An awareness event for NHS staff – delivered by Deafblind Scotland
This discussion and learning event is designed to give an understanding of deafblindness and of the communication and support needs of deafblind people. The session will give focus to the experiences of patients using healthcare services and how to reduce barriers within NHS appointments.
The event also offers the opportunity to learn about the communication needs of deafblind people and to practice some basic deafblind manual communication skills.
The session will be facilitated by a trainer from Deafblind Scotland who has learned experience as a person with dual sensory loss.
Click on the link to book a place for your preferred date.
Arranging face-to-face training
As an alternative, there are a limited number of face-to face sessions available.
If you would like to arrange a tailored session within your workplace or for your team, then contact Martin Patterson from the Equality and Human Rights Team for more information and to discuss any requirements you might have for this training.
Temporary Promotion to a Higher Pay Band – Guidance for Managers
The Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions Handbook paragraph 6.32 states:
“Individuals may be moved into a higher pay band where it is necessary to fill a post on a temporary basis when a vacancy is unfilled, but being advertised, or the post is being held open for someone who is due to return, e.g. from long-term sickness absence, maternity leave, or from extended training”.
Please see below Management Guidance for staff who receive a temporary promotion to a higher band:
The Secondment Policy is accessible to all employees within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and applies when an employee wishes to undertake a temporary move (secondment) to another organisation, or to a different post within this organisation, for a defined period of time. There is no automatic right to a secondment, however, no application will be unreasonably refused.
Secondments offer the opportunity for individuals to develop new skills or enhance existing skills but should also be mutually beneficial to the Organisation. The policy sets out guidance on types of secondment, suitable opportunities and arrangements as well as defining roles and responsibilities within the secondment process.
Top Tips on using the Policy……..
Discussions should take place between employee and current manager before an application for secondment is made.
Secondments vary in length but usually last between 3 months and 2 years.
A secondment agreement, signed by the relevant parties, should be in place prior to the secondment commencing.
Employees and their substantive manager are mutually responsible for ensuring they keep in touch during the secondment.
Clear arrangements for return at the end of secondment should be set out and detailed in the secondment agreement.
A secondment is a “temporary loan of an employee to another organisation, or to a different part/post of the same organisation, for a specific purpose and for a specific time, to the mutual benefit of employees and NHS Scotland generally.”
Who is entitled to request a Secondment?
All employees within NHSGGC will have equal access to the Secondment Policy in compliance with relevant legislation and no application for secondment will be unreasonably refused.
Are there different types of Secondment?
There are a number of different types of secondment which are as follows:
Internal secondment within NHSGGC
Internal secondment within NHSScotland
External secondment (e.g. to Scottish Government, local authority, trade unions, professional organisations and the voluntary sector).
How do I apply for a Secondment?
Secondment opportunities may arise through a variety of circumstances, but should ordinarily be advertised in line with the normal recruitment process. Employees must ensure that authorisation has been provided by their Accountable Manager prior to accepting a secondment opportunity.
How long can I request a Secondment for?
Secondments vary in length, usually between three months and two years, depending upon the circumstances.
What is a Secondment Agreement?
If the request for secondment has been agreed the approving manager will ensure that, prior to commencement of a secondment, the appropriate secondment agreement has been completed which will take into account the main following points:
Clear reasons for the secondment.
Clear agreement on the start and finish dates.
If employee’s substantive role may be unavailable for their return, then this must be understood and agreed prior to the commencement of the secondment, or at the time of any subsequent proposed extension or at the time of organisational change.
That the employee fully understands any terms and conditions implications.
Training needs during and following a period of secondment.
Arrangements for appraisal/PDP&R completion during the secondment.
Relevant statutory requirements for maintenance of professional registration.
Arrangements to keep in touch with the Secondee on a regular basis and to consult them on any proposed changes to their substantive post during the term of the secondment.
Clear arrangements for return of the Secondee to their substantive post or a suitable alternative.
Please refer to the full Secondment Policy for details on terms and conditions, and roles and responsibilities of a secondment.
Keeping records up to date
We need to know when you’re at work and when you have any type of time off. This is important to make sure we pay you correctly too.
All managers should ensure that SSTS is updated correctly and payroll is informed, where SSTS is not available.
The HR Support and Advice Unit can be contacted on 0141 278 2700 if you have any further questions or need advice on this policy area.
Secondments Tools and Templates
If the request for secondment has been agreed, the approving manager will ensure that, prior to commencement of a secondment, the appropriate secondment agreement has been completed which will take into account the main following points:
Clear reasons for the secondment.
Clear agreement on the start and finish dates.
If employee’s substantive role may be unavailable for their return, then this must be understood and agreed prior to the commencement of the secondment, or at the time of any subsequent proposed extension or at the time of organisational change.
That the employee fully understands any terms and conditions implications.
Training needs during and following a period of secondment.
Arrangements for appraisal/PDP&R completion during the secondment.
Relevant statutory requirements for maintenance of professional registration.
Arrangements to keep in touch with the Secondee on a regular basis and to consult them on any proposed changes to their substantive post during the term of the secondment.
