Highlights Issue 11, February 2013

Highlights welcome news from all parts of the organisation but we are particularly keen to hear from colleagues working in the community, care homes and other staff who have

comes across to NHS Highland as part of integration of adult health and social care. Contact communications manager Tom Davison at tom.davison@nhs.net (tel. 01463 704903).

NHS HIGHLAND is set to introduce a revolutionary system aimed at making life easier for staff to access personal information.

The Employee Support System, or e:ESS, will be rolled out across the organisation from 1st April, allowing our employees to change or correct NHS-held personal details and apply online for leave and internal jobs.

Project manager Andy Griffin said: “There are a number of benefits with this system, most notably the ability to apply for annual leave online.

“The system will calculate your leave automatically and allow line

managers to authorise it far quicker and easier.

“From the launch date on 1st April, e:ESS will be the main and the pre-ferred way to apply for annual leave and other HR administrative proc-esses, so all NHS Highland employ-ees with access to NHS IT can use the system.

“For those staff who are unable to readily access NHS IT, arrangements will be put in place to support staff to get their information onto the system. Please speak to your line manager who will advise on the best solution.

Andy continued: “Paper-based

ways of working will become a thing of the past. However, on-line guides will be provided to help staff get to grips with e:ESS.”

The new system will be found on the NHS intranet, so all employees will have direct access to their own information from any NHS intranet-enabled PC or laptop.

Andy added: “It’s all designed to remove waste and become more reli-able.”

This objective is being sponsored by the Scottish Government and all boards will be required to use the sys-tem.

An e:ESSier way of life...

INFORMATION: NHS Highland to launch new system GET IN TOUCH

If you are planning to attend a

conference, enter an award or

publish your work, let us know. A member of our

communications team will also help

you to prepare your submissions, if that would help.

NOW OUT MONTHLY

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RUN FOR THE HILLS Pg 12 Belford nurse just keeps on running

NHS HIGHLAND has had its share of bad-news stories in recent times – but we’re working hard to redress the balance by feeding the local and national media with positive articles about us, our achievements and our diligent and caring staff.

And you, the staff, can play a key part in ensuring that not everything you read in the press about NHS Highland is negative.

We know that NHS Highland staff don't come to work seeking publicity but there are all sorts of reasons why telling people what we do is very important.

And there are lots of way we can help share positive news but the first

thing we need to do is identify good-news stories.

Generally speaking, 'news' relates to an event which has just happened or is just about to happen and which will be of interest.

This might include the announcement of an event, the launch of a new service or a new facility, winning awards or calling for volunteers.

It also includes anniver-saries and milestones, key campaigns, results of surveys or new appoint-ments.

Send us your stories or ideas from across Highland and we will help to get them published.

If you are unsure about if what your thinking is

newsworthy, tell us anyway.

Check out the 'Latest stories' on the 'News and Events' section of our website to see the resulting coverage based on what others have told us.

We have also set up a Staff News Dropbox on the intranet: click here.

If you have got good news you would like to share with a wider audience, please get in touch with our communications team.

If you are already in touch with one of our communications manag-ers then please just carry on working with them.

This approach is additional.

COMMUNICATIONS: Getting positive stories in print

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Join the Volunteers

for the 2014

Games MEMBERS of NHS Highland staff are being invited to ap-ply to serve volun-teers at the Com-monwealth Games to be held in Glas-gow in July and Au-gust 2014.

As well as seeking lay people, the Games organisers would welcome ap-plications from nurses and other healthcare profes-sionals with a back-ground in emer-gency, acute and primary care.

Successful appli-cants will have an opportunity to join in the atmosphere and fun of the event. And in doing so they will be making a valuable contribu-tion to caring for the athletes and their families in the Poly-clinic, Games Fam-ily Hotel and Games venues. Training will be provided.

Applicants should be prepared to give their enthusiasm – and eight days of their time.

Visit the Games website and volun-teer.

Kudos for Raigmore’s catering department RAIGMORE Hospital’s catering department has been awarded an ‘Eat Safe’ award after an unan-nounced inspection by En-vironmental Health found the department to have excellent standards in food hygiene.

The inspection was an annual visit which not only carried out an audit in terms of food safety but visited all catering areas to

make sure standards were being met.

Interim support ser-vices manager Crawford Howat, who is also the catering services manager for the hospital, said: “We are measured against very strict standards with all areas of the department being visited and staff be-ing asked to show their understanding of food safety and hygiene.

“Our environmental health officer was very pleased with the high stan-dards in the department and we were put forward for and awarded an ‘Eat Safe’ award in recognition of excellence in food hy-giene and food safety management.”

Crawford continued: “The award has given a big boost to the depart-ment.”

