Stepping Up Summer 2016

Spring 2014 Summer 2016

Stepping Up Stepping members newsletter

Play therapy New play area for children at Stepping Hill Hospital

Wedding bells on stroke unit Visit our Superhero Open Day Patient in first ever wedding reception on unit Wedding on the ward onCQC and off duty TopLifesavers rating from UK first for kidney cancer surgery Building our new outdoor play area

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Contents

3-11

Message from our

Chairman Welcome to the latest edition of Stepping Up.

News

12-17 Features

18-19

We are living through times of great change for health and social care services, especially in Greater Manchester as the first region to achieve devolution. Like the NHS as a whole, we must face the financial challenge, not just by making cuts here and there, but by transforming the way we work and provide services. Our partnerships, such as Stockport Together, and five year strategy plan aim to achieve this.

Consultant Connect, a new system which improves communication between hospital consultants and GPs for the benefit of the patient, is a great example of our partnership working. This issue includes some of the latest developments for improved patient services.

One of the greatest tests we face is the four hour A&E target. This remains a huge challenge, but we are making progress and we look at some of the measures we have taken to speed things up, whilst not reducing the high quality of care, in this edition too.

Staff Focus

20-23 Events

24-26 Awards & Achievements

27-32 Members and Governors

33-40

I am pleased to introduce our new medical director Colin Wasson and deputy medical director Gill Burrows, and also inform you that Malcolm Sugden is now our new deputy chairman and Mike Cheshire our senior independent director. We are so grateful to Carol Prowse our former deputy chairman & senior independent director, and James Catania our former medical director for their outstanding contribution over the years.

This edition of Stepping Up also includes some marvellous stories of the care our staff provide every day, from the wedding we helped to arrange on a ward to our A&E sister saving a life while off duty. These heart-warming stories are so uplifting.

Finally, we’re opening our doors for our bi-annual open day at Stepping Hill Hospital on Saturday 9th July, which brings together fantastic entertainment, health activities and information, tours and lots more for all the family. The theme this year is ‘Superheroes’, which is a reflection of the heroic efforts our staff make for their patients and public all year round. The special event also provides an opportunity to meet your committed and hardworking governors. I hope to see you on the day.

Thank you for your continued and valued support. replace

Adverts Gillian Easson, Chairman

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Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Dr Colin Wasson has been appointed as our new Medical Director. He replaces Dr James Catania who retired from the post after 14 years’ service.

Dr Wasson is a consultant in intensive care, and was our lead doctor for surgery, having held a number of senior clinical posts at Stepping Hill Hospital over the last eight years.

Originally from Scotland, Dr Wasson was educated at Bramhall High School and as a teenager worked as a volunteer on a Stepping Hill Hospital ward before going to medical school.

He worked in various hospitals across the North West as well as Australia, before returning to Stepping Hill as a consultant.

He has been at the forefront of service innovation and improvements for patients since he joined us in 2002. He

News

Medical matters replace

also played a key role in the recent Healthier Together consultation that saw us appointed as the ‘specialist’ emergency surgery centre for the south east sector in Greater Manchester.

We have also appointed our new Deputy Medical Director – Dr Gill Burrows.

Originally from the North East, Dr Burrows went to Leeds Medical School and had house doctor roles at Airedale Hospital in West Yorkshire before crossing the Pennines to take up jobs in pathology and general medicine in the Manchester region.

Gill started as a consultant chemical pathologist at Stepping Hill in 1999, before becoming a clinical director in laboratory medicine and associate medical director for diagnostics and clinical support, and child and family services. She has been very involved in the Stockport Together project as the planned care lead for the trust.

LIFESAVERS ON AND OFF DUTY One of our A&E sisters together with her paramedic husband have been praised for helping save the life of a heart attack victim – not at hospital but in a department store car Senior A&E sister Clare Carrie and her husband John Carrie, a senior paramedic for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), are no strangers to saving lives in their daily work, but were not expecting to be called on for help whilst out shopping at the Dunelm Mill store in Stockport.

Whilst leaving the store heading for their car John and Clare noticed an NWAS response car attending to an unwell older man in the car park. When they asked the attending paramedic whether he needed any help, they were told at first the patient was recovering and the situation was in hand. However, just as they were reversing to leave, the patient went into a seizure and they were waved back again for assistance. As they rushed to help, it became clear the patient had gone into cardiac arrest.

The trio pulled him out of the car and administered CPR, followed by two shocks with a defibrillator when he was

still not responding. As an ambulance arrived Clare phoned Stepping Hill Hospital ahead to have a resuscitation bed ready as the patient was rushed in for treatment. Once there staff helped him to stabilise, before being later transferred to Wythenshawe Hospital to complete his recovery.

John and Clare were commended by NWAS for their swift action which helped save the patient’s life, and also received a thank you letter from the man himself. “I cannot help thinking of you guys and how fortunate it was that our paths crossed as they did. I just wanted to say a huge thank you for what you did.”

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A joint

success

Recent figures show we are one of the safest and best places in the country for hip and knee replacement surgery.

We carry out around 800 hip and knee replacement operations a year, mostly for patients suffering from different forms of arthritis.

The National Joint Registry (NJR) compiles figures for how frequently these artificial joints wear out and need replacing again, along with mortality rates.

The latest figures show Stepping Hill Hospital as better than average for hip replacement, with 2.14% replaced again within 7 years compared to 3.59% nationally; for knee replacement the results are significantly better than average, with 0.9% replaced again within 7 years compared to 3.18% nationally.

Our mortality figures are better than average for both hip and knee replacement, with rates for knee replacement being around half the national figure.

Jean Ritchie, a retired nurse Jean Ritchie from Marple in Stockport suffered increasingly bad pain in her knees for four years before being diagnosed with osteoarthritis. She then underwent a knee replacement operation on each side in 2014 and 2015, giving her freedom from pain as well as improved mobility.

Jean said, “It’s been a total transformation in my quality of life. Just being able to do things now which were really painful before, like walking round the shops or taking my dog for a walk, is wonderful. Both the surgical team and the support I’ve had afterwards from the physiotherapy team has been fantastic.”

STOCKPORT TOGETHER Stockport Together is a partnership between ourselves, the clinical commissioning group, the council, Pennine Care (who provide mental health services in Stockport) and Viaduct Health (the borough’s GP federation).

Together we are reshaping local health and social care services to provide joined up services closer to home and help keep people out of hospital.

We have recently signed an agreement as a multi-specialty community provider (MCP) to come together as a shadow organisation, ahead of the launch of a new health and care organisation in Stockport in 2017.

Under this new care model, eight neighbourhoods will provide health and social care services centred around GP practices. They will take more responsibility to provide a better range of services for patients at a local level.

The newly formed neighbourhood teams will be expanding over the coming months, to bring together nurses and community health services, GPs, hospital specialists and other health and care providers to deliver out-of-hospital care within the community.

The eight neighbourhood areas •

Bramhall & Cheadle Hulme

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Offerton & Hazel Grove

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Cheadle, Gatley & Heald Green

•

Tame Valley

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Victoria

•

Werneth

•

Heatons

•

Marple

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Recent developments in Stockport Together include: Outpatients - A review of hospital outpatient appointments, which has shown nearly half of the outpatient appointments could have been held closer to home with a GP or specialist nurse – and some may not have been needed at all. There have been some early successes coming out of the first ‘neighbourhood’ service in Cheadle.

Nursing homes - All nursing homes and their residents have been matched to specific GP practices, and weekly GP-led ‘ward rounds’ now take place in each home. Advanced nurse practitioners are working with care home staff to provide more personal care.

Elective care rapid testing programme - Stockport Together has been selected as one of only two sites in the country for the ‘elective care rapid testing programme’. This programme will look at speeding up access to routine care services by managing demand better.

