The role of the hospital pharmacist can often be misunderstood, but the recent coronavirus pandemic has really given Hull University Teaching Hospitals’ pharmacy team the chance to shine.

Comprising more than 180 staff working across Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, the team has carried out many essential ‘behind-the-scenes’ duties which have allowed doctors and nurses to continue their life-saving work.

As well as ensuring a consistent on-going supply of medications for both COVID and non-COVID patients in recent weeks, the team has also played a key role in research and development to better understand and tackle the disease, whilst also supporting front-line care.

Paul O’Brien, Deputy Chief Pharmacist at the trust explains:

Members of the Pharmacy Procurement Team

“As the coronavirus situation began to escalate, one of the main concerns we had as a trust was obtaining essential medications which would be needed to treat coronavirus, especially in intensive care, such as sedatives and muscle relaxants. Demand for these types of drugs was high, particularly in parts of the UK such as London and Birmingham which were seeing significantly higher numbers of cases than we were in Hull at the start.

“Our pharmacy procurement team worked alongside other NHS trusts, as part of a national network, to ensure supply and demand was managed. In some cases, because of supply issues, the drugs that we would normally use had to be changed for alternatives, so this would mean working with our clinicians to approve the change, developing a new protocol for their use, and arranging refrigeration if the new drugs required temperature control.  We’d then need to follow up with staff, making sure they were aware of the substitutions and felt fully supported in their use. It wasn’t unusual, therefore, for our clinical pharmacy teams to be donning full PPE and spending time on wards and intensive care units alongside staff and COVID positive patients to oversee their medicines management.

“Managing the daily checklist of critical medications was no mean feat. Some of the drugs we needed had to be sourced from Europe and the United States, which meant the names and strengths could all be different to the UK versions. Our procurement team worked with our IM&T colleagues to develop an algorithm which ensured, no matter how the drug came in, we were confident and secure in our supply.

“I’m really proud of the fact that, with their hard work and a lot of careful planning, working together across the country, we haven’t run out of supplies of any of our critical medications at any point during the pandemic.

Paul continues:

“At times like this, when a new virus is emerging, there is always a strong focus on research and development to better understand it and to try and find ways of treating patients or protecting society against the virus itself.

Members of the Pharmacy Trials Team

“In an average month, the pharmacy team would normally get involved in around four new different clinical trials; reviewing and approving the medication, and working with the research and development team to ensure that staff are well supported and the drugs can be delivered safely to our patients.

“Because coronavirus was taking such a strong hold so quickly, there was a huge drive to discover ways of reducing the severity of the virus, lessening the duration of patients’ illness, and finding a vaccine.

“In one month alone, we almost doubled that figure with seven new clinical trials, all centred on COVID-19, starting within the Trust. The most widely known trial we took part in was an international study for Remdesivir, for which we recruited around 20 patients. This trial has now concluded and the collated evidence does indeed suggest that appropriate use of this drug can lessen the time for which a patient is ill with coronavirus, so this was something really worthwhile to have been involved in and something we know will make a difference going forward. We’d really like to thank those patients who took part the trial locally and contributed to our learning.

“The latest trial to begin locally is that for a coronavirus vaccine. Working with colleagues in infectious diseases and research and development, both locally and Oxford-based, the team has screened more than 350 members of NHS staff for the trial which is now underway.

“Working on trials has seen pharmacy staff working late into the evenings to ensure that patients involved in complex trials, who might need their medication at night, could still access this safely.”

Paul says pharmacy staff have also stepped into the breach left by doctors redeployed to the COVID front line:

Members of the Clinical Pharmacy Team

“Thousands of hospital appointments were being cancelled during March, April and May, and as many as 20 per cent of our medics were redeployed from their existing roles to support the COVID effort.

“Pharmacists and our pharmacy technicians, who were fast learning and quick to adapt to working in different ways, were able to step up and help to support patients, such as those being treated for cancer, by ensuring their medications could still be prescribed safely and without interruption.

“The focus for many people and indeed for our hospitals became very much COVID-19, but of course the demand for drugs and for medications advice for other conditions didn’t go away. Emergency surgery was still going ahead, patients on our wards still needed pain relief, and treatments for cardiac issues, stroke and cancer didn’t stop. Patients were still being discharged from hospital, either to continue their recovery at home or for end-of-life care, and in the latter case we worked closely with our colleagues in community pharmacy and GP practices, to ensure people could die with dignity, and as symptom free as possible, in their own homes.

