October 2014
Welcome
The full report can be read here.
Hello and a warm welcome to the October
edition of Inside St John’s.
Critical Care decant
Staff flu vaccinations
The flu season is now upon us and all health
and social care employees are entitled to a
free seasonal flu jab. We would encourage
you to be prepared and protect yourself
sooner rather than later – the earlier you get
your vaccination the better.
Details of flu clinics can be found on the staff
intranet or you can contact your local area
lead for a flu jab in your workplace. Clinics
are constantly being updated and further
times and venues are being added. Please
check regularly to find a clinic near you.
Getting vaccinated is the best way
to protect patients, the community, yourself
and your family from this potentially serious,
preventable disease.
HEI Report
We welcomed the report from the Health
Environment Inspectorate following their
inspection in August and we are pleased that
many areas were singled out for individual
praise, including the cleanliness of the
general hospital, good sharps management
and hand hygiene practices.
We recognise there are things that can be
improved and these are being addressed as
a matter of urgency. Meanwhile all staff can
assist the safety of patients by maintaining
good hand hygiene at all times.
The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) will be
decanting to the former Burns Unit on 12
January 2015 for a three to four month
period in order to accommodate the
refurbishment of the ICU.
Good Food Challenge
Top NHS chefs Steven Cowan, Sara Jane
Mathieson and Steven Rae from
St Johns have been crowned as winners of
the first ever NHS Good Food Challenge
catering competition.
Congratulations to all the team and the whole
of the St Johns kitchen staff. Judges were
looking for healthy meals, using fresh local
ingredients, which could be made and
delivered in the hospital environment and
they were extremely impressed by Lothian’s
menu.
Chefs from NHS Ayrshire and Arran,
Grampian and Lothian took part in the final
of this new competition organised by
National Services Scotland.
Celebrating Success Awards
The winner's of the Celebrating Success
Awards 2014 were announced at a sparkling
awards ceremony on Friday 24 October.
Special congratulations to the REACT team
based at SJH who won Team of the Year.
Find the full list of finalists here.
Pensions
New pension arrangements are to be
introduced for public sector pension schemes
from April 2015. Information on the changes
can be found at the SPPA website here.
Ebola Virus Disease
For reliable sources of information on the
Ebola Virus Disease, please visit the staff
intranet.
West Lothian Macmillan Advice
Team
The nurses developed an on line module on
Learn Pro, to provide an education package,
which is easily accessible. The module has
been highly evaluated and is currently being
used as a resource by most of NHS
Scotland. Macmillan Cancer Support has
shown an interest and is soon to add the
module to their on line Learnzone site.
They are often asked to present at Scottish
Conferences. Recently at a Macmillan
Professionals Study Day in Glasgow and
Delivering Better Care for NHS Lothian
where they presented a Digital Story of a
Patients Journey.
The West Lothian Macmillan Advice Team is
a service provided by West Lothian Council
Advice Shop supported by, and working in
collaboration with Macmillan Cancer Support.
It provides information and advice about
welfare benefits and other financial
entitlements to help people living in West
Lothian to cope with the cost of living with
cancer. Where beneficial the service will
also introduce clients to other agencies that
can offer more specialist help and advice.
For patients attending St John’s hospital,
there is a Weekly Benefit Session in
Macmillan Day Centre. This is run by
appointment only, to book call:
01506 523531 or drop in anytime to:
Advice Shop, Bathgate Partnership Centre,
Lindsay House where daily sessions run
Monday – Thursday 8.30am – 5pm and
Friday 8.30am – 4pm.
Their close working relationship with patients
and families has recently been recognised
by an invite to their oldest patients 100th
Birthday Party.
Head and Neck Cancer Nurse
Specialists
If you have not already completed a PVG
form and think you qualify then contact your
line manager in the first instance to discuss
further or go to HR Online for more
information at:
(http://hronline.lothian.scot.nhs.uk/AZ/Disclos
ureScotland/Pages/default.aspx)
Head and Neck Cancer Nurse Specialists for
NHS Lothian work closely as a team. They
are based within the Regional Head and
Neck Surgical site, SJH, and at Edinburgh
Cancer Centre at the Western General.
They offer specialist knowledge & expert
clinical skills to patients and staff as well
as education, audit and research and
multidisciplinary working.
PVG Scheme
The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
legislation replaced the disclosure
arrangements for people who work with
vulnerable groups. It helps to ensure that
people who have a known history of harmful
or abusive behaviour are unable to work with
children and protected adults.
After October 2015 it will be illegal for
anyone who is involved in regulated work not
to be on the PVG Scheme. NHS Lothian
needs to have everyone in regulated work on
the Scheme by July 2015.
If you have any question on the PVG
retrospective exercise please e-mail the
team:
pvgretrospective@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
If you would like this newsletter sent to you electronically on a regular basis or if you would like a supply of printed copies,
please contact Julie Cassidy, Public Involvement Co-ordinator at juliecassidy@nhs.net or on 01506 771883. You can view
previous editions of Inside St John’s at www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk.