Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been reviewing arrangements for patient services following the announcement of Monday 19 September as a Bank Holiday.

The Trust and the clinical teams have worked together to enable as much planned activity as possible to proceed on the Bank Holiday and can confirm that around two thirds of all planned surgical procedures which have been scheduled for this date, including the most urgent operations and cancer cases, will go ahead as planned.

Unfortunately, some routine procedures have been postponed, albeit a relatively small number. We apologise to those patients affected and will seek to reschedule as soon as possible.

Our outpatient services have been more heavily impacted; with around 6 in every 10 appointments postponed, however thanks to the support of our clinical teams we will still provide over 1,000 outpatient appointments on Monday as planned.

As the picture varies across different departments and services, the Trust is now in the process of contacting all patients with an appointment or procedure scheduled for Monday to either confirm it is going ahead or to cancel and reschedule.

Ellen Ryabov, Chief Operating Officer for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:

“We understand some patients will be disappointed to hear their appointments have been postponed. In making our decisions, we’ve had to consider a number of different factors including safe staffing levels, the potential for patients not to attend because they wish to observe the funeral themselves, and the desire among many of our own staff to observe the occasion and pay their respects to our late Queen on the day of the funeral.

“Other factors outside of our control, such as reduced public transport services and closure of community venues where we would ordinarily deliver clinics have also been considered.

“We are therefore making every effort to ensure priority surgeries and urgent appointments continue as planned, including cancer cases, diagnostics and radiotherapy treatments, but many other clinics and some non-urgent procedures are being rescheduled.

“We are now in the process of contacting everyone who is scheduled for an appointment or procedure on Monday to advise whether it needs to be rescheduled or whether it will go ahead. We would ask patients for their patience and understanding as we work through a high volume of appointments and calls, but please be assured we will be in contact.”

Urgent Treatment Centres and NHS111 will be open throughout the Bank Holiday period for those with medical problems of a routine, non-life threatening nature – call 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk for advice or details of your nearest centre.

Health professionals from across the globe will descend on East Yorkshire tomorrow as a team from Hull Hospitals plays host to a prestigious clinical event.

The major trauma team from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will host the Chest Wall Injury Society (CWIS) Modern Management of Chest Wall Injury conference tomorrow, Tuesday 6 September, at the Mercure Grange Park Hotel in Willerby.

The honour of hosting the conference comes just weeks after the Trust’s thoracic trauma team was awarded CWIS ‘Collaborative Centre’ status in recognition of its often life-saving work with patients with rib fractures and other chest injuries.

The conference will welcome both UK and international delegates, online and in person, and will explore hot topics, research, and examine challenging cases in the rapidly evolving field of rib and sternal repair through presentations, interactive discussion and shared expertise.

Major trauma clinical lead, Dr Tom Cowlam

In advance of the course, the CWIS’s SarahAnn Whitbeck and Dr Thomas W. White have travelled from the US and been hosted at Hull Royal Infirmary today by a team including Chief Executive Christopher Long, who will open tomorrow’s conference, plus major trauma clinical lead Dr Tom Cowlam and thoracic surgeons Mr Michael Cowen and Mr Michael Gooseman.

Mr Gooseman, who is also a senior clinical lecturer with Hull York Medical School, says the event is a real feather in Hull’s clinical cap:

“This is a proud moment for us in our ongoing relationship as a CWIS Collaborative Centre.

“We’re thrilled to be welcoming the Chest Wall Injury Society to Hull for this prestigious educational event. It promises to be a cutting-edge exploration of current operative and non-operative approaches to chest wall trauma, taking the experience and most recent learning from experts in the field and sharing this far and wide.

“Chest wall injuries are usually sustained as a result of moderate or major trauma, so something like a fall or a crush injury. Though not uncommon, it’s important that these injuries are managed correctly as they can lead to significant health risks for patients such as compromised breathing or further complications.

“Tomorrow’s event is a meeting of health professionals first and foremost, but what we’re all aiming to do is bring learning back to the workplace and use it to benefit the patients we all care for.

“Being able to host some of the leading names in chest trauma right here in Hull not only means we have direct access to their expertise, but it also means we can showcase the work of our own team on a global stage and show just why Hull has earned its Collaborative Centre status.”

More information and an agenda for the conference can be found on the CWIS website.

Our main Hull Royal Infirmary car park on Argyle Street, and all of our patient and visitor car parks at Castle Hill Hospital, now use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

• A camera will read your number plate as you drive into our car park.
• You will need to “pay on exit” before returning to your car.
• When you reach the exit, the barrier will lift as long as you have paid.

Some of our car parks at Hull Royal Infirmary are still pay-and-display, so please check the signs in the car parks.

