Pulse Autumn 2020

Autumn 2020 | issue 13

THE

North West Anglia

NHS Foundation Trust

DISCOVER THE SMILE BEHIND THE MASK Page 4 BRINGING MEMBERS, STAFF AND PATIENTS THE LATEST TRUST NEWS

WELCOME FROM THE

Chief Executive

Giving birth during a pandemic

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Welcome to the Autumn 2020 edition of The Pulse magazine.

We have all adapted to a very different way of living since the Coronavirus pandemic first began in late March. It’s hard to believe we are already looking towards Winter, Christmas and the dawn of 2021, having lost a large proportion of 2020 to living in lockdown.

While life has been quieter for the majority of our local communities, it has remained busy for our staff in our hospitals. We have seen some very sad times, losing patients to Covid-19 and having to stop relatives visiting inpatients to protect them from risk of infection, but we have also seen some wonderful examples of compassionate care and innovative working to get us through the darker days. This issue of The Pulse highlights some of these examples.

I would like to thank all our staff for the way they have supported our hospitals during such unprecedented times. As well as our fantastic frontline staff (and their families who supported them to continue working) I would like to also thank our very dedicated band of support staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to keep our hospitals running smoothly.

This includes, administration teams, facilities, portering, catering, cleaning, clinical services teams and corporate staff. In addition, I must mention the staff and volunteers who were required to shield at home and those who had to undergo periods of self-isolation. Their support, by doing the right thing to protect themselves, colleagues and patients, was vital to our pandemic response.

I would also like to thank our patients and their families for their understanding and co-operation. We have made lots of changes to the way we are caring for patients – such as holding outpatient appointments by telephone or video call. For those coming in to hospital, we are running services in a very different way to ensure social distancing can be maintained.

This is likely to be in place for the rest of this year. It’s not easy and we haven’t always got things right, but we are constantly reviewing the way we do things to make improvements.

Support from the public has been amazing. Thank you to our communities in Peterborough, Huntingdon and Stamford for the fabulous goodies, scrubs, headbands and PPE that they donated during the peak of the pandemic. It provided a huge boost to our staff.

As we head into Autumn, I urge you all to continue to do all you can to protect yourself and others from Coronavirus.

Stay safe and keep checking our hospital news channels for updates – via our website (www.nwangliaft.nhs.net), our Facebook pages or Twitter accounts.

The road to recovery: the impact of coronavirus after leaving hospital

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A thank you, to you

Behind the scenes of our Hospital Control Team

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Caroline Walker Chief Executive

Contact Us The Pulse magazine is compiled by the Communications Team at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust. If you have any comments, or would like to make a suggestion about a subject you would like to read about in our magazine, please call the Communications Team on 01733 678024 or email: Nwangliaft.communications@nhs.net

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Meet the team: Christine, Transitional Care Ward Manager

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Staff at Peterborough Hospital’s Transitional Care Ward wearing face masks

YOUR JOURNEY INTO OUR HOSPITALS During the pandemic our visiting was severely restricted in order to ensure the safety of our patients and staff.

As government guidance on hospital visiting has now been relaxed, we’re able to ease the rules for our visitors too.

After careful review, we have lifted a number of visiting restrictions across our sites and put in place a phased return which will gradually see our hospital visiting return to normal so long as we don’t see a rise in infection rates locally.

“The decision to put a stop to visiting was an incredibly hard one to take,” says Jo Bennis, Chief Nurse. “Whilst we absolutely had to take the safety and protection of our patients and workforce very seriously, we all very much appreciate the emotion and anxiety involved in our inpatients having to face their time in hospital without the physical support of their loved ones.”

“There are still some clear rules around visiting,” says Jo. “The virus hasn’t gone away and as we’re learning with other regions, local lockdowns can be necessary and in these cases we would need to revoke visiting once again. However, we’re hopeful that so long as we don’t see spikes in infection rates in areas local to our hospitals, we can manage visiting safely with the help of everyone who is coming into our buildings. There are still wards where Covid patients are being treated though and these areas will retain visiting restrictions to prevent the spread of infection.”

Hand sanitising station at the main entrance to Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Face masks or coverings are now compulsory in all hospitals in the UK and we ask anyone (except those exempt) visiting as a patient or visitor to ensure they’re wearing one as they come into the building. Upon arrival into our hospitals, visitors will notice newly installed signage, designed to remind patients, staff and visitors to adhere to national guidance relating to hand washing and social distancing. We have also installed more hand sanitising stations across our hospitals, enabling those in our buildings to regularly sanitise their hands.

Assistant Mammography Practitioner Rachel Rawlinson wearing her face mask

Those coming to visit inpatients are asked to ensure they’re familiar with the online guidance around the times they can visit their friend or relative, and the guidance in place once they arrive at the ward. Visitor details are being taken on arrival, in accordance with government track and trace requirements.

Please help us to keep your loved ones safe by following the guidance we have put in place and doing your bit to keep everyone safe when visiting our hospitals.

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MATERNITY

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust maternity units achieve baby friendly accreditation Maternity Units at our hospitals have achieved joint Baby Friendly Accreditation.

