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3 February 2025

Race Equality Week 2025 – Every Action Counts

The Christie is proud to be participating in Race Equality Week from 3 – 9 February 2025 which will demonstrate our commitment to take action to address race inequality in the workplace.

Race Equality Week, was launched by Race Equality Matters to turn words into meaningful action following events of 2020, which have heightened the collective consciousness to tackle racism, inequality, and injustice experienced by ethnically diverse communities. 

This theme for 2025 #EveryActionCounts will focus on taking action to drive racial inequality and change.

The Ethnic Diversity EDI Staff Network Group invite everyone to attend a series of Lunch and Learn Conversation events during the week at 1pm each day.  Topics for each day will include the following:

• Monday: Intersectionality
• Tuesday: Recognising privilege
• Wednesday: Inclusive language
• Thursday: Code switching/masking
• Friday: Taking action

Violence and aggression sessions continue

Colleagues are invited to one of these sessions led by the Quality and Safety team to further support and explore the Trust’s stance on tackling violence, aggression and racist behaviour towards staff. The first session was successfully held on Friday.

This is a large and complex piece of work to put in place a more robust policy that aims to support staff who face this behaviour at work, as well as the creation of a visual campaign to be displayed to amplify the message that this type of behaviour is not tolerated at The Christie.

We are keen that the policy, support and visual campaign to support this are co-created by colleagues who will be able to share views and feedback with the team.

Further dates:

• Wednesday 5 February - 2pm - 3pm
• Thursday 6 February - 8am - 9am

All sessions will take place in the auditorium with an option to join the session online for colleagues who are unable to attend in person. 

If you wish to join online, please email the-christie.internalcomms@nhs.net stating the date you wish to dial in and a link will be sent to you. If attending in person, there is no need to book – just turn up.

Change in Trust process for private taxis

From Monday 1 February 2025 there will be a new process for staff who wish to book a private taxi for a patient.

The changes will support the current hospital transport policy and standard operating procedure which will be available on HIVE from today.

Staff will need to demonstrate they have discussed with patients alternative routes of transport, and they have exhausted all other means of transportation such as:

• Explore with the patient to see if a relative or friend can bring them to their appointment
• If the patient is mobile and well enough, provide advice around the use of public transport options
• Provide advice to the patient about Patient Transport Service provided by local ambulance providers, i.e. Northwest Ambulance Service and signpost to the hospital transport automated telephone line:  0161 446 8114.  It is important that you ask the patient to listen carefully to the options provided.

If all options have been explored and exhausted, please follow the flow chart in the policy.

For all non-patient requests and clinical research patients (who are on a commercial funded trial) please see the policy.

Any queries please direct to Andrea Scott: andrea.scott19@nhs.net

World Hijab Day

Today is World Hijab Day. This is an annual event which takes place globally.

We at The Christie recognise and embrace that awareness brings education through positive conversation. A special event has been organised for today where @uzmahijabstylist will deliver a hijab styling session.

Please join us to celebrate this global event by attending the styling demo. The event will take place in the Oak Road main entrance seating area from 12 noon to 1pm today (3 Feb).

For further information on World Hijab Day please visit:

• #HijabisUnsilenced
• World Hijab Day | Better Awareness Greater Understanding Peaceful World
• HijabStylist | (@uzmahijabstylist) 

Martha's Rule

Martha’s Rule is a patient safety initiative that the NHS is spearheading following the death of Martha Mills in 2021.  The Christie is one of a number of pilot sites implementing this over the coming months.  

Martha was a 13 year old girl who was admitted to hospital and developed sepsis after falling off her bike and sustaining a pancreatic injury. Her mother’s concerns weren’t listened to or acted on when raising concerns about her daughter’s deterioration. In 2023 a coroner ruled that had these concerns been listened to sooner, Martha probably would have survived.   

The NHS has set out 3 standards for the implementation of Martha’s Rule:  

• patients will be asked, at least daily, how they are feeling and how that compares to the day before. This information is to be acted on in a structured way
• all staff will be able, at any time, to ask for a review from a different team if they are concerned that a patient is deteriorating, and they are not being responded to 
• this escalation route will also always be available to patients themselves, their families and carers and advertised across the hospital.

Further communications and key messages will be provided by NHS England in the coming months following extensive market research and testing.  We will adapt and cascade these, so that colleagues as well as our patients and their families understand what Martha’s Rule is, and what it means for them in a clear and accessible way.

If you would like to discuss this piece of work further or need any further information, please contact Gabbi Cohen, Martha’s Rule Project Manager, on gabrielle.cohen@nhs.net

Recruitment Readiness sessions

As part of our celebrations for National Apprenticeship Week 2025, we would like to invite Christie colleagues to develop their confidence and skills in applying for roles and interview skills by attending one of our Recruitment Readiness sessions.

These sessions will be of particular interest to colleagues in Bands 2-4 who want to develop their career and seek new roles within the Trust. These sessions are suitable for colleagues seeking both apprenticeship and non-apprenticeship roles. These will also be of interest to colleagues applying for any the Trainee Nursing Associate, RNDA Top up, and any other clinical and non-clinical apprenticeships in the future.

