Open heart surgery team taking part in major global study
17th May 2018
A surgical team working at Castle Hill Hospital is taking part in an international trial comparing two different forms of heart bypass technology. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has one of only two teams in the UK using a special bypass technique routinely to stop patients’ hearts so surgeons can carry out life-saving procedures. Now, the team is taking part in a major global study with other countries including Greece, Germany, Australia, Canada, Italy, … Read More
Hospital team saves lives of mothers with life-threatening pregnancy complications
16th May 2018
A team of consultants, nurses, midwives and health care professionals saved two women and their babies within two days after they both developed the same rare, life-threatening complication. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust brought together the highly skilled, multi-disciplinary teams of 25 health professionals to save the mothers with morbidly adherent placenta, a life-threatening emergency which can cause women to bleed to death. Consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician Uma Rajesh said: “We normally see two … Read More
Portable ‘cold cots’ help bereaved families take their babies home
15th May 2018
Families of babies who die before or just after birth will be given the chance to spend precious time with their children in their own homes. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is now offering parents portable ‘cold cots’ if they wish to take their babies home before funerals. Specialist bereavement midwife Sue Cooper said: “The introduction of the two portable cold cots is another step forward in improving our support for bereaved families. “It … Read More
Phil swaps spoons at Michelin-star restaurant for surgical knives – ODP Awareness Day
14th May 2018
A former chef has told how he gave up his job in a Michelin-star restaurant to work in hospital operating theatres after his wife had an emergency Caesarean section. Phil Darwick, 34, was a chef at the Pipe and Glass in East Yorkshire when wife Anna, a nurse, was rushed into theatre to have their first daughter Lily. He remembers how an operating department practitioner (ODP) calmed him down as his wife was prepared for … Read More
‘There’s adrenalin involved in a job like this’ – What it’s like to be an ODP
14th May 2018
Under the bright pendant light in the operating theatre, Sally Gilbert keeps a close eye on what is happening around the table. Minutes earlier, she was checking every all the equipment and running through the surgical safety checklist as the cardiac surgical team scrub up ahead of the aortic valve replacement. Now as the surgeon lifts his blade to make a neat cut into the patient’s chest, Sally anticipates his every move. She darts around … Read More