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Staff Resources & Support

These preceptorship resources will support nurses, midwives and Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (SCPHN) in their transition to new roles and in practice settings. Not only from the point of registration, but also as they progress through their career. Furthermore, they aim to promote consistency in the provision and support offered by preceptorship programmes across Scotland.

Scotland’s Preceptorship Framework

This preceptorship resource has been developed to support nurses, midwives and Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (SCPHN) in their transition to new roles and practice settings from the point of registration and as they progress through their career. Not only does this national resource aim to promote consistency in the provision and support offered by preceptorship programmes across Scotland. It also builds on the NMC Principles for Preceptorship and offers guidance to preceptees, preceptors, managers and the wider organisation.

Preceptorship | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

The Midwifery Preceptorship Framework for Scotland 2023

This framework provides guidance on how midwifery preceptorship should be planned, delivered and evaluated within an enabling environment.

The Midwifery Preceptorship Framework for Scotland 2023 | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

Scotland’s Preceptorship Framework (NES Presentation)

This NHS Education for Scotland PowerPoint presentation is a preceptorship resource that not only defines preceptorship and outlines why it is needed, but also describes the roles and responsibilities of the preceptee, preceptor and line manager.

NES Preceptorship Presentation

Principles for Preceptorship (NES Webinar)

NES Principles for Preceptorship Webinar

Recorded in 2021 to support the launch of the NES Preceptorship resource.

NMC Principles of Preceptorship 

The NMC developed the Principles of Preceptorship in recognition of the benefits that a supported, structured period of preceptorship brings to employers, preceptees, and people who use services.

Principles of preceptorship – The Nursing and Midwifery Council

NHSGGC Resources

Click here to return to Practice Education’s main page

Any research taking place in NHS GG&C that doesn’t fit the definition of NHS GG&C Sponsored or Commercially Funded and Sponsored, would be considered to be NHS GG&C Hosted (i.e. All Non Commercial studies that aren’t Sponsored by NHS GG&C).  This includes all studies that are academically led by another health board, trust or academic institution (not NHS GG&C and or the University of Glasgow) 

All multicentre clinical, health and social care Research and Innovation studies in Scotland require to be submitted to the NHS Research Scotland Permissions Coordinating Centre (NRSPCC) at gram.nrspcc@nhs.scot  NRSPCC will upload multicentre studies onto the shared Scottish R&D web based database and make them available to participating Health Boards for review and approval and will ensure single centre studies are available to the relevant R&D office. 

All research teams are encouraged to submit their application for NHS R&D management approval in parallel with their application for an ethics committee opinion, as this will help expedite the R&D management approval process 

To find the appropriate contact in the R&I Hosted Team for your study, please use the Info Path document available here

Contact Details

Study Type

Ionising Radiation for combined review of clinical trial of an investigational medicinal product Ionising Radiation and Devices form for combined review of combined trial of an investigational medicinal product and an investigational medical device Clinical investigation or other study of a medical device Other clinical trial to study a novel intervention or randomised clinical trial to compare interventions in clinical practice.

Disease Area

A & E, Trauma & Emergencies Critical Care Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Haematology (Oncology only) Medical Genetics Mental Health (Includes Adolescent Psychiatry, Alcohol/Drugs Misuse, Adult Mental Health, Psychological Medicine/ Clinical Psychology, Family Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry and Learning Disability) Neurology (Non Stroke) (Includes Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Migraine & Headache) Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Midwifery Oncology Ophthalmology Oral and Dental Health (Includes Oral Medicine, Dentistry/Community Dentistry and Dentistry – Restorative) Pathology.

