News

• Professor Barbara Wilson, Oliver Zangwill Centre: national finalist in NHS 70 Birthday Awards

  by Kirstie Flack | May 18, 2018
  Congratulations to Professor Barbara Wilson, Founder of the Oliver Zangwill Centre: finalist in prestigious NHS 70 Birthday Awards.
  
  The NHS in the Midlands and East area has today (Friday 18 May) revealed that Professor Barbara Wilson OBE from Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust is one of 10 it has chosen as regional champions in a prestigious competition to mark the NHS’s 70^th birthday.
  
  As a resident of Bury St Edmunds, Barbara Wilson was nominated by Jo Churchill MP in the Lifetime Achievement Award category for dedicating over 40 years of her life to brain injury rehabilitation.
  
  Barbara is esteemed for her care for patients, building bridges between practice and theory, and team work between psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and brain injured people. 
  
  She is founder of the Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuro-psychological Rehabilitation in Ely, founder and editor of an international journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, author of 26 books and several instruments for testing patients, including a memory test translated into sixteen languages. She is loved by students who appreciate her devotion and encouragement. 
  
  Now retired, Professor Wilson continues to influence present and future staff in the NHS and further afield promoting the core ideas of a holistic approach to neuropsychological rehabilitation.  
  
  Professor Wilson said  “I am delighted to be shortlisted for the Lifetime Achievement Award category of the NHS70 Parliamentary Awards. Should I be successful in winning the award, it would be due recognition of neuropsychologists and all other professions working in brain injury rehabilitation for their essential work in assisting survivors of brain injury to lead purposeful lives. 
  
  “Being good at saving lives is admirable but we need to ensure the lives led by those saved are worthwhile and fulfilling. Such an outcome can also reduce the financial burden on statutory clinical services provided by the NHS, and lessen the stress on the lives of carers.” 
  
  Professor Wilson is representing the Midlands and East of England as they vie with other regional winners from across England for a national award to be presented at a special ceremony in the Palace of Westminster in July. 
  
  From almost 160 entries, senior experts have chosen 10 outstanding nominations, which exemplify the best of what the NHS and its partners do day in, day out. 
  
  All 10 of the champions will now be invited to the national awards ceremony, which will be held on 4 July 2018, the day before the NHS’s 70^th birthday.  The ceremony will be hosted by Dr Sara Kayat, NHS GP & TV Doctor best known for This Morning, Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls and GPs: Behind Closed Doors.
  
  

• Exciting redevelopment plans for North CambsHospital, Wisbech

  by User Not Found | Apr 19, 2018

  The North Cambridgeshire Hospital in Wisbech is set to benefit from an £8 million investment. 
  
  Matthew Winn, Chief Executive, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust explained: “I am delighted to announce our exciting redevelopment plans for the North Cambridgeshire Hospital site in Wisbech which will ensure a vibrant local base for health services for the local population for years to come.”
  
  “The £8 million redevelopment will focus on upgrading vacant or out-dated accommodation on site and be phased over a three year period.  By Autumn 2018 we will have refurbished part of the vacant Rowan Lodge and moved the musculo-skeletal physiotherapy services from their current location on site into the refurbished building. This will vastly improve the environment for patients, visitors and staff.”
  
  Additional redevelopment plans, subject to appropriate planning permission, include: 

  • refurbishing the existing kitchen/dining block to create a new clinical area from which high quality services can be delivered, improving the privacy and dignity available for patients
  • completing the full refurbishment of Rowan Lodge and moving the outpatient services delivered by Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust into this new clinical area
  • demolishing redundant and out-dated buildings to create, additional car parking space and landscaped areas
  • redeveloping the main entrance and waiting areas to create a welcoming and accessible space for patients and visitors, including a café
  • upgrading the infrastructure and facilities on site throughout the above timescales including an energy centre which will provide a more sustainable approach to heating across the site.

  Mr Winn added “We want to provide a great facility for the benefit of local people.  Our plans are sufficiently flexible to enable further development on site including in support of the ‘Wisbech 2020 vision’ and local regeneration schemes.”

  Mr Malcolm Bruce, Chairman of the Friends of North Cambridgeshire Hospital and local resident added: “We are absolutely delighted to hear about this investment which will result in tremendous improvements on the site which will undoubtedly benefit local people.  Services closer to home are so important for our community and we look forward to continuing our fund-raising activities and longstanding positive relationship with health service providers in the coming years.”

  The Arthur Rank House Charity has also announced exciting plans for the services they deliver from the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre on the site.   

