Cascade Summer/Autumn 2012 - Plymouth Hospitals

cascade_summer_2012_1.5:Cascade_Winter_2011 23/10/2012 13:46 Page 1 

The magazine for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust staff 

Summer/ 

Autumn 

2012


2 

Welcome to the Summer/Autumn edition of Cascade 

The biggest edition of Cascade ever! 

It’s been a fantastic privilege to put this edition of Cascade together, 28 pages 

absolutely bursting at the seams with news from across the Trust. From the cover 

photo of the team at the Royal Eye Infirmary through to the pages of 

achievements and awards and on to news of overseas trips by members of staff. It 

never fails to amaze just how much happens in this organisation - and what goes 

into Cascade is only the tip of the iceberg! 

If you have an idea for a future article or feature then please get in touch, Cascade 

is written by, about and for you. If you’re celebrating an achievement or event in 

your area or saying goodbye to a much-loved colleague we’d love to hear about it. 

Finally, before I sign off, I’d like to say thank you to Steve Slater and everyone at the Royal Eye 

Infirmary for this edition’s cover photo. Those who weren’t able to attend on the day have been 

skilfully added into the photo - can you tell who they are? You can read more about Steve in The Big 

Interview on page 20. 

I look forward to hearing from you, enjoy the read. 

Kim Cazaly, 

Editor 

To contact the Press and Communications team call 0845 155 8207 (internally 31240, 31149, or 

39883) or via email pressoffice.phnt@nhs.net 

www.facebook.com/PlymouthHospitalsNHSTrust 

@PHNT_NHS 

To contact the Press and Communications team call 0845 155 8207 (internally 31240, 31149, or 

39883) or via email pressoffice.phnt@nhs.net 

In this edition... 

Welcome 

News from around the Trust... page 2 

Staff fundraising... page 13 

Awards and achievements... page 14 

The big interview ... page 20 

Secret lives... page 21 

Our Olympic Champions... page 22 

Jubilicious... page 24 

Retirements and goodbyes... page 25 

PHNT around the world... page 26 

Staff lottery... page 27


3News from around the Trust 

Level 4 Theatres Staff Room 

Back in May, members of the theatres team were 

delighted to show Trust Chair Margaret Schwarz around 

their staff room which has undergone a complete 

transformation thanks to monies from the Charitable 

Trust Fund. 

Philip Emerson from the Planning Department joined 

Kay Adin and Cindy McConnachie as they showed off 

the new facilities. Having taken in the now light, airy 

and comfortable rooms, Margaret said:” I’m really 

pleased that Kay took the initiative and that the 

charitable funds were able to help with the refurbishment. This is a Before... 

complete turnaround which I hope meets with the approval of staff who use the 

facilities.” 

Kay said: “Staff have been overwhelmingly delighted with it, the area has been 

completely transformed and gives us a really pleasant space where we can 

come and have a proper break during the day. If we hadn’t been able to access 

the charitable trust funds then this transformation wouldn’t have been possible.” 

Philip Emerson added: “It was a real pleasure to work on this project, they were a fantastic team to work 

with, their enthusiasm and cooperation ensured that everything ran like clockwork. The feedback has 

been fantastic and I believe that we have given the staff who use this area a real boost. We put a lot of 

time and resources into improving the patient facilities, and rightly so, but sometimes we forget about the 

staff who work in these areas and it 

was great to do 

something that 

improves the 

working 

conditions for 

our colleagues.” 

After... 

L-R: Kay Adin, Phil 

Emerson, Margaret 

Schwarz and Cindy 

McConnachie 

Mayday Mayday 

The work of a Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 

Neurosurgeon was celebrated at the Drum Theatre in 

Plymouth in early June. Actor Tristan Sturrock, who was 

paralysed in an accident, has written a play to thank the 

medical teams at Derriford Hospital who helped him 

learn to walk again. 

In May 2004 Tristan Sturrock fell 10 feet off a wall as he took a phone call during the May Day 

celebrations in Padstow, breaking his neck. Mr Sturrock underwent major spinal surgery and months of 

physiotherapy at Derriford Hospital and made an incredible recovery. 

In Mayday Mayday, Tristan performs around 20 roles, including himself, his wife, paramedics and 

neurosurgeon Tim Germon. 

Consultant Neurosurgeon Mr Germon, who had seen an earlier version of the play, said: "It is a great 

privilege to do a job which can occasionally profoundly influence a patient's life. At the same time, it 

occurred to me that whilst I was in the limelight it was only because of a very large team of dedicated 

people who made the performance possible and in that regard it was very similar to the theatrical 

performance itself."


4 

Hospital Officially Becomes the Peninsula Major Trauma Centre 

On Monday 2 April 2012 Derriford Hospital officially became the 

Peninsula Trauma Centre. 

This move is part of a new region-wide system in the south 

west, consisting of two trauma care networks, each with a major 

trauma centre at the heart of the network and supported by the 

ambulance and air ambulances services, trauma units, local 

acute hospitals, specialist rehabilitation and many other 

associated healthcare professionals. It is estimated that this new 

system could save several lives per year in the west country 

alone. 

The two adult major trauma centres in the west country are the 

Peninsula Trauma Centre at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and 

Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. The children’s major trauma centre 

will be at the Frenchay Hospital, although life-saving facilities for 

children are available at Derriford Hospital and throughout the 

region. 

What is major trauma? 

Major trauma is defined as serious 

injuries which threaten life including: 

• major head injuries; 

• multiple injuries, both internal and 

external; 

• spinal injury, which could lead to 

paralysis; 

• severe knife and gunshot wounds; 

• above the knee amputation. 

Patients with major trauma are those 

with serious, multiple injuries that require 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week 

emergency access to a wide range of 

clinical services and specialist staff. 

Dr Elfyn Thomas, Clinical Lead for Major Trauma and Consultant 

In Intensive Care Medicine at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust said: “One of the biggest benefits of this 

new system is that severely injured patients will, wherever possible, be transferred directly to the major 

trauma centre for care, as we have everything they need all on our site, including trauma specialists, 

neurosurgery, cardiothoracics, intensive care and radiology. 

News from around the Trust 

“By becoming the major trauma centre we can work with our colleagues throughout the peninsula to 

ensure that all trauma patients receive the highest quality care, which can often make the difference 

between life and death.” 

Dr Iain Grant, Network Lead for Major Trauma, added: “Independent data from the Trauma Audit and 

Research Network (TARN) shows that Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust is currently one of the top 10 

performing major trauma centres in England. For every 100 severely injured patients, an extra two and a 

half will survive in Devon and Cornwall because of the expertise and facilities available. Derriford 

Hospital and the local commissioners are currently looking at various schemes to enhance trauma care 

within both the Trust and the Network.” 

A map showing the new trauma centre network



Peninsula Trauma Rehabilitation Prescription 

A key component and requirement for the Major Trauma Centre is for all patients to be discharged with a 

Rehabilitation Prescription to ensure 

patients receive the rehabilitation they 

need. 

The Trust has now been using this 

prescription for two months. At the end of 

April our Major Trauma Centre had the 

highest successful completion of the 

Rehabilitation Prescription - a huge 

achievement. This has been delivered by 

some really dedicated staff. Jude 

Fewings has co-ordinated and led the 

project for the Trust and has developed a 

professional document which has 

received favourable comments nationally. 

It could not have been done without the 

enormous assistance of the Trauma 

Nurse Co-ordinators Gemma Westran, 

Sharon Warne and Matthew Rawlins, who in 

the early days helped to firmly embed the 

new process and Julian Shafee the Trauma 

Network co-ordinator for helping with the 

many, many tweaks to the paper work. 

Back row L - R: Elfyn Thomas, Consultant; Sarah Godfree, 

Occupational Therapist; Katy Law, Physiotherapist; Jen 

Kingman, Speech and Language Therapist; Katie Ferns, 

Occupational Therapist 

Front row L - R: 

Emma McCulloch, Occupational Therapist; Matt Rawlins - 

Trauma Nurse Co-ordinator; Jude Fewings, Consultant 

Physiotherapist; Sharon Warne, Trauma Nurse Co-ordinator 

The development and the delivery of the 

prescription are down to our Allied Health Professionals on the wards. The bulk of the day to day 

completion falls to our physiotherapists, but everyone, Occupational Therapy, Nutrition and Dietetics and 

Speech and Language Therapy, are involved in the rehabilitation prescription and are sharing the 

responsibility for delivering completed prescriptions for our patients. 

Rehabilitation Prescriptions will need to be completed for patients on every transfer of their care in the 

future and so work will now start with the Trauma Units and our community colleagues to develop 

documentation fit for every stage of the patient’s journey. We are also keen for the nursing transfer 

documentation to be included with it so that the documentation identifies all of our patients needs on 

transfer. 

