r u o yhospital Spring 2014
your hospital your health
Heart first at Ashford Hospital
The magazine for members and supporters of east Kent’s hospitals
The thief that steals: Living with Motor Neurone Disease PLUS: hospital news, dates for your diary, supporting your hospital
Putting patients first
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your hospital your health
Welcome Keeping in touch Welcome to the latest edition of the Trust’s newsletter for its members.
It is packed with interesting and informative articles written by the Trust’s Governors. These range from an account of the Governors’ roles, through experiences of some of the Trust’s services to fascinating historical insights into the evolution of our hospitals in east Kent. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did. As you will also gather from the Newsletter, it is a particularly busy time for the Trust. We have just come to the end of a consultation over the provision of outpatient services and we are working through a large number of very complex issues to ensure the continued safe provision of high risk and emergency general surgery. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Care Quality Commission has just conducted a planned week-long visit to all of the Trust’s hospitals to check on the services that are provided! More on all of these stories in the next issue of the Newsletter. In closing, I should like to reiterate Brian Glew’s encouragement, in his article next to this one, to all of our members to come along to as many members’ events as possible. I think the health roadshows are particularly good value and the series this year has already covered nutrition, with diabetes to follow in July. They are a great opportunity to hear from the experts, meet the Governors and staff and, of course, chat with fellow members. And finally, so that we can meet your interests, please do let us know if there are any specific topics you would like to read about in the Newsletter. Best wishes Nicholas Wells, Chairman 2
Brian Glew, Elected Governor, Canterbury One of the key roles and responsibilities of Foundation Trust Governors is to represent the interests of you, the members of the Trust as a whole, and of the public. This is set out in legislation. In order to do this successfully, we need to keep in touch with you and seek your views, and to feed back information about the Trust’s activities and plans. We attach a high priority to this work, as does Monitor, the organisation that regulates Foundation Trusts. So how have we done this over the past year? This newsletter, published twice a year in Spring and Summer, is an important element. It contains articles written by Governors – several of which specifically invite your comments and views – as well as items published by the Trust. We have a busy programme of events that provide for Governors and members, and the wider public, to meet face-to-face: • Each month we have a “Meet the Governor” session in one of the five hospitals which provides an ideal “drop-in” opportunity • We have attended each of the nine Health Roadshows held across the Trust’s area during 2013 (and to which you will all have been invited) and been available to share thoughts and views • A large number of Governors attended the Annual Meeting in October • We visit outside organisations and groups to talk about the role of members and Governors and have delivered three such presentations. With the exception of the Annual Meeting, between two and five of the 22 elected Governors have attended each event. These events are advertised in this newsletter and on the membership pages of the Trust’s website. And the website is our third means of keeping in touch. It tells you how you can contact Governors, and we have started to run surveys to provide a further opportunity for you to express your opinions. We are continually looking at new ways to establish even stronger links, but in the meantime, please: • keep your thoughts and views coming • visit the website – if you have computer access - and • do take advantage of the opportunities to meet us face-to-face. n You can find the website at: www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/members - if you have a smartphone or tablet, you can scan this code to be taken straight to the website.
trust news
What’s new
News in brief
Outpatient Services Consultation The public consultation on proposals to improve the range and quality of outpatient services across east Kent has now closed. Over the three month period we have held 12 public meetings attended by thousands of residents, given numerous presentations to various interested groups and distributed 18,000 booklets containing a questionnaire to obtain your views. The proposals have been developed from the improvements patients have told us they would like to see in outpatient services.
Patients said they would like a reduction in waiting times. The proposals include a new more efficient booking system offering real patient choice and an extended day offering early and late appointments and appointments on a Saturday morning,
Patients said they wanted better facilities. We are investing £23 million in a new hospital in Dover and £5 million making improvements to our other hospitals.
EKHUFT’s maternity team is one of three teams in the country to be shortlisted for an excellence in maternity care award run by healthcare intelligence company CHKS. A panel of maternity and healthcare quality experts will visit each of the three Trusts before a winner is announced in May. Photo: BBC TV’s Call The Midwife star Pam Ferris opening Margate’s Midwifery led Unit.
STOP We will be offering a one-stop approach with patients seeing their RESS! Hospital clinician, having any diagnostic tests needed and, with the results, P agreeing a treatment plan all on the same day. inspection It is not possible to provide this for every outpatient clinic in east Kent, but by Patients said they wanted to make fewer journeys
concentrating our resources on fewer sites, and providing a greater range of services on those sites and investing in the facilities we can provide patients with 21st century care in state-of-the-art-facilities. Details of our proposals are available on our website at www.ekhuft.nhs.uk The results of the consultation will now be analysed by the University of Kent and following a re-evaluation of the options for a sixth site on the North Kent Coast, the Trust and the Canterbury .and Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will present their proposals to the Kent Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee in June. After that the final proposals will be presented to the Boards of the both the Trust and the CCG for a final decision.
As we go to press, we have just had an inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We are one of the first Trusts in the country to take part in the CQC’s new ‘Ofsted style’ inspections which will result in our services being rated as either outstanding, good, needing improvement or inadequate. We will tell you how we got on in the next issue of your magazine.
