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Hello and welcome
Back from leave this fortnight, Richard, in his video message, thanks staff for celebrating Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday 26 April. He also thanks staff for covering the recent bank holidays. He then talks about the Community Stroke and Neurorehabilitation Team, which launched on Tuesday 2 May 2023 and introduces you to Harriet Allen and Sarah Rickard from the service. They describe the work undertaken to reform our community stroke and neurorehabilitation offer for Trafford patients and how it is making a difference.
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How we're working with hospital colleagues to support the Home First discharge approach
Message from Mark Edwards, LCO chief operating officer
Dear colleagues,
I hope you're all well. I just wanted to update a little on some of the work we've been doing with our colleagues in the hospitals to support better discharge into the community.
We've called it Home First which is a name for a range of things we are doing to support discharge planning and strengthening how the hospitals work with us in the community.
A key part of that approach is called Back to Basics. This has seen LCO staff working alongside wards in the hospital to look at processes and help them rethink discharge - taking strength-based approaches and making sure they are aware of the support and services we and our partners provide. That's so patients aren't kept in hospital when they could be supported to be independent at home with the right level of care.
Following some great work, which has shown the difference these approaches can make with reduced length of stay and reducing days delayed on our wards, the hospitals are now rolling this approach out to relevant bed based areas.
To support that we've produced a range of resources including a new induction animation video about discharge and how to work with the LCO, and an accompanying training booklet. They're aimed at hospital teams but may be useful for our own teams as well. You can view these via the MFT intranet (just click the home first icon from any page) or access the video here [opens in Vimeo] and the booklet here [PDF, 996KB].
Over the coming weeks our work on discharge support will grow and focus on admission avoidance as well. We have a key role to play in this in the community and I'd like to thank all the staff involved for their work so far which is making a real difference.
Mark
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 One week to go until Freedom to Lead!
 Our annual staff conference, Freedom to Lead, is now only a week away.
Thank you to everyone who’s made a booking to come along and join us. We're really looking forward to seeing you there. As a reminder, the conference will start promptly at 9:30am, drawing to a close around 3:00pm.
We’ve now allocated all tickets; however, if you'd like to be placed on our reserve list, please email the LCO communications team to let us know. Please also get in touch if your circumstances have changed and you can no longer make it.
 Thank you for helping make our Community Administration Service feel special on Administrative Professionals Day (Wednesday 26 April). The LCO executives got out and about to meet with teams and personally thank them for their hard work and dedication. They also talked about the new strategy to develop our administration and business support services that was launched that day.
Our Twitter account was in full action too, with many of you sharing your pictures and your messages of thanks, including one from Laura Foster, LCO director of finance, and another two from some of our leaders. If you missed any, then you can find them back on the timeline or by visiting the copies we've posted to our celebration page on the LCO extranet.
Mark Edwards, LCO chief operating officer and Laura reflected on the day, saying: "It was great to see teams coming together showcasing their work and how they support each other and our patients and communities." "The effort made was fantastic, and we could really feel the pride."
Nurses' Day 2023
We've got another special date coming up for everyone to get involved with and it’s Nurses’ Day on Friday 12 May. This annual occasion, now in its 49th year, also marks the birth of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale. It’s a day to remember and recognise the hugely important role nurses and nursing associates in health and care play in the lives of the people they care for.
Please join us next Friday to say thanks to our incredible army of nurses and nursing associates.
We've got just under 1,300 nurses and nursing associates working within our Manchester communities in both adult and children’s services, and they each play a vital role. The theme of this year’s celebration is the difference nursing makes, and below are just a few ways you can show your support:
Please also keep your eyes out on our Twitter account (@TraffordLCO) throughout the day! We’ll be posting a few special messages and some of our nursing teams will be joining us to co-host.
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A new pulmonary rehabilitation awareness campaign
Last month, a new pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) campaign, Keep Active—Breath Better, was launched across Greater Manchester. It’s so far reached over 27,000 people on social media, with just under 100 people a day visiting the supporting website to learn how PR can help them better manage their long-term respiratory health.
The development of the campaign was supported by clinical advisors to the Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire (GMEC) Strategic Clinical Network, including our very own Jonny Lee of the Trafford Pulmonary Rehabilitation Service.
In this newsletter from the network, you can find out more about the campaign itself and Jonny’s involvement. He talks with Sue Mason, a fellow network advisor, in a Q&A on why it’s been a struggle over the years to recruit people to PR programmes and what changes they hope the campaign will bring.
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An important update in relation to fit testing for FFP3 masks
At the start of the pandemic, a fit-testing team was set up to provide staff with appropriate FFP3 masks. However, the team has returned to their day jobs, so fit testing is now to be provided within our different localities.
Starting conversations about dying is often not as hard as you might think.
Every year, people around the country use Dying Matters Awareness Week as a moment to encourage all communities to get talking in whatever way, shape or form works for them. In 2023, Dying Matters Awareness Week will take place next week from Monday 8 to Sunday 14 May.
This year’s theme is Dying Matters at Work. 57% of employees will have experienced a bereavement in the last five years and yet, fewer than one in five managers feel as comfortable as they could supporting someone they manage with a bereavement. We spend so much of our lives at work – and we shouldn’t have to hide our experiences of death and dying from our colleagues. You can find a wide range of resources on the topic on the Hospice UK website.
Our wonderful LCO Macmillan teams will be doing various activities across the week. Look out for them on social media!
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 Equality, Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR) Week 2023 is an opportunity for health and care organisations to highlight the work they do to create a fairer and more inclusive NHS for colleagues, patients and service users. Join our EDI team as they host some listening events during this May 2023 aimed at gaining your feedback on the MFT Diversity Matters Strategy.