  Dr Lynn Morgan, CEO of the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity said  “We have plans to double the size of the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre which is located on the North Cambridgeshire Hospital site.  Our work will start in the autumn of this year and we are pleased that we will be co-located with these exciting plans for the wider site, all of which will mean a significant upgrade of healthcare facilities for Wisbech and the surrounding area.”

  NCH Redevelopment diagram

• New phone number for MSK Physiotherapy

  by User Not Found | Apr 16, 2018

  Our DynamicHealth MSK Physiotherapy Service phone number changes today (16 March 2018).

  You will now be able to contact the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough service from one single number 0300 555 0123, making it easier for you to contact us and speak to the right person at the right time!

  

• Youngster’s photography takes pride of place in new Children and Young People’s community health services facility ​

  by Kirstie Flack | Apr 12, 2018

  

  The photography of Jasper Grooms, aged 11, is taking pride of place in a new community health services facility in Cambridge.

  Dr Alison Sansome, Clinical Director of Children’s Services with Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust explains:
  
  “The Trust has recently brought together a range of services for children and young people in refurbished premises on the Brookfields Campus in Cambridge, enabling families to easily access multiple services all under one roof.   
  
  “This fabulous light and airy building, which we have called the Peacock Centre, needed some special art work in our reception area to bring it to life and I knew just who to ask. Jasper Grooms has been one of my patients for some years and I have been impressed to see how his interest and skills in photography have blossomed.  He really is a fantastically creative young person and I am pleased we have been able to recognise his talents by displaying his art work in our new premises.
  
  Jasper was over the moon to see his spectacular photograph of a peacock enlarged and taking pride of place across an entire wall at the centre saying:  “Peacocks are one of my favourite birds and I’m looking forward to seeing my photograph every time I visit.”
  
  Ros and Mark Grooms, Jasper’s proud parents added: “Jasper took up photography when he was six years old and absolutely loves nature photography. We are so proud of Jasper, who recently won a photography competition organised by the RSPB with his photograph of a robin singing, and all the hard work he puts in to getting the perfect pictures.”   
  
  Dr Sansome continued:
  
  “We’re also delighted to display some fabulous, colourful and eye-catching feathers designed and made by pupils of the Granta School for children with special needs. The feathers have been used to brighten up a series of windows at the centre and have made a real difference to the look and feel of this area. We’re also indebted to Jo Bowes, local artist, who created a wonderful peacock design which is now centre-stage in the waiting area for young children. It’s so rewarding to engage with our local community and service users when designing our new premises and I’d like to thank each and every one of them.”
  
  

  Jasper with his photo albumn
  Feather Artwork created by the Granta School for children with special needs
  Peacock Artwork created by Jo Bowes

• So proud of our fab staff survey results – it’s our amazing staff that make CCS such a special place to work!

  by User Not Found | Mar 06, 2018

  The 2017 NHS staff survey results are published today and thanks to the fabulous culture our staff have helped create at Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, we have yet again received some fantastic results!     

  Here’s a quick summary of our results:

  • In 29 out of the 32 key findings, the Trust scored 'better than average' when compared to other community trusts nationally
  • In 19 of the key findings, staff rated the Trust as the best in the country when compared to the results our peer community trusts received (see below)
  • There were no key finding where the Trust scored 'worse than average'    
  • The Trust's overall staff engagement score remains 'above average' at 3.97 (this indicator is scored on a scale of 1-5 with 3.78 showing as the national average for community trusts).  3.97 is the highest score nationally for community trusts!    

  These are the 19 key findings where staff rated the Trust as the best in the country when compared to the results our peer community trusts received

  • KF13 – Quality of noon-mandatory training, learning or development
  • KF20 - % of staff experiencing discrimination at work in the last 12 months
  • KF21 - % of staff believing that the organisation provides equal opportunities for career progression or promotion
  • KF30 – Fairness and effectiveness of procedures for reporting errors, near misses and incidents
  • KF31 – Staff confidence and security in reporting unsafe clinical practice
  • KF18 - % of staff attending work in the last 3 months despite feeling unwell because they felt pressure from this manager, colleagues or themselves
  • KF19 – Organisation and management interest in and action on health and wellbeing
  • KF15 - % of staff satisfied with the opportunities for flexible working
  • KF1 – Staff recommendation of the organisation as a place to work or receive treatment
  • KF4 – Staff motivation at work
  • KF7 - % of staff able to contribute towards improvements at work
  • KF8 – Staff satisfaction with level of responsibility and involvement
  • KF9 – Effective team working
  • KF5 – Recognition and value of staff by managers and the organisation
  • KF6 - % of staff reporting good communication between senior management and staff
  • KF10 – Support from immediate managers
  • KF32 – Effective use of patient/service user feedback
  • KF23 - % of staff experiencing physical violence from staff in last 12 months
  • KF25 - % of staff experiencing harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or the public in the last 12 months

  What’s changed since last year’s survey results?
  8 key findings have improved from our 2016 results and 2 have deteriorated. 

