Posts tagged “COVID-19”

Juggling staff, spaces and spreadsheets – Norma’s story

Posted on May 18, 2020

Making sure the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time is all part of the job for Excellence in Care’s Norma Dodds. Setting up a nursing staff hub as part of NHS Lothian’s response to COVID-19 has put her to the test…and has her dreaming some unusual dreams…

I used to dream of flowers. The petals, the leaves, the shapes, the structures. I dreamed of how I would put them together, arranging the colours and creating great clusters and clouds of them for displays or wedding bouquets.

Now, I dream of spreadsheets.

Spreadsheets take up my days. I have them for everything and I needthem for everything. I’m painfully aware that I never had a spread sheet for lilies. Yes, COVID-19 has changed me.

I’m NHS Lothian’s Programme Manager for Excellence in Care (EiC). For two days a week, I’m on secondment with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). Or I was, until the COVID-19 pandemic started. Now, back at NHS Lothian, it’s my job to help pull together the nursing and midwifery workforce plan that will help us deal with the pandemic.

“suddenly I had a few thousand staff to deploy where they were most needed, but that didn’t necessarily match where they wanted to go. This was a huge challenge as I had never been involved in this type work before. HR were my allies, keeping me right on what was and what was not acceptable to the organisation.”

Prioritisation of services to support patients meant rapid changes had to be implemented across NHSScotland, and NHS Lothian was no different. As some existing services were stepped down, staff were redeployed to other services. This all had to happen at speed, and I was the key contact for helping set up the COVID-19 Nurse Staffing Hub.

The idea was to allow managers to ask for assistance with staffing resources or to offer staff to be deployed to other services. Trying to balance requests for staff with actual people to be deployed was a bit of a juggling act, but one of my past roles was Staff Bank Manager for Nursing within NHS Lothian, so this gave me confidence to undertake the role of supporting with the employment and deployment of the workforce into areas of need.

The key to the success of safe recruitment and redeployment of staff is ensuring a robust governance process is in place and streamlining processes to support this. From previous roles, I was aware of the governance process around recruitment, but due to the rapid changes and the number of different routes into the system for staff and volunteers, I knew this role was going to test my knowledge.

A plan had been put in place for a rapid recruitment drive as soon as the pandemic started. The aim was to get people through the recruitment process in less than the normal six week timeframe. We had about 1600 applications – not all for nursing.

Then we heard NES were going to have a portal for staff returning to the NHS, so suddenly there were another few hundred potential recruits applying by that route. Add in the student nurses in year 2 and 3 that were offered an opportunity to work in NHS Boards as paid students as part of the workforce, and that was another six or seven hundred for us to deal with.

Staff from external organisations, universities or partner boards were also keen to volunteer, but they would all need to have either SLAs or secondment agreements to be safe to operate in NHS Lothian.

So suddenly I had a few thousand staff to deploy where they were most needed, but that didn’t necessarily match where they wanted to go. This was a huge challenge as I had never been involved in this type work before. HR were my allies, keeping me right on what was and what was not acceptable to the organisation.

I undertook some of the interviews over the phone. I’ve always preferred meeting and interviewing people face to face, so I found it a bit difficult. Once staff had been interviewed, their pre-employment checks completed and their induction underway I had to place them in a pool of staff per hospital or locality site, trying to ensure everyone got what they needed

My role is really still evolving. Every day something different happens and although I’m enjoying the challenge I do miss the normality of what I had before. I also miss the teaching side of what I was doing with EiC, but now I could teach anybody how to build a spreadsheet! Having Katy Haslam seconded from EiC to work with me three days a week has been invaluable – she loves a spreadsheet and has been my mentor on the process front, writing processes as we go and turning them into something that is visibly good and easy to use. I’m sure my role will continue to change as we move forward. The pandemic is something that happened and needed a quick response – we had no control over that, something that’s difficult for a control freak like me! But I’ve risen to the challenge and just got on with what has needed to be done. You could say I’ve gone from dreaming about flowers to turning over a new leaf.

Norma Dodds is Lead Nurse with Excellence in Care, part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

More information

Visit the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website for information on our response to COVID-19.

