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The fortnightly bulletin is shared every other Thursday. If you’d like to include any items or news, please send them to us at communications@manchesterlco.org.
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 What's coming up this month
Blog post by Katy Calvin-Thomas, LCO chief executive
Hello everyone,
I hope you’re well, and Happy Easter and Ramadan Mubarak!
If you’re about to enjoy the four-day long bank holiday weekend, I hope you have a great time, whether spent with friends or family or just doing something you enjoy. I also realise that for some of you, the weekend is just like any other. So, in advance, thank you for covering our essential community health and care services and doing all that you do.
On the subject of celebrations, I’m really looking forward to what’s coming up in the next few months. We’ll be celebrating Administration Professionals Day on Wednesday 26 April and the executive team and I are planning to come and join some of our administrative and business support teams on the day. So, if you see us, say hi!
Then we’ve also got Freedom to Lead on Thursday 11 May where we’ll be launching our new, We Are Community theme, talking about the financial year ahead, our plans and priorities, the staff survey results and much more. It is really going to be an exciting and informative day, so if you’ve not yet had the chance to sign up and would like to join us, then please do. Everyone is welcome, and you can find out how to reserve a place further on down in the bulletin.
Thank you again for everything, and take care.
Katy
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 Celebrating our teams and services
Administrative Professionals Day is coming up on Wednesday 26 April and we’re asking you to join in! It’s the perfect opportunity to celebrate and recognise the hard work of our administrative and business support staff who are often the unsung heroes of any organisation.
We’re delighted to be able to share today that Yee Chang, assistant practitioner (pictured right), from the North Manchester Crisis Response Team, has received the 2023 Apprentice of the Year Award from the Sheffield Hallam University. Yee was nominated for the award by her mentor Manju Noble, who had noticed her passion for providing excellent patient care and consistently going above and beyond. Yee is a student with them pursuing a degree in physiotherapy through an apprenticeship pathway.
We’re sure you’ll join us in congratulating Yee on this fantastic achievement!
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At the end of last month, Michelle Proudman semi-retired and stepped down from her role as the lead nurse for the North Manchester locality. Michelle’s contribution to the area and the NHS has been astounding and was recognised at the highest level when she was awarded an MBE in 2022. Many of you know her for being a supportive and compassionate nurse whose door is always open.
Luckily for MLCO, all is not lost, as Michelle will be continuing her nursing career with us, which started in the 1970s. She’ll take up the role of part-time quality matron for the north locality.
In typical Michelle fashion, she didn’t want much fuss or a gift but asked that people donate to a charity supporting nurses. You can learn more via this Just Giving page link.
Taking on the role of lead nurse for the locality going forward will be Clair Priestly. Many of you will know Clair already, as she was the community matron for some time, managing our specialist nursing teams. Kathryn Taylor, the lead nurse for our award-winning lymphedema service, will replace Clair as the community matron.
Please join us in congratulating Michelle, Clair, and Kathryn on their new posts. We wish them all the best!
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 We were delighted to welcome the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Diane Hawkins JP, LLB (pictured centre left), to visit our community paediatric, safeguarding, and ‘Our Children’ team at the Coral Suite last week. The Lord Lieutenant is appointed by HM the King and is his representative in the county.
The Coral Suite is an LCO service that provides a paediatric service for child protection services in the city and plays a key role in safeguarding children. The Lord Lieutenant has a particular interest in this field through her judicial role, which she undertakes alongside the lieutenancy, and she met with different members of the multidisciplinary team to learn more about their work and discuss future areas of collaboration.
The MFT Informatics Application team is now providing EMIS out-of-hours support. Although it’s limited, they’ll be able to help with incidents such as when multiple staff are unable to login to EMIS or connect to EMIS mobile. Therefore, if you need out of hours help, calls should be logged in the usual way via the Service Desk on 0161 701 2020.
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Mark Cubbon, the new group chief executive for MFT, has recorded a video to introduce himself to all staff and to share what the Trust aims to focus on this year. If you've not had the chance to view it click on the link below.
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The Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership Strategy has been released. It outlines the partnership's priorities to strengthen communities, help people get into and stay in good work, recover core NHS and care services, stay well and detect illness earlier, support workforce and carers, and achieve financial sustainability. Find out more on the Greater Manchester website.
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 Our latest STARs
The LCO STARs recognition scheme is our way of saying thank you to one another for simply being a good colleague or doing fantastic work.
Louise Allan, associate Macmillan nurse has received a nomination, and you can read her lovely message by clicking on the image of the star.
Congratulations Louise!
Please keep on nominating! Your messages really do help to make someone's day. You can send your nominations to us by email or add them straight into the LCO STARs Forum on the extranet.
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 April’s live LCO Team Brief event
Our next live Team Brief will take place on Tuesday 18 April at 10:00am. Katy Calvin-Thomas, LCO chief executive, and other members of the LCO executive team will share the latest news and updates from inside and outside the LCOs. They’ll also answer any of your questions.
Managers are encouraged to attend. This is so you can relay key items or information to your teams. However, everyone is welcome, no matter your role, and you can book a place using the below Microsoft Form. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Freedom to Lead staff conference
 As a reminder, we’ll be holding our annual staff conference, Freedom to Lead, on Thursday 11 May 2023 at the British Muslim Heritage Centre in Whalley Range from 9:30am to 3:00pm. It promises to be an exciting day of learning and networking, and we’d like to ensure every team is represented there. Over 200 tickets have already been snapped up, so be quick!
