staff magazine | Spring 2014
Contents
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Clear direction – The Leeds Way
6 Showing support for our colleagues 9 Purpose-built support service for cancer patients 10 Midwives aim to take even greater care of each precious new life 13 Children’s Hospital unit is Centre of Excellence 15 New Macmillan Rehabilitation Team for head and neck cancer patients (cover picture)
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Showing support for our colleagues
Record year for renal transplantation
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Three million thanks to Take Heart
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Dementia carer support service
20 World-class facility is aim of new Yorkshire Brain Research Centre Appeal 23 Trust showcases its skills to Egyptian liver specialists
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Midwives aim to take even greater care of each precious new life
Children’s passport introduced for surgery patients
25 Launch of eRAPID research programme to help cancer patients
Bulletin is produced quarterly by the Communications Department. Editor: Suzanne Breen Photography by Medical Illustration Design by Octagon Design & Marketing Ltd Send your feedback, ideas and suggestions for the next edition to suzanne.breen@leedsth.nhs.uk or call ext. 66494/66244. 13
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A year of Advanced Practitioners
World-class facility is aim of new Yorkshire Brain Research Centre Appeal
Copy deadline is 30 April 2014
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Wedding bells on Ward J12 Marie Upton had her dream come true on Ward J12 when she married her long-term partner Alex Templeman in December. With Marie’s health deteriorating due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Senior Sister Michaela Land took it upon herself to make sure that Marie would have the wedding she always wanted. Time was of the essence, so Michaela set about arranging the ceremony contacting the Chaplain on call, Adam Clayton, and the Registrar’s office the following morning who agreed under the circumstances to do the wedding that day.
Surgical precision: Consultant cardiologist, Dan Blackman from LGI and Mark Gunning, a visiting Cardiologist from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire
New LGI labs showcased for national conference of heart experts Cardiac doctors at the LGI demonstrated their capabilities in January, using brand new state-ofthe-art facilities, to a conference of leading cardiologists. The British Cardiovascular Intervention Society invited the Cardiology team at the LGI to perform live procedures for its annual conference in London, allowing the team to showcase the latest techniques from their brand new Cardiac Catheterisation Labs via web-link.
“The new labs have really improved the quality of care we can provide as well as the breadth of procedures we can offer.”
The conference picks cardiology units each year based on excellence and the ability of the teams to carry out the latest procedures. Amongst the surgeries that took place at
the LGI were renal denervation, a pioneering technique to treat high blood pressure, and transcatheter aortic valve implantation, a revolutionary keyhole valve replacement procedure. The new Philips-equipped labs can offer much safer operations due to the superior imaging, which helps doctors to perform some of the most intricate procedures in order to fix heart conditions. The refurbishment cost over £450,000, making the latest in advanced cardiovascular intervention technology now available to the medical teams.
Michaela found some balloons and banners and the doctors bought a cake, which was decorated on the ward. Staff from the Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre kindly attended the ward to do Marie’s hair, nails and make up and bridegroom Alex, who suffers from cancer, brought in Marie’s wedding dress, while his sister brought in the rings. Jo Regan, Respiratory Matron, said: “It was wonderful to host the wedding on the ward. We’re happy that we could be involved in helping Marie and Alex get married after such a long time. “Most of the credit must go to Michaela however, for organising the event at such short notice. She always goes out of her way to ensure that all patients have the best experience possible during their time with us, but this was something different. We’d also like to thank the Robert Ogden Centre and Chaplaincy for their assistance at such short notice.”
Dr Dan Blackman, Consultant in Cardiology, said: “The new labs have really improved the quality of care we can provide as well as the breadth of procedures we can offer. “The Yorkshire Heart Centre at the LGI is the UK’s biggest centre for emergency angioplasties (treating heart attacks), but it’s the specialist work such as that demonstrated over the event that makes us one of the UK’s leading heart units.”
Team effort: Senior Sister, Michaela Land with the newly-wed couple, Marie Upton and her now husband Alex Templeman with other staff on Ward J12.
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Clear direction – The Leeds Way Helping others: Roy’s family hand over a cheque to staff from the Renal Unit.
Kind donation in memory of Roy The Renal Unit has received a generous donation of £6256 from the family of a patient who sadly passed away in 2012. Roy Pickup had been a patient on Ward J49 from July 2012 until the time of his death in September that year. His family developed a close bond with staff on the ward during their frequent visits to visit Roy and since his death have been fundraising tirelessly for the unit. Their latest fundraising event was a barbecue hosted at their home, which was attended by hundreds of friends and relatives of Roy, as well as staff from the Renal Unit. Charge Nurse, Iain Henderson said: “Paul, Edna and all the family must have put hours and hours of hard work into organising these events and the staff and patients of the Renal Unit very much appreciate their generous donation. The money will be used to make sure that relatives staying on the unit can be made as comfortable as possible at an often difficult time.”
Consultation on our five-year strategy is almost over. The senior team is now considering hundreds of comments and ideas given as feedback by staff and the many external stakeholders who gave their views. Our online engagement system WayFinder – has been used by hundreds of people over the past six weeks to say what they think of our draft strategy. This is the latest example of how we are using this cutting edge ‘crowdsourcing’ approach to help us move forward and make improvements in the quality and efficiency or the care we provide. Next we will consider all of the feedback and use it to help deliver a strategy to be agreed by the Trust Board and our regulator, the NHS Trust Development Authority. It will set our direction for the next five years.
Values and vision WayFinder has been one of the key channels used – alongside face-to-face meetings, our internal communication channels and our management structures –to develop The Leeds Way, i.e. our vision and the values that we think are important in working to achieve it.
example, we might decide that certain behaviours are so important that we should include them in all appraisals.
What is crowdsourcing? A process by which the knowledge, experience of people within an organisation and people who are partners – the power of the many - can be harnessed via technology to create and develop ideas to help innovate. By empowering a wide range of people – staff, customers, stakeholders, suppliers and experts – crowdsourcing can help to solve challenges, generate collective insight and change behaviour. WayFinder was launched on 4 December at an event attended by 500 LTHT staff. During the following five weeks staff were set a challenge to define the values and agree a vision of the Trust Nearly 2,000 staff made more than 25,000 contributions (ideas, comments and votes) and together they developed more than 220 proposed values for LTHT – highlighting both diversity and commonality. Staff shared more than 300 ideas to support a shared vision of LTHT
Now we need to start work on embedding our values into the organisation by discussing, developing and deciding what agreed behaviours we will use to hold one another to account as we work to achieve our vision. For
A detailed analysis revealed the ideas regarding values could be grouped into 19 common themes. Further analysis showed the 19 common themes were underpinned by 5 core values that represent an agreed way that staff now want everyone in the Trust to work.
Parker said: “It’s a fun way to raise money for and awareness of men’s health issues. It really highlights illnesses that didn’t necessarily have a high profile in the public consciousness.”
Charge Nurse, Mark Richards said: “We’ve had a fantastic response to Movember. It’s brilliant: no other form of sponsorship is so rock and roll!”
The life hirsute Staff on ward J54 raised £500 for prostate and testicular cancer by growing some extraordinary facial hair. The moustachioed team on the ICU ward at St James’s decided to raise money for Movember, a national charity and awareness campaign that takes place during November, which encourages people to sponsor men to grow facial hair for a good cause. Ten members of staff formed the team “Boys in Blue at Jimmy’s ICU”, taking part in growing handlebars, pencils and Fu Manchus for the national event. Staff Nurse and organiser, Elizabeth
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Pavilion wins Candlelighters a green award it creates. This is a space where children and their families can escape from the clinical environment of a ward area and relax at what is sometimes a very stressful time for them. It does a superb job of helping complement the care our staff provide on the ward.”
The recently-opened Candlelighters Pavilion at the Leeds Children’s Hospital, has won a Green Apple Environment Award in the national campaign to find Britain’s greenest companies, councils and communities. The building, outside the children’s cancer ward in the Clarendon Wing, was singled out because of the environmental best practice used to construct and run the facility, which is a bright and flexible space for young patients and their families Jo Shepheard, operations manager at Candlelighters commented: “Darton EGS, the architects who designed the building project fulfilled the brief for our families and deserve the award. We are so
The Pavilion competed against more than 500 other nominations and Candlelighters were presented with their Green Apple Award at a ceremony in the House of Commons. Green credentials: Keith Hardcastle, parent trustee from Candlelighters, with Miss Green UK and Amber Yorke from Darton EGS
excited it has won this award a first for the charity.” Ian Crabtree, Head of Nursing at Leeds Children’s Hospital, said: “The Candlelighters
Pavilion is a fantastic facility and everyone who has seen it has been delighted by the way it looks and the young person-friendly environment
Judges were drawn from the Environment Agency, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Chartered Institution for Wastes Management and other independent bodies.