Consultant Connect – closer communication between hospital consultants and GPs, speeding up patient treatment and reducing hospital appointments. For more info on this see page 7.

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Healthier Together is the ongoing reorganisation of services in Greater Manchester to make them work better for patients in the years to come.

Stepping Hill Hospital will become the ‘hub’ for high risk and complex emergency and general surgery for the south east sector of Greater Manchester, working in partnership with Tameside Hospital.

Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Trust (which runs Macclesfield Hospital) are also participating in our South East sector programme for general surgery only. North Derbyshire CCG is also a key partner as High Peak residents use our hospital services.

specialist surgery each year. As the specialist centre or hub, patients would come here direct via ambulance, and patients would also be transferred if they were identified on one of our partner sites as needing this surgery. Higher risk planned operations would be concentrated on our site.

The four sectors for Greater Manchester are each establishing their own programme management arrangements.

Both Stepping Hill and Tameside Hospitals will still run full A&E services. Clinicians are currently discussing the managment of ‘high’ or ‘low’ risk conditions, and the services needed to support them. We expect this to be finalised shortly and it will become the basis of planning for other clinical services which will be directly affected by these changes for instance - A&E, acute medicine, diagnostics, critical care and anaesthetics.

The plan is for staff across the South East sector to work together, as part of a single service for high risk abdominal surgery patients. The first draft of the plan anticipates that this could start as early as 2017, although firm timescales are yet to be agreed. Around 2,500 patients in our sector need this

Fit for the future Our new operational plan for 2016/17 is now in place. It is based around our four strategic priorities of quality, partnership, integration and efficiency.

The Greater Manchester devolution, Stockport Together and South East Healthier Together sector partnership plans are integral to our operational plan. They are focussed on improving the health of local people, balancing quality of care with cost control, and removing the boundaries between mental and physical health, primary and specialist services, health and social care.

Our plan for this year covers how we will provide urgent and non-urgent care to patients, as well as how we will try and meet all the national targets such as waiting time standards. It also looks at how we will manage diagnostic tests and scans, which are an essential part of our service.

As well as detailing our financial, sustainability and transformation plans, our operational plan also includes an important section about how we will continue improving the quality of our care and seven day services. Patients are the heart of everything we do and we will never lose our focus on quality.

Financial Improvement Programme Some of the key themes in the operational plan are around increasing efficiency to both improve patient care and reduce our financial deficit. In keeping with this, we have also joined the Financial Improvement Programme (FIP), a national NHS Improvement scheme to assist with savings.

We were one of only 16 NHS organisations selected, after 80 put their names forward to join the scheme. NHS Improvement chose the organisations which they believed intensive support would have the most impact on. In our case, this will involve working with KPMG who are bringing skills and experience to build on our existing financial improvement measures.

To read the full operational plan see ‘Latest annual plans’ in the ‘About us’ page on our website.

Did you know We have over 830 healthcare assistants working in Stepping Hill Hospital and the We employ over 1000 healthcare assistant and support workers in the hospital and the community. community, supporting other nursing staff and caring for patients.

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News

HEALTHIER TOGETHER

TOP TRAINING CENTRE FOR SEVERE INJURIES We are now a training centre for doctors to learn the latest techniques of life support for severely injured patients.

The Advanced Trauma Life Support three-day course is for A&E doctors, orthopaedic surgeons, and anaesthetists involved in traumatic injuries.

Stepping Hill Hospital is now one of just two centres in Greater Manchester providing the course, which focusses on

treating patients in the first hour following a major accident.

Using interactive tutorials and simulated patient scenarios, the course develops doctors skills in quickly and safely assessing a patient’s condition,

resuscitating and stabilising them.

Approved by the Royal College of Surgeons, it covers a number of areas including head, spine and stomach injuries, broken bones, managing the airway during resuscitation and x-rays.

IN THE BANK

We have been leading the way in reducing spending on agency staff whilst ensuring safe nurse numbers on our wards.

Like most NHS organisations, we rely on temporary nursing staff to support our 2000 permanent nurses. These are either ‘bank staff’ who are NHS employees or private agency staff.

Agency staff are a lot more expensive to hire on an hourly rate, and increasing reliance on agency staff has become a key factor in rising NHS debts across the land.

We worked in partnership with NHS Professionals and other organisations in recent months to increase our reserve of bank staff and cut down on agency bills.

Close co-operation with nearby hospitals, has been a key factor, rather than competing with them on pay rates.

This has helped ensure bank staff are allocated where they are most needed.

ACTION ON A&E WAITING TIMES Meeting the target of 95% of patients in A&E being seen, treated, admitted or discharged within four hours is a challenge for our organisation and meeting this challenge is one of our top priorities.

Our A&E department is busier than at any point in its history, seeing more patients than ever before. However, the difficulties in meeting the target are not just around A&E itself, but in patient numbers being high across the hospital leading to pressure on bed numbers.

It is important to remember that the standard of care in the department remains high.

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As a result our bank staff have increased by 44% from the previous year to 540 - 10% better than the national average. This is better for the continuity of care for patients, as well as avoiding high agency costs.

The increase in bank staff has run alongside our recruitment campaign for permanent nurses across Europe and beyond.

In recent months, further measures have included: •

Greater use of the hospital’s transfer unit and medical assessment unit beds to help patient flow

•

Promotion of increased use of the Mastercall out-of-hours GP service for patients where this is more appropriate than visiting A&E

•

Increased number of triage nurses to speed up the process

•

A series of measures to promote earlier patient discharge

•

Reviewing patients who are staying on wards for long periods

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Top UK cyclist Victoria Williamson spent several weeks at Stepping Hill Hospital following a serious crash while competing in Rotterdam during January this year.

Victoria had fractured her neck and back, dislocated her pelvis and slipped a disc in her neck.

Thankfully the bronze medallist is now slowly on the way to recovery, she is out of hospital but still attending as an outpatient to check on her progress. A crew from BBC

News

Top cyclist on the mend Look East filmed Victoria during one of these sessions.

Victoria said “My care from all staff at Stepping Hill, both as an inpatient and an outpatient, has been second to none. Without them I wouldn’t be here and walking again – I can’t thank them enough.”

DOCTORS CONNECT TO SPEED UP CARE A new system that connects our hospital consultants and GPs is speeding up patient treatment and reducing hospital appointments.

GPs can call ‘Consultant Connect’ during patient appointments to get instant treatment advice from a specialist at Stepping Hill Hospital to check whether a referral is necessary.

While reaching a busy hospital consultant by phone has previously been challenging for GPs, the new single number connects to a ‘rota’ of consultants and if the first is unavailable, the system loops to the mobile phone of the next specialist.

The system has successfully prevented many hospital referrals since launching for haematology and endocrinology enquiries in February, and has now been extended into paediatrics, cardiology and older patient services, with plans for further roll-out in the future.

Stockport is the first area in Greater Manchester to Hospital consultant Dr Richard Bell has been introduce the system. involved in the scheme from the start

An Honneur’d Patient

A 96 year old patient received a top honour from the French government for his wartime heroism while being treated on a Stepping Hill Hospital ward.

Jeffrey Holdgate from Disley, Stockport received the Legion D’Honneur, the French equivalent of an OBE, for his role fighting at the D Day Landing in Normandy in 1944.

French President Francois Hollande announced his decision to honour the surviving British veterans of the campaign to liberate his country in 2014. With 3300 applications from veterans, this was more than the French government had expected, and around 100 awards are

being presented each month.

Jeffrey was the latest proud veteran to receive this award, which was made during his hospital stay. After landing in Normandy on D Day, Jeffrey fought in France over many long and arduous months with the army’s 102 Beach Group regiment.

A photo display of Jeffrey and some of his colleagues already commemorates their heroism at the Bayeux Museum in Normandy.

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A helping hand A stroke survivor is learning to grip and hold objects with his left hand for the first time in years thanks to a special glove trialed by Stepping Hill Hospital.

