Mainstream www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk/mainstream.shtml It’s a health record! Pat retires after 40 years! Page 11 Sharing news about the Trust directly with staff and public members | Number 229 | November 2011 TG Tips help CQUINs How the ThinkGlucose initiative is helping patients with diabetes General developments 8 Building work and plans for building at Colchester General 105 entries in new Awards First At Our Best Awards get a fantastic response 12 Ho! Ho! Hospital! 16 Other news What Satish did on holiday.......6 CoHoC update .........................6 Midwife receives prize ..............7 Mr Loeffler is new CDD ............7 Pat retires after 40 years!........11 Nearly 1,500 jabbed ...............12 Regulars How long will I wait?..............13 In the diary.....................13 & 15 In the news...............................4 Letters | Emails | Your views15 National news.........................11 People news .............................7 Sixty seconds interview ...........14 Briefly for staff .................6 & 12 page 2 | Mainstream Contents 10 6 A threat to patient safety in hospitals Don’t stress! About 100 people stopped by the national stress awareness day stands at Colchester General and Essex County hospitals on 2 November to get literature on how to live a stress-free lifestyle. Kate Farrelly, the Health & Wellbeing Team’s specialist practitioner in occupational health, said: “People were given leaflets on how to value themselves and how to prioritise, as well as advice on sleeping well and exercise. Some took the opportunity to have their flu vaccine. The new calm lifestyle package was promoted and all visitors were given fruit, donated by Tesco at The Hythe. Visitors said the event was very informative and friendly and they were made to feel very welcome.” All of the stress-free lifestyle resources are available from Health & Wellbeing, as is the stress buddy initiative, stress resilience and stress risk assessment training. i Contact Health & Wellbeing Centre on 01206 745284 Early intervention and support for staff off sick esearch has shown that early intervention for staff with both long and short term sickness helps reduce absence and promotes better health, writes Sheila Boyle, Head of Health & Wellbeing. Staff feel more valued and supported and morale improves as staff recognise that their health is important to the Trust, with the ultimate result being an improved patient experience. In March 2011 the Health & Wellbeing team started a telephone triage initiative to support staff who were off work sick. The sick member of staff R is advised on the appropriate measures they could take to help reduce the length of each episode of sickness absence. The initiative has been successful in identifying staff with various issues on the first day of absence, resulting in staff being referred to the appropriate specialists for early support and treatment. Previously, many staff could have been absent for up to four weeks before a referral to Health & Wellbeing for an assessment and support. Initially, staff were suspicious of the new initiative, but now the majority contacted say they appreciate Successful careers fair at home of Colchester Football Club he Colchester Careers Convention on 2 November at the Weston Community Homes Stadium proved extremely popular. About 80 exhibitors were visited by hundreds of students from schools in the Colchester and surrounding area. Neonatal Unit Sister Karen Moss is pictured (on the right) with Sister Clare Harden. T the early offer of care and support. Staff now view the service as one that makes them feel valued, appreciated and supported in times of illness. The triage enables a better quality of Health & Wellbeing and gives support to the Trust in managing sickness absence. It has a positive impact on patient care, as early intervention and supporting staff to reduce staff sickness results in teams that are working more effectively. i Look on the intranet under Info About > H > Health & Wellbeing Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! Patients on the Critical Care Unit are playing Wii games as part of a physiotherapy project to accelerate their recovery U ntil recently, patients who have been on ventilators or haemodialsysis machines have traditionally been bed-bound and have taken part in only limited rehabilitation. Now, however, patients on ventilators with some awareness and those who can breathe unaided are being offered early stage rehabilitation. The six-month pilot study is being led by consultant anaesthetist Dr Helen Agostini and specialist physiotherapist in respiratory care Jennifer Powner. It involves a multidisciplinary team approach by physiotherapists, nursing staff and doctors and was launched following some Barry spent up to 30 minutes each day playing on the Wii. He also had an exercise programme which included cycle pedals, hand weights and walking practice. With Barry (seated) from left: Dr Helen Agostini, Sister Karen Baxter and Jennifer Powner early successes, which have included critical care patients playing on a Wii game console as part of their rehabilitation. Among them is Barry Sheppard who is now back home after spending two weeks on the Critical Care Unit. He is convinced that playing tennis, golf and tenpin bowling on the Wii contributed to his recovery. “I’d played on a Wii before but when I was invited to have a go in Critical Care I was a bit surprised,” he said. “However, I found it very beneficial, both from a physical and mental point of view so that I regained muscle strength and my hand-eye co-ordination improved.” Now back home, Barry is doing three 30-minute workouts a week in the gym and has been told to expect to make a full recovery. Jennifer said: “There is now a considerable amount of evidence to show that the earlier rehabilitation begins, the sooner a patient’s recovery starts.” She believes that our Trust does more rehabilitation with critical care patients than the vast majority of acute hospitals. November 2011 | page 3 4 IN THE NEWS 8Vascular surgery public engagement exercise made front page news in East Anglian Daily Times (EADT). Covered by BBC Look East, Daily Gazette and others.8Baby boom: BBC Look East interviewed two new mums and a matron on the day the world’s population reached seven billion. 8Publication of north east Essex’s Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) plan resulted in front page leads in Daily Gazette and EADT. Also in Clacton Gazette and Essex County Standard. 8Walking aids: live interview on BBC Essex, about the return of walking aids loaned to patients. 8Dignity and nutrition: Colchester General Hospital and other hospitals named in Sunday Times (“Where patients were being failed”). Coverage included the Director of Nursing and Patient Experience, being interviewed on BBC Essex. 