The Look, July 2017

the

Look July 2017

For Southend University Hospital staff & volunteers

RED2GREEN

UNSUNG HEROES

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Find out how the hospital is improving patient flow.

Human (and canine) volunteers attend awards.

Royal visit to Fetal Medicine Unit

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Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex GCVO visited the Kypros Nicolaides Fetal Medicine Unit at the Trust on Thursday 29 June.

The unit, the only one of its kind in Essex, is a leading regional clinical and research centre for the assessment and treatment of unborn babies.

Around 45 women each month are referred from the Trust for specialist fetal medicine care. The unit is affiliated with the world renowned Harris Birthright Unit at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London, run by Professor Kypros Nicolaides, who the Southend unit is named after.

Clare Panniker, Chief Executive, said a few words of welcome and then invited Her Royal Highness to unveil a plaque to commemorate her visit to the Unit.

Clare said: “It was a great honour and a privilege to welcome Her Royal Highness to Southend Hospital. We are incredibly proud of the Fetal Medicine Unit and are delighted that the Countess was able to meet some of the families that have benefitted from the service.”

Prior to that Her Royal Highness and The Royal Party

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n Her Royal Highness meets patients and families.

took the opportunity to visit the unit and meet staff and patients, past and present.

Mr Mandeep Singh, Subspecialist Maternal Fetal Medicine Consultant, showed Her Royal Highness some of the equipment and provided a briefing on the services available in the unit, including 3D still and 4D moving images.

We are currently the only hospital in Essex to offer this 4D service.

Mr Singh said: “We’ve seen 1,200 new women since the unit started work and recruited nearly 2,000 women

for clinical trials. Due to the number of women using our unit we’ve established ourselves as a leading research department, helping to improve the lives of women and their babies.”

Her Royal Highness then met some former patients – now parents – who had taken advantage of the state-of-theart services offered by the unit. These included Daisy Taylor, 28, and Adam Taylor, 34, from Billericay and their six month old son, Noah.

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News round-up from across the Trust.

National oxygen exemplar The Trust has played a pivotal role in putting together national recognised guidelines for the safe prescription of oxygen in an updated publication for The British Thoracic Society (BTS), the UK’s professional body of respiratory specialists.

The updated British Thoracic Society (BTS) Guideline For Oxygen Use in Adults in Healthcare and Emergency Settings is based on new evidence about how effective prescribing and delivery of emergency oxygen for patients can both improve health and save lives. Southend’s local oxygen policy is highlighted in the back of the guideline as an example to follow.

Dr Duncan Powrie (below), Consultant respiratory physician, said: “We are a real vanguard of this national guideline and the Trust has been at the forefront of its creation that will have a positive impact for patients here and across the UK.”

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“Mr Singh and his team are lifesaving”

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Daisy had a routine scan at 32 weeks and it was discovered that yet-to-be-born Noah had a blockage in the tubes in his stomach, called duodenal atresia.

Adam said: “If the Fetal Medicine Unit had not been here for those initial four weeks it would have meant even more stress travelling up to London.

“Mr Singh and his team are lifesaving; Southend has this amazing facility and if we have any more children we would choose to have them here at Southend Hospital.”

Colleen Begg, Clinical Director and Head of Midwifery and Gynaecology, led Her Royal Highness and her party to the Post Natal Ward, where they also met patients, and the midwife-led New Beginnings birthing unit.

Her Royal Highness was then introduced to key members of staff comprising

consultants, matrons, members of the senior management team and midwives.

Colleen said: “New Beginnings has provided women with choice and allows them to give birth in a home from home environment. Research has shown that women who are able to deliver in such an

environment have a positive experience with better outcomes.”

It was in New Beginnings that Teresa Finn, one of 12 newly-qualified midwives, presented Her Royal Highness with a posy.

Yvonne Blücher, Managing Director, said: “The Royal visit to the unit gives Southend University Hospital another

chance to showcase some of the amazing work that takes place here with our dedicated and passionate staff.

“The Fetal Medicine Unit continues to expand its service and we hope to be able to provide it to other hospitals in the region.” full story at : Read www.southend.nhs.uk

Changes to Electronic Discharge Summaries July sees new electronic discharge summary templates launched within the Trust’s existing Integrated Clinical Environment (ICE) system.

