June 2005 - Homerton University Hospital

F-grades make the gradeBy Chipo Takavarasha,senior nurse foreducationStaff who passed theF-grade developmentprogramme werepresented withcertificates by director ofnursing Guy Young at aspecial ceremony inMarch.The programme wasdeveloped for stafflacking in first/linemanagement leadershipskills and is suitable for E-grade staff nurses who are ready to take the plunge andbecome F-grade junior sisters/staff nurses, or those who have been newlyappointed to F-grade posts.The course involves attending six study days over a six month period.Topics are led by different Trust staff and cover a range of topicsincluding:managing performance and appraisalsF-grade role and team leadershipquality and clinical governancecomplaints and communication•decision making and dealing with difficult decisions.Staff will also carry out a work-based learning project to improve service delivery,which is led by City University.The course has been a huge success with six of the seven graduating candidatesbeing promoted to F-grade within six-months.•For further information about education opportunities contact nursingeducation on ext 5093 or visit the training anddevelopment section on the intranet.Web updateNew to the intranet this month is:••essence of care - find out about the ten benchmarkshealthcare assistant forum - new and updated pages, allthe latest news and information from the group•FACT forum - new and updated pages forfrontline admin and clerical staff, includingthe latest uniform update•EPR – simulated training scenarios.newthismonthPlus, new to the web this month is infectioncontrol, including useful information about MRSAand hand hygiene. And all the information youneed to know about hayfever and allergies.For further information about the intranet or internet, or if you•would like a page, contact Tonya Chalker on ext 5154 or via email.Working inpartnershipto tacklecrimeBy Andrew Panniker,director of the environmentThe Trust, under the guidance ofsecurity manager Les Green, isdeveloping a strategic partnershipgroup incorporating the Met Police,Hackney Borough Council and theLearning Trust. The main objective ofthe ‘Homerton University HospitalCommunity Safety Project’ group is towork together to reduce crime, and thefear of crime, in and around thehospital.The Trust is also in negotiation withthe Met Police and Hackney BoroughCouncil to commence building a newcommunity station (police base) on thehospital site, where the Met Police willpatrol the Chatham, Lea Bridge andKingspark wards. This will bring anincreased presence of police onto thehospital site, in surrounding roads andwill improve access to advice andsupport.Look out for the August edition ofHomerton Life, where you willfind out all the up-to-dateinformation about what the Trustis doing to improve the safety andsecurity of staff at work. Thisincludes:•a review of access routes andentrances into the hospital•an extension of the CCTVsystem and link to the LondonBorough of Hackney’s controlcentre•designing out security risks inthe hospital environment•the security at work steeringgroup•the new monthly security andpersonal safety staff forum•how we are working withHackney Council and otherkey stakeholders to improvecommunity design, lighting,transport and security.4

Success at NELmodernisation awardsTwo Homerton teams were highly commended at the recentmodernisation awards hosted by the North East LondonStrategic Health Authority:The hospital at night team was highly commended in the‘workforce innovation’ category. Hospital at night was a pilotinitiative introduced as part of the hospital’s requirement toadhere to the working time directive for junior doctors. It sawa number of changes to the way the hospital worked at night,including clinical site managers coordinating and delegatingduties out-of-hours. Pictured above are some of the teaminvolved in the hospital at night project (L-R) Louise Jowitt,Rhian Evans, Susan Acott, Grahame Dick and Sam Hutchings.A project set up to address mental health needs in acutegeneral care, led by deputy director of nursing Jennie Negus andmental health specialist nurse TiinaFarrag (pictured left), was also highlycommended in the ‘improving accessto care’ category. This pilot project hasseen training, education and supportfor staff caring, identifying or referringmental health patients. Due to ourclose links with East Wing, this projecthas sped up the referral process,leading to shorter hospital stays andfaster access to specialist services.How does SILKaffect you?By Tanya Reynolds, nurse consultant in A&EHomerton will be launching its new nursingand midwifery strategy shortly. Here’s thelowdown on the strategy and how it willaffect you at work...What is the nursing and midwifery strategy?The nursing and midwifery strategy (NMS) is a plan for nursingand midwifery at Homerton, outlining how it will develop in thefuture.Why do we need one?The purpose of the nursing and midwifery strategy is to givedirection, about how we should organise ourselves as nursesand midwives to deliver a high standard of care, and to providea structure for development for the next three years.How was it developed?The strategy was developed through consultation with nursesand midwives at Homerton to find out the issues they felt weremost relevant to them. The result is ‘SILK’.What is SILK?SILK represents the key issues that affect nurses and midwives ona day-to-day basis, as well as in the long-term. It stands forSkills, Infrastructure, Leadership