A new social care unit, the first of its kind in the country to help patients regain independence after stays in hospital, has been set up at Castle Hill Hospital

The 14-bed facility, set up by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, will help people who are well enough to ‘step down’ from the intensive support provided by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust but can’t go home until out-of-hospital support is in place.

The East Riding Social Care Suite aims to reduce pressure on both Hull Royal infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital by providing additional capacity for people who need a little more support.

Teresa Cope, Chief Operating Officer at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We know now that ‘winter pressures’ are no longer confined to the colder months as we have seen sustained pressure on beds and staff all year long.

“However, it intensifies even further in December, January and February as seasonal illnesses take hold and the colder weather affects our most vulnerable.

“Having this facility at Castle Hill means there is somewhere to care for people who no longer require the intensive support and treatment provided by the hospital and its staff. We can then free up beds for the very sick patients who need to be admitted to our wards.

“This is a really positive development, testament to the work going on between the trust, East Riding Clinical Commissioning Group and East Riding of Yorkshire Council.”

People invited to spend time in the suite will have short-term care and support, able to take part in a range of activities to show them what is available close to their homes. They’ll also be given advice on how to live healthily and independently for longer.

John Skidmore, director for adults, health and customer services at the council, said: “We are aiming to provide engaging and interesting activities from a range of services that will enhance the emotional and physical wellbeing of users while strengthening social networks in the community

“This means people will be more confident and better connected once leaving hospital.”

More than 400 people regularly arrive at Hull’s Emergency Department every day, and around 100 of those patients could have received their treatment in other services such as at the Urgent Treatment Centres at Bransholme, Beverley, Bridlington and Goole or at the GP Walk-In Service at Wilberforce Health Centre, or via their own GP Practice.

“Patient streaming” is being introduced at Hull’s Emergency Department to redirect people who come to the hospital with less serious and minor illnesses and injuries which could be treated by alternative services in the community.

However, among those coming to A&E, many are seriously unwell and require admission to hospital, highlighted by an eight per cent rise in the demand for ambulances in the past few months.

Other patients with existing health conditions are also being admitted directly to wards in the departments where they are already undergoing treatment, such as oncology or cardiology wards.

In addition to the new Social Care Suite, the trust has also opened a new 22-bed general medicine ward at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Additional capacity is also being commissioned in the community through further community capacity is also commissioned for Winter 19/20 to enable the system wide Delayed Transfer of Care (DTOC) targets to be consistently achieved.

Tis the season of coughs, snuffles and viruses so Hull’s emergency team have produced a handy guide if your child develops a high temperature over the next few weeks.

The 10 facts guide will be posted on Facebook and Twitter by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust over the coming days to help parents determine the best course of action when their children become ill.

Dr Liz Herrieven, Emergency Consultant at Children’s A&E at Hull Royal, said: “It can be frightening when your child becomes ill and we understand you want to make sure they get the best possible treatment.

“But sometimes, keeping them at home and making sure they’re drinking plenty of fluid is the best course of action as most infections don’t require antibiotics.

“By producing this guide, we hope to help parents understand a bit more about fevers in children and to know when they need to seek urgent medical treatment.”

Ophthalmology Outpatients  named most festive hospital department of 2019

A passing comment made by a patient with sight difficulties has led to Ophthalmology Outpatients being named as the trust’s most festive ward or department of 2019.

Last December, an elderly lady told a staff member from the department how she had a tin of rice pudding for Christmas dinner and didn’t see or speak to anyone all day.

This led Sister Katy Rutter and her 115-strong team to ensure this lady and many more like her had a much more positive festive experience this year.

Ophthalmology Outpatients have been delivering a festive treat every day this December for patients young and old, from visits from Father Christmas and lindy hop dancers to school choir performances and knitting group sessions.

The team has made decorations inspired by The Polar Express, turning the reception desk into a ticket office where younger travellers are each given a golden train ticket inviting them to ‘Believe’. A huge cardboard steam engine stands in the outpatients waiting area and there’s a 6ft sign for the North Pole. Add in free mince pies bought by staff and offered daily to patients, sensory gifts bought by staff for visually impaired children and a Christmas tree decorated with glasses at patients’ request, and it becomes clear to see why the team took this year’s crown.

Chief Nurse Beverley Geary took time out of her busy schedule yesterday for judging visits across HRI, Hull Women and Children’s Hospital and Castle Hill Hospital, and to see and hear how staff have been creating festive cheer for patients, co-workers and visitors. She says:

“It’s been a real privilege to judge the competition and to see and hear from staff across the trust about how they’ve really pulled together and delivered a positive difference in the well-being and the recovery of their patients.