Charges

• £2.00 for up to 1 hour
• £3.00 for 1 to 2 hours
• £5.00 for 2 to 24 hours

If you have any questions, please speak to a member of car parking or security staff.

Car Park Maps

Our maps have been updated to show you the locations of the different car parks at both hospitals.

• Map of Hull Royal Infirmary car parks
• Map of Castle Hill Hospital car parks

Free Parking

The following groups of patients and visitors are entitled to free parking.

Blue Badge holders

• Parking is free for Blue Badge holders.
• You must display a valid Blue Badge in your vehicle.
• You must register your Blue Badge on the APCOA Blue Badge Permit Portal ideally before you come to hospital. You can add multiple vehicle registrations via the app if necessary.
• If you arrive at hospital before registering your Blue Badge, you can validate your free parking using the tablets at the security offices or the Queen’s Centre.

Parents of children staying in hospital overnight

• Your parking is free if your child has to stay overnight in hospital.
• Please speak to the ward team caring for your child, who will validate your parking.

Regular outpatients attenders

• Your parking is free if you have to attend outpatients regularly.

Please speak to the reception staff in your outpatients department, who will validate your parking.

Short-Term Parking Permits

If you are going to be attending hospital regularly for a short period of time, you can save money by purchasing an unlimited parking permit, with the following charges:

• £10.00 for a week
• £15.00 for two weeks
• £20.00 for a month

You must ask for a form from the ward or department you are visiting, then take it to the Security Office at either of our hospitals.

Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicle parking is not included in the charging fee and should be paid for at the parking payment machines or on the app.

For more information on EV charging, please refer to the EV charging signage.

Security Offices

• Hull Royal Infirmary
  3rd Floor Tower Block
  Tel: 01482 675257
• Castle Hill Hospital
  Main Reception
  01482 623723

Effective from Monday 15 August 2022.

We recently updated our car parking payment machines at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital to allow hospital users to pay using cash card, contactless, online via the APCOA app and with cash.

From Monday 15^th August, the machines will be linked to an Automatic Number Plate Recognition system so all you need to do when you arrive at one of our hospitals is park up and go to your appointment. Before you leave site, please visit one of our payment machines, type in your registration number, and pay for your parking. There’s no need to pay in advance, and no need to display a ticket.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) works by constantly searching a ‘read zone’ for vehicle registration numbers. Once a registration number is recognised by the camera it will start a parking episode. The ANPR system will log the entry time to the site, or individual car park, for the purpose of working out the charges when the vehicle leaves. If you are not a Disabled Blue Badge holder, please make a payment before moving to the barrier.

Patients or visitors who hold a valid Disabled Blue Badge issued by the local authority will be permitted to park for free however to ensure that you benefit from this free parking, you are required to register your vehicle on the National APCOA Portal at https://bluebadge.apcoa.co.uk/

If you hold a valid Disabled Blue Badge and you are coming on to one of our sites for the first time you can go to the Security Office to register your vehicle and have it safe-listed. If you find that all accessible parking bays are full, or if it is more convenient to you, you can park in any patient/visitor parking bays, and still benefit from free parking, provided you’ve registered the vehicle. Please note though that we do not permit parking on double yellow lines, double red lines or hatchings, even with a valid Disabled Blue Badge issued by the local authority.

Car parking at the Queen’s Centre will continue to be free for cancer patients, however you will be required to enter your registration number on a tablet within the Queen’s Centre upon arrival to validate your parking.

Very short stays, such as to drop someone off or to pick someone up (including taxis) will also be free, however if you know you will be waiting a while, please park in a relevant bay and pay on exit as per the above instructions to enable drop off bays to remain free for others to use.

Hull Hospitals are in the running for a prestigious national award based on their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainability.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of nine organisations to be shortlisted this week in the ‘Towards Net Zero’ category of the Health Service Journal Awards 2022.

The Trust has made a bold commitment to achieve net zero by 2030, seeking to become carbon neutral up to 15 years earlier than the targets set by the Department of Health*.

The Trust has already made some significant progress towards this aim, such as the replacement of its gas boilers with heat pumps, replacement of some 20,000 traditional light fittings with low energy versions, a reduction in the use of gases such as Entonox, and the creation of Castle Hill Hospital’s ‘Field of Dreams’; an 11,000 panel solar farm which currently generates enough power to meet the daytime needs of the entire hospital site.

Marc Beaumont, Head of Sustainability for the Trust says:

“It’s great to be recognised for the work we’ve been doing but our achievements are not just down to a few, they’re the result of all staff pulling together to do their bit, so I’d like to thank everyone whose actions are helping to bring the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality that little bit closer every day.”

The Trust’s Sustainability Team must present its case to the HSJ judging panel in October, before winners are revealed at a special awards ceremony in mid November.