“Pharmacy staff, including those working on our aseptic unit, made sure that what would be considered our day-to-day work of preparing chemotherapy doses, making up nutritional packs for patients who can’t eat, preparing patients’ discharge medication and keeping our wards and departments supplied and supported, still went ahead.

“Pharmacy may not be the first team of health workers that people think of when it comes to coronavirus, but their round-the-clock input, both behind the scenes and on the front line, has been invaluable throughout our hospitals. They’ve helped to treat our COVID patients, helped to innovate, and helped to keep the routine work going at an unprecedented time; I’m really proud of the team and hugely grateful for all their support.”

COVID has not gone away. Here’s how you can show continued support for the NHS at the same time as protecting yourself and your loved ones

We’ve loved seeing your NHS rainbows and all the doorstep clapping. We are so grateful for all your donations and words of support. We now have an important message we need to share back with you, and it’s to make sure everyone stays safe.

As national lockdown restrictions related to COVID19 have eased, we’ve seen a sharp rise in the number of people seeking treatment in our emergency department again.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Hull Royal Infirmary’s A&E department was seeing fewer than 200 patients each day, but that figure is now at 325 and rising.

Many patients who come to us for treatment could have been seen elsewhere, the pharmacy or a local urgent treatment centre, for example, or even practiced self care at home with rest and paracetamol.

Our A&E department is getting busier, even with COVID-19 still around

Emergency care is exactly what it says it is. It’s care for the unexpected; the critical injuries and life-threatening illnesses. All of us would expect doctors and nurses to be there in a flash if someone we loved was having a stroke or involved in a serious road traffic accident. Use of emergency care for anything other than serious problems potentially takes our highly trained experts away from someone who really needs them, or whose life could even depend on them.

A&E should not be used because it’s the nearest, or because it’s open late. Nor should it be used because you “actually don’t mind waiting”, or because you don’t’ know what the other options are.

Hull Royal Infirmary’s A&E department belongs to all of us. It will be there for us in our darkest hours, and we all have a responsibility to use it only in genuine times of need.

This is even more important right now, as staff continue to deal with the impact of coronavirus on top of delivering their amazing, life-saving care.

Let’s be really clear. Coronavirus has not gone away. Nationally, we continue to see people dying and scores of people contracting COVID19 every day.

Coming to A&E when you don’t need to:

• puts you at increased risk of exposure to coronavirus, and by default, those you live with
• puts others who could be more vulnerable to infection at higher risk of catching COVID-19 too
• makes two metre social distancing in a small department very difficult, and at times, almost impossible
• results in longer waiting times for everyone, as staff must take additional precautions – masks, aprons, cleaning and extra handwashing – between each and every patient.

How you can help

Public support for the NHS throughout the pandemic has been overwhelming. The love and support shown for staff treating patients with coronavirus and keeping the hospital wheels turning elsewhere has been nothing short of amazing.

Call 111 or visit NHS.uk for advice and to find out where to get treatment

Let’s continue that by showing our A&E staff the same amount of understanding and respect as life slowly begins to return to a ‘new normal’.

We need everyone, including you, to look for services other than A&E if the problem is not a serious injury or critical illness. Call 111 or visit www.nhs.uk  for online advice, to find out where you could be treated closer to home, and don’t assume your GP surgery is closed. All parts of the NHS are still working to protect patients from COVID-19, but they are still working.

Let’s harness all of the goodwill that you have shown for NHS staff and offer our thanks in a different way. Think carefully, look for alternatives, and if you’re ever unsure, call 111. If it’s a real emergency, they’ll be sure to tell you, and we’ll be here for you.

Sources of help and information:

Find out more about the different NHS services and what they do at NHS.uk

Find sources of medical help near to you:

• in Hull
• in the East Riding

Find out what to do if you think you have COVID-19 symptoms

Get advice or read more about different health problems at www.nhs.uk

Hospital staff in Hull say they still desperately need the huge level of public support shown for the NHS in recent weeks, but this time in a different way.

As national lockdown restrictions ease and the country looks to resume some kind of normality, staff at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are also working to resume more routine activity such as hospital appointments and planned surgery.

One area which seems to be returning to normal faster than most, however, is emergency care.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Hull Royal Infirmary’s A&E department – which provides care for the most seriously injured and critically ill patients – was seeing fewer than 200 patients each day. Just a month or two earlier, A&E attendances had regularly been exceeding 400.