Following the merger between Peterborough City and Hinchingbrooke Hospital in 2017, a huge amount of collaborative work has been undertaken to join together the Infant Feeding Teams at both sites.

A team from UNICEF conducted a site visit and interviewed staff from the Infant Feeding Team, management, and women currently on the unit.

After collecting and reviewing all the data the assessors decided the units meet the required standards and reflects best possible practices.

The award reflects the provision of the best possible care for parents in developing close and loving relationships with their baby, and support to feed in ways that promote optimum health and development.

Currently only 62% of maternity units in the UK have this full accreditation.

Catherine Rai, Infant Feeding Specialist Midwife for Peterborough City Hospital, said: “Working towards the award generated a common goal for both sites regarding feeding practices and allowed us to standardise practices, resources and education.

We’ve built friendships, knowledge and developed a pan-site support network for feeding. The award represents the amazing hard work from all our staff in maternity and on the neonatal unit in helping women achieve their feeding goals. We are immensely proud and will continue to work hard to maintain the standards and award.”

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K2 ATHENA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED AT HINCHINGBROOKE HOSPITAL Expectant mothers under the care of the Maternity Unit at Hinchingbrooke will now experience the same system as those giving birth at Peterborough City Hospital.

K2 Athena, is a new innovative system that provides a complete electronic record of the pregnancy journey from antenatal booking to postnatal care. Clinicians and midwives will now document care directly into K2 Athena, this means they will have more time to spend delivering one-to-one care in labour and enhanced support in postnatal care. Another benefit to K2 is women are now able to view their maternity notes online via a secure portal on any electronic device that has access to the internet.

Gill Harris, Lead Midwife for the Trust said: “The implementation of K2 will enable an effective documentation of the woman’s journey throughout her pregnancy, labour and postnatal period.

The implementation of the K2 system improves patient care and enables all staff to provide contemporaneous documentation at the woman’s bed-side encouraging involvement of the woman in planning her care. It allows us to effectively audit, monitoring trends within our dashboard and as a result improves patient safety and allow us to collaboratively work together across two maternity sites when

discussing patient care pathways.

The system ultimately improves the woman’s experience throughout her maternity care and improves the safety of the care provided.

I am excited that we have introduced the K2 system across all maternity services to enhance the quality of care we provide to women within our service.”

All women can now self-refer via the Trust website. You can also fill out the self-referral form on our website for either Peterborough City Hospital or Hinchingbrooke Hospital to arrange your booking appointment.

All women booked from July 1st will have electronic maternity records.

Smiling behind the mask A smile can mean many things, it can mean friendliness, it can bring someone comfort or it could express happiness, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, when our staff are wearing a mask to protect themselves and patients, that smile disappeared.

To ensure patients under the care of our hospitals could still be greeted by a smiling face, the maternity team took to displaying images of themselves wearing and not wearing a mask on social media. This was done alongside the name and title of the staff member so when coming into our hospitals, it still felt like staff could maintain that personal connection and could easily be identifiable.

MATERNITY

MATERNITY PATIENT STORIES: GIVING BIRTH DURING A PANDEMIC Donna Walker “I would just like to share my recent experience with the maternity services at Peterborough City Hospital. Right from the early stages of pregnancy I cannot fault a thing, from early pregnancy unit through to the Transitional Care Unit. The care I received throughout this very difficult period from everyone has been excellent. Due to the pandemic I was worried as to what was going to happen throughout labour and was worried that my husband would miss the birth. I must say at every point I was reassured that he would not miss it. I got induced on the Wednesday but things didn’t go as plan so ended up with waters being broken the following day. Things progressed and I got taken to the delivery suite where I was met by two amazing midwives, Zelda and Kim, who i would like to say a massive thanks to. Not only did they care for me and my baby, but at all times they made sure that my husband was ok and involved him in everything which I am very grateful for. My whole birthing experience was great and this was all thanks to the amazing midwives, nursery nurses, HCAs, Drs and hospital staff. You are all true heroes.

I would also like to give a special mention to my community midwife Cara who supported me throughout both my pregnancies and got me through some hard times. She was always there and nothing was ever too much trouble, she is a true gem.”

Danielle Sophia “I would like to say a massive thank you to all the staff at Peterborough City Hospital who supported us in the delivery of my little boy Arlo on 12 May 2020. To Daisy who looked after me when I went in that morning, and then looked after me until my best friend and midwife Pippa arrived and I was able to have my water birth. To Emily who supported Daisy and Katie and Beryl for looking after me post-delivery. Then Sue who was our second midwife. They are all amazing!

But a massive thank you to Pippa who gave us the best gift of all bringing our little boy into the world. For keeping my labour calm and positive and extra special having her there! She was an incredible support for me and my partner. It was such a special experience being able to see her doing her job and she was brilliant at it. We will be forever grateful.”

Hannah Butler Spelzini “Being in the middle of Covid-19 I can’t deny anxieties were higher than with my previous births, however the antenatal care I received from midwife Charlie Mills reassured me and filled me with confidence going into labour. I felt well informed and supported throughout!

