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 The NHS has benefitted from and always been supported by its overseas workers. Since day one, those from overseas have contributed to all aspects of the health service which represents a cornerstone of the public sector.
At our Trust, overseas colleagues play an important role in providing services, working across the entire organisation in numerous areas, both at West Suffolk Hospital and in the community.
To mark this year’s Overseas NHS Workers Day on Friday, 3 March, the Trust is recognising the diversity of its overseas workers.
Claire Sorenson, deputy director or workforce – HR and people services, said: “Coming from all parts of the world, our valued and highly skilled overseas colleagues are a key part of the fabric of our Trust – making it a great place to work, and our local communities a more diverse and unique place to live. Of a workforce comprised of more than 5,000 people, approximately 1,000 of those originate from almost 80 different countries, they are a core part of every service we deliver and how your local NHS services are run.”
The communications team sat down with Ewen Cameron, who spoke about his first few days in his new role as chief executive. Click the image below to watch the video.
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A doctor who did part of his training at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds is now joining the Trust as a non-executive director (NED).
Dr Roger Petter has many links with healthcare in west Suffolk, including working as a GP in local surgeries. He also , and has a unique ‘“claim to fame’” in that he delivered the last baby to be born in the maternity department at Newmarket Hospital in July 1991.
He joined our NEDs this week, on 1 March.
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Investment in the administration support for our six integrated neighbourhood teams (INTs) has been secured, which will reduce pressures on clinical staff and support joint working. The additional capacity in the community and integrated therapies division includes a significant increase in whole-time equivalent roles (WTE) in the INTs; and 2.5 WTE posts with the integrated therapies administration team. |
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Peter White is a colleague in our digital services team
February’s LGBT+ history month is over for this year but as we reflect on it, I want to share a story with you. A story on how I learned I'm asexual, or ace for short.
For years I didn’t know what I was. Asexuality was never talked about when I was in school. I was told you would meet the love of your life and want to get in bed with them, no matter their sex. All the other students were always talking about their crushes, their lovers, their dream partners and yet, I never did. There wasn’t anyone I had a crush on. I never talked about my dream partner. I never connected with somebody in that way.
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The Trust welcomes Dr Brandon as the new partner governor for the West Suffolk Alliance, where he is associate medical director.
A GP, Dr Brandon lives in West Suffolk with his wife and four children. He said: “I feel a strong connection to the region as I grew up here, and some of my extended family live locally. As a result, I am passionate about working to make healthcare in this region as good as it can be. |
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 Active listening updates
In autumn last year we carried out several active listening exercises where involvement from colleagues was sought. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be sharing updates with you about the various activities and the actions we are taking on the issues you have raised.
What matters to you: quick recap and initial findings
The ‘what matters to you’ (WMTY) staff engagement exercise returned in 2022 following the programme carried out in 2020, which originally focused on how Covid-19 had impacted on colleagues and ways of working. The aim was to continue conversations so that together we understand what is important to colleagues across the Trust now, and what actions we can take to improve.
Five key themes emerged from the first WMTY 2020 staff engagement programme and these were revisited to see how much progress colleagues believe has been made, and what additional actions could also be taken.
WMTY activity took place between September and December 2022.
Additional off-site parking reminder
At the end of January this year, additional off-site parking was created in response to the lack of car parking on the West Suffolk Hospital site as well as off-site in the surrounding areas.
As a result, the Trust worked with West Suffolk Council to secure additional off-site parking which is supported by a shuttle bus service. The car park, located on Olding Road in Bury St Edmunds, has capacity for 150 cars and is available until the end of March on a trial basis.
Invitation to the Multicultural Women’s Group #InternationalWomensDay event
Women of all cultures are warmly invited to join members of the Bury St Edmunds Multicultural Women’s Group on Sunday, 5 March to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The event is taking place at The Centre in Bury St Edmunds, located on St John’s Street between 4pm – 6pm. There will be music, dance, poetry and prose.
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Stroke unit staff are taking to the skies
 We are thrilled and very proud to work with such dedicated colleagues who truly want to make a difference to their patients.
Ward G8 are not new to fundraising. In fact, seven of them ran the Vitality Big Half back in 2021. Now staff have decided not to pound the pavements but to leap from a plane, all in the name of fundraising!
Led by specialist nurse, Jodie Tillet, the team consists of Tanya Shaw, Rosie Pawsey, Sarah Moyes, Marthe Peralta, Alice Page and Jess Irving and they have now also recruited Dr Chantelle Doran and Steve Bushnell from the restrictive physical intervention (RPI) security team to join them too.
All will be heading to UK Parachuting on Saturday, 17 June where they will jump from 13,000 feet, reaching speeds of 120mph.
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Welcome to the charity family
Welcome to the charity family, Dr Will Dean! Will is a consultant in the emergency department and when he’s not working, he loves to run!
This weekend will see him taking on the Cambridge Half as part of his training, ready for the London Marathon in April.
Good luck, Will!
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Country music night for My WiSH
One of our Trust governors, Ben Lord, has organised a special country music night in aide of My WiSH charity at the British Sugar Sports and Social Club on Friday, 24 March.
Ben started the ‘Arthrose Appeal’ nine years ago, to recognise the care his grandmother was given by the trauma and orthopaedics department. Sadly, Ben’s grandmother passed away almost four years ago.
To date, the appeal has raised just shy of £40,000 and to help tip donations over the 40k mark, Ben is hosting up and coming Irish singer, Stacey Breen, who will be making her UK debut in Bury St Edmunds!
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 Abbeycroft Leisure update
We've been informed of some issues with signing up for free access to Abbeycroft Leisure. As an interim process, they've created a form for anyone who wants to join. Please complete it here. We will provide an update once this issue has been resolved.
No Smoking Day
Wednesday, 8 March is No Smoking Day and this year we’re highlighting the link between smoking and dementia.
Smoking causes damage to every organ in your body including your brain, but the good news is that you start to heal from the moment you quit. Stopping smoking at any age can cut the chances of dementia, so It’s never too late for you or your patients to quit.
To get advice on stopping smoking, you can visit the NHS Better Health website and look out for more information about the campaign over the next week.
The Body Coach offers his app for free to NHS workers
Joe Wicks is offering his Body Coach app for free to all NHS employees for three months. To find out more, please click here.
Focus on your finances course
Affinity Connect are running a course designed to help employees identify financial issues that can arise in their life with the aim of encouraging greater confidence in financial matters through increased financial knowledge.
There are currently two dates available:
- Monday, 3 April, 9.30am – 11am
- Friday, 13 October, 9.30am – 11am
Find out more and register here.
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Neurodiversity webinars
Leadership, Lifelong Learning and Talent Management in the East of England have announced a series of webinars as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
These interactive webinars will be delivered by neurodiverse facilitators giving context and real-world experience that can be built upon. Find out more.
Cultural minded leadership
The ICS is hosting a series of free webinars on the topic of cultural minded leadership. Each webinar will feature guest speakers who will describe their own experiences and outline a range of different perspectives and perspectives. Find out more.
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Health coach training 2-day course
Health coach training has been arranged as an opportunity for clinicians to develop their understanding of the principles of health coaching and behaviour change as well as a practical set of tools they can apply immediately in their work. Find out more.
NHS Elect webinars
Several upcoming NHS Elect webinars are free to all staff. Find out more.
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The Green Sheet is produced weekly by the Trust communications team Editorial submissions deadline: Tuesday, 5pm.
Please send submissions, queries and feedback to GreenSheet@wsh.nhs.uk
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