How you can help us spread the good news

A PILOT scheme has been launched at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, aimed at improving the safety and wellbeing of patients with dementia and confusion while in hospital.

The scheme allows people whose memory is

affected by dementia to opt in to having a discreet butterfly symbol placed next to their name. This alerts staff to the fact that the patient has requested ‘butterfly’ care, outlined in a special response plan.

Carers are also encouraged to be

involved by sharing their valuable insight into their loved one’s care needs with the staff who are taking over that care during a hospital stay.

Ruth Mantle, an Alzheimer Scotland dementia nurse con-sultant working with NHS

Highland, told Highlights: “I think the Butterfly Scheme, together with other service improve-ments we are making in NHS Highland, will have a real impact on improving the care experience for people with dementia.”

AN NHS Highland occupational therapist has completed a six-week study programme in Australia.

Tommy McLeod (56), who is based at New Craigs Hospital, Inverness, had secured a £6,000 Churchill Fellowship to study at the world-renowned Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) in Melbourne.

Tommy has had a long-standing interest in the delivery of early interventions for people with psychosis, and wanted to see at first hand how the world’s leading proponent of early intervention operated.

He told Highlights: “My time in EPPIC also convinced me that, by

getting the right help at the earliest possible stages, young people who experience psychosis get the chances to go on to live fully successful lives.”

Since his return, Tommy has been holding

awareness raising talks for NHS Highland colleagues, students at the University of Stirling’s Inverness campus, and people using mental health services and their families.

He also gave a presentation to the Feb-ruary meeting of the NHS Highland Board.

Churchill Fellowships are awarded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to allow people from all walks of life to travel overseas and bring back knowledge for the benefit of others in their professions and communities.

The trust supports around 100 British citizens each year – people working in anything from science and medicine to business and the arts.

Tommy’s home from Down Under — full of good ideas

Butterflies that can help hospital’s dementia patients

PSYCHOSIS: Study tour underlines that early intervention holds the key

QUOTE

By getting the right help at the earliest possible

stages, young people who experi-

ence psychosis get the chances to go on to live fully successful lives

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We want your views MEMBERS of staff as well as the general pub-lic have been responding to a survey designed to give people an opportunity to shape ser-vices provided by NHS High-land.

The survey was featured in the January 2013 edition of ‘NHS Highland News’, our an-nual newspaper

It’s still not too late to take part in the survey.

THE children’s charity ChildLine is asking volun-teers in Oban and Inver-ary to go back to the classroom to help deliver its ambitious new Child-Line Schools Service.

ChildLine has launched a new service for primary-age children and needs volunteers – including NHS Highland staff – to deliver group presentations and work-

shops in schools. In the area.

The ChildLine Schools Service focuses particu-larly on children aged from seven to 11 and aims to help them under-stand what abuse is, how to protect themselves and how to seek help if they need it – including through ChildLine.

Janine Bonner, schools service area co-

ordinator for Argyll and Bute, said: “We believe that teaching children about how to recognise abuse and where to get help will be easiest in a school setting and we need members of the lo-cal community to help us do this.

“It’s vital that local people come forward to help us protect future generations.

This is a great oppor-tunity for those who can spare the time to do something to help pro-tect and education chil-dren.”

Employees who would like to volunteer can ap-ply online click here.

For more details, con-tact Janine Bonner on 07980 711572 or

Janine.bonner@nspcc.org.uk

ONE of our colleagues, who gave 42 of her 58 years to nursing in the Highlands, has retired.

Marilyn Durrand began her nursing career as an auxiliary nurse in Bignold Cottage Hospital in Wick and has finished it in the hospital built to replace it, Caithness

General. She was an auxiliary for some seven years before she decided to enter pupil nurse training at the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland.

It was to be the only time Marilyn had worked away from Wick. Two years later she returned

to her home town to work in the town’s Central Hospital.

One of the biggest changes in her career was the move from the Central to the brand-new Caithness General Hospital in 1986. Marilyn worked in the 26-bed Rosebank Wing

throughout her time at the Caithness General.

Pauline Craw, NHS Highland rural general hospital manager, said: “To devote such a large part of your life to the health service, and to work for 26 years in the same hospital wing, is quite remarkable.”

Children’s charity seeks volunteers for new service

Farewell to staff nurse Marilyn

after ‘remarkable’ 42-year career

RETIRAL: 26-year service in the same wing at Caithness General Hospital

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NHS HIGHLAND nurse Fiona Reid was awarded the Action for Sick Children Norah Rees Award 2012 for her Masters dissertation, ‘Identifying and managing the emotional support needs of community nurses delivering paediatric palliative care in the Highlands’.

Fiona, who is from Inverness, is a paediatric oncology nurse specialist. She did her dissertation while working toward her Masters in Advanced

Practice for Children’s Palliative Care, which she gained in 2011.

