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Showing results for tags 'Staff support'.
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Support material: Mental health care for medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic Moral injury and the COVID-19 pandemic: reframing what it is, who it affects and how care leaders can manage it Moral injury. Psychoanalytic Psychology Moral Injury: The Invisible Epidemic in COVID Health Care Workers This film has been commissioned by the London Transformation and Learning (LTLC), a joint initiative between Health Education England and NHE England and NHS Improvement aimed at supporting the cross-skilling of the London NHS workforce to manage. -
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By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to: Apply the current and evolving principles of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the care of COVID-19 patients. Apply evidence-based principles of advanced organ support and monitoring to the COVID-19 critically ill patient. Apply evidence-based daily practices to care of the critically ill patient. Develop a range of specialised self-caring practices Reflect critically on the complex elements required to achieve both self-awareness and self-compassion in a high-tension environment. -
News Article
NHS staff left traumatised by first Covid wave
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Many hospital staff treating the sickest patients during the first wave of the pandemic were left traumatised by the experience, a study suggests. Researchers at King's College London asked 709 workers at nine intensive care units in England about how they were coping as the first wave eased. Nearly half reported symptoms of severe anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or problem drinking. One in seven had thoughts of self-harming or being "better off dead". Nursing staff were more likely to report feelings of distress than doctors or other clinical staff in the anonymous web-based survey, which was carried out in June and July last year. Just over half reported good well-being. Victoria Sullivan, an intensive care nurse at Queen's Hospital in Romford, said she often can't sleep because she's thinking about what is happening at the hospital. Her worst moment was breaking the news of a death on the phone, she said, adding that the screams from the patient's relatives "will honestly stay with me forever". "Telling someone over the phone and all you can say is 'I'm really sorry', whilst they're crying their heart out, is quite traumatising," she said. "Although you're saying how sorry you are, in the back of your mind, you're also thinking: 'I've got three other patients I've got to go and see, the infusions need drawing up, and meds need to be given and a nurse needs support'. "The guilt is just too much." Lead researcher Prof Neil Greenberg said the findings should be a "wake-up call" for NHS managers. He said: "The severity of symptoms we identified are highly likely to impair some ICU staff's ability to provide high-quality care as well as negatively impacting on their quality of life." Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 January 2021 -
EventuntilThe uncertainty and anxiety that come with the experience of complexity can be overwhelming. It can be hard to think clearly and act wisely, and our wellbeing can easily suffer. The COVID-19 pandemic has made these experiences an everyday occurrence for many people, and the need for us to work clearly, wisely and healthily has never been more pressing. These Organisational Development workshops from the King's Fund will lift the lid on complexity. Together, you’ll explore how encouraging ourselves and others to understand and acknowledge the loss of control when faced with complexity can help us, our teams and our wider organisational systems survive and even thrive in conditions of uncertainty. The workshops will help you: make sense of the messy reality of complexity, accurately categorise different aspects of that reality and be able to choose appropriate, measured, responses understand your own preferences and strengths in relation to the complexity around you and develop strategies to stretch beyond them help yourself and others be their best during uncertain times. Join one or two sessions, or the whole series. Buy tickets
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EventThe uncertainty and anxiety that come with the experience of complexity can be overwhelming. It can be hard to think clearly and act wisely, and our wellbeing can easily suffer. The COVID-19 pandemic has made these experiences an everyday occurrence for many people, and the need for us to work clearly, wisely and healthily has never been more pressing. These Organisational Development workshops from the King's Fund will lift the lid on complexity. Together, you’ll explore how encouraging ourselves and others to understand and acknowledge the loss of control when faced with complexity can help us, our teams and our wider organisational systems survive and even thrive in conditions of uncertainty. The workshops will help you: make sense of the messy reality of complexity, accurately categorise different aspects of that reality and be able to choose appropriate, measured, responses understand your own preferences and strengths in relation to the complexity around you and develop strategies to stretch beyond them help yourself and others be their best during uncertain times. Join one or two sessions, or the whole series. Buy tickets
