Connect Autumn 13 Magazine

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Health &

Wellbeing

RECYC

SE

• PLEA

LE

LE

SE

RECYC

Pullout Inside!

NOVEMBER 2013 • VIEW ONLINE ON THE INTRANET

• PLEA

New paediatric neuromuscular Launch of new cancer team going information service from strength to The new cancer information service funded by Macmillan and Rosemere strength Cancer Foundation has been officially launched.

Thanks to all the fantastic staff and volunteers from both charities for all the hard work and dedication that went in to making the launch a great success.

The service provides support, information and practical advice about living and coping with, and beyond, cancer by a team of trained staff and volunteers at sites across both Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble hospitals.

Rachel Glascott, Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Manager, said: “We’re really excited about launching this service which will make a real difference to people’s lives. Our fantastic team of trained staff and volunteers are able to provide patients with financial, emotional and practical support and advice and signpost them to other local services such as support groups.

It’s making a real difference to people’s lives.”

Get to know new staff!

Meet Mark Brady, our new renal consultant.

Why have you chosen to come to work at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals?

I worked here as a locum Renal registrar in 2007 and really enjoyed it.

The renal team has an excellent group of staff and reputation, so when the Consultant job came up earlier this year I was very interested.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals seems genuinely serious about putting patients first and that’s the kind of environment I want to work in.

What are you enjoying/looking forward to about your new role?

I’m really enjoying having my own group of patients that I’m responsible for. I’m well aware that I wouldn’t be able to look after them without our wider renal team who have a diverse range of professions, skills and abilities. The combination of a personal relationship with patients aged 18 to well above 80 and working in a team is the best part about my job.

2

Since April, families in the North West of England who are affected by muscle-wasting conditions, have been able to come to see our new paediatric neuromuscular team thanks to the hard work and determination of Consultant Paediatric Neurologist Dr Christian de Goede.

He said: “It was my ambition to set up a neuromuscular service here. I started by making a list of the patients with muscle-wasting conditions to have an idea of the numbers we were looking at and to make sure they didn’t disappear off our system.

Before starting this job had you lived or been to Preston before?

Yes back in 2007. I had a few nights out with the ward staff that were always fun but didn’t really know the wider area.

My wife and I are starting to explore now.

Dr de Goede gathered evidence and compiled a report that was seven years in the making. The end result was getting the green light to recruit a specialist neuromuscular team.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Spending time with family, running, football, playing golf (badly) and getting involved with our local church. Always keen to see new music or comedy too but not as often as I would like, nor do I get to see Aston Villa as much as I’d like, but in recent years that’s not necessarily been a bad thing!

“We got everything we needed, and more than we wanted. Additional to the much needed specialist nurse and physiotherapist we now also have support from an occupational therapist and clinical psychologist.

I am absolutely delighted.”

Tell us something interesting about yourself?

I once played in the same round of the FA Youth Cup as Ryan Giggs - sadly not on the same pitch. We’re the same age but our careers followed slightly different paths - I’d much rather have my job though, obviously!

The clinic, which now consists of a four person team, is running twice a month. So a big welcome to Dr de Goede and his team Laurie Bibby (Neuromuscular Specialist Nurse), Zoe Pilborough (Physiotherapist), Tessa Franken (Clinical Psychologist) and Eileen Noble (Occupational Therapist).

Pictured left from left to right: Professor Mark Pugh - Hospital Dean, Dr Craig Spencer ICU Consultant, Dr Alex Woywodt Year 3 Associate Dean, Chief Executive Karen Partington Pictured below: Caroline Ashworth Orthopaedics clinical educator, Dr Madhavi - Year 4 Associate Dean

Well done to our Year 4 students!

Well done to all of our Year 4 students who have completed their Mandatory Project Option module.

As part of the curriculum at Manchester Medical School, students have to study a project within an area of their specific interest, for 11 weeks. This can either be research, non-research, service evaluation or audit.

At the end of the module all students are required to provide a written report which is marked by their supervisor, as well as giving a five minute presentation marked by a panel of four Assessors made up from Project Option Supervisors from here or Manchester Medical School. It is a requirement for all students to pass this element of the course before progressing to their final year.

