Pulse May-June 2011 - NHS Lanarkshire
Pulse May-June 2011 - NHS Lanarkshire
Pulse May-June 2011 - NHS Lanarkshire
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NEWS FOR <strong>NHS</strong> LANARKSHIRE STAFF • MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
Page 7<br />
WASTED MEDICINE<br />
IS COSTING MILLIONS<br />
Page 5<br />
STUBBING OUT<br />
YOUTH SMOKING<br />
Drive to<br />
beat TB<br />
FOUR-week-old-baby Zaki<br />
Ibrahim was one of the first<br />
patients at <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s<br />
new Neonatal BCG clinic.<br />
The clinic, which opened in<br />
April at Douglas Street<br />
Community Health Clinic in<br />
Hamilton, is part of the health<br />
board’s drive to improve<br />
tuberculosis (TB) services.<br />
The clinic offers immunisations<br />
to infants where there is a<br />
family history of TB, to infants<br />
whose parents or grandparents<br />
were born in a country with a<br />
high prevalence of TB or when<br />
extended travel to a high-risk<br />
country is planned.<br />
MORE ON PAGE 2<br />
JAB: from left – Christine Weir, TB lead<br />
nurse; Victoria Douglas with baby Zaki;<br />
and Lesley Ritchie, TB nurse<br />
NEW APPROACH<br />
Opening of new facilities heralds a modern era in mental healthcare<br />
A NEW era in mental healthcare<br />
continued with the official opening<br />
of the £4.8 million Glencairn facility<br />
at Coathill Hospital in March.<br />
This followed the completion of<br />
the new £8.14m Beckford Lodge<br />
and refurbishment of Caird House.<br />
Together, these developments<br />
mark a major step forward in the<br />
modernisation of mental health<br />
services in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
While the new era gathered pace,<br />
ALSO INSIDE<br />
the old era came to an end with the<br />
closing of Hartwoodhill Hospital at<br />
the end of February. At an informal<br />
event, about 100 guests heard<br />
speakers pay tributes to staff as well<br />
as recount some fond memories of<br />
the hospital.<br />
Executive director of the North<br />
Community Health Partnership<br />
Colin Sloey began his career in 1978<br />
in mental health care at Hartwood<br />
Hospital, which closed in 1998. He<br />
said: “We now know that community<br />
care for many patients is the best<br />
model of treatment as it allows them<br />
to be independent and lead as<br />
normal a life as possible.<br />
“There will always be those who<br />
require inpatient care at some point,<br />
but the facilities now encourage and<br />
support independence and are a<br />
massive improvement.<br />
“The closure of Hartwoodhill<br />
allowed us to celebrate the efforts and<br />
care of those in the past. But it has<br />
also allowed us to look to the future.”<br />
Colin continued: “The opening of<br />
Glencairn, Beckford Lodge and the<br />
refurbishment of Caird House are a<br />
huge step forward for mental health<br />
services in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
“It marks the final move away<br />
from the institutions of the past and<br />
will allow us to provide the very best<br />
care to people with mental health<br />
needs in high-quality accommodation<br />
that supports their recovery<br />
and rehabilitation.”<br />
The Glencairn facility, for adults<br />
with complex mental health needs,<br />
was officially opened at Coathill<br />
Hospital in March. Beckford Lodge<br />
and Caird House jointly provide a<br />
total of 37 inpatient beds for people<br />
with mental health needs in Caird<br />
Street, Hamilton.<br />
MORE ON GLENCAIRN PAGE 3,<br />
NEWS ACROSS THE DIVISIONS • TRAINING UPDATE • YOUR STORIES • YOUR GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS
2<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> GENERAL NEWS MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
Contents<br />
DEAR GREEN PLACE: You could be<br />
teeing up at The Carrick golf course.<br />
See page 17<br />
2-9 GENERAL NEWS<br />
Chronic pain outpatient services relocate; climate<br />
change competition winners revealed; aiming to<br />
cut down on wasted medicine; LEAN scheme to<br />
enhance efficiency; and young carers celebrated.<br />
10-11 WISHAW AND HAIRMYRES ANNIVERSARY<br />
State-of-the-art facilities celebrate first decade of<br />
providing first-class health service.<br />
12-14 LOCAL, DISTRICT AND PARTNERSHIP NEWS<br />
Hypnotherapy sessions now available; Nurse Anne<br />
Scott remembered; Mother tackles misunderstanding<br />
surrounding Tourette’s Syndrome.<br />
17 COMPETITIONS<br />
Win De Vere Group membership worth £295 to be<br />
used at their golf and spa facilities.<br />
20 ACHIEVEMENTS<br />
Armed Forces volunteers honoured.<br />
Got a story?<br />
If you have any ideas,<br />
stories or features you<br />
would like to see included,<br />
or would just like to tell us what<br />
you think of The <strong>Pulse</strong>, please get<br />
in touch with a member of the<br />
editorial team ...<br />
Martin Stirling<br />
01698 245069<br />
Michelle Nobes<br />
(Hairmyres)<br />
01355 585325<br />
Editorial policy<br />
As the staff newspaper of <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, The <strong>Pulse</strong> aims to celebrate<br />
the work and achievements of staff and services. It also shares<br />
information about the changes and issues that affect staff at work. We<br />
would like to hear your thoughts and suggestions about the kind of<br />
stories you would like to see in The <strong>Pulse</strong>. Contact the team (below) with<br />
your stories, comments and ideas.<br />
Christine McNeill<br />
(Monklands)<br />
01236 713065<br />
Yvonne Ross<br />
(Wishaw General)<br />
01698 366558<br />
The deadline for<br />
contributions to<br />
the next issue<br />
Friday 10 <strong>June</strong>.<br />
New BCG unit<br />
for newborns<br />
Clinic is part of<br />
action plan to<br />
lower TB rate<br />
A NEW Neonatal BCG clinic has<br />
opened at Douglas Street<br />
Community Health Clinic as part<br />
of <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s drive to<br />
improve the control and<br />
management of tuberculosis (TB).<br />
The number of cases of TB in the<br />
UK has increased in recent years.<br />
In March, the Scottish<br />
Government published the TB<br />
Action Plan for Scotland to help<br />
reverse this trend and help health<br />
professionals tackle TB.<br />
The action plan aims to increase<br />
the effectiveness of Scotland’s:<br />
q laboratory services and<br />
diagnostic tests<br />
q clinical services<br />
q surveillance and contact tracing<br />
q public health services,<br />
including neonatal immunisation.<br />
Dr Harpreet Kohli, director of<br />
public health, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>,<br />
said: “Here in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, steps<br />
are being implemented to improve<br />
the control and management of TB<br />
through joint working, communications,<br />
resource management,<br />
audits and research.<br />
“In addition, a new central<br />
neonatal BCG immunisation clinic<br />
is being launched at Douglas<br />
Street Community Health Clinic<br />
in Hamilton.”<br />
Christine Weir, lead nurse with<br />
the TB service, said: “Neonatal<br />
BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin)<br />
immunisations are recommended<br />
when there is a family history of<br />
TB, for infants whose parents or<br />
grandparents were born in a<br />
country with a high prevalence of<br />
ALAN Lawrie would like to thank staff<br />
for supporting the implementation of<br />
TrakCare, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s new<br />
patient management system (PMS).<br />
Alan, PMS board chairman, said:<br />
“A lot of staff worked very hard to<br />
put everything in place in time for<br />
the go live date. Each and every one<br />
played an important role in making<br />
this possible.<br />
“Generally, the implementation<br />
was successful although, as would be<br />
expected with implementing a new<br />
system on this scale, a small number<br />
of teething problems have been<br />
encountered.<br />
TB or when extended travel to a<br />
high-risk country is planned.<br />
“The BCG vaccine is effective<br />
and offers 70 to 80 per cent<br />
protection against TB meningitis<br />
in childhood and reduces the risk<br />
of TB in all forms by 50 per cent.<br />
“By having a centralised<br />
neonatal BCG clinic, we can<br />
provide a consistent approach to<br />
the provision of neonatal BCG<br />
throughout <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>,<br />
improve the identification of highrisk<br />
infants, provide training and<br />
improve awareness among<br />
parents and healthcare providers.<br />
“The problems that have been<br />
raised are being addressed with<br />
local experts, from information,<br />
management and technology, clinical<br />
and support staff and staff from<br />
InterSystems, who supplied the<br />
system, working together on solutions.<br />
“We are grateful to everyone for their<br />
hard work, patience and support.”<br />
The new TrakCare system was<br />
implemented in March. The system<br />
stores full electronic records for patients<br />
attending hospital, from referral or<br />
unscheduled admission through their<br />
inpatient and outpatient care and<br />
eventual discharge. It also allows<br />
PROTECTION: Christine Weir, TB<br />
lead nurse and Victoria Douglas<br />
with baby Zaki at the new centre<br />
“It will also help us to overcome<br />
language and communication<br />
barriers.”<br />
The new Neonatal BCG Clinic<br />
at Douglas Street Community<br />
Health Centre, will be held on the<br />
third Wednesday of every month<br />
from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.<br />
Due to the new clinic, all<br />
former BCG clinics throughout<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> will no longer<br />
be held.<br />
For appointments, referrals or<br />
advice, contact the TB Service<br />
on 01698 206 333.<br />
Thanks for keeping TrakCare on track<br />
information to be shared securely<br />
between staff providing patient care.<br />
Planning is under way for phase<br />
two of the implementation including:<br />
q linkage with the Laboratory<br />
Information Management System<br />
q diagnostic test ordering and<br />
reporting<br />
q the use of the electronic record<br />
capabilities of the system.<br />
The TrakCare implementation team<br />
are currently working with clinical<br />
staff, managers and Intersystems to<br />
improve reporting facilities and<br />
the useability of the emergency<br />
department element of the system.
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> GENERAL NEWS<br />
3<br />
Current members<br />
of <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s<br />
mental health<br />
team joined<br />
former staff. The<br />
special event<br />
was organised by<br />
Margaret Serrells<br />
(front right), Lis<br />
Lawson (front<br />
third from right),<br />
Caroline Brown<br />
(back left) and<br />
Fiona Gairns<br />
(third row,<br />
third left)<br />
END OF AN ERA<br />
Bright future for mental health in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
STAFF, service users and carers past<br />
and present gathered at<br />
Hartwoodhill Hospital at the end of<br />
February to mark its official closure.<br />
It saw the end of an era for mental<br />
health in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, but also<br />
pointed to a bright new future.<br />
One individual well placed to<br />
look both backwards and forwards<br />
was North Community Health<br />
Partnership director Colin Sloey.<br />
Colin is currently overseeing the<br />
ongoing modernisation of <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s mental health service.<br />
This has resulted in significant<br />
service improvements in the<br />
community and new state-of-the-art<br />
facilities such as Caird House,<br />
Beckford Lodge and Glencairn.<br />
THE history of Hartwoodhill hospital<br />
dates back to 1886, when an annexe<br />
housing 30 patients was opened in<br />
Shotts Parish.<br />
However, as demand for mental<br />
health services increased, it was<br />
decided to build an “asylum” on the<br />
Hartwood Estate in 1895.<br />
Hartwood’s twin towers became<br />
the most recognisable landmark in<br />
the area as the hospital grew in size.<br />
In the late 1930s, an extension<br />
was erected which became<br />
known as the “Hill<br />
Hospital” and later<br />
Hartwoodhill. By<br />
the mid-1950s<br />
around 2,500<br />
The facilities<br />
now encourage<br />
and support<br />
independence and<br />
are a massive<br />
improvement on the<br />
previous era<br />
The foundations of these changes<br />
can be traced back to Hartwood<br />
Hospital in November 1978 when<br />
Colin’s <strong>NHS</strong> career began.<br />
He said: “I remember 15b was the<br />
first ward I worked on and I can<br />
honestly say I loved it.<br />
“I met some great people – both<br />
patients were based in both Hartwood<br />
and Hartwoodhill hospitals.<br />
The 1980s saw a shift in mental<br />
health treatment, and the first<br />
Mental Health Rehabilitation Service<br />
was set up, along with three<br />
inpatient community sites at Law<br />
Hospital, Airbles Road Centre and<br />
Monklands Hospital.<br />
During this time, the first<br />
community psychiatric team was also<br />
established. It had four staff.<br />
By the 1990s, community<br />
mental health<br />
patients and staff – and it was an<br />
experience which helped shape my<br />
views on how the service should best<br />
meet the needs of patients.<br />
“There were almost 2000 beds in<br />
the hospital – one ward had more<br />
than 100 patients.<br />
“With no bed screens and<br />
communal baths, it wasn’t always<br />
the most dignified of environments.<br />
“However, what always impressed<br />
me was the staff commitment to delivering<br />
the best possible quality of care.<br />
“It wasn’t only the physical and<br />
medical care but also facilitating the<br />
residents’ social and emotional<br />
needs. The staff really made the<br />
effort to create a caring community<br />
for patients by organising things like<br />
A history of care dating back to 1886<br />
teams expanded; community sites<br />
increased to include Hairmyres,<br />
Udston, Cleland and Coathill<br />
hospitals; and the first programme<br />
for group home living took place.<br />
As a result, Hartwood closed in<br />
1998, with 289 patients remaining in<br />
Hartwoodhill.<br />
With the further development of<br />
new mental health facilities in<br />
Wishaw General and Cleland<br />
Hospitals, as well as further expansion<br />
of community services, yet more<br />
patients were able to be discharged<br />
and only 29 remained by 2010.<br />
On 28 February, these patients<br />
were relocated to the new Beckford<br />
Lodge site in Hamilton.<br />
social clubs, outings and events.<br />
“While this was all done with the<br />
best of intentions and was genuinely<br />
appreciated by patients and their<br />
families, there was always part of me<br />
which felt we had an over-emphasis<br />
on institutionally based care models<br />
which inadvertently created a<br />
dependence on care services to help<br />
meet people’s needs.”<br />
Today there is an acceptance that<br />
people with mental health problems<br />
recover best when they are supported<br />
to live in their own communities.<br />
This has driven new ways of<br />
working and consigned large-scale<br />
mental health hospitals to history.<br />
Colin continued: “When I started<br />
there were no community mental<br />
health nurses, but we now know that<br />
community care for many patients<br />
is the best model of treatment as it<br />
allows them to be independent and<br />
lead as normal a life as possible.<br />
“There’s little doubt there will<br />
always be those who require inpatient<br />
care at some point, but the facilities<br />
now – with, in many cases, single ensuite<br />
rooms with cooking facilities and<br />
leisure areas – encourage and support<br />
independence, and are a massive<br />
improvement on the previous era.<br />
“The closure of Hartwoodhill has<br />
allowed us to quite rightly celebrate<br />
the efforts and care of those in the<br />
past – as it’s well deserved.<br />
“But it has also allowed us to look<br />
to the future.<br />
“Given what has been achieved<br />
and what’s still to be completed, I<br />
think it’s one staff, patients and the<br />
wider community can look to with<br />
a great deal of confidence.”<br />
Colin Sloey, Frank Fallan and John<br />
Anning open the new facility<br />
Glencairn<br />
facility<br />
opened<br />
GLENCAIRN – a new facility for<br />
adults with complex mental health<br />
needs – was officially opened at<br />
Coathill Hospital in March.<br />
The joint opening was<br />
performed by Mr John Anning,<br />
chair of the North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Community Health Partnership<br />
(CHP) and Mr Frank Fallan, chair<br />
of the mental health service user<br />
and carer-led organisation<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Links.<br />
The £4.89m development<br />
provides high-quality, modern<br />
accommodation – including 12<br />
single-bedded rooms<br />
with en-suite bathrooms – in<br />
surroundings specially designed<br />
to help promote recovery.<br />
It also provides psychology and<br />
occupational therapy support.<br />
Work on the facility began in<br />
April 2009 and was completed<br />
in July 2010.<br />
Colin Sloey, director of <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s North Community<br />
Health Partnership, pictured<br />
below, said: “A lot of thought has<br />
gone into the design of Glencairn<br />
so we can provide the best<br />
possible care to people with<br />
complex needs and help support<br />
their recovery and rehabilitation.<br />
“It is another important step<br />
forward with the continuing<br />
modernisation of mental health<br />
services in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, and<br />
demonstrates that we are<br />
delivering on our commitment<br />
through the <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Mental<br />
Health Strategy, to provide highquality<br />
services in the most<br />
appropriate setting.”<br />
Glencairn is one of the key<br />
developments that will replace<br />
existing facilities for adults with<br />
complex needs at Airbles Road<br />
Centre, Motherwell. It has also<br />
allowed for the closure of<br />
Hartwoodhill Hospital in Shotts.<br />
An additional mental health<br />
facility for patients with complex<br />
mental health needs at Caird<br />
Street, Hamilton was completed in<br />
December 2010.<br />
Both developments<br />
are part of <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s<br />
strategy to<br />
provide mental<br />
health services<br />
in small,<br />
purpose-built,<br />
communitybased<br />
units.
