Members Issue 11 by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

THE MAGAZINE FOR ISSUE 11 WWL MEMBERS

We will continue to

grow from strength to strength Looking ahead, I see three areas for our focus:

This is the first edition of the Members Magazine since I became the new Chairman at the start of November and I wanted to share my early thoughts with you all.

• Continue to improve quality and safety • Continue to improve patient experience and health outcomes • Take action to make sure we maintain our strong financial performance

The first thing I must do is acknowledge again the major achievements my predecessor, Les Higgins, made over his seven years as Chairman and almost twelve years as a member of the Trust Board. I’m sure you will all join me in wishing Les a very long and happy retirement.

I know we are doing well on the top two areas but the third will be a significant challenge all providers face in these times of austerity. It is only through financial strength and stability that we will be able to continue the investment in our staff, facilities and services. Over the winter we have been extremely busy, especially our A&E Department and despite all the additional pressure the Trust has been under, I am pleased to say our real time patient experience results show that we are still delivering and providing high quality care.

I’ve already had the pleasure of touring our new Cancer Care Centre prior to its opening for patients. This is yet another great example of the Trust collaborating with other organisations – in this case, The Christie, and of our ongoing investment to improve facilities for staff and patients. I’m sure our patients will be delighted to be able to get a broader range of cancer services locally in this fantastic state-of-the-art facility. I must also mention the immense pride I feel for the growing success the Trust is experiencing. December saw the Trust win three Health Services Journal (HSJ) Awards including the main ‘Provider Trust of the Year’ award. HSJ have said that they cannot recall one organisation winning three awards in a single year before. 10 months into this financial year and we have already won 23 regional or national awards with many other entries being shortlisted as finalists. This is more than we won in 2013, which we felt was a good year. Every person in our Trust must be thanked for their personal contribution to the success that is being externally recognised and for the improvements and strong performance we have achieved. I am very proud to take on the Board Leadership of such a great Trust, employing dedicated people who deliver such high quality care to our patients and their families. Through great teamwork, and building on our excellent staff engagement work, we will continue to improve the quality of the services we deliver. I am confident that, together, with the talent, expertise, innovation and dedication of our staff and with the support of our public members we will continue to grow from strength to strength and further enhance our position as a ‘beacon of excellence’ in the NHS. I look forward to working with you all and wish each of you a happy and healthy 2015

Robert Armstrong Chairman 2

Healthier Together Thanks for your support The Healthier Together consultation finished on 30 September and the extended deadline to submit responses closed on 24th October. Of 22,451 consultation responses received by Healthier Together, 4,567 (20 per cent) were from Wigan Borough. This is an amazing response which I am sure will have been heavily influenced by the strong support from our members and the major communications and engagement campaign we carried out during the consultation supported by our Council of Governors and the Wigan Observer. There were 2,071 Wigan residents’ signatures on a petition submitted to Healthier Together. I thank everyone who has helped and responded to the consultation and encouraged others to do so. As well as our own individual Trust response to Healthier Together that makes the case for Wigan to be designated a ‘specialist’ hospital, we have also submitted a joint response along with Bolton and Salford Trusts that offers a sector approach to the implementation of the Healthier Together quality and safety standards. In summary this proposes: • A single partnership service for complex and emergency surgery • A partnership of equals without ‘specialist’ and ‘local/general’ name tags • Respect for the key clinical interdependencies between A&E, surgery, medicine, paediatrics and maternity

All three trusts fully support the Healthier Together case for change and are committed to achieving the proposed improved quality and safety standards. We believe our joint approach with Bolton and Salford will however be better for local people, more affordable and sustainable whilst still ensuring the high quality and safe care for which Healthier Together is rightly aiming for.

“I thank everyone who has helped and responded to the consultation and encouraged others to do so.” Andrew Foster, Chief Executive

Highlights of

Issue

The Trust achieves greatest ever success in national healthcare awards - Provider Trust of the Year

Support and Caring for People with Dementia

Bright stars shine at the Recognising Excellence Awards

WWL Opening of brand new Cancer Care Centre

WWL committed to improving patient’s experience of cataract surgery

Healthier Together have advised that the consultation responses will be independently analysed and evaluated, and a detailed report generated for the Committee in Common to consider. The Committee in Common is the decision-making body for Healthier Together and is made up of GPs from each of the 12 Greater Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups.

“Thank you all again for helping Wigan to generate the majority of the consultation responses” Andrew Foster, Chief Executive

As well as analysing and evaluating the feedback from thousands of individuals and organisations, any alternative proposals that have been submitted will also need to be considered. The Committees in Common will also decide on the final criteria on which they are going to make a decision on how many single services are needed, and then consider how hospitals will be geographically organised in each single service. The timescales will depend on how long it takes to analyse the responses and what the responses say, but Healthier Together have advised it is likely that this will take several months. We do not expect any decision to be announced until after the General Election in 2015. We will continue to update our members on developments as they are communicated to us by Healthier Together. 3

What is a Cardiac Clinical Physiologist?

The new £5million Cancer Care Centre at Wigan Infirmary has been boosted by a joint cancer care service between WWL and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust ‘The Christie’.