Categories: COVID-19 blogs

Tagged: COVID-19

Returning to a familiar part of the frontline – Jen’s story

Posted on May 13, 2020

In our latest blog, Improvement Advisor Jen Pennycook describes what it’s been like to return to her previous team at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, and shares her insights on working on the frontline, looking after family and staying resilient.

Before joining Healthcare Improvement Scotland full time as an Improvement Advisor in the ihub’s Acute Care Portfolio in 2019, I was a Practice Development Nurse at the Beatson for five years. I’d been seconded to Healthcare Improvement Scotland part time as Nursing Clinical Lead since October 2017, so by the time I joined full time, I was already familiar with my colleagues and our work.

During that time, I also mentored one of my Beatson colleagues, a staff nurse, to act up on those days I was on secondment. I was delighted that when I moved to Healthcare Improvement Scotland she got the job full time.

“My role has been to train staff to use PPE, whether they’re porters, nurses, domestics or consultants. Our small team has already trained around 300 to 400 staff across the Beatson in the four weeks since I came back.“

Nearly one year on, the COVID-19 crisis hit us all. Improvement programmes were paused and we were deployed to support the system. I was keen to return to the Beatson as I knew the team was busy educating staff around using, fitting and ensuring an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), not to mention alleviating fears by teaching them how to stay safe.

My role has been to train staff to use PPE, whether they’re porters, nurses, domestics or consultants. Our small team has already trained around 300 to 400 staff across the Beatson in the four weeks since I came back.

Using PPE like this is completely new to some staff. Our updates come from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) in a core brief based around Health Protection Scotland guidance. At the Beatson, the Practice Development Education and Research Unit is responsible for monitoring the updated guidance and educating others. It’s a big responsibility, but I love it!

One of the most rewarding aspects has been seeing how well my previous colleagues are working together, not least the colleague who took on the role I left. Being back in the team also makes me realise how much I’ve grown. Although I enjoy working at the Beatson, it’s shown me how much I love being part of the Acute Care Portfolio. I enjoy working with teams in different boards and seeing the impact of implementing improvement programmes at national level.

Patient care is paramount at the Beatson, just as it is across NHSScotland. All of the staff are more flexible than ever about what tasks they take on and what hours they work – I’ve worked weekends and out of hours to deliver PPE education sessions. Across the board at every level, people are stepping up without hesitation. As a nurse, I’m ready to take on anything, including working on wards if needed. The team working has been incredible and I hope this supportive behaviour continues after this crisis is over.

The biggest challenge for me, as I’m sure it is for many of us, is maintaining a healthy work/life balance. At work, initiatives like opening the Beatson Cancer Charity Wellbeing Centre to staff as a place to relax have been a welcome move. Treats being delivered to staff have also been much appreciated! In both my Beatson and Healthcare Improvement Scotland teams, we share information and humour using WhatsApp groups – talking is essential. It’s been really inspiring to see how much we are supporting each other.

“Across the board at every level, people are stepping up without hesitation. As a nurse, I’m ready to take on anything, including working on wards if needed. The team working has been incredible and I hope this supportive behaviour continues after this crisis is over.“

While I love my work, family is also incredibly important to me. My husband is also a key worker and we’re making sure our elderly parents and our next-door neighbour, are healthy and keeping well stocked.

We’re also fitting in home schooling our daughter, Lucy, in between shifts. She’s in first year and is working to a self-made timetable. I ‘m incredibly proud of her being mature and responsible enough to manage her own schoolwork and look after herself when my husband and I are out at work. She likes to keep fit in the mornings with Strictly’s Oti Mabuse. As proud as I am of her, she made my heart swell recently when she said, “I’m so proud of you Mummy, being a nurse and helping people.”

Jen Pennycook is an Improvement Advisor within Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

More information

Visit the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website for information on our response to COVID-19.

Categories: COVID-19 blogs

Tagged: COVID-19

Back to my roots – Judy’s story

Posted on May 12, 2020

To mark International Day of the Nurse, Excellence in Care’s Judy Sinclair tells us how working in NHS Orkney’s COVID assessment centre has been a kind of homecoming.