Training helps staff who give support in an emergency When a major incident occurs, like the tragic road traffic accident on the M62 last year, the Trust responds by activating its major incident plans and procedures. These ensure that we are appropriately prepared to deal with all aspects of the incident. One part focuses on providing support and comfort to the friends and relatives of those involved in the incident – the Friends and Relatives Centre plan.
and Maggie Bellew delivered their first ‘Psychological First Aid training’ to outpatient nursing and administration staff, chaplaincy and volunteers recently. This will now be a rolling programme with the training repeated at intervals so that staff and volunteers can refresh their skills and be kept up-to-date.
Sharon added: “It is designed to help all those involved in a friends and relatives centre not only feel supported themselves but also have the necessary skills and training to identify and care for distressed and upset people and provide comfort and support appropriately.”
Following feedback from the incident last year that part of the plan has now been updated and improved and a rolling programme of psychological training for staff has been put in place. Sharon Scott, Resilience Manager, said: “We learned many valuable lessons from the event last year and since then we have been improving our response to all aspects of major incident management and response, including the Friends and Relatives Centre plan. “Trust staff and volunteers have a vital role to play within these centres, providing emotional and spiritual comfort and support. It has been recognised that they must also feel supported and have the necessary skills to manage what is potentially a very challenging situation.” Clinical psychologists, Gary Latchford
Supporting role: Some of the staff involved in the emergency response psychological training
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Showing support for our colleagues At the end of last year The Philippines was struck by one of the worst typhoons on record: Haiyan. The powerful storm killed around 6000 people, caused untold damage and ruined countless lives. In the wake of the disaster, people around the UK sprang into action raising money for the victims and clean-up operation. Staff from across the Trust, led mostly by our 300 Filipino colleagues, some with families in the affected area, were at the forefront of the events to raise donations for The Philippines. The Ambassador of The Philippines to the UK, His Excellency Enrique A. Manalo, said: “We are truly touched by the kindness and generosity of the staff of Leeds Teaching Hospitals. The funds you raised will go a long way towards helping countless people rebuild their homes and their lives. The whole country is grateful for all the help and support of our friends in the UK. Our sincere thanks to everyone at LTHT and our sincere thanks to your Filipino staff for all their efforts to aid those affected by this calamity.”
Sister Grace Gutierrez-Paredes, who works in A&E at the LGI said: “We saw the devastation that happened in The Philippines during the typhoon and, as a Filipino, I felt that we could not just stand and watch. The team decided to make an immediate fundraising effort to help the victims and we were able to reach £900 in less than two weeks, which we sent to Disasters Emergency Committee.” Raising funds: Staff and visitors enjoy some authentic Filipino cuisine.
Sister Andrea Galley and Sister Julie Scholefield from J81 HDU ran the Leeds Abbey Dash in November, raising £100 in sponsor money. The cash was added to the fantastic collection that Wilma Cariazo from J54 ICU had organised. In total between the two units nearly £500 was donated to The Philippines typhoon appeal. Andrea said: “The Filipino nurses have been with us in Leeds for over ten years now, not only do they have a special place within critical care but the Trust as a whole.”
A&E porter Malcolm Ball and his wife arranged hampers for the benefit of the typhoon victims, which were raffled off with the support of staff and friends of the department, raising nearly £500. Geraldine Metcalfe, CDU Staff nurse, was scheduled to fly to The Philippines to see her family, who had been caught in the disaster. Staff decided that with Geraldine’s visit, they would send the clothes that they had collected so she could personally distribute them to the victims of Haiyan.
The Jubilee Theatres’ team raised over £500 selling food and drinks for the Red Cross and other charities that were working in some of the most remote areas affected by the typhoon.
Thanks to all our generous staff!
£900 was raised by the LGI minor injuries team, while the cardiac cath labs made an extra £500 in donations. Events took place across the Trust, with bring and buy sales, donations of clothes and lots of delicious food being sold for the people affected by the disaster.
Good cause: Sister Andrea Galley and Sister Julie Scholefield from Ward J81 after the Leeds Abbey Dash.
Four-legged friend brings comfort to the wards Patients around the Trust are being treated to regular visits from Lucy the pat-dog.
and talk to them. Mel said: “We started because we wanted to bring some happiness to people. Initially we volunteered on the children’s wards, but we’re now covering elderly patients as well. It’s really surprising how much joy people can gain from spending a bit of time stroking Lucy.”
Lucy is a nine and a half year-old LhasaPug cross who has been visiting the wards for three-and-a-half years with her owner, Mel Sanderson. Both Lucy and Mel are volunteers for Pets as Therapy, which is a national charity founded in 1983. It provides therapeutic visits to hospitals and a variety of other venues by volunteers with their own friendly, temperamenttested dogs and cats. There are currently around 4,500 active PAT visiting dogs and 108 PAT
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Patient Mr Roy Turner with Mel Sanderson from Pets as Therapy.
cats at work in the UK. Every week these calm friendly dogs and cats give more than 130,000 people, both young and old, the chance to cuddle
“She’s got a really good temperament and loves the attention. When she was younger my partner’s grandchildren used to dress her up.” If you would like to find out more about Pets as Therapy please visit: www.petsastherapy.org
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Grateful thanks to liver team On the one year anniversary of her liver transplant, Angie Eddy, contacted the Transplant unit at St James’s to thank the team and let them know about the many things she has achieved since her operation. In 2010 Angie was diagnosed with primary biliary cirrhosis. Due to the degeneration of her liver, she had to be placed on the transplant list in July 2012, receiving her new liver in the December.
from South Africa or been here to celebrate my son’s 18th birthday. My husband and I are living a full and happy life; I am more active than I ever was pre-transplant.” Christine Sutton, Liver Transplant Coordinator, said “We were really grateful to hear from Angie. It makes such a difference to the transplant teams to find out how patients are getting on, especially when people are raising awareness, like Angie.”
Since then she has participated in a variety of activities to promote and raise awareness of organ donation including scaling Ben Nevis. She supports the ‘iLiveiGive’ campaign, blogging about her experience and encouraging others to get involved. Just recently she also planted a tree in memory of her donor in Scotton, North Yorkshire. Angie said: “Without the transplant I would have died. I would not have been able to see my daughter return Another patient, Ron Haworth, has been raising money for the Unit to thank them for the care he received during and after his liver transplant. Ron was transplanted in June 2012 in an operation that lasted over 10 hours and was performed by Mr Attia and Mr Ahmed who he is very grateful to, along with Dr Coetzee “who stayed with me for 13 hours”, Dr Davies, Dr Jones and all the nurses on the ward. He organises a regular fundraising golf tournament with proceeds going to the
Spreading cheer: Leeds Rhinos players with staff from the Children’s Hospital.
Sports stars visit Children’s Hospital Patients at the Children’s Hospital had some special visitors over the festive period, with players from the Leeds Rhinos and Leeds United visiting the wards to hand out presents.
Fundraising feat: Angie (left) with her husband David (right) and fellow fundraisers, Jo Talbot and Robert Appleyard at the foot of Ben Nevis.
Liver Unit but on this occasion came in to handover a cheque for £94 which was raised at his birthday celebrations through the generous donations of friends and family. Ron said: “I organised the golf tournament because I felt so grateful to the Liver unit who saved my life and now it is a regular event with the proceeds each year being donated to the Unit. I fully intend to try to repay all of the staff on the Unit for their care and kindness to me.”
The sports stars saw over a hundred patients across all the wards, distributing gifts and meeting some of the Trust’s most poorly youngsters. Twenty-two Leeds Rhinos players, included local lads Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Danny McGuire, spent the afternoon with the children and took to Twitter afterwards to share their experiences. Former Rhinos’ star Keith Senior described it as “emotional”.
“We’re obviously blessed and very fortunate to be able to come somewhere like this.” Rodolph Austin, Ross McCormack, Jason Pearce, Sam Byram and Noel Hunt who play for Leeds United were accompanied by staff and their manager, Brian McDermott, on a tour of the wards, bringing smiles to fans.
Generous donation: Liver Transplant Co-ordinator, Christine Sutton receiving the cheque from patient Ron Haworth.
Leeds United Manager Brian McDermott said: “It’s really important to do this. It touches you. We’re obviously blessed and very fortunate to be able to come somewhere like this. It does put things in perspective.”
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Nursing & Midwifery Conference: Call for abstracts and award applications This year’s conference will be held on Wednesday 11 June and the theme is ‘collaboration’. Please submit an abstract to this year’s conference and showcase all the excellent work being done over the past year to improve patient care. This can be done through a poster or presentation on the day. Deadline for abstracts is 21 March. Look out for our Twitter feed #7thCLTHT. And don’t forget you can still apply for the Hilda Knowles Award which has a prize of £1,500. In line with the vision outlined in Compassion in Practice (2012), the purpose of this award is to recognise and celebrate your contribution to developing and providing high quality, compassionate care, and to the provision of excellent health and well-being outcomes. Award applications close on 31 March. Full details about the conference, award and abstracts can be found at: http://lthweb/sites/nursingand-midwifery/conference/nusingmidwifery-conference.
Sharing views: (l-r) Kate Smith, Clare Linley, Suzanne Hinchliffe, Cecilia Anim, Sue Dodman, Sue Chadwick, and Jackie Whittle.
