Home | News | Thursday 9 February: Executive message from Marika Stephenson, Executive Director of People Services

Thursday 9 February: Executive message from Marika Stephenson, Executive Director of People Services

Photo of Marika Stephenson

I would like to start this message with a thanks to you all for continuing to deliver and support patient care, particularly at a time when the entire healthcare service is constantly under the media spotlight. Despite this, on my site visits over the last month, I have seen colleagues (whether frontline or support services) pull together to continue to deliver a service to our patients which we can all be proud of.

You may be aware that in the most recent ballot, members of the GMB union here at EEAST have voted in favour of industrial action around the national pay discussions, although we do not have dates confirmed yet. As an executive team we do not underestimate the strength of feeling surrounding this issue. We will continue to work closely with the unions and are determined to do all we can to improve work life for all our people.
 
During periods of uncertainty and industrial action the media may approach members of EEAST staff to seek comment or find out more details about specific issues. Please remember, if you are approached by a journalist do get in touch with our Communications Team who can offer support and advice.

LGBT+ survey anonymity

I am aware that some colleagues are concerned that the recent LGBT+ survey was not anonymous. Please let me reassure you this is not the case. The external company is not privy to the identity of any respondents, as the survey does not ask for names. Each member of staff who had indicated on ESR that they identified as LGBT+ was blind copied the survey link by the Head of Culture and Inclusivity. The message was only sent directly to each individual. It is the same process that was used for the BME and Disability surveys. Thank you to all of you who took the time to participate, you cannot be identified from the responses you have provided.

Wellbeing Team changes

Our Health & Wellbeing Manager, Martin Short, has decided to step down from this role. I would like to personally thank Martin for his contribution to the Wellbeing Strategic agenda and for the improvements he has made whilst with us.

In the interim, Liz Cunnell, Chief of Staff, will be stepping into this role whilst substantive recruitment takes place. Liz will be continuing to push forward with the Wellbeing Strategy Year 1 Action Plan and ensuring that our Health & Wellbeing provisions for staff remain firmly in place.

Wellbeing Support for you

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you all about the EEAST Headspace app, which offers you access to a comprehensive range of mindfulness and meditation tools. Since being made available to colleagues across EEAST in September 2022, 544 of you have accessed it for support. The app is free to download and if you haven’t tried it yet, you can sign up here. We are currently working on a similar access portal for volunteers and will keep you updated.

The Wellbeing team are working hard to deliver the Year 1 Actions of the Wellbeing Plan:

  • The Wellbeing Network now has nearly 2,000 EEAST members, supported by a monthly wellbeing newsletter.
  • A bespoke EEAST ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’ digital resource has been developed and launched to offer staff support and advice.
  • 65 EEAST Wellbeing Champions have been recruited, trained and are now in place supporting colleagues with wellbeing conversations and signposting to support. Email Julia Sinclair-Brown for details on Wellbeing Champions in your locality.
  • The Trauma @ Work Support Programme (TRiM) continues to be offered to staff across the Trust providing a clear referral pathway for staff dealing with trauma at work, with clear signposting to appropriate support interventions.
  • A pilot ‘Building Resilience’ training session has been delivered to a small group of EOC staff. The feedback from this session will inform the delivery of a similar training session to staff across the Trust.

A new wellbeing A-Z topic themed Wellbeing Resource Hub is in its final stages of development. This information hub will be located on EAST24 and is due to be launched by the end of March. 

Ask People Services

This Friday, 10th February, you will have the opportunity to put your questions to our People Services experts, during the next Ask People Services session. If you would like to share some feedback or ask a question that you don’t feel comfortable raising at a Q&A session please book a 30-minute slot. You can book yours here.

Paperless payslips

As a Trust, we’re committed to reducing the amount of paper we use and as part of our green initiative, data security and the Fit For the Future People Services Transformation Programme, we're moving to electronic payslips from April. From then, payslips will only be available via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Portal, a national service for all NHS workers.

ESR allows you to view and download all your past and current payslips instantly at the touch of a button. You can also view your Total Rewards pension statement, update your personal data and download your P60. If you aren’t already, there is plenty of time for you to get logged in and start using ESR before we move to paperless payslips.  

We will strive to make this a smooth transition for everyone, and we appreciate your support. You can find more about accessing ESR Self Service Hub here. Please see Need to Know for further details about paperless payslips.

Thank You Thursday

'The crew were very warm, engaging, professional and made me feel very safe throughout a structured clinical assessment at the house and subsequent transfer to hospital. I am eternally grateful for their astuteness and swift actions/professionalism. Please pass on my thanks to them both for what they did for me that night.'


Stay safe and be kind,

Marika Stephenson
Executive Director of People Services

 

Published 9th February 2023