Our Patient Experience and PALS office at Chorley Hospital is located on the main corridor of level 2, between Orthopaedic/Assessment Treatment Centre and Costa coffee.
Our Patient Experience and PALS office at Royal Preston Hospital is located down the first corridor on the right when you enter the hospital via the main entrance.
The LTHTR Proud Rewards are a great way for our patients to recognise and reward staff at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, including our students and volunteers!
You can nominate an individual staff member or a team for a Patient Reward to thank and celebrate how they have provided you, or a family member, with excellent care with compassion. For a patient to nominate, please complete our form* to submit your nomination (*Please scan QR code opposite to go to the form).
The judging panel will be looking for a clear example of how an individual or team has provided excellent patient care with compassion, linking in with our Trust values.
We look forward to receiving your nominations and celebrating all the excellent work that happens at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals!
No, nominations are always open. However, the cut off for nominations is the 15th of every month for them to be considered for the following month’s reward.
Dear Foundation Trust Members,
I am delighted to introduce the latest Trust Matters magazine, which is the first edition since our new Chief Executive, Silas Nicholls, was welcomed to the Trust.
This edition provides a snapshot of some of the fantastic work that has taken place across Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble Hospitals over the last couple of months, including service developments, personal and departmental awards and an update on the Government’s New Hospitals Programme. I am very proud of our staff who really do go above and beyond to provide the best possible care to patients in what can be challenging circumstances.
I am pleased to say we continue to make inroads into reducing our elective lists but there is still some way to go. Our focus is on freeing up beds within our hospitals as this will not only improve waiting times for everyone but will reduce the pressure on our urgent and emergency pathways allowing our ambulance service to get back on the road as quickly as possible. We are sorry if you or your loved ones have experienced long waits and will continue to work with the rest of the local NHS and partners in social care to make further improvements.
Despite the change of season, our departments have continued to be extremely busy over the last couple of months, and colleagues are working hard to ensure we can implement new ways of working to better manage flow across our sites, getting patients where they need to be as quickly as possible. To help play your part, we ask that our local communities continue to use the NHS wisely which includes 111 online and making use
of the expertise of pharmacies, GPs and community services for less urgent needs, while continuing to use 999 and A&E only in life-threatening emergencies.
I would also like to congratulate and welcome our new Governors, who were successful following the recent election to the Council of Governors. Our Governors play an essential role in making sure that the views of our wider community are considered to help develop our hospital services, and you can read more about their work on pages 13–14. You can also find out about my visit to the Health Mela, which I attended with a number of Governors to chat to our community about the importance of their health.
And finally, I would just like to say a huge welcome to our new Chief Executive, Silas Nicholls, who has joined us from Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust. I know he has really enjoyed getting out and about meeting individual colleagues and teams, to understand what matters to them, and where we can make improvements. He would always be pleased to hear your feedback on ways we can improve our services. As part of this desire to continually shape our services around our patients needs and make the best possible use of the resources available to us, we are currently working on a new three-year Single Improvement Plan to help us focus on the transformation of our clinical and corporate services and will be able to share more details of this in future editions of Trust Matters.
Thank you for your continued interest in your local NHS.
Best wishes,
Peter White Chair Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The Trust began the New Year by welcoming Silas Nicholls as Chief Executive, who officially started his post on 8 January 2024. Silas succeeded Kevin McGee, who retired from the Trust after 38 years in the NHS. His last role was Chief Executive of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, while he was also Chair of the Northwest Leadership Academy and the Co-Chair of the System Operational Response Taskforce for Greater Manchester.
While we welcomed Silas to the Trust, thanks also went to Faith Button for her spell as Interim Chief Executive before she took up a new role at NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) as Chief Delivery Officer in March.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’ Paediatric Neuromuscular Service has received a prestigious Centre of Excellence award from leading national charity, Muscular Dystrophy UK.
The charity, which helps more than 110,000 children and adults in the UK living with one of over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions, awarded the Trust’s Paediatric Neuromuscular Service for providing outstanding care, promoting best practice locally and nationally and demonstrating their commitment to improving health and care for people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions.
In total, 24 neuromuscular centres across the UK, including the Trust’s Paediatric Neuromuscular Service, which is based at Royal Preston Hospital, were recognised.
The information gathered through the awards process provides a benchmark of neuromuscular services across all centres that took part in a national audit. This will help centres in their efforts to build
business cases for additional NHS investment in core services.
Dr Christian De Goede, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist, said:
“I am very proud of the recognition of our team, which provides excellent care to all the children with muscle conditions and their families in Lancashire and South Cumbria.
“While relatively new in post, our team has very rapidly made the muscle service their own. Their clinical skills, their passion to look after the children and their families and their motivation to constantly improve the service has been phenomenal and this award is testimony to their hard work.”
You can read more on our website
A replacement robotic system has been installed in the Pharmacy departments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, to help both Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley and South Ribble Hospital speed up prescription processing to get medication to patients, faster.
The update to the Royal Preston Hospital’s Pharmacy department came on the back of upgrading the system at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, and both will save valuable time for the Pharmacy team and bring greater efficiency to pharmacy processes.
The outgoing system was 16 years old, and has been replaced by a more modern, more efficient robot. Once Pharmacy staff process the label for the medicine or input an order for stock, the robot selects the box from the shelves, scans it to ensure it is the right medication and transports it along a conveyor belt to a collection point.
The robot at Chorley holds 12,000 packs of medicines - 30,000 at Preston - and can supply the same number of packs in an hour that
can be manually picked in a day. There are other benefits such as accuracy, with the robot using barcode technology to identify the correct medicine, form, strength required and improved stock management, for example, the robot always selects the shortest dated stock to use first.
The Trust are implementing the Omnicell Medimat system, which has increased gripper dimensions to manage larger medications packs, increasing the number of lines that can be automated, as well as simplifying and automating the management of unlabelled packs and part packs.
