Trust Matters December 2024 edition

Contents

Welcome from our Chair Kathryn Lavery

Welcome to the December edition of Trust Matters. I hope you had a restful and enjoyable Christmas and New Year.

A big thank you to everyone who has been working over the Christmas and New Year period keeping our services running smoothly.

You will most likely have heard about the rapid rise in winter viruses which are placing a strain on the NHS. The flu virus in particular is having a big impact, and it hasn’t even peaked yet. This means that we are expecting to see a flu surge in the new year. If you haven’t already had your flu vaccine, there is still time, even if you decided to opt out, you can still request the vaccine, just contact your local flu vaccinator, details are on our intranet. I would strongly urge you to take up this offer as soon as you can.

Many of you will know we recently held our glitzy annual awards ceremony, which was a truly fantastic evening of celebration. The event would not have been possible without the kind generosity of our sponsors and to everyone working behind the scenes to make our awards night the best yet. Thank you.

Something which is very close to by heart and the reason I am so passionate about the NHS is that we do everything we can to keep people safe. This applies to everyone, patients, visitors and colleagues alike. An important and effective way in which we do this is by using the freedom to speak up process. If you have a worry, concern or something which doesn’t sit comfortably, freedom to speak up is the best way to raise this in our organisation. If we don’t know about it, then we can’t change it or improve. Speaking up really is about patient safety.

Speaking up does take courage but I want to reassure you that you are fully supported throughout. Inside this edition we have included some of our colleagues experiences of using our freedom to speak up process which we hope will help more of you to raise your concerns.

I wish you a happy and healthy new year and all the best for 2025.

As always please take care.

Kind regards,

Kathryn

If you’ve a story to tell let our Communications team know.

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My freedom to speak up experience

Ever felt like speaking up but didn’t? What stopped you? Worried that speaking up may lead to mistreatment, or it is pointless because nothing will change as a result?

Speaking up is vital for our organisation. By speaking up, you can help us learn and improve. By listening up, we can make sure we understand what needs to change. By following up we can ensure that our learning leads to action and make speaking up business as usual.

Here our Freedom To Speak Up Guardian James Hatfield shares some of the experiences of colleagues who have used the Freedom To Speak Up (FTSU) process.

Feedback from our colleagues:

You can raise your concerns via the intranet by filling in an online form either anonymously or leaving your contact details. Just search the intranet for “Freedom To Speak Up raising a concern”.

We have many FTSU Champions across the trust, and you can find a list of your champions by searching “Freedom To Speak Up champions” on the intranet.

You can of course also contact James Hatfield, Freedom To Speak Guardian via:

• Phone: 07836 680975
• Email: rdash.ftsu@nhs.net
• Email: James.hatfield@nhs.net

Flu campaign

We have had a great response to this year’s flu vaccination campaign with 2836 colleagues taking up the offer of their vaccine to help them stay healthy.

Not had your flu jab yet, there is still time, just check the staff portal and your flu vaccinators. With expected flu surge in cases in the New Year, even some immunity will greatly help you avoid the worst of the symptoms.

Netting vaccines can save lives

Doncaster Rovers have got behind the NHS’ flu vaccination campaign, making themselves top of the division when it comes to having the flu jab.

Besides the football club, Club Doncaster Foundation, which works with the community, also saw many of its staff having the vaccination on Saturday.

And the team’s mascot Donny Dog found himself netting a vaccine to stop him feeling “woof” and to avoid catching the flu.

Our nurses headed to Eco-Power Stadium after the last home game.

Gavin Baldwin, Chief Executive of Doncaster Rovers said: “We are delighted to support this important campaign, and we are working through our Foundation to increase awareness of how easy it is to protect yourself and your family members during the winter.”

Steve Forsyth, Chief Nurse, added: “Having the flu vaccination is something we can all do to protect ourselves and everyone around us from a very serious virus.”

Residents can get the free NHS flu vaccine if they:

• are aged 65 or over (including those who will be 65 by 31 March 2025)
• have certain long-term health conditions
• are pregnant
• live in a care home
• are the main carer for an older or disabled person or receive a carer’s allowance
• live with someone who has a weakened immune system.

Frontline health and social care workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.

If you qualify for a free flu vaccination, get in touch with your GP as soon as possible. A simple vaccine can save lives.

Lasting impact of flu

Someone who knows only too well about the lasting side effects of flu is Karen Whitby, Lead Professional Safeguarding Adults.
Karen who has an underlying health condition, caught the flu virus before the pandemic. She spent 10 days in hospital and is still feeling the long-term impact on her everyday life.

Karen said: “Being diagnosed with cancer put me in the ‘at risk’ group of people who can have serious complications from flu. That is exactly what happened when I caught it, leading to bilateral pneumonia and a 10-day stay in hospital.

“Worse than that. I foster a child and because I couldn’t look after them, an alternative placement had to be found. This was very unsettling for the child, and for me too.

“I am better now, but I still feel the long-term impact on my lungs especially when doing daily activities like walking upstairs.

“Please don’t underestimate the long-term impact that flu can have, not only for you but also for others who rely on you.”

How did we do?

Help us to improve our flu campaign for next year by letting us know what we could have done differently. Take our survey (opens in new window).

Watch our flu video (opens in new window) now.

Here’s our top 4

Big shout out to all our flu vaccinators who have done a fantastic job helping to keep our colleagues healthy and flu free.

With £75 up for grabs as the top prize, then £50 and £25 for second and third places, here is the leader board so far.

In first place is Jessica Goodwin with 171 staff vaccinated.

Joint second places are currently Julie Brabazon and Kathryn Cracknell with 167 each.

Third place is Jo Dakin.

Awards celebration

We held a bumper night of colleague celebrations at our fabulous awards ceremony on November 22.

Held at Doncaster Racecourse the event was hosted by co-presenters Roop Mullins and Barrington and saw over 400 people coming together to celebrate the shining stars in our organisation.

Toby Lewis, Chief Executive, said: “It is fantastic to honour staff, students and volunteers. We received more than 340 nominations for this year’s 16 awards. The patients, governors and trust leaders who have helped judge had a wonderfully difficult task making their choices. The NHS at its best can make a huge difference to people’s lives in our communities, and those who have won these awards certainly do just that in teams across Rotherham, Doncaster and North Lincolnshire.”