Clear arrangements for return of the Secondee to their substantive post or a suitable alternative.
External secondment agreements can be more complex and therefore if required, managers should seek advice from their local HR Manager.
All new jobs must be authorised by the Director/Head of Service and submitted into the Job Evaluation process via the Head of People and Change. If the new post is part of a wider service change, involving more than one post, then all job descriptions established should be submitted.
Posts can change over a period of time but for most the job evaluation outcome will not normally be affected unless there are significant changes. When the duties of a job have changed significantly then this should be addressed through the New and Changed Job process.
When a job has changed significantly the following must be provided:
A revised job description should be submitted and the agreed proposed national profile. · The original job description, CAJE matched job report and national profile;
The changed job submission pro-forma detailing the changes to the skills, responsibilities, effort or environmental aspects of the post.The content of our job descriptions must reflect NHSGGC organisational values and behaviours.
Job Evaluation Handbook
The Job Evaluation Handbook provides information on the NHS job evaluation scheme, including the background on NHS pay structures prior to Agenda for Change and guidance on how to apply the scheme in practice. The contents of the handbook have been agreed in partnership by the NHS Staff Council.
The Agenda for Change Job Evaluation Handbook can be accessed on the NHS Scotland Management Steering Group website.
National Profiles
The NHS Job Evaluation scheme allows the majority of NHS jobs to be matched to nationally evaluated profiles, based on the information within job descriptions, person specifications and any additional job information.
The profiles also provide a framework to consistency-check local evaluations. For further information please visit the NHS Employers website.
Job Evaluation Group Advice
The Job Evaluation Group (JEG) provides information and advice for employers on the implementation of the NHS Job Evaluation scheme.
There is a need for the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme to continue to be used for determining the banding of posts, which will apply to all new posts and posts which have significantly changed since they were last evaluated.
New jobs
All submissions for new job roles to be evaluated require to be authorised by the Director/Head of Service and submitted to the Job Evaluation process via their Head of Human Resources.
The agreed job description to be used in the job matching/evaluation process.
A full organizational chart showing the post to be graded
A note of any similar posts in the organization that may be comparators.
A copy of the job description and submission form must be retained by the department for their records.
Changed jobs
All posts change over a period time. For most, the job evaluation outcome will normally not be affected unless there are significant changes. Where a postholder and the manager agree that the demands of the job have or will significantly change then a re-evaluation of the post may require to be carried out.
The original job description used in the job matching/evaluation process.
A copy of the matched job or evaluation report relating to the original job description and grading outcome
The revised job description, clearly showing additions and revisions
A full organizational chart showing the post to be graded
A note of any similar posts in the organization that may be comparators.
A copy of the job description and submission form must be retained by the department for their records. A copy of the revised job description should be provided to the employee(s) and a copy held in their personal file.
Review
Following the being notified of the matching outcome of a changed job, the post holder may wish to request a review of the outcome. The postholder must discuss the ‘request for a review’ with their line manager. The line manager must support and agree to the ‘request for a review’, in terms of the job description’s content and confirm it is a true, fair and accurate reflection of the job demands. All review documentation, including the Review Submission Form requires to be submitted to the relevant Head of Human Resources for submission within three months of the notified matching outcome.
Notification process
When job matching and evaluation outcomes are finalised, the NHSGGC Job Evaluation Unit will notify the outcome to the appropriate Head of Human Resources who will then update the manager and confirm the pay band for the post.
The line manager will formally notify the employee(s) and provide a copy of the matched job report and the national profile used to match the post or the evaluation report as appropriate.
Where the pay band has changed, the manager is responsible for notifying payroll and updating EESS to ensure employees are paid correctly.
A copy of the job description, submission form and matched job or evaluated job report must be retained by the department for their records. A copy of the notification to the employee)s) and the job report should be retained in the employee’s personal file.
The New or Changed Job Review Submission Form must be completed and forwarded to the Head of Human Resources for instances where additional information should be considered within the Job Evaluation Review procedure.
This form should also be completed and forwarded to the Head of Human Resources where employees disagree with the banding outcome for their post, but do not wish to submit any additional information.
Job Description Template
All job descriptions submitted for job evaluation must be provided using the Job Description Template. A copy of the JD template with guidance notes on completion is available here.
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
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
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
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:
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)
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: Position Vacant (please contact Kirsty Theron) (for ALL Oncology and CRUK co-ordinated Oncology studies)
We have deemed “low risk” studies to be all Study Types from the IRAS Form that are:
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
As the busiest R&I office in Scotland, the NHSGGC R&I Team received in excess of 640 new research applications in 2024 and have approximately 1000 studies ongoing at any one time.
There are 3 teams working within the Systems Team structure:
The Dying to Work Campaign was setup by a trade union member who received a terminal illness diagnosis and went on to try and ensure support for others in the workplace. The name was established by the campaign and supported by the TUC. You can see more of how it came about and those supporting through the link below.
Sadly, some of our staff are diagnosed with a terminal illness during their working lives. It is therefore vital that as an employer we work to try and remove any additional stress and worry.
