TALKINGPOINT November

2013

Heart unit leads the waywith £250k research project

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Octagon Marketing Company Ltd specialise in gaining advertising support for magazines so Talking Point is now produced, packaged, distributed and delivered at a minimal cost to the trust.

Talking Point is your magazine and it is only as good as you make it.Ideas and stories or suggestions to make Talking Point even better are always welcome.Please send your ideas to:The editor - Lesley Connor Public relations South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The James Cook University Hospital The Murray Building Marton Road MIDDLESBROUGH TS4 3BWExtension: 55900 Email: lesley.connor@stees.nhs.ukYou can also contact the public relations team on 01642 854343, extension 54343, James Cook or email public.relations@stees.nhs.ukTalking Point is written and illustrated by the public relations team and designed by Octagon Marketing Company Ltd.

EVERYONE at the trust is being urged to join the fight against flu this winter.

While frontline health workers will be given priority in the staff vaccination programme, everyone at the trust – including volunteers and students –is encouraged to have the flu vaccine to ensure they are protected before it’s too late.

Occupational health nurses and over 100 trained flu champions are working hard to vaccinate over 5,000 frontline healthcare workers and their support staff.

Pam McCourt, occupational health manager said: “We hope staff will take the opportunity to be vaccinated early in the campaign to maximise the protection the vaccine provides as it takes 10 to 14 days to develop your body’s immunity to the flu vaccine.”

Chief executive Professor Tricia Hart said: “As an organisation we do have a duty to ensure all of our staff and volunteers, who have a direct role in caring for patients, are offered this vaccination.

“By getting it, not only are you protecting yourself but also your families, your patients and the NHS services you provide.”

Staff are reminded the vaccine does not carry any live virus, which means it cannot give you the flu. While some people may experience mild fever up to 48 hours after having the jab - as their immune system responds to the vaccine - this is not flu.

Our target this year is 75% of healthcare workers and their support staff. Last year we achieved an increase to 64.6% from 50.8% the previous year.

Injecting more into patient care

OVER 100 flu champions have joined the trust’s flu fighter team this year to help increase the protection for staff, their patients and their families. The strive for 75% started with the flu champions vaccinating one another and practicing their techniques with the occupational health nurses and flu nurse Lynn Kell. Senior nurse Angela Artley from acute medicine (pictured left) showed her support for this year’s campaign as the first to be vaccinated in the trust.

True champions

Sue’s an early bird nowFLU champion for pathology - transfusion practitioner, Sue Wardle - trained again this year to vaccinate staff in her department to increase their protection against the seasonal flu virus. She is a firm believer in getting the flu jab early, and was one of the first to get vaccinated this year.Two years ago Sue felt unwell, she had a high temperature and aching limbs. As her symptoms progressively worsened, she realised she had flu. After five days, her husband had to call out her GP as she was so ill. Gradually her temperature went down and she began to recover. She was off work for two weeks and it was a few months before she felt completely back to normal. On her first day back at work, she made sure she had her flu jab to protect her from the different strains.Sue, now a dedicated flu champion for pathology, said: “I would recommend people get their flu jab early as unfortunately for me I got flu before the campaign started and the vaccinations weren’t available.

“If you only think you have flu you probably haven’t got it. You will really know if you have! Protect yourself, your family and patients and get yours early.”By volunteering to be a flu champion, Sue has improved the protection and uptake rates

for staff working in pathology to 58.89% in 2012/2013, from the

previous year total of 53.33%.

HEART surgeons at James Cook have been awarded £250,000 to undertake a leading-edge research project.

The exciting project will see the cardiothoracic team comparing keyhole surgery to conventional surgery for patients requiring aortic valve replacements – the second most common type of heart operation.

Funded by the National Institute of Healthcare Research, the MAVRIC trial will start in January and run for three years. MAVRIC stands for Manubrium-limited ministernotomy versus conventional sternotomy for aortic valve replacement, a randomised controlled trial.

Cardiothoracic surgeon and chief investigator for the project Enoch Akowuah said: “This award is very prestigious for the heart unit and the trust. We are very excited to be the only hospital carrying out this research project in the UK.

“Up to 4,000 patients who require aortic valve replacement each year also require a post-operative blood transfusion. If we can show the keyhole approach reduces the need for blood transfusions and decreases the amount of time patients have to spend in hospital then this could potentially save the NHS up to £1.4million a year.

“This new approach also has the potential to reduce the risk of post-operative lung injury, organ dysfunction, and immunosuppression as well as reducing the pressure on

blood transfusion services.”

The aortic valve enables blood to flow out of the heart

and into the aorta (the main blood vessel in

the body). With every heart beat the valve opens up so blood can flow out and then closes to stop any blood from flowing

backwards into the heart.

Patients with narrow or leaking valves are

often referred to the hospital after experiencing

chest pain or shortness of breath and may require surgery to replace the faulty valve.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Andrew Owens said: “Patients who agree to take part in the trial will randomly be selected to receive either the

new keyhole procedure or the more conventional treatment and we will study the clinical benefits.

“One of the key things we will need to monitor is the difference in blood loss and blood transfusion but we will also look at how quickly patients recover.”

In the UK nearly 10,000 patients a year have to undergo aortic valve surgery and with an increasingly ageing population more and more patients are expected to need this type of operation.*

Cardiothoracic surgeon Andrew Goodwin said: “This is the first time our heart unit has been awarded this amount of money to do this sort of project.

“This research will benefit future heart patients across the country and enable us to show which procedure is most cost-effective for the NHS.”

*Data from the National Adult Cardiac Surgical Database

Heart unit leads the way with £250k research project

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Front page picture: (left to right) Cardiothoracic surgeons Enoch Akowuah, Andrew Owens and Andrew Goodwin

(left to right) Cardiothoracic surgeons Enoch Akowuah, Andrew Owens and Andrew Goodwin

“This research will benefit future

heart patients across the country and

enable us to show which procedure is most cost-effective

for the NHS.”

PARALYMPIC champion gold medallist, Marc Woods, opened acute oncology ward 14’s family suite at James Cook.

Marc -a motivational speaker - developed bone cancer at the age of 17. His dream was to simply be the best he could be and only 18 months after he finished chemotherapy was selected to represent Great Britain in the paralympic games.

During his career he won a staggering 12 paralympic medals from five games, four being gold. Marc also won a further 21 medals from European and world championships.

He told staff and patients all about his achievements with the GB team at an inspirational and moving presentation following the opening ceremony.

The newly refurbished family suite will provide care for patients requiring palliative care in the final stages of their illness. It provides a quiet environment for relatives to spend time with their loved ones in the final days of their life. Facilities include a hospice style side ward with an adjoining flat which provides a comfortable and private area for relatives.

The ward’s dedicated staff wanted to improve and enhance both the patient and relatives experience, providing facilities for family wishing to stay

overnight with their loved ones, and ensure privacy

and dignity - a very important aspect of the care provided by the ward.

The trust’s planning team worked with Tony Bellamy, site

manager, Interserve Construction and

the ward staff to complete the

ambitious project to help future cancer patients

and their relatives.

A big thank you to Interserve who generously provided £8,000 worth of work, and to their local chain suppliers who contributed their services and materials free of charge, for their fantastic support.

Part of their Employee Foundation, which provides a central focus for their charitable activities and plays a key role in co-ordinating charitable works, the ward 14 project is the area’s most high profile scheme as it is such a worthwhile cause close to many people’s hearts.

Furniture and furnishings to make the area cosy and comfortable were bought from the ward’s charitable funds with help from The James Cook University Hospital Voluntary Services.

Thank you to the world-renowned artist,

Mackenzie Thorpe, who generously donated three pictures for the suite. He said: “It is with heartfelt pride my pictures will give pleasure and comfort to the patients, visitors and staff in the family suite at James Cook.”

