Annual Report 2007-2008
Our Staff
The Trust's staff are its most precious resource. They work tirelessly, often above and beyond the call of duty, to provide high quality patient care. The annual staff conference and award ceremony proved a great success, with awards being presented to the employee and team of the year, as well as a particular award to long-standing volunteers who support the work of staff across the Trust.
Staff at all levels are consulted on and actively contribute to change. There are user groups
to help shape the changes associated with the Delivering a Healthy Future Project and
Staff Side are also consulted about proposed changes at regular Joint Consultative
Committee meetings. In addition, Directors attend individual divisional meetings on
specific topics, such as the Foundation Trust application or the Healthcare Commission
reports. The results from this year’s staff survey showed an improvement in the overall
perceptions of staff but there is more to be done to ensure all staff have appraisals and
an appropriate personal development plan.
The main themes emerging from the annual staff conference held in November were a reflection on the year to date and the achievements both in terms of financial improvements but also in recognition of the excellent work undertaken across the Trust. The 'top 5' most important issues for staff were also announced at the conference and these were:
- having sufficient staff to manage the workload in my department or team
- that the hospital environment is clean and well maintained
- staff get support from their manager
- staff get good training/career development
- staff facilities/equipment are fit for purpose
All of these issues are now being used as criteria to help shape investment decisions in the Trust.
Equal Opportunities
At West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust we are committed to delivering equality of opportunity for all staff, patients and other service users. Our Equalities Framework, including the Race Equality Scheme (RES) and the Disability Equality Scheme (DES) and the Gender Equality Scheme (GES) is at the heart of the drive to achieve this and already a great deal has been achieved.
In addition, the Staff Opinion Survey identified that some 70% of staff believe that the Trust is committed to equal opportunities for all staff.
Taking account of disabled people
The Trust seeks to ensure that all our services (including employment) takes account of the needs of disabled persons. As services are reviewed and developed they will be impact assessed to see if they are likely to have any adverse impact on any specific group of people including disabled staff and where any adverse impact is identified an action plan will be put in place to remedy the situation. Action plans in respect of this will be monitored and managed by the Equality and Diversity Steering group.
All feedback received from disabled people in respect of the activities defined in our Disability Equality Scheme will be reviewed by the Equality and Diversity Steering Group and appropriate action plans will be put into place.
Staff
There have already been some significant achievements made by the Trust in relation to taking account of disability. Listed below are some recent key achievements:
The Trust has been awarded two ticks status by Job Centre Plus. Employers who use the two ticks symbol have agreed with Jobcentre Plus that they will take action on these five commitments:
- to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities
- to ensure there is a mechanism in place to discuss, at any time, but at least once a year, with disabled employees what can be done to make sure they can develop and use their abilities
- to make every effort when employees become disabled to make sure they stay in employment
- to take action to ensure that all employees develop the appropriate level of disability awareness needed to make these commitments work
- each year to review the five commitments and what has been achieved, plan ways to improve on them and let employees and Jobcentre Plus know about progress and future plans.
The Trust works in partnership with Remploy and Access to Work to support disabled staff to be recruited and to remain in employment with the Trust.
Staff Awards for Excellence
Over 100 staff and invited guests attended West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust's fifth Annual Staff Awards for Excellence ceremony held at Watford Football Club in November 2007.
Hundreds of nominations were received for the awards, designed to celebrate the hard work and dedication of staff who work tirelessly to provide the best possible patient care.
Jan Filochowski, Chief Executive said, "Staff and volunteers are the heartbeat of the organisation and it's important that we recognise and celebrate their achievements. We have heard today a number of tremendous examples of just how dedicated and professional our staff and volunteers are. It was an honour for me to share in their success today"
The Trust's Annual Staff Awards for Excellence Scheme is designed to reflect the calibre of the teams and individuals who work tirelessly to provide the best possible patient care. The award categories were:
- Employee of the Year – a member of staff who is felt to have worked above and beyond the call of duty to deliver patient care.
- Team of the Month – a team who have worked together to improve the experience of service users and colleagues.
- Patient Involvement – the team or individual who has worked to integrate patient involvement.
- Improving Patient Care – a member of staff or team who have inspired or original thinking has led to improvements to patients.
- Unsung Hero – somebody who deserves an award for just being them! An individual who has shown consistent reliability and adaptability and deserves recognition.
- Volunteer of the Year – a volunteer who has made an exceptional contribution or shown dedicated commitment to the Trust.
Each individual or team winners received £200 and all nominees received certificates of commendation.
Hospital Doctor Awards
The continence team made it to the final of the esteemed Hospital Doctor Awards 2007. The awards are open to any NHS Consultant led team and attracted over 200 entries this year. They are a celebration of clinical excellence and innovation and an opportunity to share best practice.
The award ceremony took place in London in November 2007. The Trust team were awarded second place. Since then Anne Carroll, the Continence Clinical Nurse Specialist, has been shortlisted in the continence care category of the Nursing Standard Awards. This prestigious annual event, which recognises and rewards outstanding nursing practice, attracted over 200 entrants and Anne was one of two final nominees for her category.
Consultant awarded top accolade
Dr Ian Barrison has been awarded the President's Medal of the British Society of Gastroenterology for 2008. This award is in recognition of his work in the development and implementation of National policies for the organisation and delivery of services to patients with gastrointestinal disease. He has served on committees of the society for 10 years and is currently Chair of the Clinical Services and Standards Committee. In recent years, Dr Barrison has played a leading role in the strategic refocusing of the British Society of Gastroenterology.
Pre-operative assessment
Jane Jackson, Trust Consultant Nurse and Chair of the Pre-assessment Association, was invited by the Society for Perioperative Medicine and Quality Improvement to be a guest speaker at the Perioperative Medicine Summit held at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, U.S.A. The conference was attended by 400 members from a number of countries from around the world and was designed to discuss pre-peri and post-operative care. Jane Jackson said, "As chair of the Preoperative Association UK, it was an honour to be invited to speak at the USA Society for Perioperative Medicine and Quality Improvement". Jane explained the benefits of pre-assessment within the Trust, which was well received by the audience.
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