Orkney’s not a big place. When I returned to my home board from my secondment with Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Excellence in Care team to help with the COVID-19 pandemic, I knew that among all the unknowns about the virus and how we were going to deal with it, there was one sure thing: the support of the teams I’d be working with.

I’ve spent most my career as a nurse on Orkney. And while I do a few “back to the floor” shifts annually, going back to work in NHS Orkney’s COVID assessment centre felt slightly daunting. I was concerned I wouldn’t be an asset to the team and be able to hit the ground running. I needn’t have worried.

“When I returned to my home board from my secondment with Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Excellence in Care team to help with the COVID-19 pandemic, I knew that among all the unknowns about the virus and how we were going to deal with it, there was one sure thing: the support of the teams I’d be working with.”

***Judy, back in scrubs, takes a break from shift work at NHS Orkney’s COVID assessment centre at the old Balfour hospital site.***

The assessment centre is housed in a building that’s very familiar to me: the old Balfour hospital site. NHS Orkney saw its spectacular new hospital, also called The Balfour, open in June 2019. The old site, which is next to the new one, was still empty when the pandemic started, and parts of it were re-opened to prepare for an increase in demand. This particular part had been my work ‘home’ for many years in my previous clinical roles, so it felt comfortable going back to the place I had nostalgically waved goodbye to just eight months previously.

Not only were the surroundings familiar, the team that was being assembled was, too: GPs and experienced nurses from a range backgrounds, most of whom I have worked with previously and know very well. This was a real bonus as we already knew each other’s strengths and ways of working, which helped as we began to set up the new processes and systems to welcome patients to the centre. Dental nurse colleagues joined us to make up the clinical team along with administrators, domestics and drivers, many of whom I knew but had never worked alongside.

I’ve always tried to keep up to date through reading and learning, so on the whole the transition was not nearly as bad as I first feared. I was concerned some of my technical skills might be a bit rusty, but I feel reassured and confident that with the support of colleagues, I’m brushing up fast as we refresh old skills and learn new ones together.

“The return to shift work is challenging; getting used to night shifts again after a gap of 27 years was a quite a shock to the system. However, the camaraderie, encouragement and support from all colleagues – not to mention the cake – is fantastic and really appreciated as we settle into this new way of working.”

The assessment centre is where patients are triaged from 111 if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID. They are connected with a nurse or GP who will assess them and agree a plan by telephone, or Near Me or invited to attend the centre if any physical examination/observations are required. Thankfully in Orkney we have not seen the sudden, rapid influx of very ill patients that other areas have seen which has given us time to be well prepared. At NHS Orkney, we’re already experienced in using remote solutions such as video conferencing – we have had to be as an island group – and using systems such as Microsoft Teams and Near Me has been really useful in reducing the number of face to face contacts with patients and other staff.

We’re working shifts of eight hours over a 24 hour period. This allows for as few people as possible to be in the centre at one time to ensure physical distancing. The return to shift work is challenging; getting used to night shifts again after a gap of 27 years was a quite a shock to the system. However, the camaraderie, encouragement and support from all colleagues – not to mention the cake – is fantastic and really appreciated as we settle into this new way of working. Orkney may not be big place, but it does have a big community spirit. Working in the centre as a nurse is truly enjoyable – it’s a job I love, providing care, support and advice to patients and as part of a team. That may seem strange, given the current crisis situation. While we hope none of our patients or staff to fall victim to this virus, my ultimate wish is that through these difficult times we will review, reflect and find new opportunities for an improved future for nursing and healthcare both locally and nationally.

Judy Sinclair is Excellence in Care Lead Nurse within Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

More information

Visit the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website for information on our response to COVID-19.

Categories: COVID-19 blogs

Tagged: COVID-19

Taking Community Led Support to the next level – Gillian Fergusson

Posted on May 6, 2020

The national response to COVID-19 has highlighted the value and resilience of our communities to support our health and wellbeing. At the same time, the impact of the virus has shown that the way we support the health and wellbeing of people in communities needs to change.

As we begin to transition towards recovery, this is the perfect time to start the conversation around how we can continue to build and sustain capacity for the future.

