The Penrose Scroll - Edition 4

Author

Kelda Manser-Smith
April 16, 2025

Welcome to the fourth edition of our Penrose Health newsletter – The Penrose Scroll. If you have any suggestions for the next edition, please let us know here! 👈

Latest News

Important PLT update

At Penrose Health, we’re always striving to make the way we work consistent, efficient and fair for everyone. In the spirit of this, we’re introducing a standardised approach to PLT across all of our sites. The details of this process have been laid out in a new Portal page, so please familiarise yourself with these updates for your PLT.

Read the page here: Protected Learning Time (PLT)

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An invitation… 📆

Think London Bridge site is a bridge too far? You may want to reconsider after getting to know the team and cool office vibe.

We’d like to give people from all locations, especially Welcomers who’d like to meet other peers, a chance to put faces to names, check out the space and soak up the atmosphere here at the LB office. What better way to do this than to host a gathering? It’s only a five minute walk from the train station - so why not come along for a drink and nibbles, and meet the team from the other side of the tracks (LB tracks, that is!)?

Who: All employees welcome, but please RSVP to Claire Willis via email ([email protected]) so she can get enough food and drink in!

When: 25 April 2025, 6:30pm - 9pm

Hungry for some bitesized learning?

Having a quick cuppa and a bite?  Why not put down Instagram or Wordle and have a peak at our new Bitesized Learning Library on Penrose Academy?

The Penrose Academy (PA) Library contains all the resources you need to complement your training, including links to Job Specific Handbooks and CESEL Long Term Condition Resources.

Here’s what the Library looks like…

In addition to the standard PA library resources, the Bitesize Learning section has over 180 engaging self-development short reads (~10 minutes) that can help you hone your skills, be it for personal development, or for support with some of the many hats you may wear at work.

The resources are sleek, easy to use, and offer a range of subject matter including:  Team Management, Problem Solving, Communication, and Health & Wellbeing (to name a few).

Just to be clear – these are not mandatory in any way, but are there for you to access in your free time, in case they can be helpful to you in your day to day life.

So, if you’re taking a break, why not expand your skillset or explore some positive psychology fundamentals while you swig that coffee or tea?  In the words of Albert Einstein… “Once you stop learning, you start dying” 😱!

Find them here: Penrose Academy Library

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Learning & Development Updates

Don’t forget, you can find out all about L&D at Penrose Health, including how to make a training request, on our Portal page: Learning & Development!

Upcoming PLT dates…

Lambeth

21 May 2025

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10 June 2025

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10 September 2025

Lewisham

14 May 2025

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26 June 2025

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11 September 2025

Southwark

17 April 2025

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15 May 2025

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19 June 2025

Blue Stream Academy

Well done everyone for the huge time effort in getting above 90%! Let’s see if we can get even higher. 🚀 

Upcoming training events

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If training falls within your normal working hours, please first agree with your Lead that you are able to attend, then submit a training request to our L&D Coordinator - the form is also on the Portal Homepage! 

Lunch & learn webinars

SELWDH lunch & learn webinars take place every Wednesday, from 1pm - 1:30pm!

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Past events & recordings

And finally, you can check out these past training events whenever you have the time…

South East London Cancer Alliance (SELCA) - Webinar series

CHILDS Framework - Past webinar recordings

CESEL Education - Training recordings

Guy’s Cancer Academy - Online learning events

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What’s new in the Penrose Portal?

Ask Aunty Portal…

We try to keep an eye on our communication channels, in the hopes of supporting staff when they have questions and making best use of the resources we have available.  It’s very likely that if one person has a question, others probably have the same question.

Here’s a question that we spotted this month…

Q. Do we have a policy on Fit to Fly notes?

A. Not a policy as such, but Fit to Fly notes, along with other document requests, are managed by the Medical Reports team. Patients can make a request using the form on the practice website.

See our Portal page: ​Medical Reports

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Significant Events Heads Up

“Change is the end result of all true learning.” — Leo Buscaglia

Below are recent Significant Events (SEs) and the lessons learned and / or procedures modified, to reduce the risk of them happening again… live and learn.

