All three Emergency Departments in Hull, Scunthorpe and Grimsby remain under significant pressure, in line with other departments in hospitals all over the country.

While we are not seeing higher attendances than we would expect to see in January, we are seeing sicker patients, including those with flu, who need to stay in hospital for longer than usual.

We also have high numbers of patients who are well enough to go home but have to stay in hospital until care packages can be arranged to support their return to their own homes or places can be found for them in community facilities such as care or nursing homes.

These factors mean we cannot move patients requiring hospital care out of our Emergency Departments and onto wards, placing all areas of our hospitals and our staff under pressure.

Humber Health Partnership is working closely with community health partners and local authorities to free up space on wards as quickly as possible.

The group, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital, Diana, Princes of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, Scunthorpe General Hospital and Goole Hospital, is urging people to consider alternatives to A&E such as pharmacies, local GPs and Urgent Treatment Centres if they do not require urgent or emergency treatment. If you are not sure where to go, please contact NHS111.

Members of the public are also urged to get their flu vaccine to protect themselves over the winter months to help ease the pressure on hospital services.

An infectious disease specialist is reminding people it’s not too late to get the flu jab as winter pressures continue to bite.

Around two in every three people with confirmed flu in hospitals across the Humber region are aged over 65, one of the groups identified as most ‘at risk’ from the winter virus.

With concerns that flu cases will rise again following Christmas and New Year get-togethers, as children return to school, and with Professor Stephen Powis, National Medical Director for NHS England, warning the NHS could be on course for one of its worst ever winters, local people are being urged to take up the vaccine wherever it’s offered.

Dr Nick Easom

Dr Nick Easom, Consultant in Infectious Diseases at NHS Humber Health Partnership, says:

“The management of patients with flu has been posing challenges for our hospital wards and departments for almost two months now.

“While most healthy people can see off the worst of the virus in a week or so, it can potentially be much more serious in older people and those who are already ill or vulnerable to infection.

“At such a busy time of year, when beds are already in high demand, creating additional space and the process of deep cleaning to reopen beds makes things even more difficult for our teams. Currently we have the equivalent of almost two full wards dedicated to managing patients with flu across Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill, and more than a full ward at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby too.

“Staff are wearing face masks once again to protect colleagues and visitors, but there is plenty that other people can to do reduce their own risk of infection.”

Dr Easom says the flu jab can still be highly effective, even if taken at this time of year:

“It’s not too late to get the flu jab, and it can still offer important protection for those most at risk from the virus. GP surgeries are offering the vaccine to eligible patients right through until March, so if you’ve been invited but not yet taken up the offer of a flu jab, please do so as soon as possible.

“If you have flu-like symptoms and need medical advice, please contact NHS111 in the first instance rather than coming to hospital as this risks spreading infection to others, and if you do need to visit us for any reason, please be sure to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, and consider wearing a facemask if you’re able to do so.”

More information on managing the symptoms of flu at home can be found on the NHS website: www.nhs.uk/conditions/flu/

82-year-old Jean, who spent a 56-year career in nursing, is among those recognised at a special celebration

They say time is precious, and nowhere do we feel that more than within our region’s hospitals.

Since January this year, a team of 502 volunteers has been donating their time and skills to support patients, staff, relatives and visitors across Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, clocking up a phenomenal 23,400 hours between them.

From meet and greet to running the mobile shop and bringing therapy dogs in to help reduce anxiety, volunteers take on all manner of roles.

Denis and his cockerpoo, Barney, volunteer in the intensive care units at both HRI and Castle Hill Hospital

Earlier this week, those volunteers were celebrated with a special Christmas meal and entertainment, courtesy of local ukulele band, the Sunshine Strummers.

For the first time, Hull Hospitals also handed out a number of “Volunteers Oscars”. The awards were given to those who, based on staff and patient feedback, had made the biggest impact in their wards or clinical areas, and to those whose stories served as the most inspirational and heartwarming for others.

