Trust Matters April 2025 edition

Contents

Welcome from our Chair Kathryn Lavery

A big thank you to everyone who completed their staff survey letting us know about their experiences of working here. We scored higher than other similar trusts for staff morale, being compassionate and inclusive, safe and healthy, and for working flexibly. In the coming months we will focus our attention on those areas where we can do even better.

This month we announced the successful bids for our investment fund. The judging panel certainly had a tough time deciding the final bids and you can find out which ones were chosen inside this edition.

I am pleased that we have been reaccredited as a Veteran Aware trust which helps us to deliver on our promise 11. This is a great achievement for us, and I want to thank everyone involved in making this happen.

When new people start in our organisation, we know it is important to make them feel welcome and help them to settle into their new workplace. Our revamped induction which has been in place for 6 months gives new starters a great opportunity to learn about our trust, our strategy, promises and our communities. The feedback from some of those who have been through this induction has been very positive.

Many of you will know that one of our strategic promises is about exceeding our apprenticeship levy by providing opportunities to both colleagues and local people to do an apprenticeship with us. Indeed, we now offer all our band 2 and band 3 posts as apprenticeships giving people a way to gain valuable skills and knowledge.

Feedback is an absolute vital part of how we deliver great care to our patients. Care Opinion is a great way for our patients and carers to share their experiences and I would encourage you to read some of the fantastic comments we are receiving.

We have included some of these comments in this month’s edition.

Local voluntary sector and charity organisations have received a massive boost thanks to the trust’s charity, Your Hearts and Minds. We had an overwhelming response with 67 organisations putting in bids for the community grants with 30 being chosen. Find out who they are in the Your Hearts and Minds news in this edition.

Finally, we have set the date for this year’s annual members’ meeting and fun day. So, hold Saturday 19 July at Brumby Hall, Scunthorpe in your diaries.

Once again thank you for everything you do.

Kind regards,

Kathryn.

We are on Bluesky and Threads… we’ve joined two new social media platforms.

You can follow us on:

• Bluesky
• Threads

In addition to our existing social media channels:

• X
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

Community fun day

This year’s Annual Members Meeting (AMM) and community fun day will be held in Scunthorpe on Saturday 19 July, 10am to 4pm. At Brumby Hall Sports and Social Club DN16 1AA.

Everyone welcome, free entry and free ice cream, pop corn and candy floss.

Lots of free entertainment for all ages with retro arcade games, face painting, giant Lego, giant walk about dinosaurs, soft play area and much more.

Also on site we have various street food vendors including pizzas and coffee.

Come and watch community teams and staff taking part in an “It’s a Knockout style” competition and cricket.

If you have a team and want to take part please contact the trust Communications team by emailing:

• Email: rdash@rdashcommunications.nhs.net

Valuable feedback from the national staff survey

We have many ways of getting feedback from people who work in our organisation.

The national staff survey is one such approach and over 2200 colleagues completed this for 2024, an increase on the previous year. This is great because your voices are important.

Our board in May 2025 will consider what our medium-term ambitions are for each of the 9 staff survey measures. These 9 areas are the 7 people promises plus engagement and morale.

The information in the staff survey is broken down across the 23 directorates by which we run RDaSH for the first time, and there are significant differences between different parts of all of our 6 groups.

The focus of work over the next 6 months will be working with colleagues across the trust to think through what good practice we need to make trust wide. Our new Trust People Council, which includes our staff governors, will play a key role in that work.

We have valuable anonymised comments from around 15% of those who responded. And we will look to use regular Pulse surveys in the year ahead to build on that work.

The initial review of our data shows that:

We scored higher than our peer group average in the following categories:

• staff morale
• we are compassionate and inclusive
• we are safe and healthy
• we work flexibly

But at or slightly lower than our peer group average in others:

• staff engagement
• recognised and rewarded
• always learning
• voice that counts
• we are a team

Carlene Holden, Director of People and Organisational Development, said: “Thank you to our colleagues for completing this survey and letting us know about their experiences of working here. We had identified most of the areas of focus which colleagues highlighted through the survey and work has started in these areas. It’s pleasing that our morale score is higher than our peer group and our staff engagement score remains categorised as good. Both of these areas act as a solid foundation for us to further enhance working experiences in the trust.”

Toby Lewis, Trust Chief Executive, commented: “I am pleased that the hard work of many line managers and our Race Equality and Cultural Heritage network, sees this year’s survey show improvements in measures of racism and discrimination. We have a long way still to go to meet our promise 26 commitment. The launch of our Carers’ Network last month may help us to better support colleagues across the trust to adapt their work to the rest of their lives and commitments. We want to improve engagement further, without losing the ability to work at pace and introduce the innovation our patients deserve.”

Look out for opportunities to review the results for your directorate and develop plans for improvement over the coming months

Investment fund bid successes

Following the success of last year’s investment fund, the 2025 to 2026 process has seen 71 bids submitted totalling £10.5 million.

After a tough judging round, the clinical leadership executive and board of directors have chosen 25 bids, which have been successful in securing a share of this year’s £3 million investment fund, with our promises at the heart of the decisions.

Paying the real living wage takes the biggest chunk of the funding, with costs for this coming in at £1 million.

The remaining funds focused on three main areas. These are:

Details of the successful bids are as follows:

Promise 1

Children’s physical health

• Peer support workers £95,000
• Zone 5 to 19 peer support £32,000

Doncaster, Rotherham and North Lincolnshire mental health:

• Early intervention in psychosis (EIP) peer support £95,000

Doncaster mental health and learning disabilities

• Acute mental health crisis and home treatment peer support 2 bids of £63,000
• Perinatal mental health 1 band 4 job £36,000

Doncaster physical health, community and long term conditions

• Cardiac rehabilitation peer support £25,000
• Macmillan peer support £64,000

North Lincolnshire Mental Health and Talking Therapies

• Acute mental health peer support £38,000
• Talking Therapies peer support £57,000

Promise 14

North Lincolnshire

• Memory service £260,000
• Systemic family therapy £84,000

Corporate

• Informatics, patient portal £55,000
• Data warehouse and power BI £180,000

Physical health

• Enhanced Care Home team £97,500
• Community physiotherapy £52,000
• Neuro rehabilitation physiotherapy and occupational therapy £123,500

Strategic objective 2

Promise 6

Poverty proofing and mitigating “did not attends” due to transport affordability £35,000.

Promise 8

Dementia care for people from minority communities – community link and engagement workers based in the respective care group memory service £145,000

Three other bids were approved. These were:

Backbone services

• Half day learning co-ordinator £36,000

North Lincolnshire mental health and talking therapies

• Community clozapine initiation £97,000

Doncaster mental health and learning disabilities

• Health checks for young people transitioning to adulthood £108,000

Chief Executive Toby Lewis said: “Decisions about which bids to choose are made through the clinical leadership executive and then tested with the board. They were agreed in late March and colleagues are recruiting now. In the main the successful bids are about delivering our promises. For example, expanding peer support work further or meeting four weeks wait commitment in 2026. I know how much time people put into bidding and thank you to everyone who has. Bids, and overlooked bids, were cross-referenced to the risk register prior to decisions being made, so there is confidence that we are continuing to put safety first.”

We’re veteran aware

We’ve been reaccredited as a veteran aware trust.

We initially received the accreditation in 2021 and since then we’ve worked so hard to involve armed forced veterans in our trust. It also helps us to deliver promise 11 which is to deliver in full the NHS commitment to veterans and those within our service communities, recognising the specific needs many have, especially for access to suitable mental health and trauma response services.