Mark Maynard from South Reddish had a stroke in 2011 which left him numb down his left side, with a lack of movement in both his leg and arm. Simple tasks like opening doors with his left hand were no longer possible.

Since then Mark has had regular appointments with the hospital’s orthotist department which makes and fit braces and splints for patients.

Orthotist Mike Carter has now given Mark a new ‘SaeboGlove’ which has never been trialled by the hospital before. The cuttingedge SaeboGlove uses tension springs to give the hand more power with its grip.

Mark can now hold small objects and turn door handles with his hand for the first time since his stroke. He is also learning how to perform tasks using two hands such as clothing himself and eating with both a knife and fork.

If his trial is successful, other patients at Stepping Hill Hospital who have similar hand problems will use them too.

Carol Maynard, Mark’s wife said, “It’s brilliant to see the progress Mark is making in being able to do more for himself. I’m just hoping he’ll be able to help me with the dishes soon!”

A guiding light A young woman with disabilities is guiding visitors around Stepping Hill Hospital, thanks to a partnership with a local charity.

Hannah Cheetham from Woodley in Stockport now works on our hospital helpdesk one day a week. Hannah, who has cerebral palsy and communicates through her electronic voicebox, is able to advise patients and visitors where to go on the large and busy hospital site.

Hannah became a guide after completing a work skills course with Pure Innovations, a local Stockport charity which supports people with disabilities to achieve their ambitions and goals.

Hannah started working at the hospital on a temporary basis, but took to the role so well she is now working here long-term.

Pure Innovations has been working in partnership with Stepping Hill Hospital for 13 years, and as well as Hannah there are ten other interns’ working on our site.

Plans are underway to extend this partnership work to include Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College and will increase the number of placements and opportunities for young disabled people to gain qualifications and work experience which will hopefully lead to paid work at the hospital.

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Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

News

CHANGES AT THE BOARD There has been several changes in the make-up of our board of directors after Carol Prowse’s term of office completed.

Malcolm Sugden Malcolm Sugden has been appointed as our new Deputy Chairman. Malcolm has served as a non-executive director of the trust for over five years, having previously been a non-executive director of NHS Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust.

With a background in accountancy, Malcolm Sugden has operated at a senior financial level within major North West businesses for the last

You said

twenty years. His work in recent years has included several finance roles for United Utilities, and serving as finance director for Electricity North West Ltd. Dr Mike Cheshire has also been appointed as our new Senior Independent Director. He has been a non executive director at the trust for over three years.

Dr Cheshire is a hugely experienced clinician, having worked as a

we did

You said…

Dr Mike Cheshire

consultant physician, specialising in geriatric and general medicine for many years, including nearly three decades working at Central Manchester Hospitals Foundation Trust. He was Clinical Vice President at the Royal College of Physicians, London from 2007 to 2010, amongst several other previous roles.

Many thanks to Carol Prowse for her outstanding contribution over nine years.

Patient feedback is essential to make continued improvements.

Below are a few changes we have made in recent months thanks to people sharing their experiences, ideas and views.

…we did

“It would be useful to have more activities on wards.”

The stroke unit (Ward E1) has started a breakfast group has commenced every Tuesday morning to support patients in their recovery and feedback has been very positive.

“Some appointments for adult community therapy are taking too long.”

Action has been taken and average waiting times for a routine assessment by the adult community therapy team have now been reduced from 4.8 weeks to 3.3 weeks.

“Patients with hearing difficulties can find it particularly hard to hear in a busy ward environment.”

Hearing amplifiers are now available on wards.

Did youout know We carry around 600 operations a week. The oldest patient to ever receive surgery at our hospital was 107 years, 6 months and 3 days old.

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Think Kidneys is the NHS campaign to improve the care of people at risk of, or with acute kidney injury (AKI).

Wendy Oakes, acute kidney injury specialist nurse has recently joined us to work alongside Dr Karl Bonnici, consultant physician and AKI clinical lead.

This is a new service introduced to raise AKI awareness across the organisation and a new AKI priority care bundle to provide guidance to staff caring for these patients.

If you would like to find out more contact Wendy on 0161 419 4351, mobile 07710 760094 or email wendy.oakes@stockport.nhs.uk for further information.

•

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a rapid reduction in kidney function resulting in difficulties in clearing excess water, electrolytes and toxins

•

AKI occurs in one to five emergency admissions in our hospital, similar to most UK hospitals

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Two thirds of these patients come to hospital with AKI (community acquired), the remaining patients develop an AKI during their stay with us

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Patients with AKI stay in hospital longer and have a higher risk of a poor outcome

Social Media Update In a new section we look at some of our most popular social media posts in recent months ‘A&E EXTREMELY BUSY, KEEP IT FOR EMERGENCIES’

Most popular Facebook posts so far in 2016

‘INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY’

6,321 reached, 281 responses (p20)

21,695 reached, 446 responses (see p6)

‘WEDDING responses ON THE WARD’ 15,695 reached 514 responses (p21)

‘A&E SISTER AND PARAMEDIC HUSBAND SAVE PATIENT IN STORE CAR PARK’

7,164 reached, 510 responses (p3)

‘I AM THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE VIDEO’

9,453 reached, 280 responses

‘WAR HERO RECEIVES LEGION D’HONNEUR ON WARD’

10,312 reached, 352 responses (p7)

(p27)

‘A&E SISTER AND PARAMEDIC HUSBAND SAVE PATIENT IN (see p3) STORE CAR PARK’

9,138 reached, 512 responses

‘CYCLIST VICTORIA WILLIAMSON RECOVERS AT STEPPING HILL HOSPITAL FOLLOWING CRASH’ 5654 reached, 558 responses (p7) ‘INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY’ 3479 reached, 51 responses (p20)

‘Reached’ -appearing on people’s Twitter or Facebook page ‘Responses’ -likes, retweets, comments or shares

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Most popular Tweets so far in 2016

‘WAR HERO RECEIVES LEGION D’HONNEUR ON WARD’

1780 reached, 67 responses

(p7)

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

An ‘extraordinary red’ nurse

News

News in Brief Books at bedtime Patients at Stepping Hill Hospital can now use a portable library service without getting out of bed.

Leap year baby Julie Wood, one of our neonatal nurses, recently appeared on Manchester United’s TV station MUTV in a programme about their fans.

Ten babies were born at Stepping Hill Hospital’s neonatal unit on February 29th - making them ‘leap year babies’ who will only have birthdays once every four years. One of the new-borns was Isabella-Grace Clark; born a healthy 7.8oz at 10:35am.

Extraordinary Reds focused on devoted Man United followers both at the match and in their day jobs, which in Julie’s case means caring for premature and poorly newborn babies on our neonatal unit.

Teaching that It’s Not Okay

Rose revisits A former Stepping Hill Hospital nurse who now lives in Ireland revisited her former workplace after 55 years.

Rose Gately worked as a staff nurse on ward A1 and maternity unit between 1956 and1960, before moving to Chicago USA and then on to County Kildare, Ireland.

She found some parts of our 110 yearold hospital site very different, whilst others looked the same.

Park and ride There is now a Park and Ride scheme in place for Stepping Hill Hospital, located on Macclesfield Road, Hazel Grove. You can find out more about the Park and Ride scheme under ‘parking information’ on our website.

Parking spaces are limited at the hospital, so people should use an alternative ways of getting here wherever possible.

Our school nursing team joined police and council social care staff in promoting the ‘It’s Not Okay’ campaign, a Greater Manchester wide initiative aimed at raising awareness of child sexual exploitation. The team talked to teenagers around the community.

Top rheumatology recruiters Our rheumatology team was the top in the country for recruiting volunteers for a new arthritis treatment.

The popular library service has returned after several months with a new book storage area.

