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A message from Martin Earwicker, Chair
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I am pleased to share with you some of our latest projects, developments and news in this edition of the newsletter. For those of you who may have missed my previous email to you, you will see below that Alex Whitfield, our Chief Executive, will be stepping down at the end of October. Whilst we recruit her successor, I am confident in the strength of our leadership team to ensure a smooth transition and wish Alex every success in the future. Other news you will read below includes People Awards celebrations, more about our Annual Plan for 2025/26 as well as progress on some capital investment projects. I am also pleased to share that we have appointed three new governors to represent the voices of young people from our communities, one of whom you can hear from below.
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Chief Executive Alex Whitfield to step down
After eight years at Hampshire Hospitals, Alex Whitfeld, our Chief Executive, has taken the difficult and personal decision to step down later this year, at which point she will have done 20 years in the NHS.
Alex plans to spend more time with family, friends and see more of the world! Whilst Alex remains in post until the end of October, we are currently recruiting for her replacement.
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Tea parties for over 800 People Awards nominees!
More than 800 of our colleagues have been recognised at special tea party events hosted to celebrate those nominated in this year’s Hampshire Hospitals People Awards! Staff and teams came together to enjoy an afternoon tea, hear about the achievements of nominees and take part in games and quizzes. Hampshire Hospitals will be celebrating all award finalists at an awards ceremony to be hosted on Thursday 26 June.
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New MRI construction underway at Andover site
Works are now underway to create a new MRI building at our Andover hospital which will improve community access to important diagnostic imaging services. It will become the latest part of the Andover Community Diagnostic Centre, housing a new MRI scanner alongside an existing CT scanner. It will also feature a modern reception, waiting, toilet and clinical areas, all designed to provide better and more efficient patient access to these scans, as well as an enhanced patient experience. Construction works will continue throughout this summer, with the aim that the building will open later this year.
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Progress at the Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre
In summer 2025, Hampshire Hospitals will open the doors to a new Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre (HOC), based at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital. Whilst progress continues at pace, you can now watch a new 'fly-through' video to see what the facility will look like when open! The centre will improve access to elective surgery and reduce the elective backlog across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
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Chief Nurse Julie Dawes awarded MBE
As part of the King's Birthday Honours, our fantastic Chief Nurse Julie Dawes has been awarded the honour of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her contribution to nursing and the NHS. Julie has been a nurse for 45 years and has been instrumental in inspiring excellence in nursing care, in increasing recruitment and in developing nurse leaders for the future. We are so proud to have Julie leading our nursing here.
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Improving patient safety, patient care and delays
For several months, teams from across the Trust have come together as part of a clinically led Urgent and Emergency Care Board to understand where we can make changes in order to provide better patient care, improve safety, and reduce delays. The programme, Every Minute Counts, has a link to targets, but more importantly, it emphasises that for all our patients, time is precious and while they are with us it is vital they receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
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Interim Chief Operating Officer appointed
Ahead of Andy Hyett's departure at the end of July, we are pleased to have appointed Dr Tahir Akbar as Interim Chief Operating Officer (COO). Tahir brings with him a strong background in operational leadership, alongside his clinical expertise, having been medical director for both Family Division and Medicine Division, and having held a number of senior roles with operational responsibility here at Hampshire Hospitals.
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Saving waste, carbon and money in our theatres
Our Theatres team at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester have a passion for tackling the climate crisis and making a difference to cost and efficiency in their work. Together, they've saved over £140,000 annually and thousands of tonnes of CO2 by switching out single-use equipment for reusable! Hear more from Laura Vale and George Grinham in this video to find out more.
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Have you seen our Annual Plan for 2025/26?
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Each year, we create a delivery plan setting out the actions we, as a Trust, will take to progress our strategic themes. For 2025/26, we have 10 priorities under our five strategic themes and each priority has a number of deliverables beneath it.
You can read all about our plans by clicking the button below or the video above to hear more.
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Hampshire Together: Modernising our Hospitals and Health Services update
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NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight have recently shared an update with reference to the Hampshire Together programme. This can be viewed by clicking the button below.
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Safwan Chowdhury, Governor for Young People
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“Advocating for young people is something I’m really passionate about. I’m currently Deputy Member of Youth Parliament for East Hampshire whilst also serving as an NHS Young Researcher so I feel I have many skills and insights that will help me contribute meaningfully towards my role as a Young Governor. In this role, which I have been appointed to in recent months, I hope to work with Hampshire residents, youth in particular, to influence positive change in healthcare for our great county.”
