Mar 18, 2014 - Civil Engineering from Leeds University, and where he completed a PhD in Fluid Mechanics. He joined IBM i
March 2014 Issue 24
NewsLink
Governors’ Quarterly Newsletter
Nick Marsden Joins As Chairman Dr Nick Marsden has joined the Trust as Chairman, replacing Luke March who completed his term of office at the end of 2013. Nick has considerable NHS experience having come from University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) where he was a Non-Executive Director and Vice Chairman.
Nick started his career as a consulting engineer having graduated with first class honours in Civil Engineering from Leeds University, and where he completed a PhD in Fluid Mechanics. He joined IBM in 1977 where he held several senior executive roles before becoming a member of the European Executive Board and subsequently as Senior Vice President for Service at Danka Europe. Having joined UHS in 2007, Nick focused on strategy and business performance, and had a particular interest in business development and information technology. He was appointed Vice Chairman in 2011. “I know that the hospital has an excellent reputation with high standards of patient care and tremendous support and interest from the local community” he said. “It also has a strong and experienced Board, dedicated governors and highly committed staff who work hard to deliver the very best care that they can for their patients. I’m delighted to have the opportunity of taking on the role of Chairman and leading the Board and the organisation through the challenges that we face now and in the future.”
Staff Celebrate Hospital’s 21st Birthday As part of the 21st anniversary of the opening of the main building at Salisbury District Hospital, over 300 staff, past and present, came along to take an informal look at the history of healthcare in Salisbury and joined Chief Executive, Peter Hill (pictured front right) and Chairman, Nick Marsden in a toast to the future success of the hospital. There was also a ‘celebratory’ menu card for patients and visitors in Springs Restaurant to mark the day. The 22 January 1993 was the date of the completion of the transfer to the new building of acute and elderly services from the Salisbury General Infirmary, Newbridge Hospital plus services already located on the Odstock site to the new hospital. Peter Hill, said: "This was a wonderful day with so many members of staff past and present coming along to see the wide range of photographs, videos and memorabilia from the current day, right back to the early days of healthcare in Salisbury.“ “I believe that Salisbury is a very special place to work and, while this gave us an opportunity to look back on past achievements, it also gave us a chance to celebrate the hospital of today and look forward to future success.”
Thank You And Farewell To Luke March And Tracey Nutter In December the Council of Governors said farewell to Luke March. Luke came to Salisbury District Hospital in 2004. He guided the hospital through to NHS Foundation Trust status and his leadership, dedication and knowledge has been pivotal to the success of the hospital and the Trust over the last nine years. He is pictured with the illustrations by his favourite local artist, showing Salisbury Cathedral which was a present from the Governors. Farewell too to Tracey Nutter, who has been appointed as Director of Nursing at Poole Hospital and leaves us on 31 March. Since joining us in April 2003 from Southampton, Tracey has played a key role in the development of the organisation over the last 10 years as our Director of Nursing. Her knowledge and experience has ensured that the Trust continues to remain in the forefront on key areas of nursing, safety and patient care within the region. 1
Blue Plates Help Older People In Hospital The trial use of coloured crockery on Winterslow Ward has increased the amount of food eaten by older patients in hospital, in particular those with dementia. The move follows a three week pilot study involving older hospital patients on two wards – one which used blue plates, the other white. The food was weighed before and after mealtimes and almost a third more food was eaten by patients who had blue plates. “As the pilot went so well on the elderly care ward, we kept using blue crockery for all these patients,” said Ian Robinson, Head of Services. “We will now look to see whether other patient groups could benefit from this initiative.” Coloured crockery is one of a number of initiatives the hospital has introduced to help elderly people at mealtimes. Older patients now have pictorial menus and finger foods. Mealtime volunteers also provide additional support for people who need help to eat and drink.
