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For patients, staff, visitors and volunteers
MARCH 2016
Page 3 Loving life after losing pounds
Page 3 Launch of centre for young adults
Page 13 Tinnitus: Sharing the experience
Patients really can make a difference It’s not unusual for patients to want to ‘give something back’ to the NHS after undergoing life-saving treatment – but very few go to the lengths of Duncan Buckley. Six years after being airlifted to the old Selly Oak Hospital following an horrific car crash, Duncan now not only works for the health service but has also come up with his own idea to possibly help improve patient experience after a major trauma. The 38-year-old former IT worker, of Swynnerton, Staffordshire, was in an induced coma for six weeks and spent four months at Selly Oak Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (which opened in June 2010), and seven months at the University Hospital of North Staffs, after his MG sports car collided head-on with a van in April 2010. He suffered multiple life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull, shattered knee and broken sternum, and has undergone 25 operations on the long road to recovery. As soon as he was well enough Duncan and his wife Lisa-Marie became actively involved with Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) groups run by the QEHB-based NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre and the hospital’s critical care department – giving him the chance to have some direct input into trauma research and patient care. “For me it was all about improving things for those that come along afterwards as a result of what I had gone through,” he said.
“After my accident we got in touch with the emergency responder who came to the scene and he said that there had subsequently been three similar collisions on the same stretch of road and all of the drivers in those accidents had died. That motivated me to want to feed my experiences back into the system. “I had five years’ worth of experiences from treatment and rehabilitation and I thought I may as well put that to good use. For me it was a great reason to actively try to get into the NHS and help to drive better outcomes for patients enduring similar circumstances.” With his determined attitude and help and advice from the NHS contacts he had cultivated as a PPI participant, Duncan started work as a clinical effectiveness audit team leader for Macclesfield District General Hospital in May 2015. “That gave me a route into the NHS but, for me, it was too far removed from the patient involvement,” Duncan explained. “I really wanted to get involved in the research side of things, that’s where my interest was. Having been a patient I wanted to see the direct effect that research can have on outcomes.” The chance to do just that arose six months later with a portfolio facilitator’s role at the Clinical Research Network West Midlands (CRN WM), helping to recruit participants for clinical trials. If you would like to get involved in reserach, email: ResearchSRMRC@uhb.nhs.uk How Duncan is helping: Page 10
Hand washing: Why it is everyone’s responsibility: See centre pages
Patients can tap into free WiFi network
Patients and visitors to the Trust can now benefit from a free WiFi network courtesy of the hospital’s official charity. The network will go live from Monday 7 March. QEHB Charity has funded the network which is available at the following locations: ■ Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham ■ Nuffield House ■ Heritage Building (majority of areas) ■ Smethwick Dialysis Unit ■ Trust Headquarters/Haematology Clinic ■ Post Graduate Centre ■ The Learning Hub Duncan Buckley
Patients and visitors need to search and connect to a network called QEHBCharityguestWiFi, enter their email address and then agree to the Terms and Conditions. Mike Hammond, Chief Executive of QEHB Charity, said: “The new network will really benefit our patients – they can keep in touch with friends and family, browse the web and keep themselves entertained whilst on the wards or waiting for an appointment. It also means patients can give the Trust real time feedback as they will have easy access to patient experience surveys.” The WiFi has been funded by QEHB Charity for patients and visitors to use. Staff are reminded not to use this network. The bandwidth has a finite capacity – if staff use it, this will impact on the level of service which patients and visitors receive.
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