In a joint letter from General Lord Richard Dannett, Patron of the Veterans’ Covenant Healthcare Alliance, and Prof Tim Briggs CBE, Chairman of the Veteran’s Covenant Healthcare Alliance it says:

• “We thank you for your hard work demonstrating the NHS’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. This reaccreditation will assist further development of best practice, driving improvements across the NHS and standard of care for the Armed Forces community.”
• “Thank you for your hard work in demonstrating the NHS’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant and being an exemplar of the best standards of care for the Armed Forces community. Huge congratulations on your work to date, and for your continuing support to drive these improvements across the NHS.”

This is a great achievement for our trust. There is still more for us to do. If you’re working in services and want to know more about being veteran aware contact Steph Pinnell in the Strategy team by emailing steph.pinnell@nhs.net.

Keeping it on the Radar

We’ve been working with Radar Healthcare on a new integrated risk, audit and quality assurance system.

The system went live on 1 May. The system replaces Ulysses and Tendable and will be used to report incidents, record mortality and learning from patient safety events, Good Care Events and record audits.

Colleagues need to complete training based on their role within the trust, have you done yours already? If not, please complete this quickly and record that you’ve completed it on the staff portal.

A summary of the training requirements and training material can be accessed via Radar training on the intranet (staff access only).

If you would like any further information, please contact either:

• Email: jane.hillier@nhs.net
• Email: david.smith64@nhs.net

Going down a storm

We reintroduced face to face induction for our new colleagues six months ago and they’re going down a storm.

Our induction used to be face-to-face before the COVID-19 pandemic and then, for obvious reasons, went online. However, we listened to feedback from colleagues and knew we needed to return them to being face to face. Our corporate induction takes place over 5 days and demonstrates the trust’s commitment and investment in our new colleagues.

Our induction is held in community venues across the areas we serve, moving to a different location each time. Interactive question and answer sessions, presentations, group activities and personal reflection, led by experts in our services and communities, take place to enable our new colleagues learn about our trust, our strategy, our promises and our communities. This helps them to embrace what we do and why we do it and how each and every role within the organisation is pivotal to achieving our trust promises and nurturing the power of our communities.

Jacqui Hallam, Head of Learning and Development, said: “Our induction is innovative, we want to invest in our new colleagues in a way that allows them the space to find out about the organisation and the communities we serve, learn what we do and why and how they can help us achieve our promises.”

Here is just some of the feedback:

• “Thank you to RDaSH for investing the time to ensure I feel confident and fully prepared to commence in my role.”
• “Enjoyed hearing the chief executive officer’s philosophy, particularly how the service has been developed in relation to the needs of the community.”
• “Thank you for all your efforts this week. It is without a doubt the most informative and best induction I’ve been on.”
• “I have come away feeling positive about joining a progressive and forward-thinking organisation. A very different organisation to the one that I left five years ago.”
• “I enjoyed the self-reflection task and meeting others who are new to the trust. Also, the level of passion in the people who were presenting.”

So, if you’ve recently appointed colleagues please make sure they attend the induction. Need more information? Contact Jacqui or her colleague Nikki Wilkinson by:

• Email: jacqueline.hallam@nhs.net
• Email: nicola.wilkinson17@nhs.net

Benefits for all with apprenticeships

We are committed to providing opportunities to colleagues and local people to complete apprenticeships with us, for both newly recruited staff and existing ones with all band 2 and band 3 posts now offered as apprenticeships.

And our staff are already reaping the benefits of studying under an apprenticeship, which is part of promise 9 to consistently exceed our apprentice levy requirements from 2025 and implement from 2024 specific tailored programmes of employment access focused on refugees, citizens with learning disabilities, care leavers and those from other excluded communities.

Here we speak to Michelle Heaversedge about hers

Michelle (39) who currently works as the clinical lead for children’s mental health services, decided she wanted to study to support her in her current role and to further her career.

And as soon as she completed the qualification, she gained a new job in the NHS.

Michelle, who currently works at Kimberworth Place, in Kimberworth, Rotherham, successfully passed the Coaching Professional apprenticeship at level five. She was able to work alongside her studies, which under the apprenticeship were free. She also studied online, making it easier to fit into her busy schedule.

“I liked the qualification as it fitted into my current role as a leader” explained Michelle. “The qualification equipped me with skills for coaching individuals and teams, helping them to work towards their goals. Coaching is a fantastic skill set and way of thinking that really helps me to empower others to find their own solutions and perform at their best in work and life.”

“I’ve really enjoyed studying and I have received so much support from RDaSH’s apprenticeship team, and the Business Professional People (BPP) University who deliver the qualification.”

Michelle is now looking forward to moving into her new role in our Trauma and Resilience service, where she will be using her coaching skills even more. Michelle has also joined our RDaSH coaching network, supporting teams and individuals across the trust with challenges and problems and using her qualification to enable them to move forward.

And her advice for anyone thinking about applying for an apprenticeship is “go for it!”.

Watch Michelle’s story on YouTube.

Jade Pullen, our Apprenticeship Lead, said

“An apprenticeship is a real job with training. Apprentices earn while they learn, gaining valuable skills and knowledge of a specific job role while achieving the required components of their apprenticeship.”

“It is a fantastic way to develop skills, knowledge, and expertise for current and future roles,” added Jade. “Anyone over 16 can start an apprenticeship, from entry level 2 to degree and even master’s level 7. There is a wide range of existing staff and new starter apprenticeships available.”

Here in our trust apprentices gain

• An apprenticeship-standard qualification (and other relevant qualifications depending on the standard).
• One-year to five-year duration, depending on the level of study.
• Existing staff are fully funded and stay at their current pay band.
• New recruits will benefit from a job with the option to learn through an apprenticeship.

“So, what is there to lose? If you’re interested in finding out more about our apprenticeships, just get in touch,” added Jade.

To find out more please contact our dedicated email address for queries on apprenticeships, email rdash.apprenticeships@nhs.net.

Anyone looking for a job with us should visit Work with Us.

Hearing and listening to our patients

Putting patient feedback at the heart of how care is delivered in the trust, encouraging all colleagues to shape services around people’s diverse needs is our promise 4.

It’s vital that all our services receive feedback from our patients about the care that they receive so we know what we are doing well and where we need to improve.

We moved to using Care Opinion for patients and carers to share their experiences with us earlier this year, since then we’ve received more than 500 stories and feedback.

That is a fantastic number and their feedback is invaluable. However, some services have received a lot of feedback while other services have received none. We need all services to promote Care Opinion to their patients and encourage them to give us feedback if they wish to. Some of the themes from the feedback we have had so far relates to patients asking for help, some feeding back when we have got things wrong, but the majority of patients simply want to thank RDaSHians for their individual kindness and clinical skill.

Please keep asking patients to give their feedback. It’s how we can improve what we do.

Take a look at some of the comments:

About the community therapy services, Bassetlaw community therapy, St John’s Hospice, day therapy unit

Being diagnosed with a terminal health condition is the last thing anyone wants to hear. Once I get over the initial shock, my mind started working overtime.

Trying to work out what was best for me, my family and what the future had in store for us became very stressful.

My health care team at the hospital and community are amazing and suggested I might benefit from attending a course designed to help people like me living with a long-term terminal illness.

After being referred to St John’s Hospice Day Therapy unit by my community health team, I attended with a little apprehension. But from the first moment I stepped in I was made to feel so welcome and reassured.

Spending just a few hours per week in such a caring environment had such a positive effect on my wellbeing.

Whether it was doing craft activities, enjoying free alternative therapy or just chatting with the staff and other people in the same situation as me, it became a welcoming distraction from my day-to-day life.

The staff and volunteers there are among the most caring people I have ever met. They delivered the course in a friendly professional manner which would benefit everyone.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in the day therapy unit. Without knowing it, you have made such a massive positive difference to how I cope with my condition and how I look at my future.

About community services, adult mental health, primary care mental health south

I didn’t bother returning for a 3rd session. As I couldn’t bear to sit there and left feeling worse than I did when I went in.