Changes To General Wards To Support Dementia Care Major changes have been made to the layout and decoration on Redlynch Ward that will provide calmer and more relaxing surroundings for patients with dementia and help with their care, wellbeing and orientation while in hospital. They include the refurbishment of bedrooms, day, dining and reception areas with colour and lighting, non reflective surfaces, artwork and furnishing to create a calming, homely feel that helps with mood and orientation around the ward. There are also more areas for social interaction away from the bedside. “While someone who is admitted to hospital may have dementia, their prime reason for admission could be anything from a broken limb to another unrelated medical condition which will mean that they need to be cared for in general or specialist areas,” said Tracey Nutter, Director of Nursing. “Over the years we’ve introduced a number of groundbreaking initiatives that help provide additional support for patients with dementia throughout the hospital, but the general ward environment could be improved to provide more calm and sensitive surroundings.” The changes to Redlynch Ward are part of a wider programme to improve general wards over the next few years, and follows £800,000 funding from the Department of Health and an additional £250,000 from the Trust’s capital funds.
Geneticists Awarded Grant to Further Research Top class research by geneticists in the Wessex Regional Genetics Laboratory (WRGL) has attracted a further grant of £1.3 million from Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, to continue their groundbreaking work into a group of blood disorders called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). The team in Salisbury is leading the five year project which aims to get a better understanding of how these disorders develop, how they transform to full-blown leukaemia, and how they can be treated. Professor Nick Cross, Director of WRGL said: “Around 3,300 people are diagnosed with MPN in the UK every year and most people who develop it are aged 50 and over. We have worked for a number of years looking at these blood disorders and have Left to right; Dr Andrew Chase, Professor identified several important genes that contribute to the Nick Cross; Paula Aranaz and William Leung development of the diseases. Using state-of-the-art technology known as next-generation DNA sequencing, we will study the genetic changes that occur within cells that lead to leukaemia which will help develop new targeted drugs that can seek out and destroy MPN cells in the blood.” 2
Volunteers Needed To Expand Social Stimulation Psychologists are expanding their award-winning Engage programme and are looking for more volunteers to help provide social stimulation for older people in hospital. Volunteers provide support for patients during their hospital stay by visiting different wards and sitting with the patients, talking to them and using techniques such as quizzes, discussion groups and memory games that help keep patients motivated. The project initially started in two areas, but has proved so successful Tora Mathias-Jones with Alan Morton. that it is now being used on 12 wards. Long term spinal patients can also
“All our volunteers find the work that they are doing with older patients benefit from this programme. very rewarding and this really is a marvellous opportunity for people who are interested in working with us and helping our patients,” said psychology co-ordinator, Tora Mathias -Jones. If people are interested in becoming a volunteer they can contact Tora on 01722 425105 or email her at
[email protected]
Patient And Public Involvement Recognised With Leadership Award Maggie Cherry, Head of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), has been awarded a regional award from the NHS Leadership Academy in recognition for the way in which patients and local people are involved in the development of local health services. Over the last 11 years around 400 PPI projects have helped improve patients’ experiences of hospital care and ensure that people’s views and ideas are used in the redevelopment and redesign of services. Maggie Cherry said: “In many ways Salisbury is in the forefront when it comes to patient and public involvement, and this award reflects the breadth and quality of the work that our staff do with our patients across the hospital. Our patients instinctively know what works best for them, so it’s only right that we use every opportunity to gather their views and use these to improve our services for them”.
