and over-eating now seems to extend, for some, to six weeks of overdoing it.

It is therefore not surprising that ‘dieting’ is in the

top five New Year’s resolutions. Research has shown that

approximately just 5% of women stick to their

diets until they have reached their target

weight.

The most common ‘diets’ tried are

short term, quick fix diets which are often very difficult and unhealthy

to sustain for long periods and can be the reason why many people struggle to lose weight or keep the weight off. Such ‘faddy’ diets also commonly cause nasty side effects.

Examples include The Dukan Diet based on cutting all carbohydrates, but is reported to cause bad breath and constipation. Another example The Atkins diet again cuts all carbohydrates but allows unlimited fat, tending to cause bad breath, constipation, lethargy and dizziness with additional

Diary dates

9 Feb - Getting better in Bury - Workhouse talk and archive exhibition, 2pm education centre, FGH

14 Feb - Love your staff on Valentine’s Day. LiA email-free day in a bid for managers to talk to their staff, rather than email

26 Feb - Dementia Talk & presentation by Vic Crumbleholme, Associate Director of Nursing, at Post-Grad Centre, NMGH 2-3pm

My weighing scales must be broken! Is losing weight a new year’s resolution?

health risks of heart disease and kidney problems.

So this year don’t diet, but make healthier life-style choices for the long-term that you can stick to. Healthy eating for weight loss means watching portion sizes and eating the right balance of foods using the Eatwell plate picture guide (www.nhs.uk). Losing 1-2lbs a week is a safe and significant rate of weight loss.

Follow a regular meal pattern with a portion of starchy carbohydrates at each meal (preferably wholegrain varieties). Fill up with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, aiming for five portions a day. Eat fruit as a snack instead of biscuits or crisps. Choose lean meat, poultry (no skin), fish or eggs and grill, poach, bake, steam or microwave rather than frying or roasting in fat and choose lower fat dairy products.

Finally reduce the amount of high fat/high sugar foods and drinks and limit those foods containing hidden fats and sugars such as pastries, sweet biscuits, cakes and chocolate.

Being more active can help burn calories, as well as improving your fitness and well being. Formal exercise such as going to the gym isn’t always necessary. Simply walking, gardening, housework, walking up the stairs instead of using a lift, workout DVDs, and playing with grandchildren are all things that can make a difference when it comes to losing those extra pounds.

The occasional lapse is normal so when days don’t go to plan, don’t give up. Good support can make all the difference, so decide who or what can help you and go for it!

Article by the Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

13People

A sister from Fairfield General Hospital has been honoured at a top police awards ceremony.

Andrea Woodcock, who works on the children’s observation and assessment unit, was presented with the chief constable’s first aid commendation at Bolton Town Hall in November, for her heroic efforts in coming to a man’s aid whilst off duty.

She was in a car park on her way home from a Bolton Wanderer’s home game when she saw a man collapse and fall face down on the ground. Andrea went to help and found that the man was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse. She performed CPR for 10 minutes before more help arrived, then continued CPR for a total of 30 minutes before an ambulance arrived. By now the man had a pulse and was breathing unsupported.

Unfortunately, the 71 year old man passed away in the early hours of the following morning, but his family and friends were able to see him before he died. The man’s daughter contacted Andrea a few days later to thank her for her help and she was put forward for the award.

Andrea said: “As a qualified nurse it is second nature to put your skills into practise when needed without thinking

about the consequences of your actions. I felt very humbled when this gentleman’s daughter rang to say thank you to me for everything I did for her father and was honoured to receive this award as it was so nice to know that his family were so grateful for what I had done.”

The Chief Constable, Sir Peter Fahy, presented the award, whilst Chief Superintendent David Hull, Divisional Commander of the Bolton Division said: “Performing CPR under these circumstances requires the utmost of bravery and resilience. Andrea put her own health at risk to give someone a small chance of survival. The man’s family were extremely grateful at her efforts. Andrea, we are honoured to award your selfless and brave actions. Congratulations.”

Staff on the children’s observation and assessment unit at Fairfield are extremely proud of Andrea, who has worked in the department for 19 years.

Staff nurse Kirsty Sizer said: “Andrea was out of her comfort zone when she helped the man in the car park, as she is used to dealing with sick children and not adults. We couldn’t believe how brave she was and we think she thoroughly deserves the award.”

Andrea’s quick action leads to police first aid commendation

Nursebank office - new opening hoursThe new nursebank office opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6.30pm and Saturday and Sunday, 8.00am to 2.30pm.

Please ring the nursebank on 75581, 75582, 75583 or 75954 for any queries.

Cadets’ baking successSWEET treats were on offer for charity as part of a cake sale organised by healthcare cadets.

The delicious goodies were sold at North Manchester General Hospital in aid of Help for Heroes which is the charity all the Skills For Health Academy NW cadets are supporting, and ward F11 at The Royal Oldham Hospital.