Unwanted motorcycle leathers, 

jackets or boots needed! 

The Peninsula Trauma Network is providing dedicated additional training to its trauma teams. 

They use the latest electronic mannequins to train but these need appropriate clothing. 

Motorcycle clothes will often need to be cut off and so they need to learn how to do this quickly 

and efficiently. 

If you can donate any of the above old clothing please contact 

Julian Shafee, Trauma Network Co-ordinator 

on 01752 437653 or julian.shafee@nhs.net


6 

Visual Identity Launched 

Last summer, a working group of interested staff, patient representatives from the Plymouth Local 

Improvement Network (LINk) and Governors worked with the Communications Team on creating a new 

visual identity (image and strapline) for the Trust. The strapline is built from our existing values, vision 

and patient promises and the aim was to create a visual that was clearly identifiable as Plymouth and 

healthcare. 

The Senior Management Team chose two of the four options put forward by the Working Group to put 

forward to a vote by all staff. We received 1,130 votes or comments from staff and key stakeholders 

and the below branding won by popular demand. 

Templates for Trust documents and user guidelines are now available on Healthnet, 

http://nww.picts.nhs.uk/PHNetLive/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=92. 

Please familiarise yourself with the guidelines before using the 

templates, it is essential that the visual is 

used consistently to retain the professional 

feel with which it has been put together. 

If you have any questions about the 

templates or how to use the imagery 

please contact the Press and 

Communications Team - 

pressoffice.phnt@nhs.net 


Arise Sir Andrew 

Sir Andrew Hill KCIOM, Dip CII has been bestowed with the 

Rank of Knight Commander of the Illustrious Order of Merit by 

H.R.H. Prince Leonard of the Principality of Hutt River, Western 

Australia. 

Andrew was nominated for his voluntary work with Hospital 

Radio Plymouth. Andrew joined this charity as a 16-year-old 

school boy in 1983 and has volunteered continuously for it for 29 

years. During that time he has won both internal and national 

awards for this work. He is well known for his commitment to 

visiting patients at their bedsides and engendering their interest 

in his shows before they go to air and getting them to choose 

songs or to have audio clips included in the shows from the 

patients and/or their families. 

The Principality of Hutt River is a micro-nation in Western Australia called which came into existence in 

1970 and has operated under its own rule for the past 42 years.



Non-medical 

Prescribing: A Definite 

Change for the Better 

by Jonathan Palmer 

Over the past 20 years or so 

there have been massive 

changes to the way we manage 

the patient’s journey as they 

move along their disease 

trajectory. Indeed the way we 

work today would in many ways 

be completely ‘alien’ to a time 

travelling health professional from 

the late 80’s or early 90’s. Take 

for instance the issue of 

prescribing; prior to 1992 the only people 

who could legally prescribe in the UK were 

doctors, veterinary surgeons and dentists. 

Jonathon Palmer and some of the non-medical prescribing team 

The first changes to this prescribing ‘monopoly’ occurred in the early and mid 1990s when district nurses 

and health visitors were authorised to prescribe a very limited number of medicines from the Community 

Practitioners Formulary. Since the mid 2000s and increasingly over the past few years there are a 

number of Registered Health Professionals who can legally prescribe a wide range of drugs in an almost 

identical way to their medical colleagues. There are now in the region of 25 non-medical prescribers 

working within Plymouth Hospitals. The majority are nurses with a small but increasing number of 

pharmacists. Non-medical prescribers will have completed a year-long degree level course and work in 

amongst others paediatrics, neonatology, pain management, palliative care and thoracic medicine. Nonmedical 

prescribers can “prescribe timely, effective treatments for patients with specialist health needs”. 

This obviously benefits patients and the organisation. As well as providing more rapid access to 

medicines, non-medical prescribing has been shown to facilitate “more flexible patient orientated care”, 

“time savings” and “improved service efficiency”. Over the next few years as more training takes place 

there will be a growing number of non-medical prescribers both locally and across the NHS as whole. In 

the meantime further changes to legislation will enable physiotherapists and podiatrists to take on this 

exciting role. 

You can find out more about non-medical prescribing and its role with the NHS at: 

http://www.npc.nhs.uk/non_medical/ 

A Big Thank You to Amanda and Sarah 

Colin Putt from the Specialist Engineering Workshop in 

MEMS got in touch with Cascade recently... 

“I work in the Specialist Engineering workshop in MEMS, I 

am also the Officer in Charge of Plymouth Young Offenders 

Attendance Centre and recently staff from Derriford have 

delivered two excellent sessions at our centre on a 

Saturday. Amanda Clements delivered a superb session on 

drugs and alcohol and the effects on the body, this was a 

very important session because a lot of our attendees have 

issues relating to substance abuse. 

This session was followed two weeks later with a talk on 

resuscitation and emergency treatment delivered by Sarah 

Dormor. Both of these sessions were professionally 

delivered by these two dedicated and obviously committed 

staff to a, what most people consider a difficult target group. 

“The feedback from the young people, BRILLIANT. Thank 

you once again to Amanda and Sarah.” 

HCA Nicola Orme found the perfect 

way to keep warm - thanks to a 

considerate firefighter - during a recent 

fire alarm at the Royal Eye Infirmary!


8 

Welcome to Our New Board Members 

Over the summer the Trust has welcomed some new members to the Trust Board, including our new 

Chairman Richard Crompton and Chief Executive Ann James. Here we meet the new recruits: 

Richard Crompton, 

Chairman: 

Richard was appointed to 

serve as a non-executive 

Chairman of Plymouth 

Hospitals NHS Trust from 

1 August 2012. A police 

officer for more than 30 

years before he retired as 

Chief Constable of 

Lincolnshire Police, 

Richard returned to his 

home county to take up 

the position of Chair this summer. 

Talking about his appointment, Richard said: “I am 

tremendously excited to be taking up the role of 

Chairman for the Hospital Trust. I consider it to be an 

honour to be given this opportunity and I will commit 

myself to helping to ensure that excellent health 

services are provided to the people of Plymouth and 

the surrounding areas. I look forward to working with 

the staff, Board members, shadow governors, patients, 

members and key partners to do this.” 

Ann James, Chief 

Executive: 

Ann, formerly Chief 

Executive for the 

cluster of NHS Devon, 

Plymouth and Torbay 

was appointed to the 

Chief Executive role 

following an interview 

process which 

spanned two days and 

involved staff, 

governors-in-waiting 

and key partners from 

the local authority and local health community. 

Ann said: “I am delighted to be taking on this role, it is 

a great privilege to lead Plymouth Hospitals. This is a 

very important role which I will serve with the highest 

integrity and commitment. I am delighted that I can 

continue to make a very positive contribution to the 

NHS in this area and I look forward to working with 

many colleagues, both inside the Trust and in the 

wider community, in my new role.” 


New Non-executive Directors 

Professor Terence Lewis 

Professor Lewis was formerly a 

caradiothoracic surgeon with 

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 

and led the establishment of the 

South West Cardiothoracic 

Centre. He was later appointed 

as medical director, a position 

he held for seven years with the 

Trust before retiring in 2008. 

Amongst other roles Professor 

Lewis is also a a Governor with 

Plymouth University and is Chair 

of the Plymouth University 

School Medical Board. 

Dr Michael Williams 

Dr Williams was a Chief 

Executive with Taunton and 

Somerset NHS Trust, North 

Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust 

Partnership and Oxford Radcliffe 

Hospitals before retiring in 2008. 

He is a Senior Research fellow 

with the University of Exeter 

Business School and has a PhD 

in organisational factors 

influencing patient safety. Earlier 

in his career, Dr Williams worked 

as a Director with the Royal 

Devon and Exeter Hospital. 

Elizabeth Raikes 

A chartered accountant by 

profession, Mrs Raikes has 

been a Chief Executive in the 

public sector for 12 years and is 

currently Chief Executive of 

Torbay Council. Torbay has an 

integrated health and social care 

system and Mrs Raikes has 

considerable experience of 

close and successful partnership 

working with commissioners, 

community health and social 

care colleagues and the acute 

sector in Torbay.



Collaborative Research Conference 2012 

Collaborative research for the benefit of patients and health services was the main focus of a conference 

held recently, organised by the Research and Development Department. The conference, entitled 

Collaborative Research – from Ideas to 

Implementation, was held at the Derriford 

Postgraduate Medical Centre on Friday 14 

September 2012 and was the second of its 

type hosted by the Trust following on from 

the success of last year’s event. Around 

200 delegates had the opportunity to listen 

to speakers invited from health and 

academic institutions in the south west. 

