April 2008

Yeovil District Hospital Named as a Top Employer

Yeovil District Hospital is ‘one of the best organisations in the UK for nurses to work’ according to the Nursing Times.

The NHS Foundation Trust has been rated by its own nurses as an excellent place to work in the Nursing Times Top 100 awards. Run in association with NHS Employers, the judges analysed questionnaires returned by the Trust and its nurses and compared them with other responses from not just NHS employers but those from the independent health sector, charitable organisations, care homes and the armed forces – in fact anywhere nurses work across the UK.

The judging criteria included how valued nurses feel for the jobs they do; how well the employer manages training and development, whether it is a family-friendly employer and has flexible working arrangements to encourage staff retention and its policies to promote equality and diversity.

In a letter to Yeovil District Hospital, Rachel Downey, Editor of the Nursing Times said: “This is a tremendous achievement which reflects extremely well on your employment practices and is a reflection of how your employees feel about their place of work. We had a huge number of entries both from the NHS and the private sector and you can be justly proud to be included in the Top 100.”

Director of Nursing, Alison Moon said: “We are all delighted to have been selected as one of the UK’s top nurse employers. But we are not complacent and are continually listening to what our staff have to say to ensure we continue in the right direction.”
 

View the latest: YDH Spring Newsletter

Yeovil Town Football Club Easter Soccer Skills Course 

Yeovil Town Football has a strong tradition of supporting the community's youngsters, and has recently released details for their popular Easter Soccer Skills Course taking place on the Astroturf at Huish Park. The course will be held on the 7th and 8th of April 2008, under the supervision of the new Community Officer and former Yeovil Town player Roy O'Brien.

By attending the course the youngsters can expect to have a good time, make friends and improve their football skills in a safe environment. As well as teaching them new skills, it will also give them the opportunity to develop existing ones.

Yeovil Town Squad members will be on hand to offer additional expertise, as well as autographs and photo opportunities. Players will include: Terry Skiverton, Nathan Jones, Steve Mildenhall, Scott Guyett, Marcus Stewart, Marc Bircham, Paul Warne and Mark Lynch.The two day course is priced at £30 but early bookers can save £5 for bookings before March 20th. To book visit the YTFC website, or call the YTFC Community Office on 01935 423662.

January 2008

Yeovil District Hospital Best Hospital in South West

Staff at Yeovil District Hospital are celebrating an unbeatable performance in this year’s Annual Health England and Wales.

The Healthcare Commission’s Annual Health Check has awarded Yeovil District Hospital the top score possible, with ratings of ‘Excellent’ for both ‘use of resources’ and ‘quality of services’. Yeovil District Hospital has been assessed as having fully met all core standards and achieved ratings of fully met and excellent for existing and new national targets. The Annual Health Check is a system of assessment, which looks at a broad range of markers to help decide whether trusts are getting the basics right in areas such as safety of patients, cleanliness and waiting times. Trusts receive two ratings – one or quality of services and the other for use of resources (finances). These range from ‘Excellent’ and ‘Good’ to ‘Fair’ or ‘Weak’.

Well-known Yeovil District Hospital Matron, Jo Ryan, is delighted with the result: “There is a very special ‘Yeovil way’ of working. Staff here have a ‘can-do’ and a ‘want-to-do’ attitude. It has felt like this ever since I started here in 1978, but in recent years our self belief has developed; whilst we have maintained the personal, friendly care of a district hospital, we are also proud to compare our developing services with acute trusts throughout the region. I love working at Yeovil District Hospital and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

In 2005-06, the first year of the Annual Health Check, Yeovil District Hospital received a score of ‘Fair’ for quality of services and ‘Good’ for use of resources. Says Director of Strategy, James Rimmer: “We developed plans to improve our rating in each of the two areas for October 2007 from ‘Fair’ to ‘Good’ for the quality of services and from ‘Good’ to ‘Excellent’ for use of resources. We are absolutely delighted to have met – and exceeded – this goal.”

Angela Dupont, Chairman, says that: “Our score this year should be a source of pride and celebration to every single member of staff in this organisation. Throughout the Trust we have seen outstanding efforts from our teams, individuals and volunteers, who together have helped us move from a position of instability and uncertainty to the bright future which we have today.”

Gavin Boyle, Chief Executive, is keen to keep looking forwards: “Whilst we are absolutely delighted, there is still work to be done and progress to be made and I know from our patients that we don’t always get it right; our aim for 2007-08 is to deliver a broader range of services which are safe, sustainable, arranged for the convenience of our patients and delivered to an exceptionally high standard – both within a constantly improving hospital environment and out in the community. In short, we will build on our success and strive to become even better."

2007

Victory For Yeovil Country Park

South Somerset District Council's Countryside Team is over the moon after winning its bid to The People's Millions for £79,000 for a wildlife and park project.

The "Wildlife on the Edge" project was put up for the public vote on Wednesday 28 November and was declared the winner of the grant in a nail-biting live ITV broadcast on Thursday evening, when the presenter handed across the large cheque to the team.

Katy Menday, Countryside Manager for South Somerset District Council says, "We are absolutely thrilled at winning the money as it will make such a huge difference to what we can do at the park and what we can provide for people of all abilities.

"I cannot thank the voters enough for their support and for picking up the phone, as well as our volunteers who put a great deal of effort in."

Rachael Lappage, Countryside Ranger for South Somerset District Council put the idea for the project together and was also excited at the success: "We knew there was a need to protect the precious wildfowl around the lake area and we wanted to do something about it.

"With this extra money we can now put in some natural fencing in a section around the lake, and build a fantastic all-access path so that people with prams and wheelchairs can see more of the park."
South Somerset District Council also plans to create an exciting woodland trail with wildlife interpretation panels that educate visitors on the inhabitants of the lake and woods, and a pond-dipping platform to allow better access to the water's edge.

Further plans for the money include the production of an education pack for schools, special water plants to improve the environment for existing and new wildlife species and wide range of free community activities that will kick off in the springtime.

Cllr Sylvia Seal, South Somerset's Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Wellbeing says, "This money is a huge boost to what is already an award-winning asset to our entire district. It will benefit the people who use it, the wildlife that settles there, and it will also provide more free community events that will bring us all together."