The Gazette June 2012

7/31/2019 The Gazette June 2012

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the

June 2012issue 28

oudly supported by

Take Thatstar opens

new childrens garden


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Trust news

Front cover shows Take Thats MarkOwen with former patient ChristianBlandford, whose family and friendshave raised large amounts of money forSt Georges Hospital Charity.

With thanks to Yusuf Ozkizil, Colin Wrenand Andy Gulland for their photographyservices.

the gazette is written and published by

the communications unit. The opinionsexpressed do not necessarily representthose of St Georges Healthcare NHSTrust. If you have a story for the gazette,please email: [email protected]

thegazette

3 A word from...

Miles Scott, chief executive

3 Trust news

5 Patient perspectiveMargaret Box,

Urology patient

6 Membership matters

St Georges Healthcare NHS

Trust: the next decade -

Members invited to help

shape our future

7 Living our values awards

8 Spotlight on

Hazel Gleed, emergency

planning and liaison ofcer

9 Going for gold -

Olympics special;Patient feedback

10 Patient safety;Past and

present

11 Top tips

12 Charity news

HIV tests in A&E aimto save livesPatients attending St Georges Accident and Emergency(A&E) department are being offered HIV tests this spring.

In the UK around 91,500 people are known to be living withHIV and the number of people diagnosed with HIV acquiredin the UK has doubled in the last 10 years. However, it is

also thought that around 25% of people infected with HIVare unaware of their condition.

The St Georges Hospital pilot, which targets patients aged18 to 65, aims to save lives by reducing the number ofcases of undiagnosed HIV. Testing will be offered to patientsattending A&E who are having routine blood tests.

Dr Melissa Hempling, consultant in emergency medicine,said: We carried out a pilot study in 2011 that showedroutine HIV tests in A&E can detect undiagnosed cases. Thisand other initiatives showed an increase in the diagnosis ofHIV outside a sexual health setting, and we hope to buildon this.

The testing is safe and reliable and only takes a minute.

The earlier you are diagnosed with HIV, the easier it is totreat, and the majority of people diagnosed early nowgo on to lead long and normal lives. People whose HIV isundiagnosed are not only more likely to become seriouslyill and die from the virus but can also infect other peoplewhile they are unaware of their condition.

RainbowTeam passes rst

year with fying colours

A tea party was held at St Georges thisApril to celebrate the rst anniversary o the

trusts Rainbow team.The team oers an enhanced service to

women with non-complex pregnancies.Expectant mothers are given the choice to havetheir appointments at home or at the hospital,

and also the option to have a home birth atany point during their pregnancy.The party was held in the Hyde Park

Room, with babies delivered by

the team attending withtheir parents.

New oodcampaign tacklesmalnutrition in thecommunity

The trusts community basednutrition and dietetic team hassigned up to a new schemeraising awareness of malnutritionin the UK.

Launched by the British DieteticAssociation in November 2011,the Mind the hunger gap:stamp out missing meals in theUK campaign aims to put thespotlight on levels of malnutritionamong older people.

It is estimated that over threemillion people in the UK are atrisk of malnutrition, with onemillion of those estimated to beolder people living in their ownhomes.

Heather Harmsen, communitydietitian, said: Malnutritioncan lead to poorer immuneresponses, reduced musclestrength, slow wound healingand depression. CommunityServices Wandsworth havesigned up to this campaign toput the spotlight on malnutrition.

We hope to provide specialiseddietary advice, support andtraining to create awarenessaround malnutrition incommunity care.

CONTENTS


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Trust news

A word from...

MILESSCOTTchief executive

Thank you to all o those readers whocontacted us to provide eedback on theMarch issue o the gazette. I am pleasedto say that our decision to widen thedistribution o the magazine to our publicmembers seems to have gone down welland provided an opportunity or readers tosuggest content ideas or uture issues.

In April the trust entered a new nancial

year, one in which we must continue to ocuson maintaining and improving our clinicaland nancial perormance. During 2011/12good progress was made in key areas,including the delivery o a 6 million surpluswhich will be invested in improving patientservices. The trust also met challengingtargets or inection control (including MRSAand C.di), cancer, the our-hour emergencyaccess and 18 week waiting time standards. Iwould like to congratulate sta rom acrossthe trust or their continued hard work onbehal o patients and while we should becareul not to rest on our laurels we shouldalso recognise what was a good year or St

Georges Healthcare.The June issue o the gazette looks at

areas o care where we are continuingto improve the patient experience andoutcomes, including the advancemento minimally invasive surgery to treatour cancer patients and looking towardsthe uture with the opening o our newchildrens garden. These achievements willhelp raise our game with patient treatment,and I look orward to building on thissuccess in the coming months.