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Another day @SouthendNHS on Benfleet Ward.

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Electronic discharge summaries were first introduced at the hospital in 2008 and have been a great advance on the legibility, timeliness and availability of the previous handwritten carbon copy documents. More recently the introduction of electronic prescribing has enhanced the accuracy of discharge medication.

Templates are now selected using either a core proforma or a speciality modified version and not, as previously selected, by ward.

The field headings within the templates have also changed to reflect the set of professionally endorsed headings by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

Dr John Day, Consultant for General Medicine and

Infectious Diseases, has been the clinical lead on this work supported by Adam Capps and Laurence Hazell from IT, and Kathy Murphy, Clinical Change Manager.

Dr Day said: “The benefit of using structured electronic messages means that patient information can be quickly and safely interpreted leading to increased patient safety, improving the patient experience and improving patient outcomes.

“This relaunch of the summary is also an opportunity to establish a governance structure to oversee the training, quality, technical requirements and future improvements that are required to ensure that the document better meets the needs of patient, GP,

specialists and support staff.”

The updated summary forms part of the Transfer of Care Initiative, a collaboration between NHS England and NHS Digital to ensure information is recorded and shared consistently across care settings.

Linked to this relaunch will be a training guide for junior doctors on how to write a discharge summary, ensuring that the right information is available to enable a smooth transition of patient care from hospital to community.

Standards will be monitored in cooperation with GP colleagues to identify examples of excellence and promote better quality communication.

July 2017

How we are helping to improve patient flow through the hospital

RED2GREEN Patient flow through the hospital is a continuous focus and at the beginning of June the Trust completed a successful RED2GREEN week to embed the ideas behind the initiative.

Our patients don’t want to spend any longer in hospital than is necessary, and this is at the root of RED2GREEN. Making every day valuable for patients means identifying issues that might be slowing down the patient’s journey towards discharge and working out how to remove the block.

Sandra Steeples, General Manager for Admissions & Discharge, said: “All wards participated and did their best to add value to the patient’s journey. This is only the start of our work though! During the week we brought forward 12 investigations that meant patients could go home one day earlier. Embedding these principles means we can make beds available for emergency patients more rapidly, while discharging patients who are ready to go home in a more timely fashion.”

Staff are now identifying and recording the reasons for delays that result in red days, allowing the Trust to identify common hold-ups and address the causes, while improving a patient’s experience in hospital.

RED2GREEN also supports the SAFER bundle (see right), which improves patient safety, patient experience and emergency flow by promoting early review and discharge.

Sandra continued: “The week centred on embedding the principles of RED2GREEN with issues causing ‘red days’

What is a RED day?

What is a GREEN day?

A RED day is of no value for a patient. This could include: •

• •

•

A planned investigation, clinical assessment, procedure or therapy intervention does not occur The patient is receiving care that does not require an acute hospital bed The medical care plan lacks a consultant approved expected date of discharge There are no consultant approved physiological and functional clinical criteria for discharge in the medical care plan.

A GREEN day is of value for a patient. This could include: •

• •

A patient receives value adding acute care that progresses them towards discharge.

When everything planned or requested gets done.

The patient receives care that can only be in an acute hospital bed, and that care is being delivered today

ward transferred the most patients to the Discharge Lounge all week; Lisa Drake, Ward Manager on Elizabeth Loury ward was given an individual achievement award for support she gave to two wards.

RED2GREEN now forms part of our daily safety meeting Safe@Southend and the embedding process continues with matrons monitoring patients who have been in hospital for 7 days or more.

Also, senior medical staff undertake early reviews and members of the Site Leadership Team visit wards to help identify and understand reasons for hold-ups.

SAFER stands for:

being escalated to the bed meetings so solutions could be found quickly. It’s such a team effort to get this right, and anyone who is involved in the patients’ journey has a part to play.

“Time is valuable to patients and everyone can make an impact on turning a red patient day into a green patient day, whether they are a nurse, a doctor, work in rehab, pharmacy or are a porter.”