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your hospital your health
Surgery Our new values decision The Board of Directors of the Trust are listening to the views of staff as they look to ensure that adult high risk emergency and elective general (abdominal) surgery for all of east Kent can be delivered in the safest way possible in the future. Trust Medical Director Dr Paul Stevens said: “We are facing this problem because of a serious clinical risk that will arise in high risk general surgery due to insufficient Gastro – Intestinal surgeons being available to provide emergency cover, 24 hours a day and seven days a week.” The Trust is looking at a number of options, in what is a complex area involving many hospital services. Groups of staff have come forward with ideas and suggestions and these are also being examined. Any new option will have to be tested with the Royal College of Surgeons to see whether it is an acceptable solution.
Heart first at William Harvey
People feel cared for, safe and confident we are making a difference. We
Over the last 18 months, 1,500 EKHUFT staff and patients have been describing what they think should be the values that we work to through the ‘We care’ programme. The three values that came out of this work were: • Caring • Safe • Making a difference. The Trust Board has now formally adopted these as the Trust’s new values. Trust Chairman Nicholas Wells said: “We had a great discussion with the staff representatives at our Board meeting and the staff were clearly behind these values.”
The William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, has become one of the first hospitals in the country to implant the smallest heart monitoring device available into a patient’s chest. The device is one-third the size of a AAA battery but helps doctors monitor a patient’s heart for up to three years.
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care
The team at William Harvey Hospital.
news
The thief that steals Left: Mark and Fiona Stanton
Sporty 39-year-old Mark Stanton was out jogging while on holiday when he cricked his neck. On return he had physio, which sorted out his neck but not the tremors he was beginning to experience in his left arm. His physio suggested going to the doctor. Ten months later, he had the diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Two to three people in every 100,000 (that’s roughly the population of Crawley) are diagnosed with MND - a progressive disease that What is MND? MND is a progressive disease that attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. It affects each individual in a different way as there is no pattern or predictability to the disease. Although incurable, it can be treated. Interventions may prolong survival but they will not reverse or arrest the disease progression.
attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. “It is a roller coaster, but I try to take every day at a time,” says Mark. “Mark has a lot of inner strength,” adds his wife Fiona. “The disease is like a thief that steals from you a bit at a time. So you lose something and have a down period, then you pick yourself up again.”
With the sunshine streaming through the patio doors of his Folkestone home, Mark describes some of the landmarks in his five-year roller coaster journey with MND - stopping playing football, moving and adapting his house, getting a scooter to help with getting around, then a wheelchair. Mark is now preparing to stop work as a print manager at MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). As Mark and Fiona talk, MND Specialist Nurse Chrissie Batts is gently encouraging them.
Chrissie works with Dr Karlsson, Consultant Neurologist, to manage and co-ordinate the East Kent MND service. She is the first point of access for all patients and their families. Following initial diagnosis she visits them at home and continues to visit at a mutually agreed frequency - sometimes at home, sometimes in the office - whatever is the right fit for the person she is looking after.
For Mark and Fiona, Chrissie brings specialist knowledge of both the disease and the systems and organisations that they need to know about. She makes reassurance, advice or advocacy just a text or a phone call away. Every month, representatives from all the professions who provide services for MND sufferers in east Kent meet to discuss each patient so that all professionals - from Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dietetics and Adult Communication
Above: Chrissie Batts and Assistive Technology are aware of the changing needs of each individual. Chrissie has also built links with all professionals at the Pilgrims Hospices through collaboration and attending their multi-disciplinary meetings. “This multi-disciplinary approach provides expert knowledge so we can manage patients’ conditions and achieve the best quality of life for every one,” says Chrissie. n Shortly after being interviewed for this article, Mark sadly lost his battle with MND after a courageous five year fight. 5
your hospital your health
Things ain’t what they used to be! Eunice Lyons-Backhouse, Elected Governor, Rest of England & Wales
One Spring morning in 1964,with feelings of trepidation, I made my way to the Victorian West Kent General Hospital in Marsham Street, Maidstone, having been successful in obtaining a post in the Administrative General Office. From the Main Entrance Hall Reception, I was directed to a Portakabin situated between the main building and Outpatients. All administrative/clerical staff were required to wear long sleeved white coats, buttoned up, belted, of course - no glimpse of any mini skirts to be obvious! These had to be shortened (but not too much) by the lucky recipients; and one of the duties dealt with by the aforesaid General Office was to dispatch for laundering/unpack clean coats on a weekly basis; calm down those staff unable to understand the vagaries of the hospital laundry. Once clad in my white coat, fitting like a dressing gown, I was informed that it was my turn to deal with Matron’s and her Assistant’s correspondence. Duly positioned outside Matron’s office, timidly knocking on the door, I awaited a response from within - nothing - so repeating my request was rewarded with a loud, imperious “Come”. Once I got to know this nice lady, I realised how hard she worked to maintain high standards, not only within her own discipline, but also the Catering Department which she managed. The Assistant Matron managed the Domestic Services; hence this was also ultimately her responsibility. On that first day, I took dictation from her whilst she dealt with her daily 6
post, was directed to contact various hospital departments and made my departure. The duties outlined for the staff employed in the General Office were varied and included secretarial support for the Hospital Administrator and his Deputy, payroll completion for all staff employed within the three local hospitals, maintenance of personnel records, staff establishment validation, recording minutes for Medical Staff and House Committee meetings, and sub committees (Catering/ Infection Control, etc). Receipt of valuables/ personal property for patients, dealing with bereaved relatives, ensuring timely completion of death certificates or liaising with the Coroner’s Officer. Banking of cash generated by tills in the Canteen, prescription charges, ward telephone trolleys, private patients. Maintain Petty Cash flow. Interview overseas non-elective patients regarding reciprocal or nonreciprocal arrangements. Attend A&E Department to deal with Road Traffic Accidents documentation. Ensure prescription charges were being collected. Collect both Pension/ Milk Token Books from long stay patients. Issue and order stationery. These duties were dealt with by the equivalent of 3.5 staff. Working within this environment proved to be the basis for some to proceed to various careers within the NHS. The opportunity to pursue these ambitions became sustainable because of training developments within the Health Service. I feel we were fortunate to be able to develop and grow in this way within a Service doing likewise.