This week the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) publish their most recent reports highlighting evidence and learning of the impact of Community Led Support (CLS) across the UK. In Scotland, the CLS approach is being implemented in nine Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) and is supported by NDTi, the Scottish Government and Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

A key part of any conversation about the future is to understand what we’ve learned so far in Scotland.

The importance of community

My own background is in international development and I’ve witnessed at first-hand the overwhelming strength and resilience of communities in responding to crisis, whether it’s caused by war, disaster or disease. I’ve worked for Healthcare Improvement Scotland in both community engagement and now collaborative communities, as I’m passionate about the role of involving communities in the planning of activity to ensure it truly meets needs and has the best chance of being sustained in the longer term.

“The CLS approach is based on the recognition that we need more sustainable, local solutions that truly meet the needs of individuals. Culture change is pivotal to this shift towards support that is flexible and innovative, designed around personal outcomes and a ‘what matters to you?’ approach.”

Working alongside NDTi in Scotland, I’ve been on a journey of discovery developing a programme of support for five HSCPs that began CLS in 2019. We have met with stakeholders working across different local services and across the statutory, third and independent sectors, who have all informed our work. We have also visited a range of communities – highlights include visiting a vegetable garden at a care home in Shetland, speaking with carers in Falkirk and being part of a lively discussion, fuelled by delicious homemade shortbread, with community members on Galson Estate, north west Lewis.

The CLS approach is based on the recognition that we need more sustainable, local solutions that truly meet the needs of individuals. Culture change is pivotal to this shift towards support that is flexible and innovative, designed around personal outcomes and a ‘what matters to you?’ approach. For example, one man in the Scottish Borders attended an open mic night in a local village to successfully address social isolation, rather than referral to traditional day services.

Community responses have flourished in response to COVID-19 as already pressurised statutory services were stretched thinner. In common with CLS, these responses have focused on the resources and strengths that already exist within individuals and our communities to support health and wellbeing. Yes, the statutory sector may have a role to play, but this may be as a facilitator or enabler rather than service provider.

Every community is different

A key principle of CLS is in recognising that the needs of every community will be different and therefore the solutions must also be locally adapted. Integral to success is taking time to develop an understanding of each local context and all the nuances, the individuals and relationships that make each ‘community’. An example of this is Talking Points in East Renfrewshire where staff worked with a local Muslim group to understand their needs and developed a tailored ‘community hub’ for health and wellbeing that included support from a dietician and diabetes nurse in collaboration with social care and the third sector.

“A key principle of CLS is in recognising that the needs of every community will be different and therefore the solutions must also be locally adapted. Integral to success is taking time to develop an understanding of each local context and all the nuances, the individuals and relationships that make each ‘community’.”

Again, successful community responses to COVID-19 have also demonstrated the importance of localised approaches with activity developed and led by those who best understand and can meet the needs: the communities themselves.

Working together

The values and principles of CLS resonate across the UK. However it has also been important to recognise the different policy landscape and culture in Scotland, especially given the strength of community and how this impacts on systems and processes that support health and wellbeing.

We have built relationships with key national organisations, such as the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Social Services Council. This has enabled the flexibility required for changes to systems and processes. For example, the development of a light touch social work assessment that continues to meet regulatory requirements.

In the response to COVID-19 this same flexibility to do things differently has been key to breaking down system barriers and enabling communities. In fact, in one of the areas where the CLS journey had already begun, a key stakeholder reflected it has “helped us cope better with COVID-19”. This may be for a variety of factors already in place: that initial conversations focus on ‘what matters to you’ and in signposting to community assets, that a light touch assessment process exists that has contributed to reduced waiting lists, that collaborative working relationships have been built with the third sector and communities.

Starting the next stage of the conversation

Bearing in mind this breadth of knowledge and experience that we’ve gathered thus far, how might we build capacity, support our communities and enable local solutions that better meet the needs of people in Scotland?

The CLS reports provide some evidence and recommendations to start the conversation, including the importance of coproduction, trust and empowerment of communities.

