Welcome to our latest edition of My Download, your go-to round-up of all the latest news and updates. Got something to share with colleagues? As a reminder, the weekly deadline for contributions is now 5pm each Friday, as we start to issue the latest edition each Tuesday. We hope the revised schedule will make a more natural cut off point for submitting your news. To send us your news or for any queries please email: dchst.communications@nhs.net.

Still time to get your flu jab: There is still time to get your flu jab if you haven’t already. We are continuing to run our vaccination clinics into March so please do take the chance to get vaccinated and help protect yourself, the community and those who rely on our services. Find your closest vaccination clinic here.

Information Governance working from home survey: Please take a few minutes to complete this short, anonymous working from home staff survey to help us improve support for staff working from home. It has 14 questions and takes about three minutes. The results will be shared in upcoming communications. For questions or to request an information governance session contact dchst.info.gov@nhs.net.

Recruiting and selecting the Derbyshire Community way! This training will equip participants with the knowledge and practical tools to embed fair and inclusive principles throughout the recruitment process - across systems, behaviours and communication - fostering a recruitment environment where all candidates feel safe, valued and respected. Whether you're new to recruiting or an experienced manager, we encourage you to book one of our training sessions to ensure you stay up to date with the latest recruitment processes, policies and best practices. Please book via the ESR portal here.

Planned downtime for the Derbyshire Shared Care Record Please be aware that the Derbyshire Shared Care Record (DSCR) will be unavailable from 6pm on Tuesday 17th March for essential system upgrades. The downtime is estimated to last for up to eight hours with full availability restored by 8am on Wednesday 18th March. During this time, all records and ReSPECT plans will be inaccessible and the portal will display an 'unavailable' message. This affects all DSCR users, so please share with colleagues as appropriate. If you experience any issues outside of these times or require support, please call 01246 512646 or email CRHFT.DSCRServiceDesk@nhs.net.

Nutrition and Hydration Week 2026 is coming (16-22 March): The focus of this year’s Nutrition and Hydration Week is Reinforce, Focus and Energise with a shared objective to highlight, promote and celebrate improvements in the provision of nutrition and hydration. Take a look at the Nutrition and Hydration Week website for more information, ideas and resources for the week.

Eating, drinking and swallowing matters: Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) can affect people of any age and may impact safety, health and quality of life. Signs include coughing or choking when eating or drinking, a wet voice after swallowing, long mealtimes, recurrent chest infections or unexplained weight loss. Speech and language therapists (SLTs) assess swallowing safety and provide advice on textures, positioning and strategies to support safer, more enjoyable eating and drinking. If you have concerns about someone’s eating, drinking or swallowing, please refer to Adult SLT via the website for guidance and referral forms.

Admin forum: For those admin colleagues who couldn’t attend the last admin forum on 12 February or were in attendance but want to see a recap of the main themes and links, please click on the summary document here. Our deputy director of People Services, Helen Cooper, would like to welcome admin colleagues to an MS Teams meeting for her to update you on the administrative skills and functions development programme at 10am tomorrow (Wednesday 11 March). This has been sent to members of our Admin Forum group, but please feel free to forward to other admin colleagues.

New episode of the Conversations in Frailty podcast out now! An educational podcast designed for any clinicians working with patients with frailty across the county. In this episode, which is centred on osteoporosis, Dr Sarah Morris (DCHS GP) is in conversation with bone health specialist nurses Caroline Rowe and Claire Rayson. Given the frequency of fragility fractures this is a condition all clinicians working with frail patients need to act on – there is huge potential for benefit. Listen in to hear tips on how to improve your practice! Great to reflect on for CPD and portfolios. Available on demand on Spotify or YouTube so you can fit your learning around your busy life!

Creswell’s new health centre go-ahead: A huge well done and thank you to our DCHS Capital and Estates team for their vital role in ensuring Creswell residents are all set to get a new health centre. It’s taken a tremendous amount of painstaking contractual work to get to the point of signing contracts in the past few days. You can read what’s planned here.

Pension courses available from Affinity Connect: Various courses are available to colleagues free of charge from Affinity Connect, including a new partial retirement (draw down) course:

Pensions - Thursday 19 March, 1pm - 2.30pm
Retirement - Wednesday 8 April, 9.30am - 12pm.

If you would like to book onto these sessions or have any questions, please contact Affinity Connect.