Now, as the nation seems to be breathing a virtual sigh of relief as far as COVID is concerned, hospital bosses are already seeing huge rises in the numbers of patients returning to A&E and are worried this could put both patients and staff at greater risk again.

Teresa Cope (pictured) is the trust’s Chief Operating Officer and has led the hospitals’ response throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She says:

Teresa Cope, Chief Operating Officer

“The number of patients being treated in A&E during the course of the pandemic more than halved, and most of those we did treat were patients who were in urgent or critical need.

“To do this in a way which was safe for both staff and patients, we had to split our A&E department into a ‘hot’ area, to care for COVID positive or symptomatic patients, and a ‘cold’ area for those who had no symptoms or were known not to have the virus. Operating what was essentially two smaller departments in one placed quite a strain on the team but they were able to manage this safely and in line with all the necessary guidance because of the lower number of attendances.

“As public restrictions have begun to ease, what we have seen over the last two to three weeks is quite a significant rise in the number of people walking in to the emergency department again. In the last few days, we’ve seen around 330 people per day, and a much larger proportion of those are now coming in with minor illnesses, such as verrucas or minor skin complaints, for which advice or treatment could have been sought elsewhere.

“To be clear, COVID is still here; we continue to protect our patients and our staff, we continue to care for patients with this potentially deadly virus, and we are planning for it to be around for many months yet.

“A&E is often seen as the ‘open door’ to the hospital, but patients who come to A&E when they don’t need to are placing themselves, other patients who can be much more seriously ill, and our hard-working staff who have battled so hard to try and beat this virus in recent months at much greater risk.

“Some of the lockdown restrictions may have eased, but trying to enforce two metre social distancing round-the-clock in a department which has hundreds of people through the doors every single day is almost impossible. Caring for each individual patient also takes that little bit longer as staff need to wash hands and change PPE much more often, make sure their patients are suitably screened and protected, and ensure areas are safe to provide care in.

“We now desperately need the public to show the same level of understanding and support for us as we’ve seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will be bringing our hot and cold areas safely back into one this week, but we need people to understand that things can’t just return to normal.

“Before we see a return to pre-COVID levels of activity in the department, which even at that time were difficult to manage, we’re asking for the public to really help their NHS once again. This time, we need people to look for services other than A&E if their problem is anything other than a serious injury or critical illness.”

Dr Ben Rayner, consultant in emergency medicine

Dr Ben Rayner, emergency care consultant who will be a familiar face to many after appearing in Monday’s Channel 5 documentary, A&E After Dark, says:

“A&E After Dark provides just a snapshot of the cases we deal with, but in doing so shows just how labour intensive some of our work can be and just how seriously ill some of our patients are.

“With the easing of lockdown on 1^st June, the emergency department has experienced an increase in patient attendances, and this increase has been most noticeable over the last four days.

“The number of patients attending, along with the measures the trust has put in place to maintain the safety of both staff and patients have led to longer waits to see a practitioner and, at times, a more crowded department, and we are sorry for this.

“The support which has been shown to the NHS over the last couple of months, however, has been fantastic, and I would ask that this support continues with people not attending the emergency department unless it’s truly needed.

“For the emergency department to function as intended, to see patients arriving with acute severe illness or injuries, and to meet the challenges COVID-19 has presented, more than ever we need patients to use alternative services such as pharmacists, urgent treatment centres, GP surgeries, and NHS 111.”

“On behalf of his family, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that our staff member Richzeal Albufera died on June 9 at Hull Royal Infirmary.

“Richzeal was a Biomedical Scientist at Castle Hill Hospital. He joined Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in April 2005.

“Tests confirmed the presence of COVID-19 and, despite the best efforts of our Critical Care team, we were unable to save Richzeal and he died of severe complications associated with this terrible disease.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to Richzeal’s family, friends and all who loved him. We share their grief at the loss of such a wonderful life. Richzeal had already given so much to the NHS and had so much more to give.

“Staff who worked with Richzeal will lead our entire organisation in a minute’s silence on Monday and we are opening a Book of Condolence for those who worked with Richzeal throughout his career to share their thoughts and memories.

“It is not possible to say where he contracted the disease, given the nature of the virus, and speculation would only intensify the grief of his family.

“We ask the media to respect the privacy of Richzeal’s family and our staff who both worked with him and cared for him as we come to terms with the enormity of our loss.”

