Policy News - 27 August 2019

The following policies have recently been ratified by the Trust’s Policy Committee.   Please take the time to review those which may be relevant to your role.  

Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience (EPRR) Policy

The purpose of this policy is to set out the means by which the Trust will comply with legislation and NHS statutory guidelines regarding EPRR.  It is an over-arching framework which is supported by a range of incident response plans describing how the Trust will respond to varying incidents.  It describes the following:

• The risk based development, testing, maintenance and governance of comprehensive and robust plans and systems for:
  • Business Continuity Management
  • Escalation
  • Incident response and recovery including activation and stand down of plans
• Trust command and control mechanisms during a period of disruption and subsequent recovery
• The staffing and resourcing of Trust resilience activities 
• EPRR governance arrangements
• Incident response and business continuity training         

 
The scope of the policy is EPRR activities across the Trust (both hospital and community settings) and in support of multi-agency planning and incident response. 
 
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Employment Break Policy

The purpose of the Employment Break Policy is to support staff that may wish or need to take an extended break from work for a variety of personal reasons during the course of their employment. 

The policy sets outs the Trust’s approach to employment breaks and the basis on which they can be taken.  An employment break is an extended period of unpaid leave, which is a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 5 years duration.    

If offers the employee an opportunity to take an extended period away from work, beyond that provided through normal leave arrangements or other provisions e.g. parental leave.

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Special Leave Policy

The purpose of the Special Leave Policy is to support staff that may need help to manage the balance between work and their private lives. 

This policy sets out a framework to request time off, paid and unpaid, to cover certain carer, urgent domestic emergencies as well as certain planned circumstances such as public duties.

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Chaperone Policy

The Chaperone Policy sets out the expectations of the Trust in respect of the use of chaperones.  Patients have a right to have a chaperone present for any type of examination, procedure, or treatment, if they so wish and this policy sets out the standards and exceptions on the use of a chaperone.

This policy applies to all Trust employees including locum, bank and agency staff who are working on behalf of the Trust.  It also applies to any member of clinical staff who is undergoing training. It applies in all settings where care is being provided to a patient, including in the patient’s own home.

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Consent to Examination of Treatment Policy

The purpose of the policy is to ensure a coordinated and uniform approach to the implementation and monitoring of consent to examination and treatment within South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, and to meet the requirements of relevant external bodies e.g. Care Quality Commission. The policy sets out the standards and procedures in the organisation for all health care professionals involved in the process for obtaining and recording consent.

There may be other consent forms used within the Trust e.g. regional forms based on the Department of Health (DH) guidance.  However, the principles of obtaining and recording consent within the organisation remain as outlined in this policy.

This policy applies to all employees of the Trust, including but not limited to permanent, temporary, NHS Professionals, contract, honorary and volunteer staff, and all other persons carrying out any function or work on behalf of the Trust.

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