This summer is set to be a trulyunorgettable year or the country. With

ewer than 100 days to go until the starto London 2012, this issue o the gazetteshines its own Olympic torch on some o themembers o sta who will be involved inthis global event through providing expertsupport, volunteering and even as part oTeam GB.

The celebrations will begin in June as anation comes together to mark the QueensDiamond Jubilee. St Georges Hospital has along association with the Royal Family romthe days when it was located at Hyde ParkCorner. Indeed Queen Elizabeth II ociallyopened the new hospital when it completed

its move to Tooting in 1980. Our past andpresent section this month looks in moredetail at the trusts links with the monarchy.

I hope you enjoy reading the gazette andwould welcome eedback you have via emailto [email protected].

Miles Scott, chie executive

Nursing and therapy staff atthe Wolfson on Thomas Youngneurorehabilitation ward at St GeorgesHospital are looking at the big pictureto help improve patient care.

Large laminated photographs ofequipment required to help withpatient mobility are placed above eachbed so that staff understand what kind

of assistance is required.Richard Sealy, principal therapistfor neurorehabilitation, said: Inthe past when we had the transferof patients with nursing staff, therewould sometimes be a degree ofmisunderstanding, and so we looked atways to address this.

We have lotsof pictures of theequipment that apatient may need fortheir transfers and whenmoving around. These

pictures are put up by thephysiotherapy team whenassessing patients, andare taken down by nurseswhen patients leave theward.

Mary Holland, sister forneurorehabilitation, said: The pictureswork really well, as staff know instantlythe needs of each patient. It also helpspatients understand their needs better,and leaves little room for mistakes.

It is a simple idea, is very cheapto do and has encouraged cohesionbetween the nursing and therapy teams.

The idea has been so successful thatit is now being trialled on the strokeunit at St Georges and a presentationon the scheme will be made at theEuropean Stroke Conference, whichtakes place in Lisbon during May.

Bigger picture improvespatient care

The LUCAS 2 is an automatedchest compression device that takesover the cardiac massage part ofcardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)when a patient goes into cardiacarrest. This allows clinicians to performemergency treatment quicker whichincreases the patients chance ofsurvival. St Georges is one of onlythree pioneering heart attack centres inLondon currently using the LUCAS 2.

Patient Cliff Daubney, from Surrey,was one of the rst patients at thehospital that the device was used on.He said: The care I have receivedfrom the team at St Georges has beenphenomenal. The nurses are wonderfuland have made me very comfortableduring my stay here. This machine is anamazing piece of equipment, and willhelp save the lives of many patients.

New technology is pushing theboundaries and saving lives

Patient Cliff Daubney withBreege Skefngton, seniorsister, coronary care unit

Heart patients treated at St Georges Hospital are

beneting from cutting-edge technology that is helpingclinicians to save the lives of those who have suffered a cardiac arrest.


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Trust news

St Georges Day celebrated across trust

Babies born at St Georges on23rd April were given a specialgift by trust staff to celebrate

their arrival; copies of thechildrens book Thats not mydragon

The books, kindly donated byUsborne Publishing, were givento all newborns to celebrate the

patron saint of England.

Rachel Watson (pictured right

with husband Adam and twinboys) gave birth to twin boys onGwillim Ward and was treatedto two copies of the book. She

said: We havent chosen namesfor them yet, but Im sure we can

include George somewhere!

The hospitals Ingredientsrestaurant also served a menuof English favourites, while theFriends of St Georges soldroses all day in the mainentrance foyer.

An audit by the Vascular Societyof Great Britain and Ireland hasshown St Georges has one ofthe lowest mortality rates in thecountry for abdominal aorticaneurysm (AAA) surgery.The audit, the rst of its kind,found that across a two-yearperiod, the mortality rate forpatients undergoing an operationto treat AAA was 0.8 per cent,

far lower than the averagemortality rate of 1.9 per centin hospitals that perform theprocedure regularly.AAA is a swelling in the aorta,the bodys biggest artery, whichcan rupture. Whilst it is much

rarer in women, the conditionaffects thousands of men everyyear in England and Wales.Ian Loftus, consultant vascularsurgeon, said: These gures area real achievement for the trust.As a specialist cardiovascularcentre we benet from havingsophisticated equipment andexperienced surgeons. Thestate of the art equipment here

enables us to repair an aorticaneurysm using keyhole surgery.The audit also showed that thenational average percentage offatalities from AAA surgery hadfallen signicantly, from 7.5 to2.4 per cent.

AAA surgery mortality rate lower thannational average

Sadly, Jasmine wasdiagnosed with acutemyeloid leukaemia lastyear and although sheresponded well to initialtreatment, relapsed inOctober 2011. During hertreatment she becamecritically ill and wastransferred to St GeorgesHospital Paediatric IntensiveCare Unit (PICU) in March.