Hosted Facilitator

Ms Sandi Conway – Research Facilitator
sandi.conway@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
0141 314 0221
Line Manager: Dr George Bakirtzis

Administrative Support 

Ms Natalie Phillips – Research Administrator
Natalie.phillips@ggc.scot.nhs.uk 
0141 314 0216
Line Manager: Dr George Bakirtzis

Ms Oumaima Abakar Ismail – Research Administrator
oumaima.abakarismail@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
0141 314 0217
Line Manager: Mr Ross Nicol

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Study Type Disease Area Hosted Facilitator Administrative Support 
As above Anaesthetics Cardiology Cardiovascular & Exercise Medicine Dermatology Diabetes Gastroenterology Haematology (Non Oncology) Heath Services and Delivery Research (Includes Biochemistry, Immunology, Clinical and Medical Physics, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Homeopathy) Hepatology Infectious Diseases Includes Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Virology) Metabolic and Endocrine) (Includes Dietetics, Metabolic Disease and Human Nutrition) Orthopaedics Public Health (Includes Occupational Health, Sexual Health, Reproductive Health and Family Planning) Physiotherapy Renal and Urology Rheumatology Respiratory Medicine Stroke Surgery Mrs Karen Puglisevich Chase Research Facilitator  Karen.Chase@ggc.scot.nhs.uk  0141 314 0222 Line Manager: Mr Ross Nicol Ms Oumaima Abakar Ismail Research Administrator oumaima.abakarismail@ggc.scot.nhs.uk  0141 314 0217 Line Manager: Mr Ross Nicol  
Study administering questionnaires/interviews for quantitative analysis, or using mixed quantitative/qualitative methodology Study involving qualitative methods only Study limited to working with human tissue samples (or other biological samples) and data (specific project only) Study limited to working with data (specific project only) Research tissue bank or Research database Patient Information Centres (PIC) Basic Science Study involving procedures with human participants All of the above Ms Rozanne Suarez Senior Research Administrator rozanne.suarez2@ggc.scot.nhs.uk Line Manager: Ms Rebecca Jardine  Mr Euan Rennie  Senior Research Administrator euan.rennie@ggc.scot.nhs.uk Line Manager: Ms Rebecca Jardine    

Informatics Team Contact Information

Mr Graeme Piper – NRS Portfolio Performance Manager
Graeme.piper@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
0141 314 0222

Mr Radek Penar – Research Information Officer
Radoslaw.Penar@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
0141 314 0226
Line Manager: Mr Graeme Piper

Ms Islay Morrison – Research Administrator
islay.morrison2@ggc.scot.n hs.uk
0141 314 0230
Line Manager: Mr Graeme Piper

NHSGGC supports the conduct of high-quality commercially Sponsored and Funded research, which allows patient the opportunity to access novel medicines. NHS GG&C currently has the highest volume of Commercial research in Scotland  

To find the appropriate contact in the R&I Commercial Team for your study, please use the Info Path document available here.  

You can also find contact details for the Commercial Team here 

All multicentre clinical, health and social care Research and Innovation studies in Scotland require to be submitted to the NHS Research Scotland Permissions Coordinating Centre (NRSPCC) at gram.nrspcc@nhs.scot  NRSPCC will upload multicentre studies onto the shared Scottish R&D web based database and make them available to participating Health Boards for review and approval and will ensure single centre studies are available to the relevant R&D office.   

The following links offer more information on the Commercial research approval process in NHS GG&C: 

Commercial Team Contact Information

Study Type

All study types

Disease Area

Haematology (Oncology only) Medical Genetics Oncology Pathology

Commercial Co-ordinator

Dr George Bakirtzis – Commercial Research Co-ordinator
George.Bakirtzis@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
0141 314 0225

Administrative Support

Ms Shanice Thomas – Research Administrator
Shanice.Thomas@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Randdsystems.PF1@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
0141 314 0229
Line Manager: Dr George Bakirtzis