You can help Hull Hospitals make a difference by submitting your own Zero30 pledge via the Trust website.

* Current NHS guidance asks all NHS organisations to become net zero in respect of the carbon emissions they directly control by 2040, and those they can influence by 2045. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is aiming to become one of the first hospital trusts in England to reach zero carbon emissions by 2030.

We asked women and birthing people across Humber and North Yorkshire what was important to them when choosing where to give birth

Across Humber and North Yorkshire, the NHS and local partners are looking at ways to improve healthcare in our region.

Last year, as we started to consider how maternity and neonatal care could be delivered in the future, we launched a survey to hear from new and expectant mothers, women trying to conceive, surrogates, other birthing people, and their families about what matters to them when accessing maternity services.

Working collaboratively with Maternity Voice Partnerships (MVPs) across the region an engagement exercise called Your Birthing Choices was co-produced to help us better understand what environment people would prefer to give birth in, what influences their decisions on where to give birth, what their main concerns are and what could be put in place to alleviate those concerns.

An incredible 1,136 people participated and shared their views, through either an online survey or by attending a focus group. You can read what they had to say.

• Overall, an Alongside Midwifery-Led Unit was participants’ preferred place to give birth, but not everyone’s first choice.
• At Home and at a Standalone Midwifery Led Unit were participants’ least preferred locations to give birth at due to concerns around safety should complications arise during labour.
• Not having neonatal care available would influence where many participants choose to give birth
• Being kept safe and well looked after was comparatively more important to maternity service-users than the public as a whole

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to respond, your feedback has been invaluable.

Read the Your Birthing Choices engagement report and the findings. 

A passion for guitar is not the only thing Hull Hospitals’ Professor Andy Beavis has in common with Queen’s Brian May.

The consultant medical physicist and the legendary rocker were both presented with honorary degrees by the University of Hull this month.

A former pupil at Longcroft School in Beverley, Professor Beavis was put forward for the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, by the University of Hull’s Dr David Richards.

Dr Richards’ nomination described how Andy has excelled throughout his career after discovering his passion and abilities in both physics and maths at a young age.

After gaining his degree in radiation physics from Newcastle and periodically serving as a roadie for space rock band, Hawkwind, Andy joined Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as a clinical scientist in 1992. He progressed through the ranks and eventually took on the role of Head of Radiation Physics at Castle Hill Hospital in 2007.

During this time, he developed the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in radiotherapy, a significant step forward in radiotherapy treatment planning from the standard x-ray CT technique, and created an algorithm for new treatment techniques called Dynamic Wedges, something which had stumped other industry experts at the time. These techniques were quickly adopted in cancer treatment and Andy started to become noticed on the world stage.

At the same time, he joined the National Radiotherapy Programme Board, influencing national policy, playing a key role in the future direction of radiotherapy treatment, and helping to establish a £23m Radiotherapy Innovation Fund to modernise radiotherapy throughout the UK.

2007 was also the year when Andy became co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Vertual Ltd, a spin off enterprise with colleagues from the University of Hull which uses virtual reality (VR) to train radiotherapy professionals.

Described as being like a ‘flight simulator for radiotherapy’, every radiographer delivering therapy in the UK after 2007 has been trained using Vertual’s VR simulation system. The system is now in over 160 installations in over 30 countries around the world, helping to shape how care is delivered to millions of people with cancer.

Dr Richards says:

“Andy is someone who has always strived to deliver more, whether that’s clinical care for his patients, advances in technology for his colleagues, or shaping the direction of his profession and radiotherapy treatment across the globe.

“He’s been published over a hundred times, he’s received multiple awards, and he’s been listed in the top 100 Leading Practicing Scientists in the UK.  It makes us all really proud when we consider just how far Andy’s work has reached and how many lives it has touched for the better. He very much deserves the honorary degree given to him this month”.

Now Head of Medical Physics at the Trust, leading a team of nearly 100 scientists, engineers and support staff, Andy is an internationally recognised expert who continues to fly the flag for Hull when it comes to research, innovation and improving patient care.

Andy says he’s thrilled to have received the doctorate from the university:

“In academic circles, it’s considered a great honour to receive such an honorary degree and I am truly grateful to the University for the award.

“Across the Medical Physics service in Hull, we have achieved so much in radiotherapy, diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine and clinical engineering, and I am very proud of the fantastic team that I have the pleasure to lead.

“The work we have done in developing novel training methods with Vertual has been very exciting, especially reflecting a Hull-based company growing from the Trust and University which has changed international practice in clinical training forever.

“I hope that this award might help promote the opportunities that the NHS offers to scientists, engineers and technologists. It would be fantastic if we could interest local people to explore the type of career that I have been fortunate to enjoy so much.”

