First News 7 January 2021 - A message from Sarah Billiald, Chief Executive Officer - First Community Health and Care
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First News 7 January 2021
A message from Sarah Billiald, Chief Executive Officer
I want to begin by wishing you all a happy new year. I know it is
not the start we had hoped for, but I do believe that by continuing
to work together, following the guidelines and looking after our
own wellbeing and that of our teams we can successfully
navigate our way through this lockdown. Please do speak to your
line manager if you have any concerns or ideas on how we can
better manage the challenges of the coming weeks. We have a range of wellbeing
services on offer, many of which are confidential and also available to your family. I
encourage you to revisit the wellbeing section on the Intranet and have a look. A new
online hub for
health and care workers across Surrey has just been launched offering emotional
wellbeing information and support during this pandemic. Please see full article below.
We have also resumed our command and control daily meetings as we are now in
incident management mode and will continue to send updates by email as necessary.
Thank you for your on-going hard work and commitment.
National lockdown implemented in England
Prime minster Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown on Monday evening, due to
Coronavirus cases rising rapidly across the country. A summary of what the national
lockdown means can be found here.
First Community has now resumed a state of command control and will operate in incident
management mode. Members of the executive and senior management team will meet
daily to review the Government guidelines, local outbreak information and what it means
for our patients, staff and services. Communications will be issued as necessary, via our
Covid-19 communications updates.
Useful links:
If you need a letter to confirm your key worker (critical worker) status please email HR at
fchc.hradmin@nhs.net
A guide (created on 5 January 2021) to help you and your line manager discuss and
agree possible leave scenarios and recommendations is available on the Intranet
First Community home working guidelines
Home working self-assessment checklist (word version)
A useful poster to explain the new lockdown in England is available on the Intranet
First Community turns 10!
2021 marks the 10 year anniversary of First Community. The organisation
was created in 2011 under the Right to Request, which gave NHS staff
the chance to establish social enterprises.
Discussions are currently under way as to how best to mark this fantastic milestone and
suggestions put forward to so far, include creating special email signatures for all staff
celebrating founding members and pride at our 10 year history and monthly activities for
the duration of the year.
We are keen to hear your thought and ideas so please share them with us by emailing
fchc.comms@nhs.net
Social media reminder
All staff are asked to please read again our social media policy available here
(Appendix 1)
WhatsApp for Work
WhatsApp is a useful tool for keeping in contact within teams and is supported by First
Community. Whilst secure to the members of the WhatsApp group, it is still a social media
platform and as with all forms of communication we need to take care to make sure:
• the messages only go to colleagues who need to be included
• membership of WhatsApp groups are kept up to date with leavers removed
• the content is professional (similar to a work email) and follows our social media
guidelines/policy (above).
IT/Estates issues
Reminder : All staff are reminded to report all IT or Estates issues via Krome in the usual
way.
With the move into lockdown and the focus on the 3rd wave of coronavirus, we and our
partners/landlords will be prioritising work which means there may be delays in getting
non-COVID jobs resolved. Please bear with us. By logging issues with KROME this will
ensure all jobs are recorded and prioritised so they are not missed or lost.
Brexit update
On 1 January 2021, free movement ended and as part of Brexit a new points-based
immigration system has been introduced to manage inward migration. This applies to
everyone from outside of the UK (excluding the Republic of Ireland) wishing to live and
work here.