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Study Type Disease Area Commercial Co-ordinator Administrative Support 
All study types Cardiology Cardiovascular & Exercise Medicine Diabetes Gastroenterology Haematology (Non Oncology) Heath Services and Delivery Research (Includes Biochemistry, Immunology, Clinical and Medical Physics, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Homeopathy) Haepatology Infectious Diseases (Includes Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Virology and Bacteriology) Metabolic and Endocrine (Includes Dietetics, Metabolic Disease and Human Nutrition) Orthopaedics Public Health (Includes Occupational Health, Sexual Health and Family Planning) Physiotherapy Renal and Urology Rheumatology Respiratory Medicine Surgery (Includes Burns, Plastic Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery and Vascular Surgery) Mr Ross Nicol  Commercial Research Co-ordinator Ross.nicol@ggc.scot.nhs.uk 0141 314 0221 Ms Oumaima Abakar Ismail Research Administrator oumaima.abakarismail@ggc.scot.nhs.uk  0141 314 0217 Line Manager: Mr Ross Nicol   
All study types A&E, Injuries and Emergencies Anaesthetics Critical Care Dermatology Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Mental Health (Includes Adolescent Psychiatry, Alcohol/Drugs Misuse, Adult Mental Health, Psychological Medicine/ Clinical Psychology, Family Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry and Learning Disability) Neurology (Non Stroke) (Includes Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Migraine & Headache) Paediatrics Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Midwifery Ophthalmology Oral and Dental Health (Includes Oral Medicine, Dentistry/Community Dentistry and Dentistry – Restorative) Stroke Mrs Ruth Pink  Commercial Research Co-ordinator Ruth.pink@ggc.scot.nhs.uk 0141 314 0217 Ms Natalie Phillips  Research Administrator  Natalie.phillips@ggc.scot.nhs.uk 0141 314 0216 Line Manager: Mrs Ruth Pink   

Governance of Commercial Research  

Application Flow 

NHS GG&C has responsibility to ensure that there are appropriate governance arrangements in place for any commercially funded research, thus ensuring that: 

  • The interests and safety of patients enrolled in trials are protected in all eventualities  
  • All trials are fully costed and that the costs are properly recovered 
  • Maximum benefit is provided to the investigator and to the board
  • The interests of both the investigator and the board are protected in the event of Intellectual Property arising out of research 
  • Any external regulatory, ethical and financial approvals are obtained 
  • Any risks (liabilities) are properly considered and minimised 
  • The board presents a thoroughly professional approach in its dealings with industry. 

In order to ensure Governance of commercial projects, all studies must receive Management approval. Only protocols and trials approved by the R&I Management Office will be covered by the appropriate insurance or NHS indemnity arrangements and the Board will not accept liability for any activity that has not been approved. This website contains a practical guide to help you navigate the R&I process and highlights key steps required to get your research project up and running 

Initial R&I Contact and Document Request 

Investigators 

If you have been approached to participate in a commercial research study your first port of call should be your Research Co-ordinator. The Co-ordinator will be able to advise on the steps required to get up and running, and will take over negotiations over fees and contracts with the company concerned. With your help the Co-ordinator should be able to manage the approval process from start to finish. 

Companies 

If you would like to run a study within NHS GG&C please contact the relevant Research Co-ordinator who will be able to advise on the best way to submit an R&I application. 

Documents 

In order to gain R&I approval as quickly as possible, we advise that you submit to R&I as early as possible. We are happy to receive documents as they become available, this will allow us to look at your application and progress quickly. The very minimum we require to start our process is a copy of the protocol and proposed budget.  

Engage Support Departments 

Once we have identified what support departments will be involved in the study we can contact the relevant personnel for confirmation of costs and approval for research to be conducted within the department 

Project Costing 

Once a copy of the protocol has been submitted to R&I the Research Co-ordinator can begin costing the project. Costs associated with a research project are calculated on the staff time required and on the allocated price for procedures. The Research Co-ordinator will usually work closely with the research team to ensure that time required to complete the study is accurately captured. The project costing is then sent to R&I finance and the investigator for approval. If required, the Research Co-ordinator can negotiate fees with the commercial company 

Commercial Contracts and Agreements 

Before any commercial study can proceed within NHS GG&C a written agreement between the Board and the commercial company should be signed by both parties. Contracts should only be negotiated by Research Co-ordinators and are signed by an R&I director. The agreement should define the following:  

  • Scope of work
  • Acceptable payment arrangements 
  • Important issues such as the right to publish results 
  • Protection of confidential information 
  • Indemnification of third parties.    