As well as students gaining various skills including academic, research and management, they also have the opportunity to have their work published and/or presented in a national or international meetings and conferences. Dr Aimun Ahmed, Project Option lead said: “We’re really proud of all of the students who have worked so hard this year. Also a massive thank you to all the staff members because without their involvement in delivering the education programmes and supporting the students, this really wouldn’t be possible.”

Awards for our teaching staff voted for by students Usually it’s our tutors and health professionals awarding the students for their good work...but this time it was the other way around!

An award ceremony was held to recognise our teaching staff for all the good work that they do and all of the winners were voted for by the students themselves.

The event was attended by Chief Executive Karen Partington, Workforce and Education Director Karen Swindley, Hospital Dean Professor Mark Pugh and Professor Mahesh Nirmalan from Manchester Medical School along with students from all years and the undergraduate team.

The winners were:Best Year 3 Team

Critical Care led by Dr Craig Spencer

Best PBL Facilitators in Year 3

Dr Waite, Dr Conlin, Dr Kaushal, Dr Woywodt and Dr Haughton all of whom were voted ‘excellent’

Best Year 3 Lecture

Dr Tahir Nazir

Best Foundation doctor in the link scheme

Dr George Hiner

Best overall Year 5 tutor

Dr Caroline Clay

Outstanding Achievement award

Dr Simon Wallis

Best Year 4 Firm

Orthopaedics led by Dr Raj Kumar

Best Problem Based Learning Facilitator Year 4

Dr Zaidi

Best Clinical Tutor Year 4

Caroline Ashworth

Outstanding contribution as a project option tutor Dr Shuja Punekar Student Achievement Award Year 3

Hannah Pearlman

Student Achievement Award Year 4

Claire Bunce

Winner of the student grand rounds

Anand Bhopal

Professor Mark Pugh said: “This is a great event because it recognises all the good work that our tutors do and means so much more to the winners because it is voted for by the students themselves.”

3

New location for Mayfield discharge lounge The Mayfield discharge lounge has been relocated from the patient waiting area at the entrance to Royal Preston Hospital to ward 17, as part of the Change For The Future Patient Flow programme.

The new discharge lounge has two sitting lounges and two bed bays, one male and one female. There are also private toilet facilities, TVs in both sitting lounges and patients’ meals will be redirected to the discharge lounge if they order them while still on a ward.

Pam Cuthbert, Sister on Mayfield discharge lounge, said: “We want to make sure that staff know where we are and encourage them to transfer patients here as soon as they are ready for discharge.

The fact that we have two bed bays means that patients who need to be in bed can still be moved here when they are ready for discharge, which will free up beds on the wards earlier in the day.

This should help keep patients moving through the hospital safely and effectively.”

The discharge lounge can also be used by DVT patients and by anyone waiting for blood test results.

Contact Pam on extension 2919 for further information.

Hot clinic reduces unnecessary surgical admissions An initiative to reduce the number of unnecessary surgical admissions has proved to be a big success since it was introduced in January 2011. Over the last two years, around 3,200 patients have been seen at the ‘hot’ clinic on the Surgical Admissions Unit, and over 90% of them were discharged home on the same day.

Consultant Mr Palakuezhyil Thomas runs the clinic along with Karan Clayton, assistant nurse practitioner.

He explains: “We see every patient who is referred to the SAU for general surgical admission, with the exception of road traffic accidents and acutely ill patients. We have full access to pathology and radiology services, so we can carry out all the necessary investigations on the same day. The feedback from patients is that they are very happy to spend a few hours in the clinic having these tests carried out, rather than having to return on different days for various investigations and then attend further surgical clinics for their treatment plan.”

Mr Thomas said: “I have estimated that during this two year period, the hot clinic has saved 2,938 patient bed days, which in turn makes an overall saving of around £1 million a year. We are really pleased that it has proven to be so successful, both for the organisation and from the positive patient satisfaction feedback that we’ve received.”

Mr Thomas with Karan Clayton.

Mr Thomas has evaluated the performance of the clinic during its first two years of operation. His analysis shows that during that period: • 3,208 patients were seen, investigated and treated on the same day that they were referred • 270 (8.4%) were admitted to the SAU for further management • 2,938 were discharged on the same day • 36 (1%) patients were re-admitted, but none of them needed surgery 4

Sean Hughes, Medical Director said, “This is a great example of how we can challenge existing ways of doing things to both generate significant savings, and more importantly provide our patients with a better experience.

