STAFF MAGAZINE – “SLAINTE” NHS WESTERN ISLES The Staff Magazine (Slainte) is the organisation’s preferred method for communicating a wide range of information to staff. Slainte was named as Scottish Staff Magazine of the year in For further information please contact

“SLAINTHE” – NHS WESTERN ISLES STAFF MAGAZINE Research strongly suggests that levels of satisfaction and wellbeing among NHS staff have a direct impact on patients’ experiences of healthcare. One of the ways NHS Western Isles invests in staff wellbeing is through the provision of a high-quality staff magazine to promote effective communication, share best practice and celebrate achievements. Investing time and resources into a publication to improve staff wellbeing is therefore not only important for staff, but is also linked to the quality of care we provide to our patients. Slàinte Staff Magazine was launched in March 2007 as a 38 page quarterly magazine, printed in-house, with the aim of ensuring that staff are kept well informed, in line with the Staff Governance Standard. The Editorial Team membership has evolved since the launch of the publication, to include staff members from different disciplines across the Western Isles, so that each area is represented. Slàinte is now printed externally so that the professional glossy finish reflects the high quality content, demonstrating that staff are valued. The magazine has grown in both popularity and content, with the largest issue to date featuring 72 pages, the majority of which is content submitted by staff members, celebrating collective and individual achievements and developments. Slàinte has gone on to win a (Professional Publishers Association) Scottish Internal Magazine of the Year Award in 2013, and has been shortlisted for the Internal Magazine of the Year Award in 2009, 2011 and most recently this year (2014), with the winner yet to be announced.

DESIGN & CONTENT In terms of design, care is taken to ensure the magazine is bright, full of local photographs and attractive to readers, to ensure they are drawn at a glance to items that may be of interest to them. There is always a combination of short articles, advertisement-type pieces and long features, so that people can either refer to the magazine in a hurry, or take it home/sit with it on their tea-break to read at their leisure. With regard to content, Slàinte is packed full of contributed photographs and articles (so that staff have ownership of the publication), and (most importantly) full of staff and organisational successes and achievements to boost morale. Mixed with more light-hearted content, Slàinte also contains important strategic and corporate information that NHS Western Isles needs to communicate to its staff. A recently added regular feature, ‘Thanks a Million’, gives staff (and patients) the chance to publicly thank colleagues if they have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and is already proving popular. Also recently introduced is a regular feature to celebrate long service, which staff are already keen to contribute to.

IMPROVED COMMUNICATION NHS Western Isles employs over 1,000 staff located across a remote and rural area. This presents both geographical and communication challenges, both of which could potentially lead to feelings of isolation and affect morale. By ensuring Slàinte is accessible to all and includes news and updates from each geographical area, we hope to reduce any potential geographical isolation. Staff feedback speaks for itself in terms of appreciation for the publication: “'Slàinte' has changed the hew of the organisation, encouraging people to feel part of a working community with clear purpose and direction, to share in and recognise achievements, new innovation and high standards...Not only has it transformed the communications of the organisation but positively impacts on staff moral and involvement cannot be over stated.” “Slàinte magazine is a great way to celebrate the achievements of the Board, and to make staff feel valued and recognised for hard work...staff throughout all the different locations and professions are united in their interest in the magazine...I think it is an essential tool for staff communications and morale!” Slàinte is also highly valued by members of the wider community, with over 1,600 online downloads of each of the most recent issues. Slàinte has therefore not only broken down internal communication barriers, but has brought the organisation more into the heart of the local community it serves, making it more accessible and friendly to patients.