The person who saw me didn’t seem to care. Looked bored, detached, and the whole appointment was just a tick box exercise. I did not find the “service” personable in any way. On my discharge letter, it states.

“The support I received” It states we covered goals of distress tolerance and crisis survival, did we?

Because the only thing I remember is being asked the generic list of questions I’m asked by every health professional I come into contact with. Mainly about if I’m going to kill myself or not, and we talked about good old grounding “uses your 5 senses” blah, blah, blah. The same old stuff that I could have looked up on Google. I specially said I need to talk to someone about what’s happened in my life. There’s only so much cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) a person can take. I need to talk, to be listened to, to feel heard!

It’s a pointless service, waste of my time and national insurance. I felt more suicidal after these appointments than I did before I went in because I left feeling like the staff member didn’t understand me, didn’t want to, and literally didn’t care.

About community services, adult mental health, primary care mental health south

Sara was absolutely brilliant! Yes, the wait to see someone was very long but once seen by the team I cannot complain! She really listened to me and understood what myself as a mum to 2 children with additional needs, and how my children navigate life.

It’s hard at times but if I’m honest, I will truly miss Sara’s advice and listening ear. I felt like I had a friend who was full of knowledge and really cared about myself and my boys.

I loved her honesty and advice given, it has helped me understand more and get help from the right places.

My youngest son was very fond of Sara, and she just made us all feel at ease during assessments.

I truly feel she listened and remembered all of our conversations better than I did! Sara is brilliant staff member of the role she does and deserves recognition for this.

So, as an exhausted mum with 2 very trying boys, I thank her with all my heart for making the first call, through to assessment, then to after the diagnosis for listening to my moaning, tired self!

Credit where it is due!

About community services, older people’s mental health, older people mental health central

Louise came to visit my sister who has been under the care of the Memory Clinic for 10 months now, for a 6 monthly review appointment.

The visit was very informal, and Louise chatted with myself and my sister, asking about various aspects of her care, medication and day to day living. She built up a good rapport with us and made my sister feel at ease. Blood pressure was taken and then a short memory test with my sister, she tends to get anxious with these tests, but Louise took it very slowly, didn’t rush my sister and made it a fun experience. I was also asked regarding my wellbeing (I am the sister and take on a lot of her care also) and was told about various groups that we could go to and where to access help if needed.

Louise stayed an hour, and I felt that she didn’t rush us, asking time to get to know us and putting my sister at ease throughout. She is very caring and friendly.

I am very happy with all the care and help that we have had from the Memory Clinic.

About adult mental health Doncaster

It’s just ridiculous that patients can’t get into The Opal Centre at Tickhill. There are no staff on reception. You can’t get into the building. You’re told to attend for an appointment, then left outside, trying to call someone to tell them you’re there. Calls are with not answered, or the numbers are wrong.

Leaving you stood there desperately trying to get someone to take pity on you and help. Seen many elderly, frail people stuck outside struggling. Sometimes in wheelchairs or struggling to stand. And in the wet, cold and dark! It would be laughable if it wasn’t so stressful for those affected. Surely you can find someone to man reception.

These are some of the comments we have received. If you’ve not seen Care Opinion yet, get googling RDaSH Care Opinion and take a look.

Tackling discrimination in our trust

Changing the culture of an organisation and the way people do things is not an easy task.

Our strategic promise 26 lies at the heart of the organisation to improve the working conditions and experiences for our colleagues, supporting them to thrive in the workplace and offer excellent patient care in an environment free from fear or discrimination.

We have identified a 7-point plan to tackle discrimination using the results from the latest staff survey and have enlisted the support of our workforce, staff networks, network chairs, senior responsible owners, and the Trust People Council.

Although the results from the staff survey showed some positive improvements with racial discrimination, there is more we want to do to further improve our colleague experience.

We have 5 staff networks in the trust and asking each of them to focus on a few priority areas. Ensuring maximum effort and focus on the identified areas of need. As with racism, we have policies to address allegations of discrimination, but our 2024 staff survey results showed that not all concerns are being escalated via the existing mechanisms we have in place, and we must address this to enable change to happen.

We have several colleagues reporting discrimination in the ‘other’ category, and we need to better understand this so that we can identify meaningful and purposeful action to address this. We have identified this as an action for all the networks and wider staff engagement events.

A key approach and strategy for supporting managers is our development programmes, with the leadership development offer (LDO) and the mandatory first line managers training programme which have already started. This provides our managers with a solid foundation to understanding discrimination and articulates our imperative to addressing it. Our middle managers are key to the success of this because they have the most influence and impact on colleagues. They have a significant influence on the delivery of trust initiatives. By engaging with these colleagues in striving for the best working conditions for their teams it will have the greatest impact on our success. We need all colleagues to feel motivated, empowered and engaged with this trust wide approach.

The new five-day induction for new RDaSH colleagues includes a space to explore their expectations, and those of the trust. This includes discussions about the role of the active bystander and how we can work together at local level to set clear expectations about how we respond and behave and how we address micro-aggressions.

Most colleagues welcome this approach, and with the right support in place we can improve the working conditions for all colleagues. The People and Organisational Development Committee and the Trust People Council have an instrumental role in holding us to account in this area.

We are taking this action now because we understand the issues we are experiencing. Should a national policy or regional policy directive be received we will consider this alongside our local approach.

Areas of focus collective trust actions

• Discrimination: colleagues reported higher levels of disability discrimination. 2024 saw the implementation of a centralised reasonable adjustment budget to support those with disabilities in the workplace, our Disability And Wellbeing Network (DAWN) will be asked to support further exploration of this area.
• High numbers of colleagues also reported discrimination citing the reason as “other” in the staff survey.

We are working towards understanding what colleagues are indicating when they state they have experienced discrimination on the grounds of “other”. Work has been taking place to explore this with our staff networks and we saw a slight improvement against our 2023 score, however this remains higher than our comparator average.

• First audit review of the acceptable behaviour policy with recommendations for the year ahead.
• Work is advancing on implementing changes to investigative, disciplinary and recruitment processes and expect to have timelines for each by the end of April.

We ask that you continue to use acceptable behaviour policy which guides you through the support and processes to follow when confronted with all types of unacceptable behaviours that are discriminatory or abusive.

Remember “If you walk by it, you stand by it”. This is not an acceptable approach for any colleagues, leaders or managers.

Helping the homeless

Four of our colleagues bedded down for the night in Doncaster Rovers’ Eco Power stadium to raise cash to help the homeless.

Paula Rylatt, Head of Quality and Promises, Phil Gowland, Director of Corporate Assurance, Cheryl Gowland, GP Liaison Lead, and Richard Chillery, Chief Operating Officer, known as Team RDaSHians, all took their sleeping bags and bedded down for the night in the freezing stadium as they took part in Club Doncaster Foundation’s event with Shelter called Snooze in the South.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing and homelessness through their advice, support and legal services, campaigning to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to them for help. They are there to support people, so no-one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own. Twenty five percent of all the money raised from the sleep out has been donated to Shelter to help them continue their work across the country. The rest of the money raised is going to help projects delivered by the Foundation, alongside homeless support delivered by Doncaster’s People Focused Group.

Ellie Tomlin, Regional Community Fundraiser for Shelter in Yorkshire said: “We were delighted to work with Club Doncaster Foundation on their fantastic annual sleepout. The money raised helps us fight the housing emergency, which currently impacts 17.5 million people. We do this through providing support and advice to those facing homelessness, whilst also campaigning for change for a better future.”

Tackling homelessness is covered in our promises 6 and 10 and our team between them have so far raised a fantastic £1149.

Phil said: “It was very cold, but we only had to cope with these conditions for one night. The homeless deal with this daily. We wanted to raise money to help make a difference and all of the charities and organisations benefitting do such amazing work to help those without a home.”

There is still time to sponsor the team. Simply visit total giving and know that not only are you supporting them but also helping the homeless across the areas we serve.

