The Look, December 2017 & January 2018

Look

the

E R T AL s N a E I C PEC tm ar s d S ri en h C al C

Dec 2017 - Jan 2018

For Southend University Hospital staff & volunteers

CHARITY ‘IMPRESSED’

YEAR-IN-REVIEW

PATHOLOGY AWARD

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Prostate Cancer UK visit Trust to see great work.

Trust’s MD highlights the best of 2017.

Mortuary technologist scoops prestigious award.

Making Essex the place to live well

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The formal public consultation on the outline plans for the future of health and care services across mid and south Essex, and in particular our three hospitals, launched on 30 November, representing the next opportunity to discuss these proposals more formally with local people and stakeholders to further seek their views.

The five main principles for future hospital services are: 1. The majority of hospital care will remain local and each hospital will continue to have a 24 hour A&E department that receives ambulances.

2. Certain more specialist services which need a hospital stay should be concentrated in one place, where this would improve your care and chances of a good recovery.

3. Access to specialist emergency services, such as stroke care, should be via your local (or nearest) A&E, where you would be treated and, if needed, transferred to a specialist team, which may be in a different hospital.

4. Planned operations should, where possible, be separate

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from patients who are coming into hospital in an emergency.

5. Some hospital services should be provided closer to you, at home or in a local health centre.

All three main hospitals in Southend, Chelmsford and Basildon are equally important for future care.

They will continue to provide the vast majority of hospital services for local populations, including tests, outpatient appointments, day case operations, short stays in hospital, maternity services, children’s services and a local A&E. While each hospital will continue to provide these routine services, the specialist expertise of each individual

hospital will continue to be developed, with Southend, for example, being the best place in our area for specialist cancer treatment, Chelmsford for specialist burns care and plastic surgery, and Basildon for specialist care for heart and lung problems.

The Joint Committee of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will meet early in the summer of 2018 to consider the consultation feedback and make the key planning decisions necessary to take forward the proposed changes, taking into account the views of staff, partners and local people.

Full details of the consultation proposals can be found at www. nhsmidandsouthessex.co.uk

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Nursing and midwifery conference Nurses and midwives from across Essex and aspiring health and social care students from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) were brought together at the first ever Nursing and Midwifery Conference.

Jointly organised by Mid Essex, Southend and Basildon Hospitals and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), the event was hosted in the lecture theatre of the Michael Salmon building at ARU. The aim of the event was to inspire nurses and midwives to be leaders and to share the vision for the three hospitals (Mid Essex, Southend and Basildon) that make up the Mid and South Essex STP. Guest speakers included Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer NHS England; Ruth May, Executive Director of Nursing, NHS Improvement; Clare Panniker, CEO, Mid and South Essex Hospitals; and Professor Ruth Taylor, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education at ARU. CONTINUES PAGE 2

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Prostate Cancer UK impressed by Southend visit Representatives from Prostate Cancer UK recently took the opportunity to visit the hospital to experience the full range of prostate cancer services available at the Trust and explore the patient pathway.

Prostate Cancer UK had heard about the great work in prostate cancer diagnostics which has been taking place at Southend over the last few years, in particular the successful integration of multi parametric MRI scanning (mpMRI) before biopsy.

The Southend prostate cancer team members guided their guests through the full multidisciplinary pathway, sharing skills and experiences from cancer specialist nurses, surgeons, radiographers, pathologists, radiologists and oncologists.

Leanne Creighton, Change Delivery Senior Officer, and Kirsty Henderson, Senior

n Prostate cancer multidisciplinary team

Policy Officer, from Prostate Cancer UK, also got to see the hospital’s £540,000 state-ofthe-art brachytherapy suite that opened last year.

Leanne and Kirsty were impressed by what they saw.

Leanne said: “We met so many amazing people working across the prostate cancer care pathway; it’s been great to see first-hand the care in action and how it all works at Southend.”

Kirsty added: “It’s been great to speak to all the different clinicians and prostate cancer patients about their experience at Southend. It’s immensely valuable to hear and observe.”

Those members of the prostate cancer team (above) included cancer specialist nurses, surgeons, radiographers, radiologists and oncologists.

Prostate cancer is the most

common cancer in men, with around one in eight getting prostate cancer at some point in their lives. Over 47,000 men are diagnosed with this form of cancer every year in the UK and in 2016-2017 nearly 350 cancer patients were seen at Southend from right across Essex, as Southend is the specialist centre.

