Publication Scheme - Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

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About us

This publication scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely published by Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. It is a description of the information about our Trust which we make publicly available.

We regularly review and monitor the scheme. It is important to us that this scheme meets your needs and we have designed it to be a guide so that you can find and access information about the Trust easily.

Under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Trust has a legal duty to adopt and maintain a publication scheme. The purpose of the Act is to promote greater openness by public bodies.

The Freedom of Information Act does not change the right of patients to the protection of their patient confidentiality in accordance with Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, the Data Protection Act 2018 and at common law.

Maintaining the legal right to patient confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part. To help with this, we have appointed a Caldicott Guardian - who has the responsibility to ensure the protection of patient confidentiality throughout the Trust. Our Caldicott Guardian is:

Dr Janet Lippett
Chief Medical Officer
Royal Berkshire Hospital - Level 4, Main Entrance
Craven Road
Reading
RG1 5AN

Information management

Information falling into the classes shown in the section below, will be retained in line with the Trust's retention and disposal schedules.

Information, which is not required for the business purposes of the Trust, is stored at the Trust or at a place of deposit approved by the Lord Chancellor for the purpose of holding public records.

Classes of information

The Trust's commitment to publish information excludes information that can legitimately be withheld under the exemptions set out in the Freedom of Information Act.

The two main reasons why individual classes are subject to exemptions include the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 2018. This applies to most classes within the Publication Scheme.

The Trust will state how you can obtain the information outlined within each class. This will be either via the Trust web site or as a hard copy or other media as stated within each class. The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated within each class.

The information is grouped into the broad categories shown below:

Optional class: archive deposits

At present the Trust does not have an archive deposit. As records are placed in deposit, details will be shown in this section.

The Trust adheres to the NHS Records Management Code of Practice regarding retention of records.

Freedom of Information

Please visit the Freedom of Information section.

Who We Are and What We Do

How we fit into the NHS structure

This section provides planning documents outlining how the Trust fits into the NHS structure.

The local NHS structure

NHS England is an independent body whose main role is to promote and support a comprehensive health service in England. Its responsibilities include:

Providing national strategic leadership for improving outcomes and driving up the quality of care
Allocating resources (funding) to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).
Monitoring the operational and financial performance of all ICBs, and the NHS organisations within each ICB.
Commissioning some specialist services (e.g. neonatal care and renal dialysis)

lntegrated Care Systems (ICSs)

Integrated Care Systems are geographical groupings of health and care organisations formed to develop ‘place-based plans’ for the future of health and care services in their areas. They are made up of two parts, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs).

An integrated care board (ICB) is a statutory NHS organisation which is responsible for:

Managing the local NHS budget.
Developing a plan for meeting the health needs of its population.
Commissioning and arranging for the provision of health services, including planned hospital care, urgent and emergency care (including out-of-hours), rehabilitation, most community health services (such as district nursing and health visiting), mental health and learning disability services, primary care (GPs) and some specialised services.

An Integrated care board (ICP) is a statutory joint committee of the ICB and local authorities in the area. Its responsibilities include:

Supporting partnership working.
Developing an ‘integrated care strategy’, to address the wider health care, public health and social care needs of the population.

Our local Integrated Care System is Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB ICS).

Health and wellbeing boards

Every local authority has a health and wellbeing board to act as a forum for local commissioners across the NHS, social care, public health and other services.

The boards are intended to:

increase democratic input into strategic decisions about health and wellbeing services
strengthen working relationships between health and social care
encourage integrated commissioning of health and social care services

Who we are

This section provides details of the Trust organisational structures and key personnel.

“Working together to provide outstanding care for our community”

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust provides acute hospital services to the people of West Berkshire and specialist services to a wider population. The trust became a Foundation Trust in June 2006.

The Trust provides a wide range of services, including a large maternity department where around 5,500 babies are born each year and one of the busiest Accident and Emergency Departments in the country.

We have a 19 bedded intensive care unit and our services for children, cardiology and the elderly continue to develop in line with the national frameworks for patient services.