There is a loading speed of up to 750 packs per hour, and with up to 10 metres of conveyor belt, more medication and product lines can be loaded and stored. The greater automation of processes will result in reduced stock outages and wastage. You can find out more on our website
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals held the grand opening of its newly refurbished Gynaecology and Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit at Royal Preston Hospital in January, helping to enhance and improve care for women and families experiencing early pregnancy or complications.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was presided over by Chief Nursing Officer, Sarah Cullen, and attended by the women’s health team, external stakeholders, charity representatives, and service users who have co-designed the project.
The £90,000 scheme to redesign the Gynaecology Assessment Unit (GAU), received significant support from Baby Beat – part of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity – who contributed £30,000.
This initiative is part of the broader women’s health improvement programme to enhance the care for women and families experiencing early pregnancy or acute gynaecological complications including miscarriage and baby loss.
One of the main remits of the unit is to support women who experience miscarriage. Miscarriage is the most common kind of pregnancy loss, affecting around one in four pregnancies. This can be a devastating experience and often leaves parents, siblings and extended family members heartbroken. While it is not possible to prevent these losses from occurring, we can ensure that each grieving parent receives excellent care and compassionate support, so redesigning the environment was a priority project as part of a vision to improve early pregnancy experience.
Thanks to charitable funding, the refurbishment has relocated and rebuilt the scanning facility, provided a dedicated ambulatory care suite for women who experience hyperemesis gravidarum and created a welcoming space for women and families attending the department. The redesign has been co-produced with feedback from service users, ensuring women’s voices were heard and asking families to share deeply personal accounts of their experiences has ensured that the new design is reflective of the needs of the people using our service.
You can find out more on our website.
A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Consultant and his team were recently invited to be the only UK team to perform a live endoscopy procedure as part of a global training telecast for clinicians.
Professor Mohammed Munavvar, Consultant Chest Physician and Interventional Pulmonologist at the Trust, alongside Consultant colleague Dr Sharada Gudur and Staff Nurse Pretty Gaikward, performed the endoscopy procedure at Royal Preston Hospital, which was streamed live worldwide as part of a ‘Pulmonology on Air’ training event.
honour to perform a procedure in our endoscopy unit and interact globally on this live event, to share our experience with colleagues around the world.
“I am enormously grateful to our Endoscopy and Blended Learning teams for making this possible, our patient for sharing their story, and to Pulmonology on Air for their kind invitation.”
The event was hugely successful, and was seen by physicians, nurses, and industry professionals from 136 countries, with a social media reach of 2,555,067 users.
The event – over eight hours of live streaming of interventional procedures from top practitioners around the world - connected three continents, 15 hospitals and more than 20 physicians in a mission to create an educational impact with a global footprint. Professor Munavvar and his team performed a Thoracoscopy with semi-rigid scope, which is a form of investigation to examine and take biopsies from the covering of the lungs and was one of a number of streams telecast from around the world at the global event, filmed with the help of the Trust’s Blended Learning team. It was moderated by Felix Herth from ThoraxKlinik, Heidelberg, the general secretary of the German Society of Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine.
Following the event, Professor Munavvar said: “It was truly a huge
The programme also featured procedures from; Australia, Japan, China, India, Germany, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Italy, USA, Austria and France.
This stream was the second Pulmonology on Air event in a series of training, and it aspires to be a platform of medical education excellence, displaying the culmination of years of professional experience from trailblazing practitioners, while educating for the benefit of both professionals and patients, bridging everyday practice with innovation and new technologies and the latest in diagnosis and treatment.
It is an opportunity to see some of the best professionals in the world, while participating in in-depth conversations and contributing to the growing field of Pulmonology treatment. You can read the full article on our website
Former Lancashire Teaching Hospitals technician Steve Whalley recently celebrated an extraordinary milestone - 50 years of an unwavering relationship with the Trust, and what is now the Specialist Mobility Rehabilitation Centre, following a fateful motorbike accident.
Back in October 1973, Steve lost his right leg following a lifechanging crash, and following surgery at Preston Royal Infirmary, he was fitted with an aluminium prosthetic limb, which he wore out in public for the first time for his 18th birthday, on March 15, 1974.
Within eight months he was back at work with Ribble Motors, resuming his apprenticeship as a vehicle builder, before redundancy in 1989 led him into a fulfilling career in Occupational Therapy as a Cardiac and Orthopaedic technician at the Royal Preston Hospital. Steve, now 68, admits he wouldn’t be here, or have been able to have achieved any of the remarkable successes in his career, but for the care he has received from the NHS.
He still counts his blessings, as he wasn’t expected to make it through the night after his accident. He said: “I wouldn’t be here today, retired with two kids and a house, without the NHS, and the services the Trust provides.
“Your average prosthetic leg costs around £3/4,000, and I can’t count how many I’ve had over the years… I wouldn’t have been able to afford that sort of cost every time I needed a new limb, and if I hadn’t had a prosthetic limb, I wouldn’t have been able to work and achieve what I have in my life.”
After his accident, he wasn’t expected to pull through, as he explained: “The ward sister had filled out a death certificate and later confessed to me that I wasn’t expected to come back from my operation. She finished her shift while I was having the surgery and didn’t want her first job the morning after to be filling in a death certificate, so she made it out and put in the drawer for the doctor to sign.
“The morning after she asked the doctor to sign it, and he said ‘Why? He made it!’ She pulled the curtain back and I there I was!”
The orthopaedic surgeon who performed Steve’s life-changing surgery was Robert Symon Garden, whose son Graeme – who qualified in medicine at King’s College London – became well known for writing and performing in the television sitcom The Goodies, as the voice of Bananaman.
Little did Steve know at the time of the accident, he would go on to work in the NHS 15 years later, when a vacancy came up in Occupational Therapy at Royal Preston Hospital, and he was taken on as a Cardiac and Orthopaedic Technician.