One of the many dedicated members of staff Leanne and Kirsty met was Dr Sidath Liyanage, Radiology Consultant at the hospital, who arranged the showcase tour for Prostate Cancer UK. He said: “This was a great opportunity to promote the hospital and the excellent work being done to combat prostate cancer at Southend.”

The hope now is that Southend University Hospital and Prostate Cancer UK will be able to look at more ways of working closely together.

CONFERENCE: Innovate, imagine inspire CONTINUED FROM FRONT Diane Sarkar [below], Chief Nurse for the three Trusts wants nurses and midwives to “step up” and work collaboratively to meet the ever-changing demands, expectations and challenges over the forthcoming year.

Diane said: “I want nurses and midwives to be able to inspire and innovate change during this exciting time as we contribute to the transformation of patient pathways.

“When they leave this event, I want them to go back into practice enthused and motivated by the guest speakers. We want strong nursing and midwifery leaders. I’d also like to thank our nurses and midwives for their hard work and all that they do in our hospitals.

“The conference was full of experience so let’s work together moving forward to provide the best care for our patients.”

Professor Jane Cummings spoke about the importance of nurses being willing to lead and share ideas. Speaking about the NHS’s Leading Change, Adding Value campaign, she said: “Nurses and midwives are in a place where they can lead that change. Sometimes it’s really important to find the time to step back and ask ‘how can we help use our ideas to make a difference?’ You see things that others don’t.”

Attendees also heard from Ruth May, Executive Director of Nursing, NHS Improvement

n Diane Sarkar

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and Clare Panniker (right), Chief Executive of Mid and South Essex Hospitals, as well as a range of speakers covering topics from innovation in healthcare to resilience and leadership.

Clare Panniker said: “I’m certain there are days when you don’t feel the work you have done has been recognised or appreciated, but I do genuinely understand that nursing today is highly complex and requires a high level of skills. What you do on a daily basis, even if you don’t feel it, makes a huge difference to the patients and their families. The professionalism with which you carry out your role, makes an impact on the people you come into contact with.”

Also representing Southend Hospital was MSK Head Nurse, Melanie Solieri, who spoke about the great work being done within our Early Rehabilitation and Nursing Service (ERAN).

Recent graduates from

n Clare Panniker

Anglia Ruskin shared their experience of practice and spoke about their own innovative projects covering students as leaders; behaviours and values in children’s nursing; and enhanced sepsis screening.

Molly Case, spoken word artist, writer and registered nurse gave her unique insight into the profession, while sepsis survivor Tom Ray and his wife Nicola, gave an emotional account of their experience of the NHS, lifethreatening illness and simply surviving.

Dec 2017 & Jan 2018

MD’s Year-in-review At the end of the year, for many a time of reflection, I wanted to look back over the past 12 months and highlight the things that have really stuck with me and, I hope, show you what a fantastic place we work in.

Yvonne Blücher Managing Director This hospital is full of heroes and the 2017 Annual Hospital Heroes awards were my first as Managing Director. The stories of innovation, care and professionalism were amazing and it was so hard to narrow down the shortlist, but the evening itself was very much about celebrating all members of staff who make such a difference across departments and disciplines.

Our Chief Executive Clare Panniker and MP for

n Dementia day

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Southend West, Sir David Amess, enjoyed hearing about the great things you are achieving for our patients, and there was a real buzz and feeling of happiness – I felt very humbled by it all and loved seeing Southend staff play as hard as they work!

My colleagues joined me for the Walk For Wards in September and we met so many people, all joining together to raise money

for hospital wards and departments, and all with stories of care here at Southend.

Our Fundraising team are amazing and do so much organisation behind the scenes to make it the fun walk it is. It’s events like this that really show how much public support there is for hospital and what we do.

There are almost too many highlights to list but another that stands out is the Countess of Wessex’s visit to our Fetal Medicine (right) Unit, giving us another chance to showcase some of the fantastic work that takes place here.

The opening of the dementia day rooms was another moment I treasure, providing an area for vulnerable patients to ensure they are as comfortable and stress-free as they can possibly be while they are in our care. New clinical areas have opened too, including the Brachytherapy Suite and the Colin George Laparoscopic Theatre, named in honour of the late Chair of our Charitable Foundation and cementing our position as the Cancer Centre for Essex.

Of course it isn’t just about the big things, it’s also the smaller thing that I observe whilst I am out and about around the Trust. I consistently see staff stopping to help people in the hospital corridors,

asking if they can be of assistance - it may not sound a lot but it makes a massive difference to our visitors and to me it demonstrates the real community feeling that people talk about here.