  The key findings that have improved are:

  • KF11 - % appraised in last 12 months
  • KF30 – Fairness and effectiveness of procedures for reporting erros, near misses and incidents
  • KF19 – Organisation and management interest in an action on health and wellbeing 
  • KF1 – Staff recommendation of the organisation as a place to work or receive treatment
  • KF14 – Staff satisfaction with resourcing and support
  • KF5 – Recognition and value of staff by managers and the organisation
  • KF10 – Support from immediate managers
  • KF32 – Effective use of patient/service user feedback

  The 2 key findings that have deteriorated since last year’s scores are:

  • KF28 - % witnessing potentially harmful errors, near misses or incidents in last month
  • KF22 - % experiencing physical violence from patients, relatives or the public in last 12 months

  What next?
  We’ll now update and refresh our staff experience improvement plan in response to these results in partnership with our staff side colleagues.  

  Thank you again to every member of staff – it’s you that makes our Trust such a special place to work!  

• Jo and Gary make their film debut to publicise our Luton services

  by User Not Found | Jan 31, 2018

  Jo Frost, Adults Rapid Response Sister and Gary Meager, Children’s Rapid Response Nurse Practitioner have received special a thank you after they made their film debut this month when they went on camera to publicise our services.
  
  The pair were volunteered with less than 24 hours notice to take part in a video to show how services across the area were coping with winter pressures.
  
  Linda Sharkey, Service Director said: “Well done to Jo and Gary – natural presenters.”
  
  Chris Morris, Head of Adults said: “Thank you to Jo and Gary for stepping up to support this project. They had very little notice and no scripts and yet they both handled the task with real professionalism.
  
  “It’s not easy going in front of the camera but they made it look easy and the result is a great piece to showcase our rapid response services. Well done.”
  
  The video was made jointly by Bedfordshire CCG and Luton CCG and also featured Luton and Dunstable Hospital and the East London Foundation Health Trust.  It will be shown on social media and you can view it here:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiCs6Zlu_h8&feature=youtu.be

   

• Luton trainers recognised for helping to protect neglected children

  by User Not Found | Jan 31, 2018

  A specialist Luton training team has been recognised by the NSPCC for pioneering a programme to help protect children from neglect across the borough.
  
  The professionals are among the first to receive the charity’s prestigious Elephant award in recognition of their work to train staff to use a unique assessment tool.
  
  The Graded Care Profile 2 (GCP2) helps professionals to measure the quality of care being given to a child by helping them identify anything that puts a child at risk of harm. This tool helps practitioners to identify parents’ strengths, weaknesses and what needs to be changed so that they can get them the right support to improve the life of their children.
  (Pictured are (from left) Salma, Alison and Debbie)

  The training team made up of individuals from different services have delivered the specialist Graded Care Profile 2 training to professionals across the town working in health, children’s services, youth offending, police, housing and the voluntary sector, to improve how professionals identify and assess children who are at risk of being neglected.
  
  The NSPCC Elephant Award which aims to acknowledge practitioners who have demonstrated focus and commitment to ensuring successful implementation of GCP2 was presented to Debbie Brown ( Early Help service), Salma Fazil (Luton Flying Start) and Alison Braniff (Luton Children's Community Health Services).
  
  Since the implementation of the GCP 2 tool over 200 cases of neglect have been identified (from April to December 2017).
  
  Fran Pearson, Independent Chair, Luton Safeguarding Children Board, said: “Congratulations to the training team, this recognition is truly well deserved. The high quality specialist training  they have delivered to workforces across Luton means that practitioners working with families now have the tools, knowledge and increased confidence to identify when a child is at risk of harm. They are also assisting the LSCB in its aim to improve the quality of support for families and children who are neglected.”
  
  Alison Braniff Trainer and Health Visitor with Luton Children's Community Health Services said: “Neglect can mean something to one person and a different thing to another. The Graded Care Profile is a common language across the UK to define what is neglect. We can work with the family to identify what they are doing well and where they need help. It’s about empowering families to be involved."