Dr Helen Neilens, Research Advisor for 

PHNT, said: “We recognise that 

collaboration is key when undertaking 

valuable health research and we are in the 

extremely fortunate position of having 

talented researchers in the south west who 

are dedicated in working together and 

conducting research for the benefit of all NHS 

patients. High quality health research requires 

input from healthcare providers, academia 

and industry. With this in mind, we invited 

speakers who represent all these areas. 

Professor Matthew Cramp; Professor Neil Avent, Head of 

School of Biomedicine and Biological Sciences, Plymouth 

University ; Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor, 

Plymouth University;Ms Helen Quinn, Senior Manager; 

Professor Simon Rule, Associate Director of R&D; James 

Brook, Director, Prime Sites, Quintiles 

“The diversity of the speakers and delegates reflected the variety of health research being conducted in 

the south west and demonstrated the many opportunities for future projects that can be collaborated on.” 

New E-learning Toolkit for Nurses Caring for Patients with Liver Disease 

by Amanda Clements 

As Chair of the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) 

Nurses Forum, I am the chief editor involved in developing an e-learning 

toolkit designed to offer opportunities for hospital and community nurses 

who are involved in caring for patients with liver disease. This provides 

access to evidence-based information and resources about liver wellbeing 

and disease. The toolkit makes the use of the latest e-learning 

techniques to deliver information in an interactive and user-friendly 

format. The toolkit aims to help nurses share good practice and apply 

learning to nursing practice through case studies and reflective activities. 

The content has been developed under the guidance of an editorial panel 

of senior liver disease nurses lead by me, with input from the British Liver 

Trust. The development of the toolkits was made possible by an 

unrestricted educational grant from MSD. 

Whenever and wherever I can in my role as a Nurse consultant in Hepatology, I take every opportunity to 

raise awareness of liver disease and share good practice in order to provide the highest quality of care 

of patients and their families affected by liver disease. This is increasingly important as the prevalence of 

liver disease is growing and is now the fifth most common cause of death in the U.K. This toolkit 

provides an invaluable and accessible educational resource to support the knowledge necessary to 

develop the clinical competencies that are required for Hepatology nursing. 

Sarah Wise of the British Liver Trust said, ““From a patient’s perspective, we wholeheartedly welcome a 

tool such as this to aid the education of nurses looking to increase their understanding of liver conditions. 

The problems associated with the liver are broad however the majority of liver damage can be prevented 

through appropriate interventions and lifestyle advice. This tool encompasses solutions and information 

to help nurses make the right decisions for their liver patients.”


10 

Exercise Bolivian Venture 

by LNN P McColgan 

I have recently returned from a three week Defence Medical 

Services (DMS) mountaineering expedition to Bolivia. The 

purpose of the expedition was to carry out research into changes 

in natriuretic hormones at high altitude, specifically how B-Type 

Natriuretic Peptide (BNP), Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated 

Lipocalin (NGAL), copeptin, vasopressin, catecholamines, 

aldosterone, Cortisol and Total Body Water at High Altitude relate 

to, and potentially predict, Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). 

The research was conducted by two groups of approximately 25 

DMS personnel climbing peaks up to and over 6000m in the 

Cordillera Real range of the Bolivian Andes. Data including basic 

observations, blood, urine, saliva, weight and echocardiograms 

were taken at 3400, 4500 and 5200m. In total 2500 blood, 300 urine 

and 600 saliva samples were taken and are back in the freezer at 

Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary. While over 200 

echocardiograms were gathered at various altitudes. 49 out of the 

50 participants made it to the top of Pata Patani (5500m), via a 

new route, while 26 made it to the top of Chacochamani (6040m) 

probably the first 26 non Bolivian ascents from the west side of the 

mountain. We climbed two unclimbed rocky summits around 

5200m closer to base camp, explored to high on an unclimbed 

peak further up the valley and a couple of the more experienced 

climbers made the first ascents of the east and west peaks of 

Jackosire a previously unclimbed peak. 

The final climb on Pata Patani 


To gather the research and conduct the climbing we spent twelve 

days in the mountains setting up camps at various altitudes. The 

main camp at 4800m came with a group of inquisitive Lama’s and 

its very own glacial stream/outdoor bathing facilities. With the sun 

setting at approximately 1900 and the night time temperature of -5 

to -20 little was done after dark apart from sleep. The days always 

brought a new route to explore and breathtaking scenery to be seen. 

On a daily basis we were reminded that it was not a holiday. The majority of the 

time this was by Surgeon Commander Mellor (research lead), but the altitude and 

local food also took their toll with the majority suffering from AMS with varying 

degrees of severity. One of the group developed pulmonary oedema however this 

was treated and he continued on with the expedition. I myself had a two day period 

of illness and can assure you that O2 sats of 81% and a resting HR of 140bpm was 

not particularly enjoyable. 

However it was not all doom and gloom. During the acclimatisation phase we 

managed to see the sights of La Paz and visit Lake Titicaca. While the R&R period 

at the end of the trip allowed the majority to take part in the “Death Road” cycle. 

This consisted of a 65km stretch of road that drops from a height of 4500m to a 

finish at 1200m. 

All in all it was an amazing experience and one that I would thoroughly recommend 

to all. 

Research at 4200m! 

The sumit of 

Pata Patani 

Those who have further interested in this area can follow the link below to the DMS Expedition website. 

http://dmsexpeds.org.uk/


Artwork Enhancements in Hound Ward 

Hound Ward is looking a much cheerier place nowadays 

thanks to 12 new pieces of artwork adorning the ward walls. 

The artwork was funded from donations given by the ‘South 

West Liver Trust’ organised by Professor Matthew Cramp and 

the ‘Friends of Liver Lifeline’, who are a volunteer group within 

‘The British Liver Trust’. Each group kindly donated money to 

Hound Ward for improving the environment and consequently 

the overall patient experience. 

11 

Junior Sister Carole Stevens and Di Brimacombe Support 

Manager from the Planning Department met and discussed 

various options on how to enhance the environment with the 

use of artwork. After consultation with other Hound Ward staff, 

the choices for the walls were agreed as seven landscape 

scenes of local places of natural beauty such as Burgh Island, 

St. Ives and Porth Curno. With five portrait flower scenes, 

including foxgloves and lavender covering the shower and 

toilet doors. 

The artwork was an instant success with many patients, some saying 

they would like the artwork for their own homes! The majority of the 

images were donated to the Trust by Di Brimacombe, with one of the 

scenes being donated by Barry Jones from Nuclear Medicine. 

The artwork has been such a success, that staff on Hound Ward have 

now asked Di to get involved in producing more artwork for a phase two. This will see more 

landscape artwork being installed in the five single rooms on Hound Ward. 

In this top photo, from L to R are Junior Sister Carole Stevens, Shelia Connolly from ‘Friends of liver 

lifeline’, Professor Matthew Cramp and Di Brimacombe. Shelia Connolly herself received a liver 

transplant 4 years ago and has been raising money for the cause ever since. When speaking to Di 

Brimacombe after the unveiling, Shelia told Di: “Someone died, which allowed me to stay alive – I had to 

give something back.” 

If you would like to read more regarding these two charities along with Shelia’s story the links are: 

http://www.friendsofliverlifeline.co.uk/ 

http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/home.aspx 

Smoking Cessation Champion 

Katy Lea has been doing a fantastic job as smoking cessation link 

nurse on Fal ward. Since Derriford went smokefree on 14th March 

she has been co-ordinating and ensuring that the ward has all it 

needs in place to deliver nicotine replacement therapy to all patients 

admitted to the ward. 

“I’ve noticed a real difference for patients. They seem much less 

agitated and more comfortable whilst they are with us on the ward. 

They don’t seem to need to leave the ward to go off for a smoke as 

the patches are giving them the relief they need.” 

If you would like to arrange Nicotine Replacement Therapy Protocol training 

for your ward to help your patients manage their nicotine withdrawal please 

contact Mel Edwards at the Stop Smoking Service on 314040 (int 41040). 

News from around the Trust


12 

Learning Disability Week 

Staff from the Learning Disability Liaison Team at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust were on hand in the 

main entrance of Derriford Hospital as part of Learning Disability Week 2012. 

Each day had a different theme including The Special Olympics, the launch of the new Learning 

Disability and Vulnerable Adults Team, service user groups such as Derriford User Group and the PUSH 

Safeguarding group 

Learning Disability Week is a week of 

national campaigning and awareness 

raising run by Mencap that took place 

from 18 to 24 June 2012. This year’s 

Learning Disability Week continued 

the work of Learning Disability week 

2011, which saw the launch of the 

‘Stand by me’ campaign against hate 

crime. 