My experience of giving birth during this time was absolutely fantastic. At no point did I feel scared or at risk and the support I received in labour was incredible.

Midwife Jaz and Maternity Care Assistant Bev were so lovely and provided a care second to none. I can’t thank you enough. You ensured we had the birth we had wanted and precious memories to last a lifetime.”

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STAFF SPOTLIGHT

MEET TWO OF THE TRUST’S RESPIRATORY CONSULTANTS Dr Jakki Faccenda is the Respiratory Consultant responsible for patients at Peterborough City Hospital. Here she discusses how her team has faced the challenge of COVID-19 and how they are trying to find their ‘new normal’.

Dr Jakki Faccenda

“A typical day doesn’t exist in my role. It is an incredibly varied role, which is what I enjoy about it. Things can change from one day to the next, so it is a constant juggle.

“Our biggest challenge by far has been the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery from this continues to be a challenge. We have managed to maintain some of our service by having telephone appointments with some of our patients.

“The team has certainly grown closer following this though and I am incredibly proud of the amazing job that they have done. It has been a huge change for us all with a completely different working environment and the level of very unwell patients has been very high.

We have open discussions and support, which helps to keep the positivity among the team. This reflects on the care that is provided for our patients.”

Dr Rob Buttery is the Respiratory Consultant responsible for patients at Hinchingbrooke Hospital. He splits his time between working at Hinchingbrooke and Papworth and provides an invaluable link between the hospitals.

Dr Rob Buttery

“I have got a foot in both hospital camps, which definitely helps our patients who require specialist care and gives me lots of variety of patients coming through the door. At Hinchingbrooke I see patients with conditions such as asthma, COPD and pneumonia, but I also focus on the oncology referrals that come in.

“During my training I found the people I worked with were incredibly inspiring and this is the same for the team that we have at Hinchingbrooke. The team are well led by our Walnut Ward Manager, Sally Cotton and the nursing team are very supportive.

The housekeepers have kept our spirits up with their positive personalities and the respiratory physiologists and community nurses have been working hard under difficult circumstances, so it makes it a pleasure to work with them all.”

New doctors, finding their feet In April, the Trust welcomed the first intake of Interim Foundation Year doctors, who graduated early from their Medical Schools to help fight coronavirus.

Three members of this group have now found their feet and are assisting on medical wards at Peterborough City Hospital. They explain how it felt to graduate and begin their medical career during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Mala Sood, explains: “I formally graduated from Kings College London with the class of 2020 over Zoom, with over 400 colleagues, which was unusual to say the least. As a medical student in London, you become used to being overlooked in the larger hospitals and not feeling part of the team. I was keen to undertake my foundation years in a smaller hospital which is partly what attracted me to Peterborough.”

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Dr Beth Taylor, added: “It was a daunting prospect to start work as a doctor early, but it has been such a positive experience.

It has been so useful to learn on the job and start getting used to how things work. There’s been lots of support and I feel that this interim period has enabled me to build up my confidence to ease the transition from medical student to Foundation Year 1.”

Dr Mala Sood

Dr Beth Taylor

Dr Keshini Kulathevanayagam, said: “I must admit that I was a bag of nerves in the lead up to induction. I wasn’t entirely sure what was to be expected of me as a foundation interim - I heard varied experiences from friends who had already commenced their interim jobs in other deaneries. In retrospect, I should have embraced this opportunity from the word go. Fast forward three months, I’ve started to find my bearings as a doctor.”

Dr Keshini Kulathevanayagam

PATIENT STORY

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY: THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS AFTER LEAVING HOSPITAL Ted Gothard, a 74 year-old man from St Neots, spent nine weeks in hospital with Covid-19 earlier this year. Despite being discharged from hospital, his battle against the virus continues.

Ted Gothard enjoying a drink at his home

In March Ted was hospitalised following a trip to London. His son Dean, looking back at this moment said, “I wouldn’t see my dad again until nine weeks later. We couldn’t visit him and relied on our daily phone call with the doctor to know how he was doing. It was a draining experience for all the family.”

After nine weeks in hospital, split between Royal Papworth and Hinchingbrooke, Ted was discharged, ready to begin the next phase of his fight against the virus.

Ted’s recovery during his first few of weeks at home were remarkable, albeit slow in progress. After a couple of weeks, he was able to climb the stairs, begin to exercise by walking up and down his street and he was sleeping and eating well. Ted’s wife Margaret said, “It was fantastic to get Ted back home. However, I have found it hard to see him struggle; he has always been so independent, and this virus has stripped that independence away from him.”

To aid Ted’s recovery he was given regular access to a Respiratory Nurse and Physiotherapist from Hinchingbrooke Hospital, who continued to aid his rehabilitation, “I cannot fault the support I’ve had since leaving hospital. I have always been able to access support whenever I’ve needed it,”said Ted. Despite early progress, Ted was sadly taken back into hospital a month after his discharge. “I had excruciating pain in my chest, it just happened all of a sudden.

I had been making some progress, so naturally I was scared when I was taken back to hospital.”

