Staff in the Department
We aim to ensure that the service provided is the best it can be. For this reason all the staff are encouraged to question what we do, how it is done and ask “can this be done better”?

New Staff
Our speciality based orientation program is designed to complement the generic orientation course run by the Trust Training and Development Department.
This is a mix of a competency and objective based learning. It has been designed by staff nurses with a mix of experience, including some new to the speciality who were able to identify areas that could have been covered better when they started on the ward. An introductory booklet, "A survival guide for new staff" , has been written for staff new to both the ward and the speciality.

Support Workers
The hospital is also running a developmental course for Support Workers providing them with a broader knowledge base of their working environment and the situations they encounter. In addition, by the end of the course they are qualified to SVQ level 2. This has been well received as many of those in post have had little in the way of formal training.

Personal and Professional Development
The department is always keen to network with others in the speciality and we try and ensure that staff attend relevant conferences and study days when possible. As well as running our own conferences some staff have presented topics at other national conferences.