Former Hull Kingston Rovers captain Shaun Lunt will be sharing his experience of a near fatal illness with health professionals in the city next week.

Shaun will be speaking of his experience of sepsis at a national Sepsis Congress being hosted by the Sepsis Team at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Shaun was subject to a potentially deadly blood infection which resulted from an abscess in his spine back in September last year.

Shaun will be joined at the congress by some 250 health professionals from across the country and big screen inspiration, Tom Ray (pictured above). Tom lost his arms and legs and had part of his faced removed as a result of sepsis, and the 2016 film ‘Starfish’ tells his own moving story and that of his family.

Rachel Harris, clinical nurse specialist for sepsis at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:

“Sepsis is not limited to or typical within any particular patient group. Although the term ‘sepsis’ may still not be familiar to people, the body’s response to this severe infection can have life-changing consequences for not only people who develop it but for their family and loved ones too.

“More than 250 nurses, doctors and other health specialists will be coming to Hull on Tuesday to hear the latest sepsis research updates, to find out more about the effect of sepsis in certain patient groups such as older people and pregnant women, and also to hear first-hand from people who have survived sepsis about the potentially devastating consequences it can have.

“Regardless of where they work, our aim is to ensure health professionals always have sepsis at the forefront of their minds if symptoms start to present.”

There are said to be at least 250,000 cases of sepsis in the UK every year. Over a fifth of those cases – 52,000 or an average of 1,000 per week – result in death.

More locally, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust introduced its sepsis team in 2015, as part of a national initiative to drive up survival rates. The team now comprises consultant Dr Kate Adams and clinical nurse specialists Donna Gotts and Rachel Harris, all of whom are working to improve in-hospital screening and the provision of potentially life-saving antibiotics in the first hour, and supporting colleagues working within the ambulance service, GPs and community staff.

The Sepsis Congress will take place at the Bonus Arena on Tuesday 18 June. Tickets are still available for clinical staff to purchase via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hull-sepsis-congress-tickets-50970684690

Speakers at the event include Dr Michael Porter, Lecturer in Molecular Genetics and a sepsis survivor himself, local GPs Dr James Moult and Dr Scot Richardson, and Dr Richard Fawcett, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Stoke University Hospital who also flies with the Midlands Air Ambulance and serves as Clinical Director for the 208 Field Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps.

A father and his two sons are arranging a celebrity football match with soap stars from Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks in memory of their wife and mother.

Helen Winfield died in October on Ward 32 at the Queen’s Centre at Castle Hill Hospital around 10 years after finding a lump in her breast and shortly after her 50^th birthday.

Now, Helen’s husband Andy and her two sons Billy, 24, and Charlie, 22, are arranging a football match to raise funds for the Queen’s Centre, where staff cared for Helen throughout her illness.

Andy said: “It could be called the Queen’s Centre because they made Helen feel like the Queen. Staff were like another family to her.”

Andy and Helen met 33 years ago when Helen worked in a newsagent’s opposite from Andy’s work and he used to nip in at lunchtime to buy a sandwich.

They married three years later and had their two sons. They were due to celebrate their 30^th wedding anniversary on August 26 this year.

Helen, who was a care worker at Highfield in Sutton, started undergoing treatment for cancer around 10 years ago after a scan confirmed the lump in her breast was malignant.

She was hugely popular with the staff at the centre and was much loved by the Living With and Beyond Cancer team, turning up for the Positive Note choir every week.

Andy, who works at a builder’s merchants in Cottingham, and their two sons invited mourners to make donations for the Queen’s Centre at Helen’s funeral and their fundraising continued with a dinner dance, raising money for the Outpatients’ Department, Ward 32 and the Living With and Beyond Cancer team.

“We contacted Jet2 a few months back for donations for a raffle and managed to get through to someone quite important ,” said Andy.

“He gave us a donation for the dinner dance raffle and mentioned they have a football team. We are heavily involved with Costello Football Club so we jumped at the chance to have a charity match.

“We really don’t have a figure in mind. We just wish to raise as much as possible.”

Celebrities, past and present, from Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks will form a Jet2 All Stars team to take on the “Not Very All Stars” team from Costello Football Club for the match at North Ferriby Stadium on Sunday, June 30.

Tickets cost £3 for adults and £1 concessions, with kick-off at 2pm and funds raised through ticket sales, refreshments and a raffle will be donated to the Queen’s Centre.

