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1ON THE PULSE � MAY 2005

on the pulseWest Hertfordshire Hospitals

NHS Trust

NHS

� News and views from St Albans, Mount Vernon, Hemel Hempstead and Watford Hospitals

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For your chance to win two tickets for Elton John Concertat Watford Football Statium on Saturday 18 June 2005

ring Jean Hickman on HHGH 2620

Dr Collas with staff at the unit

Stroke care is amongthe best in the countryThe Watford Stroke Unit was recently ranked 15 out of 256 hospitalsand among the 10 most improved Trust’s in the ‘National SentinelAudit for Stroke 2004’ commissioned by the Healthcare Commission.

�Dr Collas, Consultant Physician said:

“There has been a real commitment to

raising the profile and improving the care

of stroke patients over the past few years

at Watford. This independent audit has

given us the chance to compare our

performance with every other

organisation caring for stroke and review

how far we have come in comparison

with our own previous performance.”

He added: “I see it as a tribute to the

huge amount of work by everyone

involved that we came eighth out of all

District General Hospitals and 15th

among the 10 most improved Trusts since

the last audit in 2002. This will motivate

us all to stay on top, and help attract new

members to the team. It will also

demonstrate to all who contributed to

the Dick Edmonds Stroke Appeal (and are

still doing so) that their generosity is

bearing fruit.”

Watford’s stroke unit has six acute beds,

with six rehabilitation beds and is

following Hemel Hempstead General

Hospital’s plans to extend the unit to

include the rehabilitation ward.

•STOP PRESS•STOP PRESS•STOP PRESS •

The new Endoscopy Suite in Verulam Wing at Hemel Hempstead General Hospital was officially opened by DrWilliams, the Mayor, Cllr Smedley and Tony McWalter MP.

Dr Sue Catnach,ConsultantGastoenterologistsaid: “The openingof this newEndoscopy Unit isexcellent news forpatients from HemelHempstead and StAlbans . We arenow able to offer afirst-class endoscopyservice withdedicated facilities ina pleasantenvironment.”

The new EndoscopySuite in VerulumWing looks afterpatients primarilyfrom the HemelHempstead and StAlbans areas.

Pictured L/R: Tony McWalter; Dr Ian Williams; the Mayor Cllr Smedley; Dr Ian Barrison, Deputy Medical Director for Education and Training; Sarah Akoni,Ward Manager; Dr Sue Catnach, Consultant Gastoenterologist; Rosie Sanderson, Chairwoman West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Offical opening of new Endoscopy Suite

2 ON THE PULSE � MAY 2005

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Staff and guests were on hand to help HemelHempstead General Hospital’s former MedicalDirector, Mr John Nicholls officially open the SirAstley Cooper Suite at Hemel HempsteadHospital.

Mr Rodney Hallan, Consultant Surgeon said: “This is avaluable unit for patients requiring major surgery withthe backup of a full NHS hospital. This suite offershigh quality care, expert treatment and value formoney for those patients who wish to use privatehealthcare, whether insured or self- funding.”

Before declaring the suite open, Mr Nicholls gave ashort speech on the history of Sir Astley Cooper, witha resume of his career including anecdotes of his timespent as surgeon to King George IV, together with hisassociation with Hemel Hempstead General Hospital.

All revenue generated by the Sir Astley Cooper Suitewill be invested in the Trust to develop and improvehealth services in the local community.

L/R: David Law, Chief Executive; Mr John Nicholls; Rosie Sanderson Chairwomanand Mr Rodney Hallan with the commemorative plaque.

Sir Astley Cooper Suite

3ON THE PULSE � MAY 2005

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David Law, Chief Executivetogether with the family ofJohn Fitzpatrick officiallyopened a new CT scanner atWatford General Hospital.

The new scanner is dedicated tothe memory of Mr John Fitzpatrickwho was the Radiology ServicesManager at Watford GeneralHospital between 1977 and 2003.