The Cardiac Clinical Physiologist is a key member within the cardiorespiratory department here at the Trust. Located across 3 sites (RAEI, TLC & Leigh), we provide a whole host of diagnostic tests and procedures for patients who have problems with their hearts. All three sites perform tests including routine ‘12 lead’ electrocardiograms (ECG) and 24 hour heart and blood pressure monitoring; exercise stress tests are also available at RAEI and Leigh sites to assess a variety of heart conditions. These are performed either by a physiologist or, as part as a multi disciplinary team. This team includes specialist heart nurses, particularly when the patient is referred to the Rapid access Chest pain clinic from a GP. For patients unable to perform a treadmill based exercise, or those who require further investigation, more complex testing is performed. A full respiratory service is also accessible throughout the Trust, with routine lung tests provided at TLC; more complex full lung function testing are available at both RAEI and Leigh. Senior, more experienced physiologists provide an excellent ultrasound service for heart conditions for both inpatient and outpatients, where images of the heart are taken to help assess its structure and function of the heart. More in-depth complex forms of ultrasound are also perfomed within the department giving clearer images for some conditions. The department at RAEI is conveniently located next to the coronary care unit and the cardiac catheter laboratories. Here, procedures are performed which enable the highly skilled team of cardiologists, physiologist, nurses and radiographers using special techniques, to look at the coronary arteries in detail and, where possible, open blocked coronary arteries by using stents. The same specialist team also implant pacemakers for patients whose heart beat is too slow. These devices, in addition to more complex devices implanted at other hospitals, are followed up on a weekly basis in our physiologist led pacemaker clinics. The cardio-respiratory team is dedicated to provide a good patient experience whilst maintaining high levels of professionalism. As a close-knit team we have an excellent working relationship which makes for an efficient service.

Oncology Research at Wigan Clinical Trials have many aims, Including • Prevention of disease • Treatment of the cancer and its symptoms • Improve survival rates • Improve patient outcomes and Quality of Life We need evidence from trials to know which treatments work best. Many treatments that are now widely administered to patients were initially given as part of a clinical trial. Many studies are looking into the causes of the disease, which in time will hopefully beneﬁt future generations. The Oncology Research Team at Wigan consists of 2 full time research nurses and 2 part time clinical trial administrators, all motivated and keen to offer patients the opportunity of taking part in a cancer clinical trial. Every week clinics are screened by the team to assess if any of the patients attending the clinic would be eligible for a trial that we have open at Wigan. Many treatment trials are available at the Christie in Manchester and patients would also be offered the opportunity of one of these trials should they be eligible.

There are many studies that are looking into the causes of the disease, which in time will hopefully benefit future generations. Our aim in the future is to increase the amount of trials that we are able to open at Wigan. At present many of the trials are conducted at the Christie hospital in Manchester. Now that we have Christie@Wigan, we hope in the future that we will be able to bring some of these trials to Wigan.

What happens if your Kidney function doesn’t improve? If your kidney function doesn’t improve then you may be referred to a Specialist Kidney Doctor. You may need to have your blood ﬁltered through a machine if your kidney function doesn’t regain to an effective level this is also known as dialysis. This is very rare and most people recover without requiring this kind of treatment.

Suzanne is a Kidney Injury Specialist Nurse. This new service to Wigan Hospital offers support and advice to patients diagnosed with an Acute Kidney Injury.

Acute Kidney Injury What’s it all about?

Most of the general public know what MRSA is but when you ask about Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) there are a few puzzled faces. This condition is extremely common and can occur to anyone, anywhere! And it can be life threatening if not recognised and treated early enough. The Acute Kidney Injury is a condition where the normal ﬁltering of the kidney has slowed down, causing your normal kidney function to decrease for one reason or another. It can be caused by a number of reasons: • Dehydration from Illness, such as diarrhoea and/or sickness, or eating and drinking enough • Taking certain medications when you are not eating and/or drinking enough • Infection • Blockage to urine ﬂow. What treatment and investigations can you expect if you have an Acute Kidney Injury and are admitted to hospital?

There are a number of things that can be done to treat and investigate an AKI. You will be given fluids directly into your vein, to flush through your kidneys, and a series of blood tests will be taken regularly to look at your current kidney fuction. A test called the ‘dipstick test’ would be carried out on your urine – this looks for any signs of an infection. Samples of the urine, would also be sent to the laboratory for an even closer investigation. Some of your medications may be witheld until your kidneys are back to their “normal” function and In some cases a scan of your kidneys and bladder may need to be undertaken. We would monitor how much fluid you drink, and take in through a drip, also monitoring how much you pass in urine. In some cases a small tube may need to be passed into your bladder. This is called a catheter and allows for the drainage of urine, this catheter will stay in place for a few days.

Can I do anything to Prevent getting an Acute Kidney Injury? One way is to always ensure adequate eating and drinking, both at home and should you ever have to be admitted to hosptial. If you notice any difference in passing urine for example: • The amount of urine has decreased • How often you pass urine • Any burning, pain or blood in your urine • Please contact your GP. AKI the future. To help prevent AKI developing in the community there are going to be ‘Medicine Sick Day Rules’. These rules will apply when you take certain kinds of medication and are unwell with any of the following: • Diarrhoea or sickness • Fevers, sweats and shaking (indicating an infection) • Any causes that decrease your intake of food and drink. What Medications Apply? • Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEI) medicines ending in ‘pril’- Lisinopril, Ramipril, Perindopril • Angiotensing Receptor Blockers (ARBs) medicines ending in ‘sartan’ e.g Losartan, Candesartan, Valsartan • NSAIDs: – anti inﬂammatory pain killers e.g Ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen • Diuretics: sometimes called ‘water pills’ e.g furosemide, spironolactone, indapamide, bendroﬂumethazide. • Metformin: for diabetes What Should you do? Contact your GP at your surgery and explain what has happened and you would like some advice. 5

On the 18th of September, the Trust held its 7th Annual Public meeting since becoming a Foundation Trust. The meeting this year was held in the marquee at the DW Stadium and saw over 120 people attend to listen to Chairman, Les Higgins, and Chief Executive Andrew Foster, present on the Trust’s achievements and activities over the year 2013/14.