Jasmines conditionstayed critical to the pointthat her prognosis wasextremely poor. ParentsLaura and Duncan weredesperately sad that theymay not be able to full herdream and so staff pulledtogether to see what mightbe possible.

Chaplain Claire Carsonarranged a licence for themarriage to happen inPICU. Other arrangementswere made by PICU staff

and the estates team forowers, photographs andmake-up for the bride,and a wedding breakfastwas provided by MITIE atvery short notice for thecouple and guests. Claire

conducted the ceremonyto marry Laura and Duncanand despite the criticalnature of Jasmines illnessthat day she was very muchinvolved in the service;holding her mummys handand her owers. Jasminesgrandma Elizabeth was alsopresent along with the bestman and matron of honour.Laura and Duncan wereamazed that arrangementswere able to be madeso quickly and, althoughvery worried by Jasminescondition, felt they couldnot have had a more specialservice.

Carol Kennelly, matronfor PICU, said: This wasthe rst wedding ceremonyto be conducted on PICUand had everyone feelingquite emotional. We wereso pleased to have beenable to support Jasmines

dream and extend our verybest wishes to the family.

The PICU team wouldlike to express their thanksto everyone who wasinvolved in organising thisspecial occasion.

Sta help make dreama reality or Jasmine

Every little girls dream is to be a bridesmaid!Three and a half year old Jasmine was due tohave that dream in October this year at herparents wedding.

Take That singer Mark Owen tooktime out o his busy schedule toocially open a new childrensgarden at St Georges Hospital onFriday 27th April. The singer, wholives in Wandsworth, met withpatients, parents and sta duringhis visit and also made time to goaround the childrens wards.

The childrens garden, unded by

donations to St Georges HospitalCharity, provides areas or play,rest, relaxation and learning.

It was designed using the ideaso young patients and includes avegetable patch and an animalenclosure. Mark provided an extra

special surprise by presenting acheque or 20,000 on behal othe Take That Trust.

Take Thatstaropens new

childrens gardenat St Georges

Mark with the Bellamy family: former patientJoseph, Megan and their mum Louise

Mark presents the cheque to RuthMeadows, divisional director of nursingand governance for children, women,therapies, diagnostics and critical care


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procedure. Currently only

a handful of hospitals areperforming this surgery in the UK.

There are many advantages

to robotic surgery, including lesstrauma to the patient which leadsto less blood loss and a fasterrecovery time. It also means a

shorter stay in hospital, reducedinfection risk and a faster returnto normal life.

Matthew Perry said: Margaret

is an incredible woman. She hasfaced up to her disease and the

treatments with an energy andpositive attitude throughout. Her

acceptance of chemotherapy,which potentially could haveaffected the nerves in her ngersand ears, and therefore impact on

her livelihood and love of music,

Patient perspective

Margaret Box,

UROLOGYPATIENTUrology patient Margaret Box isback to teaching music again aterundergoing innovative treatment orbladder cancer just over a year ago.

63-year-old Margaret was

diagnosed with bladdercancer in October 2010.After undergoing surgery at

St Georges Hospital to havethe tumour removed from herbladder in December 2010;doctors discovered that the

cancer had spread within herbladder.

Margaret and her husbandPhilip discussed the options

for treatment with MatthewPerry, consultant urologist,

who explained each course oftreatment in detail. Margaret

chose to have chemotherapyfollowed by a roboticcystectomy; which involves theremoval of all or part of the

bladder.

Margaret had no issues with

the idea of robotic surgery. Shesaid: Matthew very gentlyexplained the extent of myillness and the different coursesof action I could take. I didnt

have any reservations aboutthe type of procedure I wasgoing to have and, it was onlyafterwards, that I appreciated

just how innovative roboticsurgery for the treatment of thiscancer is!

Margaret is one of the

rst people at St Georgesto undergo a radical roboticcystectomy. This minimallyinvasive technique is an

alternative to the traditionalopen surgery that is usuallyused when performing this

was typical. Her willingness to

be one of the rst patients atSt Georges to undergo robotic

surgery for bladder canceragain shows her bravery and

forward thinking.After her operation

Margaret spent 12 days in

hospital and after ve days feltcomfortable enough to stop

taking painkillers. She has notneeded any since. She has

high praise for the level of careshe received from staff at St

Georges. She said: EveryoneI came into contact with during

my treatment was very friendlyand accommodating. The day I

was due to have my rst courseof chemo was a Friday, and asSaturdays are my busiest days

with students, I requested thatmy appointment be moved to a

Monday to make things easier.They did this straight away with

no hassle.