National Carers Week: In Sickness and in Health 

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust were joined by Carers Champions Plymouth and the Patients Association 

on Monday 18th June to launch National Carers Week 2012. 

Karen Grimshaw, Associate Director of Nursing, said: “We have been working closely with the Patients 

Association recently to get a deeper understanding of carers’ needs, when the person they care for is in 

hospital. 

“It can be a daunting time for carers and there are many things that we can do to help ease their burden. 

Such as improving their involvement in the patient’s care, supporting them during the hospital stay in 

their questions and concerns, keeping them informed of plans for treatment and enabling them in the 

caring role on discharge. 

“Working with the Patients 

Association and Carers 

Champions Plymouth, we will 

be able to develop our policies, 

practices and facilities to better 

meet the needs of carers when 

they are supporting people in 

hospital.” 

A wide range of information was 

available in the main foyer and 

there were opportunities to ask 

questions and get advice from 

all the organisations present.


13Staff fundraising 

Bush Park for Sports Relief 

Congratulations to Bush Park who donned 

their finest sports gear to raise money for 

this year’s Sports Relief. Through a series 

of events including bowling, bingo, a 

barbecue, a swear jar and the obligatory 

cake sale they raised over £190. 

Well done and thank you to everyone who 

took part, the Games Winners were: 

Spot Walliams - Linda Netherton (Dave’s 

Wife) square A6 

Shout Loudest – Dermot O’Leary Winner 

Amy Brook 

Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning 2012 

If there’s one thing that this Trust does well in terms of fundraising, 

it’s baking delicious goodies! This year’s Macmillan Coffee Morning 

was no exception with a number of departments around the Trust 

taking part. 

Patient Services, Central Admin, Norfolk Ward, Endocscopy, 

Mustard Tree, ICT and Orthopaedics (and these are just the ones 

we know about) all produced an incredible array of cakes, 

raising over £1,000 for Macmillan.


14 

Accreditation for Imaging 

On the 23 and 24 April the Imaging department were visited 

by a nine strong inspection team who undertook an 

assessment of our imaging services and governance 

processes to see if we could be nationally accredited. The 

scheme is operated through The United Kingdom 

Accreditation Service and the Imaging Services 

Accreditation Scheme and requires organisations to be able 

to provide evidence relating to policies, practices, patient 

experiences, user and referrer feedback, clinical outcomes 

and safety measures across all sites they operate from. 

Which in our case includes Derriford Hospital, South Hams 

Hospital, Liskeard Hospital, The Cumberland Centre and the 

Radiology Academy in Plymouth. 

The accreditation is a relatively new development and only six 

organisations are currently accredited. 

Deborah Southon Project Manager, Steve 

Blake Superintendent Radiographer, 

Chris Haydon Senior Radiographer, Dr 

Simon Freeman Consultant Radiologist 

and Dr Gareth Porter, Consultant 

Radiologist 

Feedback was given at the end of the visit and, after submitting 

final evidence, we will be formally accredited in July. This is the culmination of over 18 months of hard 

work by the department and is a credit to them all. We will be the largest organisation nationally and the 

only one in the South West to be accredited. 

Awards and achievements 

‘safe’ 4 Young People 

Congratulations to the GUM and PAC 

teams! The Department of Health’s You’re 

Welcome quality criteria lay out principles 

that will help services in the community to 

‘get it right’ and become young people 

friendly. Services achieving the local You’re 

Welcome ‘safe’ badging scheme ensure 

young people are offered consistent sexual 

health advice where ever they see the 

‘safe’ badge. 

In order for a service to gain the ‘safe’ 

accreditation they have to work through a 

comprehensive self-assessment toolkit which 

is then verified by the local ‘safe’ for young 

From left to right: Dr Zoe Warwick, Consultant in GU 

Medicine; Claire Kean, Support Manager; Sue Holmes, 

Prevention Worker for the Eddystone Trust and Dr Rachel 

Challenor, Consultant in GU Medicine 

people lead and this toolkit covers 9 sets of criteria: access; publicity; confidentiality and consent; 

environment; staff training; skills, attitudes and values; joined up working; monitoring and evaluation, and 

involvement of young people; health issues for young people; 

sexual and reproductive health (SRH) 

Plymouth’s Genitourinary Medicine & the Pregnancy Advisory Centre (GUM & PAC) have gone through 

the ‘safe’ process and are able to demonstrate that they are young people friendly in all of the nine 

criteria. 

Plymouth’s lead for ‘safe’ has verified the service and has awarded them with the ‘safe’ badge and 

comments as below: “All staff involved with GUM & PAC has worked extremely hard to evidence and 

ensure this service is able to offer a consistent and high quality sexual health service for young people. 

Everyone should be very proud of themselves for this achievement.”


15Awards and achievements 

Accreditation for Heart Service 

Staff in the Cardiology Department at Derriford Hospital are celebrating after the service they provide 

has been nationally recognised and formally accredited. 

It has taken several years of 

targeted hard work at Plymouth 

Hospitals NHS Trust in order to 

achieve the goal of British Society of 

Echocardiography (BSE) 

Departmental Accreditation and we 

are pleased to say we are the first 

department in the South West to 

gain this accolade. BSE 

Departmental Accreditation 

represents a benchmark of quality 

and excellence. It indicates to 

patients, commissioners and health 

professionals alike that an 

echocardiography department meets 

these standards. The hard work that 

has gone in to improving our service has had a direct beneficial impact on our patients. 

The Cardiology Department were visited by a small team of senior Cardiologists and Physiologists from 

the BSE who undertook an assessment of the service. Following this assessment the BSE have 

awarded the Cardiology Department accreditation in Transthoracic Echocardiology, Transoesophageal 

Echocardiology and in Training in Echocardiography. 

Dr Gareth Morgan-Hughes, Consultant Cardiologist at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, explains: “An 

echocardiogram, also known as an echo, is mainly carried out by Cardiac Physiologists to allow them to 

look at the structure of a patient’s heart and how well it functions. It uses sound waves that echo against 

the structures in the heart, which helps to build up a detailed picture of the heart. 

“Echocardiograms provide us with valuable information about valve and muscle function that can be 

important in very sick patients. This enables potentially life-threatening heart conditions to be diagnosed 

quickly and accurately.” 

Dr Morgan-Hughes continues: “As a department we have been accredited by the BSE for transthoracic 

echocardiograms, where a probe is placed on the chest wall and images are take through the chest wall 

so we can assess the overall health of the heart and for transoesphageal echocardiograms, where a 

probe is passed into the oesophagus (gullet), which lies behind the heart, so detailed images of the heart 

valves can be taken. In addition, we have been accredited to provide training in echocardiography to 

other healthcare professionals up to individual BSE accreditation levels. 

“Every member of the echo service here has contributed to enable us to achieve this accreditation and 

we are all proud of this.” 

Congratulations Rachel 

Rachel Garlick has been successful in being appointed to the 

role of Clinical Skills Tutor for the Peninsula Simulation Suite. 

This is a significant appointment which will help to increase the 

provision of simulation training across a wide variety of 

disciplines at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust. Rachel will 

commence her new role on the 29th October 2012. Talking 

about her appointment Rachel said: “This is a really exciting 

opportunity and I can’t wait to get started.”


16 

The PHNT Plymouth Half-Marathon Challenge 

This year’s Half-marathon Challenge was a closely fought contest between teams from Derriford 

Combined Labs, Physiotherapy, Paediatrics, The Eden Unit and Cardiology. 

Congratulations to the Paediatric 

Team who were triumphant with 

an average running time of 

2:02:06. 

The teamwere Alan Cade, Ben 

Marsh, Mary Jefferies, Emma 

Harsum, Victoria Halfhide, Becky 

Trew and Dee Doherty! 

This year’s fastest girl was 

Immunology Consultant Claire 

Bethune, the fastest boy was 

Nick Thomas of the Cardiology 

Team. 

Entries for next year’s challenge 

will open on 25th February 2013 

so keep an eye on Daily Email, 

Vital Signs and Team Brief for 

further details. 

The team are pictured being 

presented with the Challenge Cup Trophy by Joe Teape, and a voucher for a celebratory meal in The 

Lounge, courtesy of Derriford Health and Leisure Centre. 


National Patients Safety Award Shortlisting 

A team from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust were runners up at this year’s prestigious Patient Safety 

Awards. The awards, in their third year, are organised by national publications the Health Service 

Journal and the Nursing Times and recognise the best examples of work undertaken across the NHS to 

improve patient safety. 