She said: “The award is presented for the best post-graduate dissertation from a nurse or allied healthcare professional that addresses the action points of this charity’s charter.

“It took over two years to complete as it was done in my own time while still working a full-time job.

“I conducted 17 interviews with district nurses, Macmillan nurses,

children’s community nurses and other members of staff who provide respite care across the Highlands.”

Fiona has presented her findings, which detail the challenges faced by staff delivering end-of-life care to children and young people and what support is required for them to deliver this type of care, to the Palliative Care Congress in Newcastle and the European Paediatric Palliative Care Conference in Rome.

WINNER: Fiona presents findings to palliative care events

Dissertation earns national award

NHS HIGHLAND public health scientist Noelle O’Neill has been given a study tour bursary from NHSScotland to further develop the work of the Clinical Advisory Group (CAG).

The work of CAG – which last year won a prestigious national award for its work on developing

clinical infrastructure, ‘Growing Quality from the Roots Up’ – is to make sure that NHS Highland continues to deliver im-proved clinical and cost-effective practices.

Noelle said: “This study tour will provide me with the opportunity to connect with, and learn from, world-class health and industry

organisations and individu-als across the United Kingdom, Europe and fur-ther afield, such as Can-ada and Australia.”

Noelle continued: “All the people I will be making contact with are involved in the assessment and adoption of health tech-nologies in healthcare sys-tems.”

Noelle receives study tour bursary

A SENIOR manager’s success in a diploma course will enable him to run some food hy-giene courses in-house across NHS Highland.

Norman Macleod, hotel services manager (quality and training), Facilities Management, based at John Dewar Building, Inverness, achieved a pass in the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scot-land (REHIS) Ad-vanced Food Hygiene Diploma following stud-ies at the Scottish Agri-cultural College, Ayr University.

This will enable him to run the following food hygiene courses: REHIS Elementary

Food Hygiene Certifi-cate, for food handlers such as kitchen staff. nursing staff serving bulk food at ward level, OT staff, community care staff who handle food and dieticians. REHIS Elementary

Food Hygiene re-fresher course. REHIS Intermediate

Food Hygiene Certifi-cate for catering super-visors and cooks. REHIS HACCP

(hazard analysis and critical control points) introductory course for catering staff, supervisors and OT staff.

For details of these courses contact Mr Macleod at nor-man.macleod@nhs.net (tel. 01463 706883).

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Courses on food hygiene

NHS HIGHLAND employees who want to find out how to make the most of their money can access an online money health check for NHSScotland staff. The Money Advice Service has

delivered a unique link to the money health check.

Go to NHS Scotland Staff Govern-ance and check the intranet for fur-ther details.

Find out how you can make the most of your money...

BY now, most NHS Highland staff inconvenienced by the works on the Kessock Bridge will have made arrangements to get to or from work.

In advance of the 16-week Phase One programme of works, which started on 11th February, NHS Highland issued guidance to those employees who may be affected.

Deborah Jones, chief operating officer, said: “The vast majority of our staff are frontline clinical staff who have limited options for flexible working.

TRANSITION Black Isle has launched high-land.liftshare.com – a portal to the award-winning Liftshare net-work to make it easier for people to share car journeys in the High-lands.

It’s quick to register, easy to use and com-pletely free.

And the benefits are obvious: l i f tsharing

saves fuel, cuts carbon and reduces congestion during the Kessock Bridge refurbishment programme.

The website is part of Transition Black Isle’s Million Miles project, which aims to save one million car miles by pro-moting lift-sharing, im-proving access to public transport and encourag-ing active travel.

KESSOCK BRIDGE WORKS … KESSOCK BRIDGE WORKS … KESSOCK BRIDGE WORKS … KESSOCK

Crossing points...

Other useful web links:

www.stagecoach.com www.scotrail.com www.transitionblackisle.org www.ifyoucareshare.com www.liftshare.com www.scotlandtranserv.co.uk www.transportscotland.gov.uk www.trafficscotland.org www.twitter.com/trafficscotland

expecting them to make their own arrangements to make sure they are at work on time.

“They will be sup-ported by their manag-ers if there are any ex-pected difficulties.

“Other staff will be encouraged to reduce use of cars including us-ing video conferencing, lift sharing, or working from home where possi-ble.

“We are asking our staff and patients to take personal responsibility and turn up on time.

“Public transport has been increased and lo-cal organisations are also promoting various travel schemes.”

Deborah continued: “We will continue to as-sess the full impact of the bridge works and make any further ar-rangements if required.”

For further informa-tion and advice, includ-ing useful links, visit the NHS Highland Kessock Bridge page on the web-site.