Inevitably, and in common with Trusts across the NHS, we will continue to face challenges but it is also a time of n Royal Visit great opportunity as we continue to develop plans to collaborate more operationally and closely with Basildon and managerially.

Broomfield Hospitals and Care with compassion is bring real benefits to our as much about the small patients. things as the big, not just for It’s important that in our our patients and relatives day to day working – across but also for you and your all levels and areas – that we colleagues. look after one another. The I’m really looking forward resilience is there to help us to hearing and seeing more prepare for the challenges fantastic achievements ahead, and we are putting in 2018 so, from me and health and wellbeing the Site Leadership Team, initiatives in place to help us season’s greetings to you all all strive to be the best we and our very best wishes for can be. a happy and successful I do understand that New Year. change can be unsettling but there’s always going to be a hospital here at Southend.

For me, the key is about helping each other achieve our goals and, through collaboration, we can work smarter and more n Walk For Ward s effectively – clinically,

Congratulations to the winners of the November staff lottery: 1st prize (£574): Natalie Denton (841); 2nd prize (£114.80): Kelly Carter (131), Cheryl Harrell (1098); 3rd prize (£57.40): Lesley Marriott (307), Laura Nurse (539), Kim Georghiou (24), Heather McKenzie (909); 4th prize (£22.96): Laraine Petty (419), Gina Hampson (186), Christine Israel (613), Audrey Donovan (606), Samantha Magee (971).

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National Occupational Therapy Week National Occupational Therapy Week took place on 6-12 November and saw Occupational Therapists (OT) at the Trust getting out and about to raise the profile of their profession which supports people to ‘live life their way’ despite any health or care needs they may be living with.

OTs don’t just help with the safe and timely discharge of patients from hospital saving thousands of pounds annually. They can help patients to engage and participate in everyday activities (occupations) to promote independence, health and wellbeing and to help people to live and not just exist.

One of those people the OTs ‘help to live’ is Peter Brown, 87 (pictured), a double amputee, who said: “With the help of Occupational Therapists at Southend I’ve been given a

new lease of life, I wouldn’t be as mobile as I am without them.”

OTs can be found in many areas within the Trust, from the Dementia Service, Acute Medical Services, Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Orthopaedics In-Patient, Community Orthopaedic Early Rehab

and Nursing (ERAN) team, Chronic Fatigue Service, Neurology, Oncology and Paediatrics.

Julia Scott, CEO at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists said: “Occupational Therapy Week is an excellent way to promote the value of

services that provide practical support to empower people.

“Occupational Therapy support can make a real difference giving people a renewed sense of purpose, opening up new horizons, and changing the way they feel about the future.”

Volunteers’ walk raises over £1k Hammers legend visits children

n Volunteers outside Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Shoeburyness

An intrepid band of volunteers has raised over £1,000 to help improve rheumatology services at the hospital by completing a 5.5 mile walk along Southend seafront (Saturday 21 October).

The group began their journey at Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Shoeburyness (pictured) and braced themselves for a walk through the wind and rain of storm Brian as they headed for Southend Pier and back again.

The troupe of volunteers included doctors, nurses, health care assistants,

pharmacists, patients, relatives, public supporters and support from local business, Olympus. The money raised will be used to enhance patient experience and patient feedback.

John Cobbold, a patient’s relative who took part in the charity walk, said: “My relative received the most wonderful, caring and specialist care from staff in the Rheumatology Department and I wanted to help raise money to say thank you and to support the service for future patients.”

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n Tony Cottee (centre) with George Mann (3rd from left) on Neptune Ward

West Ham legend Tony Cottee helped deliver gifts and joy to Neptune Children’s Ward, recently.

Tony is patron of the charity Clowns in the Sky, which is dedicated to the welfare of children with brain tumours.

Tony said: "It's lovely to be here and put a smile on kids' faces."

Tony was there to present money raised by George Mann and the members of The First Essex High 12 Club at Southend. George, President for this year, said: "I was so impressed by the work they

do that I wanted to help raise money for them and that is what we've done - £432.59 in total.”

That money was used for the recent National Play in Hospital Week, which also helped pay for an entertainer, and there was enough left to buy art and craft items for the children on specially provided arts and craft trolleys.

The trolleys are designed to offer stimulation and fun activities during times when children might be in isolation, or are unable to visit the playroom.

Dec 2017 & Jan 2018

National pathology plaudit for Paul Paul Abrahams (pictured), an Anatomical Pathology Technologist (APT) working in the mortuary has been awarded the Heggie Award by the Royal Society of Public Health.

