Welcome to our Focus Weekly bulletin, this week focusing on news, events, training and information across the Trust.
If you are looking for a specific section of the newsletter, click on the grey square in the bottom right of your screen.
What's happened this week...
- Message from Mark - 1 September 2026: read Mark's full message on Focus. Mark's previous messages can also be found on Focus, in the Trust- wide news section
- A Blue Light Bulletin has been issued regarding a security risk from a "Flipper Zero" device - read more here
- Urgent call for staffing support at the Carsington Unit for 3-6 September - see Focus for details and contact Joanna Bowden or Lisa Stanley if you can help
- Announcement of upcoming transition of IT services to Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service - see below for details
- Sharing your news: please continue to submit your news on Focus. You can also post on the closed staff Facebook group - visit Facebook to join up.
News, events, training and information
Leadership Cascade underway - share your feedback
Senior leaders recently gathered for the monthly Leadership Cascade; a opportunity to share topics that teams will discuss over the weeks ahead.
The latest cascade includes some important items, so please find out from your manager when it’s being discussed in your team.
As stated in Mark's Message on Monday, Mark is keen to know that the information is cascading right the way through the Trust and would like feedback about the cascade process since it started in May 2026, and how it could be improved.
So, please take 60 seconds to fill in this Leadership Cascade quick poll – it’s anonymous but please say which care group or department you work in, so we can understand which teams may be missing out.
You can go back and edit your answers if you receive the latest cascade after filling in the survey.
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Could you be a Recruitment Inclusion Guardian?
The Trust is relaunching Recruitment Inclusion Guardian (RIG) training sessions, and colleagues from across Derbyshire Healthcare are invited to get involved.
Recruitment Inclusion Guardians play an important role in supporting fair, inclusive and equitable recruitment across the Trust. They provide independent, advisory support and constructive challenge to help recruitment panels make fair, transparent and evidence- based decisions, while helping to identify and address potential bias and barriers.
The opportunity is open to staff across all services and grades who have an interest in:
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Fair and inclusive recruitment
- Equitable access and career progression
- Improving experiences for candidates from underrepresented groups.
Before undertaking the RIG training you will need to have completed the one-day Recruitment and Selection Training session on ESR, and would be expected to support a minimum of two recruitment panels per year.
If you’re interested in becoming a Recruitment Inclusion Guardian, or would like to find out more about the training, please contact: dhcft.equality@nhs.net
You can read more about the scheme on Focus
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Annual Members Meeting - book your place
Trust staff are invited to attend the Trust's online Annual Members Meeting on Wednesday 30 September 2026 from 6pm-8pm.
The meeting will feature the annual report on progress of the Trust over the last year along with the plans for 2026/27. There will be a special focus on the positive impact of the new therapeutic environments on service users, how the Community Enhanced Rehabilitation team support people using Trust services, and an overview of the Specialist Psychology team who works with patients in Derby with HIV, AIDs, cancer and brain injuries. The winners of the Trust’s 2026 art competition will also be announced.
Book through Eventbrite - the short URL is: bit.ly/dhcft-amm26
Or email dhcft.membership@nhs.net or call 01332 623723 and the Microsoft Teams link for the video call will be shared with you.
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Art competition finalists announced
As part of the preparations for the Annual Members Meeting, the Trust has been running an art competition with the theme ‘ray of hope’. The finalists in the competition have now been chosen and can be found on the 2026 art competition page on our website.
The competition was launched in the summer and was open to people who live in Derby and Derbyshire including service users, carers, children and young people, Trust members, staff, partner organisations and the voluntary sector.
The shortlist was chosen by Denise Baxendale, the Trust’s Membership and Involvement Manager alongside Hazel Parkyn, Public Governor for South Derbyshire. The art competition finalists have been invited to attend the Annual Members Meeting on 30 September where the winners will be announced. Well done to all the finalists and thank you to everyone who took part!