As we transition into recovery, the challenge will be to answer this question by building on the learning so far. Healthcare Improvement Scotland is looking forward to being a key player in this vital journey that’s of increasing importance in a post-COVID Scotland.

Gillian Fergusson is Senior Programme Manager with the People Led Care Portfolio within Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s ihub.

More information

Visit the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website for information on our response to COVID-19.

Categories: COVID-19 blogs

Tagged: COVID-19

A rainbow in the middle of the storm: Laura’s story

Posted on May 5, 2020

We’re continuing to tell the story of how Healthcare Improvement Scotland staff are helping in the fight against COVID-19. Today, to mark International Day of the Midwife, Healthcare Staffing Programme’s Laura Boyce tells us how deployment back to a maternity unit has provided a glimmer of hope in the middle of the pandemic.

The joyous moment a baby is born and a family grown is a wonderful experience. As a midwife, I’ve been privileged to see so many of these moments during my career. It’s what makes my job special.

My background is in intrapartum care (high risk labour and birth, including maternity operating theatres). Although I’ve been on secondment from my role at Crosshouse Hospital’s Ayrshire Maternity Unit since June 2018, first with Scottish Government and now with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, returning there to help during the pandemic feels like going home in many ways.

“Maternity services can always be a bit unpredictable, with peaks and troughs of activity. We always say there can be an element of predictable unpredictability about it! COVID-19 has, of course, made things just that little bit more unpredictable”

During my secondment I’ve been on regular ‘Keep in Touch’ days to maintain my clinical competency, and a lot of the care, policies and guidance are very similar to when I worked there full time. The biggest challenge has been getting to know all the new faces and working out who is doing what role. Oh, and the nightshift feeling…yuk! I haven’t missed that feeling.

Maternity services can always be a bit unpredictable, with peaks and troughs of activity. We always say there can be an element of predictable unpredictability about it! COVID-19 has, of course, made things just that little bit more unpredictable, but we’ve currently got good staff levels as all additional roles have been paused to allow a focus on frontline care giving, and a streamlined service is provided for routine clinics. Obviously there are some areas more affected by staff isolating or shielding than others, but the service is working well to redeploy and continually review.

**Laura on the ward before the COVID-19 outbreak – the personalised scrub cap has had to be swapped for a disposable one under PPE guidance.**

“A new baby is a huge family affair and it’s sad to see the impact COVID-19 is having on what is a wonderful time for women and their families. Yet I can honestly say the general public have been very supportive and understanding of why these measures have been implemented. And oddly, this situation does have a benefit: mums are getting precious uninterrupted time with their newborns, something they don’t always get in today’s busy modern world.”

The pandemic has, of course, affected our “business as usual”. Women are attending triage, initial assessment and for induction of labour alone, as there is currently no visiting due to COVID-19 regulations. However, they are still supported and encouraged to have a symptom-free birth partner with them for labour and delivery. I think some women are obviously nervous about attending or having hospital stays alone, but the staff are trying their utmost to provide that extra emotional support for them and make their journey as stress-free as possible.

There are other downsides to the current situation, as siblings and grandparents aren’t getting to visit their new families. But technology is a wonderful thing and we’re actively encouraging people to keep in touch. A new baby is a huge family affair and it’s sad to see the impact COVID-19 is having on what is a wonderful time for women and their families. Yet I can honestly say the general public have been very supportive and understanding of why these measures have been implemented. And oddly, this situation does have a benefit: mums are getting precious uninterrupted time with their newborns, something they don’t always get in today’s busy modern world.

“The best thing about going back to the labour ward is that it’s reignited that passion inside me that started my professional journey all those years ago. Watching women become mothers, and couples become families, is an exceptionally privileged opportunity. For me, it’s my little rainbow in the current storm.”

There are obviously some new challenges to overcome for staff, too, and providing care whilst wrestling to seamlessly master the donning and doffing of PPE has been a challenge – the scrub cap I’m wearing in the picture here is my personalised one; we’re all having to use disposal ones instead just now. Yet the teamwork has been truly nothing short of exceptional. Those special moments when you see that new family come together for the first time are what gets us through the tough times, too. The best thing about going back to the labour ward is that it’s reignited that passion inside me that started my professional journey all those years ago. Watching women become mothers, and couples become families, is an exceptionally privileged opportunity. For me, it’s my little rainbow in the current storm.