Sister Beverley Rodgers, ward 14 manager, said: ”The team and I are really proud to be able to offer patients and their relatives this facility. We hope that the environment we have created provides some comfort to patients and their families during their time on ward 14. On behalf of the ward staff I would like to express my thanks to all those involved that made this possible.”

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Paralympian opens family suite

Marc with staff and patients at the opening

Interserve team: (left to right) Lee Middleton, Ian Richardson, Tony Bellamy and Gavin Duffy with Beverley in the family suite

”The team and I are really

proud to be able to offer patients and their relatives this facility.” Marc Woods

with trust chairman

Deborah Jenkins and Beverley

THE full-scale evacuation of a smoke-filled hospital building was staged as part of a training exercise for emergency services at the Friarage Hospital.

Mock emergency exercise smokescreen tested and developed staff emergency training and procedures in a ‘real life, real time’ situation.

Trust staff worked alongside emergency crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, North Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Services, Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit (MDHU) Northallerton colleagues, and other emergency services to fulfil the various roles that would be found in a typical hospital evacuation.

The exercise involved a fire in the main building of the hospital in a vacated ward, away from day-to-day hospital activities involving staff trapped in an increasingly smoke-filled ward at the top floor of the hospital building.

Around 30 hospital and military staff posed as patients with realistic mock injuries and various levels of mobility assuming the physical condition of the types of patients seen on an average day in the hospital wards.

Three fire engines were in attendance and an aerial ladder platform which allows fire fighters to work at height. The scenario tested all the services involved in a fire evacuation situation and provide a realistic training experience.

Members of staff are highly trained to recognise the risks that could cause a fire, and though they rarely happen in hospitals,

training was for a worst-case

scenario.

Emergency planning manager

and Friarage Hospital manager, Donna Jermyn,

said: “The exercise went really well and I would like to say a big thank you to all the staff and emergency services who took part for making it such a success.

“It was exciting and true to life and the experience we get from this type of event is invaluable and will help us to improve our emergency response procedures for dealing with a real major incident.”

Major Ruth Truscott, trust liaison officer, said: “The exercise went extremely well given how everyone who participated needed to take into account the potential impact such an exercise could have had on the rest of the hospital which was still required to maintain normal working schedules.

“It has highlighted the difficulties associated with moving patients

with a variety of mobility needs in a smoke filled ward.

The staff were incredibly efficient in getting the patients out and this gave positive reassurance to the organisation and more importantly the

general public.”

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Emergency services tackle mock hospital fire

Stephen Groves, national lead for

emergency, prevention, preparedness and response

(EPPR) for NHS England, attended the exercise and is

pictured presenting Donna with flowers for

all her hard work in organising it

Well done to ward clerk, Wendy

Martin, who is pictured sounding the alarm at the start of the

fire for her excellent contribution to

the exercise

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Cancer patients give trust thumbs upNINE out of 10 cancer patients rate the care they receive at South Tees as excellent or very good according to a national survey.

The National Cancer Patient Experience Programme survey 2012/13 was sent to 1,241 trust patients and 763 completed the questionnaire.

In the survey, patients were asked to rate their whole experience – from seeing their GP and having diagnostic tests, through to the care and treatment they received in hospital, access to staff, the quality of information given and the discussion and inclusion into clinical research trials.

South Tees scored among the top 20% of trusts nationally in a number of areas including always treating patients with respect and dignity (87%) and never giving conflicting advice (86%).

The trust also improved scores in a number of areas:

• 88% of patients said they were given choice of different types of treatment compared to 79% last year

• 87% of patients said they were treated with respect and dignity by staff compared to 81% the previous year

Cancer lead nurse Nicky Hand said: “We always encourage patient feedback – good and bad – as it helps us to continue to improve our services for

future cancer patients.

“We would like to thank all the patients who

took the time to complete the survey and all our healthcare professionals who support and care for cancer patients and

their families on a daily basis which

helps us achieve such superb results.”

Key results showed:

• 91% of patients said the care they received was excellent or very good

• 87% of patients said they had confidence and trust in all the doctors treating them

• 95% of patients said they were always given enough privacy when examined and treated

• 90% of patients said they were given the right amount of information about their condition and treatment

• 26% of patients said they had discussed taking part in cancer research

• 65% of patients said there were always/nearly always enough ward nurses on duty

“We always encourage

patient feedback – good and

bad.”

Future of children’s and maternity servicesTHERE is still time to have your say on the future of children’s and maternity services and the special care baby unit at the Friarage.

NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group’s three-month formal public consultation ends this month on 25 November and you can feedback in a number of ways:

• Email: friarage.feedback@ nhs.net

• Twitter: @HRW_CCG

• Writing to them: Freepost Plus RTER-KESE-BGCH,NHS Hambleton Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Civic Centre, Stone Cross,Northallerton,DL6 2UU

• Telephone: 0800 068 8000

A short DVD outlining the different options, the full consultation document and factsheets are available on the CCG and trust websites.

www.hambletonrichmondshire andwhitbyccg.nhs.uk

www.southtees.nhs.uk/hospitals/friarage/childrens-services/consultation-video-factsheets/

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Surgeons save farmer who was trampled by a bullSURGEONS at The James Cook University Hospital performed their first rib plating operation to save the life of a farmer who was trampled by a bull.

Derek Thompson, 69, was left fighting for his life with 22 fractured ribs when he was hit by a bull while rounding up his cattle. Cardiothoracic surgeon Joel Dunning teamed up with orthopaedic surgeon James McVie to perform the hospital’s first rib plating procedure.

Titanium plates were pinned to Mr Thompson’s broken bones to speed up the healing process, alleviate pain and reduce the risk of complications such as breathing difficulties.

Mr Thompson spent three months in intensive care at James Cook but is now back home with his family at his farm in Welbury near Northallerton.

“I would think I was one of the most difficult cases they have ever had to save,” he said.

“Nearly all my ribs were broken, there was not much left. They are now held in place with plates that look like bits of Meccano! They are doing a marvellous job, there’s no doubt about that.”

Mr Dunning said: “We now offer rib plating for major fractures and are one of only eight centres nationally doing this.

“This procedure will be a major help to our most critically injured patients and as a major regional trauma centre we estimate that this will help a lot of patients from the whole region, increasing survival rates and reducing their days on the intensive care unit.”

Mr McVie added: “I’m really pleased that Mr Thompson is recovering well from his major chest injury and surgery. It’s great that we can now offer this surgery here at James Cook as it will help future trauma patients.”

X-ray showing Derek’s

plated rib cage

Group hits quarter of a century milestoneMiddlesbrough’s National Ankylosing Spondylitis Support (NASS) group was originally founded by physiotherapists Kay West, Mandy Heward and Julie Sparrow at Middlesbrough General Hospital back in 1988.

Twenty-five years later the group continues to meet every Monday (except bank holidays) at James Cook’s rehabilitation centre where patients can benefit from physiotherapy, supervised gym and hydrotherapy sessions and expert advice.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a painful, progressive form of inflammatory arthritis. It mainly affects the spine but can also affect other joints, tendons and ligaments.

The group currently has around 20 members and is run by trust physiotherapists on a rota basis. To find out more email kay.west@stees.nhs.uk

A SUPPORT group for patients with ankylosing spondylitis is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

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Teesside University backs breastfeeding campaignTEESSIDE is among a select number of universities across the country to receive international recognition for its high levels of breastfeeding education and training provided to health students.The UNICEF baby friendly certificate was awarded to Teesside University’s School of Health and Social Care for its health visiting programmes.

Teesside is the first university in the North east and the third university nationally to achieve such accreditation.

The baby friendly university award was launched in 2008 in order to ensure high levels of training in breastfeeding are incorporated in midwifery and health visitor training courses. Staff at the university worked with partners at the NHS and health visiting students over a four year period to achieve the prestigious accreditation.

During the process, Lynette Harland,

senior lecturer in community and childhood studies and lead for health visiting at Teesside University, developed a memory aid for breastfeeding. CHIN – which stands for close, head free, in-line, nose to nipple – is now being used by UNICEF within its training and has been incorporated into a breastfeeding app which has thousands of downloads nationally

and internationally.