4<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> GENERAL NEWS MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPY SERVICE LAUNCHES<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s modernised<br />
psychological therapy service began<br />
on 1 April <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
The new, improved service has a<br />
streamlined referral route which<br />
means GPs only have one point of<br />
contact to refer adults with mental<br />
health issues who require treatment.<br />
The restructured service model has<br />
an emphasis on locality-based teams<br />
and will deliver evidence-based<br />
interventions to patients depending<br />
on their psychological requirements.<br />
The core measurement for the<br />
service improvement will be reduced<br />
waiting times.<br />
Norma Cruickshank, nurse<br />
consultant for psychological<br />
interventions, who is involved in the<br />
modernisation, said: “The aim is to<br />
ensure that <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> offers<br />
equitable, effective and timely access<br />
to appropriate psychological<br />
therapies, delivered by appropriately<br />
trained and supervised staff in<br />
appropriate locality-based settings.”<br />
Outlining the reasons for change<br />
Norma continued: “The current<br />
demand for psychological therapies<br />
outstrips supply.<br />
“Recognising this challenge, we<br />
wanted to develop a workforce in<br />
sufficient numbers and with the<br />
competence and organisational systems<br />
to deliver safe, effective and appropriate<br />
treatment with good supervisory support<br />
within a clinical governance framework.<br />
“The new model will provide a well<br />
considered direction of stepped care<br />
in the service user’s journey.<br />
“This will help ensure timely access<br />
to a range of evidence-based<br />
psychological interventions. The<br />
revised skill mix of practitioners will<br />
improve existing capacity, which in<br />
turn will reduce waiting times.”<br />
For more information and a GP<br />
reference sheet, visit http://firstport/<br />
sites/cid/ default.aspx<br />
Top marks<br />
for child<br />
protection<br />
CHILD protection services in North<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> received one of the<br />
best ratings in Scotland in a report<br />
published by HM Inspectorate of<br />
Education (HMIE) in March.<br />
Inspectors visited North<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> in November and<br />
December last year to review the<br />
child protection services provided<br />
by <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> and its<br />
partners, including North<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Council, Strathclyde<br />
Police and the Children’s Reporter.<br />
They also spoke to children,<br />
parents and carers about the<br />
services they received.<br />
Colin Sloey, director of <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s North Community<br />
Health Partnership, said: “It’s very<br />
pleasing that child protection<br />
services in North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
have been rated so highly.<br />
“This report reflects the<br />
commitment, professionalism<br />
and dedication of staff across<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> in making sure<br />
children are safe.<br />
“We will continue to work<br />
closely with our partners to<br />
ensure children are protected from<br />
harm and that we are providing<br />
the best services possible.”<br />
Child protection services in<br />
North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> were rated<br />
“very good” – the second highest<br />
level in all six areas of assessment:<br />
q children are listened to<br />
and respected<br />
q children are helped to keep safe<br />
q response to immediate<br />
concerns<br />
q meeting needs and reducing<br />
long-term harm<br />
q self-evaluation<br />
q improvements in performance.<br />
A copy of the report is available<br />
at www.hmie.gov.uk<br />
New copyright guidelines in force<br />
COPYRIGHT governs the copying we<br />
do on photocopiers, scanners and<br />
how we store materials from<br />
external sources online.<br />
Amanda Minns, library services<br />
manager, said: “The copyright<br />
regulations changed on 1 April <strong>2011</strong><br />
and we now have greater<br />
restrictions to copying material.”<br />
This is a complex area of law but<br />
there are some general guidelines<br />
staff should follow.<br />
It is an offence to copy a<br />
published work in any format<br />
without the permission of the owner.<br />
However, the 1988 Act permits<br />
copying within the terms of ‘fair<br />
dealing’ and ‘library privilege’.<br />
Fair dealing<br />
There is no precise definition of ‘fair<br />
dealing’ in law, but it essentially<br />
allows limited copying provided it is<br />
‘fair’. The amount that may be copied<br />
is normally interpreted as being no<br />
more than 5 per cent provided it is<br />
Amanda Minns: ‘regulations change’<br />
for one of the following purposes:<br />
q Private study and research for<br />
non-commercial aims<br />
q Criticism and news reporting<br />
q Supporting royal commissions,<br />
statutory enquiries, judicial<br />
proceedings and parliamentary<br />
purposes<br />
q You must acknowledge the<br />
copyright owner in all copies<br />
q If you need to make multiple copies<br />
contact the copyright holder to<br />
request permission. Or your <strong>NHS</strong><br />
library service may be able to help.<br />
Library privilege<br />
Librarians and users of prescribed<br />
library services may make or supply<br />
a single copy of an article or of a<br />
‘reasonable proportion’ of a literary<br />
work for the purposes of private<br />
study or research.<br />
Users should complete and sign a<br />
copyright declaration form for each<br />
item to confirm that the extent and<br />
purpose of copying complies with<br />
‘fair dealing’.<br />
Regarding electronic journals via<br />
The Knowledge Network, staff should<br />
consult the licence terms for each<br />
journal but authorised users may<br />
usually:<br />
q print or download a copy of an<br />
article for personal use<br />
q send a copy of an article to<br />
another authorised user<br />
q create documents with live links<br />
to electronic journal articles<br />
q save links to electronic journal<br />
articles in Shared Spaces and<br />
community websites.<br />
Services relocated<br />
CONVENIENT: The Buchanan<br />
Centre has excellent public<br />
transport links<br />
Single centre for chronic pain<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s chronic pain<br />
outpatient services have relocated to<br />
the Buchanan Centre in Coatbridge.<br />
This service was previously<br />
delivered across Monklands Hospital<br />
and Wishaw General Hospital.<br />
Dr Rory MacKenzie, specialty<br />
clinical director, said:<br />
“Concentrating the service in the<br />
Buchanan Centre, means patients<br />
will have access to a quality clinical<br />
service and a range of healthcare<br />
professionals in one consistent<br />
location which has good access to<br />
parking and public transport.”<br />
Rory added: “Being in a ‘nonhospital’<br />
environment helps patients<br />
to be less apprehensive and enables<br />
the service to be brought closer to the<br />
community. In addition, consultants<br />
and nurses no longer have to travel<br />
between the two hospital sites. This<br />
will help to free up consultants’ and<br />
nurses’ time to see more complex<br />
patients and make best use of the new,<br />
dedicated resources.”<br />
Being in a single location enables<br />
the team members to meet on a<br />
regular basis to discuss and plan<br />
management of complex patients in<br />
a multi-disciplinary set up.<br />
Secretarial services are available<br />
locally, which enables better co-ordination<br />
of the services. The ample<br />
rooms facilitate the training of<br />
Patients will<br />
have access<br />
to a quality<br />
clinical service<br />
primary care staff, including GPs,<br />
as well as junior hospital doctors<br />
interested in chronic pain.<br />
Judith Park, general manager for<br />
surgery and critical care, added:<br />
“The team have worked extremely<br />
hard to bring this important service<br />
on to a single location, and, in doing<br />
this, existing outpatient accommodation<br />
at Monklands and Wishaw is<br />
available for use by other services.”
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> GENERAL NEWS<br />
5<br />
STUBBING IT OUT<br />
Scott and Hannah are ready<br />
to reduce youth smoking<br />
AN innovative new teaching tool<br />
has been launched in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
to help reduce the number of<br />
young smokers.<br />
In <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, a shameful<br />
20 per cent of 15-year-olds smoke.<br />
‘Smoke in your Eyes: A Teaching<br />
Resource Exploring Tobacco<br />
Issues’ aims to tackle this alarmingly<br />
high rate.<br />
The new resource, developed by<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> in partnership<br />
with North and South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Councils in consultation with<br />
young people and parents, is<br />
aimed at three to 18-year-olds.<br />
Written by two local teachers,<br />
Danielle Timmons and Graham<br />
Parry, Smoke in your Eyes uses a<br />
comic strip format and links<br />
closely to the new Curriculum for<br />
Excellence framework.<br />
Pupils follow the stories of<br />
Scott and Hannah, who experience<br />
various situations where<br />
smoking is an issue – from a<br />
grandparent who smokes coming<br />
to stay, to dealing with peer<br />
pressure as a teenager.<br />
Sarah Lindsay, smoking<br />
prevention and education<br />
programme manager with <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, said: “Around a<br />
quarter of all deaths in Scotland<br />
are attributable to smoking and it<br />
is implicated as a factor in cancer,<br />
coronary heart disease and stroke.<br />
“If we want to improve the<br />
health of our young people, we<br />
need to reduce the number of<br />
smokers.<br />
“We hope Smoke in Your Eyes<br />
will be used by schools as part of<br />
their curriculum to help make a<br />
significant impact in reducing the<br />
numbers of young smokers and<br />
increasing their health.”<br />
Danielle, a teacher at St Vincent’s<br />
Primary, East Kilbride, described<br />
how Smoke in Your Eyes works.<br />
She said: “In order to make the<br />
lessons more engaging, we decided<br />
to build in a fictional context with<br />
two characters, Scott and Hannah,<br />
best friends who have a number of<br />
life experiences relating to smoking.<br />
“Using a comic strip format,<br />
pupils follow stories about Scott and<br />
Hannah growing up, mirroring the<br />
age of the pupils in each year group.<br />
“The story begins in primary four<br />
with Scott and Hannah aged eight<br />
and in the same class together.<br />
“Each year, the story progresses,<br />
as does the character age in line<br />
with the pupils using the pack.<br />
“We believed that the pupils<br />
would relate more to characters the<br />
same age as them and would better<br />
identify with their experiences.”<br />
Graham, a teacher with Hamilton<br />
Grammar, said: “Smoke in Your<br />
Eyes closely follows the Curriculum<br />
for Excellence and comes in a pack<br />
with clear lesson plans and all the<br />
necessary resources.<br />
“As pupils learn about Scott<br />
and Hannah’s experiences, it<br />
promotes discussions around the<br />
issues of smoking relevant for<br />
their age group.”<br />
Smoke in your Eyes will be<br />
available on teachers’ GLOW<br />
intranet site and on disc.<br />
For more information on Smoke in<br />
your Eyes, call Sarah on 01698 245171<br />
or email sarah.lindsay@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk<br />
Smoke in your eyes: Sarah Lindsay, front, third from right, is pictured with<br />
teachers and staff from <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> and the two local authorities<br />
Sarah (left) and Claire with their winning smoking cessation poster design, which will be displayed across <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Pupils get the message<br />
TWO pupils from Uddingston<br />
Grammar School gave<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s new<br />
youth stop smoking service<br />
a colourful launch.<br />
Sarah Rae and Claire Harvey,<br />
both 17, designed a poster that<br />
comes in four different colours<br />
promoting the new service<br />
which aims to encourage<br />
under-18s who have taken up<br />
smoking to ‘Just Quit’.<br />
The pair came up with the<br />
simple message after <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> and Landed peer<br />
education service invited school<br />
pupils to design a promotion idea<br />
to highlight the new youth service.<br />
Claire and Sarah chose four<br />
different coloured posters –<br />
blue, green, yellow and pink –<br />
as they thought each colour<br />
would appeal to different sections<br />
of young people.<br />
Titled ‘No Catchphrase – Just<br />
It is important<br />
to have a<br />
youth-friendly<br />
support service for<br />
those who are<br />
already addicted to<br />
smoking and want<br />
help to quit<br />
Quit’ it appealed to smoking<br />
cessation professionals and they<br />
now hope it will have the same<br />
impact on all under-18s as the<br />
posters will be used across<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
To reward their efforts <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> and Landed presented<br />
the pupils with a framed plaque<br />
with one of their posters.<br />
Sarah Lindsay, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
smoking prevention and<br />
education programme manager,<br />
said: “It’s a simple design and<br />
message, but both Claire and Sarah<br />
showed great originality in coming<br />
up with it. We know that smokers<br />
under 18 are keen to quit smoking,<br />
but we also know the approach<br />
used with those over 18 is not<br />
appropriate with this age group.<br />
Harpreet Kohli, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
director of public health, said: “The<br />
new youth stop smoking service is<br />
part of <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s wider<br />
programme of work aiming to<br />
prevent children and young people<br />
from starting to smoke and helping<br />
them to stop if they have started.<br />
“As smoking prevention and<br />
awareness raising activities<br />
increase across the region, it is<br />
important to have a youth-friendly<br />
support service for those who are<br />
already addicted to smoking and<br />
want help to quit.”<br />
SAFETY<br />
SLOGAN ON<br />
ENGINES<br />
THE <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Alcohol and Drug<br />
Partnership (LADP) teamed up with<br />
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue (SFR) to<br />
promote the message ‘Don’t fuel fire<br />
with alcohol and drugs’.<br />
The LADP has funded the cost of<br />
displaying magnetic signs bearing the<br />
slogan on the sides of all North<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> fire appliances.<br />
The move is the latest in a long line<br />
of initiatives which highlight home<br />
fire safety and the fire-related<br />
dangers of alcohol abuse.<br />
Dr Gary Tanner, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s<br />
clinical director for addiction services,<br />
said: “Strathclyde Fire and Rescue has<br />
told us that alcohol is a key reason for<br />
house fires.<br />
“Over the last festive season, there<br />
were a spate of house fires in<br />
Strathclyde which tragically led to the<br />
deaths of seven people and another<br />
68 suffering from smoke inhalation or<br />
other injuries. Substance misuse has<br />
also been identified as a contributory<br />
factor in house fires.<br />
“Combating alcohol and drugrelated<br />
fire deaths requires a<br />
collaborative, multi-agency approach<br />
and that’s why we were more than<br />
happy to support SFR get this<br />
potentially life saving message out<br />
into the community.”<br />
The poster will appear on the sides of all<br />
North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> fire appliances
6<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> GENERAL NEWS MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
GREEN IS GOOD<br />
In<br />
Making a<br />
difference<br />
STAFF in <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
demonstrated their green<br />
credentials during Climate<br />
Change Week by doing their bit<br />
to protect the planet.<br />
As well as cutting energy<br />
consumption during the<br />
awareness week in March,<br />
staff also provided some great<br />
suggestions on how <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> could cut carbon<br />
emissions in the future.<br />
A host of entries and some<br />
fantastic ideas for saving energy<br />
were received for the Dales Cycle<br />
and Total Swimming competitions<br />
held to mark Climate Week.<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s head of<br />
sustainability and environment<br />
Marie Porteous said: “A lot of work<br />
has been carried out to reduce <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s energy consumption<br />
and our staff are playing their part<br />
by switching off their PCs, monitors<br />
and printers at the end of every day,<br />
turning the heating down or off and<br />
switching off lights.<br />
“The ideas<br />
that were<br />
received through<br />
the Climate Week<br />
competitions<br />
demonstrate that staff<br />
are on the ball with regards to<br />
energy efficiency. We will now be<br />
looking at putting some of these<br />
ideas into action.”<br />
Winner of the £100 voucher for<br />
Dales Cycles was Katy Mavor,<br />
clinical governance co-ordinator,<br />
maternal and infant nutrition.<br />
Winners of the Total Swimming<br />
courses, worth £60 each, were:<br />
Darren Mullen, counterweight<br />
healthcare support worker, Wester<br />
Moffat Hospital; Claire Tiernan,<br />
health promotion, Blantyre; Moira<br />
Agnew, Coatbridge Health Centre;<br />
Donald Cameron, haematology,<br />
Wishaw General Hospital; and<br />
Francesca Aaen, clinical pharmacist,<br />
Monklands Hospital.<br />
In addition to answering the<br />
competition questions, entries had<br />
to include an idea for how <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> can save energy.<br />
Ideas entered included:<br />
q Install light sensors to rooms<br />
that are rarely used, such as toilets<br />
and cupboards<br />
q Use posters in air-conditioned<br />
rooms to remind staff to keep<br />
doors and windows closed<br />
and save energy by only air<br />
conditioning the space needed<br />
q Remind staff about the<br />
benefits of switching off lights<br />
q Provide lockers and showers for<br />
staff who want to cycle to work<br />
q Have regular events to promote<br />
the cycle to work scheme including<br />
maintenance classes and cycle-towork<br />
days<br />
q Increase the recycling of paper<br />
and other materials<br />
q Practice greater efficiency with<br />
heating to save energy and allow<br />
the heating to be controlled locally<br />
q Encourage staff to switch PC<br />
monitors off when leaving their<br />
desk for meetings or over lunch<br />
q Encourage more video<br />
conferencing facilities to reduce<br />
travel for meetings<br />
q Establish which paper-based<br />
procedures could be digitised.<br />
Find out more about the<br />
cycle to work scheme visit<br />
www.cyclescheme.co.uk and click on<br />
the ‘employees’ tab<br />
Bereavement support group recognised<br />