Five hospital volunteers visit patients across the hospital wards two days each week, offering them a wide range of books.

X-Pert diabetes advice The Stockport X-Pert team, which runs courses for people with diabetes in the area, recently ran a special session at the Asian Heritage Centre in Heaton Moor which was translated into Urdu for the participants. The X-Pert course gives people with diabetes advice on how to control and manage their condition. Courses are ongoing in Stockport, if you are interested please contact snt-tr.patienteducation@nhs.net or phone 0161 426 5576.

Stop smoking service from Pharmacy Shop Our hospital Pharmacy Shop is now offering an NHS stop smoking service, together with free or reduced cost nicotine replacement therapy. For more information just ask at the shop counter, or give them a call on 0161 419 4466.

The British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register - Rheumatoid Arthritis study assesses the long-term safety and effectiveness of new Rheumatoid Arthritis treatments.

Talking mats

Stroke Study Day

Our speech and language therapy staff have produced a new set of ‘talking mats’ to help children with their communication skills. Children with speech, language and communication needs can often struggle to express their views and opinions, and the mats are innovative new tool to assist them.

Our medical and nursing staff who care for stroke patients attended the first study day for stroke specialists from across the Greater Manchester region.

The latest developments in stroke care were discussed at the event which also included input from stroke survivors from the Stroke Association.

Page 11

A day in the life of a

porter I’ve been a porter at Stepping Hill Hospital for just over two and a half years, having previously worked as a builder and in the Navy. I live locally in Great Moor, not too far from the hospital.

At Stepping Hill we have approximately 60 porters, working 24/7 in all wards and most departments in the hospital, including A&E, radiology, pharmacy and maternity, to name just a few.

I’m one of seven porters on the acute medical unit (AMU), alternately working between AMU1 and AMU2, either on early, late or night shifts, covering seven days a week. The AMUs are medical wards which look after acute patients, many of whom are elderly and have usually come straight to the ward from A&E. Today I’m working an early shift on AMU2.

7:00am In this edition we look at Matt Wilson, a porter working on the acute medical unit wards at Stepping Hill Hospital.

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As soon as I arrive on AMU2 it’s on to the first job – collecting bloods and samples and taking them to the pathology lab for testing. From the lab I make my way to the kitchen to collect the breakfast meal trolley and take it to the ward. Porters deliver meal trolleys to around 40 wards and departments, and it usually takes 8 porters around 45 minutes to do this, every breakfast, lunch and tea time.

8:00am While patients are having their breakfasts, I do some of the more routine ‘daily jobs’, including checking out the oxygen cylinders and replacing the empties with full. I check the patient trolleys and wheelchairs to make sure they are working properly.

Then I start to change over the full waste bins and laundry cages. Over a 24 hour period the hospital will fill approximately 50 large waste bins, from medical waste to recyclable cardboard, and approximately 35 cages of laundry, all of which need to be sent for cleaning. It is quite a logistical feat to organise them all.

I’ve noticed that all the patients have now finished breakfast, so I take the meal trolley back to the kitchen. The corridors are starting to get busy so I have to be very careful when pushing the trolley past patients, visitors, staff and other ‘traffic’.

“In portering, just as in any other job, time management and prioritising different tasks are important.”

10:00am The ward co-ordinator is letting us know about which patients need to be transported today – and to where.

Patients from the acute medical unit often need to be transferred to other wards, usually when their conditions are not as severe. Many patients need scans - CTs, ultrasounds and x-rays, and these are usually timed appointments.

In portering, just as in any other job, time management and prioritising different tasks are important. The coordinator lets us know there’s a lady who needs an ultrasound scan in 15 minutes, and two other patients who need transferring to other wards.

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Features All three patient transfers progress smoothly and I’ve managed to complete all three in just over half an hour. I record all the transfer details and times on my daily time sheet after I complete each transfer.

10:30am I have four more patients to take for x-rays, which will involve a lot of going back and forth. Although walking over large distances can be tiring, I am lucky to be able to talk to a wide variety of people, many of whom are more than happy to talk about their life, their family and their work. I think this helps to make their stay a little more pleasant and also helps them to feel relaxed and at ease.

Today, one lady told me about her 25 year career as a hostess for British Airways, and another gentleman told me about his 30 years with the Royal Navy, where I also worked. I think it makes for a more interesting and fulfilling day for both of us. Talking of fulfilling, at 11.30 am I’m waiting at the kitchen to take the lunch time meal trolley to the ward.

1:00pm After my lunch, it’s back on duty.

Many jobs come to us on an ‘ad hoc’ basis – and I’m asked to move some office furniture, obtain a mattress and replace a faulty bed, all within a ten minute period. Another request comes in to take an urgent sample to the pathology lab for testing. I return the lunchtime meal trolley back to the kitchen and the corridors are even busier now. I’m very careful as there are confused visitors,

vulnerable patients, older people and young children, all using our corridors.

My supervisor arrives on the ward around 1.40 pm because he has been informed that an elderly patient has unfortunately passed away and is now ready to be transferred to the mortuary. It is always a sad but necessary task. It is vitally important that we treat the deceased with the same high standards of care, dignity and respect, as we would expect our own loved ones to be treated. It’s the last little thing we can do for them, and it’s vital we are professional and get everything right.

“The hospital works 24/7 and portering is no different.The next man can expect just as busy a shift as I have had.“

2:00pm Time has flown by and with just under an hour of my shift left, I deliver patient notes to the wards and to the medical records department. With the high number of patients going through my ward today, this has taken me quite a few trips! As I’m already out and about with the notes, I also collect some take home medications for a patient from the pharmacy (who says men can’t multi-task!).

3:00pm As my shift finishes, I hand over to the next porter. It has been calculated that a porter at Stepping Hill will walk on average between 8 and 10 miles a shift, usually carrying equipment or samples, or pushing patients, bins, cages or trolleys. It is varied and interesting work, often unseen and we pride ourselves on “keeping things moving”, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Our maternity team performs around 100 home births a year (2014 figures)

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A look at our….

fracture clinic Stepping Hill Hospital’s fracture clinic is one of the busiest departments in the hospital, treating patients with a range of injuries including bone fractures, soft tissue and tendon injuries, lacerations and complex wounds.

Based near our A&E department, many patients are referred directly from there after the initial treatment of their injury.

The trauma co-ordinators at the clinic can also accept referrals from GP surgeries, the Buxton Minor Injuries Unit and other hospitals in the area. The clinic sees over 120 new patients every week, with an additional 160 follow-up procedures each week as well.

Seven staff work in the clinic each day - three plaster technicians (one is also a staff nurse) in the plaster room, and in the main clinic two consultants, a staff nurse, an assistant practitioner, an outpatient services assistant and a healthcare assistant.

These staff carry out a number of treatments for patients each day – including the application of casts to immobilise injured limbs, fixing splints and slings to treat injuries, wound care, including the removal of clips and satures, blood tests and wound

Page 14

swabs. Other procedures include venous thromboembolism (blood clot) prophylaxys treatment, and K wire removal (the removal of metal pins for patients who have had operations.)

The most common injuries which clinic staff see tend to be crush injuries of fingers, fractured wrists and ankle injuries. Some of the more unusual problems include injuries caused by farm animals.

The clinic used to only have one consultant, but for the last ten years it has been a ‘double clinic’ with two consultants seeing different patients at the same time. During this time techniques have improved too – with an increasing number of lightweight synthetic casts, and splint and sling treatments being used for injuries which would previously have required a full plaster of Paris cast. A specialist boot known as the ‘Aircast boot’ is now used as well for ankle injuries which would have required a plaster cast.

add photo

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Features Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Physiotherapist

A guide to

Matron

Pharmacist

hospital

uniforms

Senior Ward Sister /Charge Nurse

Senior/Deputy Sister /Charge Nurse

Ward Clerk

Senior Nurse / Nurse Specialist

Staff Nurse/ Midwife

Domestic

If you’ve spent any time at Stepping Hill Hospital you’ll have noticed staff wearing a wide variety of uniforms. Here is a guide to some of our main staff groups and the uniforms they wear.