Lynette said the accreditation ensures students have the knowledge and skills to promote breastfeeding and it will enhance the

quality of care they provide to service users.

Vicky Head, infant feeding co-ordinator at South Tees, said:

“This is a fabulous outcome for the health visiting services across Teesside and County Durham.”

The courses covered by the UNICEF baby friendly certificate are BSc (hons) specialist community public health nursing (health visiting) and the postgraduate diploma in specialist community public health nursing (health visiting).

Joint celebrationEAR nose and throat consultants Liam Flood and Maurice Hawthorne enjoyed a joint celebration to mark their retirement.Liam, who has spent 28 years at the trust and 37 years in the NHS, is now looking forward to travelling the world, although he will still be doing some work for the trust on a part-time basis.

Maurice, who has spent 25 years at the trust and 36 years in the NHS and will also be coming back on a part-time basis, has recently been promoted to team leader for the General Medical Council but is also hoping to do some travelling.

Both said that what they had enjoyed most was the fantastic camaraderie of the ENT team which dates back to the days of North Riding Infirmary.

“The department thanks both Liam and Maurice for their very valuable contribution to the ear nose and throat department and also the broader NHS and ENT nationally,” said ENT consultant Derek Bosman.

Newly appointed ENT consultant Nav Ahmad now has the challenge of replacing both consultants and to mark this Liam jokingly handed the youngest member of the team his countdown to retirement clock!

“This is a fabulous

outcome for the health visiting

services.”Maurice (centre) with colleagues past and present

Nave and Liam (left to right)

DIANE Atkinson has been a community (district) nurse for just over two years now, before that she worked at James Cook. It’s a job she loves.

Diane said: “No two days are the same in the community and I love nursing my patients in their own homes. They are so different at home compared to in the hospital environment.”

Here’s a diary of one Friday in Diane’s working life:

A day in the life ofa community nurse

Diane visits Pembroke Nursing Home in Saltburn during her busy day

A community nurse takes a blood test

Diane shares a joke with patient Dorothy

Diane prepares an injection while visiting a patient

I get up, and have breakfast with my husband and do a couple of household jobs.

I get into my car and get ready for my first call.

I log onto SystmOne - the electronic patient notes system - on my tough book to check

my calls for the day. The first calls are normally to patients who are diabetic either at their own homes or in residential homes. I normally have between two and six diabetic patients to visit during a morning. While visiting a diabetic patient in a care home, the staff may ask me to look at another patient who has a new skin tear so I also photograph, measure, dress and document the new wound.

The next call is an 84 year old patient with bilateral venous leg ulcers. I wash and cream

their legs before renewing their compression bandaging.

I administer a vitamin B12 injection for a 79 year old lady with anaemia and update risks.

After that I visit a 55 year old gentleman with a surgical wound that needs redressing and clips

removing. I reassure the patient that the wound is healing well.

My phone has been buzzing in my pocket. I check my calls and listen to the voicemail then contact the GP surgery to get patient details. A patient has been discharged and needs a wound dressing today and another needs a repeat international normalised ratio (INR blood test) today also I contact a health care assistant who takes the samples from me.

My next call is an advice and support call for a patient that has cancer. We discuss how they,

and their family, are coping and all is well at the moment and there are no additional problems. These calls help us develop a therapeutic relationship with our palliative patients, their families and carers.

I call into the GP surgery and pick up all the messages and faxes and put in requests for dressings to be

delivered to patients’ homes.

I register the new patient onto the system and go and visit them. A new patient means a full

assessment including risks, observations and activities of daily living which takes over an hour.

I head back over to the office. I need my lunch and a drink!

All the messages I picked up need to be added on to SystmOne and then calls must be allocated for

the weekend.

A call comes in from the GP. A palliative patient’s condition has changed and he wants them

starting on a syringe pump today. The GP will arrange the medication to be delivered to their home. I request help from a colleague and she goes and collects the paper work and I collect the equipment.

I set back out. I do a quick wound dressing and make two afternoon visits to my diabetic patients.

The call comes to say medication is at the patient’s home so I meet my colleague there and we set

up the syringe pump and explain to the patient and their family about it. We give reassurance and numbers to ring if there is a problem. With the patient settled and comfortable we leave but my phone has been buzzing in my pocket for the last 15 minutes. Once in my car, I answer it.

It’s the surgery with a last-minute enoxaparin injection that needs to be put on for the weekend. I

need to sort the prescription and get a GP to sign it for the nurse on duty at the weekend to administer it.

I leave the surgery, 20 minutes after my shift was due to finish. I head home. I will update

SystmOne at home.

It has been a busy, but rewarding day. I’ve seen 14 patients had 12 phone calls and travelled 32 miles. I’m ready for my tea!

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THE maternity unit at the Friarage is celebrating after achieving stage two of the UNICEF baby friendly initiative.

Launched by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, the initiative requires maternity departments to implement guidelines to encourage successful breastfeeding and regulate the marketing of breast milk substitutes.

In order to achieve stage two staff had to show they were aware of their role in relation to the trust’s infant feeding policy and the trust had to demonstrate a suitable training programme was in place.

UNICEF assessors visited the Friarage in August. Midwives and maternity care assistants not only passed the assessment but were congratulated on the level of commitment and professionalism that they displayed.

Midwife consultant Kay Branch said: “Congratulations to the infant feeding key workers and trainers who have been committed to providing the training in order that we continue to provide an excellent service.”

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Baby friendly award

From left to right:- Paulina Rossi, Paula Wood, Aimee Wilford, Karen Perkins, Margaret Longbotham, Genevieve West

IN Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland there are approximately 650 people each year who suffer a stroke.High blood pressure is the single biggest cause of stroke and this affects almost a quarter (22%) of the population in Middlesbrough.

The Stroke Association provides an information, advice and support service In Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland. The staff work closely with hospital stroke teams to support people in their transition from hospital to home and onwards. The team provides a range of support to stroke survivors and their families.

In South Tees, the Stroke Association provides a communication support service. Staff help people improve their communication skills either at home or at local groups, where people practise and increase their confidence together and often form strong friendships.

The team as a whole helps each person affected by stroke to adjust to life after stroke and to make steps in their recovery, which could include catching the bus unaided, joining an allotment project, enrolling on a computer course or improving their social wellbeing.

The services work closely with ward 28 at James Cook, with the stroke rehab wards at Carter Bequest and Guisborough hospitals and the speech and language therapy team.

All the services in the area accept referrals from all healthcare professionals, as well as from stroke survivors, their carers and families.

“It’s been a pleasure to be part of this service which brings together the best elements of the statutory and voluntary sectors for the benefit of patients. It’s been a privilege to watch people blossom,” said Gill Everson, specialist speech and language therapist.

Carol Halton, stroke services co-ordinator added: “South Tees stroke services have developed an integrated working approach with the Stroke Association, developing educational and awareness raising programmes and more recently working together to deliver a six-month stroke review service. It is so rewarding working with such a dedicated team.”

Support for stroke patients

You can recognise a stroke using the FAST testFACIAL weakness: Can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped?ARM weakness: Can the person raise both arms?SPEECH problems: Can the person speak clearly/understand what you say?TIME to call 999.

SPINAL surgeons at James Cook have used remote control technology and a magnetic special rod to lengthen a young patient’s spine.

Mr Raman Kalyan and Mr Waleed Hekal, who specialise in paediatric and adult spine disorders, performed the innovative procedure on 11-year-old Sarah Wascoe, who suffers from scoliosis - a severe curvature of the spine – for the first time on 5 September 2013.

Previously, young children with severe early onset scoliosis had limited treatment options. As they continue to grow in height, their spinal curve can worsen significantly, leading to major long term consequences.

If the curvature of the spine cannot be controlled by casting or bracing, a growth preserving operation with traditional growing rods is performed, instead of fusion surgery.