Coming to hospital for your outpatient appointment? Here’s what you need to know to keep safe.

We’re restarting some clinics but we need everyone to follow new measures to protect you and our staff during Covid-19.

From Monday, (June 15), the Government has announced all patients and visitors to hospital – so, Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, Eye Hospital, the Queen’s Centre Castle Hill Hospital and East Riding Community Hospital as well as any other hospital building – must cover their faces

You can wear your own mask or use a buff, bandana or scarf tied around your face, providing it covers your nose and mouth.

All NHS staff will be wearing surgical face masks. Social distancing will be in place with fewer seats in our waiting rooms, 2m distance markers on floors and screens at reception desks.

Ample hand-washing facilities or hand sanitizing stations are in place. Please use them before entering or leaving departments and clinics.

Please come for your appointment on your own if you can as near to your appointment time as possible. If you need someone with you, please limit it to one person and they must also wear a face covering. They may be asked to wait outside until you’re ready for collection because our space is so limited.

By taking these steps together and with your support, we can all stay as safe as possible.

National Volunteers Week is being celebrated a little differently at Hull Hospitals this year

It’s national Volunteers Week, and under normal circumstances, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust would be thanking its 475-strong army of volunteers this week with the usual cream tea celebration.

Carol and Pat volunteer in Oncology (photo taken pre-COVID)

But with coronavirus still very much doing the rounds, the situation is anything but normal, and this has massively affected how the voluntary service has been running across Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

Rachael Hardcastle-Pearce, volunteering lead for the trust’s patient experience team explains:

“We have some of the most amazing staff at our hospitals, but we are also reliant on the support of some fantastic volunteers too. We are lucky enough to have 475 people who regularly give their time to us in many different ways, and we simply couldn’t do without them.

“As the coronavirus outbreak began to unfold in March, it became clear that it would have a huge impact on the volunteers service.

“A large proportion of our volunteers, for example, are retired people who use their spare time to help others. As shielding rules were introduced to protect older and more vulnerable people, this meant a large proportion of those volunteers who would normally be available to support us could no longer be called upon because they had to stay at home.

“At the same time, rules around social distancing meant that many of the roles our volunteers carry out, such as ‘Meet and Greet’ and the ward trolley service, would no longer be practical anyway for the safety of patients, staff and the volunteers themselves.

Hugo’s work is on hold

“We know this has had a huge effect on our volunteers – many donate their time as much for their own physical and mental wellbeing as much as those they help. We have volunteers who were used to coming in almost every day who have been left feeling lost or like they have little or no sense of purpose anymore, but ultimately we have to do what’s necessary to keep them safe.

“It wasn’t just a blow to our older volunteers either, even the four-legged variety were affected, with therapy dogs such as Hugo no longer able to visit the patients on wards 8 and 9 and the discharge lounge at HRI with his owner, Yvonne; something everyone was upset about!”

As the coronavirus pandemic escalated, the amount of goodwill being shown toward hospital staff by businesses, community groups and supporters also grew, and a new way for volunteers to support staff during the crisis quickly emerged.

“Donations for hospital staff began to pour in, from hand sanitizer and Easter eggs to clothing and toiletries,” Rachael continues.

Some of the trust’s Young Health Champions (photo taken pre-COVID)

“The generosity was literally overwhelming at times; we could have pallets or delivery vans full of goods arriving day after day, and ensuring all of the donations could be stored safely and then distributed among staff at both hospitals became a logistical challenge. It was a nice problem to have, really!

“This is where our group of young health champions really got stuck in, helping out with everything from separating goods out for different teams and wards to delivering items around the hospital sites. We had a team of about 20 young volunteers working on donations every day at one point, helping to ensure those ‘thank you’ gifts made their way to the frontline staff who, in many cases, were putting their own health at risk to care for others.

“We also had some volunteers who, once told they could no longer safely perform their normal duties, switched to helping out in different roles behind the scenes; this gave our clinical staff some time back to concentrate more on direct patient care. It’s been refreshing for all of us I think to have a bit of a change, albeit not under the circumstances we would have wanted!

“What was also really great to see, when times were getting tough, was just how far our volunteers will go to support us. One young man, Tom Eckford-Sealy, wants to be an oncology nurse and has been volunteering on ward 31 at the Queen’s Centre. Tom regularly gets the train from Bridlington to Hull, then bikes from Hull to Castle Hill in Cottingham to volunteer, then makes the return journey home a few hours later; just amazing.