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EventuntilThe uncertainty and anxiety that come with the experience of complexity can be overwhelming. It can be hard to think clearly and act wisely, and our wellbeing can easily suffer. The COVID-19 pandemic has made these experiences an everyday occurrence for many people, and the need for us to work clearly, wisely and healthily has never been more pressing. These Organisational Development workshops from the King's Fund will lift the lid on complexity. Together, you’ll explore how encouraging ourselves and others to understand and acknowledge the loss of control when faced with complexity can help us, our teams and our wider organisational systems survive and even thrive in conditions of uncertainty. The workshops will help you: make sense of the messy reality of complexity, accurately categorise different aspects of that reality and be able to choose appropriate, measured, responses understand your own preferences and strengths in relation to the complexity around you and develop strategies to stretch beyond them help yourself and others be their best during uncertain times. Join one or two sessions, or the whole series. Buy tickets
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News Article
Nurses reissue call for safe staffing levels one year after strike
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More needs to be done to tackle safe staffing levels in Northern Ireland's health service, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). A year on from the nurses' strike, the union has warned that problems caused by poor workforce planning and chronic underfunding have not been addressed. Instead they have been exacerbated by the CoOVID-19 pandemic, said the RCN. The Department of Health said dealing with staff shortfalls was a "key priority" for the health minister. Pat Cullen, the Northern Ireland director of the RCN, said "very little has actually changed" since about 15,000 healthcare workers took to the picket line in December last year for a series of protests over pay and safe staffing levels. "We need to remind the government that many of these issues have sadly not gone away," she added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 December 2020 -
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Bullying and scapegoating ride on the back of fear: When things go wrong or have an outcome that we were not anticipating different aspects of second victim phenomenon kick in, such as shame, guilt and fear. It is terrifying to fear for the loss of one’s professional registration or to be recognised as the care worker who damaged the reputation of your organisation. Quite apart from the pain and accompanying worry of knowing that you may have brought harm to your patient. Encouraging openness and honesty, permits emotional healing, supports staff retention and reduces the number of safety incidents. Emotional healing rides on the back of openness and honesty: In order to move on from a safety incident, it is essential to be truthful. Recognise that peoples’ perceptions of an incident are subjective and may differ from your own. Perceptions often germinate during a time of chaos. Refrain from judging, instead focus on your own personal recovery. Draw strength and comfort from your courage to speak the truth as you perceive it. No such thing as a Never Event: The use of the term ‘Never Event’, increases feelings of guilt and shame for those of us unfortunate enough to be associated with a safety incident. We are, at the end of the day, human beings working within a system of systems. There can never be such a thing as a Never Event. The term second victim is out dated: It degrades the trust that patients and families place in us as care givers. I suggest the term PIAE as an alternative. People In Adverse Events. Not all PIAEs will be involved in a review process. The majority won’t. Sometimes simply seeing something is sufficient to cause psychological trauma for a care worker. All PIAEs should have access to tiered emotional support. This is my challenge to the NHS. Finally the biggest challenge I faced on my amazing journey, was helping people to understand that PIAE support is not competing with other support initiatives. It is a specialised area, providing timely, empathetic, non-judgmental support by trained Listeners, for a specific group of people, namely PIAEs. Read Carol Menashy's other blogs on SISOS: Part one Part two Part three Part four -
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Content ArticleThe recommendations set out in the report are addressed to all leaders who influence the workplace experience of nursing and midwifery staff Recommendations Key recommendation 1: Authority, empowerment and influence Introduce mechanisms for nursing and midwifery staff to shape the cultures and processes of their organisations and influence decisions about how care is structured and delivered. Key recommendation 2: Justice and fairness Nurture and sustain just, fair and psychologically safe cultures and ensure equity, proactive and positive approaches to diversity and universal inclusion. Key recommendation 3: Work conditions and working schedules Introduce minimum standards for facilities and working conditions for nursing and midwifery staff in all health and care organisations. Key recommendation 4: Teamworking Develop and support effective multidisciplinary teamworking for all nursing and midwifery staff across health and care services. Key recommendation 5: Culture and leadership Ensure health and care environments have compassionate leadership and nurturing cultures that enable both care and staff support to be high-quality, continually improving and compassionate. Key recommendation 6: Workload Tackle chronic excessive work demands in nursing and midwifery, which exceed the capacity of nurses and midwives to sustainably lead and deliver safe, high-quality care and which damage their health and wellbeing. Key recommendation 7: Management and supervision Ensure all nursing and midwifery staff have the effective support, professional reflection, mentorship and supervision needed to thrive in their roles. Key recommendation 8: Learning, education and development Ensure the right systems, frameworks and processes are in place for nurses’ and midwives’ learning, education and development throughout their careers. These must also promote fair and equitable outcomes.