Cadet support facilitator Hayley Stubbs is immensely proud of her cadets from The Manchester College, who are aged between 16 – 19 years. Hayley said: “The cadets all brought in home made cakes which they had made the day before. We had fantastic chocolate cake, cup cakes with sparkles, shortbread, chocolate brownie, Danish pastries, sponge cake, buns and chocolate crispies. I couldn’t believe it and didn’t expect that they would turn up with all these wonderful creations. I was so proud of them all as they did a really great job.”

Selling nearly all their cakes, a fantastic £261.24 was raised which will be split between F11 ward at Oldham and Help for Heroes.

The charity didn’t end there though and the few remaining cakes were taken onto the wards where the cadets are on work placement.

Hayley added: “Jane Lingard and Christine Hurst, the tutors from Manchester College also came on the day to help out, it was a great team effort and lots of fun too.”

Fundraising14 February 2013

Charity round up

FATHER Christmas and three trusty elves delivered over £500 worth of Christmas presents to the children’s ward at The Royal Oldham Hospital.

They didn’t have to travel all the way from Lapland though, instead just across the road from the hospital, from local construction company Emanuel Whittaker Ltd.

Emanuel Whittaker is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year and has enlisted the support of its staff to deliver 175 ‘little acts of kindness’. The In Your Hands appeal was one of their chosen charities to receive one of the acts of kindness.

Donning a Father Christmas and elves outfits, joiner Gary Brooks, partnerships manager Rukhsana Nabi, plasterer Katie Lockwood, and Janet Gallagher who is the wife of co-owner of the company John Gallagher, dropped off the 80 presents to children’s ward manager Sr Ann Sutherland and play specialist Karen Huskinson.

Pictured left to right are: Gary Brooks, Sr Ann Sutherland, Katie Lockwood, play specialist Karen Huskinson, Janet Gallagher and Rukhsana Nabi.

Local company plays Father Christmas for TROH

Manchester Velodrome abseilRAISE money for the Trust’s charity on 10 March 2013 and take part in this great activity and the opportunity to face your fear of heights!

The abseil fee of £35 includes rental and preparation of the venue, qualified and professional instructors, all equipment, registration and management on the day.

If you are interested in any places, contact Sarah Flaherty, corporate administration manager via email or on 43450.

Bumper donation from Housing Units boosts In Your Hands appealSTAFF and customers at Housing Units of Hollinwood haven’t been sitting on their hands for the past 12 months – they’ve got behind a bumper year of fundraising for The Royal Oldham Hospital’s In Your Hands Appeal.

Kicking off a pledge in February 2011 to raise as much money as possible for the Appeal, a fantastic £10,184.48 has just been donated to the hospital.

The money raised will go towards additional equipment and furnishings to enhance the new women and children’s unit, including a sensory room for children, special neonatal cots and transport incubators and an ultra-sound scanner for early pregnancy.

The extra generous donation from Housing Units was handed over to Jan Bolton, charity fundraising manager, by Nick Fox, director, Housing Units. He said: “We’re a family business with long and deep roots in to the community, and we support local causes not because there is a moral obligation to do so, but because we want to, and they clearly deserve every penny of support.

“Just how much we believe, is clearly illustrated by the amount of money our staff and customers have raised for ‘In Your Hands’, a fantastic cause that makes a genuine difference to the local community.

“We’ve raised the money by doing anything but sitting on our hands – staff have made huge efforts in sporting events, half marathons, collections, sponsorships, and customers have given generously whenever we have held events. Our customers are special people.”

Small change BIG difference

Ready, steady - bake for charityTHE nation’s enthusiasm for baking has hit North Manchester General Hospital.

Staff from the maternity department and theatres took part in a charity ‘Great North Bake Off’ in aid of North Manchester SANDS (stillbirth and neonatal deaths) group.

Competing in either a beginners or professional group, the midwives, student midwives and theatre staff whipped up a storm by creating rainbow cakes, cakepops and cupcakes.

Unlike the popular BBC TV programme, where competitors have to bake under the scrutiny of judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, the PAT bakers could make their scrumptious confections at home and then bring them in for judging.

Consultant anaesthetist Paul Kirk, retired consultant anaesthetist Heather Walker and senior midwife Helen Hindle had the enviable task of testing and judging the 12 extremely impressive sweet delights.

Helen Hindle said: “All judges were very impressed with the cakes that staff had produced. It was really hard to pick a winner as the standard was so high.”

Cathi Urey was chosen as the winner of the professional group with her raspberry cake with homemade lime curd with white ganache surrounded by white chocolate cigarellos, whilst Sarah Hill was the winner of the beginners’ group with her chocolate and disarino roulade with raspberries and fresh cream. They both received a trophy and rosette, along with runners-up Jackie Davenport and Soraya Girardier in the professional group, and Jo Ward and Debbie Stewart in the beginners’ group, who received rosettes.