Volunteers have been a huge help in distributing COVID-19 donations

“We know we have a great bunch of volunteers, but the lengths people were going to, and continue to go to, to support our staff and our patients is so heart-warming.”

Twenty-year-old Adam is volunteering within the trust’s patient experience team he says:

“Joining the Young Health Champions was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I have learned excellent communication skills as a result, and I am able to effectively work in a team. I hope to gain an apprenticeship in the NHS in the future. I am forever grateful.”

Speaking about national Volunteers Week, 1^st – 7^th June 2020, Rachael adds:

“Our volunteers don’t expect anything back in return, but we try and show our appreciation a few times a year with a Christmas party and our Volunteers Week cream tea celebration which should be taking place this week. It’s one of the events the group looks forward to most, and a lovely way for us to acknowledge the contribution our volunteers make not just to the lives of our patients, but also to our staff and even each other.

“It’ such a shame that we haven’t been able to celebrate in the usual way, but I don’t think things have gone the way many of us would have expected this year.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of our volunteers, whether they’ve been at home shielding in recent weeks or continuing to help out at our hospitals, and we’ll just have to make our end of year celebration bigger and better than ever to compensate!”

If you would like to know more about volunteering opportunities at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, call the Patient Experience Team on (01482) 623089 or visit www.hey.nhs.uk/staff/volunteering/

Chris Long, Chief Executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said:

“It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Adrian Cruttenden, an administrator within the medical records team at our organisation. Adrian died after falling ill and being admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary on 4^th May. Tests confirmed the presence of COVID-19.

“Unfortunately, while in hospital, Adrian subsequently suffered a stroke from which he was unable to recover, and he sadly died on 27^th May.

“Adrian joined Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in 2015, working in various departments including A&E, the acute assessment unit and the acute medical unit at Hull Royal Infirmary before most recently joining the medical records team at Harrow Street. He was a really valued member of our team and his loss will be felt deeply by everyone who knew him.

“We will shortly be opening a Book of Condolence for our staff to share their memories and this will be presented to Adrian’s family in due course.

“We extend our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to everyone who loved Adrian, especially his family. We cannot begin to imagine the agony or the grief they are enduring and we will do everything we can to support them.

“Given the nature of the virus including the incubation period, it is not possible to say where he contracted the disease and any speculation would only intensify the grief of his family.

“Out of respect to Adrian’s family and our staff who worked alongside him, we would ask the media not approach them as they come to terms with the enormity of their loss.”

They’re always on hand to support the health and wellbeing of hospital staff, but nothing could have prepared Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s occupational health team for the arrival of COVID-19.

The 16-strong team is well versed in responding to crises and outbreaks, but the speed at which the pandemic was evolving and the resulting demands placed on the team were completely unprecedented.

Carole Hunter, Head of Occupational Heath for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:

“The COVID-19 situation moved extremely quickly, and to be quite honest, the team has never seen anything like this.

“We initially started with the odd call from staff members and managers here and there, asking about how to report sickness or asking what to do if they had their own health concerns.

“This quickly escalated as the scale of the global pandemic became clear, and the situation became all the more real once we’d had our first COVID-19 positive patients at Castle Hill Hospital; the first patients to test positive in the country, in fact.

“Within the space of five weeks, the occupational health team took over 1,000 calls from hospital staff concerned about the implications of the virus for themselves, their patients, their family and their clinical practice. Such was the demand for advice and information, that with support from our infectious diseases team, we had to become COVID experts overnight. We had to keep on top of national guidance and advice that was coming out, be familiar with specific advice for employers and at-risk groups, and work with our own in-house experts in infectious diseases and tissue viability to develop our own guidance for staff as well.

“At the same time as responding to the incoming queries, there was a huge role for the team in ensuring our hospitals could be staffed appropriately to meet the potential demands of COVID-19. Initiatives to encourage retired NHS workers back into clinical practice, for example, had to be carried out at pace, and health checks for new starters which would ordinarily take three days to complete were being turned around within 24 hours.

“For those already employed by the trust, occupational health input has been a crucial part of the decision-making process when it comes to staff redeployment. Hundreds of clinical and non-clinical employees have relocated to work in other areas over the last couple of months, either to support areas of greater clinical need such as our COVID wards, or away from high risk areas if staff members are deemed to be at higher risk from the virus themselves. This too has been a huge undertaking for the team but crucial to our workforce planning, and to ensuring our hospitals could have the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time.