Managing Director Yvonne Blücher handed out a series of awards at the end of the week in recognition of the effort staff had put in to making RED2GREEN an integral part of their daily work: Eastwood ward escalated the most issues throughout the week: Balmoral ward completed the most reasons for patients having a red day on the Nerve system; Castle Point ward had the most improvements from a pilot site; Eleanor Hobbs

Senior review every morning

All patients have an

estimated discharge date and clinical criteria for discharge Flow is maintained by every ward discharging one patient before 10:00 Early discharges mean 33% of patients will be home for lunch Review of every patient over seven days will be led by matrons weekly

Congratulations to the winners of the June staff lottery: 1st prize (£488.50): Yvonne Garcia-Nino (217); 2nd prize (£97.70): Elaine Tebbutt (603), Tanya Miller (163); 3rd prize (£48.85): Natalie Denby (116), Sue Hardy (179), Lucy Lock (825), Tina Mara (983); 4th prize (£19.54): Amanda Burton (10), Donna Baker (755), Jill Fletcher (642), Susan Bowman (155), Elaine Barradas (836).

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The Winners 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award Linda Ansell & Maureen Townley Chairman's Award Dianne Woodley The Joyce Long Fundraising Achievement Award Joan Clayton

Volun-cheers: awards evening celebrates dedication

Unsung Hero Award Gary Rushman Happy to Help Award Peter Robinson Personal Challenge Award Valerie Hand and Sarah Baker Volunteer Teams Charity shops, Leigh & Westcliff Macmillan Information and Support Centre Long Service Awards General hospital volunteers celebrating more than a decade of volunteering: Alan Watkinson Brenda Dowton Anthony Burton Russell Gunn Dennis Childs Beryl Thompson Sheila Cleary Sheila Edwards Ian Barker Gillian Stock Diane Paisley Gordon Bates Colin Burwell Gillian Cotter Pamela Gaines Margaret Holland Keith McCullough Patricia Rayment

Awards were handed out by Southend’s Chairman Alan Tobias OBE and Managing Director Yvonne Blücher.

Mr Tobias told the audience that he felt ‘humbled’ by their contribution. He said: "You just cannot put a price on what you do - this hospital couldn't function without you.”

Yvonne Blücher added: “We are blessed with an ever-increasing number of volunteers -

around 500 at the last count.

In January we also started recruiting volunteers to help patients waiting to be discharged from hospital.

“We have also taken on more dementia befrienders in order to help on our care of the elderly wards and in our newly opened day rooms on Windsor and Princess Anne wards. All our volunteers are very much appreciated for the hours that they kindly give.” n For more about this year’s dedicated winners please visit www.southend.nhs.uk

Learning Disability Week: 19-25 June

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Every time you come on the hospital radio his little feet move about dancing.

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More than 170 volunteers from the hospital were thanked for their hard work during the Volunteer Achievement Awards held at Saxon Hall, Southend in June.

It's the fourth year the awards have been held to honour both longstanding volunteers nominated by their managers and the contribution of relative newcomers who have gone that extra mile.

Healthcare staff worked together to raise awareness of learning disabilities at a special multidisciplinary information event at the Trust during national Learning Disability Week.

This year’s event focussed on employment and highlighted the benefits of employing people with a learning disability, as well as providing more general information around services

available to support them.

The hospital’s Learning Disabilities Team, Speech and Language Therapy Team and Health Facilitation Nurses each hosted an information stand, along with colleagues from Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and the communitybased support services BATIAS, Shields Parliament and Project 49.

Sarah Haines, Learning

Disability Specialist Nurse at the hospital, said: “Coming to hospital can be an anxious time for many people but especially for those patients with learning disabilities. The Trust offers a range of support to ensure the experience of coming to hospital is not so daunting.”

For more information about services available for people with learning disabilities at Southend Hospital please visit: http://bit.ly/southendld

July 2017

20th anniversary appeal is looking ForWards

Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation has raised more than £4.4 million since it began 20 years ago.

To celebrate this milestone it has launched a new campaign, an ambitious one that is set to benefit 20 areas of the hospital, marking two decades of success.

The launch took place at the Genting Casino in Westcliff and the ForWards Appeal aims to raise £500,000 for 20 transformational projects across areas such as the Neonatal Unit, Urology, Chemotherapy and Audiology,

to name but a few.