Margaret is an accomplishedmusician and a music teacherand spent some years playing

the ute for the Welsh Nationalopera and at festival ballets.

We performed 69 Nutcrackersin one season one year! sherecalls. Her speedy recovery

meant that she could go backto her ute and piano teaching

in just under two months aftersurgery.

She was also back on her

bike within ve weeks and sheand Philip were able to go ona cycle and camping holiday in

France.For more information about

bladder cancer please visit www.

actiononbladdercancer.org.

Margaret and urology consultant Matt Perry

Margaret and her husband Philip


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Membership mattersMembership matters

St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust:

THE NEXT DECADEMembers invited to help shape our utureMEMBERS EVENTSPlease note that booking is essential for all events. Contact020 8266 6132 or email [email protected] reserve your place.

All events, times and venues are subject to conrmation onbooking.

The trust is currently refreshing its corporate

strategy, which will set out our key prioritiesfor the next ten years. As part of thisprocess we would like to hear from our staffand members to engage with and generate

discussion around our objectives.

This is a time of great change in the NHS, both on anational and local level. Although we currently have a setof aims, it is important that we review them regularly tomake sure we are responding appropriately to the needsof our patients and staff.

We want to make sure we are delivering on thefollowing aims:

patients want to be cared for here

GPs want to refer their patients to one of the trustsservices

staff are proud to work at the trust

trainees want to come and learn here

As an aspiring foundation trust, it is important that weinvolve our members more in the processes that shapeour healthcare services. We want to discuss our emergingstrategic aims with our staff and members over thecoming months.

The trust will be holding two meetings for our memberson the following date:

Monday 25th June

14.30 15.30hrsJohn Parker Lecture Theatre, ground oor,Atkinson Morley Wing

18.30 19.30hrsLecture Theatre A, ground oor, Grosvenor Wing

It is important for members and staff to attend one ofthese meetings if you have any comments to make onthe trusts strategy. Your input would be greatly valuedand will inform our decisions as we move towards acrucial phase in the future of the trust.

If you are not able to attend either of these meetings,

but would like to feed in your views, you can contactKaren Larcombe, programme director, via email: [email protected] or by post: Karen Larcombe,programme director, Room 21, First oor GrosvenorWing, St Georges Hospital, Blackshaw Road, Tooting,SW17 0QT for a copy of the feedback form.

Keeping to the beat: sports cardiology and London 2012

Presented by Proessor Sanjay Sharma, consultantcardiologist, medical director or the London Marathon andcardiologist or the London 2012 Olympic Games

Wednesday 30th May14.30-15.30hrs Michael Heron Lecture Theatre, 1st foor,

Hunter Wing

19.00-20.00hrs Lecture Theatre F, 1st foor, Hunter Wing

Sanjay is featured in our Olympics special article on page 9.

Learning to live with breast cancer Wednesday 13th June

12.15-13.15hrs Seminar room, the Rose Centre

The next decade: St Georges Healthcare corporate strategy

Monday 25th June14.30-15.30hrs John Parker Lecture Theatre, ground foor,

Atkinson Morley Wing

18.30-19.30hrs Lecture Theatre A, ground foor,Grosvenor Wing

Big bangs, rising tides and the Olympics: emergency planningat St GeorgesPresented by Hazel Gleed, emergency planning and liaisonocer Wednesday 27th June

14.30-15.30hrs Lecture Theatre F, 1st foor, Hunter Wing19.00-20.00hrs Lecture Theatre F, 1st foor, Hunter Wing

Hazel is featured in our spotlight piece on page 8.

Events a successwith membersOver 50 members attended theRose Centre in April to hearan expert presentation fromEvelyn Smith, clinical nursespecialist on breast screening.

Members (pictured) alsoattended a heritage tour ofSt Georges and theneighbouring university,

highlighting the rich historyshared by both institutions.Future events are listed in

the Members Events box.To reserve your place pleasecontact the membership ofce.


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LIVING OUR VALUES AWARDS:

MEMBERS ASKED TOCHOOSE OVERALLAWARD WINNERSThe trusts Livingour values awardsscheme recognisesindividual staff andteams who embody

the values of Excellent,Kind, Responsibleand Respectful. Theawards, supported bySt Georges HospitalCharity, are made fourtimes a year with thewinners proled in thegazette.

As we work towardsachieving foundationtrust status so wewould like to involveour public members inchoosing the overallLiving our valuesindividual and teamaward winners for2011/12.

The July issue of thegazette will includeproles of all thewinners from 2011/12together with detailsof how to vote for theoverall individual andteam winners.