Shortlisted amongst eight others, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust was announced as being Highly 

Commended in the Changing Culture category for its entry Putting safety into practice – crossing the 

reality gap. The entry reflects a great deal of hard work on the part of teams within operating theatres 

who have made significant improvements in patient safety over the past year. This work was led by 

Assistant Medical Director Paul McArdle, Patient Safety Lead, Amelia Brooks and Senior Theatre 

Matron, Cindy McConnachie. 

When it was announced that the team had been shortlisted, Paul McArdle, Consultant Maxillofacial 

Surgeon and Assistant Medical Director, said: “We were delighted to find out that we have been 

shortlisted for this prestigious award. We provide very high standards of clinical care at our hospital and 

sites. When it was identified that there was a problem and that some of our theatres were not fully 

compliant with the checklist we set to work to put this right straight away. We are very proud to say the 

initiative has resulted in improved patient safety with no never events in our theatres within the last year. 

The quality of checklist delivery sits between 98% and 99% compliance and sustainable change has 

been achieved with the formation of a theatre safety group who review significant safety related events. 

“We are delighted that we were able to share our learning with other organisations and are pleased that 

our approach has been widely adopted across the region as a result.”


17Awards and achievements 

Histopathology Receive Prestigious Innovation Award 

A team from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust were announced as one of the winners of the NHS 

Innovations Challenge Prizes. 

Dr Dean Harmse, Consultant Histopathologist, Miss Madeleine Stephens and Mrs Carole Stoddard, 

Biomedical Scientists and a team from the Histopathology Laboratory were announced as winners at a 

ceremony hosted by the Department of Health and the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement in 

London. They have been awarded £50,000 for their project, which significantly improved the turnaround 

times for cancer diagnosis in the histopathology laboratory at Derriford Hospital. 

The NHS Innovations Challenge Prizes are run by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and 

are different from conventional award schemes in that prizes are awarded for achievement of specific 

challenges, set out in advance. The challenges range from significant improvements in delivery to major 

clinical breakthroughs. The awards are substantial, with prize money amounts that reflect the nature of 

the challenge and the added value of the innovation to the NHS and its patients. 

Dr Harmse explains: “The histopathology laboratory examines tissues in order to identify disease 

process. Making a diagnosis in the laboratory is essential for clinicians to plan the right type of treatment 

for an individual patient, especially in cancer cases. We had recognised in the laboratory that, similar to 

other histopathology laboratories around the country, we were experiencing backlogs of work at various 

stages of processing samples. 

“We designed a process that ensures flow through the laboratory by dividing the work up into different 

streams (‘Green Stream’, ‘Yellow Stream’ and ‘Red Stream’). This is based on the complexity of the 

specimen and the technical work required to process the specimen. We then manage the flow of each of 

these streams of work at every stage of the process through the laboratory on a daily basis.” 

Dr Harmse continues: “Our innovation completely cleared our backlog and led us to achieve turnaround 

times well above national standards. This innovative way of working has now been in place for more 

than a year so it shows that it is sustainable. Biopsy results are now available to clinicians to allow them 

to make clinical decisions in a timely fashion. 

“This innovation is based on LEAN principles, but it would not have been possible without the 

engagement of the whole team in the Cellular Pathology Department. My sincere thanks goes to each 

and every member of the team. Without their hard work, enthusiasm and dedication this would not have 

been possible.”


18 

Nurse Celebrates PhD Success 

A Urogynaecology Specialist Nurse from Derriford Hospital, 

Plymouth, was recently awarded her PhD at the Peninsula 

College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) Graduation 

ceremony, held in Exeter. 

Sister Ann Waterfield focussed her research into the pelvic floor 

‘condition’ in women in the community, and how teaching GP 

practice nurses to instruct women in pelvic floor exercises is 

both practical and effective. Ann’s research is now being 

implemented into primary care through PenCLAHRC’s Pelvic 

Floor Muscle Training implementation project and she herself is 

also undertaking the GP practice nurse training on behalf of PenCLAHRC. 

According to Bob Freeman, one of Ann’s PhD supervisors, she “deserves tremendous credit for 

completing a PhD whilst in a full-time clinical job, as this requires considerable effort and commitment. 

That should be an inspiration to us all, namely for those who 'go the extra mile', most things are 

achievable.” 

Infection Prevention and Control Staff Poster Competition 2012 

To celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day on the 5th May, the IPCT launched a poster competition which 

encouraged its link practitioners to come up with a design that could go in the “speaking signs” 

encouraging staff, patients and visitors to practice good hand hygiene. The design could include 

drawings, poems or graphics – the choice was theirs. 


The competition was judged by IPCT Nurse Consultant Claire Haill and Junior Sister Sally Fletcher. The 

1st Prize was won by Kate Shanahan of Hexworthy ward with her creative concept of B.U.G.S. Second 

prize went to Judith Bywater of the Pain Clinic 

who poetically told of the improvements in hand 

care and 3rd prize went to Antony Braddon of 

Torrington HDU for his unique idea of 

remembering the “5 moments of hand hygiene” 

with the 5 digits on your hand. 

Prizes were presented by Acting Chief Nurse 

Kevin Marsh. Each prize winner won their 

workplace a book on Infection Prevention and 

Control and 1st Prize winner Kate won herself a 

complimentary skin consultation and make-over, 

by kind courtesy of the Body Shop. 

Outstanding Doctors Awards 

The Outstanding Foundation awards (2011-2012) 

for the Trusts F1 and F2 doctors took place 

recently at the Post Graduate Medical Centre. 

These awards are given to the trainees, nominated 

by their peers, who have performed above and 

beyond the call of duty and being judged on 

performance, abilities and portfolios. 

This year’s winners were presented their awards 

by Dr Wai Tse (Deputy Director of Medical 

Education). The Outstanding F1 was Laura Cottey, 

highly commended F1 was Katharine Holden. The 

Outstanding F2 was Craig Holdstock.


Recognising Self-Learning and Development 

Twenty staff have been given an award in recognition of self-learning and development activities they 

have undertaken this year, from achieving numeracy and literacy qualifications to PhDs. A number of 

these staff were presented with an award at the AGM (pictures below), in addition the following staff 

were also recongnised: 

» Sarah Epps from Maxillofacial/Nutrition and Dietetics department - BSc Dietetics (Hons) 2:1 

» Emma Jasper from Children's Assessment Unit - Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Healthcare 

Practice (also currently self-funding dissertation module to achieve her masters degree) 

» Susanne Sibylle Schunemann, Speciality Doctor in Restorative Dentistry - Diploma in Postgraduate 

Dental Studies (DPDS) 

» Dean Bromwich from Clearbrook Ward - HCA Assessors Course 

» Samantha Sheridan from Patient Access - BA History 

» Daniel Kempe from Telecoms - HP AIS Qualification 

» Marianne Bos-Clark from the Speech and Language Department– Estille Voice Skills (Level 1 & 

Advanced) and 'The Teachers Voice' course 

» Anita Widdecombe from Chest Clinic – studies around Infection Control 

19 

Sister Ann Waterfield from 

the Urogynaecology Unit - 

Doctor of Philosophy 

Sarah Roch from 

Maxillofacial – Completed 

Year 1 of ODP training 

Mary Hinchcliffe from 

Endoscopy - Bsc Hons in 

Health Studies 

Pauline Fillery from Chest 

Clinic – Trust 

Venepuncture course 

Nathan Badham from 

Pharmacy - Literacy Level 

2 and Numeracy Level 2 

Rachel Garlick from the 

HR and OD Directorate – 

Level 2 certificate in 

Equality and Diversity 

Maria Thomas from 

Outpatients - English 

Literature Level 2 (evening 

classes) 

Claire Patterson from 

Birch Day Case Unit – 

BSC Degree in Health 

Studies 

Gemma Parker from 

Infection Prevention & 

Control - Postgraduate 

Diploma in Social 

Sciences 

Sarah Sweetlove from the 

Cardiothoracic 

Department - BA in 

Business Studies with 

Hons (2:1) in Law through 

the Open University 

Les Crawford from 

Derriford Health and 

Leisure Centre - Level 3 

Personal Trainer 

qualification 

Jo Brancher, Nurse 

Specialist for 

Safeguarding Vulnerable 

Adults - Independent and 

Supplementary 

Prescribing


20 

The big interview... with Steve Slater 

Steve Slater is a Medical Photographer and Ophthalmic 

Photographer at the Royal Eye Infirmary. Cascade 

caught up with him recently to find out more... 

What is your role at the Royal Eye Infirmary? 

I produce images of eyes, scanning and photographing 

people’s eyes front and back, outside, inside, all ways 

round really. It’s quite a methodical job because it’s 

such a difficult part of the body to capture, and it’s about 

trying to get the best out of people, or at least knowing 

when to draw the line, when you’ve done the best you 

can. And how long have you worked here? 16 years. 