As well as funding lifesaving medical equipment and pioneering new technology, the ForWards Appeal will also fund patient-friendly artwork and amenities to keep patient comfort and wellbeing at the heart of the hospital.

Neil Rothnie, Medical Director at the hospital, said: “On behalf of the board of Southend University Hospital I would like to thank Mick Thwaites and the trustees for their ongoing support and congratulate them on their forthcoming 20th Anniversary.

“£4.4m is an extraordinary sum of money to have raised in a relatively short amount of time, and is testament to the hard work of the trustees.

It also shows how lucky we are to have the support of our local community, not just the money raised, but the time given by our 500-strong volunteer workforce.”

A video, also launched on the evening, showcases the lengths people will go to raise money for the hospital, from skydives and abseils to sponsored walks and raft races.

And equally for the dedication of voluntary groups who support the charity yearon-year and the individuals who raise money for a cause close to their heart.

You can view the video at YouTube.com/ SouthendHospitalNHS. Neil added: “This is partnership working at its best and one I hope will continue for many more years to come.

Here’s to the next 20 years.”

The Look will be keeping you updated on the 20 projects benefitting patients as they progress.

Governor elections The fifth annual Hospital Heroes awards were officially launched at July Core Brief.

The awards are your chance to reward your colleagues who best exemplify the Trust’s values - care with compassion, working together, professional and accountable - and their underpinning behaviours.

There are eight categories in total, spanning all grades and professions, with awards specifically aimed at teams, clinical staff, support staff and leaders.

With the exception of the employee of the year award (selected from the monthly award winners) and the chairman’s outstanding achievement award (selected

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from all nominees across all categories submitted for the annual awards), all nominees are entered for a specific award by either colleagues or patients.

How to nominate Download and complete a nomination form from STAFFnet and submit it to hospital.heroes@southend. nhs.uk. Please include the category in the subject line and name of nominee. You can also print and post a hard copy via internal post to the communications department at The Lodge.

Closing date for nominations is midnight 30 July 2017.

Elections will shortly be held for our worker governors.

Staff will have the chance to influence the way local health services are run by becoming a governor for Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

If you have an interest in, and commitment to, improving public health, increasing the public’s understanding and awareness of the Trust and would like a challenging voluntary role that can really make a difference, then becoming a governor may be for you.

For more information, please contact Company Secretary, Brinda Sittapah via: Brinda.Sittapah @southend.nhs.uk

n Nomination forms will be available via STAFFnet or from Brinda and need to be returned by 5pm on Wednesday 19 July.

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SUCCESSFUL BID: Maternity training simulator to enhance patient care The Trust’s Maternity Unit has been successful in its bid for Maternity Safety Training Funds from Health Education England (HEE).

The £53,400 awarded has been invested in an advanced training manikin which will enhance the care for women and their babies by providing ongoing specialist training for the multidisciplinary team.

The manikin is a computerised simulator of a pregnant woman, which can be used to enact clinical scenarios including a variety of complications such as breech and instrumental births. This will give the multidisciplinary team the opportunity to practice real live skills and drills in real time and encourage team working.

Miss Mohamed (pictured, centre), Consultant Obstetrician and Clinical Lead for the Central Delivery Suite,

said: “This is particularly useful in helping teams to practice clinical scenarios they may come across in real life and work out how to best manage them in a safe environment. Through winning this bid, we are seeking to increase and improve multidisciplinary training, focusing on human factors, teamwork and communication, as well as knowledge and skills.”

A multidisciplinary faculty is being established within the unit and this team of obstetricians, anaesthetists, midwives, nurses and health care assistants will be trained to use the simulator in emergency drills and other scenarios that commonly occur in clinical practice.

This team will be responsible for providing specific training for all maternity teams and will

be undertaken in the simulation suite, which opened at the Trust a year ago. Storage of the simulator on the Maternity Unit will enable the multidisciplinary teams working together to practice within their clinical environment on a monthly basis.

Kate Palmer (pictured, left), Lead Midwife for Quality and Innovation, explained why the manikin will make a big difference.

Kate said: “The importance of everyone’s role within the team can be clearly demonstrated in simulation, building the team’s confidence, their understanding of each other’s roles, enhance communication and build trust in each other.

