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Due to a technical issue, distribution of Friday's issue (24 June) of the staff bulletin was delayed, with many receiving their copy over the weekend. This repeat issue is sent to ensure all staff receive the bulletin. Please note a correction to the item on Temporary Executive Director positions announced in Essentials last week.
In this issue:
The next issue of NECS News will be published on Friday 8 July. Please send any items to necsu.corpcomms@nhs.net
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Ally Robson and Lis Dunning
We are delighted to announce the appointments of Ally Robson and Lis Dunning to the temporary executive Director positions of Long Term Growth Strategy and Commercial Partnerships respectively.
Each appointment will be for a period of six months. Ally will assume his role from the start of July and Lis will start three to four months later, once the outline of the long-term growth strategy has been determined (the commercial partnerships to be a key delivery feature of that strategy).
These appointments are in line with our succession planning objective and both Ally and Lis have been engaging with us on the NECS Aspirant Director programme.
Stephen Childs
Managing Director
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This year’s National Apprenticeship Awards recognise and reward the achievements of your apprentices, apprenticeship champions and apprenticeship employers. The Awards scheme is designed to recognise and reward the achievements of exceptional apprentices, apprenticeship champions and apprenticeship employers.
Judges will be looking for applicants who are setting the standard for their respective industries, leading the way towards the world-class workforce our country aspires to.
Entry is open until 5pm on Friday 1 July.
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This month's focus is all about the do's and don'ts in the world of complaints.
There are some helpful suggestions if you find yourself faced with an unhappy member of the public in our monthly blog here: Complaints Corner, June 2022
Recent issues of Essentials are linked below:
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#Red4Research Day on Friday 17 June 2022 aimed to get as many people as possible wearing red to demonstrate their support and appreciation for all those participating, undertaking and supporting Covid-19 and other research.
#Red4Research is an opportunity to showcase the phenomenal work, learning legacy and the new innovative research system/techniques that have arisen. None of which would be possible without all people involved.
On the front line and behind the scenes incredible research teams continue to collectively work on health and social care research. Covid-19 has forced us to do things differently, to be more innovative, flexible and more responsive. Over the past two years, the R&D community in collaboration with the health and care sectors and voluntary organisations has achieved a phenomenal amount.
The NECS Research and Evidence Team supported #Red4Research and wore red on Friday at the Journey To Primary Care Research Event at Newcastle University. Find out more about the team and their involvement with #Red4Research in their recent blog: #Red4Research
Follow @NECSRETeam on Twitter for updates on their work.
The NECS Incident Management Team was stood down this week as the NHS seeks to return to day-to-day activities. The team had representation from across service lines, and, chaired by Michelle McGuigan, Organisational Development and Corporate Services Director, led the implementation of national and local policy in response to the pandemic. Thank you to everyone who was co-opted onto the IMT for their dedication and hard work over the last two years.
The Covid-19 page on the NECS intranet will be reviewed in due course to reflect the current position.
Recording Covid-19 as a reason for sickness absence
The level of Covid-19 infections will continue to be monitored through the level of sickness in NECS. Line managers are reminded to record Covid-19 as the secondary reason for absence to enable the data to be as accurate as possible.
The NHS is urging people who still need a spring booster vaccination to come forward as soon as practically possible. Since March, the NHS has been offering spring booster doses to all people aged 75 years and over, people aged 12 years and over with a weakened immune system, and residents in older adult care homes. Some 4 million have already had their jab. If you still need one, visit the National Booking Service, call 119 or find a convenient local walk-in site.
The spring booster provides protection against Coronavirus during summer. Getting a spring booster before the end of June will give time for you to gain maximum protection ahead of holiday trips in August.
Book a spring booster appointment on the NHS website at www.nhs.uk/book-covid-booster or by phoning 119. Alternatively, visit a walk-in vaccination site without an appointment – see www.nhs.uk/vaccine-walk-in which shows which sites offer what types of dose, and to which groups.
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Sarah Peters, Senior Consultant for the NECS Consultancy Midlands team, shares her experience of working on the Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Programme in a recent blog.
"It is 12 months ago that I started work on the Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Programme in the East of England. At that time I had been with NECS for three months and it was my second assignment. Something new and different to get stuck into I thought…"
NHS England has announced that for the first time, every trust in the country now has their own roadmap to tackle climate change and meet the NHS's net zero commitments. The new green plans are expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than a million tonnes over the next three years – the same as taking 520,000 cars off the road.
The climate crisis is a health emergency. That's why the NHS became the first health service in the world to commit to reaching net zero; by 2040 for the emissions it controls directly, and by 2045 for the emissions it influences.
This announcement comes as the UK marked Clean Air Day, highlighting that up to 36,000 deaths occur every year as a result of poor air quality, disproportionately affecting our poorest and most vulnerable communities.