Growth preserving surgery

involves an initial open surgery for rod insertion, followed by repeated operations to distract, or lengthen, the rods as often as every six months – until the child stops growing. The risk of complications and psychological trauma to the patient is significant.

For Sarah, Mr Kalyan used MAGEC - magnetic expansion control rods - to correct her spine. The rare earth magnets inside the rods communicate with an external remote controller which allows surgeons to adjust the rods easily, quickly and more comfortably in the outpatient department avoiding repeated hospital admissions and surgeries.

Mr Kalyan explained: “This new technique is suitable for a specific type of spinal curvature in younger children from the ages of two to 11 years.

”After the insertion of the magnetic growth rod, the patient needs to come to the outpatient department every three months for lengthening of their growth rod, which will allow gradual growth of

the spine and trunk; and slowly correct

the curve and prevent further

progression of the curve.

“This technology is evolving, and we need to compare its results with the standard technique. The long-term success of this technique would be of great benefit to younger children with spinal deformity and their families, and in addition will enable cost saving for the NHS.”

Cheryl Honeyman, specialist nurse scoliosis and paediatric spine, said: ”At South Tees, our expert staff endeavour to provide the best available treatments for patients and ensure they benefit from the latest new technology and procedures.

“We are delighted with Sarah’s progress and pleased to have helped make her more confident and comfortable about her treatment.”

Sarah’s father, Darren Wascoe from Middlesbrough, said: “This

new procedure has made a huge difference to Sarah,

she has been very brave and nothing stops her. She has just started senior school and the treatment has reduced disruption to her education and allowed her to get back to as normal a life as possible very quickly.

“I would like to thank Mr Kalyan and all the brilliant staff for looking after her so well, we are very grateful.”

As Sarah is limited to light and non-contact sport activities for the next two years, she is going to concentrate on music and art at school in the meantime. Having kept a photographic diary about her experience she plans to use it as part of a fundraising campaign to help other children benefit from the same treatment.

She said: “I am happy to have had the treatment and don’t feel like I have had an operation at all. I want to thank everyone who was involved for looking after me.”

Ground breaking procedure uses remote control

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Cheryl, Sarah and Mr Raman

Kalyan

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National leadership role awarded to Cleveland unitTHE Cleveland unit has been designated a National Support School with head teacher Liz Pickard as ‘national leader of education’ by the National College for Leadership and Teaching.

Following rigorous assessment, the

uniqueness of the Cleveland unit was recognised by the College who agreed it had the leadership

and capacity to further support

schools and settings in improving and raising

outcomes for children.

Liz will now attend their leadership and teaching conference centre in Nottingham for formal induction and training in the role of driving school improvement as a national leader of education.

Under the headship of Liz, the unit has been judged ‘outstanding’ in the last two Ofsted Inspections. “Being selected is a real honour for me and for my whole team,” said Liz.

“It’s a wonderful accolade for the local authority too, as this is national recognition of the role the Cleveland unit plays in the care, development

and education of children and in sharing expertise and best practice for other schools and settings.

“School-to-school support is having a growing impact, and the results speak for themselves with benefits both for the schools and settings being supported and those providing the support.”

The Cleveland unit is used to hosting teachers and practitioners from other settings and schools and recently hosted 10 staff from a partner school focusing on effective practice in the classroom.

The support also included deputy head teacher Jennie Kitchen spending time in the respective schools, supporting them on planning, assessment and the development of outstanding learning environments.

Councillor Brenda Thompson, Middlesbrough Council’s executive member for children’s services and a trust non-executive director, said: “This is an outstanding accolade and richly deserved national recognition of the hard work and dedication of the head teacher and all her staff.

“The unit provides a first class service, ensuring that all the young people who use it get the best possible start in life. This fantastic achievement means that children up and down the country will now benefit from their ground-breaking work.”

First class: Liz with (from left to right) Layton

Forster, and Archie Walker

THIS summer it was announced the trust’s ICT application support team had been awarded North East Centre of the Year 2012 – 2013 by NHS MOST.

The NHS MOST (Microsoft Office skills training) programme was established in April 2010 to increase NHS employee productivity when using Microsoft Office applications - Word, Excel PowerPoint, Outlook and Access.

Its aim is to support NHS departments and organisations so they can offer official Microsoft Office skills training and Microsoft Office specialist certification to staff.

NHS MOST is a partnership between the NHS, Microsoft, Prodigy Learning and Certiport. The South Tees team achieved the recognition down to the hard work of the members of staff who completed their exams.

David Levison, senior project manager, Health and Social Care Information Centre, said: “I’m delighted to present this award to the team at South Tees as it reflects their hard work and dedication to providing an excellent service for their staff.

“There is a clear link between improving staff IT skills and increased work based productivity and this all ultimately leads to better patient care. Well done to all involved.”

MOST impressive!

David Levison hands out the award and plaque to Tracey Watson (left) and Liz Harvey

“School-to-school support

is having a growing impact.”

Gift of life - kidney donationKIDNEY disease affects a huge number of people in the UK. It can affect people at any age and has many different causes. A small number of people with kidney disease develop kidney failure and need dialysis or kidney transplantation. Medical evidence shows people survive longer and feel better if they have a kidney transplant sooner rather than later.

There are two ways a kidney becomes available for transplant. The most common is when someone dies and their kidneys are healthy they can be donated to someone in need of a transplant. The other is when a living person chooses to

donate a kidney to a relative or friend, or as a gift of life to someone they do not know (altruistic kidney donation).

The trust’s living kidney donor team of dedicated doctors and nurses help prepare patients for donation and transplantation.

People needing a kidney transplant are asked to talk to their friends and relatives about living kidney donation and anyone considering donation talks to a specialist transplant nurse.

Not everyone can be a kidney donor, some people are unable to donate due to incompatibility at blood group and tissue matching or medical contraindications. Brian and Kathy’s story is brought to you to demonstrate being

incompatible to one another does not necessarily mean this is an absolute barrier to donation.

If you have a friend or relative affected by kidney disease and would like to know more about living kidney donation

please Alison Callaway, contact transplant specialist nurse on 01642 854732, extension 54732 JCUH.

The NHS website www.organdonation.nhs.uk gives more information and patient stories.

Brian West, 56, from Skinningrove was given the bad news two years ago due to an inherited disease

called polycystic kidneys he was going to have to go on

renal dialysis.

His consultant nephrologist mentioned the possibility of a transplant and wife Kathy volunteered straight away and all the various tests, physical as well as psychological, started.

“All I had to do was give blood and a spell on a fitness bike to check I was fit enough for an operation. Kathy on the other hand had x rays, ECG’s, CT scans and injections of low level radiation to check on how well her kidneys were functioning.

“She also had meetings with her consultant nephrologist to discuss risks and to ascertain whether she was not under any pressure to donate.

“Our blood and tissue types were cross matched - unfortunately Kathy is blood group A and I am blood group O. Our

antibodies were at the top end of the scale, which at the time, meant Kathy was unlikely to be able to donate to me.

“We were put on the pairing scheme which tries to find a swop for Kathy’s kidney. Unfortunately this didn’t work for us, so we went to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle to meet Mr David Talbot, consultant transplant surgeon who, along with his team and the team at James Cook, decided to try to desensitise me to allow the transplant to proceed.

“A few weeks before my admission to the transplant unit, I was put on a drip to kill off my white blood cells. I had my first five hour session on the desensitisation machine - similar to a dialysis machine but with very clever filters to remove antibodies at the Freeman. This was repeated every day for 10 days until the day for the transplant.

“Kathy had been admitted and was prepared and ready for the op. My blood tests

came back and my antibodies were still too high, so the op was cancelled, and Kathy returned home disappointed.

“Mr Talbot and his team decided to try a new type of tower filter in a new machine, so as well as continuing on the original machine, I had a session on the new one.

“The results from the blood tests were favourable so the operation went ahead. I was put on the desensitisation machine while in the operating theatre and again the following day to make certain the antibodies remained low.