This prestigious national award is given to the candidate attaining the highest marks in the annual examinations set by Royal Society of Public Health for their Level 3 Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology.

Paul sat these in September 2016 and received the award at his recent graduation ceremony in London.

Paul said: “This is the first time the award has been won by the hospital and it’s a good thing for myself and my peers. I’m immensely proud to have won this for the Trust’s

Mortuary Department, an area that often goes unnoticed. It helps show how dedicated staff are in our area and how we continue to provide the best service we can to patients and their relatives.”

The qualification recognises the unique role performed

by APTs as part of the Life Science workforce, specifically their place of work being a mortuary rather than a laboratory and their need to interact with bereaved members of the public.

Paul completed 10 modules in total, including five theory modules which were undertaken at North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust as part of the mortuary training centre.

He also completed five practical

modules relating to care of the deceased in areas such as preparing the deceased for visiting by loved ones, assistance at post mortem examination and preparation and operation of a mortuary.

One of Paul’s mentors the hospital was Consultant Histopathologist Dr Simon Payne. Dr Payne said: “From first hand, I can vouch that Paul applies his newly acquired knowledge to our working situation – along with

other members of the team he provides excellent assistance to us as we conduct autopsies.

Paul is also particularly sensitive and considerate in his dealings with relatives at the time of their distress. It’s no surprise to me that he has done so well.”

PICTURED: Professor Carol Wallace [left], Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health with Paul Abrahams (also above in hospital chapel.

Welcome to the Frailty Nursing Team The Day Assessment Unit (DAU) helps to prevent elderly patients’ admission to hospital, liaising with a range of multi-disciplinary services to ensure they can be discharged on the same day.

Also based in DAU is the newly formed Frailty Nursing Team which includes Lead Nurse, Louisa Brown and Julie Bush and John Radley, both clinical nurse specialists (CNS) for frailty.

Part of the team’s role is to take ward referrals from other specialities that require advice on managing frail patients within their department and they are the first point of contact for those requiring a elderley medicine review.

The team also visit admission areas such as the Emergency Department and

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they are out of hours.

Lead nurse, Louisa Brown, said: “This is an exciting, new service which shows investment in nursing and provides support for those professionals and patients outside the Care of the Elderly wards. n (L-r): Julie Bush, Dr Sidra Rahman and Louisa Brown

Surgical Assessment Unit to see if any patients could benefit from transfer to the DAU for a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) before being discharged home later that day.

CGA is a holistic assessment and looks at the physical state as well as the mental capacity, functional ability and the patients’ medications. It is hoped that CGA will contribute

to preventing admission, reducing length of stay and lowering readmission rates for frail patients.

Not only does this offer the gold standard of care to patients, but helps to improve patient flow from highly attended areas. The team also work closely with the Hospital to Home team (H2H). H2H advise the frailty team of any potential referrals for the service when

Frailty nurses are available 08:00 – 16:00 (Monday – Friday), excluding Bank Holidays.

Day Assessment Unit is open 09:00 – 20:00 (Monday – Friday).

The Frailty Nursing Team are based in the Day Assessment Unit, ground floor by the old entrance.

Bleep: 5012.

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Merry Christ Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Christmas is coming!

Check out our calendar of events and competitions.

Full details are on STAFFnet.

Merry Christmas everyone. *All Christmas decorations must come down by Tuesday 2 January 2018 4

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9.15am - Holy Communion, The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

Launch of the Word Scramble staff competition.

Launch of the Word Search staff competition.

9.15am - Holy Communion The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

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9.15am - Holy Communion The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

9.30am - Carols by St Pierre School in Main Outpatients.

12pm - 2pm - Christmas meal, Education Centre restaurant.

9.15am - Holy Communion, The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

12pm - 2pm - Christmas meal, Education Centre restaurant.

2pm - 3pm - Southend United visit Neptune Ward and Paediatrics Outpatients.

Launch of the Crossword Competition for staff.

Decorations go up in non-clinical areas*

Launch of the Mini Christmas Quiz staff competition.

Applause, the miniature therapy horse, visits Dementia Ward.

HARP stand opens for food donations in the Education Centre until 19 December.

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9.15am - Holy Communion, The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

12pm - Grand Prize Draw, (Fundraising Department).

3pm - PAT Dogs visit wards

9.15am - Holy Communion, The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

12.30pm - HARP stand closes.

Launch of the Where’s Rudolph? competition

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Christmas Day

Boxing Day

Launch of the Spot the Difference competition.