Digital technology now plays a key role across the Trust and with the wider local NHS, allowing referrals to take place electronically for most of our specialities.

Organisational structure

Please see section below on senior staff and management board members.

Lists of, and information relating to, organisations with which the authority works in partnership

Senior staff and management board members
For detailed information relating to Board and Executive team please see Board and Executive team section.

Location and contact details for all public-facing departments
For more information including contact details please see Wards and Departments and Locations.

Services We Offer

Clinical services provided

For a detailed listing of clinical services provided by the Trust visit our services directory.

Non-clinical services

Portering services

The portering service operates on a 24-hour basis and provide a range of services including:

Patient movements around the hospital
Collection of clinical and domestic waste
Movement of deceased patients
Changing of oxygen cylinders
Delivery of stores to wards and departments
Movement of post around the hospital
Delivery and removal of clean and dirty linen around the hospital
Assist with furniture removals
Supporting the attendance to suspected fire incidents

Security services

Our professional security services help ensure the continued safety of patients, staff and visitors 24 hours a day, including the security of Trust owned property and assets.

Despite this high level of support all occupants are encouraged to be vigilant at all times and to consider their responsibility to others at all times.

The Trust operates a system of ‘agreement for responsible behaviours, which may be applied in situations where patients or their visitors’ behaviours may be causing a concern to others.

Security Control room staff undertake various duties, including monitoring fire panels, intruder alarm panels, the management of access control systems, and CCTV (governed by the CCTV code of practice and the RIPA Act).

The control room is linked to all security guards via radio and can dispatch officers to areas that need urgent assistance or where a breach of security has occurred.

Engineering services

The Estates Department is responsible for the following services;

Engineering Services
Building Services
Fire Safety
Energy and Environmental Management
Water Hygiene
Grounds and Gardens
Reactive building repairs

Switchboard

The Switchboard deals with approximately 8,000 to 10,000 calls per day and 170 on-call staff.

Bedside communications

The NHS Plan states that all patients should have a personal television and telephone by their bedside which is operated by Hospedia.

Catering Service

The Trust is proud of its patients dining service and the feedback received from independent patient surveys demonstrates a high level of patient satisfaction.

The team aims to satisfy various cultural and religious requirements within its menu, but is pleased to receive special dietary requests at any time.

Services for which the authority is entitled to recover a fee together with those fees

Details of non-clinical services which the Trust's is entitled to recover a fee can be found via the services directory.

Patient information leaflets and other booklets and newsletters

For detailed patient information leaflets available see patient leaflets section of this website.

PALS

For more information see Patient Advice and Liaison Service.

Corporate communications and media releases

The Trust's communications team plays a major role in promoting the Trust's achievements, innovations and improvements.

As a public organisation the Trust has a responsibility to project an accurate image and keep the local population informed of any key decisions taken in the public interest.

The communications team promotes a positive image through press releases, news bulletins, magazine features, television and radio broadcasts, a comprehensive media advice service, newsletters, posters and the Trust website

For details of latest press releases and news stories concerning the Trust see the news section of the website.

What We Spend and How We Spend It

The Trust’s latest Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 are included in the Trust’s Annual Report 22/23 which is available in the our performance section.

Budgets and variance reports

NHS Improvement is responsible for overseeing foundation trusts and NHS trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care.

Financial audit reports

The independent auditor’s report in respect of the financial statements of the Trust for the 12 month period ended 31 March 2023 is included in the Trust’s Annual Report 2022/23 which is available in the our performance section.

Standing Financial Instructions

Capital programme

Capital programme for 2022/23

Staff and Board members' allowances and expenses

Details can be found in the Trust's Annual Report 2021/22 which is available in our performance section.

Staff pay and grading structures

The link below is to the main NHS Employers Job Profiles page.

NHS Employers: National job profiles

Information including pay scales for agenda for change and medical payscales, can be found on the NHS Employers website.

Funding (including endowment funds)

The Trust's Charity financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 can be found here.