Supporting the foot health of homeless people

Our podiatry foot protection service based at Cantley Health Centre is encouraging residents to donate any of their unwanted warm coats, socks and shoes which will be passed onto the homeless in the city.

Wharf House is a hostel for people who are experiencing homelessness or rough sleeping. This campaign supports promises 6 and 10 of poverty proofing our services and providing inclusion healthcare.

Susan Batley, Lead Podiatrist, said: “The Podiatry team has worked with Changing Lives to provide a dedicated foot care clinic on the premises, giving education, treatment and advice. We did this after finding out that it was easier for the homeless to access this service at this location than asking them to come to our clinics.

“Also, a single pair of shoes or trainers can make a big difference and change people’s lives,” added Susan. “Homeless people and rough sleepers have far worse foot health than the wider population. This is mainly due to not having suitable footwear and clean socks. Another factor is doing a lot of walking in the cold and rain and not being able to change their shoes causing common foot problems.

If anyone has donations they will be gratefully received.”

Also, a big shout-out to Phil Gowland and the corporate teams. Phil, our Director of Corporate Assurance, ran a sock appeal and collected more than 50-plus donations for this project.

Got a donation? If so, they can be placed in a bag and be dropped off at the reception in Cantley Health Centre, Middleham Road, Doncaster, DN4 6ED between 9am and 4pm.

To know more please email Susan Batley, Samantha Edwards or Julie Mysiuk on:

• Email: susan.batley2@nhs.net
• Email: samantha.edwards3@nhs.net
• Email: julie.mysiuk@nhs.net

Project supporting those in need to keep warm

Colleagues in our nursing and facilities directorate are seeking your support to help those in need to keep warm during chilly weather.

The cold weather project offers a helping hand to vulnerable people who find themselves out in the cold.

Like to help? Here is a list of items they are looking for (used and in good condition):

• rucksacks, holdalls, sports bags
• sleeping bags (but no quilts or duvets)
• camping mats
• clothing in all sizes
• shirts, t-shirts
• warm and waterproof tops, coats, jumpers, hoodies
• joggers, jeans, trousers
• hats, gloves, and hand warmers
• shoes, boots, trainers (but no sandals or open footwear)

The laundry service is pitching in too by kindly offering to wash any large items. Donation collection points are in reception areas (please hand to the receptionist) at:

• Woodfield House, Tickhill Road site, Doncaster, DN4 8QN
• Great Oaks, Ashby High Street, Scunthorpe, DN16 2JX
• Swallownest Court, Aughton Road, Rotherham, Swallownest, S26 4TH

We ask that all items are clean and packed in bags. Any heavy items to please double wrap the bag to avoid the bag ripping. All donations will be distributed to those in need via our partners in each locality.

Steve Forsyth, Chief Nurse, said, “We are passionate about supporting our communities. One way of doing this is by using our facilities as nominated drop-off points for much-needed donations. Thank you to everyone for supporting us. Together we can make a meaningful difference to those who need it the most.” David Watson, Experience and Involvement Lead, said: “Partnership working with the many fantastic organisations across our areas will be vital in the project’s aims of supporting local people. As well as directly helping those who are worst off, through the supply of clothing, and other items. I’m always amazed by the continued efforts of our colleagues who go above and beyond to help our communities. Thank you.”

To know more please email the Patient Experience team or David Watson, Experience and Involvement Lead on:

• Email: rdash.patient-experience@nhs.net
• Email: david.watson39@nhs.net

Preparations underway

We’ve been getting ready for our next Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment and this week the inspectors have arrived at the trust.

They are undertaking a service assessment, so we will continue to prepare for our full assessment, where we will spend time sharing and showing our fabulous work.

The CQC can decide to assess us at any time, and being “CQC ready” should be exactly the same as doing a good job every day, doing the right thing, all of the time.

The CQC is not there to “catch us out”, they are there to help us to see where we can do better but also to celebrate what we do well. We’ve loads of great work to help showcase what we do when the inspectors arrive. Plans are underway for an event which will be held at Woodfield Park Community Hall at Balby. Here clinical directorates will have displays and stands showcasing the great work that they do.

Watch the intranet and staff app for more details as plans progress. Why not come along and take a look?

We also have a “Being ready for CQC handbook”, full of useful information and handy tips. Copies of these are with each clinical directorate. You can also read it on the staff app, under the learning and development tile by simply click on Being ready for the Care Quality Commission page.

At our last CQC assessment, also called an inspection, in 2019 we were assessed as “requires improvement”. There are 5 areas we are assessed in, these are called ‘domains.’ In our next assessment we’re striving for “outstanding” in the caring element and it would be great if we can get outstanding or good in the other CQC domains.

Why not find out a bit more by visiting the staff app or the dedicated intranet Care Quality Commission pages (staff access only).

Got a question? Email Laura Powell, our Compliance Officer, on laura.powell4@nhs.net.

Volunteering to get you on the career ladder

While searching for a graduate role, I began volunteering as a writer in the communications team, an experience that played a pivotal role in helping me secure my new position as a paid media executive at a London marketing agency.

Interviewing people to share their stories pushed me to engage professionally with a diverse range of people, which helped me build confidence and navigate unfamiliar topics with respect and understanding.

Volunteering also strengthened my writing skills, allowing me to adapt my style for different platforms and stories. I had the opportunity to write for the internal magazine Trust Matters and draft press releases for local newspapers, with my work being published in both, which was incredibly rewarding. This experience has proven invaluable in my current role, where I apply these skills every day. Whether it’s crafting engaging ad copy, understanding target audiences, or optimising campaigns for better performance, the confidence and versatility I gained through my time with the NHS have fully equipped me for the fast-paced world of marketing.

I’m extremely grateful for the support of the communications team throughout my volunteer journey. Lynn Hall and Alison Parker, in particular, have been outstanding mentors. Their guidance not only helped me grow professionally but also gave me the creative freedom to explore my ideas. Their encouragement and support made my volunteering experience incredibly rewarding, and I can’t thank them enough for the positive impact they’ve had on my career development.

Thank you, Erin, we are only too pleased to offer you the opportunity. You’ve done well.

Know of someone who is looking for that all important first step on the career ladder? Then let them know about our volunteering opportunities, please email us at rdash.volunteers@nhs.net.

Marking Ramadan

As you’re probably aware some of our colleagues marked Ramadan from the end of February until the end of March.

One of our colleagues Somia Jan, a Specialist Occupational Therapist in our Doncaster Perinatal Mental Health Service at Forest Gate Centre wanted to share some information on this special time.

Ramadan by Somia.

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is month in which Muslims all over the world who have passed the age of puberty refrain from food, drink, sexual relations and displeasing speech and behaviour, this is from dawn until dusk. There are some exemptions, if you are terminally ill, if you require frequent medication, pregnancy and breastfeeding.

“God wants ease for you, not hardship” is a quote from the Quran. The reason Ramadan is special because during this month the Quran was revealed to our Prophet Mohammad (Peace and blessings be upon him). It was not the full script as this was revealed over a 23-year period. The Quran is the holy book for Muslims and is a book of guidance on how we should strive to live our lives.

While for non-Muslims this may appear to be a difficult month, this month is a month which Muslims look forward to more than any other. It is a month when we almost disconnect from the world around us and purely focus on our connection and worship with God which, in our belief, is the sole reason for our existence.

For me personally I use this month as a reset, a chance for me to reflect on myself as a person or Muslim. It’s a time to create new habits or routines, thinking of things I want to change, things I want to learn, I find this is a good month for me to do this as it’s when my motivation is at its highest. It’s truly a month full of peace, tranquillity, goodness, forgiveness and mercy.

More about Ramadan

Hear more about Ramadan from our Director of Finance and Estates Izaaz Mohammed by watching Izaaz’s on YouTube.

You can read more about it on our staff intranet marking Ramadan (staff access only).