“After three weeks Kathy was back to her normal self, and at the time of writing - six weeks after my operation

- I have had a few problems with some of the tablets,

but my health is improving day by day.

“A big thank you to my best friends - the doctors and nurses at the Freeman and

James Cook.”

Brian’s story

Brian with Kathy and Alison on

James Cook’s renal unit

13

14

Full steam ahead for scanner appeal

Fundraising is a walk in the parkA sponsored mile and a half walk by 40 children from Emmy Jayne’s Nursery School in Northallerton raised £425. The children all did really well completing the walk and a wonderful day was had by all.

Step in the right direction Staff from the Friarage’s Allerton ward went that extra mile in their fundraising efforts completing the Northallerton trail walk and raising over £700. They are keen to support and raise as much money as possible for the appeal to benefit their patients who have to travel to James Cook as it can be stressful for them.

Skipton’s the firstSkipton Building Society’s cake sale and raffle draw raised £236.72. The first business to support the scanner appeal they are committed to fundraising for a new MRI scanner for the Friarage. Thank you to customers and staff for their support.

Staff on a highTwo daring Friarage radiology department staff– Judith Masterman and Victoria Meadows - aimed high in their fundraising efforts taking the ultimate plunge by falling through the sky from 10,000 feet in a sky dive. They raised over £1,000 for the scanner appeal.

Love to danceThe launch of the Strictly fit steps party at Northallerton Forum as part of a Rosemary Conley class raised £220. 46 ladies were put through their paces enjoying the jive, waltz, quickstep and cha cha cha, keeping fit and helping a good cause at the same time.

On your bikeStaff nurse, Elizabeth Gledhill, from James Cook’s radiology department and occasionally Friarage, completed an 193 mile Edinburgh to Northallerton bike ride, raising £312. She was inspired by the enthusiasm of Judith Masterman and the Friarage x-ray reception staff to take on the challenging ride.

All rounder success Tracy Walker from the Friarage’s radiology department’s rounders event and fun day in her partner, Andy Waddington’s garden - Poplar Garth, Great Fencote on a beautiful sunny day, raised over £1,000. Seventy people attended enjoying pork, apple and stuffing, cream teas and homemade cupcakes after the energetic game.

OUR ambitious appeal to raise £2million for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner at the Friarage is well underway!South Tees Hospitals Charity is working on its first major fundraising campaign – in partnership with the Friends of the Friarage – to reach its target by December 2015.

The response so far has been fantastic and we feature below some of the events local people, businesses and the Friarage’s dedicated staff have been organising to support the appeal in its first few months. Thanks to everyone who has helped so far, a fantastic £331,000 has been raised and we are well on our way to reaching our target:

15

AFTER (hopefully) weeks of preparation, it was crunch time for dozens of members of staff and supporters of South Tees Hospitals Charity in September…

But apart from reaching the finishing

line all the runners

had another common goal

– to raise as much money as

possible for the charity’s

various funds…

First off came the Middlesbrough 10k, which included a team from women and children - complete with pram - running for the neonatal unit in what was glorious sunshine.

It was a different picture at the Great North Run the following week, when our runners tackled the half marathon in wind and rain – although thankfully they escaped the worst of the weather.

Among them was head of

communications Amanda Marksby, who as a first time runner completed the 13.1miles in just over two-and-a-half

hours for the MRI Scanner Appeal at

the Friarage.

Actor Paul Brennan, who ran for the intensive care unit at

James Cook in memory of

his friend Sally Holbrook, finished

in a very respectable two hours three

minutes, pulling in more than £1,900!

A massive thank you to everyone who took part in these two events and also the Redcar Half Marathon.

Maisies hope and some of the neonatal team

Keep on running – and they did!

Middlesbrough 10k• Adam Barnes, Claire Hutchinson, Tommy

Harrington, Steven Brown, Darren Bodycote, Stacey Flanagan (Sainsbury’s staff) – holistic cancer care centre

• Lynne Paterson, Andrew Villis, Irene Redpath, Fran Toller, Abigail Toller, Anita Khan, Sian Oldham, Mithilesh Lal, Alisdair Malcome – neonatal unit

• Jo and Emily Chubb (who collected on the day)

• William Dring – diabetes• Rebecca Lampard – IVF• Lorna Wood, Dawn Wood, Thomas Wood,

Margaret Jepson, Lee Huntley, Claire Huntley, Andrew Jepson – Star Fund

• Sarah Slater – holistic cancer care centre

• Lesley Butterworth – (could not run due to work commitments)

• Trish Stephenson (Carillion) – cardiology• Lewis Harvey, Claire Spence – general• Leanne Nellis, Graham Nellis, Lucy

Felgate, Fiona Secret, Nico Dewhirst, Daria Lukinykh, Faisal Hussain – Maisies Hope

• Richard Clarke – Abbies Love

Great North Run• Catherine Sunter – holistic cancer

care centre• Michael Hill – holistic cancer care centre • Amanda Marksby – MRI Scanner Appeal• David Kent – neonatal• John Martin Cairnes – cerebral palsy• Daniel Kitching – holistic cancer

care centre• Sheina Summerfield – holistic cancer

care centre• Paul Brennan – intensive care• Ian Lochrie – neonatal• Anneli Mackenzie Brown – MRI

Scanner Appeal• Marc Judd – neonatal• Stacey Hine – holistic cancer care centre

• Jennifer Adamson – holistic cancer care centre

• Laura Reid – holistic cancer care centre• Helen Birtwistle – holistic cancer

care centre• Roger Birtwistle – holistic cancer

care centre• Katie Laven – holistic cancer care centre• James Readman – holistic cancer

care centre• Mohamed Hashaishi – surgery• Stephen Milbourne – end of life care• Scott Farren – general• Kate Eyles – intensive care, Friarage• Vicky Calabro – general• Mick Currie – neonatal• Helen Currie – neonatal• Matthew Derbyshire – Friarage• Julie Johnston, Louise Pearson and Shaun

Hudson (deferred due to injuries)

Redcar Half Marathon• Michael Lister – neonatal• Liam Annis – intensive care• Tommy Harrington – holistic cancer

care centre• Ian Lochrie – neonatal

Team Star runners

Lucky 13 for

Amanda

Paul Brennan

Rebecca Lampard

10k runners

If anyone is interested in taking part in the Great North Run, Middlesbrough 5K or 10K or other local running events next year for South Tees Hospitals Charity please contact the charities team at charity.queries@stees.nhs.uk to register your interest.

MANY people experience minor allergy symptoms, but a small number of individuals are susceptible to a life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.

An anaphylactic reaction has the potential to progress to death within minutes, so it’s important healthcare staff are able to recognise the signs and act upon them swiftly and appropriately.

The UK incidence of anaphylactic

reactions is rising and despite previous guidelines, there is confusion

about the diagnosis,

treatment, investigation

and follow-up of patients who have an anaphylactic reaction. Early identification and treatment is key to prevent cardiac arrest.

The trust’s resuscitation department has developed an anaphylaxis treatment box to help staff treat anaphylactic reaction quickly and safely.

All wards and most departments at James Cook and the Friarage now have a blue treatment box giving patients who present with this life threatening condition faster access to life-saving drugs and everything needed to treat it.

Patients now receive the same appropriate treatment in a timely manner following Resuscitation Council UK guidelines regardless of where they are in the hospital.

An anaphylactic reaction has the potential to progress to death within

minutes.

Anaphylaxis boxes give faster access to lifesaving drugs

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Celebrating diversityINVESTING in a diverse NHS workforce allows the trust to deliver a more inclusive service and improve patient care.Promoting equality and diversity is at the heart of the trust’s values and South Tees is committed to providing equal opportunities for staff and patients and works hard to provide a service that does not discriminate against anyone.

As part of on-going work to raise awareness, staff from human resources, health improvement and health visiting represented the trust at Middlesbrough Community Pride.

The three day celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) culture across the town aims to reduce social exclusion, challenge negative perceptions and create a safer, more cohesive place to live.

