Induction

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You will be sent an invitation with a detailed programme of sessions, dates and times.  Please check your email spam/junk folder as it has been known for the invitation to end up there.  If you have not received your induction invite by the Wednesday before your start date, please get in touch at staffdevelopment@nbt.nhs.uk

Induction takes place in our Learning and Research Building, a site map is available.

Non-clinical staff

Induction usually takes place on your first day of employment, where you will be introduced to the Induction Team and welcomed to the NBT. The day consists of welcome from the Senior Team, information sessions, networking, and various mandatory training modules. You will also have your photograph taken to produce your NBT ID badge.

Your Manager will reach out to you before Induction to confirm your workplace arrangements. Please feel free to contact your manager direct if needed.

A local orientation will be completed to include all you statutory and mandatory training. This is done in conjunction with your manager.

Clinical staff

Induction usually takes place on your first day of employment, where you will be introduced to Induction Team and be made to feel welcomed to NBT. The day consists of welcome from the Senior Team, information sessions, networking and various mandatory training modules. You will also have your photograph taken to produce your NBT ID badge.

Registered staff attend up to a four-day induction, support staff attend up to a ten-day induction - depending on their job role. If you are transferring training/skills through from an existing NHS hospital you will be asked for these when you are sent your induction invitation from the team.

Your manager will reach out to you before induction to confirm your workplace arrangements. Please feel free to contact your manager direct if needed.
 

What our patients say

Thank you so much to the whole team. Everyone was so professional, kind and compassionate and I felt really safe and looked after. Everything was on time and as scheduled, but the most important thing for me was (and is) how much the team have listened and supported my treatment decisions. 
Thank you very much, I really appreciate everything you’ve done.  

Patient, 2022
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Veterans

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What does being a Veteran Aware Hospital mean?

For you, our staff

If you would like us to, we can record your veteran/reservist status in the Electronic Staff Records (ESR).

  • We are committed to the wellbeing of our veterans and have dedicated information on LINK, our internet, available once you have computer access, signposting for help and support for veterans and their families (search “veterans” ).
  • We have a dedicated HR reservist policy.
  • We are part of the Employer Recognition Scheme and are committed to supporting the Armed Forces family.

For patients

  • We are committed to recording veteran status in our patient record system (EPR).
  • We are committed to understanding the needs of veterans in terms of health and wellbeing and have relevant information on LINK, our intranet, available once you have computer access. 
  • We are committed to signposting veterans and their families to specialised support and have a dedicated information.
  • NBT has signed the Armed Forces Covenant as an individual NHS Trust and as part of a partnership with Bristol City Council. We are active members of the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership Groups in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.

If you would like to help improve the experience of veterans at NBT please get in touch by email at veteranaware@nbt.nhs.uk.

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Protecting & Supporting You

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At NBT we do not tolerate abuse of any kind, whether from patients, visitors or even colleagues.
This includes bullying, harassment and discrimination, which can be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, disablist or targeting your religion or belief.

Red Card to Racism and Abuse campaign

We have re-launched our Red Card to Racism and Abuse campaign - please wear a campaign badge with pride to show we stand together against abuse. You can collect one from the Job Shop or Security Office in the Brunel building or the Library in L&R.

Freedom to Speak Up

It is important that we all speak up if we see anything that makes us uncomfortable - this should happen at the time so that it can be addressed straight away. Initially, you should speak to your line manager if you have any concerns, and our Freedom to Speak Up Guardians are also here to help you.

Policies

We have a public policy in place to protect everyone (The Prevention and Management of Violence & Aggression Policy - HS08), where any abusive patients or visitors will receive a verbal then written warning, followed by an acceptable behaviour contract and ultimately exclusion from the trust if their abuse continues. We also have a Protocol for Managing Violence & Aggressive Persons at NBT (Protocol CG162).

Clinically challenging patient behaviours

As a healthcare environment, we recognise that there are times when a patient’s behaviour may be linked to or influenced by their clinical condition.  As one of our patient safety priorities, we have been delivering a programme of training for clinically facing staff on how to identify, prevent and safely respond to clinically challenging patient behaviours.