Healthcare Assistant

Assistant

Practitioner

Porter

Page 15

Join us for our….

Stepping Hill Hospital, Saturday 9th July 10am – 2pm We are opening our doors to the public for a free day of fun, interaction and information on Saturday 9th July.

TOURS •

Organised tours of our operating theatres and a look at our new £20 million pound surgical and medical centre

COMPETITION •

Come dressed as a superhero for a chance to win a great prize!

•

One winner from each age category 0-5/6-11

Our governors will be on hand for a chat.

Follow the fun at #StockportHero Page 16

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Features

Music and Entertainment Interactive health information •

Over 50 interactive health stands

•

Try life saving treatment on a dummy

•

Test your skills on our emergency treatment challenge

•

Find out more about therapies and radiology

•

Marple Hall School Big Band

•

Nrithyakala Bollywood Dancing

•

Pantonic All Stars

•

VariVocals community choir

Activities and Attractions Careers stall •

Talk to our recruitment team about working for us

•

Try our inflatable assault course

•

Sit in a fire engine

•

Cycle your way to a smoothie

•

Get a ‘fake wound’ with special make-up team

•

Have your face painted as your favourite superhero

•

Meet Spider-Man and Batman

•

Free taster sessions for head and shoulder massage and reflexology

Did you know Stepping Hill Hospital’s neonatal unit was opened by the Countess of Wessex in 2011.

We were one of the first trusts in the country to attain Foundation Trust status in 2004.

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positive fit

Our commitment to the health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our top priorities. We believe the way to provide the best experience for our patients is to provide the best experience for our staff. We know that healthy staff means better outcomes for our patients.

Without staff that are well and at work we cannot deliver quality and effective care to patients. We want to ensure that all staff are provided with an environment and opportunities that encourage and enable them to lead healthy lives and make choices that support their wellbeing.

•

Ensuring that our organisational development and people management plans support managers to lead, and staff to “selflead” to remain, healthy, motivated and able to do their jobs.

Happiness care

healthy eating

Health and Wellbeing vitality

care

lifestyle

vitality

healthy eating fit energy

Happiness

cheerful sport

for you

positive for you

cheerful

lifestyle

lifestyle

care

sport

Staff benefits for healthy living We offer a wide range of activities and schemes. These include: • Complementary therapies • Occupational health • Staff podiatry • Staff physiotherapy • Staff lifestyle assessments • Staff travel incentives • Staff counselling • Child care vouchers

Improving physical health A range of classes are available for all tastes and levels of fitness. These include; Walk 2 Run, tai chi, yoga, walk to work groups and rounders. Staff can find out more on our intranet.

The key themes of our health and wellbeing strategy for staff are: •

Engaging all staff to improve their health and wellbeing. This includes; physical activity, smoking cessation, alcohol and weight management and mental health

•

Encouraging staff to feel more resilient, committed and able to contribute to the development of our trust

•

Promoting the benefits of a healthy and supportive working environment

•

Providing assistance to help staff to remain and return to work

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Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Staff Focus There are also discounts available for local personal training sessions and classes.

Improving mental wellbeing There is a wide range of information and support available to support good mental health. These include the NHS employers emotional wellbeing toolkit.

For more information visit www.nhsemployers.org/ howareyoufeelingnhs

with the tailored lifestyle guidance on the subject or subjects of your choice, this could be balancing your life or drinking less caffeine. A link to the website and log on details are on the health & wellbeing or occupational health microsites.

Staff can contact them on 0161 419 5491 to arrange an appointment, then complete the life style assessment form on the occupational health microsite.

Staff Counselling

The following benefits are available to all those wishing to walk, cycle and car share or take public transport:

To self-refer to the staff counselling service, staff can telephone 0161 419 5432 leaving your name and contact details. You will receive a call back to arrange an appointment.

Mindfulness is a popular method of helping with mild to moderate stress and anxiety and also to deal with long term conditions. Mindfulness courses are now being held starting in September, staff can check the intranet for dates, and for more on mindfulness visit www.mindreallymatters.co.uk

Staff Podiatry

Personal resilience workshops

Staff Physiotherapy

This one-day workshop covers practical steps to build resilience and manage stress.

Staff with a newly developed musculoskeletal problem can have it assessed and treated by our outpatient physiotherapy staff. The service is designed as a relatively fast turnaround service to help keep staff at work, or aide their return to work.

Upcoming dates are 9th September, 26th October, 2nd November, 9th December and the 20th January. Staff can book a place by emailing training@stockport.nhs.uk

Occupational health Occupational health offers a range of services including telephone based advice and guidance on a self-referral basis.

Staff can contact the occupational health service for confidential advice on 0161 419 5491. iWill – your own health & wellbeing online resource centre Occupational health offers staff the opportunity to access your own personal, confidential online health & wellbeing resource centre, called iWill. There are a range of topics that will provide you

Staff can telephone 0161 419 5787 to make an appointment at the staff podiatry clinic at Stepping Hill Hospital, or to find out about the drop-in clinics located throughout Stockport.

Smoking Cessation / Alcohol Support / Weight Management Healthy Stockport is a free, confidential local support service to help people make positive lifestyle changes. The service offers practical support on healthy eating, moving more, smoking, healthy weight, mental wellbeing and alcohol services. Staff can call 0161 426 5085 or email info@healthystockport.co.uk, or visit www.healthystockport.co.uk.

Health and Wellbeing Lifestyle Assessments Our occupational health team offers health and wellbeing lifestyle assessments.

Staff travel

•

Interest free loans available to buy a bicycle

•

Separate male and female shower and changing facilities

•

Secure cycle parks across the hospital site

•

Pedometers are available on loan from the occupational health department

•

Discounted bus tickets and Interest free loans to buy an annual travel card

•

Staff who car share receive a reduced rate on parking and a designated car sharers parking pass

For more information staff can contact our travel administration office on 0161 419 5032

Healthy Eating…

Did you know…our staff restaurant has a healthy salad bar? And that all mayonnaise being used is low fat, there’s wholemeal bread for sandwiches, all milk is semi skimmed, and only healthy snacks are available at the tills? www.nhs.uk/oneyou www.nhs.uk/livewell www.nhs.uk/Change4Life www.healthystockport.co.uk

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PLAY Therapy A new play area for young patients at Stepping Hill Hospital has opened, thanks to a generous £33,249 donation from charity MedEquip4Kids.

Children helped design the new outside area within the Tree House children’s unit, which features a bright seafaring theme with bridges, hills, tunnels and a huge model boat for children to play in.

bounds for the past five years due to disrepair. It is now a welcome space for children on the ward, as well as young users of Pennine Care’s disability and mental health services also based on site.

A play area was first constructed on the site 17 years ago, but has been out-of-

The play area was opened by our Chairman Gillian Easson together

International Nurses Day Nursing staff at Stepping Hill Hospital celebrated the best of their profession with a series of events on International Nurses Day on May 12th.

Staff put on a showcase of the latest improvements and developments in nursing care in the hospital and the community, including care for patients with dementia, end of life care, and the latest action on acute kidney injuries. Attendees

with CBBC Presenter Katie Thistleton, who lives locally and is a supporter of MedEquip4Kids.

Construction firm Vinci who gave the main donation to MedEquip4Kids for the project were also at the opening, alongside some of the children.

got to learn more about the role of nursing staff in other areas, and also received talks about both the changing role of nurses both in history and in the years to come.

The event also included a Bake-Off competition where nurses who are as handy with a cake whisk as they are with an injection needle got to show off their skills in this field as well.

A wartime view The fascinating picture journal kept by nurse Mary Hicks, who worked at Stepping Hill Hospital during the first world war, got another public airing in June.

