Shared Governance training is officially complete and I am so excited to share some of the positive changes we have already been able to implement and make since relaunching the council just 3 months ago. Each month we have 6 hours of Shared Governance time, which includes a monthly meeting and then individual time to split and work on projects in smaller groups.
I am first of all so excited to be able to share that I have been nominated as Chair. This is the highest position in the council, although we very much work as part of a team and whilst I organise the agenda and lead the meetings, everyone leads on their own projects and we support each other. During meetings the chair should introduce each agenda item, request contributions, facilitate discussion and keep the conversation focused and balanced. Most importantly, they make sure the meeting keeps to time.
Alongside this, they should represent the council at formal and informal meetings and ensure that discussions are carried out in accordance with the council's constitution and procedural rules. I have so far been able to attend 3 additional meetings, with two leadership councils and one divisional council. Monthly Leadership Councils involves all Shared Governance teams throughout the trust and involves discussion of key completed projects. Every three months is Divisional Council and it was very exciting to listen to other areas sharing their projects. We are excited to collaborate on projects across the Family Health Divison especially.
One of our first tasks was the start fundraising so that we have some money in our account to be able to do activities for staff and service users. We started with a couple of car boot sales and also an Easter Bake Sale. This secured us with enough money to purchase a fridge and also brackets for wall mounting some projector lights in each of the labouring rooms. The lights were able to be purchased by a charity fund, of which we are so thankful. The fridge is for the start of our TUK SHOP!
Communication is really important to us. We relaunched our Ta Jar. This allows us to be able to write letters of thanks to members of staff and be able to nominate members for Star of the Month. We also have a suggestions box for staff to be able to share the changes that they would like to be able to see. This works alongside our new Shared Inbox email and Twitter account, for both service users and staff.
For some quick wins, we have placed
emergency folders in each room with the paperwork required should an emergency arise. As well as, some
proformas laminated around the rooms in order to help support staff and attempt to reduce workload. A big project we are working on is updating the staff rooms and areas. We currently have 3 small staff areas: a kitchen, a wobble room (for private conversations) and a lounge. We want to really make these areas better suited to our needs so the kitchen will be hopefully getting a table and chairs to sit at and eat, whilst the lounge will be turned into more of a relaxation area. Currently, we have added signs to the
wobble room and will be some getting screen covers to maintain the private and confidential space.
One of the team was really keen to celebrate staff
birthdays so we now give a card and present to each member of staff celebrating their birthday. We have also been able to get paints and prints for
baby print keepsakes and to provide these to staff members to help celebrate occasions. The big thing we want to help improve is staff morale and with this comes
celebrating events. So far we have provided thank you cards for all our International Midwives, we have given cards and candles to celebrate Eid, we have provided thank you cards and presents for Admin Day and we have created gift bags for International Day of the Midwife.
By baby has been creating a monthly
newsletter to share updates with colleagues. In this we have a number of regular sections, as well as relevant updates. The regular sections are: upcoming events, ongoing projects, current goals, successes, guest of the month, next months agenda and you asked, we listened. The guests we have had so far have been: Shared Governance Lead, the Consultant Lead of Just + Restorative Culture, one of our Professional Midwifery Advocates and our Resident Motivational Lead discussing Feedback Month.
I am also currently working on a
Welcome Booklet for all staff for when they join the area or are new to the team, full of all the information people need to know. Another colleague is working on key guideline
flashcards for easy referral.
Other project the team is working on includes, creating a more informative board in the staff room, to make our role better understood. This currently just shows our newsletter. Behind the scenes, we are looking at improving spaces for patients alongside our labour suite room project. We are exploring the policies regarding microwave use for patients and creating a patient kitchen. We are also trying to get a second water cooler nearer other areas and for easing staff work, we are looking into have a small supply of medications available without needing the key.
Big changes and lots of exciting improvements coming too!
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