Among those receiving an ‘oscar’ were Denis Lockwood and his cockerpoo, Barney (left), who took home the “Pawesome Pooch” award for the most therapy dog hours spent around the hospitals. Lydia Howard was recognised for having clocked up the most time as a volunteer this year with an amazing 849 hours worked, and Julie Marshall received the “Most Hours on a Trolley” award, for time spent running the mobile shop service for patients at Castle Hill Hospital and having raised over £4,000 this year alone in the process.

But two volunteers who work in Hull Royal Infirmary’s busiest department were also in line for awards.

Jean Walker, 82, worked as a nurse for 56 years before she officially retired at the age of 73. Told as a child she would never make it as a nurse due to her asthma, Jean silenced all doubters to begin training as a nurse cadet aged 17, then go on to complete her registered nurse training. Once qualified, she worked at Princess Royal Hospital and in Hull Royal’s Outpatients Department before spending the last 40 years of her career as a nurse in Hull’s Emergency Department (ED).

Old habits die hard, of course, and it wasn’t long before Jean was back volunteering, firstly in the hospital’s Acute Assessment Unit, then making her way back to ED, where she feels she belongs and where she has been volunteering for the past nine years.

A familiar face amongst staff, volunteers and patients alike, Jean was recognised with the hospital’s “Back from Retirement award” at the celebration.

Jean says:

“Nursing has been my life. I’ve been with the Trust in one form or another for over 60 years and I just love helping people, I do this for the love of it.

“Having been a nurse myself for so long, it really helps as I understand the pressures the teams are under. I help wherever I can, stocking up technically for them, making drinks for visitors and doing the jobs staff don’t have time to, to allow them to spend more time caring for patients.

Graham Gedney volunteers in Hull’s Emergency Department

“Even if you have aches and pains, you still come in because you know people need you. I just can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Another gentleman bringing smiles and support to both staff and public is Graham Gedney (right). Graham worked at some of Hull’s big name firms including British Cocoa Mills and Reckitts before retiring. He began volunteering in 2002, supporting GP and pharmacy inspections and working with the local Primary Care Trust to improve access to healthcare for communities in east Hull. A member of Hull Hospitals’ volunteers team since 2013, Graham now supports the Emergency Department by conducting patient surveys and spending time with patients and families.

Graham was one of two people, alongside Marie Stern, to receive the 2024 “Above and Beyond” award. Graham’s wife, Linda, also works at the hospital to meet and greet the public.

Graham says:

“You feel part of a family here, you feel part of a team with the doctors and nurses.

“As volunteers, a large part of our role is speaking with people, and that’s not just the patients; we spend a lot of time with relatives and families and that’s important because in helping them, in reassuring them and putting their minds at ease, you’re helping the patients in another way.

“It makes it all worthwhile when people say thank you, and tell you you’ve made a difference for them, but it helps us too as volunteering, especially somewhere busy like A&E, helps to keep the brain and body ticking over too.”

Rachael Hardcastle-Pearce (second left) with members of the Hull voluntary services team at their Volunteers Christmas Celebration

Rachael Hardcastle-Pearce, Group Voluntary Services Manager says:

“Our volunteers provide hospital staff with invaluable support, front-of-house, on the wards, and behind-the scenes; we really would be lost without them.

“There is such a community feel to this group of people and the numbers continue to grow, now topping 500 across Hull Royal and Castle Hill.

“Volunteering provides opportunities for everyone; we have young people giving their time to help further their studies and career aspirations, we have older people who want to stay active, and we have a lot of people who previously enjoyed a career in the care sector and want to continue using those skills now they have retired. We also have a good number of people who are motivated by the care our hospitals have given to relatives and loved ones in the past, and who feel like they want to give something back.

“It’s the sheer variety of people and the endless skills they bring which make my job such a pleasure and which provide our staff with the extra support they need to focus on patients.

“Our volunteers have had a cracking year and I’d like to say a huge thank you for everything they do for us, our patients and the public.”

If you would be interested in becoming a volunteer, call 01482 623089 or visit https://www.hey.nhs.uk/volunteering/

Thousands sign up in-year to support potentially ground-breaking research projects

Hospital staff across the Humber region have spent the year at the forefront of clinical research.