Supporting an Iftar

We also supported an Iftar in Doncaster which was held at the Eco-Power Stadium. It was the first community Iftar event to be held in the area and everyone was welcome to attend to find out more about Ramadan and support the Muslim community to break their fast.

Dr Thomas retires

After almost 50 years of service in the NHS Dr Mohan Thomas has decided to retire.

Starting in the NHS in 1978, Dr Thomas amassed many years’ experience before joining us at RDaSH in 1991.

He has been an inspiration to colleagues, often offering support and advice, and he has always been there with a smile on his face, no matter what the situation.

A celebration was held to mark the retirement where colleagues all wished Dr Thomas well and thanked him for his endless dedication, honesty and continuous hard work within our Children’s Care Group and beyond.

The Herbert Protocol

Do you care for someone who has dementia and worry that they might go missing?

There is nothing more frightening or distressing than when a loved one, friend or neighbour fails to return when they should. For people living with someone with dementia, this could be quite common, and The Herbert Protocol could give you some peace of mind.

It is a national scheme adopted by South Yorkshire Police and other agencies which encourages carers and family members to compile useful key information which can save vital time in the event of a person with dementia going missing.

Download the Herbert Protocol form.

In memory of Nina Brookman

It is with sadness that we learn of the passing of our dear colleague Nina Brookman. Nina was a long-standing member of the trust and our Lead Speech and Language Therapist in Doncaster for many years, with 20 years’ service in the NHS.

Nina proudly established and nurtured the speech and language therapy team in the Doncaster physical health services and was always a very supportive leader and role model to others.

She was extremely passionate about her job, gave her all for her patients and her colleagues and helped and supported so many people in her life. She was an advocate for raising the profile of allied health professionals in the trust, always embraced change, and over the years was involved in some instrumental service development work.

Nina always had a positive outlook on life, a great sense of humour and an ability to make others smile, even at the most challenging of times.

She will be greatly missed by all those who knew her and had the pleasure of working with her. Our condolences go out to her family at this sad time.

Mental health awareness week

We are gearing up for mental health awareness week which is taking place 12 to 18 May 2025.

The theme this year is ‘community’ highlighting the importance of social connections and community for our mental health and wellbeing. It also links to our vision of “nurturing the power of our communities”. So, let us know what you are planning this mental health awareness week, and we will promote it for you.

Email the communications team on rdash.rdashcommunications@nhs.net.

Scott Sykes is fundraising

Senior Finance Business Partner Scott Sykes has once again been selected as a fundraiser on the Doncaster Rovers legends team in this year’s legends game versus United legends held at Doncaster Rovers Eco Power stadium on Saturday 31 May 2025.

Mixed teams of fundraisers and ex professionals of Doncaster Rovers and United will be playing football in aid of Doncaster cancer charity Evestrust.

Scott is aiming to raise £1,000, if anyone would like to donate towards this amazing charity Scott’s fundraising link is below. Thank you so much!

To make a donation using Enthuse.

North Lincolnshire news

Bringing our services to the heart of Scunthorpe

We’ve signed a 15-year lease for office space at Elizabeth Quarter, a newly developed council-owned building in Scunthorpe.

The three-storey property includes a ground-floor café and reception area, with modern office space spanning approximately 1,250sqm across the upper floors, creating ideal space to put our trust in the heart of the community.

We will use the offices for clinical consultations, patient appointments, and as the headquarters for our Community Mental Health and Talking Therapy colleagues. We see the move as a key part of our expansion in North Lincolnshire. Toby Lewis, our Chief Executive, said: “Having invested in St Nicholas House last year, and with big plans for Great Oaks in the year ahead, the news that the Elizabeth Quarter development will become a final part of our ‘Scunthorpe triangle’ is a huge boost for local NHS staff.

“This is a top-class facility and will help us to support teams to bring the best care to the town and to local villages. As wait times come down below four weeks, we want to see care in North Lincolnshire’s NHS go from strength to strength.

“We have a partnership with the local authority, GPs and the voluntary sector, and most importantly with local residents. Opening the Elizabeth Quarter facility this summer is a big boost to our morale and a tribute to joint working.”

Parents with new babies in North Lincolnshire now have the chance to meet up with other parents and share tips and advice, thanks to a new group called Baby’s First Friends. It is run by community nursery nurses and family support workers from health visiting teams from the NHS and North Lincolnshire Council’s Family Hub.

It is free and offers parents or carers, of young babies under one-year old who are not yet walking, a way to seek expert advice while chatting with other parents in a friendly setting. It also helps us to deliver promise 17 on school readiness.

Nadine Day, Intervention Worker Parent Infant Emotional Wellbeing team at RDaSH, said: “We found that there wasn’t anything in the Barton Upon Humber area for new mums and dads to go with their babies to get some practical advice and meet other parents and babies.”

Zoe Bayram, Family Support Worker, said: “The group is very informal and gives parents or carers a great place to come, have a chat and ask questions about their baby. It helps to boost parents’ confidence of their own abilities, and many have made friends.

The babies are enjoying it too.” The Baby’s First Friends group meets at Barton Hub, Council Terrace, DN18 5AP between 1:15pm and 2:45pm every Tuesday. No need to book just turn up.

New mum Ambi Firth and baby Evelyn aged 6 months have just started coming to the group. Ambi said: “My health visitor recommended this group because I didn’t know anyone else who had a baby. This is our first time here, and it is nice being able to socialise with other parents and share experiences. I didn’t have that before, and it is very reassuring.”

Anyone wanting more information about the group should contact Zoe by emailing zoe.bayram@nhs.net.

Smart lockers at Great Oaks

After the successful pilots in both Rotherham and Doncaster, our Information Technology (IT) Services team has rolled out the LapSafe Locker and LapSafe Collection smart locker system to Great Oaks in Scunthorpe.

Collectively the pilots helped to distribute 1000 laptops and saved 2000 hours of clinical time by giving colleagues a fast and effective way to get their IT equipment.

Having the ability to quickly distribute over 100 devices a day, the lockers are an important part of the business continuity of the trust.

Accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week, smart lockers save you time, with faster response and access to IT services.

The smart lockers are located along the link corridor, close to the back entrance of Great Oaks with 24-hour access. Due to the building works at Great Oaks the lockers may be moved to another area of the site, but we’ll keep you updated.

This is what you need to do to use the lockers:

1. contact IT service desk
2. explain the problem
3. agree a collection point
4. receive a code
5. scan code at the locker
6. collect your laptop or other device

There is also the potential for the smart lockers to be used for other things such as the collection of uniforms and this is something which is being explored to maximise the full benefits for colleagues and the organisation.

Baton of Hope tour

We are proud to be supporting the Baton of Hope as it makes its way through North Lincolnshire on 15 September, as part of a UK wide tour to raise awareness and challenge stigma around suicide.

The Baton of Hope is a powerful symbol in the mission to prevent suicide. As it journeys across the country, the baton will be passed hand to hand, carrying messages of remembrance, survival, and change.

As an organisation we have pledged our support and are pleased to announce that we will be a baton bearer on its journey through our region. Over the coming months will be seeking a volunteer to carry the baton on our behalf.

Learn more about the Baton of Hope.

Well done Sophie!

Well done to Sophie Uzelac who works in our Children’s Care Group.

Sophie, who is one of the team leaders from the 0 to 19 North Lincolnshire service, has just received the prestigious award of Public Health Nurse of the Year at the British Journal of Nursing Awards. What a fantastic achievement, and a wonderful way of celebrating public health nurses and the fantastic work that they do.

Rotherham news

Health zone at Skills Street set to breathe life into next generation of talent

The NHS, including our trust, has become one of the latest skills investors as Rotherham prepares to welcome 16,000 school aged visitors to Skills Street from June 2025.