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News Article
NHS must review ‘all disciplinary procedures’ by March following nurse’s suicide
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Trusts have been urged to reflect on their disciplinary procedures, and review them annually where required, following the death of a senior nurse who took his own life after being dismissed. NHS England’s chief people officer Prerana Issar has written to trust leaders to highlight Imperial College Healthcare Trust’s new disciplinary procedures, which were put in place following Amin Abdullah’s suicide. Mr Abdullah, a senior nurse at Charing Cross Hospital in west London, was suspended in September 2015 before being let go from his job that December. He died in February 2016 after setting himself on fire. An independent investigation criticised both the trust and its staff and concluded he had been “treated unfairly”. The summary report produced by the trust was labelled a “whitewash”, which “served to reassure the trust that it had handled the case with due care and attention”, and the delay of three months between the events and hearing were “troubling”. The report, which also criticised the delays as “excessive” and “weak” in their justification, said Mr Abdullah found the delay “stressful” and caused him to become “distressed”. In the letter sent on Tuesday, seen by HSJ, Ms Issar said: “The shared learning from Amin’s experience has demonstrated the need for us to work continuously and collaboratively, to ensure that our people practices are inclusive, compassionate and person-centred, with an overriding objective as to the safety and wellbeing of our people… our collective goal is to ensure we enable a fair and compassionate culture in our NHS. I urge you to honestly reflect on your organisation’s disciplinary procedure…" Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 December 2020 -
Content ArticleKey findings Compassionate leadership activities have many positive outcomes, at all levels of the health sector, from individuals and teams, to organisations and the system as a whole. Staff are more likely to find new and improved ways of doing things if they feel they are listened to, valued and supported as this provides a sense of psychological safety. Giving staff autonomy in their work is also important, along with developing a shared responsibility – a shared leadership is much more effective than a hierarchical one. Positive attitudes to diversity, to inclusion and to creativity and innovation must be nurtured at every level of the organisation. Innovation is often spurred by a challenge or a problem and compassionate leadership is a powerful facilitator at each stage of the problem-solving process.
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Content ArticleThese guides explain more about the GMC's priority work programmes and how you can get involved. Medical manslaughter review Reflective practice Raising and acting on concerns Making sure doctors are treated fairly Wellbeing of the medical profession Induction and returners
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Content ArticleKey findings 45% of respondents have seen a permanent increase in the critical care capacity of their directorates. However, when asked if they consider any increase in capacity to be adequately staffed only 18% of respondents agreed. 60% of respondents reported that their units are still attempting to follow the Guidelines for the Provision of Intensive Care Services (GPICS) but 54% of respondents have seen some relaxation of those standards including to their medical staffing. 80% of respondents increased their working hours, and 71% report covering sick consultant colleagues. Future uncertainties affect the wellbeing of the Faculty’s fellows and members. How hospital structures support those working in critical care is vitally important for both recruitment and retention. 88% of respondents had leave cancelled. Work/life balance is extremely important. Whilst the vast majority of respondents were happy to deliver the needed increase in work in the first wave, to do this over subsequent waves of the pandemic becomes increasingly difficult for individuals and their family. Supporting professional activities and agreed job plans will be even more important in subsequent COVID-19 waves. Faculty fellows and members understood the impact the first wave of COVID-19 had on non-critical care staff, and hugely appreciated their response to the crisis. The flexible increase in staffing was so important for care, although the drop in GPICS standards underlines the need to increase the underlying critical care capacity, and the multi-disciplinary workforce. Key recommendations GPICS standards exist for reasons of best care, safety and governance. Units should be attempting to adhere to them or working towards achieving them. Inability to meet GPICS standards needs to be brought to the attention of management structures within hospitals and plans for addressing deficiencies identified and implemented. Supporting and maintaining the wellbeing of critical care staff is vitally important. Not only for recruitment by attracting multi-disciplinary team members in, but also for their retention in the specialty. Staff must not be taken for granted and listening to the voices from the frontline is only the start of this process. Enhanced Care recommendations, written and promoted by the Faculty, will allow for greater flexibility in future responses to surges in demand as well as safer care for those needing a higher level of care. Critical Care Directorates should make the case widely within their hospitals for enhanced surgical and medical care.