Sarah Guest of the Living With and Beyond Cancer team said: “Helen was part of our team and we miss her very much. She used to come to the choir every week and spent time in our Outpatients Department and in the Day Unit having her treatment.

“We are so grateful to Andy, Billy and Charlie for thinking of us at a time when they’re adjusting to life without Helen and coping with the enormity of her loss.

“We hope people turn up to the match and have fun as that’s what Helen would have wanted.”

Email Sarah at sarah.guest@hey.nhs.uk if you’d like to buy a ticket to see the stars in action.

A man who has dedicated more than half a century to transforming hospital services for women and children, people with cancer and those with heart problems has been honoured for his service to the NHS.

David Haire joined the NHS in 1967 and, as Director of Operations, drove the creation of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital and the Queen’s Centre for Oncology and Haematology.

His work with the Daisy Appeal also led to the opening of the Daisy Building for the care and treatment of people with cancer, heart disease and dementia.

David Haire receives his Lifetime Achievement award from former Chief Nurse Mike Wright

Mr Haire’s dedication was recognised by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust at its annual Golden Hearts awards ceremony in Hull on Friday.

The glittering ceremony at DoubleTree by Hilton was held to thank staff looking after the health of more than 600,000 people in Hull and the East Riding.

Fifteen awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr Haire, were presented to individuals and teams working at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital during the ceremony, hosted by former Chief Nurse Mike Wright.

Chief executive Chris Long said: “We can only achieve the high standard of care we offer patients because of the dedication and hard work of our staff.

”It is right we take the time to thank the people who spend their lives helping others and to celebrate their achievements.

Chloe Tennyson receives award for Outstanding Individual – Nursing and Midwifery

“I would like to congratulate our very worthy winners and thank them for their hard work and devotion which ensures the NHS remains the envy of other countries around the world.”

The winners were:

Making It Better award: HEY Baby Team

Great Leader: Lindsey Harding

Team Spirit: Renal Dietetic Team

Lessons Learned: Karen Harrison, Tissue Viability

Apprentice of the Year: Andrew Eagle

University Partnership Working: Academic Respiratory Team and Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre

Moments of Magic: Jenny Wilson

Health Group Trophy: Clinical Support Health Group

Outstanding Individual of the Year (Scientific, Technical and Therapeutic): Julie Randall

Outstanding Individuals of the Year (Non-clinical): Stuart Cutts and Tania Hicks

Outstanding Individual of the Year (Clinical): Dr Kamrudeen Mohammed

Outstanding Individual of the Year (Nursing and Midwifery): Chloe Tennyson

Outstanding Team of the Year (Non-Clinical): Radiotherapy Physics

Outstanding Team of the Year (Clinical): Kidney Transplant Team

Lifetime Achievement: David Haire

The Golden Hearts celebration was funded by the trust’s own staff lottery and through the generous sponsorship of Minstergate/Beerhouse, Go MAD, T2, KCOM, Savilles, Managers in Partnership, HYA Training, Simply Health, OCS, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Interact, Cambio and the University of Hull.

War veterans laid their standards at a bench funded by hospital staff to honour Hull’s fallen heroes today as part of the commemorations to mark the 75^th anniversary of D-Day.

Staff from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust gathered outside the Maxillofacial Unit at Castle Hill Hospital this afternoon to watch members of the Royal British Legion remember the soldiers, sailors and air crews who never came home.

Chief Executive Chris Long, a former Army Major, said: “We are very proud of our work with veterans and feel very honoured to welcome the Royal British Legion as we remember the hundreds of thousands who took part in D-Day.

“Our staff raised money for the bench to create a special place of contemplation and we hope today’s ceremony will show veterans and their families their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

The trust became one of the first NHS trusts to be awarded Veteran Aware accreditation last year and is leading the way in improving NHS care for veterans and members of the Armed Forces communities.

Staff receive special training to be aware of veterans’ specific needs and can help signpost past and present servicemen and women to services and charities which can help them, such as mental health services or support with financial or benefit claims.

Jeff Dixon, a standard bearer with the Royal British Legion, said: “Today is a very special occasion when the whole country remembers those who lost their lives on a day which changed the course of the war and saw the Allies begin the journey to victory against the Nazis.