The department was next to the Limb Centre at RPH, which proved handy for Steve’s ongoing repairs. He said: “There weren’t many people with prosthetics then. When I was discharged, if my leg hurt, I had to take aspirin. It was aluminium, with a spring, and the only person they could look to emulate was Douglas Bader, a Second World War RAF pilot who crashed and lost both his legs in 1931.
“It regularly broke or I wore it out every six weeks or so. My department was next door, so I could just nip in and get it adjusted.”
Steve’s background in engineering helped in his new role, as he worked in orthopaedics, on adjustable braces and splints, amongst other things. He also ran the rehab workshop and was then cardiac technician in the cardiac room for ten years.
Steve added: “The engineering aspect of the job - a lot of what I was taught transferred itself. You could change people’s lives for the better, and that gives you job satisfaction.”
Before his role at the Trust, Steve also worked in motor sport and can claim to have patented a revolutionary pit board which is still used today in Formula 1.
His ability to innovate led to one creation that has been taken around the world by motor racing’s finest: “I was talking to a consultant here about motor racing. He was thinking of buying a race car and asked me to set a team up for him as I had some experience and contacts. We used to go all over the country, and one day he missed a pit board at Silverstone. I told him ‘I called you in’, but he couldn’t see it and he blew the engine up.
“So, I said I’ll make one you’ll never miss, and mine is still used in Formula 1 - it lets the light shine through the back, which makes it easier to see. It was a simple idea, but it’s accepted as one of the better models.”
Victoria Bateman, Prosthetic Professional Lead at the Specialist Mobility Rehabilitation Centre, has known Steve for the best part of four decades, and said: “Steve’s significant anniversary highlights a personal journey of resilience, and showcases the invaluable support provided by the NHS over the decades.”
Championship top-scorer Sammie Szmodics helped Lancashire Teaching Hospitals support the Lullaby Trust’s Safer Sleep 2024 campaign, which raises awareness of sudden death syndrome amongst babies.
At the end of February, the 28-year-old became a father again, less than four hours before playing 90 minutes for Blackburn Rovers in their 1-1 draw against Norwich City at Ewood Park.
Ahead of his 300th EFL career appearance, the Republic of Ireland
international was with his wife as she gave birth to their second child at 11.15am, before racing to join up with his teammates for the 3pm kick-off.
To help raise awareness of the Safer Sleep campaign, Sammie filmed an exclusive video with advice for new parents.
Safer Sleep Week is The Lullaby Trust’s national awareness campaign targeting anyone looking after a young baby. It aims to raise awareness of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and the simple advice that reduces the risk of it occurring.
Sadly, around three babies a week still die from SIDS and if all parents were aware of the safer sleep advice many lives could be saved.
The theme for Safer Sleep Week is the safest place. During the campaign, the Lullaby Trust will show parents and carers the simplest way to create a safe sleep space for their baby that will help to protect their vulnerable airways and reduce the risk of SIDS and accidents.
Amid a hectic Championship schedule, Preston North End’s Jack Whatmough, Canada international wide man Liam Millar and striker Will Keane – all fathers of young children – recorded a special video to outline key advice.
Colleagues from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’ Oncology team have been thanked for their work in recruiting patients to a trial aimed at improving survival and quality of life for men with prostate cancer. Oncology Consultant, Professor Alison Birtle, and her research team, recently received a formal letter of thanks from the Medical Research Council-based STAMPEDE (Systemic Therapy in Advancing or Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Evaluation of Drug Efficacy) trials unit, for all their hard work put into recruiting and following up patients to the study since 2005.
The study aims to provide evidence as to what is the best way of treating men with newly diagnosed advanced prostate cancer, and the team have recruited an impressive 302 patients to the study since it began, with the final day of patient randomisation completed in March 2023, putting the Rosemere Cancer Centre in the top 20 recruiters globally overall for this practice changing study for men with prostate cancer.
The letter reads: “Your hospital’s commitment to recruiting patients to this important study has been essential to its success. Your team endeavoured to make this trial a reality and demonstrated your unwavering commitment to advancing medical knowledge and improving patient outcomes in prostate cancer.”
Many of these studies have changed practice globally and improved survival and quality of life for men with prostate cancer.
According to the STAMPEDE trial website, prostate cancer accounts for around one fifth of all male cancers. In the UK there are 47,000 new cases each year and 11,000 deaths.
This was one of many cancer research studies in prostate cancer done by the Trust - since then the Rosemere Cancer Centre have opened over 25 studies in prostate cancer alone, recruiting almost 800 patients into these trials. You can find out more on our website
The Gift of Life butterfly sculpture and new memorial garden at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital was unveiled at an informal opening in January, having been created by the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity to honour organ and tissue donors.
The memorial garden was commissioned and paid for by the Trust’s Organ Donation Committee, funded by a grant from NHS Charities Together - who helped fund the gardens at both Chorley and Royal Preston Hospital at a total cost of £100,000 - while the Harold and Alice Bridges Charity donated £2,000 and the Warburtons Foundation £400 towards the project.
The gardens at Chorley and Preston were designed to ensure a defined area to remember all lives which have sadly been lost, as well as those who have given the precious gift of life, highlighting the importance of organ and tissue donation across the region.
The opening was attended by colleagues from the Trust alongside key partners in the project, as they shared their stories and showcased what they have helped the Trust and charity achieve. What is a peaceful, tranquil space, will serve as an extra area at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital for staff, patients, and visitors to spend a moment of quiet contemplation and reflection – somewhere to come together to remember, relax and recharge.
The following contractors and consultants were instrumental, and thanks go to: Forjd, contractor John Charnley from Barton Grange Landscapes, designer Chris Forshaw of Milieu Landscapes, sales director Anthony Collins of Hardscape, whose company donated the stone obelisk, as well as Fayyaz Patel, the Trust’s Senior Project Manager – Capital & Property for Estates & Facilities, Catherine Roberts, Critical Care Consultant, and Lisa Barker, IT Technical Project Manager.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals cardiorespiratory department have introduced a state-of-the-art ultrasound scanner which provides ultrasounds at a patient’s bedside to enhance quality of care. The technology is Butterfly IQ’s single-probe, whole-body handheld scanner, which is connected to a tablet or smartphone and provides instant images, avoiding the need to move bulky machines around and plug them in on the wards.