8Health Ombudsman: publication of a review of complaint handing in the NHS reported by Daily Gazette and EADT. 8How physiotherapy can combat pain. Daily Gazette article based on an interview with a physiotherapist in the Pain Management Team.8Breast Cancer Awareness Month Daily Gazette article interview with a breast cancer survivor. 8Two mums in the Clacton Gazette and Daily Gazette praising the Trust’s maternity services. i Read the latest media summary on our website, under “Board Meetings” page 4 | Mainstream In the news Highlighting how the media reported on our Trust last month From left: staff nurse Caroline Collin-Brown; chaplain Rev Mark Thompson; the Bishop; matron Lynda Kitching; Associate Director, Women’s and Children’s Services, Dymphna Sexton-Bradshaw – pictured on Mersea Ward he Bishop of Chelmsford the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell visited Colchester General Hospital last month and was delighted with the reception he received. His tour started at Mersea Ward and then the Children’s Unit where he spoke to patients and staff. Later he visited A&E and was particularly struck by the T wall mural modelled on the Bayeux tapestry which for him thanksgiving service for the late Father Richard Smith at St Michael’s Church, Myland, which included within the congregation many members of staff, past and present. The Bishop said he was really pleased with the experience and hospitality he received and wishes the Trust great success with its future plans. Bishop of Chelmsford “really pleased” with his visit illustrated colourfully the vibrant diversity of care that is offered by staff at our Trust. After spending time with the chaplaincy team he led a Rehab pilot to improve patient experience rehabilitation pilot programme began on Peldon Ward last month, aimed at improving the patient experience. The Enhanced Recovery Programme (Intensive Rehabilitation) project targets identified patients on the ward to improve patient outcome, expedite discharge and reduce length of stay. Sophie Stubbings, Specialist A Physiotherapist for Older People, said: “Patients will be identified by the multidisciplinary team and once medically stable will be able to participate. They will be encouraged to wear their own clothes each day and walk to the bathroom for washing, dressing and toileting. A daily exercise group will be run with an additional physiotherapy session.” The project will be managed by Sophie and her colleague Angela Sherring, and will be run by senior physiotherapy assistant Matt Cobbold. The ward will be supporting the project with one of their newly-qualified associate practitioners. Sophie said: “We will continue to refer to intermediate care, the Accelerated Discharge Team and other community services in the normal way.” The pilot will run for six months initially. New procedure for heart patients octors in Colchester have started to implant potentially life-saving defibrillators into patients that shock abnormal fast heart rhythms back to normal. It means that Colchester General Hospital is the first district general hospital in Essex to fit implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Before the new service started, patients living in north east Essex who needed an ICD had to travel to The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon Hospital. So far, five patients in Colchester have been fitted with ICDs by Dr Debashis Roy (main picture), who joined the Trust in March as our fifth consultant cardiologist. One of the patients is Mylton Howlett (pictured right) who had his implant at Colchester General Hospital in August. “When I returned to the hospital for a check-up, they were very pleased with the progress I’m making,” he said. “I’ve been told that I’ll soon be able to step up my activity levels at home. However, I’ve already noticed a difference. For example, in the past I used to get breathless even when walking around the house but no more and everyone tells me that I’ve got a good colour whereas before I was blue.” Dr Roy said that compared to conventional pacemakers, which are used to treat slow rhythms, an ICD is for people who already have a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm which causes the heart to beat very fast. It can also be D used in patients with other heart conditions, such as heart failure, and who have had, or who are at risk of having, a life-threatening abnormal fast heart rhythm. The ICD consists of a pulse generator which is a battery-powered electronic circuit and one or more electrode leads which are placed into the right side of the heart through one of the major veins located underneath the collar bone. A small incision is made in the chest (pictured below) where the lead and ICD are inserted. It can give the heart electric pulses or shocks to get the rhythm back to normal. If required, it can also work as a pacemaker. An ICD was implanted into a human for the first time in 1980 but over the years the technology has advanced considerably so that they have become smaller and people who have one can live fully and happy lives. An ICD is not a cure and patients are still considered to be at risk of arrhythmia, which might cause unconsciousness or cardiac arrest, if only for a few seconds before treatment is delivered. i Read the full story on our website, under “Latest News”: www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk November 2011 | page 5 For more news, staff can go to the intranet: http://apollo and click on “News” or “Forums” CoHoC update For anyone thinking about writing their will, Colchester Hospitals Charity (CoHoC) has teamed up with local solicitors to provide a will writing service during Free Will Month, in February. You will be invited to make a voluntary donation to CoHoC as the solicitors have waived their fees for simple wills. Meanwhile, CoHoC will be launching a hospital lottery after Christmas email for details of how to take part. See back page for contact information, plus details of the Santa Fun Run. Pharmacy extends weekend working hours The Pharmacy Department has extended its official weekend opening hours to provide an enhanced clinical service to patients admitted during weekends, especially via the emergency route. It will open from 10am to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Clinical priority is given to patients on the Emergency Assessment Unit, care of the elderly and medical wards. Members of pharmacy staff working over the weekend period can be contacted via the dispensary on ext 2102. Briefly for staff 4 BRIEFLY FOR STAFF i More details on the intranet under News More news for staff, page 12 page 6 | Mainstream TG Tips help CQUINs successful pilot to help people with diabetes at Colchester General Hospital has been rolled out to all inpatient wards. At any one time, one in six patients in hospital have diabetes compared with a figure of one in 25 of the general population. ThinkGlucose (TG) – a major programme from the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement – aims to reduce as much as possible the inequalities that they suffer. Following a successful pilot study on Nayland and Fordham wards last year, the programme was rolled out to all inpatient wards. Part of the success of the project is the use of a particular form to identify patients with diabetes. Glucose Project A Nurse Shirley Davis said: “People with diabetes in hospital have longer lengths of stay, get more complications and have more complex problems that need looking after. “Staff should complete a diabetes inpatient assessment form on a patient’s admission, as it identifies someone that needs immediate or urgent referral to a Diabetes Specialist Nurse (DSN) or to a podiatrist. The DSN will be able to review the patient’s glycaemic control and the podiatrist any foot ulceration or open wounds.” Matrons are overseeing the process with the DSNs auditing the wards. Ward staff are using ThinkGlucose magnetic buttons to identify patients that have had a form completed. Shirley said: “We’ve prepared some TG Tips – a set of questions and answers for staff – to help answer any queries they may have.” To help staff remember to complete a form, the Diabetes Team are offering the chance to win a mug by completing the most forms. Wards that are doing well will be What Satish did on holiday -ray engineer Satish Thaker spent two weeks of his holiday last month training hospital engineers at Mulago Hospital, Uganda. Working with the Amalthea Trust, Satish was part of a team of UK engineers helping to train newly-qualified university X graduates to repair and maintain hospital equipment. A new course, run by Kyambogo University and partly sponsored by the Amalthea Trust, aims to train 20 engineers every year. Satish said: “I went to Uganda on 1 October with Steven Daglish, the co-ordinator for the charity, to start the pilot scheme. “In Africa most hospitals have large quantities of medical equipment that could be made to work again with a little attention, but there is an acute shortage of trained medical engineers. “My role was to help Steven teach basic electronics and identify repairable equipment at the hospital in Kampala. I was covering the first two weeks, and other volunteer engineers came after me. The course goes a long way to solving equipment maintenance problems, not just in Uganda but in other Englishspeaking countries in Africa. It means more operations and care can be provided, thus saving lives. Overall it was challenging, eye- rewarded with some chocolates and a ThinkGlucose mug. Meanwhile, ThinkGlucose has been chosen as one of the Trust’s patient safety initiatives for this year’s CQUIN. A CQUIN (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation) rewards excellence by linking a proportion of the Trust’s income to achieving quality improvement goals. The Trust has a target of 90% of patients having a completed form by December. This increases to 95% by the end of March 2012 and therefore staff are encouraged to be particularly vigilant in completing the forms and to file them safely in the patient’s notes. i Contact the diabetes team on 01206 742076 or bleep 185 People news 4 PEOPLE II| NEWS ABOUT STAFF FROM THE INTRANET’S FORUM Midwife receives Zita Killick prize Former Colchester student midwife STEPHANIE BENNETT was awarded the Zita Killick Prize at her graduation ceremony on 4 October, by Professor David Humber, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health & Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University. The Trust’s practice educator midwife/senior midwifery lecturer Bev Lynn said: “The prize is a real honour and is bestowed to one student each year for their contribution to university life and is presented in memory of the late Zita Killick, a local midwife and tutor who was an inspiration to all who knew her.” i Staff can read the full story on the intranet, under “News”: http://apollo Mr Loeffler is new CDD opening and a good experience to work in Uganda. One thing which made us feel really proud was the students saying they were ‘over the moon’ when they found out they were going to be trained by UK engineers. Spending just two weeks in Uganda, I feel that in this country we take too many things for granted.” i Visit: www.amaltheatrust.org.uk/ Orthopaedic surgeon Mr MARK LOEFFLER has been appointed as the Clinical Divisional Director (CDD) for Surgery, following the vacancy left when Dr Sean MacDonnell was appointed Medical Director. Mr Loeffler is one of four clinical divisional directors – posts that were created to involve doctors more in the running of the Trust. Meanwhile, orthopaedic consultant Mr SHIV SHANKER has taken over from Mr Loeffler as clinical lead in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery. Professor David Humber with Stephanie New consultant posts Four new consultants start in new posts at the Trust this month: n Histopathology consultant Dr SOUMADRI SEN has worked in Birmingham for the past 15 months. n Oncology consultant Dr Dakshinamoorthy Muthukumar (known as Dr KUMAR) has worked as a consultant in Derby for the past six years. n Orthopaedics consultant Mr TIM WILLIAMS has worked as locum consultant at the Trust for the past six months. n Emergency medicine consultant Dr EMMA CASTRO will join the Trust on 3 January. Meanwhile, some replacements have been made too, including for Professor ROGER MOTSON’s post (plus a new general surgeon post) namely, Miss SHARMILA GUPTA and Mr GREG WYNN, who join the Trust substantively, having been locum consultants here for the past 18 months and two years respectively. Breast surgery consultant Mr ARUNMOY CHAKRAVORTY replaces Mr Anwar and obstetrics and perinatal screening consultant Miss AMBRIN GULL SHAMAS replaces Mr John Eddy. Urology consultant Mr ROWAN CASEY replaces Mr David Galvin. We do! ICT and Datix were brought closer together on 23 September with the wedding of ICT’s desktop support team leader TOM DONOVAN and Datix manager JENNY BELL (pictured). Congratulations to them both! November 2011 | page 7 T General developments he decision has been made on the location of the £24 million radiotherapy department at Colchester General Hospital. At the public joint Board of Directors and Members’ Council meeting this month, three locations were reviewed. The Board of Directors unanimously supported the first option – marked 1 on the map – by the Main Block to the west of the Gainsborough link corridor. Other options were to the east of the corridor (marked 2 on the map) or adjacent to the Pharmacy Support Unit (marked 3) – the late-duty staff car park. The Board based its decision on an assessment of the relative merits of each site and the opportunities presented or lost from each, as undertaken by the architects, engineering specialists and Trust staff. Two approaches of evaluation HSDU Building work on the new £5m Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit (HSDU) continues, with