“Hospital staff have made sure their sacrifice – and the sacrifice of others in different conflicts – will be remembered by the generations who enjoy freedom.”

Staff and patients from the Maxillofacial Unit gather for the ceremony

The Maxillofacial team at Castle Hill Hospital raised £1,000 in just one month after coming up with the idea of honouring veterans to buy a bench with metalwork cut in the shape of soldiers and poppies after being inspired by the poppy display at Hull Minster.

The bench has now been put in place outside the unit at Castle Hill and the estates team have planted flowerbeds around it to create a quiet haven of reflection. Olive trees have also been planted outside the front entrance to the unit with the small amount of money left over.

Charge Nurse Michael Hookem said: “We are so touched to have members of the British Legion here with us on such a special anniversary.

“Patients and visitors to the unit were so generous to help our fundraising appeal and it was so moving today to watch the men lay their standards at our bench.”

A world-class training facility in Hull which prepares NHS staff for medical emergencies is achieving recognition on a global stage as it plays host to two international teams.

Hull Institute of Learning and Simulation (HILS) has designed an ‘operating theatre’ and four-bedded ward to mirror the exact conditions staff will face when working in emergency medicine and critical care or performing keyhole surgery.

Workshops train health professionals in skills using hi-tech equipment including mannekins which respond to ‘pain’ and surgical equipment to practice surgery.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust uses the centre in Fountain Street, next to Hull Royal Infirmary, so staff can learn in a protected environment with “permission to fail” so they are able to cope in real life when a patient’s life hangs in the balance.

Members of the Landspitali simulation team Thorstein and Baldur

Now, the centre is showcasing its facilities and ground-breaking work to visitors from Iceland and India.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Makani Purva said: “Hull has an outstanding simulation facility and our work is now attracting global attention.

“We are striving constantly to find new ways of using simulation in learning and our determination to use the latest technological advances can only benefit the people of Hull who come to us for their care.

“These visits show we are establishing a global reputation as a leader in this exciting field of medical education.”

Members of the Landspitali simulation team Thorstein and Baldur , based in Iceland, visited HILS last month to discover how the centre uses simulation to improve health care ahead of setting up their own centre later this year.

During their three-day visit, they learned about the training programme, the role of the simulation technicians and other activities the service offers as part of a long-term partnership set up between the two organisations.

Dr Sree Kumar

Dr Sree Kumar, an oversees fellow from  India, is also spending eight weeks with the team to learn how to set up a run a successful simulation centre back at Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai on the Bay of Bengal in eastern India.

Dr Kumar has been observing simulation, running in situ simulations in diabetes and also visited Defence Medical Services at Whittington Barracks in Lichfield with the HILS team to see how the military run their simulations.

The trust has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the university to take forward the simulation agenda and hopes to establish joint research projects and exchange programmes in the future.

Specialist midwives are set to mark Rainbow Baby Day at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital to remember families who have lost their babies.

Charity Kicks Count is organising the first Rainbow Baby Day on Friday, June 7, to support families who have lost a baby following a miscarriage, stillbirth or death shortly after birth who go on to have another child.

Throughout the country, people will be encouraged to hold bake sales with brightly coloured treats , wear colourful clothes or have fancy dress walks to support Rainbow Baby Day.

Sarah Green, Bereavement Midwife at Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust, said a rainbow banner will be placed in the foyer of the hospital to raise awareness.

She said: “Women who have lost a baby before are understandably anxious when they find out they are pregnant again and come back to us.

“To help them, we give them a special wooden rainbow plaque funded by Sands which can be attached to the outside of their door to show staff their new baby is not their first.

“While some women are happy to talk about the baby they have lost, others find it difficult and this stops them having to explain over and over again that this isn’t their first baby.

“It also alerts our staff, from support staff to midwives,  that the woman may be feeling more anxious because of what happened to her before.”

As well as funding the plaques used in hospital, Sands, a charity helping families after they experience stillbirth or the death of their baby shortly after birth, also provide a supply for the hospital so a woman can take one home with her as well.

The trust also gives women a voucher from Kicks Count so they can obtain a free rainbow bundle worth £30.

Doctors, nurses and NHS staff will run the Hull 10k and Hull Half-Marathon next month to raise funds for a charity supporting Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

A team of 80 staff working in neurology, ophthalmology, endoscopy, physiotherapy, estates, security and theatres will pull on their trainers to raise funds for WISHH at Hull’s Run For All event on June 2.

