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staff magazine | Winter 2015

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust @LTHTrust

Contents

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4 First conference for Leeds Children’s Hospital a great success 5 Innovative new book launched to boost transplant care for children 7 Order Comms goes from strength to strength 10

Charity focus

14 Superheroes visit Leeds Children’s Hospital! 6 GRASP

13 Chill out zone for teenagers

8 New epilepsy suite opens in memory of talent sportsman

15 Time to Shine Awards go down a storm

19 Stroke team treat their 500th thrombolysis patient! 20

Farewell

My job: Helen Bennett

Front cover - Unsung Hero winners Prof Peter Giannoudis (large picture), Clive Eales (bottom left) and Jon Pilkington (bottom right)

Bulletin is produced quarterly by the Communications Department. Photography by Medical Illustration Design by Octagon Design & Marketing Ltd Send your feedback, ideas and suggestions for the next edition to communications.lth@nhs.net or call exts. 67381/66494/66244. Copy deadline is 5 February 2016 23

Former nurses look back on ‘golden years’

60 seconds: Vasilis Karpouzis

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News

Congratulations to all our long serving staff!

Second Long Service Awards a great success Back in September we held our second Long Service Awards to recognise the commitment of staff who have worked for our Trust continuously for 20, 30 and 40 years. Our Chair, Dr Linda Pollard and Chief Executive, Julian Hartley, presented staff with a signed certificate and commemorative pin badge in recognition of their long service and to mark their time with us.

“I would like to take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks and gratitude to all our staff for your time and dedication over the years.” Julian Hartley Linda said: “Our staff are at the centre of everything we do and it was great to be able to recognise their achievements at these awards.”

Julian Hartley catches up with our long serving staff before the event

Following the awards ceremony staff shared their often amusing and, in some instances, eye opening stories about days gone by, over a delicious afternoon tea! Julian Hartley said: “I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Linda, myself and the Executive Team to offer our sincere thanks and gratitude to all our staff for your time and dedication over the years whilst working here at the Trust.”

Our Get Me Better Champions gave up their time to help support the event, here Champions Phil Hayes, Bernie Spellman and Jonathan Butler are pictured with Chair Linda Pollard and Chief Executive Julian Hartley

News

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Heart rhythm event spreads health message Well done to all our staff who took part in the Know Your Heart Rhythm day at the White Rose Shopping Centre in October. Around thirty staff from cardiology volunteered to help out during the event and they carried out over 800 rhythm tests and taught around 700 people the basics of life support.

“It is exceptionally heart-warming to see how dedicated and selfless the team is.” They were supported by members of our resuscitation department as well as the Community Heartbeat Trust. Consultant cardiologist Dr Muzahir Tayebjee, who organised the event, said: “What was really great was the team spirit and the commitment they showed towards this community project. It is exceptionally heartwarming to see how dedicated and selfless the team is. Participation at this event appears to grow every time I hold it.” In total the team have now screened around 2,500 people and taught 2,200 people CSR.

Our staff support the Know Your Heart Rhythm day

Staff members from the hospital pose with patients for a photo

First conference for Leeds Children’s Hospital a great success Well done to everyone involved in the organisation of the inaugural Leeds Children’s Hospital conference, which proved to be a huge success. The event was held at the University of Leeds on 16 October, and around 250 delegates attended for what was an extremely inspiring day, with a range of speakers, workshops and displays. Involvement of young people was key and our Youth Forum powerfully set the scene at the start of the event.

There were guest speakers from NHS England and from two of our partner children’s hospitals, Great Ormond Street and Alder Hey. Closer to home, Dr Bob Phillips had the audience in stitches during his session about research while Dr Alastair Duff talked about the importance of psychological support. In addition there were poster displays and exhibitions as well as a range of important practice-based sessions to help drill down into specific areas of learning.

The overall theme was ‘aiming high, delivering the best for There was a packed house at our first children’s hospital conference children and young people’ and feedback The team hope the event will become on the day and on social media proved the an annual fixture as part of a drive to event was a great showcase for our service raise the profile of Leeds Children’s and the challenge of providing young Hospital. person-centred care.

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News

Innovative new book launched to boost transplant care for children A new book for children undergoing transplants has been launched at our Children’s Hospital. The book, called Charlie’s Kidney Transplant, has been produced for children in the hospital who are waiting for a transplant. The story follows Charlie, a young boy, who has a problem with his kidneys and needs to undergo transplant surgery. The book uses drawings and language suitable for young children, to inform them about the different stages they will go through when having a transplant. It is crucial children know what to expect during their hospital visits, operation and during recovery from surgery.

Lisa Beaumont, a play specialist on wards L10 and L11 at the children’s hospital, said: “We are really excited about the launch of the book. It has been a real team effort by our staff and I am proud of the result.” Aghnia Mardiyah, who illustrated the book, said: “I was very excited when I got the opportunity to illustrate Charlie’s Kidney Transplant for the Children’s Hospital. As an aspiring children’s illustrator and animator it was one of my most rewarding projects and I’m very grateful for it!”

Kay Tyerman, Clinical Lead for Children’s Transplant, said: “The book is fantastic. The beautiful illustrations and thoughtful text really help children and their families prepare for a kidney transplant. In our experience good preparation is essential in helping a speedy recovery following a transplant. I’m sure the book will be very well received across our region.” The book has been produced by our ward staff, play leaders and illustrator Aghnia Mardiyah, a student at Leeds College of Art. Charlie’s Kidney Transplant was launched at a special event on Ward L10.

Michael Crawford meets with staff and families

Celebrity visitor for Eckersley House There was a lovely surprise for families staying at Eckersley House at Leeds Children’s Hospital when entertainer Michael Crawford dropped in for a visit. Michael is a long-standing supporter of The Sick Children’s Trust which runs Eckersley House, and is currently the charity’s president. It was a nostalgic visit for him as he officially opened Eckersley House in 2010 when it moved to its current location across the road from the Clarendon Wing.