Thank you to our sponsors

We are very grateful to our sponsors for helping to make our annual celebration such a success and we want to say a massive thank you to:

• Micro Alarms limited
• Fleet Solutions limited
• Exclusive Secure Care services
• Minimising and Managing Violence and Aggression
• RJ Electric and Security limited
• People Focused group
• Your Hearts and Minds charity

Our fabulous winners

Here are our fabulous gold and silver awards winners:

Nurturing the power in our communities exemplar 2024

Working with her team to ensure young people are integral to everything they do is a key part of nurturing the power in our communities. Feedback from the young people has been fantastic, with one saying that they “felt heard and like they could use their voice”.

Talking about her award Lyndsey said: “It is a very proud day for me and the team. We do our best to put the young person at the centre of everything we do. Giving young people a voice and seeing them as the experts in what they need and how care should be delivered aligns with promises 4 and 5. Listening to children and young people enables them to influence decisions about their lives to bring about change.”

Living our values award

The network has embodied all our values over the past year. This was particularly evident during the riots in the summer against refugees and migrants in our communities. The network responded to hundreds of colleagues with compassion and concern helping people to feel safe and supported during a very challenging time. Due to the extraordinary contribution made, only one award was given on this occasion.

Other shortlisted nominations were:

• Leesa McManus, Health Visiting team
• Jane Ogley, Community Staff Nurse, 0 to 19 (Special Education Needs and Disability) Health and Wellbeing
• Richard Smith, Activities Co-ordinator, St John’s Hospice

Commenting on behalf of the REaCH network, Tinashe Mahaso said:
“We are deeply honoured to have received this award and would like to extend our congratulations to all those who were shortlisted in this category. The network played an incredible role in supporting colleagues during a difficult time. We had daily network meetings and made time to help people to feel safe. Our focus was on creating a safe space for worried colleagues to express feelings and to support each other. May promise 26 endure and thrive for generations to come at RDaSH. Thank you for this award.”

Volunteer of the year

Helen has been a volunteer at the trust for many years. Volunteering in the Grounded Research team, and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Organisational Development team. She is currently with the Patient Experience team. Helen received this award for her dedication, conscientious and continued commitment to the trust as a volunteer and she is a great asset.

Sadly, Helen was unable to join us at the event to receive her award, which was collected by Shirley Kirkland, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead. Helen sent this message after the event to express her appreciation, she said: “This is an amazing surprise, thank you. I love volunteering and it gives me the chance to meet lots of people and do interesting things. I have got to know many people over the years and it is very nice to have a chat and a laugh. It really brightens up my day. I am very pleased to have won this award. Thank you.”

Equity, diversity and inclusion champion

Selina always works to find a way to make new and creative ideas come to fruition. She is dedicated to working in intersectionality and supporting the service to develop pathways specifically focused on improving access for minority groups and those with health inequalities, such as veterans, LGBTQ+, substance misuse and older adults.

Commenting on her award, Selina said: “It is a great honour and privilege to have been nominated and to have received this award. There is more for us to do in seeking new ways to ensure that each person has access to the care they need when they need it, however, this is something that I am very passionate about. I have really enjoyed this evening and to celebrate with my colleagues. Thank you.”

Peer support worker of the year

Tony has made such a difference to the lives of the young people he works with. He is so caring, kind and approachable. He always works at the young person’s pace and takes the time to really get to know them. He is absolutely a gold standard peer support worker.

On receiving his award Tony said: “I want to thank those who took the time to nominate me. It is a real pleasure and has made my day. I feel very valued for what I do and how it helps others. Thank you so much.”

Chair’s rising star award

Kathryn Bebb has made huge strides in bridging the gap between our services and minority groups. She is a strong, kind and articular leader. This award reflects her leadership and potential to make a huge contribution to the trust in the years ahead.

She has worked with Asian families to learn from their experience of our end of life care. She has built relationships with our gypsy, Roma traveller communities to offer healthcare and, developed good relationships with colleagues in primary care.

On receiving her award, Kathryn told us: “It is a great honour to receive this award. I have always had a passion for ensuring that everyone in our communities has equal access and the best possible experience when using our services.

“Understanding the barriers that people face when it comes to healthcare goes a long way to ensuring they get the care they need. Thank you for recognising this important work.”

Research and innovation award

The teams have a strong research ethos. Leading the way with research in a field which is underrepresented by their professions. As a site for the surviving crying study and the ComBAT (community-based behavioural activation training) study they are inspirational, role modelling what’s possible.

Supported and empowered by leadership, the teams are addressing the vision of the chief nursing officer for England’s first strategic plan for research, by leading, participating in and delivering research. This is significant because those working in community with the 0 to 19 age range are typically under-represented in research, in the same way as the babies, children, young people, families, and communities they work are under-served in research.

On behalf of the teams, Tracey Long, Children’s Care Group Nurse Consultant and National Institute of Health and Care Research, Senior Research Leader, said: “Research is important to us all, but we know that being involved in research within our individual roles is not easy. We have to find ways of integrating research into our work, for the benefit of the communities in which we work. Health Visiting and School Nursing teams in Doncaster and North Lincolnshire are doing just that. They are networking, reflecting, learning, developing and very much engaged in research. Collectively we are thrilled to have received this award as it shows our work has been recognised.”

Learning and education award

Gemma is passionate about providing the very best care to patients and educating others, particularly in the area of older people’s mental health. She is well respected both regionally and nationally for her work in this field. She has published research, authored evidence briefings and been elected to national committees.

The new learning half days and the commitment to grow the training spend each year means that the profile of learning and development has never been higher. Gemma’s work is making a real difference to the learning of others, both in our communities and inside the trust.

Commenting on her accolade, Gemma said: “To be nominated and receive this award was a huge surprise and I am really grateful for being nominated. There are lots of people working hard and supporting education and learning throughout the trust who are equally deserving, so thank you for this award.”

Quality and safety award

Dr Balaji has developed a pathway for stopping over reliance on medication for people with a learning disability, which has led to over 70 people having their medications reduced. This is a fantastic example of improving safety and the quality of patients’ lives.

Dr Balaji offers support to trust colleagues and to the people the team cares for. She is supportive of progression in the service and helps with the education for both colleagues and external staff about the support needed for people with a learning disability. She is caring and always considers holistic care for all patients.

On receiving her award Dr Balaji said: “I am delighted to have been nominated and to receive the Quality and Safety award. It means a lot to me because I am committed to safety across the trust and improving the lives of the people who use our services. It is a privilege to be part of an amazing and supportive team with each person working towards the same goal of keeping our patients safe.”