Deputy President meets nurses across the Trust The Deputy President of the Royal College of Nursing, Cecilia Anim, recently spent a day at LTHT, meeting a range of nurses at St James’s and LGI. After a discussion with Chief Nurse, Suzanne Hinchliffe, about current nursing challenges she visited staff in a number of different areas including the surgical assessment unit, oncology ambulatory care and the teenage/young
adult cancer ward at St James’s, as well as cardiac care at the LGI. Suzanne commented: “We were delighted to host this visit and showcase some of our services to the Deputy President of the Royal College of Nursing. Cecilia was very interested to meet a cross-section of our staff and to get a feeling for the high quality of nursing care we are delivering here in Leeds.”
Record year for renal transplantation The Leeds Renal Transplant Unit achieved yet another milestone last year, setting a new record of over 200 renal transplants including 8 paediatric ones. The unit has one of the best transplant-to-surgeon ratios in the country and this was the fifth consecutive year that the number of renal transplants increased. This was achieved by a relatively small team of surgeons, supported by the nephrologist, immunologist and transplant coordinators. Consultant surgeon, Mr Niaz Ahmad, said: “Numerous innovations have been introduced over the last ten years to help achieve this increase in transplants while maintaining excellent clinical outcomes. These include dual transplant from marginal donors, en bloc transplant from paediatric donors, careful use of extended criteria donor kidneys and kidneys declined by other centres. “Machine perfusion was also introduced
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for kidney preservation to improve outcomes, particularly from extended criteria kidneys and better assess these kidneys prior to transplant.” Last year the unit received international publicity and acclaim for performing a renal transplant on the youngest paediatric donor kidney, just a few weeks old. In addition, an audit performed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) last year showed that Leeds renal failure patients have some of the best access to deceased donor renal transplant in the country - over three times that of the lowest ranking centre. NHSBT outcome analysis also shows the outcome of both adult and renal transplant in Leeds to be better than the national average. Mr Ahmad said: “The team deserves to be congratulated on their remarkable achievements. The quality and quantity of work that the team have achieved
Great success: Members of the renal transplant team.
over the past year really speaks volumes about the people we have within the department. I’m proud to say that what we do here at Leeds is nothing short of excellent every time.”
Centre improves support service for cancer patients ITV Calendar news presenter Christine Talbot officially opened the brand new Macmillan @ Leeds Cancer Support Information Centre in the Bexley Wing at St James’s in December. The information service, staffed by Macmillan volunteers and support workers, has helped many people from across the region affected by cancer since the Bexley Wing opened in 2008. Earlier this year, Macmillan Cancer Support very generously agreed to redesign the space, investing £95,000 on a purposebuilt centre better equipped to deal with the ever-increasing need to offer and provide support.
“Macmillan Cancer Support is delighted to be working in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals to improve facilities available to people affected by cancer. “The cancer information services at the Trust were commended in a recent cancer patient experience survey, so we’re looking to continue that great work. This newly refurbished information centre provides an excellent, confidential environment for anyone seeking advice and support about cancer.”
Steve Edwards, Macmillan Development Manager, West Yorkshire, said:
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Welcome to new Nonexecutive Director Allison Page has joined the Trust Board as a new Non-executive Director bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience gained in both the public and private sectors. Allison is a partner at DLA Piper LLP, one of the world’s largest specialist business law firms. She specialises in advising on public-private partnerships and has a background in working closely with public sector contractors and banks on major infrastructure transactions in sectors as diverse as highway maintenance, energy and waste management. Commenting on her new role Allison said: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to serve on the Board of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust at a time when the NHS is facing greater challenges than it has at any time in its history.
The service aims to help people continue to live their lives alongside receiving their medical treatment and care. The new centre, part of the Leeds Cancer Support Service, is fundamental to enabling the specialist team to provide information and support to people in a warm and welcoming environment. Christine said: “As a patient, I can’t tell you just how valuable this is as a support network, where you can just turn to someone and get information, or ask ‘can you help me, I just need to know about this’. The work of staff in Bexley Wing and the Macmillan centre is second to none.”
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“I am looking forward to working with the rest of the Board to devise a strategy so the Executive is in a position to ensure the Trust meets those challenges head on and continues to deliver continuous improvements in patient care.”
Excellent resource: (l-r) Geoff Hall, Lead Cancer Clinician, Steve Edwards, Macmillan Development Manager, Julian Hartley, LTHT Chief Executive, Josie Sharp, Macmillan Information Centre Manager.
Double birthday bonus Twins, Harry and Alex Walls, decided to do something really special for their birthday and make a donation of their birthday money to the Neonatal unit at St James’s.
discharged. They decided that the best way to thank staff for the care they received would be to donate all the money they were given for their sixth birthday.
The pair were born prematurely at 35 weeks and then spent a fortnight in the unit on ward J1 before being
HSBC also kindly offered to double the money taking the total to £410.
Linda Pollard CBE, Trust Chair, said: “I am delighted that Allison has joined the Trust Board and bringing with her a wealth of knowledge about commercial partnership and the law. This will be extremely valuable as we increasingly look at expanding the horizons of the Trust and developing new sources of income in this country and overseas. “Allison also brings valuable handson experience of working with large public sector bodies over a number of years to deliver high profile projects and new ways of working which fits very well with our ambitions to be one of the very top NHS trusts in the UK.”
The twins’ mother, Nikki, said “I’m really proud of the boys for taking this grown-up decision. They both said that they wanted to help the babies who were poorly and that they would like to help them get better.” Ward Clerk Amanda Tunstall, said: “We were really glad to welcome Harry and Alex back to the ward. What they’ve done is so special and I’m sure all the other children who come through the unit will appreciate it someday!”
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Midwives aim to take even greater care of each precious new life Having a baby is an anxious time for any mother, but new measures at the Trust are improving safety and the quality of care. As she watches baby Luca sleeping soundly, new mum Danielle Newton has nothing but praise for the maternity unit at St James’s. “I’ve been very impressed with the service,” she says. “The staff and doctors were really reassuring.” Danielle is one of more than 800 women who give birth in the Trust’s maternity units every month. Thousands more are seen in the antenatal clinics and the community. Making sure every mother has a safe, straightforward birth is a priority. Advances in care and technology have made giving birth safer than ever before, but for some mothers events do not go as planned. Of the 9,800 births in the Trust over the course of a year, around 1,500 involve some kind of escalation. It’s a high number, but learning and actions from these incidents reduces the risk of more serious outcomes and keeps the maternity team fully connected to their service.
Focus on learning Sharing learning on how the maternity service could be improved has always been a focus for the units, as Julie Scarfe, Head of Midwifery explains: “Risk is owned by all members of the team.
Quality care: Midwife, Sam Moxon, with new mum Danielle Newton and her baby Luca.
Communicating honestly about the issues we face and how we can work together to resolve them is the key to improving safety and the experience for mothers.” Over the last few months the team has looked for new ways to ensure that all staff, including consultants, midwives, support workers and the wider team are informed of incidents and understand how they could prevent them from occurring in the future. One of their ideas has been to introduce weekly bulletin boards in every area of the
maternity units. Called Connect, which stands for ‘Communicating New News to Each Care Team’, the boards are designed to provide staff with essential information on incidents and issues in the units in a way that is quick and easy to digest.
Open communication The boards take their material from the ongoing work to manage risk within the units. Every week, Julie and her team meet to review any incidents that have happened and discuss any concerns from the previous week. Feedback from incidents and complaints are shared in a monthly report and themes and trends on Public Health issues like breastfeeding and smoking are also monitored every month. Complaints are shared openly on the Connect boards, as are positive stories about the staff and the service they provide. Such open communication is already proving a success with staff in the Trust’s maternity units, and the community midwifery teams across Leeds who receive the Connect board updates in a weekly email. “It’s been very well received,” says Julie. “It’s very visual and easy to understand, so it has maximum impact.
Sharing learning: Midwives Maxine Campbell and Lucy McKenzie
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“We’re able to spot emerging themes and use our learning on incidents to support safe, effective and personalised maternity care.”
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Kind donation helps new mums A local charity has kindly made a £600 donation to the neo-natal unit at the LGI, to go towards refurbishing rooms where mothers can discreetly express milk. Supporters of Families and Babies (SOFAB) handed the cheque over in December, as part of their campaign to improve the experiences of mothers by providing extras that the NHS would not normally fund but that help parents feel more comfortable during their time in hospital.
Water baby: Midwife Lisa Porritt was one of the first people to use the birthing pools when she went into labour with Ava. Photo courtesy of www.victordejesus.com
Pools improve birth choices at St James’s After a lot of hard work from members of the midwifery team, the birthing pools at St. James’s are celebrating a year of service. The unit secured £109,000 from the Department of Health to improve the birthing environment for mothers-to-be at the hospital. The money was used in two ways: firstly to provide water birth and active birth facilities; and secondly to develop a new bereavement suite. The benefits of labouring in water include enhanced relaxation, natural analgesic effects and a reduced need for drugs plus the ability to move easily and adopt upright positions supported by the water. They mean an easier transition to the outside world for baby and create a positive birth for women who choose them. Midwifery staff, supported by some of the LGI midwives who have offered the service for longer, underwent additional training to get the service up and running. Senior Midwife, Eleanor Gleed, said: “For several years water birth has been available at the LGI, but not at St. James’s. We wanted to ensure women could have access to their choice of birth in both hospitals.