the delivery and erection of the first steel girders on 10 November (pictured). It is being built next to the Old Boiler House and should be completed in August 2012. See September’s Mainstream. Radiotherapy Centre 1 Location of new radiotherapy department 2 Rejected locations 3 page 8 | Mainstream Accident and Emergency Department The Accident and Emergency Department is bordered by the Radiology Department on one side and Pharmacy on the other. The Trust has for some time recognised inadequacies in the design and size of the A&E Department and there have been several attempt address the situation. Some inclu ambitious plans to integrate A&E the Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU); others have looked at sta alone solutions for each departm Expansion of A&E could be were used. The first, Achieving Excellence Design Evaluation toolkit criteria, is not strictly designed for use at this stage in a project, but gives useful indications of design issues that might arise for each site. The second used the Trust’s own criteria, including: n clinical appropriateness n accessibility n “buildability” – site, environmental services and disruption s to uded E and ndment. n financial implications n strategic impact/fit. A full business case will continue to be developed to be complete as the contractual arrangements for the scheme come to a conclusion on a timescale to be agreed by the Board. eanwhile, the Board has committed £150,000 to support the creation of a development plan and 1:200 scale designs to meet the longer term M environmental and space needs of the A&E department and a reception and retail facility (see boxes below), addressing the needs of any displaced services as a result. It also has agreed to appoint a commercial partner to develop a retail and reception facility. i More on the Trust website, under “Board Meetings”: www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk More parking spaces The Trust will renew plans for 76 extra spaces in the main hospital car park, which Colchester Council rejected last year as it meant removing hedges providing a screen for residents opposite the Turner Road site. The Trust will also apply for a 65-space car park on land it owns in Mill Road. More parking spaces will be needed for staff and patients when it builds a £24 million radiotherapy centre and transfers cancer services from Essex County Hospital. New reception and retail zone near A&E achieved externally by building out from the entrances, or internally by relocating Pharmacy or parts of Radiology. These latter options would have knock-on effects with a requirement for the services affected to be reprovided elsewhere. The current main reception at Colchester General Hospital is cramped and restricted and does not give a good impression to patients and visitors. Our Trust is a long way behind neighbouring trusts in providing a choice of shops and catering to visitors and staff at the hospital. With more people on the site as cancer services consolidate at Colchester General Hospital, the lack of amenities and the pressure on current facilities becomes more evident. Many NHS trusts are developing retail and associated facilities in partnership with specialist companies. The investment in the infrastructure is met by the commercial partner on a long-term lease, typically 20-25 years, with the Trust benefiting from an element of the rentals from the sub-let units. Local examples include Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford and Southend Hospital. Developing a new reception near A&E will take considerable pressure off the current entrance which would revert to being used principally by outpatients and people attending radiology. Judicial review he decision to centralise cancer services in Colchester and Southend is to be scrutinised by a judicial review after legal action was sought by a group of patients in mid Essex. They are disappointed that Broomfield Hospital will miss out and patients could be forced to travel long distances for radiotherapy. The decision to expand Essex’s two existing radiotherapy centres at Colchester and Southend, rather than develop a third centre in Chelmsford, was announced in June, (see June Mainstream). NHS Mid Essex Chief Executive Sheila Bremner said at the time that it was accepted as the best option for increasing the number of radiotherapy treatments in Essex. However, on 31 October the four primary care trusts (PCTs) in the Essex Cancer Network were served with notice of an application for judicial review in relation to the PCTs’ decision not to develop separate radiotherapy infrastructure at Broomfield Hospital for the population of mid Essex. Our Trust, together with Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust and Southend Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were cited as interested parties in the case. The documentation submitted into court by the applicants is being reviewed and the hearing is expected to be sometime in the New Year. T November 2011 | page 9 A threat to patient safety in hospitals Misuse of antibiotics is driving the development of antibiotic resistance in hospitals. From 21 November the routine antibiotic course length in our hospitals was reduced he Trust’s antibiotic prescribing IV stop, oral switch protocol has been reviewed and updated. Some patients are exempt from the protocol due to their location within the hospital. These include : n patients on the Critical Care Unit (ITU/ HDU) n patients on the Isolation Unit n haematology/oncology patients being treated under the protocol for neutropenic sepsis n paediatrics, including the Neonatal Unit. T Some patients are exempt with conditions where long-term antibiotics are indicated. All antibiotic guidelines can be found by clicking on the antibiotic icon (pictured) on the desktop of all Trust computers. Alternatively, look in the intranet’s e-library under Pharmacy > Antibiotics Prescribing and Treatment Guidelines, or visit: http://apollo and search for “antibiotic guidelines”. page 10 | Mainstream ntibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasingly becoming an everyday concern in healthcare across the world. European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) on 18 November is a Europe-wide public health initiative aimed at encouraging responsible use of antibiotics. Dr Gillian Urwin, Consultant Microbiologist, said: “On 18 November the Trust’s Antibiotic Management Team had a mobile stand visiting wards at Colchester General Hospital to promote the prudent use of antibiotics. And on 21 November we rolled out a new policy on reducing the routine antibiotic course.” Infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria may render appropriate antibiotic therapy difficult, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality as well as increased hospitalisation and costs of care. Although there has not been an MRSA bacteremia infection at