Best Dressed Office judging.

9.15am - Holy Communion, The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

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28 9.15am - Holy Communion, The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

Dec 2017 & Jan 2018

tmas 2017 Friday

Saturday

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Launch of Christmas Calendar

4pm - Evening Prayer The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

Southend Hospital Grand Prize Draw For just £1 a ticket or £5 for a book of tickets you could help raise vital funds for a ward or department of your choice and win a host of great prizes, including top prize of £1,000 cash!

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4pm - Evening Prayer The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

4pm - Christmas Launch event: Join us for the Christmas lights switch-on. Mince pies available and carols sung by St. Pierre school choir.

Grand Quiz – tickets £11 per person, available to buy from the Fundraising Team in The Lodge.

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First prize: £1,000 cash Second prize: Afternoon tea for two at the Holiday Inn, Southend Third prize: Luxury hamper Fourth prize: Family ticket for Sealife Adventure Fifth prize: £25 M&S voucher

The draw is being held on Tuesday 19 December at 12 noon. To get your tickets pop into The Lodge, email fundraising@southend.nhs.uk or call 01702 385337.

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Decorations go up in clinical areas*

Prince of wAles CM3 @RobWalster

Two years ago today #NHS Southend Hospital saved my life Thank you!

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Christmas Eve

Best Dressed Tree judging.

We are on Twitter @SouthendNHS

4pm - Evening prayer, The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

7.30pm - Carol singing on the wards.

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Staff competition winners announced.

4pm - Evening prayer The Chapel on Level 2 next to Eastwood Ward.

Janine Marie Ellis

I cannot praise the staff and hospital enough. Without you all I am pretty certain my mum would not be here.

You’re all amazing and I thank you all!

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Southend prostate patients benefit from improved service thanks to new procedure A new 15-minute procedure has been introduced at the Trust to treat symptoms arising from non-cancerous (benign) prostate growth, speeding up surgery and improving results for patients.

Many people are aware of prostate cancer, however, non-cancerous prostate growth is much more common and can cause problems with passing urine such as frequent visits to the toilet in the day and night, poor flow and urgency.

The Urolift® operation is a short day case procedure which only takes 15 minutes to perform compared with the 60-90 minutes it would take to perform transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate

n The Surgical Team at work

(HoLEP), both which were previously offered at the Trust. With no need for a catheter there are now minimal side effects and postoperative complications.

The improved procedure

helps to relieve the symptoms of having difficulty to pass urine without cutting or removing tissue.

The Urolift® system uses adjustable, permanent implants, which hold the

enlarged prostate tissue out of the way so it no longer blocks the urethra.

Mr Peter Acher, Consultant Urologist, said: “Until now, medical treatment has been limited to medication which may have side effects, or invasive procedures such as TURP or HoLEP which are very effective but require a catheter for a period of time afterwards, typically an inpatient stay, and loss of ejaculation. This new Urolift® system enables us to preserve ejaculation.

“We are proud to be the first hospital in the south east of England to be able to offer this procedure within the NHS. Our first three patients were discharged the same day with no complications and reported an immediate improvement in their health.”

HIV point of care test is quick and simple

n Dr Abu Bakar (centre) with the HIV team

Lynne Manly

Went to A&E with my daughter this morning and the staff were all amazing.

She was really scared but all the staff put her at ease.

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Southend has the highest prevalence of HIV in the East of England and a new quick and simple HIV test has been introduced that just requires a small finger prick of blood and results are given in just 20 minutes.

Dr Sabree Abu Bakar, HIV Consultant, explained: “We can now detect the antigens, that’s the virus itself, a lot earlier so it can now be detected as early as 28 days since exposure.

“It is important to make the method of testing easier with HIV point of care test (POCT) avoiding venepuncture,

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especially for the needlephobic. Cost benefit analysis has shown that in high prevalence areas like Southend it does make a real difference and is especially cost effective.

“By knowing your status you can have treatment early, preventing health complications and HIV transmission.”

The HIV team are also planning to extend the remit of HIV POCT use to include ante natal services and for staff with needlestick injuries in the future.

Dr Abu Bakar added: “This

new method is helping normalise HIV testing, taking away the stigma. It’s now as simple as you having your blood pressure taken.”

On the run up to World AIDS Day (Friday 1 December) the HIV team held a stand in the Education Centre to invite staff to find out more about the service and the HIV POCT. Dr Abu Bakar concluded: “There were lots of interest about the test and our service.