Director of nursing and professional lead monthly drop-in sessions
LCO director of nursing and professional lead Lorraine Ganley will be hosting monthly drop-in sessions across our localities. These are an opportunity for you whether in a clinical or non-clinical role (both clinical and non-clinical) to meet with Lorraine and discuss any questions or concerns you may have.
All sessions will be from 12:30pm to 1:30pm and on the below dates:
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Wednesday 12 April - Room 27, Cheetham Hill Primary Care Centre, M8 8AU
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Wednesday 10 May - First floor meeting room, Parkway Green House, 460 Palatine Road, Northenden, M22 4DJ
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Wednesday 14 June - Room C, Gorton Hub, 27 Garratt Way, M18 8HE
Please also use this poster [PDF, 172KB] to promote the sessions within your team areas.
On Tuesday 25 April the LCO Research Champion Network will be hosting a Lunch and Learn event from 12:00noon to 12:40pm as an opportunity for you to learn how to create a scientific poster. The session will cover all the basics and discuss the preparation stages, such as deciding on a topic, the key points you wish you cover, who your audience will be and what you’d like them to take away from your poster. They’ll also talk about formulating, writing an abstract and how best to present your information using example templates you can use.
To join, please add the calendar invitation to your diary. You can also use this poster [PDF, 80KB] to promote the session within your team areas.
NEWS2 mandatory e-learning training
For our front-line services in Manchester and Trafford, we started using the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) and escalation pathways earlier this year. As part of this, it’s important that training on how to use the tool be completed, which is now available on the MFT Learning Hub using this direct link.
If you work within one of our community health teams in a clinical role (band 3 or above), please complete the mandatory training at your earliest convenience. The e-learning module is fully interactive and should only take you 15 minutes to complete.
Note: In the coming weeks, the training will appear on your profile within your MFT Learning Hub account. In the meantime, the link above takes you straight to the module, or you can search Community Sepsis and NEWS2 to locate it. The clinical observation form within EMIS will also be replaced with the NEWS2 form.
The MFT Long Service Award (LSA) application process has been improved to make it easier for colleagues, supported by their line manager, to make an application.
If you’re eligible for a Long Service Award (20, 30 or 40 years of service), before applying, you should now ensure you read the LSA Staff Guidance. The guidance talks you through the application process and includes details of which forms you’ll need to complete and who these will need to be shared. For further details, please see the article on the MFT Staff Intranet.
It’s just 10 days to go now until the Manchester Marathon takes place on Sunday 16 April. Therefore, this means there’ll be several road closures in place across parts of the city and in Trafford as well. If you're scheduled to be on duty, please use the Manchester Marathon website to help you plan ahead and discuss any concerns with your manager.
MFT is looking for staff from ethnic communities to join their Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Staff Engagement Group and BAME Staff Network meetings. There are 12 in total planned over the course of the year, but by getting involved, you'll be able to help shape our future hospital and community health services and ensure your voice is heard. The group and network play a vital role in everything we do and are a great support. For further information, please see this letter [PDF, 149KB]. Please also share these details with colleagues who may not have regular access to their emails.
Following a number of queries in relation to the allocation of ID name badges, we’d like to confirm that these can only be provided when an ID badge form has been completed and signed by an authorising line manager. Badges can then be collected from the ID office that is closest to your base. If you’re unsure which would be your closest, then you can contact the below ID representative, who’ll be able to advise you. Their details are:
Note: It’s important to ensure that ID badge request forms are completed in full in order to prevent badges from being delayed.
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NHS England and Health Education England have launched a brand new e-learning for health module all about the menopause.
The module has been developed specifically for NHS staff and covers common symptoms of the menopause, how it can impact people at work and how colleagues can support colleagues going through the transition. To access the training, you must register or login to the learning.
Further menopause resources including national guidance for line managers and staff can be found on the NHS England Retention Hub. Additionally, MFT guidance and support is available on the MFT staff intranet.
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Schools out - Easter holiday activities and savings
The Easter half-term is upon us, so what is there in and around Manchester to help save while keeping the children entertained? Well, below are a few suggested websites to help you find what’s available. They include paid activities as well as some that are free. Plus, discounts and promotions, holiday clubs, and more.
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 Don’t forget, you can be part of the MFT Blue Wave at this year’s Great Manchester Run on Sunday 21 May. It’s a great way to get together as a team and have a bit of fun. You can walk, jog, run, or use a wheelchair, and even raise money for one of the MFT charities, including the LCO Community Fund. Places cost £23 per person to take part, and further information can be found on the MFT Charity website.
In the UK’s largest ever stress survey, 74% of people said stress has made them feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. Stress Awareness Month in April is a good opportunity for us to acknowledge and address our stress. There are many resources and workshops offering advice and tips on how to tackle stress:
- Try The Stress Management Society’s 30-day challenge, and pick one action to carry out every day. It takes 30 days to turn actions into habits and maximise your chances of turning useful knowledge and techniques into positive behavioural change.
- Book on to the Psychology of Burnout session provided by GM where you’ll explore what burnout is, how it relates to our internal stress response systems and the warning signs to look out for.
- Visit the Manchester Mind website for a range of resources, tips and support around stress and mental health.
GM Working Together wellbeing events
As a reminder, there are some great free wellbeing sessions from Greater Manchester coming up this month and next for you to get involved with. For full details, check out the links below:
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