Inside this issue…
Recognition Awards 1 News from PaLS 2-3 Employee EngagementWorkshop 4 HSC Leadership Centre Courses 5 National Fraud Initiative 6 New Programme Success 7 Walk to School Month 8
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
BSO Recognition Awards 2014
On Thursday September 25th, BSO held its third annual Recognition
Awards event at The MAC in Belfast. Numerous nominations had
been received from across the whole organisation and at the event
awards were presented to staff members and groups.
Further information on the event will be provided in a
special edition of BSO Business Matters in October
.
BSO Business Matters May 2014 Page 2
News From PaLS
CIPS Supply Management Awards 2014
BSO PaLS were recently shortlisted as finalists in the Best Public Procurement Project category of the
Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) Supply Management Awards 2014 held in London
on 11th September. These awards attract high quality entries from both the private and public sector
across the UK and are recognised as the most prestigious accolade in the procurement industry. This
year the awards succeeded in bringing together a record attendance of top talent to celebrate
excellence in procurement and supply management.
Our entry was for a regional contract awarded on behalf of HSCB for the Supply of Home Oxygen
Services. This contract has delivered significant environmental benefits, lowered costs and improved
service delivery for approximately 2,500 patients receiving the Home Oxygen service. The PaLS entry
was the only Northern Ireland entry shortlisted and one of only 3 entries from health UK-wide to be
shortlisted.
Unfortunately, on the night we didn’t win our category, however being shortlisted represents peer
recognition of our procurement work and the contribution it makes to health and social care in Northern
Ireland.
Pictured at the awards are Deirdre Quinn, Pharmaceutical Services Lead, HSCB; Rodney Smyth, Procurement Manager, PaLS; Peter Wilson, Assistant Director, PaLS; Sam Blackley, Head of Clinical Procurement, PaLS.
BSO Business Matters May 2014 Page 3
Jane Ross, Procurement Team Leader, BSO PaLS Ballymena, and her beautiful daughter, Isobella (Izzy) Agnes Ross, who was born in July.
Carrie Empey, Assistant Procurement Officer, BSO PaLS Bal-lymena, and her beautiful daughter Kenedi Rose, who was born in August.
News From PaLS (Contd.)
Forthcoming Board Meeting
The next meeting of the BSO Board will take place on
Thursday 30 October at 2:00pm in the Boardroom, BSO, Franklin
Street.
If you would like any further information or details of the agenda, please
contact Amanda Mills in the Chief Executive’s Office.
Tel
: (028) 9536 3863
BSO Business Matters May 2014 Page 4
Our Approach-At the workshop we will ask staff who will be randomly selected across BSO to discuss their experiences in work – the successes and the challenges. We also want staff attending to share some practical ideas about how we can improve.
The BSO Employee Engagement Workshop is also an opportunity to meet with colleagues and share experiences.
The practical improvement ideas generated by staff at the workshop will be collated and presented to SMT for consideration and will be housed under MacLeod’s four pillars of Sustainable Employee
Engagement, which the MacLeod report referred to as the ‘keyengagement enablers’ .
Contact [email protected] if you have any questions about the workshop.
Better employee engagement means better overall performance
BSO Employee Engagement
Workshop
13 November 2014, 9.30am to 1pm,
Belfast Central Mission, Belfast.
BSO Business Matters May 2014 Page 5
Book your place now!
Coaching Skills for All Line Managers
5
thNovember
Developing Job Descriptions
JD’s for Bands 2 to 5 – 8
thOct 2pm to 4.30pm & 13
thOct 2pm to 4.30pm
JD’s for Bands 6 and above - 13 Oct 10am – 12.30pm & 15 Oct 2pm – 4.30pm
Recruitment and Selection Training
17
thOctober, 25
thNovember, 12
thJanuary 15, 26
thFebruary 15
Corporate Induction, HRPTS ESS & MSS Training
6
thOctober, 3
rdNovember, 1
stDecember
Information Governance (90 mins)
3
rdOct – PaLS staff, Boucher - 2 Sessions – 10am-12pm & 2pm-4pm
10
thOct – Pensions Staff – Waterside House Derry – 1pm-3pm
17
thOct – Finance Staff, Tyrone & Ferm. Hosp. - 2 Sessions – 10am-12pm & 2pm-4pm
31
stOct – BSO Franklin street - 2 Sessions – 10am-12pm & 2pm-4pm
7
th& 21
stNov, - BSO Franklin street - 2 Sessions – 10am-12pm & 2pm-4pm
28
thNov – Gransha Park House – 1 Session
Customer Care
10
thOctober, 14
thNovember
Pension Reform Information Sessions
16
thOctober – Boardroom, BSO Franklin Street - 10.30am – 12pm and 1.00pm -2.30pm
10
thNovember - Boardroom, BSO Franklin Street - 10.30am -12pm
How to Book?