How we go
The former Trust Se
Michael Lucas, Electe Thanet I first arrived to work for the NHS in East Kent in October 1979 and retired in 2008, after working successively for the Canterbury & Thanet District, Thanet Healthcare Trust and East Kent Hospitals Trust. Many things have got better since 1979, a few worse. When I started work in the Canterbury & Thanet Health District Headquarters, probably the first thing that struck me was the extraordinary number and range of buildings that the District was responsible for. Leaving aside hospitals, it was noteworthy that for reasons of available space, and possibly politics, District Headquarters was in two halves: Administration and Finance were nearly 20 miles apart! The former was in a rented building at Ramsgate and the latter at Nunnery Fields Hospital. This did not exactly encourage co-operation between the two, although personalities could also be an issue! As for my previous experience of hospitals, this had included bringing into use sections of New Addenbrookes in Cambridge and what is now the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham - both enormous and expensive new hospitals. I had then spent two years at the old Pembury Hospital in West Kent, developed from a workhouse and with many wartime emergency hutted wards still in use. This was my first exposure to what I might call the Kentish problem. Why did Kent have so many hospitals and why were so many in such poor condition? East Kent seemed to have the ‘Kentish’ problem, only more so. At
look back
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ecretary looks back
ed Governor its most obvious this was the NHS still using Victorian workhouses as hospitals for the elderly. I had seen the closure of the last such in Leicester in around 1972. East Kent, however, still had quite a number! They included Hill House at Minster, for Thanet, Nunnery Fields in Canterbury, and Herne outside Herne Bay. There was also one shared with Social Services at Faversham, Bensted House. Whilst staff did their best, these were dreadful places. Quite apart from the workhouses, there were other problem buildings: St.Augustine’s at Chartham was an old Victorian asylum; Eastry Hospital for what were then called the mentally handicapped had been, I believe, a Napoleonic era barracks; and a mediaeval building in Canterbury was being used as a family planning clinic! These were simply the worst of a very large bad bunch and much the same situation could be found in South East Kent. The reasons for this state of affairs were various. Local people, wanted to hold on to what they had, however bad, for fear of losing services altogether. What money there was for building maintenance had to be spread thinly, and there was reluctance to spend much on buildings that were clearly unsuitable for longer term use. Behind all of this, however, was Kent’s proximity to London and its incorporation in a Regional Health Authority that was dominated by London, and, at that time, based in Greater London. Regional Health Authorities funded all major capital expenditure then. In those days, it
Margate & District General Hospital in 1930 was a matter of making a case to Region for your scheme. If you were successful, you were also given money to meet extra running costs. If you were unsuccessful, you got nothing! Unfortunately, nearly all the money went to the ‘haves’, rather than the ‘have nots’. Building in Central London is hugely expensive and the London teaching hospitals had an insatiable demand for new development. To an extent, they could justify this with the number of Kent patients they were treating. The patients, however, in most cases had no choice but to go to London for specialist treatment. The only substantial development taking place around the time I arrived in East Kent, was the building of a new hospital, the William Harvey, linked to the increased population anticipated for Ashford. During the course of the 1980s a number of improvements were made in Canterbury & Thanet, in spite of very modest investment, only, by the Region. These included closing all the old workhouses, except Nunnery Fields. The old Stour Street Clinic was closed and converted into a museum! In Thanet where there had been six hospitals for acute cases and the elderly, of which only the hospital at St Peter’s Road could make any claim to modernity, there were now three, with what investment was available from District and Region concentrated on the Margate site. Moreover, this spending had enabled
all acute services to be concentrated there now, with the exception of Orthopaedics and Urology at Royal Sea Bathing Hospital. (Previously, Medicine had been isolated at Ramsgate.) By the early 1990s, hospital services in Thanet were stuck. There were fully worked out plans to further develop the Margate site so that it could provide all acute services for the locality and in modern accommodation. At that same time, the 200 year old Royal Sea Bathing Hospital was in desperate need of replacement. But there was no money! However, the new Unit General Manager, Barry Page, was successful in pressurising Region into finding £18 million towards the sum required. He would have to find the rest somehow! Fortunately, some extraordinary local fundraising, which the District Health Authority matched pound for pound, bridged the gap. At last, in 1996, Thanet had a comprehensive, modern hospital, in QEQM. Much has happened since that time, to further improve buildings in all the Trust’s hospitals, and, unlike a number of other Trusts, without the complications of the Private Finance Initiative! What do you think? Do you have memories of the old NHS? Write to: Your hospital, c/o Communications Office, Trust Offices, Kent & Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3NG 7
your hospital your health