Three probes have been procured at a cost of around £3,000 each, which has been generously funded by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity.
The new equipment represents a groundbreaking advancement in medical technology, bringing ultrasound into the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment process, and is significantly more cost effective and affordable than regular machines.
The device offers unparalleled accessibility and versatility at the bedside, particularly for cardiology patients. It empowers healthcare professionals with a portable and efficient tool for comprehensive cardiac assessments, transforming the way ultrasound diagnostics are approached, and enhances patients’ quality of care. Find out more on our website
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’ Sterile Services department passed their ISO external audit with flying colours in January.
The audit revealed no major or minor non-conformities - deviations from specifications, standards, or expectations - marking an excellent result for the Trust.
An ISO audit is an audit of your organisation’s compliance with the standards set forth by the International Organization for Standardization, with a surveillance audit a “snapshot” in time of the auditor’s review to ensure the company is still meeting the key elements of the ISO standard.
Sterile Services officially comes under Estates and Facilities and is a very specialist service – their decontamination department manages all risks associated with health care acquired infections (HCAI) in the reprocessing of reusable medical devices.
Staff working in sterile services are responsible for ensuring that reusable medical devices, such as instruments and equipment are cleaned, sterilised, and repackaged to high standards, ready for reusing in operating theatres and other areas of health care. You can find out more on our website
A team of colleagues from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Data Science Team have been awarded a Health Data Research UK Award for their work in turning data into research, to help improve patient care and health outcomes for the region.
HDR UK is the UK’s national institute for health data science and the award celebrates achievement through collaborative endeavours by groups of researchers, innovators, and technologists.
The award winners were presented with their prizes during the 2024 HDR UK Conference in Leeds by Chair of the Board, Dame Julie Moore, who said: “The HDR UK awards and recognitions highlight the achievements of the people behind progress in health data research. Congratulations to all of the shortlisted entrants and the winners.”
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Data Science team is led by Consultant Surgeon, Professor Vishnu Chandrabalan, who is also Honorary Clinical Chair at Lancaster Medical School, alongside Professor in Applied Data Science at Lancaster Medical School, Jo Knight, Emergency Medicine Specialist Registrar, Dale Kirkwood, and Quinta Ashcroft and Tim Howcroft from the Trust.
Professor Chandrabalan is also Director and Chief Clinical Information Officer for the Lancashire and South Cumbria Secure Data Environment, and Head of Data Science and Consultant Surgeon in General and Colorectal Surgery at the Trust. He leads Lancashire and South Cumbria’s Secure Data Environment programme which promises to bring together a range of data with the aim of improving health outcomes in the region. You can read more on our website
Gregg Stevenson, a former Lead Physical Training Instructor and Mental Health Practitioner at the Trust’s Specialist Rehabilitation Mobility Centre (SMRC), is hoping to use back-to-back European titles in the PR2 mixed double sculls as “a springboard” for the Paris Paralympics in the summer.
At the end of April, the former Royal Engineer from Foulridge won gold with Lauren Rowles in the PR2 Mix 2x at the European Rowing Championships in Szeged, Hungary, to add to their triumph a year previous in Bled, Slovenia, and the pair’s World Rowing Championships success in Belgrade in September – which qualified the duo for the Paralympics.
Gregg, voted by GB Rowing’s current and former World Class Programme athletes as their Athlete of the Year after a remarkable debut season in 2023, is hoping to add to his collection of gold medals at the greatest show on earth in Paris over two days at the end of August and beginning of September.
Having helped the Great Britain team top the medal table for the third-successive year at the European Championships, Gregg said: “This is my first double medal - we won the Europeans last year, so to come here and do it again is pretty special.
“This is a springboard now; we’ve worked hard over the winter, and we know what we have to do.”
Lauren, meanwhile, dedicated the win to her partner and five-week old baby: “Five weeks ago my partner Jude gave birth to our son and so this was for Noah and Jude - I was thinking about our little boy in the last 500m. I was getting emotional being away from him, so I definitely did it for them. To be out here and to be able to execute this is amazing. And to have Gregg supporting me through that - he’s trusted me the whole way and trust is a key part of this partnership.”
Louise Kingsley, Director of Performance at British Rowing added: “It’s been a great weekend and it’s promising to see us top the medal table once again. We are still learning and building through this season, but performances this weekend have put us in a good place as we look towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games later this year.”
This is only Gregg’s second year in the boat, after a 15-year journey which began when he was referred to the SMRC, after losing both his legs to an IED blast while on patrol in Helmand Province in 2009.
He went on to work at the centre, and he still makes regular trips from East Lancashire for support with his prosthetics.
After winning World Championships gold last September, he admitted he owed part of his medal to the centre, which provides specialist wheelchair, prosthetic limb and orthotic rehabilitation services throughout Lancashire and South Lakeland.
He is working closely with SMRC in the build-up to the Games, with the centre helping with his training, including the creation of a cycling leg, and he said: “I can’t thank the centre enough. Keith (Watling), one of the technicians, made my first rowing leg here, so I owe him part of my medal, because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
“The support from the centre enables me to do what I do - if it wasn’t for the work I did in the gym here right back when I wasn’t as fit as I am, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
“It’s been a long journey to get here. When you do a sport, you’re relying on that leg, and you need something that’s not going to let you down, and the centre have been brilliant.”
Having taken up rowing in 2012, Gregg was part of the trials process for the Invictus Games, but decided to row with the GB Paralympic programme, and was close to making GB’s para-rowing team for the 2016 Paralympics, before stepping away from the sport, and then being tempted back in 2022.