Equity and inclusion award

Most of the promises in our strategy are about addressing inequalities. Work on equity, and commitment to ensuring inclusion, is crucial to the trust’s mission. Health inequalities drive harm and cost in our care system. There is work to do to play our part in tackling them.

The Viral Hepatitis team is doing just that by demonstrating persistence, creativity, collaboration and inclusivity of patients. Often working in alternative settings such as prisons, refugee centres, homeless shelters and with people on the streets, and with sex workers. Their work is internationally acclaimed because they have almost reached the point of micro elimination for Hepatitis C in Doncaster.

On behalf of the team Jennifer Havercroft said: “We are all absolutely thrilled to have our hard work recognised by receiving this award. The whole evening was wonderful and receiving this award is the icing on the cake. Every member of the team has worked tirelessly to be on the cusp of achieving micro elimination for Hepatitis C, and we are very grateful for receiving this award.”

Leader of the year

Tracey has provided her team with support, encouragement and compassion in both their work and personal lives. She developed opportunities for new roles, apprentices and international recruits. Her team agrees that they couldn’t have had a better person to lead them in improving and developing the service.

She is an advocate for Podiatry and strives to ensure the service is recognised as an integral part of the trust. Tracey is caring, which shines through in her work and the entire team is supported better for it.

Speaking about her award, Tracey said: “Being awarded leader of the year is such an accolade. There are so many inspiring leaders across the trust, and I feel very proud to have won this award.

“Investing time and nurturing your team to achieve their personal and career goals is an important part of being a leader. I am lucky to be working with such a talented group of people who are truly amazing.”

Team of the year children’s clinical care

The team has made fantastic strides in developing this service throughout the whole of North Lincolnshire. They have supported many babies, children and families in the first 1001 critical days, promoting sensitive, attuned, and responsive caregiving to babies and children.

This fantastic multi-disciplinary team tailor their support to individual families, offering evidence-based interventions to help parents and carers better understand the thoughts and feelings of their babies which has a positive impact on the parent infant relationship and overall parental mental health.

Commenting on behalf of the whole team, Emma Clark, said: “Everyone is so thrilled with this award. The whole evening has been brilliant and winning this award has made it very special.

“We are passionate about supporting the emotional wellbeing of families and making a difference to long term outcomes for children and families, enabling them to reach their full potential through early intervention. Thank you for this award.”

Team of the year adult clinical care

The team has achieved excellent results in reducing waiting lists and times to enable them to deliver timely assessment and diagnosis in support of patients and families. They continually achieved above national diagnostic targets which has received recognition with NHS England, in national media, newspapers and interest on the television.

This success has also prompted a visit from NHS England to understand how the team manage to consistently achieve so highly. The whole team has pulled together to deliver this fantastic improvement.

Chrissy Taylor, on behalf of The Rotherham Memory Service, said: “It is a huge honour to have won this award. It really is a team effort with everyone playing a key role in our success from our admin colleagues to clinical staff, we have all pulled together to support each other to deliver a great service for the people of Rotherham.

“It has been a fantastic evening celebrating each other’s achievements.”

Backbone team of the year

The teams demonstrate successful cross backbone services, coming together to deliver on a challenging goal to improve the way the public and our patients interact with us. They have worked closely with communities to understand their needs including simplicity of message and addressing language barriers. They have also ensured that those with accessibility needs are much more able to access information on our new website, which is now rated 5th in the country for meeting accessibility standards.

Commenting on behalf of the teams, Natalie Belt said: “Receiving the backbone team of the year is a great privilege. We worked together to deliver a new-look website and brand-new staff app. They were both very big and complex projects with tight timescales, and everyone really pulled together to make it happen and launch both on time. It is a brilliant achievement, and we are all thrilled to be given this award.”

Colleague of the year (backbone)

Enioluwada has opened doors to community groups that we haven’t been involved with before. This has allowed us to engage with harder to reach communities and improve the overall reach and engagement of the care group. The scope of her work is vast and has helped the care group to engage with young people in care. She is passionate and dedicated to her work.

Enioluwada said: “It was extremely kind that people thought my role within the trust was impactful enough to have nominated me for the award. I am grateful to God and the judges for the privilege of being given the award from a list of very worthy colleagues”.

Colleague of the year (clinical)

Angela brings energy to her team, but the real improvement she brings is in the quality of life she offers for the people that she cares for. Her work on introducing a videopholoscopy pathway has led to a reduction in waiting times and in identifying dysphasia needs much earlier in people with a learning disability. She really does make the impossible, possible and puts the person at the heart of all she does.

Commenting about receiving the clinical colleague of the year award, Angela said: “Thank you for this award which is amazing. I am delighted that my work has been recognised. It is a great passion of mine, and I constantly strive to give the people in my care the best quality of life they deserve. I have really enjoyed tonight, meeting other colleagues and celebrating their work. Truly amazing.”

Summing up the evening, our Chair Kathryn Lavery, said: “It was a brilliant evening, with people coming together and celebrating the achievements of their peers. We are very lucky to have such talented, passionate, and dedicated people in our trust. Everyone is very deserving of an award, and they should all be rightly proud of what they have accomplished making a real difference to the people who use our services.”

Thank you to Dawn Leese

During our awards ceremony we took the opportunity to pay tribute to Dawn Leese, Non-Executive Director who was due to leave the trust a few days after the ceremony.

There were messages of thanks from colleagues past and present in a video presentation.

In her time with us over eight years Dawn has been a huge advocate of patients, a valued member of the board of directors and a tenacious and effective chair of our Quality Committee.

Thank you Dawn for everything you have done for us during your time here.

All photographs from the awards are available on our Facebook page (opens in new window).

Armed Forces Covenant testament of continued commitment

We reaffirmed our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, a national pledge to support the armed forces, together with members of the Ministry of Defence earlier this month.

We signed the Armed Forces Covenant to pledge to treat those who serve, or have served, and their families with fairness and respect. Showing this commitment to support the continued employment armed forces’ community.

The signing ceremony was held on 10 December in the presence of representatives from the 150 Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps and trust colleagues.

Part of the armed forces covenant complements our own promise 11 which is to deliver in full the NHS commitment to veterans and those in our service communities, recognising the specific needs many have, especially for access to suitable mental health and trauma responsive services.

Data is interesting, isn’t it?

We all create data all the time, quite often without realising it.

