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Professor Brendan
Madden gets stuck in
December 2009issue 15
Dr Foster Hospital Guide names St Georges as Large Trust of the Year
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contents
2 the gazette
the gazette is written and published by
the Communications Unit. The opinions
expressed do not necessarily represent
those of St Georges Healthcare NHS
Trust. The next edition will be published
February 2010. If you are a staff member
with a story for the gazette, please
email: [email protected]
2 Fraud and security roadshow
3 Dr Foster names St Georges asLarge Trust of the Year
3 A word from David
4 Patient diary award
4 Cluster to improve care
5 iCLIP
5 Shaping future leaders
5 Oncology team of the year
6 New cord blood unit opens
6 Just in time
7 Pioneering kidney transplant
7 St Georges showcases living
donor transplant programme
8 Spotlight on Hilary Johnson
9 Paul Murphys view from the top
10 Lifetime achievement award forChair
10 Restaurant renovations
11 New and improved
12 Sticky solution to deadlylung problem
13 Foot care is strides ahead
13 Stamp of approval for patientpassport
14 Trust staff are One Team
14 Celebrating staff15 Working in partnership
16 Charities update
Feature photography by Mark
Evenden, Media Services, St Georges
University of London.
Front page picture shows Professor
Brendan Madden. For full story, see
page 12.
Fraud and securityroadshowA joint Counter-fraud and Security roadshow has
helped raise awareness of how staff can protectthemselves and the NHS from crime.
Security Manager Neil Dowden raises awarenessof staff safety with Special Constable and Securitystaff member Daisy Gunesh
Local Counter-fraud Specialist Pauline Lewis talks to Destina Asibuo of Ocean Ward andCharlotte Cabrera and Ann Lee from the Day Surgery Unit
The roadshow was held in the
main entrance, Grosvenor Wing,
last month and targeted staff
members and the public.
Local Counter-fraud Specialist,
Pauline Lewis, reported a good
response: People were surprised
that fraud and other crime does
take place within the NHS. Theyfelt it was good to encourage
alertness and to know that we
are actively doing something
about it.
For more information about
fraud prevention at St Georges,
visit the Counter-fraud intranet
pages. Here you will find details
of how to report a fraud, advice
on how to register any gifts and
hospitality offered to you, and a
link to the national NHS Counter-
fraud Service.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
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Oncology teamof the yearThe Penile Cancer Team has been named
Oncology Team of the Year at the prestigious
2009 Excellence in Oncology Awards. The awardsrecognise UK-based healthcare professionals who
have made significant improvement to the
management and care of cancer patients.
The awards are judged by a multi-disciplinary panel of national
oncology healthcare professionals, and representatives from
cancer patient groups and health media. The award panel
recognised the St Georges team for introducing new surgical
techniques, redefining patient pathways, educating other cancer
teams and developing a patient information resource with the
help of national charities.
The team has transformed patient care in penile cancer since it was
established in 2001. The unit at St Georges provides care for men
from a large part of the South of England and is currently the
largest service of its kind in Europe.
The judging panel
commented: This
is an impressiveteam that provides
world-class services
and has
transformed the
care of patients
with such a potentially morbid condition. The extensive list of
achievements only further serves to encourage development in
other cancer teams. They are clearly leaders within their field.
In the same awards, St Georges oncology nursing team was
commended in the Oncology Nursing Team of the Year category.
The accolade acknowledges the teams creation of an oral care
teaching package and the establishment of expert workinggroups in oral care, which were developed in response to audits
which revealed the need to develop better information for staff
and patients.
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Oncology team of
the Year
The Oncology Nursing team - Rachael
Scowcroft, Julia Paska and Barry Quinn
As part of the ongoing review of the iCLIP
programme, it has been decided to defer
deployment until March 2010.
The iCLIP programme is a major change project forSt Georges and this decision will ensure that all staff are
even better prepared and that any impact on patients is
minimised.