A animation has been created as a helpful guide for anyone wanting to learn more about how the NHS is taking action to reach net zero emissions.
NHS staff are welcome to join an event to celebrate the Green Plan achievements of trusts and Integrated Care Systems in the North East and Yorkshire. This is in support of an NHS-wide ambition to become the world’s first healthcare system to reach net zero carbon emissions, and a look ahead to a greener and healthier region.
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Darragh MacManus has set up a five-a-side group in Durham.
Darragh MacManus, Graduate Support Officer (pictured in the Manchester United shirt above), has set up a five-a-side football group in Durham. Find out more from Darragh below.
Why did you set up the group?
I love football and I was determined to set up a group to meet fellow colleagues. It is a very casual group, and all are welcome!
How many people attend the sessions?
Currently we have between 10-12 each week.
What are the benefits?
Meet new people, excellent exercise, great for mental health. It can really help with work/life balance since most of us play after we have been in the office.
Who people can contact for more information?
The sessions take place every Thursday at Durham School, 5.30-6.30pm.
Contact Darragh at darragh.macmanus@nhs.net if you would like to find out more.
The NHS recognises that this is a difficult time and is aware of the cost of living crisis affecting people across the country. Concerns over finances have consistently been in the top five reasons people call the free support helpline run by the Samaritans.
Research from the independent Money and mental health charity set up by money saving expert Martin Lewis found that a poor financial situation has a direct and detrimental effect on an individual's mental health, producing physical and psychological symptoms such as loss of sleep, poor concentration and reduced motivation.
The NHS has teamed up with Disney to create 'play-along' games inspired by Marvel, Pixar and Disney characters. These 10-minute bursts of fun will really get kids moving and count towards the 60 active minutes they need every day.
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Please remember that the deadline for completing appraisals is 30 June.
There has been some great feedback following the launch of the new Quanta
Appraisals System with users indicating that they find the new system more intuitive
and user-friendly than ESR. However, colleagues are urged not to leave it to the last minute to book in appraisal conversations, or to test out the new system, just in case there are queries or support requirements.
Further information on the new system can be found on our intranet pages:
• Appraisals page for employees
• Appraisals page for managers
Appraisal queries should be directed to necsu.training-od@nhs.net
Please note that the system does not function correctly when using an Internet Explorer
browser. Internet Explorer browser has now been retired. Please use an alternative
browser (e.g. Chrome or Edge).
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A course is available to book on to 14 July (9.30am-12pm).
Send any queries to necsu.training-od@nhs.net
A Health and Wellbeing diagnostic tool will be used as part of improving health and wellbeing at NECS.
Seven key areas of the business will come under scrutiny: environment, managers and leaders, professional wellbeing and support, fulfilment at work, data insights, improving personal health and wellbeing and relationships.
Each session will work through a series of questions via Jamboard, an online collaboration tool to give everyone at NECS the opportunity to have their say on health and wellbeing performance.
This is a great opportunity not only to have your say, but to also put forward areas you think could be improved and any new ideas.
Sessions take place on the following dates and each has its own theme:
- 29 June - Environment / Managers and Leaders
- 7 July - Professional Wellbeing and Support
- 13 July - Fulfilment at Work
- 15 August - Data Insights
- 16 September - Improving Personal Health and Wellbeing
- 6 October - Relationships
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On Friday 10 June The Great Exec Bake Off competition took place at John Snow House in Durham to support the Ukrainian appeal efforts raising awareness and £40 for the appeal.
The great baking contestants were Stephen Childs, Michelle McGuigan, Jackie Park, Ian Davison and Chris Sharpe. The judging panel members (Sandra Hughes, Andrew Mason, Catherine Reid and Osama Irfan) judged the efforts based on several criteria: overall taste, texture, presentation, originality, adherence to the theme, and skill level.
The winners were:
1st place – Jackie Park with her show-stopper – heavenly tasting sponge cake with snowflake dusting.
2nd place – Michelle McGuigan with amazing NECS themed cupcakes.
3rd place – Ian Davison – Smartie and white chocolate button topped cupcakes - with a vegan option too!
4th place – Stephen Childs – NECS sausage roll sign - mouth-watering effort.
5th place – Chris Sharpe – Delicious rocky road bites.
Well done to everyone.
The cakes and bakes
Jackie Park, NECS Star Baker
As detailed in Essentials 1915, the deadline for donating items for the Ukraine has been extended to 4 July.
We have also expanded the donation list slightly to include long-life foods.
Donations can be dropped off at several NECS bases, see Essentials 1915.
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Andy Haywood - Director of Digital Services - Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust sent in the following compliment for the Commissioning Delivery Team.
"Just wanted to say fantastic job, well done! Aware you’ve all got other roles and despite that, this has been one of the best run consulting engagements I’ve experienced. Fantastic advert for NECS and what it’s trying to do around shared public sector learning."
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