and Knowledge.How will it affect me?SILK will affect every nurse and midwife because it will positivelyinfluence the issues they face in their workplace. Due to itsstructure, it can also be related to the Knowledge and SkillsFramework (KSF), part of Agenda for Change.Are there any other changes?A new system of nursing and midwifery management will beintroduced, called nursing and midwifery governance (NMG).This approach to management allows staff that have the closestday-to-day involvement with patients to influence, participatein and make decisions about issues affecting their practice andwork environment.A nursing and midwifery board has been established andthere will be councils representing the four components ofSILK. These councils will have representatives from all groupsand grades of staff, and will investigate the issues that areaffecting nurses and midwives.Success for Homerton in annual staff surveyHomerton University Hospital has been named the best acute hospital in England by the Health Service Journal(HSJ) after their analysis of the findings from the national annual staff survey.Every year, the Healthcare Commission distribute a survey to all NHS trusts, PCTs, mental health trusts and ambulance trusts.The survey is designed to find out about staff views on their work and the organisation in which they work. As well as informingthe employer about where they may need to make improvements, the Healthcare Commission also use these findings as part ofthe star rating system.From the 28 categories in the staff survey, the HSJ analysed the data of 10 areas, ranging from percentage of staff with trainingopportunities, to staff job satisfaction and the perception of effective action towards violence and harassment. From its analysisHomerton was named as the best acute trust.Director of corporate development and HR Pauline Brown said: “The results are testament to good staff involvement at all levels,an open culture and a clear focus on staff issues. I would like to say a heartfelt thank-you to all staff as they continue to supportand deliver the trust’s objectives and ultimately make things better for all those using our services.”5

e happening at Homerton?IT modernisationThe Trust’s programme for modernising ITsystems will continue throughout the year.Phase one of EPR went live last year, but weare still working to improve certain sections.We are also working on phase two of theproject, which will see a number ofadditions to the EPR system including:•updated and new clinical documentation,including a new admissionassessment form•updated and new maternity documentation•electronic prescribing and medicinesadministration, plus a new system inpharmacy for electronic dispensing andprocurement•‘surginet’, which will replace thesurgical database, allowing staff toelectronically record all the statutorypatient information when undergoingsurgery, for example what type ofoperation, what preparation andequipment used, which staff attended etc.A picture archiving and communication•system – PACS – will be introduced later inthe year allowing images, particularly inradiology, to be stored digitally and madeaccessible from terminals around thehospital. X-ray films will become a thing ofthe past!Further information about all theseprojects will be provided throughout theyear, you can also contact Sallie Rumbold ifyou have any questions about phase twoof EPR.And the finance bit...What’s different about our financial situation this year?We now get paid a fixed amount (national tariff) for each procedure we do.This is helpful in many ways, however:•clinical coding - unless we record the work we do, with the correct levelof detail, we do not get reimbursed•hospitals have high overhead costs, this is because we have to keep hightechbuildings and equipment operating 24hours a day, with teams ofspecialist staff available to deal with emergencies. We don’t getextra money to pay for this, it comes out of our tariff income•patients are now being actively encouraged to choosewhere they go for treatment. Money follows the patient,so if they decide to go elsewhere so does the money,but we are still left to meet our overhead costs•there are now several more ‘elsewheres’ thepatient can go to, including PCT-led services basedin the community and the independent sectorwhich now has the right to offer NHS services.To remind you, we have had the promise of £130million from the tax payer to run our hospital this year. Thismoney is allocated out to budget holders in directorates, services anddepartments. We do not have an additional pot of money to access if we getinto difficulties. It will be tight this year and undoubtedly you will notice thatwe will focus on finance.Who will be leading this work?Our executive directors will be leading directorates, departments and servicesto meet the targets and objectives for 2005/06. They are:1 Caroline Clarke, director of finance and information2 Andrew Panniker, director of environment3 John Coakley, medical director4 Guy Young, director or nursing and quality5 Nancy Hallett, chief executive6 Pauline Brown, director of corporate development7 Tracey Fletcher, director of planning and service development8 Susan Acott, director of redesign1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Our executive directors with Trust chairman Andy Windross (front centre)7