Sue Daniels, Radiology ServicesManager said: “This ‘state of theart’ scanner is a very welcomeaddition to the Radiologydepartment and will benefit thosepatients referred for CT scans. JohnFitzpatrick would have beendelighted since he was veryinvolved with the fund-raising forthe original CT scanner at WatfordGeneral Hospital.”

The CT scanner was installed bySiemens plc and funded by theNational Opportunities Fund withthe Trust contributing towards theinstallation costs.

Watford General Hospitalreceives new CT scanner

New DermatologyUnit officially openedThe new Dermatology Department at Watford General Hospital officiallyopened its doors to patients in March.

Dr Frances Tatnall, ConsultantDermatologist said: “Theopening of this Departmentat Watford comes as a realboost for the patients andstaff. Everyone has workedreally hard to establish thisunit for patients. Previouslypatients with extensive skindiseases would have had tobe admitted to hospital fortreatment, but over the lastfew years there has been amove to offer treatment on aday- care basis.”

This project was fundedprincipally by monies madeavailable through the Actionon dermatology initiative ofthe NHS ModernisationAgency.

The unit was officially opened by Nick Evans, Director of Action on Programme, NHS ModernisationAgency and three young patients in March 2005.

4 ON THE PULSE � MAY 2005

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THANK YOU to everyone

who took part in the Trust

Revue last January at

Watford General Hospital.

A good time was had by all

- the acts were sensational,

enthusiastic and extremely

professional. The evening

raised £1892 for the Stroke

Units at Hemel Hempstead

and Watford General

Hospitals.

The Revue�

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5ON THE PULSE � MAY 2005

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In Memoriam Elaine HawesElaine Hawes was a specialist theatre nurse inthe Maternity unit at Watford GeneralHospital. She was tragically killed wheninvolved in a road traffic accident on MondayMarch 14 2005. She had over the past 16years worked in all ten theatres at WatfordGeneral Hospital.

Elaine not only performed her duties as atheatre nurse, she also played a major part intraining junior nursing staff and juniordoctors in essential practices and skills withinthe theatre environment. Elaine performed allof her duties with absolute skill, knowledgeand confidence. The skills that Elaine had as atheatre nurse saved many lives over the years.

Elaine’s colleagues will miss her very muchand their thoughts are with her family at thissad time.

‘Through Barry’s Eyes’A moving film with animportant messageFrontline health and care staff, modern matrons, trainers andmainstream health professionals were among the guests at therecent premiere of ‘Through Barry’s Eyes’ – a moving film that tellsthe story of a young man with learning disabilities, who wasadmitted to hospital after a fall.

Through a series of dramatic snapshots and a voiceover by Neil Hoskins, whohimself has a learning disability, the film shows how Barry may be feeling,and how lack of understanding and his own inability to communicate canmake what is already a bad experience worse. The film, part of a trainingpack designed to give staff in hospitals and mainstream health services abetter understanding of the needs of people with learning disabilities, wascommissioned by Hertfordshire Learning Disability Partnership Board.

Lesley Lopez, Patient & Public Involvement Manager said: “Being admitted tohospital because of illness or accident can be distressing for any of us.Imagine how bewildering this might be for someone with learningdisabilities who may be unable to explain how they feel.”

A special thank you to Mary Richardson, Elaine Donald,Moira Gallagher, Janette Buckley, Jane Ellis and Rachel Fyshewho worked very hard to make this a success.

Copies of the training pack are available - free of charge -to people involved in training health personnel, who shouldcontact Sheila Daly on 01707 280617.

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Walking in Debbie’sMemoryOur friend and colleague Debbie Randall diedin June 2004. We were all shocked butdecided to do something positive in hermemory. Eileen Hogg and 20 staff arranged asponsored walk and friends walked 5k whichraised over £1500. To buy an ECG machinewe needed £3000, but at the eleventh houra surprise benefactor gave the ward acheque for £1500.

