News from The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

THe PulseIssue 136 Spring 2014

New children’s menuNutritioNally balaNced with

childreN’s tastes iN miNd

Shaping care in North West London

latest updates

The Pulse

the pulseSpring 2014

Issue 136

2 The Pulse

Produced by:The Communications Departmentemail: neena.shah@thh.nhs.uk

Print: Streamline Your Print

Contributing photographer: Isabelle Plasschaert

THIS ISSUE

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Who’s whoThe Pulse magazine is for our patients, local people, staff and members of The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Copies can be picked up from the Trust and downloaded from our website www.thh.nhs.uk.

Follow us @HillingdonNHSFT

contents

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A word from shaneOur Chief executive looks at priorities for 2014

shaping care in North West londonReviewing the proposed changes

Bevan ward donationPatients benefit from fundraising

Mount Vernon Comforts FundOver £100,000 raised in 2013

Think before you visit A&eUnderstanding the best route for care

World Prematurity Day Mayor meets patients and staff

Weekend performanceImprovements commended by Dr Foster

CARes valuesTrust in the running for two national awards

Diabieties DayStaff work to raise awareness

Typhoon appealStaff collect donations for the Philippines

New children’s menuCatering for young patients

Friends and Family TestResponses help to improve care

Christmas hits all the right notesevents and perfomances throughout the Trust

QPR stars visit childrenPlayers meet patients and their families

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www.thh.nhs.uk

a word from shane

WELCOME

shane deGarisChief executive

The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Chief executive shane DeGaris

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Shane talks to a patient during a ward visit

We are still in the early weeks of 2014 and this is

a good opportunity to consider the Trust’s priorities for the year ahead.

Patient experience remains very much top of the agenda underpinned by quality and safety. I am pleased to say that we are making good progress in all of these areas.

For example, by using feedback from the Friends and Family Test we have been able to improve the experience of inpatients through the Comfort at Night initiative.

A sign of improved quality and safety can be seen in the 2013 Dr Foster Hospital Guide awards with the Trust being highly commended for improving its weekend performance.

You can read more about these important developments inside

this issue of The Pulse.This year will see the Trust

continuing to investment in its clinical services with a modernised maternity unit, Macmillan cancer information centre and new MRI scanner all planned for Hillingdon Hospital.

At Mount Vernon Hospital a new £800k state-of-the-art endoscopy Unit started treating patients in January.

It is no secret that the NHS must adapt in order to meet the complex care needs of an ageing population. New models of delivering care are being developed across capital with the Shaping a Healthier Future (SaHF) programme providing the focus for North West London. SaHF has proposed changes to services designed to safeguard high quality care and services for local people.

These proposals have identified Hillingdon Hospital as a fixed point for providing acute care and we will be working to develop plans to support this aim during the year.

Something that won’t change during 2014 is our commitment to delivering high quality care to our patients.

The Pulse is full of great examples of where we are working to deliver our vision which is to `put compassionate care, safety and quality at the heart of everything we do.’ I look forward to updating readers on our progress throughout the year.

Shane talks with Staff Nurse, Selasi Vowotor, during a ward visit

The Pulse 4

SafTEy

Hillingdon

Harefield

MountVernon Royal National

Orthopaedic

NorthwickPark

Central Middlesex

Hammersmith

St Mary’s

Western eyeealing

West Middlesex

Chelseaand

Westminster

CharingCross

RoyalMarsden

RoyalBrompton

shaping care in North west london

Map showing the hospital trusts covered by Shaping a Healthier Future

www.thh.nhs.uk

Hillingdon Hospital

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Our staff are preparing a business case which will be finalised during 2014. This focusses on three main areas:

• Backlog maintenance across the Trust• Maternity services including increasing current capacity and

developing a midwifery-led unit. • Increasing non-elective capacity. This will include expanding the

intensive care unit, critical care, theatres, recovery and A&e.Regular SaHF updates are presented to The Board and published on the Trust’s website at www.thh.nhs.uk.

how is hillingdon preparing for sahF?

Western eye

The challenge of caring for an ageing population living

with often complex long term conditions means that the NHs must change the way in which is provides services to patients.

The Shaping a Healthier Future (SaHF) programme, led by local clinicians, has proposed changes across North West London designed to safeguard high quality care and services for local people. SaHF will also tackle the variations in the quality of care that currently exist across the different hospital sites.

The main principles driving SaHF are concerned with:

• Putting the patient at the centre of the NHS

• Providing more accessible care • Establishing centres of

excellence to ensure that more expertise is available for more of the time.