If you have a money saving idea email changeforthefuture@lthtr.nhs.uk, speak to your line manager or Mark Fletcher, Transformation Director.

❝

During this two year period, the hot clinic has saved 2,938 patient bed days, which in turn makes an overall saving of around £1 million a year.❞

Valuing YOUR Voice steering group:

Make YOUR views count!

The staff opinion survey is a valuable tool used to help understand how you feel about working here, and what we need to focus on to make it better.

The responses are treated anonymously so you can be as honest as possible which provides much better quality feedback!

Karen Swindley, Workforce and Education Director said: “The more responses we receive, the more representative and credible the results, so if you’ve been sent a survey please complete it by Monday 2 December.

We all want this to be a great place to work, and the staff survey gives us a really useful indication of what’s going well and where there’s room for improvement.”

The Valuing Your Voice steering group has been established to identify any wider corporate issues and to make recommendations to the executive team for review and action.

The group analyses feedback from a range of sources, including the staff survey, CEO Valuing Your Voice form and mailbox, staff governors, trade union representatives, and staff briefings.

Karen said, “Staff engagement, stress, communication, teamwork, and organisational values have been identified as themes for improvement this year based on last year’s results. We’ve made some good progress and want to build on this in the coming year so we will be looking at this year’s results in detail to see what else we need to do to make this a great place to work.

Progress so far: • Improved internal communication, e.g. revamped Team Brief and CEO Comments blog • More Valuing Your Voice events, hosted by the Chief Executive, to share the business plan and get your views • A revised appraisal process and paperwork that’s easier to use • New exit interview policy • Our values have been incorporated into our recruitment and appraisal process and are becoming more visible across the hospitals

End of life care In August we started implementing the End Of Life Care programme, which is an 18 month project that aims to improve end of life care within acute hospitals across England, enabling more people to be supported to live and die well in their preferred place.

Valerie O’Donnell, Consultant in Palliative Medicine said, “There has been lots of negative media coverage about the Liverpool Care Pathway, and some families’ poor experience of end of life care.

“We have produced a number of tools and resources to support staff to ensure you can provide good end of life care, including ‘care of the dying best practice’.

This aims to make sure we’re doing everything we can to support patients and their families to make

informed choices, feel involved, and have as positive an experience as possible at this very difficult time.”

Two additional nurses have recently been appointed to support the development and implementation of personalised end of life care planning, and to train doctors and nurses in how to use the tools and resources. See the intranet for more information about the tools, resources and training sessions, or contact Sarah Wilkinson, lead end of life care educator x8169.

David Leech and Mandy Davis 5

News in Pictures Baby Beat ball Baby Beat raised a whopping £9,095 at its 25th anniversary Silver Ball which was held at Barton Grange. 200 people helped us party the night away with entertainment from our Vice Patron, Stephen Bayliss and MC Norman Prince.

Sean Hughes, Baby Beat’s Chairman said: “This event was in celebration of Baby Beat’s 25th birthday with the added bonus of us raising a wonderful amount. It’s getting more and more difficult to raise funds and we are extremely grateful to everyone who supported the charity by attending. The funds raised will go towards ensuring that the Sharoe Green Maternity Unit stays at the very forefront of new and innovative technology, which is forever moving forward, designed to monitor the unborn baby from conception to birth.

Back to Front: Karen Entwistle - Manager, Anne McKie - Vice Chairman, Sean Hughes - Chairman, Vivien Hardwicke - Committee member.

Local schoolchildren do their bit to help cancer patients Pupils from St Peters School in Fulwood made fabric bags for cancer patients to put their drips and drains in.

It was part of a school enterprise chairman’s challenge and the youngsters came first in the North West!

The bags are a great idea and have been greatly appreciated by our patients.

Oompa loompa dumpidy do!

Staff from Haematology and Biochemistry took part in the Inter Hospital Challenge at Aintree...dressed as oompa loompas!

They had to recover equipment from a nuclear zone and take part in a 100ft abseil...which 4 of our team completed!

Although the team didn't win they were told that they were close runners up in the Team Spirit trophy...next year!!

From left to right: Stewart Harrison (TA and LTH Clinical Nurse Specialist), Sam Davies, Gemma Nolan, Louise Blakeman, TA member, Jessica Shields, Tracey Palmer and Beverley Gledhill

6

Health and Wellbeing Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Medical Director supports the health and wellbeing programme.