Neoma Jacobs, play specialist and book illustrator Agnia Mardiyah

He chatted and joked with staff, parents and families staying in the accommodation, which provides a wonderful ‘Home from Home’ environment for families from around the region while their youngsters are inpatients at the hospital. Along with accommodation the Sick Children’s Trust provides free emotional and practical support, to families with seriously ill children, allowing parents to stay just minutes from their sick child’s bedside.

Michael with Eckersley House Manager Jane McHale Staff from L10 and L11 show off the new book with illustrator Aghnia and our play specialists

News

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GRASP our campaign Our GRASP campaign aims to reduce our carbon footprint and save the Trust money that is unnecessarily being wasted. GRASP stands for be Green, Recycle, be Aware, be Sustainable for our Patients. We are asking everyone who works for us to help us make our Trust a greener and more sustainable organisation. By being aware of small actions that collectively will save a significant amount of money, we will be able to allocate a higher percentage of funds to patient services. Things like closing doors and windows to keep in the heat, making sure lights are turned off when not needed, or turning

off your computer at the end of the day, will make us greener, more sustainable and will ultimately help us further improve the care of our patients. If every person saved just 10p a day on energy we could cut the energy bill by £500,000 which could then be invested in providing top quality patient care. We have 8,600 PC’s across our Trust and our organisation fits the criteria of a ‘medium user’ in terms of PC activity. On average each PC is inactive for eight hours a day and this equates to £142,300 in wasted energy each year which creates 834 tonnes of CO² in a year.

Chief Executive Julian Hartley proudly holds up his #myGRASPpledge

Switching off your computer at night when not in use really does make a significant difference to both our CO² emissions and our energy usage, ultimately saving the Trust money that can then be re-invested in patient services. If you are interested in supporting the campaign by becoming a GRASP Champion to promote energy saving practices in your work area, please contact the communications team communications.lth@nhs.net.

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News

HCAP: What next? Ram gives his view Ramnath Subramaniam (known to many as Ram), a Consultant Paediatric Urologist in the Children’s Hospital, has been talking about his work as an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, awarded to him in 2013 for Research and Academic Leadership.

Some interesting facts Some interesting facts to put the campaign into perspective - Our Trust: • Has 3 ½ times more floor area than Meadow Hall Shopping Centre • Uses 73,565,627 Kwh of Electricity enough to run 22,300 homes for a year • Uses 305,532,480 Kwh of gas - enough to run 18,500 homes for a year • Uses 727,634 Cubic Metres of water equivalent to 26,500 baths per day • Oil tanks hold 205,671 gallons enough to run one shuttle bus 119 times around the world • A photocopier left on standby overnight wastes enough energy to make 30 cups of tea • Mobile phone chargers, laptop docking stations and some desktop printers use energy regardless of whether they are charging or not because the voltage transformers on the plug consume energy • A PC monitor left on overnight can waste enough electricity to laser print over 500 pages • Leaving a computer on overnight for one year creates enough CO² to fill a double decker bus • Lighting a typical office overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1,000 cups of tea • A single light left on overnight over a year costs our Trust £24 unnecessarily • A typical window left open overnight in winter will waste enough energy to drive a small car over 35 miles.

Mythbusters FALSE: Leaving fluorescent lights on saves energy FALSE: Screensavers save energy We are asking staff to GRASP the challenge with both hands and make our Trust sustainable for the future!

Ram said: “In my opinion, the initiative to grant HCAP to individuals with credentials has been successful and certainly in my experience provided an injection of energy and motivated me to go further in my role.”

in centres across Europe. He bid successfully to host the 27th Annual congress of the European Society of Paediatric Urology in June 2016. Ram concluded: “The awarding of the HCAP title certainly helped raise the profile of our work, identifying research time during job planning, and I would like to express my gratitude for support received from the CSU triumvirate and our Research and Innovation department.”

“A key aim for me is to strengthen the network of Paediatric Urology departments in the North of England. Since taking on the role I have also made progress with training in Paediatric Urology, creating both national and international links.” Notable achievements for Ram include: working with the Innovation and Knowledge Centre at University of Leeds as a clinical innovation associate, successfully supervising PhD of not just a research fellow in Leeds-York but also two other fellows

Ramnath “Ram” Subramaniam

Order Comms goes from strength to strength The introduction of Order Comms across our Trust is going from strength to strength. Order Comms is a paper lite electronic requesting system for the majority of Radiology and Pathology diagnostic tests. Order Comms is improving patient safety across our hospitals in pathology and radiology. It is improving the quality of patient information, helping to identify duplicate testing and reducing the number of unnecessary tests. Dr Hannah Shore, a neonatal consultant, said: “I’ve been really impressed with the introduction of Order Comms into our neonatal wards. Neil from the Order Comms project team was so helpful - he set up a bespoke neonatal radiology panel for our ten most common requests. This has made an enormous difference - it is now so much easier to request the tests that we want than before we had Order Comms. It is easy to track whether requests have been put in for tests and having an

automated system means there are much less likely to be mistakes.” One of the key patient safety benefits of the system is the legibility of the request for the team that carries out the test. Order Comms has also removed delays in communicating the request and the risk of losing a paper form. Sam McGee, a clinical support worker in renal outpatients in Lincoln Wing, has also been really pleased with the introduction of the new Order Comms system. She said: “We are more efficient than we used to be - it has definitely made things better. Working off the same system for each patient means that all our staff involved in the process have all the information they need.” If you have questions about the roll out of Order Comms please get in touch with Ruth Morton, Order Comms / Responsible Requesting Project Manager by email: ruth1.morton@nhs.net.