Meetings such as these are not to be missed! This year’s main speaker at the event was our Chief Medical Director, Dr Umesh Prabhu, who delivered an honest and compelling presentation on the importance of “listening to patients and learning lessons”. This was very well received by the audience, with one member being quoted as saying, “I liked the way Dr. Prabhu was open and honest in his presentation; he showed a real passion for looking after patients”. The Trust’s Director of Finance, Rob Forster, presented the financial accounts in a very different manner on this occasion. He presented a short video presentation, which gave a concise, easy to understand and yet detailed insight, into the Trust’s income and expenditures throughout 2013/14. This too was well received. If you wish to view the video yourselves please visit the Trust’s Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/wwl where you can view the presentation, as well as a wide range of other video presentations from all around the Trust. Staff from within the Trust, as well as a number of our partner organisations, were kind enough to offer their support to the meeting, bringing along a range of display and information material that formed the stalls for the evening’s “market place”. Included in this were displays from the Trust’s Bereavement Services, the Dementia pod, Social Responsibility projects and other interesting and exciting developments related to service improvements. Left Les Higgins, Chairman 6

Lead Governor Gordon Jackson outlined some of the work that the Council of Governors have been undertaking... This included their work on discharge improvement, the appointment of a new Non-executive Director, as well as some of their activity in relation to the Healthier Together consultation. Gordon welcomed the five new governors to the Council, which you, as members, had recently elected, as well as saying a farewell and sincere thanks to those Governors whose term of office had come to an end. The final part of the meeting, as always, gave members, staff and members of the public, the opportunity to ask questions of the Trust Board. This is always a great opportunity “to have your say” and, while a range of questions were mooted, probably the most pertinent and on many people’s minds, was the question of Healthier Together and what its implications might be for the Trust.

“Overall, it was felt that the meeting was a resounding success.”

It was a momentous occasion on 30th September 2014 when WWL Catering received our Support, Training & Services (STS) Accreditation for the manufacture, storage and dispatch of prepared sandwiches at Leigh Infirmary.

A momentus occasion! This is the NHS food safety industry standard for all external suppliers of sandwiches to the NHS. It was a tough six hour audit, but we were delighted to be successful on the day. A huge amount of work and effort had been undertaken by our staff to embed new systems of working, on top of our already high standards of food safety. The Trust recognised the need to increase our income potential and invested over £250,000 on a bespoke sandwich unit which opened in February 2014. This also helped towards the success.

On a normal day our sandwich staff, prepare in excess of 1,500 sandwiches, ranging from our most basic egg mayonnaise sandwich to our brie and grape premium sandwich. These sandwiches are then dispatched to our own Hospitals, to virtually all of the Local Authority senior schools and the team have been helping with provision to infant schools. The catering team’s relationship with the Local Council, is very long standing and both organisations benefit through joint procurement. Our catering team help supply both Burnley Hospital and more recently Salford Royal and since our STS accreditation we have also had enquiries from other local Hospitals We are immensely proud of all our Catering teams around the Trust who have also adapted and changed to ensure that despite our external work, our patients are never forgotten. The money generated from these external partnerships means we have never had to reduce our menu choice for patients.

We will confirm with you the dates, times and venues of any additional meetings pertinent to the Trust and Healthier Together progress: meetings such as these are not to be missed. Our next APM is scheduled 17th September 2015. Lookout out for your invite, it will be coming in the post!

The Trust achieves greatest ever success in the Health Service Journal 2014 Awards.

Provider Trust of theYear

The Trust was shortlisted for four HSJ 2014 Award categories and won three, including the very prestigious Provider Trust of the Year Award.

The Trust was winner in three of four shortlisted HSJ Award categories and won the very prestigious Provider Trust of the Year award. The other two winning categories were Improving Environmental and Social Sustainability and Patient Safety. The Trust won three out of 22 category winners at the ceremony held in London – more than any other organisation. Commenting on the Trust’s success, Andrew Foster, Chief Executive, said: “This amazing success, to win these three HSJ Awards including the main Provider Trust of the Year is the highlight of my career. I must give due praise to the dedication and commitment of all our staff who are truly behind our quality strategy to deliver safe, effective and caring services to our patients.

Andrew added: “The HSJ Awards are considered the largest and most sought after accolade in British healthcare. To win three of the awards out of 1,300 entries from 500 different organisations makes me so proud. This success has to be credited to all our staff who are the people who have really made this possible. Their dedication to constantly improve quality and their compassion to provide the best care they can for their patients is what has been recognised and acknowledged through this success.” The first award win of the night in the Improving Environmental and Social Sustainability category. The judges described the Social Responsibility Group’s many activities as “a refreshing approach aiming to create social movement for environmental and social change with clear impact on reducing inequalities”. In the Patient Safety category the judges were very impressed by the Trust’s Quality and Safety Champions programme, they described as “data-driven and factual but passionate approach along with the staff engagement and belief”. In summing up the main 2014 Provider Trust of the Year category win, the judges praised WWL as a “a great all round performer ensuring happy staff resulting in happy patients”.

“This amazing success, to win these three HSJ Awards including the main Provider Trust of the Year is the highlight of my career” Andrew Foster, Chief Executive

As you will be aware the Trust has recently held its election to the Council of Governors – The Electoral Reform Services (ERS) undertook the elections on behalf of WWL between June and September 2014. We had six Seats available on the Council this year - two seats from our staff constituencies and four seats to elect to from the public member constituencies of Leigh, Makerfield & the Rest of England and Wales (ROEW). It is pleasing to say through member participation and action we successfully elected to each available seat, and thus we welcome our New Governors for a three year term • Leigh Dr Corinne Taylor-Smith • Makerfield Mrs Kathryn Lowe • ROEW Mrs Beth Taylor and Mr Bill Baker who has been successfully re-elected for a further 3 year term.

& Shakers ERS

Movers Upon becoming elected our new public governors had this to say: Beth Taylor, (Governor Rest of England & Wales) “It feels extremely worthwhile to represent the constituents of the ROEW at a time when the NHS is becoming evermore political and these politics really matter to the lived reality of people’s lives”.