either of our hospitals since May 2010, the Trust has had 23 cases of Clostridium difficile since April (with a ceiling for 2011/12 of 25). “Using antibiotics wisely keeps the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the risk of C diff to a minimum,” said Dr Urwin. “All healthcare workers can play an active role in ensuring antibiotics are used appropriately.” Use of antibiotics is one of the main factors driving the development of antibiotic resistance in hospitals. Unfortunately, misuse of antibiotics is common. For example, patients are highly A likely to receive antibiotics during their hospital stay yet studies show that 50% of all antibiotic use in hospitals can be inappropriate. Prudent use of antibiotics can reduce the emergence and selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Dr Urwin added: “From 21 November we started recommending the routine antibiotic course length is reduced from seven to five days, unless a restriction applies and a longer course length is indicated by the patient’s condition. To allow for this the antibiotic prescribing IV stop, oral switch protocol has been reviewed and updated.” IV antibiotic courses should be no longer than two days, followed by three days of oral antibiotics (total course length = five days). If oral antibiotics are used the course length should not exceed five days. Some patients are exempt from the protocol by location within the hospital (see panel left) while some are exempt with conditions where long-term antibiotics are indicated. European Antibiotic Awareness Day is supported by the Department of Health and its advisory committee on antimicrobial resistance and healthcare associated infections. “All staff can play an active role in ensuring antibiotics are used appropriately” i Dr Gillian Urwin is based at the Department of Microbiology on 01206 747374 or by email: [email protected] i See also our Clean, Safe, Spotless campaign: www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk/clean_safe_spotless.shtml Pat retires after 40 years! he longest-serving employee at the Trust retired on 26 October after 40 years’ continuous service. Medical records clerk Pat Slowgrove joined the NHS straight from school as a cadet nurse on 10 September 1971. Ironically, her first three months were spent working in the Health Records Department at Essex County Hospital which was followed by spells on the children’s ward there, on a geriatric ward at the old St Mary’s Hospital, Colchester, and then back to Essex County Hospital to work in the outpatients department. Nine months into her NHS career, she decided that nursing was not for her and she switched to the Health Records Department where she has worked ever since. Pat said: “I’ve really enjoyed my many years in Colchester, have made many friends and will really miss it. The role of the Health Records Department is an important one because it is to ensure that the right medical record gets to the right place at the right time. I’ve seen so many changes during my time here which began before we even had computers and is ending with the Trust having a purpose-built health records centre at Colchester General Hospital.” She spent 36 years at Essex County Hospital before transferring to Colchester General Hospital in 2008. From 1984 to 2008, she was a supervisor and from 2008 she worked part-time to help her prepare for retirement. Health Records Manager Teresa Frost said: “Pat has been a valuable asset to the department with her vast wealth of knowledge and has contributed greatly in assisting with the many changes faced over the years. She has many friends and colleagues who will sincerely miss her but send her very best wishes for a long and happy and, certainly, well-deserved retirement.” Meanwhile, Breast Unit Manager Pat Budd retires on 31 December. In a tribute to her on the intranet, her colleagues wrote: “It is now time for you to live life according to your own schedule so savour every minute of it. “Your knowledge will be missed but you can leave the Breast Unit in safe hands knowing that you have helped to shape the team into the great Colchester Breast Unit that it is. “We have no doubt that you will continue to be busy and wish you a very happy retirement living in your new home in Norfolk.” T NATIONAL NEWS II| IIPrimary care, Dept of Health and beyond National news 4 What can you expect from your doctor? A public consultation has been launched to review Good Medical Practice, the core guidance for UK doctors. Every doctor has to meet the standards within it and so the General Medical Council (GMC) wants to hear from patients and doctors. Under the new measures, patients, and particularly vulnerable adults and children will receive greater protection. The draft guidance also asks doctors to take prompt action to deal with problems with basic care, particularly for patients who are unable to drink, feed or clean themselves. The consultation ends on 10 February. Add your response to the consultation via the GMC’s consultation website: www.gmc-uk.org/gmp2012 Ground-breaking schemes commended in awards A series of ground-breaking schemes has helped the NHS North East Essex (PCT) public health team win a national accolade. The team was highly commended in the Commissioning Organisation of the Year category in the HSJ (Health Service Journal) 2011 awards. Dr Mike Gogarty, Director of Public Health at the PCT, said: “Our submission was based on a number of initiatives the team has commissioned, for example NHS health checks in the community, senior health checks, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) diagnosis, virtual wards and a reachout project, to improve the health of the local population.” The 30th HSJ Awards took place on 15 November and more than 300 organisations took part. Automated pill dispenser could transform lives People who have trouble remembering to take their medication at the right time are benefiting from an innovative automated pill dispenser being piloted by NHS North East Essex. The dispenser’s aim is to allow people who, for whatever reason, struggle to remember to take their medicine, to remain independent at home and decrease reliance on health and social care services. The dispenser is programmed with the patient’s dosage times and filled with their medication. At the appropriate time, a visible and audible alarm alerts the patient that it is time to take their medication. It can also be used in conjunction with another device which sends a message to their family if medication is missed. i People can self-refer onto the pilot by phoning the memory assessment and monitoring support service on 01206 228901 November 2011 | page 11 Continued from page 6 Safety advice for Christmas decorations Advice relating to Christmas trees and decorations in wards and departments has been issued on the Trust’s intranet. No wall or ceiling hanging decorations are allowed and any decorations that