A PROJECT in South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> to<br />
help young people cope with loss<br />
and bereavement has scooped a top<br />
national award.<br />
The COSLA Excellence Awards<br />
showcase the very best of Scottish<br />
local government.<br />
Winning an award for best team<br />
was the Give Us A Break! programme<br />
supported by <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff.<br />
The award celebrates an<br />
outstanding team effort in a<br />
programme which helps change the<br />
lives of many youngsters who are<br />
faced with loss and bereavement.<br />
Give Us A Break! offers young<br />
people help and support in a<br />
therapeutic way. It also enables<br />
them to understand their own and<br />
others’ strengths.<br />
The programme was developed<br />
by South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Council<br />
Psychological Service, in collaboration<br />
with Macmillan Cancer Care and with<br />
support from <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff involved in<br />
the team are Tracy Stephen, clinical<br />
COSLA president Pat Watters presents the Give Us A Break! team and their award<br />
team manager, Primary Mental Health<br />
Team; Anne Murphy, education<br />
psychologist; and Lisa Cunningham,<br />
education psychologist.<br />
The awards ceremony took place on<br />
10 March at the Fairmont Hotel in<br />
St Andrews.<br />
Tracy said: “A gap for a service<br />
like this in South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> was<br />
identified by a multi-agency group. A<br />
A gap for a<br />
service like<br />
this in South<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> was<br />
identified by a<br />
multi-agency group<br />
joint commitment was made and a<br />
training course was put together over<br />
five years.”<br />
Training has allowed staff to work<br />
together as a group so that young<br />
people can access this service.<br />
It helps young people aged 10 to 14<br />
years who are finding it hard to cope<br />
with loss and bereavement or any<br />
negative change in their lives. It allows<br />
young people to understand their<br />
experiences in a supportive<br />
environment, with other young people<br />
who are going through the same thing.<br />
Tracy added: “What the team has<br />
achieved is down to their approach as<br />
a group.”<br />
brief…<br />
e<br />
STAFF are being reminded<br />
that new applications for<br />
funding for further and higher<br />
education will only be considered<br />
if the course forms an essential<br />
part of your role.<br />
Support for further and<br />
Higher education is funded<br />
from a central fund held by<br />
organisational development on<br />
behalf of <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
Morag MacDermid,<br />
organisational development<br />
manager, said: “<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
will honour commitments to staff<br />
already undertaking further or<br />
higher education which is funded<br />
via this route and continues into<br />
academic year <strong>2011</strong>/2012.<br />
“These staff will soon be asked<br />
to provide a progress report and<br />
to confirm details of their study<br />
in <strong>2011</strong>/2012.<br />
“There is no need to submit<br />
another application form.<br />
“This year, new applications<br />
will be restricted solely to those<br />
for whom a course of further or<br />
higher education is an essential<br />
part of their role or contract.”<br />
Application forms are available<br />
on the training and<br />
development section of FirstPort or<br />
from a training co-ordinator. The<br />
closing date for applications is Friday<br />
27 <strong>May</strong>. Advice is available to anyone<br />
who would otherwise have applied<br />
for support by contacting Morag on<br />
01698 37 7791 or Agnes Robb, training<br />
manager, on 01698 377790.<br />
e<br />
THE Food and Nutrition<br />
Task Force has set nursing<br />
and catering staff the challenge<br />
of improving patient’s experience<br />
at mealtimes.<br />
Staff in two wards at each<br />
acute hospital will work together,<br />
using the Scottish Patient Safety<br />
methodology of testing out small<br />
changes to their day-to-day<br />
practice, to improve mealtimes for<br />
their patients.<br />
Nursing and catering staff are<br />
meeting to discuss which changes<br />
could be made and are talking to<br />
patients on their wards to find<br />
out what they think of the food<br />
they are served and how their<br />
experience could be improved.<br />
Anne Armstrong, who chairs<br />
the task and finish group, said:<br />
“The way in which meals are<br />
served is different at each of our<br />
hospitals which is why we need<br />
to look at local solutions to<br />
improving the patient experience<br />
at mealtimes. Good team working<br />
between nursing and catering<br />
staff is essential.”<br />
The wards which are involved<br />
in the pilot programme are the<br />
coronary care unit (CCU) and<br />
Ward 14 at Wishaw, CCU and<br />
Ward 11 at Hairmyres and CCU<br />
and Ward 17 at Monklands.<br />
They are due to report back to<br />
the task and finish group in <strong>May</strong><br />
with a view to developing a set of<br />
recommendations for approval by<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Board in <strong>June</strong>.
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> GENERAL NEWS<br />
7<br />
Engage<br />
with PPF<br />
“GETTING engaged” in your local<br />
health services was the aim of an<br />
event held by the North and South<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Public Partnership<br />
Forums (PPFs) in February.<br />
PPFs are made up of volunteer<br />
representatives and they are<br />
involved in monitoring <strong>NHS</strong><br />
performance and in key issues such<br />
as raising public awareness of<br />
health issues, cleanliness of<br />
hospitals and the quality of<br />
patients’ food.<br />
Chair of South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> PPF<br />
Irene Miller said: “By getting both<br />
PPFs and interested parties<br />
together at this event we were<br />
able to discuss how best to<br />
achieve our goals.”<br />
Chair of North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> PPF<br />
Felix Mulholland said: “We want to<br />
develop a strategy to better engage<br />
with the <strong>NHS</strong> and the general<br />
public and we want to look at new<br />
ways of doing this.<br />
“In particular, we hope to<br />
increase public participation and<br />
encourage people to get engaged in<br />
the design and delivery of <strong>NHS</strong><br />
services.”<br />
For more information about the<br />
PPFs visit www.nhs<br />
lanarkshire.org.uk/involved/ppf<br />
Pictured, from left, PPF members Jack Ferguson, Elvin Bailey, Irene Miller,<br />
Stephen Kerr and Felix Mulholland<br />
NEW POLICY SYSTEM<br />
A SYSTEM launched last year to help<br />
manage <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s policies<br />
has been highlighted as an area of<br />
good practice by Her Majesty’s<br />
Inspectorate of Education (HMIe).<br />
But this is only one of the successes<br />
of the new Corporate Policies System<br />
– which makes finding policies and<br />
developing new ones much easier.<br />
Between the launch of the website in<br />
<strong>June</strong> 2010 and March <strong>2011</strong> there were<br />
more than 40,000 “hits” – which shows<br />
how popular the site is proving to be.<br />
And a staff survey found that<br />
people who were using the system<br />
rated it positively.<br />
Carol McGhee, corporate risk<br />
manager, said: “The site was designed<br />
to improve the management and<br />
monitoring of policies and make it<br />
easier and quicker to find them. Judging<br />
by feedback we’ve achieved these aims.<br />
“From feedback received we’re<br />
changing all polices to pdf format and<br />
have updated the website.<br />
“Having the system highlighted<br />
e<br />
AN osteoporosis awareness<br />
day was held at Hairmyres<br />
Hospital in March.<br />
Wendy Feeney, lead nurse<br />
specialist for fractures and<br />
osteoporosis at <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>,<br />
said: “Osteoporosis is a silent<br />
condition. One in two women and<br />
one in five men over the age of 50<br />
will break a bone primarily as a<br />
result of osteoporosis.<br />
during the HMIe visit as an area of good<br />
practice was a fantastic compliment to<br />
everyone who helped develop the site.”<br />
In addition to providing easy access<br />
to <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> policies, there is<br />
an electronic policy template to help<br />
you develop new policies and a policy<br />
on developing policies.<br />
When you post a policy on the new<br />
system, Library Services will check it<br />
to ensure it has the required contact<br />
details and review date before posting<br />
it onto the site in PDF format.<br />
Library Services will also contact<br />
you before the review date to help you<br />
ensure your policies are up to date.<br />
To access the Corporate Policies<br />
System click on the “Policies” link on<br />
the FirstPort home page.<br />
To post a policy on the system email<br />
corporatepolicies@lanarkshire<br />
.scot.nhs.uk and for more information on<br />
the system, or if you can’t find a specific<br />
policy contact Carol on 01698 258785.<br />
“However, there are ways to<br />
minimise the risk of osteoporotic<br />
fractures such as a healthy diet,<br />
ensuring you get enough calcium<br />
and vitamin D each day, weightbearing<br />
exercise, stopping smoking<br />
and moderating your alcohol intake.<br />
“Steps can also be taken to<br />
reduce the risk of falls in the older<br />
age groups such as moving objects<br />
that you could trip over.”<br />
Millions of reasons to<br />
cut medicine waste<br />
Collections bins and leaflets distributed in new drive to tackle drugs wastage<br />
MEDICINE waste costs <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> £2 million – enough to<br />
pay for 180 coronary bypass operations<br />
– every year.<br />
To reduce this waste, the health<br />
board, supported by local pharmacies<br />
and GPs, wishes to raise<br />
awareness of the problem so this<br />
money can be used to improve other<br />
healthcare services.<br />
Dr Philip McMenemy, <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s associate medical<br />
director for primary care, said:<br />
“The biggest problem comes from<br />
repeat prescriptions that people no<br />
longer need or use.<br />
“But people don’t realise how<br />
much medicine wastage actually<br />
occurs.<br />
“The spend for <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> for<br />
waste is estimated to be about<br />
£2m a year.<br />
“We believe that we can reduce<br />
that and hope to improve services<br />
for patients by re-routing that money<br />
for other things.<br />
“The key thing is for people, when<br />
they are taking their repeat prescriptions<br />
from their GPs, to think about<br />
the process and if they are not using<br />
a medicine or getting too much of<br />
a medicine or too frequently, to<br />
discuss that with their doctor or with<br />
their pharmacist.”<br />
To help people order the correct<br />
type and amount of medicines, GPs<br />
and pharmacists are now distributing<br />
leaflets patients can use to cancel any<br />
medicines they no longer need when<br />
ordering their repeat prescriptions.<br />
Tony Hanlon, pharmacist at<br />
Cairns Chemist in Market Place,<br />
Carluke, said: “We now have yellow<br />
bins for people to bring back medicines<br />
they don’t need but many<br />
people still tend to keep medicines<br />
‘just in case’ or order medicines they<br />
don’t need.<br />
“They don’t realise how big a<br />
problem this is or how much its<br />
costing the <strong>NHS</strong>.<br />
“I think this is a message we need<br />
to keep reinforcing – it’s up to the<br />
individual to take responsibility for<br />
their own medication.”<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s head of<br />
prescribing management, Alastair<br />
Thorburn, added: “The feedback<br />
we’ve been receiving from GPs and<br />
pharmacists is that the message is<br />
being heard and that people are<br />
filling in the new leaflets to cancel<br />
any medicines they don’t need.”<br />
For more information on how to<br />
reduce medical waste, call <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s General Enquiry Line<br />
on 08453 130 130.<br />
Leaflets are available at www.nhs<br />
lanarkshire.org.uk under the Our<br />
Services/Pharmacy section<br />
WASTE NOT<br />
WANT NOT:<br />
Customer<br />
Steven Jackson,<br />
from Carluke,<br />
pharmacist<br />
Tony Hanlon<br />
and chemist<br />
supervisor<br />
Anne-Marie<br />
Connell
8<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> GENERAL NEWS MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
Work under way<br />
CONSTRUCTION work has started on<br />
the new state-of-the-art Airdrie<br />
Community Health Centre.<br />
When complete in summer 2012,<br />
the new development will be one of<br />
the largest health centres of its kind<br />
in Scotland.<br />
Incorporating the new health<br />
centre along with new retail<br />
properties on Graham Street, and<br />
new office accommodation for North<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Council, the new<br />
£27 million building will have more<br />
than 100,000 square feet of floor<br />
space over five levels and provide a<br />
major boost to the regeneration of<br />
Airdrie town centre.<br />
The facility will bring together a<br />
range of primary care and other<br />
community-based services which are<br />
intended to significantly improve<br />
patient access to healthcare and<br />
serve about 50,000 patients<br />
across Airdrie.<br />
Services based at the centre will<br />
include dental, podiatry, dietetics,<br />
paediatric, and physiotherapy as well<br />
as nine GP practices.<br />
Ian Ross, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s<br />
director of performance and<br />
planning, said: “It’s great to see<br />
work get under way on this fantastic<br />
new community health centre which<br />
will create a first-class environment<br />
for patient care that will<br />
significantly improve how we<br />
deliver community health services in<br />
the area.<br />
“Its location, in the heart of<br />
Airdrie, will not only ensure people<br />
have easier access to primary care<br />
and community-based services, it<br />
will also provide a boost to the<br />
development of the town centre.”<br />
Ian Ross, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> director of<br />
performance and planning, with Colin<br />
Sloey, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> director of the<br />
North Community Health Partnership,<br />
at the new Airdrie Health Centre site<br />
RAISING AWARENESS<br />
STEPHANIE Doody would like to very positive with over 90 per cent<br />
thank everyone who attended the of attendees happy with the events,<br />
Healthcare Science events at<br />
and the HCS staff involved were<br />
Monklands and Wishaw in March. noted as being very friendly,<br />
The <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> healthcare informed and helpful.<br />
science development lead said:<br />
“I would like to thank everyone<br />
“These events were organised to who attended the events, particularly<br />
help raise awareness to the<br />
the staff from microbiology,<br />
important roles healthcare scientists haematology, biochemistry and<br />
have within <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>. cardiology who helped with the<br />
“Feedback from the days were running of the days.”<br />
THANKFUL:<br />
Irene Winning,<br />
head of<br />
microbiology<br />
at Monklands,<br />
and Stephanie<br />
Doody, right<br />
Helping youths<br />
help loved ones<br />
Shining the spotlight on the young people who make a difference every day<br />
BEING young can be tough at<br />
times – being a young carer with the<br />
added responsibility of looking after<br />
a loved one can make it even more<br />
challenging.<br />
However, help is available.<br />
An event hosted by <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> in March aimed to<br />
raise awareness of young carers and<br />
how they can be supported.<br />
Linda Craig, co-ordinator for the<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Carer Support<br />
Team, said: “Many young carers<br />
don’t see themselves as carers,<br />
they just see it as looking after a<br />
brother or sister, for example, who<br />
has additional needs.<br />
“But the duties they perform go<br />
far and beyond the normal<br />
household chores and can involve<br />
feeding, washing, clothing and<br />
administering medication.<br />
“Young people also don’t want<br />
to be viewed as different to<br />
their peers.<br />
“All this can have big impact on<br />
their life and make it difficult to<br />
socialise with their friends, keep up<br />
with their schoolwork and live their<br />
own lives.<br />
“This event, which was the first<br />
ever event for all young carers in<br />
North and South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>,<br />
shined the spotlight on them and<br />
highlighted what the health service,<br />
social work and education can do to<br />
help and support them.”<br />
The Young Carer Information<br />
Event, held in the South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Council headquarters in Hamilton,<br />
included a range of information<br />
stands and workshops.<br />
A number of young carers also<br />
delivered talks on their own experiences<br />
and how young carer support<br />
groups had helped them.<br />
Jordan McKenzie, 19, is the chair<br />
of the South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Young<br />
Carers’ Forum and helps care for<br />
one of her younger sisters, who was<br />
born with a disability.<br />
PROVIDING SUPPORT: Young carers<br />
and staff at the Young Carers Event<br />
She said: “I never considered<br />
myself as a carer until I was 14 and<br />
my guidance teacher at school<br />
brought the subject up.<br />
“I’d been struggling with<br />
homework and beginning to fall<br />
behind. My own health was being<br />
affected as I wasn’t getting enough<br />
sleep and I was low in confidence.<br />
When I realised I was a carer and<br />
there was help available, it made a<br />
huge difference.<br />
“It’s important that other young<br />
people know support exists and they<br />
get the help they need and deserve.”<br />
If you wish to discuss a carer<br />
issue, or are looking for more information<br />
on the support available for<br />
carers, the contacts are:<br />
q Hairmyres Hospital – elaine.harrow<br />
@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk or 01355<br />
585522<br />
q Monklands Hospital – lesley.callan<br />
@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk or 01236<br />
748748<br />
q Wishaw General – elizabeth.<br />
macdonald@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk<br />
or 01698 361100<br />
q North Community Health<br />
Partnership (CHP), North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Carers Together – cst@carers<br />
together.org or 01698 404055<br />
q South CHP, South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Carers Network – Linda Craig,<br />
linda@slcn.co.uk or 01698 285163<br />
q North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Young Carers<br />
– Allison Smith, allison.smith@<br />
actionforchildren.org.uk or 01698<br />
258801<br />
q South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Young Carers<br />
– Barbara McAuley, youngcarer<br />
service@southlanarkshire.gov.uk or<br />
01698 455455.