ONE option for NHS Highland staff who live north of the bridge but who work south of it may be using one of nine hot

desks that are available for use in our offices at Larachan House, 9 D o c h c a r t y R o a d , Dingwall.

The hot desks, four of which have PCs, can be booked through the CABS on the NHS Highland intranet site.

Hot desks available in Larachan House

Why not try liftsharing?

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STAFF working at Assynt House and John Dewar Build-ing, both Inver-ness, have been awarded the Sil-ver Healthy Work-ing Lives Award.

Some of the cri-teria involved in gaining a silver award includes promoting a healthy eating and physical activity as well as provid-ing information around mental health and wellbe-ing.

Staff in both buildings organ-ised events such as walks, includ-ing preparing walk routes for those interested, as well as healthy lunches.

They also helped promote events such as breast feeding aware-ness, no smoking day and beat the blues.

For more infor-mation on the Healthy Working Lives Award Pro-gramme, visit Healthy Working Lives.

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Staff strike silver

Bronze award ‘richly deserved’ NHS HIGHLAND employees based in the Community Health Centre and Belford Hospital in Fort William have received a Healthy Working Lives Bronze Award for their commitment to improving their health, safety and wellbeing.

The community staff include everyone from dentists, health visitors, community nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.

Homemade soup days organised by the Speech and Language Therapy De-partment made sure staff had a healthy lunch and raised more than £1800 for lo-cal charities.

Meditation classes and head, neck and shoulder massages, organised were also well received, supporting staff to under-stand signs of stress as well as how to relax and reflect.

And Joanne Barnett – one of the Smoking Cessation Advisers – has been successfully supporting colleagues to quit smoking.

Joanna Hynd, district manager for Lochaber, said: It’s so important we lead healthy lives not just to lead by example but also to make sure we are fit and well to be at work and care for patients. The Bronze Award is richly deserved and a real credit to the local area.”

Belford Hospital team gets lippy to raise healthy sum

Well done to the MoBros team at the Belford Hospital, Fort William, who, as you can see in the before and after shots above, did their bit for Movem-ber. Staff also held a bake stall and tombola, and raised a total of £191.80 for research into men’s health issues.

DO you know about NHS Highland’s Clinical Ethics Committee?

Ethical deliberations change as knowledge, culture and the human experience evolves. Ethics is different from opinion and morals; it’s about tackling difficult dilemmas but within a framework of agreed principles, such as:

Autonomy (personal

rights) Justice (public rights) Doing the good thing

(beneficence) Avoiding the harmful

thing (non-maleficence). These principles

frequently clash and when they do they pose ethical dilemmas: decisions to treat or not to treat, or to offer one course of therapy over another.

And it can be very complex – which is where the ethics committee comes in.

So here’s how the committee works:

Step 1 – Provide the committee with anonymised details of the ethical dilemma you are facing and request a consult.

Step 2 – Your request will be considered. If it fits

within the ethical framework then a member of the committee will work with you to prepare the case.

Step 3 – The case will be discussed at the next available committee meeting (it meets bi-monthly). Advice will be treated in confidence and be passed back to you.

The views of the committee are neither an

NHS HIGHLAND community pharmacy business manager Helen MacDonald and area regulations, contracts and controlled drugs governance pharma-cist Andrew Green visited newly-refurbished pharmacy premises at the Co-operative Pharmacy, 5-9 High Street, Tain recently.

Pictured, from left, are staff from the Co-operative Pharmacy: Paula Duffus,

Rachel Agnew, pharmacist Barry Wright, Annette Paterson, Co-operative regional development manager Alan Cargill and Gillian Murray, who were getting used to their new working envi-ronment and ways of working.

The refurbishment has seen the in-clusion of a consultation room within the pharmacy, which is now more ac-cessible and patient friendly.

imposition nor an instruction.

The process is not about provid-ing a ’right’ an-swer, but it should be a rea-soned answer.

The committee which is chaired by consultant physician Dr Rob Peel, is made up of a cross-section of clinicians and lay-people who have an interest, and training, in medical ethics.

It forms part the NHS High-land’s clinical governance strat-egy.

If you think you have an ethi-cal dilemma con-tact Dr Peel on 01463 705966 or nhs Highland’s clinical govern-ance manager, Rachel Hill, on 01463 706823.

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ETHICS: How committee can help you to work through complex issues

Tackling those difficult dilemmas

A SMALL number of recorded phone messages are being received by NHS Highland employees, from an organisation presenting itself as either “The Pensions Helpline” or “your pensions provider”, stating they may be due a bonus.

The employee is then asked to select a number between one and nine.

Our employees should note that our pensions admin-i s t r a t i on t e a m , Scot t i sh Pub l i c Pensions Agency (SPP) does not call employees in this way and if you get such a call you should terminate it immediately.

You should never give out personal or financial information over the phone to anyone who cold calls you.