All courses above can be booked via the HRPTS Portal. Click
here
for a guide. (Tip: Go to ESS>Appraisals, Learning and Development>Learning
Portal>Course Catalogue>BSO>Type in Course Name into ‘Find’ search)
Help and Support
For further information and/or any general enquiries please
contact
[email protected]
or phone
02895 362144
BSO Business Matters May 2014 Page 6
National Fraud Initiative 2014/15
(NFI)
BSO is required to protect the public funds it administers. We may share
information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing or
administering public funds in order to prevent and detect fraud.
The Comptroller and Auditor General currently requires BSO to participate in his anti-fraud initiative.
For this initiative, we are providing details of pensions, payroll and trader payments so that they can
be compared to information provided by other public bodies.
The NFI is an important counter-fraud tool and runs every two years. The key outcomes of the
previous Initiative (below) speak for themselves:
From 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2014
Housing benefit fraud and overpayments amounted to over £1.6 million, with a number of
suc-cessful prosecutions.
Suspected fraud, error and overpayment in relation to pension payments amounted to over £3.3
million.
Over 60 cases of rates evasion were identified leading to outcomes of over £350,000.
Duplicate and erroneous payments to suppliers amounted to just over £100,000.
Over 5,000 matches between blue badge holders and death records, now cancelled and almost
9,800 matches between concessionary travel pass holders and death records, now cancelled.
Further information on NFI is available on the BSO
website using the following link: http://
www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/services/2090.htm
or
by
contacting BSO’s NFI Key Contact –
Janine Watterson,
Financial Governance and Audit Officer, 028 9536
3721
BSO Business Matters May 2014 Page 7
HSC Leadership Centre:
New Programme Success
In July 2014 the HSC Leadership Centre piloted a new half-day programme called ‘Competency Based
Interview Skills’ in response to demand from clients for support in relation to interviews.
The aim of this course is:
To develop skills and confidence around the competency-based interview method of selection;
To prepare participants for an upcoming competency-based interview.
This covers:
Career self-reflection;
The Application Form;
The Competency-Based Interview format;
How to prepare for a Competency-Based Interview;
Structuring answers for a Competency-Based Interview;
Competency-Based Interview practice.
The spaces on this pilot were filled within days of its launch and the programme has gone on to be so
successful that the HSC Leadership Centre is offering two courses a month until Christmas - all of
which are quickly filling.
Building on this, the HSC Leadership Centre is exploring additional support which can be offered to
applicants as well as recruiting organisations in relation to selection processes.
www.leadership.hscni.net [email protected]
028 9064 4811
@HSC_LeadershipC
BSO Business Matters May 2014 Page 8
Little steps to better
health during
International Walk to
School Month
October is International Walk to School Month and the Public Health Agency (PHA) is encouraging parents in Northern Ireland to do the school run on foot and start to feel the benefits for both them and their children. Statistics from the charity Living Streets show that in the UK 81% of parents with primary school children walked to school when they were younger, but today only 47% of their children walk to school.
Colette Brolly, the PHA lead on physical activity, explained: “It’s important that children are introduced to a culture of being active from an early age as it is something that will stay with them and benefit them throughout their lives.
“The great thing about walking is that it is simple and easy to do. It’s something that can be built in to your everyday routine and there’s no better way to get started than walking to school with your kids.
“International Walk to School Month gives us all the opportunity to get active and it’s not something that’s just for kids. Make this a family experience and walk with your children to school. It won’t feel like exercise at all and you and your children will get to spend that special time together, as well as becoming more active.” Being physically active is really important for children. It helps to build strong bones, muscles and a healthy heart and helps develop social skills and encourages a sense of wellbeing. Children over the age of five years need to take part in moderate to vigorous intensity activities for at least 60 minutes, and up to several hours, every day. This can be broken up into small chunks of at least 10 minutes throughout the day – it all adds up. Supporting the PHA’s message during International Walk to School Month, Sean Merrick, Principal of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Belfast, said: “Like many schools, Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School has to deal with a significant volume of traffic in the morning and afternoon as parents drop off and/or collect their children.
“Many of our children live within walking distance and it is good to see large numbers regularly walking to school. We have found that children who walk to school appear more alert in their classrooms. The children recognise that it is a sociable way for both themselves and their parents to improve their health and fitness while at the same time having a positive impact on the environment.
“Children who walk to school from a young age can learn about road safety and become aware of the benefits for themselves as individuals and for the environment as a whole.
“Encouraging more children to walk to school safely is a positive initiative that we promote in Our Lady of Lourdes and which we believe should be supported by all parents.”
For adults, walking at a brisk pace can make you feel good and reduce anxiety, can help you sleep better, and reduces blood pressure, and with 69% of men and 57% of women being overweight or obese in Northern Ireland, walking to school with your children can also help you manage your weight.
For further information on the benefits of walking and tips and hints to get started visit www.getalifegetactive.com