The Dying to Work Charter was adopted by NHSScotland in March 2021, and endorsed by NHSGGC Chief Executive and Employee Director. It sets out an agreed way in which our staff will be supported, protected and guided throughout their employment, following a terminal diagnosis.
We will ensure that staff with life-limiting illness are not dismissed because of their condition unless leaving would benefit them, for instance to release a pension. We will provide job and financial security at a time of considerable personal stress and uncertainty and provide support and understanding.
The Charter is about choice. It’s about giving staff options on how they want to proceed at work and also provides guidance for Managers on how they can best support their staff.
This section provides procedure, guidance and associated documentation for injury allowance. Please contact the HR Support and Advice Unit if you wish clarification on this procedure or any further advice.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde staff who are injured or become ill due to their NHS employment may qualify for Injury Allowance if their pay is reduced as a result of their health problems.
Eligibility is dependent on certain conditions being met. Details on this and how to apply can be found in the Board’s Injury Allowance Procedure.
Further information is also available in the Injury Allowance Guidance for Employees.
Organisational Development (OD) and its associated activities are undertaken by every manager across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the OD Team is here to provide focused support and expertise to:
Design, implement, monitor and evaluate leadership, individual, team, cultural and improvement activities
Provide an aligned resource to locally support senior managers and their teams
Facilitate directorate and professional teams to develop and improve how they work to deliver excellent service and patient centred care
Provide expertise on OD approaches, tools, models and interventions.
For further information and to answer any questions, please contact your Organisational Development (OD) Advisor.
Boardwide Leadership Provision
NHSGGC are committed to:
Developing leaders who can meet the challenges we face as an organisation,
Effectively engage with staff, partners and patients and who have the skills to deliver excellent services.
The Resilience and Wellbeing toolkit is designed as a practical resource for you to use in understanding what drives your own well-being at work.
Further development for managers is available via Resilient Leadership – a delivered module designed to help you understand your role in relation to the well-being, resilience, engagement and ultimately performance of your teams.
Our Resilience pages are currently being updated, in the meantime, please speak to your local Organisational Development (OD) Advisor.
Change and Improvement
Improvement modules and tools
Four videos designed to take you through the use and application of a series of improvement modules/tools, or help you to understand and plan for the reactions of people to change, can be used as individual approaches or in conjunction with each other to support a wider range of activities.
Understanding Your Process Through Mapping
Identifying Process Wastes and Organising the Workplace with 5S
Delivering the Root Causes of Process Waste
Making Improvements with the PDSA Model.
These short videos can be viewed on our Staffnet pages
Leading in changing times
Two videos designed to support you to prepare for and lead others through change.
Leading in Changing Times – Managing the Process
Leading in Changing Times – Managing the Transition
Each video focuses on one tool and can be viewed on our Staffnet pages
Meet the OD Team
Organisational Development – Acute and Corporate Services
Julie Pearson: Senior OD Advisor – Clyde Sector and Board Nursing Directorate, Public Health Directorate, Glasgow Centre for Population Health – julie.pearson@nhs.scot
Paul Cogan: Senior OD Advisor – Estates and Facilities and eHealth Directorates – paul.cogan@nhs.scot
Claire Robertson: Senior OD Advisor – Women and Childrens Services and North Sector – claire.robertson22@nhs.scot
The aim of the Civility Saves Lives (CSL) campaign is 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.
Part of our Civility Saves Lives planned approach in NHSGGC is the practice of using trained ‘Civility Leads’ (CL) to be able to listen to and support members of staff who have been affected by specific incidents of rudeness or uncivil behaviour by another member of staff and to help them to work out the steps to resolve issues in a positive way. Civility Leads are trusted colleagues nominated by staff themselves in many departments/ services.
To access programmes such as Leading for the Future (LFTF), Scottish Coaching and Leading for Improvement Programme (SCLIP), Scottish Improvement Leader Programme (ScIL) please visit TURAS Learn.
Visit ProjectLift for access to the Leadership Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and learning resources.
Other programmes and resources can be accessed using TURAS Learn.
Career and Development Planning
This section is designed to offer you information to help to plan development activities for your current post and prepare for future roles as part of a career pathway:
Preparing for a development discussion
Developing Your Career Plan
Preparing for Development Discussions
Having effective development and career planning conversations are an essential part of creating a workforce skilled to deliver our services, teams who are continually learning and improving and individuals who are focused and engaged.
It is important to find time to plan and prepare for your development meetings.
Having a career plan helps us to clarify our short and long term learning objectives, how we will achieve these and the time we need to do this. A career plan is essentially a route map of development activities designed to take us to where we would like to be.
Regular review of our plan lets us see the progress we are making, build and adapt our development towards different roles or opportunities and continue the journey to our ideal job.
You can now access and complete the Project Lift Self Assessment Readiness Questionnaire via Turas. This will give you a comprehensive report of your strengths and areas for development to inform your career plan.
A wide range of information and resources are available for staff and managers on the Menopause including
What to expect,
Available treatments,
Where to get support and help,
Coping with the Menopause at work.
Information and Resource Links
Women’s Health – NHSGGC The Staff Health Page has a wide range of information and includes links to all the NHS Inform menopause videos/information in this one, easy to access location.