As 2024 draws to a close, research and development teams working for NHS Humber Health Partnership, which covers hospitals across Hull, Cottingham, Grimsby, Goole and Scunthorpe, plus some community services, have worked on more than 650* individual health research studies in-year.

Over 4,700 patients and users of the group’s health services across East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire agreed to take part in research across 27 specialties this year, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, respiratory diseases, cancer, kidney disease, digestive diseases, diabetes, infectious diseases, and vascular disease.

Professor Thozhukat Sathyapalan

And while people often picture clinical research as simple drug trials, this type of study forms only a small proportion of the research teams’ work, as Professor Thozhukat Sathyapalan, Group Director for Research, Development and Innovation explains:

“With the support of local academic partners and Hull York Medical School, hospitals across Hull and the Humber region are continuing to place themselves at the forefront of clinical research.

“While some studies do look at the efficacy of drug treatments, many others investigate the effectiveness of therapeutic work with patients, or use questionnaires and patient data to look for trends or to influence treatment options going forward.

“Being able to offer local people opportunities to get involved in research is really important, not only in terms of improving the health of the local population, but also in discovering and developing cures, providing access to new and emerging treatments, understanding how certain conditions can affect people, and even being able to attract the best healthcare staff and academics to our region.

“We value every single person who helps us on our research journey, looking into many different conditions such as IBD, vascular disease and cancer, and would like to thank everyone who’s taken part or signed up to be involved this year for their willingness to help us and others like them.

“Signing up to a trial doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming, but could make all the difference to thousands of other patients in the future, not just in our region but across the world.”

(L-R) The FRONTIER team: Kayleigh Brindle, Professor Michael Crooks, and Karen Watkins

One of the most popular studies over the past 12 months has been the Born and Bred in (BaBi) study. This study uses data which is already held about local people to shape family health services and highlight societal changes which could improve long-term health outcomes for children and families. Having started in Hull in February, more than 1,200 people signed up in the first eight months, that’s over three times the original target for the year, and in the last month, the same study has launched in Northern Lincolnshire too.

Clinical teams from the region have been no strangers to the global stage either, with members of Hull’s respiratory clinical trials team being among those invited to present their projects and potentially ground-breaking findings to international research colleagues. Such projects include the FRONTIER Programme, a two-year project in partnership with Chiesi looking at undiagnosed COPD which was recently cited as best practice in Westminster.

During the first phase of the project, 201 patients who previously attended an NHS Lung Health Check and who reported symptoms of lung disease and/or had emphysema on their CT scan were invited back for further COPD testing. Over two thirds of those, 136 people, went on to receive a COPD diagnosis, suggesting that the NHS Lung Health Check also presents a notable opportunity to identify and enable timely treatment for other respiratory illnesses.

A collective celebration of healthcare research event, involving doctors, nurse and therapists working across the region’s hospitals, will take place in the New Year.

If you’d like to get involved with healthcare research or lean more about what’s involved, speak to your healthcare professional or visit https://www.hull.nhs.uk/research/

* The figure of 650 studies is a cumulative total across the research portfolio, with some projects actively recruiting and some providing follow-up activities.

An increasing number of patients have been admitted to our hospitals in Hull, Grimsby and Scunthorpe with flu over the past three weeks.

Our staff must now wear surgical face masks in all patient-facing areas at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill.

We’re also asking staff at Scunthorpe General Hospital, Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital at Grimsby and Goole Hospital to wear surgical face masks in specific areas such as our Emergency Departments and in wards treating patient with flu or respiratory conditions.

Visitors to these areas will also be asked to wear face masks to protect themselves and help us stop the spread of the virus throughout our hospitals.

Anyone showing symptoms of flu or any other illness should not come to hospital to visit so we can protect our patients from the winter bugs currently circulating in our communities. If you are unwell, for any reason, please delegate another person to visit in your place to ensure already sick and vulnerable people are not exposed to potentially dangerous illnesses.

We’d like to assure the public that these measures are being kept under daily review by our senior nursing and infection control teams and we will keep you informed of any changes over the coming days and months.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding while we do our best to protect your loved ones, relatives and friends who are in our care.