More information

Visit the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website for information on our response to COVID-19.

Categories: COVID-19 blogs

Tagged: COVID-19

Answering the call – by making one: Paula’s story

Posted on April 30, 2020

When Standards and Indicators’ Paula O’Brien volunteered to help support the training of new call handlers for NHS24, she had no idea she’d end up with a sore throat…and an alter ego!

“Can I speak to John?” the voice asked.

I started to feel a bit panicky.

“He’s not feeling well,” I said, fidgeting with the phone.

“If you could let me speak to him, please. We just need to ask him a few things,” said the person at the other end.

I counted to 10 in my head. I’m still not sure why I did what I did next, looking back.

“It’s John here,” I said, putting on a much deeper voice.

The voice at the other end of the phone asked me a few more questions. I kept on for a bit, being ‘John’. Then I thought, ‘What am I doing?’

After a while, I went back to my normal voice.

What did I get out of it? A sore throat. What did the voice, the person at the other end of the phone get out of it? Well, apart from amusement at my efforts pretending to be John, hopefully in some small way I’ve helped them prepare to answer one of the many calls that NHS24 will be receiving during the COVID-19 pandemic.

***Paula volunteered to help support the training of new call handlers for NHS24***

Volunteering to help support the training of new call handlers for NHS24, by posing as a patient with real symptoms for test calls, is a world away from my job working as an admin officer for the Standards and Indicators team in Healthcare Improvement Scotland. But in a previous life I worked in a call centre environment. As my partner, Alan, is a care home nurse and my sister, Karen, a mental health nurse, I also felt I wanted to do something to help, no matter how small or big.

“As my partner, Alan, is a care home nurse and my sister, Karen, a mental health nurse, I also felt I wanted to do something to help, no matter how small or big.”

The volume of calls NHS24 is receiving has risen quite significantly due to COVID–19, and they’ve had to quickly recruit around 300 new call handlers. By volunteering to help support the training of these new call handlers, I’ve been able to help NHS24 in two ways. Firstly, having people like me involved means they don’t have to take experienced call handlers from the ‘live’ environment to train new staff. Secondly, by taking on the role of a patient caller, I’m helping to support the training of those additional staff.

Training for the role of a patient caller took place through a conference call with our contact at NHS24, someone that others in Healthcare Improvement Scotland will be familiar with – our former Equality and Diversity Advisor, Mario Medina. Mario ran through the processes and gave us the opportunity to ask any questions to help us prepare for our new roles as patient callers. We always have a point of contact, like Mario, to refer to if we’re unsure of anything. These contacts also give feedback via email about how much our help is appreciated and how well we are doing regarding the support training of new staff.

Being a patient caller in the training programme basically involves using scripted scenarios and demographics. There’s usually two demographics (patient details such as name and address) and four scenarios, two of which have an “end point” where the call handler advises on care at home, and two of which are ILTs, Immediate Life Threats requiring ambulance dispatch. My role is not to score, rate or make comments on how the trainee has done, it’s to follow the scenario to the end. During each call I make, I hope that the trainee call handler gets it right and I root for them each time. It sounds strange, but you can actually feel a smile through the phone – I could just tell the trainee who had to listen to me pretending to be ‘John’ was amused. On another call, an ILT one, the trainee asked, “How do you get into the house?”, needing to know so they could direct the ambulance crew when they got there. I misheard this as “How did you get into the house?”, to which I replied quite indignantly “Through the front door! I live here with my mum!” Only when the trainee repeated the question did I realise my mistake, and again a smile was shared across the phone.

I normally get up to three shifts a week, half a day for each shift – these can be morning, afternoon or evening. I select the most suitable shifts dependent on other workloads and home life and I then get provided with a rota and patient details for those shifts. I’ve been supplied with a work mobile for the training, as we have to continually call the training centre during our shift, alternating scenarios as we go. My preference has been to do either morning or afternoon shifts – Alan works nightshift in a care home. Luckily he is a deep sleeper so up to now my work as a trainer has not encroached on our routine and seems to fit in with it nicely.