The Trust welcomes its new Staff Governors • Mr Andy Savage, Trust Web Services Co-ordinator and Governor for all other staff • Mrs Maxine Callaghan, Matron for our medicine Division, who now represents our Nursing & Midwifery constituency.

Kathryn Lowe, (Governor Makerfield) "Everyone at the Trust has been very welcoming. It has been great to start to meet staff who provide services and see their commitment. The Governors meeting was very informative and I really felt that I could take part and offer something". The voting turn out for this year’s elections was another pleasing element to the process, for which the Trust sincerely thanks those members who took the time to exercise their vote. Our highest ever voting turnout was achieved this year by the Makerfield constituency achieving a remarkable 17.4% turnout, compared to the normal national Trusts average of around 12%. Of course while it is pleasing to welcome our new Governors, the Trust also recognises the

Mr Silas Nicholls

contributions and value gained from those Members leaving the Council of Governors and so we would like to thank the following for all the effort and hard work over the last 3 years: Sandra Morrow, ROEW. Glenys Shepherd, Makerfield. Bob Horrocks, Leigh. It has been a pleasure working with you. We hope you continue to keep in touch and we wish you all the best in the future. The Trust said farewell to our Director of Strategy and Planning & Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Mr Silas Nicholls – he has left the Trust to take up an exciting new role as Director of Operations and Performance at the South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust. Silas has been a member of the Executive team for 3 years now and played key roles in a wide variety of project planning, helping to move the Trust forward with its site investment and developments.

17.4

‘It still fills me with pride to know I have represented the Trust” Mr Les Higgins

Voting

Leigh

Makerfield

Rest of England & Wales

Number of Eligible Voters

1692

1762

1230

Number of Votes Cast

248

300

170

Turnout Percentage

14.7%

17.4%

13.8%

Silas not only supported the Trust in his day to day job but also represented the Trust at a number of community events most importantly the NHS Triathlon, where teams of NHS staff from all over the country compete against one another in an annual competition. During his time with us Silas helped the WWL NHS Foundation Trust communications triathlon team to win the mixed team entry for two years running.

Staff embraced our strategy with overwhelming enthusiasm and so began another journey when the Board recognised that the best way to make improvements to patient care was to listen to our staff and to put in place their ideas”.

As covered briefly in the last edition of our Membership Newsletter, the Trust Chairman has now officially changed, Mr Les Higgins has now retired and Robert Armstrong has taken over as Chairman. When looking back at his time in the Trust, Les said “It fills me with pride to have represented a Trust which has well and truly become one of the best. Back in 2008, when WWL became a Foundation Trust, we began a journey of improvement in quality and safety.

Between the years 2007/08 and 2013/14, the Trust achieved a number of improvements in key patient care quality indicators: • The annual number of patient deaths reduced from 1,561 to 1,099 – this equates to 462 fewer deaths which is almost a 30 per cent reduction over the last full year • The annual number of cases of MRSA bacteraemia infections reduced from 12 to 1 – this means we almost eradicated all cases of MRSA • The annual number of all grades of pressure ulcers (sometimes called bed sores) reduced from 70 to 20 – over 70 per cent reduction

• The annual number of C-Difficile infections reduced from 321 to 26 – over 90 per cent improvement in reducing such infections. Then there is the patient perception of our care where we consistently are one of the top performers in the country and of course WWL was recently named as the cleanest hospital in the North of England.

“Everyone at the Trust wishes both Silas and Les all the best in their future work, retirement, health and adventures. Farewell and good luck to you both!”

“We strive to improve the care of people living with dementia, and to help us to achieve this are the Trusts Dementia Champions”

WWL take the care of older people, especially those with dementia very seriously. A great deal of work has been done within the Trust and the Trusts Dementia Strategy 2014/2015 has been agreed and is the framework for our continuous improvement.

WWL

Caring

for people living with dementia

Early identification of people who may have dementia will enable early support and intervention. If people are given access to this, it is possible for them to live well with dementia, a message that is underpinning the Alzheimer’s Dementia Friends campaign.

When someone does come into our hospital, and they have dementia, it is very important that we speak to the experts – and often this is the carers. They can advise us on all the things that are important to the patient and how best to care for them, ensuring that all their needs are met and any distress at being away from a familiar environment is reduced as much as possible.

Key priorities being addressed are, early screening and appropriate referrals, involvement of carers and the hospital environment.

To assist in this, we are launching the ‘This is Me’ document. This is for the carers to complete with key information about their loved one. We feel it is essential to obtain feedback from carers on their experience, so a questionnaire is sent following discharge asking their views. These are currently being collated to see if there are any themes that need to be addressed.

All patients over the age of 75 are screened for the possibility of dementia. Whilst an inpatient, no diagnosis will be made, but it is important that we refer to the appropriate professionals, which is the Later Life and Memory Service based at Clare House, Lower, Ince.

The hospital environment can have a detrimental effect on someone with dementia, and a lot of research is now available suggesting that dementia friendly environments can have a beneficial effect.

During the coming year, we will ensure that all of the changes are implemented and evaluated. Within the Trust is a programme of work looking at signs, colours, flooring and lighting. One of the major works is the refurbishment of Standish ward. It will undergo a major renovation, implementing all the latest changes to make it dementia friendly. Other initiatives have been the purchase of a dementia pod. This is a background of a 1950’s living room, with a television and record player of the same era. There are also games, memorabilia and information leaflets of the time. The aim of the pod is to be a place where conversation and discussion can be stimulated between staff and the person with dementia.