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News Article
The battle for survival in Britain's intensive care units
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Across Britain, intensive care nurses and doctors are being pushed to their limits as they try to save lives from coronavirus. During 12-hour shifts in sweltering conditions, they are faced with technical and emotional challenges that many have never faced as they tackle a virus that has swept across the globe in a matter of days, threatening to kill tens of thousands in the UK. Britain has yet to even hit the peak of infections, but intensive care specialists are already asking how long they can keep working relentlessly. “We are trained for and used to dealing with difficult and emotional scenarios, but this is like a major incident that never ends,” says critical care nurse Karin Gerber. As an advanced nurse practitioner in critical care outreach, the 47-year-old sees patients in hospital who are getting sicker and may need to be admitted to intensive care. She says she has never seen anything “at this intensity”. The Royal London Hospital is at the forefront of the capital’s fight against the virus and has created more than 200 extra beds at its Whitechapel site in east London. They are filled with COVID-19 patients. Simon Richards, senior charge nurse at the Royal London’s critical care unit, tells The Independent: “In 20 years as a nurse this situation is by far the worst I have ever seen and totally unexpected, but the team spirit that people have shown has been amazing. “It’s extremely difficult, we are working so hard. The whole team is being pushed to their limit and you do wonder how long can this be sustained for? I wish we could see light at the end of the tunnel.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 November 2020 -
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Content ArticleThe toolkit explores the three phases of how we normally respond to a crisis; Emergency – at the beginning of a crisis there is high energy. A sense of urgency and a common goal brings teams together and things get done. Regression – our sense of purpose becomes less clear, energy levels drop, people get frustrated and are less productive. Recovery – new goals emerge, and we begin to focus on rebuilding rather than simply surviving. An end, or at least a new sense of normality, is in sight. The aim of this framework is to help people begin to think about how they might move to Recovery. The workshop consists of a 90 minute session that can be delivered online or in person. The toolkit, along with some guidance on how to run it: How to guide Proposal Framework for learning Lesson plan Presentation Action plan For more information or support on using the toolkit please contact paul.gimson@wales.nhs.uk social media @improvementcymru
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News Article
Covid: NHS staff helped through crisis by 'wobble room'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
In small room in the Royal Derby Hospital, there's a table bearing a laminated sign. "You are not alone," it says. It continues: "Kindness will get you through. Embrace the challenge. Look after each other. You are stronger than you think." This is the "wobble room", set aside not for patients but for front-line staff to get them away - briefly - from the intense pressure and strain experienced in the first wave of COVID-19. "We made a wobble room because that's what we needed," Kelly-Ann Gurney, an intensive-care nurse, told the BBC. "It's a room where staff could just go and sit and cry if they needed to and get it all out and then come back and 'put their face on' and get back into it again." Now the second wave is hitting the hospital, and the need for the room is just as great. Concerns are growing about the physical and mental health of front-line NHS staff. There has been no lull since the April peak of the virus as normal treatments and operations, postponed during the crisis, have returned to hospitals. Caroline Swan, a senior sister and manager of the intensive care unit at the Royal Derby, says she is ready to face what is ahead but feels very tired. "I am also very concerned. My staff are very tired and stressed out. We have a lot of sickness either due to burnout or they are unwell," she says. "A lot of staff have to self-isolate at home - and that puts a lot of strain on staffing here." Dr Magnus Harrison, medical director of the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust, says managing rotas is getting harder due to staff sickness and the need for some to self-isolate if family members are infected. "It is worth acknowledging what staff did in the first wave. They behaved tremendously and worked incredibly hard, and we're expecting them to do it again in winter - and Covid numbers could be higher than in the first wave. People are tired out." Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 November 2020 -
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