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Did you know? You can make contact with your Governor easily to ask questions, discuss challenges you face within your communities or make suggestions for them to put forward.
Email governors@hhft.nhs.uk
Please tell us which Governor you would like your query to be directed to. If no name is given, our Lead Governor, Daughne Taylor, will respond. |
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Working together and celebrating our people
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Last week was Volunteers Week! We've been celebrating our 600 strong team of volunteers with tea parties! From lending a listening ear to delivering valuable support behind the scenes, our volunteers make a huge difference. Would you like to volunteer? Find out more about it here.
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Patients recovering from surgery now have a beautiful, relaxing area to spend time in thanks to local artist BecksPorter, who painted this incredible mural for one of our Winchester theatres. Thank you Becks! The mural is known as 'Flowers by the Sea'.
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Thanks to our Energy Manger Luke, we've won funding bids worth over £1.3 million to kickstart two energy-saving projects.This funding will enable us to install more LED lighting at our Basingstoke and Andover hospitals and install solar panels at our Winchester site. Read more about the story here.
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As part of our commitment to smokefree, we held our second 'Bin the Butt' event in partnership with The Land Trust, clearing cigarette litter from our Basingstoke hospital site and surrounding woodland. We also presented our progress at Hampshire County Council’s Tobacco Control Alliance!
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To mark VE Day, many of our colleagues decorated their areas with flags, bunting and more! This includes our Outpatients Department, Oasis Restaurant and Domestics. Patients could even take part in reminiscence activities on some of our wards.
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We are proud to share that two of our chefs, Sunni Shahi & Daniel Freeman, scooped first place in The Hospital Caterers NHS Showcase Cookery Competition! We are a 'cook fresh' Trust meaning patients receive freshly prepared and varied meals that are cooked on our premises daily.
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In May, we welcomed the Minister of State for Health, Karin Smyth, to our Basingstoke hospital, alongside MPs Kit Malthouse and Luke Murphy. Minister Smyth met frontline colleagues across several areas, including our Emergency Department, where she gained insight into our day-to-day operations.
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We recently celebrated International Nurses Day! Alongside activities and treat deliveries for nurses to enjoy, we shared some powerful stories of just some of the fantastic nursing colleagues we have here at Hampshire Hospitals. Find their stories here.
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In May we celebrated Admin Matters Week – a time dedicated to shining a spotlight on our brilliant admin colleagues! A range of fun activities were enjoyed throughout the week including a lively activity fayre, development and wellbeing sessions as well as surprise gift drops!
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Why Hampshire Hospitals is smokefree: A commitment to better health
In line with World No Tobacco Day, Chief Strategy and Population Health Officer Shirlene Oh talks about the benefits of being smokefree for patients, staff and our wider communities.
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Looking ahead: Hampshire Hospitals annual plan 2025/26
In the first entry of our blog, Alex Whitfield, Chief Executive, shares more about our vision and areas of focus for the year ahead as she shares more on our Annual Plan for 2025/26.
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Old Basing memory garden opens
A memory garden has recently opened just outside Basingstoke to provide a peaceful area for parents who have lost a baby – and it’s all thanks to kind-hearted parents who themselves have experienced the devastation of baby loss.
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Children in hospital to benefit from new entertainment unit
Hampshire Hospitals Charity recently welcomed Merlin Entertainment’s Magic Wand team to the children’s ward at Basingstoke where they presented patients and staff with an entertainment unit containing items for children of all ages.
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Colour Run
Saturday 2 August
Join the vibrant 5km run through Harewood Forest in Wherwell, open to all abilities and all ages - ideal for friends, families and colleagues!
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Skydive
Saturday 13 September
Raise important funds for your local hospital from 13,000ft! If you're seeking an adrenaline fuelled way to raise funds, join one of our skydives!
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As people with experience of using our hospitals, our patients, their carers and families can provide invaluable insight and suggestions to help us improve our services. Together, we listen to understand how we are doing and work in partnership to improve and design our services.
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Upcoming events and meetings
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16 July | 3pm - 5.30pm Council of Governors meeting
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31 July | 10am - 1pm Board of Directors meeting
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17 September | 5pm - 7.30pm Annual General Meeting
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If you have any questions or would like further information on Trust meetings, please email company.secretary@hhft.nhs.uk
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Did you know? Hampshire Hospitals members can now access hundreds of discounts and high street offers! Register today with Health Service Discounts via the link below. |
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Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital
Royal Hampshire County Hospital
Andover War Memorial Hospital
www.hampshirehospitals.nhs.uk
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