1️⃣ Out of date swabs in GPs room

Event: Out of date swabs were found in a GP’s room on Feb 14 2025 (expiry date was January 2025).

It is really important to ensure that stock in the clinical rooms is replenished regularly and up to date. It wastes valuable clinician time running around the surgery looking for things that should be in the examination room, especially when one is in a consultation with a patient!

✨ Learning points ✨

Weekly stock & supplies checks should be done by the nursing team.

  • If things are out of date or lacking → order necessary inventory (this includes vaccines).

  • If equipment is not working properly (or at all!) → inform the Lead Nurse (or Karan or Sarah if the lead nurse is not in at the time).

Portal page on Stock Checks & Ordering coming soon! 

2️⃣ Allergy not added to a patient's record

Event: A patient, new to the surgery, had a consultation with a paramedic, and as a result, the duty GP prescribed medication, unaware that the patient was allergic to it.

The patient had not attended their New Patient Health Check, so no allergies were recorded in the notes and no allergy code had come with the previous practice record. The paramedic had recorded no known drug allergies (NKDA) in the notes.

The patient raised a formal complaint of negligence, saying that he was not asked about allergies.

✨ Learning points ✨

  • Clinicians should always check allergy information at each clinical interaction. It may require asking the patient more than once, and possibly in different ways, as they may not quite get what you’re asking the first time around.

  • Ensure all allergy information is added to a patient’s record (it may even be worth noting that you asked the question and the patient’s response).

3️⃣ Near Needle Stick Injury

Event: Loose sharps were found in clinical waste bags at Surrey Docks Health Centre. A near-miss needle stick injury was reported. No harm occurred.

There was some confusion regarding who was responsible for this event (Surrey Docks or the Nexus Health Group, who operate within the same facility).

✨ Learning points ✨

  • The cleaner at the Surrey Docks location has been asked to keep the clinical waste for each company separate, to ensure traceability in future.

  • Sharps should never be disposed of in a plastic bag.

  • All staff should be trained and aware of waste procedures, from the point of generation to the point of final disposal.

See Portal pages for more information: Safe use and disposal of sharps and Waste management

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Beyond First Impressions

Self-styled scroll-aholic Shagufta shares with us…

Shagufta Sayyad

Shagufta has been a paramedic with Penrose Health for a little over 3 years. A thoroughly modern woman with roots set firmly in the traditions of her faith and family, Shagufta sees her hijab as a crown, a symbol of her strength and identity, while also being a loyal Marvel fan and always up for the stunts of Tom Cruise or the weird twists of Stranger Things!

The proud wife and mother of two, who was a clinician in India before coming to the UK, has a fascinating perception of the workings of British slang and how to match a hijab to an outfit. Our interest is piqued…

What's inspiring you in life right now? 

There are many things around me from which I draw inspiration, but at the moment, I’m particularly inspired by the milestone of completing five years in the UK. As I look ahead to applying for my ILR, I feel a sense of accomplishment and excitement for this next chapter. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come and motivates me to keep pushing forward toward my goals.

Sweet or savoury? 

I’ve got a sweet tooth—though, to be fair, I’ve got all 32 teeth for a reason! Why choose between sweet and savoury when I can have both? After all, pizza with pineapple and popcorn with chocolate shavings exist for a reason. Who says you can’t have it all?

What’s your favourite board game? 

Scrabble for sure. It’s the perfect blend of wordplay and strategy. There’s something incredibly satisfying about pulling off a big word and watching everyone else scramble to catch up. It’s a game that makes you think, however never stops being fun.

What’s your guilty pleasure? 

My guilty pleasures? Well, there are two.

First its shopping—I’m totally obsessed with pairing outfits with my hijab. Every time I step out, I cannot resist buying a new hijab. I’m the person who always says, 'I have nothing to wear- and at the same time moan about not having enough space because my closet is so full!