Just think of how often we enter data, sometimes very personal and private, when we’re completing online forms, for shopping, holidays, banking, and of course healthcare.

And why is the data we create for healthcare so important? Well, there are many reasons.

Over the next few weeks, we will hear from a wide range of colleagues here at RDaSH in the Data Saves Lives campaign about why data is important to them in their roles. And ultimately why data saves lives.

We will hear from colleagues in nursing, performance, research and operations. We’ll hear how they use the data we create in their roles, to support clinical decision-making, explore and investigate new treatment pathways, or to provide insight into how the organisation is working, covering aspects like safety, clinical activity or risk.

The Data Saves Lives Campaign came from the results of a survey via the Digital Transformation group, and we have taken your comments on board. There will be additional work that will be ongoing alongside this campaign such as the review of SystmOne training and support with RePortal.

And having raised your interest in data, you’ll have the opportunity to speak with these colleagues in the New Year, with an “ask me anything” online session. Watch out for further details.

New uniform for qualified nurse associates (QNAs)

We are pleased to showcase the new qualified nurse associate (QNA) uniform to bring these colleagues more in line with the nursing team, and to identify the hard work they have undertaken to become a registered professional.

Our QNAs told us that they did not feel any different once qualified due to keeping the same biscuit colour uniform (with just epaulettes added) and that colleagues and visitors could not tell the difference between a student nurse associate and a QNA.

Sam Taylor from Amber Lodge who has worn the new uniform for the first time, said: “It has created a lot of positive comments from both patients and colleagues which is brilliant.”

Welcoming our newly elected governors

Governors represent all areas of our trust but also our patients, carers and partners.

They bring fresh eyes and different perspectives to what we are doing at the trust and share their experiences, with promise 5 being at the centre of their work. Earlier this year we held our governor elections and wanted to introduce our new Council of Governors.

All governors can be contacted by:

• Email: rdash.corporate-assurance@nhs.net
• Phone: 07929 656113 (Sue Black)

Let’s meet our new staff governors:

Jessica Williams, Children Care Group

I care about making sure we provide the best service possible to everyone we work with. As an education mental health practitioner, the favourite part of the role is the direct work I do with young people and their families. Making a real difference in their lives. I regularly receive feedback and speak to families about how their experience can be improved. I will use this skill in my governor role. I will work to enact positive change and ensure that people using our services are at the heart of every choice I make.

Welcome to our new public governors

Kevin Hodgkiss, Patient and carer governor

I have been a patient for some years and want to give something back to the trust that has always taken care of me. I am a good speaker and have won prizes for public speaking in the past and being a governor will be a good platform for my skills. I have been a user of both cognitive behavioural therapy and occupational therapy. I have first-hand experience of the services offered by the trust and I wish to safeguard these services for patients in the future. I hope as an elected governor I would be able to perform effectively. I submit this application and hope I am successful as I feel I will be able to bring first-hand knowledge and experience to this role.

New partner governors

The council of governors now includes two youth governors, as part of wider work to change our membership. In next time’s Trust Matters we will explain the changes and hear from the governing body representatives about what they are trying to achieve.

Our newly elected governors join our current governors.

North Lincolnshire

Welcoming volunteer Samantha

We welcomed a new volunteer to the team Samantha McBride who joins us from the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Samantha talks about how volunteering has enriched her life:

At the beginning of 2024 I did something unthinkable, I agreed to volunteer as an expert with experience.

As a volunteer I have a voice, and I am listened to.

I am invited to attend meeting, events and sit on interview panels with professionals from RDaSH.

I am embracing the opportunity to make suggestions and to work with the trust to enable changes to take place for future mental health service users and their support networks.

More importantly as an expert with experience volunteer, the role has helped me on a personal level. I am now gaining confidence. I am starting to believe in my own abilities. Finally, rather than being trapped in my own little world I am now able to see a clearer and more optimistic future.

Star of the month

Well done to Rhiannon Baker for being the first “Star of the Month” in the North Lincolnshire and Talking Therapies Care Group.

Rhiannon was presented with her certificate by Natasha Littleworth, Deputy Care Group Director on 24 October. The “Star of the Month” is the care group’s new way of saying thank you and recognising something special.

Necia Fitzgerald, Staff Nurse on Mulberry ward scooped the care group’s second Star of the Month Award, for dealing brilliantly with some highly emotive and intense situations with fantastic leadership. Presenting Necia with her award was Dr Andrew Heighton, Care Group Medical Director.

Rotherham

Supporting the nursing cadet scheme

We were very proud to have hosted our first group of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) cadets in November.

The group of 10 cadets were on placement with us at Swallownest Court in Rotherham gaining valuable work experience for their future careers.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Prince of Wales Nursing Cadet scheme gives 16 to 25 year-olds an introduction to careers in nursing, midwifery and allied health professions. The programme includes health related learning modules and a 20-hour work experience opportunity in a local health setting.

Meagan McNaney, Director of Nursing Rotherham, said: “The cadets were very professional and brimming with enthusiasm. We really enjoyed having them with us and hope that we will see them again in their future NHS careers. This scheme provides important hands-on experience under supervision by one of our colleagues.”

At the end of their placement each cadet received an award at a special ceremony.

Anyone who is interested in this scheme can find more information on the RCN website and search for nursing cadets.

Outstanding contribution awards by National Crime Agency

Huge congratulations and well done to three of our colleagues who have received the outstanding contribution award 2024 by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Julie Godbehere, Social Worker; Sue Byrne, Mental Health Nurse; and Kate Oldfield, Clinical Psychologist, were praised for their multidisciplinary contribution and trauma informed approach in Operation Stovewood, the NCA’s investigation into child sexual abuse in Rotherham.

The deputy director of the overall National Crime Agency commended the work of the trauma and resilience service.

Well done Julie, Sue and Kate.

Doncaster

Doncaster Council domestic and sexual abuse event

Aspire attended the Doncaster Council domestic and sexual abuse event at the Legacy Conference Centre.
We did lots of networking and created some very positive links for our service today.

We have also made links with two agencies, to come and present their work at team meetings and also to provide some free training to staff.

By showcasing Aspire and the work that we do, we believe we are advertising inclusion health care, working with prisoners, sex workers, people experiencing homelessness and misusing substances.

It also shows that we 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.

Therefore, fulfilling two of the trust’s 28 promises.

Health chiefs pledge to stay dry this January

Health chiefs in have pledged to ditch the drink in the new year to support the national Alcohol Change UK Dry January campaign and the Rethink Your Drink initiative.