A March deployment will mean that the iCLIP team can
run more training, demonstrations and dress rehearsals to
ensure that all staff are confident with the new systems
and fully prepared for when they are introduced.
Chief Executive David Astley says it is important that staff
remain focused and committed to the programme.
Staff across the Trust have made great efforts in
attending training sessions and getting prepared for whenthe programme is introduced. They have been working
hard with the project team to ensure a smooth
deployment of the new iCLIP systems, he says. It is
important that we maintain the momentum generated
over the last few months. Departments should continue
with rehearsals and staff encouraged to attend training
sessions. This as an opportunity to be even better prepared
the hard work already put in will stand us in good stead
for a spring deployment.
More information about the programme and the new
deployment timetable will be provided via the iCLIP
intranet pages. News will also continue to be postedregularly in the eG on Thursdays.
St Georges is helping to shape the future
leaders of the NHS by hosting four NHS
Graduate Management scheme trainees.
The scheme, which is full time and takes two and
half years, is open to those who have a minimum
2.2 undergraduate degree. It has four specialism,
human resources managements, financemanagement, general management, and informatics
management.
St Georges has one graduate from each of the
specialisms doing a work placement but also hosts
orientation sessions for trainees working at Epsom
and St Helier, the South West London and St
Georges Mental Health Trust, and Sutton and
Merton Primary Care Trust.
The highly competitive scheme is open tothose already working in the NHS and to
those outside it. If you would like to knowmore about the NHS Graduate ManagementTraining scheme, please visitwww.nhsgraduates.co.uk
deploymentre-scheduled
Shaping future leaders
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A pioneering transplant
technique that overcomes the
blood group incompatibility
barrier between donor and
recipient has been used
successfully by a surgical team
from St Georges.
The team, led by consultant
transplant surgeon Mr Nicos
Kessaris, performed its first ABO
blood group incompatible live kidney
transplant in September.
The technique has been adopted by
only a handful of hospitals in Europeand the UK and means that donors
who would have previously been
turned down for a transplant are now
able to undergo surgery.
Around 20 to 30 per cent of kidney
failure patients who have someone
willing to give them a kidney as a live
donor are in a situation where that
person has an incompatible blood
group. Up to now, this has meant that
a transplant could not take placebecause of kidney is usually rejected by
the recipients own antibodies against
the donors blood group. The new
process involves giving the recipient a
special antibody called rituximab one
month before transplantation. This
reduces the number of white cells in
the blood that would otherwise evolve
to produce antibodies which could
harm the new kidney.
The week before transplantation, the
patient has three or four dialysis-like
sessions to remove antibodies against
specific blood group proteins from the
blood. The transplant operation itself
is the same as in blood group
compatible cases.
Speaking about the surgery
Mr Kessaris said:
This is a significant milestone for
St Georges and the result of a
team effort across the South West
Thames Renal Transplant Network.
Through using this technique we
will be able to improve patient
care by performing more
transplants in the future.
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Pioneering kidney transplant
Nicos Kessaris (centre) with the renal team.
Seated are transplant receipient, Steven
Purcell, and donor, Patrick Purcell
St Georgesshowcases livingdonor transplantprogrammeThe first international workshop
on removal of a kidney by a
specialised form of keyhole
surgery (retroperitoneoscopic
donor nephrectomy) was held
at St Georges Hospital in
September.
The workshop was hosted by St
Georges Consultant Transplant
Surgeon, Jiri Fronek, and
included a live demonstration of
two living donor kidneyremoval operations from the
operating theatre.
It was attended by professors,
consultant transplant surgeons
and trainees from centres across
the UK and Europe. St Georges
is currently the only centre in
the UK that performs this
technique.
Since its introduction a year
ago, the number of living donor
transplants has increased tomore than 50 per year with a
100 per cent success rate.