are used elsewhere must be new and in good condition to reduce the potential infection risks. Ceiling and wall streamer decorations have the potential to spread fire exceptionally quickly, obstruct smoke or heat detection systems and fire exit notices become difficult to see. All electrical devices, such as treelights, must be examined and tested by a competent electrician. Lit candles are not acceptable either. Look on the intranet under Info About > F > Fire Safety. Nearly 1,500 jabbed The seasonal flu campaign has been successful with 1,469 staff being vaccinated by 3 November against both seasonal flu and H1N1 (swine) flu (40% of clinical staff). Health & Wellbeing continue to hold regular clinics. Please see intranet for dates. If you have not had your vaccine you are advised to attend one of the clinics as soon as you can. Staff vaccinated in October were entered into a draw and biomedical scientist Richard Stevens and HCA Gillian O’Sullivan both won £50 Marks and Spencer vouchers. page 12 | Mainstream Staff news! Briefly for staff 4 BRIEFLY FOR STAFF More than 240 enter Awards ore than 240 people entered the Trust’s first At Our Best Awards, launched last month to recognise staff and volunteers achievements and to thank them for what they do. Nominations closed on 23 November, with the ceremony next month. Anyone – colleagues, patients and the public – could nominate an individual or a team they felt had made an outstanding contribution at our Trust. Entries were accepted online or in writing. People just had to write down the name of the person or team and explain in no more than 50 words why they deserved to win (the citation). Thank you cards, plaudits and letters of praise also counted, as long as they met the criteria and were sent in to the competition. Although 241 people entered the awards, not everyone wrote down the reason why the person or team deserved to win. Nevertheless, 140 entries were completed, with some individuals and teams nominated more than once. There were 37 nominations from patients. Media partners the Daily Gazette supported the Awards by printing entry forms and running articles. The judging panel – directors, governors and staff side representatives – will meet early M next month to judge the entries, with the prizegiving ceremony on 14 December. Entries will be judged on the citations and the individual or team that demonstrates the At Our Best behaviours standards and values shown below – caring, communication and consistency. The judges want to see the reasons a person or team should win and what qualities they have that make them so outstanding. For instance: n were they caring, welcoming, respectful and kind? n did they communicate clearly, keep you informed and stay responsive to your individual needs? n did they give you a consistently professional and safe service? n did they make a difference to you and your health? Although the current Awards closed on 23 November, there will be more individual and team awards every three months or so, with an annual ceremony in July 2012. The next quarterly Awards will be announced in the New Year. i More information from: www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk/at_our_best.shtml Have you got your At Our Best leaflet? ast month the Trust launched a set of organisation behaviour standards and values developed from the At Our Best programme. More than 500 members of staff, from every clinical and corporate division and from all professional groups, were involved in creating the L standards. The three themes – caring, communication, consistency – have key actions underlying them. The Trust gave a small leaflet (pictured) to all staff which highlights the six simple pledges to ensure patients get the very best treatment and experience at our hospitals. i If you have not received a leaflet, contact Jo Willis, PA to the Associate Director of Organisational Development, 01206 742527 or email [email protected] How long will I wait? For April to September 2011 (Apr to Sept 2010’s figures in red): JOutpatients attending hospital for first time 50,790 (51,501) LFollow-up outpatients 114,395 (113,623) LDay case spells 11,313 (11,035) JElective inpatient spells 3,894 (4,072) JNon-elective inpatient spells 19,188 (19,227) LRegular day attendances 5,860 (5,625) In September 2011 (Sept 2010): LA&E department attendance 6,080 (5,950) JAverage performance of patients seen, treated or discharged against the four-hour standard 98.10% (97.95%) L18-week referral to treatment was 91.53% (94.07%) for admitted patients JFor non-admitted patients, it was 97.33% (95.79%) J0% (0%) breaches in outpatients 13-week target LUrgent suspected cancer referrals (those meeting twoweek maximum wait from GP urgent referral to first outpatient appointment) 94.9% (96.29%) JMRSA cases 0 (0) (ceiling is 1 for 2011/12) LC diff cases 5 (3) (ceiling is 25 for 2011/12) JHand hygiene compliance 98.53% (96.74%). Trust’s financial position is good 4 IN THE DIARY All events at Colchester General Hospital unless otherwise stated. Members are invited to attend public events with their friends or family. Details from Membership Helpline on back page. (Staff members should look on the Trust intranet’s Forums under ‘Events’ at: http://apollo) 4 November to 2012 Public event! Health Talks for the public t has been known for some time that NHS expenditure in 2011/12 was going to be relatively flat, but our Trust continues in a position of financial strength. It does not have any historic debt and is well on course for achieving a financial surplus for 2011/12 while delivering a Service and Cost Improvement Programme (SCIP) of £14.5m. Up to September SCIP schemes had delivered £5.7m against a target of £7m, with £3.1m of this being non-recurring. The Trust has achieved a year to date surplus of £2.1m, slightly behind budget of £2.3m. Over delivery of activi- I ty and income is mitigating shortfalls in delivering SCIP. The Trust is taking on more staff to reduce its vacancy rate. The capital programme spend from April to September was £2m and the Trust is currently carrying out building work at Colchester General Hospital (see pages 8-9). Monthly staff turnover in September was 1.16% (10.31% annually). The rolling 12-month sickness absence figure is 3.62%. i Finance and Performance Committee Report, Month 6, on the Trust website under “Board Meetings” 4 THIS MONTH’S GRAPH The cases of C diff at our Trust since April 2008. This year (2011/12) we have had 23 cases with a ceiling for the year of 25. Source: Intranet home page A series of free talks in Colchester where a leading doctor or other healthcare professional speaks on a health topic relevant to today’s lifestyle. Anyone, including public and staff members, their friends and family, are more than welcome to come along. 