“Carrying out this work not only helps NHS24 in a small way but is also keeps me busy and keeps my mind off worrying about my loved ones. I speak to both Alan and my sister regularly about their experiences of working during this pandemic. Volunteering in this way helps benefit my mental wellbeing in a positive way, and I’m glad of the opportunity to help during this difficult time.”

I do hope – and certainly feel – that I am making a difference by assisting with the training of new call handlers. Despite the ‘John’ incident, I try not to get emotionally attached to my patient character as I’m focussed on how the trainee must be feeling and how anxious some of them must be. I concentrate on ensuring I give them all the information they need to seek clinical advice from a colleague and complete the call in the correct way.

Carrying out this work not only helps NHS24 in a small way but is also keeps me busy and keeps my mind off worrying about my loved ones. I speak to both Alan and my sister regularly about their experiences of working during this pandemic. Volunteering in this way helps benefit my mental wellbeing in a positive way, and I’m glad of the opportunity to help during this difficult time. As part of a team of people from across Healthcare Improvement Scotland that have stepped up and volunteered to help support the training of call handlers, and as part of our wider team of colleagues across the organisation who are all helping fight this virus in their own way, I’d like to say thank you – you all make me really proud!

Paula O’Brien is a member of the Standards and Indicators team in Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

More information

Visit the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website for information on our response to COVID-19.

Categories: COVID-19 blogs

Tagged: COVID-19

How to build a hospital in under three weeks – Ann’s story

Posted on April 28, 2020

On 29 March, our NMAHP Director, Ann Gow, temporarily stepped away from her Healthcare Improvement Scotland role and into the unknown as Nurse Director for the new NHS Louisa Jordan hospital at the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in Glasgow. She tells us about the challenges of setting up a fully-functioning hospital in just three weeks – and how the staff, work programmes and culture of our organisation have helped.

Around three weeks ago, I started a job unlike any other I’ve ever had. It wasn’t planned, I didn’t apply for it. There was no lengthy application form to fill or nerve wracking interview process to go through. It’s the kind of job I never imagined I’d be asked to do, not even in my wildest dreams. If anyone had ever suggested to me I’d be helping set up a hospital in a conference centre more used to JLS than NHS, and have just three weeks to do it, I’d have thought they were joking.

But now here we are. In the middle of a global pandemic that has made us all change the way we think about how we work and live our lives, we’ve set up the NHS Louisa Jordan at the SEC. And I couldn’t be prouder of all those who’ve contributed to it.

I was asked to help by Scotland’s Chief Nursing Officer Fiona McQueen, who chairs the Louisa Jordan’s Governance Board. With the full support of our chief executive and chair, I agreed to step away for a short time from Healthcare Improvement Scotland and help establish the new hospital.

A new job but with similar responsibilities

As nurse director, I’m part of the strategic executive team reporting to the Scottish Government’s Governance Board and have lead responsibility for nursing on the site. This responsibility includes levels of nurse staffing, systems to support provision of safe, effective and person-centred nursing care, patient safety, quality and learning and infection prevention and control. Although I’ve been a nurse director previously, and was chief nurse in acute services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde before I joined Healthcare Improvement Scotland, this has been very different from any role that I’ve done before. Yet the core principles of nursing care and the needs of patients and staff remain the same, and my years in public health have been useful for working in a hospital focused on an infectious disease.

There are similarities to my regular job: I provide strategic nursing advice at executive level, I’ve helped build a great nursing team with a myriad of skills, and made sure we apply all the principles of quality, patient safety, healthcare acquired infection and governance that we in Healthcare Improvement Scotland apply within the NHS system. Our culture of teamwork and trust is one that I’ve applied here in the Louisa Jordan, too. Our organisation has also provided support for improvement, learning, project management, HR and AHP leadership as NHS Louisa Jordan has been established.

“Working at such a pace has been very full on. The whole team have worked 12 hour days with no time off for the past three weeks. Yet the feeling that we were making a contribution, and the great team spirit not just with NHS staff but with construction contractors, architects and the SEC staff, has made it easy.”