Emma Park, a midwife taking part in the contest, said: “It was fun to take part and it became quite competitive. It was well worth it especially as it helped families who have suffered the loss of a baby at North Manchester General Hospital.”

The cakes were snapped up after the competition as they were sold off to colleagues and patients. A fantastic £201.80 was raised for the SANDS support group.

Pictured back, left to right are: Cathi Urey, Jo Ward, Sophie Anderson, Soraya Girardier and Jackie Davenport. Front: Emma Park and Catherine Holt.

News from the Floyd unitSANTA paws came to town at the Floyd rehabilitation unit at Birch Hill Hospital just before Christmas.

Joanne Borg, a healthcare assistant in the department organised the event as she is a member of the On Track dog training group.

The audience which was made up of patients, past and present, relatives and staff, enjoyed the presentation which was given by the group patron Cath Phillips.

Incorporating a cupcake and coffee sale into the afternoon, £50 was raised and donated to the Think Floyd endowment fund.

The fund has also been boosted by the sale of books recently. Raising £126.41 since November 2012, the unit wish to thank everyone who has either donated books or purchased them.

If you have any good quality paperback or hardback books which you would like to donate, contact Karen Gaunt, unit manager on 54239.

Service and estate changes at TROH

THE medical assessment unit previously F9/F10 has moved into the new acute medical unit (AMU).

Ward C2 general medical/diabetes/ elderly has relocated into ward F9.

Ward F2 (medical short stay) has closed and work has now commenced on this ward as part of further women and children’s developments.

Ward A1 has opened as a winter pressure ward in medicine. This will function as a nurse-led extension of the discharge unit.

Ward D2 general medicine will be moving to ward F10 over the next few weeks.

15People

Job banding policy updateTHE Trust has recently agreed a revised job banding policy and procedure. This policy sets out the Trust’s procedures in relation to banding of new posts, banding reviews of existing posts as a result of requests by postholders and re-banding of existing posts initiated by managers due to planned organisational/departmental change.

This policy applies to all posts other than medical and dental, directors and other designated senior manager posts remunerated outside of Agenda for Change.

All staff should familiarise themselves with the content of the policy in full, which can be found on the Trust intranet under documents. Line managers should ensure that staff who do not have direct access to the intranet have a hard copy of the policy available locally to review.

Any questions or concerns regarding the content of this policy should be referred to the appropriate Divisional HR link.

Job banding policy update

Staff room - noticeboard16 February 2013

Charity begins again for JanCHARITY fundraising manager Jan Bolton is enjoying an extended holiday to South Africa following her retirement from the Trust in December.

Treating her friends and colleagues to delicious home made cakes at her leaving party, Jan was wished a long and happy retirement. She is not ready to part with her fundraising ways just yet though, as part of her trip involves a fundraising visit with her sister, who

lives in South Africa, to provide shoes for children in the country.

Farewell to BrendaPHARMACY volunteer Brenda Buckley was wished a fond farewell when she retired from The Royal Oldham Hospital.

Volunteering within the department for the last 14 years, Brenda was presented with a silver carriage clock and a bouquet of flowers.

She is pictured with Fred Prior and Maurice Gorton (two of the nine volunteers who work in the department) and Mark Livingstone, head of pharmacy at Oldham.

Mary is 60DIANE, Sandy and all the staff on ward F6 wish Mary Varey a very happy 60th birthday. She spent her birthday in Ireland with her family.

Mary has worked for the Trust for over 40 years, at both the Northern Hospital and NMGH, mostly working on the night shift.

She has always carried out her role to the highest standard, but never forgets the basics and the patients love her for her great tea making skills. She always ensures staff receive recognition for their contribution to the Trust and now it’s time for us to show our appreciation. Thanks Mary for being a great friend and a valued member of our team.

We’ll miss youWARD manager Andrea and all the staff on ward 9 at Fairfield would like to wish Sally Rawlinson, Julie Kirkby, Julie Walker, Emma Bunting, Shirley Partington and Lyndsey Ferris all the very best in their new posts and for the future. It has been a pleasure to work with you all and you will be missed.

A lifetime’s work recognisedAN NHS manager who had seen five NHS reorganisations during her career was wished an emotional farewell in December.

Communications manager Lesley Holland had worked in the NHS for 43 years. Starting as a clerk typist at the former Oldham and District Hospital Management Committee, Lesley rose through the ranks to become headquarters services manager at Westhulme for Oldham NHS Trust, before transferring over to communications in 2002, following the formation of Pennine Acute Trust.

Enjoying a retirement party which was attended by many of her former friends and colleagues, Lesley was wished well in her retirement and given money to go towards a watch.

You were such fun to work with Lesley, as well as being the ultimate professional. You are missed already but are wished well in your retirement with Mike.

Staff noticeboard