Dr Ritesh Chaube, Respiratory Consultant at Hinchingbrooke said: “Mr Gothard was readmitted with Tension Pneumothorax (collapsed lung pressing the vital structures, including the heart). It required an emergency decompression followed by a chest drain to help expand the lung. Due to the underlying lung fibrosis, (caused following Covid-19) the lungs were quite resistant to expand which led to a second large bore chest drain to help expand the lung.

Despite this setback Mr Gothard was always positive and very compliant with the care and therapy he received. He is now under careful observation from the community respiratory team and also has regular follow up with myself in respiratory clinics to continue ongoing care.”

Ted said about his experience: “This virus has completely changed the way I live my life.

I always enjoyed being very independent, working right up until I contracted the virus.

The road to recovery is going to be long but I am so grateful just to be on that road.

I cannot thank those who cared for me enough, their support has been amazing and quite rightly the NHS are applauded for their work throughout this pandemic. I twice witnessed a team working together, driven to provide the best possible care. I am so incredibly thankful for and proud of the NHS.”

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SERVICE DEVELOPMENTS

NEW CARDIOLOGY SERVICE LAUNCHED TO KEEP VULNERABLE PATIENTS SAFE Vulnerable patients can have their electrocardiogram (ECG) device fitted from the safety of their own home, following the launch of a new service by the Cardiology department.

find a solution to ensure we could still see the most clinically urgent patients.”

The team came up with a new way working which saw a member of the team ring the patient to find a suitable time to drop off and pick up the device. Once the monitor was delivered, the patient would fit the electrodes and the device themselves with the help of a guide. A physiologist would also be available by phone if they had any issues or queries.

After 24 hours, they removed the monitor and we picked it up.

The initiative has been introduced for patients under the care of Peterborough City and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, and means they no longer need to come into hospital.

Michael Purdon, Head of Cardiac Investigations, said: “Before the pandemic patients would come into hospital to have their ECG device fitted then return home to go about their day as normal, noting down any symptoms of dizziness or heart palpitations, while the device recorded their heartbeats.

The patient would then come back into hospital to give the device back. However this wasn’t possible during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic and we had to

Cardiographer Gary Singh holding an electrocardiogram device

“Patients were really happy with the service and were comforted by the knowledge that they didn’t have to leave their home during the pandemic,” said Michael. “Now that the service is beginning to resume, we will be offering this service to our most vulnerable patients who are shielding as a result of Covid-19.”

Cardiology patients benefit from new community clinics Patients needing an echocardiogram can now have the test done at one of our community clinics, rather than travelling to either Peterborough City or Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

The Cardiology Department has worked with colleagues in primary care to introduce the new clinics at Stamford and Rutland Hospital, Doddington Hospital and St Ives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Michael Purdon, Head of Cardiac Investigations, said; “An echocardiogram is a type of ultrasound scan that looks at the heart and the blood vessels surrounding it. This is an important test that can help us diagnose and monitor certain heart conditions such as heart failure, congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathy.

“We have to get close to a patient when performing an echocardiogram, so to ensure we kept our patients and staff safe we had to temporarily reduce the service at our hospitals during the pandemic.

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Kerry Ladds and Laura Money at Stamford and Rutland Hospital

However, these new community clinics help us maintain social distance and keep the service running. This also means we can treat patients from Stamford, Doddington, St Ives and their surrounding areas closer to home, saving them a trip

further afield.

“Going forward will we continue to offer this service, even as we resume echocardiogram clinics at Peterborough City and Hinchingbrooke Hospitals.”

SERVICE DEVELOPMENTS

NEW DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL Earlier in the year the Trust announced exciting new plans to redevelop Stamford and Rutland Hospital further to ensure it continues to serve the needs of the local community.

As part of these plans, we identified areas of the west end of the site that were surplus to current and future needs. The Board of Directors approved plans to sell three sections of unused land.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kanchan Rege is leading on the project. She said: “I am pleased to announce that we have accepted an offer from Frontier Estates, who specialise in healthcare development.

“The money generated from the sale of the land has to and will be re-invested in Stamford and Rutland Hospital. We plan on using the funds to improve care for the local patients.

“The car park situated at the west end of site, at the Uffington Road entrance, is part of the land being sold and the Trust has looked at how best to implement the reprovision of car parking.

“In February we submitted a planning application to build a single storey on top of the current ground level car park on the east end of the site, near the Ryhall Road entrance. This will be a modern solution to our parking issues and will see new electric charging points and more disabled parking

spaces for patients. Our planning application has now been accepted and we expect to start construction work in November 2020.

“This is an exciting time for Stamford and Rutland Hospital as we work towards improving our services further for our local communities.”

Improving our urgent care facilities at Hinchingbrooke Hospital Despite working under strict visiting restrictions during the pandemic lockdown, we have still been able to progress works to expand our Urgent Care facilities in Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Works to expand the Ambulatory Care Unit and Acute Assessment Unit, plus improve facilities in the Emergency Department, began on 6 April 2020 and are on schedule for completion in November 2020.