• Amazing donation making a real difference to local children

  by Kirstie Flack | Jan 22, 2018

   

  Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust’s charity ‘dreamdrops’ has received an amazing donation of over £5,000 for their children’s unit at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
  
  The money raised by Davey Grover Limited has been put towards purchasing a "Magic Carpet" for the Children’s Outpatients department.
  
  Anne-Marie Hamilton, Chairman of the ‘dreamdrops’ fundraising committee said: "We are overwhelmed by the generous donation we received for the Children’s ward.
  
  "The money raised has enabled us to purchase a "Magic Carpet" for the Children’s Outpatients department. We had expected it to take us a long time to raise enough money to buy such a significant piece of equipment, and it is wonderful to have been able to put this donation together with one previously received from the Huntingdon District Council, who also chose dreamdrops as one of their nominated charities.
  
  "I cannot thank Davey Grover Limited and Cllr Peter Bucknell, Huntingdon District Council enough as this will be of benefit for children of all ages and abilities."
  
  The magic carpet is a sensory tool that projects images onto the floor. This enables patients of all ages and abilities to participate in play. The advantage of the carpet is that it is also portable so can be moved around all areas of the children’s unit to help individual and groups of patients.
  
  Sandie White, Ward Manager said: "We specifically use the carpet in our outpatients department to create an inclusive environment for everyone. It is an amazing distraction tool for children whilst they undergo investigations in clinic such as blood and skin prick testing. We are extremely grateful to dreamdrops and those that have fundraised for the Magic Carpet as we can already see what a huge difference it is making to the children."
  
  Davey Grover Limited based in St Neots raised the money at their Annual Charity Golf Day.
  
  Jeff Windsor, Managing Director said: "For the last seven years, Davey Grover has put on a charity golf day with the objective of raising as much money as possible for small local charities. In that time, with the regular support from many of our clients, we have managed to raise just over £41,000 to date and in 2017, the golf day managed to raise just under £5,800 which all went to help dreamdrops achieve their goal of purchasing the "Magic Carpet" for the Children’s Outpatient Department.
  
  "As soon as we found out about the work that dreamdops do, it made the decision of picking them as our charity for the year a very easy one and we are so pleased that the monies have been put to such good use. We would also like to place on record our sincere thanks to all of our clients and sponsors that support our day each year, as without their support, this would not be possible."
  
  Money raised through ‘dreamdrops’ is used to provide additional items for the Special Care Baby Unit and Children’s Ward, as well as children who are cared for at home. For further information on how you can help raise funds for the charity please visit www.dreamdropschildrenscharity.org or
  email dreamdrops.dreamdrops@nhs.net.  
  
  
  (Photo: Theresa Kopplin (Play Leader), Sarah Hughes (Matron for Acute Children’s Services), Sandie White (Ward Manager), Cllr Peter Bucknell, Anne-Marie Hamilton (Chairman of dreamdrops) and Natalie Matthews (Play Leader)

   

• Phone Lines are now back up and running

  by User Not Found | Jan 16, 2018

  Please note that the phone and IT issues to some of our services has now been resolved and all phone lines are now working.  We apologise for any inconvenience during this outage.  (16 Jan, 11.10am)

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  We are currently experiencing some phone and IT issues across some of our services in Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk, and we may be unable to take calls. Please bear with us whilst our suppliers investigate the problem.   (16 Jan, 9.30am)

• Christmas donation will help children with autism

  by Kirstie Flack | Jan 08, 2018

   

  In lieu of sending out Christmas cards to customers and suppliers this Christmas, VIP Polymers made a donation to the local children’s charity Dreamdrops.
  
  Dreamdrops fund raises for Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust’s Holly Ward and the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Hinchingbrooke Hospital as well as supporting the Trust’s community children’s services in and around the Huntingdon area. The money that Dreamdrops raise goes towards the things that the NHS simply cannot afford, but would love to have.
  
  VIP is committed to supporting and developing the local community and Dreamdrops is a local charity that makes a real difference to children’s lives at a time when they need it most.
  
  One of Dreamdrops current fundraising efforts is for specialist toys and equipment for the Autism Corner that they are developing in the Children’s Outpatients Department at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and the money donated will go towards this.
  
  Dreamdrops Chairman, Anne-Marie Hamilton said “The play leaders will be thrilled to be able to provide some more for items for the Autism Corner, with VIP’s donation.  I know that having a quiet area where they can feel safe, and enjoy toys that are specifically designed for them, will make a huge difference to these children when they have to come to Outpatients.”
  
  To find out more about the charity or to make a donation, visit their site http://dreamdropschildrenscharity.org/