January 2011 Hard work sees conditions lifted Trust meets essential ...

Proposals to improve heLocal doctors believe the changeswill help ensure senior,experienced clinicians areavailable to treat the mostseriously ill patients every hour ofthe day, every day of the week –something that doesn’t happennow.To help achieve this, thecommittee agreed that servicesfor critically ill patients shouldbe provided at five rather thansix hospitals in the area. It wasalso agreed that doctor-ledbirthing facilities should beprovided at five hospitalsin future to ensure seniorconsultants are availablefor women who needthem.This means that, infuture, both King Georgeand Queen’s will haveProposals developed by local cliniciansto improve hospital services in northeast London have been approved.The committee which made thedecision reviewed the evidence andfeedback from local residents, GPs,councils and others before backingthe plans.urgent care centres and short stayassessment and treatment centres.Once the necessary back-up is inplace - such as improvingcapacity for Queen’s A&E -King George A&E will close.A move of obstetrics coveraway from King George toQueen’s will also takeplace, with anextension of choice forwomen about whereto give birth. This willinclude the openingof new midwifery ledunits at both Queen’sand King George.The plans will make better use ofclinical staff, improving senior staffpresence in key areas. Noredundancies are planned in thesedecisions.King George Hospital will continueto provide most hospital-basedurgent care for Ilford and the localcommunity with a 24/7 care centre,short stay assessment facilities, hightech tests and other services. It willalso be developed into a centre ofexcellence for planned care, such asknee and hip surgery.Dr Mike Gill, Joint Clinical Director,Health for north east London andMedical Director and ConsultantTrust’s improvements recognisedThe Trust has made goodprogress in meeting essentialstandards according to the healthregulator, the Care QualityCommission.The Trust was registered with theCQC last year with eight conditions.Four of those were lifted last month,with the remainder expected to berelaxed in the coming weeks.Chief Executive John Goulston said:“Safety and quality of patient care isour top priority and I’m delightedthat the hard work of staff inimproving care is being recognisedthrough the lifting of conditions onour registration.“We are not at all complacentthough, and will continue efforts todrive up standards and ensure everypatient has a good experience oftheir care. The work of our VisibleLeadership audits by the matronsacross every patient area each weekand the new Patient SafetyWalkrounds by Executive Directorsshow our commitment to continuousimprovement.“Already we are seeing the results ofimprovements in care, with thenumber of patients developingpressure sores being halved this yearon our elderly care units. We areintroducing new systems anddocumentation to help nurses spotthe early signs and manage the riskto patients. We are confident thatwe will make further progress onpressure sores and other areas in theweeks ahead.”4 H O S P I TA L L I F E