And then there’s the second guilt pleasure- I suffer from 'just one more reel' syndrome. I start scrolling and only realize that hours have passed by thinking I'll watch only one more reel.

Guess I’m just a shopaholic and scroll-a-holic—hahaha-no judgements pls

Where would we find you this weekend? 

With the sun shining, everyone’s probably heading out, but after two weeks of sun in India, I’ve had enough! This weekend, I’ll be at home, relaxing with my husband and watching Netflix. Perfect way to recharge!

What’s your favourite underground line and why? 

I never knew a favourite line even existed! But if you had to ask me, as an immigrant, I was pretty intrigued by the Bakerloo Line. It gave me serious Sherlock Holmes vibes—like I was about to stumble onto a mystery or spot Watson at any moment. It’s not my top pick, but I can’t deny, it has that cool Baker Street charm!

What’s one thing you had to learn the hard way? 

British slang almost gave me a heart attack when I first encountered it!

While working on the ambulance, I would say 'sharp prick' during blood glucose tests, and my colleagues would chuckle. I had no idea what was going wrong until someone finally explained it to me—awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it! 😅

I have a few more examples where patients mentioned things like a blood clot in their lungs or a tummy bug and I was clueless.

I have learnt brit slangs the hard way and it is still a work in progress

If you were not a Paramedic, what would you be doing? 

If I weren’t in the medical profession, I’d probably be off designing spaces—maybe as an interior decorator or architect. Even now, as I work in healthcare, my brain can’t help but wander the minute I step into a new place. I start thinking, "Hmm, how could this space be transformed?" It’s like I’m always planning a redesign in my head, whether it’s a living room or a café. Creativity just refuses to take a backseat!

Thanks so much, Shagufta, for this keen and fascinating insight. You raise some good points… why choose when you could have both? Brit slang - yeah, sometimes it’s bonkers! And you are totally right - creativity usually does refuse to take a back seat, but likely, it sits beside you in your role. ‘Thinking outside the box’ is a facet of a paramedic’s day, and we are lucky to have your spirit of innovation at Penrose Health.

Next time… GPs beware… we’d like to hear from one of you!

The Shout Out 📢 

Alex McDowell works tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure our surgeries have enough clinicians to meet our patients’ needs, daily. Constantly facing staffing challenges, he is never daunted and always has a solution to make our rotas work. Oh, and that’s not even taking into account all the work he does for hiring new staff… Thank you, Alex, for your resilience and tenacity. It helps our staff feel supported every day. 🙏

Best wishes to Dr Chinyere Ezewuzie on her new role as Lead GP at Deptford Surgery! Dr Ezewuzie has successfully led the Kingfisher team for the past three years, and is now extending her expertise and support to the Deptford team.

Dr Jonah Dearlove is now Lead GP at LMC! Dr Dearlove is a valued member of the LMC team, and we wish him the best of luck stepping in his new role. 🎉 

We think all of our employees are invaluable, but if you think a member of your team deserves a shout-out for something special they’ve done or achieved, let us know here.

Mindfulness (or mind-less-mess!)

Staff well-being is a key tenet of the Penrose Health ethos. In order for you to perform at your best, you need to feel ‘at your best’. Doing something that takes you to an oasis of calm can work wonders for your physical and mental health. So, we’re sharing some local activities and services that could help you reach that Zen inner peace. ☮️

  • Check out Cockpit’s open studios in Creekside, Deptford… ”from jewellery to homewares to ceramics to fashion accessories and more, discover an extraordinary world of making at Cockpit”. Plus, entry is half-price for Lewisham residents!

  • The Bermondsey Square Jazz Days are back for summer 2025. On the first Sunday of every month, from June to September, head to Bermondsey Square to listen to some jazz music. Best of all, it’s free!

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If you know of any activities or services available to our teams, let us know here so we can share it with everyone else!

We’re recruiting…

We’re currently recruiting for lots of different positions across the business… check out the Penrose Health Careers page to see all the open roles!

And don’t forget, you can get a bonus if you successfully refer someone you know! See our newly refreshed Portal page for more info: Referral Program

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