“We now have two pools, one in the Sunflower room, which is in almost constant use, and the second in the Bluebell room, which is our active birth room. This has just been completed with the installation of a birthing sling and stool. “Among the first people to use the birthing pool at St James’s was one of our midwives, Lisa Porritt, who gave birth to her beautiful daughter, Ava.
The money will go towards creating an environment where mothers can feel comfortable when expressing milk. Midwife, Kathy Dewhurst, said: “We really appreciate donations like this. The money will go towards creating an environment where mothers can feel comfortable when expressing milk. By being able to refurbish the rooms in the LGI, we can offer mothers the very best service possible.”
“Feedback has been really positive and our midwives have enjoyed increased job satisfaction” Sadly not all pregnancy outcomes end happily. Women who have a stillbirths or termination of pregnancy due to foetal abnormality are cared for in a new dedicated area with two specially adapted rooms, away from the main delivery suite. The rooms are both en-suite and are decorated in muted colours with a full photographic feature wall, one of a woodland scene, the other of an orchid. High risk women who still need to have some of their care on the main delivery Thoughtful pair: (l-r) Harry and Alex Walls, with their suite Nikki, also Consultant have theinoption recouperate Mum, Neonatalto Medicine, Lawrence Miall and Sister Sharon Foxton in the area.
Helping hand: (l-r) Midwife, Kathy Dewhurst with Jan De Mello, Julia Thomas, Louise Reever from SOFAB, and Nursery nurse, Angela Stephenson.
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Limbless Association accolade for Seacroft Hospital The prosthetics and orthotics team at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds has beaten off fierce national competition to be named the Disablement Service Centre (DSC) of the Year. This is the third time Seacroft has independently been voted as the best centre by a national charity. The Limbless Association Prosthetic and Orthotic Awards 2013 honoured outstanding achievers across the country with teams, industry professionals and inspirational individuals recognised. The winners were presented with the awards by Eric Ollerenshaw MP at a prestigious ceremony in the Houses of Parliament. A contributing factor to the achievement was the Pectus Carinatum Brace developed by Alex Callaghan, Principal Orthotist for RSLSteeper. The innovative chest compressor improves the physical appearance of the “pigeon chest” deformity and greatly improves the psychological well-being of teenagers’ perception of their own body image. As well as picking up the “DSC of the year” award, the highly renowned specialist prosthetic team also saw Leedsbased ‘trail blade runner’, Phil Sheridan,
who they have supported for several years, collect an individual “award for inspiration” for his contribution to prosthetic awareness. Mark Davies, Rehabilitation Services Director for RSLSteeper, said: “We have many wonderful individuals in the team who enable us to provide the innovative services we are acclaimed for. To achieve this accolade three times is a tremendous honour for all of them. This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of working in partnership with the Trust to achieve improvements in patient care.” Nancy Rhodes, Head of Specialist Rehabilitation Services for LTHT, said: “We work in partnership with RSLSteeper in providing a fully integrated and holistic patient pathway that best meets individual patients’ needs. Our focus and drive has always been to continually improve patient service. We are now winning plaudits from all over the country and this award is a further indication of the remarkable progress our team at Seacroft Hospital continues to achieve.”
Prize-winning team: Some of the Seacroft Hospital staff celebrate their award
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DVD launched for new patients The Specialist Rehabilitation Centre at Seacroft Hospital has also just produced a DVD for current and future users of its wide range of services. It consists of a film of just over 17 minutes, which is also available in eight “bite size” episodes covering a general introduction and information on aspects of the service the team provides. These include prosthetics, orthotics, wheelchairs, psychology, upper limb/ occupational therapy as well as physiotherapy. Newly referred patients are likely to find the DVD particularly helpful and it will also help patients who are considering moving from other centres make an informed choice as well as showcasing the holistic approach offered by the centre. The DVD is also available in its entirety on You Tube by searching under Leeds Specialist Rehabilitation Centre and individual episodes can also be viewed there.
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Children’s passport introduced for surgery patients Leeds Children’s Hospital has introduced a new passport scheme to improve the experience of young patients undergoing surgery. Children who visit the hospital for surgery will be issued with the new passports at the start of their stay and will receive stamps every time they have a test, scan or an operation. The idea was the brainchild of Sister Janet Dixon, a specialist perioperative nurse who works for the Trust.
Winning service: (l-r) Iris Maher, Ruth Madeley, Suzi Lea, Dr Anne-Marie Childs, Sue Manning, Lindsey Pallant and Dr Karen Pysden at the Leeds Children’s Hospital.
Children’s Hospital unit is Centre of Excellence The Trust’s Paediatric Neuromuscular Disease Unit has been named as one of only five “Centres of Excellence” in the UK, by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. The centre, based at the Leeds Children’s Hospital at the LGI, cares for children and young adults with rare and complex conditions affecting muscle function. It provides services across the region and access to some of the best clinicians in the country.
“We welcome all the hard work carried out by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and others…”
The recognition followed a comprehensive survey, hosted by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) through the CARE-MD and TREAT-NMD international organisations who set the standards against which services are measured. The team at the Leeds Children’s Hospital demonstrated a high standard of clinical care and comprehensive diagnostic services, and
were active both in national audit and research activity. Muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular conditions cause muscles to waste and weaken over time, leading to increasing disability, and in many cases, significantly affect life expectancy. Access to specialist services, such as those available at Leeds, enables families to receive expert guidance on diagnosis and management, including specialist therapies and support. This can make a life-changing – or life-saving – difference to patients.
Janet and her team were looking into ways of improving the patient experience and making surgery for children less scary when they hit upon the idea of introducing the passport as a system of reward. Passport stations will be located around the surgical and testing units so that the children can have them stamped prior to the procedure. The scheme is being funded by the Charitable Trustees and staff are hopeful that it will be rolled out to other clinical areas, such as outpatients services. Janet said: “The hospital passport has been a labour of love. An operation and the surrounding tests and scans can be a really worrying time for children, so this new project is a way of keeping their minds off it.”
Dr Anne-Marie Childs, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist said: “We are delighted that the children’s neuromuscular service at Leeds has been recognised as 1 of 5 paediatric centres of clinical excellence in the UK. The multidisciplinary team have worked hard to ensure that high quality care is provided to children and families across the region with neuromuscular conditions. “We welcome all the hard work carried out by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and others to highlight the importance of providing access to expert services for all those with neuromuscular conditions, and value the recognition of this at a national level.”
Child friendly: Karen Edwards, Play leader, Holly-Mai Tonge, and Janet Dixon, Specialist perioperative sister
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News
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Cardiologists launch interactive training course In November, the Department of Cardiac Electrophysiology at the LGI hosted the inaugural Leeds Electrophysiology Core Curriculum Course (LECCC) at the Radisson Blu Hotel. The course was conceived, designed and delivered by four of our Consultant heart rhythm specialists (Electrophysiologists), Dr Andy Hogarth, Dr Lee Graham, Dr Muzahir Tayebjee and Dr Chris Pepper. The organisers identified that there was a lack of training opportunities in particular areas of cardiac electrophysiology for junior trainees at the start of their cardiology speciality training. Cardiac rhythm problems are a major cause of ill health and suffering, and understanding ways of when and how to deal with these forms an increasingly important part of cardiology specialty training. “By providing a practical, introductory level course we attracted trainees from Dundee to Portsmouth, reaffirming that there is an unmet national need for this sort of training course”, said course director Dr Andy Hogarth. The course was delivered in an entirely interactive format over two days, including case discussions and simulated pre-recorded practical cases in the
Specialist training: (l-r): Consultant Cardiologists, Dr Muzahir Tayebjee, Dr Andy Hogarth, Dr Lee Graham, Dr Chris Pepper.
EP lab. The design meant a lot of the key theories, traditionally considered complex and difficult to understand for the trainees, were conveyed in a practical, real life format.
said Dr Hogarth. “We have already seen delegates previously unsure about a career in electrophysiology keen to apply to our centre for research and clinical fellowships, which is really encouraging.”
“We’ve already had a lot of very positive feedback, and I believe this continues to promote our department as a centre of clinical and academic excellence, “
The faculty hope that the course will run annually and serve as an integral part of the core curriculum training requirements across the UK.
Advanced Practitioners celebrate anniversary Advanced Practitioners have been a feature across the Trust for over a year now, and perform a vital role working in key areas, alongside senior medical staff to improve the quality of patient care. They are experienced nursing staff who have completed a Master’s degree in Advanced Practice, equipping them with new theoretical and examination skill-sets to play a much more diverse role in caring for and treating patients. Advanced Practitioners assess, diagnose, treat and make other clinical decisions traditionally undertaken by medical staff, such as referring, prescribing drugs, admitting and discharging patients; and presently work at an equivalent level to a junior doctor. They can be found across the hospital in a number of specialities including urgent care, major trauma, critical care and medicine.