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> GENERAL NEWS<br />
9<br />
In brief…<br />
e<br />
PEOPLE across <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
are being urged to return<br />
any unused health or disability<br />
equipment.<br />
An equipment amnesty is<br />
being held to encourage people<br />
to arrange for items that are no<br />
longer being used to be collected,<br />
including wheelchairs, zimmer<br />
frames, crutches, toilet frames<br />
and shower chairs.<br />
Graham Johnston, head of<br />
management services, said: “In<br />
addition to having the option to<br />
redistribute equipment in good<br />
condition, it is important that<br />
equipment that isn’t currently<br />
used is returned, so that broken,<br />
old or damaged equipment can<br />
be taken out of use.”<br />
Every year, thousands of<br />
pounds worth of equipment is not<br />
returned by patients when they<br />
no longer need it. This puts a<br />
strain on hospital resources and,<br />
in some cases, can delay patients<br />
getting the most suitable pieces of<br />
equipment for their recovery.<br />
Any returned equipment will<br />
boost stocks and help ensure that<br />
future patients get the right piece<br />
of equipment and resources won’t<br />
need to be spent on replacing<br />
items that are sitting around in<br />
garages, sheds and attics.<br />
Graham added: “Given the<br />
current economic climate and the<br />
tough choices ahead for public<br />
services, I strongly encourage<br />
people to help their community<br />
and arrange collection of any<br />
unused equipment, which can<br />
then be recycled and used again.”<br />
For more information, email<br />
graham.johnston@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk<br />
e<br />
A COURSE which prepares<br />
nurses, midwives and allied<br />
health professionals (NMAHPs)<br />
to prescribe from the British<br />
National Formulary is available.<br />
The Non Medical Prescribing<br />
(NMP) course is available to<br />
practitioners from a NMAHP<br />
background with two years<br />
post-registration experience in<br />
the clinical area that they wish<br />
to prescribe.<br />
Approval from a line manager/<br />
senior nurse/associate director of<br />
nursing is also required. The course<br />
is available at level nine (degree<br />
level) and level 11 (masters level).<br />
The course consists of 26<br />
theoretical days, usually delivered<br />
as one week on campus every<br />
third week, and 12 practice days,<br />
in the student’s own workplace –<br />
supported by arrangement with a<br />
designated medical practitioner<br />
over six months.<br />
The next course begins in<br />
September <strong>2011</strong> and closing date<br />
for applications is 29 July.<br />
More details and an application<br />
pack are available from ann.<br />
price@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk and<br />
natalie.snodgrass@lanarkshire.<br />
scot.nhs.uk or 01698 366590.<br />
IMPROVING<br />
CARE QUALITY<br />
LEAN system<br />
is improving<br />
efficiency<br />
For three years, LEAN working has<br />
been improving the quality of care<br />
for patients and enhancing the efficiency<br />
of many of our services in<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
LEAN is about improving flow,<br />
eliminating waste and being open<br />
to change.<br />
Colin Blair, LEAN programme<br />
manager, said: “LEAN offers a<br />
proven set of tools and techniques<br />
with the aim of achieving patientfocused<br />
improvements to services.<br />
It also gives staff the opportunities<br />
and skills to deliver more effective<br />
and efficient processes.”<br />
GE Healthcare was appointed to<br />
support <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> to build<br />
on the significant work already<br />
carried out through a range of initiatives<br />
and take forward service<br />
redesign to deliver top-quality health<br />
services across acute, primary care<br />
and mental health.<br />
Colin said: “The proof of concept<br />
work demonstrated that LEAN<br />
methodology could be successfully<br />
applied to the clinical environment<br />
to improve quality, efficiency and<br />
productivity. The <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Board fully supported the continuation<br />
of the programme and its<br />
further progress towards becoming<br />
a mainstream approach to how<br />
services are delivered and reviewed.”<br />
PREGNANT women are being<br />
encouraged to contact a midwife<br />
as soon as they find out they<br />
are pregnant.<br />
This early contact will ensure<br />
that women have their care<br />
throughout the pregnancy tailored<br />
to their own specific needs. It will<br />
also allow them to have greater<br />
choice and access to all the improved<br />
screening services now offered by<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, some of which<br />
are carried out relatively early in<br />
pregnancy.<br />
Women are advised to either<br />
contact their GP surgery and ask for<br />
an appointment with the midwife, or<br />
contact the midwife directly at their<br />
Lean offers a<br />
proven set of<br />
tools and<br />
techniques with the<br />
aim of achieving<br />
patient-focused<br />
improvements<br />
Over the past three years a total<br />
of 23 individual projects have been<br />
undertaken across <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>,<br />
including the three acute hospitals,<br />
and within various departments –<br />
ranging from orthopaedic, surgery<br />
local health centre. This should be<br />
done as soon as they find out they<br />
are pregnant.<br />
Women will have all screening<br />
options explained to them by their<br />
midwife and will be given the<br />
opportunity to ask questions to the<br />
most appropriate professional who<br />
will ensure that they have a clear<br />
understanding of the screening<br />
options they may choose in their<br />
pregnancy.<br />
The majority of women<br />
experience a normal, healthy<br />
pregnancy and will have their<br />
care delivered by a midwife<br />
who is the professional expert in<br />
normal pregnancy and birth.<br />
PRIME EXAMPLE (from left): Colin Blair, Linda Bascells-Bush, US<br />
consultant from GE Performance Solutions, Dorothy Goulard, director of<br />
performance improvement and clinical excellence at Harvard Medical<br />
School and Veronica Devlin saw the success of LEAN last year<br />
and pharmacy to emergency medical<br />
flow, care of the elderly and acute<br />
adult mental health.<br />
The programme also focused on<br />
developing the skills of staff to<br />
continuously improve the services<br />
while delivering efficiency and<br />
productivity gains.<br />
During phase two, the programme<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> has developed<br />
eight LEAN Leaders who are now in<br />
the advanced stage of CMAP<br />
(Change Management Accreditation<br />
Process) accreditation provided by<br />
GE Healthcare in partnership with<br />
the Lean Enterprise Research Centre<br />
based in Cardiff University.<br />
A further 280 staff have received<br />
two-day basic training in LEAN,<br />
Change Acceleration Process and<br />
Workout tools and techniques before<br />
going on to participate in the 11<br />
redesign initiatives in phase two.<br />
Colin said: “The projects have<br />
delivered a significant immediate<br />
impact on staff and patient experience<br />
in terms of improved efficiency,<br />
greater responsiveness and<br />
reliability and improvements in<br />
patient safety and quality of service.<br />
“Although the support from GE is<br />
coming to an end, we have built up the<br />
skills to ensure that LEAN working is<br />
at the heart of service development.”<br />
EARLY ACCESS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN<br />
Some women may also receive<br />
additional support from their GPs,<br />
other specialists and healthcare<br />
professionals if required, to ensure<br />
the ongoing health and wellbeing of<br />
both the mum and baby.<br />
More information regarding<br />
screening options for pregnant<br />
mums and new babies can be found in<br />
the new leaflets ‘Your guide to screening<br />
tests during pregnancy’ and ‘Your guide<br />
to newborn screening tests’. These are<br />
available from midwives, GPs,<br />
healthcare settings and also online<br />
at www.healthscotland.com/<br />
pregnancynewborn
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
10 FEATURE<br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
FEATURE the<strong>Pulse</strong> 11<br />
A decade ago,<br />
Hairmyres<br />
Hospital and<br />
Wishaw<br />
General<br />
welcomed<br />
their first<br />
patients. Here<br />
The <strong>Pulse</strong><br />
celebrates<br />
the success<br />
of these two<br />
hospitals<br />
10 YEARS OF TOP-CLASS CARE<br />
On 25 March 2001, the new £67.5m Hairmyres Hospital opened. Just two months later, the new £100m Wishaw General gave a second huge boost to healthcare in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
WHEN the new Hairmyres Hospital<br />
opened its doors to patients on<br />
25 March 2001, it provided 353<br />
acute inpatient beds – since<br />
increased to 492 – an MRI scanner<br />
and <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s only cardiac<br />
catheterisation centre.<br />
David Hume was the general<br />
manager of the hospital from its<br />
opening in 2001 until his role<br />
changed on 1 April <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
He said: “It’s hard to believe that<br />
10 years have now passed since the<br />
opening of the new hospital.<br />
“I feel very privileged to have been<br />
associated with the move to the new<br />
hospital and to have been here for<br />
its first 10 years.<br />
Did you<br />
know?<br />
From April 2009 to March 2010,<br />
Hairmyres treated:<br />
q 23,670 inpatients<br />
q 16,138 day case patients<br />
q 351,905 outpatient<br />
appointments<br />
q 60,386 attendances<br />
at A&E.<br />
“I think that Hairmyres has<br />
stood up to the challenges of the<br />
past 10 years very well indeed<br />
and, in that time, will have seen a<br />
total of:<br />
q 250,000 inpatients<br />
q more than three million<br />
outpatients<br />
q more than half a million accident<br />
and emergency attendances<br />
q nearly 200,000 day cases.<br />
“The hospital continues to<br />
provide first-class facilities and<br />
environment for providing the best<br />
possible level of healthcare,”<br />
said David.<br />
“But it is the professionalism<br />
and dedication of our staff that<br />
is the most important factor in<br />
ensuring our patients receive the<br />
best care.<br />
David added: “I would like to<br />
thank all our staff, past and<br />
present, who have worked so hard<br />
to provide our patients with the<br />
highest possible standard of<br />
healthcare.”<br />
The new Hairmryes building<br />
was the first PFI hospital to open<br />
in Scotland.<br />
It was built by a consortium of<br />
Kier Group Ltd and ISS Mediclean<br />
Ltd at a cost of £67.5 million.<br />
Earlier hospital was built by prisoners<br />
HOSPITAL services have been<br />
provided on the Hairmyres site in<br />
East Kilbride since 1904, when it<br />
was known as the <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Inebriate Reformatory.<br />
During the First World War,<br />
work began on a tuberculosis<br />
sanatorium and working farm<br />
colony on the site.<br />
The work continued throughout<br />
the war, with help from German<br />
prisoners, and the sanatorium and<br />
colony opened in <strong>June</strong> 1919.<br />
In the mid-1930s, new services<br />
Services at the hospital include:<br />
q a full range of inpatient,<br />
outpatient, diagnostic and clinical<br />
support services<br />
q <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s only cardiac<br />
catheterisation centre, which<br />
consists of two new state-of-theart<br />
catheterisation laboratories for<br />
diagnosis and treatment of blood<br />
vessel blockages around the heart<br />
q MRI and CT scanners<br />
q psychiatric beds.<br />
were added, such as an orthopaedic<br />
department.<br />
During the Second World War,<br />
the hospital offered an emergency<br />
medical service to soldiers from<br />
Britain, France, Poland, Canada,<br />
New Zealand and Australia.<br />
SPECIAL VISIT: HRH The Princess<br />
Royal visited Hairmyres Hospital<br />
in February 2009 to see a new<br />
service for heart patients<br />
LIGHT AND AIR: the magnificent<br />
atrium at Hairmyres Hospital lifts<br />
the spirits of patients and staff alike<br />
Hairmyres’ most famous patient<br />
was George Orwell, who was writing<br />
his now classic novel 1984 when he<br />
was admitted with tuberculosis.<br />
The hospital continued to grow<br />
throughout the 1970s and, in 1999,<br />
work began on the new building.<br />
ON 29 <strong>May</strong> 2001, Wishaw General<br />
Hospital treated its first patients.<br />
The new hospital provided 605<br />
inpatient beds – since increased to<br />
626 – with a 24-hour accident and<br />
emergency department.<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s maternity unit, the<br />
second-largest in Scotland, is also<br />
based at the hospital, delivering<br />
about 5,500 babies each year.<br />
The unit opened with 79 beds,<br />
seven high-risk delivery beds, plus<br />
20 cots in the neonatal unit.<br />
Marion Mark, general manager for<br />
women’s and diagnostic services,<br />
said: “The services and facilities at<br />
Wishaw General are among the best<br />
in the country and allow us to<br />
provide the best possible level of<br />
care for our patients.<br />
“Having state-of-the-art equipment<br />
and facilities is vital to provide our<br />
patients with the care they deserve.<br />
“It means we can provide the most<br />
modern services and provide a firstclass<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> health service<br />
from first-class facilities.<br />
“But the key to our success will<br />
always be the quality of our staff and<br />
they deserve great praise for their<br />
professionalism and dedication<br />
which they demonstrate every day<br />
in caring for our patients.”<br />
A replacement for an ‘army barracks’<br />
ALTHOUGH Wishaw General was a<br />
completely new hospital, it replaced<br />
the healthcare services which had<br />
been provided at Law Hospital and<br />
the Bellshill Maternity Hospital.<br />
The “Law” as it was affectionately<br />
known, was the first of six<br />
Emergency Medical Service<br />
Hospitals built in Scotland to<br />
accommodate casualties from the<br />
Second World War.<br />
Located near Carluke, the site was<br />
chosen as it was isolated from builtup<br />
areas, was near a rail junction<br />
Like the new Hairmyres Hospital<br />
building, Wishaw General is a<br />
PFI hospital.<br />
Other services at Wishaw General<br />
include:<br />
q paediatric neonatal unit<br />
q MRI scanner<br />
q elderly care and psychiatric day<br />
hospitals<br />
q emergency care unit containing<br />
an integrated accident and<br />
emergency unit with a 36-bed ward.<br />
and incorporated a design layout to<br />
minimise wholesale destruction in<br />
the event of an air attack.<br />
In fact, Law Hospital looked so<br />
much like army barracks, complete<br />
with air raid shelters, that it was<br />
officially described as such on an<br />
aerial photograph discovered in<br />
Germany after the war.<br />
The William Smellie Maternity<br />
Unit moved to Law Hospital in 1992<br />
and, along with the Bellshill<br />
Maternity Hospital, the two centres<br />
FIRST ONE IN:<br />
Megan Grew was<br />
the first baby born<br />
at Wishaw General<br />
STATE OF THE ART: patients and<br />
their families can rest assured that<br />
everything is on site at Wishaw,<br />
should they need intensive care<br />
provided maternity services for the<br />
whole of <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> until the<br />
opening of Wishaw General.<br />
The Bellshill Maternity Hospital<br />
was built in 1962 and officially<br />
opened by HM The Queen on<br />
2 July that year. However, there<br />
had been a maternity hospital on<br />
the site since 1919.<br />
There were 60 wards, six highdependency<br />
unit beds, 28 special<br />
care cots and six intensive care cots,<br />
and in 2000 there were more than<br />
3,500 babies born in the hospital.<br />
Did you<br />
know?<br />
From April 2009 to March 2010,<br />
Wishaw treated:<br />
q 47,512 inpatients;<br />
q 21,224 day case patients<br />
q 276,174 outpatient<br />
appointments<br />
q 69,798 attendances<br />
at A&E.<br />
Staff say…<br />
Elaine Blackwood,<br />
secretary to the<br />
senior nurse and<br />
service manager<br />
for the emergency<br />
medical services<br />
division at<br />
Hairmyres, has<br />
worked at the<br />
hospital for six years.<br />
She said: “My first impression<br />
when I walked through the<br />
atrium was: ‘Wow, what a great<br />
place to work.’<br />
“It is so bright and relaxing and<br />
totally different to any hospital<br />
I’d been in before.<br />
“You need a bright<br />
environment to help you<br />
stay positive and Hairmyres<br />
has that.”<br />
Margaret Barbour,<br />
senior nurse for<br />
surgical, was<br />
involved in the<br />
final plans for<br />
transferring to the<br />
new building.<br />
She said: “It was<br />
a really exciting time. I’d been<br />
involved in dealing with newly<br />
refurbished wards, but nothing<br />
on the scale of moving to an<br />
entirely new hospital.<br />
“It was such a positive change<br />
for us to be moving from the old<br />
24-bed ‘Nightingale’ wards.<br />
“The wards are more relaxing,<br />
they increase the opportunity<br />
for a restful night’s sleep and<br />
patients have much more privacy.<br />
“Not only is it a nice<br />
environment to work in but<br />
the surroundings, facilities and<br />
state-of-the-art equipment at<br />
Hairmyres make such a difference<br />
to patients.”<br />
Isabel Kirk is<br />
a midwife at<br />
Wishaw General.<br />
She said: “I<br />
started in the<br />
old Bellshill<br />
Maternity Unit.<br />
Wishaw General<br />
has everything<br />
on the one site, should the<br />
mother or baby need a more<br />
intensive level of care.<br />
“It is certainly beneficial to the<br />
patients and the families knowing<br />
that their loved ones are in the<br />
best place possible.”<br />
Kirsteen Hyslop is<br />
charge midwife at<br />
Wishaw General.<br />
She said:<br />
“Coming from the<br />
William Smellie<br />
Maternity Unit,<br />
initially everyone<br />
was a bit daunted by the sheer<br />
size of Wishaw General.<br />
“However it has given us<br />
opportunities to work more<br />
efficiently, to extend our roles<br />
and keep our skills up-to-date.”