Toby Lewis, our Chief Executive, together with Rachael Leslie, Director of Public Health, and Carlene Holden, Director of People and Organisational Development, are hoping to “Boss It” in January and not touch a drop.

Reducing drinking alcohol has a range of benefits. In one week, those taking part in Dry January should find they have more energy, higher concentration and better quality sleep. In week two, people find they are having much clearer thinking, a reduction in heartburn and they are better hydrated.

By week three, participants may find they’re shedding the pounds as well as saving them!

The average pint or large glass of wine contains 200-plus calories. And after a month of not drinking the risk of certain cancers, including breast and colorectal, reduces, as well as the risk of a stroke or heart disease.

For anyone wanting to cut-down on their drinking rather than quit all-or-nothing, for more information visit the Alcohol UK website (opens in new window).

For more information and support to cut drinking please call Aspire Drug and Alcohol service on 03000 213900.

Magnolia Lodge neurorehabilitation occupational therapy kitchen promotes independence

People needing specialist neurorehabilitation are set to benefit from a brand-new accessible occupational therapy kitchen thanks to local kitchen supplier Howdens.

The new kitchen donated by the Doncaster branch of Howdens has been installed on Magnolia Lodge at Tickhill Road Hospital. The kitchen will be used by patients on the ward as part of their cognitive and, or physical rehabilitation during their occupational therapy sessions.

The kitchen has been made accessible by various means comprising:

• a new wider doorway to allow those in varied supportive seating to access the space
• electric rise and fall worktop unit with electric hob
• electric rise and fall sink unit, insulated underneath and with accessible lever tap handles
• integrated oven with slide and hide oven door
• pull down cupboard shelves in two cupboards making top shelf storage more accessible
• easy grip handles for cupboards for those with reduced hand function
• cupboard doors fitted with soft closing hinges and draws with smooth closing drawer runners to aid those with reduced strength.

Laura Kramer, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist for neuroservices, said: “A massive thank you to Howdens for this very generous donation. The kitchen is a well used space by patients on Magnolia Lodge who have been diagnosed with neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis and Guillain Barre Syndrome. Patients can be mobile on their feet, wheelchair users or semi mobile. They can present with a whole array of upper limb deficits, from difficulties reaching up into cupboards, difficulty operating taps or challenges opening cupboard doors. They may present with reduced balance, and anything from mild to significant cognitive difficulties impacting on function such as basic as object recognition, sequencing a task and demonstrating safety awareness.

“As an occupational therapist, it is imperative that we have this space to provide meaningful, and appropriate, situationally relevant environments to carry out our rehabilitation. Feedback for use of the kitchen so far has been extremely positive. I am so thankful to Howdens for enhancing our ward facilities.”

The door widening, kitchen fitting, flooring and painting of the kitchen was carried out by our Estates team.

Top award for Izaaz

Well done to our Finance Director, Izaaz Mohammed who has won the Deputy Finance Director of the Year award by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
Izaaz became the Deputy Director of Finance in 2022 and his contributions and achievements in the role resulted in him becoming Director of Finance earlier this year. The award recognises his hard work and dedication to making process changes to ensure strong budget management, delivering challenging cost improvement programme targets and improving reporting, he led the drawing up and implementation of a finance development plan, focusing on recommendations made by the audit.

In addition, he chaired the South Yorkshire inclusion and diversity network group to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the region’s wider finance function. He helped the trust achieve Level 1 Future Focused Finance accreditation and started the process for the finance team to work with local schools to promote NHS finance.

Izaaz said: “I am very honoured to have received this award. The work the finance team does is a team effort, and I appreciate all the support.”

2025 quality improvement (QI) poster

Top prize of £5,000 for our best 2025 QI poster entry!

Look out for details in our February 2025 Trust Matters. Entry deadline 1 August 2025 (Projects must have taken place in 2024 or 2025).

This is about helping us to deliver promises 16 and 28 on improving outcomes and broadening research. Supporting local innovation, experiments in change and collaborations within and between teams.

Remember to involve patients in your project if it is clinical, and to make good use of qualitative or quantitative data.

Need time to think about a QI project? How about using learning half day time in January.

Christmas competition winners

We’ve had a brilliant response to our Christmas decorations competition with wards and departments trimming up and making their spaces festive for their patients and colleagues.

The judging elves were out and about across our sites during Christmas week judging the decorations. Well done to:

Doncaster Community Planned team at the Heathfield Centre becomes the RDaSH Christmas 2024 winner.

The gold award for the most imaginative decorations went to Rotherham Neurodiversity Development team.

Frankincense award for the best traditional Christmas decorations went to Doncaster Brodsworth ward.

The North Lincolnshire With Me in Mind won myrrh award for the most trimming up.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Christmas decoration competition.

Here are some of the fantastic decorations from around our trust:

See all pictures from our Christmas decorations competition (opens in new window).

Christmas in the trust

Our colleagues have gone above and beyond to support families who use our services and put a smile on people’s faces.

Celebrating our 250 story and our journey so far

We started our work back in June 2024 with Care Opinion to fulfil promise 4, and we knew there would be lots to do.

Something new can be daunting, and Care Opinion is a different way of collecting feedback for us as a trust. We expected many questions and what we have done as a result of the roll-out is a truly fantastic achievement for us.

With learning and change accepted we have received a fantastic 278 stories to date with over 11,000 reads. Many stories still to be heard in the future from our 331 listening and responding colleagues in the trust.

Since going live in June and our first published story, we now have 154 different QR codes across patient facing services including the individual placement and support, and estates and facilities. Read the feedback (opens in new window) we got in June 2024.

Health Watch Doncaster has also posted some of the high quality services we offer and the outstanding care that is shown by our colleagues from Care Opinion.

Impressively, the Long COVID team has received 46 stories (opens in new window) so far. Showcasing the difference this is making to those who use this service.

Another inspiring service which New Beginnings offered to one storyteller on Care Opinion is worth a read Not all heroes wear capes, some wear tunics. Read what our storyteller had to say (opens in new window).

Reaching the 250th story was a great milestone for us and worth celebrating and recognising. Congratulations to Julie Hutchinsons, Team Leader, Home First Rotherham, and the Specialist Falls team, for this wonderful feedback (opens in new window) about the care the team provides.

Stuart Green, who has led on the Care Opinion project, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with many teams. Seeing the passion in care and support that is offered is quite humbling and reassuring.

