Season 1: Episode 2 - Celebrating Centuries and Innovations

A tour of Birch Unit, North Walsham's legacy, and NHS uniform conversations 
In this episode, we catch up with the following colleagues: 

• Carolyn Fowler, Director of Nursing and Quality, and Rob Mack, Director of Community Health and Social Care Operations, have a tour of the Birch Unit with Unit Lead, Luciano Pitasi.
• Melissa Taylor, Communications & Marketing Manager, pays a special visit to North Walsham War Memorial Hospital in celebration of the site's centenary. 
• Colleagues share their opinions on the new national NHS uniform at the first uniform drop in session in Norwich. 

Transcript

WEBVTT
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Hey, and welcome to The Handover, the podcast for staff at NCH&C.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>The Handover is all about handing over updates and information.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>We want to hear from frontline colleagues about the issues that matter to you.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>This is your community and we want to hear from you about what needs to be handed over.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Listen, discuss with colleagues and tell us what you want to talk about.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>This week on The Handover, we'll be hearing from the team at the new Birch Unit at Coleman Hospital, celebrating a major milestone with colleagues at North Walsham, and chatting to staff about the new NHS uniforms.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>So you'll remember that back in April, the former PBL building at Coleman Hospital was reopened as Birch Unit.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Providing care for P2 patients, it's been working as a temporary preparation ward ahead of the brand new Willow Therapy Unit opening at Norwich Community Hospital later this year.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Initially, it opened for eight patients and then increased numbers during the month to finally having 20 patients by the end of April.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Patients have been admitted to Birch using the same admissions policy that the Willow Therapy Unit will follow, and Birch Unit is run by staff recruited to work at the new unit when it opens.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>It's been a huge task to get to this point, so Carolyn and Rob were really keen to visit the team at Birch, to find out how the first few months have gone, and to talk frankly about any lessons learnt since the opening with staff.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>So the first stop on our tour of Birch, Luciano took us to see a Red to Green meeting in action.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>This is a daily multi-disciplinary meeting to discuss each patient on the ward and how the team is working to get them ready to be discharged.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>You'll hear from Mark Prentice, Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Birch, talking about how the process works.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>A really big thank you to all the staff at Birch for taking the time to talk to us about your work.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>You can find out more about Birch and the Willow Therapy Unit on the webpage for this podcast.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>One of our inpatient units celebrated a very special milestone recently.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>At the end of June, North Walsham War Memorial Hospital marked its 100th anniversary.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Built in 1924 for just 4,000 pounds, the original hospital was built to honor the men who lost their lives in the First World War and to give something back to the community and their memory.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Like many of our sites, North Walsham Hospital has been through many changes and been part of many different NHS trusts over the years.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>At one point, there was a large children's and maternity unit at the hospital.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>So in fact, several colleagues who work at North Walsham Hospital today were actually born at the original hospital site.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>The old hospital was totally demolished and rebuilt in 2012, shortly after the creation of NCH&C.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>To celebrate their centenary, the hospital's charity, the Friends of North Walsham War Memorial Hospital, hosted a garden party for staff and patients in June, as well as tea and cake, a time capsule, kindly funded by NCH&C's charitable fund, was also buried at the site.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Ahead of the celebrations last month, Melissa Taylor, our marketing and communications manager, headed down to the hospital to talk to some of the long-serving staff about their experiences and how they've seen the site change over the years.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>So can you start by introducing yourself and your job role, please?
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>So I'm Karen Mitchell, I'm the ward manager at North Walsham Hospital.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>Prior to joining NCH&C Trust, I spent my whole career from being a student nurse working in the acute hospital at the North Cornwalli on the various different sites.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>So I've very much been an acute nurse.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>So how does working in a smaller community unit compare to working in an acute hospital?
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>It's a million miles different.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>I think you walk through the door and patients were dressed.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>Patients knew staff by their names.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>Staff knew all the patients.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>And also staff knew who the managers were coming through the doors.
 
 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:19.260
 <v SPEAKER_2>Staff knew the matrons, the service leads, the estates manager, the porters.
 