Have you always been a medical and ophthalmic 

photographer? 

Previously I was just medical with a little bit of 

ophthalmics, when I joined the Trust I concentrated 

solely on ophthalmics. 

And are you a photographer in your spare time? 

No! I used to be, about 25 years ago, but not now. I did 

a little bit after college but after spending a few years 

doing photography all day you don’t really want to go 

home and carry on doing the same. 

What’s the best thing about your job? It’s meeting 

the people, a lot of them are elderly and have really 

lived. They have a lot to say and a lot of experience to 

impart. I only get to talk to them for a few minutes at a 

time but I do see some patients quite regularly so I do 

get to know them. That’s a really nice part of the job, to 

get to know them, get to know their lives and their 

experiences. 

And what do you like least about your job? The 

bureaucracy, trying to achieve things can sometimes be 

like wading through treacle. 

There used to be a very small room I worked in, which 

being the REI is not unusual, but because of the way it 

was configured, the patient chair and the operator’s 

chair were sometimes the same thing. So for one 

instrument it would be the patient chair for the next 

instrument it would be the operator’s chair. One day I 

sat down in the operator’s chair (that had previously that 

day been the patient chair) and suddenly realised that I 

felt really wet… the elderly patient before had had an 

incontinence problem. I had to go home and have a 

shower! 

Also I’ve been sprayed on more than one occasion by 

the dye we use for retinal angiography. If the syringe 

isn’t in the cannula properly it lifts. If it lifts, the dye goes 

everywhere. It’s a bright fluorescent colour and it sprays 

the entire room which then takes an hour to clear up! 

I’ve been sprayed seven or eight times, three times by 

the same person but I try not to take it personally. 

What do you think of the current facilities at the Eye 

Infirmary? They do the job but not very well. 

Are you looking forward to the move up to the 

Derriford site? I’m looking forward to the new 

environment, but obviously it’s a longer journey to get 

there every day. I haven’t had a chance to go up to the 

new facilities yet, 

there’s a trip planned 

but I’m quite busy so 

won’t be able to go. 

The move up to 

Derriford, what do 

you think the biggest 

benefit will be for 

staff and patients? I 

think the new 

environment, it’s been 

designed to maximise 

use of the space and 

will make the flow 

through the 

department a lot 

easier. A lot of our 

patients are elderly 

and so moving them around this building can be quite 

difficult, particularly over the two levels. 

Have you heard any rumours/stories or tall tales 

about the existing building? No, often I’ve worked late 

into the night and even as a creaky old building it’s 

actually quite a friendly old place. It’s going to be hard, 

actually, driving to work, we’re all planning to put big 

notices on our dashboards. I know at some point I will 

end up driving in to the car park here and being the 

only one around. It’s a friendly place to work, we’re like 

a family. It’s a small community where we all look after 

each other. I think that will be retained when we move, 

I’ve no doubt about that. 

Who would play you in the film of your life? Oh 

that’s a good question, that’s difficult because I’m an 

unusual looking guy… tall and skinny. Jeff Goldblum 

would be my choice if I’m being optimistic... Rowan 

Atkinson if I’m being realistic. 

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? I was a scene 

of crimes officer for the police about twenty years ago, it 

was horrendously stressful. I was working 14-15 hours 

a day covering the southern half of Wiltshire, one man 

one van, and the crime rate had trebled about six 

months before I started, consequently they didn’t have 

the staff and it was really quite stressful. I did that for 18 

months, it was really interesting and if it hadn’t been for 

the stress I would have stayed. It wasn’t called CSI 

back then but that’s what it was. 

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

The thing I’m proud of is a lead climb I did down at 

Kenidjack near Cape Cornwall. It’s a 150ft single pitch 

HVS (hard very severe) climb, it’s just off vertical. 

Tell us something about yourself that no-one else 

would know… As a child I won first prize in a Pontin’s 

fancy dress competition, dressed as a King Edward 

potato. I was about 9, it was form of child-torture really, 

my parents used to make these costumes and take us 

to Pontin’s where we’d have to wear them. I have a 

sister who was equally as abused! There is 

photographic evidence somewhere but I’m not sharing 

that! I won third prize as Basil Brush the year before!


21 

Joy Turner, Medical Secretary 

By day Joy Turner is a Medical Secretary, away from Derriford 

Hospital she becomes a trumpet and cornet player. Joy tells us 

more… 

I first started playing in bands at school, a long time ago in 1965! I 

am a member of Devonport Naval Base Volunteer Band Tuesday 

and Thursday evenings with concerts and gigs on some 

weekends and yes, we dress in the Naval Uniform as we are 

conducted by a trained musician from the Royal Marines. I also 

play cornet (not the ice cream kind!) with Saltash Town Band on a 

Friday evening, which is an all brass band and is self-funded so 

we play as much as possible to raise funds to continue our 

existence. There’s also a flourishing Junior Band which also selffunded. 

I also help out in a dance band occasionally which plays 

at CityBus every month. 

Joy Turner (front row, second in!) 

My favourite performance was playing for the Queen in the 1970's and 1980's and 1990's! 

The bands certainly keep me busy, luckily my husband plays saxophone in two of the bands or we would never see 

each other, let alone our children and grandchildren who we fit in whenever possible! 

All the bands would welcome any new players. 

Kath Tregaskis – Biomedical Scientist 

I'm a Biomedical Scientist in Combined Laboratories during my 

working life but on Wednesday nights and weekends I'm a morris 

dancer! We're a Border Morris group so clash sticks with each other 

and make lots of noise (no hankies!). There are a few of my fellow 

members here at Derriford, Dr Tony Golding-Cook has been our 

squire for a number of years but I have recently taken over 

leadership from him. It's a load of fun and far removed from our daily 

work!! 

I first encountered Dartmoor Border Morris when my husband and I 

were having a pub meal one evening at The Plume of Feathers in 

Princetown around 5 years ago. The dancers appeared and I 

thought it looked really fun and said how much I'd love to do that but 

still froze in horror when they announced an audience participation 

dance at the end! My husband egged me on and I took part and 

thoroughly enjoyed it. I joined them at the beginning of their indoor 

practice season (October to April) and have been a keen member 

ever since. My husband has also joined as a musician and has been 

learning to play the violin to accompany us. Our style of dancing is Border Morris which is quite rough and ready, 

using sticks and wearing tattered jackets and decorated hats, as opposed to the more stereotypical Cotswold 

Morris with hankies and breeches etc. It originates from the border counties e.g. Herefordshire and Shropshire and 

is very vibrant with lots of whooping and shouting! 

We dance mainly at pubs around Dartmoor on Wednesday evenings from May each year through to September 

while the evenings are light but we also dance at charity events and folk festivals. One of my favourite places to 

dance is at the Royal Cornwall Show each year as it's such a great event and we get to meet other morris dancers, 

sometimes from further up the country. 

I feel very honoured to have been voted in as Squire this year. I always harboured a secret wish that maybe one 

day I could be bold enough offer my services but thought I would have to be a member for much longer in order to 

hold such a position. Also, my husband and I have had two beautiful children during the last three years so we 

thought our involvement in the Morris would be forced to grind to a halt but we are a very family friendly group and 

can often be seen with a pushchair or two! My eldest son Harry is now old enough to wear his own hat and 

tattered jacket and loves coming out 'dancing with sticks' as he calls it! 

We are always delighted to welcome new members, either as dancers or musicians and anyone who sees us 

dancing at a village pub should give it a try when we call out for volunteers - like me they will be hooked!! 

We have a website that includes a diary for the coming year, saying which pub we will be at and when. The 

address is www.dartmoorbordermorris.com 

Secret lives


22 

Cancer Nurse Specialist’s Olympic Role 

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust very own Louise Davies was 

selected as one of the 8,000 torchbearers to carry the Olympic 

flame as it made it’s way from Land’s End to London. 

Louise Davies, a neuro-oncology specialist nurse will carried 

the torch through Taunton on 21 May 2012 as part of the 70- 

day torch relay. 

At the time Louise said she was thrilled to have been selected: 

“I feel incredibly proud and honoured to be taking part in the 

Olympic Torch Relay, out of all the people that were nominated 

I couldn't believe I'd been chosen! 

“I am one of three neuro-oncology specialist nurses based at 

Derriford Hospital who cover the south west area offering 

support, advice and care to adults who have been diagnosed with either a brain or spinal tumour. It 

can be a very demanding job but also a very rewarding one. As a team we endeavour to make things 

that little bit easier for patients and their families. 