News

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New epilepsy suite open memory of talented spor

Members of Leeâ€™s family stand proudly next to the plaque

ns in rtsman

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News

A new epilepsy suite at Leeds General Infirmary has opened in memory of a talented young sportsman. Lee Johnson, 24, had just been selected to coach football in the US when he died in December 2010. He went to sleep and never woke up. His grieving family were determined to help prevent other lives from being lost to Sudden Unexpected Death from Epilepsy Deaths (SUDEP), which are on the rise. The family have tirelessly raised over £200,000 in memory of Lee and donated £60,000 to the LGI for video telemetry equipment. The equipment collates heart and brain data from epilepsy patients that can assist in diagnosis and medical treatment as well as research into SUDEP. Since February when the equipment was installed 14 people have had video telemetry leading to assessment that around half of them were suitable for surgery, resulting in 75% of those patients being seizure-free. Lee studied Sports Management at Northumbria University, having also played at the Leeds United Centre of Excellence for 5 years. Lee’s father, Simon said: “On December 11, 2010, Lee was feeling great. He’d just that day been told informally that he had been selected as a coach for a soccer camp in the US, and had plans to train as a PE teacher after that. He was in rude good health, loved communicating his passion for sport to others, and was a natural for the job. Many people who met Lee said they’d never known a more enthusiastic and smiley person.” But the day after his assessment Lee died leaving his family from Collingham near Wetherby totally devastated. “Epilepsy had been part of our lives for 16 years,” added Simon, a sales director for a sports company.

“We genuinely did not know that you can die from epilepsy,” Lee’s mother Vicky said. “We just thought if he continued to take his medication he would be fine, as he had been for so long. Having found out what we know now, we owe it to Lee to work to try and remove the taboo around epilepsy, raise awareness that epilepsy can kill and raise money for research into understanding why these deaths happen. We were never told death was a risk.” Lee’s parents and his sister Becky have thrown their heart and soul into raising awareness, and have gained support from their MP Alec Shelbrooke. Fundraising in Lee’s memory to assist research into epilepsy has surpassed everyone’s wildest dreams, and at the 2011 Smile with the Stars Ball held at Elland Road, the Lee’s Smile Charity was launched. More than £200,000 has been raised in the four years since Lee died – an amazing tribute and fantastic legacy for a life cut so tragically short. Our Chair, Linda Pollard, said: “We are sincerely indebted to the Johnson family for helping to buy equipment which is integral to patient care and to research into Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. Data provided from the Lee Johnson suite will be used by the Yorkshire Brain Research Centre, based at Leeds.”

Julian Hartley, Lee’s mother Vicky, sister Becky and father Simon watch the unveiling of the Lee Johnson suite

Charity focus

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Donating their time Following the loss of a dear friend in 2014, one of our staff nurses, Glida Marasigan, joined the pilgrimage to Lourdes as a volunteer nurse in 2014. Glida said: “It was a very emotional time for me but everybody was great and supportive. I found inner peace just sitting in Lourdes grotto at night time after the afternoon shift. It was serene and quiet with few people around and the sound of the river flowing in the background.”

“I found inner peace just sitting in Lourdes grotto at night time after the afternoon shift.” This year she returned with three friends including Jon Drake, a staff nurse on J48, who said: “As a gay practicing Buddhist, volunteering as a nurse on the Leeds Roman Catholic Diocese was certainly not at the top of my ‘bucket list’. I have to say, however, that I found the week incredibly life affirming, enjoyable and inclusive - that’s why several of our staff give their time freely. Would I go again? Definitely, if they’re daft enough to have me!” Early next year a group, including Glida and Jon, are planning some fundraising for the Lourdes pilgrimage for nurses and those who are sick and disabled and cannot afford to travel to Lourdes.

Fundraisers raise £3,000 for wards at St James’s Two patients, one from J82, Pat Sowrey, and one from J10, Arthur Shaw, have held fundraising events to raise money for the wards they were treated on. Between them they hosted a charity football tournament and concert, raising £1,651. This amount was matched by Barclays Bank as one of the patient’s relatives, Tracy Sowrey, works for the bank. As a result both J82 and J10 have been presented with a cheque for £1651! We’d like to thank both patients and their families for this fantastic achievement which will be used to help improve care on the wards.

Pat Sowrey (holding the cheque), Arthur Shaw (third from right) and Tracy Sowrey (second from right) at the cheque presentation with members of staff from J82 and J10 and other members of the Sowrey and Shaw families

Kate and Amy raise money for PICU The families of two infants whose children were cared for on our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) have raised money to thank staff for the care they provided. Kate Haigh and Amy Hawtin joined forces to raise money for a new electronic breast pump. Together they’ve held a big knit, helped to organise an art exhibition and held a charity event in a local pub. Irene Murphy, Ida’s (Ida is Kate’s daughter) grandmother, made a sizeable contribution - helping to organise the events and curating the art exhibition. In the end they were so successful they managed to buy two breast pumps - they raised almost £1,400!

“Abigail will always be in our hearts. Not just the hearts of her family but the many hearts she touched.”

infant bronchiolitis and pneumonia but thankfully made a full recovery. During their stay on PICU it became clear that the ward only had one electric breast pump. Both Ida and Abigail really appreciated the care and support that their daughters’ girls were given, so they decided to raise money for another electric breast pump for the unit. Kate Haigh said: “Ida is now a big bouncing nearly two year old, she is funny and loud and I am thankful for her every day. Abigail will always be in our hearts. Not just the hearts of her family but the many hearts she touched. Both girls are very, very loved.” The Trust would like to give a massive thank you to everyone involved.

Amy’s daughter, Abigail Sheila Hawtin, stayed in PICU and sadly passed away in the Forget Me Not Hospice following her fight with the condition Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1.