“While the entries were outstanding again this year, the Ophthalmology Outpatients team have clearly put so much thought into making a positive difference for patients who may be only with them for a few minutes per visit, and they have seen a massive benefit within their team too.”

As the winning department for 2019, the Ophthalmology Outpatients team has been presented with a luxury hamper to share and awarded temporary custody of the Dr Hermon Cup. The cup dates back to 1938, when the then-famous radiologist presented the shiny silver trophy to the best decorated ward in the old Anlaby Road Hospital.

Katy Rutter, Sister with the Ophthalmology Outpatients team has remarked how much of a difference the competition has made to her patients and staff:

“I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of my team. I have always felt lucky to manage them, however this project of ours has really shown me they are very special. Staff have made such an effort, morale has had a big boost and relationships between team members are stronger than I have ever known. It really has had such a beneficial effect on all of us.

“We are already planning what we can continue into the New Year for patients and staff. It has shown to have had such a positive impact on people’s mental health that we want to continue this into the darker months of winter which follow Christmas.”

Neuro rehabilitation Ward 29 and the Radiotherapy Team, both based at the Queen’s Centre, Castle Hill Hospital, were chosen as this year’s runners up.

Occupational Therapy and nursing staff on Ward 29 have seen first-hand how crafting Christmas decorations has led to improvements in manual dexterity and cognitive rehabilitation among patients recovering from brain injury . At the end of each craft group, their patients have regularly been clamouring to continue making decorations, further enhancing their recovery.

The Radiotherapy Team, who won the competition last year, themed their efforts around the “Twelve Days of Christmas Kindness”, delivering something different for patients in each of the 12 days leading up to December 25^th, including home baking, positivity notes and a Christmas card for all patients.

Beverley adds:

“Every single team I visited yesterday really impressed me with the amount of effort they put in, the amount of time they gave and their overall thoughtfulness for patients and colleagues. I loved seeing the difference our competing teams have made, and I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”

 Eighteen East Yorkshire firms have helped hospital staff transform a children’s ward in time for Christmas.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been given a £10,000 Christmas present by local companies to provide a new nursing base and medical treatment room on Ward 130 at Hull Royal Infirmary, which cares for the city’s sickest children.

Construction teams have worked hard to ensure the new areas are completed in time for Christmas. As well as managing the project, members of the Capital Development team also collected presents to hand out to children who were on the work while the work was taking place.

Andrew Lockyer with son George, one of the patients on the ward who received a present from the Capital Development team

Julia Harrison-Mizon, Operations Director for family and women’s services, said: “Thanks to our Capital Development team,  we have excellent relationships with the companies in the city and they did not hesitate to offer their help when they heard about our plans.

“We are extremely grateful to them for stepping in to offer their services for free.

“Thanks to them, we have been able to complete this work in two weeks, just in time for Christmas, minimising the disruption to our patients, visitors and staff.”

Staff on the children’s ward on the 13th floor of the tower block were keen to create a new nursing station for writing up confidential notes or having confidential conversations about patient care as well as a new medical treatment room.

Senior Project Manager Lee Appleton and Senior Project Support Officer Amy Lockyer of the trust’s Capital Development team entitled the venture “Project Christmas” and approached local contractors to see if they could help.

Lee said: “We received an overwhelming response from contractors who agreed to devote their time and expertise, as well as resources, for free.

“Some companies donated painting supplies while others installed new pipework, a new sink and flooring, new LED lighting, new worktops and cupboards and telephone, IT and office equipment to help nursing staff on the ward.”

“We now have an area where staff can have sensitive conversations about patient care in private areas and we’ll be able to keep noise to a minimum to benefit patients.

“The new area has been designed to mirror our adult wards which helps nurses and doctors who move between wards because they will know where everything is kept.”

Trust staff would like to thank

*Bonus Electrical

*Fairburns Group

*Sondia Lighting

*Complete Diamond Drilling

*Grade 3

*Vic Couplands

*Leisure Technique

*D&D Decorators

*CFI Flooring

*PH Joinery

*Zenith Development

*Plexus

*Brian Fells (Leven) Ltd

*Hybrid Cabling

*Readwell Signs

*We are the Office

*Hobson & Porter

*Johnson Construction

People who turn up at Hull A&E with minor conditions are to be redirected to other services this winter to ease the pressure on emergency services.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is introducing “patient streaming” at the front door of its Emergency Department to ensure people in need of emergency care are prioritised.

Every person attending the department will be met by a senior nurse known as a “nurse navigator” within 15 minutes who will determine the most appropriate place for them to be treated. That could include services away from the Emergency Department, such as another service based at the hospital or in the community.