Membership matters

Trust Values

Underpinning the trusts four values are a set of principles which staff areexpected to show towards patients, visitors and other members of staff.

excellent kind

responsible respectful

Look after our patients as wewould like to be looked afterourselves

Set ourselves high standards andbe open to new ideas

Be professional in our approach

and in our appearance Promote and share best practice

Anticipate and respond to patientsand carers concerns and worries

Support each other under pressureand consider the impact of ouractions on others

Help people nd their way if

they look unsure or lost Smile, listen and be friendly

Have patient safety as our primeconsideration

Be responsible for ensuring goodpatient experience

Use resources wisely Challenge poor behaviour in others Learn from experience including our

mistakes Say sorry when things go wrong

Keep patients, families and carersinvolved and informed

Protect patients dignity andcondentiality

Wear our name badges, introduceourselves and address people in aprofessional manner

Respect colleagues roles in patientcare and experience

Value and understand the diversityof those around us

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Spotlight on...

HAZELGLEED,emergencyplanningand liaisonocerWhat is an emergencyplanning and liaison ocer?The emergency planning andliaison ofcer (EPLO) is chargedwith, on behalf of the chiefexecutive and alongside keycolleagues, ensuring that theorganisation can full its legalresponsibilities as set out in theCivil Contingencies Act 2004.

In practice, this means thatwe have to be able to treatand care for patients that arebrought to us following amajor incident such as a traincrash or a bombing. Or duringan internal incident such asooding or a power failure

it means we would need tokeep our services runningappropriately and safely duringthis time. When incidents dooccur, the EPLO helps ensurethat plans are implementedand helps identify lessons andactions that will improve ourresponse in future incidents.

What do you do in your rolespecically or the trust?As the EPLO, I am a team of oneor a team of 8,000 whichever

way you want to look at it! Iprefer the latter, as I could notbe successful in my role withoutthe time, help and support ofeveryone else around the trust.

I work with colleagues acrossthe trust to help ensure that theplans we write are practical andfeasible, that people understandtheir roles and have access totraining and an opportunity topractise their roles before theirskills are tested out in a realincident!

I also work with colleagues inpartner organisations includingthe ambulance, re and policeservices, local council and otherNHS organisations to ensurethat our plans align with each

other. We map, test andexercise our plans togetherand this helps us understandhow each others organisationswork and improves the workingrelationships.

Describe a typical day or

you.I know its a clich, but therereally is no typical day! Somedays I am supporting colleagueson various projects, for examplethe lift refurbishment projects,and others are spent developingand delivering training orbeing trained. I attend manymeetings as part of the internaland external governance ofemergency planning and amsometimes found at my deskdeveloping or updating plans. A

few days are inevitably spent onhelping support real incidentsand events like the London riotsor public sector industrial actionday last year.

How long have you been atthe trust?I have been at St Georgessince 2002 and have workedin a number of departmentsincluding radiology, generalmedicine and surgery. I havebeen in the EPLO role for three

years now, having started justas the inuenza pandemicH1N1 in 2009 was declared.

Best aspects o your role?I love the variety. There are awide range of projects that

require business continuity oremergency planning input, aswell as the core functions ofmy role that need to be done.My job is never nished; thereis always a planning gap orrisk to be covered, a plan tobe updated, new staff to train,

new challenges being identiedand improvements to be made.

More challenging aspects oyour role?There is always the challengeof engaging people wheneveryone has so much else tothink about! Most emergencyplanning work is best donein the calm before the storm,rather in the middle of thestorm itself, and identifyingthe lessons and getting the

actions completed afterwards isimportant too.

What is the biggest incidentyou have worked on?It depends how you describebig! The inuenza pandemicof 2009 was denitely thelongest incident as it ran intomonths.

The forthcoming London 2012Olympic Games is the largestsporting event in the world andis going to be on our doorstep

for the summer!

Key issues or people to thinkabout now?Coming up imminently is theQueens Jubilee which willrequire some planning and a bit

of thinking for anyone workingor planning to travel thatweekend.

However the Olympic Games,which will dominate thesummer here in London, isdenitely the key issue forpeople to think about! We

know that the as part of theOlympic bid, London promisedthat the NHS would deliverbusiness as usual, and so weare working hard to raiseawareness with our patientsand staff to ensure that theyare all aware of the potentialimpacts, particularly in relationto travel times to and from ourhealthcare sites.

What do you do in yourspare time?

I dont have a huge amount oftime to truly call my own. I tryand pick up my children fromschool and spend time withmy family. I am also a parentgovernor at my local primaryschool. I recently ran theLondon Marathon 2012 forSt Georges Charity, raisingmoney for paediatricemergency department whichI have used on numerousoccasions! I ran a time of 4hr46mins which

I was prettychuffedwith!

Hazel will berunning a membersevent on emergency

planning at St Georgeson 27th June.