Phase 1 of the works was completed in July and has seen the creation of a new Ambulatory Care Unit area which was achieved by refurbishing offices adjacent to the existing Acute Assessment Unit.

Phase 2 has involved refurbishment of the minors area of the Emergency Department and to achieve this we have temporarily relocated the minors area to the current Ambulatory Care Unit. This will remain in place until completion of the works in November.

Head of Urgent Care, Sabina Fitton, said: “On behalf of the Emergency Department

team at Hinchingbrooke I would like to say a huge thank you to all our colleagues who are involved in supporting this expansion project. I would like to thank all those who contributed to sustaining the four-hour waiting time performance standard since

the construction works commenced, during already very challenging times.”

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THANK YOU

A THANK YOU, TO YOU From amazing floral arrangements for everyone to enjoy, to food galore and toiletries in abundance, the public and local companies have been so generous to our staff and we have been so grateful. We have received homemade scrubs and PPE for our staff and knitted hearts for our patients and their families, all making such a difference to all who have received them. We have seen such an outpouring of love and support, and it has seen us through some very hard times since the Covid-19 pandemic struck. We would like to say thank you to each of you for making a difference.

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OUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING

LOOKING AFTER OUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING The health and wellbeing of our staff has never been more important as NHS colleagues across the nation face one of their biggest challenges yet – Covid-19.

“Most of the time our staff can go home and switch off to a certain degree,” says Dr Sarah Ronaghan, Consultant Clinical Psychologist. “But the pandemic has infiltrated our lives. It’s on the news, social media and our families are talking about it and asking questions. It’s natural for staff to feel overwhelmed.”

Dr Ronaghan and colleague Paula Wilkinson, a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist from the Pain Management Team have been redeployed during the pandemic to support the emotional wellbeing service for staff.

“Everyone’s needs are different, so there is a range of support available to staff,” Dr Ronaghan adds. “We offer both face-to-face and telephone appointments for staff who would like to speak to someone. It’s a safe space where they can share their worries and concerns.

We can help them find ways to cope with their situation and signpost them to different services and resources. Counselling sessions are also available to staff.”

“It is too easy to see our colleagues as the role perform and forget that behind each role is a person who is experiencing their own challenges inside or outside of work, or both.

This is why the Emotional Wellbeing Service is so important.”

Rev Julia Chamberlin, Anglican Chaplain at Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Chaplains continue to provide support despite Covid-19 Chaplains at the Trust have continued to provide vital emotional support for patients, the public and staff, despite Covid-19.

Before the pandemic the Chaplaincy team would visit wards, speak to patients and their families to listen, support and offer pastoral, spiritual and religious care, with regular services being held across the week.

Due to the necessary restrictions put in place across the Trust, the team have had to find new ways to continue to provide the crucial support that is needed; by email, phone calls, YouTube, Skype and limited visits to wards using the appropriate PPE.

Paula

Sarah

Looking after you Covid-19 isn’t just affecting healthcare workers, research suggests that over a third of adults in the UK felt the pandemic affected their wellbeing*.

“Everyone will have been touched by the pandemic in some way,” says Dr Ronaghan. “It has impacted every aspect of society, threatening not only our health but also our livelihoods, and that shouldn’t be underestimated.”

There are lots of resources out there to help you manage anxieties. Keep Your Head up is a website dedicated to support adult mental health in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough,

where you will find lots of information to help you look after your mental health. Visit www.keep-your-head.com/adults/MH The Covid-19 Trauma Response Working Group has also put together a website with lots of great resources: www.traumagroup.org If you or someone you know might be in crisis, e.g. you are thinking of hurting yourself or suicide seems the only option / someone you know has made threats to hurt you or someone else, please call 111, option 2.

Adapting to new measures has come with some difficulties as PPE has impeded interaction with patients. Chaplains are now more aware of the need to slow themselves in conversation and focus on how clear their words are to help with communication.

Anglican Chaplain at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Rev Julia Chamberlin, said: “We have had to find new and innovative ways of providing support to all. We have tried to reduce the isolation and fear that patients may have felt during the period where they were not allowed visitors and be the link between the family and the patient. Staff also have worries too, so we have been there for them during these challenging times. It is certainly a different way of working, but we have been adapting and assisting where we can.”

*Office for National Statistics

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BEHIND THE SCENES

BEHIND THE SCENES OF OUR HOSPITAL CONTROL TEAM In the last few months you will most likely have heard our Hospital Control Team referred to many times – often as HCT. This team isn’t new to our Trust and is available to our organisation if and when a situation arises that needs a cohesive and controlled approach. As we start to scale back the resource needed to manage the Covid-19 situation, we wanted to highlight the important work this team have undertaken.

The HCT are responsible for the Trust’s Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) to major incident situations – and these can range from internal bed capacity issues affecting the running of our hospitals, all the way to a fire in one our buildings, a local incident involving multiple casualties… and even global pandemics!

“Working in the Hospital Control Team is hard work, it’s often quite intense and requires you to

we know we’re all working so hard towards slowing down the spread of infection and protecting both our staff and patients from contracting it.”