 00:24:19.280 --> 00:24:22.100
 <v SPEAKER_2>So it's very much more a personal environment, really, I think.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>So what's special about North Walsham?
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>I think the team is special at North Walsham.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>I think we have a team that have been together for a long time.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>We have lots of experienced nurses.
 
 00:24:34.620 --> 00:24:42.580
 <v SPEAKER_2>We've got lots of staff here that have joined as maybe an apprentice and they've wanted to stay within the unit.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>They've become a healthcare assistant.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>They've gone on to do their TNA training and now they're registered associates.
 
 00:24:48.300 --> 00:24:51.000
 <v SPEAKER_2>I think they see themselves very much as a work family.
 
 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:53.640
 <v SPEAKER_2>They have a can-do attitude as well.
 
 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:58.540
 <v SPEAKER_2>Often I'll come in and we might have a staff issue, for example, tomorrow evening.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>There's already a message on my desk saying, Karen, I could do the night shift if you could stop me from this shift.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>I really think the team work together to support each other, provide the best care they can to the patients, see if it's their family really.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_3>Hello, my name is Kerry Howarth.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_3>I'm one of the ward sisters at North Walsham.
 
 00:25:16.360 --> 00:25:19.780
 <v SPEAKER_3>I was actually born at this hospital in 1968.
 
 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:27.120
 <v SPEAKER_3>I came here as a junior staff nurse, and this year I've worked at North Walsham for 25 years.
 
 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:30.340
 <v SPEAKER_3>It was one of the best jobs that I've done.
 
 00:25:30.360 --> 00:25:36.500
 <v SPEAKER_3>It embraced everything that I needed to do in my nursing career, and I've been here since.
 
 00:25:36.520 --> 00:25:40.440
 <v SPEAKER_2>What would you say is special about working somewhere like North Walsham?
 
 00:25:40.840 --> 00:25:46.600
 <v SPEAKER_3>I think what's special for me is the people I work with work all together as a good team.
 
 00:25:46.620 --> 00:25:47.940
 <v SPEAKER_3>We all embrace each other.
 
 00:25:48.220 --> 00:25:49.600
 <v SPEAKER_3>We all have different roles.
 
 00:25:50.060 --> 00:25:52.320
 <v SPEAKER_3>Everybody knows their role and does it very well.
 
 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:57.380
 <v SPEAKER_3>We put the patient at the centre of everything, which for me is good.
 
 00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:02.960
 <v SPEAKER_2>And how does working at NCH&C compare to other trusts that you might have worked at?
 
 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:07.420
 <v SPEAKER_3>The sense of belonging to a trust which cares about its staff.
 
 00:26:07.560 --> 00:26:12.360
 <v SPEAKER_3>For me, it's one of the best places to work, which is why I'm still here after this time.
 
 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:16.520
 <v SPEAKER_4>I'm Binnie Thurle, a Health Care Assistant.
 
 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:22.000
 <v SPEAKER_4>I'm old Carrie Moore and I'm a Health Care Assistant too, and we are twins.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>So how long have you both worked in North Walsham?
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>I've worked here like 15 years.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>And I'm six.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>So you were here first?
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>I was here first in the old days in the old hospital, which was lovely, and then came over into the new build with the team.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>I've seen a lot of changes.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>I was at the Fletcher Hospital, moved down to Benjamin Court on Bluebell Wing, and then I came to North Walsham six years ago.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>And how have you seen it change, Binnie, since you've been here?
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>A lot, well, quite a few changes.
 
 00:26:55.800 --> 00:26:58.040
 <v SPEAKER_4>There's always going to be change, isn't there?
 
 00:26:58.060 --> 00:26:59.780
 <v SPEAKER_4>And you just go along with that.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_2>And what's special about North Walsham?
 
 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:03.600
 <v SPEAKER_4>The team, yeah.
 
 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:04.860
 <v SPEAKER_4>We're like a family.
 
 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:06.080
 <v SPEAKER_4>We like to think we're a family.
 
 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:13.960
 <v SPEAKER_4>Yes, we all have good days and bad, but we're always there and rally round and look after each other.
 
 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:18.000
 <v SPEAKER_2>What are some of the, what's maybe one of the biggest challenges working here?
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>The biggest challenge, I would say, is that you want to do your job to the best of your ability, but when you're short, you find it frustrating because everybody...
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>Time scale, isn't it?
 