Our staff at Lourdes earlier this year

Kate’s daughter, Ida Ruby Elizabeth Haigh, born on Christmas Day in 2013, stayed in PICU in the January following her birth. Ida had severe

(from L to R) Anna Binks, Irene Murphy, Kate Haigh holding Ida, Rosemary Gray, Amy Hawtin holding Rosie Hope (Abigail’s sister) and Dan Hawtin

Top toys for HDU thanks to kind donation A huge ‘thank you’ is owed to Brian Ramsay who came in recently to donate a large number of toys to our Children’s High Dependency Unit in Clarendon Wing. Brian’s son Joseph has previously had successful Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery to help his mobility, undertaken by consultant surgeon Mr John Goodden.

Left to right: Kay Rushforth, Sister, Danielle Hanlon, Care Support Worker, Mr Brian Ramsay, Lejla Gredelj, Sister, and Mr John Goodden

Paul Finney raises almost £3,000 to thank hospital for father’s top care Paul Finney has raised almost £3,000 for the Dandelion Trust. The money raised follows the treatment Paul’s father, Derrick Finney received from our consultant urologist Oliver Kayes at St James’s. “I remember clearly when my dad told me he had cancer. I was travelling back north on the M1 when I saw his number come up on my hands free.”

Sam Hirst and his girlfriend, Charlotte Coffey, have raised over £1,200 for our intensive care unit at the LGI. Sam was a patient on ward L3 at the LGI in March and spent almost five weeks in Intensive Care requiring full ventilation via a tracheostomy. Whilst Sam was on his way to making a full recovery, Charlotte thought of ideas to raise money for the Intensive Care Unit.

Mr Goodden joined ward staff in welcoming Brian back to the hospital to recognise this incredibly generous effort. Play makes a huge difference to helping our youngsters on the road to recovery in every part of Leeds Children’s Hospital, so this amazing generosity will be put to very good use!

Sam Hirst raises money for ICU at the LGI

charity event, with a fun fair and stalls with refreshments throughout the day, raffle prizes and winner’s trophies. I held a match fishing event as well and have many more events in the pipeline to raise even more money.” We’d like to thank Paul for his outstanding fundraising efforts which make a real difference to patient care.

“I was lost for words and had tears coming down my face. I could only imagine what my mum and dad were going through.”

Together Sam and Charlotte raised £550 by auctioning signed rugby shirts and balls from the Leeds Rhinos. The couple then held a sponsored walk with children from a local child-minder where Charlotte works, raising a further £450. An extra £215 was raised following donations from families and friends Sam, Charlotte, Jimmy Keinhorst (a player at Leeds Rhinos), and Finlay Warriner, one of the children who did the sponsored walk, came to L3 with a presentation cheque for £1215.24. The cheque was gratefully received by the Senior Nurse, Janet Wilkinson and members of the ICU nursing team. Sam, Charlotte and all their family and friends are extremely grateful for the care that Sam received on L3, L17 and at Chapel Allerton Hospital.

“As time passed by dad had numerous tests and referrals to hospital, culminating in his transfer to Leeds Teaching Hospitals. My father had nothing but praise for Mr Kayes and his team on how these great people rebuilt my father’s life.” “As a very proactive business manager I could not leave it there, something inside told me I needed to do more and increase the awareness of this type of cancer.” “I created a number of charity days including Balls To Cancer, a football

Derrick Finney, Dr Oliver Kayes and Paul Finney, following the cheque presentation to Dandelion

Sam, Charlotte, Jimmy Keinhorst and Finlay Warriner present the nursing team with a large cheque

Charity focus

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New state of the art equipment set to boost care at Leeds General Infirmary Our new portable echo machine will boost care for heart attack patients at the LGI who will no longer have to leave their bed for an ultrasound scan. This makes it quicker and more convenient for patients and gives instant results for our doctors, so they can start treatment straight away. The £25,000 new machine was purchased for the hospital by the charity of former hospital consultant Dr John Perrins. Dr Wazir Baig, Consultant Cardiologist, said: “This very generous donation will be used to purchase a cardiac ultrasound machine to be used on cardiology wards. Virtually every patient admitted to the cardiac wards needs an ultrasound scan. I know this equipment will really improve patient care. We are very grateful to the Take Heart Charity for their continuing support.”

Dr John Perrins, retired consultant cardiologist, said: “Donations like this can make the difference between good and very good in a hospital. I am delighted that Take Heart will continue their good work in association with Leeds General Infirmary Cardiac Research Trust.”

Members of our staff and trustees from Take Heart and the LGI Cardiac Research Trust in our Take Heart roof garden

Dr Perrins worked for our Trust for nearly thirty years. He ran the Leeds General Infirmary Cardiac Research Trust, a charity that took bequests to improve care for patients on the cardiac wards. Now he has retired, the funds have been transferred to the Take Heart Charity, making the purchase of this valuable equipment possible. Colin Pullan MBE, Chairman of Take Heart Charity, said: “This equipment will be of huge additional benefit to the gold standard of care that heart attack patients receive on Jubilee Wing. We’d like to thank Dr Perrins for enabling us to purchase this fantastic equipment.”

Ward Sister Allison Romaniw, Cardiac Ultrasound Service Manager Julie Sandoval and Head of Clinical Physiology Gina McGawley with a portable echo machine

New TVs are a great boost for our young patients Youngsters on our High Dependency Unit at Leeds Children’s Hospital have some brilliant new TVs thanks to a generous donation co-ordinated by the mum of one of our staff nurses. Cheryl Pawley works for Cookridge Hall Health and Fitness, when they were looking for a charity to sponsor

for the year the obvious cause was the HDU where her daughter Rachael is a staff nurse. Cheryl has thrown herself wholeheartedly into the fundraising, organising plant sales in her own greenhouse, which made £700, as well as a number of other events.