To help facilitate timely completion of the appropriate contractual documentation, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the Department of Health have developed, and published, a model Clinical Trials Agreement (mCTA) as a standard contractual framework for commercial trials involving NHS patients. To incorporate slight differences in Scottish Law and policy, a revised mCTA for use in Scotland has been developed. All legal agreements between the Board and commercial companies should be governed by the laws of Scotland.  

The Sponsor is the individual, or organisation (or group of individuals or organisations) that takes on responsibility for confirming there are proper arrangements to initiate, manage, monitor and finance a study. For any research that takes place in the context of the NHS in Scotland, there must be a Sponsor. Normally, the Sponsor will be one of the organisations taking the lead for particular aspects of the arrangements for the study. The sponsor may be the Chief Investigator’s employing organisation, the lead organisation providing healthcare, or the main funder.

R&I Management Approval is no longer provided by the Glasgow Sponsored Team, this is now provided by another R&I Systems Team member, independently of the Sponsor Co-ordinator

The Sponsor Team provide information and support to researchers from study inception right up to the point of issuing R&I Management Approval.  The Sponsor Team can offer guidance in the following areas: 

  • Study Planning and Design
  • Grant applications and study costings
  • Any required study specific permissions and approvals (e.g. Ethics Approval, MHRA etc.)
  • Study set-up support (e.g. making contact with appropriate support departments such as R&I Pharmacy and Imaging)
  • Study documentation development (including study protocol, patient information and consent forms etc.)
  • Sponsor confirmation and assistance with any contracts and/or agreements

If you wish NHSGGC to Sponsor your study (or Co-Sponsor with the University of Glasgow), you should contact the R&I Sponsor Team as early as possible. 

Sponsor Team Contacts

Sponsor Co-ordinator: Ms Nicola Jensen (for ALL Oncology and CRUK co-ordinated Oncology studies)

Networks: Cancer; NRS Non- Malignant Haematology

  • Haematology
  • Ophthalmology
  • Oncology

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sponsor Co-ordinator: Dr Alison Hamilton

Networks / Speciality Group: Stroke; NRS Renal Speciality Group; Cardiovascular;

  • Renal and Urology
  • Cardiology (Colin Berry and John McMurray team led)
  • Cardiovascular & Exercise Medicine
  • Metabolic and Endocrine (Includes Dietetics, Metabolic Disease and Human Nutrition)
  • Stroke

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sponsor Co-ordinator: Dr Maureen Travers

Networks: Dental; NRS Oral & Dental Specialty Group; ENTCardiovascular DiabetesMusculoskeletal Health

  • Anaesthetics
  • Dermatology
  • Diabetes
  • Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)
  • Gastroenterology
  • Medical Genetics 
  • Oral and Dental Health* (Includes Oral Medicine, Dentistry/Community Dentistry, Restorative Dentistry and Paediatric Dentistry)
  • Orthopaedics
  • Public Health (Includes Occupational Health, Sexual Health, Reproductive Health and Family Planning)
  • Rheumatology
  • Respiratory Medicine

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sponsor Co-ordinator: Mrs Louise Ner

Networks: NRS Trauma and Emergencies; Infectious Diseases; Mental Health; Children’s Research Network;

  • A & E, Trauma and Emergencies
  • Critical Care
  • Heath Services and Delivery Research (Includes Biochemistry, Immunology, Clinical and Medical Physics, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Homeopathy)
  • Haepatology
  • Infectious Diseases (Includes Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Virology and Bacteriology)
  • Mental Health (Includes Adolescent Psychiatry, Alcohol/Drugs Misuse, Adult Mental Health, Psychological Medicine/ Clinical Psychology, Family Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry and Learning Disability)
  • Neurology (Non Stroke) (Includes Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Migraine & Headache)
  • Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Midwifery
  • Paediatrics and Neonatal
  • Physiotherapy
  • Surgery (Includes Burns, Plastic Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery and Vascular Surgery)