How would you like a fantastic job, with clear career progression and rewards, in a spectacularly beautiful yet unspoiled corner of England?

NHS Humber Health Partnership, the organisation running Hull University Teaching Hospitals and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, is launching a new website showcasing the Humber Region as an outstanding place to live, work and play.

The new website – www.joinhumberhealthpartnership.nhs.uk – will highlight vacancies in every profession across the organisation’s five hospitals alongside in-depth information about the different career choices in the NHS.

Craig Lazenby, Head of Marketing, Recruitment and Retention, said: “Our new website is the best place to go if you’re considering a move to one of the most under-rated yet up-and-coming parts of England.

“We’re aiming to attract people from other parts of the country or from other countries. But we also want to attract jobseekers from our own area, who know already what our region has to offer, but are searching for a great career in the NHS.

“And we’re not just advertising jobs for doctors and nurses. We’ve got a whole host of clinical and scientific careers as well as jobs with our estates team, IT, administration and apprenticeships.”

The new website will feature a dedicated careers section, highlighting the many different career paths in the NHS.

Cultural riches, regional landmarks and beauty spots will be listed in the “Live, Work and Play” section celebrating the distinctive and diverse Humber Region with its affordable cost of living, fantastic countryside and unspoiled coastline teaming with wildlife.

There’s also information on schools and the low-cost and affordable housing market to help people thinking of moving to the area with their families.

The website will also link to MedShed, aimed at Key Stage Two students attending schools in the region who may be considering careers or apprenticeships in the health service.

The website will be unveiled at the Graduate Nursing Event at the University of Hull on Thursday, December 19, when newly qualified nurses will be able to apply for vacancies at Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital, Goole Hospital, Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby and Scunthorpe General Hospital.

AI technology is being used to further improve a ground-breaking scheme that has already helped to transform the care of patients with chronic respiratory illness across Hull and East Yorkshire.

Since implementing the original scheme March 2023, we have seen a 40% reduction in the number of patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) needing to come back into hospital for treatment.

This is one of only two such services in the UK and now it is hoped that the use of Artificial Intelligence could help us to reduce this even further – possibly by as much as 90%.

Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Mike Crooks, who runs the service, said: “By using the Lenus COPD support system, we are able to treat COPD patients using virtual wards – so they can remain in the comfort of their own home.

“One of the characteristics of the condition is that people are prone to worsening of their symptoms that often results in needing hospital treatment but using the app can help to prevent this, by keeping track of how patients are feeling and what their symptoms are.

“The patients use a version of the app that prompts them on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to answer questions about their wellbeing and their symptoms and all that data is compiled together and put onto the clinician app. Patients can also message our team directly.

“This encourages them to self-monitor their symptoms so they understand their condition better, what’s normal for them in terms of day-today variation and prompts them to make contact to initiate treatment early, so that we can give them the care they need to get them back on the right path before the point they need to come into hospital.

“This has already had a significant impact on reducing the number of patients who get to the stage where they need hospital care.

“The next phase will be to use AI to analyse this data and help us to identify trends and triggers that are likely to result in COPD patients requiring care and put interventions in place to support them before they reach this point.”

Ruth, who was diagnosed with COPD at the age of 40, has been using the Lenus app as part of her treatment. She said: “Before the Lenus, I was using the hospital three or four times a year and now those visits have been cut down to virtually zero.

“If I need to reach out to a clinician, I know that the app’s there and I can do that.”

Marcia Rankin-Smith, Project Delivery Lead at Lenus Health, added: “Through our work with Humber Health Partnership, we have been able to gather real-world evidence demonstrating that providing Lenus digital tools for COPD care in deprived areas reduces hospital admissions and lowers costs of care. The in-year cost savings evidenced by the project will be particularly important to strengthen the business case for continued investment.

“Beyond the positive clinical and economic impact, we have fostered a remarkably strong working relationship with the Respiratory Team in Hull. Their expertise and insights have been key to improving the service, and we are thrilled to share our success story with the broader healthcare community.”

Our group directors will come together on Thursday 12 December for a meeting of our Trust Boards-in-Common.

The meeting will start at 9am and will be held in the Boardroom at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby. This is a formal meeting with a set agenda. The board papers will be available on the NLaG website shortly.

