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UHDB is delighted to be working with our Carers Network to mark Carers Week 2023, which will be taking place from Monday 5 June - Friday 9 June 2023.

The Network will be hosting events throughout the week to celebrate - and this includes a very special public Carers Event titled 'Caring in the Community', reflecting on this year's theme.

This event will be held on the final day of this week-long celebration, on Friday 9 June from 9.30am-4.30pm, at the Hilton Hotel at St George's Park in Burton.

We have carefully reviewed our mask wearing guidance and, from Monday 15 May, masks will be a personal choice rather than a mandatory requirement for staff, patients and visitors inside our hospitals.

UHDB, in collaboration with the UK Sepsis Trust, is hosting a series of informal group meetings to offer support to patients and their families who have previously been treated for sepsis. 

A UHDB nurse who arrived in the UK just over 12 months ago as a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon has spoken of her pride after she recently qualified as a Registered Nurse.

Ghada El Ayoub arrived at the Trust in March 2022 alongside four other refugee nurses from Palestine who had all previously been working in healthcare in Lebanon, and has since gone on to complete her training in the UK - becoming the first of her cohort to do so. 

Now working in a substantive post on the Ward 208 stepdown unit at Royal Derby Hospital, Ghada has shared her inspirational story for International Nurses Day 2023 (12 May) as the world comes together to celebrate and honour the vital contributions of nurses in delivering care to patients and communities.

Friday 12 May 2023 marks International Nurses Day - a day of celebration observed worldwide to honour the vital contribution of nurses in delivering care to patients and communities.

UHDB is delighted to say thank you to all of our fantastic nurses at UHDB on this special day - as well as nurses working across our NHS, and all over the world - for their invaluable role in providing care and treatment to those who need it.

To celebrate, we've spoken to three UHDB nurses about their roles here, focusing on 'Why I Became a Nurse' - and UHDB's Chaplain, Alison Thorp, has offered a prayer to her nursing colleagues.

As well as this, teams across all of our hospital sites are marking the occasion with staff displays, events, decorations, and information for colleagues, patients and visitors alike. We are delighted to see so many teams take part. 

Val Haylett is one of UHDB's public Governors for the Derby City constituency and has been in post since 2018, following a career which spanned three decades serving the NHS in Derbyshire.

A landmark study that aims to deliver a step change in the care of chronic wounds and reduce healthcare costs for wound management has begun patient trials in people with diabetes-related foot ulcers.

Today is International Day of the Midwife 2023, a day for us at UHDB and across the world to honour, recognise and pay tribute to the remarkable work done by midwives all over the world. Midwives play an invaluable role in supporting women and babies throughout pregnancy and during childbirth.

Many people choose to become a midwife for a number of different reasons, and as part of our celebrations today, we've spoken with three UHDB midwives at different stages in their careers for them to explain 'Why I Became a Midwife' and what motivates them put on their uniform every single day to care for women and babies across Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

A junior doctor based at Royal Derby Hospital has been hailed for her pioneering eco-conscious work that has helped UHDB along its journey to becoming a more sustainable organisation.

During her GP rotation, Meeral Mashood approached the Sustainability and Clinical Audit teams to express an interest in undertaking a Quality Improvement (QI) project to make some sustainability changes at the practice she was working in.

For this hard work and commitment to improving sustainable practices in her area of work and across UHDB, Meeral has been awarded an Excellent Employee Making a Difference Award - presented to her by our Executive Chief People Officer, Amanda Rawlings.

The benefits of having a furry companion around are undeniable, and Ozzy, one of our Pets as Therapy (PAT) dogs, proves it every day.

This lovable, calm pooch has been visiting our hospital sites with his owner, Veronica 'Ronnie' Crawshaw, since October 2022 - spreading happiness and positivity among staff, patients, and visitors.

A six-year-old cockapoo, Ozzy brings smiles to many faces, visiting many different wards and departments to provide companionship, relaxation, and emotional support for patients and staff alike.

The team at Queen's Hospital Burton's (QHB) A&E department has become the first in the country and one of two centres in the world to gain accreditation for their use of an innovative emergency department triage system.

A physiotherapist who started out with a career in the Royal Marines has broken the mould by using his previous military experience to make a difference in healthcare.

David Williams grew up wanting to be in the Armed Forces but his journey took an unexpected turn and he forged a new career as a physiotherapist. Determined not to let his previous experience go to waste, David has worked hard to improve support for ex-military patients and colleagues in his role as Chair of the Armed Forces Network here at UHDB and has seen the network go from strength to strength.

An "exceptional and dedicated" teenager, who volunteered his time to help patients receiving end of life care at UHDB, has been given an award in recognition of his efforts.

Aymen Boud, who is 17-years-old, was handed the award after taking part in the NHS Cadets scheme, which saw him spend 36-weeks helping colleagues care for patients and their families on Ward 2 at Florence Nightingale Community Hospital in Derby.

Today, Wednesday 26 April, is National Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Day.

Cancer CNS workers are highly specialised, experienced nurses who play a vital role in the cancer workforce, using their training to build a sense of trust, honesty and openness with their patients in order to support them in the best possible way.