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Based on disease area for:

  • Palliative Care

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Low Risk Non Commercial NHSGGC Sponsored

Research Facilitator: Mr Adam Wade

We have deemed “low risk” studies to be all Study Types from the IRAS Form that are: 

  1. Study administering questionnaires/interviews for quantitative analysis, or using mixed quantitative/qualitative methodology
  2. Study involving qualitative methods only
  3. Study limited to working with human tissue samples (or other biological samples) and data (specific project only)
  4. Study limited to working with data (specific project only)
  5. Research tissue bank or Research database
  6. Patient Information Centres (PIC)
  7. Basic Science Study involving procedures with human participants

As the busiest R&I office in Scotland, the NHSGGC R&I Team received in excess of 560 new research applications in 2023 and have approximately 1000 studies ongoing at any one time.

There are 3 teams working within the Systems Team structure:

Welcome to the NHSGGC Public Protection Service Webpage.

The Public Protection Service can be contacted Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm 0141 451 6605

Additionally, there is a dedicated advice line for all Child Protection concerns or issues which can be accessed by choosing option 1.

A Child Protection Consultant is available Out of Hours – via switchboard 0141 201 0000. Ask for On Call Child Protection Consultant.

If you have a child protection concern that is identified out of hours social work can be contacted on their Out Of Hours service that covers the West of Scotland: 0800 343 1505

If you are concerned that a child is at immediate risk please contact the police on 999 or 101

Child Support and Protection

What is Child Abuse/Neglect?

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody  may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting , or by failing to act to prevent significant harm to the child.  Children may be abused in a family or in an institution setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger.  Assessments will need to consider whether abuse has occurred or is likely to occur.  When placing a child on the Child protection register, it is no longer necessary to identify a category of registration relating to the primary type of abuse and neglect.  Instead the local authority should ensure the child’s name and details are entered on the register, as well as area of concern identified.

It is still helpful to consider and understand the different ways in which children can be abused.  The following definitions, though not exhaustive show some ways in which abuse may be experienced by a child.  Individual circumstances of abuse will vary from child to child. 

Significant Harm

Protecting children involves preventing harm or the risk of harm. Harm refers to ill-treatment or the impairment of the health or development of the child. Significant harm is the test for legal measures to be taken in order to protect children. There is no legal definition of significant harm. It is a matter for professional judgement through analysis and multi agency assessment of the degree of harm a child has or is likely to be exposed too. This can be exposure to one traumatic event or an accumulation of concerns which can impact on the child’s wellbeing and development.

Physical abuse

This is the causing of physical harm to a child or young person. Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning or suffocating. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill health to a child they are looking after. 

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is persistent emotional neglect or ill treatment that has severe and persistent adverse effects on a child’s emotional development. It can involve actions or inactions which can lead to feelings of inadequacy or fear. The child may feel devalued or unloved. It can involve placing expectation on a child which are inappropriate to their stage of development. Some level of emotional abuse can be present in all types of ill treatment or it can occur independently of other forms of abuse.

Sexual abuse

The act of sexual abuse involves the child in any activity for the gratification of another person, whether or not it is claimed that the child has consented. Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activity may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. It may also include non-contact activities such as sharing images of sexual activity with a child or the production of indecent images involving a child or using sexual language towards a child or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or failure to respond to, a child’s basic emotional needs. Neglect may also result in the child being diagnosed as suffering from non-organic failure to thrive, where they have significantly failed to reach normal weight and growth or development milestones and where physical and genetic reasons have been medically eliminated.

In its extreme form children can be at serious risk from the effects of malnutrition, lack of nurturing and stimulation. This can lead to serious long-term effects such as greater susceptibility to serious childhood illnesses and reduction in potential stature. With young children in particular, the consequences may be life-threatening within a relatively short period of time.