Our Health and Wellbeing Strategy outlines our approach to becoming a healthy, and health-promoting organisation. A steering group was established in 2012 to bring together a range of colleagues who are responsible for health related Health & initiatives to work collaboratively to enable staff to access a wide range of resources Wellbeing and activities that promote good health and wellbeing.

Karen Swindley, Workforce and Education Director, chairs the Health and Wellbeing Steering Group. Karen said, “As a responsible employer that values our staff we are committed to supporting our staff to make positive health and lifestyle choices. And there is a close link between the health of a workforce and customer satisfaction, so it’s also in our patients’ interests to promote staff wellbeing.

The Health and Wellbeing Strategy has four key themes to support staff to choose healthy lifestyles

- stopping smoking, exercising, having a healthy diet and consuming alcohol responsibly. Over the past year we have reviewed a lot of national and local guidance to identify best practice and develop initiatives that help our staff to achieve and maintain good health. Our smoking policy makes it easier for staff to choose not to smoke when working and stop smoking aids are freely available.

There is a wide range of physical fitness initiatives to suit almost everyone’s circumstances, from box fit classes to guided walks around the hospitals. The cycle to

There is always something going on, and a range of money saving opportunities to support you to stay fit and healthy, so check out the health and wellbeing intranet site to keep up with the latest developments.

work scheme provides a financial incentive to get a new bike, and we have arranged discounted memberships at a number of local gyms. Alternative therapies are also available at discounted rates which can help you relax and reduce stress. We are working with the catering team to make sure healthy options are always available in our canteens and cafés and we have had campaigns to raise awareness of responsible alcohol unit intake.

Results from staff health and wellbeing survey We undertook a survey to find out what staff wanted, in terms of your health and wellbeing and to find out how many people were aware of the activities and initiatives already available.

407 of you took part in the survey. Key findings are that in general

people are not aware of the activities we offer, so we want to do something about that...which is why we have produced this health and wellbeing pullout!

We’re also improving the staff intranet site - so head to the health and wellbeing page under the ‘information’ tab for loads of information.

407 of you took part in the Staff Health and Wellbeing Survey: Responses were evenly split between non-clinical and clinical staff.



PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Health &

Wellbeing

SMOKING

(16%)

Over a third

Only 16% of you described yourselves as smokers.





Over a third of you were unaware of our on-site physical activity/exercise opportunities. For more information log onto the Intranet - access the Health and Wellbeing page (left hand menu) then link to the Occupational Health page.

54% of you wanted help to stop, but 53% were unaware of the hospital on-site clinics for staff.

You said you would like…

an on site gym, but because space is at a premium in the hospitals we haven’t been able to find a viable option so we have negotiated reduced rates at several local gyms. For details about all staff discounts visit the health and wellbeing page on the intranet.

• Monday all day at RPH in Occupational Health • Wednesday morning at CDH in the Education Centre

Tel: 01772 644158 / 0800328 6297 to make an appointment.

You said you would like...

shower facilities and would like exercise groups to fit in with shift times. The Staff Health and Wellbeing Group will explore the feasibility of these.

(42%) Almost half of you (42%) self reported as either overweight (37%) or obese (5%).



WEIGHT Three quarters of you (75%) were unaware of the on-site Diet Club (contact Occupational Health for details), or the community ‘Fit Squad’ weight management programme.

Tel. 01772 644158 / 0800328 6297

97% of you had never contacted these services.

MENTAL WELL-BEING

One third Almost one third of you reported never/seldom feeling relaxed in the previous two weeks.



You suggested... a number of ways how work could improve your mental well-being including Yoga/Exercise

Already available on-site - see Occupational Health Intranet pages)

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES

(55%) Over 55% of you would be prepared to pay for on-site complementary therapies.



We have on-site Complementary Therapies available at both RPH and CDH provided by an external contractor (G B Holistic Clinic).

To find out more or to book and appointment contact Gillie directly on: 07720 395769

ALCOHOL & DRUGS

Almost half



Almost half of you were unaware of the drug and alcohol support available. If you need help you can contact Occupational Health or alternatively you can contact our local services for >18’s:

Discover (Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services): 01772 825492

Thank you to those who took part…

To keep up to date with what’s happening and to make sure that you don’t miss out, make sure that you have a look at the Health and Wellbeing Intranet page.