Gregg, who turns 40 this year, knows this may be his one and only crack at the Paralympics, but he and double Paralympic champion Lauren, will go to Paris seeded number one.
He said in September after achieving his goal of qualifying for the Games: “I couldn’t have dreamt it, when I got the call to get back into rowing. It’s a bit of a smash and grab for me - I’m 40 next year, so this is very likely my last chance.
“To say I’d be a world champion, set a couple of world records, and qualify for the Paralympics, it’s a very proud moment. The penny dropped when they were playing the National Anthem in Belgrade, and the flag was raised.
“At the start of the season, our ambition was to qualify for the Paralympics, and I was thrown in the deep end for the European Championships, and we won that, in a world record time. Now we’re going to Paris seeded number one!”
Over 120 colleagues from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals took part in the annual ‘Fast for a Day’ challenge to provide support and encouragement to Muslim colleagues who are observing the month of Ramadan.
The challenge, which is in its fourth year of running, asks colleagues to raise money for Rosemere Cancer Foundation by abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Following the fast, a celebratory event was held in Charters Restaurant at Royal Preston Hospital, hosted by Professor Munavvar, Consultant Chest Physician and Interventional Pulmonologist at the Trust, where colleagues could enjoy a meal together and learn more about Ramadan and the traditions it involves.
Trust Imam, Naeem Toorawa, began the event with a Quranic
recitation focussing on God’s creation, while Imam Khalid Ibrahim emphasised the value of unity among the attendees, representing diverse backgrounds within the Trust.
The event was a huge success, with over 120 colleagues joining together to discuss different traditions, cultures, and professions. Food for the celebration was donated, giving the opportunity to try a variety of cuisines from all over the world.
Several Executive colleagues from the Trust were in attendance, including Dr Geraldine Skailes, Chief Medical Officer, and Sarah Cullen, Chief Nursing Officer. Members of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service were also present at the celebratory event and took part in the challenge of raising funds for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
Find out more, on our website
Professor Alex Woywodt, a Renal Consultant at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, has been recognised for his written work on the impact art can have on the renal community.
The article, titled “Beautiful and effective: what art can do for nephrologists and for our patients”, was published in the journal for Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, and details how artwork can be a useful communication tool with patients.
You can find the article on Oxford Academic - Oxford University Press’s academic research platform, which provides access to over 40,000 books and 500 journals.
In the article the Professor explained how he came to write on the
subject: “Last June, I was invited to the European Renal Association Congress in Milan, where there was an art exhibition on nephrology - paintings and sculptures – and I met Dr Layco from the Philippines, who does some pieces of art around organ donation and transplant, which resonated with me.
“I’ve always been interested in art, although I don’t paint. I have art in my office, and have always had art around me, but hadn’t really thought about how to use it as more than décor, as a way of communicating or explaining things to patients.
“Art can resonate with people when you find it difficult to communicate through language or culture, it can be a great way to start a difficult conversation.”
“You can also use art in rooms where you may have to break bad news – it may be a grim situation, but people have found art calming, and it lifts the room – it’s better than a grey space.”
Martin Keeney, Portering Services Assistant Manager with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, was a finalist in the Unsung Hero Awards 2024 in the Estates and Ancillary - Individual Award category.
The category winners, from the shortlist of finalists, were announced at the awards ceremony at the Manchester Hilton hotel on Deansgate, and although the award went to Alana Ricketts of Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, Martin enjoyed the occasion.
He said: “Although I didn’t win on the night, it was lovely to be nominated for the award, and I had a
great night all the same. It was very emotional, listening to some of the winners and their stories.”
Martin, accompanied on the night by wife Rachael, who is a Vascular Specialist Nurse with the Trust, was nominated by Katy Cain of Alcidion, who shared their Red Rose award for ‘Digital’, presented at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, in March 2023, with the Trust.
The award recognised the significant improvements in patient safety following the implementation of a Smartpage communication system. Smartpage enables clinical staff to spend more time with patients requiring care.
In March, two Trust colleagues at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital – Val Bowling (pictured above left on the left) and Kath Turner (pictured above right on the left) – both retired, after a combined 70 years’ service!
Val, (top left) who was Accommodation Manager, admits the time is right after almost 40 years with the Trust.
Val worked for a local loft conversion company as a receptionist for a couple of years, before emigrating to Australia in 1979 with her then-husband, who had a sister over there.
However, they split up and Val came home in 1983 to her family.
She started at the Trust in 1985, at Chorley, as a Temporary Domestic, and when her 12-month contract was coming to an end, she was successful in applying for a job managing the general office and accommodation, which included the staff residence, which became HR and Supplies offices.
She housed doctors and nurses and their families on Rookwood Avenue, before the Trust in 1997 partnered the Housing Association and built 34 three and two-bed houses near the Works Department at the far end of the hospital, which was named Dutch Barn Close.
Val admits the job has changed an awful lot in the last 39 years or so, but she said: “It’s been a really nice job, I’ve been able to help a lot of families over the years who moved into accommodation and needed help with local schools, amenities, and information on the
area. The role has changed, as most of the houses now have been given back to the Housing Association to manage, so there are people who don’t work for the Trust living there.”
A retirement party was held for Val at lunchtime on her last day, when hospital staff, and colleagues who have retired, attended, and as a surprise her mum also came to celebrate.
Marion Gildert said: “Val will be missed terribly; she’s been my side kick for so many years and I wish her well in her new adventure.”
Kath (top right and bottom right), meanwhile, joined the Trust in 1993, also as a Domestic, after hearing of a vacancy from a friend. Within 18 months, she was successful in applying for a supervisor role, and she has been an Evening Domestic Supervisor ever since.
Like Val, Kath has witnessed a lot of change at Chorley, with the site expanding to double its size when the phase three construction opened around 30 years ago.