“First hospital for blood, then restaurant for breakfast” Derek Light, Elected Governor Ashford Setting the scene Our family comprises Mum, Dad and our 23-year-old severely autistic son who has suffered uncontrolled epilepsy since age 14. George was diagnosed autistic at age three and half years subsequent to suffering a heavy viral infection. His development was severely delayed, he could not tolerate touch and as we entered any room he would become extremely anxious and try desperately to leave. He still fights hard to comprehend his world and every day brings fresh challenges for him. We are still ‘learning’ him and he needs 24/7 care. His seizure range is fully comprehensive and includes absences, partial, full tonic clonic and drop seizures. The following describes blood tests explored in two separate scenarios – the first scenario depicts the average family, the second a special needs family: Scenario one - is generally a comparatively simple and painless process. The need for intervention is identified and the GP or consultant requests a blood test. A phone call is made, the appointment seamlessly booked, the family attend and blood is taken and then return home to await results and the appropriate considered interventions. Generally all stress free with minimum impact on the client and all family members. NOW – let us introduce special needs and in particular severe Autism combined with uncontrolled epilepsy. Scenario two – the need for intervention is identified and the GP 8
requests a blood test. A phone call is made and the booking clerk is made aware of our son’s difficulties. We carefully explain the inevitable complications of him being incapable of understanding the concept of waiting. Generally even a short 30 second delay/wait can be traumatic for any autistic person and can result in high stress levels. Attempts at reasoning and explanation are generally non-productive. The type of blood test needs consideration, ie, if the test is a fasting test or a trough test then an early morning appointment is needed. Blood needs to be taken as early as possible in the day to facilitate the subsequent giving of vital epilepsy controlling medication. Informing our son of any future planned third party intervention could cause anxiety and stress and in the past has induced a seizure. Consistent good third party interventions with successful outcomes have vastly decreased anxiety and stress for everyone concerned. For our family the most successful procedure has proven to be to inform our son on the morning of any intervention. Inevitably on the first occasion this placed us in dilemma for the usual routine of administering medication immediately on waking was unavoidably broken and had to be skilfully circumnavigated by distraction techniques. Over time we have discovered that if we repeatedly explain in simple terms in a quiet controlled manner as follows “George”, “first hospital for blood then restaurant
for breakfast” “good sausage and beans” and eventually he will indicate his acceptance to the change by giving us a thumb up sign or the word “good”. We have found that the promise of a realistic reward is a useful tool as long as we ensure that we follow up on our promises. It is important that the promises are realistically proportionate to the achievement of the desired activity. We take care not to overuse the technique for fear of placing ourselves on the slippery slope of having to give extortionate rewards for even our basic requests. It is important to remember that an enthusiastic “well done” – “good work” – “wonderful” – “thank you” or even a smile – thumb up, etc are very powerful incentives for all of us but for the autistic person the effect can achieve fantastic results. So, hopefully in this way we have shifted focus from the “blood test” to “sausage and beans”. The first set of blood tests caused slight apprehension but once we had established the new “routine” things moved on with less stress. We were now able to refer back to the previous good experience and tweak it as given circumstances present themselves in the future. We deliberately omitted to mention the administration of the usual meds as he awoke and the intention to give them immediately post blood test for the simple reasons that it clouded issues unnecessarily and George would not be interested anyhow. The routine of giving the postponed morning medication immediately post blood tests is now well established.
If George has suffered clusters of seizures prior to the day of the appointment he could have difficulty in waking and sometimes we run a little behind time. If this occurs we always inform the blood clinic of any difficulty and beg their indulgence and arrange a later appointment. We try hard not to cancel any appointment for this simply defers the problems to another day, another day of disruption and anxiety for everybody, especially George. Most seizure sufferers we have managed to quiz about their recovery problems post seizure bear testimony to limb pains, severe headaches or complete lethargy sometimes lasting days. George is unable to report any of these symptoms and we give co-dydramol if it will not interfere with the blood test results. Please remember that any medication taken that day prior to any blood test must be reported to the phlebotomist on arrival and definitely prior to blood being taken. It is a good idea to check with your GP before the event. Once he is up and gathered himself until the time he leaves the house George is compelled to progress through a myriad of small routines. Without even being aware of the fact most of us suffer to some degree with a condition called OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This could vary from the desire or even a compulsion to achieve a particular parking space or preferred seat in a favourite restaurant or having to touch glass or wooden surfaces as we enter or leave a room. Most of us can cope with the failure to achieve our objective for we have capacity to reason and accept compromise. For some of us the compulsion can cause extreme stress and for the Autistic person any failure to complete or exercise an established compulsion or routine can result in a disproportionate response sometimes culminating in high anxiety and severe trauma and even progressing to seizure.