The group are still fundraising for other items to help the unit. This week Cheryl came in to hand over four free-standing TVs, purchased at a cost of £2,000. These will be particularly useful for youngsters recovering on the unit, allowing them to watch DVDs at their bedside. Children and young people cared for on HDU are often recovering from complex procedures meaning they are confined to bed. Having the ability to watch DVDs of their choice will really help take their mind off their condition. Cheryl was accompanied at the presentation by York Rauth, a member of the fitness centre, and his son Manpreet. York helped in sourcing the TVs and kindly ensured they were assembled on arrival and ready to use.

(L to R) Laura Sharlotte, Helen Lamb, Kiran Hussain, Catherine Mezzetti, York Rauth and son Manpreet, Cheryl Pawley, Rachael Pawley, Shannon South, Casey Jeffery and Natalie Townend

Congratulations to all involved for this great achievement.

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News

Oscar Crowther, former patient at St James’s; Nina Hossain, ITN News Presenter; and Emma Brook, sister of former patient James Brook (who sadly died earlier this year)

Chill-out zone for teenagers opens at Leeds Cancer Centre A brand new ‘chill-out zone’ for young patients is now open at Leeds Cancer Centre. The dedicated space in Bexley Wing is for people aged between 13 and 25 years from across the region who are primarily undergoing radiotherapy treatment for cancer. Offering a quiet area for our patients to ‘get away and relax’, the zone is the first of its kind for the hospital and provides facilities more appropriate for those young people undergoing treatment, who would previously have had to use facilities more suited for children.

ITN news host Nina Hossain joined staff, patients and guests at the leading cancer centre to officially open the area. This follows months of tireless fundraising by staff, patients, friends and families as well as very generous donations from the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust (LCYCT) and Asda. In total over £60,000 has been raised for the chill-out zone which has been used in refitting the area, design work and providing furniture and entertainment systems. Lucy Junni, a Paediatric Radiographer at the Leeds Cancer Centre who led fundraising efforts, said: “It’s

wonderful to see all of the hard-work and effort pay off after the months spent raising the money. We would like to thank everyone who has made a contribution. In particular we’d like to thank James Brook, a young sportsman from East Leeds who contributed enormously to the campaign to create the space before he tragically died earlier this year and Asda, Laura Crane and the family and friends of the late Will Sweeting. This zone will provide young adult patients with the space they need to relax and offer a few hours of respite while undergoing treatment here in hospital.”

News

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Leeds Children’s Hospital takeover parkrun A team of volunteers from our Children’s Hospital took over the weekly Woodhouse Moor parkrun back in September. Each week a different group of volunteer marshals and bakers provide support for the parkrun, and our children’s hospital consultant Chris Smith masterminded the takeover,

which proved to be a great success. The sun shone brightly for the event and a total of 384 runners took part, cheered on by the Children’s Hospital marshals and supporters. The team also provided a plentiful supply of home-baked cakes to help the runners recharge after their exertions.

Out in force - our staff take over parkrun

Getting involved with the parkrun helped raise the profile of our Children’s Hospital, which is one of the biggest providers of hospital services for children in the country. It also signalled the hospital’s support for exercise and activity as a way for all the family to stay healthy.

Our staff made sure runners on the day were well rewarded with home-baked cakes

Superheroes visit Leeds Children’s Hospital! Young patients on the Clarendon Wing at Leeds Children’s Hospital were amazed to meet Marvel superheroes Captain America and Iron Man earlier this year.

Man and Captain America to Leeds Children’s Hospital. They certainly brought lots of smiles to our wards.

Staff were equally delighted to meet the comic-book legends as they handed out a variety of sweets and toys to patients being looked after in the specialist units.

“This visit really brightened up the day and made a real difference for the children we care for. Some youngsters have to stay in hospital for weeks, so distraction is really important and the chance to meet these characters is a real treat.”

Tracey Martin, Play Specialist, said: “We were all really pleased to welcome Iron

Pedro Machado, from SuperHeroes4Kids, a close friend

Iron Man met young patients on the wards at the Children’s Hospital including Ella Salter.

of Iron Man and Captain America, said: “I know that the Captain and Tony Stark were really thrilled to be at the hospital meeting some brave young patients.” “Although the Avengers may take on evil and save the world, they told me that the real heroes are the doctors, nurses and support staff here in Leeds who work tirelessly each and every day to help try and get these kids better.”

Hospital staff were delighted to meet Captain America!

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Time to Shine Awards go down a storm with our staff In this edition of Bulletin we’re celebrating the fantastic achievements of our staff at the Time to Shine Awards. The awards were our Trust’s first big recognition event. The gala dinner at the Queen’s Hotel was a huge hit with staff although there was a shock mid-way through dinner when two policemen interrupted to make an announcement that they were looking for the owner of a car. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the policemen burst into song and brought the house down singing hits from the past 20 years. Our staff sang along enthusiastically, danced around their tables and waved their napkins in the air to the likes of Take That, Bruno Mars and Pharrell Williams. Awards were presented in 11 categories; all closely linked to The Leeds Way and three Unsung Heroes were named. There were so many entries into the unsung hero category that we split the award into three - one for public nominations, one for clinical staff and one for support staff, both nominated by colleagues.

Chris Chittell, better known as Eric Pollard on Emmerdale, announced the winners on the night. We received some very high quality entries in all categories outlining some impressive projects that have taken place recently across our Trust.

Our panel of judges deliberated long and hard and eventually finalised a list of three shortlisted entries in each category. On the following two pages you can see details of the winners in each category from the evening.

Our staff get into the swing of things!