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The role of the Chaplaincy team is to provide
support for patients, for staff and for friends
and relatives of patients. We have a multi-faith
Chaplaincy at St Georges representing Islam and
Judaism as well as the major denominations of the
Christian faith. The team can also give guidance,
and make appropriate contacts, for those of the
other major world faiths including Hinduism,
Sikhism and Buddhism. Usually, Roman Catholic
patients would see a Roman Catholic priest and so
on, but all of the Chaplaincy team will visit peopleof all faiths and no faith.
The Trust has recently appointed male and female Muslim
chaplains. The male chaplain is one of our local Imams,
Suliman Gani, who will be working here part-time. Both
Imam Suliman and the female chaplain Saida Mohamed-
Mourched have received training in healthcare chaplaincy from
the Muslim Council of Great Britain.
As well as marking Christmas with a number of special
celebrations, the Chaplaincy will be providing a 24-hour service
during Christmas and New Year. It can be a busy time as the
festive season can be difficult for many people who are goingto be alone, or who are dealing with addictions to drugs or
alcohol. Often, we find we have people with troubles seeking
help on Christmas Eve and this can be patients or staff.
One of our Christmas events (see box) will be a novena, a
nine-day prayer event running up to Christmas Day, which was
started at the request of Filipino staff. The
carol singing on the wards is also very
popular with patients. Anyone is welcome
to join us; we meet in the Chaplaincy
Department , ground floor, St James
Wing, at 5pm on Christmas Eve.
While religious activities like prayer,
communion (also called mass or eucharist)
and baptism are the tools of our trade,
listening is often a key part of the role of
chaplain, particularly in time of crisis.
The Chaplaincy team sits within
Therapies, which is important as it
recognises we are both a frontline, and a
professional, service. However, we work
alongside other staff who provide support
for staff or patients. For example, we
would support Staff Counselling if, during
a flu pandemic, there was an increased
need for staff support. We recognise that
Meet Hilary JohnsonThe Chaplaincy team leader
Fspotlight
8 the gazette
many staff are skilled at offering
emotional support, for example, nurses
working in palliative care. Our unique
role to is to provide spiritual support, and
the religious ceremonies and rites which
help people.
Ive been here almost 20 years and the
view of chaplaincy has changed over this
time. When I began, the role of chaplain
used to be seen as part of the career
path for someone who was going to go
on to be a priest or vicar in a parish.
Hospital chaplains were often younger
men doing the job for two or three
years. Now, more and more people see
being a chaplain as a full-time career in
itself, and this is supported by training in
healthcare chaplaincy.
This move to professionalism has an
association with St Georges, through a
Chaplaincy team
G Muslim Chaplains:
Imam Suliman Gani and
Saida Mohamed-Mourched
(both part-time)
G Jewish Rabbi:
David Katanka (part-time)
G Roman Catholic Chaplains:
Father Philip Pak
Father Habte Ukbay
G Free Church Chaplain:
Revd Martin Taylor
G The Church of England
Chaplains:
Revd Rob WallRevd Joanne Farman
Revd Canon Hilary Johnson
Revd Canon Hilary Johnson gets ready for Christmas withFather Philip Pak
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view from the top
What skills and expertise doyou bring to the trust?
I am the CEO of The Jordans &Ryvita Company. Before that I was the
General Manager of Twinings in the
UK, North America and Australia. I
have over twenty years experience in
business and have worked and lived in
France and the United States as well as
the UK. I bring general commercial
experience to the Trust.
Although the trust is not a business I
do believe that there are some
business practices particularly in
finance, procurement and projectmanagement that are highly applicable
to the challenges that the trust faces.
I do have a little NHS experience. I
worked as an operating theatre orderly
during my summers while I was at
university. Not deep clinical experience
I know, but I do know how hard
operating staff work and I have
cleaned up my share of blood!
What do you think are the key
challenges for the Trust?I think that the key challenge for thetrust is achieving Foundation Trust
status. I think this would give the
hospital more autonomy and in the
long term make it more accountable to
its local community. To do this we will
have to continue improving our
financial situation and carry on
improving our patient care.