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Numbers of Advanced Practitioners are set to increase, due to the intention to develop advanced professional practice in the Trust to meet the challenges of the reduced numbers of doctors and the high rotational turnover of junior doctors, which creates a need to retain knowledge, skills and a stable workforce within departments. More departments are looking at how they can use Advanced Practitioners and the role is set to diversify into new areas across the Trust.
clear path of career progression that doesn’t necessarily involve going into management roles, which may not be suitable for everyone.” If you would like to find out about how to become an Advanced Practitioner or for more information, contact Bob McMaster on 0113 2067169 or via email robert.mcmaster@leedsth.nhs.uk
Amy Cawthorne, who has been working as a Trainee Advanced Practitioner, said: “The role is still quite new and many people around our hospital are still getting used to it. It’s really great to be part of the group leading the way in advanced practice in Leeds.” Rebecca Sherratt, Advanced Practitioner said: “Its introduction gives experienced clinical staff an opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills further and remain in a clinical role. It is a
Vital role: Advanced Practitioners from across the Trust.
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New Macmillan Rehabilitation Team for head and neck cancer patients A new four-strong team based in the Bexley Wing are providing integrated aftercare for patients in Leeds affected by head and neck cancer. Funded by Macmillan Cancer Support as an 18-month project, the Rehabilitation Team aims to improve support for patients following completion of treatment, improving outcomes and quality of life for individuals, reducing readmissions and ensuring better use of consultant clinics. The quartet are Specialist dietitian, Katie Smith, Clinical nurse specialist, Gail Pettinger, Speech and Language therapist, Paula Adam, and Clinical support worker Sobia Shabbir. Their philosophy is summed up by their vision: “for you, with you, rebuilding lives.” They are based in the Bexley Wing at St James’s and will also be holding outof-hospital sessions at the St George’s Conference Centre close to LGI. Gail Pettinger commented: “Up until now head and neck patients had no funded post-treatment team, and after having such good support on treatment, many of them commented it was a shock once they finished and felt unsure what to expect and who to turn to for help.” Paula Adam added: “Patients with head
and neck cancers often have a range of issues to cope with so it makes sense to have a team in one place who can offer integrated help, advice and reassurance. They may have problems with swallowing or with their diet and be suffering the side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. Patients can also struggle with communication or simply be feeling isolated and unsure what to do once they are recovering at home.”
support regardless of when they finished treatment. To contact the team, please ring 0113 2068734 or email LeedsH&NRehab@ leedsth.nhs.uk.
Katie Smith said: “Since the team formed the early feedback has been really positive and we have already been referred 80 patients of a variety of ages and backgrounds.” As part of their rehabilitation the team have designed a rolling programme of education, Facing Forward. This is where head and neck patients can meet up in a safe and supportive environment with other patients in the same situation to talk about issues and share information. These got underway in February with the first session being about eating well and solutions for swallowing. New patients treated by the head and neck cancer team in Leeds are automatically referred to the rehabilitation team, and other patients and carers affected by head and neck cancer can also access their
Caring team: (l-r) Sobia Shabbir, Katie Smith, Gail Pettinger and Paula Adam.
Prestigious award for Prof Kay Congratulations to Professor Simon Kay who was named Health Service Journal (HSJ)’s Clinical Leader of the Year in a glittering ceremony held in London. The HSJ Awards are among the most prestigious in the NHS and there is fierce competition for the 22 categories. In the clinical leadership category, Professor Kay beat off competition from nine other eminent clinicians from across the country. The award recognised a long history of leadership in several domains culminating in the outstanding achievement of Professor Kay and his team in successfully carrying out the UK’s first hand transplant.
Proud moment: Jon Snow from Channel 4 News (host of the awards), Professor Simon Kay, Dr Andrew Rowland from the Consultants Committee of the BMA and Dr Niall Dickson, Chief Executive of the GMC.
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Charity focus
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A round-up of fundraising activities for the Trust
Fantastic support for our hospitals Over the Christmas period staff from across the Trust participated in lots of fun activities to raise money for our hospitals and the charities that support them. A Christmas Fayre was held in Gledhow Wing at St James’s where staff and patients had the opportunity to buy gifts, try some tasty treats, and even take part in a cookery challenge. The event raised £1,500 which has been donated to the Older People’s wards. The Yorkshire Cancer Centre (YCC) held its annual Christmas Concert in the Atrium of the Bexley Wing. Performers from around the region wowed the audience with their amazing talents, including year three children from St Matthew’s C of E Primary School who set the scene with beautiful renditions of popular carols. They were followed by star fundraiser, Kate Granger on flute, and soprano, Sarah Blood, who appeared with kind permission of Opera North. In total £3,838 was raised which will go towards improving the experience of our cancer patients. Hobbs clothing store in Leeds also hosted a festive charity event for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre, which was attended by staff from the Trust, as well as volunteers. Working in partnership with the YCC, Hobbs offered vouchers as raffle prizes, while Crème de La Mer gave away a free facial in an exciting raffle.
Good cause : Staff enjoying the festive fayre in Gledhow Wing.
Local support for Children’s Hospital Appeal Bedfords transport, a local logistics company based in Birstall, has raised £8,400 for the Children’s Hospital Appeal following their most successful annual golf day and gala dinner. Philip Lockwood from Bedfords visited Children’s Outpatients in Martin Wing at the LGI to present the cheque, which will go towards purchasing medical equipment. The fundraising event was held at Oulton Hall with guests from all over the UK. Bedfords staff together with clients and suppliers were also joined by staff, parents and nurses from the
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Children’s Hospital. The company have also announced that they are committed to the Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal as their charity for the rest of the year and preparations are already underway to reach a new £10,000 target. Sharon Edwards, Fundraising coordinator, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this money from Bedfords Transport. The support we have received from them has been fantastic. All money raised will go towards medical equipment which will improve the level of care we can provide”.
Kind donation: (l-r) Sue Davison, Development Manager, Lauren Slack and Phillip Lockwood, Bedfords Transport, Jackie Bailey, Play leader, Luke Feely, patient and Sandra Garbutt, Sister
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Three million thanks to Take Heart Take Heart, the dedicated charity which supports the Yorkshire Heart Centre, has celebrated a fantastic milestone by raising in excess of £3 million. This amazing achievement was commemorated by the handover of a plaque to Julian Hartley, Chief Executive, which is now on display on F-floor in the Jubilee Building at LGI. Take Heart was formed in 1989 after cardiothoracic surgeon Philip Kay arranged funding for former heart ward sister Carol Bourke to set up a cardiac rehabilitation group at Leeds General Infirmary. Colin Pullan MBE, the group’s longstanding Chairman, was one of the members and together with other former patients and Carol, formed what was to become Take Heart and over the years it has gone from strength to strength, helping countless patients through their treatment and
providing extra comfort and support to complement the top-quality medical and nursing care the unit provides.
They help provide extra comforts and environmental improvements plus relatives’ accommodation.
Colin and the committee of the charity were on hand to greet the Chief Executive at a special event where he also had the opportunity to see for himself the difference Take Heart’s fundraising has made. Mr Hartley said accepting the plaque was “quite humbling”, adding: “The importance of Take Heart’s contribution to the hospital over the years has been quite outstanding. Breaking the £3 million barrier is a fantastic milestone and one of which your volunteers should be very proud.” As well as funding everything from extra pieces of equipment to major schemes like the F-floor roof garden, Take Heart also pay for free bedside TV, free telephone calls and free internet are available to all heart patients.
Outstanding achievement: Chief Executive Julian Hartley with Chairman of Take Heart, Collin Pullan MBE.
Sexual health clinic leads the way on HIV testing The Trust, in collaboration with its partners across the city, encouraged people in Leeds to take HIV tests this November leading up to World AIDS Day in December. National HIV Testing Week takes place every year in late November and with 1 in 500 people aged 15 to 59 testing positive for HIV around Leeds, LTHT and the Community Trust teamed up with Leeds City Council, Yorkshire MESMAC & BHA Leeds Skyline to offer testing within high-risk communities across the city.
with partner organisations to ensure that people are tested for HIV. It’s much better to know about the illness than to be unaware of it, because treatment can help people stay well for decades and vastly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to partners or pregnancies.
“Our high prevalence status mandates us to encourage as many people as we can to take the test, and furthermore for clinicians to offer general medical admissions to hospital an HIV test on an opt-out basis. HIV testing saves lives.”
