GP Bulletin - Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

New Birthing PoolOpensA brand-new birthing pool for mums has opened at the maternityunit at Bradford Royal Infirmary.Bradford Teaching HospitalsNHS Foundation TrustGP BULLETINDecember 084New guidelines from the National Institute for Health and ClinicalExcellence (NICE) highlight the benefits for women of labouringin water in terms of pain relief. It is the maternity unit’s firstpool. Around 6,000 births take place take place each year at thematernity unit.Julie Walker, head of midwifery, said: “We’re really delighted to beable to open the pool. It’s great for women to have more choicesabout how they labour and the pool helps offer them that choice.Staff have been trained to use it and it is certainly in demand withwomen.”Tackling InfectionsThe foundation trust is continuing towork hard to tackle healthcare associatedinfections. In April 2008, we launcheda major Hospital Hygiene TurnaroundProgramme, investing £3.7 million.This programme has put into a place an additional monthlyprogramme of spot checks covering all aspects of the HygieneCode, which are being carried out by various members of staff,governors and the PCT. Matrons are leading the monitoring ofcleanliness and we are increasing screening for MRSA.We are also continuing our deep clean programme and recentlyheld a C.Diff awareness week, have increased the numbers ofinfection control staff and have put into place a ‘bare below theelbows’ policy.These extra measures are working. MRSA rates at have dropped byalmost 40 per cent compared to the same time last year and we aremaking good progress towards meeting our target for this year.Fighting infections remains our number one priority and we believethat the foundation trust can continue to improve.Jane and KarenAt the openingMore about theWound HealingUnitThe wound healing unit at the foundationtrust is an internationally recognised centreof excellence for the management of acuteand chronic wounds. The unit is led byKath Vowden, nurse consultant, acute andchronic wounds and Professor Peter Vowden,consultant vascular surgeon and Professorof wound healing research at the Universityof Bradford, with an extensive publicationportfolio that supports the clinical, researchand educational activities of the unit.The unit offers an integrated multi-professional award-winningservice for patients with lower limb and foot ulceration, whichincludes vascular surgeons, podiatrists and research staff alongwith a specialist nurse-led clinical team providing daily wound careclinics. The unit has direct links to dermatology, plastic surgicalservices orthotists and lymphoedema specialists to ensure all aspectsof care can be provided for each individual patient.The unit accepts referrals from all healthcare professionals andoffers advice on wound care and patient management. Asrecognised national and international specialists we are involvedwith clinical guidelines and are selected to represent the UK inEuropean and World Union position papers and recommendationsfor clinical practice.The unit leads on a variety of wound care educational courses atthe University of Bradford and also as clinically-based short coursesensuring practice competence.For more information contact Kath Vowden on 01274 364466.New Wards25/10/2008The foundation trust is well underway with building workfor its two new wards. The two new modular wards arelocated in between wards 20 and 21 and the dining roomsat Bradford Royal Infirmary and will provide facilities fortwo 28-bedded elderly care and medical wards.The three-storey building is scheduled to befinished by end of December 2008 and willfurther improve the foundation trust’s abilityto manage the extra pressures it - along withother trusts - faces during the upcomingwinter period. We expect to house patientsin the wards by Christmas 2008.The existing wards vacated by elderly carewill become available for use as decantingspace to allow refurbishment of other wards- which has been ongoing for some time - toenable us to further improve patient areas.18/08/200820/11/2008This will mean that existing wards can havenew windows and floors without disturbingpatients. The new wards will allow thefoundation trust to provide more side roomfacilities.The new wards are part of an extensivebuilding programme at Bradford RoyalInfirmary, which will see a new lecturetheatre and Listening for Life Centre befinished by the end of the year. The BradfordCancer Support Centre has already opened.Contents1 Welcome to GP Bulletin1 New Wards2 News in Brief2 Foundation Trust Launches CorporateStrategy2 Helping People to Manage Long-TermConditions2 New Imaging Suite Opens at BRI3 Referring to the Foundation Trust4 New Birthing Pool Opens4 Tackling Infections4 More about the Wound Healing UnitWelcome toGP BULLETINWelcome to the December edition of GPBulletin, the newsletter for GPs produced byBradford Teaching Hospitals NHS FoundationTrust. Included with your copy this month, isa copy of our Annual Review.We produce and send GP Bulletin everyquarter. It will also be available on ourwebsite - www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.ukIt is designed to provide information aboutour services and news about the foundationtrust. It will also feature news about newappointments.Please send any feedback or suggestionsfor content by contacting Leanne Wilson,communications officer, on 01274 364022,or email leanne.wilson@bradfordhospitals.nhs.ukIf you would prefer to receive GP Bulletin byemail or if you would like to request morecopies then please let us know by contactingLeanne Wilson, as above.I hope that you find thisedition informative andenjoyable and please dolet us know if you haveany feedback.Miles ScottChief Executive