“I feel immensely privileged to be representing our service, my colleagues and most importantly my 

patients and their families in what will be a once in a lifetime experience”. 

Gillian Goodman, who nominated Louise, added: “I nominated Louise as I felt she really deserves to 

have her hard work recognised and I knew she would tackle the role of torch bearer with the same 

enthusiasm she offers her patients. Louise is part of a team of equally hard working nurses and feels 

she will be representing the team, Derriford Hospital and the NHS.” 

Our Olympic Champions 

Lee’s Olympic Double! 

Lee Fergusson, an Audit and Information Facilitator at 

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust is celebrating a double 

achievement having gained two roles at this year’s 

Olympic Games. Lee was thrilled to have been selected 

as both a Games Maker and a Team London 

Ambassador, supporting both the Olympic and 

Paralympics games, in London this summer. In his role as 

Games Maker, Lee was part of the Event Services Team 

at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, supporting the 

Paralympic archery and shooting competition. As a Team 

London Ambassador, Lee was based at Heathrow Airport 

where he provided useful information on what to see and 

do, where to stay and how to get around the capital to 

visitors coming through the terminal. 

Lee said:” I applied for volunteer positions at the Atlanta 

games in 1996 and again for Beijing in 2008. The former 

I had to withdraw from quite early due to Ministry of 

Defence work commitments, and my wife and I were not 

selected for the Beijing games. However I was delighted to be selected for the Team London 

Ambassador role, then again for the Games Maker role in Event Services for London 2012. I have 

been a volunteer many times for sporting events, mostly in the USA, but the London Olympics is 

going to be the biggest and most exciting of them all, so I am really looking forward to it. 

“I have met some incredible people from all walks of life during the training sessions that I have 

attended for both roles, and no doubt will meet many more amazing people during my time at 

Heathrow as a Team London Ambassador and at Woolwich for the Paralympic archery and shooting 

competitions. The atmosphere in London is going to be electric throughout the summer with so many 

cultural and sporting events taking place, as well as the Olympics and Paralympics!”


23Our Olympic Champions 

Jayne’s Olympic Journey 

At the Olympics I was a technical official. A technical official for the 

Olympics is what we would normally call the recorders role so during 

the Olympics we’ll be sat at the pool side, the divers will do their 

diving and as the scores come in through the computer system we sit 

there with specials forms for each diver, write the scores down and 

then do all the calculations manually so we’re basically doing a backup 

system for the computers. If for any reason there was glitch with 

the computers we would be able to continue running the competition 

manually, which is really scary! 

There were 8 of us in total, I’m the only one from Plymouth, the 

majority of the others were from Leeds or Sheffield, all of us do dive 

recording for all of the national competitions, I’ve been doing that for 

nine years nationally. I got into diving through my children dive, my 

son Stephen dived at a national level and I started as a chaperone 

and then became a recorder. I now run the diving competitions in 

Plymouth with one of the head coaches at Plymouth Diving. 

At poolside we were not allowed to show any emotion or react to the dives, that was really tough 

because we all know the divers on team GB, we know them really well, and some of the international 

divers too. 

It’s incredible and we don’t get the opportunity very often to take part in something so huge, an extra 

highlight is that we get to go to the opening ceremony, it’s a complete once in a lifetime experience. 

My family are so excited that I’ve been offered this chance and they keep reminding me not to 

underestimate what an opportunity it is. I feel so lucky, so privileged to be a part of this Olympics, I never 

imagined that I’d be that close to it. 

The Olympic celebrations weren’t 

limited to departments in the Trust… 

Emma Parsons and Adrian Rust of 

Trebor Maintenance planted an 

Olympic welcome outside the main 

entrance at Derriford Hospital. 

Fracture Clinic and Orthopaedic Outpatients 

Led by the ever-keen (and very creative) Paul Hazell, 

Orthopaedic Plaster Technician, both Fracture Clinic and 

Orthopaedic Outpatients were given Olympic makeovers to mark 

the occassion. 

Flags of the world and 

Team GB bunting 

festooned the ceilings 

alongside Olympic Rings 

and mascots. The team 

also screened Olympic 

events for the benefit of 

patients (and staff) who 

passed through the 

departments during the 

Olympics and 

Paralympics.


24 

Fracture Clinic 

Members of the fracture clinic team also got in to the jubilee spirit 

with bunting galore, exceptional cupcakes and union jack themed 

plaster casts! The team, who self-funded the decorations, were led 

by Sister Lucy Mould and Sister Karole Champion. The delicious 

cakes were provided by receptionist Jonathan Williams’ mum Jackie. 

The team screened the Jubilee events in their waiting area and 

ensured that the clinic ran as planned on the additional bank holiday, 

Tuesday. 

Bracken Ward Get Their 

Bunting Out 

Bracken Ward also put on a spectacular 

bunting show for the Jubilee festivities. 

Hound ward also joined in the festivities, 

throwing a party for patients over the long 

Jubilee weekend. 

Jubilicious! 

NICU 

NICU embraced this year’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and took 

the opportunity to fund-raise (and eat some scrummy cakes to 

boot!). All of the cupcakes were baked by staff members on NICU 

and the team raised £45.76p. Rumours that the Queen herself 

stopped by are still to be confirmed and Sister Liz Daniels was 

happy to take on the role of stand-in queen for the cake judging! 

Three prizes were awarded to the best cakes, the winners were: 

1st Dr Alex Allwood 

2nd Dr Nikky Robinson 

3rd Staff Nurse Sue Tyson


25Retirements and goodbyes 

Maureen Horton 

Maureen Horton retired from the Trust on 3rd July 2012. Maureen completed almost thirty years of 

service within the NHS, working initially in school health and then transferring to work as full time Cashier 

at Freedom Fields/Greenbank hospital. Upon those hospitals being closed, Maureen moved to Derriford 

Hospital. Firstly, working in the ‘old’ general office, then, finally, moving to work in her present job in the 

Income Office, Level 7. 

Speaking about her retirement Maureen said: “I would like to say thank you for all your help, support and 

friendship, which has made my working life here very enjoyable. I would like to wish you all the very best 

for the future, especially during these difficult times.” 

Nicki Payne, 

Urology 

Nurse 

Specialist 

retired from the 

Trust on Friday 

30th March. She 

began her pupil 

nurse training in 

1981 after starting her career as a 

nursing auxiliary at the Rowans 

Unit. Many will remember Nicki as 

the ward manager on Yealm Ward 

before she went on to became a Urology 

Nurse Specialist in July 2000. The girls of the 

Chestnut Unit, Urology consultants, secretaries and 

Directorate team wish her well for her retirement. 

Pauline Whyatt 

Pauline left the Trust in 2012 having spent 23 

working here.Pauline started her career in 

Orthopaedics at Mt Gould Hospital before 

moving to Derriford Hospital where she has 

spent the last 9 years in the Cardiology 

Department. 

Sister Christine Buckle retired in August 

2012 sending her best wishes to all the lovely 

people that she has had the pleasure to come 

into contact with over the years. A brand new 

and very exciting future awaits Christine and she 

takes fond memories of my time at the Trust with 

her. 

Hilary Blakely retired from the Trust after 

working here for many years. 

The Royal Eye Infirmary said goodbye to two valued 

members of staff, Elizabeth Lightowlers retired after 21 

years service and Jean Middleton was sent off under an 

arch of bedpans having been with the REI for over 25 

years (with only one episode of sickness during her 

career!) 

Mary Dyer, NICU 

Mary, on the far right above, retired after 

35 years with the Trust both at Derriford 

Hospital and Freedom Fields before. 

Mary was a very valued, very hard 

working member of the NICU team and 

will be sorely missed. 

In memoriam – Dianne Stapleton 

A Memorial Service was held in the Hospital Chapel on Thursday 28 June at 12.30pm to celebrate the 

life of Dianne Stapleton who sadly passed away on 13 May. Before working as a Neurosurgery 

Secretary Dianne was a Team Leader at the Royal Eye Infirmary, prior to which she was a scheduler for 

MaxFax and ENT working down on Freedom Daycase.


26 

Vision Aid Overseas 

David Adams, Head of the Optometry Department at the Royal Eye Infirmary 

contacted Cascade to let us know about a visit he made to Zambia. 

“It was 25 years since I qualified as an optometrist and I felt it was time to give 

something back. At the end of 2011 I was lucky enough to be selected for a 

Vision Aid Overseas (VAO) trip to Zambia. 670 million people worldwide are 

disadvantaged by poor vision and a lack of glasses. VAO is an international 

charity dedicated to transforming access to eye care services in developing 

countries. 