For individuals already in the UK by 31 December 2020, the new system will not yet
apply. EU nationals will still be able to apply to the EU settlement scheme and have until
30 June 2021 to do so. More information on the settlement scheme can be found at Apply
to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The new immigration system is aimed at attracting and prioritising highly skilled migration
and improving the experience for applicants and employers. It provides routes for skilled
workers, students, global leaders, and innovators. It does not however provide a mechanism to recruit other key workers into health and care, for example healthcare support workers or care workers in social care. If you are looking to recruit someone outside of the UK please speak to the recruitment team who can provide advice and guidance on the process which will need to be followed. If you are an EU national and have not already applied for settled status you will need to refer to and follow the guidance above in relation to applying to the EU settlement scheme. If you have any questions please direct these to fchc.hradmin@nhs.net Display Screen Equipment (DSE) self-assessment and training With so many changes over the last year which have seen us all working in new ways - including from home, or not from our usual desks due to COVID measures - it is more important than ever to ensure that wherever you are working from, your set-up is correct. To support you we have developed a new DSE training presentation. Please can you work through the presentations and once finished, complete the DSE self-assessment. This should then be sent to your line manager for joint discussion so any reasonable adjustments necessary can be agreed. If you are regularly working from more than one workstation you will need to do a DSE self-assessment for each workspace. DSE training and a DSE self-assessment (s) are an annual requirement and all staff should complete the training and assessment by the end of March 2021. We are looking to invest in a DSE e-learning module and e-DSE self-assessment system for 2021/22 which will link to our new LMS. Click here to access the DSE Training module and click here to access the DSE self- assessment form.
Licence needed to enjoy the sound of music
Did you know to play music in public areas including offices and receptions, whether
through radio, TV or other digital devices, you need to have a public performance licence
(similar to TV licence) for each area?
These licences support the performers to ensure they are paid for their music. We support
having music in our public areas and having reviewed our sites, we have purchased
licences for areas we know the radio or music is currently being played.
These are:
• Caterham Dene – The Ward & MIU Reception
• Caterham Dene – Physio outpatients – Reception
• Oxted Therapies – Reception
• East Surrey Hospital Reception
If we’ve missed any public areas where we play the radio or music, please let estates
know via KROME.
Please do not play the radio or music in our offices as we will not be buying public
performance licences for these areas. The licence music certificate for the areas identified
above can be viewed here.
No smoking reminder
Please remember it is against the law to smoke in any enclosed workplace or public
building in the UK and that this includes in a building’s toilets.
NHS pensions review
As part of our ongoing review and assurance processes we are working with Equiniti (our
payroll provider) and NHS Business Services Agency (who administer the NHS Pension
Scheme) to ensure the records they hold are up-to-date and accurately reflect our
individual and corporate pension contributions.
Over the past year, we have been prioritising colleagues who have either retired or are
coming up to retirement to ensure their NHS pensions’ records are correct so they can
enjoy their retirement.
We are now widening this review to check everyone’s records so that, for your time with
First Community, you can have confidence your contributions and NHS pensions are
correct. This project will happen in the background and if we need to speak to individuals
we will contact colleagues directly. If you have any queries on your payslips or deductions
please continue to liaise with HR as usual.
Contributing to a Section 42 enquiry training
Surrey Safeguarding Adults’ Board is hosting a one day virtual course open to anyone
who would be asked to contribute to a section 42 enquiry.
This multi-agency course will consist of a full day’s training, split over two half day
sessions which will take place between 09.30 and 12.30 each day. More information on
the course can be found here.
All attendees must have attended the pre-requisite Adult Safeguarding Essential course,
which is the equivalent to First Community Level 2 or 3 Adult Safeguarding courses.
To request a place, please email the SSAB at
surreysafeguarding.adultsboard@sureycc.gov.uk and booking details will be sent to you.
Test your knowledge in Covid-19 myth busting
game
An award-winning game created by a nurse to encourage NHS staff to
have their flu vaccine, has been revamped to encourage take up of the
Covid-19 vaccine. Players can test their knowledge and learn more about the virus and
the Pfizer vaccine in an interactive quiz, whilst aiming to overcome vaccine hesitancy. You
can give the game a go by clicking here.
New online support hub for Surrey health and care
workers
Health and care workers across Surrey can now access an online hub for emotional wellbeing information and support during the pandemic. The Staff Resilience Hub connects staff and volunteers with self-care information and key services as well as offering free, confidential and anonymous wellbeing support. Whether you’re feeling low, overwhelmed or need support for a specific issue, you’ll find a range of resources and services you can access quickly and easily without having to see your GP first. You can also pre-register for a programme of online wellbeing workshops, which will be led by NHS mental health services. A small number of 1:1 support sessions directly with the Hub team are also available. This virtual resource is for all staff and volunteers working in Surrey health and social care, including third sector and voluntary partners and can be accessed by visiting www.sabp.nhs.uk/resilience. Virtual Postnatal Peer Support Groups for Surrey Do you know new parents who may benefit from joining a virtual postnatal peer support group? Virtual groups are still available for parents in Surrey with a new born baby to help them
get to know parents in their local area. Led by a trained counsellor and child-care
professional, the groups are informal and discuss a wide range of topics including infant
feeding, sleeping patterns, first aid and attachment.