The changes proposed will see Hillingdon, Northwick Park, West Middlesex, Chelsea & Westminster

and St Mary’s hospitals providing comprehensive, seven day a week, acute emergency care. A&e departments at ealing and Charing

Cross hospitals will remain open, albeit with changes to the ‘size and shape’ of service.

SafTEy

Our staff are involved in planning for SaHF

The board recieves regular SaHF updates

The Pulse 6

fUNDRaISING

The Rogers family with staff on Bevan Ward

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Not only is all the equipment enormously helpful on the ward but they have also left a legacy for Karen, a patient who we all had a lot of love for.

Bevan benefits from family fundraisingThe family and friends of

Karen Rogers, who passed away last september, have raised funds to buy equipment for Bevan Ward in her memory.

Karen’s husband Lea Rogers, said: “We wanted to show our appreciation to the staff at the hospital, especially those on Bevan Ward, where Karen spent most of her time.”

Lea and daughter Donna held a charity night at the Harefield British Legion. He explained: “We know that funds in any hospital are tight so we held a charity event in the hope of raising £500

but had received over £800 in donations before the night itself.”

The money will be used to aid patient comfort as well as improving the environment for visiting friends and families.

Mark Troupe, Bevan Ward

Manager, said: “It’s a very special thing that Lea and Donna have done. Not only is all the equipment enormously helpful on the ward but they have also left a legacy for Karen, a patient who we all had a lot of love for.”

www.thh.nhs.uk

fUNDRaISING

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Residents in Hillingdon are being asked to make sure they choose the right NHs service for their health needs.

Hillingdon Hospital’s accident and emergency department, like others across London, comes under increased pressure during the colder months. Richard Grocott-Mason, Joint Medical Director at Hillingdon Hospital, says: “Last year over 86,000 patients came through our doors.

“A&e services are designed for people suffering from a life-threatening condition or who require immediate emergency care.

“However, many people still come to A&e because they feel mildly unwell, have a cough, cold,

minor cut or another everyday ailment.

“These people could receive appropriate advice and care faster somewhere else such as in their GP

please think before you visit a&e

meet the team

2013 was another busy year for The Comforts Fund

which works to support Mount Vernon Hospital.

The Fund raised over £100,000 during the year with the money used to provide endoscopy equipment, wheelchairs, drug trolleys, headsets for Radio Mount Vernon, a lymphoedema quadscan for the cancer centre, a CPM machine and notes trolley for Trinity Ward.

The fund also provided money for Christmas trees on the wards and presents for patients who needed to stay in hospital over the holiday period.

Jan Sutton, Chair of the Fund says: “It is thanks to the hard work of all of our volunteers that we are able to support the hospital in this way. every penny we make through our shops, including the general store, is ploughed back into Mount Vernon.”

mount Vernon comforts Fund Over £100,000 raised for the hospital this year

The Comforts Fund supports work at the hospital

practice, by calling the 111 service or from a local pharmacy. The simple message for local people is please think twice before coming to A&e.”

A&E services are designed for patients who require emergency care

The Pulse

EvENTS

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The Worshipful Mayor, Councillor Allan Kauffman, attended events at Hillingdon Hospital to raise awareness for World Prematurity Day.

The Worshipful the Mayor and Mayoress of

Hillingdon, Councillor Allan Kauffman and Mrs lynne Kauffman visited Hillingdon Hospital in November to mark World Prematurity Day

The event helped raise awareness of the needs and care of premature babies.

Hillingdon’s Neonatal Unit (NNU) admits around 400 patients each year with most of the babies born prematurely, before 8 completed months of pregnancy.

During their visit the Mayor and Mayoress met with NNU staff and the families of patients and supporters of the unit.

Mayor Allan Kauffman, staff and patients raise aweness for World Prematurity Day

Mayor Allan Kauffman cutting the cake at the prematurity aweness event

mayor helps mark world prematurity day

www.thh.nhs.uk 9

SafETy

weekend performance commended by dr FosterThe Trust has been Highly

Commended in the 2013 Dr Foster Hospital Guide awards for an improvement in its performance for weekend emergency HsMR (Hospital standardised Mortality Ratios).

We were one of twelve trusts in the country to have seen an improvement (a move to a higher banding) in performance at weekends.