SPPA will only ever contact you in writing.

This appears to be a UK-wide scam. Scam calls can be r e p o r t e d t o www.actionfraud.police.uk

GUIDANCE on “whistleblowing” features in a batch of new or amended policies affecting NHS Highland staff.

The new whistleblowing policy sets out arrange-ments for dealing with con-cerns that go beyond those which may generally be categorised as em-ployee grievances, and which would be dealt with under our grievance pol-icy.

It gives further guidance on who may be ap-proached regarding whis-tleblowing concerns.

Guidance is also given in an amended policy for employment breaks, part of a suite of policies de-signed to help support em-ployees and their work/life balance.

The Employment Break Policy is aimed at allowing employees to leave their employment for a long-term basis, normally be-tween three months and five years. It can be used for a number of reasons, including childcare, elder-care, care for another de-pendant, training, study leave or work abroad. Other reasons will be con-sidered on their merits.

There is also new guid-ance on long shifts. The director of nursing, staff-side and HR have been working together to de-velop guidelines on the

management of long shift patterns, including the im-plementation and cessa-tion of long shifts, following several situations within NHS Highland where there have been issues between staff and management over the issue.

Meanwhile, a rotational policy statement has been issued on CPD training for nursing and midwifery staff working night shifts.

There is a possibility that permanent night-shift working reduces exposure to clinical practices and procedures which occur mainly during the way, when patients are awake and the majority of extra ward staff are working.

These can include multi-disciplinary team meet-ings, care plan reviews,

working with relatives and carers, and clinical proce-dures such as diagnostic tests, interventions, medi-cation reviews, wound management and clinical assessments.

NHS Highland believes that nursing and midwifery staff require to undertake some working time during the day to meet the knowl-edge and skills require-ments of their roles, and the new policy statement outlines the aims, objec-tives and process to achieve this.

All these policies have been agreed in partnership between management and trade unions/professional organisations.

The policies can be found on the intranet un-der Policies Library/Staff:

NHS HIGHLAND’S Staff Governance Standard has been revised.

And a key part of the new, fourth edition is the recognition that an organisation that en-sures its employees are fairly and effectively managed within a specified framework of staff governance can reasonably expect these staff to ensure that they take responsibility for their actions in relation to the organisation, fellow staff, patients, their carers and the general public.

In essence, it recognises that with rights come responsibilities.

The revised Staff Governance Standard can be found on the intranet under Staff/Staff Gov-ernance and Partnership Working/Document Library.

NHS Highland issues set of new revised policies

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Scam phone calls

warning

DOES your client’s home feel cold or damp? Are they vulnerable due to age, ill health or disability? Do they have young children in the house? Could they be struggling to pay bills? Could they be missing out on benefits? Are there possible fire or trip hazards in the house?

“Living in a cold, damp home can have an adverse impact upon health”, says Dr Margaret Somerville, NHS Highland’s Director of Public Health. “This can include cardio-vascular disease and respiratory illness as well as mobility and mental wellbeing.

“Levels of fuel poverty – where a household has to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to heat the home – are high across Highland.

Health and social care professionals are ideally placed to identify clients who are vulnerable to fuel poverty.

Our frontline staff work with older people, young children, people experiencing poverty, ill-health or who are living with a disability. These groups are at higher risk of fuel poverty.”

Healthy Homes for Highland is a referral scheme whose partners include NHS Highland, The Highland Council, the local Energy

Saving Scotland Advice Centre (ESSac), and Highlands & Islands Fire & Rescue Service.

The scheme is co-ordinated by the ESSac in Inverness, who ensure that anyone referred will be offered advice and assistance with:

making their home warmer and reducing fuel bills. For eligible households this may lead to installation of grant-funded insulation, heating and other energy efficiency measures

making their home safer through the offer of a home fire safety check

money issues such as income from tax credits and benefits – through the offer of a referral to

The Highland Council’s income maximisation team.

NHS Highland is committed to working with its community planning partners to tackle inequalities and has included Healthy Homes for Highland in its 2012-13 Local Delivery Plan as an example of partnership working.

Tailored training sessions are available and can be requested from colleagues in the ESSac and/or Highlands & Islands Fire & Rescue Service.

Referrals can be made by phone, card or online.

Phone – ask (and help if appropriate) your client to call the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre on 0800 512 012 (free from landline) or 0300 456 2655 from a mobile – calls will be charged at local rate but the advice centre will be happy to call back

Simple referral card – these are available from Margaret Brown, Health Improvement Team, Public Health – margaret.brown11@nhs.net

Online referral form – online form, materials and further information can be found here.