Images from the book were included in a public exhibition on wartime life held in Stockport, which was organised by the Department of History and Archaeology from the University of Chester. The journal can still be viewed on our website by typing ‘World War One’ into our search bar.

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Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Events

Wedding on the ward

One of our medical wards became a wedding setting as a patient married his partner following last-minute plans at Stepping Hill Hospital.

Alfred Hulstone, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer over two years ago, had planned months earlier to marry his long term partner Val Heelam at Stockport registry office, but a sudden and unexpected deterioration in Alfred’s condition meant he had to be admitted to hospital the day before, throwing the plans into disarray.

Rather than delay the date, the family brought the registry office and wedding guests to the ward. Ward staff and MacMillan nurses helped the family make the rushed arrangements, including buying with flowers from a local shop.

The registrars married Alfred and Val before close family, friends and staff with a blessing from the hospital chaplain.

Alfred and Val, both 72 from Bramhall, have been together 24 years. Alfred is a retired engineer, and Val worked at the

Natwest bank in Stockport. The couple, who had both been married once before, first met at the bank when he was a customer and she was behind the counter.

A planned honeymoon in the Lake District had to be cancelled, but the couple are making the precious time they have together count with Val spending time by Alfred’s ward bed.

Celebrating diversity

Event organiser Sabrina Khan with Chairman Gillian Easson

Our equality and diversity event in May was an opportunity to raise awareness of the equality, diversity and human rights of all different sections of society, both among our staff and the wider public

we serve. Representatives of major faiths gave talks on aspects of their religion and how they may impact on their health experience, whilst entertainment included a colourful display from local Bollywood dancers.

taste of France

A

Patients at our Marjory Warren Unit for older people got a taste of Paris with when staff put on a French themed mid-day mealtime with Gallic snacks and tricolour flag decorations. Staff at the unit have put on several themed meal events to brighten up the environment for patients.

We are the second largest employer in Stockport.

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Long goodbyes We held celebration events saying farewell to several committed and longstanding workers who were on their way to retirement.

Staff nurse Mary Pritchard retired after 46 years’ service caring for patients at Stepping Hill, based for most of that time at Marjory Warren Unit looking after older people.

Above: Gilly Lansom (right) with ward manager Trish O’Brien

Staff nurse Gilly Lansom celebrated both her 55th birthday and her retirement after 35 years of service to the NHS. Gilly worked for 10 years at St Thomas Hospital before moving to Stepping Hill, then spent 15 years looking after patients on the hospital’s Ward E2.

Above: Mary Pritchard with colleagues and family

Above: James Catania with Chairman Gillian Easson

Sing-song stopover

And our medical director Dr James Catania has stepped down from his role after 14 years’ service, although he is returning to oversee our new electronic patient record service.

Children from the Focus School Stockport Campus paid a welcome visit to Tree House children's unit, singing a selection of songs for patients, visitors and staff.

The school also kindly donated to the unit for new vein finding equipment.

Andrew Gwynne MP visit Andrew Gwynne MP met with both surgical staff and younger patients when he paid a visit to our children’s unit and surgical facilities.

The MP for Denton and Reddish took time to speak to staff and children at the Tree House children’s unit, and also took a look with theatre staff at the surgical robot in action, which operates on patients with kidney, bladder and prostate cancer.

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Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Events

Charity Roundup Giving...

Our Assistant IT Director Helen Bennett successfully completed this year’s London Marathon, raising over £1500 to support patients with dementia.

Helen was raising money to support our project to create ‘dementia café rooms’ within our wards, which change modern spaces into rooms from bygone times, creating a therapeutic and relaxing environment for patients with dementia. Helen also raised over £1100 on the same run for the Alzheimer’s Society.

…and receiving Colleen Mahlik took the arduous ‘Tough Mudder’ 12 mile obstacle course which pushes stamina to the limit to support Stockport’s community NHS services in memory of her late mother Ed. Her mum who suffered from severe COPD, received care and support at home from the Stockport community nurse team based at Kingsgate house, who she came to know as her ‘angels’. Colleen triumphantly completed the course and raised nearly £2000 in donations for the community team.

Our Swanbourne Gardens respite centre for disabled children in Stockport got a helping hand thanks to a fundraising night local restaurant Rainbow 88 in Cheadle Hulme. The night included a performance from the Let Loose Ladies drag act from the Divas Showbar in Manchester, who offered their services for free. Over £2000 was raised on the fun-filled evening.

Parents Laura Rose-Garner and Chris Andrew raised money for a new cuddle cot for our Sandalwood Suite bereavement centre in memory of their baby Millie who was sadly born stillborn. The parents raised over £2000 by a variety of fundraising means for the cuddle cot which allowed bereaved parents to spend precious time with their baby.

Our neonatal unit received a welcome donation of £300 thanks to local motorcycle club the Stockport Hellraisers MCC, thanks to club member, keen biker and former Stepping Hill porter Chris Artingstall giving thanks for the care of family members.

Children at our Tree House unit received a wide selection of new toys and games after a donation from children’s type 1 diabetes charity the JDRF, and the Beefy Foundation run by Ian Botham.

The Mayor of Sandbach has chosen Stepping Hill Hospital as one of his two charities for the year. A series of fundraising events for the hospital, including the Mayor’s Ball in February 2017, will raise money for the hospital.

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Student Nursing Times Awards top for training We confirmed our reputation for training excellence when one of our community health teams won a Student Nursing Times Award.

The Stockport intermediate care team based in the community won in the ‘Community Placement of the Year’ category. They were recognised for going out of their way to support student placements, and for their enthusiasm and caring attitude which has ‘truly inspired and motivated all students who work alongside them’.

Stepping Hill nurses Dominique White and Sarah Heywood also received recognition at the awards when they were shortlisted in the ‘Mentors of the Year’ category.

The pair were nominated for their ‘supportive and nurturing’ mentoring of student nurses on the unit.

Tracheostomy

trophies A project we are involved in to improve tracheostomy care for local patients, has been shortlisted for two prestigious national awards.

The SHINE tracheostomy project was a finalist in both the ‘Anaesthesia team’ category at the British Medical Journal Awards and the ‘General Medicine’ category Health Service Journal Value in Healthcare Awards.

A tracheostomy is a tube inserted in the neck which allows a person to breathe without the use of their nose or mouth.

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Across the world, tracheostomy care is high risk, with a significant mortality rate.

The SHINE tracheostomy project involves staff from Stepping Hill Hospital, together with Wythenshawe, Macclesfield and Tameside Hospitals, and is funded by the Health Foundation. It began as part of a global initiative to ensure medical and

nursing staff, who care for people with tracheostomies, have all the education and training they need to provide the safest care.

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

in maternity care One of our midwives was shortlisted for a national award for her breastfeeding support for local mums.

Sarah McKie was a finalist in the ‘Excellence in Maternity Care’ category at this year’s Royal College of Midwives’ awards.

Sarah was nominated for her work with our infant feeding team, who encourage and support breastfeeding with new and expectant mothers.

Working with breastfeeding volunteers offering fellow mums advice and support, the team have helped increase the numbers of local mothers who take up breastfeeding.

An

Inspirational woman Our leading gynaecology nurse Gill Clarke was shortlisted for an award as one of the most inspiring women in the North West.

of patients every year. She has driven down waiting times, ensured continuity of care and enhanced privacy and dignity.

She was a finalist in the public sector category at this year’s Inspiring Women Awards for her work leading and transforming gynaecology services.

Gill’s achievements were recognised nationally when she received an OBE in 2014.

In the past 15 years, Gill has introduced new services and improved choice and treatment for thousands

Over the last year Gill has started a new outpatient procedure known as ‘Myosure’ which removes fibroids in the uterus which cause heavy bleeding and painful periods.