“If we are to continue the fight against HIV locally then it is important to engage with the medical specialities and general practice and encourage them to conduct more HIV testing.

“This will ensure there are no missed opportunities for our patients and reduce late diagnosis.

“The HIV service is here to help but it is the responsibility of all other specialities to include HIV test as part of their routine investigations.”

Dec 2017 & Jan 2018

Annual CATS study day success Nurses and medical staff at the Trust were recently given an opportunity to take part in a Children’s Acute Transport

n Delegates

at the CATS

study day

Service (CATS) study day to discuss and learn from cases of critically unwell children from the previous year.

The study day took place on Tuesday 24 October and was hosted by the Paediatric Practice Education Team and CATS. CATS is the regional intensive care service based out of Great Ormond Street Hospital which provides a retrieval service to all hospitals in the region for children

who are critically unwell, transporting them to a suitable intensive care bed.

The event gives delegates the opportunity to meet the CATS team and gain insight into the role they play in retrieving critically unwell children from district general hospitals and transporting them safely to paediatric intensive care units for further care.

Susan Cornwell, Paediatric Practice Educator said: “The CATS study day is a very

valuable day of learning for our staff. It’s such a worthwhile and valuable resource and we are very grateful that the CATS team can spare the time to come and provide this day for us.”

A group of 30 delegates attended the study day and included representatives from Neptune Children’s Ward, Theatres, Intensive Therapy Unit and the Emergency Department, all of whom work with children who may be critically unwell.

UPDATE: End of Life Care The Palliative Care Team held an End of Life Care staff update day in the Bereavement Suite to showcase the continued care developments to support patients and their families The day also took time to remember and think of those in our lives who have died.

Wendy Warner, Palliative Care Joint Clinical lead and Lead Nurse, said: “We wanted to let staff know how we are caring for patients and their families at the end of their lives. What is done well, what improvements and supports are in place to help staff care and what we

are planning to do in order to constantly improve the experience of patients and their families at this difficult time. It was also time for us to think and celebrate life honouring those that have died in our lives”.

Staff were updated about the range of facilities and practical support for both patients and their families such as overnight beds available as standard across the wards; comfort care bags for families of the seriously ill and details about free car parking and concession passes.

Meanwhile the staff focus

n The Palliative Care Team in the Bereavement Suite

was on feedback and reports around last days of life care practice and bereaved experience feedback.

There was also discussion around capacity issues when planning ahead with patients

and updates on resources to support advance care planning.

Everything from hospital wedding coordination to updated eLearning tools was covered.

Stop the Pressure trolley raises awareness The Tissue Viability team joined forces with one of its industry representatives, Samantha Cook, from UrgoMedical, to mark Worldwide Stop the Pressure Day on 16 November.

The team (pictured) did a whistle-stop tour of the wards with the trolley full of pressure ulcer quizzes, stickers, leaflets, pressure relieving bootees and cake.

Samantha donned a boiler suit and was soon covered in red stickers to represent areas vulnerable to pressure damage. Blenheim Ward won the prize for being the most enthusiastic.

The team said it was great to see a positive response to

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Linda Key, an HCA who is part of the Wound Management team, said: “I enjoyed going to different wards to help raise awareness of pressure ulcers.

“The nurses and doctors I chatted to were really engaged and interested in how they could help their patients prevent them.”

them whizzing around the wards and they now hope to keep up the momentum and keep working with nurses, HCAs and doctors to ensure Southend Hospital patients all receive excellent pressure ulcer care.

The team is planning to reintroduce the pressure ulcer safety cross to some of the wards as a pilot, so the Stop the Pressure Day gave a fantastic opportunity to discuss it with ward staff across the Trust.

n PICTURED: Samantha Cook representative Urgo Medical; Hayley Cross Ward Manager Balmoral Ward; Linda Key HCA Wound Management Team; Sarah Charlton Team Lead Tissue Viability; Alanna Day Deputy Ward Manager Balmoral Ward, Daniel Neatherway Student Nurse.

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Royal College of Midwives Director delivers thanks to maternity support workers November is the first ever Maternity Support Worker month, launched by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) to celebrate all those people who help support both Midwives, women and their families across the UK. The hospital has been celebrating those who help make a real difference to everyone in the Maternity Unit and Special Care Baby Unit here at the Trust, whether they be frontline or working in the background.

They all have their unique and important part to play in ensuring that women receive the highest quality of care.

The Trust welcomed Jacque Gerrard, RCM Director for England, to help in the celebration with coffee, cake

and a chat, something which Southend midwives have dubbed ‘the 3Cs’.