Andy hasn’t forgotten his rock roots either, having taken another ride on the ‘Starship Hawkwind’ in Tokyo, Japan, in 2015.

Castle Hill won’t let the grass grow as 51 sheep are welcomed onto solar field

There’s a lot to think about when you set out to build a multi-million pound solar farm; how best to capture the sun? How much power will it generate? Are all the permissions in place?  But one question that may not immediately spring to mind is how to cut the grass.

Sheep among the solar panels, opposite Castle Hill Hospital

This was the dilemma facing the team at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and its 11,000 panel ‘field of dreams’ opposite Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.

Now thanks to a local shepherding family, they’ve come up with the ultimate, sustainable green solution; a flock of 51 hungry sheep.

“The idea came about by chance, after we started looking at ways of cutting the grass between the rows of solar panels,” says Alex Best, Head of Capital for the Trust.

“We approached a number of landscapers for ideas on how we could manage the grass cutting, both mechanically and sustainably, and this felt like the perfect solution; keeping the grass down naturally and reducing our carbon footprint. It ties in perfectly with our ethos of sustainability and supporting our local community, and the costs involved are extremely competitive at just one sixth of what it would cost us to cut the grass mechanically.

“We intended the field to become an area of natural biodiversity, and the natural approach to maintaining the land we’re now taking only enhances this.”

A total of 51 sheep of varying breeds including Beltex and Blue Texel are now happily munching away in Field A, which lies adjacent to Castle Road and the A164. The flock is helping to control the growth of grasses and other wildflowers sown on the field when construction finished in February this year.

Grant Bailey and his brother Ollie, both from Cottingham (pictured below), helped to bring the family’s sheep up to their new stomping ground. Grant, who runs GMB Mini Tool Hire, also maintains the lower field (Field B) on behalf of the Trust.

Grant Bailey (right) and his brother Ollie in the solar field with their sheep

Grant says:

“We needed somewhere for our sheep to go and within a couple of days of chatting to Alex, we were talking about how we could make it work.

“We knew of the solar field but hadn’t actually thought about it as an option. Now the sheep are here, they seem really happy and it’s great to have found a solution to both our needs without having to have looked outside the village.”

Grant and Ollie check on the sheep twice a day to make sure they’re all okay.

The sheep are secured within the field with plenty of space to roam, while 21 rows of solar panels and the surrounding trees provide plenty of shade to cool down when the weather gets hot.

And there’s no risk of supply cables being nibbled either; the panels are mounted high enough to be out of reach of curious faces and the cables are protected in hard plastic as they reach the ground to keep both the solar farm and its occupants safe.

A local artist whose work rocketed to fame during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations has donated one of her works to hospital staff.

Eleanor Tomlinson, from Broomfleet, painted the now instantly recognisable ‘Jubilee Ma’amalade Tea’ which features Her Majesty the Queen, Paddington Bear, a trusty corgi and of course, a marmalade sandwich.

Eleanor posted the picture on social media after being inspired to paint by the Platinum Pageant in early June. Since then, she has received literally thousands of requests from people looking to secure a copy.

Charge nurse, Paul Johnson, with ‘Jubilee Ma’amalade Tea’

But Eleanor has a special reason for donating a signed copy of the work to staff on Neurosurgical Ward 4 at Hull Royal Infirmary, and that’s her dad, Nick.

Paul Johnson, charge nurse on Ward 4 (pictured, left) explains:

“Nick came to us a few years ago for care following a head injury. He made a strong recovery, and since his discharge from hospital, he’s stayed in touch like many of our patients do after a potentially life changing event.

“While we just saw it as doing our job, Nick, Eleanor and the rest of the family were really grateful for the care he received. He’s never forgotten us, in fact Nick even did some fundraising a little while ago to get us some equipment for our staff room, but this latest donation that Nick and Eleanor have made to us is really unique.”

This special print of ‘Jubilee Ma’amalade Tea’ is dedicated to the nurses, doctors, and all the support staff who helped Nick and his family through his time in hospital. It has been framed, personally signed by the artist, and has a heartfelt address ‘To Paul and the team’.

Paul continues:

The piece has been personally dedicated to the team on ward 4, HRI

“I’m really proud of my team for the care they deliver every day, but to be recognised in this way is something really special, and we all feel really privileged to have been chosen to receive a signed copy as a thank you.

“Knowing so many people wanted them, and knowing Her Majesty the Queen also has the same picture, makes us feel very honoured!”

Eleanor says:

“I’m delighted it’s gone down well and hopefully will bring some smiles to the team and patients. I’m very grateful to all the team for everything they did when my dad was with them.”

More information on Eleanor Tomlinson and her work can be found at www.eleanortomlinsonart.co.uk