WISHH is the independent charity supporting Hull’s hospitals by providing “added extras” for patients such as equipment, facilities and services which is not already funded by the NHS. In its first three years, the charity has paid for a reminiscence cinema for elderly patients, a mini Tesla car to transport sick children to theatre and is currently funding the redecoration of a children’s ward at Hull Royal.

Environmental Support Officer Gavin Lee (pictured, left), who works in the Recycling and Sustainability Department at Hull Royal Infirmary, will be running the 10K in memory of his mum Lynne, who died in 1999 when he was just 15.

Gavin said: “My mother used to run for charity when she was younger including a marathon.  Sadly in 1999, when I was 15 years old, she passed away from multiple cancers.

“Throughout my life, I’ve tried to be a son she would be proud of and a good reflection of my mother’s spirit.

“I wanted to do something she loved to remember the wonderful person she was and to support our hospitals at the same time.”

Nursing Auxiliary Debbie Smart will be running the half marathon for WISHH.

She said: “I have a passion for running and love nursing across both Hull Royal and Castle Hill.  I wanted to raise funds for WISHH because they do so much to help the patients who have to come into hospital.

“It’s great to be part of this large team all running for the same great charity which helps the people we care for every day. The atmosphere will be amazing and we will be spurring each other on.”

Sue Lockwood, Chair of Trustees for WISHH who is also the High Sheriff of the East Riding of Yorkshire, will be there to cheer on the runners.

She said “I am bowled over by the fantastic response we have received from hospital staff who are coming together to support WISHH.

“This major event brings together the amazing diverse workforce of the hospitals from a broad spectrum of departments and medical specialisms.

“All funds raised will go towards making a difference to patient care by providing additional specialist equipment and support services for our children’s wards and to provide dementia-friendly facilities for our patients within our hospitals.   Some team members are also raising funds for their own wards.”

“We hope our runners have a great day and thank them and their sponsors for supporting Hull Hospitals through WISHH.”

If you would like to support our teams, donations can be made through our Just Giving pages:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/wishhcharityHull10K

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/WISHHCharityHullHalfMarathonTeam

Radiographers at the trust have been given top marks after their support for students was ranked first in the UK.

The team in our Radiology Department work in conjunction with the University of Leeds to train 45 student radiographers in a clinical setting every year.

Now, they’ve learned the BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography course has been ranked first in the UK for medical technology by the Complete University Guide.

Educational Lead Radiographer Shelly Rice said: “It’s fantastic to see our staff getting this recognition because they work so hard to help the students.

“It’s not easy, balancing their everyday responsibilities with the responsibility of teaching the next generation of radiographers, so it’s a great achievement which means a lot to us.”

The trust has been training student radiographers since the late 1990s.

Now, the students come for 19 weeks’ training in the first year of their course, 16 weeks in the second year and 14 weeks in their third year before qualification.

With practical experience making up 40 per cent of their three-year course, the students work at Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital, East Riding Community Hospital and the Urgent Treatment Centre at Bransholme under the supervision of fully qualified staff.

They are placed on the clinical rota and work shifts to gain experience in all aspects of the job, from emergency x-rays and CT scans to theatre work, learning how to position patients correctly.

Second and third-year students also work evening shifts in the Emergency Department.

Shelly said the support given to students often sees them choose to come to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust once they are qualified because of the support they have received during their training and the relationships they already have with the teams.

She said: “As Leeds is our closest university to train radiographers, it’s a good way of us growing our own staff and we work hard to retain them in the area.

“We have also had some success in attracting students from further afield, with one student joining us from Birmingham.”

Here’s some of the feedback from students in their evaluation forms after their training at the trust:

‘Learnt a lot in busy environment and under pressure’ – Emergency Department X-ray

‘I cannot commend the team more. An extremely friendly team who were inviting and made me feel at home’ – CT Castle Hill Hospital

‘I engaged with staff I had never worked with before including a team of Resus staff, ICU staff and Clinical Support Workers’ – CT Hull Royal Infirmary

‘The staff were really friendly and helped to aid my learning and made it a really enjoyable. I feel like I was able to aid in the team’ – Fluoroscopy Hull Royal Infirmary

‘This was my favourite week of placement to date, I felt as though I was a part of the team’ – East Riding Community Hospital

‘Most staff were very friendly and welcoming and more than happy to answer any questions I had regarding various examinations, equipment, technique etc.’ – MRI Castle Hill Hospital

Two midwives have become the first in Hull to carry out special scans on women at risk of having small or large babies.

