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Bulletin Issue 19

4 February 2022

In this issue

• Returning to workplaces
• ICS Chief shares her ambitions for the North East and North Cumbria
• New name for the ICT Programmes and Projects team
• Covid-19 update
• Community health services and ageing well project
• Complaints Corner
• News from HR
• NECS Compact Workshop
• New training sessions
• And more!

The next edition of NECS Staff News will be published on Friday 18 February.

Please send any content for the next edition to necsu.corpcomms@nhs.net

Returning to workplaces

Riverside House, Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne

With the ending of the Government Plan B restrictions more people are returning to NECS sites. Some colleagues have already returned this week. Please refer to Essentials Issue 1867. The remaining return dates for each of the sites are outlined below.

Fri 4 February: Riverside House, Newburn

Mon 7 February: Unit 20, Middlesbrough

Tue 8 February: Scarsdale, Chesterfield

Wed 9 February: Parkhouse, Cumbria

Thu 10 February: Health House, Willerby

Fri 11 February: 722 Prince of Wales Road, Sheffield

Mon 14 February: Victoria House, Cambridge

Tue 15 February: Stonecross, Northallerton

Wed 16 February: 1929 Countess of Chester Health Park, Chester

Thu 17 February: Wira House, Leeds

Parking permits at Riverside House, Newburn

The landlord has advised that parking permits at Riverside House, Newburn are not currently required and their parking enforcement company is not operating on site. The Estates team will advise of any changes to arrangements before they happen.

Handy reminders when coming back to sites

• Taking a lateral flow test prior to coming to a site can provide additional reassurance to yourself and colleagues.
• If you test positive for Covid-19 or are feeling unwell in any way speak to your manager and stay at home.
• Wearing a face covering is still one of the most effective measures of stopping the virus spreading. When away from desks and moving around the building we ask that you continue to do this for colleagues' wellbeing.
• Opening windows to support effective ventilation (for around 10 mins in every 60) is strongly recommended.
• When taking calls or using MS Teams, wearing headphones helps reduce noise for others and maintains some more confidentiality to calls – headphones can be requested via the Digital Workplace.
• Anti-viral spray is available at cleaning stations in all wings and kitchen areas - desks should be wiped down at the start and end of the day and we have a clear desk policy to allow our cleaning team access.

New Ways of Working guidance packs

NECS is supporting colleagues back to 'in-person working' in a safe and steady way.

The packs below detail relevant actions for managers and employees. Managers should communicate regular updates to their teams relevant to their Ways of Working.

Workplace Guidance - Manager Pack

Workplace Guidance - Employee Pack

NECS will continue to follow government guidelines for working safely during Covid-19 which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

ICS Chief shares her ambitions for North East and North Cumbria

Sam Allen, Chief Executive Designate for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) recently thanked everyone for their warm welcome and all they have done throughout the pandemic and said how proud and privileged she was to take up her role as Chief Executive Designate. Sam also shared her ambitions for health and care in the region and the next phases in the journey for the ICB in a video (click on the image to view).

She said: "We want our ICB to the leading place in England for people in terms of their experience of care and their outcomes of care. We don't only want to add years to people's lives and life expectancy, we want to increase the quality of life; from birth through to living well, aging well and also dying well."

Watch here.

New name for the ICT Programme and Projects team

From 1 April the ICT Programme and Projects Service team will be known as the Digital Transformation and Optimisation Service (DTOS). The name change reflects the evolving role of the team, as Nicola Gibson, Project Manager, explained:

"When we started, General Practice Information Technology (GPIT) was a large part of our work, and while we still deliver that we now also do so much more. We will continue to work with our customers to deliver the best service possible and meet the ever changing needs of the NHS through Digital Transformation."

For more information contact Nicki at nicola.gibson3@nhs.net

Read more.

ICS North East and North Cumbria Draft Engagement Principles – survey extension

NECS staff working with customers based in the North East and North Cumbria ICS have until 28 February to have their say on draft engagement principles. Take the survey here.  Please note that this survey is around public-facing engagement and does not relate to ICS staff engagement. Any questions, please email necsu.comms@nhs.net.

Infection Prevention and Control guidelines

As England fully returned to Plan A on 27 January, the current infection prevention control guidelines remain in place across all healthcare settings, including the need for universal use of face masks for staff and face masks or coverings for all patients and visitors (unless exempt) and physical distancing of at least one metre.

Community Health Services and Ageing Well Digital Project

In support of the development of an Ageing Well-focused Community Health Services Digital Strategy and Implementation Plan, NECS Digital Transformation and Optimisation services is facilitating collaboration across the North East and North Cumbria ICS (NECN ICS), community provider organisations and the NENC ICS Digital Care programme.

While there has been an appetite in recent years for increased use of digital solutions as an enabler in providing older person and community health services, some ideas and proposals have not yet gained traction and come to fruition. The challenge includes understanding the complex landscape and the primary aims, objectives and potential benefits to organisations within the ICS.

Through engaging the most appropriate stakeholders and targeted collaboration, cohorts are being formed with a unified direction and purpose, seeking the best solutions and appropriate funding streams.

Find out more. 

Complaints corner

Welcome to Complaints Corner, the monthly slot to update staff. This month's focus is on complaints received about NECS between October and December 2021 (Q2).