Age is my Enemy

The Pod was bought by funds raised from the staff who work in our finance department, and we are really grateful for this gift. We are currently striving to improve the care of people living with dementia, and to help us to achieve this are the Trusts dementia Champions. These are staff from all areas of the Trust who have undergone a two day intensive training course. At the end of the course, the staff have all made a pledge on what they will do to improve care for those who have dementia.

by Amelia Finch Third Year Student Nurse, WWL

Age is my Enemy, as the years go rolling by, When I think of my lost youth, it only makes me cry. I do not fear death, as it happens to us all; it’s one of the bad effects that age has on me, that makes me curl into a ball.

Changes made so far include the introduction of red plates and a finger food menu, change of use of a bathroom into a ‘quiet room’, e mandatory learning module for all staff on dementia awareness, pre admission assessment at Wrightington Hospital and participation in the dementia friendly community and dementia clinics. This is just a small selection of the changes that have taken place over the past 12 months. For further information have a look at our dementia page at www.wwl.nhs.uk/Specialities/ dementia.aspx

Do not try to understand me, and try to make me see sense, this thing they call Dementia, has put up a big fence. Confusion closes in, at every thought I have had, and the tears that roll down my face, reflect that I am sad. Please don’t get upset, shout at me or swear, this is what I have become, the cross I have to bear. Gone is the carefree child, with years of life ahead, and in its place there is a shell, with confusion in my head. I can’t help what I have become, I’ve turned another page, and what you see before you, are the cruel effects of age. The best of me has gone, and I am trapped within myself, but please do not abandon me or put me on a shelf. Be there for me, stroke my hair or maybe just a kiss, remind me of your love for me, and that’s what I will miss. Stand proud beside me, like you always used to do, and don’t let this thing called Dementia, upset or cloud your view. Because I am still a person, albeit vulnerable and afraid, Who needs to be cared for, as I head towards my grave. For this battle I have with Dementia, is a war that cannot be won, but stay with me and comfort me, until my life is done. 13

A Run Down of the Main Winners of the 2014 Recognising Excellence Awards at a glance! Winner of Safe Category Inpatient Mobility Cards for Orthopaedic Patients Winner of Effective Category 7 Day Working Project Group Winner of Caring Category A Pathway to Success in Reducing Infection in Women Undergoing Caesarean Section Winner of Supporting Staff and Colleagues Category Clinical Skills Training Anytime, Anywhere Winner of Supporting Community and Partnership Category Christies at Wigan Winner of Innovation Category Health Records Storage Reconfiguration Chairman’s Employee of the Year Award Dennis Murphy Winner of Foundation Trust Award A Pathway to Success in Reducing Infection in Women Undergoing Caesarean Section

“Dennis exhibits the values and behaviours of WWL every day. He has shown great dedication to the Trust. ” Les Higgins 14

No Masking WWL’s Staff’s Excellence This Year!

Bright

Stars Shine at the Recognising Excellence Awards

It’s not often that WWL staff get the chance to dress up in their finery and go to a ball incognito. But that’s just what they did at this year’s staff recognition event. Wigan may not exactly be Venice, though it isn’t short of a few canals. The award ceremony marked the eighth year of the special event for staff at WWL. The Recognising Excellence Awards, sponsored by the DW Stadium and hosted by WWL, was a ceremony of achievement in recognition of staff’s hard work, commitment and dedication in ensuring all our patients receive the best care every day. A record number of nominations were again received from staff across the whole of the Trust. The impressive list of entries was submitted to a number of categories, demonstrating innovation and improvements to services for patients. This year a new category was introduced to reflect WWL’s community and partnership work and it received 14 nominations. The winners were presented with glass trophies in recognition of their achievement. Almost 400 mysterious masked figures flitted about the beautifully decorated Fitness Lounge at the DW Stadium.

They enjoyed a champagne reception, three course meal, live entertainment, raffle draw and a disco into the early hours of the evening. The recipient of the winner of winner’s award, (the Foundation Trust Award) was from the Caring category “A pathway to success in reducing infection in women undergoing caesarean section”. When presenting the trophy, Andrew Foster Chief Executive said “This initiative has significantly improved the quality of care given to mothers after childbirth, reducing infection rates and preventing re-admissions. At the same time it has improved the vitally-important early bonding experience of mother and baby immediately after birth.”

The accolade of Employee of the Year went to Porter Dennis Murphy. This award is selected from the year’s Employee and Team of the Month winners. What makes this award so special is that the winners have all been nominated by and voted for by their peers. This year 50% of the ballot was opened to a staff voting process. In his summing up the Retired Chairman Les Higgins commented “Dennis exhibits the values and behaviours of WWL every day. He has shown great dedication to the Trust. Winning this award demonstrations just how much Dennis has gone above and beyond the call of duty. His work with the bereavement group has given many patients who have died the dignity they deserve.”

See more of our winners online Photographs from the event can be viewed on WWL’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/W WLNHS A large number of Tweets are available by searching for the hashtags #WWLREA and #WWL on Twitter. And the famous REA Video can be viewed via our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=

The accolade of Employee of the Year went to Porter Dennis Murphy. 15

A Run Down of the Main Winners of the 2014 Recognising Excellence Awards at a glance!

Winner of Safe Category Inpatient Mobility Cards for Orthopaedic Patients Winner of Effective Category 7 Day Working Project Group Winner of Caring Category A Pathway to Success in Reducing Infection in Women Undergoing Caesarean Section Winner of Supporting Staff and Colleagues Category Clinical Skills Training Anytime, Anywhere Winner of Supporting Community and Partnership Category Christies at Wigan Winner of Innovation Category Health Records Storage Reconfiguration Chairman’s Employee of the Year Award Dennis Murphy Winner of Foundation Trust Award A Pathway to Success in Reducing Infection in Women Undergoing Caesarean Section

“Dennis exhibits the values and behaviours of WWL every day. He has shown great dedication to the Trust. ” Les Higgins 14

A record number of nominations were again received from staff across the whole of the Trust. The impressive list of entries was submitted to a number of categories, demonstrating innovation and improvements to services for patients

We aim to spend quality time with mothers...

Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust became a fully accredited UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Hospital in November 2012.

The Infant Feeding Team at WWL Baby Friendly awards are based on a set of interlinking evidencebased standards for maternity, health visiting, neonatal and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centres services.

Excellence gained through knowledge Three members of the team are undertaking the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Examination in July. This is a challenging examination, encompassing broad and detailed breast feeding knowledge which will further enhance the care given to mothers. We have recently started our tongue tie clinic which will enable babies who are experiencing difficulties with feeding because of tongue tie to be treated locally thereby improving patient experience.

They are designed to provide parents with the best possible care to build close and loving relationships with their baby and to feed their baby in ways which will support optimum health and development. Facilities complement the standards in stages over a number of years. At each stage they are externally assessed by UNICEF UK. When all the stages are passed they are accredited as Baby Friendly. Award tables are kept to let the public know how facilities are progressing. The Infant Feeding Team was established in 2010 and was set up to provide additional breastfeeding support to women who had chosen to breastfeed but who were experiencing difficulties. There was a significant drop off rate of women who stopped breastfeeding prior to discharge and we maintained only 45% of women to be still breastfeeding at ten days. We now maintain 75% of women who have chosen to breastfeed and are still breastfeeding at ten days, with around 90% of women still breastfeeding at discharge from maternity ward.

We also offer an answer phone service for women to contact us for advice and support with a call back service and all mothers receive a follow up call from a member of the Infant Feeding Team following discharge and at ten days.

The Infant Feeding Team provides enhanced follow up support... ...in the community for those mothers who have had complicated pregnancies or babies requiring additional neonatal support. We aim to spend quality time with mothers who have had babies on the neonatal unit enabling early initiation of expressing breast milk and support with feeding at this difficult time. We also see babies readmitted to the paediatric ward to offer support with breastfeeding when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often difficult to maintain breastfeeding and effective milk supply. These babies are sometimes seen in paediatric Accident and Emergency department before transfer so we can begin support immediately.

Positive feedback is received throughout the year from women regarding the work of the Infant Feeding Team and this is reflected in the thank you cards and emails we receive from mothers.

WWL Announces Opening of Brand New £5million Cancer Care Centre The Christie and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Partners

Cancer Care

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL), The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support announce the operational opening of the Cancer Care Centre, which took place in January 2015. The three healthcare providers have formed a partnership to bring together cancer care services for people in the Wigan Borough. This initiative comes in the form of a brand new, £5 million, Cancer Care Centre, which offers 12 Chemotherapy treatment areas, counselling facilities, a complementary therapy suite and a Macmillan Information and Support Service. As part of the national ‘Chemotherapy Closer to Home’ initiative, the new Cancer Care Centre has developed a joint service with The Christie to undertake certain chemotherapy treatments currently provided at their hospital in Manchester. The Christie Charity has donated £98,442 for the purchase of NHS Plus equipment for the suite, ensuring that patients receive their treatment in an environment equal to the standard that they would expect at the main Christie NHS hospital site in Withington.

“This initiative comes in the form of a brand new, £5 million Cancer Care Centre” Jackie Wrench, Service Manager Lead Nurse Chemotherapy at The Christie

Jackie Wrench, Service Manager Lead Nurse Chemotherapy at The Christie said: “We are delighted to be working with Wigan, developing a Christie at Wigan service for patients receiving chemotherapy treatments. The new purpose built unit will allow more Christie patients who live in the Wigan area to receive their treatment closer to home, reducing the time spent on traveling for treatment, and thereby increasing the time spent on the normal everyday things that are really important to our patients.”

The Cancer Care Centre joins together cancer services for people in the Wigan Borough Leonora Anson, WWL Chemotherapy Unit Manager, says: “Our new Cancer Care Centre will bring about a new standard for cancer care. It will improve the experience for cancer patients and help to save more lives. Being able to get better treatment closer to home will be much better for our patients. Macmillan Cancer Support have contributed £350,000 towards the development of a Macmillan Information Support Service, making information and support available closer to home for people affected by cancer. The new Macmillan Information and Support service is available for patients not only in the Wigan Cancer Care Centre, but also at the Thomas Linacre Centre in Wigan. Information pods will also be available on the Leigh Infirmary site. Ann-Marie Kelly, Macmillan Information Manager, said: “This service will guarantee that patients have access to all vital information throughout their cancer journey. Anyone who is affected by cancer will have access to accurate up-to-date information at all stages of the cancer pathway as well as practical, psychological and emotional support.” As part of the initiative, the Hospital’s charity, Three Wishes, has been raising money towards a patient sensory garden.

Ann-Marie Kelly in the new Macmillan Information Pod

The garden is designed to give cancer patients and their families a relaxing and comfortable retreat within the hospital grounds. WWL staff have organised their own fundraising events, including taking part in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tough Mudderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; back in September. WWL volunteers will be working in the Chemotherapy Suite, supporting patients both emotionally and physically during their cancer journey. They will also be undertaking general housekeeping duties, in order to assist the Chemotherapy team with the overall running of the Unit. The partnership has also welcomed involvement from Cancer Charity, CANtreat, whose contributions are going to towards the design and equiping of the Complementary Therapy Suite (see pages 22 and 23).

The Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) is the UK and Ireland’s largest professional association for complementary, holistic beauty and sports therapists. Founded in 1962, the FHT has been promoting the highest standards in education and therapy practice for more than 50 years.

The FHT Excellence in Practice awards were first launched in 2011, to recognise and shine a spotlight on the exemplary work being carried out by FHT members. At last year’s award ceremony, one of the Trust’s own therapists was honoured to achieve a recognition award for his, and his team’s work, on the Oncology unit at Wigan Infirmary. George Bate, an FHT member, has worked as a volunteer complementary therapist on the Oncology ward at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary for more than 10 years, where he provides treatments to patients, carers and staff. During this time, George could see the many benefits complementary therapies were bringing to those he treated, but he also felt that working on his own he could not reach the growing number of people who could benefit from his support.