Adult Support and Protection

If you are aware of an adult being exposed to harm or is at risk of harm and they are unable to safeguard themselves then an Adult Support and Protection referral should be completed.

This can be done by completing an AP1 form, contacting the relevant local authority ASP team by phone, and completing a DATIX.

If you require Social work advice out of ours please call 0300 343 1505

If the adult is at immediate risk contact Police Scotland 101 or in the event of an emergency 999.

Notification of Concern Form

All NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde staff must follow the guidance for raising and submitting a Notification of Concern. The contact details for the relevant local authorities are contained within the guidance.

Other Relevant Organisations

For more information please visit the relevant organisations websites.

Action for Children

Children 1st

Child Line

Child Line

Barnardo’s Scotland

NSPCC

Women’s Aid

Hemat Gryffe

Police Scotland

Scottish Government

Health and Social Care Partnership

The Practice Education Team will facilitate Flying Start Facilitator information sessions on MS Teams for NQPs and facilitators.

Facilitator support sessions

The NHSGGC Practice Education Team host Flying Start Facilitator information sessions on MS Teams for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals who are currently supporting, or will support, newly qualified practitioners (NQPs) in their first year of practice. These 90-minute group sessions (dates and times below), will offer guidance on supporting NQPs with the requirements of the Flying Start NHS programme, the NHSGGC Flying Start Portal and address any related questions or queries. Please click links below to book.

Thursday, 21st November 2024,1.30pm – 3pm

Friday, 29th November 2024, 10am – 11.30am

Conversation, courage and culture webinar series

These webinars aim to provide NQPs with the opportunity to think about emotional and professional development and how this could improve the care they provide. Fostering a positive culture within your working environment. Please click links below to book.

Webinar 1: Conversation, courage and culture. Date: Wednesday, 6th November 2024, 13:30-15:00
As newly qualified practitioners, having the ability to manage your individual levels of stress and uncertainty is a key skill.  Understanding the impact of your emotional responses for self and others allows for open conversations which fosters a positive culture of growth.
Webinar 2: Emotional agility. Date: Wednesday, 20th November 2024, 13:30-15:00
Emotional agility encourages you to be flexible with your thoughts and feelings for you to respond effectively to situations and challenges.  Being aware and accepting all of your emotions and learning from the difficult ones, allows you to create a space between how you feel and then respond, in line with your values.
Webinar 3: Your health and wellbeing as a NQP. Date: Wednesday, 27th November 2024, 13:30-15:00
As NQPs it is important that you are aware of your personal wellbeing as you transition into your professional role.  Having increased awareness of this and strategies to support you, is imperative.
Webinar 4: Civility Saves Lives. Date: Friday, 6th December 2024, 13:30-15:00
The Civility Saves Lives (CSL) campaign aims to create, enable and maintain positive workplace relationships and environments where the culture is improved by promoting the value of civil, caring and compassionate interactions, raising awareness of unprofessional and unproductive behaviours, and understanding the negative impact that rudeness (incivility) can have.

Following attendance at webinars, NQP advised facilitators of their take home messages which included:

  • Feeling understood.
  • Reminds us that our emotions are important and about managing these as NQPs; and hearing other perspectives and realising we are all similar.
  • It’s okay to take a pause and not feel we need to just continue on;
  • To have more belief in own ability, be more open to ask questions.
  • Tackle complex emotions with curiosity.  Practice what we preach to patients;
  • Self-care and wellbeing is vital for the provision of safe and effective care;
  • Importance of self-care and compassion for preventing burnout; The importance of being considerate of others around me and how my emotions can impact this

Digital on Demand reports and other publications will be published here.

This section takes a deeper dive in to what it means to be a digital champion and has some resources to help you with your digital journey

Becoming a digital champion

You could be a digital champion – someone who takes a lead within their team to help others with digital solutions. It could simply be helping with setting up passwords, getting others confident with using Teams, ensuring everyone can access and input to your clinical systems that you use everyday. You may not need specific training for this – you may just have the knack!