Unsung Hero in focus Joanne Richardson was shortlisted for the support staff unsung hero award. Joanne, a domestic who works in Trust Headquarters, said: “It was a fabulous evening! It was really good to be shortlisted out of 600 nominations - a big thank you to the staff in patient experience for nominating me. I love to look after everybody and I love coming to work. I had a fantastic evening - it made me feel more confident. I have to thank my husband, Peter, for his support. I had a serious accident and his support has been crucial in getting me back to work and ultimately giving me the opportunity to be nominated! I’d also like to thank Julie Beaumont and Karen Thomas for giving me the opportunity to work at the hospital.”

Joanne Richardson is pictured her with her certificate and Emmerdale’s Chris Chittell, better known as Eric Pollard!

Our award w Janice Hoole collects the Empowering Leadership Award on behalf of her team

Staff from J10 collect the Improving Quality and Safety Award

The Patient Services CSU pose for a photo with the Staff Engagement Award

Nicola Gill collects the Leading in Leeds award on behalf of the Respiratory Medicine Management and Ward Clerks team

Our CIVAS team collect the Partnership Working Award

Leeds Radiotherapy Research Group were named our Research Award winners

The Health Check team - joint winners of the Best Use of Technology Award

The Outpatient Programme team shared the Best Use of Technology Award

winners in full Clair Clarke and Yasmin McIntyre collect the award for Improving Patient Experience for the ED Dementia Task Force

Unsung Hero Jon Pilkington was proud to take home the staff nominated clinical Unsung Hero award

Porter Clive Eales was named Unsung Hero in the support staff category

The MRI Express Team take home the Working Together Award

Unsung Hero Prof Peter Giannoudis with his award

Dr George Ballard’s mum and wife proudly collect George’s Posthumous Unsung Hero award

The ‘Be a Hero’ team proudly pose with the Innovation Award

Category

High Commended

Empowering Leadership

Ward J08, Leadership Team J30 Nursing Leadership Team

Leading in Leeds

Leeds Children’s Hospital Breakthrough Group LTHT Interventional Oncology and Interventional Oncology UK Teams

Improving Patient Experience

CHOC Occupational Therapy Team Leeds Teaching Hospitals Youth Forum

Improving Quality and Safety

ED Sepsis Team The Pharmacy Working Group

Staff Engagement

Adult Therapies Ward J08 Multi-disciplinary Team

Working Together

Trust Wide Working Group and End of Life Care Team Viral Hepatitis Team

Partnership Working

Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Service Team Leeds Care Record Project Team

Sustainable Efficiencies

Cardio-Respiratory Team Jubilee Theatres and Pharmacy Teams

Innovation

Interventional Oncology Team Oncology Play Team

Research

LGI and SJUH Emergency Departments Infection Research Team

Best Use of Technology

CNVseq Team

Unsung Hero (public nomination)

Lisa Beaumont Elizabeth Wright

Unsung Hero - Clinical (nominated by colleagues)

Lauren Walker Theresa Young

Unsung Hero - Support Staff (nominated by colleagues)

Joanne Richardson Elaine Gale

www.leedsth.nhs.uk |

News

Party time for Children’s Transplant Team Earlier this year our Children’s Hospital held a party to celebrate the success of the Children’s Transplant Team at the British Transplant Games. Proudly on display were just some of the 57 medals our youngsters won, plus the team’s trophies including the Liver Cup, awarded to the best children’s liver team. It’s the first time ever Leeds has won this coveted award, which in the past few years has been held by the Birmingham children’s team, so we are particularly proud to have it here in Yorkshire.

The Children’s Transplant Team pose for a photo with the trophy!

There were some inspiring stories about how our youngsters have bounced back from severe illness thanks to their transplants, and we also took time to remember the selflessness of donors and their families who gave these wonderful children the gift of life. Many of the staff from the transplant team and wards at the hospital came along to share in the celebration, as did Chief Executive Julian Hartley and Chair Linda Pollard. Congratulations to everyone on such a fantastic performance, and also to our adult team who similarly did Leeds proud! We look forward to an even bigger haul of medals at next year’s games in Liverpool.

Several of the children spoke to the local media about their success in the games

Stroke team treat their 500th thrombolysis patient! Congratulations are in order for our stroke team at Leeds General Infirmary who recently successfully treated their 500th patient with life-saving “clotbusting” thrombolysis.

The 500th patient was a gentleman in his eighties who suffered a stroke at home and was brought into the unit in Jubilee Wing.

Thrombolysis is an early-stage treatment suitable for certain types of stroke patients. The infusion of drugs breaks down and disperses a clot that is preventing blood from reaching a stroke patient’s brain.

Brain attack nurse specialist Wojchiech Chudzinski diagnosed that he would benefit and in the early hours of the morning on-call Consultant stroke physician Dr Jon Cooper administered the thrombolysis, which resulted in significant improvement in the patient’s condition.

We have been providing a 24/7 service since the beginning of 2014 and are now transforming outcomes for around 120 patients a year.

The patient and his wife have spoken of their gratitude to the team who saved his life, describing their care as “outstanding.”

(L to R) Wojchiech Chudzinski, a Brain Attack Nurse Specialist, Dr Jon Cooper, Consultant Stroke Physician and Alastair Bailey, Lead Nurse for Stroke.

Farewell

| www.leedsth.nhs.uk

There was a huge turnout to bid farewell to Moira!

A fond farewell to our long-serving staff in Ophthalmology. She worked for Mr Bruce Noble up until his retirement, and following a spell away from the Trust, Glo returned and continued to work in Ophthalmology until her retirement earlier this year. Paul Mitchell

Paul Mitchell, Peri Operative Practitioner Paul, a Peri-Operative Practitioner in theatres at St James’s, has worked for our Trust since 1996 before retiring earlier this year. Ian Hammacott, theatres team leader, said: “Paul was a much loved and respected colleague throughout the Ophthalmology team. We will miss him greatly - as people such as Paul are very difficult to replace.”