12<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> LOCAL/DISTRICT/PARTNERSHIP MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
Koreans arrive at<br />
Monklands to<br />
see telemedicine<br />
HOSPITAL DRAMA: Patient<br />
Jayne Brown discusses her<br />
experience of telemedcine<br />
with a South Korean TV crew<br />
A TV crew from Korea visited<br />
Monklands Hospital to film a TV<br />
documentary about a new technique<br />
for treating stroke patients.<br />
The team from the Korea<br />
Broadcast System (KBS), the Korean<br />
equivalent of the BBC, visited the<br />
Airdrie hospital to see how the<br />
telemedicine service works.<br />
This service, which is being piloted<br />
in the three stroke units in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
at Monklands, Wishaw and Hairmyres<br />
hospitals, allows a specialist<br />
consultant to assess a patient via a live<br />
television link to determine whether<br />
they need further treatment.<br />
It removes the need for the<br />
consultant to rush to the location<br />
where a stroke patient is being<br />
treated, allowing for more efficient<br />
use of the consultant’s time and, of<br />
course, the patient being seen quicker.<br />
Sunghoon Kang, a producer with<br />
KBS, explained that they wanted to<br />
show Koreans how well technology<br />
was being utilised within healthcare<br />
in other countries.<br />
He said: “South Korea is one of the<br />
leading countries in the world for<br />
developing new technologies but we<br />
can still learn from others on how to<br />
adopt these technologies for the<br />
The government<br />
in Korea is very<br />
interested in<br />
this type of project,<br />
where patients can be<br />
seen by a doctor who<br />
may be miles away<br />
benefit of healthcare. The use of<br />
telemedicine at Monklands was of<br />
great interest to us.<br />
“The government in Korea is very<br />
interested in this type of project,<br />
where patients can be seen by a<br />
doctor who may be many miles away.<br />
“Although the technology is<br />
important, the most important<br />
aspect is the healthcare<br />
professionals who use it – such as<br />
consultants being able to examine<br />
patients very quickly from any<br />
location without having to travel.<br />
“By making this documentary we<br />
hope people in Korea will find it a<br />
very useful learning experience to<br />
see how this technology benefits<br />
patients in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> and in<br />
Scotland, and how we can improve<br />
our own healthcare services.”<br />
‘It was brilliant … and very reassuring for me’<br />
JAYNE Brown, from Hamilton, has<br />
first-hand experience of how the<br />
technology benefits patients.<br />
The 46-year-old court officer, at<br />
Hamilton Sheriff Court, was rushed<br />
into Hairmyres after her husband<br />
Andrew, who is a paramedic,<br />
recognised the symptoms of a stroke.<br />
Jayne was taken to the stroke unit<br />
and assessed by consultant Mark<br />
Barber, lead clinician with <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s stroke managed<br />
clinical network (MCN).<br />
She said: “It was really impressive.<br />
When we got to Hairmyres the<br />
stroke team were waiting for me.<br />
“They gave me a scan, then I was<br />
taken through to the telemedicine<br />
room where the consultant was on<br />
the screen.<br />
“He asked me a few questions<br />
and very quickly he could tell me I’d<br />
had a transient ischaemic attack,<br />
sometimes known as a mini stroke,<br />
there was no clot on the brain so no<br />
need to thrombolysis me and that<br />
I’d make a full recovery.<br />
“The whole thing only took about<br />
40 to 50 minutes from the stroke<br />
happening to being given an answer.<br />
“It was brilliant to know so<br />
quickly that I hadn’t had a full<br />
stroke and very reassuring for me.<br />
“I want to shout from the<br />
rooftops how great the care was. It<br />
was fantastic and, although I hadn’t<br />
had a full stroke, to get that<br />
reassurance so quickly made a<br />
world of difference to me.”<br />
Stroke is the greatest single<br />
cause of severe disability in<br />
Scotland and the third most<br />
common cause of death.<br />
Early treatment can greatly<br />
improve a victim’s chance of recovery.<br />
Katrina Brennan, manager for the<br />
stroke MCN, said: “Telemedicine is<br />
increasingly being used around the<br />
world as a method of providing<br />
acute stroke care decisions<br />
“You can see and speak to the<br />
patient via the link and you have<br />
access to other information such as<br />
their brain scan results.<br />
“If the patient did require further<br />
treatment, such as thrombolysis<br />
(clotbusting drugs), then this could<br />
be given, based on the telemedicine<br />
assessment, and followed up with a<br />
face-to-face visit.”<br />
A mesmerising<br />
new health<br />
service is on offer<br />
at Dalziel Centre<br />
Day Hospital<br />
HYPNOTHERAPY<br />
NOW AVAILABLE<br />
HYPNOTHERAPY can now be<br />
offered to people affected by cancer<br />
and other life-limiting illnesses at the<br />
Dalziel Centre Day Hospice.<br />
Three staff members, Carol<br />
Murphy, Valerie Orsie and Janice<br />
Slater, all completed a diploma in<br />
clinical hypnosis.<br />
And they are now using their<br />
new skills to help patients and<br />
their carers.<br />
Carol, the nursing sister at the<br />
Dalziel Centre, which is based at<br />
Strathclyde Hospital, Airbles Road,<br />
Motherwell, said: “Hypnotherapy<br />
sessions can benefit both patients<br />
and their carers to deal with a range<br />
of issues, from pain to diet and<br />
smoking – anything which is<br />
affecting their health.<br />
“It can help them cope with<br />
issues they have managing pain,<br />
help them control their symptoms<br />
and help relieve stress.”<br />
For the hypnotherapy sessions<br />
Carol, Valerie or Janice first relax<br />
the patient, ask them to close their<br />
eyes and then speak slowly and<br />
soothingly to encourage them to<br />
concentrate on their breathing and<br />
help them into a trance-like state.<br />
They then make suggestions for<br />
coping with their particular issues.<br />
Valerie said: “We might, for<br />
example, ask them to see their<br />
pain as a dial which they can turn<br />
down to a level which they can<br />
control better.<br />
“The patient is still aware of what<br />
is happening and can open their<br />
eyes at any time.<br />
“It’s a bit like daydreaming. We<br />
are relaxing people, making suggestions<br />
to their subconscious minds<br />
about changing the way they look at<br />
their pain.<br />
“It’s then up to the subconscious<br />
mind to do the work.”<br />
Janice said: “We’ve had some very<br />
positive feedback so far. It doesn’t<br />
work for everyone and you have to<br />
be in the right frame of mind.<br />
“But people who are affected by<br />
cancer or life-limiting illnesses,<br />
both patients and carers, are under<br />
enormous levels of stress and<br />
anxiety and hypnotherapy is<br />
excellent in promoting feelings<br />
of relaxation.”<br />
Hypnotherapy sessions are<br />
currently held on Monday and<br />
Friday afternoons.<br />
A Wellbeing and Relaxation Group<br />
is also now being held at the Dalziel<br />
Centre every Monday from 11am to<br />
noon for people with life-limiting<br />
illnesses.<br />
For more information on<br />
hypnotherapy sessions or the<br />
Wellbeing and Relaxation Group, contact<br />
the Dalziel Centre on 01698 245076.<br />
SOOTHING SESSIONS: The<br />
hypnotherapy team, from<br />
left, Valerie, Janice and Carol
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> LOCAL/DISTRICT/PARTNERSHIP<br />
13<br />
‘We miss her but<br />
she still brings a<br />
smile to our faces’<br />
Friends and family pay tribute to nurse Anne Scott<br />
COLLEAGUES and family of<br />
Monklands nurse Anne Scott, who<br />
died suddenly in February, have<br />
spoken of the “big hole” her death<br />
has left in their lives.<br />
The 46-year-old mum of two<br />
from Coatbridge worked in the<br />
coronary care ward 18.<br />
A hugely popular member of the<br />
Airdrie hospital team, she died<br />
from hypertensive heart disease.<br />
Geraldine Ruddy, senior charge<br />
nurse in ward 18, said: “We all<br />
miss Anne terribly and it was such<br />
a shock to us.<br />
“Everyone knew her in the<br />
hospital as she was such a strong<br />
character.<br />
“She was an extremely valued<br />
member of our team, very experienced<br />
and loved by her colleagues<br />
and patients – but not only do we<br />
miss her as a nurse, she also left<br />
a big hole in our lives which will<br />
be very difficult to fill.<br />
“She was a great laugh, very<br />
fond of football and especially<br />
Celtic, and loved bingo.<br />
“Anne was always kidding<br />
people on, joking and singing in<br />
the wards.<br />
“Although we miss her terribly,<br />
every time you think about her she<br />
still manages to bring a smile to<br />
your face.”<br />
Anne, who qualified as a staff<br />
nurse in 1998, worked initially in<br />
the accident and emergency<br />
department and ward 10 for a<br />
couple of years, before moving to<br />
ward 18, in 2001.<br />
She was mum to Ryan, 23, and<br />
MOTHER Jackie McGrory and daughter<br />
Jenna recently gifted five TVs and two<br />
activity tables to the children’s ward in<br />
Wishaw General.<br />
Jenna, aged five from Airdrie, spent<br />
some time in the ward when she was<br />
younger. Jenna’s dad and 11 friends<br />
raised £2200 in sponsorship by<br />
growing moustaches.<br />
Jackie, who is a staff nurse at<br />
MISSED: Nurse Anne Scott<br />
died suddenly in February<br />
22-year-old Jenna, who both miss<br />
her terribly.<br />
Jenna said: “Mum was just an<br />
amazing person who touched the<br />
hearts of everyone who knew her.<br />
“She would always try to help<br />
anyone she could and as a mum she<br />
was just the best. Thanks mum.”<br />
Anne, who was brought up in<br />
the Shawhead area of Coatbridge<br />
and went to St Bernard’s Primary<br />
and Columba High School, has<br />
one brother William, 48, and two<br />
sisters Marie, 47, and Theresa, 44.<br />
MOUSTACHIOED MEN<br />
RAISE £2200 FOR KIDS<br />
Monklands Hospital, said: “We were<br />
very appreciative of the care Jenna<br />
received during her time in ward 20.<br />
“It is a difficult time for anyone<br />
being in hospital but children are<br />
probably more prone to boredom. The<br />
staff are wonderful with the kids. We<br />
hope that the TVs and activity tables<br />
help them entertain the children<br />
during their stay.”<br />
On behalf of the family, Marie<br />
said: “In her short life Anne<br />
created an abundance of happy<br />
memories, which we will always<br />
reflect on. She was a real character<br />
and would always make you laugh.<br />
“She would always want to help<br />
people and as well as being a dedicated<br />
nurse she was also a leader<br />
with the Guides.<br />
“Anne loved her work and, as<br />
well as working night shift, she<br />
would also do extra shifts through<br />
the nursing bank and do any<br />
training courses she could to<br />
improve her skills. She was great<br />
with her patients.<br />
“But her number one priority<br />
was to her family – and especially<br />
to Ryan and Jenna.<br />
“She was a very happy character<br />
and was at a very contented and<br />
happy period of her life.”<br />
Anne’s mum Rita added: “Anne<br />
was also a tremendous carer<br />
outwith her job as a nurse. She<br />
offered a high level of support to<br />
me and also her dad, Tosh.”<br />
Jackie McGory and daughter Jenna left with Ellie Louise McDermott and Eileen Gibb,<br />
play leader, test out one of the new activity tables bought through fundraising<br />
Dr Mustafa Mulla, Dr Donna<br />
Corrigan and Mohammed Aslam<br />
Fantastic<br />
donations<br />
THE Bellshill Mosque has<br />
donated almost £3000 to the<br />
children’s wards in Wishaw<br />
General Hospital.<br />
The mosque raised £2500 from<br />
a collection taken during Friday<br />
prayers, while £300 was raised<br />
by Humjolie, the South Asian<br />
Women’s support group at a<br />
multicultural event.<br />
Humjolie used its funds to<br />
buy games consoles which it<br />
donated to the children’s wards<br />
and a cheque for £2500 was<br />
presented to consultant<br />
paediatrician Dr Donna Corrigan.<br />
Anila Ansari, community health<br />
educator at <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, said:<br />
“I want to thank everyone who<br />
attended the mosque for their<br />
fantastic generosity and helping<br />
Humjolie raise these funds.<br />
“It’s a fantastic sum and it’s<br />
also a tribute to the work of<br />
Humjolie, which is about bringing<br />
communities together.”<br />
Volunteers<br />
end training<br />
THIRTY-ONE new Community Mother<br />
volunteers have successfully<br />
completed their training.<br />
At an event in Burnbank Burgh Hall,<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> chairman Ken Corsar<br />
presented certificates to the class.<br />
Community Mothers is a<br />
breastfeeding peer support<br />
programme that offers information<br />
and support to breastfeeding women.<br />
Volunteers speak to women at<br />
breastfeeding workshops, in Wishaw<br />
General’s maternity unit, in their own<br />
home or over the telephone, and keep<br />
in contact with new mothers until<br />
their baby is six weeks old.<br />
The Tackling Poverty and Inequality<br />
Action Plan for Blantyre and Hamilton<br />
identified improving breastfeeding<br />
rates is a key priority.<br />
Community Mothers in South<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> are now working with<br />
Community Links, South <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Council staff and <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff<br />
to promote the benefits of breastfeeding<br />
within Blantyre and Burbank.<br />
For more information on Community<br />
Mothers call 01698 377655.