Our OT’s and physios get fit!

Back in the summer a team of our Occupational Therapists and Physio’s took part in the NHS fun triathlon.

Our novice triathletes triumphed as they sprinted, swam 400m, cycled for 21k and then ran 5k…phew!

Solo entrants were Helen Gooch (Physio), Rachel Imms (OT), Tracey McDonald (Physio), Caroline Wylie (OT), and OT team; Becca Gaunt, Karis Isherwood and Rose Peel so well done to all! Helen Gooch also gained sponsorship for the triathlon, and raised £340 for the MND association which is fantastic!

Physiotherapy and occupational therapy have been restructured, and recently joined together to become integrated therapy services. This event was a lovely opportunity to realise true integrated team-work.

Some of the staff are now looking at opportunities for more events, and Rachel is starting an interest list for next year’s NHS fun tri event. If you are interested please email Rachel.imms@lthtr.nhs.uk.

Congratulations to all those who competed, and for flying the flag for RPH and therapy services!

Get your flu jab!

Th

e Chief It’s that time Executive of year again has had when the cold her flu jab. dark nights are drawing in and we are urging all staff to protect themselves, their families and their patients by getting the flu jab!

Find out how you can get your flu jab by going to the intranet homepage.

And everybody who has their flu jab will be entered into a prize draw to win an ipad!

Dig out your dancing shoes!

Want to keep fit and have fun at the same time? Come along to our new dance classes!

We’ll be holding ballroom, salsa and disco dancing sessions for 5 weeks starting on Wednesday 20th November 5:15-6:15pm.

Tom with his nephew, son and daughter after completing the challenge.

Contact Steve Shore to find out more. Steve.shore@lthtr.nhs.uk

Our very own Iron Man! Congratulations to Dr Tom Owen, a consultant in anaesthesia and critical care medicine, who has raised over £1500 for the Northern Cleft Foundation after participating in the Lanzarote Iron Man Challenge, which involved a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle and a 26.2 mile run.

Tom said: “The Northern Cleft Foundation is a local charity that provides cleft lip surgery to children in India. I have been lucky enough to work with them in the past and I hope to go out again in the next couple of years.

The Iron Man Challenge went really well – it was brutal but enjoyable!”

Cycle challenge a ‘wheel’ success!

Cycling is a great exercise and the benefits from it of improving

We are delighted that the NHS Sport and Physical Activity Challenge have awarded us a SILVER award for our programme of sports and physical activities for staff.

We were able to demonstrate that we offer a range of activities designed to promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage our staff to get more physically active, which can have a direct effect on staff health, well-being and morale.

The cycle challenge was a 3 week competition to see which company across Lancashire could get the highest number of people cycling for at least 10 minutes during that time.

We managed to come a respectable 14th out of the 22 larger companies involved...but we’re determined to do even better next time!

We’ve won an award for our staff sporting activities

Onwards and upwards!

Going for Gold next year! physical and psychological wellbeing are well documented.

We have loads of other ways for staff to improve health and wellbeing - go to the intranet to find out more!

If you want to find out more about all the activities on offer, just visit the Health and Wellbeing page on the intranet under the information tab.

A tribute to a great friend and colleague Staff on the Critical Care Unit have raised money to buy a memorial bench in remembrance of one of their colleagues.

Kev Higham died suddenly of a heart condition in August 2010, he worked on the Surgical Unit for 10 years before moving to Critical Care.

Colleague and friend, Staff Nurse Tania Kelly said: “Kev was an asset to the unit. He was a breath of fresh air, caring, professional and he always made us smile; we knew it would be a good shift when we were working alongside Kev. Kev was always trying to stop smoking and did manage for long periods at a time. So in his memory I decided to give up and raise money for a memorial tree and bench for all to sit on and remember him.”

On the 15th August 2013, the three year anniversary of Kev’s death, his colleagues arranged a get together on the Critical Care Unit for all staff to celebrate Kev’s life. Kev’s Mum, Dad, daughter and Uncle also came. It was a day of sad and happy memories.