Joy BrooksWard Manager, Lancaster Ward, Hemel Hempstead General Hospital

L E T T E R S • L E T T E R S •

Melanoma awarenessThe Dermatology Department at HemelHempstead is offering a free mole check forall West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS TrustStaff ONLY as part of the MelanomaAwareness month in May. A skin checkupwill take place on Tuesday May 10 between9.00 and 11.30am in the Dermatology dayunit in the new Marnham Wing (first floorabove fracture clinic) at Hemel HempsteadGeneral Hospital. This is a walk-in screeningsession and there is no need for a GP letter.Your Trust ID badge will be necessary. If you have any queries about the screeningplease ring 01442-287588 (x2588) or e-mail Dr Veronique Bataille(veronique.bataille@whht.nhs.uk).

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NationalCleanyourhandscampaign takes offThe Trust has recently become a partner sitefor Phase Four of the National PatientSafety Agency (NPSA) CleanyourhandsCampaign. This campaign supports recent efforts toimprove hygiene generally within hospitals in abid to reduce infection.

The campaign is attempting to make it as easyas possible for staff to clean their hands at theright time and for the right task. It aims to:

� Improve the behaviour and personalresponsibility of healthcare workers inobserving hand hygiene standards

� Improve compliance with national and localhand hygiene guidelines and policies

� Share learning and best practice across theNHS

The core message of the campaign is simple:CLEANYOURHANDS

All staff will be regularly updated prior to theimplementation of the campaign.

For further information please contact FrancesStratford, Senior Infection ControlNurse/Cleanyourhands Co-ordinator on WGHx7309/7169 or Bleep 1069/1026.

National think clean dayTrust Staff ThinkClean Hospital cleanliness is everybody'sbusiness - that was the message ofnational Think Clean Day, which tookplace on February 28 - when modernmatrons, cleaners, consultants,directors, Patients' Panel and Patients'Forum members took part in an actionpacked schedule of ward visits,cleaning audits, handwashing adviceand job shadowing.

Gary Etheridge, Director of Nursing,Midwifery, Quality and Risk, explained:”We take hospital cleanliness veryseriously. National ThinkClean Day is a greatway to focus everyoneon the importance ofhandwashing andcleaning but it's not aone off - we have towork together toensure our hospitals areas clean as possibleeveryday.”

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NEWAPPOINTMENTSDr Masood A Khan will start work atHemel Hempstead in Cardiology on 3 May 2005

Dr Krishnan Baburaj started work atWatford General in Rheumatology on 20 March 2005

Dr Amanda Varnava will start work atWatford General in Cardiology on 3 May 2005

Dr Andrew Barlow will start work atWatford General in Respiratory on 3 May 2005

Dr Simon Dawes will start work inDermatology (date to be confirmed)

Nick Evans, Director of Service Redesignjoined the Trust in April 2005

Sarah Shaw, Director of Planning joinedthe Trust in April 2005

Wendy Glendinning-Plews has beenappointed on secondment to the post ofDivisional Manager for Facilities fromApril 2005

Patients and visitors can now enjoy works of art when they visitHemel Hempstead General Hospital. The hospital has joined the‘Paintings in Hospital’ scheme, which loans paintings to hospitalsto display in all patient areas.

Jessie Winyard, Chairwoman of the Patients’ Panel said: “We aredelighted that our Trust will be the first one to benefit from the Paintingsin Hospital scheme in the east of England.

“The paintings areof such a highquality and variety.We will be placingthem in areas ofthe hospital wherethe most staff andpatients canappreciate them.”

Twenty works ofart from Paintingsin Hospital Easthave beendisplayed at HemelHempsteadGeneral Hospital.

L/R Gill Balen and Jessie Winyard (Patients’ Panel) hangingthe first picture in Hemel Hempstead Hospital (X-RayDepartment)

Art brightens wards at Hemel Hempstead

Message from Jessie Winyard, Chairwoman of the Patients’ Panel

The Patients’ Panel has been very active representing patients all over the Trustfor over two years and the Panel is still as enthusiastic now as it was then.