Leadership teams representing key health and community care workers across South Yorkshire were on site in the Rother Valley for latest developments at Skills Street, the new immersive “world of work” learning centre set to revolutionise how the region delivers careers experiences and training for young people, schools, families, and educators.

This innovative centre provides a hands-on approach to developing, growing, and honing skills, aiming to inspire and inform people of all ages about careers and the world of work across all sectors and industries. One of our most critical recruitment needs is servicing healthcare, social work and community care industries at both local and national level. The Skills Street Health and Social Work Zone will help bring a taste of industry to school groups and visitors from 5 years old to 16 and beyond into post-education employment pathways. This partnership will also help us deliver promise 9.

Skills Street Development Manager James Beighton, spoke of the importance of raising aspirations in local communities to consider health and social work as a career opportunity.

He said: “Health is everybody’s agenda, yet we still struggle to look beyond the obvious when considering a career in one of the UK’s most wide reaching sectors. How many young people leave education and see the NHS as a place just for doctors and nurses? We have a unique opportunity here to change perception, working with professionals at the heart of allied health, community care and clinical health environments to reset minds and broaden horizons. This partnership is a pro-active way to showcase the enormity of employment and skills opportunities across health-related industries.”

Skills Street is working closely with the Children’s Capital of Culture programme, offering traineeship employment local trainees who are working closely with health and social work industry partners to develop an educational outreach offer.

Samantha Westwood, Skills Street trainee, brings the voice of Rotherham’s young people into the venue, having worked full time as a community care worker prior to joining Skills Street: “Social care in Skills Street is more than just meaningful, it is a powerful opportunity to ignite passion and purpose in our next generation, empowering people to make a real difference in the lives of those who need it most. My journey as a care support worker opened my eyes to the profound impact this sector has in transforming lives, families, and entire communities.”

Carlene Holden, our Director of People and Organisational Development, said: “We welcome Skills Street to our localities and look forward to young people getting extra encouragement to consider a career in Health or Social Care. We are keen to recruit across all generations to represent the diversity of our local populations.”

Skills Street should hopefully help us with our future workforce. Find out more about Skills Street.

Supporting patients’ housing needs

We have teamed up with the People Potential Possibilities (P3) Charity, a leading national organisation dedicated to empowering people through life-changing support and launched a vital hospital discharge service.

This essential service (which started on 1 April) provides housing-related support for people at Swallownest Court in Rotherham, ensuring they have access to safe and sustainable accommodation as they transition from inpatient care back into the community.

Stable housing plays a critical role in recovery, wellbeing and reducing hospital readmissions. The new service addresses key challenges faced by people who may be at risk of homelessness or housing insecurity upon leaving hospital.

The introduction of this new initiative in Rotherham reflects P3’s commitment to ensuring that no one is left without the housing support they need at a crucial time of transition. The partnership also helps us to deliver promise 19.

How the service will support patients

P3 Charity’s staff work closely with each person to deliver tailored, practical support for a smooth and sustainable transition from hospital to home. This includes:

• ensuring safe and stable housing helping people access and maintain habitable homes, addressing essential needs such as utilities, food security and support networks
• liaising with landlords acting on behalf of service users to resolve tenancy issues, arrange repairs and secure long-term tenancy stability
• financial and housing guidance offering expert advice on rent arrears, debt management, budgeting and maximising income
• finding suitable accommodation assisting people who are homeless or where housing no longer meets their needs in securing stable, appropriate housing options
• resettlement and ongoing support referrals to specialist services, connecting individuals with local support networks and ensuring they understand their tenancy rights and responsibilities

P3’s person-centred, trauma-informed care approach ensures that individuals receive immediate support, and develop the resilience and skills needed for long-term independence.

Gemma Bukel, Deputy Chief Executive at P3 Charity, said: “We are delighted to launch this vital new service in partnership with RDaSH. At P3 Charity, we recognise the crucial role that stable housing plays in recovery and wellbeing. This initiative will help ensure that people leaving inpatient care receive practical, person-centred support to sustain their tenancies and rebuild their lives. Our collaboration with healthcare teams will help reduce discharge delays and ensure no one falls through the cracks. We look forward to making a meaningful impact and supporting the people of Rotherham.”

Kelly Pickles, Operations Manager for P3 Rotherham Hospital Discharge Service, added: “We’re proud to be able to help individuals in finding more suitable long-term support. This is a much-needed service, and we will aim to help as many people as possible find the support they need and get resettled back into the community after a turbulent time in their lives.”

Toby Lewis, Chief Executive, said: “It’s so important to have somewhere safe and warm to live when you are discharged from hospital. Our partnership with the charity P3 will help us provide additional and crucial support to our patients, hopefully helping them to stay well and rebuild their lives.”

For more information about the P3 Hospital discharge service in Rotherham or to refer a patient, visit the P3 Charity.

Going from strength to strength

We’ve 28 amazing volunteers who have started roles in Rotherham.

Claire Castledine, our Older People’s Community Service Manager, has worked closely with our volunteering team to attract the new recruits.

The success came after two dedicated volunteering recruitment events at The Woodlands and Ferham Clinic.

The roles in Rotherham include those in:

• administration support, meeting, greeting and general admin duties, covering reception
• older People’s Cognitive Stimulation group support
• carers group, inpatient services
• psychology, meeting and greeting people and group support
• inpatient ward, music groups
• inpatient gym sessions support
• inpatient, activity support
• inpatient, healthy living group
• physio support, community falls prevention group and inpatients
• home treatment support

Claire said: “We’ve worked incredibly hard to implement Promise 3 in Rotherham. Colleagues in our community and inpatient services have also engaged very well and staff have also attended the recruitment events to support with suitability checks for their areas to ensure that we get the right volunteers, and they are in the right areas. We will aim to do another volunteering recruitment event once we have processed the current intake so as not to overwhelm services and to promote a better experience for the volunteers too.”

Do you know anyone who would like to volunteer in Rotherham, or do you work in Rotherham and would like a volunteer in your team? If so, contact Claire by emailing claire.castledine3@nhs.net.

Work elsewhere in the trust and want to find out more about having a volunteer in your team? Message our dedicated volunteering email address rdash.volunteers@nhs.net.

Carers week 9 June to 15 June

Carers Week is just around the corner and aims to highlight the challenges faced by carers while recognising the outstanding contribution they make to their families, friends and communities.

If you are a carer, please remember that we have a Carers Network where you can find support, information and share experiences.

You can find out more about our Carers Network on the intranet and app.

Doncaster news

Volunteering leads to dream job

Volunteering provides important opportunities to local people and brings in a mix of experience, views and knowledge into our teams.

Volunteering is of value but can sometimes lead to employment too.

When Doncaster woman Zara Marwood was studying for a psychology degree, she knew the job she wanted but didn’t have any experience.

So, Zara (21), of Lakeside, approached colleagues in our Talking Therapies service to see if she could volunteer, which is our promise 3 to work with over 350 volunteers by 2025 to go the extra mile in the quality of care that we offer.

Zara, who graduated from the Open University last summer, wanted to be a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) like her sister.

Zara said: “There was a trainee PWP worker advertised but I couldn’t apply because I hadn’t graduated. I knew I needed to get real life experience of working in mental health to be able to get my dream role. I approached the service, and they allowed me to volunteer.

“Volunteering meant I could shadow patients undergoing one to one counselling and attend group sessions, giving me a great insight into the role. I got to feel what the job was like, what attending meetings was like and then I saw the job advertised again.”

Zara applied for the role but wasn’t initially successful. She carried on volunteering and when she applied the second time, clinched her dream role.

Zara now has started as a trainee PWP at our Doncaster NHS Talking Therapies. Zara said: “Volunteering really helped me. I got to see whether I would like the role, or not, I got to meet the staff and gained great experience about the job before applying for the role.

“I’d say to anyone wondering about volunteering, just apply and have a go!”

