Welcome to the latest issue of My Download - your regular news roundup. The deadline for contributions is 5pm on a Thursday. If you have anything that needs sharing with colleagues, please don't hesitate to get in touch: dchst.communications@nhs.net.

Health and safety alert from Regional Safety Leicestershire: In the best interest of our health and safety for patients, staff, visitors, contractors and other members of the public, the following information is being circulated as a safety alert with high importance:

“Regional Safety Leicestershire have received warning of an increase in political stickers being placed on buildings. Reports of political stickers being applied around buildings which have been sabotaged with sharp blades hidden beneath them. These stickers are antagonistic in nature, and anyone attempting to remove them quickly could suffer serious injury. Please can you inform others within your service/teams"

Walton Hospital’s diagnostic centre – progress update: Diggers are on site at Walton Hospital in Chesterfield as foundations are dug for the purpose-designed £5.2m new community diagnostic centre (CDC) which is due to open during summer 2025. It is being developed in a partnership with Chesterfield Royal Hospital whose clinicians will operate the diagnostic services which will include ultrasound, x-ray, CT and MRI scans, plus other diagnostic services. CDCs offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ for people to receive diagnostic tests and services and offer multiple tests in one appointment. Read more here.

Asexuality and medical appointments – a guide for DCHS colleagues: This week is Asexuality Week, also known as Ace Week. This guide and poster, produced by our LGBTQIA+ staff network, have been designed to help clinicians and others who support patients in clinical settings to care for asexual people in ways which make them feel understood and that no assumptions are made about somebody in the care environment.

2024 NHS Staff Survey: This year’s NHS Staff Survey is off to a fantastic start with an organisational response of 23.9%. A big shout out to our Communications Team for being the first to reach 100%. The survey is an important opportunity for each of us to share our experiences, insights and thoughts on how we can continue to improve as an organisation and employer. Don't forget, you can use your protected time to share your thoughts - we all have a voice that counts! If you experience any issues completing your survey, please let Simon Rose know.

Staff Survey - drop-in sessions: A member of our EDI team will be available on MS Teams every Tuesday, from 12pm - 1pm, for you to drop in for a chat (even if you only have five minutes!). This opportunity is open to all staff across the organisation to access support in completing the national Staff Survey!

People Promise drop-in sessions: Our People Promise drop-in sessions continue this week in Buxton, aimed at hearing what matters to you at work, and making the People Promise work for us in DCHS. You’ll also get the chance to complete your staff survey, get your flu jab, and even enter a raffle with prizes very kindly donated by Unison. Join us this Wednesday, 23 October at Buxton Methodist Church from 11am – 2.30pm.

NHS national conversation launch: You’ll probably have seen in the media today (Monday) about the launch of a nationwide public engagement drive as part of the Government’s approach to how it will address NHS reform. It has created this website: Change NHS where anyone can share their insights and ideas. Members of the public as well as NHS staff and experts will be invited to share their experiences, to help the Government to develop a proposed 10 year health plan. We’ll be talking more in the coming weeks about how at DCHS we can use our collective experience to help shape the planning; but for now we want to share the link and the announcement with you on the day it is made live.

Reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent staff: Neurodiversity refers to natural variation in brain function which causes individuals to interact and experience the world in different ways, and neurodivergent individuals bring a variety of skills and strengths to our teams at DCHS. If you'd like to find out more about the reasonable adjustments you can make to support your neurodivergent colleagues, take a look at this article.

Booking your Covid-19 vaccination: As healthcare workers, we are all eligible for this year’s Covid-19 vaccination. You can book your winter Covid-19 vaccination online, via the NHS app or at a Derbyshire Healthcare Covid-19 and flu clinic here.

New Datix incident training videos: Training on how to report an incident, which was previously delivered by MS Teams, has now been replaced with two new videos. Click the link here to view the videos for how to report a patient/client/customer incident and how to report a non-patient incident.

Join our upcoming Quality Conversations sessions! You’ll learn about these handy skills:

Practical techniques to enhance communication
Interactive discussions and real life scenarios
Strategies for handling tough conversations with confidence.

You can book your place on our website, or for more information please email dchst.qualityconversations@nhs.net.

Nursing and midwifery conference: Join us for a day of celebration of nursing and midwifery in Derby and Derbyshire. This year's conference takes place on Wednesday 6 November at the Post Mill Centre in South Normanton. Registration opens at 8.30am for a 9am start and the conference will finish at 4pm. Find out more and register here .

National education and training survey (NETS) open: The NETS is now open to all healthcare students, trainees and apprentices, including resident doctors and dentists in postgraduate training. NETS offers a platform to share your experiences and shape the future of healthcare education. Your feedback helps us make informed decisions to enhance learning environments, support retention and recruitment. You can find more information on the attached poster. Please take 10 minutes to share your experiences.

Verification of expected adult death training at Ashgate Hospice - Thursday 14 November from 9.30am - 4pm: This whole day training consists of a morning workshop containing theory and demonstration training followed by an individual 45-minute objective structured clinical examination assessment (OSCE) in the afternoon. This training is suitable for registered nurses who are expected to undertake this procedure as an integral part of end-of life care. Find full details on the attached poster and book your place here.

Sage and Thyme - foundation level workshop, Wednesday 20 November at Rowsley Village Hall: Do you know how to talk to someone who is worried or distressed? This workshop teaches:

A memorable structured approach for getting into and out of a conversation
How to empower patients/carers who are worried or distressed
Communication skills that are evidence based.

Find full details on the attached poster. Places are limited, book your place here.

This week’s leaders' and managers' update spotlights:

People Promise roadshows
Health and safety training
Upcoming in-house training
The King’s Fund
The latest monthly, wide-ranging look at leadership development offers.

Take a look at the latest update here. You can book via ESR self-service – search 'people management' to view all available sessions.

Update from your wellbeing team: Find out what's on offer from your wellbeing team in their October update here. If you would like to find out more about the diverse range of wellbeing support available, please visit the JUCD wellbeing website. If you need any further help with your wellbeing, you can contact our wellbeing team: dchst.yourwellbeingteam@nhs.net.

Congratulations to Leah Kettle, who works as a care coordinator in Derby City, who has recently been awarded her 20 years' long service award. Thank you for your long and loyal service, Leah!

Well done to the following teams on sustaining their Quality Always Gold achievement and DCHS Dignity 2 certification via the Earned Autonomy self-assessment process on Thursday 10 October:

Chesterfield and Dronfield Core Nursing/Therapy team
OPMH Day Services team.

Congratulations to you all!

Jobs at DCHS: Check out all the latest DCHS vacancies here.

This month’s IRIS award winner is our very own longest serving nurse and national (health service) treasure Barbara Craven. Barbara has worked in various roles across north Derbyshire since starting as a nurse cadet in 1967. She has been helping people ever since… for 57 years.

Barbara’s nomination included eight pages of citations from colleagues across the whole health and social care system - a testimony to just how many lives she has touched. You can read the full nomination here.

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