“Because the situation is like nothing many of us have seen before, there will be a psychological toll on some staff. At the moment, many people are just getting on and responding to what’s asked of them, so the enormity of the situation or how they feel about what they’ve seen in recent weeks may affect them further down the line. Be it now or in the future, we are working closely with a team of psychologists, organisational development and the trust’s chaplaincy service to ensure staff have access to psychological support. Sometimes this can be just a chat and an opportunity to express their frustrations from the day at one of the regular drop-in sessions, but where any on-going or longer term support might be needed, it’s our role to ensure employees can continue to access that.

“We’ve also been ensuring staff can access advice and support in relation to skincare issues. As a result of more regular hand washing, more frequent use of hand sanitisers and for some staff, the need to wear more robust face masks and other PPE, some staff have experienced quite severe skin problems such as cracked and bleeding hands and sores on the face. Working with the tissue viability nurses, we’ve been able to develop and offer advice to staff to minimise these issues and provide creams and other products to try and ease any discomfort they may be experiencing. These are unfortunate side effects of practices which are necessary to protect people and save lives.

“As far as coronavirus is concerned, we’re by no means out of the woods yet, and the need to protect our staff from COVID-19 and to limit the spread of the virus will continue to form part of our plans and considerations across the organisation for many months to come.

“At this time of year, for example, the occupational health team would normally start planning the delivery of seasonal flu vaccinations for staff. Hull is one of the best performing NHS trusts in the country for flu jab uptake, with 83% of staff involved in delivering frontline care vaccinated last winter, but our approach will be forced to change because of COVID-19 this year. Gone are the usual large scale drop-in sessions, and instead we’ll be looking to train more vaccinators within individual teams and departments to deliver this essential protection this coming winter.

“The impact of coronavirus is being felt in all parts of our hospitals and by everyone in it, but certainly as far as my team is concerned, they’ve taken it all in their stride and I’m really proud of how they’ve stepped up to the challenge. All nine of our occupational health nurses have rolled up their sleeves and just got on with the job, while the admin team have been fantastic in communicating with staff and keeping everything running smoothly.

“We’ve had members of our own team affected by coronavirus, we’ve seen staff in desperate need of help, and we’ve met ourselves coming backwards at times, but everyone is in the same situation. The most we can do is to protect our staff and safeguard their health and well-being, and in doing so, we give our patients the best possible chance of beating coronavirus too.”

Video link might not be the way most mums-to-be would expect to be taking their antenatal classes, but the unusual method of birth education has now produced some of its first ‘Zoom babies’ in East Yorkshire.

Back in March, maternity staff from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust were forced to reconsider how they cared for babies and mums-to-be in light of the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

Women attending antenatal screening are now asked to attend alone, some early antenatal check-ups are being conducted over the phone, and the HEY Baby birth education team has quickly taken advantage of online collaboration tools like Zoom to ensure classes can still continue.

“The main priorities for us throughout the coronavirus outbreak have been to keep people safe and keep people informed,” says Melanie Lee, specialist midwife for parent education within the trust’s HEY Baby team.

Specialist midwife, Melanie Lee

“Having a baby is no easy task at the best of times, and it comes with all sorts of worries, questions and concerns, from what to expect during the birth, how to breastfeed and everything in between. The arrival of coronavirus then just added another layer of difficulty on top, so we were keen to do all we could to provide that much-needed presence and reassurance for women and their families.

“One of the main ways we prepare parents-to-be for their new baby is through parenting and antenatal classes. Normally these are conducted face to face, where we’re able to chat with people and demonstrate techniques in person. Once restrictions were introduced and social distancing rules came into force, we had to look again at how we shared this vital information with expectant parents, and online video conferencing tools gave us the perfect solution.”

In the last two months, the HEY Baby team has organised more than 20 online antenatal and parenting classes covering topics from signs of labour and support for partners through to safer sleep for the baby and bathing and nappy changing.

“Online collaboration is something the NHS has used a lot more since physical restrictions came in, and it’s proving incredibly popular with the people who use our services,” Melanie continues.

“People don’t have to leave the house, there’s no need to worry about getting parked anywhere, and if they have other children, they can still comfortably keep an eye on them at home while following the classes. Some 174 people took part in our online classes during April alone, and the feedback really has been fantastic.”

One woman who is particularly thankful for the support is Georgia VanDerEnd. She and her partner, Luke, took part in antenatal classes by Zoom over the course of three weeks, and on 18^th May, Georgia gave birth to baby Rory James in the Fatima Allam Birth Centre.