Kath said: “I’ve really enjoyed working here, it’s like a family, but It’s time to go. I’m not saying I won’t shed a tear – it’s a long time to work in one place, and I’ve made a lot of friends.
“I’ll miss a lot of people, but I’m up at 6am every morning looking after two of my grandchildren, and it’s a long day!”
A surprise leaving party was also arranged on Kath’s last evening on duty, as she had wanted to go quietly, but colleagues couldn’t let her service pass without recognition.
Governors are elected by Trust members, both public and staff, or are nominated by some of our partner organisations. Elections to the Council of Governors take place at the beginning of each year, and governors generally serve a three-year term of office, beginning in April.
Governors are the direct representatives of local communities; they challenge the Board of Directors and hold the Non-Executive Directors to account for the performance of the board. Governors also represent the interests of NHS Foundation Trust members
and the public and provide them with information on the Trust’s performance and forward plan.
The Council of Governors holds four meetings each year which are open to the public. The agenda papers are published in advance and are available on the website for the current year and the previous year. Regular workshops are arranged to support Governors to keep up to date with developments in the NHS, the healthcare needs of the local community, and our strategy and performance.
Elections are generally held in March each year, if you would like to consider standing for election, please email corporateaffairs@lthtr.nhs.uk
The new members of Council of Governors were welcomed to the Trust in March following their success as candidates in the recent Council elections.
Chief Executive, Silas Nicholls, was on hand to meet the 11 new governors, and one returning governor, in the Gordon Hesling Room at Royal Preston Hospital, and he reflected on the important work of Council, and the vital role governors undertake in acting as a voice for our community, representing the interests and views of our members, both colleagues and the public, as well as the wider public was acknowledged.
The governors come from a wide range of backgrounds and experience and are all excited at the challenge and opportunity becoming a governor presents. Two of our longest-serving governors, Steve Heywood and Janet Miller, were also on hand to offer their support and guidance. As part of their planned onboarding they were taken on a tour of the Royal Preston Hospital site by Imran Devji, the Trust’s Interim Chief Operating Officer.
The report of voting in the Governors Election has been published on the Trust website, with details of the governors elected in the following categories: Public; Staff - Non-Clinical; Staff - Other Health Professionals and Healthcare Scientists; and Staff - Unregistered and Healthcare Support Workers.
Following the deadline, the Staff - Doctors and Dentists constituency was uncontested. You can find further information about each of our new governors via the Council of Governors 2024 page on our website
As a teaching foundation trust, there is a requirement in our constitution to hold a seat at Council for a governor appointed by one of our University partners. From 23 April 2024, Nigel Garratt, Associate Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Central Lancashire, has been appointed to that position. We hope to be able to include further information about Nigel on our website in the near future.
Chair Peter White, alongside a number of colleagues and Governors, represented the Trust at the annual Preston Health Mela held at the University of Central Lancashire in April.
The event welcomed hundreds of attendees who heard from chief guests Christopher Gormley, Chief Sustainability Officer, NHS England, and our local Director of Public Health for Lancashire County Council, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi.
Thanks to our public Governors, Janet Miller, Mike Simpson, Margaret France and Sheila Brennan who ran a stall at the event to gather the views of the public about our services, and to sign-up prospective Foundation Trust members. Recently appointed public governor, Liz Bamber, was also in attendance to support one of our local partners.
A big thank you also goes out to colleagues from Radiotherapy, SAFE Centre and Central Lancashire Breast Unit who held stalls alongside Consultant Clinical Biochemist, Dr Martin Myers and colleagues who were involved in point of care testing.
At the Health Mela, you could have a Health MOT where you could have your vitals measured, your blood tested for glucose and
cholesterol and have tailored health advice – all in a single session and completely free.
There was also entertainment provided by Bollywood-style dance routines, and the Teddy Bears’ Clinic offered sympathetic health advice to all cuddly friends.
A leap of faith by the charity team at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals paid off after it “roped in” 35 willing volunteers, who together raised over £11,550 in sponsorship by abseiling the 128ft Peel Tower on the top of Holcombe Hill near Ramsbottom in March.
The group’s donation will go to support ground-breaking projects across Lancashire Teaching Hospitals that are beyond NHS means, including initiatives to help parents-to-be, new parents and newborns via its Baby Beat charity.
The charity team’s Lucy Clark, who organised the abseil, which was sponsored by Preston architects FWP Ltd, said: “Congratulations to
all our abseilers, who really had to brave the weather! It went from sunshine to hail and sunshine again within minutes and the wind was a little crazy. It certainly didn’t help anyone’s nerves so to go over the edge in those conditions took some courage.
“Thank you to all sponsors and to FWP Ltd, whose event sponsorship meant we could subsidise the cost of participation. Thanks also to our abseil experts, the team from Alternative Adventure, for literally showing all our abseilers the ropes and for their unfailing encouragement.”
You can read more on our website.
A team of former Garstang FC players have a new goal –completing the National Three Peaks in 24 hours to raise funds for Lancashire Teaching Hospital Charity’s Children’s Fund.
When they set out to climb Ben Nevis in May, followed by Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon, they will be led by centre half Joe Miller (34), who is also a former reserve team co-manager.
Taking on the challenge is Joe’s way of saying thank you to the doctors and nurses on the Royal Preston Hospital’s Children’s Ward, who saved the life of his baby daughter Isobel.
Isobel was one on 17 March but last April, aged just five weeks old, she was battling to survive after being diagnosed with viral meningitis.
Joe, a joiner by trade and dad also to Georgina (four) and Louie (two), said: “Isobel didn’t wake up for her feed so my wife Emily went to check on her. Emily woke Isobel but she wouldn’t take her milk and she didn’t look well. We were told by 111 to take Isobel to hospital where she was admitted on to the Children’s Ward. Initially, they weren’t sure what was wrong with her so they did an X-ray, blood tests and CT scan. Coming back from the scan, Isobel stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated.”