Celia Kendrick and Nikki Jackman in the hospital control room at Peterborough City Hospital

think on the spot and predict the unpredictable at times but it’s also a great honour and something I have spent a large part of my career learning about and educating others on,” says Celia Kendrick, Head of Resilience and Emergency Preparedness.

Infection control play an integral role during any pandemic situation and they have had to cope with a vast amount of change to processes, coordinate patient and staff swab testing, understand the PPE levels and implement

the required measures to keep our staff and patients as safe as possible, and reduce the risk of spreading the virus. “We have thankfully never had to deal with such an unpredictable virus before and in some ways, it’s been fascinating to look at the science behind the pandemic from a clinical perspective,” says Nikki Jackman, Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control.

“It is very difficult to see patients suffering in such awful ways with this disease though and it makes our jobs worthwhile when

The HCT will remain in situ until the national situation calms enough to safely allow us to reduce the level of engagement and command that is still currently required of us by NHS England.

“Even after we stand down the Control Team, there will be a lengthy period of recovery,” says Celia. “I have never experienced anything like what we are going through now and I’ve been working in the NHS for over 40 years. There will inevitably be lessons to be learned and things we can improve on but I will always be very proud of the way our Trust came together to fight this battle and every single member of staff has played a part in ensuring that patient safety and experience has remained our highest priority.”

Estates and Facilities: Behind the scenes The Trust’s Estates and Facilities Team have provided an amazing response during Covid-19 across all three sites, ensuring that the organisation can run as smoothly as possible during these uncertain times. These unsung heroes go beyond the call of duty to ensure that patients receive the best experience in hospital.

This has contributed to keeping both our patients and staff safe.

The team faced major challenges during the peak of the pandemic such as, providing additional meals for staff and patients, co-ordinating scrubs and face coverings, additional cleaning

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in these tough times. They are busy working away behind the scenes to keep the hospital clean, laundering staff uniform, maintaining the buildings and grounds, ensuring our buildings are safe, providing portering services, looking after the hospital environment and many other essential functions.

Some members of the Estates and Facilities Team at Hinchingbrooke Hospital

and portering requests on top of the business as usual issues at all three hospitals.

Eric Fehily, Director of Estates

and Facilities said: “I am incredibly proud of the whole team, they have gone above and beyond to help get us through

“They are all unsung heroes and often go unnoticed whilst keeping things running in the background working long hours and weekends. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank members of the public and schools that sent in so much needed equipment for our staff to use to keep them safe. Thank you.”

BEHIND THE SCENES

Behind the scenes with the Pathology Department

Dr Jakki Faccenda and staff from the Trust’s Research Team

PATIENTS PLAY VITAL ROLE IN COVID-19 RESEARCH Patients and staff across Peterborough City and Hinchingbrooke Hospitals have played a vital role in supporting research into treatments for Covid-19.

fifth in patients receiving oxygen only. We are already implementing this as standard during our treatment of this virus now and we are learning more as the months progress.”

More than 200 patients from our hospitals have taken part in the national Recovery (The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy) Trial so far, to help researchers find the most effective treatments for the virus.

“This is a great opportunity for us to be involved with this national research trial, which could deliver potentially life-saving treatment for our patients. The feedback so far has been very positive and we will continue to recruit additional patients to help us find out the best way to treat this virus.”

Respiratory Consultant, Dr Jakki Faccenda, has been working with the research team and front line clinical staff to recruit patients to the study.

“The initial findings have been promising,” says Dr Faccenda.”The study has already shown that dexamethasone, a drug used in a wide range of conditions to reduce inflammation, cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on a ventilator and one

The trial is now looking at the effectiveness of other treatments including, Azithromycin, convalescent plasma (plasma from those who have already recovered from Covid-19) and Tocilizumab.

The RECOVERY trial is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation, and is led by the University of Oxford.

Among those who have taken part in the trial is 68-year-old Graham Elliot from Peakirk - one of seven patients to receive convalescent plasma as well as the usual standard of care as part of the study.

Graham, who has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), was blue-lighted in after experiencing difficulty breathing and spent two weeks at Peterborough City Hospital recovering from Covid-19. He was approached by his doctor and asked to take part in the research trial.

“It is important that we find treatments for the virus. I wanted to be able to help in some way, and taking part in research has given me the opportunity to do that. I was given two rounds of convalescent plasma during my stay on B12.

This was administered through the cannula in my arm and was painless.”

We are pleased to report that Graham was discharged and has now recovered.

Graham Elliot received convalescent

During the pandemic the focus has been on the frontline staff, however behind the scenes staff have been working tirelessly to support their clinical colleagues. This includes the Pathology Department which covers a vast area of specialties, including immunology, biochemistry and microbiology.

The team in Immunology and Biochemistry have been implementing the antibody testing, which is a simple blood test that shows if someone has had any previous exposure to Covid-19. Staff across the Trust were quick to participate in the initial roll-out with over 6,500 now tested and 13.2% testing positive for previous exposure. In addition to this the team have also assisted other Trusts by testing their staff, including the Royal Papworth, the Luton and Dunstable and Bedford Hospitals. In total they have tested 10,000 people.

