Cascade Summer/Autumn 2012 - Plymouth Hospitals

cascade_summer_2012_1.5:Cascade_Winter_2011 23/10/2012 13:46 Page 3
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."