Work with us Our story so far…
Candidate Information Pack
Where we were
Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) opened on 27th May 1839. The opening of the RBH was mainly to cope with numerous casualties during the construction of the Great Western railway, which at the time was forging its way towards Reading.
The original hospital had 50 beds, and in the first five years 76 operations were performed - this was just prior to the discovery of anaesthesia (1846), and sterile surgery (1865).
New wards were added to the original building in 1846 and 1850, and two new wings were built in
1861, followed by a third in 1912. The building, which is now the Berkshire Cancer Centre, included
the King Edward VII Memorial Ward for children. Some nationally significant tiles in King Edward VII
ward are still present today.
During World War I, RBH remained a voluntary hospital, but also became a war hospital with more
beds. In 1915, because of a meningitis epidemic, marquees were put on the back lawn to increase
the bed numbers. Battle Hospital was designated as ‘War Hospital No. 1’.
In 1967, the Maternity Unit was added to the site and services moved from Battle Hospital. Traditional long wards were replaced with bays, a model of care repeated with the addition of South Block in the 1970's.
Early in the 21 st century, the two hospitals were consolidated; concluding with Battle Block in 2005. The old Battle Hospital closed in 2005, although the front gate house is listed and visible on the Oxford Road.
The opening of Craven Road’s Main Entrance in 2002 marked the beginning of the new RBH, offering a modern facility to the people of Reading.
RBH has had its share of famous patients in its time. Douglas Bader, the hospital's most famous historical patient, was treated at RBH following his disastrous flying accident at Woodley aerodrome in 1931. More recently, HRH Duchess of Cambridge was born here.
Many innovations have started life at RBH including the ‘Halo’ (used in dental surgery), and the Copeland shoulder replacement. Professor Harold Hopkins worked in conjunction with the hospital on the rod lens and fibre optics, in addition to the testing of the Laryngeal mask created by Archie Brain.
With thanks to the RBH medical museum and its wonderful volunteers (all retired RBH colleagues) who collect, exhibit and remember everything!
Now it's your turn to be part of our history…
Where we are now
The Trust touches the lives of over half a million patients every year, providing high quality acute medical and surgical services for our local communities. We offer services to over 1 million local residents across Berkshire including: • Acute medical services at RBH in Reading • Ophthalmology services at Prince Charles Eye Unit, Windsor • Dialysis services in Windsor • Day surgery and acute outpatient services at West Berkshire Community Hospital
• Cancer, renal and outpatient services in Bracknell • Outpatient services at Townlands Hospital, Henley. We are one of the largest employers in the local area with nearly 5,000 staff.
We became an NHS Foundation Trust in June 2006, and have been pleased with the freedom and responsibilities that this brings. We are empowered to shape our own direction for the future, working with members and staff to do this.
Despite some challenges, we have continued to progress our four simple aims:
• Best patient experience
• Best health outcome • Best value healthcare
• Best place to work, train and learn.
The Trust aims to provide the best patient care, and our successes include being named the fastest Trust in England and Wales for Primary Angioplasty, the treatment of heart attacks. We have also achieved ‘Centre of Excellence’ status for our stroke services.
Our most recent staff survey results were particularly pleasing, placing us in the top 20% of trusts nationally for staff engagement. We saw improvements in staff motivation and the staff recommending the Trust as a place to work, or receive treatment. We also saw an improvement in the percentage of staff who felt satisfied with the quality of work and patient care that they deliver.
Our recent developments include a new mobile chemotherapy unit, two new state of the art pharmacy robots, and fundraising successes that have seen us raise enough to keep Robbie the Robot at RBH. We have also progressed on a project to make our Elderly Care wards more ‘dementia friendly’.
With the publication of the Francis report, the Trust has examined all of the recommendations and a senior manager has been allocated to each recommendation to ensure that we are able to further improve our own services.
Who we are and what we do
We have nearly 5,000 staff, who work in three care groups (Planned, Urgent and Network) and corporate and estates and facilities functions. We also have a very active network of volunteers who support our patients, staff and services.