For more information,visit page 6.


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Going or gold -

OLYMPICS SPECIALWith less than 100 days until the London 2012Olympic Games begin, the gazette speaks tostaff members who will be closely involved in theworlds biggest sporting event.

Abi Walker, core trainee 1 (CT1) insurgery, is hoping to be part of the TeamGB Hockey squad at the Games

I decided to take a career breakat the beginning of the year to focuson training for the Olympics, and wecurrently train ve days per week. I ndout in mid-May if I have been selected forthe team.

Being the host country gives us an amazingopportunity, and will hopefully be a big advantage to us in thecompetition. We have ve group matches to begin with, and if weplay well I think we have a real chance of winning a medal.

Sanjay Sharma, consultantcardiologist, is lead cardiologist forthe Games and lead clinician for themarathon, triathlon, long distancecycling, long distance swimming andthe 20k m walk

As well as being lead clinician

for six events, I will head a team ofsix cardiologists supporting variouspolyclinics in the Olympic village to carefor athletes and spectators with potentialcardiac problems.

I am very excited about the Olympics comingto London. It will be a fantastic opportunity toraise awareness of the benets of exercise andsport amongst our youth.

James Armian, communications ofcer,will be a Games Maker at London 2012

I will be based at Wimbledon for thetennis event. As a Games Maker, I willbe one of over 70,000 volunteers whohave applied to be part of one of thebiggest events in the world.

The application and training processhas taken nearly two years, and being soclose to the Games now is really exciting.I am counting down the days to the openingceremony!

Travel advice for patients and staff

London will be much busier than usual during the OlympicGames period which means that journeys will take longer.

The Olympic Games period runs rom Monday 16th July toSunday 16th September 2012.

Sta and patients are encouraged to check their route beoretravelling to ensure they leave enough time to get here.

You can check your route on the Get Ahead o the Gameswebsite: www.getaheadothegames.com or by using anyother travel inormation source.

Patient feedback...

Every year the trust caresfor more than 800,000

patients and many ofthose patients take thetime to write and expresstheir thanks. In everyedition of the gazettewe publish a selection of

those letters.

FAO staff ofCheselden Ward andmaxillofacial team

This is just a brie line

to thank the sta oCheselden ward or theirgood humour, care andattention to me over thepast week.

And o course my thanksare especially due to themaxilloacial team whomanaged expeditiouslyand eciently to repairthe damage I hadinficted upon my ace.

FAO James HopeWard

Thank you or theproessional andecient treatment that Ireceived rom your staat James Hope ward. Iwas a day patient andcould not ault thecare and considerationshown to me by yourvery committed sta. Iwould like to particularlymention sta nurseVictoria Davies wholooked ater me duringthe day.

Dr Usha Prasad, theconsultant cardiologistand her team need to becongratulated or theirexpertise and genuinecare o patients. I ampleased to sing their well-deserved praises, and amvery thankul.

FAO oncology

I should like to

congratulate you onone o your sta, SarahHenderson. I have been acancer patient or manyyears, and although thereare good cancer nursesand doctors, Sarah isoutstanding. When Imbeing seen by her in theclinic I eel privileged.Please give her a pat onthe back as she deservesto eel good abouthersel. I wish all the

nursing sta were SarahHendersons!

FAO gynaecologyand day surgery

Following a diagnosis obreast cancer two yearsago I was advised toundergo genetic testingwhich revealed I carriedthe aulty BRCA2 gene.Since then I have beenunder the gynaecology

department havingregular screening orovarian cancer.

I was admitted to the daysurgery unit in Januaryor an operation toremove both ovaries andtubes conducted by MrHayes to reduce my risko developing ovariancancer.

I am so grateul orthe care and expertise

Mr Hayes and his teamhave shown during myvisits to his clinic orscreening, and also ormy operation. On the dayo the operation I was sowell looked ater by thesta at the day surgeryunit.

From the nurse thatlooked ater me beoreand ater surgery, to thetalented team in the

operating theatre, I reallycannot express enoughhow much I appreciatedtheir kindness and care.

Sanjaywill be running

a members eventon sport cardiologyand London 2012 on30th May. For moreinformation, visit

page 6.


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Patient safety...

MEDICALRECORDSmaintaining ahigh standardHealth records are one of the mostimportant elements in hospitalmedicine.

The information contained inthe record, such as written notes,referral letters, printed resultson investigations and tests anddocumented communicationbetween patients and clinical staffserves as a central store for planningpatient care. It is therefore crucial

that health records are kept up-to-date and that all aspects of a patientscare is documented in their record.