Volunteering Brilliance One of our ward clerks has won a raft of regional awards for her inspirational work for children with diabetes.

Deborah Spires, who works in our birth centre, was presented with trophies in three categories at the Inspire Awards run by the charity Diabetes UK.

informal forum for families of the children to discuss diabetes and its effects, and also to try to raise both money and awareness about the condition.

When not working at Stepping Hill, Deborah runs the Stockport Tadpole Group in her spare time.

The group meet once a month at Edgeley Play Centre to support families with children who have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. The group is a friendly

Deborah won the David Mottershead Award and the Supporting Others Award, while the group itself won the Local Group and Community Award at the charity’s regional Inspire Awards held at Liverpool Football Club.

We carry out around 2,000,000 diagnostic tests each year

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Awards & Achievements

Rewarding excellence

Dementia care partnership recognition Our partnership working with mental care services has been recognised by being shortlisted for an NHS national award.

Our Parkinson’s specialist nurse Maria Curphey, together with her community psychiatrist nurse colleague Jenny Day from Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, were finalists in the NHS England

Dementia Quality Improvement Awards.

They were recognised as an example of how two specialists from separate trusts can work together to share practice and expertise, educating patients and carers, and empowering both patients with dementia and carers to take more control over their management and lives.

Succeeding for friends and family We were shortlisted for a national award for encouraging patients to have their say about their care.

The ‘Friends and Family’ test is a national initiative which asks NHS patients if they would recommend the services they have used to others. It uses patient satisfaction scores to find out where services are succeeding and where they could improve.

The team promoting the test at both Stepping Hill Hospital and

community services in Stockport have been shortlisted for the ‘Friends and Family Test Champions of the Year’ award for their success in encouraging patient and service user participation.

People can give feedback via postcards in patient areas, a phone answering service, texting or via feedback leaflets. Over 1200 patients are completing the Friends and Family Test every week at the hospital and in the community, with successful recommendation rates.

Honouring dignity High standards of dignity in care for patients and residents in local NHS and housing services were honoured at our latest Daisy Awards.

We hold the Daisy Awards each year to recognise staff in both hospital and community NHS services, and nursing and care homes, who have shown excellence in supporting the dignity of those in their care.

Amongst those being celebrated in this

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year’s awards were the Heaton central district nursing team, Stockport community podiatry services, ward E3 at Stepping Hill Hospital, and the Wilshaw House nursing home.

Outpatient departments praised by University Our outpatient departments were given a ‘centre of learning excellence’ ranking by the University of Manchester for the learning and development for nursing & midwifery students. Our mentorship, support and excellent learning opportunities were all applauded.

Two of our community winners, Karen Ridding and Georgia Price from the Stockport podiatry team

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

‟

A question often asked is ‘Tell me, what do the governors actually do?’

The first thing to say in answer to that is that governors are unpaid and do not manage the trust – that is the responsibility of the board of directors led by the chairman and chief executive. The governors appoint the chairman, the non-executive directors and the external auditors and then have a statutory duty to hold the non-executive directors to account for the performance of the board.

The full council of governors meet quarterly, in public. At those meetings they receive and consider reports, and are able to put questions to the trust, on a whole range of medical, clinical, financial and strategic issues. In between those full council meetings smaller groups of governors meet more frequently in three committees - Governance; Patient Safety and Quality Standards; and Membership Development. Before and at those meetings the relevant governors delve in depth into

a whole range of issues and activities and discuss their conclusions or queries with members of the board and the executive.

Additionally, governors attend site visits, presentations and conferences and become immersed in a wide range of healthcare subjects and projects. One example is the governors’ active involvement in the successful campaign to have Stepping Hill Hospital designated as one of the four specialist hospitals in Greater Manchester providing emergency medicine and specialist abdominal surgery.

Members & Governors

Lead Governor Update

– Les Jenkins

The governors whole objective is to represent to the best of their ability the health needs of our local population and to support the trust in its aim to consistently provide high quality care and outcomes in the face of the challenges it and the whole of the NHS face.

‟

Youth Ambassador Video – Membership in a minute Our youth ambassadors have scripted, directed, produced and starred in a special video to explain why membership is important for young people.

“Membership in a minute” explains all about the benefits of signing up in, you’ve

guessed it… one minute….

You can view the video on the ‘young members’ page on our website. If you know a young person who may benefit from becoming a member, why not encourage them to watch too.

Governors in action

meeting public and members Patients and visitors have had the opportunity to chat to some of our governors over the last few months.

talk to patients as they wait for their appointments, and encourage them to become members.

This follows on from a pilot scheme which took place during Members’ Week last year.

Around 50 extra members have been recruited during the sessions. It is also a great opportunity to say hello to existing members and have a chat.

The governors have manned a stand in our Outpatients B department on Thursdays every other week since February, giving them the chance to

If you see any of our governors at their membership stand, do feel free to say hello.

Governors Carole Normington and Maureen Harrison at the recruitment stand

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your guide to upcoming events

To book visit www.stockport.nhs.uk and go to our events page, or call 0161 419 4451.

Superhero Open Day

Stepping Hill Hospital opens its doors to the public for a free day of fun, interaction and information.There is no need to book for this event Saturday 9th July 10am – 2pm, Stepping Hill Hospital For more information see pages 16 and 17.

Operation!

A tour of our operating theatres with doctor tour guides Thursday 15th September 7.00pm – 8.00pm, starts at Pinewood House lecture theatres, Stepping Hill Hospital

Annual Members Meeting

A review of the previous year, plans for next year, and a chance to ask questions of the Trust Board.

Thursday 6th October 6:00pm – 8:00pm, Pinewood House lecture theatres, Stepping Hill Hospital

Board meetings and council of governors meetings You are welcome to attend our public Board meetings, and our Council of Governors meetings.

All meetings are held in Pinewood House education centre on our hospital site.The agenda and papers for the meetings are available on our website approximately one week before the meeting. Visit the board of directors and membership and governors pages to find out more.

Thursday 30th June Public Board meeting 1:15pm Wednesday 20th July Council of Governors meeting 6:00pm Thursday 28th July Public Board meeting 1:15pm

Think FAST

A health talk on stroke, with speaker Dr Shivakumar Krishnamoorthy our lead stroke consultant Thursday 10th November, 12.00pm – 1.00pm, Pinewood House lecture theatres, Stepping Hill Hospital

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Thursday 29th September Public Board meeting 1:15pm Monday 3rd October Council of Governors meeting 6:00pm Thursday 27th October Public Board meeting 1:15pm Thursday 24th November Public Board meeting 1:15pm Thursday 8th December Council of Governors meeting 2:00pm

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

n o s w o Lance D

One of our more recently elected governors, Lance Dowson, has had a varied career which has included being Mayor of High Peak and twice Mayor of New Mills, senior lecturer training student teachers to work with and educate people with learning disabilities, a teacher for pupils with emotional and behavioural problems, a mental health social worker, and now as a psychologist.

He has also set up his own charities, been active in the reserve forces and has also found time as a sideline as a TV ‘extra’, appearing in amongst other, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks (and often specialising as a ‘down-and-out’!)

When did you first come across Stockport NHS Foundation trust and how?

Which area do you live in and why is representing your constituency important to the running of the trust?

Five years ago I was waiting at Stepping Hill Hospital during an appointment for heart problems, when I came across a copy of Stepping Up in the waiting room.

This took my interest and I decided to become a member.

I think the Healthier Together consultation was a good example of the importance of ensuring people in the High Peak have a voice – if we had lost emergency surgery services at Stepping Hill that would have been a real blow for the area and it’s great that that didn’t happen.

How and why did you choose to get involved?

Reading about open events at the hospital I decided to attend them and they turned out to be much more interesting than I expected – all the different aspects of healthcare. I have long been active in public involvement and so thought this would be a good opportunity to take the step on from being a member and run for governor.