If this is the case then you should consider furthering your own knowledge and learning. A great way to do this is through the Digital Health and Care Leadership Programme .This course maximises the potential of digital to benefit people and supports participants to develop the strategic leadership skills required to influence the use of digital solutions in health and care delivery. Your project will need to fit with NHSGGC digital strategy (link for strategy 23-28) but you can discuss this with your digital leads prior to and during your course.

Join our GGC eHealth Clinical Links Forum for upcoming events, Q+As. Look out for the NHSGGC Digital and Literacy Skills Framework – coming soon!

A recent digital champion informal support network for AHPs, nurses and midwives working in GGC has been set up to support staff who have completed the DlP but we are also looking for those with a keen interest in digital to join the group. Please get in touch with Gillian Ferguson or James Monaghan (james.monaghan@ggc.scot.nhs.uk) for more info.

You don’t necessarily require to do a formal course. Successful project work derives from great quality improvement methodology. Please refer to the online resources available on the NHSGGC website. Your Digital leads will be more than happy to support and advise. You can also submit project requests that require support from ehealth via the Project Management Office (pmo@ggc.scot.nhs.uk).

Social media is a highly influential way of connecting with others both with colleagues and patients. Please refer to the Information Systems: Acceptable Use policy if planning to provide a patient facing site on one of the many social media platforms available.

Building websites for your service

Many services and teams rely on websites to share information about their service.

There are 3 types and you may require more than one of the types for your service:

Service information webpage for the public

For information about your service that the public will access, it will likely be in the Hospitals and Service section on the NHSGGC website.

It should have the following structure:

  • Service overview
  • Info for patients
    • About the condition
    • What we do
    • How to be referred to service
    • What to expect at your appointment/hospital stay/what happens afterwards
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Leaflets
  • About the team
  • Publications
    • Reports
    • Forms
    • Patient Leaflets
  • Where to find us
  • Contact us
  • Useful resources/links

To build this type of site see information provided by the Web Team.

Generic staff information

For information that is for staff primarily but which is appropriate for public view if desired such as this website and HR Connect it will likely be in the Staff Resources section on NHSGGC website and the structure will vary depending on content.

To build this type of site see information provided by the Web Team. You will be asked to complete the LearnPro module GGC 289: WordPress CMS prior to beginning your webpage build.

Service and professional information for staff only

For information about your service that is for staff only such as rotas, contact lists, service operating procedures etc, it is best to use the functions of M365, especially Teams and SharePoint. How these work together is described in Teams and SharePoint integration.

Put simply, every team in Teams has a SharePoint site already but SharePoint sites can be created independently too. See information at M365 Training Sessions to get started using Sharepoint or watch these videos:

Adopting EPR

Most of us now input our notes in to an electronic patient record whether it be EMISweb, Trakcare or Clinical Portal. But its important to know that these systems have regular upgrades and in time and through service improvement can change to a completely different product. You should see the record as being something that evolves and that can be improved to suit the service needs and not seen as a static unchanging entity. Have a read of EHCR Adoption Considerations which describes the move from paper to EHCR but also outlines considerations for getting the most out of your current notes tool. Making the Most of your Electronic Patient Record is a great site for more in depth reading.

Using data

Good data collection is crucial to changing and influencing a service. Understanding the power of data is becoming a must have skill. Look at how you collect data within your service or team. Can it be improved? Do you know if your patient clinical system such as Clinical Portal, Trakcare or EMISweb assist processes around referral management, workload, caseload management etc. FutureLearn offers a free online course to develop your skills and understanding of the data in health care – Power of Data in Health and Social Care.

Using apps

Using apps is becoming increasingly common but there are things that need considering before adopting:

  • Don’t jump into a specific product – what are the functional needs?​
  • Will you need to capture identifiable data?​
  • IG will need to be involved – a data protection impact assessment (DPIA)​. See Information Security policy
  • Is there something that already does the job in the organisation?​

While a specific app may have caught your eye from an advert or event, there may be others.

