|
Image reads: Be Brilliant
We’ve received an incredible number of Be Brilliant ‘thank you’ nominations so far and we’d like you to help us to continue to celebrate our fantastic workforce!
As part of the Be Brilliant campaign, we’ve launched case studies which celebrate both brilliant work and best practice in the Council. We don’t want to lose the brilliant way we do things and want to harness our collective knowledge and experiences so they can be used to help inform and shape service planning for the new councils. Each week, we will be shining a spotlight on either a colleague or team that highlights their brilliant work.
|
This week John Metcalfe would like to showcase an individual who has shown great leadership!
|
Congratulations to Adrienne Halliwell – you are the 'Be Brilliant' individual of the week!
Adrienne Halliwell, Senior Manager – Safeguarding Adults Partnership & Customer Support Services, has received a special thank you for being an outstanding leader and supportive colleague.
For many years, Adrienne has worked incredibly hard for the people of Cumbria. She has recently taken over chairing the Sexual Abuse Group which is a multi-agency group that is aligned to Safer Cumbria, bringing a fresh outlook and perspective.
She is also leading on LPS (Liberty Protection Standards) for the Council which is new legislation and has been working with colleagues to ensure the Council is well placed to respond to the new duties.
Adrienne is focused on what is best for the organisation, the new councils, and the people of Cumbria – and she always keeps her colleagues and team central to her decision-making.
Well done Adrienne and thank you for your dedication to the team and to the people of Cumbria!
A few words from Adrienne:
“I am extremely honoured to have been nominated for the ‘Be Brilliant’ Award. All of my areas of responsibility within the Council are focused on providing the best support we can for the most vulnerable adults in Cumbria.
“It is extremely rewarding to work with both internal and external colleagues whose aim is to ensure we work collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for the individuals we serve.
“It is most definitely a team effort and I feel honoured to work with teams and service areas who share this passion to protect the rights, dignity and safety of Cumbrian residents.”
If you have any examples of brilliant work and best practice you would like to put forward, let us know by filling in the 'Be Brilliant' case study form, emailing BeBrilliant@cumbria.gov.uk or you can send your colleague a special ‘Be Brilliant’ thank you message. John Metcalfe – Chief Executive
Image reads: Thank you! Be Brilliant - Cumbria County Council
|
Join John Metcalfe, Chief Executive on Wednesday 2 November at 2.30pm for his next 'Chat with John' session, held on MS Teams.
These sessions provide all council staff with an opportunity to talk directly to John about the things that are important to you. You can ask questions, or just listen in.
How to join:
Please keep the time free in your diary and email chatwithjohn@cumbria.gov.uk to be sent a MS Teams link. We'll have to limit the number of attendees so if you ask to join but there isn't space you'll be invited to the next one.
Image description: Head and shoulders image of John Metcalfe
|
Cumbria County Council employees can now receive their annual FREE flu vaccine from their nearest participating community pharmacy.
All you need to do to receive your free vaccine, is produce your county council photo ID upon arrival. If you don’t have your county council photo ID, you’ll need to provide other proof of your place of employment.
Please call your local participating pharmacy before attending as you may need to book an appointment. Do not try to book online.
Participating pharmacies will ask whether you’re eligible for a free NHS influenza vaccine. If you are, you will be treated as an NHS patient and documented accordingly.
The pharmacist will seek your consent to receive the flu vaccine, and for the details of the vaccination to be shared with your employer and, if appropriate, your GP practice.