6.30-8pm. n Wed 30 Nov “Living well with healthy kidneys” Dr Gabor Cserep, Consultant Nephrologist n Wed 25 Jan “The brain attacks” Dr Rajesh Saksena, Consultant in Stroke Medicine. Recognition of stroke, risk factors, preventive strategies and management of acute stroke and TIA (mini-stroke). n Wed 29 Feb “Bowels and Bottoms!” Miss Sharmila Gupta, Consultant Colorectal and Laparoscopic Surgeon n Wed 28 Mar “ThinkGlucose” (note: talk is in Clacton) Dr Charles Bodmer, Consultant Physician. Future dates: Wed 25 Apr, Wed 30 May, Wed 27 Jun, Wed 25 Jul, Wed 29 Aug, Wed 26 Sep, Wed 17 Oct, Wed 28 Nov. More details on our website. For the exact location and details, call the Membership Helpline (see back page). Public event! 4 Thursday 8 December Brain Tumour Support group Farleigh Hospice, Chelmsford, 5-7pm. The North and Mid Essex Brain Tumour Support Group is being set up by Elaine Westall, a Macmillan neuro-oncology clinical nurse specialist at Essex County Hospital and Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford. Contact Elaine 07919 304 034 or email [email protected] for more information. See also 10 January, page 15. 4 Friday 9 December Meet the Charity Committee CoHoC charity funds gatekeepers are invited to attend the meeting 10am-12noon at the Postgraduate Centre. For more details, call Caroline Bates – see back page. Public event! 4 Friday 9 December Volunteers’ Christmas Party Contact Lucy Archer for more details, 01206 744006. i Visit the page “How long will I wait” on Trust website: www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk 4 Sunday 11 December Santa Fun Run! Public event! See back page. i You can also see monthly reports on our website under “Board Meetings” Continues on page 15 November 2011 | page 13 4 KATHY FLINT 4 MIDWIFE AND STAFF GOVERNOR 4 BASED AT ANTENATAL CLINIC, CGH 4 WORKED IN NHS FOR 43 YEARS Describe your job In the Antenatal Assessment Unit (AAU) we care for, assess, monitor and treat ante-natal women who may be experiencing problems during pregnancy. Problems are varied, but we see many women with a wide range of conditions. Our care includes blood tests, monitoring a baby’s heartbeat, routine observations, organising scans and consultant appointments when appropriate. We also see pre-op women prior to Caesarean sections. How does your role improve patient care? Prior to AAU, women may well have been hospitalised but now, by careful monitoring of these varied conditions, the need to stay in hospital is almost always avoided. The midwives who work in AAU are privileged to be page 14 | Mainstream 60 seconds 4 PEOPLE II| IISIXTY SECONDS INTERVIEW able to get to know many women and their partners during often difficult times. We take ownership of the care we give, planning it with obstetricians. What would you change at the Trust? Difficult to say this, but I would like to see more fairness with regard to some of the wards and facilities available to our public. The new blocks and wards are bright, airy and spacious with many much-needed facilities, whilst other older-style wards are often cramped and present difficulties for both patients and staff. Best part of your job? Getting to know the women, playing a part in their care and then finally seeing them at the end of their pregnancy with both mother and baby healthy! Signs of improvement am delighted to see so many entries for the At Our Best Awards from across all parts of the Trust. These awards will recognise those staff and volunteers who truly demonstrate care, communication and consistency. I am especially pleased to see that more than a quarter of the nominations have come from patients themselves. In our latest outpatient survey, 93% of respondents said their care was either good, very good or excellent. This is very encouraging and suggests that At Our Best is starting to have an impact on our patients. However, you may have read the Daily Mail article on 7 November entitled “The Rudest Hospital in Britain”. Our Trust was listed as having 161 complaints last year relating to “attitude”. I accept that 161 is 161 complaints too many so, whilst our ratio of compliments to complaints is about 27:1, we do need to keep our focus on patient satisfaction. In particular, staff attitude and our behaviour towards patients is paramount. That’s why we launched At Our Best in March to inspire our staff to be at their best with every patient every day. As part of the programme we listened to hundreds of patients and staff to identify a set of behaviours and values which culminated in care, communication and consistency. So I do expect that as we all embrace the words and the spirit behind the At Our Best programme, I our patient experience will improve. One way we will know this is happening will be through the improvements we see in our patient surveys. Another way will be through the NHS Staff Survey. As we know, motivated staff who are passionate about patients will improve the care we provide. Many staff – about 54% – have already given their views, but some staff have queried how Quality Health, the company conducting the survey for us, know if someone hasn’t replied, given that it is confidential? I can assure all staff that the Trust has absolutely no access to individual responses and they are completely confidential. There has never been any leak of data from any staff survey run by Quality Health. All personal data is destroyed three months after the survey closes, and no one outside Quality Health has access to it. You can read more about this on the intranet, under “News”. So I encourage everyone to complete their surveys with this thought in mind: “As a team, how do you think things are going at the Trust?” Personally, I do think things are improving. I hope you too have noticed an increase in confidence, an openness and improved communication. However, I would like to hear from you where we have improved and where we need to improve further. Dr Gordon Coutts | Chief Executive St Mary’s Angling & Social Club I am the secretary of the above club which has been in existence since the 1980s. Initially it was only an angling club for the members of the estates department at St Mary’s Hospital. But after a few years the fishing side of the club stopped and the social side increased and today the social activities arranged are quite varied. We have 143 members and the £6 annual membership is open to NHS staff in north east Essex. Membership entitles first refusal of any event they would like to attend. Future events are now posted on the intranet forum, “Events outside of the Trust”. We look forward to meeting new members at our forthcoming events! Heather Wragg, Former Administrative Manager for Women’s Services [email protected] Trust HQ, Colchester General Hospital ; EMAIL: [email protected] She got to know us and felt like a friend when we left with our precious little girl. I know a few others who she has looked after and they all sing her praises too, which I think really shows her nature and the standard of work she does. I have heard some pretty rough birth stories, so I know