“Care Opinion continues to shine a light on the experiences of people using our services, in an honest and visible way. We will continue to work to fulfil promise 4 and learn from the feedback and change services accordingly for the people we care for.”

Read the full blog on Care Opinion (opens in new window).

Welcome

Welcome to Dawn Talabi, our new Social Work Practice Lead.
Dawn, who will be based in Woodfield House, Tickhill Road Site, Doncaster, joins us from Spectrum Community Interest Company (CIC), based in Wakefield, where she was the Named Professional for Safeguarding Adults and Mental Capacity Act lead in the health and justice sector.

Dawn has been a qualified social worker (adults) for 10 years, is an ex-police officer, and has previously worked for acute hospital trusts and local authority safeguarding adults team as a senior safeguarding social worker, safeguarding adults advisor, Court of Protection senior practitioner and named professional for safeguarding adults.

She is also a best interest assessor and has worked as a Mental Capacity Act lead. Dawn’s experience of social work is in both acute and community settings and from both health and social care perspectives

Dawn said: “I love working for RDaSH. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone!”

Enter your colleague for an award now

We’ve just made it easy to enter a colleague for a care group or backbone directorate award.

Each care group and the backbone directorate have their own unique way of recognising and rewarding their colleagues for the great things they do.

Here is an outline of your reward and recognition awards

Children’s care group You’re awesome awards

• Gold is a thank-you card with a Costa coffee voucher sent to your home.
• Silver is a Wispa chocolate bar with “we’ve heard a Wispa you have been amazing”.
• Bronze is a thank you electronic card.

Doncaster physical health and neurodiversity care group Staff recognition awards

Thank you card: local Going the Extra Mile (GEM) style award for exceptional going over and above every three months.

North Lincolnshire and Talking Therapies care group Star of the month

Certificate: Monthly local GEM style award with certificate by the senior leader team who present the certificate to the person in their area of work.

Monthly colleague forum for people nominated to attend.

Rotherham care group Thank you awards

Senior leadership team (SLT) “thank you” nomination.

Email from the SLT recognising their nomination and contribution.

Thank you card from the SLT with a token of appreciation.

Doncaster adult mental health and learning disabilities care group Seasonal recognition awards

Seasonal events in spring, summer and autumn.

Winter focus will be the annual awards.

Card of recognition from senior leadership team.

Backbone services awards

Thank you card: Quarterly event to recognise outstanding performance and values demonstrated, nominees presented with a thank-you card and token of appreciation.

All you have to do is head to the staff portal on the intranet then:

• log in
• click on questionnaire
• followed by “start a new questionnaire”
• click on “care group and backbone directorate rewards and recognition”
• complete the form

It’s as simple as that.

The award entry then goes through to the relevant care group or backbone directorate for consideration for an award.

Each of our care groups and backbone directorates are running slightly different reward schemes, which are being promoted in your care group or directorate.

Have you got a colleague who goes above and beyond? Has someone done something out of the ordinary who deserves recognition for it? If so, head to the staff portal and nominate them now.

Inclusion networks annual meeting

We celebrated our amazing inclusion networks in November at Glanford Park, Scunthorpe.

The event was well attended and offered the opportunity to connect and show support for our staff networks.

Currently we have the following networks which are open to all colleagues:

• Disability and wellbeing network (DAWN)
• Race equality and cultural heritage (REaCH)
• Rainbow network
• Women’s network
• Improvement and culture ambassador network

Our networks are:

• a great way to engage and support our people
• a forum for colleagues to talk about their experiences especially those who belong to protected characteristic groups
• an opportunity to gain insight into barriers, challenges and devise solutions to help improve the experiences of colleagues, offer peer support and a listening ear

Like more information about our inclusion networks, please email rdash.equalityanddiversity@nhs.net.

Congratulations Shirley

Our Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Shirley Kirkland received a surprise award during our inclusion networks annual meeting.

Shirley was presented with the silver chief nursing officer award from Julie Clennell, Regional Director of Nursing and Clinical Quality, for her outstanding contribution to nursing.

Welcome to our first T-level students

We have officially become the industry placement for T-level qualifications and welcomed our first students Evie and Sky from Outwood Academy who are doing a T-level in allied health professions.

We caught up with them on their first day as they embarked on their two-year placement with the Home First service. Both Sky and Evie will spend one day a week, during term time, on placement with the service gaining valuable experience while studying for the health and social care T-level qualification.

Evie said: “It is very exciting and a great opportunity to learn new things. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and having a hands-on approach to my course.”

Sky added: “I am very interested in art therapies and this T-level in allied health professions will give me valuable experience and new skills for my future career.”

Evie and Sky will spend time with the HomeFirst team in the community and on inpatient wards gaining practical knowledge to support their course. T-levels are for young people aged from 16 to 19 years as an option to A-levels and apprenticeships.

Kay Keeton, Placement Learning Facilitator, said: “A warm RDaSH welcome to Sky and Evie. As our first T-level students they will be pioneers helping to shape and inform other groups of students who will follow them.

We are working towards offering more T-levels in a wide range of services across the trust.”

Gift of joy for children in care

Children and families under our care set to benefit from Christmas gifts donated by the public and local businesses as part of the support being offered over the festive season.

Two of our services which support the health and wellbeing of children and families have come together in a bid to bring some festive joy to those who are less well off during the Christmas period.

The Children in Care team which is part of our Children’s services and staff at New Beginnings, a specialist detoxification unit, have been collecting hundreds of Christmas gifts in the lead up to Christmas to hand out to families in need.

Kelley Ward, New Beginnings Ward Manager, said: “A massive thank you to all the businesses and the public for their kind generosity. Especially to Fishlake Commercial Motors, for donating their staff time and a van to deliver the presents to us.

“This time of year, can be very challenging for families, with many children going without any presents. It started with just a few donations from staff. But with the hard work and dedication of Lisa Davis, Support Worker, and Lauren Thorpe, Qualified Nurse Associate, to spread the word to local businesses and the community managed to turn it into the biggest collection we have ever done, helping even more families.”

Claire Grainger, from the Children in Care team, said: “The response has been overwhelming and will help to make this Christmas a little easier for many families and children who use our services. All the presents will be wrapped and given to children and families in need over Christmas. Thank you to everyone who donated and all those involved in making this happen.”