The contact in NHS Highland is Margaret Brown, Health Improvement Team, Assynt House, Margaret.brown11@nhs.net

Healthy Homes for Highland

FUEL POVERTY: How you can make homes warmer and safer

QUOTE

Health and social care professionals are ideally placed to identify clients

who are vulnerable to fuel poverty

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FOLLOWING widespread consultation last year with staff, patients, carers and other stakeholders, vol-unteering in NHS High-land is set to get a new lease of life.

The Senior Manage-ment Team recently agreed to raise the profile of volunteering in our hospitals and care homes, introducing a range of measures to support management, staff and volunteers.

Recognising that vol-

unteers can significantly enhance the patient ex-perience, it is intended to streamline the process so that volunteers can be recruited and introduced to volunteer schemes much more easily.

Support will also be given to encourage staff to consider how volun-teers might contribute to their areas of work and it is hoped that lots of new imaginative ideas will be forthcoming.

Volunteering is not

and never should be a substitute for paid staff but offers scope to en-hance and extend the services we provide.

It is also planned to introduce a formal proc-ess for recognising the very valuable contribution that volunteers – and there are more than 1,000 of them – already make to the work of NHS Highland with a volunteer recognition scheme that will sit alongside the em-ployee scheme.

CALEY Thistle captain Richie Foran this month helped the Friends of Raigmore reach a longed for milestone when he officially opened their gift shop in the Inverness hospital.

The shop, which started trading just be-fore Christmas, is the fruition of a long-term goal by the Friends to be able to operate out of their own base while continuing to fundraise for the benefit of the hospitals’ patients.

The shop is in the main entrance corridor of Raigmore and is open from 10am-5pm.

Volunteers help to enhance the patient experience

CARON CRUICK-SHANK has been ap-pointed to the post of NHS Highland maternity services quality and safety co-ordinator.

Based in the John Dewar Building, Inver-ness, Caron will also spend some time at the Maternity Unit in Raig-more Hospital.

She will provide lead-ership in relation to the delivery of the maternity quality and safety agenda.

The post will have responsibility for the clinical governance and risk management within maternity services across NHS Highland’s operational units.

Maternity appointment

Friends’ gift shop opens

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NHS HIGHLAND staff should be aware that a 12-week traffic management scheme has been put in place on the B9006 during road works on the east side of the A9 at Beechwood, Inver-ness.

During the construction of the Cull-doen Road widening and new access to the UHI campus, the right turn to the southbound slip road access to the A9 from the B9006 has been diverted and is restricted to residential access only.

Vehicles travelling from Inshes Roundabout onto the B9006 and in-tending travelling south onto the A9 are being diverted to the old Drumossie Junction (B9177) and access the A9 past the Drumossie Hotel.

Left turn access for vehicles travel-ling from Culloden Moor to Inverness on theB9006 onto the slip road access to the A9 will be maintained.

All southbound traffic for the A9 should follow the signed diversion.

AN event aimed at any-one interested in health, therapy and environ-mental education is to be held in Inverness on Sat-urday, 3rd March.

And one of the speak-ers at the ‘Good Routes to Feeling Good Confer-ence’, to take place in Millburn Academy, will by NHS Highland’s Director

of Public Health, Dr Mar-garet Somerville, who will give a talk on the health effects of climate change.

The event is the High-land Environmental Net-work’s annual conference and will also feature a talk entitled ‘Is Green Good for You’ by Profes-sor Catharine Ward Thompson, director of

OPENspace Research Centre, Edinburgh Uni-versity.

Alongside the confer-ence, HEN will be run-ning a free public exhibi-tion which will include a range of hands-on ses-sions and demonstrations on subjects ranging from map reading to healthy cooking.

Traffic being diverted during road works

Public health director among conference speakers

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LAST year saw London host the city’s third Olympic Games and introduced new heroes to the nation. A record medal haul ensured sporting immortality for many of team GB’s athletes.

NHS Highland can boast an athletic icon of our own in the shape of Colin Donnelly, a nurse at the Belford Hospital in Fort William.

You won’t see Colin’s face on any sports drink or cereal box; nor is he likely to be knighted any time soon. However, in the sport of hill running, he is regarded as one of the greatest there has ever been.

Colin became the youngest man to win the Ben Nevis race in 1979, and in 1988 set an astonishing record of four hours and 19 minutes to complete the Welsh 3000s – which included some 13,000 feet of ascent and 14 summits.

A quarter of a century later, Colin still holds the record for that amazing feat. However, as he explains, his beginnings in the sport are somewhat peculiar.

He said: “We played rugby and football at school and after the games, it was always a race back to the showers, as the first one back got the warmest.

“I started training for running to ensure I was the first one back and, sure enough, I was always in pole position.

“It was then I thought to myself that I had a real talent for running, and I really enjoyed doing it.

“I ran cross country for my school and loved

running through the mud and over the hills; it was a great adventure for me.