Over time George has manufactured some 15 to 20 early morning mini routines all of which must be worked through before he finds it possible to move on with his day. If we attempt to stop or discourage any one of them it can result in trauma; they are very comforting for him. Most involve visual stimulation as he views objects close to his face and alters their angles in relationship to his eyes we presume to enjoy refractive reflections. Some routines combine verbalisation and others involve precise physical placement of objects. If he forgets to enact any one routine he could possibly be disturbed for the whole day without the capacity to explain his problem or identify to us which one he has missed. On occasion he has dived into an earlier forgotten morning routine late in the evening and on its completion he can be seen to be revitalised and happy. Suffice to say in order to achieve a happy outcome all his morning routines must be very gently encouraged through to successful completion before we leave home. We have learnt that joining in and sharing as he works through the mini activities is generally productive but in the light of experience extreme care must be taken not to pressurise the situation. The clinic We endeavour to time our arrival just prior to our allotted appointment time. We take care to dress George appropriately in clothes which give easy access to both arms this avoids delay and reduces stress. On arrival at the phlebotomy clinic we have established a routine whereby we knock on the door to announce our presence and we are admitted as soon as the next station becomes vacant. Over time we have established a good working relationship and a highly successful routine with the clinicians and this has been due in the main to the excellent management of Loraine,
the Phlebotomy Manageress. In the main all phlebotomy staff is now well aware of the manner in which George can present especially if he is stressed out and cope beautifully to a successful outcome. We are shown to a station – George removes his coat and we exchange Christian names with the clinician. The exchange of names is vital for it puts everyone at ease. Appropriate paperwork is completed and everyone is encouraged to talk to ease the situation. A useful ploy here is to mention the promised reward for it placates George and provides a topic of conversation for the nurse and thereby builds bridges with George. Dad offers to stand at the side of the chosen arm and encourages the nurse to talk through the procedure from cleansing the site -placing the tourniquet - inserting the needle – naming the colours of the vessels (all provide “distraction” and “conversation” - vital for George). In the unusual event of the nurse not providing commentary Dad explains that George likes to know and see what is going on and provides description of events. BIG PRAISE FOR BOTH GEORGE AND THE NURSE AS THE BLOOD ARRIVES (again vital for the process for this and future visits for it provides a poignant focal point for the exercise) “good blood George – well done”. George is told “finished” –“good blood” – the tourniquet removed. George is encouraged to hold the cotton swab as the nurse secures it with tape and everybody exchanges sincere thanks (using names) and congratulations on a job well done. – “what is next George” and without hesitation the response – “BREAKFAST”. Immediately post blood tests George is given the missed meds on way out and generally a sweet from Mum and Dad reminds Mum of George’s age!
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your hospital your health
“I had the idea that I could shoulder charge a tiled floor” Michael Lyons, Partnership Governor During last year's summer, I had the misfortune to attend the A&E Department, I say misfortune, because it was all down to my stupidity. I had the smart idea that I could shoulder charge a tiled floor. Let me explain, after attending a evening of good company and arriving home at about 10pm, I noticed that the shoelace of my right shoe was undone, not bothering to tie the aforementioned lace up, I proceeded to make my way to the front door of my homestead, from the garage. Opening the porch door I trod on the shoelace, stumbled over the lip of the doorstep and proceeding in a forward motion, shoulder charged the stone floor, picking myself up and feeling somewhat embarrassed and thinking "oh, oh,that did hurt" or words to that effect, I proceeded to the front door, opening the said wooden framed masterpiece and proceeded to my comfortable armchair. After 90 minutes of pain and coming to the conclusion that my R shoulder was not going to cure itself, ie, I could not move it, I thought that the better part of valour, would be, to receive help from the excellent Emergency Ambulance Service. After the 999 call and the usual pleasantries exchanged, a very pleasant paramedic turned up, felt my shoulder and said "dislocation" and proceeded to take me to the William Harvey Hospital. On arriving at the said hospital, I was welcomed as if I was a old mucker, ie, friend. OK, I am stretching the imagination a bit, it was more of "and what have we got here" the usually questions followed, name, address, next of kin, GP, etc, you all know the drill, well anyway, duly put on a trolley and then came the "what happened questions" after explaining the evening's entertainment, the delightful member of the Nursing profession disappeared and arrived back holding a container of fluid and a couple of pills. (I was in the, slight, “this hurts” situation) having asked what was I taking, I was duly informed "a pain killing concoction”. The morphine tasted vile and the paracetamol did,in my opinion very little, no doubt because of me being slightly over weight.
Hope for Tomorrow comes to east Kent
Hope for Tomorrow, a national cancer charity, has provided East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust with a Mobile Chemotherapy Unit which will travel throughout Kent helping to reduce the distances patients have to travel to receive their cancer treatment. The unit is named Caron in memory of Gloria Hunniford’s late daughter Caron Keating and will provide chemotherapy treatment in Hythe, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Dover. Much of the equipment on board has been purchased thanks to donations to East Kent Hospitals Charity.