Welcoming the news Shane DeGaris, Trust Chief executive, said: “The award by Dr Foster is recognition of the good work that our staff have done to not only to improve weekend mortality but also to maintain our performance. The changes we have introduced have led to more consultants

Work to improve staff engagement and patient

experience through the CARes values has reached the finals of two prestigious awards.

The Trust has been shortlisted

CARES reaches two national awards finals

Some of the Trust’s 25 CARES ambassadors

being available at weekends, improvements in the monitoring of mortality data and the

implementation of early warning systems to identify patients whose health is deteriorating.”

in the category of “Distinction in employee engagement” for the work carried out in developing CAReS for the 2014 HR Distinction Awards. The awards celebrate the outstanding contribution that innovative and superbly executed

HR strategies make to business performance.

Our CAReS work is also one of six finalists in the Setting the Stage - Strengthening the Foundation category at the 2014 PeN National Awards. These awards are the first of their kind in the UK and recognise and celebrate the delivery of outstanding patient experience by those involved in the healthcare industry.

Tally Kandola, Head of Organisational Development and a CAReS Ambassador, says: “It is a fantastic achievement to have reached the final of these awards. We launched CAReS in 2010 and since that time our staff have worked hard to ensure that they live our values in order to improve the experience of our patients.”

Staff working hard to improve the weekend performance

The Pulse

COMMUNICaTION

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During November staff hosted a number of

events to mark World Diabetes Day.

Patients with diabetes along with their friends and family were invited to special event which included food, games and trade stalls, helping to raise awareness and understanding about the condition.

Rhoda Lillystone, Paediatric Diabetes Nurse Specialist, said: “The activities provide a great way to interact with patients and their families outside of the normal clinical setting.”

Along with the family event Hillingdon Hospital also had an information stall in the main entrance to promote awareness about all types of diabetes to the public.

diabetes day 2013

Staff help to organise games and trade stalls for World Diabetes Day

top tweetsFollow @HillingdonNHsFT for news, updates, information, jobs and public involvement.

@JournoBird Having spent the whole day in Children’s A&e at Hillingdon Hospital

I am totally pooped. But baby home and sleeping. Staff were fantastic.

@CarolBode1 Just in from Council of Governors meeting @HillingdonNHSFT

Lots of information provided and questions answered. Hope gave all confidence.

@superpiran Today I played the not so illustrious part of hypochondriac crazy

parent. Thanks paeds a&e team at @HillingdonNHSFT for putting up with me!

@ellieel86 Impressed with service I just received from @HillingdonNHSFT

A&e GP. I was in&out within 10 mins prescription in hand! Lets hope it works!

@DavidGilbert43 Mt Vernon Hospital: late, stressed. Friendly porter

went out of his way to get me parking tokens, showed where to park & way to unit. Thankyou

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A great way to interact with patients and their families outside of the normal clinical setting.

Food stalls were part of the day

www.thh.nhs.uk 11

aTTITUDE

For more than 100 staff working at the Trust the

destruction caused the typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines last November was a personal one with family and friends having been directly affected.

staff support typhoon appeal

Responding to the disaster staff from theatres collected donations of clothing, food and toys from colleagues across the Trust.

In total140 boxes were sent to the Philippines where they

will be distributed by charities to those families affected by the disaster.

This was a real team effort with staff from theatres giving their time to help sort and pack the donations, the supplies department helping to palate the goods and the transport team organising the delivery of the boxes to the cargo depot.

Lourdes Opimo, intensive care sister, has decided to travel to the Philippines in March to provide support. She says: “Some of the worst hit areas are in the most hard to reach regions.

“I will travel with an international group of Filipino medical volunteers to provide help to those people living in remote areas away from the major towns.”

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Some of the worst hit areas are in the most hard to reach regions. I will travel with an international group of Filipino medical volunteers to provide help to those people living in remote areas

Theatre staff supported the typhoon appeal

140 boxes were sent to the Philippines

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The Pulse

RESPONSIBILITy

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special new menus have been introduced for

young patients at Hillingdon Hospital offering a nutritionally balanced menu with children’s tastes very much in mind.

Developed by Trust staff working with patient meal provider, Anglia Crown, the menus offer traditional favourites including fish and chips, sausage and mash, cheese omelette, jacket potatoes, fish fingers and toasted sandwiches. Side dishes include baked beans, sweetcorn, carrot sticks and salad.

The menu also has a range of tasty desserts including custard, crumble, sponge puddings, jelly, rice pudding, mousse, ice cream, fresh fruit salad pots and yoghurts.