“Providing spectacles to those who need them gives people an immediate 

improvement to their lives; with no retirement pension people work for as 

long as they can, this becomes so much harder when near vision 

deteriorates with age. We saw over 1000 patients during our visit, many 

needed spectacles to help with close work and we were also able to offer advice on eye hygiene. There 

are no opticians or optometrists in Mansa where we stayed and only 3 in the whole country which has a 

population of 13 million people. 

“It was an amazing trip, but hard work in a hot country where temperatures his 35C most days. Our 

enjoyment at swimming in the local lake, Lake Bangweulu, was tempered when we found out two 

children had been 'taken' by crocodiles the previous month. Needless to say we observed the lake after 

that!” 

For more information on the work of Vision Aid Overseas visit www.vao.org.uk 

UKUN People's Health Initiative 

Medical Secretary Debbie Ellis recently returned from a volunteer trip 

overseas and having spent three weeks in Bagamoyo in Tanzania 

PHNT around the world 

“I volunteer through an organisation called Cross Cultural Solutions 

and have been overseas with them twice before. This time my 

placement was at an organisation that runs a home-based programme 

for people living with and affected by HIV. Bagamoyo has one of the 

highest incidence of HIV in africa and is very poor. Although I was 

prepared for a change in culture and having been to South Africa, knew 

I would be exposed to poverty and ill-health but I have to say nothing 

prepared me for what I experienced. 

“The organisation called UKUN, People's Health Initiative, and is a non-government organisation that 

depends on sponsors and donors. My day was spent in the 'clinic' providing a walk in service to test 

people for HIV and then if positive referring them on to the hospital for the appropriatre treatment. The 

organisation's director is based at this clinic and provides a testing and counselling service as well as 

visiting the housebound to ensure they have been able to access their ARV's (treatment for HIV/AIDS). 

People do not have access to adequate health care, indeed the situation that had the most impact on me 

was that the local hospital in Bagamoyo - not only do relatives feed and care for the inpatients (which is 

a cultural thing in Africa) but they also provide clean water for drinking as the hospital does not have any! 

“There is quite a lot I could write about my most recent visit, more than anything I would like to raise 

awareness and funds for the organisation. I have heard since returning home that UKUN is struggling. 

The big grants have come to an end and due to the world economic crisis, others have not come to 

fruition. I ran the Plymouth Half Marathon in June and raised around £500 sponsorship through this, a 

Paypal account has been set up for those who feel able to help, donations can be made through your 

paypal account if you have one to peopleshealthbagamoyo@gmail.com 

“If you have a fundraising idea, this is also most welcome or if you know of anyone or an organisation 

who you think might help, please could you share this with them or get in touch with me via the above e- 

mail address. Thank you.”


The improving working lives staff lottery has been running since 

2005, staff who are in the lottery have the opportunity to win 3 

monthly prices of up to £550 as well as bonus draws which happen 

in June and December of each year with a £1000 price. Since the 

lottery started we have given away over £60,000 in prizes. 

We thought this would be a good opportunity to allow you to gain 

some information about the committee who run it. The committee 

currently consists of 13 members from different areas around the 

Trust. They meet on a quarterly basis and discuss any issues with 

the lottery, ideas for promotion and agree any bids submitted by 

members of the lottery who have asked the lottery to provide funding 

to improve their working lives which could be in the form of equipment 

for their staff area, funding towards team building or kitchen 

equipment. The committee consists of: Linda Atkinson Lewis – 

Chairperson, Sally Wilson – Treasurer/Promoter, 

Sheerie Lawton and Becky Tucker – Joint Secretaries/Administration, Jayne Middleman, Fred Allen, Jill 

Hewins, Paul Cooper, Ria George, Alison Green, Jo Canham, Gary Rockley and Lorraine Veale. 

All other members of the lottery have to attend the committee meetings on a quarterly basis, making 

decisions on the bids and help with the monthly pay day draw to pick the lucky lottery winners. 

Cascade caught up with some of the committee members, below: 

From left to right it is Paul 

Cooper, Linda Atkinson-Lewis, 

Lorraine Veale, Fred Allen, Becky 

Tucker and Sheerie Lawton. 

How long have you been on the committee and 

what’s your role? 

Ria: About 18months. 

Jayne: I have been on the committee since it 

started, originally as the lead but more recently 

due to my role changing I am now a Workforce 

representative. 

Linda: I have been on the committee for one year 

and I am the Chair. 

Jo: I have been working in procurement for two 

and a half years and have been raising the lottery 

funded purchase orders ever since. I also advise 

on suppliers and try and find the best deals! 

What is your role outside of the committee at 

PHNT? 

Ria: I am the patient admin office coordinator and 

am responsible for bookwise and the reminder 

service in the Trust. 

Jayne:Organisational Development Facilitator and 

Equality & Diversity Lead (Workforce). 

Linda: Foundation Programme Manager, I look 

after all the F1s and F2s in the Trust. 

Jo: I am a member of the eproc helpdesk. 

Why did you join the committee? 

Ria: To make a difference. 

Jayne:The lottery was managed by my team when 

it first started. 

Linda: I was part of the original committee when 

the lottery was just an idea way back when! 

Jo: It was part of my job role however I found 

myself playing a bit more of an active part over the 

past six months. 

Is there a lot of work involved? 

Ria: No. 

Jayne: In the initial stages there was, but as a 

committee member now it is just supporting the 

monthly draw and attending meetings on a 

quarterly basis. 

Linda: No not really just a regular meeting and 

contact via e-mail. 

Jo: I do try and find suppliers that are reliable and 

that we use on a regular basis as I want to make 

sure the commitee’s money is spent wisely and 

goods arrive efficiently. 

What’s the best thing about being part of the 

committee? 

Ria: Having a voice and being able to encourage 

and advise people to bid for lottery funding and 

then approving the bids. 

Jayne: As I was the IWL Lead it is nice to see that 

through the lottery the Trust is still in a position to 

make improvements for staff in the workplace and 

make the environment better whether it be through 

equipment or improvements to staff rooms etc. 

Linda: It is great fun and a pleasure to be able to 

bring a little bit of happiness to my colleagues 

around the trust. 

Jo: Knowing that I am raising the orders to provide 

equipment that will help staff in their day to day life 

(I have ordered quite a few kettles and toasters!) 

which provides the energy for staff to provide the 

best patient care! 

All information about the staff lottery including application forms, bid forms increase of membership 

forms can be found via the staff lottery logo on Healthnet or by contacting plh-tr.Staff-lottery@nhs.net 

Staff lottery


As preparations and plans gain momentum ahead of the Royal Eye Infirmary moving from its 

current facilties in Mutley to brand new state of the art facilities at Derriford Hospital we pause to 

take a look back at the history of Eye Services in Plymouth. 

Then and now... at the Royal Eye Infirmary 

Doctor John Butter conceived of the idea of 

a hospital to treat eye diseases and on 

December 25th 1821, the Plymouth Eye 

Dispensary was opened in a house in 

Cornwall Street, Plymouth. In 1828 the 

HRH the Duke of Clarence, later King 

William IV, became its Patron and it 

became the Plymouth Royal Eye Infirmary. 

Initially there were only four beds for 

inpatients and the hospital was moved to a 

house in Millbay Road – on the site of the 

present Continental Hotel. 

The Royal Eye Infirmary, as it stands today, 

was opened by Lady Mary Parker on 

Wednesday October 30th 1901. His 

Majesty King Edward VII consented to 

continue the Royal Patronage. It had cost 

£12,015 to erect the building and a further £1,680 to furnish it. The 

total expenditure came to £18,613 15s 4d. The building was 

designed in the later Renaissance style by Mr Charles King, the 

oldest member of the management committee, with the help of a Mr 

Lister. It was built of bright red brick with Doulton stone dressings, 

the roofs being covered with Brosely tiles. 

The western wing contained the nurses' dining room, grocery 

and linen stores, and kitchen. The eastern wing held the 

dispensary, out-patients' waiting room, doctors' consulting room, 

a small operating room, an ophthalmoscopic room and steward's 

room were all in the eastern wing, with entrance and exit lobbies 

for out-patients. Over the main entrance was the main operating 

theatre, well lit with natural light. There were two wards on the 

first floor of each of the wings, one each for men and women. 

Each ward could accommodate fifteen patients. On the second 

floor was an isolation wing for patients with infectious diseases, 

and bedrooms for staff and servants. 

Just before the Second World War the accommodation was 

increased by means of an extension on the east side for outpatients 

with wards above for private patients. Accommodation for 

nurses was provided in the roof. 

The shape of things to come... 

To take a look at the current facilties and those being built at Derriford Hospital visit 

www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ourorganisation/DevelopingOurHospitals/

Cascade Summer/Autumn 2012 - Plymouth Hospitals

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