Please note: This is a different staff flu vaccine scheme compared to previous years, and no flu vaccination sessions will be hosted at council buildings this year. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Below is a list of participating pharmacies:
District
|
Participating Pharmacies
|
|
Allerdale
|
- Asda (Workington)
- Boots UK Ltd (Keswick)
- Boots UK Ltd (Aspatria)
- JWW Allison and Sons Ltd (Cockermouth)
- Seaton Pharmacy (Seaton)
- Well (Wigton - King Street)
- Well (Silloth - Station Road)
|
|
Barrow-in-Furness
|
- Asda (Barrow)
- Boots UK Ltd (Portland Wk Barrow)
- Cohens Pharmacy (Walney)
|
|
Carlisle
|
- Boots UK Ltd (English St. Carlisle)
- Brampton Pharmacy
- Well (Carlisle - Wigton Road)
|
|
Copeland
|
- Mirehouse Pharmacy (Whitehaven)
- Seacliffe Pharmacy (Whitehaven)
|
|
Eden
|
- Boots UK Ltd (Penrith)
- Morrisons Pharmacy (Penrith)
- Green Tree Pharmacy Ltd (Green Tree Kirkby)
|
|
South Lakeland
|
- Boots UK Ltd (Ambleside)
- Boots UK Ltd (Kendal)
- Gillinggate Pharmacy
- Grasmere Pharmacy
- Well (Kendal - Helme Chase)
|
Image description: A woman sneezing into a tissue.
|
 Boost your immunity this winter. Flu + COVID-19 Booster vaccines. Find out how to book at nhs.uk/wintervaccinations
Frontline health and care workers, immunosuppressed people, and people aged 50 and over are being invited to book their autumn booster for the first ever variant-targeted vaccine on the NHS.
A seasonal booster (autumn booster) can be booked online for anyone who is:
- aged 50 or over
- pregnant
- aged 5 and over and at high risk due to a health condition
- aged 5 and over and at high risk because of a weakened immune system
- aged 16 and over and lives with someone who has a weakened immune system
- aged 16 and over and is a carer, either paid or unpaid
- a frontline health and social care worker
The appointment dates you'll be offered will start from 3 months (91 days) after your previous dose.
Children aged 5 to 15
You cannot book seasonal booster (autumn booster) appointments for some children aged 5 to 15 years old online, including for those who live with someone with a weakened immune system.
You need to go to a walk-in vaccination site or book an appointment at a GP surgery.
For more information on the COVID-19 booster or the winter flu vaccine, visit the NHS website.
Health or social care workers, are more likely to be exposed to the flu and COVID-19 viruses and also care for people who may be at greater risk and it’s easy to pass these viruses on without knowing.
Both flu and COVID-19 can be life-threatening and getting both flu and COVID-19 increases risk of serious illness. Even if you are healthy, you can still catch these viruses and spread them to your patients.
The flu and COVID-19 vaccines are vital for helping to protect our staff and those they care for, and they are the best defense we have against these potentially life-threatening viruses.
The flu vaccine and the COVID-19 autumn booster vaccination will be available from September. Those who have not started or completed their primary course of the COVID-19 vaccine are urged to get their vaccinations as soon as possible. Primary course doses can be started at any time.
The COVID-19 booster can be booked through the National Booking Service, by calling 119 or finding a walk-in appointment through the online vaccination walk-in finder.
The seasonal flu vaccine, is being provided FREE of charge to all county county employees - the details of how to get yours can be found earlier in this newsletter.
Image reads: Boost your immunity. Get vaccinated with with the Flu + COVID-19 Booster vaccines.
|
We are pleased to announce that Gooseholme Bridge has officially opened.
During the official opening on Friday 14 October, there were 31 pupils from Stramongate School, including Brodie Lee, the first resident of Kendal to walk across the new bridge. After the bridge was damaged by Storm Desmond, Brodie Lee wrote to the county council, asking whether a new bridge could be built.
Following the bridge's opening, many people walked across it, including residents with their dogs, cyclists, adapted bikes from ‘Wheels for All’, and some parents with pushchairs.
 Image shows: School students from Stramongate School, Cllr Andy Connell (Chairman of Cumbria County Council), Cllr Keith Little (Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport), Cllr Peter Thornton (Cumbria County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Finance), Alan Boyle (Story Contracting) and Tim Farron MP (Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale) at the opening of Gooseholme Bridge.