There are five weekly sessions for families run by Home-Start Surrey, and Surrey
Heartlands is currently funding places until March 2021 during this extended COVID-19
period.
Referrals can be made directly or via health and care professionals by completing the
referral form or emailing Elmbridge Home-Start at enquiries@home-start-elmbridge.org.uk.
For more information visit https://homestartelmbridge.org.uk/get-support/#support_how
Consultant psychiatrist support and advice on Delirium
Did you know that all Primary Care Network (PCN), GP and clinical community staff from
Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Integrated Care
Partnerships (ICPs) have access to a Surrey and Borders Partnership (SABP) consultant
psychiatrist for advice and support on managing behaviour that challenges in Delirium?
• Primary care urgent response teams can access support for people who are either
in their own homes or in a care home, and who have mental health related
problems directly or indirectly to their physical health problems.
• The support will be provided through consultation of a consultant psychiatrist in
management/diagnosis of mental health of Delirium.
• Each day Monday to Friday a consultant practitioner at SABP will be available for
60 mins at a set time, to give advice and support around mental health to the
urgent response practitioners/Community Matrons/GP’s.
• As the urgent response teams' work patterns tends to be 7 days a week and the
mental health team work Monday to Friday, weekend support would need to wait
until the next working day or, if deemed urgent from a mental health perspective,
go through the normal urgent duty system for mental health support.
• The advice and support will be provided either by telephone or a multi-disciplinary
team Microsoft Teams call.
• This is a consultation service only and if a face-to-face visit is required, we will
refer to the Single Point of Access (SPA) team to allocate to the Community
Mental Health Teams (CMHT).
• If it is deemed that the person requires a mental health act assessment then this
should be though the existing mental health pathway.
You can access the consultant psychiatrist for support and advice on managing behaviour
that challenges in Delirium by clicking the following link between 12.15 and 13.00 eachday. Click here to join the meeting
News from our partners
Surrey partners working together to deal with dramatic rise in Covid-19 – Surrey’s Local
Resilience Forum
Surrey Wide CCG Safeguarding newsletter - January 2021*
*Please contact the communications team to be sent the original file for access to the pdfs
in this document.
Health assured employee assistance programme - January newsletter
Surrey Heartlands newsletter - December 2020
Staff shout outs
From Florina Robinson, Deputy Director of Finance:
“I’d like to do a shout out to all who have made it possible for us to
implement 90% of our agency workers expenditure audit
recommendations.
To make sure we meet our counter fraud and audit requirements we have been reviewing
our financial controls for processing Agency Workers’ expenditure. Across the
organisation we have been checking timesheets and mileage claim forms to ensure they
have the correct information to support the payment of agency expenditure invoices.
Guidelines have been put in place to support this process and our operational colleagues
have been busy supporting us with embedding this within their services. This has
significantly increased our assurance that payment of agency expenditure is in line with
our financial controls, thereby minimising the risk of fraud. Thank you all for making this a
success.”
From a parent to Megan Reid, 0-19 Team:
“I wanted to just say thank you for everything you did for us this year, your support,advice, guidance and referrals helped beyond measure. I feel very lucky to have you as our health visitor. We barely saw anyone face to face which made being a first time mum in a pandemic very difficult, so the fact you were able and willing to come to see us so many times made the world of difference to how we got through those early weeks.” Thought for the week unsubscribe | update subscription preferences | view email in browser First Community Health and Care, 2nd Floor, Forum House, 41 - 51 Brighton Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 6YS Copyright © First Community Health and Care, All rights reserved.
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