New placements willgive students broaderexperienceMajor changes to the placement scheme at City University will meanthat, from September 2005, student nurses and midwives will beplaced within a certain geographical area, rather than clinicalspeciality.Students are currently placed randomly in trusts across north andeast London, which means they constantly have to adjust todifferent places, procedures, policies and people. It also means thatthey only see the patient in one setting rather than experiencing apatient journey. But from the autumn, City will be introducing‘communities of practice’ (CoP), which will see students receive amore patient-centred approach to learning. They will be based inone of three CoPs and work in a variety of clinical and communitysettings within that area. They will be able to experience a patient’sjourney through the system, from hospital to outpatient clinics, GPclinics and health centres, to the patient’s home.Student nurses based in the City and Hackney community ofpractice will have opportunities to work with: Homerton UniversityHospital, City and Hackney GP practices and health centres, LondonIndependent Hospital, St Joseph’s Hospice, nursing homes, socialservices and the voluntary sector in this area.• For more information about the new placementscontact Philippa (Sid) Andrews on ext 5131 or via email.City University will be holding an open day at Sutton House,Homerton High Street on 21 July between 2pm and 6pm.Staff from Homerton and other health organisations inHackney will be providing information about communities ofpractice and about careers in nursing and midwifery.Fraud and corruption in anyorganisation – including theNHS - is unacceptable. It meansthat funds, which should bethere for patient care, aren’t.But what is fraud? Our localcounter fraud specialist CathyPurton explains: “It’s difficult todefine but it includes theft,deception, bribery, forgery,corruption, false accountingand conspiracy.“We have procedures in placein the hospital that reduces thelikelihood of fraud andcorruption. The local counterfraud service helps any hospitalto deter, detect and investigatefraud. Individuals found to havecommitted fraud can face theloss of their job, loss of theirprofessional accreditation, a criminal record, a fine andpossibly even imprisonment.“I’m sure you will agree that we all have a responsibility toact with honesty and integrity and to safeguard the resourcesfor which we are responsible.”• If you suspect fraud, don’t delay -report it in confidence to your manager, one of thehospital directors or to Cathy Purton on 020 7480 4778,email cathy.purton@bartsandthelondon.nhs.ukBe weight wise@ work By Ebony Mcgregor, dietitianThe number of people who are overweight or obese has beenrapidly increasing in the UK. The latest ‘National Diet andNutrition Survey’ showed that 25% of men and 20% of womenare obese. If this continues, nearly half of the British populationwill be obese by the year 2010. There has also been a markedincrease in obesity amongst children in the UK. Around one infive children are now overweight and one in ten are obese.Being overweight or obese can affect nearly every part ofyour body. It also costs us all money, reportedly £485 million ayear to treat obesity on the NHS, plus 18 million sick days eachyear for obesity-related problems.This June is weight-wise at work month. Homerton’snutrition and dietetics department, and catering service, areproud to be conducting many informative (and fun) activitiesfor staff, patients and visitors at the hospital. This will include afruit chart competition on wards, free lunchtime seminars onhow to be weight-wise, ‘hazardous’ waist measurements andinformation stands. Plus there will be healthy lunch-break days,providing healthy choices in the canteen as well as advice onhealthy alternatives.•Keep your eyes peeled (pardon the pun) to theintranet and noticeboards around the site for news ofthe months events.TB nurses GeorgePorter andViktoria Spongmanned a stall inthe mainentrance inMarch to tellpatients, staffand visitors tothe hospitalabout thesymptoms andtreatments of TB,as part of worldTB day.Approximately170 peoplecontract TB inHackney eachyear.Did you know … If youare overweight, just 5-10%weight loss can lead to bigbenefits for your health.10

Almost ten years ago this monthHomerton news was reporting …•The Fertility Unit’s first successful birth at the hospital, premature twin girls.Born to the Van der Vos family, they were also one of the first couples toreceive IVF treatment at the unit, bringing much joy to staff when they heardof the success.•Another form of celebration, this time theTrust’s 10th anniversary. A special fete wasorganised by the League of Friends and hadlocal school-children, the pearly kings andqueens, and the elective collective dramagroup among others putting onperformances.•Speech and language therapists werewelcomed back as employees of Homerton,after the services were purchased from TowerHamlets Healthcare Trust.•Homerton staff remembered the Mother’s Hospital, who provided maternityservices before being transferred to Homerton.