A statement of income from tariff for the last full financial year will be published in due course.

Procurement and Tendering Procedures

Details of procedures followed by Trust staff used for the purchase of goods and services:.

Procurement procedure
Tendering procedure

Details of our spending over £30,000 can be downloaded from below:

Annual Report

The Trust's Annual Report for 2021/22 is available in the our performance section of this website.

Strategic Objectives

The Trust's strategic objectives can be found in our Strategy and Vision 2025 section here.

Copies of Board minutes from 2020/21 onwards include details of the Trust performance and targets. See section on Board papers.

Care Quality Commission

For detailed information including the Trust's registration details and latest inspection reports, please go to the Care Quality Commission website.

Audit reports

The Trust's Audit reports are included within the Trust's Annual Report, which can be found in our performance section.

Service user surveys

From time to time, the Trust undertakes patient surveys from our Patient Experience Team.

How We Make Decisions

Board papers, agenda, supporting papers and minutes

Board meetings are now open to the public. Details of meetings, agendas, supporting papers and minutes can be found in here.

Patient and Public Involvement

The Trust's Patient and Public Involvement Strategy is currently being reviewed.

Patients and carers can get involved in improving and developing services at the Trust in a number of ways:

by taking part in ad-hoc projects and initiatives
by joining the Register of Readers to review patient information leaflets
by becoming a Foundation Trust member

Public consultations

Trust currently not involved in any public consultations.

Lists and Registers

Any information we are legally required to hold is publicly available

List of main contractors/suppliers

Please follow link below for a list of main contractors/suppliers.

Contractors/suppliers

Assets registers and information asset register

The Trust maintains a register of the individual capital assets under its control. As the register contains a high number of assets, the Trust considers it overly detailed to be suitable for publication. Please contact the FOI co-ordinator for further information.

Data Privacy Impact Assessments (DPIA)

Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), DPIAs must be used to evaluate risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects that result from data processing.

These are particularly relevant when introducing new ways of processing data, new systems or new technologies.

Register of interests

The registers of interests for both the Board of Directors and the Council of Governors can be found on the Board and Council of Governor pages of this website.

The Trust maintains a register of Interests that requires specific staff groups to complete a declaration of interest as set out in the Trust Declarations of Interests Gifts and Hospitality Policy.

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Staff Declarations

Policies and Procedures

Policies and procedures relating to the conduct of business and the provision of services

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust follows national pricing policy for the provision of NHS services. Details of the relevant policy documents can be located on the Department of Health website.

Human resources (including Race, Disability, Age and Gender, Equal Opportunities)

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is committed to embedding equality and diversity in all the services offered to staff, patients and visitors.

Recruitment and employment

This section provides details of all human resources-related information within the Trust including employment policies and procedures.

The following documents are available on the Trust's website or from the FOI Co-ordinator.

Note: Class 12 covers information of a personal and confidential nature, some of which may be covered under the Data Protection Act and will therefore need to be excluded. Material relating to health and safety of specific individuals, as to law enforcement, criminal or regulatory enforcement, or audit issues (in certain circumstances), may also be excluded from publication.

Introduction

The Trust's workforce is our key asset. It is through our staff that we continue to provide high quality care to our patients and facilities that support our clinical services. Our staff enable the Trust to continuously develop and improve.

There are several principles that underpin our approach to how we recruit, manage and develop our workforce.

The Trust's published vision and values:

Every member of staff and every team should be able to add value to the work of the Trust.
Every team and every member of staff should be clear of their role, and how they contribute to the overall work of the Trust.
Every individual should be able to receive the support and the development they need to effectively perform their job.
Every individual will be assessed on their performance.
Promoting excellent communications.
Encouraging staff participation and involvement, involving staff and staff side unions in all changes that affect staff.
By the Trust recognising the importance of diversity and the need to eliminate all unfair and unlawful discrimination in employment.
Promoting health and wellness at work.
Continuously seeking to improving the benefits and facilities for staff.
Introducing the two new NHS pay systems (for consultants and for most other staff) so that they enable us to reward staff fairly and consistently for their contribution, in order to attract, recruit and retain high quality staff; encourage staff development and career progression; encourage increasing flexibility.
Meeting all employment law requirements and wherever appropriate introducing policies in advance of known legal changes.