During that time the members of the Panel have been welcomed by staff everywhereand the Panel really feel that they have been accepted as “critical friends”.

Gerald Bordell has been our Chairman for the past two years and he has taken thedifficult decision to step down from the role to follow other interests, but will continueto be an active member of the Patients’ Panel. I would like to take this opportunity tothank Gerald for all his hard work as Chair.

From April, 2005 I have the honour of becoming Chairwoman of the Panel and I amlooking forward to the challenge of this very rewarding role.

The Panel has been overwhelmed by your support and enthusiasm and I am reallylooking forward to assisting you in the months to come.

Best wishes, and see you around the Trust.

Jessie WinyardChairwoman, Patients’ Panel

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Intensive care nursesneed your help

Two Trust intensive care nurses,Niki Farrow and Liz Poll, are raising£3000 for a breast cancer charityby walking 60km over two days.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever donesomething like this”, said Niki. “We’vereally got two challenges: first to raisethe money and then to complete thewalk. We’re not looking forward tothe blisters but it’s for such a goodcause.”

The money donated goes directly toBreakthrough Breast Cancer, the UK’sleading breast cancer charity, which iscommitted to fighting the diseasethrough research and education.

The weekend walk, which is just shortof 40 miles, takes place in lateSeptember and will be through andaround London. Like other largecharity events, the target sponsorship

money must be raised in full and

collected before the walk, so the

nurses are seeking donations now.

A donation of £10 will buy 500

microfuge tubes where reactions in

the laboratory take place. Taxpayers’

donations are worth more, through

Gift Aid, as the charity can claim back

an extra 28 pence per pound donated

from the Inland Revenue.

If you would like to donate to Niki and

Liz’s challenge, go to

www.breakthrough weekend.organd donate via their participant

numbers: 51538-8 (Niki) and 51939-3

(Liz). Alternatively you can send a

cheque made out to ‘The Weekend to

Breakthrough Breast Cancer’ to Liz

Poll, ITU, Watford General Hospital,

Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire

WD18 0HB.

8 ON THE PULSE � MAY 2005

on the pulse NHS

The next issue of On the Pulse will be published in August 2005. All copy to be sent to eileen.whitehouse@whht.nhs.uk By July 25 2005.

Celebrating ourSuccess 2005 - July 4 2005“PUTTING PATIENTS ATTHE CENTRE OF CARE”The second Annual Nursing and MidwiferyConference to share and celebrate innovationsthat have improved the patients’ experience atthe Trust is being held on Monday July 4 2005.

Guest speakers this year will be Dame LornaMuirhead, the recently retired president of theRoyal College of Midwives, Professor BrendanMcCormack, Professor of Nursing and Researchat the University of Ulster and Claire Rayner,President of the Patient’s Association.

All nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants,operating department assistants or anyone insimilar roles can attend, regardless of theirgrade. Numbers are restricted due to the size ofthe venue.

If you would like to attend please contact JaneEllis, Practice Development Nurse on WGHx7985 or Lauranne Davey, Corporate NursingTeam Secretary on WGH x7712 with yourcontact details and we will arrange allocationof tickets fairly and equitably. If you areinterested in presenting a project or initiativewe would love to hear from you; we cansupport you to present at the conference aseither a spoken presentation or a poster. Formore information please call Jane Ellis.

Trust supportsplans for smoke-free NHSSmoke-free hospitals - inside and out - areon the horizon for the NHS in westHertfordshire.

David Law, Chief Executive welcomed theBedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic HealthAuthority’s commitment to a ‘gold standard’smoking policy for the NHS in both counties.

“A smoke-free environment will be better foreveryone in many ways. It will reduce litter as wellas improving the health of our local communities.We will work with staff, patients and relatives toensure that they are involved in making a smoke-

free environment a reality. We willhelp those staff who would liketo give up smoking to do so,and those who choose tocontinue to smoke, to deal

with being unable to smoke at work.”