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Build your skills to make every conversation count
Whether you're supporting patients, colleagues, or communities, Quality Conversations training can help you build the skills and confidence to make every conversation count.
Sessions for September include core skills; having better mental health conversations; understanding autism and neurodiversity; supporting people to support themselves and quality conversations for leaders.
You can find out more and book onto the sessions on Focus.
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Healthcare professionals invited to Ashgate Hospice Open Day
Ashgate Hospice is inviting health and social care professionals across North Derbyshire to visit the hospice during Hospice Care Week and find out more about the specialist palliative and end of life care available to local people.
The Healthcare Professionals Open Day takes place on Monday 5 October, from 11am to 3pm, and is an opportunity to:
- Meet members of Ashgate’s multidisciplinary team
- Learn more about Ashgate’s specialist palliative and end of life care services
- Find out more about services and referral pathways
- Explore the hospice and its facilities
- Ask questions and build connections with the Ashgate team.
- The event is free, but booking is required.
Find out more here or Book your free place via Eventbrite
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Survey on e-roster breaks and flexible working
Inpatient colleagues – please share your feedback about e-roster breaks and flexible working through our survey, running until the end of September.
You can comment through an online survey or by completing a paper form and returning it in a sealed box which is located in reception areas.
We want to hear from all staffing groups including bank and admin colleagues, so please spread the word in your team. All feedback will be handled sensitively; see the Focus news page for details.
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Latest Library Evidence Bulletin published
The Library Evidence Bulletin for August provides a round-up of high quality evidence published in the last month. Monthly output evidence produced by Derbyshire Healthcare staff in research, academic journals and podcasts is also included.
If you would like to receive this bulletin by email on a monthly basis, please contact: emma.bayliss6@nhs.net
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Expressions of interest: taking part in a panto on our inpatient units
A small group of DHCFT colleagues are hoping to perform a short panto for inpatients this Christmas, wherever space allows in our inpatient units. The aim is to bring a bit of extra festive cheer.
The panto is likely to be performed on the weekends in December leading up to Christmas, and there will be some weekend rehearsals before that. The cast and crew would have to adapt to the needs of our inpatient teams and, of course, to patients. That's why the panto would be short and simple (almost like street theatre), and why the cast and crew would need to be quite small. There may be auditions depending on the level of interest.
Interested in being a part of it, either on 'stage' as part of the cast or behind the scenes as part of the crew / production team? Then please fill in this short online expressions of interest form by Friday 11 September. For more information, email richard.eaton1@nhs.net
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Look after your brain with new toolkit
A Brain Health Toolkit has been released to help people improve their brain health and reduce the risk of developing dementia.
The toolkit has been made by The Dementia Programme, and is available to everyone in Derby and Derbyshire.
Research shows that about 45% of dementia cases are linked to things we can change, and the toolkit contains information on the changes that are most effective including eating a healthy diet, connecting with people and keeping the brain active with puzzles.
It is an evidence based, accessible resource for anyone to use and The Dementia Programme hopes everyone will use it, share it with family and friends and with people they care for. To make the toolkit even more accessible, there is a BSL video on the Brain Health toolkit and an accompanying transcript.
The video can be found on the DCC YouTube channel here: Brain Health Toolkit BSL - YouTube and you can find the Brain Health Toolkit here: Derby and Derbyshire Brain Health Toolkit
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Changes to access at four Derbyshire Urgent Treatment Centres
Some temporary adjustments have been made to how patients access the Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) at Buxton, Ilkeston, Ripley and Whitworth hospitals run by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS).
As of Monday 24 August 2026, all four UTCs are open and operating from 8am to 8pm, every day. However, to manage demand and capacity more effectively, particularly during periods in the afternoon and evening when staffing capacity is more limited, appointments must be made via NHS 111. Click here to read more on Focus.
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Collaboration and Innovation – 23 September
Joined Up Care Derbyshire is inviting Trust colleagues to join the second Educator, Supervisor and Assessor collaboration and innovation event.