We have 607 acute, 44 paediatrics and 57 maternity post natal beds in addition to 204 day beds and spaces and an annual budget of £290 million.
All in a days work…
• 16 babies born • 74 emergency admissions • 270 patients seen in A&E
• 65 operations carried out
• 790 radiology procedures • 2,500 meals cooked
Where we want to go next
Our vision is to deliver the best healthcare for our patients and our community.
Our plans for the future include continued modernisation of our site to provide state-of-the-art facilities for our patients and staff.
We are likely to see a shift with a large number of outpatient attendances moving into the community as we harness new technology, and also improve the range of diagnostics at our community sites. As the future of services becomes clearer over the next few years, we will be working with our healthcare provider partners to promote the best outcome for patients.
Our integrated business plan sets out our rolling five year plan, and has been developed in consultation with staff and partner organisation.
We anticipate a growth in emergency attendances and non-elective admissions over the next five years. We are therefore looking to extend our theatre, endoscopy, ICU and emergency capacity as well as increasing the bed base overall. We are expecting to see a continued trend of increasing birth rates, and are therefore working to build capacity within our maternity services.
We plan to maximise the use of our community clinics by increasing the range and volume of service that we provide away from the main RBH site. Key to this will be ensuring that appropriate diagnostics are provided so that patients can have a one stop assessment, and do not have to travel to the RBH for several visits.
We hope that this has given you a good feel for our Trust, but if you have any questions please feel free to contact us, (Contact our recruitment department in the first instance on 0118 322 5353) or have a look on our website www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk .
Reading
Situated in the Royal County of Berkshire, Reading and its surrounding areas offer a wonderfully diverse and vibrant place to live and work, with easy access to London and the stunning southern counties of England thanks to the proximity of the M4, M3 and major rail links. Reading is a leading shopping destination and a hub for successful international companies at the heart of the Thames Valley. The town, which has a population of 235,000, has a proud history of welcoming people from across the globe. International staff often comment on its friendly, multicultural vibe and homely feel.
History and people
Reading is steeped in history: home to the ruins of Reading Abbey, a medieval monastery with strong royal connections, which provides a fascinating reminder of the town's past. The celebrated playwright Oscar Wilde was infamously imprisoned in the town where he wrote ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’. Author Jane Austen attended Reading Ladies’ Boarding School, while comedian, actor and director Ricky Gervais, was born and brought up in Reading.
Reading is a modern town which has expanded to meet the needs of the growing population with new housing, schools and a bustling town centre with restaurants, bars, a cinema and a theatre as well as the university and a growing college population. The picturesque historical elements of the town remain, offering beautiful architecture most of which is protected for future prosperity. There is a plethora of excellent public and private schools in the area to offer great choice to families who want to settle in Reading.
What you need to know before you apply for a post with us
Suitability for the post
Please ensure that you have fully read the job description and person specification for the post and ensure that you have the suitable skills and qualifications to be able to undertake the role.
Work status
Please ensure that you have the correct work status . We are obliged to check your work status of all applicants prior to you starting work and on an ann ual basis for non EU and EEA candidates.
Referencing
For anyone to take up a role we will require profes sional references that cover three years of employment. Please ensure when you complete your form that you provide appropriate references and up to date contact information. Significant delays in start dates are caused by us not being able to access references in a timely manner.
Criminal record
The organisation is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2013 which means that we have to check criminal records for some roles within the organisation through the Disclosure and Barring Service. If you have a criminal record, including cautions / warnings / reprimands of any age, please declare them at the earliest opportunity as discovery of a criminal record that has not been disclosed during the recruitment process could result in the offer being withdrawn.
Health
Please ensure that you are familiar with the physic al / mental requirements of the post and assure yourself that you are able to perform well in the role (with adjustments if required). We have an in- house occupational health service which assesses the health requirements of the role in advance of a final offer being made.