You can watch Zara’s story about volunteering on YouTube.

We currently have over 200 volunteers in our organisation with a further 80 being considered, which is great progress towards our target of reaching 350 by 2025. If you haven’t incorporated a volunteer into your service yet, please do so. Or if you know anyone who is interested in volunteering, please email us at rdash.volunteers@nhs.net.

Anyone who may need the support of should visit NHS Talking Therapies.

Support on offer for people drinking too much

A plan to help people recognise the harm caused by excessive drinking will be launched in Mexborough with the aim of helping patients get their health back on track with a range of support.

A 6-week pilot project at The New Surgery, Mexborough will offer patients who drink at harmful levels access to a state-of-the-art fibroscan. Currently, 65 patients have been identified as drinking above harmful levels, men consuming more than 50 units of alcohol per week and women over 35 units. The fibroscan will provide valuable insights to help these individuals better understand the impact of their drinking on their health.

It also helps us deliver on our promise 12 to work with community organisations and primary care teams to better recognise and respond to the specific needs of the rural communities and villages that we serve. The project is being run by The Alcohol Alliance, a partnership of organisations from across the city which aims to raise awareness among residents about the units they are drinking, the potential damage it can cause, and the help and support available to assist individuals in either stopping or reducing their drinking habits.

Patients offered the fibroscan will also speak with the Alcohol Early Intervention team run by Aspire drug and alcohol service, a partnership between our trust and the alcohol and drugs service. In addition, patients will be offered blood pressure checks, vaccination advice, cancer screening, smoking advice and support for weight management. The pilot project which started on February 28 for 6 weeks, will be assessed for success. If successful, it is expected to be expanded to other surgeries across the city.

The scanner was donated to Doncaster Royal Infirmary by the Doncaster Cancer Detection Trust for use in the hospital and community.

Anyone wanting information on safer drinking limits or advice around reducing or stopping drinking alcohol can visit the Rethink Your Drink website for a host of useful information or for support from the Alcohol Early Intervention team call 03000 213 900.

Well done on being published

Congratulations to one of our nurse consultants, Rob Edwards and his colleague Dr Helena Rose, Clinical Psychologist and Systemic Psychotherapist who together wrote a chapter in a book that has been published.

The book titled An Encyclopaedia of Radical Helping includes their chapter which is titled Restoring and Re-Storying Agency Through Conversations About Prescribed Medicines. In summary, it focuses on finding the narrative and personal meaning behind taking medicine and how and why people chose to do (or not do) certain things based on the effects of medication. It does this by asking narrative questions to elicit how their stories and personal meaning can help them navigate their treatment, with the overall aim of promoting personal agency.

In addition to this they are also due to have a bigger chapter on the same subject published in another book in 2026, which they are in the process of writing. Over the past year they have offered teaching at continuing professional development events and national and international conferences about the topic.

Peer support workers join community wellbeing team

People living with a serious mental illness (SMI) now have better access to support for their physical health and wellbeing, thanks to two new additions to our Community Health and Wellbeing team in Doncaster.

The new peer support workers, Sian Owen and Jeanette Royston are the latest members in the team. Together they ensure that people who are on the SMI register can get the support they need to live healthier lives and help us to deliver on our promise 1, to employ peer support workers at the heart of every service that we offer by 2027.

Andrea Little, Team Manager for the Community Wellbeing team, said: “Supporting the physical health and wellbeing of people who are experiencing a serious mental illness is very important. Our peer support workers play a vital role in helping people to overcome the barriers they may face when accessing health services. This also includes offering support to anyone who wants to attend groups and networks in their communities which boost their wellbeing.”

The Community Wellbeing team provides physical health and wellbeing clinics across Doncaster. It takes a complete and rounded approach to supporting both people’s mental illness and physical health. The peer support workers reach out to this vulnerable group of people and help them to have their GP and other health related appointments, for example routine health checks, and eye tests.

Our peer support worker said:

• “As peer supporters we have lived experience with poor mental health. We know how isolating it can feel when you’re struggling with both your mental and physical health. We are here to remind others that they’re not alone. Our goal is to walk alongside people, helping them find the resources they need and encouraging them to take those important steps toward better health and giving them their voice. It’s about building connections and fostering hope, one person at a time.”

£77,000 boost to community organisations

Our vision of “nurturing the power in our communities” is supported by the work of our charity, Your Hearts and Minds.

In January we launched a community grant programme where local charity and voluntary sector organisations were invited to apply for funding from the Your Hearts and Minds Charity. We allocated £77,000 to award, which marks 77 years of the NHS. Local organisations could bid for between £1,000 to £3,000 for each project.

Sixty-seven organisations submitted bids for a share of the money, with 30 being chosen after an extremely rigorous process. The successful bids were from:

Rotherham

• Making Space: Carer’s wellbeing project.
• Puzzled Training CIC: Empowering futures.
• Memo Fitness: Wellbeing walk and talk club.
• Hand in Hand with Dementia: Feel good Friday.
• Rotherham United Community Trust: Mind over matter.
• S62 Community Together Rotherham CIC: Feeding our community.
• Rotherham Parent Forum: Swimming for children and young people with a disability and additional needs.
• Rush House: Life skills workshops.

Doncaster

• Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service (DRASACS): Children and young people’s counselling service support.
• The Alcohol and Drug Service (ADS): Basic provisions for outreach clients.
• Totem Trilogy CIC: Best version of you.
• The Memory Club: Community sensory garden.
• Dice Enterprise: Wellbeing through community.
• Worth Unlimited: Mentoring Programme, Stainforth.
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Primary School: SEN therapy equipment for neurodivergent children.
• Fun filled Days CIC: Feeling good, feeling great.
• Changing Lives: Homeless health from the feet up.
• Better You Social Enterprise: Better you cafe.
• He Matters (Healthy He): Developing a group for supporting Muslim mental health for men.
• Lakeside Community Group: Choose kindness art club.
• Therapy Dogs Nationwide: Expanding therapy dogs visits across RDaSH.

North Lincolnshire

• Café Indie: Horizons.
• Iron Foundation: Iron hub community space.
• The Togetherness Choir:  Dementia choir.
• Luddington Village Hall: Makaton for more.
• North Lincolnshire Sanctuary Group: Empowering resettlement communities for better health.
• Oasis Hub Henderson Avenue: Let’s talk about grief café and awareness group.
• Alzheimer’s Society, Brain Health: Making a difference for those with mild cognitive impairment, collaborating with GP surgeries.
• Humber and Wolds Rural Action: Voluntary car service.
• South Killinghome New Projects Committee: Women’s wellness course.

Joanne McDonough, Director of Strategy at RDaSH, who manages the fundraising team, said: “The aim of the charity is to make a difference across all of the communities we serve, and there is no better way than to support local voluntary and charity organisations to enable them to keep on doing the great work that they do.

“These charities also help to support our patients, helping them to keep well, and this is a way of thanking them for their incredible work.

“Our charity raises funds to support activities, projects, education and research which go above and beyond normal NHS funding to improve the care and experience of patients,” added Joanne.

Anyone wanting to find out more about the charity should visit the Your Hearts and Minds. There are also links on the website to follow the charity’s social media.

Anyone wanting to donate can visit the Your Hearts and Minds donation page.

Big hearted “Buffs” £800 to Great Oaks

A charitable donation of £800 is set to benefit patients and families at Great Oaks Mental Health Unit thanks to the local lodge of Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOB).

The donation to our Your Hearts and Minds charity was made by Scunthorpe and District Provincial Grand Lodge to say thank you for the excellent care and support given to one of its members at Great Oaks on Ashby High Street.

The funds have been raised through events and collections over the past 12 months after the charity was chosen by Provincial Grand Primo Eric Longbottom and were presented to Your Hearts and Minds Fundraising Manager

Jenny Baynham and Lindsay Clague, RDaSH Senior Administrator at the RAOB Club on Wednesday 12 February. Jenny Baynham said: “On behalf of all the team at Great Oaks and our charity, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at the Lodge for this amazing support.