14<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> LOCAL/DISTRICT/PARTNERSHIP MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
From left, Sadie Shields, dialysis<br />
patient Pauline Burton, and Tom<br />
Cameron and daughter Lyndsay<br />
Dad gives<br />
gift of life<br />
BRAVE dad Tom Cameron<br />
transformed his daughter’s life by<br />
donating his kidney to her – then<br />
raised £1400 by climbing Ben<br />
Nevis to help others requiring<br />
dialysis at Monklands Hospital.<br />
The Airdrie man went under<br />
the knife for Lyndsay, 28, who<br />
had been receiving dialysis at the<br />
renal unit at Monklands for twoand-a-half<br />
years.<br />
Tom, 50, said: “Lyndsay’s two<br />
brothers and step-mum had tests<br />
to see who was a possible match<br />
for a transplant.<br />
“Although her brother Stuart<br />
and step-mum Mary were possible<br />
matches, I was determined to do it<br />
as I’m her dad.<br />
“I was very ill after the<br />
operation but it’s been worth it to<br />
see the difference to Lyndsay’s life.<br />
“I also wanted to do something<br />
to help others who are waiting<br />
for transplants and to thank<br />
everyone at the Monklands Renal<br />
unit so I’m delighted we raised so<br />
much money.”<br />
Lyndsay explained how her life<br />
had been transformed by her<br />
dad’s decision.<br />
She said: “Since I was born I’ve<br />
had kidney problems. I can’t<br />
thank my dad enough for what he<br />
did. I’ll need to take medication<br />
for the rest of my life to keep my<br />
new kidney working but it’s a<br />
small price to pay.<br />
“Last year I went on my first<br />
holiday. I can now enjoy myself<br />
on nights out and I feel as if I’ve<br />
got my life back.”<br />
Prior to Lyndsay’s transplant,<br />
she required regular dialysis at<br />
Monklands Hospital and she was<br />
delighted to be able to hand over<br />
a cheque and thank all the staff.<br />
She said: “Everyone in the<br />
renal unit at Monklands was<br />
great and tried to keep our spirits<br />
up, which is really important.<br />
“The <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Kidney<br />
Patients’ Association play a huge<br />
part and would take us away for<br />
day trips where you could go and<br />
forget about dialysis.<br />
“By my dad climbing Ben Nevis<br />
and the support from his friends,<br />
donating this money to them we<br />
hope to help them keep up their<br />
great work.”<br />
Sadie Shields, committee<br />
member of the <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
Kidney Patients’ Association, said:<br />
“This £1400 is a massive boost for<br />
us and can be assured that it is<br />
the patients who will benefit<br />
from this.”<br />
Showing<br />
thanks<br />
HAIRMYRES Hospital’s Valerie<br />
Brown was thrilled to receive a beautiful<br />
bracelet made for her by a<br />
former patient – 15 years after she<br />
had treated him.<br />
Thomas McCafferty, who lived in<br />
Hamilton, made three bracelets to<br />
thank Valerie, head orthoptist, and<br />
clinical support workers Margaret<br />
Wootan and Elaine Tannoch, for the<br />
care they provided him following a<br />
massive stroke in 1996.<br />
Sadly Thomas died in 1999<br />
without being able to hand over the<br />
stunning silver bracelets himself.<br />
However, when Thomas’s wife<br />
died last year his daughter Anne<br />
Douglas, from Falkirk, come across<br />
three boxes with Valerie, Margaret<br />
and Elaine’s names on them<br />
containing the jewellery and<br />
decided to fulfill her dad’s wishes<br />
by tracking down the staff.<br />
Anne, who also has a similar<br />
bracelet from her father, said:<br />
“My dad was a teacher in<br />
technical studies at<br />
Trinity High School<br />
in Cambuslang, and<br />
had a keen hobby in<br />
making things,<br />
including jewellery.<br />
“In 1996, he was<br />
admitted to Hairmyres Stroke Unit<br />
following a massive stroke.<br />
“Thankfully he made a remarkable<br />
recovery, including learning to walk<br />
again, but he had problems with<br />
double vision and reduced mobility.<br />
“Valerie helped improve his sight<br />
with a prism on his glasses.<br />
“He was very appreciative of the<br />
care he received from all staff but<br />
wanted to thank Valerie, Margaret<br />
and Elaine, in particular.<br />
“I knew about the bracelets and for<br />
12 years after he died I kept transferring<br />
their names from diary to<br />
diary but it was only when my mum<br />
died last year and I came across the<br />
boxes again that I thought I really<br />
need to find out where they are.<br />
“I was pleasantly surprised to<br />
learn they were still in Hairmyres<br />
and I’m delighted to be able to<br />
hand them over.”<br />
Anne added: “My dad was<br />
quite a quiet person and was not<br />
one to just give gifts out for<br />
the sake of it.”<br />
“He must have really<br />
thought a lot about<br />
the quality of care he<br />
received to have<br />
made these bracelets<br />
so I’m happy that I<br />
DELIGHTED: Anne,<br />
left, presents Valerie<br />
with bracelets made<br />
by her father,<br />
Thomas McCafferty,<br />
pictured below with<br />
his granddaughter<br />
Fiona in 1994.<br />
Tokens of appreciation reach rightful recipients<br />
Thomas was<br />
appreciative of<br />
the care he<br />
recieved from all staff<br />
but wanted to thank<br />
Valerie, Margaret and<br />
Elaine in particular<br />
have managed to finally get them to<br />
the people who deserve them.”<br />
Valerie was shocked when Anne<br />
first told her about the gorgeous gifts.<br />
She said: “I was speechless when<br />
Anne first arrived in Hairmyres to<br />
hand over the bracelets.<br />
“As soon as I saw the photo of her<br />
dad I remembered him. I also<br />
remember him asking me to hold<br />
out my wrist and measuring it with<br />
a piece of string.<br />
“He had told me he made jewellery<br />
but I didn’t think anything of it.<br />
“It’s nice to know that the care you<br />
have given is appreciated and that you<br />
have made a difference to someone.<br />
“It’s always nice to be thanked<br />
but the bracelets are stunning and<br />
because they were handmade,<br />
especially for us, makes them even<br />
more precious.”<br />
In brief…<br />
Positive results<br />
from OOH audit<br />
THE recent audit on nurse<br />
prescribing in the Out of Hours<br />
(OOH) Service has provided some<br />
very positive results.<br />
Carol Lamb, senior charge<br />
nurse with the OOH service, said:<br />
“This audit, which was carried out<br />
by Dr Gill Guthrie, gave very<br />
positive results.<br />
“Nurse prescribing is still a<br />
relatively new role for nurses and I<br />
would like to take this opportunity<br />
to congratulate the staff on all<br />
their hard work and continuing<br />
development in this role that<br />
produced these audit results.”<br />
Top award for<br />
top centre<br />
THE Dalziel Day Unit has<br />
achieved a prestigious national<br />
award for their services to<br />
cancer patients.<br />
A Macmillan Cancer Support<br />
external assessor recently<br />
visited the centre, based at<br />
Strathclyde Hospital, to<br />
determine if it qualified for the<br />
Macmillan Quality Environment<br />
Mark (MQEM).<br />
The Dalziel Centre was<br />
assessed in the areas of:<br />
q design and use of space<br />
q the person’s journey<br />
q service experience<br />
q user involvement.<br />
Ann Muir, the Macmillan<br />
external assessor, said: “The<br />
MQEM identifies the very best<br />
that health and social care has<br />
to offer people who have a<br />
cancer diagnosis, giving them<br />
confidence in the cancer facility<br />
they are attending.<br />
“This prestigious award is not<br />
given lightly, and a stringent<br />
assessment is done.<br />
“The unit manager, Carol<br />
Murphy, had to compile evidence<br />
and then submit a request for an<br />
assessment visit.<br />
“Each area of the inspection<br />
has a score rating and is a very<br />
detailed process, with an overall<br />
score for all criteria being the<br />
deciding factor.<br />
“The Dalziel Day Unit passed,<br />
with the highest score<br />
achievable.<br />
“This is in no small part due to<br />
the manager, her staff and<br />
volunteers and the caring<br />
environment they provide.”<br />
Later this year, Macmillan will<br />
officially present the award to the<br />
Dalziel Centre.
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> LOCAL/DISTRICT/PARTNERSHIP<br />
15<br />
SURPRISED: Pauline<br />
learned that her daughter<br />
Aimee suffers from<br />
Tourette’s last year<br />
Media Watch<br />
Fighting<br />
Tourette’s<br />
Syndrome is widely misunderstood<br />
THE mother of a Tourette’s<br />
sufferer is trying to raise<br />
awareness of the disorder.<br />
Wishaw General’s Pauline<br />
Hamilton was shocked when<br />
her daughter Aimee was<br />
diagnosed with the condition<br />
last year.<br />
The medical secretary with the<br />
orthopaedics department, said:<br />
“Aimee had various symptoms<br />
from the age of about two but I<br />
never even thought about<br />
Tourette’s Syndrome.<br />
“When you think of Tourette’s<br />
the first thing you think about is<br />
someone swearing but it is a<br />
misunderstood condition which<br />
has been tagged as ‘the swearing<br />
disease’ when only a minority of<br />
people do swear.<br />
“There are many behaviours<br />
that go with Tourette’s, including<br />
vocal and motor tics, obsessive<br />
compulsive disorder (OCD) and<br />
other conditions.”<br />
Pauline continued: “When<br />
Aimee was about two I noticed<br />
her shrugging her shoulders<br />
now and again, but didn’t think<br />
anything of it.<br />
“At three to four she started to<br />
Aimee had<br />
various<br />
symptoms<br />
from the age of two<br />
but I never even<br />
thought about<br />
Tourette’s Syndrome<br />
show signs of OCD, had “rage”<br />
attacks and was very combative<br />
and hyper.<br />
“At age five to six she started to<br />
sniff all the time. We took her to<br />
the GP thinking she had allergies<br />
and was given a nasal spray.<br />
“When she was seven she was<br />
still sniffing but now throat<br />
clearing too.<br />
“By January the following year<br />
I was given the news that Aimee<br />
had Tourette’s Syndrome.”<br />
Tourette’s Scotland is a charity<br />
that supports everyone affected<br />
by the condition in Scotland.<br />
It provides help and information<br />
about Torrette’s via help<br />
lines and support groups.<br />
Ruth Smith, project co-ordinator<br />
for Tourette’s Scotland<br />
said: “Tourette’s Syndrome is<br />
very misunderstood, being<br />
projected in the media as a<br />
‘swearing disease’.<br />
“Those who live with this<br />
condition day by day often suffer<br />
prejudice and isolation and<br />
much of our work is to bring<br />
them confidence and to increase<br />
their self worth.”<br />
Tourette Scotland raises<br />
awareness through training<br />
sessions, seminars and research.<br />
They rely on grants, donations<br />
and fundraising to run the<br />
charity.<br />
Ruth added: “Events include<br />
spring and autumn meetings<br />
where members meet to share<br />
their experiences.”<br />
Pauline is also a co-ordinator<br />
for West of Scotland’s Tourette<br />
Scotland Support Group.<br />
She is trying to raise money to<br />
take the children that attend her<br />
group to Edinburgh Zoo during<br />
the summer.<br />
To find out more about the West<br />
of Scotland group, or to make a<br />
donation, email Pauline at<br />
pollee69@gmail.com<br />
Work starts on foundations<br />
of community health centre<br />
Dentists pull<br />
them in<br />
East Kilbride News<br />
News that the foundations for the<br />
e<br />
new £27million Airdrie Community<br />
Health Centre were being laid were<br />
announced in the Airdrie and Coatbridge<br />
Advertiser and Evening Times.<br />
Figures released revealed an extra<br />
e<br />
127,127 people in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> have<br />
registered with an <strong>NHS</strong> dentist since<br />
March 2007. This article appeared in the<br />
East Kilbride News, Airdrie and<br />
Coatbridge Advertiser, Hamilton<br />
Advertiser and Wishaw Press.<br />
AN HM Inspectorate of Education<br />
e<br />
report reveals child protection<br />
services in North <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> are among<br />
the best in Scotland following inspection<br />
of the service provided by the council<br />
and partner agencies including <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>. This story was covered in<br />
the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser,<br />
Motherwell Times and Bellshill Speaker.<br />
The Hamilton Advertiser reported<br />
e<br />
the events being held throughout<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> to mark World Tuberculosis<br />
Day on Thursday 24 March.<br />
The Daily Express, Evening Times,<br />
e<br />
Wishaw Press and Hamilton<br />
Advertiser were among the<br />
newspapers that highlighted that the<br />
Dalziel Centre Hospice could now offer<br />
Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser<br />
Child protection<br />
services praised<br />
SHARE YOUR STORIES<br />
Motherwell Times<br />
Baby class for<br />
grandparents<br />
The Sun<br />
hypnotherapy to people affected<br />
by cancer.<br />
New grandparents in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
e<br />
were invited to a class at Wishaw<br />
General maternity unit to find out how<br />
they can best support their families<br />
following the arrival of a new baby.<br />
Newspapers highlighting this class<br />
included the Airdrie and Coatbridge<br />
Advertiser, Evening Times, Wishaw Press<br />
and East Kilbride News.<br />
A support group for people in<br />
e<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> affected by lung cancer<br />
launched a new range of sessions. The<br />
Hamilton Advertiser, Wishaw Press,<br />
Motherwell Times and Evening Times all<br />
covered this story and provided details of<br />
the sessions being held.<br />
Smokers in <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> were<br />
e<br />
encouraged to quit smoking with<br />
help from <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s Stop<br />
Smoking Service. Information about the<br />
service, including contact details, were<br />
highlighted in the local press, including<br />
the Hamilton Advertiser, East Kilbride<br />
News, Bellshill Speaker, Wishaw Press<br />
and Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser.<br />
q Has a patient or visitor gone out of their way to praise you?<br />
q Is there a new service in your department you are proud of?<br />
Contact the communications department on 01698 245069/245077 and help us<br />
reflect the good news stories that happen within <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> every day.