Members of the public are welcome. Please email sarahmeggitt@nhs.net before noon on Wednesday 11 December if you wish to attend.

Children as young as 11 are to be supported by a new A&E hospital programme in Hull, Grimsby and Scunthorpe after they’ve been injured or traumatised by violence.

“Navigators” will reach out to young people attending Hull Royal Infirmary, Scunthorpe General Hospital and Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby for injuries caused by or linked to violence, including knife crime.

Specially trained navigators will aim to build relationships with young people, directing them to community services and supporting them once they leave hospital, helping them to make positive changes to their lifestyles.

Vicky Thersby, Group Head of Safeguarding at NHS Humber Health Partnership, said: “We aim to support young people who come to our hospitals with violence-related injuries, providing them with support at critical time, following a violent incident.

“This is a confidential service providing care, guidance, practical advice and support to help young people tackle problems that might be preventing them from living safe and positive lives.

“Our Navigators are not there to ask about the incident which has brought a young person to hospital. Instead, our aim is to help the young person take the next steps to create a brighter future for themselves.”

Hospital admissions for assault with a sharp object, including knives, have risen by nine per cent since 2021 across the Humber region. Between a quarter and a third of those admitted to hospital are under 24.

NHS Humber Health Partnership, the group representing Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and Hull University Teaching Hospitals, has been commissioned by Humber Violence Prevention Partnership, a Home Office-funded Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) set up in 2022 to prevent and reduce serious violence, and will work with Tigers Trust and The Blue Door to deliver the Navigators programme.

Launched at the start of this month, anyone aged 11 to 35 who turns up at A&E departments following a violent incident or who is admitted to hospital wards for treatment can be approached directly by the navigators. They can also be referred to the service by hospital staff or they can request support themselves once they arrive at hospital.

Navigators will first assess the young person’s needs to protect them from immediate harm while they recover from their injuries. They are then able to make swift referrals to charities and support services in the community promoting positive lifestyles, such as refuges, housing and drug and alcohol services.

Rather than simply referring the young person to other services, navigators will continue to offer support from informal mentoring to teaching young people life skills to reduce immediate risk of violence in the future for as long as the person wishes.

Jonathan Evison, Chair of the Humber Violence Prevention Partnership, said: “The Navigators programme is part of the wider work we are doing across the Humber, taking a public health approach preventing and reducing serious violence.”

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) is pleased to announce that following a rigorous recruitment process involving key stakeholders, NHS England has approved the appointment of Murray Macdonald as its new Vice Chair. Murray will be taking over from Stuart Hall, who has served with distinction for many years, and his appointment will be effective from 1 January 2025.

The Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) Council of Governors (CoG) also agreed to include Stuart’s Associate NED role at NLaG as part of this appointment, in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Trusts. HUTH and NLaG operate as a group under the name NHS Humber Health Partnership

Murray Macdonald brings a wealth of experience to these roles, having served in various NHS Non-Executive roles in Community Health, Commissioning, the East of England Ambulance Service, as well as the Lincolnshire ICB Finance Committee. He is also a highly experienced Chief Executive in the housing sector.

Murray lives near Louth and is looking forward to meeting and working with everyone at both organisations.

He said: “I am honoured to be appointed as the Vice Chair of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Associate Non-Executive Director at NLaG. This is an exciting time to join an organisation with over 17,000 staff, and which cares for well over a million people across our region. I look forward to working with the team and contributing to the continued success and growth of the Trust and the NHS Humber Health Partnership group.”

Sean Lyons, chair at both HUTH and NLaG said: “Murray’s appointment was subject to a robust recruitment process involving myself as well as the Chair of the NLaG Council of Governors, NHSE representation and the current Vice Chair from NLAG. I know Murray will be a valuable addition to the boards of both organisations given his extensive experience at this level and in the NHS.

“I would like to pay a special tribute to Stuart for the years of service he has given to HUTH and more recently to NLaG. His knowledge of the organisations and the NHS along with his wise counsel will be sorely missed and on behalf of the boards of both trusts I would like to wish him all the very best for the future.”