In the longer term, I think that the key
challenge will be building a Trust in
which patient care is truly at the heartof everything we do and where the
staff really feel that they can make the
changes needed to achieve that. Not
an easy thing to do in an organisation
as large and complicated as the NHS,
but definitely worth striving for.
What do you do to relax?I have four small children and so Ispend most of my time picking up toys
and putting them in cupboards.
Outside of spending time with my
family, I like to do outside sports like
rock climbing or hiking.
What do non-executivedirectors do?
We have two key roles. The first of
these is to challenge the executive
directors. We do that on behalf of the
local and wider community and ourkey focus is excellent patient care and
the good use of tax payers money.
The second is to support and advise
the executive directors and where
possible provide them with a useful
external perspective. Sometimes the
skills we have from other walks of life
can be helpful in dealing with issues in
the NHS.
Outside of my role on the board I sit
on the Audit Committee, the
Foundation Trust Steering Group and
The Commercial Board.
Why did you become a
non-executive director? I became a Non Executive Directorbecause I passionately believe that
although the NHS has improved it
could still do better by providing much
more consistent high quality patient
care. I think it is worth devoting the
time to, because few things are more
important to most people than howthey and their families are treated at
moments of ill health. I hope I can
contribute to this.
Paul MurphyNon-executive director and deputy chair
St Georges has seven
non-executive directorswho play a valuable role inTrust governance.Here, Paul Murphy, gives hispersonal perspectiveon the role.
man named Norman Autton who was
chaplain at St Georges from 1961 at the
time it was based at Hyde Park Corner.
He believed the role of hospital chaplain
was a special one for which peopleshould be prepared and trained. He
wrote books and created training courses
for clergy wishing to work in hospitals.
He moved from St Georges in 1967 to
become a full-time Director of Training
for the Hospital Chaplaincy Council.
I trained as a nurse and I was working
as a health visitor when I decided to
become a hospital chaplain. I already had
a qualification in church ministry, as a
deacon, as this was before women could
become priests. I was trying to juggle a
church role, a health professional role
and a family and I saw it as a way of
combining some of my interests.
I saw an advertisement for a hospital
chaplain at St Georges. It was a second
time advert and said that previously
applicants need not apply, which was
slightly daunting. I rang Ian Ainsworth-
Smith who was chaplain here at the
time and asked him what he was
looking for that the previous applicantshad not had. I spent a day
shadowing Ian and felt this
was what I was called to.
Christmas events atthe hospital include:
? Carol singing by the charityon 15th December in mainentrance
? Chapel Carol Service on17th December at 5pm
? Roman Catholic and Churchof England services over
Christmas including a nine-
day prayer event running
up to Christmas Day
? Carol singing from 5pm onChristmas Eve around wards? Nativity scene outside
chapel from mid-December
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Lifetime
achievementaward for ChairNaaz Coker, the Chair of St Georges,has won a Lifetime Achievement Awardfrom a scheme recognising the contributionof Asian people to UK society and business.
L loyds TSB Jewel Awards, celebrate achievementand success of Asian people in professionalservices, public service, food retail, business and
commerce, healthcare and education, and as
entrepreneurs.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is for outstanding
individuals who have made a sustained
contribution to success in their region. Ms Coker
was singled out for maintaining her 38-year
career in the public and voluntary sector alongside
running a management consultancy. She has been
Chair of St Georges since 2003 and is also a Non-
Executive Director of the Ethical Property
Company, trustee of the RSA and Council member
of St Georges University of London. Until
November 2008, Ms Coker was Chair of Shelter,
the housing and homelessness charity and from
1998 to 2006, she was Chair of British Refugee
Council.
Congratulating Ms Coker on her award, David
Astley, Chief Executive, said:
This award recognises a lifetime of
commitment to improving healthcare
in the UK. During her time as Chair
of St Georges, the Trust has made great
strides and has seen major improvements in
its services that are delivering the highest
standards of care to patients.
Naaz Coker with her Jewel award, flanked by executive
directors from Lloyds, sponsors of the awards.