•A new chief executive was announced. Peter Coles joined the trust in July1996.Diagnosis,disclosure anddiscriminationHomerton, in partnership with NAZ ProjectLondon, will be hosting a special conferenceentitled ‘diagnosis, disclosure and discrimination’at the British Library on 23 June2005.Featuring Homerton consultant JaneAnderson, the day will look at the impactof HIV on the lives of black and minorityethnic communities living in the UK,including topics such as HIV research,policy, service and community initiatives.The one-day conference is free of chargeand places are allocated on a first-come,first-served basis. For further information orfor a booking form visit the events diary onthe intranet or email ravi@naz.org.uk.Child protection iseveryone’s businessBy Tracy Luckett, senior nurse for CWSHWould you know who to contact or where to look foradvice if faced with a child protection issue?Homerton’s child protection group has recentlylaunched guidelines that offer advice on child protectionmatters. The guidelines cover all aspects of childprotection concerns, including legal frameworks and whoto contact in the Trust for advice.The aim of these guidelines is to offer practical help tothose of you who may come into contact with childrenand young people, either as patients or children ofpatients. The guidelines are available on the intranetunder ‘clinical policies and guidelines’.In addition, the Trust now provides child protectiontraining for all staff. Those joining the Trust will receivean overview on child protection during induction. Forthose already working in the trust there are tailor-madestudy days depending on your area of work:•For staff who work in general ward areas anddepartmentsA half-day child protection awareness course providingan introduction to child protection matters and exploringfrequently asked questions for clinicians who don’t workpredominantly with children.•For staff who work with babies, children and youngpeopleA full-day child protection update providing detailedinformation about ‘at risk’ children, incorporating currentlegislation and strategy management surrounding childprotection work. All sessions are taught by the childhealth department at City University.•To book a place on a study day please contactMichele Shields on ext 7838 or via email.Two minutes with…Michelle Johnson, special carebaby unit (SCBU) nurse1 What was your first job?I worked in an ice cream parlourcalled ‘Milky Lane’2 What did you want to be whenyou were growing up?A ballerina3 Who is the person you mostadmire?Nelson Mandela, Sir Alan Sugar from ‘the Apprentice’ andOprah4 What was your most embarrassing moment?It took me a long while to figure out why I kept endingup in the wrong direction on the bus5 What is your biggest indulgence?Krispy cream doughnuts and a lovely facial6 What would you do if you won the national lottery?I would still continue to work. I would love to take myfriends and family on a luxury cruise. And then fly agroup of friends to South Africa to build an outreachcentre in the Bundus to help those less privileged and putsome smiles on their faces7 What was the last:book you read?I read regularly every night – my daughter’s bedtimestories, some recipes and about three pages of DonaldTrump’s biographycd you bought?I love jazz – Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and NinaSimonefilm you watched?Hotel Rwanda8 Reality TV … what would be your one luxury item?A daily hot shower please11

Open dayexcitement atHomerton…Many of you joined in the fun one sunny Saturday in earlyApril for the hospital’s first big open day for many years.Staff took visitors behind the scenes into the operatingtheatres, the kitchens and many more departmentswhere they could join in the fun and get a healthcheck at the same time. Taste-testing hospitalfood was popular (the vegetarian Halal optionwent down well) and an array of Barbies andteddies made for x-ray, where x-ray and CEAteamed up to provide a one-stop clinic fortoys.In the health marketplace, we were ableto check out our allergies, find out howclean our hands were, glimpse at the lifeof our plaster technicians Paul and Kevin, andeven touch up our resuscitation technique and birthingskills.Supported by local 999 services, kids andadults alike climbed aboard the fire engine, foundout what an ambulanceman does and learnedabout safety from our community beat policeofficers.There was so much going on, it’s impossible toacknowledge everyone but thanks to everyone formaking the day such a success.What was the best bit? Who knows, as one visitortold us: “The whole experience was fantastic. Please,please do it again.”Surinder Sharma (farright), the nationaldirector of equalitiesand human rights atthe Department ofHealth, visitedHomerton’s multifaithfacility ‘TheSanctuary’ lastmonth as part of atour of east London,designed to find out about work underway totackle inequalities in all aspects of healthand social care delivery. The aim of the visitwas to show what is going on withinservices to address these issues and whatis going on outside of services to work withcommunities and organisations.National breastfeedingweekcelebrationsin HackneyMidwives throughoutHackney were involved ina whole host of events fornew mothers as part ofnational breastfeeding week in May. Theevents, which included a picnic for over 90 women,aimed to raise public awareness of breastfeeding,encouraged women to feel more comfortablebreastfeeding in public, as well as provided anopportunity for mothers to come together to sharetheir experiences.Check out the Sure Start pages on our website forfurther information about breastfeeding and othersupport groups available for new mothers.12Published by the Press and Communications Department,Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation TrustContact the editor Lee Jones on x5035 or lee.jones@homerton.nhs.ukVisit our website www.homerton.nhs.uk for all the latest news about the Trust.Designed & produced byAndrew Younger & Associates020 8995 8787