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New starter information

Welcome and congratulations on your new appointment with the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust!

All starter documentation that you are required to complete will be sent to you via the recruitment system (TRAC). Should you have any queries, please contact:

Contents

Things to read before you start

Here you can access important information about the Trust, statutory requirements, and essential information to help you settle in from day one.

Find out about

Please read the documents below before your first day as they contain things you should be aware of as you start.

General staffing

Upon starting at the Trust, you will:

  • Have received your invite to attend a face-to-face welcome session
  • Have access to a range of Welcome learning and resources to help you settle in during your first few weeks; this is accessible on Totara, the Trust’s online learning platform via the Learning Hub (red tile) and on the intranet. You will need your email address and Trust log in
  • Complete your local orientation and induction checklist with your line manager in your first few days; including a tour of the department/building, requirements of the job role, individual training plan and an initial 121.

Medical staffing

Upon starting at the Trust, you will:

  • Have received your invite to attend a face-to-face welcome session (substantive medical staffing only)
  • Receive IT training on e-Care, our electronic patient record system
  • Be invited to complete Trust induction on Totara, the Trust’s online learning platform
  • Complete a department/ward induction.

Good luck in your new role! We hope you enjoy your time working here.

Staff networks

The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive employer for all and our staff networks are a vital part of this.

They bring people together from across the organisation who have a shared interest in equality and inclusion for a particular group and have two primary purposes:

1. To act as a safe space, where colleagues with shared experiences or a common understanding of challenges and barriers that they face in the workplace can come together, provide peer support to each other, and develop relationships with those they might not naturally come into contact with.

2. To contribute and add value to a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion, using their collective voice to influence positive change, support decision-making and provide a channel for communication between the senior leadership team and staff groups who have traditionally been underrepresented or minoritised, or have experienced discrimination or lack of opportunity within the workplace.

Current staff networks include:

Current staff groups include:

To find out more or be added to a network distribution list when you start, please contact the network directly through the dedicated email address, as above.

For general questions about our networks and staff groups, please contact Jamais Webb-Small, organisational development manager - equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Health and wellbeing

We have a wide-range of health and wellbeing resources for West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust members of staff.

Helping colleagues maintain your health and wellbeing and manage a good work-life balance matters to us.

We offer staff holistic support to look after your mental and physical health. This includes:

  • Access to a staff support and wellbeing team who provide extra emotional and mental wellbeing support for colleagues across the organisation
  • Discounted membership at Abbeycroft Leisure, giving staff access to gym facilities, swimming pools and exercise classes.
  • A partnership with Feel Good Suffolk to help people stop smoking, manage a healthy weight and be more active.

Hypnosis, relaxation and mindfulness

Research has shown that relaxation therapies and mindfulness can both help health professionals reduce their own feelings of stress, and cope better with the important work of looking after others.

  • Hypnosis recordings - A programme of recordings by Eamonn Coveney, consultant surgeon, who has pioneered the use of hypnotherapy in clinical care at West Suffolk.
  • Relaxation 1:1 - We have a relaxation therapist who can provide 1:1 sessions to help staff develop relaxation strategies. Staff can get a self-referral form from our main physiotherapy reception.
  • Lunchtime - Group sessions to learn about hypnotherapy and relaxation techniques.
  • WellMD - Stanford University’s site on mindfulness, designed for doctors but useful for everyone.