The £2 million project to construct this replacement footbridge was delivered by Cumbria County Council with funding partners: the Environment Agency, South Lakeland District Council, and Sustrans.
The new Gooseholme bridge weighs 55-tonne and spans 42-metres across the river Kent and creates a fully accessible traffic-free link to Kendal town centre.
Well done to everyone involved.
Check out Organisational Development's SharePoint Site to see all the new dates that have been added. Everyone is welcome to attend.
This week’s courses:
-
Resilience for Self and Team – Thursday 27 October 14:00 to 15:45
-
Workplace Wellbeing: Thrive Not Survive – Monday 31 October 14:30 to 16:30
Coaching opportunities
We have a range of Coaching Development opportunities to support all individuals.
Coaching Champions:
-
Day 1 – Tuesday 25 October 09:30 to 16:30
-
Day 2 – Tuesday 1 November 09:30 to 16:30
-
Day 3 – Tuesday 8 November 09:30 to 16:30
Carer Champion Training (eLearning)
This new eLearning course is now available for informal and unpaid carers to inform you of the support available through Carer Support Cumbria Click here to start the course now
Image reads: Supporting you through change.
|
iTrent is changing! From early November, iTrent will have a new, modern look. You'll still have the benefit of the same functionality and features, but now with an improved layout of the homepage layout and updated colour scheme.
If you need further assistance, visit the Service Centre Portal.
Image shows the iTrent logo.
|
 Image shows the new look and layout of iTrent
We have recently been awarded £1.5 million in funding to carry out pilot projects for Active Travel schemes in Barrow and Carlisle.
The government awarded £12.7 million in multi-year funding to 11 local authority areas in England, with Cumbria County Council being one of the recipients. The £1.5m of funding is being made available over a three-year period until March 2025.
We will be working with Barrow Borough Council and Carlisle City Council to provide support for older people, individuals with long-term health conditions, those in lower social economic groups, culturally diverse communities, and younger people.
The exciting news means that there are some posts within Active Cumbria to help to deliver this pilot scheme.
We hope you will agree that this is excellent news for Cumbria County Council.
Image shows a cyclist using a designated cycle lane in Carlisle, Cumbria.
|
We will be continuing the resurfacing project on the A592, week commencing 7 November.
This road surfacing project is part of the Department for Transport's (DfT's) 'Safer Roads Project' on the A592. Along with resurfacing the road, some footways will be resurfaced, and some kerbing will be renewed. To minimise disruption, the work has been planned in five phases.
There will be no works during the half term holidays. The works will restart again on Monday 7 November 2022.
Further phases of the works will include full road closures with diversion routes. For more information and to see the next phases, please visit the Safer Roads website.
Image shows a 'Road Ahead Closed' road sign.
|
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are encouraging families across the UK to not miss the opportunity for government-funded help towards their childcare costs.
Families could save up to £2,000 a year towards their childcare costs to help pay for October half-term holiday clubs and wraparound care during the school terms.
Families can sign up to Tax-Free Childcare to help pay for holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other approved childcare schemes. It is available to families with children up to the age of 11, or 17 if their child has a disability.
The government will pay 20% of childcare costs by topping up the money paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account. This means for every £8 paid into the online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 in government top-up.
Find out more about help with the cost of childcare on the government website.
When deciding whether something you are working on should be included in the Weekly News ebulletin, consider whether everyone that works for Cumbria County Council needs to know the information you want to share.
There are other communication channels that may be more appropriate (e.g. Yammer, Directors' blogs); speak to the Communications Team for advice.
Requirements for Weekly News items:
- Maximum word count is 150 words per item.
- All items should be with the Communications Team by midday on Friday, to be included in Monday's bulletin.
To submit an item for Weekly News or for further advice please contact the Communications Team at corporate.messages@cumbria.gov.uk
|
|