Early Conflict Resolution

We also have internal HR processes in place should abuse occur from one staff member to another. Your first course of action in this instance should be to speak to your line manager, and you can use our Early Conflict Resolution guidance to support these conversations.

Datix reporting system

All staff are encouraged to speak up and report any abuse, whether they experience it themselves, witness it or are a manager of someone who has experienced abuse - our Datix reporting system can allow you to record the specific abuse encountered.

People who can support you

There are lots of people who can support you, including: 

  • Harassment & Bullying Advisors.
  • Trade Union representatives.
  • People Team and People Partners.

We also have lots of staff network groups, including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff network, LGBT+ staff network and Disabled and Neurodiverse staff network - please email Inclusion@nbt.nhs.uk to find out more.

Further information is available on LINK, our intranet, once you have computer access. 

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Preceptorship for newly Registered Nurses, Nurse Associates and Allied Health Professionals

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The period following registration as a healthcare professional can be an anxious and challenging time. We all know that good support and guidance during this period is essential. Managing your transition successfully will lead to you providing effective care more quickly, enable you to feel better about your new role, and aid your career progression. 

The North Bristol NHS Trust Progress Preceptorship programme has been designed to assist you in your transition from student/ learner to a registered practitioner in the Trust.  It is a 12 month programme that will help you to develop your professional and reflective skills. Our programme has been awarded the Gold-standard mark by the National Preceptorship Framework team.

 

What does it involve?

  • A full induction programme including statutory & mandatory training.
  • Support & supervision from a Preceptor in your place of work.
  • Attendance at four Progress Preceptorship Days run by the Preceptorship Team and other senior Trust staff  - book via LEARN
  • Links to organisational policy & procedures
  • Links to external regulatory requirements
  • Aligned to National Preceptorship Framework

More information, along with the Preceptorship workbook is available on LINK, our intranet, once you have your computer access.  

To contact the Preceptorship team please contact preceptorship@nbt.nhs.uk.

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PPI Member Case Study

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Here at North Bristol NHS Trust we run a range of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) groups where we actively work in partnership with patients and members of the public to plan, manage, design and carry out research. 

Meet Jos, a member of our H4RT (Kidney Research) Patient & Public Involvement (PPI) group...

I have been a renal dialysis and transplant patient for 21 years.

KidnImage of Jos, PPI Memberey failure runs in the family so I was really first involved in the early 70s when my Mum was on dialysis at home and we helped to construct the kidney machine filter three times a week. This required big trays of formaldehyde and torque wrenches and could be the reason I ended up an engineer!

Why did you join this PPI group?

The reason I decided to join was because I’ve seen the remarkable advances in dialysis technology since my mum was unwell 50 years ago and wanted to help in future developments that will improve patient care.

How did you find your role within the group?

I’ve found my role challenging but interesting because we are continually trying to communicate complicated issues to the wide ranging kidney community. As a lay member of the public we don’t understand fancy medical vocabulary so we have to dream up new ways of describing medical terms. We also have to think of ways to make our research programme interesting and to encourage as many people as possible to sign up.

Is there anything you have learned about how a research study is run that you didn’t know before? 

It’s clear that the medical community are continually trying to answer new questions but they can only do this with the help of patients. The research infrastructure at Southmead is much bigger than I realised. I didn’t know there were so many research nurses and doctors involved across the various medical disciplines. 

What type of activities have you been involved in?

I’ve been involved in designing posters and web-based publicity and helped in a range of meetings, including a national event where I gave a short presentation on the role of the Patient & Public Involvement (PPI) groups. One of the meetings was in the Shard in London so there are perks to the job!  Acting as a patient member of a research committee keeps the medics on their toes as they are forced to put themselves in the position of patients. 

What would you say to anyone who is thinking about being part of a Patient & Public Involvement (PPI) group? 

Patient and Public Involvement Groups need members from a wide range of ages and communities.  We all have different life experiences but a common bond of benefitting from medical help so don’t be shy and get involved.  You could make the difference to the patients that follow and there’s satisfaction in making a difference.
 

 

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Movement Disorders Research Team

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Based in the Bristol Brain Centre, the Movement Disorders Research and Clinical Team includes the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Parkinson’s Disease Advanced Therapy teams.