“Most importantly it will continually enhance safety for women, their babies and staff.”

Brave Conall Riley is first to ring ‘end of treatment’ bell on Neptune

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I’ve been to physio dept in dreadful pain. The help I have received is unbelievable.

Arrived in tears, left feeling listened to and cared for.

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After 14 rounds of chemotherapy over the last 18 months and the removal of his lower right leg, Conall Riley (pictured ), aged 9, from Westcliff has been declared as being in remission for Ewings Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer.

In celebration of this fantastic news, brave Conall became the first Neptune Children’s Ward patient at the hospital to ring the ‘end of treatment bell’, which we reported being donated in the May issue of the Look.

It’s quite literally sounding the end of something that

has dominated his family’s life for what has seemed like an eternity.

Mum, Cara (below), said: “This last year and a half has been a rollercoaster of emotions, you just don’t see an end to it and it’s just one treatment after another.

“It has been a life-changing experience and the ringing of this bell hopefully signifies an end to it.”

The clanging of the bell drew a crowd of wellwishing staff from the ward to applaud Conall and his family, which helped give

this momentous event a real sense of occasion. It was an emotional one and dad, Jim (below), couldn’t thank everyone who has helped them reach this point enough.

He said: “Neptune is amazing; there is a real feeling of community and love here. We were included in everything and Conall was treated as an individual, not just as a patient.”

A sense of normality is now also returning for the Riley family as Connal has just started back at school.

July 2017

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Meet the Professionals

Certificates awarded

Students from Belfairs and Greensward Academies recently visited the Trust for the 5th annual ‘Meet the Professionals’ day.

After participating in hand washing and blood pressure demonstrations, they met a wide range of clinical and non-clinical hospital staff who met with different groups of students, telling them about their varied roles in the hospital. Lunch was followed by hospital tours allowed the students to get a feel for what they can expect should they decide to choose a career in the NHS.

Director of Nursing, Denise Townsend, presenting the Trust’s second group of HCAs who have completed their care certificates.

Panto visit Neptune Starlight Children's Foundation entertained children on Neptune Ward recently when its Storytellers Tour paid an entertaining visit. Produced exclusively for Starlight by The Panto Company, they performed The Three Little Pigs, The Three Musketeers and The Princess and the Pea.

Trolley of fans and radios is music to Stroke Unit’s ears Sainsburys Local Store in Rayleigh, Eastwood Road, has continued their support for the Stroke Unit at Southend University Hospital for a second year. As well as raising over £2,000 in store they recently donated a trolley full of personal radios and fans.

Kim Oddy, Ward Manager, said: “We are so grateful for these items and they will make a huge difference to our patients.”

Work Based Learning degree students first to become registered nurses Three healthcare assistants (HCAs) are the first within the Trust to achieve their NMC registration by completing the Work Based Learning (WBL) Degree supported by the hospital.

Karen Gill from Day Surgery Ward, Clare Kortland from Hockley Ward and Michaela Freeman from Accident Centre (all pictured), juggled being University of Essex students whilst working as HCAs. Clare said: “The amount of support from our tutor, Iain Keenan, was amazing. He was always available to give support and advice when needed.

Get in touch: www.southend.nhs.uk

I remember emailing him as late as 9pm and he would reply. You just cannot beat that kind of support.”

Karen said: “I’ve gained valuable experience through the WBL programme, which gave me additional knowledge, having worked within the Trust for the past 11 years. I also had a fabulously helpful mentor and support from my ward management throughout.”

To be considered for the WBL degree, participants would need to have completed the Associate Practitioner Foundation Degree. Once passed, students are eligible for the

20-month WBL programme to become a Registered Nurse.

Michaela said: “I found this degree filled in the gaps in my learning and obviously I then had a better understanding for my future career.

“Don’t let going back to university stop you. I am a mature student and if I can do it so can you; this is your chance to become to Registered Nurse.”

Over twenty others have started on the same journey as Clare, Karen and Michaela, so if you are interested and want to take the next step after the Associate

Practitioner degree speak to your line manager or the Practice Development Team.