NEWS IN BRIEF2Open Event 2008The foundation trust’s annual open event and annualgeneral meeting will take place in September 2008.Both events were very well-attended with over 1,000people coming to the open event. Services from across thefoundation trust showcased best practice, offered advice,blood pressure checks and interactive displays so the publiccould find out more about the foundation trust.Next year will see the fourth annual open event, which weexpect to be even more successful.Clinical Research FacilityThe new Clinical Research Facility (CRF), Bradford Institutefor Health Research opened its doors to patients in thesummer.The CRF is an exciting new development in researchinfrastructure. To recognise the important contributionthat patients make when they volunteer to be part ofa research project and help advance our knowledge inhealth care, the CRF has been designed with the patientin mind and aims to provide a high quality, clean, friendlyand comfortable environment.The CRF has a number of outpatient clinic rooms, daycare facilities and hot-desking space for researchers andis available to staff for running commercial and noncommercialtrials.Helping People toManage Long-TermConditionsAllied Health Professionals (AHPs) areleading on a help people with long-termconditions. The scheme designs servicesaround the patient and means that patientsare able to access the multi-disciplinary teamwhen they feel their condition is changing.Patients with some long-term conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, canbe referred to ‘one-stop shops’ in the community. They can then fill intheir own health needs assessment form, which also covers social andphysiological issues. The team then works on an individual care plan forthe patient and signposts them to other services across the city - such assmoking cessation.Patients can also take part in an eight-week programme with twiceweeklysession to help patients manage their own conditions. Thisinvolves giving advice about diet, medication and learning to recognisechanges in condition.Jill Gregson, physiotherapy manager, said: “Patients are really benefitingfrom all of this - it is really changing their lives for the better. They aremaking friends, becoming more social and managing their conditionsbetter. It has led to a fall in hospital admissions for patients with longtermconditions.”The work by the team was presented to Lord Darzi in March. GP’scan refer to the service by contacting Westbourne Green CommunityHealthcare Centre. There are separate referral forms for each condition.Foundation Trust LaunchesCorporate StrategyThe foundation trust recently launched itsCorporate Strategy for 2008 to 2015. Thestrategy outlines the aims and priorities forthe next seven years.We are making commitments in six key areasThese are:• The best quality and safety of care, resulting in outstanding patientsatisfaction• Modern, fit-for-purpose facilities and equipment• More care closer to patients homes• The right staff, with the right training, in the right place, at the right time• A specialist centre for west Yorkshire• A nationally recognised centre of excellence for education and appliedhealth researchWe believe through these commitments we will deliver better medicineand better health for the people of Bradford and beyond. Our mission is toprovide the best quality safe healthcare to the people of Bradford and WestYorkshire.For more information please go to www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.ukNew Imaging SuiteOpens at BRIThe new interventionalsuite replaces a unit thatwas over ten years oldand uses state-of-the-art‘flat-plate’ technologyto provide high-qualityimages of the bloodvessels of the body. Thetechnology can achievehigher-quality imagesat a lower radiation dose than the oldequipment, which is better for patients and staff.The room will also host a number of la operations. These areperformed by radiologists. The radiologists will use the equipmentto perform angioplasties’, they will also be able to replace the aortawith synthetic material.These radiology procedures are less invasive than traditionaloperations, which mean that patients are often able to bedischarged on the same day and tend to recover faster.Dr LeeAnne Elliott, consultant radiologist and clinical director ofimaging, said: “The new suite offers an improved experience forour patients and allows us to provide a high-quality service to thepeople of Bradford and beyond.”Dr Jonathan Barber, deputy clinical director and lead interventionalradiologist, added: “This is an exciting time. The new technologywill ensure that Bradford remains at the cutting-edge of medicine.”Referring to the Foundation TrustThe foundation trust is meeting the targets around the 18 week referral to treatment forpatients who are referred into elective care pathways. Receiving