alth services approvedGeriatrician at Newham UniversityHospital NHS Trust said;“The changes to hospital servicesagreed the meeting are great newsfor the people of north east London.Finally we can plan changes toservices so that we can provide thelevel of care local residents deserve.“We have met with thousands ofpeople since consultation began lastyear and almost everyone agreesthat services need to change so wecan drive up the quality of hospitalservices. By providing emergencyservices at five hospitals we canmove towards ensuring we have24/7 consultant cover for thosepatients who need this type ofcritical care.“We understand people haveconcerns but it is vitally importantthat everyone in north east Londonunderstands that these changes willbe phased over the next five yearsand we are not planning a big bangapproach. No change will happenuntil the right facilities and staff arein place of the changes as they arehappening. GPs will play a leadingand crucial role in managing theplanned changes.”During consultation and themeeting, members of the publicraised concerns about travel times.Clinicians will continue to workclosely with London AmbulanceService and other stakeholders toensure the changes are carefullyplanned and managed and traveltimes are kept to a minimum.Blue light ambulances already takepatients with the symptoms of astroke direct to Queen’s, whilemajor trauma patients go by bluelight ambulance or helicopterto The Royal London.Katy Millard, AssistantDirector of Operations atLondon AmbulanceService said;“In terms of the impacton ambulance times we have lookedat how ambulance travel timeswould be affected by the proposedchanges. New journey times forpatients for whom King GeorgeHospital is currently the closesthospital would be well withinacceptable limits. Many people innorth east London and Essex (as wellas other parts of the country) alreadyhave similar or longer journey times.Ambulance staff are skilled instabilising patients and looking afterthem during transfer andgenerally our view is thatit is better to travelfurther to get to ahospital with seniorclinical and specialistexpertise than it is tohave a shortertravel time to ahospital wherethis level of caremay not beavailable.”Donation inmemory ofteenagerThe family and friends of an 18-year-old who died of meningitishave donated thousands of poundsto the unit that cared for him.Daniel Halford died in the IntensiveTreatment Unit at Queen’s Hospital onSeptember 7th.He had been admitted just four daysearlier.His father Darrell said: “It was so quick. Just days earlierI had come home from work and found him seriously ill.It all stemmed from a headache.”Unfortunately, despite the care of staff in ITU, Danielwas too ill to survive.His family agreed that his organs could be used fortransplant, and two people have now benefitted fromhis kidneys. His corneas were also donated.“I think being an organ donor is something he wouldhave wanted,” said Darrell. “It has given us someJ A N U A RY 2 0 1 1comfort and it is good to know that heis still helping people in some way.”Daniel, from Elm Park Avenue inHornchurch, had been a pupil atBrittons School, and the crematoriumwas packed with former school friendsand family for his funeral.“There were so many people there thatlots of people had to stand up at theback, and there were even peopleoutside because it was too packed toget in,” said Darrell.He and Daniel’s brother, Matthew,decided to ask for donations ratherthan flowers at the funeral, and wereastounded when £2,400 was collected.Darrell said: “We were amazed by how much people gave.The care he received in ITU at Queen’s was fantastic, andwe wanted to give the money to the department to saythank you.”The popular teenager is still a big part of his friends’ andfamiliy’s lives. Darrell said: “I have left Daniel’s Facebookpage open, and people still chat to him on that. I thinkthat’s lovely.”• Darrell Halford (holding a picture of Daniel) and sonMatthew present a cheque to Staff Nurse Louie Boo andMatron Nicola Dearson in the ITU5

Having a ball at Christmas!A flurry of footballers cheered up thelives of youngsters on our children’swards this Christmas.Dagenham and Redbridge FC made theirannual visit to Tropical Lagoon atQueen’s to hand out gifts includingscarves and selection boxes.And Romford FC also arrived on theward to meet the children in hospital forChristmas.2134Pictured are:1 Romford FC players, along with their mascot,join staff on Tropical Lagoon2 Dagenham and Redbridge Players meet NoorHabb from Ilford (older patient)3 Albina Bunjaku from Romford is given a scarffrom the Dagenham and Redbridge team.4 Daggers players give a signed picture to CallumBennett from Dagenham6 H O S P I TA L L I F E