Georgia says:

“The online Zoom antenatal classes were so helpful in a time of such uncertainty. As first time parents, it really helped me and my partner with the basics and it was great to meet other mums in the area. The ‘what to pack in your hospital bag’ part of the classes was especially helpful as there were a few things I hadn’t actually packed, and little did I know my beautiful baby boy would arrive only days later!”

Emma Sanders also took part in the online classes before she had her baby boy, Archie Lewis, at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre on May 14^th.

Emma says:

“The online antenatal classes made sure I didn’t miss out on vital information, as well as support, before the birth of my baby.

“I found seeing and speaking to other mums on Zoom very helpful, and knowing that others were also isolating meant that I wasn’t on my own.

“The Zoom classes were successful and I would highly recommend them to other mums-to-be.”

Kate and Joel Bibby had their baby girl, Esme Rose, on 17^th May after they too took part in the online course.

Kate says:

“The Zoom antenatal classes were really informative and a good way to interact and stay connected with other mums-to-be during lockdown.  I’ve also found the WhatsApp group following the class a good way to continue asking questions and sharing information.”

If you have a Hull or East Riding GP and would like to book antenatal classes, simply visit www.hey.nhs.uk/maternity/book-antenatal-classes/

Pictured above (L-R): New arrivals Rory, Esme and Archie.

Important: If you are pregnant, it is important that you still attend your antenatal appointments and continue to seek advice from your midwife or maternity team. More information can be found at: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/pregnancy-and-coronavirus/

Waiting for a hospital appointment? COVID-19 has had a major effect on our services and we’re trying to keep you in the picture as best we can.

Here’s some answers to some questions you may have.

My GP’s referred me for treatment but I’ve just received a letter telling me it’s been ‘paused’ – why?

To put it simply – coronavirus or COVID-19.

All hospitals, including Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, were instructed by NHS England to cancel outpatient appointments and routine surgery in March so they were not overwhelmed by the virus.

We reconfigured every part of our hospitals, freeing up beds, changing wards and redeploying clinicians, nurses, admin and support staff to help as COVID-19 became our focus. More recently, we’ve had to adapt those plans again as we’ll be dealing with the virus for most, if not all, of this year and perhaps even beyond.

Was it just surgery or outpatient appointments that were paused?

It was both. We were only able to keep performing life-saving, emergency surgery and cancer treatment.

What about me? I was on the waiting list before the COVID-19 outbreak

If you were on a waiting list before the COVID-19 outbreak, you will still be on our waiting list unless we have written to you to advise you differently.  However, unfortunately, you will be waiting longer to be seen and we are really sorry about that.  Our clinicians are regularly reviewing our waiting lists and prioritising patients to be treated.  Since the lockdown, GPs have continued to refer patients to us and they are also on our waiting list.

How many patients are affected?

We’re very sorry to tell you the numbers are huge. COVID-19’s impact on the UK will last for years and affect millions waiting for hospital treatment all over the country.

These figures will help you understand why.

In 2018/19, we had 1,047,501 contacts with patients as outpatients, inpatients and follow-ups after procedures and treatment. Losing even a single day, let alone two months, can have a big impact. And that’s just at our NHS trust. There are another 222 just like us in the country, running more than 1,000 hospitals.

We have sent 12,296 letters to those waiting for their first outpatient appointment before the COVID-19 outbreak. There were another 10,612 waiting for a date for either day surgery or surgery involving a hospital stay and we’ve contacted them too.

We expect to see around 60,000 people for outpatient appointments every month but, in April, we saw just over half that number, 2,400 day cases compared to our normal 6,000 and 305 inpatients compared to 1,300.

In June, we’re expecting to see 32,000 outpatients, almost half of the number we saw in the same month last year, 3,100 day cases compared to 6,000 last year and 400 inpatients, less than a third of the number we saw in June 2019. Working at half our capacity means waiting lists in almost every area are increasing every month.

What are you doing to sort this?

Everything we can. But it’s not easy. We can’t just pick up where we left off because COVID-19 has changed everything.

If it’s suitable, we’re introducing video and telephone consultations. But you’ll appreciate that, in a hospital setting, that isn’t always suitable.

With so much of our hospitals taken up with COVID-19, we’re also working with the independent hospital sector to send some of our patients there for appointments and procedures. So, your appointment letter may ask you to attend the Spire Hospital in Anlaby.