Joe continued: “Following her diagnosis, doctors decided to put Isobel into an induced coma and transfer her by ambulance to the intensive care unit at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Isobel was in Manchester for 10 days but thankfully, she has made a full recovery and is now thriving. She owes her life though to the
doctors and nurses who first treated her in Preston.”
Joining Joe on his epic expedition in May are names familiar to longstanding Riverside regulars – Andrew Ireland, Andrew Taylor, Carlo Matichecchia, Joe Crook, Michael Shepherd, Matthew Johnston and David Porter, who along with father-in-law Dave Richardson are all in training to complete the climb. Joe’s dad Fred Millier, step father-in-law Karl Coulter and Phil Hall are sharing the driving and support in between.
Find out more on our website
Paediatric nursing sister Amelia Conway has just the thing to help some of her youngest patients on the Children’s Ward at the Royal Preston Hospital receive optimum nutrition after employees at Preston-based Springfields, part of Westinghouse Electrical Company, donated funds for a new, state-of-the-art milk thawing and warming device.
The machine is for use by breastfeeding mums. It enables them to express, freeze and then re-heat milk to feed to their little ones.
Approximately 20 breastfed babies a month are admitted on to the ward for treatment, making the device, funded by the Springfields Employees’ Medical Research & Charity Trust Fund via a donation to Lancashire Teaching Hospital Charity’s Children’s Fund, an important piece of ward kit. Find out more on our website
Former kidney patient Jim Aherne has made a lasting gift to the Royal Preston Hospital’s kidney unit where he was treated for more than a decade.
Jim died aged 71 in 2021 but the unit, which he attended three times a week for his dialysis treatment lasting four hours per session, has taken delivery of a new £1,700 Mindray machine labelled in his name.
The machine, a device used in kidney examinations to measure a patient’s vital signs, was gifted by Jim’s sister, Eleanor Morgan, of Ashton. Eleanor raised the funds to cover its cost by asking for donations in lieu of gifts when she celebrated her 80th birthday in 2022.
Eleanor, who moved to Preston from Dublin more than 50 years ago, worked with members of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’
Charity team to buy the Mindray machine. You can read more about the donation on our website
The new parents’ room adjoining Ward 8 – the Children’s Ward – at the Royal Preston Hospital was officially opened by former nurse Julie Appleby and her husband Mick (pictured) in January after the existing space was given a £10,552 refurbishment by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity’s Children’s Fund.
Julie and Mick were given ribbon cutting honours after donating £8,073.25 including gift aid towards the make-over’s cost in memory of their eldest son Daniel, who they lost aged 30 to a brain haemorrhage in 2017 but who had been a patient on the ward a number of times following a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes at the age of 11. Their donation included £400 raised by a bowling tournament held in Daniel’s memory.
The room has been designed and furnished to provide parents with a break-out zone where they can take some time for themselves in a relaxing and calm environment during their child’s time on the Children’s Ward.
It has soft seating, a wall mural, frosted window and TV to give respite and a kitchen area with a sink, microwave, kettle, cutlery and crockery so parents can make a drink and simple meal, possibly while their child is sleeping.
Julie, who qualified as a nurse in 1985 and worked at both the Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble Hospitals before becoming a health visitor in 2002, said: “It’s important parents have somewhere to go to give themselves just a breather. I know from both a professional and personal perspective how hard it can be having a child in hospital.”
Julie, who left nursing to work for Sure Start supporting parents with babies and young children and then founded New Springs Family Care Ltd, continued: “Daniel always felt comfortable on the Children’s Ward, which made us as a family feel supported and comfortable. Losing Daniel is something we will never get over but it helps knowing we can support other families in his name.”
Read more on our website
Midwives and other delivery suite staff working at the Royal Preston Hospital’s Sharoe Green Maternity Unit now have a new sanctuary where they can re-charge whilst on shift after charity Baby Beat spent £17,138 refurbishing their break room.
Delivery Suite Manager, Hannah Mercer, requested Baby Beat’s help to create a cocooning environment to promote staff health, safety and well-being. Hannah explained: “Our maternity team includes obstetricians, midwives, maternity support workers and clerical staff.
“They can work under incredible strain over a 24-hour period, covering long days and nights. It is important they remain empowered to provide the safest, most compassionate care to
our patients. In order to promote staff health and wellbeing and the engagement necessary for them to perform their roles to the highest level, they need to take allocated breaks in an environment that is supportive to their needs, comfortable and inviting – a sanctuary to relieve stress, wind down and recharge.”
Baby Beat’s refurbishment of the suite’s staff break room has included the creation of a separate zone for making and eating meals as well as a relaxation and rest area. Its calming décor is designed to give staff respite from their demanding roles while new furniture has been installed to improve comfort.
Find out more about the new space on our website.
Families who experience early pregnancy and baby loss before 16 weeks of pregnancy will receive additional bereavement support as part of an innovative project being funded by Baby Beat. In response to national recommendations and from feedback shared by service users who have used early pregnancy services, Baby Beat is investing £93,116 into funding an early pregnancy loss bereavement nurse for the next two years.
Sadly, an estimated 1:4/6 pregnancies end in loss during a pregnancy (this figure is often underrepresented) and a large proportion of those are during the early stages of pregnancy. Access to information and emotional support has been shown to significantly benefit families who are coping with a miscarriage or early pregnancy loss. The bereavement nurse post will provide much needed additional support and will include research to enable the service to continue to develop and define future service provision.
The National Bereavement Pathway 2016, the Women’s Health Strategy (2021) and the Pregnancy Loss Review 2023 all recommend that every woman who needs it should have access to bereavement support no matter the gestation. The introduction of a dedicated specialist nurse is the first step to improved care and is part of a wider long term improvement strategy for early pregnancy and bereavement services. This new post will be part of the newly expanded Trust-wide seven-day bereavement and tissue donation service at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.