Ann Gaunt clerk for us on J96 and will be very much missed by all who have worked alongside her. We wish her a very healthy and well deserved retirement.”

Glo is looking forward to spending more time with her family and pursuing her interests of amateur dramatics and gardening.

Maggie Gill and Jean Johnstone, Staff Nurses Maggie Gill and Jean Johnstone have retired

Gloria Alloway, Medical Secretary Glo started as a clerical officer but soon moved into to a Medical Secretary post

Ann Gaunt, Ward Clerk Ann Gaunt worked for the Trust for over thirty years, taking in spells at Killingbeck Hospital, St James’s and Cookridge. She started working on J96 in 2008 where she has worked ever since. Deborah Rowett, Senior Sister, said: “Ann has been a very dedicated ward

Gloria “Glo” Alloway

Maggie Gill (left) and Jean Johnstone (right)

www.leedsth.nhs.uk |

after working in the NHS for 75 years between them. Both Maggie and Jean have retired from working in children’s oncology and haematology. Sarah-Elizabeth Poole, a staff nurse on L31, said: “We know that all departments say this but losing both of them will leave a MASSIVE gap within our children’s oncology department! We would like to wish them an enjoyable retirement!”

Gail Booth, Midwife Gail Booth, who has worked for the Trust for over thirty years, was involved in starting up the Transitional Care Unit at the LGI. She worked there as the junior sister and later became the senior sister until 1993 when she took maternity leave. She returned as a dedicated staff midwife with a lot of experience and knowledge which was invaluable to the junior members of the team. Gail was an excellent role model and always had a smile. She would cheer up the whole ward! Anne Ives, Ward Manager, said: “Personally it was a very sad day when Gail informed me of her retirement. We had worked together a long time and had seen each other through good and bad times. I learned a lot from Gail when she was the senior sister and when later I became the senior sister I knew that I could turn to Gail at any time for support and advice. We all wish Gail a very happy retirement and thank her for all the good times we shared. See you at Christmas!”

Moira Keith

Janice Martin, Head of Physiotherapy, said: “Anyone who worked with Moira knows she has a heart of gold. She champions the causes she believes in, keeping the patients best interests firmly in mind. She always gives praise when it is due, crediting others rather than taking centre stage for herself.” Her physiotherapy colleagues, patients and the wider Trust wish her a very long, enjoyable and exciting retirement.

Judy Brookman with her colleagues from the cardiorespiratory department She has been an absolute stalwart in the department, extremely good with patients and the team. I will really miss her.” Sarah Deakin, senior cardiac physiologist, added: “Judy is a truly valued member of the echo team, and her dedication to nursing and the individual patient is truly inspirational. Nothing is too much trouble for her.” Gina McGawley, Head of Clinical Physiology, concluded: “Judy has been an integral part of the cardiac ultrasound team and she will be greatly missed by patients and staff.” Judith is moving to Barnard Castle, County Durham, where she has spent many happy years holidaying in her static caravan and walking with her husband Reg, who sadly passed away last year. We wish her all the best for the future.

Moira Keith, Clinical Physiotherapy Manager Moira took up her first post in Leeds in September 1980. Having completed several basic grade rotations, she secured her first senior post within a specialist rehab unit and her love of all things neuro and rehabilitation was born. Moira retires knowing the physiotherapy service we see today within Neuroscience, Neurology and Neuro-rehabilitation is down to her hard work and tenacity over 35 years.

Farewell

Gail Booth

Judy Brookman, Staff Nurse Judy started work as a nursing cadet in Pontefract in 1957; she was just 16 at the time! She has subsequently worked in many hospitals and departments in Pontefract and Leeds, including Ashley Wing when it housed the elderly medicine wards. She worked as a sister for many years and moved onto the bank as a staff nurse in her late fifties, providing many years of unfailingly courteous and professional service to the cardiorespiratory department at St James’s and the LGI. Dr Liz Berkin, consultant cardiologist, said: “I have worked with Judy for many years.

Judy Brookman

My Job

| www.leedsth.nhs.uk

am that vital link with these patients after their discharge and within the outpatient transplant clinic setting. Alongside this every six weeks I facilitate a sage and thyme workshop with two other facilitators - more on that later! I also work to improve and develop the service so our patients receive gold standard care.

What else have you done in your career so far?

Helen Bennett, Post Renal Transplant Nurse Specialist, has worked at the Trust for twenty eight years Summarise the main aspects of your role? I see my role as a dual role. I perform annual review clinics for the long term post-transplant patients and I work within the ward and outpatient setting with newly transplanted patients. Our nurse led annual review clinic addresses some of the chronic morbidities affecting renal transplant patients. There are now over 900 post transplant patients to review. We aim to review them all in clinic six months after transplantation and then annually. Within the ward setting my role is to work alongside the multidisciplinary team providing care and support to our transplant patients. I

After qualifying as a nurse many years ago(!), I have worked in renal medicine, urology and gynaecology before moving to work part time in the private sector and be a mum to my three boys. In 1998 I returned to renal medicine and have remained working in this speciality ever since. I was a sister on the renal unit from 2002 to 2015 and during that time experienced many changes, including the centralisation of renal services nine years ago. To complement my clinical skills I completed the renal diploma in nursing and the mentorship in practice programme along with a graduate diploma in counselling. In 2011 I trained to become a sage and thyme facilitator. Sage and thyme is level one training, which teaches the basic skills of listening and responding to patients and carers who are distressed and

concerned. Alongside two other facilitators we deliver the training in a three hour workshop. In May of this year I was incredibly excited to be appointed to my present role of post renal transplant nurse specialist.