Before the Covid outbreak the Microbiology department would process around 64 samples a day, however once the pandemic started to increase the team quickly pulled together to get the Covid testing for patients up and running. Initially the team would have to wait for the tests to be processed in the labs at Addenbrooke’s hospital, which had a turnaround time of five days.

However now they have implemented testing in the Peterborough City Hospital labs, which can now process 768 tests a day and has a turnaround time between 12 and 18 hours.

plasma at Peterborough City Hospital

13

NEWS

Families can SAME VAN: NEW LOOK! now write RESETTING FOR THE FUTURE letters to loved ones in hospital The breast screening van has undergone a suite of changes to ensure it can safely re-open following Covid-19.

Family and friends can now keep in touch with patients staying on wards across our hospitals by sending in get well messages and family photos.

The Letters to Loved Ones Initiative was initially launched in April to help patients and their loved ones stay connected despite visiting restrictions in place during the pandemic. It was a big hit with more than 400 delivered and as a result will continue for the foreseeable future.

Jo Bennis, Chief Nurse at the Trust, said: “Receiving letters of support from loved ones makes a big difference, especially if their loved ones live far way and find it difficult to visit them. We hope that these messages will remind patients that they are not alone.”

Messages can be sent via email: nwangliaft.lettersforlovedones@nhs.net – please ensure your email includes the patient’s name, hospital name, the ward they are being cared for on and the bay they are in (if known).

Relatives are encouraged to use the email address. However, if you do not have an email address you can post your letter.

If your loved one is at either Peterborough City or Stamford and Rutland Hospitals, please address the letter to: Letters For Loved Ones Patient Experience Team Dept. 418 Peterborough City Hospital Bretton Gate Peterborough PE3 9GZ If your loved one is at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, please address your letter to: Letters For Loved Ones Patient Experience Team C/o Head of Patient Experience Hinchingbrooke Hospital Hinchingbrooke Park Huntingdon Cambridgeshire

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The Breast Screening Team have worked hard to get back up and running after a 16 week pause, due to Covid-19, and were able to welcome back their first client into a new environment that includes:

• A one-way system allowing clients to keep themselves and others safe, whilst adhering to social distancing.

• A phone-on-arrival system, asking clients to get in contact with the team upon arrival.

• Renovated flooring, seating, lighting and blinds which are all wipeable and Infection Control approved.

• A brand new screen around the reception desk to protect staff and patients.

• Additional cleaning measures between each session to keep everyone safe at all times.

Rachel Rawlinson, Assistant Mammography Practitioner, explained how the team

have tested the new system, “In order to safeguard the process to be as effective as possible, our team acted out a session to test the new process, from start to finish! The team’s dedication is to safety, and making this a smooth process for everyone. We really want to make sure women feel safe when they get here.’’

The Trust would like to thank the local companies who have done such a wonderful job completing this renovation.

Celebrating International Year of the Nurse and Midwife A nurse from Peterborough City Hospital has designed a commemorative badge to celebrate International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

2020 marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and to celebrate her legacy, each nurse and midwife will be given a badge in recognition of the fantastic work they do.

Lauren Henson, a Urology/Oncology Cancer Nurse Specialist, came up with the idea and design for the badge. She said: “I wanted to create something that nurses and midwives could wear on their uniforms with pride, and keep for years to come. This year has been exceptionally challenging, but we have pulled together and often stepped out of our comfort zone to care for patients. I am incredibly proud to be part of the nursing and

Laura Henson and Jo Bennis holding the commemorative badge

midwifery profession. If anyone is thinking about a career in nursing or midwifery, then I would encourage you to do it.”

Jo Bennis, Chief Nurse, said: “This year has been unprecedented and I am very proud of the way nursing and midwifery colleagues have come together to support our patients and each other. I wear my International Year of the Nurse and Midwife badge with pride every day.

FOCUS ON OUR STAFF

MEET CHRISTINE SIMNETT Christine Simnett is the ward manager on Transitional Care at Peterborough City Hospital. We speak to Christine about her midwifery journey and how Covid-19 has impacted on her role.

Cheryl Smart has worked at the Trust for over ten years, and thoroughly enjoys welcoming new recruits into Team North West Anglia in her role as Resourcing Officer.

“I’ve always wanted to be a midwife, and according to my mum, I was always fascinated with babies.

“My midwifery journey started at Glasgow University in 1999, after graduating I became a preceptorship midwife in Norfolk before relocating to Peterborough.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work in most areas of maternity, from community and delivery suite to the antenatal department. It was my move into Transitional Care though that helped me to discover my niche in midwifery. I find looking after babies who require more specialist care very rewarding and in my role I help to look after premature babies, those with infections, jaundice and feeding issues.

“I work Monday to Friday, and for two of those days I work clinically on the ward. This provides me with an opportunity to continue doing the job I love, whilst giving me a chance to ensure that the environment and care we provide to babies and families is of the highest standard.