Anyone using the Emergency Department for minor illnesses and injuries because they cannot get an appointment with their GP will be re-directed to an appropriate alternative service in the community.

People will be given information on where to get mental health support or help with addictions while others will be given future appointments to see their own GPs if their conditions are not serious.

6 July 2015: Humber NHS Foundation Trust board members.
Picture: Sean Spencer/Hull News & Pictures Ltd
01482 772651/07976 433960
www.hullnews.co.uk sean@hullnews.co.uk

Chief Operating Officer Teresa Cope said: “We’ve been asking people for years to keep our Emergency Department for ‘serious stuff’. However, around 46 per cent of people who come to our Emergency Department could have gone to other services.

“If people come to the Emergency Department with minor illnesses or injuries, they will now be re-directed into a appropriate services able to meet their clinical needs.   We also continue to ask patients to consider using alternative services in the first instance.

“Winter is here and we need to take these steps to ensure our staff and services are protected for the people who need us most.”

The new patient streaming service is part of the trust’s plan to improve urgent and emergency care as well as supporting the winter plan when hospital admissions increase because of seasonal illnesses such as flu and respiratory conditions or major trauma linked to accidents caused by bad weather.

An additional 22 bed ward opened at the end of October and 12 extra assessment beds will also be introduced at Hull Royal Infirmary to help cope with the additional demand over  winter.

Staff known as “progress checkers” will also be based in the Emergency Department to work with other hospital teams to gather results or book tests to ensure patients can be discharged home or admitted onto a ward sooner.

Teresa Cope said: “There has been significant planning and work undertaken by the hospital and by wider Health and Care partners to plan for winter.

“A number of schemes are now coming to fruition which will help the hospital to manage through this busy period and ensure patients receive appropriate and timely care.”

A £1.5m transformation of Hull Royal Infirmary’s ground floor to ensure patients are seen by the right health professional in the shortest possible time will be completed this week.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has undertaken a major project to expand its assessment and diagnostic area and introduce a new patient streaming area to ensure people are directed to the correct service as soon as they arrive at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Construction work of the ground floor projects will be completed today, with the transformation opening for patients on Monday.

A new front entrance allowing people to come straight to the Emergency Care area with minor illnesses and injuries will also be opened by February.

Duncan Taylor, Director of Estates, Facilities and Development, said the construction was the conclusion of Phase 7 of a nine-year project to transform the trust’s Emergency Department, covering 30,000 square feet or equivalent to the floor space of 30 houses.

He said: “The vision has always been to improve patient flow through the Emergency Department by improving diagnostics, introduce additional assessment beds and increase capacity within ED.

“We have seen a massive increase in people coming to ED recently with illnesses and injuries which could not be classed as genuine emergencies so we needed to ensure we have a way of assessing people as soon as they arrive to stop diverting frontline teams from the seriously ill and injured people who need them most.

“This new lay-out in emergency care will mean we can direct patients to the appropriate clinical department for further assessment.”

The work has been possible after the trust was successful in securing funding from the Department of Health and Social Care as part of its winter planning.

A new Surgical Ambulatory Care Unit has been built on the side of the existing Ambulatory Care Unit with two consulting rooms and two treatment rooms where minor surgical procedures, formerly carried out in the Fracture Clinic or A&E, can be carried out.

The Acute Medical Unit has also been extended to include two additional six-bay units to give additional assessment capacity.

In addition, a new MRI centre, built on the site of the former chapel, will be opened on the ground floor to reduce the number of in-patients being taken outside to the existing MRI building at Hull Royal. Another CT scan room will also be created on the ground floor to extend the current Emergency Department CT facility and that will be opened by March.

A man who spent seven years in a refugee camp before becoming a nurse at Castle Hill Hospital has shared his experience with children from an East Yorkshire primary school.

Justin Mwange fled to Zambia with his family from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo and spent seven years living without hope before he was granted refugee status and moved to Hull.

Now, after qualifying as a nurse this summer and joining Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Justin has gone to Newport Primary near Brough to share his experiences with Years 4 and 5.

Justin said: “I was very pleased to go to the school and tell the children about what it was like to go to school in Congo. We would walk 15 miles there and back to school every day and we’d to work to pay for all our books and even our pencils.

“They were interested to learn about my time in the camp and I was able to tell them why I wanted to become a nurse.”

Teacher Carolyn Ashley got in touch with the hospital trust to pass on the children’s letters and a visit was arranged for Justin and Vicky Needler, Practice Learning Facilitator so he could share his story.

Justin wanted to become a nurse after watching people die by the side of the road because of the lack of basic health care as his family and neighbours walked for three days in searing temperatures to flee the war tearing his country apart.