Salisbury Maternity Services Rated Highly New mothers have rated the quality of care and level of support they receive highly in an independent Care Quality Commission survey of NHS maternity units. The survey looked at women’s experiences of labour and birth, staff and care in hospital after birth. When compared with all 137 providers of maternity services, the Trust received the highest score in the country over these categories. Fiona Coker, Head of Midwifery and Neonatal Services, said: “Women’s views are very important to us and the treatment of women in labour, respect and dignity and involving women in all decisions about their care came through strongly in the survey.” “However, we are not complacent and we will continue to strive for improvements wherever we feel we can. For instance, by offering more choices to women around the place of birth, and this will be something we will be working on in the near future.” Mrs Coker added: “Our staff work hard to provide the very best experience that they can, and these results should give women and their partners confidence in our ability to meet their needs during the pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care.” Elections Coming up: the Salisbury City, South Wiltshire Rural and North Dorset Constituencies elections are coming up in the spring. Please remember to vote; further details will be sent nearer the time. Dates for your Diary: Medicine for Members Lectures Colorectal Cancer—12th March, 5.30pm Diabetes—16th April, 5.30pm Interventional Radiology—15th October, 5.30pm Breast Care—11th November, 5.30pm All lectures take place in the Lecture Theatre on level 5. To book your place please call Isabel Cardoso on 01722 429390 or email
[email protected]. 3
Salisbury District Hospital 21st Anniversary Open Day Saturday, 5 April 2014 Level 3 & 5, Salisbury District Hospital (SDH) This year marks 21 years since the opening of the new main hospital building at Salisbury District Hospital. This saw the transfer of our acute and elderly services from the Salisbury General Infirmary, Newbridge Hospital, plus services already located on the Odstock site. As part of our celebrations we are holding an open day for our Foundation Trust members. Members have a choice of either or both of the following: A structured group tour which incorporates 3 or 4 interactive activities on level 3. around 40 minutes and members will need to book selected slots.
This will take
A viewing of displays showcasing the work of a number of hospital departments on level 5. As this is a working hospital unfortunately numbers will need to be restricted, and attendance will be strictly on a first come first served basis for both elements of the open day. For further details of tour times and to book a place, or to register attendance to the level 5 viewing of displays please contact Isabel Cardoso, Membership Manager on 01722 429390.
Governors’ Corner Healthcare Scientists It takes a whole range of people to treat you if you are attending hospital. The doctors and nurses are there in the front line – making a diagnosis, looking after you in the clinic or ward, and giving you the drugs you were prescribed. But almost none of this activity would be possible without the work of their support staff. Some you may be familiar with the following – if you can’t hear properly, your ears would be tested by an audiology technician; if you have had pains in your chest, you might have an ECG performed by a cardiac technician; these are just some of the clinical scientists. However if you have a sample of blood taken for tests, it disappears into a laboratory run by the lab scientists, and what reappears is a set of lab results – reporting your blood chemistry. These will tell your doctor of the minerals in your blood such as sodium, potassium and iron. Also the proteins such as those that make our blood clot, or build our muscles; and the cells in our blood – the red ones that carry oxygen and the white ones that cope with infections. If you have to have a piece of tissue removed it is very important to know what it is. Appearance is important of course – but that doesn’t necessarily tell us all we need to know. Is that itchy mole you had removed a cancer? The pathology scientists will examine it and make their report. We have an excellent Medical Physics Department working on devices such as nerve stimulators to help foot drop. This awkward condition means that the foot cannot be lifted properly, and so patients drag their feet. By using electrodes to stimulate nerves, the foot can be made to lift at the right moment in a pace. Very neat! In addition to those examples of ‘traditional’ science, there are the newer specialties such as maxillofacial science (reconstructing skulls and jaws), embryology, laser and genetics. We have a number of specialist units here in Salisbury, and our Genetics Unit is of worldwide fame. Healthcare science (HCS) is a rewarding profession. There is a common training programme, taking school leavers through to university and on to hospital training placements. In total we have about 200 healthcare scientists working with the clinical staff to investigate and help treat patients. It’s an expanding and fascinating profession, vital to today’s medicine. 14-23 March is Healthcare Science week, during which parents and students can learn about the various roles played by scientists in patients’ lives, and in Salisbury District Hospital on Tuesday 18 March there will be a display in Springs Restaurant, with staff on hand to answer questions. Alastair Lack South Wiltshire Rural Governor
This document is available in large print, audio tape or another language on request.
LET US KNOW…. Please feel free to get in touch with your Governor, and tell us your thoughts about the hospital. All you have to do is email us by going onto our Website: www.salisbury.nhs.uk, click on the Foundation icon, and then Council of Governors. Once there, choose the Governor who represents your constituency, or contact us by post at the following address, Salisbury District Hospital, Trust Offices, Odstock Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 8BJ. To help with our costs, where possible we would like to send this newsletter by email in the future. If you are happy to receive it this way, please contact Isabel Cardoso at:
[email protected], or on tel: 01722 429390, with your email address. 4