Healthcare staff have both aprofessional and legal duty tomaintain high quality health records.A simple mnemonic, CIA, can helpstaff remember that entries shouldbe:

Clear

Intelligible

Accurate

Dr Richard Lau, chair of the Health

Records Committee, said: Goodrecord keeping is essential for clinicalaudit and patient safety. It shouldillustrate a continuity of care betweendifferent clinical teams, showinghow and why clinical decisions weremade.

While future developments inIT will make inroads in providing uswith electronic health records, theemphasis on accurate record keepingremains crucial to the ongoing careof patients.

Did you know?

Over 500,000 records are storedat libraries within the trust, witharound one million records inoffsite storage

The number of records out onloan at any one time due tooutpatient and inpatient activityis in the region of 15,000. Itis therefore crucial that healthrecords are tracked across the trustas they are taken to clinics andwards

The Department of Health sets outguidance on how long a healthrecord should be kept for andstates that records should notordinarily be kept for longer than30 years

Celebrating our royal connectionsPast and Present

In celebration of theQueens DiamondJubilee past andpresent reects onSt Georges linkswith the monarchy

St Georges is one ofthe oldest hospitalsin London. Originallyfounded in 1733, it was

based for 250 years atLanesborough House,now the LanesboroughHotel, on Hyde ParkCorner. Throughout the18th and 19th centuries,St Georges establisheditself as a leading teachinghospital, and many of itsdoctors - such as EdwardJenner - became famousin the history of scienceand medicine for theiradvances.

The Lanesborough sitegradually expanded asmedicine advanced, andthe rst lecture in the newMedical School was givenin 1803.

As the decades wentby and demand for morebeds, more staff and morespace grew, it becameclear that St Georgesneeded to nd a new site.

The Grove Fever Hospitalsite in Tooting was chosenin 1950. Services grewslowly on the new site,but it was not until 1973that the building of StGeorges as we now knowit began and graduallyblocks were added to boththe medical school andhospital, including the rstward block, LanesboroughWing, in 1980.

In November 1980,the Queen was invitedto ofcially open the StGeorges Hospital andMedical School site inTooting. She was given atour of the hospital andmet patients and staff onthe wards. In her speechshe acknowledged thatshe would miss havingher own hospital at the

bottom of her garden.Today, St GeorgesHospital is part of thewider St GeorgesHealthcare family which,as well as acute hospitalservices, provides a widevariety of specialist andcommunity hospital basedcare and a full range ofcommunity services tochildren, adults, olderpeople and people withlearning disabilities.

Crown copyright: UK Government Art Collection.

The Coronation Procession passing St Georges Hospital by Osbert Lancaster


11/12

theg

azette

11

UNATTENDED APPOINTMENTS COST TIME AND MONEY

Did you know that patients

who do not call to cancel anappointment cost the trust

over 6m a year?

Top tips

Cholesterol is a typeof fat found in thebody and used fora whole number ofbodily functions. PaulCollinson, consultantchemical pathologist,tells us how importantcholesterol is in ourdaily lives.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is present in all ofthe cells of your body. It keepsyou waterproof. If you hadno cholesterol in your body,you would simply be a puddleon the oor. It is also used tomake a number of importantchemicals in the body calledhormones, which are requiredto live healthily.

Where does cholesterolcome from?

Because it is so important,

cholesterol comes from two

sources. Our bodies make it

in the liver, but you also nd

cholesterol in everything youeat.

Cholesterol is found in animal

food, mainly in dairy food

such as milk, cheese, butter,

yoghurt and so on, but can

also be found in domestic

animals such as cows, pigs

and sheep.

The legs test

When you want to assess

food for the amount of

cholesterol it contains, aquestion you can ask is How

many legs does it have? The

general rule is the less legs a

food has the less cholesterol

it contains. You can also applythis to other foods such ascheese, coming originally fromcows. Foods with no legscontain no cholesterol.

Why is cholesterolimportant?

A very high level of cholesterolin the blood gives you a veryhigh risk of having a heartattack or a stroke. However,it is not as simple as this,because cholesterol is foundin the blood in a number offorms.There is a good form ofcholesterol called high-density lipoprotetin, or HDL.This protects against heartattacks and strokes. HDL canbe increased by exercise oralcohol in moderation.There is also a bad form ofcholesterol called low-density

lipoprotein, or LDL. If LDLlevels are high, you are moreprone to risk from a heartattack or stroke.

What should you do about

cholesterol?It is important that you knowwhat your cholesterol levelis. Doctors carry out healthchecks, which will includemeasuring your cholesterollevels.You should also try andmaintain a healthy lifestylethrough eating enough fruitand vegetables and exercisingregularly.

