CSS News

Thank you to everyone who came to this month’s CSS Team Brief. We are so pleased more and more people come every month. We are also being sent lots of amazing stories and content to include.

To send something for us to include in CSS Team Brief, email Rachel Naughton – rachel.naughton@mft.nhs.uk

Meeting notes:

• Staff Survey Participation: Gareth emphasized the importance of the staff survey, noting that 13.3% of the MFT staff and 14.2% of the CSS staff have completed it so far. He encouraged everyone to complete the survey and mentioned that the session would end 15 minutes early to provide time for this.
  • Survey Participation Rates: Gareth highlighted that 13.3% of MFT staff and 14.2% of CSS staff have completed the staff survey. This translates to approximately 750 individuals. He emphasized the importance of increasing these numbers to gather comprehensive feedback.
  • Encouragement to Complete: Gareth encouraged all staff to complete the survey, stressing its significance in shaping organizational decisions. He mentioned that the session would end 15 minutes early to provide time for staff to complete the survey.
  • Survey Completion Goal: Charlotte added that the goal is for all divisions to achieve a 50% completion rate. She reassured staff about the anonymity of the survey, addressing concerns about identifiable responses.
• Staff Survey Feedback: Charlotte discussed the importance of the National Staff Survey, highlighting its 20-year history and the valuable insights it provides. She mentioned the development of resources for compassionate and inclusive leadership and the importance of staff recognition and celebration days.
  • Survey History: Charlotte noted that the National Staff Survey has been running for 20 years, providing invaluable data to shape services and improve staff experiences.
  • Leadership Resources: Charlotte mentioned the development of resources for compassionate and inclusive leadership, including training sessions that have been recently advertised.
  • Staff Recognition: Charlotte emphasized the importance of staff recognition and celebration days, noting increased activities around these events to ensure all staff feel valued and celebrated.
  • Survey Anonymity: Charlotte reassured staff about the anonymity of the survey, addressing concerns about identifiable responses and explaining that results are aggregated to protect individual identities.
• Clinical Groups and Operating Model: Gareth announced the reset of the Manchester Foundation Trust’s operating model, introducing new clinical groups to deliver services. He clarified that Clinical and Scientific Services would remain an independent clinical group and discussed the ongoing governance reset.
  • Operating Model Reset: Gareth announced a reset of the Manchester Foundation Trust’s operating model, introducing new clinical groups to streamline service delivery and governance.
  • Clinical Groups: Gareth explained that the new clinical groups would deliver services across the organization, with some groups experiencing more changes than others. He clarified that Clinical and Scientific Services would remain an independent clinical group.
  • Governance Reset: Gareth discussed the ongoing governance reset, which includes policy, safety, workforce, operational management, and finances. The leadership team is working on finalizing the new structures.
  • Communication and Resources: Gareth mentioned that further information about the new operating model is available on the intranet and through recent communications from the Deputy Chief Executive.
• Anaesthetics, Critical Care, and Perioperative Medicine Plan: Alison Agboola presented the annual plan for the Anaesthetics, Critical Care, and Perioperative Medicine division, highlighting key initiatives such as the development of enhanced care areas, pediatric outreach programs, and the implementation of Martha’s Law. She also emphasized the importance of maintaining excellence in CQC delivery and expanding workforce capabilities.
  • Enhanced Care Areas: Alison discussed the development of enhanced care areas, including a new enhanced care area on Oxford Road (Ward 14) to support elective recovery and improve patient flow.
  • Pediatric Outreach: Alison highlighted the development of a pediatric outreach program at North Manchester, linking with colleagues from RMCH and critical care and anaesthetic teams.
  • Martha’s Law: Alison explained the implementation of Martha’s Law, which provides families with a secondary opinion from critical care outreach teams. This initiative is being developed at Oxford Road to ensure compliance.
  • CQC Excellence: Alison emphasized the importance of maintaining excellence in CQC delivery, with all critical care units working through the CQC framework and collecting evidence of well-led leadership.
  • Workforce Expansion: Alison discussed plans to expand workforce capabilities, including increasing advanced clinical practitioners, psychological support, and out-of-hours outreach services.
• Flu Vaccination and Health Awareness: Zara reminded everyone about the importance of getting the flu vaccination and highlighted various health awareness events in October, including World Menopause Day, World Mental Health Day, and Stoptober. She encouraged staff to utilize available resources and support each other.
• Pharmacy Staff Recognition: Charlotte shared the success of World Pharmacist Day celebrations, mentioning the 162 nominations received for outstanding practice. She highlighted the contributions of several pharmacists and announced that the winners would be revealed next Tuesday.
• Freedom to Speak Up: Demi Cole introduced herself as one of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardians and discussed the expansion of the team. She emphasized the importance of listening and follow-up training for managers and encouraged staff to engage with the Freedom to Speak Up initiative.
  • Introduction and Team Expansion: Demi Cole introduced herself as one of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardians and mentioned the recent expansion of the team, which now includes herself, Sakira, and Joe Williamson.
  • Listening and Follow-Up Training: Demi emphasized the importance of listening and follow-up training for managers. She mentioned that training sessions are being developed and will be launched soon.
  • Engagement and Support: Demi encouraged staff to engage with the Freedom to Speak Up initiative and offered to attend meetings and huddles to provide support. She also mentioned the availability of digital assets for promoting the initiative.
  • Champion Recruitment: Demi discussed the recruitment of Freedom to Speak Up champions and the support and training available for them. She encouraged staff to consider becoming champions and to check with their managers before applying.
• Celebrations and Achievements: Sue highlighted various achievements within CSS, including the Trafford Outpatients Therapist team receiving a gold award, numerous shout-outs for staff, and the 10-year celebration of the Super Specialised Ability Centre. She also mentioned the retirement of Winnie, the therapy dog, and the positive impact on patients.
  • Trafford Outpatients Award: Sue highlighted that the Trafford Outpatients Therapist team received a gold award during their accreditation visit. The team was praised for their leadership, staff engagement, and impressive feedback.
  • Shout-Outs: Sue mentioned that nearly 200 shout-outs were received in September, recognizing staff for teamwork, support, compassion, and inclusion. Specific individuals, including Emily Davis, Liz Thomas, and the critical care hive educators, were highlighted for their contributions.
  • Super Specialised Ability Centre: Sue celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Super Specialised Ability Centre, which provides national services for patients with limb damage or loss. A video was shared to highlight their work.

Follow-up tasks:

• Staff Survey Completion: Complete the staff survey and communicate the increase in participation following the discussion. (All participants)
• Staff Survey Participation: Encourage colleagues to participate in the staff survey and inform them about the weekly draw for a chance to win £100. (Charlotte)
• Freedom to Speak Up Training: Develop and promote training for management on “listen up” and “follow up” as part of the Freedom to Speak Up initiative. (Demi Cole)
• Freedom to Speak Up Champions: Identify and nominate potential Freedom to Speak Up champions within teams and ensure they apply using the provided QR code. (All participants)
• Freedom to Speak Up Engagement: Share Freedom to Speak Up digital assets and information through CSS News and other communication channels. (Demi Cole)