Excellence in

Practice Since then, the Reiki team as it is known, has continued to grow and is now sixteen members strong. George is responsible for recruiting new volunteer therapists, helping with their induction and training, organising their rota, the appointments diary and the overall smooth running of the clinic. The growing demand has meant that George and his team, have been asked if they can support other units within the hospital. While the team are, of course, extremely keen to help, they are limited by the number of volunteer therapists on board.

Their hope is that as the team expands, they will be able to reach more people in need of, and will benefit from, their services. While George and his team regularly receive positive feedback from those they treat, the service is being formally evaluated and included in research being carried out by some of the Trust’s consultants. Once completed, it is hoped these results will be published in a medical journal. What has been extremely encouraging in all of this work is the respect and subsequent backing George has gained from those he has been working alongside – the doctors, nurses and oncology consultants, who have consistently seen the positive effects that his treatments have brought to patients and others.

Left, George and Julie Right, Le0 Anson

George and the team are now looking forward to continuing to offer their services out of the new cancer care unit in state-of-the art facilities.

Each year we wait with bated breath to hear the announcement of our Patient Led Assessment of Care Environment (PLACE) scores.

Place

in for top results This year, our hard work and commitment came to fruition. All our hospital sites received the accolades they deserved. Patient assessors are required to inspect the care environment and to score standards of cleanliness, food, privacy, dignity and wellbeing, and the condition, appearance and maintenance of buildings. PLACE inspections were introduced in April 2013, with results reported publicly to help drive improvements in the care environment and to show how hospitals are performing nationally. We have improved on last years performance, with the overall results positioning us as the fifth best acute NHS Trust in the whole of England. In the North of England Commissioning Region, WWL was ranked fourth best acute NHS Trust. We are especially delighted with our 100% score for cleanliness, which ranks us joint first with one other NHS Trust. Our 99.4% score for condition, appearance and maintenance ranks us second best in the whole of England.

Andrew Foster, Chief Executive remarked: “It is fantastic news that our hospitals have scored so highly in the latest environmental assessments, with WWL being the fifth best in the country overall and the highest scoring Trust for cleanliness with an unbelievable 100%. I would like to thank everyone involved who has been working very hard to develop and maintain the highest standards. These results demonstrate their commitment to providing our patients with the very best environment. This clearly puts us in the top 3% of all acute hospitals and demonstrates our commitment to quality at WWL.” Harold Trowbridge, Lay/Patient Representative and Chair of the PLACE assessment team commented: “I have seen year on year improvements which have been made at all of the Trusts hospitals and couldn’t be more proud of the tremendous achievements that have been made in improving the patient environment”.

The PLACE assessments are designed to assess all hospitals in England across a range of environmental aspects against common guidelines. These assessments are patient led and are carried out with patients, patient representatives and our local Healthwatch.

“We have improved on last year’s excellent performance” Andrew Foster 23

This is the story of WWL Trust staff going that extra mile to grant a patient’s dying wish.

Special Moment happen

Making a

Did you see or hear about the photograph that went ‘viral’ on social media, was picked up by newspapers, radio stations and TV stations across the world – reaching an audience as far as Australia and America? We are sure you will be as amazed as we were at the scale of the emotional response from the public to the story and photograph of Mrs Sheila Marsh. Mrs Marsh was a very poorly patient at RAEI, whose last wish was to see one last time, her favourite horse named Bronwen, who she had raised from a foal. The Trusts Bereavement Liaison Specialist Nurse, Gail Taylor, raised the request from Mrs Marsh and the family - pulling out all the stops to fulfil this ladies dying wish.

“We are fortunate at WWL in that we have an excellent Palliative Care and Bereavement Team” Pauline Jones 24

Supporting patients and their families through end of life care is paramount and fundamental to what the Trust Bereavement Team do. They put our patients and their family at the centre of everything they do, especially in their last days/hours of life. Photographs have been captured of this special moment which have been collated into a commemorative album, and presented to Tina and her family. Capturing keepsake mementos can help with the grief process which we all experience after the death of a loved one. Pauline Jones, the Trusts Director of Nursing commented “We are fortunate at WWL in that we have an excellent Palliative Care and Bereavement Team. They work closely with our patients and their families throughout their care to ensure we understand exactly how we can support them. The compassion they have shown in arranging this very moving reunion should be commended and I would like to especially thank both the Bereavement Team and the staff on Orrell Ward for making this special moment happen”

The Trust again offers our sincere condolences to Tina Marsh, daughter of Mrs Marsh. Tina has also been supported whilst giving a number of media interviews by the Trust. More information and several news stories can be viewed via the BBC iPlayer and on demand where available, if you are internet savvy – why not search/type “dying wish horse WWL” into Google and you will be able to view several articles covering the event.

RAID

Following the successful launch of our new Volunteer Strategy during Volunteers’ Week, we celebrated the achievements of our long-standing volunteers on 21st October.

Psychiatric Liaison Service

Volunteers

A Consultant-led rapid response team, supporting people within our A&E department and hospital wards who have mental health needs, was officially launched this summer. The Rapid Assessment Interface and Discharge (RAID) service – part of 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - provides a single point of contact for our hospital and offers an improved patient experience plus a comprehensive assessment 24 hours a day, seven-days-a-week in order to:

Celebrate

at Long Service Awards

The Long Service Awards is an annual event that seeks to formally recognise the valuable contribution our volunteers make to our hospitals. For the last time, our recently retired Chairman, Les Higgins was delighted to present our volunteers with their certificates and award badges ranging from five to twenty years of service. This year, we were thrilled to present forty volunteers with Long Service Awards. Hosting the Long Service Awards event for the first time, Voluntary Services Manager, Nadia Koriba enthused, “What a pleasure it is to be able to thank and give formal recognition of everything our volunteers do for our Trust. It is amazing just how much time they have dedicated to volunteering with us. We would also like to thank Les Higgins for presenting the volunteers’ awards one last time, and wish him a long and happy retirement.” The afternoon was rounded off with an enjoyable buffet lunch and organ music provided by volunteer, James Taylor. Many of our volunteers are involved in supporting us in more than one capacity. A fine example of their hard work can be seen by one of our volunteers, Pauline Carr.