“There are so many worthy local charities, and we are extremely grateful to have been supported in this way. The money will go towards supporting other local patients and families in our care.”

Hospice

Plumb Centre team raises funds for hospice

St John’s Hospice has been given an £822 boost from big-hearted staff and customers at a Doncaster plumbing supply centre and showroom.

The team from the Plumb Centre on Shaw Lane Industrial Estate rallied round their colleague.

Wendy Varley to raise funds in memory of her sister Mandy Turner to say thank you for the care she received from St John’s Hospice in Balby. Wendy said: “I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone, including our suppliers, who donated raffle prizes, along with my colleagues and customers for helping me to raise so much money!

“Our whole family received such amazing care and support from St John’s Hospice, so this is our way of giving something back to say thank you.”

St John’s Hospice Fundraising Manager Jenny Baynham said: “On behalf of our Hospice team, I’d like to say thanks to Wendy and her colleagues.

“Every penny they’ve donated will go towards supporting other patients and families, who need our specialist care.”

Flourish news

All the fun of the fayre

Flourish’s Easter Fayre attracted hundreds of people to The Walled Garden on Good Friday.

Set in the historic grounds of St Catherine’s House in Woodfield Park, Balby, visitors enjoyed browsing the many craft stalls, and taking part in activities and watching the Easter themed parade.

Flourish is a social enterprise, helping people and communities to flourish by creating opportunities to learn new things, and finding ways to get the most from life.

If you would like to know about how Flourish can support, you then head to Flourish.

Your right to be heard

This is where you can get in touch about topics of interest, either work related or something else. Here are the latest questions people have sent in.

How are the national funding cuts going to impact on us?

Funding for the NHS was outlined in October 2024 via the budget. Forward estimates of health funding were provided there. As Toby has explained in various video logs over the new year, the position nationally for 2025 to 2026 is a smaller growth in budgets than the NHS has often had.

What has now happened is that NHS organisations, mostly integrated care boards and trusts, have submitted budgets for April 2025 to March 2026. These together showed a big overspend. Since then, revised plans have been submitted showing a better position but major cuts. At RDaSH the board approved a balanced budget for 2025 to 2026 when it met on March 27. This is based on modest cost improvement plans, continuation of our approach to drastically reduce agency spend, and on tackling Out of Area Placement costs. If we do that, we will be able to continue to invest, to retain a ring-fenced training budget, and to improve care locally.

Izaaz Mohammed, Director of Finance and Estates.

We’ve read in the press that chief executives have been told to cut corporate staff by NHS England chiefs. What’s happening here?

I understand that there is some worry about that, and in my monthly email newsletters to all backbone corporate staff, I will keep those involved updated as things evolve.

But the good news is that since 2023, the trust has biased our savings programme towards protecting patient-facing services. That means corporate services have already made big, disproportionate savings. What it looks like is that will help us to address expectations that we return our 2025 to 2026 “overhead” spend to a lower figure associated with 2018 to 2019 (pre-pandemic levels).

Looking forward, we need to continue this journey of moving more money towards patient care. That is why in setting budgets for 2025 to 2026, corporate functions have made the biggest contribution, with changes in payroll, in facilities, in management accounts, and elsewhere. I cannot promise no changes ahead, but we can say with honesty that the trust is better ready for the national financial narrative than many others. It is really important to value the backbone contribution colleagues make, and not to reduce the conversation to simplistic terminology about “pen pushing”. We won’t do that inside the trust and will continue to speak openly about the value colleagues bring to allowing expert clinicians to focus their time on patient care.

Toby Lewis, Chief Executive

I know a number of colleagues have been hurt recently on the roads inside Tickhill Road. Is the trust doing anything to help make things safer?

Yes, we are. Excessive speed appears to have been a common factor in these incidents, the Estates team is in the process of adding speed bumps, additional zebra crossings and enhanced lighting to make things safer. Signage to remind people to drive at a safe speed limit will also be installed.

The decision on how the trust’s minor works budget is spent now sits with clinical representatives from across our trust. This group meets every month and will consider any further proposals to continue to make our sites safer for patients and staff.

Izaaz Mohammed, Director of Finance and Estates.

Please send us your letters either by email to rdash.rdashcommunications@nhs.net or you can post them to us, anonymously or with your name, to Woodfield House, Tickhill Road, Doncaster.

Toby’s last word

The fuss over volunteering

Reading through the proof copy of Trust Matters for this month I was really encouraged by the number of stories about volunteers and volunteering.

I am often asked about this subject, why it matters to us as a trust, and whether it is all about the number 350. 350 is the minimum number of volunteers we committed to having within our promise 3.

Let me start by being clear what the volunteering promise is not about. We are not trying to replace paid jobs with free work. Hopefully, it is obvious from our real living wage move that the board of the trust is committed to paying people fairly. We will never try and phase out jobs like that. So, for example, we value our gardeners. Last year, gardening was brought back “in house” at Swallownest and Great Oaks, and I know from feedback the positive steps seen since. This year you will start to see signs explaining that we are “wilding” parts of sites, especially at Tickhill Road. That is partly an environmental step, but also one to let our gardening experts really focus on gardens used by our patients including our ward patients. But it is the case that many people want to volunteer to garden with us, as a therapeutic and social activity, and we will support that too.

Part of a pathway into work?

For some people volunteering can be a route into paid work. For example, it allows someone to test whether a health and care environment is for them. Or where someone has been off or out of the workplace, the routine of volunteering can be a less onerous re-entry into work, especially where benefit cliffs can inhibit people coming back into paid employment.

Volunteers as a voice for our communities

Volunteering is part of our first strategic objective, alongside peer support workers, patient feedback like Care Opinion, having patient involved our decision (promise 5), and our work with carers. That is because we think that volunteers will give us really interesting feedback and new eyes looking at services. We can learn from our volunteers about our communities. Having someone come fresh to what we do is important. Volunteers can help us appreciate what is amazing at the trust but also point out what seems odd, or where our communication gets lost for the people we care for and want to influence. In simple terms, volunteers have a key voice, that is why they are represented on our Trust People Council.

Everywhere and everyone: Why 350 does matter

350 is important, though it is just a start. Sometimes volunteering doesn’t quite work in a service because we have one volunteer maybe one day in a week. That means volunteering can’t be truly part of the team. So, numbers do matter because, for example, having more volunteers can mean a team of volunteers in a service. But the number of volunteers matters too because we want volunteers with us to see themselves a key part of the wider volunteering network, able to influence what goes on around here. In the NHS, rightly or wrongly, size and scale often matter, and 350 is about 10% of the workforce we have.

But scale matters for a bigger and more key reason. Historically trust volunteering was in a couple of services and one place. To make volunteering important and impactful at the trust we knew and know that has to change. Volunteering in Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Thorne, Edlington and so on. And who volunteers is important. We want to open up volunteering to people of all ages and faith backgrounds, cultures, and gender. Have volunteers with us over a weekend. Able to offer time to patients, time to listen, to play, to support. With over 230 volunteers now working across the trust, we are on our way. But during the spring we need to crack on and meet our promise to local people. A promise that started with feedback from governors of the trust, themselves people who volunteer their time to make sure we are on the right track.

I hope all of us as RDaSHians can support this promise. And looking to 2026 and 2027 we are thinking about how we perhaps support people in our organisation to spend time in the voluntary sector during a year of work. To get an insight into that sector and to have chance to lean into projects that matter out there. Our community grants programme through Your Hearts and Minds, explained in this Trust Matters is just “the start of a beautiful friendship”.

Toby Lewis on X: TobyLewis_NHS.

Page last reviewed: May 29, 2025
Next review due: May 29, 2026

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