Friday 5th March 2021 - Primary Care 24

Friday 5th March 2021

Welcome to Friday's edition!
    Today’s articles:
1. Message from the Chief Executive
2. Important planned IT service disruption – Tuesday 9th March at 10:00am.
3. Do you want to test drive the new PC24 intranet?
4. Supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people to get the COVID-19
   vaccination: top tips for primary care teams and volunteers
5. Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients
6. Have you been coughing for three weeks or more?
7. North West Ambulance Service Patient and Public Panel
8. Sign up to headspace for free. Give meditation a try!
9. Feel good Friday – this week’s staff nominations are in

1. Message from the Chief Executive
Hello everyone,
I hope you are well? We are hearing a lot about resilience these days – how we can look after
ourselves and help recover from the pandemic. I like this reminder from @lizandmollie. Things
are not always what they seem, so be kind to each other.

Stay safe, have a good weekend and look after yourselves and each other.
Dr Mary Ryan,
Chief Executive.

2. Important planned IT service disruption – Tuesday 9th March at 10:00am
Below message from the Head of IM&T, Damijan Goljat.
IM&T is working round the clock to deliver our planned mobilisation and infrastructure
upgrades and therefore we are informing you about important planned service disruption,
which will require all teams to prepare their contingency arrangements.
This planned maintenance will commence on Tuesday 9th March at around 10 AM and it
could last up until 2 PM of the same day. Once activity is concluded we will follow up with
another email, informing you about services being resumed. This may be before the
maintenance window closes.
All IT services at the HQ will be affected by this disruption. This includes telephony.
Therefore, staff should prepare their contingency procedures and resources such as
paperwork and contingency mobile phones, which would also need to be charged and
tested before Tuesday.
We are sorry about the inconvenience; this work is an essential part of our infrastructure
and mobilisation upgrade and the IM&T department is committed to providing a high-
quality service to our users.
You can read the full update and guidance here.
Please take a moment to have a read.
https://mailchi.mp/358e5f5b9fec/planneddisruption09032021

3. Do you want to test drive the new PC24 intranet?
As you’re all probably aware we are currently revamping our intranet and we need you’re
help to test drive it. It’s a completely new site, stylish and designed to inform and support
all PC24 staff, whether working from home, headquarters, in practice or on the go!
It’s an exciting development for PC24 and we’re looking to launch it in April 2021.
Therefore, we need you to trial and test the new site…and tell us what you think. We’ll be
offering you the opportunity to comment in a couple of weeks’ time so if you want to get
involve, please email the Comms team at communications@pc24.nhs.uk.
Finally, we will be sharing a timeline and transition dates for when the old site will cease
and the new one implemented.

Thanks again for your continued support with our new communications channels, and
remember to share your thoughts, news and views with everyone via the Staff Bulletin,
every Wednesday and Friday!
4.Supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people to get the COVID-
19 vaccination: top tips for primary care teams and volunteers
NHSE has recently updated their guidance on communicating with people with a learning
disability and autistic people and highlight the range of reasonable adjustments that
should be considered. Here’s the paper shared this week:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/covid-19-vaccination-training/

5. Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients
On Monday 1st March Public Health England updated their guidance on supporting
migrants in England. Many migrants will come from countries with very different health
care systems to the UK. This particular guide can help to explain to new patients how the
NHS operates and explore with them how this compares to the healthcare system that
they’ve been used to. You can find more information here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitlements-migrant-health-guide
Information about COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccination for migrants can be found
in the link here. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-migrant-health-guide
6.Have you been coughing for three weeks or more?

If you’ve had a cough for 3 weeks or more and it isn’t Covid-19, it could be a sign of
cancer. It’s probably nothing serious, but if it is cancer, finding it early makes it more
treatable. Remember, the NHS is here to see you, safely. Contact your GP practice by
phone or online.

7. North West Ambulance Service Patient and Public Panel
The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has confirmed its first Patient and Public
Panel (PPP) is now up and running. The PPP gives patients and the public an
opportunity to share their views and help shape NWAS’ emergency, patient transport and
111 services. Participation can include responding to surveys, giving feedback on
publications, initiatives and strategies, taking part in focus groups along with participating
in committees and formal meetings.
Membership is open to anyone who lives in Merseyside who isn’t currently employed by
NWAS and is 16 or over. Applications are welcome from people of all backgrounds,
beliefs, cultures and circumstances to ensure the panel is representative of the
communities served by North West Ambulance Service. Find out more information about
the panel along with how you can get involved by completing a short survey
at www.nwas.nhs.uk/panel.
8. Sign up to headspace for free. Give meditation a try!

As a professional working in healthcare, you know better than anyone that stress can
have a negative impact on our overall health — especially given the challenges we’ve
faced over the last year. But there’s plenty of research to give us all hope. Studies show
that meditation and mindfulness are proven, powerful tools that reduce stress and help us
cope with difficult situations.
Meditating with Headspace has been shown to reduce stress and increase happiness in
just 10 days. Take a look at the full study to learn more.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-018-0905-4
Try a 10-minute meditation to feel the results for yourself! Headspace usually charges
£9.99 a month for a subscription; however, they are still offering NHS workers a free
account, all you need is your email address to sign up. You can register here:
https://www.headspace.com/nhs

9. Feel good Friday – this week’s staff nominations are in!

It’s the start of a new month, spring feels just around the corner and there’s another
chance for you to nominate colleagues who display all the qualities of our values. At the
end of the month all the names will enter a prize draw to win a love-2-shop gift voucher.
This week’s stars are:
    Terry Pitt
    Justine Walker
    Ann Pettit
    Jon Hopkins
Here are some of the lovely words staff had to say….
Terry Pitt - “Terry is an excellent Shift Manager and is always willing to help”.
Justine Walker -“Justine is an excellent Support Manager who goes above and beyond in
all that she does”.
Ann Pettit - “Ann has really gone above and beyond for the patient’s to ensure they
continue to receive the service and treatment they deserve throughout the pandemic. Ann
even gave up her own time to support the PCN on a Saturday, something they really
appreciated. Ann’s hard work does not go unnoticed by the team!!”
Jon Hopkins - “I would like to say a big thank you to Jon Hopkins ( Shift Manager) He is
always supporting Extended Access Service and his level of communication with the EAS
team is fantastic he is great as resolving problems and willing to help out any time. Thank
you Jon!”
The winner will be announced on 26.03.21. That’s all for this week everyone! Take care
and best wishes, The Communications Team.
E: Melissa.Mykoluk@pc24.nhs.uk
E: Mark.Scott@pc24.nhs.uk
T: 01512542553
M: 07818116835
W: www.primarycare.org.uk T: @PrimaryCare24