In choosing items for the menu careful thought was given to ensuring a nutritional balance and the need to clearly mark healthy options. Other considerations included high energy, soft to eat, vegetarian, gluten-free, lower sodium, light diet, milk free, egg free, soya free and wheat free.

Steve Wedgewood, Head of Facilities, says: “Our new menus provide children with a nutritionally balanced choice that allows them to enjoy the range of meals they would also enjoy at home. By getting key groups of people together and pooling their expertise we were able to work through the menu item by item. The colourful design is also important helping to add fun to mealtimes.”

Children’s menu has all the right ingredients

New menu brings fun to mealtime

www.thh.nhs.uk

RESPONSIBILITy

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The Trust is offering stop smoking services to staff and patients who want to give up during 2014.People using the support available including Nicotine Replacement Therapy are 4 times more likely to succeed

than those who choose to go it alone. The service is available to anyone living, working or studying in Hillingdon. Just drop in to Hillingdon Hospital’s outpatients department and ask about the 6 - 8 week courses (no appointment needed). The courses run every Wednesday from 9.30am - 12.30pm at Hillingdon Hospital, Reception 8 of the main outpatients department.

want to stop smoking in 2014?

Friends and Family Test responses help improve care

A word map showing some of the feedback from theFriends and Family Test

We received over 10,000 responses to the Friends and Family Test during 2013 with the vast majority recommending our wards and emergency department to family and friends.

Where problems were highlighted the Trust has worked to address these through initiatives like Comfort at Night which focuses on the needs of patients, the behaviour of staff and the ward environment during night time.

Our work in improving patient care has been noticed by Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health, who has blogged about the positive changes we have made.

The Pulse 14

EvENTS

christmas hits all the right notes

It may have been a wet rather than a white Christmas but

the weather failed to dampen the enthusiasm of local schools and businesses who brought seasonal cheer to the hospital.

Local primary school children performed carols at Hillingdon Hospital during December. Children from Busy Bees Nursery also came to sing and help to decorate the hospital’s main Christmas tree, with a collection of handmade decorations.

• Local schools sing at Hillingdon Hospital

• Christmas wishes and gifts with the “Giving Tree”

• Decorations & volunteers from Coca Cola

• Hospital executives visit the wards

www.thh.nhs.uk 15

Catherine Holly, Head of Patient and Public Involvement, said: “Christmas can be a difficult time to be in hospital and we always try to make it as pleasant as possible for patients and staff. Inviting school choirs to sing carols, is a great experience for patients, staff and also for the children; it is something that everyone seems to enjoy.”

The seasonal singing wasn’t confined to local schools. Rev Jack Creagh, the Trust’s head of spiritual and pastoral care, organised a carol service in Hillingdon’s outpatient department on the 23rd December.

On Christmas eve members of local churches sang carols on the wards.

Giving tree reflects the Christmas spiritA `giving tree` was placed in the hospital chapel from December until early January where gifts could be left for patients staying in the hospital for prolonged periods. The tree also provided the opportunity for people to write and hang tags for anyone who they wished to be remembered or have prayers said for during the Christmas season.

Coca Cola staff add fizz to ward decorationsStaff volunteers from Coca Cola’s offices in Uxbridge helped to decorate the children’s wards and also brought gifts and toys for those who needed to stay the hospital during the Christmas period.

executive team thank staffMembers of the Trust’s executive team visited wards to thank staff and hand out tins of chocolates in the run up to Christmas.

EvENTS

A big thank you to all those schools who performed at the hospital; Busy Bee’s Nursery, Reddiford Primary School, St Bernadette Catholic Primary School, Hillingdon Primary School, Hermitage Primary School and Whitehall Primary School.

The Pulse 16

Qpr stars bring cheer to hospital children

NEWS

People in Partnership

The upcoming People in Partnership meeting will be held at following time and date:

4th March 201417:30 - 20:00Committee Room 5, Civic Centre, Uxbridge, UB8 1UW

The agenda for the upcomingPIP meeting can be found on ourpublic website.

stars from Queens Park Rangers Football Club brought some early Christmas cheer to children at Hillingdon Hospital in December when they visited the children’s wards.

Members from the Championship team toured the Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Wendy wards taking time to speak to excited patients, parents and staff. The players also handed out presents to the children.

Pat McGee, play specialist at

Hillingdon Hospital said: “We are very grateful to QPR for making the effort to come and visit. The players could not have been more generous with their time and they were fantastic with the children.”

QPR players meet patients and families

Bobby Zamora and Clint Hill were among the

players that visited