Some estimate that 45% of all software features are NEVER used​.

There is likely to be a cost after an initial free trial.

Is it for clinical work?​

  • Clinical safety of the product will need considered – some apps are even classed as medical devices​. Use the DTAC
  • Will it be part of the clinical record or need to integrate with it?​
  • What products suit these needs?​
  • Installed app or web-app?​
  • Competitive tender may be required​

If considering a trial, also consider a ‘get-out’​ as you could make a change that cannot be sustained due to financial or service implications.

Speak to your digital leads early on.​

Look at what is already available in the Right Decision Service.

Digital resources

Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy alongside the NHSGGC strategy Digital on Demand are 2 key documents that help shape the digital landscape with health and care. Visit the Digital Health and Care site on TURAS/Learn for lots more information and resources to support your digital journey.

This section looks at more in depth digital resources related to Virtual Patient Management. A term that describes all the work relating to patient care that isn’t face-to-face in nature.

Virtual Patient Management

Groupwork

Website build

  • Your service will greatly benefit from having its own site to promote your work and provide lots of useful information to your patients.

See Podiatry as a really good example.

  • You require to get access to WordPress and you will be given help and instruction from the Web Team, you can find out more on their Website SharePoint site. See Leading Digital pages for more information.
Physiotools
  • Physiotherapists and other AHPs such as Podiatry and Orthotics can use this tool for free. Log a call with eHelp to have it downloaded to your PC or laptop. Have a look at the training stream for AHPs.
  • Can you make use of QR codes and email facility to make it easy for your patients to access?
  • Can you make templates for commonly used exercises and activities?
  • Add your own videos and photographs if required.  
  • Just remember to limit the patient data the site asks for. Stick to initials only and always gain consent from the patient before making use of their email.
Netcall Patient Hub
  • This is a new system to NHSGGC. Information can be transferred electronically to your patients and including a digital appointment service.
  • They will be able to receive notification of their appointment and interact by accepting, cancelling or requesting to rebook.
  • It can be used to send leaflets, questionnaires and test results. The tonsillectomy service are now using a pre-op questionnaire which the patient completes and sends back with no need for a face-to-face appointment.
  • If you think your service would benefit from using this in the future, put in a project request via the Project Management Office.
Email
  • Email is fast becoming a popular way for patients to connect with their healthcare professionals.
  • Use your own or set up a generic mailbox for your service.
  • Review the Information Security: Acceptable Use policy for information on emailing patients to ensure safe use. It’s a safe and secure method of delivery for information such as exercise programmes, advice following provision of equipment, quick confirmation of appointment time. 
  • It shouldn’t be used for detailed clinical discussion and must have the minimum of identifiable data included in the body of text.
Data coding
  • Most of us now write in to an electronic patient record.
  • All the systems have the function of using ‘structured’ data by linking to read codes or Snomed CT.
  • Services can pull lots of information by using simple coding to, for example, code a referral type or condition.
  • You can see how making use of this gives access to powerful data about your service.
  • Talk to your service leads about using this functionality.
Other

Asynchronous appointments

  • Asynchronous appointments or those not done in ‘real time’ can be used to cut down face-to-face visits.
  • Allows patients to answer a questionnaire or provide a short video or photograph in the comfort of their own home.
  • You can then view this later before making a decision about further therapy.
  • This image would need to be part of the clinical record and there are several products being tried and tested – SCIT app dermatology, vCreate neurology.

MIMS

  • The MIMs (Medical Illustration Management System) upgrade is a project in progress to provide a stable system for NHSGGC which allows capture of all types of clinical image.

Referral Triage

  • Active Clinical Referral Triage isn’t a specific digital tool. It is a model of working now used widely across services. It facilities virtual patient management and allows faster and improved flow of work getting the patient seen by the right clinician by the most appropriate method. Can this model be implemented within your service?