What happens at an NHS AGM?

On Thursday 18 September, we will be hosting our Annual General Meeting (AGM) as well as a Health Fair and Achievement Awards. This is a chance for us to reflect on the past year, highlight the work our services have done whilst looking to the future for the trust.

For those who have never attended an NHS AGM, we thought we would give you a rundown of what to expect on the day.

The event, which is taking place at Elland Road, home of the mighty Leeds United, welcomes everyone to attend. There will be a mix of people that work for the NHS or third sector organisations alongside members and the general public.

Opening at 4.30pm, the official AGM will start at 5.30pm and run until 6pm. During this time, Chief Executive, Bryan Machin, will provide a summary of the past year and then the financial accounts will be delivered by Cherrine Hawkins, Interim Executive Director of Finance and Resources. Guests will then be invited to ask the Board of Directors questions, these may touch on changes we’re making to our services or how money is spent across the trust.

Throughout the event, there will be lots of stalls for people to visit as part of the Health Fair. Many of our services will be there to showcase the care, support and treatment they provide to the people of Leeds and beyond. From 7pm to 8pm, we shall be celebrating achievements over the past year. Starting in July, staff began nominating their colleagues, teams and volunteers, for the awards, of which there are ten categories. Prior to the awards the nominations applications were narrowed down by a panel of judges. Dr Dawn Harper of Embarrassing Bodies on Channel 4 will be on hand to present our winners with their awards.     

We look forward to seeing you on the 18^th but if you can’t make it, we’ll be live tweeting from @LCHNHSTrust and posting updates to our Facebook page – Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust to keep you in the loop.

If you have any questions, please get in touch, email us at lch.comms@nhs.net or call 0113 220 8512.

Sarah Elwell, Communications team

Celebrating Nursing Assistants' Day

On Thursday 12 June, we decided to recognise the hard work of nursing assistants with a celebratory day.  

Working across the city, both day and night, nursing assistants are essential to ensure the trust continues to provide a high standard of community nursing care.  

Five community nursing assistants took time out of their busy schedule to give us an insight in to the role of a nursing assistant at LCH. Huge thanks to Julie, Karen, Adele, Maggie and Janet for their time, here’s a few snippets from our chat:

What made you want to become a community nursing assistant?    

Karen: “It was my friend that is also a nursing assistant that encouraged me to consider becoming one. I first started with a one month contract as an agency nursing assistant at Meanwood Health Centre but I ended up working there for seven months, during which I fell in love with the job. As soon as a permanent band 3 post came up, I applied and was successful.”

What attracted you to join LCH as a community nursing assistant?

Maggie: “As I don’t drive, this was the first nursing assistant role I had seen where I could walk, rather than being required to have a car to get around and see patients. I really enjoy getting out and about in the community, I find it is much more relaxing than being on a ward. Plus I feel empowered to make decisions yet know I have a supportive team to contact should I need to.”

What do you enjoy about being a community nursing assistant?

Karen: “I enjoy working with some of our more challenging patients, especially when I can bring out their sparkle and find a common interest to chat to them about and bring them out of themselves.”

Adele: “I have been with the trust for four years now and enjoy every aspect of my job. Daily, it offers me the chance to meet new people, be challenged and take on responsibility.”

What would a typical day involved for a community nursing assistant?

Janet: “I work on the day shift so the first part of my day generally involves being in the community, providing treatments such as doing leg dressings, taking pressure measurements, assisting with bowel care, giving insulin and eye drops, etc. The nursing assistants and myself then head back to base (there is 12 bases across the city) at lunchtime to regroup, discuss patient care and get work schedules for the next day. After this we will all head back out, either to a patients home, day centre or residential home. No two patients are ever the same so my day is always varied.”

What has been a highlight during your time as a nursing assistant at LCH?

Adele: “In my previously role at a residential home, I only did personal care but becoming a nursing assistant has allowed me to learn more and offer the next level of healthcare to patients. The training opportunities at LCH are really good.”

Janet: “One of my personal achievements is getting my NVQ level 3, which I did through the trust.” 

What would you say to someone thinking of becoming a nursing assistant?

Julie: “Other members of my team and myself work a lot with students, taking them out in the community with us, mentoring them. For anyone thinking of a career in nursing, being a nursing assistant is a great way to start and give people insight in to healthcare.”

 

Sarah Elwell, Communications Team

Staff get training to help those who stammer

Health care reception staff in health centres run by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust have been trained to help support people who have a stammer who visit the health centre for appointments.

Over 70 reception staff have been trained as they are often the first to greet patients when they enter the health centre and this first conversation can be a challenge for someone who stammers.

The training was delivered by the speech and language therapy team at the Stammering Support Centre and adults who stammer. It aims to support frontline staff by raising their awareness and understanding of stammering whilst dispelling common misconceptions around the cause of stammering. It included real life experiences of people who stammer and provided simple tips and suggestions for reception staff.

The team at the Stammering Support Centre are currently rolling out this training to NHS Speech and Language staff and volunteers from across Yorkshire and the Humber to implement similar training at their organisations.

The term 'stammering' covers a wide range of behaviours. A person may repeat, prolong or get blocked on a certain sound, syllable, word or phrase. Speech may also be interrupted with silent blocks, where no sound is made at all. Negative thoughts and feelings associated with stammering can sometimes result in a person avoiding difficult words or challenging speaking situations and can have a real impact on a person’s self esteem.

Some of the tips from the training event were:
- Be patient as most people who have a stammer prefer to speak for themselves and find it frustrating when others try to finish words or sentences
- Try not to give advice such as “slow down” or “take a breath” although it can be helpful to reassure them that there is no rush
- Make eye contact to show you are listening
- Convey a relaxed and accepting attitude
- Avoid asking the speaker to repeat something they have struggled to say
- Everyone is an individual, some may be uncomfortable talking about their speech issues while others may welcome your respectful interest.