RestaurantrenovationsThe Lanesborough Wing restaurant closed for
renovations in mid-October and work is well underwayto create a new dining experience for staff and visitors.
The existing kitchen and service areas are being transformed into a
new seating area, including separate dining areas for staff and
visitors, a kids zone and internet access points. Six different
counters will provide hot and cold food and drinks. The art gallery
is also being retained. The project will free up the current dining
area to be used as clinical space.
The plans were put in place earlier this year when MITIE was
appointed as the Trusts catering and domestic services provider.
The scheme to upgrade catering across the Trust has also included
the St James Wing coffee shop undergoing a transformation. The
Atkinson Morley Wing restaurant has been refurbished. There are
also plans to provide a trolley service to the perimeter areas and a
branded coffee cart to the Lanesborough Wing Outpatients area.
The works in the Lanesborough Wing restaurant will be completed
in early 2010.
Images of the new Lanesborough Wing restaurant
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Fimprovements
New and
improvedWork this autumn has seen the areaaround the bus stop near the
Lanesborough Wing entrance made
easier for wheelchair-users and safer
for everyone.
The zebra crossing has been moved
so pedestrians are crossing behind
the G1 and 493 buses which stop
there and not in front of them, while
a built out pavement gives
wheelchair-users better access.The road surface was renewed and
a section of new paving, backed by
raised flower beds, was added.
The old bus shelter and zebra crossing
The improved area with all newpaving, planting road surface, andbus shelter and a safer crossing.
Before
After
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A revolutionary procedure
that uses surgical BioGlueto prevent potentially
life-threatening infection
in lung surgery patients
has been successfully
carried out by St Georges
cardiothoracic team.
P
atients who undergo surgery on a
lung can be susceptible to
infection via a bronchopleuralfistula, a hole that can occur between
the bronchial pathways. These holes
can leak air, leading to infection
forming in the space where the lung
was removed. This infection can then
travel backwards through the
bronchopleural fistula and cause
infection in the remaining healthy lung.
In most cases these holes are sealed
surgically. However, for patients who
have medical complications, surgery
can be a risk.
The cardiothoracic team used BioGlue,
a surgical adhesive, to close
bronchopleural fistulas in
three post-surgery
patients. In all three casesBioGlue was applied using
a pre-filled syringe and all
were successfully sealed
with the patients
recovering fully.
BioGlue seals bronchial
fistulas quickly and firmly
without any known local reaction and,
when applied in overlapping layers, it
doesnt clot or move, says Brendan
Madden, Professor of Cardiothoracic
Medicine, who led the team.
Previous endoscopic use of BioGlue in
sealing bronchial fistulas has been
limited. However, following the
research at the Trust, Professor Madden
suggests that using BioGlue in this way
should be considered as an early
treatment option. This procedure
should be considered for patients who
have other medical complications, suchas infection, which can significantly
increase the risks of further surgery,
he says.
12 the gazette
New treatmentmakes national news
Professor Madden points out that more
research is still needed to determine
how widely this treatment can beapplied. Each patient in our research
had bronchopleural fistulas less than
8mm. he explains, However, we
appreciate that fistulas over 8mm may
not be suitable for endoscopic closure.
The research was published in The
Annals of Thoracic Surgery in
November. The Trusts communications
team worked to promote the story,
which was picked up by ITN News. The
news feature included interviews withProfessor Madden and patient,
Jacqueline McHenry, on the success and
application of the new technique.
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Fawards
St Georges has won the best
European interdisciplinary teamaward for its lower limbrevascularisation and diabeticfoot service. The award - whichincluded an educational grant -was awarded by the ilegxinitiative; a European wideinitiative to reduce the numberof lower limb amputations.
The award recognises outstanding
contributions by a team of
multidisciplinary specialists dedicated
to improving the way in which
leg/foot tissue loss is diagnosed and
treated.