LGBT people of all ages, together with their families and friends, enjoyed live entertainment, a market in Newport Road, culminating with a parade in the town centre.

Ruth Anderson, human resources advisor said: “It is really important for us to support events like this. We need to ensure as an organisation we treat patients and colleagues with dignity and respect and challenge any discriminatory behaviour.

“It’s in everyone’s best interests to make sure all staff can develop their skills and talents to the full. It is also important to recognise people from different backgrounds can bring fresh ideas and perceptions and this can make the way work is done more efficient and enable services to meet the needs of the community more effectively.”

If anyone is interested in becoming more involved with the work we are doing around equality and diversity please contact Michelle Bowman or Ruth Anderson on extension 54803 or 01642 854803.

Celebrating 38 years of memoriesDEPUTY director of nursing Anne Sutcliffe was given a fantastic send off by her colleagues after 38 years in the NHS.

Anne was presented with gifts and flowers to celebrate her retirement on what she said was as a “moving and generous day”.

Anne was described by colleagues as a ‘wonderful role model and leader’ and will be missed by all who worked with her.

Anne (fourth left) at her retirement party with friends and colleagues

Nikki Rennison,

resuscitation officer with the boxes

17

A TOTAL of 1,192 children across Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland were immunised as part of the national measles, mumps and rubella catch-up programme.The successful programme involved around 30 staff from the trust’s community services division and was supported by all 112 schools in the South Tees area.

Health visitor Jill Stewart said: “We had a great example of team work and professionalism within the service by all concerned including public health, health improvement, school health admin staff, school nurses, school nurse

assistants, health visitors, staff within the schools and nurse immunisers who volunteered from other services.

“Due to very tight time scales a quick and timely response was needed by all staff and they rose to the challenge and were able to respond and prioritise workload and caseloads accordingly.”

The catch-up programme aims to prevent measles outbreaks by giving the MMR jab to as many unvaccinated and partially vaccinated ten to 16-year-olds as possible.

Monthly data from Public Health England shows just two confirmed cases of the preventable, infectious disease were reported in the North east in June compared to 46 in May and 113 in April.

MMR campaign success

Marton suite celebrates 10th anniversaryMATERNITY staff celebrated the Marton suite’s 10th birthday by holding a special party for some of the first children ever delivered there.The youngsters were given a tour of the unit so they could see where they were born before enjoying a party tea and games with some of the team.

Around 32% of all births at James Cook now take place in the Marton suite. The hospital’s low dependency delivery suite opened in September 2003 and has seen many developments over the past ten years including:

• An increase in water births

• Assistant midwifery practitioners involved in labour and early postnatal care

• A selection of therapies including aromatherapy and reflexology

• More equipment available such as birthing balls, mats and a specialist multi-gym.

• expanded from six to seven one-stop delivery rooms

Alison Russell, delivery suite manager, said: “Our friends and family test results show women rate the service we offer as ‘extremely high’.

“Within maternity services we are very proud of the care offered and continue to strive to build upon this service offering the best possible care to mums and babies.”

Pictured with newborn baby Lola May Beckett are Finn Henry, Ben Speck, Ruby Cunningham, Ellie Hodgson, Erin Boxall and Jess Dawson

Vaccination team at

West Lane Hospital

Archbishop of York visits trust to license chaplainTHE Archbishop of York paid a visit to the trust to licence the Reverend Marie Edwards as a chaplain.

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu

conducted the service in the chapel at James Cook with Marie’s husband and children present, along with other family members, parishioners from her previous parish, staff, chaplaincy volunteers and chaplains.

Director of nursing and quality assurance, Ruth Holt, presented Marie to the Archbishop for licensing on behalf of the trust with Teesside Hospice’s chief executive Maureen Thompson and director of nursing, Andrea Clark also present.

Lead chaplain Malcolm Masterman said: ”We are very pleased the archbishop took the time after his own ill health scare and in his busy schedule to license Marie to her dual role as a chaplain of the trust and Teesside Hospice. She is a welcome addition to the team and we wish her every blessing in her ministry with us.”

Special day: (left to right) Andrea Clark, Malcolm Masterman, Marie Edwards, Ruth Holt, Archbishop Sentamu and Maureen Thompson

18

THE trust’s midwifery team did their bit to support the national Stoptober campaign, which aims to encourage as many people as possible to quit smoking for 28 days.

Statistics show that a person stopping smoking for 28 days is five times more likely to stay smokefree.

South Tees teamed up with Middlesbrough Council to hold a Stoptober launch event in the women and children’s reception area at James Cook. Staff were on hand throughout the day to offer support and advice to anyone wanting to quit.

Consultant midwife Kay Branch said information on smoking related health risks is provided to women who use maternity services at the trust.

She said: “Unfortunately, many

women don’t realise the damage they could be causing to their unborn baby, as well as the health implications for themselves.

“Some of the potential consequences from smoking while pregnant may not be seen until the newborn infant grows into a child and on into adulthood.”

Councillor Julia Rostron, Middlesbrough Council’s executive member for adult social care and

public health, said: “Smoking-related diseases cost the NHS in Middlesbrough more than £6.4 million per year. Reducing the number of people who smoke and discouraging people from starting have significant financial and public health benefits.”

If you want to quit smoking and want local support, you can contact South Tees Stop Smoking Service on 01287 284487.

Mums-to-be encouraged to support Stoptober

Staff champion our smoking cessation goalsCHRIS Grange, healthcare assistant on the coronary care unit at James Cook is one of four nursing staff now qualified to assist the hospital-based stop smoking teams in their bid to help patients to give up the habit.

Chris (pictured), like her other newly qualified colleagues – Andrew Young, Jane Owen and Faye Ridgway, is passionate about helping others beat their smoking addiction.

Chris said: “I just want to help the team get the health messages across to those who want help to stop smoking. I enjoy being an out-of-hours champion when the team are not in the hospital and it is so rewarding to see the difference we can make. I would urge anyone else who would like to help to contact the

stop smoking service.”

All four staff have successfully completed all aspects of the smoking cessation training required, which included being mentored, completing robust competencies and online

training with the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training before they could become a champion.

The champions have also developed skills in both assessing and supporting patients who

wish to stop smoking while they are in hospital either for symptomatic relief or permanently after they are discharged.

The champions enable the stop smoking service to increase capacity and support many more patients throughout the trust. The service is always looking for more staff who wish to follow in the

champions’ footsteps. If you would like to know more, contact the service on

01642 850850 extension 52065.

Midwives Radha Brown and Lynn Bowman with consultant midwife Kay Branch, Councillor Julia Rostron and clinical lead for the stop smoking service, Joan Chapman

“Many women don’t

realise the damage they

could be causing to their unborn

baby.”

Sarah Donohoe, paediatric dietitian at James Cook used the travel scholarship to attend the British Dietetic Association module two course at Manchester University. The course reflected Sarah’s workload well and subjects included nutritional support, food allergies, coeliac disease, eating

disorders and diabetes. She said: “Attending the course has developed the way I assess and advise patients who need nutritional support. I have also developed a visual tool to show parents of milk intolerant children suitable products in clinic which is also being used by community dietitians. The course provided a lot of practical ideas to use in practice which has benefitted me and the teams I work in.“

A SPECIAL travel scholarship encouraging learning from other areas of practice and the development of innovative ideas to benefit patient care has been supported again thanks to the generosity of The James Cook University Hospital Voluntary Services. The scholarship is available to help staff travel to attend a conference, study day or course which is being held in the United Kingdom or overseas.

It is also available to enable staff to travel to another hospital or unit in another part of the country or overseas to research a particular method of care or treatment.