Pub crawl in your PJs A group of 18 friends (including nine members of our staff) donned their onsies and walked a seven mile pub crawl route from Longridge to Fulwood stopping cars and pedestrians en route to raising £2,500 to be divided equally between the Baby Beat Appeal and the NW Air Ambulance.

Karen Entwistle, Baby Beat Manager said: “We are extremely grateful to everyone involved. I’m sure they all had a great time visiting the various pubs en route but more importantly they managed to raise a significant sum for both Baby Beat and North West Air Ambulance. The funds raised for Baby Beat will go towards ensuring the babies born within our community have access to the very best and latest technology designed to monitor the unborn baby and its mother from conception straight through to birth.”

At the front holding the banner are: Tracie Ashcroft (left), Sandra Jackson (right) At the back holding the banner are: Lindsey Richmond (left), Annalisa Moore (right) Front row (left to right): Annette Nevett, Laura Richmond, Tracey Bevan, Debbie Weyer, Sheila Shaw Second Row (left to right):Nicola Rea, Daniel Botham, Keri McNally, Michelle Howarth, Angela Beattie 7

Staff development

Our Consultant is nominated for an award!

Our very own Andy Curran has been nominated for a Health Service Journal (HSJ) award.

Andy was shortlisted for the National award after being nominated for always putting patients first, working collaboratively across organisational boundaries, and engaging every member of staff involved in the delivery of care so they understand the role they play. He has also been the driving force in developing effective major trauma services in the region.

The annual HSJ Awards are the biggest awards in healthcare management.

There are ten people in total shortlisted for the Clinical Leader of the Year Award. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 19 November at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London where over 1000 influential healthcare leaders will come together for a night of reward, recognition and celebration.

Well done Andy and fingers crossed!

Say hello to our new students!

Please welcome our new cohort of Year 3 medical students who have just started their 3 year placements with us – there’s 82 of them and they hit the wards earlier this month!

8

News NewsininBrief Brief Our very own JK Rowlings!!

Two of our Consultants have had a book published!

Daniel Cottle and Shond Laha have written a book called ‘Anaesthetics for Junior Doctors and Allied Professionals: The essential guide’. It is designed to help surgeons, especially those in Foundation Training posts and medical students considering an anaesthetic or intensive placement.

Chief Executive Karen Partington said: “We’re really proud of Dr Cottle and Dr Laha for this fantastic achievement. This just shows the quality of the expertise we have here in our hospitals which is great news for colleagues and of course our patients.”

Dyslexia Awareness Day Our first “Dyslexia Awareness Day” was held at the Education Centre, Chorley back in May and was a great success!

The day was well attended by staff from all of our directorates and topics like what dyslexia is, the effects within the workplace, and how to cope, were all covered. Feedback from the day was that it was really useful and everybody learned a great deal.

We run a confidential Dyslexia Support Group, dates of the next meetings are: 24th October 2013, 21st November 2013 and 16th January 2014, all at the Education Centre 3 at Chorley between 3-5pm.

If you require any information or advice, please contact Barrie Morgan, Ambassador for Dyslexia on ext 7428, or Claire Wade on ext 3523.

New Offices for Emergency Department staff Emergency Department staff have now moved from their portacabins into nice new offices.

It’s part of a refurbishment of the department to make room for the new CT scanner that was bought with money raised in the lifesaver appeal.

See the pictures of the refurbishment in progress.

Obstetrics and Gynaecology students go the extra mile This year’s obstetrics and gynaecology medical students have really shone.

Lynne Walker, Clinical Practice Facilitator said: “This year a number of medical students undertaking an Obstetrics and Gynaecology placement have contributed something extra. Some students have had poster presentations accepted at conferences, a few have had abstracts accepted for obstetrics and gynaecology journals, including Obstetrics and Gynaecology, British Maternal and Foetal Society, Ultrasound and the British Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.”

And a group of students with an interest in Obstetrics and Gynaecology have set up the Preston Obstetrics and Gynaecology Student Society (POGSS), with support from Dr Soydemir.

“Congratulations to all the students involved in these achievements and a big thank you to all the doctors, midwives and other members of the team that have taught, supported and encouraged all of the medical students in the past year.”

9

Great PLACE results!

We achieved fantastic results in the new PatientLed Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) survey, achieving above average scores in every category.