After X-rays and a chat to the Medical Profession, a plan was put forward for me to be treated. After tying me to the trolley and putting a strap of leather in my mouth to bite on, the caring staff pushed my shoulder back. No, pack of porkies, I was taken to Resuscitation, given IV morphine and the injured shoulder popped back into place. An appointment for the Fracture Clinic was made and I made my weary way home. I must add that, the staff were first class, but then I am slightly biased due to my first senior post in the Hospital Service, being an A&E Manager. Moral. Wear slip-on shoes. 10
The signing of the Hope for Tomorrow contract.
A review of the year 2007-08
Meet governor Meet aa Governor xxx
feature
Junetta Whorwell, Elected Governor, Ashford
My name is Junetta Whorwell, a resident of Ashford for over four decades. I am a registered nurse, midwife and public health practitioner. I practised as a health visitor for many years in Kent. After many years’ service in the NHS, I moved into local Government as a care manager in Kent County Council. Many years in this organisation gave me the opportunity to engage with a diverse population and to monitor at close hand how Kent County Council provided and delivered services to people across Kent. Given my nursing background and my knowledge of how the NHS and local government delivers care to an ever increasing population, I decided to stand as a Governor and I was elected to the Council of Governors for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust. So what do I do? I attend regular governors meetings. These are chaired by Nicholas Wells, Chairman of the Trust. The meetings are very structured and a full agenda ensures the Trust business is discussed and actions taken as required. The directors of the Trust, the Chief Executive and Non-Executive Directors attend the meetings and the directors give in-depth reports on how the Trust is performing in the delivery of care for the people of Kent. Valuable, factual and very detailed information is provided in reports, hence a lot of reading for governors. Governors can hold the directors to account and the meetings provide the forum for effective and appropriate questioning. The in-depth reports reassure Governors on how the Trust
The Renal Unit, Kent & Canterbury Hospital performs its duties in delivering health care services for the people in Kent. It also highlights to me as well as other governors that there are dedicated, committed and experienced professional staff who work tirelessly to provide and ensure that the services delivered by the Trust meet the needs of the people. If it fails to deliver, patients do complain and there are robust structures in place to monitor and deal with complaints. Seeing services first-hand There are many changes within the NHS and families need reassurance that the health care services provided by the Trust are of the highest standards, delivered by staff who are compassionate, committed and treat patients with dignity and respect. During my first term I have met many staff who strive to ensure that the patient experience and outcome is positive. In my first term, I visited the acute hospitals at Ashford (WHH), Canterbury (K&C) and Margate (QEQM). Dover (BHD) and Folkestone (RVH) provide many services for the families in the community. I was impressed with the staff and the work carried out in the walk-in centre, the Derry Unit, physiotherapy department, X-ray department and outpatient department. I saw motivated staff and excellent team work. This is reassuring for the people who use those services and that staff do work to ensure the best care possible is provided.
The acute hospitals offer so much more in specialist care. I had the opportunity to visit the renal unit at K&C hospital. This was arranged by Mark Nicholls, and with his expert leadership, the patients who attended for dialysis on the day I visited were very satisfied with the high standard and the very excellent care they received in a very pleasant and safe environment. It must make a huge difference to patients who need this highly specialist treatment, not having to travel to London for dialysis. Thanks to Matron Debbie Bicker, I also spent a very interesting day at William Harvey Hospital in the operating theatre where the orthopaedic surgeons and the entire theatre team carried out technical surgical procedures. I observed how the entire team worked to ensure the patient safety was paramount. I have also had the opportunity to engage with many patients who have recently used the services, most have had satisfactory outcomes. Those who feel their experiences have not been satisfactory have the right to raise their concerns. The Trust does have a robust system in place to deal with patients’ complaints and governors can question to ensure that patients’ concerns are dealt with satisfactorily and in a timely way. I believe that by questioning effectively, the Trust and the directors can be held to account.