You can read more on our website
Steve Ryder, of Chorley company Duoline Access Ltd, visited patients on the Cancer Centre’s in-patient Ribblesdale Ward to gift £200 to ward housekeeper Christine Ryan for her to stock up on a freezer full of lollies and ice creams.
Not only do the treats help to provide some cool relief for patients, but chemotherapy can also leave some patients with a metallic taste in their mouth while radiotherapy can cause a dry mouth and throat so sucking on a lolly or ice cream can be helpful counters to both treatment side-effects.
Sue Swire, Fundraising Manager, said: “We are very grateful to Duoline Access Ltd. I met Steve at a business networking event at which I was giving a presentation on Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s work.
“I explained how we funded projects costing more than a million pounds such as the robotic surgical system and the equipment for Surface Guided Radiotherapy at Rosemere Cancer Centre but how often smaller projects such as funding massage and ice lollies and ice creams were just as appreciated by patients. Immediately afterwards, Steve came forward with his offer to fund our frozen treats.”
A clinic to treat former cancer patients left with side-effects from radiotherapy treatment, that was initially funded with £283,521 of charitable funds, has received such positive feedback from those it has helped its future is now secure, with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust agreeing to take over its running costs.
The radiographer-led Late Effects Pelvic Radiation Disease (PRD) Clinic at the regional Rosemere Cancer Centre opened up in April 2021. Since then, it has treated close to 100 patients, who had been left with side-effects of radiotherapy treatment for prostate, bladder, rectum, anus and gynaecological cancers.
Typically, these patients had between three and six clinic appointments at which they were, depending on need
and response, prescribed medication and given self-help management advice.
LTH Head of Charities, Dan Hill, said: “We are incredibly proud that our PRD clinic pilot project has now become part of cancer services at Rosemere Cancer Centre.
“The clinic team has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of and provide treatment for PRD, a condition that causes much suffering but is often hidden by patients themselves, who are just grateful to have been cured of their cancer. The clinic is pioneering. By acknowledging PRD as a very real issue, we are confident patient referrals will continue to grow as word spreads. We wish everyone connected with the clinic the very best for the future.”
You can read more on our website
The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop cutting-edge facilities, offering the absolute best in modern healthcare. The New Hospitals Programme aims to address significant problems with the ageing hospitals in Preston (Royal Preston Hospital) and Lancaster (Royal Lancaster Infirmary). We also need to invest in Furness General Hospital’s infrastructure in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location. This will provide patients with high-quality, next generation hospital facilities and technologies. Hospital buildings will be designed in a way to meet demand, while remaining flexible and sustainable for future generations. The aim is to support local communities, bringing jobs, skills and contracts to Lancashire and South Cumbria businesses and residents.
The NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria welcomed the Government’s May 2023 announcement of two new hospitals to replace Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. In addition, Furness General Hospital in Barrow will benefit from investment in improvements.
The existing Preston and Lancaster sites will remain in place and deliver services to our population until new hospital facilities are opened. The local NHS will continue to keep communities involved and provide further updates as more information becomes available.
In August 2023, a series of national New Hospital Programme roadshow events visited Preston, as Government representatives arrived to discuss the next steps for building two new hospitals in our region. Lord Markham CBE and Department of Health and Social Care representatives were able to hear directly from patients, colleagues, and wider stakeholders in the various sessions.
During Quarter 4 of 2023/24, the national New Hospital Programme team have released the Hospital 2.0 library to all schemes with useful context, technical documentation, and details of future releases.
The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme team have continued to support the national team in development of several workstreams and take on early adoption projects.
Throughout 2024/25, the national Programme team will finalise and release Hospital 2.0 documentation, enabling schemes to apply this at a local level. This is an exciting step forwards and will allow each scheme to bring hospital designs to life. This period, the national Programme has also continued to progress the overarching Programme Business Case within central government. We look forward to receiving the outcome of this important step.
Further detailed work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations for new hospital builds for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary and to develop the required business cases. There is still further work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course, as part of the programme’s next phase of proactive communications and pre-consultation engagement.
The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board are working with NHS England and the national New Hospital Programme team regarding the approach to future public consultation and will continue to work with local Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees, who are instrumental in determining the requirement to consult and the approach to be taken.
Please do continue to get involved and have your say to help us build the hospital facilities that our patients, colleagues, local communities and future generations need and deserve.
For the latest news, information, and ways to get involved, please visit https://newhospitals.info and join in the conversation on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn.
The Corporate Calendar can be viewed on our website lancsteachinghospitals.nhs.uk/corporate-calendar
Annual Members’ Meeting
To be confirmed To be confirmed Venue to be confirmed
Board of Directors’ Meetings
Thursday 6th June 2024 1pm– 6pm
Thursday 1st August 2024 1pm– 6pm
Thursday 3rd October 2024 1pm– 6pm
Council of Governors’ Meetings
Lecture Room 1, EC1, RPH
Lecture Hall, EC3, Chorley & South Ribble
Lecture Room 1, EC1, RPH
Tuesday 23rd July 2024 1.30–4.30pm Seminar Room A1, Education Centre 3, Chorley & South Ribble Hospital
Thursday 7th November 2024 1pm–4pm
Tuesday 21st January 2025 10am–1pm
Hybrid meeting in the Gordon Hesling Conference Room
Hybrid meeting in the Gordon Hesling Conference Room
Members are welcome to come along to the public section of both the Council of Governors and Board of Directors meetings to observe and listen to the Governors and Board Members discussing Trust business. Council of Governors’ meetings are held four times per year and any member of staff or the public are welcome to attend. Please note that meeting dates may occasionally be subject to change. Please email company.secretary@lthtr.nhs.uk if you would like to observe any of the meetings and the virtual links will be forwarded to your calendar. All public events are advertised on our website: www.lancsteachinghospitals.nhs.uk To view TRUST Matters online go to: www.lancsteachinghospitals.nhs.uk/trust-matters
Trust Matters is available in different versions including audio. If you require this magazine in a different format, please contact the Membership Office.