16<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> RETIREMENTS MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
No rest for Dr Russell… he’s off to Guinea!<br />
VIEWPARK Health Centre’s<br />
Doctor Kenneth Russell retired in<br />
March after 23 years’ service.<br />
However, while Dr Russell, from<br />
Bothwell, says he is looking forward<br />
to taking it easy, he revealed that he<br />
and his wife, Maureen, are planning<br />
to spend three months in Guinea,<br />
West Africa, doing volunteer work.<br />
He said: “After practising for 41<br />
years, I’m looking forward to more<br />
relaxation and not having to be<br />
somewhere at a specific time.<br />
“Before I started work at Viewpark,<br />
I worked for eight years in the Congo<br />
with Maureen.<br />
“We’re now planning to spend three<br />
months in Guinea later this year doing<br />
volunteer work.<br />
“I’ve enjoyed my time at Viewpark<br />
and have been through all the stages<br />
of general practice.<br />
“We have a strong team here that<br />
helped me through all the changes<br />
during my career and I wish them<br />
good luck for the future.”<br />
Colleague Marie Jeffrey, practice<br />
manager for The Russell Practice, said:<br />
“Dr Russell will be sadly missed by GP<br />
colleagues and all his staff.<br />
“It has been a pleasure and honour<br />
to have worked with such a<br />
gentleman. He has<br />
always commanded<br />
respect and loyalty<br />
from staff and patients<br />
alike.”<br />
Dr Russell and<br />
Maureen, a social<br />
worker who worked<br />
at Monklands<br />
Hospital before her<br />
retirement, are<br />
moving to a new<br />
home in rural<br />
Perthshire.<br />
Dr Russell was well<br />
known throughout<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> and, in<br />
addition to general practice,<br />
performed minor surgery<br />
and vasectomies at the<br />
health centre for the<br />
past 15 years.<br />
His many<br />
hobbies include<br />
watercolour painting,<br />
photography and<br />
gardening.<br />
The Russell<br />
Practice is to be<br />
renamed the Willow<br />
Practice following<br />
Dr Russell’s retirement.<br />
A dynamic duo<br />
Theatre pair<br />
had served<br />
for 77 years<br />
TWO of the Wishaw General<br />
theatre team’s most colourful<br />
characters retired at the end<br />
of March.<br />
Charge nurse Lottie Hunter,<br />
from Law, and clinical support<br />
worker Peter Fallon, from Carluke,<br />
left after 77 years’ service<br />
between them.<br />
Colleague Fiona O’Brien,<br />
theatre manager, said: “We will all<br />
miss Lottie and Peter terribly.<br />
“Lottie has dedicated her life to<br />
nursing. She loved to teach and<br />
organised seminars for her<br />
colleagues.<br />
“She will be a great loss to the<br />
department, leaving a void that<br />
will be impossible to fill, and will<br />
be sadly missed.”<br />
Fiona continued: “Peter has<br />
extensive experience in theatre<br />
and worked in all specialties.<br />
BEST WISHES: Peter (wearing<br />
the striped jumper) and Lottie<br />
(holding flowers), pictured with<br />
their friends and colleagues at<br />
Wishaw General<br />
“He had 35 years’ service in<br />
theatre, having started in 1976<br />
as an orderly, progressing to<br />
operating department auxillary.<br />
“Peter is a real practical joker<br />
and no-one was safe from his<br />
pranks. We wish him a long and<br />
happy retirement.”<br />
Lottie trained in nursing at Law<br />
Hospital from 1969 to 1973 and<br />
then in midwifery from 1973 to<br />
1975 at the William Smellie<br />
Memorial Hospital.<br />
Following a career break to have<br />
her family, she returned to Law<br />
Hospital in 1980 and worked in<br />
the surgical pool for the intensive<br />
therapy unit from 1980 until<br />
moving to theatre in 1983.<br />
Lottie and her husband, John,<br />
who was head of medical illustration<br />
at Wishaw General and<br />
Law Hospital before he retired two<br />
years ago, have three daughters –<br />
Fiona, Emma and Laura – and<br />
twin granddaughters, aged four.<br />
She plans to spend her<br />
retirement with her family and<br />
teaching piano.<br />
Peter, in addition to his<br />
extensive experience in theatre,<br />
was also the branch secretary –<br />
and latterly the chair – for the<br />
National Union of Public<br />
Employees.<br />
He and his wife, Ann, are now<br />
planning to spend more time at<br />
their cottage at Loch Awe and in<br />
the south of Portugal.<br />
Bill bids<br />
goodbye<br />
VICE-CHAIRMAN Bill<br />
Sutherland retired from <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> in March.<br />
Bill, who stays near Lanark,<br />
joined the Health Board in 2004<br />
as a non-executive director.<br />
Board chairman Ken Corsar<br />
said: “In Bill’s seven years in<br />
office, he has served the board<br />
with dedication and commitment.<br />
“He served with distinction as<br />
chair of the Audit Committee<br />
and as chair of the Pharmacy<br />
Practices Committee, where his<br />
grasp of strategy, attention to<br />
detail and talent for reason<br />
proved invaluable.<br />
“On behalf of all board<br />
members, I would like to thank<br />
Bill for his help, support and<br />
advice during his seven years<br />
with <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.”<br />
Bill said: “It has given me<br />
enormous pleasure to work with<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> for the past<br />
seven years, and there have been<br />
some significant achievements<br />
during that time.<br />
“I believe the board is in good<br />
shape to face its current and<br />
future significant challenges, with<br />
its key focus on service delivery,<br />
quality improvement and value<br />
for money for taxpayers.”<br />
In addition to Bill’s roles as<br />
vice-chairman and chair of both<br />
the Audit Committee and the<br />
Pharmacy Practices Committee,<br />
he was also a member of the<br />
Equality, Diversity and<br />
Spirituality Committee.<br />
For most of his time with <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, he was also director<br />
of Human Resources at<br />
Strathclyde University, a position<br />
he retired from in 2009 having<br />
held it for 20 years.<br />
From left: Myra, Kathleen and Sandra said their farewells at a celebration lunch<br />
Farewell to three ladies of Strathclyde<br />
STRATHCLYDE Hospital colleagues<br />
have bid a sad farewell to three<br />
popular members of staff.<br />
Sandra Smith, receptionist; Myra<br />
Philip, administration support; and<br />
Kathleen McShane, management<br />
team secretary, received gifts at a<br />
lunch celebration in March.<br />
Sandra joined <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
28 years ago as a nursing auxiliary<br />
with the Marie Curie Service. She<br />
said: “I’ll miss everyone here, but it’s<br />
the right time for me to be leaving,<br />
so I’m happy to be moving on.”<br />
Sandra, who is from Mossend,<br />
Bellshill, also worked with the<br />
evening nursing service and district<br />
nursing service in Shotts.<br />
She was redeployed to administration<br />
in 2001, taking up a post in<br />
Wishaw Health Centre then in<br />
reception at Strathclyde Hospital.<br />
Myra, from Motherwell, had 20<br />
years’ service with <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
in various administration and<br />
clerical posts within the Dalziel<br />
Centre and Strathclyde Hospital. She<br />
said: “I can’t believe that I won’t<br />
need to come into work every day.<br />
“I’d like to thank everyone at<br />
Strathclyde for their generous gifts<br />
and I wish them well for the future.”<br />
Kathleen, from Uddingston, had<br />
worked with <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> since<br />
she joined as a temporary clerical<br />
officer at Kirklands in 1989.<br />
For most of her time she worked<br />
within estates and hotel services<br />
before moving to the Pathways to<br />
Work Condition Management<br />
Programme and then her current<br />
role in October 2010.<br />
She said: “It all feels a bit odd to<br />
be leaving and I think it will take a<br />
few months to sink in. But I’m<br />
looking forward to doing what I<br />
want without rushing about, and to<br />
spending more time with my family.”
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> COMPETITIONS<br />
17<br />
Ayearof fun<br />
at the Carrick<br />
YOU could be playing glorious golf<br />
in the stunning surroundings of<br />
Loch Lomond courtesy of a<br />
fantastic competition.<br />
The <strong>Pulse</strong> has teamed up with<br />
the De Vere Group to offer a golf<br />
membership worth £295.<br />
The De Vere Club membership<br />
provides the chance to play 16<br />
courses across the UK – including<br />
The Carrick, the 71-par course on<br />
the banks of Loch Lomond,<br />
designed by the acclaimed golf<br />
course designer Doug Carrick.<br />
The winner – or anyone taking<br />
out a membership – will receive<br />
100 points on a membership card<br />
to use for games of golf where and<br />
when they want.<br />
They can play in members’<br />
competitions, get a handicap, sign<br />
on guests and receive discounts in<br />
the members’ bar, the spa and the<br />
Win a golf membership or take<br />
advantage of these great offers<br />
golf shop. Points can also be used<br />
for the spa, pull trolleys and the<br />
driving range. Points can be<br />
topped up at any time during the<br />
year’s membership.<br />
Games “cost” between six and<br />
10 points, depending on the<br />
course and the time you play.<br />
For a chance<br />
to win a De<br />
Vere Club golf<br />
membership, just<br />
tell us: who designed<br />
The Carrick?<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff who take<br />
advantage of the membership can<br />
further benefit from an exclusive<br />
offer, receiving a free nine-hole<br />
playing lesson with European<br />
Tour coach Spencer Edwards.<br />
The De Vere Group is offering<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff some additional<br />
exclusive offers, including:<br />
q Golf with a group of friends at<br />
the preferential rate of £39 per<br />
person (summer green fees are<br />
usually £125)<br />
q Spa escape for only £99 (£20<br />
supplement Friday to Sunday)<br />
including a two-hour spa experience,<br />
champagne lunch, refresher<br />
facial and relaxing massage and<br />
exclusive spa gift<br />
q Cameron Club <strong>NHS</strong> Membership<br />
– 10 per cent discount on<br />
membership fees with no joining<br />
fee and one month free.<br />
Send your answer, no later than<br />
Friday 10 <strong>June</strong>, to Martin Stirling<br />
at: Communications Department,<br />
Kirklands Corporate HQ, Fallside<br />
Road, Bothwell G71 8BB.<br />
Or email martin.stirling@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk with “De<br />
Vere Group Competition” in the<br />
subject field.<br />
Include your job title, place of<br />
work and a contact phone number.<br />
To find out more, visit<br />
www.nhsstaffbenefits.co.uk<br />
For more information on the Carrick<br />
and the De Vere Group membership,<br />
visit www.devere.co.uk/golf<br />
Well done to<br />
the winners!<br />
e<br />
AILSA Brownlie will<br />
enjoy a mouth-watering<br />
curry at the Pink Turban Tandoori<br />
restaurant after winning the<br />
<strong>Pulse</strong> competition in the<br />
March-April issue.<br />
The receptionist with the<br />
Community Mental Health Team<br />
in East Kilbride correctly<br />
answered that it costs only £10.99<br />
for the evening buffet at the Pink<br />
Turban on a Saturday night.<br />
Based at 157 Wishaw Road,<br />
Waterloo, Wishaw, the Indian<br />
restaurant is also offering <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff a 25 per cent<br />
discount on its evening buffet and<br />
à la carte menu from Monday to<br />
Thursday. Just show your <strong>NHS</strong> ID.<br />
For more information on the<br />
restaurant, visit its website at<br />
www.pinkturban.com or make a<br />
booking on 01698 375566 or 375835.<br />
e<br />
DR Sharon Ritchie is<br />
looking forward to a<br />
two-night stay, for two,<br />
including B&B at the Acarsaid<br />
Hotel after she won a competition<br />
in The <strong>Pulse</strong>.<br />
The Wishaw Health Centre GP<br />
knew that you can get more<br />
details about the Pitlochry hotel<br />
online at www.acarsaidhotel.com<br />
The Acarsaid Hotel also<br />
offers great discounts to <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff.<br />
To book, call the Acarsaid Hotel<br />
direct on 0845 263 6855 or<br />
email mail@mpmhotels.com<br />
Win £100 with<br />
<strong>Pulse</strong> Sudoku<br />
Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one<br />
of each digit. So must every column, and every 3x3 square.<br />
Get the solution on FirstPort.<br />
NOT only does the <strong>NHS</strong> Credit Union<br />
provide some fantastic financial<br />
services – they are also offering one<br />
lucky <strong>Pulse</strong> reader a £100 deposit in<br />
one of their savings accounts.<br />
The <strong>NHS</strong> Credit Union has been<br />
serving its members for 13 years and<br />
now offers services to all <strong>NHS</strong> staff in<br />
Scotland and North England,<br />
including <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>. Members<br />
can pay into their accounts direct from<br />
their salary, making it easier than ever<br />
to save and borrow.<br />
Credit unions are owned and<br />
controlled by a group of members who<br />
share a common bond. Members pool<br />
their savings and make loans to each<br />
other at low rates of interest.<br />
The credit union in turn pays out a<br />
regular dividend on savings, and<br />
offers a unique and flexible range of<br />
financial services to members.<br />
They are also concerned about the<br />
financial welfare of members, rather<br />
than purely making a profit.<br />
The team over at the <strong>NHS</strong> Credit<br />
Union have put together a list of tips<br />
to help you control your finances:<br />
q Get organised – Don’t<br />
just open and throw away<br />
your bills and statements.<br />
Keep them organised somewhere<br />
you can easily access and<br />
see them when you need to.<br />
q Budget – calculate how much<br />
money is coming in and going out<br />
each month. If you have funds left<br />
over, try to save some of it. If you have<br />
no money left, check your list again to<br />
see what you can cut.<br />
q Review your utility bills – shop<br />
around, you could save money on your<br />
gas, electricity, TV subscriptions etc.<br />
q Set financial goals – save for<br />
Christmas or a holiday, clear off an<br />
outstanding credit card or loan.<br />
To give you a helping hand sprucing<br />
up your finances, the <strong>NHS</strong> Credit<br />
For a chance<br />
to win, just<br />
tell us: when<br />
was the <strong>NHS</strong> Credit<br />
Union founded?<br />
Union<br />
would<br />
like to give<br />
you a chance<br />
to win £100 in<br />
an <strong>NHS</strong> Credit<br />
Union savings<br />
account.<br />
Send your answers,<br />
no later than Friday 10 <strong>June</strong>, to Martin<br />
Stirling at: Communications<br />
Department, Kirklands Corporate HQ,<br />
Fallside Road, Bothwell G71 8BB.<br />
Alternatively, email<br />
martin.stirling@lanarkshire.scot.<br />
nhs.uk with “Credit Union<br />
Competition” in the subject field.<br />
Remember to include your job<br />
title, place of work and a contact<br />
telephone number.<br />
Terms & conditions apply, available<br />
on request from the Credit Union. All<br />
entrants will receive communications<br />
from the <strong>NHS</strong> Credit Union.<br />
For more information on your <strong>NHS</strong><br />
Credit Union, visit www.nhscredit<br />
union.com or call on 0141 445 0022.<br />
9 4 3 7<br />
2<br />
1<br />
5 6<br />
9 2<br />
6 8 9 7 1<br />
7 4 1 3<br />
6<br />
5<br />
8<br />
6<br />
7<br />
3 6 4<br />
5<br />
1<br />
2
18<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> PATIENT FOCUS MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
Surveying patients<br />
A SECOND national survey of<br />
people who have been an inpatient<br />
in hospital is now under way.<br />
The survey is being sent to<br />
people who were in hospital<br />
between October 2009 and<br />
September 2010 and asks them<br />
to report on their experiences right<br />
through from admission through<br />
to discharge.<br />
The results are due to be<br />
published by the Scottish<br />
Government in August <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
If a patient asks you about the<br />
survey, please encourage them to<br />
complete it as the results are<br />
being used to make improvements<br />
for the future.<br />
Meanwhile, an improvement plan<br />
has been developed following the<br />
first national survey and was<br />
approved by <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> Board<br />
at its meeting in February <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
The improvement plan is available<br />
on the Board Papers section of<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s website at<br />
www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk/boards<br />
For further information contact<br />
Shona Welton, head of patient affairs,<br />
on 01698 245197.<br />
Patients from across the entire Hairmyres Hospital site will benefit from the Patient Transport Service<br />
Moving<br />
forward<br />
Patient Transport Service pilot to be extended<br />
THE pilot of the Patient Transport<br />
Service (PTS) is to be extended to<br />
the entire Hairmyres Hospital site<br />
before rolling out across<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
The joint decision was taken by<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> and the Scottish<br />
Ambulance Service (SAS) directors<br />
following a successful joint pilot to<br />
test a central booking service for<br />
patients within five outpatient<br />
departments within Hairmyres<br />
Hospital.<br />
The eight-month pilot provided all<br />
patients with a Patient Information<br />
Leaflet along with their<br />
appointment letter.<br />
The leaflet explained ambulance<br />
transport eligibility and how to<br />
book it directly by calling the<br />
central booking service.<br />
The extension follows consistent<br />
positive results as well as positive<br />
feedback from patient engagement<br />
questionnaires and events as well<br />
regular reviews with staff and<br />
patient representatives which<br />
The new<br />
approach in<br />
joint working<br />
has been a very<br />
rewarding experience<br />
have consistently demonstrated<br />
efficiencies.<br />
Among the main benefits<br />
identified are:<br />
q The central booking allows<br />
patients to directly speak to staff<br />
when booking<br />
q Central booking staff get better<br />
quality information<br />
q There is a more effective<br />
application of the eligibility<br />
criteria<br />
q There is less paperwork and a<br />
reduction in time spent booking<br />
ambulances by <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
staff<br />
q Less SAS staff time wasted on<br />
unnecessary journeys.<br />
Kate Bell, change and innovation<br />
manager who is leading the service<br />
change, said: “In the first two<br />
months we recorded a 45 per cent<br />
reduction in wasted journeys and a 61<br />
per cent decrease in overall demand.<br />
“An increase in proactive cancellations<br />
by the public and staff can<br />
now be reused in terms of planning<br />
of other journeys.<br />
“The new approach in joint<br />
working has been a very rewarding<br />
experience for both organisations<br />
and has seen clear benefits to<br />
patients and staff as well as<br />
joint working.<br />
“I think patients appreciate the<br />
benefits such as a single number to<br />
call and fewer wasted journeys. This<br />
frees up SAS vehicles to be in the<br />
right place to transport patients to<br />
their appointments.”<br />
For more background information<br />
on the PTS pilot, visit the Change<br />
and Innovation section on FirstPort at<br />
http://firstport/sites/cid/default.aspx<br />
PRAISE WHERE<br />
PRAISE IS DUE<br />
EVERYONE enjoys it when they<br />
feel their efforts have been<br />
appreciated – healthcare<br />
professionals enjoy it especially<br />
when that appreciation comes from<br />
in the form of positive feedback<br />
from patients and their relatives for<br />
the care that has been provided.<br />
It is sometimes too easy to focus<br />
on negative remarks, however, from<br />
the positive comments that <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff receive about the<br />
care they provide they know that, in<br />
the majority of occasions, they get<br />
things right.<br />
Practice development practitioner<br />
Maxine Kinnoch wants to emphasise<br />
how important patient-centred<br />
compassionate care is to patients.<br />
She said: “It is often a challenge<br />
for our practice to remain<br />
compassionate and genuinely caring.<br />
“We often try to address these<br />
challenges in relation to caring for<br />
our patients in the manner that we<br />
would want our loved ones to be<br />
cared for.<br />
“Taking note of feedback for our<br />
patients and relatives guides our<br />
practices in a positive way that can<br />
define how we practice in future.<br />
“We want to highlight the caring<br />
and compassionate practices which<br />
have been appreciated by the<br />
people that are most important to<br />
us, our patients and their relatives.”<br />
The following comments are from<br />
patients who were keen to have<br />
their praise passed on:<br />
q “My father suffers from<br />
Alzheimer’s disease and was<br />
admitted to Ward 15, Monklands.<br />
“The staff dealt with him in a<br />
good-natured and unfailingly<br />
considerate manner. They<br />
displayed high levels of<br />
professionalism and care.”<br />
q “Every single member of staff<br />
was totally professional, caring<br />
and considerate and an absolute<br />
credit to all attached to<br />
Monklands Hospital.”<br />
q “Donald Trump would be hard<br />
pressed to better this service,” one<br />
patient said of their journey through<br />
Hairmyres from Colorectal to<br />
Intensive Care to Ward 6 to<br />
outpatients.<br />
“Nothing was a problem to<br />
any member of staff, work was<br />
carried out with a smile which<br />
gives a patient a boost. “<br />
q “After being an emergency<br />
admission on Wishaw General’s<br />
Ward 13, my mother was shown<br />
nothing but care, compassion<br />
and love.<br />
“The staff treated her as an<br />
individual by establishing the fact<br />
that they could call her by her first<br />
name and as such she relaxed into<br />
their care.”