For more advice on cholesteroland maintaining a healthylifestyle, please visit: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Healthyhearts/Pages/Cholesterol.aspx

All you need to know about... cholesterol

Not attending anappointment alsomeans that otherpatients who couldhave used that slot

have to wait longerfor their appointment.Patients who did notattend (DNA) may alsohave to be referredback to the care oftheir GP and thenneed to be re-referredinto the trust, causingfurther delay to theirtreatment.

The trust has done a greatdeal in recent years to try andreduce DNA rates. Text andvoicemail reminders are usedto remind patients of theirappointments. These are sentat both 28 and seven days prior

to the appointment. The 28days reminder allows patientsto cancel their appointment ifnecessary and for that slot tobe re-used for another patient.The seven day reminder actsas a nal reminder for theappointment.

Appointments can becancelled by calling 020 87250007 (new appointments) or020 8725 3000 (follow-upappointments). Where possible,patients are encouraged to

give as much notice asthey are able to of theircancellations althoughpatients who cancel theirappointment more thanonce may also be referredback to the care of their GP(subject to circumstance).

Patients

can also help thetrust by ensuring that

we have current contactnumbers. Our clinic stawill be happy to updatepatient details either via

the contact numbersprovided or in

clinic.


12/12

Fundraising

London Marathoncharity runnersWe would like to say a big thankyou to all of our runners and their

sponsors for supporting St GeorgesHospital Charity at this years VirginLondon Marathon.

We had a team of 12 runnerstaking part to raise money andcreate awareness for the charity.Two members of St Georges staffwere there with gold bond places:Hazel Gleed, emergency planningand liaison ofcer, and Sophie Guse,paediatric ICU staff nurse; both ofwhom have had fantastic supportfrom colleagues, friends and familyand are both raising money to

benet childrens services atSt Georges. If you would like tosupport them or to apply for yourown place with the Charity next year,please visit www.givingtogeorges.org.uk or contact the fundraisingteam: [email protected] or 020 8725 4916.

A selection o St Georges

Hospital Charitys nest

local supporters were

honoured by the Mayor o

Wandsworth in March.

Cllr Jane Cooper hosted

an evening reception ora dozen people who have

gone the extra mile or

St Georges.

From security guards

giving up their ree time, to

members o sta running

marathons, cycling rom

London to Paris, throwing

themselves rom planes,

to leading lights in the

local community, this

was an opportunity or

Wandsworths Mayorto award her medal or

people who work without

reward or the benet o

their community.

It was particularly

betting because

St Georges Hospital Charity

is one o the Mayors

charities o the year.

Pictured with the Mayor

in the back row rom let

to right are: Terry Wynn,

Alan Thorne, Keith Ellis,Neil Dowden, Colin Davies,

Barry Milligan, Jenny Tasker

and in the ront row rom

let to right: Teresa Allison,

Sam Ridge, Hazel Gleed, Dr

Samira Wahid, Kate Allan.

Celebrating some o St Georges nest!

The Bolingbroke Hospital:a view backwardsArts St Georges (formerlyknown as Arts for theTeaching and HealingEnvironment) and StGeorges Hospital Charityare pleased to announcea contemporary exhibitionof new art inspired by thereminiscence programmethat took place at theBolingbroke Hospital duringthe 1980s.

The exhibition takes place

at Contemporary AppliedArts, 2 Percy Street,London, W1T 1DD from15 June until 21 July. Thenearest Undergroundstations are Goodge Streetand Tottenham Court Road.

During its 128 yearhistory, the BolingbrokeHospital expanded andre-inventeditself manytimes. It wasindependent-

minded,dedicated toexcellence andrenowned forthe dignity it

showed to the older peoplein its care. During the 1980sstaff and Friends of theBolingbroke Hospital starteda reminiscence programme.Its diverse objects usedto trigger memories eventually found their wayto artists, three of whomwere then asked to createnew work for this exhibition.

The artists are Julie Arkell,Penelope Batley and Shelly

Goldsmith. The exhibitionalso boasts a selection ofinterior photographs byJason Oddy, which havebeen hung along the 1stoor corridor in AtkinsonMorley Wing.

The exhibition is free andopen to all.

Martine McCutcheon raises30,000 or First TouchAward-winning actress Martine McCutcheon won30,000 for First Touch on the ITV game showAll Star Family Fortunes on Sunday 29th April.

Martine and her anc Jack McManus are patrons of First Touch,which supports premature and sick babies, their families and thestaff who care for them in the neonatal unit at St Georges Hospital.The couple competed with three other family members to win thegrand prize.

Sarah Collins, charity manager for First Touch, said: We aredelighted with this massive donation to our cause. The money willbe put towards buying essential medical equipment for the babiesat the neonatal unit.

Winning team: Martine (far right) with Jack and her family

Documents

The Gazette June 2012