Workshops will include Safe Learning Charter; Educator Workforce Strategy; Coaching and Neurodiversity, and JUCD is hoping to build on the success of the last event, which attracted more than 50 attendees.
The session will be held on Wednesday, 23 September, at the Post Mill Centre in South Normanton. To register, click on the following link.
Expression of Interest to Attend: Educator, Supervisor and Assessor Event (2) – Fill out form
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World Sepsis Day
World Sepsis Day (13 September) is an opportunity to increase awareness of a condition that accounts for at least 11 million deaths worldwide each year but is still not well known.
Within our Trust, Lesley-Anne Mhunduru, our Practice Development & Compliance Lead Nurse, is going to be sharing information about sepsis and challenging colleagues to learn more through quizzes and activities.
She will be visiting our inpatient units
during the month, so please engage with her and become more confident in spotting the signs and symptoms of sepsis.
Lesley-Anne will be at:
- Walton Hospital – 9 September (between Snowdrop and Bluebell wards)
- Derwent Unit – 16 September (unit entrance)
- Radbourne Unit – 23 September (outside the 136 Suite)
- Carsington Unit – 30 September (main entrance).
View more details on the awareness days page.
You can watch a video from the UK Sepsis Trust here.
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Upcoming transition of IT services to Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service
Later this year, responsibility for providing IT services and support will transfer from Arden & GEM CSU to Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service (NHIS). This follows the national closure of NHS Commissioning Support Units and the need to establish new long-term arrangements for the continued delivery of reliable, high-quality IT services.
Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service (NHIS) is an established NHS digital services organisation with extensive experience supporting NHS organisations and GP practices across the East Midlands. NHIS provides a wide range of digital, infrastructure, service desk, cyber security and transformation services, and will work closely with your organisation to support service continuity and future digital development.
The transition is being jointly managed with a clear focus on maintaining service continuity and minimising disruption for colleagues and services. From the first day of the new service provision, it has been agreed that IT services will remain broadly the same at the start of the official takeover period, unless you are advised otherwise.
You can read more on the Focus page.
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Copilot Virtual Learning Session
Administration colleagues are invited to learn about how Microsoft Copilot can support them in their roles.
The ICB has agreed to deliver another session focused on getting the most from Copilot, which will take place on 22 September 2026, from 1.30pm to 2.30pm via Microsoft Teams.
If you're interested in learning more about Copilot and discovering practical ways it can support you in your role, why not go along and find out more.
Click here to join the meeting on 22 September.
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Sharing information with confidence
Posters are being distributed around the Trust this week on Sharing information with confidence.
Colleagues are asked to display the posters, which highlights important factors such as what does the carer already know?; thinking about the risks of not sharing information; will your records support your decision making?; and following confidentiality and information sharing policies, procedures and guidelines.
Anyone with any queries about the posters can contact dhcft.carers@nhs.net.
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And finally...
Reminder: limited Kingsway parking, 8-28 September
The number of parking spaces at Kingsway Hospital will be reduced between Tuesday 8 September and Monday 28 September as improvements are made to the overflow car park near the Kedleston Unit.
Priority must be given to our clinical, patient-facing teams when it comes to parking on site during this period. Corporate and non-clinical colleagues: please make alternative plans to either work from another base or home for this short period so that you can avoid driving to Kingsway.
List of useful Focus links
The quick links to systems page on Focus, Freedom to Speak Up page on Focus, Staff Room pages on Focus, our staff network groups and all news items.
Focus Weekly is a weekly e-newsletter for all Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust staff created by the communications and engagement team. Read back issues of the bulletin in our Focus Weekly archive on Focus.
Focus Weekly is delivered by Microsoft Sway. This allows the newsletter to be accessible to all. Please forward it to colleagues who aren't able to regularly check their emails - this newsletter can be viewed on any device.
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