The Trust is committed to supporting the ongoing continuing professional development and recognise the importance of ensuring all staff feel supported and prepared for upcoming applications and potential interviews.

Content in the session will cover the following: 

1. Job specification run-through for various types of roles
2. Completing a comprehensive application form on TRAC
3. Writing an effective personal statement
4. Interview tips and guidance, and showcasing transferable skills

Tuesday 11 February

10am - 12pm

Location: 2^nd Floor Paterson, Room 54-02-020 (capacity 12)

Thursday 13 February

1pm - 3pm

Location: Networked Services Room (near the Library – capacity 20)

There is no need to apply for individual study funding, as this is fully funded, we just ask you agree study leave with your line manager.

Please book as soon as possible via Christie Learning Zone, or by emailing the-christie.apprenticeships@nhs.net.

For more information regarding the readiness sessions or drop-in support at the Christie, please contact the-christie.apprenticeships@nhs.net.

Essential bedrail training drop in sessions

• Thursday 13 February, 2pm-3:30pm
• Thursday 27 February, 9am-11am
• Friday 7 March, 2pm-3:30pm
• Tuesday 11 March, 9am-11am
• Monday 24 March, 9am-11am
• Tuesday 25 March, 2pm-3:30pm
• Thursday 27 March, 9am-11am

Times: sessions last 30 minutes and start on the hour and half past the hour

Trainer: Hannah Poulton - Moving and Handling Assistant

Location: MS Teams

Click here to access the meeting on MS Teams.

Drop-in information sessions ahead of the OECI peer review

As part of our re-accreditation process, the OECI will be conducting an on site peer review on 26 and 27 February.

Drop-ins to support with preparing for the OECI peer review have been arranged by Quality and Standards and will take place on the following days via MS Teams:

Tuesday 4 February - 4pm

Wednesday 5 February - 9am

Thursday 6 February - 12 noon

The drop-ins will include the latest updates on the peer review visit, and are an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have prior to the visit. Please email the-christie.compliance@nhs.net to join one of the above drop-ins.

All information on the OECI accreditation process and peer review visit can be found on the Quality and Standards section of HIVE HIVE - Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) Re-accreditation February 2025

World Cancer Day

Tuesday 4 February is World Cancer Day and this year we will be marking the date by highlighting some of the interesting work colleagues are doing with international partners.

Staff representing the three main components of The Christie International; consulting, education and research, will be available to share their experiences and meet other colleagues involved in international projects between 11am and 2pm on the engagement stall in the Outpatients entrance off the main corridor (Department 22).

Thursday is Time to Talk Day

Time to Talk Day is the UK's biggest mental health conversation. Happening every year, on the first Thursday of February it's a day for friends, families, communities and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives.

To tie in with this, if you have concerns about your own mental health or want advice on how you can help someone else, some of our mental health first aiders will be on the engagement stand between 1pm and 2pm.  They can talk to you about the support available and how to access that support, no need to book, just pop along.

You can also find out more about our mental health first aiders by clicking this link: HIVE - The Christie Mental Health First Aiders

Vaccination clinics continue 

Our seasonal staff vaccination campaign is continuing and we urge staff who have not yet been vaccinated to do so whilst they are available. COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer available but flu vaccinations will be available until the end of March. 

While vaccinations can be booked through Simplybook, these are very popular and slots fill up quickly. We'd like to remind staff that drop-ins at the vaccination hub (department 40) are welcome. You may have to wait or be turned away if there are too many bookings.

The booking link for flu is below:

Flu vaccination appointment (SimplyBook)

If possible, please remember to bring your NHS number with you. Details on how to find your NHS number are here.

If you have any further questions, please contact the-christie.vaccinations@nhs.net.

Hand hygiene and aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT) training - update

Infection prevention and control (IPC) are continuing with their hand hygiene and ANTT training sessions this week. For the combined sessions, non-clinical staff are invited to attend for the first 45-minute hand hygiene slot if they wish.

The details for the upcoming sessions are as follows:

Hand hygiene training details:

• Required for all clinical and non-clinical staff.
• Includes theory and practical training

Principles of ANTT training details:

• Required for clinical staff performing aseptic tasks (venepuncture, cannulation, central venous access device [CVAD], catheterisation, wound care)

You are not required to book for these sessions. Please just turn up.

The Christie Colleague Menopause Café 

Next virtual meet up is on Tuesday 11 February 2025 at 12.30pm – 1pm

The February Christie Menopause Café will be an informal meet up to welcome our many new members and provide you with a safe space to discuss anything menopause related with like-minded colleagues who are likely having a similar experience to others. 

We aren’t experts, however most of us have lived experience which can vary between very similar and very different which means we learn so much from each other whether that’s tips on how to approach your GP to ask about HRT, alternatives to HRT, sharing/signposting to resources or just simply getting the reassurance that you’re not alone.   

As we’re a virtual café and purposely held around lunchtime, please feel free to eat your lunch during the meeting.  Contact jane.hanson10@nhs.net for the Teams link to join.

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