Leeds is a key priority after becoming the only ‘High Prevalence’ area for HIV in the Yorkshire and Humberside region in 2012. To mark the week, health leaders from partner organisations visited the Leeds Centre for Sexual Health at the LGI to discuss ways of tackling HIV and to take the test themselves. By discovering HIV early the NHS can save around £350,000 per person, meaning that resources can be used more effectively and more cash put into research. Dr Amy Evans, Lead Clinician at the Leeds Centre for Sexual Health, said: “We’ve been working closely
Cllr Lisa Mulherin and Dr Ian Cameron, Director of Public Health, with Jane Brown, LGI sexual health advisor (foreground), at the Leeds Centre for Sexual Health, with staff from the hospital.
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My Job
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grow bacteria that might be tuberculosis (TB). This information tells us what organism has actually been grown and whether it is likely to be resistant to key antibiotics. It can even tell us whether the same strain may have infected other people in Leeds or other towns in England. Early treatment of TB and finding where it came from helps prevent others catching the disease.
Deborah Gascoyne-Binzi is a Principal clinical scientist in Microbiology. She has worked at the Trust for 25 years. Summarise the main aspects of your role. I work with medical staff and Biomedical scientists to develop tests that make the diagnosis of bacterial infection quicker or more accurate. Unlike traditional microbiology, where we grow bacteria from specimens collected from patients, I specialise in looking for bacterial DNA in them. It is now possible to work out the whole genetic sequence from bacteria in a couple of days. We are working with colleagues in Oxford, Birmingham, Brighton and Public Health England to do this in Leeds whenever we
What else have you done in your career so far? After I graduated, I started as a trainee working in the microbiology research and development laboratory. I was lucky enough to be encouraged to complete a PhD as part of my work. I have worked on many different projects since those early days. More recently I sat on the microbiology committee of what has become the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Members within that organisation work hard to represent Clinical Scientists in the changing NHS and to maintain the high standards of training required for our future scientists.
What’s the best thing about your job?
It is exciting to use the latest technologies but it is more uplifting to get positive feedback regarding tests that have revealed something unexpected or provided results earlier. Such results have allowed clinicians to change treatment to something more effective or avoided carrying out unnecessary, possibly invasive, tests. This is great news for the patient.
What is the one thing you would change at LTHT to help you do your job better? I am pleased that we are being encouraged to work with other departments. I have recently started to attend discussions with Clinical Genetics and other departments that use DNA technology. We use the same technology but in very different ways and for different purposes. Discussing ideas outside of our own specialities reveals common problems and offers potential solutions.
What’s your best advice to a new starter at the Trust? Listen. Embrace opportunities to be involved in things even where you do not think that you are able to contribute – you usually find that you will surprise yourself.
Trust welcomes Care Quality Commission Staff around the Trust will have the opportunity to showcase their work later this month, when a team from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be inspecting the service we provide at the Trust. An inspection team will be arriving on the week of 17 March. They will meet with Trust Chief Executive Julian Hartley, before visiting the wards and
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clinical areas. The team will be looking at the quality, safety and effectiveness of the treatment and care we provide for patients in the Trust. A major part of the CQC’s visit will involve talking to patients, relatives, carers and the public about their experiences of receiving care at the Trust and the services we deliver. As part of this, the CQC plans to hold
public listening events before the inspection. These will take place locally outside our hospitals and are advertised by the CQC. If anyone would like to know more about these events and how to attend, details are available on posters and leaflets throughout the Trust. More information can also be found on the CQC’s website, at: www.cqc.org.uk.
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Dementia carer support service With dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, being a key issue in healthcare currently, LTHT is encouraging staff to make friends and family who support patients aware of the Dementia Carer Support Service. A huge number of carers have benefited from the support, advice and information provided by the service, as well as use of the Carer and Family Enquires room on Level 8, Gledhow Wing. The service is run in conjunction with Carers Leeds, which enable carers that use the service to have access to
a wide range of services and carerspecific support. Some of the carers who have been referred have very complex and severe needs, and benefit greatly from the emotional and practical support they receive. Others simply like having a friendly face who keeps in contact throughout their loved one’s hospital stay. Supporting carers in these ways helps them to continue caring, promotes better carer wellbeing and increases positive feedback for the Trust. Fiona Sweeney, who runs the Carer Support Service, said: “It’s really important to get across the message to carers that we are here, and they don’t have to deal with the day-to-day pressures of caring without support.” “The service is growing, and I’d particularly like to thank wards J08 and J14 who consistently refer carers to the service and also actively promote the service to visitors of the ward, which allows carers to self-refer.” If you would like to make a referral or for more information, please call Fiona on 07854 481024 or email fiona. sweeney@leedsth.nhs.uk
Supporting carers: Fiona Sweeney, Clinical support worker for dementia.
For carer enquiries that are not dementia specific, or to refer carers of people with conditions other than dementia, please contact the Carers Leeds office on 0113 246 8338
Hi-tech mannequins are here Staff at Leeds Children’s Hospital now have access to state-of-the-art training mannequins thanks to fundraisers supporting the Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal.
interventions can be practiced time after time. Research has shown that real-life simulations are far more effective than lectures in ensuring important information is retained.
The two realistic simulators, based on a one-year old infant and a threeyear old baby, can breathe, speak, drink, receive drugs and fluids and undergo procedures such as blood tests and X-rays. The advanced equipment cost over £42,000 and is one of the newest purchases by the Appeal, which support the Leeds Children’s Hospital at Leeds General Infirmary. The mannequins are used in training staff for emergency situations, meaning critical
Saving lives: Lead paediatric resuscitation officer, Aly Kemp, and Resuscitation officer, Tony Howes, with one of the new mannequins
Raising awareness: Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Graham Johnson and Consultant Hepatologist, Rebecca Jones.
Alcohol campaign The Trust hosted an alcohol awareness week to inform and educate patients, families and staff about the safe consumption of alcohol. Led by the Public Health Awareness team, the campaign took shape through a promotional stall in the Bexley Wing, allowing people to see the effects of alcohol and to learn about safe limits; as well as a screen saver, which highlighted alcohol statistics and guidelines. The team took the opportunity to talk to people around the hospital about alcohol consumption and engaged with those who may be more vulnerable to alcohol abuse. Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Awareness Week Champion, Graham Johnson said: “I am not teetotal and I enjoy a pint or two of decent beer in my local when I can. However working as a Consultant in an Emergency Department I constantly see patients whose lives are damaged by alcohol. Whether that be the innocent victim of a drunk driver or the patient with end stage liver disease, each represents an avoidable tragedy. “Patients whose lives are damaged by alcohol will be present on every ward in our hospitals. It is our duty as healthcare professionals not only to try to repair the immediate damage that alcohol does but work with our patients to make sure they understand the impact of alcohol on their health and address it.” For more information about and help with alcohol please visit www. leedsletschange.co.uk/. Alternatively If you would like to talk to someone about your drinking, please contact one of our local Leeds alcohol services on 0113 247 0111.
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World-class facility is aim of new Yorkshire Brain Research Centre Appeal The Leeds Teaching Hospitals Charitable Foundation has launched an appeal to raise £2 million by 2015 towards a final total of £6m to create a world-class Yorkshire Brain Research Centre. The Centre will help tackle Parkinson’s disease, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis and Dementia including Alzheimers. Currently one in six adults suffer from diseases of the brain. In Yorkshire the number of people over 65 is due to increase by almost half in the next 20 years to close to 1.3 million with the number over 85 rising 90% to 220,000. The medical community needs to be able to respond to the increase in people living with brain conditions. By 2030 there will be a 20% increase in Parkinson’s disease alone with 80% of individuals also succumbing to Dementia. Appeal Director, Clair ChallenorChadwick, said: “With an ageing population brain conditions will be a ticking time bomb in Yorkshire in the near future. To have a centre of excellence for brain research at Leeds means that patients do not have to travel out of the county. The Centre will conduct research for patient benefit and will help Yorkshire scientists and clinicians find new treatments and drug therapies as well as conduct translational
Keen support: Bill Tucker, a patient who is backing the appeal.
research, including clinical trials. “The Yorkshire Brain Research Centre will help attract the very best clinicians and scientists from around the world to train and study at Leeds and grow a strong neurosciences community for the benefit of patients in Yorkshire and beyond. It will also mean we will have better
diagnosis, better treatment and better outcomes for patients in Yorkshire.” Among the people backing the appeal is Bill Tucker, from Leeds, who has Multiple Sclerosis. Bill said: “Any kind of research is bound to have some effect on finding a cure or a means of preventing MS and hopefully other neurological conditions.” Philanthropist Sir Robert Ogden CBE is the Patron of the new fundraising campaign and got the Appeal off to a great start with a generous personal donation of £250,000. He commented: “I am proud to support the Yorkshire Brain Research Centre appeal to help build on the centre of excellence at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Bringing scientists and clinicians together to conduct clinical trials is of critical importance to benefit not just Yorkshire, but the world. “Brain conditions are one of the biggest challenges we will face this century. I urge the people of Yorkshire to support this appeal for the benefit of this and future generations.”
Track record: Verity Hartill in one of our labs.
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To donate online visit www.ybrc.org.uk or send a cheque made payable to ‘Yorkshire Brain Research Centre’ to the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Charitable Foundation, Trust Headquarters, Beckett Street, Leeds, LS9 7TF. Or you can text 88811 and the word BRAIN to make a £5 donation today.