• The NECS Complaints Team handled 206 new complaints/concerns during Q3 compared to 190 in Q2. These related to a range of organisations and services including NECS, CCGs, NHS trusts, independent contractors and other providers/organisations.
• Nine complaints were handled as NECS corporate cases, the same number as the previous quarter. Two NECS cases were managed via the formal complaints procedure and seven were handled informally.
• The main theme of NECS complaints/concerns was patients being invited for cervical screening appointments who felt they should not have been. These cases were all managed on an informal basis to the satisfaction of the enquirers.
• All new cases were acknowledged within the three working day target and the formal complaint which was closed during the quarter was responded to within the agreed timescale (which is usually six weeks from receipt).
• One NECS formal complaint was responded to during the quarter; this was partially upheld. Learning from this complaint was identified for another NHS organisation, but not for NECS on this occasion.  One other formal complaint was closed in the quarter but this had been withdrawn so no response was required.
• 25 compliments about NECS were recorded in the quarter, 26 related to the Continuing Healthcare Team and one was regarding the Complaints Team.

Find out more.

Time to Talk Day

Yesterday was Time to Talk Day. A useful blog detailing links to a range of resources that can be used at any time within teams has been published on the NECS intranet.  

Read more.

PDPs/appraisals and reminder of the booking process for training

There is been an increase in training and development undertaken in 2021-2022 following on from the previous year when Covid-19 restrictions meant there was less training activity than usual.

The Training team is eager to support colleagues' development and encourage them to update their personal development plans (PDP) regularly. PDPs can be updated at any time - as additional training needs are identified, or to log training that has been completed.

From April 2022 Quanta will be used to record appraisals and PDP documentation, with the aim of making the process easier to use and more valuable. More information will be shared about this shortly.

If exploring external training and development options please review the NECS' process for booking training: External course or conference booking guidance

It is important that the process is followed to ensure payments to external suppliers are provided in a timely way, the training budget can be managed and no Standard Financial Instructions are breached.

For further advice or support please email necsu.training-od@nhs.net

Changes to self-certification periods for sickness absence

In an amendment to the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Regulations, employees will be allowed to self-certificate for up to 28 days. This is a change to the current self-certification period of seven days.

Employees must give their employer a doctor's 'fit note' (sometimes called a 'sick note') if they have been ill for more than 28 days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.

If they started their sick leave before 10 December 2021, they must give proof if they've been off work for more than seven days, including non-working days.

If employees are self-isolating and cannot work because of coronavirus (Covid-19) they can get an 'isolation note' online from NHS 111. They do not have to go to their GP or a hospital. Further information can be sought from Taking sick leave - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Reminder - February staff survey

Thank you to everyone who has completed our staff surveys to date – it is really important that staff continue to take the time to do this. This quick, regular survey tests staff satisfaction and team briefing receipt on a regular basis. However we now also issue and report back on our annual NECS staff survey which explores your views in more depth.

Please complete the survey by 12 noon on Friday 11 February. 

Take the survey.

Apprenticeship Week

Next week is National Apprenticeship Week. Look out for case studies highlighting the role of our apprentices to be published on the intranet across the week.

A drop-in session takes place on Thursday 10 February (10am) if you have any questions about apprenticeships:  Click here to join the meeting

Missed an Essential message?

Essentials 1868 Compact Workshop

Essentials 1867 Returning to workplaces following the ending of Plan B restrictions

Essentials 1866 ICS North East and North Cumbria - Draft Engagement Principles

Essentials 1865 Information Governance Incidents - Email

NECS Compact top-up session

As you may know the NECS' Compact is being refreshed. A Compact is the behavioural and psychological contract an organisation has it is staff.

An additional top-up session has been set up for staff to help develop and shape the new NECS Compact. This session is for staff who are not able to attend their own team meetings about the Compact refresh and takes place on 15 February (9.30am-12.30pm).

Numbers are limited so where possible colleagues should attend the session in their own team/service line. The session will share an electronic template for colleagues to comment on the previous Compact and share what is important for them going forward.

The link to book onto the session is: https://learning.necsu.nhs.uk/events/compact-refresh-staff-session-top-up-session/

The current compact is outlined in the image above.

Help with anxieties around needles

New training courses

Assertiveness
(consisting of 2 x ½ day workshops – you must be free to attend both sessions)
9.30am to 12.00pm on 16 and 30 March

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
9.30am to 12.30pm on 10 February

Introduction to Public Health Management
1.30pm to 2.30pm on 2 March

Introduction to Continuous Improvement – Green Awareness Training and Exam
11am to 3pm on 28 February

HR Bitesize Training:

Health and Wellbeing:

All of the above sessions are available to book on https://learning.necsu.nhs.uk/

Childhood MMR campaign launched

A new campaign has launched encouraging parents and guardians of children aged one to five years to check that they are up to date with their MMR vaccines and encourage those that may have missed their appointments to come forward.

Parents and guardians are being encouraged to ensure their children are vaccinated against MMR, and if they can’t remember if their child is up to date to check his or her Red Book (personal child health record). 

Parents or guardians of children who are not up to date with their two doses of MMR vaccine should contact their GP practice to book an appointment. It’s never too late to catch up.

Protect your child with both MMR vaccines. Contact your GP practice to book their first or second dose.

Read more.

Sandra Larkin

Eileen Graham from the Continuing Healthcare team would like to thank Sandra Larkin, Commissioning Manager/Locality Lead, for her recent support. Eileen said: 

"My mam has been very poorly over recent months and Sandra has gone above and beyond to show the deepest compassion and support, and I would to thank her from the bottom of my heart on behalf of myself and my family. Thank you."

Finance Intern

An exciting opportunity is now available to join the NECS Finance team in the role of Graduate Intern on a 12-month fixed-term contract. As a Graduate Intern, you will spend 12 months working in one of the Finance and Activity Monitoring Team, the Financial Management Team or the Strategic Finance Team. The successful candidate will receive practical experience including budgetary monitoring and financial management, contract negotiation and monitoring across a range of contracts, service transformation and accounting finance.

Find out more and apply here: https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/917010267

All internal job vacancies can be found on the Intranet here: Internal Vacancies 

Contact us

Got a story, or something to share? Email the Communications team at necsu.corpcomms@nhs.net