 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:32.260
 <v SPEAKER_4>You've got to get 24 up.
 
 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:37.860
 <v SPEAKER_4>You would love to give each that time where sometimes you can't.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>You've got to just, where some people like to talk and offload, all part of care and offload and listen, get them the help that they can offload and get questions answered.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_4>I say to the students, if you can make a patient feel safe and secure, and you listen and you have a sense of humour and laugh with them, you're cracked up because they feel safe.
 
 00:28:06.600 --> 00:28:10.520
 <v SPEAKER_4>You have a happier environment and they get better quicker.
 
 00:28:10.760 --> 00:28:13.040
 <v SPEAKER_4>And they can ask anything.
 
 00:28:14.260 --> 00:28:16.480
 <v SPEAKER_4>It's just making that time to listen.
 
 00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:18.400
 <v SPEAKER_4>That's what I work by.
 
 00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:22.660
 <v SPEAKER_1>Thank you so much to colleagues at North Walsham for sharing your stories with us.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>If you'd like to find out more about the 100th anniversary of North Walsham Hospital, there's a link to the story on the web page for this podcast.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>So the unveiling of the brand new NHS uniform has been quite a popular topic recently.
 
 00:28:38.520 --> 00:28:44.240
 <v SPEAKER_1>We've had lots of questions from colleagues about the colours and fabrics, so a series of uniform drop in sessions have begun.
 
 00:28:44.840 --> 00:28:49.380
 <v SPEAKER_1>The first session was held on the 11th of July in Norwich, and we popped along to find out more.
 
 00:28:51.460 --> 00:28:54.040
 <v SPEAKER_1>So, is this the first time you've seen the uniform today?
 
 00:28:54.600 --> 00:28:55.320
 <v SPEAKER_1>And what do you think?
 
 00:28:55.820 --> 00:28:58.680
 <v SPEAKER_3>I think it's different.
 
 00:28:58.860 --> 00:29:00.600
 <v SPEAKER_1>It's not what I was expecting it to be.
 
 00:29:00.660 --> 00:29:07.580
 <v SPEAKER_4>I thought they were going to be, when they were first advertised, you know, when you see the Americanised scrubs, sort of like that.
 
 00:29:08.100 --> 00:29:10.120
 <v SPEAKER_1>So they're different to what I expected.
 
 00:29:10.680 --> 00:29:11.700
 <v SPEAKER_1>So these are the trousers?
 
 00:29:13.160 --> 00:29:13.760
 <v SPEAKER_1>I like these.
 
 00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:25.040
 <v SPEAKER_2>So the trousers are a hit?
 
 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:26.720
 <v SPEAKER_3>The trousers are a hit.
 
 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:27.380
 <v SPEAKER_3>I like the trousers.
 
 00:29:31.060 --> 00:29:33.580
 <v SPEAKER_4>So there's 10 different sizes to order.
 
 00:29:33.800 --> 00:29:34.920
 <v SPEAKER_3>So it should be a combination.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>So there were lots of thoughts and feedback to the new uniform at this first session.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>The new uniform will be available to all NCH&C staff later this year and will eventually be what all NHS staff in every trust will be wearing in the coming months.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Dates for the next uniform sessions and locations for these sessions will be publicised very soon, so keep your eye out for those.
 
 00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:12.080
 <v SPEAKER_1>Once again, thank you to all the staff who have taken part in this episode and we hope that everyone that has listened has found it interesting.
 
 00:30:12.760 --> 00:30:17.540
 <v SPEAKER_1>Further information about everything we have talked about in this episode can be found on the webpage for this podcast.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Don't forget to send us your ideas and thoughts about The Handover.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>If you have an idea for a feature, would like us to come and hear from your team or your service, or you would like to host a segment, then just get in touch.
 
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 <v SPEAKER_1>Details for how to get in touch can also be found on the podcast webpage.
 
 00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:36.780
 <v SPEAKER_1>Join us again for The Handover soon.
 
 00:30:37.260 --> 00:30:37.740
 <v SPEAKER_1>Bye for now.