What experiences from your past do you believe have helped you prepare for the role?

Being both a patient myself and the parent of patients too is perhaps the most important, but being involved in both healthcare and management is useful too.

Having been married to a midwife too, I’ve seen healthcare from all sides.

What is the most important thing about being a governor?

One reason I became involved is that having known people who have had bad hospital experiences in the past, I want to help ensure that if something does go wrong, that it only goes wrong once, and that other patients don’t suffer. Being on the patient safety committee is therefore the most important, followed closely by the membership committee and standing up for patients in the High Peak.

What’s the most extraordinary thing to have happened you while you’ve been a governor?

In find the most extraordinary thing about being a governor, and the biggest difference to any previous role I have had is the sheer scale of the finances. As a town and parish councillor you are dealing with thousands of pounds, as borough councillor with hundreds of thousands.

Here you are dealing with millions. This is a daunting change to get used to.

What motivates you in life?

I have a lifelong held belief that society is better when we all work together to alleviate inequality and injustice.

I was committed to these beliefs when I worked as a social worker, when I taught others as a senior lecturer in social work training social workers, teachers and nurses, when I worked as a teacher working with pupils with severe emotional and behavioural problems, as a psychologist dealing with people with psychological/emotional problems because of problems with the cosmetic surgery that they have had, and now with Mantalk, a helpline for male victims of domestic violence, through my service to my community as a town & borough councillor and now as a hospital public governor.

What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?

Finding out about and becoming involved with the latest exciting developments at the trust, the discussion and debate of meetings, trying to help changes things for the better for patients. Always getting invitations to the interesting talks which the trust puts on for the public too.

What advice would you give someone who is considering standing for election as a governor?

Be prepared to put the hours in to do the job properly. As well as all the other roles a governor does I see part of the job as helping to enrol new members, and I’ve helped to get over forty new members in recent months. Put the commitment in and you will find it rewarding.

Lance in two very different previous roles, Mayor of High Peak and a ‘down and out’ tv extra

Page 29

Members & Governors

Meet your Governor

YOURGOVERNORS Public – Tame Valley & Werneth (4 seats)

Brinnington and Central, Reddish North, Reddish South, Bredbury and Woodley, Bredbury Green, Romiley. Elected until Annual Members Meeting 2018

Public – Heatons & Victoria (4 seats)

Lesley Auger gov-lesley.auger@ stockport.nhs.uk

Roy Driver

Alan Gibson

gov-roy.driver@stockport. gov-alan.gibson@ nhs.uk stockport.nhs.uk

Neal Jones gov-neal.jones@ stockport.nhs.uk

Reddish N.

Reddish S.

Evelyn Brown

Gerald Preston Wright

gov-evelyn.brown@ stockport.nhs.uk

gov-gerald.wright@ stockport.nhs.uk

Heatons North, Heatons South, Davenport and Cale Green, Edgeley, Cheadle Heath, Manor. Elected until Annual Members Meeting 2017

Heatons N.

l

n to

Heatons S.

Br

Manor

Bredbury Green & Romiley Marple N.

Davenport & Cheadle Heath Stepping Hill

Cheadle Hulme S.

Maureen Harrison Tony Johnson gov-maureen.harrison@ gov-tony.johnson@ stockport.nhs.uk stockport.nhs.uk

Bramhall North, Bramhall South, Cheadle Hulme South, Cheadle and Gatley, Cheadle Hulme North and Heald Green. Elected until Annual Members Meeting 2016

Prof Charles Galasko

gov-charles.galasko@ stockport.nhs.uk

Marple North, Marple South, Hazel Grove, Offerton, Stepping Hill.

Elected until Annual Members Meeting 2016

Public – Bramhall & Cheadle (4 seats)

Marple S. Hazel Grove

Bramhall N.

Bramhall S.

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n

in

Bredbury & Romiley

Offerton Cheadle & Gatley

Heald Green

gov-robert.cryer@ stockport.nhs.uk

g in

Roy Greenwood gov-roy.greenwood@ stockport.nhs.uk

Edgeley & Cheadle Heath

Cheadle Hulme N.

Dr Robert Cryer

&

ra nt Ce

Linda Appleton gov-linda.appleton@ stockport.nhs.uk

Marple & Stepping Hill (4 seats)

Dr Ronald Catlow gov-ronald.catlow@ stockport.nhs.uk

Les Jenkins

gov-les.jenkins@ stockport.nhs.uk

Carole Normington Chris Wrigley gov-carole.normington@ stockport.nhs.uk

gov-chris.wrigley@ stockport.nhs.uk

Summer 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

Raees Khan

Tameside

gov-raees.khan@stockport. nhs.uk

High Peak Stockport

Covers Cheshire East, Manchester, Trafford, Salford, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan and those wards in High Peak not covered under the High Peak seats. Elected until Annual Members Meeting 2018

High Peak & Dales and Tameside & Glossop (3 seats)

Lance Dowson

SOP

gov-lance.dowson@ stockport.nhs.uk

Lynne Woodward

gov-lynne.woodward@ stockport.nhs.uk

Barbara Vaughan

Covers the following wards in High Peak: Barms, Blackbrook, Burbage, Buxton Central, Chapel East, Chapel West, Corbar, Cote Heath, Hayfield, Limestone Peak, New Mills East, New Mills West, Sett, Stone Bench, Temple and Whaley Bridge. Elected until Annual Members Meeting 2018

Council Of Governors – Appointed STOCKPORT Metropolitan Borough Council

One vacancy

Cllr John Pantall

soile.curtis@stockport.nhs.uk

Staff Governors - Community Staff (1 seat), Other Staff (3 seats)

Sharan Arkwright

sharan.arkwright@stockport.nhs.uk

Yvonne Banham

yvonne.banham@stockport.nhs.uk

Russell James

One vacancy

russell.james@stockport.nhs.uk

You can get in touch with your governor by ringing our membership office on 0161 419 4653, emailing membership@stockport.nhs.uk, or in writing.

Please address your envelope to your local governor and post to: Membership Office, Oak House, Stepping Hill Hospital, Poplar Grove, Stockport, SK2 7JE. Elections will take place in the Bramhall & Cheadle and Marple & Stepping Hill constituencies over the summer. We plan to hold prospective Governor workshops in these constituencies in early July 2016 and any members interested in attending a workshop to learn about the Governor role are requested to contact Paul Buckingham, Company Secretary at paul.buckingham@stockport.nhs.uk

Page 31

Members & Governors

Public - Outer Region (1 Seat)

Membership Form Our members are very important to us, but we would like even more!

If you know somebody who would like to receive this newsletter such as a friend, neighbour, relative or work colleague please encourage them to join us.

Anyone can join by either signing up online at www.stockport.nhs.uk in the membership and governors section, or by filling in the form below and sending it to: Membership Office, Stepping Hill Hospital, Poplar Grove, Stockport, SK2 7JE APPLY NOW

Your details: Title: Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Dr/Prof (delete as appropriate) Name:

Telephone:

Address: Email Address: Contacting you electronically saves us money. We will always send information by email except our newsletter. Please tick this box if you also just want to receive our newsletter electronically.

About you: Male / Female (tick boxes)

Male

Date of birth:

Female

Ethnicity (please tick as appropriate) White British

Other mixed background

Black/British – African

Irish

Asian/British – Indian

Black/British – Other Black

Other White background

Asian/British – Pakistani

Chinese

White & Black Caribbean

Asian/British – Bangladeshi

Other Ethnic Group

White and Black African

Asian/ British – other Asian

White and Asian

Black/British – Carribean

Do you consider yourself to have a disability? Yes

No

Thank you for applying to be a member of our Trust.

The information you provide here will be held on a database so that we can keep you up to date on membership issues. This information will remain confidential and held in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998).

Page 32

Spring 2016 www.stockport.nhs.uk

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