11
your hospital your health
How enterprising Brian Glew, Elected Governor, Canterbury There will be many differing opinions among our local Trust members, as there are in the population as a whole, about current and future funding of the NHS, and the increasing involvement of the private sector in the delivery of state-funded health care. Whatever our individual views on these thorny political questions, the indisputable fact is that the public and private sectors are, increasingly, working together more closely - and are often competing with each other. The focus is usually on private companies taking over a service previously undertaken by the public sector, but NHS Trusts are, more and more, generating what is called “non-NHS income” by offering their services in the market place. This income is then ploughed into core NHS activity, benefiting patients overall. We usually think of this income as flowing solely from treating patients privately (in NHS facilities), but there are many other forms of non-NHS income. In my travels around our East Kent hospitals, I have seen several examples of staff and departments developing initiatives outside the core NHS functions of the Trust. These include hydrotherapy pools – when they are not being used to treat NHS patients – being offered to community groups at a competitive rate. Some physiotherapy aids (that are not provided free under the NHS) are being bought from suppliers in bulk and then sold to patients at a lower (discounted) rate than they would otherwise pay. There are also some “bigger ticket” items in the fields of education, research and development. These activities are innovative, ensure that the Trust’s facilities are being used even more fully and effectively, and generate useful additional income for the Trust. They benefit patients individually, and as a whole, and the staff involved deserve credit for the imagination and effort they have invested. As Governors, we have a key, statutory duty to consider the Trust’s plans to generate non-NHS income and ensure that they do not get in the way of the Trust’s core NHS responsibilities. We have to satisfy ourselves – on your behalf – that the obvious benefits and advantages of the kind of initiatives I have outlined do not come at “too high a price”. We would welcome your thoughts and views on this, so, please, get in touch. n You can contact the Governors via foundationtrust@nhs.net 12
Dates for your diary Meet the Governors Thursday 20 March 10.00 - 12.00 Buckland Hospital, Dover Thursday 17 April 10.00 - 12.00 Kent & Canterbury Hospital Thursday 15 May 10.00 - 12.00 Royal Victoria Hospital, Folkestone Thursday 19 June 10.00 - 12.00 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Margate Thursday 17 July 10.00 - 12.00 WHH Diabetes event Wednesday 2 July 10.00am - 12.00 Lecture Theatre, QEQM Tuesday 15 July 5.30pm - 7.30pm Lecture Theatre, K&C Thursday 24 July 10.00am - 12.00 Lecture Theatre, WHH
You can support the ward and hospital of your choice by taking part in one of our charity events: London2Brighton Walk 24 and 25 May 2014 The Great Kent Bike Ride 22 June 2014 Hythe Festival 6 July 2014 Ash Church Charity Concert Charity –supporting Parkinson disease services 11 October 2014 Please call us if you would like more information about how you can support the causes that are important to you and make a lasting difference. 01227 868748 or visit our website: www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/charity
Great Kent
East Kent Hospitals Charity
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Sun 22 June
Spend a great day out cycling in the Garden of England
THIS IS A SPONSORED CHARITY RIDE. Your entry fee only covers the cost of running the ride. Please ask family, friends and colleagues to sponsor you. THANK YOU.
Start & Finish ASHFORD
Reg charity no. 1076555
Tenterden Newchurch 35 m Brenzett New Romney 60 m Rye Lydd on Sea
East Kent Hospitals Charity can make the wards more comfortable, provide additional support to patients, help buy the latest equipment and fund vital research. By raising funds for the East Kent Hospitals Charity you can make a lasting difference by helping us with a variety of projects at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford; the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury; the QEQM in Margate and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone and Buckland Hospital Dover. Your fundraising could help us purchase new digital equipment for the Cancer Unit; additional devices for the Special Care Baby Units to help save the lives of dangerously premature babies or extra facilities for relatives and friends when visiting the hospital. After registration you will be able to tell us where you want your sponsorship spent!
Practical details
So get pedalling in 2014 and help us to help your Hospitals.
Full details in Ride Guide when you register Start /Finish North Park, Tannery Lane, Ashford, Kent TN23 1PL Routes Leaving Ashford both routes head towards St Mary’s Bay, the 35 mile route turning west before Newchurch to explore the open horizons of Romney Marsh while the 60 mile route hugs the coast to visit New Romney and Dungeness before heading over the flatlands to Rye. Crossing the Isle of Oxney, the long route then climbs steeply to peaks of 200ft at Wittersham and Tenterden, rejoining the short route at Woodchurch and heading back to Ashford. Road/hybrid/mountain bike suitable. (Mileages approximate). Difficulty rating L: 3 S: 2 Start Times 8.00am to 10.00am at a time to suit you Refreshments Refill water bottles and buy food / drinks at stops on route. Minimum ages: 14 yrs on the 35 mile and 16 yrs on the 60 mile. All riders must wear a cycle helmet and riders under 16 must be accompanied by an adult over 18.
www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/charity
Please check website before event for updates and changes
enter online www.bike-events.co.uk
by post see page 00 for form
thomasmayorphotography
With a choice of 35 or 60 mile circular routes taking in the Kentish coast, the open horizons of Romney Marsh and the High Weald, you’re guaranteed a great day out in the Garden of England.
23
your hospital your health
The East Kent Neurorehabilitation Unit Dee Mepstead, Elected Governor- Canterbury I met Dr Mohammed Sakel by chance, near the Neurorehabilitation stall, at the K&C 2013 Summer fete. Dr Sakel heads up the Neuro-rehabilitation Unit at K&C and, telling me of the work and new developments at the Unit, invited me to visit and see for myself.
designer, Christine Patterson, and implemented under her supervision with a team of volunteers. Some of the windows on the ward look out onto the garden. It is quite beautiful and, for me, appears to have potential to totally fulfil the aims of a peaceful and healing environment.
I subsequently visited the unit and attended the fourth Brain Injury Multi-Disciplinary Conference, organised by Dr Sakel and held at the end of October.
The conference was opened by the Lady Mayoress of Canterbury, with an opening speech by the Medical Director Dr Paul Stevens. It was well supported and a very interesting day with informative lectures and good discussion. Apart from contributions by experts there was also a very powerful presentation by a young woman living with the effects of brain injury.