When it’s not, we’re trying to bring back services but we have to take account of supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), staff availability and bed space.

Why is COVID-19 having such a massive impact when Hull escaped the worst of the pandemic?

It’s right to say that, so far, our hospitals haven’t seen the surge in admissions experienced by hospitals in larger cities like London or Birmingham. That might still happen and we check  admissions closely so we’re ready to respond to any change.

But the pandemic isn’t over, not by a long way. We’re still looking after around 100 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 every day and that’s been the case for two months. We’ve had 150 deaths and we’ve discharged more than 300 patients.

All patients admitted to hospital as urgent or emergency cases who are expected to stay with us for more than one night are being tested as well as those coming for screening ahead of surgery requiring a hospital admission.

We’re also swabbing those attending hospitals for procedures such as endoscopies and we’re testing every patient before they are discharged to a care home or their own home with a package of support.

So, that’s a huge amount of additional work on top of our everyday activities.

Surely it’s easy just to restart everything?

Let’s remind ourselves about the virus. COVID-19 is highly infectious and is spread by droplets caused by coughing, sneezing, talking and – here’s the important part – anything releasing those  droplets in the air. These are called aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) and we do lots in hospital – everything surgery to CPR.

Remember, these droplets can linger on surfaces for up to three days.

In a hospital setting, just as you do at home, we have to take precautions to keep our patients and staff safe. Our theatre teams, for example, have to wear special PPE. They need to change and the air in theatres has to “settle” between patients. It’s time-consuming. Say in a normal day we’d see 15 patients, we can only see half of those now. That means fewer operations each day so more patients waiting for treatment.

We have to make sure we’ve got enough PPE to keep our staff and patients safe. The supply issues caused by the global demand are well-known. We will not reintroduce a service unless we have the PPE to keep our teams and our patients as safe as possible.

Some of our wards are treating COVID-19 so we’ve got fewer beds. That means we can’t call you in for your procedure or surgery if we’ve got no bed for you to begin your recovery.

We’ve also got a significant proportion of our staff self-isolating or off with COVID-19. This includes pregnant staff and those with their own underlying health conditions. Fewer staff means we can’t look after as many patients as before or hold as many clinics.

I understand all this. But how long will I have to wait?

It’s really hard to say. Our clinicians are going through our waiting lists very carefully and patients will be seen depending on the state of their health. In reality, that means those with the greatest need will be seen first. The lists will be reviewed regularly as we know some people’s conditions will deteriorate so whereas they might not have been a priority to start, that could change as the weeks and months go by.

I’ve been asked to shield and stay at home because I’m high risk. But I’ve been asked to come to hospital for an appointment. What should I do?

We are aiming to hold appointments by telephone or video-conferencing where possible to help with social distancing and so people don’t need to travel to hospital. However, some patients will need to have face-to-face appointments to give blood, for example, or so we can assess clinical issues. If you need to come here, we’ll try to make sure you’re seen in a part of the hospital where there are no known COVID-19 cases. If that’s not possible, we’ll attempt to give you an appointment either at the start or the end of a clinic to minimise your contact with other people. Be assured that our staff will be wearing the appropriate PPE to keep you as safe as possible. Remember, if you’re got any concerns about coming to hospital, you can call the number on your appointment letter.

What if I become unwell or my condition deteriorates?

If you feel that you are seriously unwell, please call 111 or, in an emergency, call 999. If you think your condition is deteriorating or you’re experiencing increasing pain, contact your GP who can request advice from one of our clinicians if necessary.

When will I hear from the service again?

From the outset, we want to say how sorry we are to everyone who is having to wait far too long for treatment. We know this is far from ideal. We know it’s frustrating for so many. Our staff come to work in the NHS to help people, not to keep them waiting, often in pain and discomfort. But we are coping with a situation beyond our control but in the best way we can.

We’re trying to keep everyone informed and we really appreciate your patience and understanding.

With so many people to help, it’s a massive task in itself just to get in touch with everyone.

We’ll be keeping people informed of important changes and general updates through our Facebook and Twitter pages and our website and we’ll be asking the media to help us relay important changes as we go along.

When it’s time for you to come for your appointment or procedure, we’ll get in touch with you. If you’ve got specific queries, you can contact our Appointments Centre on (01482) 604444 Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 8am to 12 noon.  Please remember they’re really busy so only get in touch if you have no alternative.