This allows for a fully integrated approach to providing clinical care and offers opportunities for patients to participate in research.

The Movement Disorders team are working on a number of regional, national and international research studies. They are developing a mixed portfolio of studies that will collectively address knowledge gaps in Parkinson’s Disease and other Movement Disorders.

Meet the team:

Dr Alan Whone MB ChB FRCP PhD - Consultant Neurologist, University of Bristol and North Bristol Trust

Neurologist

Dr Alan Whone has obtained his undergraduate medical degree from the University of Birmingham. Subsequently, he undertook general medical training in the West Midlands before specialty training in Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital, London, and in Neurology at Kings College Hospital, London, the Hammersmith Hospital, London, and Frenchay Hospital, Bristol. Alan obtained his PhD from Imperial College, London, after 4 years of clinical research into Parkinson’s disease and other Movement Disorders at the MRC Cyclotron Unit, London. Alan leads a programme of research in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders at the Bristol Brain Centre, Southmead Hospital including studies into neuro protection/neuro restoration in Parkinson’s, using both pharmacological and surgical approaches. Since 2010 Alan has been Principal Applicant or Co-applicant on £5-million of peer reviewed grant funding (Parkinson’s UK, NIHR) and £1 million of industry or local charities research funding. In addition, Alan wishes to case impact the common, disabling and costly symptoms created by Parkinson’s axial manifestations (falls, postural instability, gait-freezing) and neuropsychiatric and or cognitive complications and he has been Principal Investigator on over 8 multi-centre investigator-led or commercial studies in Parkinson’s. Currently he is leading the SPARKS Study, the first trial worldwide to test a skull mounted impulse generator for PD. Alan is the Head of Neurology at the Bristol’s Neuroscience and which includes a team of 23 consultants Neurologists. He is also clinical lead for research in neurodegenerative disorders for the region for the National Institute of Health Research UK

Dr Konrad Szewczyk-Krolikowski - Consultant, Neurologist

Dr Konrad Szewczyk- Krolikowski is a Consultant Neurologist with specialist interest in Movement Disorders, Honorary Lecturer at the University of Bristol. He completed his specialty training in Plymouth and Exeter and did a DPhil degree on functional imaging changes in Parkinson’s Disease in Oxford. He took up his current position at Southmead in September 2016. His main interest is Movement Disorders, particularly Parkinsonism, Dystonia’s, including treatment with botulinum toxin injections and deep brain stimulation.

Dr Catherine Morgan - Clinical Research Fellow and Neurology Specialist Registrar

Dr Catherine Morgan is a neurology specialty registrar who has stepped off the training scheme in Severn Deanery temporarily to undertake clinical research with Dr Alan Whone. The observational pilot study PD SENSORS looked at how to use technology, specifically the technology incorporated in the SPHERE house (Sensor Platform for HEalthcare in a Residential Environment) in Bristol, to produce outcome measurements in Parkinson’s disease.

Catherine Watkins - Senior Research Nurse in Neurosciences

Cath joined the Neurosciences department as a Senior Research Nurse in April 2019. The team she manages covers a wide range of studies supporting patients who have, or are at risk of developing, Dementia, Huntington’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Movement Disorders. Cath’s professional background includes a role as a Network Team Lead for the South East Wales Network and wide experience in leading oncology, cardiac and stroke studies.

 

Jeanette Brooks – Research Nurse

Jeanette joined the Neurosciences department in 2005 working as a registered nurse on the Neurosurgical wards at Frenchay Hospital.  She became interested in Research and joined the GDNF study in 2014, a double blind study involving patients with Parkinson’s. In 2016, she joined the surgical movement disorder team specializing in Deep Brain Stimulation and is currently a lead nurse in a research study called SPARKS in order to trial a novel type of Deep Brain Stimulator.

Robyn Wilkes - Research Nurse

Robyn joined the neuro-sciences research team in January 2022 as a Research Nurse. She completed her training at the University of Southampton in 2017. She assists on a wide range of studies looking into Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Dementia and Multiple Sclerosis. She has continued her education into dementia at a master level, focusing on improvements to inpatient care.