• Aid rapid discharge from A & E • Minimise length of stay on wards, and • Reduce readmission

“It is amazing just how much time they have dedicated to volunteering with us”

Telephone referrals from the A & E department are responded to within one hour. Fax referrals from the Ambulatory Service are responded to within six hours and from all other wards within 24 hours. Once assessed, the patient may receive treatment or be referred on to further appropriate services to address their current needs, or be signposted for further support. Follow-up clinics are available, where appropriate, for patients that require a review posthospital discharge.

Nadia Koriba, Voluntary Services Manager

The service also provides informal training on mental health difficulties for our staff.

During the week, Pauline regularly volunteers on the Help Desk and in our hospital Pharmacy.

Robin Evans, Service Manager said: “Our multi-disciplinary team, comprising Adult Psychiatrists, Mental Health Nurses, a Psychologist and Social Workers, welcomed guests including GPs at the official service launch event in July.

In addition to these roles, she helps to raise vital funds for our hospital charity, Three Wishes. Last summer, Pauline held a Garden Party at her home in memory of her late husband Geoff Carr, who was a keen gardener.

‘Together with our Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group and Local Authority colleagues, we gave a comprehensive introduction to the service – exploring the importance of psychiatric liaison in taking a holistic approach to caring for patients’ physical and mental health needs. ‘We then took part in round-table discussions so we could agree our shared priorities and discuss potential challenges together. This was a great foundation for us to build on as the service became operational and we are now delivering real benefits to vulnerable people at the more difficult times in their lives.”

Despite the wet weather, the event attracted a fantastic turnout and raised £645.42 for Patients’ Comforts. Delighted with the success, Pauline comments, “I’m over the moon by the success of the party and feel very touched by everyone who came to support us. I’m sure Geoff would have been very proud if he were here today.” We would like to offer special thanks to Pauline, and all our hospital fundraisers.

If you have a question about the RAID service, contact robin.evans@5bp.nhs.uk

Experience Based Deign – WWL committed to improving the patient’s experience of cataract surgery

Patients

look into cataract provision

Here at WWL, we are totally committed to improving the patient experience with the aim of being in the top 10% of Trusts for patient satisfaction. One of our Senior Consultant Ophthalmologists (Eye Specialist), Mr Chris Heaven decided to undertake a patient engagement exercise to look at the patient’s journey or pathway when receiving treatment for cataracts. He decided that the project would look at how the pathway worked from a patient and family perspective with an aim to identify best practice and areas for improvement. An engagement event was organised in a local community setting. Participants were drawn from patients, family members and staff who had all been involved in the cataract surgery clinical care pathway.

Excellent care from committed and caring staff. The results of the event demonstrated many examples of excellent care being provided by committed and caring staff. It is clear that patients and relatives highlighted a positive patient experience when they receive timely and clear information to support them during their journey to recovery.

Key areas To enable the service to become a gold standard service; patients and family members have identified the following key areas that should always happen for patients: Surgery should be available at both Wigan and Leigh sites All patient records should be complete and up-to-date Patients should be informed about the reason if there are delays throughout the pathway Have staggered admissions so that patients are not waiting around unnecessarily Improve the ward layout and provide reading materials Improve facilities for relatives and friends who want to wait for their loved ones All staff should meet a standard of caring that ensures they are helpful, empathetic and responsive to both patients and relative’s needs Improve the experience for patients undergoing second cataract eye surgery Improve verbal and written communication throughout the pathway The majority of patients would prefer to be referred to the cataract service direct from their optician and have a one stop shop approach. Patient Information needs to improve so that patient’s expectations are met

The Ophthalmology team are now working on an improvement plan to address as many as of the suggested improvements as possible, with particular focus on the communications aspect

P Gs

Local patients are urged to share their experiences of getting a GP appointment with Healthwatch Wigan. It is part of a programme of work that Healthwatch Wigan’s Primary Care Group has prioritised.

Access to

A priority for Healthwatch Wigan Healthwatch Wigan is part of a national network of local Healthwatch organisations that were established under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and set up in April 2013. Healthwatch help children, young people and adults speak up about health and social care locally. Healthwatch Wigan's main focus is to make sure that local people’s views and experiences of local services are listened to, understood and acted upon by decision makers and service delivery organisations. On the other hand, Healthwatch Wigan hear positive stories from people who are very happy with their surgery and are able to get a same day appointment or at the least have a doctor call back to give advice, with some surgeries now having an online booking system and offering longer surgery hours.

To build a better picture of local people’s experience of GP services across the Wigan Borough, Healthwatch Wigan have developed a short survey for members of the public to complete. Tony Bishop, Healthwatch Wigan Director and Chair of the Primary Care Group, explained why the work is being done: “We have been hearing lots of negative stories about trying to get appointments at GP surgeries in Wigan and Leigh. The programme of work we have planned will allow us to better understand the issues that local people face when trying to access their GP. We also want to highlight examples of good practice so I’d really encourage people to share their experiences, both good and bad, by completing the survey.”

The survey can be completed at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/ac cesstoGPs Or you can request a paper copy, or talk to Healthwatch Wigan about your experience, by contacting them on 01942 489737 or emailing info@healthwatchwigan.org

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