Midwife, Felicity ShawWilliams, explained: “Nursing has the 6Cs - care, compassion, courage, communication, commitment and competence, which is something we all adhere to. As it’s so well-known we wanted to put our own fun spin on it to thank everyone who helps make a huge difference, not just to our job but also to the lives of mums and dads-to-be.

“It was a lovely way of saying our thanks and to recognise how the often unseen work of maternity support workers, such as clerks, healthcare assistants and secretaries, has a real

positive impact on our lives and the lives of patients.”

Jacque Gerrard was impressed by the camaraderie she witnessed at Southend.

She said: “I think ‘the 3Cs’ is a brilliant idea of packaging the thanks we all want to give to those dedicated people who help us day in and day out. Midwives couldn’t do

what they do without such a fantastic support system behind them and it was great to join in the celebrations and speak to both midwives and maternity support workers.” n PICTURED: Jacque Gerrard (3rd from left) and staff celebrating Maternity Support Worker month.

Child Protection – Information Sharing (CP-IS) The Child Protection – Information Sharing (CP-IS) project is an information sharing solution that will assist our staff to deliver a higher level of safeguarding to children who visit NHS unscheduled care settings, including Emergency Departments, direct access to Paediatric Wards and Maternity Units. CP-IS will work by enabling authorised staff to check if a child has

a Child Protection Plan or a Looked After Child Plan and if the child is known to social services under child protection procedures.

Authorised staff will be able to access this information via the secure Summary Care Record IT system.

CP-IS will make child protection information held in social care systems available across England to clinicians providing care to

that child. It will also inform Local Authorities and NHS healthcare workers as to whom, when and where within NHS organisations, the child’s status has been viewed.

Southend, Basildon and Mid Essex hospitals have been consulting with NHS Digital to agree a plan of implementation into our hospitals during January 2018.

Services for a first phase

of CP-IS have been identified and Project Leads are working alongside the services to agree how CP-IS will work for them.

For more information about the project contact: • •

Paul Hodson – Adult Safeguarding Manager (Ext. 8734) Susan Kent - Named Nurse Safeguarding Children (Ext 7276)

Anne @QTcat2017

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10 the Look

Dec 2017 & Jan 2018

lite

Look Sonographer chairs donated to Fetal Unit

Water fundraiser from swim school

Charity shop 5th birthday Southend Hospital’s first charity shop, in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, has turned five. Volunteers who help make the shop the success it is were treated to an afternoon tea in celebration (above).

The shop raises around £30,000 a year for the hospital’s appeals, the latest being the state-of-the-art laparoscopic theatre, which was officially opened in

s2s Swim School made a splash at The Breast Unit when owners Sarah and Suzie (below) popped in to present a cheque for £712.60 to staff at the Unit.

Sarah is quite an inspiration as she is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and wanted to raise money for the Breast Unit to give something back. The money was raised from a cake sale and raffle which was supported by families and friends of their little swimmers.

Cinderella dances her way onto children’s ward

The Fetal Unit at the hospital has been donated two sonographer chairs courtesy of the Southend Charity Football Competition.

Many of the players who take part in the football matches have wives and partners who have been cared for in the unit and decided that some of the proceeds would be used to purchase the chairs.

Fetal Medicine Consultant,

Starlight Children’s Foundation brought fun and laughter to Neptune Children’s Ward (right) with their colourful panto, which this year was Cinderella (oh yes it was) and helped bring some festive fun to the patients on the ward.

Mr Mandeep Singh, said: “The chairs are very important for people providing scans because it gives them the most accurate posture and prevents repetitive strain injuries. It is also important that they are able to continue scanning. It is wonderful to be recognised by the charity who have been operating for over 100 years.”

Trust staff published in Nursing Standard Congratulations to Amanda Haugh, Nurse Revalidation Coordinator and Emma Silvey, Assistant Librarian (Clinical and Outreach), for getting published in the Nursing Standard last month.

The pair worked together to write a feature on the workshop approach being utilised at Southend Hospital to help nurses become more competent and confident in their ability to write up their reflections revalidation, an integral part of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revalidation process.

The article entitled ‘Taking the anxiety out of reflective writing’ was published in the Nursing Standard volume 32 number 11 (8 Nov 2017).

Fictitious ‘Exercise Eskimo’ challenged staff A major incident at a Canary Wharf shopping centre was the fictitious ‘Exercise Eskino’ mass casualty scenario run by Public Health England during November.