Working for the Trust

Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people. The Trust's list of vacant posts is updated on a regular basis. The latest vacancies are available in the ‘working for us’ section of this website.

General enquiries can also be made by calling the Trust's Recruitment department: 0118 963 6353.

Terms and conditions of employment

Board Directors
- The names and salaries of the Trust's Board Directors can be found in the Trust's Annual Report, which is available in our performance section.

Other Trust staff

In 2004 the NHS introduced new terms and conditions for most other staff groups (with the exception of a few very senior, Board-level management jobs). known as the ‘Agenda for Change’. Both nationally, and within the Trust, the new terms and conditions were introduced in partnership between management and staff side trade unions.

Within the Trust the implementation of the changes were led by the Trust's Agenda for Change Steering Group.

Terms of reference available from the FOI coordinator.

The three key documents are:

Agenda for Change: Final Agreement, November 2004
Agenda for Change: Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, November 2004
The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (NHS KSF) and the Development Review Process, October 2004

Trade unions and staff associations

The Trust recognises that it is mutually beneficial that employees should be represented and therefore recognises a number of Unions and Associations to represent their members.

Equality and diversity in employment

The Trust recognises the importance of diversity and the need to eliminate discrimination, both in the Trust's role as a provider of services and as an employer. The following documents are available on the Trust's website or from the FOI Co-ordinator.:

Equality of Opportunity and Diversity
Bullying and Harassment at Work Procedure
Race Equality Scheme, Version 1 (September 2002)
The Journey to Race Equality: progress against the Trust's
Race Equality Scheme (May 2004)
Workforce Race Equality standard
Workforce Rate Equality Standard Improvement Plan 2016

The Trust has the following equality and diversity groups:

Race Equality Group
Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network Steering Group
LBGTQ+ staff group (EG added)
Disability Group
Reading Declaration: the Trust is a signatory of the Reading Declaration, thereby committed to seeking to develop strategies to counteract racism in all its forms.

Rainbow Day Nursery and Trust Holiday Club

The Trust runs a nursery for the children of staff, as well as a holiday club, open during the main school holidays.

OFSTED reports on both the nursery and the holiday club.

The Trust was pleased to report that the nursery was awarded ‘Good’ in the latest inspection in May 2018.

For further information about the nursery or holiday club please contact the Nursery Manager on 0118 322 7112.

Complaints and other customer service policies and procedures

The Patient Liaison Service (PALS) aims to provide patients and their relatives the opportunity and confidence to make comments and raise any worries as soon as they arise with the department, without having to go through the NHS Complaints Procedure. The public are encouraged to speak directly to ward staff or the director of nursing if they feel that the issue is serious or relates more generally to the service or the ward.

We want to know what you think about the services we provide at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

For more information please visit our Patient Liaison Service (PALS) page.

General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection ACT 2018 / information governance / Caldicott Guardian

Information relating to data protection including details of the Trust's Caldicott guardian are included in the publication scheme section.
Copies of the Trust's policies for Data Protection and Freedom of Information can be found on the links below.

Further information of the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act can be found on the Office of Public Section Information Website by using the links below:

Estate Management

In August 2020, we launched Building Berkshire Together - our digital platform where you can find all the latest information about our plans to develop a masterplan, or blueprint, for an amazing hospital, designed and organised from the ground up. This is our opportunity to create a great hospital for local people, delivering outstanding care and treatment, and we want our staff, patients, partners and local communities to help us design it. We want this new hospital to be built with the real needs of patients and staff firmly in mind and would like your expertise, experience, and ambition to flow through the design of our new hospital.

Charging regimes and policies

The Trust follows national pricing policy for the provision of NHS services. Details of the relevant policy documents can be located on the Department of Health website.