Here at UHDB, we have 60 CNS colleagues who are taking care of patients and their families who are living with cancer and undergoing treatment. We spoke to Kerry Pape, Lead Cancer Nurse Manager, about what their role involves and why it is important to shine a spotlight on these valued colleagues on National Cancer CNS Day:

On Tuesday 4 April, UHDB and the EMBRACE staff network proudly hoisted the new 'One World, One #TeamUHDB' flag at Royal Derby Hospital to celebrate and recognise the diversity of #TeamUHDB colleagues.

Colleagues from across departments came to watch the flag hoist as EMBRACE Network Lead Mwansa Mulenga, Chief Executive and executive sponsor for the EMBRACE network Stephen Posey and Chair Kathy McLean shared short speeches about the flag, the importance of diversity in our workforce, and our ongoing commitment to be an inclusive, welcoming organisation for all.

Univeristy Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) has partnered with the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) to provide patients with useful information regarding their care and ongoing treatment from the comfort of their homes.

From 7am on Tuesday 11 April 2023, some junior doctors across the NHS will take part in industrial action which is planned to last for 96 hours, concluding at 6.59am on Saturday 15 April 2023. We have put extensive plans in place to minimise the impact on our patients and communities. We will prioritise emergency, urgent and critical care but there will be disruption to some services.

Colleagues from across the Trust came together to celebrate the grand opening of the Queen's Hospital Education Centre (QHEC) after an extensive refurbishment programme today (28 March).

A team who offered "exemplary care and kindness" to a patient and his family during his final days, are the latest to be named Team UHDB in the Making a Difference Awards.

Colleagues on Ward 404 at Royal Derby Hospital were nominated by the family of Noel Bunting who was cared for on the ward between 28 December until 9 January after falling unwell.

A woman who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after suffering from back pain and bloating has heaped praise on the 'fabulous cancer care' she received at Royal Derby Hospital after undergoing ultra-radical surgery to save her life.

Helen Hills put her symptoms down to 'age and over exercising' when she first started to feel unwell in 2020 but after seeing a doctor her worst fears were confirmed. Now she has shared her story to raise awareness of the disease for Ovarian Cancer month and said she cannot do enough to thank the team at Royal Derby Hospital who supported her through her difficult journey.

Last week UHDB hosted two student nurse recruitment events at Royal Derby Hospital and Queen's Hospital Burton with many student nurses in attendance, interested in finding out more about joining #TeamUHDB.

Members of the Pharmacy team at Royal Derby Hospital have been sharing what it is they enjoy most about their role as the team looks to expand and recruit more colleagues to their ranks.

Join us at our upcoming Health and Information Talk on Thursday 20 April to find out more about the amazing work that is taking place at our community hospitals and satellite sites that provide services to patients across Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

UHDB's Chief Pharmacist Clive Newman will retire at the end of the month, after an incredible 20 years working at the Trust.

Since completing his pre-registration pharmacy training in the late eighties, Clive has witnessed lots of change, including the development of dispensing robots, and was heavily involved in the roll out of Covid-19 treatments and vaccination at UHDB.

Trigger warning: the below story contains references to baby loss

An ACP who supported a colleague through a difficult loss has been hailed "a joy to work with" and "everything a leader should be."

Matthew Fowler, Advanced Clinical Practitioner in CTAU/Oncology at Royal Derby Hospital has been praised by his colleague Emily Parr, Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner, after offering unwavering support when she lost her unborn baby last year.

Today marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. To all of our Muslim colleagues and communities - we wish you a very happy Ramadan Mubarak!

Ramadan begins in the evening of Wednesday 22 March 2023, and lasts for 29 or 30 days, concluding with the celebration of Eid Al-Fitr, this year taking place on Friday 21 April 2023 - dependent on the sighting of the crescent moon.

A team at Royal Derby Hospital are on a fund-raising mission to buy a special piece of equipment that will "make a massive difference" to their patients.

Colleagues on the Combined Triage Assessment Unit (CTAU) will be joining forces to jump out of a plane for a skydive and jog their way to the finish line in a 10km run later this year.

A patient who was admitted to Ward 301 at Royal Derby Hospital praised the team for making him feel "safe and not alone" after he was admitted to the ward to receive end of life care. The patient, who will remain anonymous, wrote his letter that the team had made "an impossibly terrible situation bearable and easier, going well beyond their scope of duty".

The heart-warming feedback led to the Ward 301 team being awarded our latest Team UHDB Making a Difference Award, which was presented to them by Executive Chief Operating Officer, Sharon Martin, and members of the management team from our Cancer, Diagnostics and Clinical Support (CDCS) Division.

Monday 13 - Sunday 19 March is Healthcare Science Week 2023.

Healthcare Scientists (HCS) make an invaluable contribution to patient care at UHDB, covering a wide variety of different roles - primarily structured around four key disciplines: Physiological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Bioinformatics, and Medical Physics. However, Healthcare Scientists work in several fields beyond these, and their varied work is crucial to delivering effective patient care.

Calling all student nurses qualifying in September 2023. If you're wanting to find out more about #TeamUHDB, we are hosting two student nurse recruitment events this month.