Dr Hamish Morrison - Specialty Registrar in Neurology

Hamish is Specialty Registrar in Neurology in the Severn Deanery and joined the Movement Disorder team in February 2021. Hamish splits his time as both a Senior Clinical Fellow in the Movement Disorders team and a Research Fellow in Neurodegeneration, working jointly with the Movement and Cognitive Disorders teams at the Bristol Brain Centre.  

Hamish led the design of and is lead study doctor for RESTED - Remote Evaluation of Sleep To enhance understanding of Early Dementia (REC 21/YH/0177). This study utilises wearable technology to track sleep, cognitive function and memory over time in people with Lewy body Dementia. RESTED also explores the relationship between dopamine, sleep and memory in a cohort of patients with Dopa Responsive Dystonia. 

Dominika Kruszynska - Research Administrator

Dominika is the Research Administrator in the Movement Disorders group at the Bristol Brain Centre. Dominika completed her degree from Catholic University of Lublin in 2007 and joined the Movement Disorders Team in 2018. She supports the team to ensure the studies are successfully initiated in a timely manner, recruit to time and target and are organised, managed, and delivered to a high standard.

Amber Roguski - PhD student

Amber Roguski is a PhD student at the University of Bristol, supervised by Professor Matt Jones and Dr Alan Whone. Her research focuses on the relationship between REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder and Parkinson’s disease, with the aim of developing prognostic tools to predict which sleep disorder patients will go on to develop Parkinson’s disease.

Amirhossein Dadashzadeh - PhD student

Amirhossein (Amir) received BSc and MSc degrees both in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Mazandaran, and Shahid Beheshti University in 2016 and 2019, respectively. He is currently working toward a PhD degree with the Movement disorder research team. His main research interests focus on designing and using state-of-the-art computer vision and machine learning techniques for analysing and assessing the quality of human action, particularly Parkinson’s patients using video data.

Take Part in Research

Patient & Doctor viewing an x-ray

Become one of the thousands of people taking part in research every day within the NHS.

About Research & Development

NBT Researcher

Find out more about our research and how we're working to improve patient care.

Contact Research

Research & Development
North Bristol NHS Trust
Level 3, Learning & Research building
Southmead Hospital
Westbury-on-Trym
Bristol, BS10 5NB

Telephone: 0117 4149330
Email: research@nbt.nhs.uk

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Skin Cancer Treatments

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Skin Cancer Diagnostic clinics 

Patients suspected to have cancer are referred via their GPs onto the 2WW (2 Week Wait)  pathway and will be seen within 14 days of the referral being received.  The clinics are led by either a dermatologist or a consultant plastic surgeon who will assess the lesion and discuss treatment, if it is required. 

Teledermatology 

An assessment of lesions via image/photograph; these are sent to the skin specialist team for advice regarding diagnosis or management.  It is a way for GPs to get an opinion from a skin specialist without having to refer patients through the normal referral pathway.

Specialist Skin Cancer clinics

These are held for transplant patients and skin cancer.

Day Case Surgery

This is a clinical event where a patient is admitted for surgery and is discharged on the same day.

Electro-chemotherapy (ECT)

Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. Electrochemotherapy uses chemotherapy and a small electrical current to treat cancer cells.

The doctor injects a low dose of chemotherapy into the tumour or a vein (intravenously).

After this they put a probe (electrode) directly over the tumour to give an electrical pulse. The pulse changes the outside layer of the cells. This is called electroporation. It helps the chemotherapy get into the cancer cells and destroy them.

Electrochemotherapy is sometimes used to treat cancer that has spread to an area of skin, including advanced melanoma.

This treatment can help to control symptoms such as bleeding, ulcers or pain. Some people will have the treatment more than once.

Electrochemotherapy is a specialised treatment and is not available at all hospitals. Your cancer doctor or nurse can explain more about your area.

Complex reconstructive surgery and lymph node dissections for metastatic disease to the lymph-nodes

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) Service For Malignant Melanoma and Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Mohs micrographic surgery

Skin Cancer Specialist Nursing team 

Skin Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNSs) are experienced nurses who give advice and support to people living with cancer.

Laser treatments

Radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments for skin cancer