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New home intravenous antibiotics service launched
Chapel Allerton research revealed at top US congress
Patients who need to remain on IV treatment and who previously had to stay in hospital, can now be treated at home thanks to CIVAS – the Leeds Community IV Antibiotics Service set up jointly by LTHT and the Leeds Community Healthcare Trust..
Preliminary results from a £550,000 national clinical trial, involving more than 200 patients, based at Chapel Allerton Hospital, has shown that people with a type of arthritis affecting the skin and joints respond significantly better to early, aggressive drug treatment compared to standard care.
Philip Howard, Consultant pharmacist, explained: “Most patients with severe infections can be switched from IV antibiotics to tablets and sent home. Occasionally, some patients need to remain on IV treatment for many weeks, and until recently needed to stay in hospital. “This type of outpatient or home antibiotic therapy (OPAT) has been used for many years in other cities in the UK so it is great that we can now offer it in Leeds.” Adult patients can be referred into CIVAS from the wards, A&E or from outpatients by their doctor. Patients are assessed on their ward by the CIVAS doctor, nurse and pharmacist, and if suitable accepted into the service. The referral forms and other useful information can be found on the Leeds Health Pathways Antimicrobial webpage. Community nurses visit patients in their own home to administer the antibiotics, and patients are reviewed by a consultant each week in the OPAT clinic
at St James’s. Benefits include: patients being at home and closer to their friends and families; frees up valuable hospital beds; decreases the chances of patients getting a hospital acquired infection; and speeds up the return to work for some patients. Since the service started at the end of October, 19 patients have completed treatment, saving an average of 10 bed days per patient. This equates to an extra two beds being permanently available for other patients. The feedback from patients has been extremely positive with comments including: “Fantastic service, without you I would still be in hospital away from my kiddies. Can never thank you enough. Keep up the good work.” ; “The care I received from this service was wonderful from start to finish. The staff were caring and informative and just being able to have treatment in my own home was wonderful.” Philip added: “We hope the service will continue next year, but we need to increase the numbers of patients using it. If you have any patients that are only staying in hospital to have their IV antibiotics, please refer them to the service.”
The findings were presented at the prestigious American College of Rheumatology Congress in San Diego by Dr Philip Helliwell, who is leading an Arthritis Research UKfunded multi-centre clinical trial. Psoriatic arthritis affects the joints and the skin, causing joint pain and swelling, leading to joint damage and disability over time. Although better drugs are now available to treat the condition than in the past, Dr Helliwell and his team believe that earlier, intensive treatment of the condition can reduce joint damage more effectively, preventing disability. “We have found that tight control of disease activity in psoriatic arthritis, using a targeted approach, significantly improves the joint and skin outcomes for newly diagnosed patients with no unexpected sideeffects,” said Dr Helliwell. “These findings could have significant implications for the way that this common type of inflammatory arthritis is treated and controlled.” Medical director of Arthritis Research UK, Professor Alan Silman, said: “Patients with psoriatic arthritis in general have fewer affected joints than those with rheumatoid arthritis, but there are sub-groups of patients who suffer a very severe form with a significant risk of irreversible, joint damage.
Familiar environment: One of our patients being treated at home.
“Our trial has shown that patients with psoriatic arthritis benefit from early aggressive treatment that reduces the inflammation in the joints. Such an approach proved successful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and this research could lead to a similar change in the way psoriatic arthritis patients are managed in the future.”
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Farewell
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The Trust bids a fond farewell to those who retired recently, including: Senior sister, Maria Ross-Collins, who did her nurse training at Leeds Area Health Authority - St James’s School of Nursing from 1977 to 1979. She very quickly decided to specialise in Renal, completing a course at Southmead Hospital in Bristol. She went on to serve a total of 27 years and 5 months loyal and dedicated service within Renal Services, working as a Sister on Wards 55 and 58 (HDU) at St James’s, and as a Senior sister at Beeston Satellite Unit from 2011. Friends and colleagues came together to wish her the very best for the future at an emotional farewell party.
Maria Ross-Collins
Dr Alexander Cameron, Consultant in Elderly Medicine, known to everyone as Sandy, retired as a Consultant Geriatrician from the Trust in December. Sandy was initially appointed as a consultant to Wharfedale Hospital and Middleton Hospital, Ilkley but from 1987 onwards, with the appointment of additional consultant colleagues, extended his remit to Chapel Allerton Hospital, the LGI and latterly St James’s. Sandy contributed significantly to a number of innovative developments including the Heath Care Team for the Elderly (a forerunner to Intermediate
Susanne Dawson Care) and a physician liaison service to Highroyds Hospital. The Trust wishes him a well-earned, happy and healthy retirement. Susanne Dawson, Staff nurse on Ward L16 retired in January. After qualifying in 1981, she devoted her passion and energy towards improving care for the people on her wards. She intends to now focus on planning her daughter’s wedding, walking with Teddy, her West Highland Terrier, and spending time with her two sons, her partner and father.
Dr Alexander Cameron
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Staff nurse, Kathryn Tweede said: “Our whole team in cardiac surgery will miss Susanne immensely but wish her a whole host of ‘happy days’ in the next chapter of her life. We’ll look forward to the stories when we catch up.”
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Trust showcases its skills to Egyptian liver specialists Specialists from the Trust took the opportunity to showcase their experience in treating liver disease at a three-day conference in the city which they organised for over 100 consultant colleagues from Egypt. The Leeds Hepatology Conference marked 25 years since St James’s carried out its first liver transplant. Since then hundreds of patients from this region and beyond have received the chance of a new life thanks to the skill of transplant surgeons and liver consultants in the city. The event was held at the Thackray Museum. It consisted of a range of expert presentations linked to chronic liver disease, which is a significant health challenge facing both the population of Egypt, as well as the UK, where it is the fastest rising cause of premature death. Some 26 speakers talked the Egyptian guests through the Leeds experience of liver transplantation, including the live-related liver donation programme and post-transplant care. Leeds has one of the largest viral hepatitis services in the country. Hepatitis C is a major health problem in Egypt and the conference offered an opportunity for sharing learning and experience in this rapidly-developing
Sharing expertise: Trust Chair Linda Pollard (centre) with colleagues from LTHT and delegates from Egypt.
field. Other sessions covered subjects such as diagnostic radiology and primary liver cancer care. Linda Pollard CBE, Trust Chair, said: “This event was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the expert knowledge of liver clinicians in Leeds, and underlines the international reputation of our unit at St James’s, which has some of the best outcomes anywhere in the world. “I was delighted to welcome the delegates to the city of Leeds, which is building a reputation as a hub of health knowledge and expertise. This event is also of significant economic benefit to both the Trust and the city as a whole, helping to put Leeds on the international conference map and building new partnerships for the future.” The conference was organised by St
Training accolade for Trust consultant Dr Ganesh Radhakrishna, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, has won a national ‘Trainer of the Year’ award from the Oncology Registrars’ Forum. The award is in recognition of Dr Radhakrishna’s outstanding contribution in the education and training of oncologists, after being nominated by trainee oncologists. He received a trophy and a letter of commendation.
James’s Consultant Hepatologist, Dr Phaedra Tachtatzis, in conjunction with the hospital’s Lead Clinician for Hepatology, Dr Rebecca Jones. It was funded by Hoffman La Roche Egypt Ltd and was the first event of its kind the Trust has organised in conjunction with a specific country.
“The clinical oncology registrars as a group feel extremely fortunate to have such great teaching and support throughout our training. We are one of the best training schemes in the country and this is because of the keen teachers we have who go beyond the call of duty to teach and train us. It is very much a team effort.”
Thoughtful donation: (l-r) Mr Anil Patel, Sara Maxted, Sister, and Lorraine Benn, Senior sister.
Thanks to ward J7 Mr Khushalbhai Patel was a long term patient on Ward J7 in Gledhow Wing, before sadly passing away in September last year. To thank the ward for the quality of care his father received, Mr Anil Patel and family donated a fridge for use by staff.
The forum is part of the Royal College of Radiologists, the national body for radiology and oncology.
Mr Patel said: “During my father’s stay in St James’s, the ward became his home; not once did anyone give up caring for him. Our hearts overflow with appreciation and with that, the entire family thanks Ward J7.”
Dr Satiavani Ramasamy, Registrar in oncology said: “We are delighted that Ganesh won the prize. He is very passionate about teaching and training of clinical oncology registrars and we are lucky to have him.”
Sister Lorraine Benn said: “Mr Patel’s passing was very sad and we all hope that he may rest in peace. We feel very grateful for the generous donation to the ward from his family.”
Sharing knowledge: Dr Ganesh Radhakrishna, Consultant clinical oncologist.