Staff receiving the scholarship share knowledge and learning with staff in

their division so colleagues can benefit from their experience and best practice.Nikki Craggs, co-director of physiotherapy said: “We are very grateful to Ann McCormack and the volunteers for funding the scholarship again this year and giving staff the opportunity to develop and enhance their skills for the benefit of patients.”Three staff who have benefitted from a travel scholarship tell Talking Point about their experience:

19

Well travelled – allied health professions scholarship

Nicole Lyons, clinical specialist physiotherapist for hands, attended a three day level two fracture management course in Hull validated by the British Association for Hand Therapists. The hand therapy team at James Cook is constantly striving for improvement and attending the specialist course significantly helped with this aim. Nicole said: “I have been able to enhance fracture management in the team ensuring the best outcome for patients. I have gained an increased confidence in diagnosis as well as new treatment skills to tackle problems that may happen following a fracture. These clinical skills have been passed on successfully to the team.”

STAFF at the Resolution Health Centre received a glowing report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after they made an unannounced inspection at the centre in North Ormseby, in May.The centre, which has been part of the trust since community services joined the trust in April 2011, was paid a visit on a Saturday morning to check essential standards of quality and safety. The inspectors also gained a wider view of an out-of-hours pilot project being undertaken in the North east region. The service is open seven days per week from 8am until 8pm.Primary care service manager Marilyn MacLean, supported by Susan Walton and Dr Richard Rigby met with the inspectors and briefed them on the service while explaining that patients used the walk-in services for a range of minor illnesses and injuries. The GP practices are made aware of their registered patients’ attendance at Resolution Health Centre within four hours. This is to ensure continuity of care.The CQC were very impressed having looked at the personal care or treatment records of people who use the service, observed how people were being cared for, checking at each stage how their treatment and care were being delivered. They then talked with people who were using the service that morning and were told: “The staff are brilliant and they really listen to you”; “I have come to the walk-in centre a good few times and always find the staff are spot on”; “It is great as I can quickly get to see a doctor” and “They really take the time to listen to what is the matter with you”.The CQC found that the walk-in centre effectively supported acute services within the trust, and saw that approximately 200 patients per day are being seen, with a range of nationalities which required the use of interpreters such as Russian, Croatian, Mandarin, and Urdu.Marilyn said “The whole team at Resolution contributed towards this positive inspection result. It’s reassuring to know that all of the standards inspected were met completely with no recommendations for improvement.”

Resolution’s clean bill of health

On course

Helping hand: Nikki, Mrs McCormack and Sarah Donohoe in The James Cook University Hospital Voluntary Services coffee shop

Angela Wilkin, operational lead physiotherapist attended the first world congress on abdominal and pelvic pain in Amsterdam. She said: “As the only physiotherapy practitioner at James Cook in this field it was a fantastic opportunity to meet other physiotherapists, doctors, consultants and healthcare professionals specialising in this area. I learnt so much new information from the presentations and I have some great contacts now.“I hope to visit the pelvic pain management programme in London in future and also to get an expert physiotherapist from the USA to come over and run a hands-on physiotherapy course.”Dr John Hughes, from the pain clinic, Emma Hughes, student physiotherapist and Angela displayed a poster at the congress looking at the outcomes of patients referred to physiotherapy with chronic pelvic pain.

20

Three steps to a safer liftTHERE is now a safer, and easier way to lift patients who have fallen thanks to an investment in flat lift kits, called the Hoverjack, at both James Cook and Friarage hospitals.

The kits have two parts and both are similar in concept to an average airbed. Both also have easy-slide bases which enable the deflated mat to be slid under the fallen patient. This is inflated by a high powered blower and then slid across and placed on top of the deflated Hoverjack.

Once securely on, the patient is raised to bed-height in about 90 seconds using the blower and the Hoverjack can be slid along the floor to the patient’s bed, where the patient is slid across into bed using the mat.

Clinical matron, Jeanette Power-Jepson, said: “This kit will greatly reduce the risk of injury to both staff and patient. The recovery of a fallen patient is a high risk situation and without careful application of best practice manual handling techniques and appropriate equipment such as this, injuries to both staff and patient are possible.”

The Hoverjack was bought in response to the National Patient Safety Agency’s (NPSA) Rapid Response Report 001 with the support of the fall safe strategy group, trust falls and manual handling teams. The Hoverjack is available across the trust and if staff want further information and training in the use of the equipment, contact the occupational health manual handling team on 01642 852482.

Occupational therapists, Rob Little and David Makepeace help Jeanette illustrate how the Hoverjack can slide along the floor

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

conditions of continence and prolapse.

The purpose of accreditation is to define and monitor standards of care, organisation and quality within urogynaecology units and identify those units which deliver best practice. A team of experts reviewed patient care, the set-up of

the team, the way it operates and

the outcomes achieved against a stringent set of criteria.

The unit received

accreditation in recognition

of its local

delivery of high quality health care, through clinical governance, underpinned by modernised professional self-regulation and extended lifelong learning which is of value to service users, commissioners and providers.

Consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, Paul Ballard, said: “This is a wonderful achievement and a fantastic endorsement for the hard work of the whole team. This places us on the map as one of only seven nationally- accredited urogynaecology units and will help us to further develop our staff and the work we do to benefit patients.”

THE TRUST’S urogynaecology team has been given national recognition as one of only seven units in the country to receive accreditation from the British Society of Urogynaecology.

Part of gynaecology in the division of women and children, the department diagnoses and treats female patients’

Lucky seven for patients

Some members of the team pictured at the urogynaecology clinic at the Friarage

“This is a wonderful

achievement.”

21

THE trust’s health improvement team have seen great success with their waist removal programme.

It’s a free men’s health drop in which takes place regularly in Redcar and Middlesbrough. The Redcar sessions are held on the second and fourth Thursday of every month at the Fire Escape, Redcar Fire Station, Trunk Road, Redcar while the Middlesbrough monthly session takes place at the Trinity Centre in North Ormesby on the third Thursday of every month.

All sessions are free, run

from 5pm to 8pm and open to all men aged 18 and over. Activities on offer include cycling (bikes included free of charge with instructor to lead ride, or participants can ride on their own); health walks at varying paces and practical cooking for men with free ingredients to make a Thursday night takeaway.

The idea is not just for men to lose weight but may attend to make other improvements to men’s lifestyle. However, with advice from the team, using the LEAN programme can help participants keep the weight off and make realistic lifestyle changes.

Waist not, want not

Behrooz Saghafi, a 32 year old researcher who lives in Middlesbrough,

is one of the participant’s success

stories and has his wife to thank for putting him on the road to a slimmer, fitter person.

It was his wife, Dr Firoozeh Salimi while working at James Cook, saw the waist removal poster advertising the programme. She knew Behrooz had been talking of making changes to his lifestyle, but suggested to him that he put his words into actions.

Behrooz had recently completed a PhD in highway design and had sat for long periods of time either at the computer, writing or reading and not doing enough exercise.

He said: “I didn’t feel very healthy and I wasn’t very fit, and I had put weight on. I had a medical which included a blood test for a cholesterol check, where I discovered I had

high cholesterol. I therefore wanted to lose weight, make some healthier choices in my diet and do more exercise so waist removal looked like a good choice.

“Cycling has been my main focus since joining. Doing it as part of a group also makes it so much more enjoyable.”

“I have made small changes to my diet over a long period of time as well, having completed a food diary (making it easy to see where I needed to make changes) and my

wife has been very supportive of the work I am doing

and helped with shopping. She mirrors some of my behaviour changes as well as cooking and that has really helped me.”

Behrooz has been going to waist

removal for over four months and has seen

and felt the benefits.

“I feel fresher, I’m seeing the local area in ways I haven’t before, I have lost seven kilograms (approximately 15lbs) in weight and made genuine connections with new people in my life. It’s a new way of life altogether for me and with these moderate changes over a longer period of time I hope to lose the next seven kilograms,” he added.

Behrooz’s story

“Cycling has been my main

focus since joining. Doing it as part of a group also makes

it so much more enjoyable.”

22

Eid celebrations benefit children in hospital

Lyke Wake walkers MARTY Barfoot and ten work colleagues and friends donned their walking boots and tackled 42 miles of North Yorkshire moorland to raise money for James Cook’s ward 14.

