January 2015 Issue 10
Update on NHS winter pressures As you will know the whole NHS system has been experiencing unprecedented demand for emergency admissions over the past few weeks which have resulted in enormous pressures on beds. We know you will have heard about the problems from your patients and seen stories about A&E more generally in the media. We are also aware that General Practices are facing the same pressures. To help meet some of these pressures the hospital has opened escalation areas with additional beds and cancelled all non-urgent training courses and meetings to release staff. We have also rostered in non-clinical facing nursing staff (managers) and some back office staff to help in these vital areas and reduce the backlog. A number of elective admissions have been cancelled and we are realigning some outpatient clinics so that medical staff can manage the high number of additional patients. Domestic capacity is being increased at the front of house to support rapid and safe turnover of patients and we are making better use of the discharge lounge to release beds as quickly as possible. Private ambulances are being used to transport patients who can be moved in a timely manner but there are still some issues with patients who are medically fit for discharge but where, for example, the home of choice is not yet available. To help mitigate this our medical teams are working closely with CCG and Local Authority colleagues to develop new ways of handling these type of issues. This pressure is being experienced right across the whole NHS system in the North East. We are also considering GPs doing ward rounds in the hospital. We would therefore appreciate support from our GP’s in being mindful of this when considering admissions to hospital and when patients are being discharged. We wanted you to know that we are trying to do as much as we can to manage these difficulties so we can continue to look after our patients. If you do feel there is more we can do to ease this pressure the CCG would be happy to hear your views. Pag 2
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Celebrating 10 years of FT status Gateshead hospital is celebrating a decade of success by marking the 10 year anniversary of becoming an NHS Foundation Trust. Over the past ten years the QE has recruited more than 15,000 people as members and 79 as governors who have had a direct influence on the running and development of the hospital and how it provides services to local people. The last ten years have marked some major achievements for the QE, which has been consistently rated as a band 6 hospital – the highest possible grade - by the national regulator the CQC. There have been many high points including: the development of a cutting edge surgery centre, a growing reputation for breast screening and excellence in women’s cancers, becoming a screening hub for AAA/Bowel Cancer, advances in laparoscopic surgery, a new clinical skills training centre and one of the best maternity units in the country. Recent highlights include the construction of a pioneering £32m emergency care centre and the development of a pathology centre of excellence based at the site. To help celebrate the occasion the QE is displaying photographs of some of the landmark achievements of the past decade in the hospital restaurant and with a special online gallery on social networking site Pinterest. Members from across Gateshead are also meeting to sign a special, commemorative poster celebrating their involvement in the hospital down the years. Ian Renwick, chief executive of QE Gateshead said: “It’s been an amazing ten years for the Trust and the improvements that we’ve been able to make for patients. All the achievements of the past ten years are testament to the hard work of our staff, members, governors and everyone involved in running the hospital. It’s so pleasing that this year we’re able to open two more fantastic new facilities here at the QE for the people of Gateshead following on from all of the other new facilities and service developments which Foundation Trust status has enabled us to put in place over the past ten years. “Work is now almost complete on the exciting new £32m Emergency Care Centre which will provide an amazing new building for people in Gateshead. It will be a unique hospital building and the environment for patients and visitors will really be something special. This is a very exciting time for the QE because our plans for the future are starting to become a reality. Click here to see a brochure celebrating the major landmarks of the past ten years Read more...
Endo ICE project All Upper and Lower endoscopy requests within the Trust are now made via the ICE system using an innovative new tool that is the first of its kind in the world. As one of the next steps GPs will also be able to request via ICE but currently need to continue with the existing system. The new forms are easy to use and are also quite short. Consultants can log in electronically to assess the patients suitability for the requested procedure, which is then passed electronically to the nurses who can then decide on what type of pre-assessment is required. This information then goes to the admin booking team who book the pre assessment appointment or in the cases of OGDs and Flexis procedure appointment. When the pre-assessment appointment has been carried out, the information will electronically be sent to the admin team and the appropriate procedure will be booked. Once the patient has had their procedure and the report has been written by the Endoscopist then this report will be available instantly on ICE for that patient. Any of the ICE users will be able to view the patient’s reports, so separate log ins for Endo web will not be needed. The ICE/Endo project will make a seamless flow from request to booking, procedure and reporting. It will eliminate referral forms being lost in transit via pods and allow us to follow up on inappropriate requests with training/education for the persons who have requested the procedure. The launch is in two stages, the first being requesting of all upper and lower endoscopic procedures via ICE. Once we have rolled out to the trust we will then be piloting the roll out to the GP practices. Those who are not on the ICE system, will be able to have this information after the next stage is rolled out as part of a working partnership with Keystone and the EMIS system. GPs will be able to also request upper and lower endoscopic procedures on ICE after this stage, discussions still have to take place with Primary care to decide what procedures will be required and how we will manage these requests. We are looking forward to working collaboratively with GP’s to move this exciting new project forward.
Stay in touch We hope you enjoyed reading this issue of Health Matters and would love to hear your views on the newsletter. If you would like to submit stories or offer any feedback on the content please get in touch with: Helen Groom (helen.groom@ghnt.nhs.uk) Ross Wigham (ross.wigham@ghnt.nhs.uk) Thanks for reading and please continue sending us your story ideas and suggestions.