The Christmas gift collection first started with a few small gifts donated by staff from New Beginnings. Two members of the team Lisa Davis and Lauren Thorpe worked tirelessly to let businesses, and the public know about the collection which resulted in many more presents being donated.

Poetry for health by Mike Parnell

Collaboration between chaplaincy and occupational therapy on Brodsworth and Cusworth wards has led to an inspiring idea showing how poetry can aid in healing.

Based on the concept that poetry can help in the healing process, Chaplain, Rev Mike Parnell experienced this for himself when he went through chemotherapy.

Mike said: “The chemo was the darkest moment of my life.” Yet I was challenged by chaplaincy colleague June Rutherford to record my experiences by writing poetry about those experiences.

On returning to work Mike was asked what specifically would he like to do? “Thinking about this was easy”, says Mike. “Poetry had a positive effect on my recovery and helped me through those difficult times. I wanted to use poetry as a tool to engage with people and help them in their healing processes.”

At the same time there was an occupational therapist working on the same wards as Mike, who also had an interest in poetry. After a meeting it was concluded that this was what they wanted to do. Rachel Edwards was instrumental in helping the group be established.

Mike says, “Without her the group would not have been as successful as it was or as quickly as it was.”

Once poetry was understood to be not just about dead boring male poets that had to be learned at school, members of the groups began to appreciate poetry more. Mike and Rachel noticed that those who got the most benefit from the group were those who were closer to recovery. When people can relate to a poem it becomes a valuable tool for healing. Mike comments, “when someone who believed that poetry was for not them suddenly realises that a poem expresses what they feel something magical seems to have occurred. A step towards healing has taken place.”

Research would support this. Poetry is known to help us think differently and can help as it reveals ‘us’ to ourselves and the world to “us”.

Hannah Brown, who took over from Rachel when she moved on to pastures new has said that “it has been encouraging to see the impact that the poetry group works has had on patient’s self-expression and how they process information.”

It all helps in the journey towards health. It is an expression of spirituality through the ordinary, which demonstrates the value of chaplaincy and occupational therapy working together.

The Jackson Hope Foundation circles

Introducing Jackson Hope Circles, a safe, welcoming space to come together to share experiences, support one another, and enjoy engaging activities.

Whether you’re looking for meaningful conversations, a challenging quiz, or just the chance to meet new friends, our circles are here for you. Together, we’ll foster connection, laughter, and positivity while supporting each other’s journey to better mental and emotional health.

Find out more on The Jackson Hope Foundation (opens in new window).

Your Hearts and Minds charity

New community grants to be launched soon

The NHS is set to celebrate its 77th birthday in 2025, and to help mark this we’re going to launch a fabulous new community grants programme with £77,000 available from our Your Hearts and Minds Charity.

Bids will be welcomed and up to 30 grants valued between £1,000 and £3,000 will be awarded.

The criteria are that the funding must:

• make a foreseeable difference to one of our charity’s five missions: research, education, mental health, child health, or a good death
• help to sustain community infrastructure consistent with the vision to nurture the power in our communities
• identify a clear expenditure plan and benefits
• be a bid jointly made by an employee of RDaSH and a local registered charity or voluntary sector body in either Rotherham, Doncaster or North Lincolnshire

The bids will be considered by a joint panel comprising non-executive and executive directors of the Charitable Funds Committee, working alongside a voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) representative from each of the three places, the general manager of Flourish and a patient representative.

The grants will be officially launched on Monday 6 January, and should be submitted by Friday 14 February. Grants will be issued to the successful bidders on Wednesday 2 April.

For more information, please contact Jo McDonough by emailing joanne.mcdonough@nhs.net or Jenny Baynham on jenny.baynham@nhs.net.

Alternatively call the Fundraising team on 03000 212100.

Thanks to everyone who has taken part in our festive fundraising!

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our festive fundraising this year!

Over 150 people braved the wintery weather on Wednesday 4 December to support our second annual Light up a Life event, gathering together to celebrate the lives of their lost loved ones and place their dedications on our tree of lights.

This was an outdoor event in a marquee, and we were very grateful of the support from a team from nationwide who travelled from as far away as Dundee to come and volunteer their time to help us set up. This is the second time they have volunteered with us and thanks to their support we are able to submit a bid for grant funding from their foundation in 2025.

Thanks to everyone involved in Light up a Life who made the event such a special occasion, we have received some lovely feedback on our social media channels from people who attended, we hope this event will continue to grow in years to come.

Our Christmas Coffee Morning had lots of festive stalls and delicious donated cakes and bakes, our raffle has also been our best-selling ever, and our Christmas cards have been extremely popular, so we’re delighted that people are coming out to give us their support.

Our Christmas Jumper Dash unfortunately had to be cancelled due to Storm Darragh, but our school-based events have gone ahead. Rosedale Primary School and Sir Thomas Wharton students have done a fantastic job with sponsorship this year and we hope to get more schools involved next year. Thanks to everyone who has baked, volunteered, donated and supported us, we’ve even had our Tickhill Road Hospital Christmas tree and lights sponsored! We hope that as more people hear about Your Hearts and Minds in the next 12 months, we can continue to build our reputation as a truly local charity in the communities we serve.

Flourish

Free garden skills courses for jobseekers

Flourish, a Doncaster community hub, is offering a range of free green skills courses for anyone aged 18 and over who is looking to take steps towards employment.

Flourish, based in Woodfield Park, Balby are offering short 4-week courses that focus on building transferable and practical skills for jobseekers.

Skills workshops include:

• sustainable gardening
• building brick and breeze block compost bays
• laying paths
• building brick raised beds and upcycling

You can join as many courses as you like, and lunch and refreshments are provided.

The courses are certificated through Skills Builder membership, and one to one careers advice and guidance will be provided through the Advance Employment Hub.

For more information, please visit:

• Flourish website
• Email: hello@flourishwoodfieldpark.org
• Phone: 07813 406 365

Charity of the year

Congratulations to everyone at Flourish Enterprises for scooping the Charity of the Year 2024 at the Doncaster Chamber Business Awards.

Steve Gillman on behalf of Flourish, said: “It is a great honour to receive this award. It is an incredible recognition of the effort and dedication of the team, Woodfield 24 Care Services, our amazing volunteers, and the generosity of our supporters. Showcasing the fantastic impact that we have achieved together.”

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.

Can we make it easier for volunteers to sign up? The process is so long, it’s like applying for a job and all online. What about elderly people who aren’t tech savvy and may love to volunteer?