See the MFT staff intranet to find out more or download this poster [PDF, 222KB].
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The only Greater Manchester-wide awards which recognise the amazing contributions from the health and care workforce has announced its 2023 shortlisted nominations.
Nominations have come in from across the health and care sector of all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester (GM), including apprentices, doctors, optometrists, receptionists, nurses, a care home manager and a barber. All shortlisted nominations will now be considered by a judging panel and the winners will be announced at a sponsored event on Thursday 13 July 2023, hosted by TV presenter Michelle Ackerley.
Read more on the GM website.
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 Congratulations to Jo Sweeney, children’s physiotherapist, and Cat Watson, rotational physiotherapist, from the LCO Fit Testing team, as they’ve recently received an LCO Stars nomination from Laura O’Shea, LCO head of allied health professionals.
Laura said:
"Our fit testing team members stepped away from their usual day jobs at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a service to test staff in order for them to have sufficient PPE (personal protective equipment). They have each now fully returned to their previous posts, and therefore, I just wanted to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you for their support and commitment to the service over these last couple of days. We couldn't have done it without you, so thank you!"
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 Register to join our next monthly live LCO Team Brief
Don’t forget that the next live LCO Team Brief event with Katy Calvin-Thomas, LCO chief executive, will take place on Tuesday 16 May from 10:00am to 10:30am. She'll be joined by the other members of the LCO executive team, talking about key news and updates and answering any questions or concerns you may have.
All 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.
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Reminder of recent changes within EMIS
On Monday 1 May 2023, there were changes made within EMIS to actualising or outcoming an appointment and the management of DNA (did not attend) and cancelled contacts. This work had been undertaken to standardise how EMIS is used across all our LCO services, ensuring that our processes are streamlined together.
If you missed our recent communication on this, then please take some time to review it now by using this link. The communication includes details of who you can direct questions to and a support guide.
Planned Hive downtime
Epic System Upgrade taking place on Thursday 11 May
On Thursday 11 May, the Hive production (Epic PRD) environment will undergo a full system upgrade across all sites and remote locations. This upgrade will require a longer downtime than previous maintenance updates, where Hive will not be accessible to all users. The upgrade will take place in the early hours of Thursday morning (11 May) between midnight (00:00) and 3:00am and should take approximately two hours.
For more information and to find out how this may affect you, see the full update [PDF, 226KB].
Many of you will be aware that recent changes have been made to the TLCO car parking scheme. The car parking charges for those who park at Trafford Town Hall and Sale Waterside are now based on salary and have been brought inline with the charges that our council colleagues receive.
For further information, please see this update [PDF, 426KB]. Additionally, if you’d like to apply for or withdraw your car parking space, please use the below forms:
Improving how we communicate with people with long-term health conditions
In partnership with Greater Sport, Spark Life, and Collaborate Out Loud, we’re running workshops in May, June and July for anyone working or living in Manchester and Trafford who’s in a non-clinical role and comes into contact with people with long-term health conditions on a regular basis.
Through these 90-minute training sessions, you’ll learn:
- Practical approaches to having conversations about why movement is important
- What gets in the way of having these types of conversations, and what can we do
- How to approach these conversations from a wellness perspective
- The importance of communities in supporting people with long-term conditions to move more
Changes to Freedom to Speak Up
On Wednesday 3 May, Karen Hawley will be changing roles and will no longer be the MFT Freedom to Speak Up lead guardian. A new lead guardian is to be recruited; however, during the period of transition, our team of over 60 Freedom to Speak Up Champions can be the first point of call for anyone who needs advice or support to speak up.
Details of who they are and how you can contact the team can be found on the Freedom to Speak Up page of the LCO staff extranet. This includes champions who are within the LCOs.
You can also download this poster [PDF, 1.32MB] to promote the different routes to speaking up in your staffing areas.
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The MFT Academy has a number of workshops and development days on offer this spring and summer 2023 for all staff. The offer includes civility training, coaching for line managers, and more.
For full details, see this brochure [PDF, 1.41MB].
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Do you live in Trafford, and if so, are you looking for something to do over the coronation weekend?
If so, the council has got it covered, as they’ve organised a few activities to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and the Queen Consort at a number of their buildings.
Visit the Trafford Council website for details.
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 On Friday 30 June from 11:00am to 1:00pm, our wonderful staff and volunteers of the Trafford Macmillan Wellbeing Centre will host a Macmillan Wellbeing Centre Strawberry Fair Fundraiser. There’ll be strawberries, of course, lots of tea and cakes, information stalls, a raffle, and much more.
Please save the date to your diary for now and join them on the day if you can!
All the proceeds raised will go towards the centre’s charitable fund so they can continue to support local people accessing their services.
Donations of bottles for the tombola are also wanted. If you’d kindly like to support, please drop these off at the centre or call them on 0161 746 2080 to arrange a collection.
Support for colleagues with family in conflict zones
There’s been significant media coverage over the last week of the Sudan conflict, the evacuation of NHS workers, and others. With a diverse, international workforce, we know that you may have relatives or friends who are directly affected in this conflict, or others, and that this could be putting pressure and stress on you.
Please remember that we’re here to support you if you’re struggling. Please talk to your line manager or fellow colleagues, or if you’d prefer to talk to someone in confidence, there's the team of professional counsellors via the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
Mental health first aiders wanted
 We’ve organised two further training sessions on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 24 May for staff interested in becoming mental health first aiders. We want to ensure that right across the LCO family, we've got a diverse pool of listeners to act as a friendly point of call when someone is in need. Could you help us? If so, take a look at the full advert below for details.
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