The winning team comprises of
Keith Jones, Vascular Consultant, Dr
Marcus Simmgen, Endocrinology
Consultant and the Diabetic Foot
Clinic team - Mark Greenhill, Kathy
Davies, and Vaishali Desai. This team
has been extended and now includes
Laura Whitney, Principal Pharmacist,
Antibiotics and Infection
Management and Dominic Nielson,
A multi-partnership group comprising
Wandsworth Community Learning Disability
Team, St Georges Hospital and Merton
Community Learning Disability Team calling
themselves Access 2 Acute have won anaward from the Foundation of Nursing.
The award was for the development of a Hospital
Passport to provide staff with detailed information
about individual patients with learning disabilities.
The Passport not only provides essential medical
information but other important information about
the person and their likes and dislikes.
The winning team, Peter Warburton, Sue Cooper,
Jayne Quigley, Jim Blair, Ursula Battle, Chris Waller,
Kirsty Glaysher and Wilfred Carneiro were
presented with the certificate and a cheque byTheresa Shaw, the Chief Executive of the
Foundation of Nursing, at the Nursing Board
Meeting in November.
the gazette 13
orthopaedic foot
specialists, podiatrists,tissue viability nurses,
vascular technologists,
interventional
radiologists, plastic
surgeons and vascular
surgeons. Every diabetic
foot referred to the
vascular team is now
examined within four
hours of referral during
working hours, and at the
start of the working dayfor out-of-hours referrals.
I am delighted that we have won
this award, by utilising this team
approach we have increased the
numbers of limb salvage
procedures and reduced the
numbers of amputations. This is
an on-going process but the prize
is a great recognition of our
progress and it now shows us as a
standard to be matched.said Keith Jones.
The diabetic foot care team Mark Greenhill, Kim Mitchell,
Marcus Simmgen, Kathy Davies, Vaishali Desai, Keith Jones
and Farnaz Dashati
Foot care is strides ahead
Orthopaedic Consultant. All the
Vascular trainees are linked into the
team with lecturers Peter Holt and Rob
Hinchliffe initiating supportive research
along with Peter Gogalniceau, one of
the academic trainees.
The team has put processes in place to
ensure that every patient with diabetes
and critical limb ischaemia are involved
in discussions with specialists in every
aspect of their care. This includesmicrobiologists, diabetologists,
Stamp of approval for hospital passport
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Fstaff
The dinner was held in the
Lanesborough Wing restaurant and
was attended by award winners, their
guests and senior members of staff.
Sally Storey, Director for HR, read a
small citation on each Special
Achievement Award winner and long
serving members of staff received a gift
from the Trust presented by Naaz
Coker, St Georges Chair.
David Astley, Chief Executive, ended
the evening by thanking staff for all
their hard and dedication to the Trust.
In July, the Trust announced it had
successfully won funding from theNHS London Partnership to embarkon a programme to help create aworld class service culture atSt Georges.
The result of this announcement is an
innovative initiative designed to empower
and develop colleagues working at grades
1 to 4 the One Team project.
The funding has so far been used to
develop the initiative among a pilot of 400
staff from Theatres, Outpatients, and
Estates and Facilities.
Alan Thorne, Director of Transformation,
explained: St Georges has the foundations
in place to become a world class service
provider. We do, though, acknowledge that
there are some key barriers within the trust
to delivering excellent service, especially
between colleagues. The One Team is
helping to identify and address these
barriers by giving staff the platform to learn
and practise new skills.
Since the summer, the One Team, a group
jointly led by Trust employees, Staff Side
representatives and Impact Innovations, an
innovation consultancy, has been busy
running activities which aim to develop a
culture of both excellent colleague-to-
colleague service and excellent colleague-
to-patient service. The programme
introduces workshops that build esteem
and capability within staff, and encourage
joint working and better understanding
between departments.
Its been both an interesting and
rewarding process, said Nick Fawcett,
project lead for Impact Innovations.
Weve held drop-in sessions and
workshops over the last few months,
asking staff of all levels to come and give
their views on the positive and negative
features of service delivery at the Trust. Its
given us a fascinating insight into the
barriers to good service and has helped us
to develop models that staff can apply in
the workplace to improve things.