Team spirit and learning from each other

Working at such a pace has been very full on. The whole team have worked 12 hour days with no time off for the past three weeks. Yet the feeling that we were making a contribution, and the great team spirit not just with NHS staff but with construction contractors, architects and the SEC staff, has made it easy. The build took two weeks from start to finish and it was amazing to watch the conference centre transform. The contract and procurement teams worked really closely with the clinical people on site to make sure it was fit for purpose in a very short period of time. The saddest thing for the whole team has been knowing we are planning an environment where patients will have little contact with their families and that staff in PPE need to find ways of comforting and building relationships with each other and patients when their faces are largely covered. We’ve learned from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s experiences and will be using donated iPads so patients can have virtual visiting with families.

We’ve also been learning from the experiences of colleagues at the other temporary hospitals across the UK, and have weekly calls with staff at the NHS Nightingale in London. Colleagues at the Dragon’s Heart Hospital (Ysbyty Calon Y Ddraig) in Cardiff have been helping us develop a learning and evaluation system which our Evidence and ihub colleagues are supporting and sharing to help other Scottish sites.

Putting a learning culture at the heart of Louisa Jordan

Probably the most important learning tools we have though are our nursing staff. Many of them have already been caring for patients with COVID-19. Most are experienced, so induction has focused on the areas that are different from the norm, whether due to the environment or the disease. The operational multi-disciplinary teams are deployed from NHS boards and most are currently working or recently retired. Many of the staff helping with the set-up phase stepped in from retirement or from organisations like ours, NHS National Services Scotland and Scottish Government at very short notice and are hugely experienced – we really couldn’t have got to where we are without them.

**Nurse Director Ann Gow in the newly built NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital**

All staff coming on site have volunteered to be there and have been massively enthusiastic. To help build these teams in such a short space of time, we’ve used Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s quality management system approach. This has helped place a learning culture at the heart of what we do, and really helped gel teams together. There has been a can-do attitude and mutual support from everyone on site right from the start. Operational staff coming in for induction have picked up on and are continuing this culture.

Now the hospital is operationally ready, , it will provide beds for patients who require ‘ward care’ as either a step down from ICU or where ICU isn’t necessary. These patients may need oxygen and care for around 5-7 days in the first instance. We’ve also got 90 beds which can be used for critical care if needed.

“In many ways, my experience at Louisa Jordan has reinforced the importance of the work we do at Healthcare Improvement Scotland. There’s a lot of learning I’m hoping to bring back with me, too, around the speed of change and the focus on teamwork, as well as the need to have ongoing connections with the system in which we work.”

The safety net we hope we won’t need

NHS Louisa Jordan is here as a safety net. We hope we don’t need to be used, as it would indicate that the volume of people with the disease was greater than the current system could cope with. But if we’re needed, we can step in to make sure patients and staff are well cared for.

In many ways, my experience at Louisa Jordan has reinforced the importance of the work we do at Healthcare Improvement Scotland. There’s a lot of learning I’m hoping to bring back with me, too, around the speed of change and the focus on teamwork, as well as the need to have ongoing connections with the system in which we work. The relationships that have been built here will I’m sure endure and make working across our various organisations easier in future.

I’m really proud to be a part of what will hopefully be a once in a lifetime experience. On site we’ve all been really focused and driven by providing somewhere that would be a good environment to care for very distressed patients and a good environment for staff to work in. I’m pleased that I can use skills to “do my bit”, but still feel in awe of the others on the front line who are working in hospitals, the community and care homes every day. I‘m also proud to be doing this on behalf of Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, our organisation has played a key role in supporting the NHS battle to combat this virus, refocusing what we do and offering support to the system. This has been invaluable to me working at the Louisa Jordan, and the spirit of cooperation that has been shown by our staff with their health and social care colleagues only enhances our reputation.

Ann Gow is NMAHP Director with Healthcare Improvement Scotland and Nurse Director with NHS Louisa Jordan hospital.

More information

Visit the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website for information on our response to COVID-19.

Categories: COVID-19 blogs

Tagged: COVID-19