Whatâ€™s the best thing about your job? I have to say this is a difficult question for me. I love every aspect of my job but if I had to choose it is the luxury of having more time. The role of a transplant nurse specialist allows me to be able to give my patients the time, care and support they need, allowing me to fully utilise my specialist skills.

What is the one thing you would change at LTHT to help you do your job better? I would make sage and thyme training part of the mandatory training programme. What a massive difference that could make to our Trust... you have to go on the course to find out what I am talking about!

Whatâ€™s your best advice to a new starter at the Trust? That there is always someone they can ask or talk to or who will help them. Most people feel slightly overwhelmed when they first start and they are not expected to know everything straight away!

www.leedsth.nhs.uk |

News

Former nurses look back on ‘golden years’ A cohort of nurses who started their training at St James’s fifty years ago recently returned for a tour of the site to mark the milestone. The special visit to Jimmy’s, was arranged by current members of staff and offered the 12 retired nurses a glimpse of their former workplace alongside some of the new state-of-the-art facilities now at the forefront of care in Leeds.

“It was wonderful to have this opportunity to take a look around Jimmy’s one more time.” One of the highlights for the ladies was a visit to Trust Headquarters, which until relatively recently was used as a nurses’ home. The group had fond memories of the building where they lived throughout their training and the hospital which had helped them start their careers. Hazel Britton, one of the visiting nurses, said: “It was wonderful to have this opportunity to take a look around

(Today) The 12 retired nurses have fond memories of the old nurses’ home, now Trust Headquarters

Jimmy’s one more time. The other ladies and I really enjoyed seeing all of the places where our nursing began back on Monday 25 October 1965.” “Over the years, we had the privilege to work alongside some great colleagues and to have helped care for some lovely patients. I think I can safely say on behalf of all of the ladies that Jimmy’s has a special place in our hearts.”

(Times gone by) In 1965 the ladies started their training at what was then The School of Nursing

Our Chief Nurse, Suzanne Hinchliffe, said: “It is amazing to think that these ladies started their training when the NHS was still very much in its infancy and all of the changes we have seen in caring professions. I am immensely proud that our Trust helped this special group to celebrate this anniversary.”

News

| www.leedsth.nhs.uk

@LTHTrust

search for ‘Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’

Team of the Week Our Team of the Week feature on our LTHT Facebook page has been a hit with our staff and the public alike! Each Thursday afternoon we share the details of the work of one of our teams, meeting a few staff and asking them about their work.

feature for over six months now and we know there are still a

We like to hear about how many patients our team’s care for and how many staff there are in our teams - we’ve held this

Pictured here are some of the more memorable photos of our

lot of teams to get through!

teams from the past few months.

Members of our anticoagulation team strike a pose!

Ward L30 at our Children’s Hospital have also featured as one of our teams of the week

As our the Emergency Department team at the LGI

St James’s Emergency Department - one of the largest teams we’ve profiled!

Leeds Children’s Hospital Research Team have been showcased in our weekly feature

www.leedsth.nhs.uk |

60 seconds

60 seconds What do you do to wind down and relax after a hard week at work? In winter I like to sit in front of the fire and read a book. In the summer I like to meet with friends and have an iced coffee. I can’t tell you how happy I am the concept of iced coffee has taken off. The first time I asked for one they looked at me like I was crazy.

What is your ideal holiday destination and why?

Vasilis Karpouzis, a Physiotherapist at St James’s, has worked for the Trust for nearly 13 years

If it is a relaxing holiday it has to be Thailand. It is such an amazing place. For a sightseeing and food holiday it has to be Japan. Japan is unique.

What is your favourite food? I’m obviously biased, but you can’t beat Greek cuisine, especially in Greece where the local, fresh produce is used. Japanese food comes a close second.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? I wanted to be a captain in the Navy. Then one day I saw rough seas and I decided that might not be the best idea!

What is your favourite film? I like watching a lot of foreign films, as I’m not keen on the predictable, formulaic Hollywood movies, where the good guy wins and gets the girl. The Chinese version of Mulan and the Kazakh movie Mongol are two of my favourites.

Tell us something we don’t know about you … Well, the people who know me will know what I’m going to say, as I won’t shut up about my “babies”. We have Dobermans, which we train and compete with in the sport of Schutzhund! (This is a dog sport that tests the traits and characteristics of working dogs.)

NHS England’s Medical Director visits NHS England’s Medical Director, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh visited our hospitals earlier this year. We were delighted that Sir Bruce believes our Trust can become one of a handful of outstanding Trusts in the country. Our Chair Linda Pollard, and Chief Executive Julian Hartley accompanied Sir Bruce and his party, as they met clinical teams on wards L51 and L47, the children’s congenital heart unit and paediatric intensive care unit. Sir Bruce was impressed with what he heard about our patients’ positive experiences. Children’s hospital clinical director Mike Richards, paediatric cardiac surgeon Carin Van Doorn, paediatric cardiologist Elspeth Brown, and paediatric intensivist Assaf Doulah talked to Sir Bruce about why we are well placed to meet the standards expected under the new arrangements for specialist-commissioned care for congenital heart disease.

Sir Bruce, who trained as a heart surgeon, then opened our new £60,000 hi-tech cardiac wet lab in Jubilee Wing. This was enabled due to charitable fundraising including our Take Heart charity. Sir Bruce praised our adult cardiac surgical team, led by consultant surgeon David O’Regan, for their role in developing the training facility. Teaching and passing on surgical skills through technology is fundamental to the success of our hospital and high quality clinical outcomes in the NHS.

Sir Bruce Keogh talks to our Chair Linda Pollard

Elspeth Brown, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist , Sir Bruce Keogh and Carin Van Doorn talk in our Children’s Hospital

Sir Bruce Keogh, Paediatric Intensivist Assaf Doulah and Elspeth Brown in conversation

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