The whole project is about teamwork,
Nick continued, the project itself is a joint
project between the trust and staff side,
and a key objective for us is helping to
develop stronger links between
departments and empower them to work
together more closely. This should help
break down some of those barriers and
also help staff feel more comfortable and
confident in the workplace.
Of the 400 staff that have experienced the
programme so far, around 40 have been
identified as service partners (SPs),
passionate about good service between
colleagues and patients and motivated to
lead others to improve things where
needed.
14 the gazette
Long service award winners:
Elizabeth Jane Adam (known as Jane)
Meirion Adjetey
Paulina Asiedu
John Boyd
Cathy Corbishley
Manel Dias
Cliff Douglas
Afezoon Gibson
Sheila Gordon
Deborah Green
Brian Hayes
Linda Kiernan
Annie ODell
Gillian Porter
Elizabeth Sanders
Catharine Stirling
Feroza Ramnath
Loraine Swaby
Trust staff are One Team
Paulina Asiedu receives her long-service award
from Chair, Naaz Coker
As part of the project, these SPs have been
experiencing service safaris where they
have visited commercial workplaces, such
as John Lewis and the O2 arena, to
discover how those organisations work
together to deliver top level customer
service.
These activities are designed to enrich the
experiences of staff at grades 1 to 4 and
help them to explore the possibilities of their
roles, explains Jane Pilgrim, Staff Side
secretary. The staff on the programmeare the hospitals most important customer
service providers and we hope that theyll
start seeing themselves as valued partners
of the Trust, empowered to get the best
out of their roles.
Although One Team is a pilot scheme, the
Trust aims to roll it out across the
organisation and the hope is that the
practises will go on to form part of the
fabric of St Georges. This isnt a short-
term project its designed to help us
change the culture at St Georges, which
will then be carried through by our staff
for years to come, says Alan Thorne,
Director of Transformation, Were very
excited about the difference this will make
and look forward to rolling the
programme out to staff across the Trust
from spring 2010.
Celebrating staffThe annual dinner for long serving members of staff and SpecialAchievement Award winners was held on 12th November.
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HR and Staff Side have worked hard to negotiate a new
Disciplinary Policy, There will be a longer notice period for the
majority of meetings of seven calendar days. Some warnings will
have a shorter spent period and representation will be
encouraged at all levels of disciplinary meetings.
During the last annual staff survey, you indicated that bullying
was increasing. We then asked the Trust for a group to be
formed that would tackle bullying, and would be made up of
unions, HR and Managers. One thing that was recognised was
that in the long-term we needed to improve the culture in the
Trust, building on respect and dignity for each other as well as
our patients. This work continues and we are very proud of the
One Team project that resulted from a successful Partnership bid
(see facing page). We are still developing ideas to counter
bullying including possibly developing the staff support service
and providing additional phone line advice. Another idea
emerging is that we could involve the One Team culture within
the induction program and within recruitment.Next year when the first phase of the One Team project is
completed, Staff Side will be taking a key part in managing
the continuation of the program. The first service partners will
begin to change the culture and each group that qualify as
service partners will continue with this. Within a year we will
have areas that will be creating the new positive culture
throughout the Trust. Our vision is that One Team
theory will be populating the hospital within two to
three years and that all staff will feel empowered,
respected and important.
The Staff Side committee wish all staff a merry Christmasand a very happy New Year.
the gazette 15
Looking back at 2009:
a view fromStaff SideThe Staff Side secretary, JanePilgrim, and the Chair, Dr JustinNowell give their view ofpartnership activities with theTrust during the last year andwhat to expect in 2010.
The Staff Side committee is made up of members from
each union who work collectively in partnership with
Human Resources (HR) and management to discuss
and negotiate Trust issues.
During 2009, the Staff Side committee has been busy building
links and bridges between staff and management; we are after
all one team, a mighty workforce delivering care to local and
wider population, and every member of that team is equally
important. We have formed some strong working relationshipswith the Trust and HR and are now involved in many of the Trust
work streams, committees and boards in order that we can have
that direct link in negotiations.