CATEGORIES

TRUST SCORE

NATIONAL AVERAGE

Cleanliness

99.7

95.74

Food and hydration

89.06

84.98

Privacy and wellbeing

94.26

88.87

Condition and appearance

95.06

88.75

Miles Timperley, Director of Facilities and Services, said: “We are really happy with the results as we consistently work hard to ensure that the facilities and surroundings at both of our hospitals are of the highest standard and that our patients are happy and comfortable. Many staff across the organisation have contributed to achieving these excellent standards, from clinical staff and managers who ensure the privacy of patients is respected and patients are well nourished, to facilities staff who work tirelessly to keep the hospitals clean and maintained and provide a variety of nutritious meals.

I want to say a big thank you to all staff for helping us to achieve this result, we will continue to ensure that these standards are maintained and improved even more.”

Our staff are Patient Safety Champions!

Six of our employees have successfully participated in the first Patient Safety Champions Programme which began in March.

Julie Seed, Head of Governance said: “The programme aims to support participants in developing skills, confidence and capability to challenge the current systems within their own area and drive through patient safety as a priority within both their own practices and their wider organisations.”

Participants have to undertake self-directed learning and four full day, module style workshops over a period of three months, as well as develop and implement an improvement project in relation to patient safety and produce a poster presentation.

Big well done to: • Kathryn Dickinson – Sister (Ward 25 Renal Medicine) • Rachel Pickford – Clinical Governance Facilitator (Medicine) • Jaqcui Smith – Clinical Educator (Medicine) • Gill Kirby – Clinical Educator (Surgery) • Paula Nuttall – Patient Safety Improvement Facilitator • Sharon O’Connor – Patient Safety Improvement Facilitator The next cohort of the Patient Safety Champions Programme is due to start in January 2014. Further information can be found at: www.aquanw.nhs.uk/programmes/16-patient-safety-champions

What’s happening at Rosemere…

Rosemere christmas cards are on sale now! Send loved ones a lovely Christmas greeting and help people affected by cancer at the same time.

Call ext 2913 for a brochure and order form or pop into the Rosemere office next to Linac 6 in the Radiotherapy Department.

Ask about our new shopping bags too which fold up into a rose and make fabulous stocking fillers at just £3 each!

Date for your diary:

Christmas carol evening.

Join Rosemere supporters for mulled wine, mince pies and a relaxed sing along of old favourites in the Radiotherapy Department on Tuesday 17th December at 7pm.

Tickets £5 (£1 for children).

Call Ext 2013 or email info@rosemere.org.uk.

10

Central Venous Access Team (CVAT) Formed by three Clinical Nurse Specialists, Sarah Swindells, Linzi Tierney and Alberto Alende-Aragon, the CVAT team is a vital part of our plan to help reduce infection rates and improve quality of care and experience of our patients.

The team is managed by Nutrition Nurse Consultant Tracy Earley, and will work closely with the Nutrition team and Interventional Radiology.

Clinical Nurse Alberto Alende-Aragon said: “The services provided by the CVAT team include: Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) insertion referral service, venous access assessment, PICC placement by bedside on wards, support gaining venous access in patients with poor vasculature, telephone advice to clinicians regarding appropriate venous access devices (VADS) selection, education and training.

The team provides support Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:30 with a view of covering weekend in future.

Main contact bleep: 3410

Pennies from Heaven There are now 320 members of staff in the Pennies from Heaven scheme and since the scheme began in January 2011 £4,310.65 has been donated.

The money goes towards helping Rosemere Cancer Foundation, a charity for people affected by cancer and Baby Beat, which helps to care for unborn babies and their families.

How it works: Individuals sign up once and from then every salary is rounded down to the nearest pound with the extra pennies donated to charity. (For example if net pay was £850.34 then 34p would be donated).

If you want to find out more just go to the Information tab on the intranet and click on ‘pennies from heaven’.

In September we gave the scheme a real push to make sure more people knew about it, as part of this relaunch we also had a prize draw and congratulations to John Proctor who won a £50 Debenhams voucher!

Christmas carol service We’re holding our Christmas carol services on the following dates: • 5 December 2013 at 12.30pm in the Chapel at Chorley • 17 December 2013 at 12.30pm in the Chapel at Preston

Medicines awareness week hailed a success!

The pharmacy department launched a medicines awareness campaign last month and it was a great success.