Laura Gibbons, Practice Development Nurse, said: “These nurses worked extremely hard throughout the course and showed dedication and commitment to achieve their nursing registration.

“We have additional cohorts undertaking this course and believe this will give them the incentive and encouragement to consider this route into nursing. It benefits the individuals, the teams they work for and the patients they care for.”

Amanda Burton Interim Head of Communications; Dean Newman Communications Manager; Alex Norman Communications & Engagement Officer, David Fairweather Membership Manager.

All can be contacted via communications@southend.nhs.uk

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> STAFF NOTICES > WELCOME to...

Mamta Pradhan, Specialty Doctor (stroke unit)

“I am pleased to be working at Southend because it is an established unit ranging from acute stroke to rehabilitation services. The icing on the cake is to have stroke specialised services such as thrombectomy by Interventional Neuroradiologist Professor Iris Grunwald.

Prior to Southend I have worked in Berkshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire for the NHS. I graduated in India and worked for the Indian Army as a Medic before coming to the UK.”

> WELCOME to...

Helen Smith, Associate Clinical Nurse Specialist (Respiratory)

CLOSER LOOK TONY HAGGAR Groundsman

“I was an Anti-Smuggling Officer for Her Majesty’s Customs & Excise for 12 years. In 2011 I switched to nursing, starting out as a Care Assistant at The William Harvey Hospital in Kent.

Alongside this I studied for my degree in Adult Nursing.

In July 2015, I qualified with a 1st Class Honours. Since qualifying, I have worked on the HDU/Step-down Ward at Basildon’s Cardiothoracic Centre and worked as a Community Nurse. I’m happy to be back in an acute setting.

I’ve joined a great team, ward, department and specialism.”

Tell us about yourself?

I have worked at the Trust for two-and-a-half years and before this I was a tree surgeon for ten years. Before that I worked for Castle Point Borough Council doing street work such as cleaning the kerbs and gutters.

> GOODBYE to...

Karena Miller Phlebotomist

In autumn you’ve got a lot of cutting back hedges, shrubs and bushes. Winter bring its own challenges – clearing of ice and snow, sweeping the leaves up and clearing out gutters and gulleys to avoid any backfill and flooding.

Regardless of how hot or cold the weather is I am well weathered!

Karena’s been at Southend for 16 years and has worked at most of our community clinics. Karen is looking forward to working reduced hours and spending more time with her family.

Everyone in Phlebotomy wish her luck in her new job.

> DIARY DATES RED2GREEN EVENT On Thursday 20 July a high profile joint RED2GREEN event is taking place at Basildon in collaboration with Mid Essex and Thurrock and Basildon Hospitals. It is open to all staff from all professional groups and provides opportunities for peer support and discussion from local colleagues in medicine, associate health practitioners and nursing. To book your place, please email sandra.steeples@southend.nhs.uk QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTHCARE SEMINAR Tuesday 21 August, 13:45 – 17:00 – Education Centre An introduction to QI Projects, from concept to completion: methodology, toolkits, resources. Open to clinical and nonclinical staff – can you identify a QI opportunity to make a difference in your department? Attendance limited, so reserve your place on iLearn asap. Please email: gillian.parsons@southend.nhs.uk with any queries.

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What does your job involve?

I’m more of a tree person and I work with shrubs. I look after many trees on the hospital grounds including silver birch, horse chestnut, maples, acer, cherry and others. A typical day for me really depends on the season.

With spring everything is growing and needs to be regularly cut and maintained. It’s important to keep on top of this because it really does make a difference to people. I know this because I have had so many positive comments from the public and staff about how nice the work I’m doing looks.

What are the best bits about your job?

The beauty of it for me is being outside. I also get a lot of job satisfaction when I see the improvements I have made to an area of the grounds. As I mentioned previously it’s great to get positive feedback from people.

What work achievements are you most proud of?

Some of the areas I have worked on include the area around the multi-storey car park. I planted that whole area.

I did some work outside the Education Centre where it has all flowered up.

I get to support and organise volunteers from local businesses who give up their time to tend our grounds. I’ve also worked with visiting school children who have planted bluebells. When people tell me they like my work, it gives me a great confidence boost and makes me proud of the beds I’ve planted up.

July 2017