Next year the Trust will be applying for Foundation Trust status.
Staff Side is now involved in the communication aspect to this
and will be working with the Trust to ensure that staff are well
informed of the changes. Although we acknowledge that the
Trust is obligated to apply, it is likely that some unions are against
FT status, as they believe it does not reflect the founding
principles upon which the NHS is based. Dave Prentis, UNISON
General Secretary states that: There is no evidence that the
market or competition benefits patients. Staff Side has a dutyto our members to point out the possible negative effects of
becoming an FT. Through our negotiations, the next issue of
the gazette will be featuring answers from the Trust to staff
questions over staff welfare and status if the Trust is successful in
achieving FT status.
The Trust is planning to introduce electronic rostering in 2010.
There have been concerns over this and we remain dubious.
However Staff Side is now involved in the work streams to
ensure fair process. A questionnaire to staff using the
e-rostering systems devised by UNISON and the RCN is in process
to seek members views. We have now also been assured that
doctors will be included in the scheme. Whilst some staff may
view this as fair, not all are in favour. Through discussions, wehave been informed that the system will help with fair
rostering, annual leave and accuracy of pay. The jury is still
out on this issue.
To find out more about the Staff Side committee,
please contact Jane Pilgrim ext 1318.
working in partnership
Jane Pilgrim and Dr Justin Nowell
8/9/2019 the Gazette December 2009
16/16
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-fundraising
Music for a causeWandsworth Symphony Orchestra has performeda Charity Concert on behalf of the Friends ofSt Georges. The programme included a selectionof rhapsody and blues.
The concert took place in the Monckton Theatreon Saturday 21st November, and at the request ofone of the members of the WSO, the proceedsfrom the concert will go to purchase equipmentfor the Cardiothoracic Department here atSt Georges.
The evening raised more than 2,000.
Another concert took place the following Fridayin the Monckton Lecture Theatre, when StGeorges Symphony Orchestra, comprised of Truststaff and St Georges University of Londonstudents and staff took to the stage. The eveningfeatured pieces by Mendelssohn, Vaughan-Williams and Beethoven and the conductor wasJemima Jackson.
Proceeds went towards the South West London
and St Georges Mental Health Trust.
16 the gazette
Tree-mendousThe former chair of St Georges HospitalCharity, Gill Noble, returned to the hospital at
the end of October to plant a tree in the Walk
on the Wildside garden.
Gill, who completed her term as Chair in September, was
given the tree by the charity for the garden, which the
charity helped to revitalize with a grant of 130,000.
Gill was keen on improving the hospital environment and
particularly outdoor spaces, and the renovation of the
garden was a project close to her heart. A plaque by the
tree says its planting celebrates her time as chair from
2002 to 2009.
Christmas carols
and rafflesSt Georges Hospital Charity is hosting a Yuletidecarol concert on Tuesday 15th December at 5pm inthe Main Entrance, Grosvenor Wing. The charity isdelighted to welcome The Great Gustos choir,which will be leading the festive sing-song, andall staff are invited to come and join in.
To make the event doubly festive, the charity will also be
drawing its Grand Christmas Raffle during the carol concert
tickets on sale now from the Fundraising Office. Why not
come down to take a look at the fabulous prizes on offer?
Another chance to winAnd if you are feeling lucky, you could also buy raffle tickets
at the Neonatal Unit (NNU) reception to raise money for First
Touch, formerly the Friends of St Georges NNU.
Tickets for the NNU raffle are a 1 each and pledged prizes
include racing at Daytona in Sandown Park, beauty bag from
Marie Claire magazine stuffed with beauty products, hair
from Hair Magazine with hair products and style irons, a
Wendy house from Ideal Home magazine, signed goodies
from CBeebies, luxury products from Falke, signed Jack
Mcmanus CDs and various toys.
For details about the raffle, please contact