“This year has been particularly difficult, I think Covid-19 has made all of us feel nervous and anxious, but as a team we have

Welcoming you into our Trust

“The recruitment process was so efficient, I never felt like I was waiting on documents to be sent.” New recruit comment

supported each other and you can see the NHS at its best.

“Wearing PPE for example has proved challenging, especially from a heat perspective, but another concern of mine is the barrier it puts between carer and patient.

Facial expressions are important for patient/ carer relationships and PPE covers your smile.

“This year has been another learning curve during a thoroughly enjoyable time working for the Trust, hence why I have remained here for nearly 20 years! I have always felt supported by those around me and able to progress in my career.”

Looking to move into the NHS?

North West Anglia

Cheryl explains her role in the recruitment process, “I am proud to work for the NHS and I thoroughly enjoy working in the Trust’s Resourcing Department.

“The team pride themselves on a person-centred approach for all new recruits and this is something the Trust prioritises, inclusive of patients and staff. By ensuring our staff are supported and happy it means that we can provide the best possible patient care.

“That support is provided to you as soon as I, or one of my colleagues, contact you to start your North West Anglia journey.

We work as your personal point of contact answering any questions and ensuring that your transition into Team North West Anglia is an enjoyable and stress free experience.”

NHS Foundation Trust

We have a whole host of clinical and non-clinical roles you can apply for to become a member of Team North West Anglia.

Simply go to our website to see what role you can take on as part of our Trust: www.nwangliaft.nhs.uk 15

MEMBERSHIP

Car parking charges reinstated for patients and visitors Car parking charges were reinstated in August for patients and visitors coming to the Trust’s sites by car. However, staff will be able to continue to park for free in recognition of their dedication and support during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Caroline Walker, Chief Executive said: “This was a tough decision to take, but one made following the Government’s announcement that it can no longer subsidise car parking at hospitals as part of its pandemic support funding. Our charges will remain the same as they were before the pandemic.

“We will now resume our work to introduce a Green Travel Plan across our two larger hospital sites, and Stamford and Rutland Hospital, in 2021. This will include a car parking solution that involves Automatic Number Plate Recognition and will encourage car sharing, cycling and using public transport to reduce the pressure on our spaces.”

BECOME A MEMBER Becoming a member of our Trust means you can give us your views on how we can make our services better for you, your family and the community in which you live.

take advantage of the same benefits that are offered to NHS staff. Just log on and register at www.healthservicediscounts.com to receive a range of discounts from participating high street stores and restaurants.

As a Foundation Trust member you can also:

To sign up as a member, you can use our portal, designed especially for you. Just log on to: https://secure.membra.co.uk/ memberportal/NorthWestAnglia

• Apply to stand for election as a Trust Governor • Vote in our Governor elections • Attend events and meetings • Receive a free copy of The Pulse magazine – either through the post or online • Get involved in specific focus and feedback groups As a Foundation Trust member you are also entitled to register with NHS Discounts, to

Register your name and create a password, then you can be in charge of the information we hold for you.

You can use the portal to change or update the information that we have for you – for example, change a postal or email address, check what format you would like to receive The Pulse, or even delete your file altogether.

Annual Public Meeting – our year in review To prevent the spread of Coronavirus, we are not holding any public gatherings in our hospitals in 2020. This means our Annual Public Meeting will be staged via an online facility this year.

The date for the event is yet to be confirmed, but members will be notified formally by email and we will also publicise it widely via local media and our Trust social media channels.

We still want to be able to share our review of the year, and invite questions from our members and the public on the running of our hospitals, so we will be inviting our Trust members and members of the public to submit any questions they would like to put to our chairman Rob Hughes or Board of Directors, ahead of the meeting taking place.

Chairman Rob Hughes said: “It is important to us to celebrate all the great things achieved in the financial year 2019-20, especially as it was significantly impacted by our response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

We look forward to connecting with our members, patients and members of the public to share our successes and outline our plans for improvements in 2020-21.”

North West Anglia 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 North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust endorse any of the products or services.

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GRAND VIEW CARE HOME

OPENING EARLY 2021 IN STAMFORD

Alysia Caring is proud to be opening a brand new care home early in 2021 in Uffington Road, Stamford. Grand View Care Home will provide residential dementia and nursing care and will be spread over three floors in a luxury environment. The views from the lounge and dining areas are a sight to behold!

All rooms at Grand View Care Home have en-suite facilities and there are areas within the home to sit and chat or relax. The large lounges and dining areas have outstanding views with floor-to-ceiling windows. There is a very large cinema room situated within the Home and activities will be provided for all our residents.

Our facilities allow residents to live and carry on enjoying the everyday routines that they cherish, including hair and nail appointments or catching up with friends in the vibrant bistro.

Personalised care will be given by highly trained, caring staff and will be managed by an experienced Home Manager. The Executive Chef, along with a team of staff whom will assist in the kitchen to make all homemade produce, will create food that has been locally sourced to ensure that a highly nutritious and varied diet is available.

Grand View Care Home is within walking distance of Stamford town centre so links with the community can be maintained.

If you would like more information regarding Grand View then please call 01780 668118 and we will be happy to help.

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