it was really down to Michelle that mine was such a happy one in the end! Allie Alderson, by email ACE bit of feedback I work for Anglian Community Enterprise (ACE) and regularly read Mainstream. I think it is a great bit of PR work and actually makes me want to work for your Trust, as it paints such a good picture of your work. Alix Sheppard Health Champion Coordinator Anglian Community Enterprise Colchester Business Park Midwife Michelle was so friendly My daughter Lena was born on 25 December last year – so needless to say, getting to the hospital in the snow and ice was pretty scary! Paired with a threeday on-and-off labour and the baby getting in distress, it could have made for a very hard experience. But midwife Michelle Carrington turned it all around for us. Michelle was so friendly and encouraging and proactive that it made all the difference to me. I thought I was facing forceps and she managed to get me to give that last bit of energy I had and Lena made it safely into the world without any problems. Michelle took a real interest in us as people (we are Jehovah’s Witnesses and so having a baby born on Christmas Day was certainly a conversation starter!). Review of tax codes Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are checking employees’ tax codes and as a result a number of taxcodes are being changed to “BR”. In the vast majority of cases this is incorrect and you may pay too much income tax. If you receive notification of a BR tax code, I would strongly advise you to contact HMRC. When contacting HMRC please ensure you quote the Trust’s Tax Office ref 083/CO53 and your own National Insurance number. The phone number for HMRC is 0845 3000627. Kevin Ward Senior Human Resources Manager Your views Letters | Emails Your views # WRITE TO: Mainstream Editor 4 IN THE DIARY | FROM PAGE 13 4 Monday 12 December Chief Exec’s Staff Briefing Postgraduate Centre. Dr Gordon Coutts briefs senior managers who report to an associate director or similar. Key messages are then cascaded to all staff. If you do not receive the cascade, email [email protected] n Mon 12 Dec. 11am (Note change of date) Dates for 2012 are currently being decided. Go to intranet http://apollo (Info About > ‘B’ for Briefing). 4 Tuesday 13 December Windscreen safety checks Staff car park. Free windscreen check from Autoglass. See intranet for more details or call ext 6049. 4 13-15 December Christmas lunch at Senses restaurant Come and enjoy a feast of delicious dishes, with table service by the catering team. £12.50 each, payable by 7 December. To make a reservation for you or your party, contact Chrissy on 01206 742478 or email [email protected] 4 Thursday 22 December Monthly payday More information on the intranet. 4 January to April 2012 Public event! Members’ Council & Board of Directors meetings The Members’ Council works closely with the Board of Directors to influence decision-making and strategic planning. Local people and our staff are represented by their governors. n 19 Jan Members’ Council meeting in public n 16 Feb Board of Directors meeting in public n 12 Apr Members’ Council meeting in public Staff and the public are welcome to attend. Download the agenda and papers (with venue and time) from our website (look for Board Meetings under the About Us menu) or contact the FT Membership Office on 01206 742586. www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk Public event! 4 Tuesday 10 January Brain Tumour Support Group Postgraduate Medical Centre. See 8 December, page 13. 4 Christmas to New Year Bank holiday opening times The intranet keeps staff familiar with departments’ opening times on bank holidays. Departments can add information to it themselves. Christmas and New Year schedules all listed. Go to the intranet http://apollo Forums > Events > Bank holiday opening times. November 2011 | page 15 S taff who look after cancer patients at Essex County Hospital launched the Colchester Hospitals Charity’s (CoHoC) second Santa Fun Run this month. The 3km (1.86 miles) Santa Fun Run will start and finish near the bandstand in Colchester’s Castle Park on Sunday 11 December. Last year’s event attracted 115 runners who raised £6,000 in sponsorship which was used to buy a vital signs monitor for the Children’s Unit at Colchester General Hospital. The money raised this year will be used to support patients in the new cancer centre that is to be built at Colchester General Hospital. The event is being organised by Caroline Bates, CoHoC Fundraising Manager. “Five companies have generously agreed to sponsor the fun run which means that every penny raised will be used to help cancer patients,” she said. “We want more people to join in the fun so we can raise as much as possible. It’s open to children and adults of all ages and abilities.” Sir John Ashworth, Chairman of the CoHoC Committee, said: “CoHoC aims to make a difference to patient care at Colchester General Hospital and Essex County Hospital by providing the many extras that cannot be supplied by the NHS alone. “We want as many people as possible to sign up and have fun running, walking or strolling around the park.” The entry fee is £10 for adults (aged 16 and over), £5 for children aged 5-15 and £5 each for members Ho! Ho! Hospital! Staff who work with cancer patients launch Santa Fun Run of a team of at least 10. A limited number of people will be able to enter on the day for £20 each. Anyone raising £50 or more will have their entry fee refunded. Entry for the under-5s is free but everyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Adults will be given a Santa suit and children aged 5-15 a Santa hat. The 3km course is on hard surfaces. i Get an information pack or entry form from Caroline Bates (CoHoC), Fundraising Office, Villa 10. Call 01206 745282 or email: [email protected] Trust website: www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk Tweet: twitter.com/CoHoC_ Facebook: www.facebook.com/CoHoCharity The cast of Tendring District Council’s pantomime made a surprise visit to the Children’s Ward at Colchester General Hospital on Saturday 22 October. Performers from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs chatted to children, parents and staff. Children’s Services Fundraising Co-ordinator Graham Appleton said such visits are always a boost for the patients and their families. i Tickets available at: www.essex-live.co.uk Membership Helpline: 0800 0 51 51 43, weekdays 9.30am to 5pm. Email: [email protected] Freepost ANG 2707, Chief Executive, Colchester General Hospital, Colchester, CO4 5BR 4 EDITOR: Paul Searle, Head of Communications, 01206 742348. Send your photos, news or articles to: [email protected] 4 DISTRIBUTION: 2,000 copies delivered monthly to Trust sites (7,000+ to Public members in September, December, March & June). 4 ONLINE: Monthly at: www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk/mainstream.shtml 4 NEXT EDITION’S DEADLINE: 2 December by midday.