During his years in the refugee camp, Justin volunteered as a support worker with Medecins Sans Frontieres helping people with malnutrition.

Although fluent in French and Swahili, he spoke little English when he arrived in the country with his wife Elizabeth Nyota in 2007 as part of a refugee resettlement programme. He moved to Hull where he started English classes and took a job working in a factory to provide for his family.

He completed English as a Foreign Language programme at the University of Hull before applying to study social work and graduated in 2012. He then enrolled at the university to study nursing in 2016 and gained a first in his Bachelor of Science nursing degree this summer.

He now works on Ward 10 at Castle Hill, looking after patients with colorectal conditions and digestive problems.

Teacher Carolyn Ashley said: “We have been working on a project about peace, conflict and rights this year and one of the subjects we were looking at involved refugees.

“We then saw Justin’s story and the children decided to write him letters.

“It was a privilege to meet Justin and we’re so pleased he was able to come and meet the children.”

Staff at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital have donated two hampers to thank the vets looking after a therapy dog visiting sick children.

David Freer of Hull charity Nice2bNice brings black Labrador Lewis into Acorn Ward regularly to visit children in hospital, acting as a welcome distraction to patients and their families as they undergo treatment.

Lewis is sponsored by Haven Veterinary Group and staff have made up two hampers – one with tea, coffee and biscuits and the other with sweets and chocolates – to thank manager Hayley Bateman and staff at the vet’s.

Lewis has been independently assessed by a qualified dog behaviourist, he is fully insured for work in hospitals, and all visits are carried out in accordance with the respective health and hygiene policies.

Health Care Assistant Sally Hilton said: “Dave brings Lewis onto the ward and he brings so much joy to patients and staff.

“We wanted to do something nice for Haven as they look after Lewis and have always supported us in what we are trying to do.

“We’d like to wish them all a very merry Christmas and hope the hampers show just how much we appreciate them.”

A doctor from Hull Royal Infirmary is heading to West Africa to help reduce amputation rates in persons with diabetes.

Dr Kamrudeen Mohammed is travelling to the Gambia to share his expertise in diabetes as part of an international team of doctors supporting charity Humanity First.

Dr Mohammed was named Outstanding Individual (Medical and Dental) by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in this year’s Golden Hearts awards in June for his work as Tier 4 Bariatric Endocrinologist and clinical lead for the trust’s Tier 3 Weight Management programme.

He will now travel to Africa’s smallest country this month to underline the trust’s reputation as a leader in the field of diabetes prevention and treatment.

Dr Mohammed said: “This will be my second visit to the Gambia and I will be part of a team of health professionals from different hospitals all over the UK and beyond.

“I used my first visit to gather data on the extent of the problem of diabetes and amputations in the Gambia and I will now use this visit to work towards preventing or reducing the risk of amputations due to diabetes in the future.”

Between 12 and 15 per cent of the population of Gambia have diabetes, almost twice the UK’s rate.

Dr Mohammed visited the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul, the capital of Gambia, during his first visit to analyse patient data and discovered at least 10 amputations were being carried out every month on people with diabetes. Records from anaesthesia suggest it could be even higher.

He said: “In the UK, when someone has an amputation, it is usually because we have exhausted every other possible treatment.

“Even when it does happen, the patient still has a good chance of returning to employment and having a normal life because we are able to use resources to help them. However, in the Gambia, these patients have no facility for rehabilitation so amputations have very serious consequences for them and their families.

“Patients with foot infections or ulcers do not attend the hospital for assistance as they are fearful of amputations. Instead, they approach local traditional herbalists for treatment. As the condition of their feet deteriorates, they spend their little savings accessing private care and as a last resort, they attend the local hospital. By the time they actually get to hospital, nothing can be done for them because the infection is so severe and the amputation has to be carried out to save their lives.”

Dr Mohammed will embark on a major programme of patient education during his visit to Gambia, appearing on national television and radio to encourage people with diabetes on foot care and how to manage their condition.

He will also be training frontline medical staff, showing them how to screen patients for diabetes and what action they can take to help avoid amputations in the future.

The team will also take equipment with them to support the Gambian health teams, ensuring a back-to-basics approach to diabetes treatment and care in the developing country.

He is setting up a JustGiving page where people can support his work and help him reach as many people as possible.

Dr Mohammed said: “As a large university teaching hospital, clinicians who work at this trust are used to sharing our knowledge and helping younger staff to build up their skills.

“My visit to the Gambia is an excellent opportunity for us to enhance our reputation as a teaching hospital on a global stage and make a real difference to the lives of people with diabetes in another part of the world.”