referrals electronically by theChoose and Book system has been instrumental in helping us to achieve this, as booking theappointment marks the first step on measuring the pathway and cuts out many of the delaysinvolved with a paper-based, manual referral system.The foundation trust is meeting the targets around the 18 week referralto treatment for patients who are referred into elective care pathways.Receiving referrals electronically by the Choose and Book system has beeninstrumental in helping us to achieve this, as booking the appointmentmarks the first step on measuring the pathway and cuts out many of thedelays involved with a paper-based, manual referral system.All consultant-led first outpatient services are now available to view on theDirectory of Services, which is in the Choose and Book software. GPs canuse this system in order to select the appropriate specialty and service fortheir patients, should they need to be referred to the foundation trust.The foundation trust has now successfully implemented a new PatientAdministration System. This means that the technology is now available,which will allow GPs to search Choose and Book for available appointmentsslots on our clinics and directly book them. During the last few months,we have published a small number of services on Choose and Book so thatappointments can be directly booked in a few pilot areas - such as ENT. Amajor roll out is planned for January to March 2009.The foundation trust is currently rolling out a system, which will allowurgent suspected cancer referrals to be sent to the foundation trust, usingthe Choose and Book system, from the GP practice. The aim is to replacethe existing fax system of referrals by attaching electronic versions of the‘fast track’ proformas to a Choose and Book referral request alongside anyother relevant medical information. One practice has successfully ‘gonelive’ with the new system and a roll-out plan for all GP practices is currentlybeing developed by Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust.Following the experience gained from running the above pilots, thefoundation trust is now in a position to start planning to move all itsservices from being indirectly bookable to directly bookable. The aim isto make all specialties live by the end of March 2009. This will enable thepatients who choose to be treated at the foundation trust to have moreflexibility and choice as to how and when they book their appointment.Please note that any referrals for radiology or medical physics are notincluded in choose and book via the contact centre and referrals shouldcontinue to be made using the appropriate request card and forwarded tothe relevant department.Choose and Book is now the preferred and most efficientmethod of receiving referrals into the foundation trust. However,if you do need to send in a paper referral for any reason pleaseensure that referrals are addressed shown opposite.Please ensure that the referral contains the following information:• Full name of patient • Address • NHS number• Telephone number - mobile phone for short notice contact• Ethnic group if possible• If an interpreter is required, what language?• If patient has a sensory impairment - for example is blind or hearingimpaired, what the best method is for contacting them• If the patient has a disability - for example is blind, hard of hearingand so on• Whether patient transport is required and what category is needed• If the patient is a minor - the full name of the guardian/parent• Clear indication of the specialty required• If the patient has seen a consultant before, which relates to thereferral, then please specify whoCardiologyClinical physics - direct accessDermatologyDiabetology and endocrinologyENT and ophthalmologyGastroenterologyMaternityPaediatrics (for childrenwith moderate to severedevelopmental problemsor neurodisability (pleasenote that children with puremental health difficulties suchattention-deficit hyperactivitydisorder are seen in CAMHS)Radiology - direct accessFax to:Outpatient OfficeCardio Respiratory Department01274 382371Preferred method: Faxed ReferralsType of Referral: Unified ReferralPlease do not fax and then send by postSend to:Medical physics receptionBradford Royal InfirmaryDuckworth LaneBD9 6RJReferrals should be faxed to01274 365529New patient appointments - 01274 365352Review appointments - 01274 365543/365540Diabetes and Endocrinology DepartmentLevel 2, Duke of YorkBradford Royal InfirmaryDuckworth LaneBD9 6RJFax 01274 366746 or 382409Urgent diabetic referrals to be phoned or faxedonly.ReferralsENT/Ophthalmology Patient Administration,Portacabin 3,Bradford Royal Infirmary,Duckworth Lane,BD9 6RJAll referrals for gastroenterologyoutpatient appointments should go to thegastroenterology unit and requests for directaccess to endoscopy should also go to thegastroenterology unit.Patient Administration DepartmentMaternity BuildingBradford Royal InfirmarySmith LaneBD9 6RJSecretariesChild Development CentreHorton WingSt Luke’s HospitalLittle Horton RoadBD5 0NASend to:Radiology booking officeC BlockSt Luke’s HospitalLittle Horton LaneBradford, BD9 6RJUrgent fast track cancer By fax to the fast track office on 01274 382543or 382544All other referralsContact CentreSt Luke’s HospitalLittle Horton LaneBradford, BD5 0NA3