They wanted to do something challenging and push themselves physically and thanks to their efforts, everyone who supported them and generous sponsors a fantastic £3,502 was raised.

Marty’s brother, Graham, who sadly passed away recently was a patient on the ward and he wanted to do something to say thank you to the staff for looking after him and the family so well, and to benefit future patients.

THANK you to Islamic Diversity Centre, North east (IDC) who were welcome visitors to the children’s wards at James Cook.

The group visited on Eid - the celebration after Ramadan - bringing lots of lovely gifts generously donated by the local Muslim community for children in hospital, and their parents.

Volunteers from the charity - who work to challenge stereotypes and clear misconceptions about Islam – are pictured with delighted staff nurse Leigh Connorton during their visit to ward 22.

Fantastic fundraiserIT started off as a raffle, but cancer patient Charles Phalp received so much support when he decided to raise funds for the haematology unit at James Cook that it snowballed into a charity rock night.

The village fundraiser in Sinderby, near Thirsk, featured live music and an auction with prizes from generous local businesses.

Charles, his wife Freda and cousins Christine and Roger Barley presented a cheque for an impressive £3,600 to Angela Wood, chief of service for haematology, and would like to thank everyone for their amazing support.

Howzat!PLAYERS and supporters of Kirby Sigston Cricket Club held a sponsored 12 mile walk from Silton to Osmotherly and back to raise money for the club and Macmillan nurses for the Hambleton and Richmondshire area.

Thank you to everyone involved - the walkers who ranged in age from 7 to 73 -refreshment providers and the generous people who sponsored them. A grand total of £1,250 was raised which was split equally between the two causes.

In memory of SoniaA GENEROUS donation of £634 has been given to the specialist palliative care team in Hambleton and Richmondshire in memory of Sonia Rennison, a former outpatients manager at the Friarage.

The team’s charitable trust fund is used to benefit patients and their carers by providing equipment which isn’t readily available through the NHS.

Sonia’s family and friends held an annual golf day in her memory at Romanby Golf Club in Northallerton and would like to thank the golfers, those who donated prizes and the staff at the club who worked hard to make the day a success.

We are grateful for the generosity of local people and the support of all the dedicated people who raise money to help patients at the trust’s hospitals.

Helping hands

23

Nisa store helps children’s wardTHANKS to Mr Azeem Sarwar from Nisa’s local store in Thornaby who generously donated £604.94 to the children’s ward through the Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally campaign.

The children’s ward is very close to the hearts of the store owners as well as many of the customers. Mr Sarwar - whose daughter received excellent care on the ward - said: “The ward provides a vital service to families in times of need and we hope our donation goes some way to enhance that.”

Generous giftsWHEN Jack Pennifold heard about an appeal at James Cook to create a sensory box for adults with learning disabilities he generously donated his Play Station 2, a portable DVD player and a Nintendo DS as well as some games and DVDs.

Jack, 18, heard about the appeal as his Mum, Julie Pennifold, works in the trust’s erostering team.

Jan Pearson, liaison nurse for adults with learning disabilities, said: “These items are a great resource and will help make people’s hospital visits more comfortable and stimulating.”

Other items kindly donated so far include DVDs and sensory objects. For further information or to donate items contact janet.pearson@stees.nhs.uk

Hip birthday partyPRE-ADMISSIONS sister at Friarage outpatients, Andi Causer, celebrated her 50th birthday in style with a fun party.

Generously donating money received in lieu of presents to three favourite charities, as chair of Hopalong Group - hip and

knee patients who fundraise for orthopaedics - she made

sure they received £510.

Thanks to Andi and everyone who contributed future patients will benefit

from hip and knee models to teach them

about replacements. Andi is pictured with outpatients

manager, Jill Bramhall and colleagues and friends at her party.

Record yearMACMILLAN volunteers raised £944.72 at their World’s Biggest Coffee Morning event in the atrium at James Cook - a record so far!Claire Moore, Macmillan cancer information support worker said: “We would like to thank everyone who bought tombola and raffle tickets or enjoyed a cuppa and a cake to support our fundraising efforts.”

Lucky purple for cancer patientsFRIENDS Mark Stewart and Brian Jones have gone the extra mile organising two purple walks around Tees Barrage at Stockton as part of a fundraising campaign to raise £40,000 towards the redevelopment of James Cook’s haematology day unit.

Mark is a patient on the unit which treats patients with blood cancers and other blood disorders. Thanks to the walkers who wore purple and joined in the fun with their family and friends, and generous sponsors, a fantastic £15,000 has been raised.

Alison’s inspired to runFOR 25 years, Allison Stubbs cheered on contestants running past her Arkengarthdale home in the Swaledale marathon and promised herself one day she would be more than an onlooker.Inspired by the care her mother received from Macmillan nurses after cancer treatment, the idea became a reality three years ago when Allison and her husband, (name) completed the marathon raising over £1,141 for Macmillan. A big thank you to Allison who raised £900 In this year’s marathon for haematology, Mowbray suite and the complementary therapy service at the Friarage, where her father has been receiving treatment for cancer. Allison said: “The care and support my father received on Mowbray suite has been outstanding and I don’t think we would have been able to celebrate his 85th birthday if it wasn’t for the wonderful patient, understanding and caring team.”

Helping hands stories will feature on the trust’s

website in a special fundraising section in future and will no longer

be included in Talking Point.

Stories will be updated on a regular basis, more people will be able to see them and we will also be able to feature more examples of the fantastic fundraising people are

doing to help us.

Check out the new section at: www.southtees.nhs.uk/about/

fundraising/helpinghands/

24

Making every contact countTHE rheumatology outpatient team at James Cook was among the first to sign up to the trust’s making every contact count campaign.

Making every contact count encourages all trust staff to ask patients about any lifestyle concerns they might have so they can signpost them to NHS services in the community.

The trust’s health improvement team offers a wide range of free services at local venues across Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland including stop smoking services, weight management and healthy walks.

Rheumatology clinical trials doctor Kamran Naraghi said they work closely with stop smoking services, both in the hospital and the community, so they were keen to support the campaign.

“When people think of smoking they usually associate it with health problems such as heart disease and lung cancer but smoking is also one of the key risk

factors for rheumatoid arthritis.

“The disease can be more severe in smokers compared to non-smokers so it is important that we can point those who want to quit in the right direction.”

For more information visit southtees.nhs.uk/services/health-improvement/or contact health improvement specialist Abdul Rauf on 01287 284473 or abdul.

rauf@stees.nhs.uk to book a half hour presentation for your department.

Useful contacts• Stop smoking service: 01287 284487

(extension 52065)

• Weight management: 01287 284479

• Healthy walks: 01287 284424

Abdul Rauf with consultant rheumatologist Dr Sanjay Pathare and the rheumatology outpatients team

PAIN has a huge impact on recovery. If not managed effectively it can often result in delays in patients being discharged from hospital.

The division of anaesthesia and theatre’s inpatient pain service team

has been working closely with staff in the primary care hospitals to promote the importance of a thorough, in-depth assessment when caring for patients experiencing pain, with a key focus on patient safety.

This has included the introduction of a general pain assessment tool

which will ensure patients receive appropriate pain relief for their individual needs and help to reduce any side effects.

Specialist nurse Joanne Angus, said: “Pain management advice and education has been well received by the staff involved. They see this as a positive change in the care they deliver to patients.”

Future plans include providing education to the extended community nursing teams, alongside uploading the assessment tool on to SystmOne, the electronic patient notes system.

Fleur Carney, senior nurse, community division, supports this development and she said: “Working in partnership with colleagues in the community will ensure practices everywhere are standardised and patients moving from acute to community settings can receive the same level of care.”

Managing the pain

Joanne (fourth left) with patient Audrey Barker and staff at Carter Bequest Hospital

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South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has not vetted the advertisers in this publication and accepts no liability for work done or goods supplied by any advertiser. Nor does South Tees

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