Register for the Derbyshire NHS library and knowledge service: Joining the service is the best way to access evidence-based practice and support for your professional development. Registration is quick and easy - simply complete this online registration form.

Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training (Learning Disability and Autism): From 1 April 2026, Oliver McGowan Mandatory training can be booked via ESR or the NCORE website. All staff must complete the Tier 1 e‑learning (Part 1). Non‑patient facing staff must also attend a one‑hour interactive online webinar (Tier 1, Part 2). Patient‑facing staff and managers are required to complete a full‑day, face‑to‑face Tier 2 session.

Your ESR record should already be tagged with the training you need to attend. For queries, contact Gemma Nash (lead trainer) at gemma.nash6@nhs.net.

There are still some places left on for free research training – register now: Registration is open for the Foundation Research training programme 2026. This free programme is open to all NHS, local authority and VCSE staff across the East Midlands, with no prior research experience required. The programme includes eight online workshops running from March – July, with recordings available. Colleagues are asked to attend the introductory session and at least two further workshops. DCHS staff should select 'Derby and Derbyshire' when registering here.

Quality Improvement funding available: The RCN Foundation Quality Improvement Project supports nursing and midwifery-led projects that aim to improve patient care and safety and help in addressing health inequalities. You do not need to be an RCN member to apply, with grants of up to £2,500 available. Applications close on Monday 6 April at 5pm. For more information and how to apply, please see the RCN Foundation website here.

Research participation opportunity for staff: The Long Lies Research Study is inviting staff working in frailty or falls services, urgent community response (UCR) teams, and community or acute settings to share their experiences of supporting patients following a long lie. Participation involves a one‑off 30 – 40 minute interview, held by phone or online at a time convenient to you. Find out more and how to take part here. For queries, contact the DCHS research and innovation team at research.enquiries@nhs.net.

Student nursing awards: Click here for more information on how to enter and vote.

A reminder that the Chief nursing officer and chief midwifery officer awards are still open and close on Friday 20 March. Submissions can be done through here.

Quality Improvement funding available: The RCN Foundation Quality Improvement Project supports nursing and midwifery-led projects that aim to improve patient care and safety and help in addressing health inequalities. You do not need to be an RCN member to apply, with grants of up to £2.500 available. Applications close on Monday 6 April at 5pm. For more information and how to apply, please see the RCN Foundation website here.

Click here to see this week’s leaders' and managers' update. Contact the leadership development team with any queries.

Click here for the latest wellbeing timetable, running up to 31 March. The password is 'frost'.

March is a great time to reset, refocus and take positive steps towards healthier habits. As the days grow longer, it’s the perfect opportunity to prioritise your wellbeing and build routines that support your body and mind.

Our Wellbeing Timetable brings together a variety of virtual and in-person sessions designed to help you feel informed, energised and supported in your everyday life.

This month, we’re shining a spotlight on key national awareness moments. Follow the links to explore our related sessions and resources:

National No Smoking Day (11 March) – supporting healthier choices and positive lifestyle changes
World Sleep Day (13 March) – highlighting the importance of quality rest for overall wellbeing
Nutrition and Hydration Week (starting 16 March) – promoting balanced nutrition and the benefits of staying hydrated.

Click here to see the latest wellbeing updates.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week (16 - 20 March): In line with Neurodiversity Celebration Week, please click here to see the new neurodiversity toolkit.

Hybrid EDI event: The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team will be hosting an event later in the year which aims to inspire collective and personal action by helping staff live DCHS values, listen to lived experience, challenge inequality and take practical steps to create safer, more respectful and inclusive workplaces. To maximise attendance, the event will be hybrid. In‑person places are limited to 50, so colleagues are encouraged to join online where possible. You can book your place here. A joining link will be sent ahead of the day. If you’re unable to join virtually, please contact the EDI team at dchst.equality@nhs.net for support

Internal vacancies: Each week the latest vacancies will be advertised here within the new internal vacancies bulletin. Click here to see the full list of latest vacancies.

Well done to Tommy Chan, who works in our podiatric surgery team and was a recent runner up in our ROSE awards!

The patient who nominated him said:

"Mr Chan took the time to explain everything, ask me if I had any questions, he was so very caring and he made sure I understood everything. This young man was amazing and I can’t thank him enough, I have been telling doctors for years about the pain in both my feet, he listened and sorted out my problems. Massive thanks Mr Chan." Well done Tommy.

#TeamDCHS

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