the<strong>Pulse</strong><br />
MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong> TRAINING<br />
19<br />
SIM-PLE IDEA<br />
A high-tech simulator<br />
is being used to<br />
help staff diagnose<br />
when someone has<br />
had a stroke<br />
ACCURATE assessment of a stroke<br />
can be crucial to a patient’s recovery<br />
and improving these diagnostic<br />
skills was the aim of an innovative<br />
training programme held in<br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong>.<br />
STAT (Stroke and TIA Assessment<br />
Training), developed by<br />
Northumbria Healthcare <strong>NHS</strong><br />
Foundation Trust, uses a high-tech<br />
simulator to show staff what to look<br />
for when treating someone<br />
suspected of suffering a stroke.<br />
By diagnosing quickly whether the<br />
person is having a stroke or transient<br />
ischemic attack (TIA) – a ministroke<br />
or stroke-like symptoms –<br />
staff can ensure their patient makes<br />
the best possible recovery.<br />
The two consultants who<br />
developed the training, Chris Price<br />
and Mark Garside, took the <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> stroke staff though the<br />
STAT course.<br />
Chris said: “By using a life-like<br />
simulator that talks, breathes and<br />
has a pulse, we can demonstrate the<br />
different symptoms of a stroke so<br />
staff know what to look out for when<br />
they are in a real-life situation.<br />
“Staff then get individual feedback<br />
on how they have done, so that they<br />
can learn where they can improve.”<br />
Fiona Ewart, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s<br />
stroke practice development<br />
DO YOU FOLLOW ME? Katrina<br />
Brennan checks the “patient’s”<br />
vision as part of a role playing<br />
exercise during the STAT training<br />
The new <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> STAT trainers are…<br />
q Fiona Ewart<br />
q Jim Harrison, professional<br />
development educator, Scottish<br />
Ambulance Service<br />
q Dr Wendy Russell, clinical<br />
teaching fellow, Monklands<br />
q Katrina Brennan, stroke managed<br />
clinical network (MCN) manager<br />
facilitator, said: “This training is<br />
invaluable to any nursing or junior<br />
medical staff who are involved in the<br />
assessment of patients experiencing<br />
a stroke or TIA.<br />
“The staff who attended the STAT<br />
training session are now qualified to<br />
q Dr Mark Barber, lead clinician,<br />
stroke MCN<br />
q Carolann O’Donnell, charge nurse,<br />
A&E Monklands<br />
q Dr Brian MacInnes, consultant,<br />
Hairmyres<br />
q Shirley-Anne O’Hare, charge<br />
nurse, A&E Monklands<br />
offer this training to nursing and<br />
medical staff working in emergency<br />
care and acute stroke units.<br />
“We can now help to improve the<br />
ability of our staff to accurately and<br />
quickly diagnose strokes and<br />
improve recovery.”<br />
q Dr Gillian Kerr, consultant,<br />
Wishaw<br />
q Fiona Torrance, charge nurse,<br />
A&E Wishaw<br />
q Campbell Chalmers, stroke nurse<br />
consultant<br />
q Catie Paton, acting clinical skills<br />
development specialist.<br />
For more information on the STAT<br />
training course, visit www.stroke<br />
sim.nhs.uk or to learn about stroke<br />
training within <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>, email<br />
fiona.ewart@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk or<br />
call 01236 707582.<br />
Knowledge<br />
and skills<br />
training<br />
A NEW training programme will<br />
provide staff with the essential<br />
skills to meet the core<br />
dimensions of the knowledge<br />
and skills framework (KSF).<br />
Skill Builder is a one-day<br />
training course, which will help<br />
you achieve levels one and two of<br />
the core dimensions.<br />
Elaine McGuinness, training<br />
and development officer, said:<br />
“Many useful topics will be<br />
covered and tried-and-tested<br />
theory will be shared.<br />
“It will also be lots of fun with<br />
plenty of opportunities to learn<br />
from each other.”<br />
Dates and venues are:<br />
q Thursday 13 <strong>May</strong>, 9.15am to<br />
4.30pm (pilot programme),<br />
Syndicate Room 3, Education<br />
and Training Centre, Wishaw<br />
General<br />
q Tuesday 24 <strong>May</strong>, 9.15am to<br />
4.30pm, Training Room, Education<br />
and Training Centre, Hairmyres<br />
Hospital<br />
q Tuesday 21 <strong>June</strong>, 9.15am to<br />
4.30pm, Syndicate Room 3,<br />
Education and Training Centre,<br />
Wishaw General<br />
q Monday 13 <strong>June</strong>, 9.15am to<br />
4.30pm; Training Room 1,<br />
Learning Centre, Law House.<br />
For further information, email<br />
elaine.mcguinness@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk or call 01698<br />
377817 or visit http://firstport/sites/<br />
odandtraining/trainingand<br />
development/default.aspx<br />
Course nomination forms can be<br />
obtained from lorna.galloway@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk or by calling<br />
01698 366765.<br />
Training Planner<br />
ORGANISATIONAL<br />
DEVELOPMENT<br />
q Training schedules,<br />
nomination forms and more<br />
information is available on the<br />
Training and Development<br />
homepage on FirstPort or<br />
at http://firstport/sites/<br />
odandtraining/trainingand<br />
development/default.aspx<br />
If you have any other enquires,<br />
please contact the training<br />
co-ordinators:<br />
Sue Devine (Law House)<br />
01698 377807<br />
sue.devine@lanarkshire.<br />
scot.nhs.uk<br />
Lorna Galloway (Wishaw<br />
General) 01698 366765<br />
lorna.galloway@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk<br />
MEDICAL EDUCATION<br />
q For queries, contact training<br />
co-ordinators on 01698 366521<br />
or meded@lanarkshire.<br />
scot.nhs.uk<br />
Training co-ordinators will<br />
contact new consultants direct<br />
regarding the Consultant<br />
Induction and Professional<br />
Development programme.<br />
To book any other senior<br />
courses, use the booking<br />
system which is available on<br />
the MEDED website<br />
www.medednhsl.com<br />
PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT<br />
Contacts:<br />
Rita Cloughley 01698 366581<br />
Morag Downie 01698 366575<br />
Anne Halavage<br />
01698 366582<br />
Natalie Snodgrass<br />
01698 366590<br />
EDUCATION PROGRAMME<br />
q Courses for nurses,<br />
midwives and AHPs<br />
Courses for all <strong>NHS</strong><br />
<strong>Lanarkshire</strong> nurses, midwives,<br />
AHPs and their support<br />
workers are available.<br />
For more information on<br />
the different courses and<br />
dates available, log on to<br />
the PDC website. Visit<br />
www.lanpdc.scot.nhs.uk<br />
HEALTH & SAFETY<br />
q For training schedules and<br />
nomination forms, access as<br />
follows: Firstport/Staff<br />
Support Services/Occ Health<br />
SALUS/Downloads<br />
For more information, contact:<br />
Sandra Sweeney 01236 707721<br />
or email sandra.sweeney@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk<br />
Contacts: Amanda Minns<br />
(Hairmyres) 01355 585488/7<br />
Lisa McLaren (Wishaw<br />
General) 01698 366316<br />
Paul Herbert (Monklands)<br />
01236 712005<br />
Carol Hallesy (Law House)<br />
01698 377600/01<br />
Grant Donaghy<br />
(Law House)<br />
01698 377602<br />
MOVING & HANDLING<br />
q For training schedules and<br />
nomination forms, access as<br />
follows: Firstport/Staff<br />
Support Services/Occ Health<br />
SALUS/Downloads<br />
For more information, contact:<br />
Sandra Sweeney 01236 707721<br />
LIBRARIES<br />
q Classes are available in:<br />
The Knowledge Network<br />
RefWorks<br />
Ovid Medline<br />
Ebsco CINAHL<br />
Cochrane Library<br />
or email sandra.sweeney@<br />
lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk<br />
PaMoVA<br />
(Prevention and Management<br />
of Violence and Aggression)<br />
q It is essential for all staff to<br />
take care of their personal<br />
Contact your local library for<br />
dates and availability.<br />
safety and be aware of the<br />
safety of others. To reduce<br />
the risk of being a victim of<br />
aggression or violent<br />
behaviour, <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong><br />
provides PaMoVA training for<br />
all staff. Contact PaMoVA<br />
advisors on 01236 707198.
20<br />
the<strong>Pulse</strong> PEOPLE MAY/JUNE <strong>2011</strong><br />
Honours due<br />
Our reservists<br />
From left: Jane Thomson, squadron leader Royal Auxiliary Air Force; Robert Littlejohn, Lowland SaBRE campaign director; Colonel David McArthur, 205 Field Hospital,<br />
Territorial Army (TA); Jacqueline Templeton; Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Platt, 6 SCOTS TA; Ken Corsar; Samantha Wadelik; Ewan Macdonald; Peter McKinlay and David Clough<br />
q David Clough, a consultant<br />
anaesthetist based at<br />
Monklands Hospital and a<br />
lieutenant colonel in the<br />
Territorial Army.<br />
q Jacqueline Templeton,<br />
an accident and emergency<br />
staff nurse at Monklands<br />
Hospital and a corporal in the<br />
Royal Auxiliary Air Force.<br />
q Samantha Wadelik, a<br />
radiographer in Wishaw<br />
Hospital and a sergeant<br />
in the Royal Auxiliary<br />
Air Force.<br />
q Peter McKinlay, a catering<br />
supervisor at Hartwoodhill<br />
Hospital and a sergeant in the<br />
Territorial Army.<br />
q Jennifer Wyper, based at<br />
Larkhall Health Clinic and a<br />
corporal with the Royal<br />
Auxiliary Air Force.<br />
(Jennifer was unable to<br />
attend the event.)<br />
FIVE <strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> staff who<br />
volunteer for the Territorial Army<br />
and Royal Auxiliary Air Force<br />
were honoured by the health board<br />
at a special event.<br />
David Clough, Jacqueline<br />
Templeton, Samantha Wadelik,<br />
Peter McKinlay and Jennifer Wyper<br />
have all been posted overseas –<br />
including in Afghanistan and Iraq<br />
– over the past decade, caring for<br />
wounded servicemen and civilians.<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong>’s chairman<br />
Ken Corsar and Ewan Macdonald,<br />
deputy director of HR and<br />
<strong>NHS</strong> <strong>Lanarkshire</strong> paid tribute to five brave members of<br />
staff who use their skills to serve our country overseas<br />
Honorary Colonel 225 Medical<br />
Regiment (Volunteers), paid tribute<br />
to their efforts.<br />
Ewan said: “We’re hugely<br />
impressed by the contribution<br />
these individuals make and we<br />
wanted to celebrate not only what<br />
they do for the country but also<br />
what they bring to the <strong>NHS</strong>.<br />
“Reservists are highly skilled and<br />
the training and experience they<br />
receive, working alongside regular<br />
forces, helps to improve their<br />
management, leadership and<br />
problem-solving skills – which has<br />
benefits for us when they return<br />
to work.”<br />
Ken added: “As an organisation,<br />
we’re more than happy to support<br />
employees who want to offer their<br />
services for the good of the<br />
country.<br />
“It’s a tremendous sacrifice on<br />
their part and this event was a way<br />
of recognising and showing our<br />
appreciation of the work they do.”<br />
Reservists support the regular<br />
forces as and when required.<br />
This can involve reservists<br />
taking part in operations in conflict<br />
zones such as Afghanistan, where<br />
they currently make up around<br />
nine percent of Britain’s forces in<br />
that country.<br />
Jacqueline, an accident and<br />
emergency staff nurse at<br />
Monklands Hospital and corporal<br />
in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force,<br />
said: “It’s a two-way process.<br />
There are attributes I’ve developed<br />
while on duty which I can use in<br />
my day-to-day work.<br />
“However, the forces have also<br />
benefited from some of the skills<br />
I learn as a health worker.”<br />
Wishaw wins Hospital<br />
Pharmacy Team of the<br />
Year for second time<br />
A PHARMACY team at Wishaw<br />
General Hospital scooped a top award<br />
at the Scottish Pharmacist Awards<br />
ceremony in Edinburgh.<br />
The team, from paediatrics and<br />
neonates, fought off tough<br />
competition from throughout<br />
Scotland to scoop the prestigious<br />
Hospital Pharmacy Team of the<br />
Year Award.<br />
This is the second time the team<br />
has won the award.<br />
Gail Richardson, head of pharmacy<br />
at Wishaw General, said: “I am<br />
delighted to see the team recognised<br />
in such a way and congratulate every<br />
one of them on the award.<br />
“It shows how important<br />
communication is among such a small<br />
and specialised team.<br />
“The team works well because of<br />
the individual members who are all<br />
dedicated staff, and ensure that before<br />
leaving the workplace all issues have<br />
been adequately dealt with and<br />
communicated to clinical staff.<br />
“Each member willingly helps other<br />
members of the team and will<br />
CELEBRATIONS: The<br />
team was delighted<br />
to win the award<br />
regularly answer specific inquiries out<br />
of hours when junior staff are<br />
providing weekend or emergency<br />
duty service.”<br />
The team specialises in clinical<br />
pharmacy services to women and<br />
children, with pharmacists providing<br />
advice to the multidisciplinary team<br />
and carers within paediatrics,<br />
neonates and maternity.<br />
Senior pharmacists Hazel Fisher<br />
and Lynsay McAulay lead the team,<br />
in addition to providing on the job<br />
training for junior pharmacists.<br />
The Awards, held at the Edinburgh<br />
International Conference Centre,<br />
recognise the enthusiasm and<br />
innovative approach to healthcare by<br />
the pharmacy team which ensures<br />
patients receive the very best<br />
pharmaceutical care.