Medicines Awareness Week ran from 9th-13th September and is all about focusing on the safe use of medicines within the hospitals, raising awareness with all staff caring for patients about their roles and responsibilities in medicines management to reduce risk and to improve quality and patient experience.

Staff visited wards and departments to remind colleagues about prescribing, administrating and storing medicines, with a particular focus on ensuring patients don’t miss doses of the medication they are prescribed. A ‘calling card’ was introduced so that if patients are off the ward during a medicines round they will be left a card asking them to let nursing staff know when they return so they can then have any medicines they have missed.

Andrea Ashton, Pharmacy Operations Manager said: “The week was well received by staff and there was positive feedback and suggestions made to help improve medicines management, so a big well done to everybody that took part!

Also during the week there was a competition to guess the value of medicines prescribed for a month’s supply of treatment for medical patients.

• The correct value was £287.56 for the renal medicines and the closest guess was £280.77 made

by Xiang Lee (Preston).

• The correct value was £259.26 for the respiratory medicines and the closest guess £256.57 made by Leanne Watson (Chorley).

Both win £20 M&S voucher!

11

Happy retirement

Cath Orton

• CAROL HOLLMAN - Specialist Services say farewell to a longstanding valued member of the team following 23 years service. Carol began her working life here in 1990 as medical secretary in renal. Carol later moved on to work as a Clinical Support Manager in Specialist Services.

We are going to miss Carol’s sense of humour and her amazing repertoire of song and dance!

We would like to thank Carol for all her hard work, dedication and loyalty as she leaves us to enjoy her retirement and her grandchildren with her husband John in their new home in Cumbria.

Carol Hollman

Chris Wroe Kath Walmsley

• CATH ORTON - retired on the 31st July, she enjoyed an unusual send off at the woodland spa on a beautiful sunny day, a fantastic time was had by all and ended with a presentation meal.

Cath returns on reduced hours so we look forward to working with you for a while longer on the community and at Chorley Birth Centre Cath.

Magdalena Ward

• CHRIS WROE - Staff from the Renal Directorate wish Chris Wroe (Home Therapy Manager) a long and happy retirement. A presentation was held in the renal unit seminar room where Chris was presented with gifts from her colleagues and friends. An emotional farewell was given and speeches were made by Lindsay Innocent and Dr Coward who have worked with Chris for the past 27 years; since the renal unit first opened.

Chris is going to continue her hard work as membership secretary for the Kidney Patients Association after her retirement. Chris is looking forward to spending time with her husband Donald with whom she has just celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary with and her first grandchild, a little boy called Carter who was born just a few months ago!

• KATH WALMSLEY - Kath has worked as a midwife for the trust since 1979. Friends and colleagues from the community and Chorley Birth Centre enjoyed a Jacobs join lunch and wished Kath a happy retirement. Speeches and presentations were made and memories were shared. Kath then enjoyed a farewell evening at Charnock Farm with her colleagues. The team are going to miss you Kath!

• MAGDALENA WARD - trained in Bulgaria before coming to Royal Preston Hospital in 1998. An accomplished scrub nurse in main theatres before moving on to the Daycase unit.

All of Magdalena’s friends and colleagues from main theatres and Daycase would like to wish her health and happiness in her retirement. We will miss you x

Terry Blacow

• TERRY BLACOW - The renal directorate would like to wish Terry Blacow a long, healthy and happy retirement. Terry has worked as a renal technician for over a decade and will be sadly missed by his friends and colleagues. Terry not only worked hard in his role as a technician but also used his brilliant photography skills to assist with staff photographs and covering every renal celebration.

If you visit the renal unit you will see many of Terry’s beautiful photographs framed and displayed which he has kindly donated.

We all wish you well Terry.

AND FINALLY… One member of staff marked her retirement in a very unusual way... by making sure people living in poor communities have somewhere clean to go to the loo!

40% of the world’s population don’t have somewhere safe, clean and hygienic to go to the toilet so to mark her retirement after 10 years with the Trust, Senior Library Assistant MARION MYERSCOUGH asked her colleagues in the Library and Information Service to make donations the the charity Toilet Twining which provides decent toilets and clean water for poor communities.

Marion Myerscough 12

Thanks to their generosity the ladies toilets in Education Centre 1, RPH, and Education Centre 3, CDH, have been ‘twinned’ with ones in Bangladesh and Uganda.