Midwives Zoe Clark and Amanda Pritt have undergone intensive training to carry out growth scans for women who need extra monitoring to ensure their babies are developing normally.

The midwives received 150 hours of practical training from sonographers in the Ultrasound Department at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital while studying to Masters level at Sheffield Hallam University.

New ultrasound equipment has been purchased for the Antenatal Outpatients Department which will support the work of the sonographers who carry out 12,000 growth scans, 6,000 dating scans and 6,000 anatomical scans a year.

Wendy McKenzie, Midwifery Sister at the Antenatal Outpatients Department, said: “We have worked closely with the Ultrasound Department to support Zoe and Amanda so they can become our first midwives to offer growth scans to the women we look after in Hull.

“Thanks to a great team effort between our departments, we’re now able to offer women growth scans by our midwives.

“Amanda and Zoe have worked really hard to achieve their qualifications, fitting their studies around their normal shifts, and we’re really proud of them.”

In the UK, the average birth weight of newborn babies is 7lb 8oz for boys and 7lb 4oz for girls.

All pregnant women are measured at midwifery appointments and at scans as underweight or large babies can lead to birth complications and health problems for the child.

Smoking, certain medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney problems and pregnancy over the age of 40 are risk factors for growth restriction and underweight babies while women with BMIs of 30 or more are at a higher risk of having larger babies.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust introduced its GAP programme for at-risk women from 28 weeks as the city has high numbers of pregnant smokers and women with high BMIs.

Health Education England funded the training for Amanda and Zoe enabling them to conduct  growth scans as part of the GAP programme.

Clinical Specialist Sonographer Suzanne Richman said: “We helped Zoe and Amanda with practical training alongside their university studies, showing them how to put the theory into practice.

“Having this additional support service means we will now be able to have two additional sessions to see all the women who require additional monitoring.

“We’re a very busy team so it’s great that the trust can now offer this additional service to women.”

A nurse who has dedicated 36 years of her life to the NHS is planning to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise £1,000 for sick children at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Barbara Joy, 55, is taking on the epic sponsored cycling challenge to raise funds for WISHH, the independent charity funding the redecoration of Ward 130 and the Children’s High Dependency Unit at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Young patients on the ward and the unit will chart Barbara’s progress as she cycles the 940-mile route from June 18 to July 5.

She is aiming to cover between 30 and 77 miles a day with her brother David, who is flying over from his home in Dubai to join his sister on her challenge.

Barbara, who has worked on the children’s wards at Hull Royal since 2007, said: “The children, their families and the staff I work with are all excited about me taking part in this challenge. It’ll spur me on to know they’ll be monitoring our progress every day.

“We’ve put a gigantic map of the UK on the wall in the ward and the children will be plotting where we have reached every day, learning about each different area as we go along.”

WISHH is the independent charity supporting Hull’s hospitals by providing “added extras” for patients such as equipment, facilities and services which is not already funded by the NHS.

In its first three years, the charity has paid for a cinema for elderly patients, a mini Tesla car to transport sick children to theatre and is currently funding the redecoration of a children’s ward at Hull Royal.

Ward 130 and its neighbouring High Dependency Unit on the top floor of Hull Royal care for children recovering from serious illness, acute and chronic medical conditions such as asthma or epilepsy or life-long conditions such as cystic fibrosis. While some children can be on the wards or High Dependency Unit for days, others can spend weeks or months undergoing treatment.

Barbara, who is now semi-retired but still works on the ward, said she and her brother will undertake the challenge alone, relying on each other rather than a support crew to cover the distance.

She said: “It’s going to be really tough but we’re both determined to do it. The children looked after by staff on the ward are so brave and many of them have had to endure more than most of us can contemplate so the thought of them will keep us going.”

As well as raising money to help improve the ward environment for patients, Barbara will be raising funds to buy toys and entertainment equipment to brighten young patients’ days.

Barbara said, “As a British Cycle Ride Leader, cycling is my passion and it seemed the perfect fit to do what I love while raising funds for Ward 130.  Every penny donated though my Just Giving page will go directly to the ward.”

Here’s how you can support Barbara.