“I won the county championship to huge acclaim in my school and for the first time ever, I was a somebody!

“I started running for a club in Glasgow and found track racing to be boring – so I started running up Munros and completed my first hill run with the Ben Lomond race. I was

hooked after that.” Colin was based in

Wales with the RAF, and th is is where h is prominence in hill running began to take shape.

However, he played an integral role in helping the Cambuslang Harriers dominate the Senior National Championship in cross country for the best part of two decades.

He amassed an incredible total of 14 gold

medals in a period where the team won 16 titles, something of which Colin is rightly proud.

He said: “I think of running as a solo sport. However, the camaraderie we enjoyed spurred us on to win more and more events.

“Before we knew it, we were dominating the event and the medals just kept piling up.

“It is a period of my life I look back on with great fondness.”

I t i s p e r h a p s unsurprising that Colin leads a very healthy lifestyle, with plenty of exercise and a well-controlled diet.

And he maintains that his years of running, coupled with his 20 years working for the NHS, have made him aware of the importance of an active life.

He said: “I have always been interested in the role of food and exercise in our lives, particularly when I done my cardiology training.

“Even for me, it was a real eye-opener. There are so many risk factors and yet when you put it to people that they have to change their lifestyle, some are just not prepared to do so.

“It can be hard and we need to do more to help and encourage people.

“Running, walking and exercise in general, is not only good for a healthy body, but also for a healthy mind. It is a great way to de-stress.

“You don’t need to run up mountains but in general, if people sat less and exercised more, it would be great progress.

RUN

FOR THE HILLS

INVERNESS is to host a major conference on health inequalities in High-land in April.

The conference, ‘Closing the Gap’, will be held at Eden Court Thea-tre on 30th April, and will be addressed by keynote speaker Sir Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland.

His speech on ‘Health Inequalities’ will be fol-lowed during the confer-ence’s morning session by one on ‘Health Inequalities in Highland’ by Dr Marga-ret Somerville, NHS High-land’s Director of Public Health.

Included in the draft

programme for the event are a theatre drama pro-duction, a speech on ‘Asset Based Approaches’ by Trevor Hopkins of As-set Based Consultation, a presentation on ‘Co-production Approaches to Reducing Health Inequali-ties’ by Scottish Co-production Network and NHS Tayside, and one called ‘Closing the Gap in Highland’, on local health inequality initiatives.

The welcome and clos-ing remarks will be by NHS Highland and High-land Council.

Sir Harry Burns has been Chief Medical Officer for Scotland since 2005.

After graduating in Medi-cine from Glasgow Univer-sity in 1974, he trained in surgery in the city and was appointed Honorary Con-sultant Surgeon and Sen-ior Lecturer in Surgery in the University Department of Surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Glasgow in 1984.

He became Director of Public Health for Greater Glasgow Health Board in 1994.

IN 1999 he was awarded a visiting profes-sorship in Public Health Medicine at the University of Glasgow.

He was knighted in 2011.

CLOSING THE GAP: Major Inverness event planned

Sir Harry Burns to be keynote speaker

at conference on health inequalities

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A MOTIVATIONAL ‘training the trainers’ course is to be held in the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, from 20th-22nd May.

The course, called ‘Supporting Behaviour Change using Motiva-tional Interviewing’, has been designed to provide training to skilled practitioners to deliver motivational interviewing and health behaviour change training.

The trainers for the course will be Jane Groves, Public Health Network co-ordinator for NHS Highland and also a member of the Motivational Inter-viewing Network of Trainers, and fellow member Judith Car-penter, a registered dietician, who runs the training consul-tancy Optimum Change.

Application forms for the ‘training the trainers’ course are available on the NHS intranet here.

The application forms must be re-turned to the course administrator, Tan-zeela Bashir, at the Public Health Depart-ment, NHS Highland at Tan-zeela.bashir@nhs.net

Motivational course on

‘training the trainers’

How to give presentations—without panicking A ONE-DAY workshop, ‘Panic Free Presentations’ is to be held on 9th April in the John Dewar Building, Inverness.

Suitable for anyone new to giving presenta-

tions, it will focus on pres-entation content and struc-ture as well as communi-cation skills and delivery to help the speaker engage with the audience.

To book a place contact

Margaret Wilson on 01463 706880, email Marga-ret.wilson@nhs.net For further information contact Michelle Jeans on 01463 706857, email mi-chelle.jeans@nhs.net

Effective Practitioner Has Arrived

Look out for demonstrations and an overview of the learning materials coming to an area near you soon

or You could request a session in your clinical area with your team

For more information please contact Kerrie.maclean@nhs.net

AHP Practice Educator (Highland) Stephanie.holden@nes.scot.nhs.net

Nurse Practice Educator (North Highland) Catrin.evans@nhs.nes.scot.nhs.net

Nurse Practice Educator (South Highland)

www.effectivepractitioner.nes.scot.nhs.net

STAFF and volunteers from NHS Highland this month presented at a national conference in Edinburgh on their work promoting the Healthy Start programme and increasing awareness of breastfeeding.

Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition in Scotland was the theme and NHS Highland staff

presented two sessions while the breastfeeding peers presented a poster.

One of the sessions focused on a pilot project looking at how local communities are used to promote Healthy Start in Highland.

Presented by health promotion specialists Val Macdonald and Fiona Clarke, it discussed how

talking with young mothers was used to a s s e s s t h e i r understanding of Healthy Start, including access, any barriers and how they shop and travel.

The second session, being presented by Karen Mackay, NHS Highland’s infant feeding advisor, looked at how NHS Highland was

increasing breastfeeding awareness within our schools.

The poster, presented by Donna Tabua and Lana B lack, NHS Highland breastfeeding peer supporters, detailed how the peers made breastfeeding support accessible to all in remote and rural NHS Highland.

NHS Highland presents at Edinburgh conference

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Hunt is on for heroes

DO you know an NHS Highland doc-tor, nurse or carer who deserves na-tional recognition?

If so, the Daily Record wants to hear from you.

For the hunt is on for nominees for the newspaper’s ‘Our Hero’ awards.

Last year, the Record’s Caring Hero was Dr Jona-than Coutts and the Yorkhill neonatal team, who went on to win the overall ‘Our Hero’ title.

To nominate someone from NHS Highland for this year’s awards, con-tact Brian McIver at b.mciver@dailyrecord.co.uk (tel. 0141 309 3182).

The ‘Our Hero’ awards ceremony will take place on Friday 10th May at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel.

Your level, your goals, your call...

Note these dates 2nd March: Green Routes to Feeling Good Conference; Millburn Academy, Inverness. 2nd March: Scottish Pharmacy Awards; Edinmburgh International Conference Centre. 4th March: Beginning of Climate Change Week. 5th March: Aseptic Techniques Roadshow event; Centre for Life Science, Inverness. 5th March: Link Up Highland – Bringing Communities Together; Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness. 14th and 15th March: Launch of Scottish Patient Safety in Primary Care Collaborative. 19h March: Social Services Expo and Conference; Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. 9th April: Panic Free Presentations; John Dewar Building, Inverness. 16th-19th April: International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare; ExCel, London. 17th April: Fifth annual Scottish Caring and Dementia Congress; Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. 27th April: Scottish Orthotic Conference, Beardmore Hotel, Clydebank. 30th April: ‘Closing the Gap’ a conference on health inequalities, with keynote speaker Sir Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland; Eden Court Theatre, Inverness. 20th-22nd May: ‘Supporting Behaviour Change using Motivational Interviewing’; Drumossie Hotel, Inverness. 11th-12th June: NHSScotland Annual Event; Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow.

HOPEFULLY, many of you will have had an opportunity to watch the excellent short film ‘23 ½ Hours’; if not, you can view it through the intranet (you will need speakers or a set of earphones) click here.

Alternatively, just search for 23 ½ Hours on You Tube.

It could be some of the most enlightening nine minutes you’ve spent for a long time!

However you view the film, its message is clear … being active, and having fun doing it, is simply great for us in a whole lot of ways. And, crucially, anything is better than nothing.

It starts with just moving our bodies more than we usually do, and finding little things in our daily rou-tines that could be done a bit more ac-tively. Short bouts of activity, perhaps 10 minutes at a time, soon come together; and be-fore we know it we’re meeting those recom-

mended levels for health, and feeling the benefits for ourselves.

So it’s not about suddenly and mas-sively increasing the amount of exercise we do; it’s about building up how much we move about at a pace that works for us.

What it also means is that, whatever level we are at, we can still look for new and enjoy-able opportunities to be a bit more active.

One example is the re-launch next month of the 5x50 challenge.

Beginning on 31st March, the challenge is to cover 5k every day for 50 days. It can be walking, cycling, run-ning, canoeing – any way you like.

You can sign up as an individual partici-pant, but we are par-ticularly encouraging people to sign up in teams. It could be your immediate colleagues, your travel compan-ions, or kitchen-buddies.

Being in a team means you can support each other along the way, and keep each other going afterwards too.

Please let the NHS Highland health promo-tion team know if you do sign up; we’d love to know how you get on. For details and to regis-ter go to www.5x50.co.uk

Dan Jenkins, health promotion specialist

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EXERCISE: 5x50 challenge set to be relaunched

QUOTE

Whatever level we are at, we can

still look for new and enjoyable opportuni-ties to be a

bit more active