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LTHT staff scoop two top awards at national quality event The Trust came out tops at the national Quality in Care - Excellence in Oncology awards recently. Ellen Trueman, a nursing sister at the Leeds Cancer Centre won a national award for a skincare project to help patients undergoing radiotherapy. Ellen scooped the top prize in the Best Practice in Dissemination – Sharing Patient Excellence Across the Pathway category. Our other winners were the Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Service who won ‘Cancer Team of the Year’. They are the first and currently only, peripatetic service in the UK that supports young cancer patients aged between 13 and 24. The team provide access to peer group support that is so important, ensuring every patient has a choice in where he or she is treated, which could be at Leeds or at one at ten designated centres in the Yorkshire and Humber region, providing care as close to home as possible. The percentage of referrals to the service increases each year, and the centre has its own active research programme, and
BBC Breakfast News presenter Bill Turnbull and John Baron MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer presenting the award to Ellen Trueman.
The winning team from the Leeds Cancer Centre receiving their award.
hosts many visits from others wishing to replicate what they have achieved.
to help manage these symptoms in radiotherapy patients.”
Ellen’s award recognises her work in producing an educational toolkit to help health professionals manage skin reactions - which cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy often develop as a side-effect of the treatment.
There have already been over 1,100 electronic downloads from the Yorkshire Cancer Network website and requests for copies from around the world.
Ellen explained: “I am delighted to have received this award - it reflects the hard work of all the team in striving to deliver the best care possible for patients with radiotherapy skin reactions, and helps spread the word that more can be done
Heartbeat award for Katrina Congratulations to Clinical Physiologist, Katrina Gilbert, who scooped a Heartbeat Award at a competition organised by the charity, which supports cardiac services across Yorkshire. This is a competitive annual award for individual work conducted in Cardiorespiratory departments within Yorkshire, including those in Bradford, Doncaster Harrogate, Mid Yorkshire and York as well as at LTHT.
well as entrants from other hospitals in the region. Katrina and Katy have also just qualified with 1st class honours from the University of Leeds BSc Clinical Physiology (Cardiology) while Katy has been awarded the ‘Geoff Wade Award’ which is chosen by heads of cardio-respiratory departments from Yorkshire and Humber for the student who is an ambassador for the profession of healthcare scientists.
Katrina beat off fierce competition to win the award, based on her research presentation, ‘Restoration of sinus rhythm confers cardiac functional improvement measured by oxygen consumption and power output’.
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Tribute to Heartbeat founder Sadly, the founder of the Heartbeat charity, Alec Bloom, died shortly after the awards took place. He had been ill for some time. Paying tribute to him, Linda Pollard, Chair of the Trust, said: “Alec was an extremely well-known fundraiser for cardiac services here in Leeds and staff at all our hospitals were greatly saddened to hear of his death. “Over the last two decades he was the face of the Heartbeat Appeal and inspired their drive to buy cardiac equipment for hospitals in Leeds, personally helping to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for us.
She won a cheque for £500 to be used for her training / continuing professional development, a certificate and a shield presented by Lord St Oswald and Mr David Wright OBE. Two other candidates from LTHT were also in the running for the award, Katy Tonge and Wanda Macdonald, as
Commenting on both awards, Suzanne Hinchliffe, Chief Nurse, said: “These are fantastic accolades and the winners should be proud of themselves for the innovative way they are working to support our patients. Designing services around the needs of our patients is vital to achieving the best outcomes”.
Proud moment: Clinical Physiologist Katrina Gilbert is presented with the award by Lord St Oswald. (Photo courtesy of Tim Hardy - TH Photography Ltd).
“Thanks to his efforts the equipment the charity has funded is in everyday use at Leeds General Infirmary and is continuing to help us deliver lifesaving care for heart patients from across the region. This is a fitting legacy to a remarkable man.”
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Kind donation from local school Children, staff and families at Froebelian School have raised nearly £11,000 for the Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal. The school in Horsforth collected donations through hosting a variety of events and appeals, including a toy Harvest Festival, a cake sale, collections taken at concerts, as well as the school’s Centenary Ball. One staff member, Susan Algar, a teaching assistant, completed the gruelling Inca Trail Trek in memory of her late husband and raised a huge amount of money.
Improving care: Chief Executive Julian Hartley with other participants at the launch
Launch of eRAPID research programme to help cancer patients Professor Galina Velikova welcomed colleagues and collaborators to a launch event to announce the start of the eRAPID clinical research programme. eRAPID stands for electronic patient self-Reporting of Adverse-events: Patient Information and aDvice. The event took place at the Thackray Medical Museum and was attended by around 80 guests from clinical, research, NHS management and patient representative backgrounds. eRAPID is a 5 year multi-centre research project funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The research will be carried out in three hospital sites; Leeds, Bristol and Manchester. During the programme a new online system to improve the monitoring and management of symptoms and side effects related to cancer treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery) will be evaluated. The online reports are immediately displayed in the patient hospital electronic records, so clinicians can use
them to improve and streamline patient care. This is a truly unique feature of the eRAPID system. The aim of eRAPID is to improve the safe delivery of cancer treatment, enhance the patient experience and care and to standardise documentation of symptoms and side effects of treatments.
Tom Moore, Fundraising Coordinator said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that the school has so generously raised this money for the Children’s Hospital Appeal. It will go a long way to helping some of the sickest children in the UK have a better experience in hospital.” Headmaster, John Tranmer, said “The children at Froebelian School were incredibly enthusiastic about supporting the Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal. The fundraising was part of our special centenary celebrations in 2013 and the whole school community agreed that we wanted to support a special, local charity. Of course, the hospital appeal was a perfect fit and we all felt so proud to do something to support children at a time in their lives when they are so vulnerable.”
During the launch Professor Velikova and her team gave presentations providing an overview of the developmental work leading to the current research programme and a demonstration of the online symptom reporting system. Patient representative, Barbara Woroncow, OBE who is a member of the eRAPID Steering Committee provided a thought-provoking perspective on the potential value of the system in supporting patient care. The meeting was completed by Julian Hartley, LTHT Chief Executive, who gave his encouragement to research within the Trust, particularly that with a strong focus on improving patient care and experience.
Pupils William Eyre and Roxanne Lilley meet Mr Ted
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60 seconds
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60 seconds What do you do to wind down and relax after a hard week at work?
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I find working out in the gym a good way to wind down. I usually spend my weekends playing rugby and going out with friends in Leeds.
Ever since I can remember I have enjoyed film and cinema. When I was young I always wanted to become an actor and star in Hollywood films. I used to admire actors like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino whilst I was growing up. I even had a few acting lessons.
What is your ideal holiday destination and why? I would love to travel across the United States. I have always wanted to hire a car with some friends and drive from the east to the west coast. America is such a diverse and colourful country, the sense of adventure really appeals to me.
Eddie Grant Clerical Officer, Cardiology, LGI Has worked at the Trust since October 2013
What is your favourite food? Italian is my favourite. I can’t get enough of Italian food; I tend to eat it on a daily basis. Mainly because it tastes great and Italian recipes are always interesting to try to make!
What is your favourite film? Alien. I am a big fan of Sci-fi films and I think Alien has to be one of the best. Ridley Scott did a fantastic job in creating such a chilling and engrossing movie.
Tell us something we don’t know about you … I’m certainly a thrill seeker in my spare time; I enjoy sky diving and I’m always interested in trying out new extreme sports.
Know your heart rhythm day Trust staff took the heart health message to shoppers in the city at the start of a “Know your heart rhythm” campaign which took place at the Merrion Centre in Leeds.
performed 180 ECGs during the day and taught more people about how to administer basic life support and use automated defibrillators. Feedback
Consultant Dr Muzahir Tayebjee came up with the idea for the project , run in conjunction with the West Yorkshire Arrhythmia Service. He said: “Our aim at this and future events is to raise rhythm awareness amongst the public. The event highlighted two main areas; atrial fibrillation screening and use of automatic defibrillators and basic life support. For this we were kindly supported by the Community Heart Beat Trust and Arrhythmia Alliance UK.” The team comprised cardiac physiologists, nurses and EP (Electrophysiology) doctors, together with Martin Fagan from the Community Heart Beat. The team
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Health message: Staff at the awareness day.
from the attendees was good, and the majority were very positive about what they had learnt and were keen that this is continued.
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STRAFFORD - QUALITY BUILT IN
Strafford Fabrications specialising nationwide in the manufacture and installation of high quality staircases and handrail systems for domestic and commercial projects.
range of hardwoods are used to compliment our metalwork. We can also offer a powder coating service with a full range of colours.
We are able to offer a bespoke design and manufacturing service or supply products to reflect your own ideas whilst complying with current building regulations.
Our experienced fitters complete installations quickly and considerately with minimum disruption to your property and ensure your complete satisfaction.
Our traditional or modern staircases can incorporate a wide variety of materials including satin and mirror polished stainless steel, brass and aluminium. Also glass and a wide
We welcome enquiries from members of the public as well as architects and developers and will be pleased to advise on any queries you may have.
Unit 3 Strafford Industrial Park, Gilroyd Lane, Dodworth, Barnsley S75 3EJ Tel/Fax 01226 296767 Wayne 07766 943937 Brian 07818 258601 E-mail: info@straffordfabrications.co.uk
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