Southend staff, as part of the North East London and Essex Trauma Network, were prepped and ready to take their share of ‘casualties’ and conference calls to help

Get in touch: www.southend.nhs.uk

understand how the network could respond to a major incident.

Paul Hepworth, Emergency Planning and Liaison Officer, who led the hospital aspect of the exercise said: “In light of Grenfell and recent terrorist attacks it was a vital exercise to be involved in to see how the whole emergency network can

come together. Southend may not have been involved in being a primary responder but the exercise showed how important we could be in supporting the London hospitals to deal with casualties in this type of scenario.

“It was a really valuable exercise for us to be part of and a great way of gaining

deeper understanding of what’s required in responding to such an emergency.”

Nine hospitals were involved in the exercise and around 20 staff from Southend Hospital were involved in the mock-command centre, representing clinicians and support staff who would be involved in a real incident.

communications@southend.nhs.uk

the Look 11

> STAFF NOTICES > WELCOME to...

Nuhu Yaroson, Anticoagulation, Clinical Trials and Oncology Pharmacist

Nuhu qualified as a pharmacist in 2015 after undertaking his pre-registration training at Great Ormond Street Hospital and undergraduate training at the University of Nottingham. He has previously worked as a pharmacist at King George’s Hospital, Ilford. Nuhu is involved in youth work and is a leader at an annual youth camp for teenagers with a particular focus on those from underprivileged backgrounds. He is also an active member of his local church. He said: “I’m joining the Trust because it is an amazing place to develop my personal and professional character. I’m excited to work within a cohesive team with lots of support and encouragement to take on new challenges.”

> WELCOME BACK to...

Lynne Cook Risk Manager

Lynne has worked for the NHS since 1974 as a nurse and then trained as a midwife in 1978, becoming a supervisor of midwives in 1995. She worked at Southend Hospital until 2012 when she took early retirement from her Head of Midwifery role, but continued her Supervision at both Basildon and Southend until it was removed from statute in March 2017.

Colleen Begg then asked her to join the Risk Management team at Southend, which she did initially on the Bank and commenced substantively as Risk Manager in Oct 2017.

> WELCOME to...

Chloe Moore-Angliss Hospital Liaison Nurse for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Chloe has worked for the Trust for seven years, which includes her training in surgery and post-op. She has been seconded to her new role for 12 months. You can contact her via Chloe.Moore-Angliss@ southend.nhs.uk or call ext 6881/6884.

Free half-day seminars on Quality Improvement in Healthcare Monday 29 January 2018, 08:45 – 12:00 An introduction to QI Projects from concept to completion: Methodology, Toolkits, Resources. Open to clinical and non-clinical staff – can you identify a QI opportunity to make a difference in your department? All sessions will be held in the Education Centre and three internal CPD Points will be awarded. Attendance is limited, so reserve your place via iLearn now – search for Quality Improvement in Healthcare Seminar and select your date.

CLOSER LOOK ROLO

Pets As Therapy (PAT) Dog

Tell us about yourself?

I am part of a small team of volunteer dogs working in the hospital for the charity Pets As Therapy.

Four years ago, I was rescued from one of those awful puppy farms by the RSPCA, along with 30 other puppies and their mummies. I was very poorly and nearly died because of the appalling conditions and the terrible way we were all treated.

Now I enjoy a full and varied life with my human family.

One of the highlights of my week is visiting the patients at Southend Hospital. I walk with my human (Claire) to various wards and if they like, patients, visitors and staff can stroke me.

What does your job involve?

I visit Neptune Children’s Ward and love seeing the children and their families. Sometimes the children will ask me to do something like a ‘High 5’ and then reward me with a dog treat. The children’s soft toys often catch my eye; I haven’t yet worked out how I can sneak off with one…

I then go to the Elizabeth Loury oncology ward to see how many people will stroke me there. Sometimes I visit patients on elderly wards or someone somebody has asked me to see in particular. Everyone says I am really calm in the hospital, but sometimes I still can’t resist picking up someone’s slipper or sticking my nose in a visitor’s bag.

Some scents are just too irresistible to be ignored!

What are the best bits about your job?

I really enjoy the interaction with patients, their families and visitors, but also the hospital staff. I try to make all the humans smile, to lift their spirits and make them feel better, even if they don’t stroke me. I like to meet new humans, but it is also nice to see regular patients, especially if they’ve been asking after me.

What work achievements are you most proud of?

When my human and I won a volunteer award earlier this year. I was also delighted to be asked to help with a patient’s rehabilitation.

12 the Look

Dec 2017 & Jan 2018