Countdownto QuitNew dignity signsMaintaining the privacy anddignity of our patients is a highpriority for the Trust. Protectingpatients’ dignity on the wards isan ongoing challenge andhospital staff walking in and outof closed curtains withoutwarning often compromisespatients' comfort and can bedamaging to their experience.With that aim in mind, the Trust’sdignity group has arranged for signsdisplaying the message ‘please askbefore entering’, to be pinned to allthe curtains on every ward rightacross the Trust.Harvest A - the Acute Elderly Unit atQueen’s - became the first ward inthe Trust to use the signs. MatronLisa Pape-Orton said: “This is a reallygood idea that will make sure thatpatients can have some privacy whiletheir curtains are pulled. The signsare bright yellow, so even peopleParents of babies who have beenlooked after in our NeonatalIntensive Care Unit or SpecialCare Baby Unit are being invitedto join a support group.The group meets on the lastWednesday of each month atMothercare World in Romford from11am until 12.30pm.If your child spent time in the NICUwith visual impairment will be ableto see them straight away.”Assistant Director of Nursing LesleyMarsh said: “When we are inhospital, we not only want care, restand comfort, but also to know thathospital staff will do all that they canto protect our privacy and dignity.Patients have told us that this is aparticular concern of theirs, and it isa high priority for this Trust.“This is a simple initiative that will goa long way to ensure patients’privacy and dignity is respected whiletheir curtains are pulled around theirbeds.”And our younger patients put pen topaper to design their own dignitysigns for our children’s wards,Tropical Lagoon and Clover.Photo: Matron Lisa Pape-Ortonshows the new signs.Support group for parents of special babiesor SCBU at Queen’s or King Georgethen go along and share yourexperiences with other parents.As well as talking about any ongoinganxieties you have, it is also aplace to celebrate your baby’sdevelopment and achievements.The group is led by nurses from ourNeonatal Units as well as communitynurses and a clinical psychologist.People often remember specialdates, and on New Year’s Day thedate was 1.1.11. We won’t see adate like this for a while. TheNew Year is a great opportunityto make a change to yourlifestyle. Going smokefree is thesingle best thing you can do toimprove your health, increaseyour life expectancy, and savemoney. Many smokers use theNew Year as a time to quit and tomake a change for the better.If you are a smoker and thinking ofquitting the habit, why not talk to aprofessional now and plan your quitattempt?You are up to four times more likelyto stop smoking using medicationand support from your local NHSStop Smoking Service.Last year the local Stop SmokingService helped 1,401 smokers inHavering quit the habit, and 1,633 inRedbridge. The Stop SmokingServices offer a range of packages tosupport smokers who are motivatedto quit, including.• Specialist stop smoking clinics• Community pharmacy advisors• Pregnancy advisor• Inpatient/outpatient clinic atQueen’s HospitalThe service offers free support andmedications (prescription chargesmay apply) to smokers registeringand regularly attending the supportoptions listed above.For more information and details ofyour local Stop Smoking Service callHavering Stop Smoking Service onfreephone 0800 032 0102 orRedbridge on 0800 988 8872 or logon to www.redquit.co.uk.J A N U A RY 2 0 1 17

Cancer services gets makeoverThrough the kind and generousdonations of all those people whohave supported BHR HospitalsCharity, we were recently able tofund a £30,000 refurbishment ofCancer services at Queen’sHospital.Queen’s treats cancer patients fromall over the boroughs of Barking andDagenham, Havering and Redbridge.Serving one of the largestpopulations of any Acute Trust in theUK, we look after more than 5,000cancer patients a year, as well asproviding facilities for their families.Because of the nature of the diseaseand the way it is treated, patientsand their families spend long hourswithin the department. In order toimprove their experience at such adifficult time, it was decided torefurbish the four main areas whichwould benefit the most patients.These were the radiotherapywaiting room, the cancer servicesinformation centre, oncologyreception and the chemotherapywaiting room. As you can see fromthe before and after pictures, themake over has made an enormousdifference.BHR Hospitals Charity aims to improve patient and staff welfareand enhance the hospital environment for patients, staff and visitorsat both Queen’s and King George Hospitals. Whilst the NHS providesthe funding for the core services it is through the kindnessof our supporters that enables the charity to fundprojects like that of the cancer services refurbishment.To find out more about the Charity and howBHR Hospitals you can help please visit our website atcharitywww.bhrhospitals/nhs.uk/charity or call uson 01708 435 000 ext 2922registered charity no. 1059455BeforeAfterMick’s in good elfOncology patient Mick Owen fulfilleda Christmas promise when he arrivedfor his last appointment dressed asone of Santa’s elves.The 53-year-old from Harold Wood hasbeen treated for cancer at Queen’s Hospital,and when staff heard that his nextappointment was on Christmas Eve, theyjoked that he should dress as an elf to seehis consultant.Mick’s festive attire put a big smile on thefaces of patients, staff and visitors as hewalked through the hospital on 24December.But the best was yet to come.“My consultant gave me the all clear,” saidMick. “It’s the best Christmas present I’veever had.”Mick also asked friends to sponsor him towear the elf outfit, and raised money forMacmillan.• Christmas Elf Mick OwenContact us: If you would like to see a particular service featured in Hospital Life, contact Niki Eves on01708 435314, or email nicola.eves@bhrhospitals.nhs.uk8