There are non-online options. But actually, whilst it used to take some time, we now have a smooth process measured in weeks to get someone enrolled. We do have to undertake some important checks, which date from the national scandal over Jimmy Saville. The big step then is getting volunteers into roles. In 2023, our volunteers were entirely in Doncaster services (mostly in breastfeeding, our hospice, and the Aspire drug and alcohol team). Now we have opportunities across all our sites and across lots of clinical and backbone settings. We hope to reach 250 volunteers in the early part of 2025, and we will reach 350 by the end of the summer.

Answered by Toby Lewis, Chief Executive.

What is the reason for having the 3000 target for the staff flu campaign?

Three quarters of our employee base represents an attempt to reach significant coverage, and protection, across our staff groups. Flu is infectious, so your vaccine protects you, and me. We are delighted to have exceeded 2,800 vaccines this year, which is our biggest ever drive. Especially pleasing to see team like our cross-trust learning disabilities and forensics directorate step up, alongside teams in all our backbone and clinical services. Planning will start early in 2025 for the next campaign, ideas welcome.

Answered by Steve Forsyth, Chief Nurse.

We had a glitzy event at the Doncaster racecourse, how much did it cost, and where did the money come from?

The awards ceremony is part of our awards and rewards work which recognises what volunteers, staff and students contribute. The awards night is rightly glamorous and exciting. It is paid for by sponsorship which we raise specifically for this purpose. So, we don’t spend NHS funds on the awards, other than those of us working at them. We are really proud of the award winners, those shortlisted, and the energy and positivity it generates. Thanks for asking this though, because we need to make sure we know what NHS money is spent on.

Answered by Jo McDonough, Director of Strategic Development.

What is the current position about remote working? It feels like everyone needs to be physically on site now

The position has not changed over the last couple of years, and locally team leaders are trying to find a best fit for individuals and teams. In the first half of 2025 we will develop and finalise a remote working approach for the medium term. This will certainly support some flexibility and create some parameters across our trust. We are in favour of some of the benefits of remote working but need to make sure people are well-set up to work off site, are available to support on site working when necessary, and of course to help new RDaSHians to join teams too.

Answered by Carlene Holden, Director of People and Organisation Development.

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 NHS is in the midst of what Ministers call our biggest ever national conversation (opens in new window).

Meanwhile, the public believes that £22b will be given to the NHS to face up the wave of need that follows a once in a century pandemic. Closer to home, we can see the scars of that pandemic, whether that is literally inside our amazing Long COVID service, or in the demand services see, with a rise of a fifth in children’s mental health presentations. In 2025 to 2026 the NHS will see the single most challenging financial year since the foundation of the service. This is certainly a moment to make sure that internal honesty inside our organisation is at a premium. That we don’t use euphemisms, or pull our punches. We are candid about harm, about feelings, and about choices.

Honesty

That is why I am so delighted that one of our headline stories in Trust Matters is colleagues giving feedback on their experience of the freedom to speak up (FTSU) service. Often FTSU can be about local individual or team issues, conflicts, or concerns. I know how diligently James Hatfield works to support people, to hear all perspectives, and to try and find mutual understanding or real change. The new monitoring system we have for what, in the jargon is called detriment, or in my language (and personal experience) might be labelled victimising people who voice their concerns, is a really important step. We want to be a trust in which anyone can raise their voice, and even if the concern is not wholly founded or universally agreed with, their work and career can continue without mutterings of disquiet.

Improvement

There will always be money here for safety. We continue to be focused on tackling staffing challenges. In this year’s Christmas card message to all employees (it’s with your payslip on your electronic staff record (ESR), if you missed it), Kathryn Lavery and I talk about being fully staffed. What that means is that we have been intensely successful in 2024 in recruiting people into roles. And with our remarkable new induction process (thanks Jacqui and Nikki), I am hoping those new starters get a flying start to a long career here. Consultant vacancies have fallen by more than 80% in twelve months. Agency spend has almost disappeared (by the way there is no ban on agency, if anyone tells you that they are being mischievous what there is a professional process of scrutiny and challenge).

Risk

But we do need to be honest that pace matters. Because if you are trying to tackle harm, like preventing deaths by suicide among older people; or make sure we are just, by ensuring anyone detained has their section 132 rights met, for example, we have to balance everyone’s opportunity to comment with the need to act and make a difference. Usually there is space to talk, to listen, to co-construct. Sometimes though we need to be honest that there is not that time. That the right step is to “just do”. Of course, to explain, and to listen, but not always to pause or offer multiple varieties. Remember we will only have different service models in North Lincolnshire, Rotherham, and Doncaster where there is a genuine difference in population need, not a legacy difference in how our teams choose to work.

Learning

This more rapid process of change is sometimes unsettling. It means leaders and managers need to talk openly about possibilities. If your line manager only tells you “what’s happening” when it is definitely about to occur, everything will feel rushed. If you are not sure, or disagree, raise your question. If no one knows or won’t answer, drop me a line, or any member of the executive group, because we will. You hopefully know by now that Friday’s video log is an honest conversation about the future, and about right now. There is no point pretending that the Government’s Left Shift to community-based care, our own Promises which move us decisively to HomeFirst models, and reality of both staffing and money will move us over the next three years to fewer beds, and more community teams. With the successful changes around Emerald and Goldcrest, I think we have shown that we know how to make those changes happen safely.

Recognition

Amid all these complexities, there is daily evidence of your success. Glance at the Care Opinion feedback and you can see what your work means to others. Linger over the pictures of our 2024 awards to understand the pride we should take in the achievements of long-term colleagues, and new starters too. Our incredible team working alongside Operation Stovewood in Rotherham have just won recognition from the National Crime Agency for their work (congratulations Kate, Julie, and Sue) to support survivors of sexual violence and grooming. Our colleagues at Flourish have been recognised as the best charity in the city of Doncaster by the Chamber of Commerce. Earlier in 2024, Noma Makanda won a national Allied Health Professional Gold award, with Shirley Kirkland receiving a silver award in November 2024 from NHS England’s Chief Nurse. Trust Matters is packed this month with details of how you can nominate colleagues or teams for awards across the organisation. Packed too with recognition of successes. These celebrations do not obscure the hardship or the difficulties. But they do show light alongside shade as we try and work with honesty to really make a difference round here.

Toby Lewis Twitter (opens in new window)

Page last reviewed: January 09, 2025
Next review due: January 09, 2026