The Unit uses the American system of rehabilitation and the multi-disciplinary team aim to enable patients to progress and achieve independence as soon as possible. This is good for the patients, their relatives and economically in terms of care needs. Patients are admitted with Acquired Brain Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Peripheral Neuropathy and Spinal Cord injury. The Unit has some impressive technical equipment, a committed staff and good accommodation including internal quiet areas beneficial, indeed necessary, for some patients with brain injury. Externally, in May 2012, there was an official opening of the sensory garden designed for patients being cared for on East Kent’s Neuro-rehabilitation unit at the Kent & Canterbury Hospital. East Kent Hospitals Charity worked with the Kent & Canterbury Hospital League of Friends and the Charity Sustain to provide the finances necessary for the new sensory garden which aims to provide peace, tranquillity and aid patient recovery. Adjacent to the wards of the Unit, the plan was donated by a local garden
All patched up! The mosaic outside the Viking Day Cancer Unit at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Margate, has been restored to its former glory thanks to a grant from the East Kent Hospitals Charity and the Cancer Care Appeal. The mosaic, which has been exposed to the elements for many years, has been professionally restored and can be appreciated again by the Unit’s patients. Photo: Maureen Jones, Chair of the Cancer Care Appeal, with Junior Sister Carrie Merry. 14
One of the Unit aims is to enable patients to explore their artistic side through the use of art, pottery and music. The Unit is collaborating with research into the effects and benefits of music for rehabilitating patients. Music sessions began on the Unit in January. These are provided by Live Music Group on a voluntary basis. A number of totally new experiences for some patients, who may never have considered their potential ability in these areas, but hopefully achievable and enjoyable for many. The important issue is that these activities, combined with the other work of the Unit, should help aid patient recovery. This all takes tremendous energy and commitment by the staff and volunteers involved at the Unit which continues to build on its strengths both clinically and in research terms.
Your hospital’s support for disabled people Philip Wells, Elected GovernorCanterbury After the excitement of the 2012 Paralympics have you thought about what goes on in your local hospital to support disabled people to lead as normal a life as possible? Well on the Kent & Canterbury Hospital site there is a small, highly skilled team who provide Adult Communication and Assistive Technology (ACAT) service. Who are they? They are a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), specialised in Electronic Assistive Technology (EAT), working across East Kent and Swale. The team comprises an Occupational Therapist, a Speech and Language Therapist, a Therapy Assistant Practitioner, a Clinical Scientist, a Clinical Technologist, and an administrator. They work with people who have disabilities, their families, carers and local care teams to assess for, and provide EAT equipment/software. Their aim through provision of this equipment is to enable people with disabilities to become more independent at home, at work, in education and in social situations. What do they do? They provide a specialist assessment service and loan equipment for clients with complex needs that result in them experiencing difficulty in communicating and/or accessing a computer.
access/ specialised controls has been identified as their method of access, they may work with other organisations such as Wheelchair Service and/or Environmental Control Service to ensure their access needs are met.
They do this by working with the clients, families, carers and their local therapists to provide support and training to the client, carers and therapists.
Why is support from the local therapists and other people in care of the client important? They will not be involved with the client if the referring therapist is confident and competent to carry out the assessment and train the client on the use of the equipment. In these situations their involvement is only to provide the aid. They will however support the therapists through training if they have any issues.
For therapists who may just wish to discuss a case or seek advice, consultation sessions can be arranged to enable them to support their client’s needs. They work closely with our clients to provide them with equipment/software that meet their needs. Most software packages are programmed individually for each client. They organise follow ups and reviews to ensure their clients’ changing needs are met. They also offer training to clients, families, their carers and local therapists.
In summary: In essence the team work to provide appropriate technological support to disabled people to enable them to lead as normal a life as possible. This can have enormous benefit for not only the person themselves but for family, friends and carers.
For those clients with complex needs, where integrated 15
How to join us There are many ways to be part of your hospital Trust - as a member, a volunteer, a fund raiser or all of the above! More information is available on our website at www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/supportus or complete the form below and send it to: Membership OfďŹ ce, FREEPOST RSGJ-CLYR-UCKY, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, St Peters Road, Margate CT9 4AN. (No stamp required). Become a member
Volunteer
As a member you will be able to share your opinions and ideas and have a voice in the development of hospital services in east Kent.
Charity
At East Kent Hospitals Charity we would like to know if you are thinking of raising funds for any of our hospitals or in support of the services the Trust provides.
We value the involvement of local people as volunteers in activities that enhance the quality of life for our patients, visitors, carers and also support the staff in delivering high quality health care.
I am applying For Foundation Trust membership (please circle as appropriate)
Leagues of Friends
To be a volunteer
There are five separate Leagues of Friends' or 'Friends' in east Kent which individually support the five hospitals across the Trust. Each League of Friends is a voluntary organisation and registered charity.
To support the Charity
Surname First name(s) Address Postcode Telephone E-mail Date of birth Gender How would you like us to contact you? Ethnic group
Male
White British White Irish Mixed, White & Black Caribbean Mixed, White & Asian Asian, Asian British, Indian Asian, Asian British, IBangladeshi Black, Black British, Caribbean Black, Black British, Other Other Ethnic Group
Do you consider yourself to have a disability?
Female
Post White Other Mixed, White & Black African Mixed, Other Asian, Asian British, IPakistani Asian, Other Black, Black British, African Chinese
Yes
No
We are required by law to keep public registers of members which will include your name plus constituency. Please indicate if you wish to have your name removed from the public register. Yes No We are required to request the above information in order to ensure that our membership is representative of the local population. All information is protected in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. 16 Signed Date