It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for staff, patients and visitors to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

A specially constructed sleigh has been installed just inside the reception area along with a reindeer named ‘Grimsby’ to delight passers-by this festive season.

The installation, which will now remain in situ until the New Year, has been made possible by Apleona, the facilities management company based within the hospital.

Andrew Ledger, Contracts Maintenance Manager with Apleona says:

“This is the third year in which we’ve installed a Christmas display in the hospital, having done a nativity and a Christmas Eve fireplace scene in previous years.

“A team of ten was involved in creating this year’s display, which took more than a week to make and a full working day to install. It features a sleigh, all constructed and hand-painted by the technical team at Apleona, which is being pulled by our reindeer, Grimsby, in a forest of Christmas trees.

“We have a very resourceful electrical wholesaler who we used to find us the reindeer, but the deer came in three separate parts; he earned his name as his body was sent to Hull but his head was originally sent to Grimsby!

“This year, we decided it would be nice to do something more than simply install a static display, so we’re now working with the hospital’s paediatric team and will be asking staff and visitors to donate gifts in return. These can be left with reception at the Women and Children’s Hospital, and will be shared out among those children coming into hospital on and around Christmas day.

“If the appeal proves successful, we’re hoping this will become somewhat of a tradition for the hospital and the children being cared for here in years to come.”

Visitors to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will see the display as they move through the entrance to the hospital, just on the left past reception.

Anyone wishing to donate a gift should drop these off at the hospital’s reception. Presents should be wrapped but with a note or tag attached which states the contents and the suitable age/sex of the child it’s for. Hospital staff are grateful for donation of toys and games (not clothes), but kindly request

• No dressing up stuff of pirates or military action personnel
• No military toys of any description
• No sharp implements
• No DVD/ Computer games over 18 years certificate
• No walkie talkies

Visitors are being urged to stay away from hospital when they are poorly as staff at Hull Royal Infirmary deal with this winter’s first outbreak of Norovirus.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is asking visitors to stay away from Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital if they have respiratory infections or sickness and diarrhoea as Ward 70 remains closed with the winter vomiting bug Norovirus.

Visitors should not come to hospital for at least 48 hours after symptoms of diarrhoea and sickness have stopped and only when they feel well enough following a respiratory infection.

Hospitals are particularly vulnerable to Norovirus, which spreads quickly in closed environments and among people with weakened immune systems, especially when patients or staff have symptoms which can be sudden in onset.

Greta Johnson, lead infection prevention and control nurse at the trust, said: “Our infection control team works really hard to control outbreaks when they happen and we have procedures in place to deal with the current outbreak.

“However, it would be a massive help if people could stay away when they’re ill instead of visiting relatives and friends in hospital.

“While you may want them to know you are thinking of them and want to see them, you don’t want to be responsible for making them more unwell by running the risk of passing what you’ve got onto them. You also don’t want to put yourself at risk of Norovirus as it’s an unpleasant illness to catch.”

The trust is appealing to people who do come to hospital to wash their hands as soon as they come onto wards, using the hand-washing facilities at the entrance as soon as they walk through the door. There are also hand-washing stations in the foyer of Hull Royal Infirmary next to the lifts.

Good hand hygiene, such as washing hands after using the toilet, is essential to prevent Norovirus and other infections spreading.

Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze and disposing of paper tissues properly can also prevent the spread of respiratory infections passed through the air.

Norovirus can have a significant impact on hospitals, forcing the closure of bays and often entire wards at a time when beds are needed urgently to cope with an influx of patients over winter. Wards and bays can only reopen when they have had no new reported cases and patients have been symptom-free for 48 hours.

Patients from North Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire are to benefit from a service performed at Hull Royal Infirmary to reduce the risk of brain damage or long-term disability after strokes.

The Comprehensive Stroke Centre at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has launched a Regional Mechanical Thrombectomy Service, known sometimes as a “Lazarus procedure,” to help more patients.

Patients taken to district hospitals in York, Scarborough, Grimsby and Scunthorpe will be “blue lighted” by ambulance to the Interventional Radiology Theatres at Hull Royal Infirmary if they are considered suitable for the minimally invasive Mechanical Thrombectomy.

Performed under local anaesthesia or sedation, the procedure involves a wire passed into the patient’s brain to retrieve the blood clot, enabling some people to recover mobility, speech and other faculties damaged by an acute ischaemic stroke.

Improvements can be so dramatic, Mechanical Thrombectomy has been called a “Lazarus procedure” because of its ability to reduce the risk of long-term disability or death in some stroke patients.

Consultant radiologist Dr Paul Maliakal said: “We can now offer this treatment to more patients, which means more people have a better chance of surviving a stroke without brain damage or long-term disabilities.

“The treatment isn’t suitable for all patients but it can make a huge difference to the people for whom mechanical thrombectomy is appropriate.

“Hull is at the forefront of this kind of treatment and we’re attracting national recognition for our work in the field.”

Strokes are caused when patient experiences a blocked artery, usually caused by a blood clot, and the blood supply to the brain is cut off.

Around one-third of patients are suitable for clot-busting drugs, which can be administered up to four and a half hours after the onset of a stroke.

However, drug therapy may not be effective in patients with blockages in large arteries.

Instead, those patients can undergo Mechanical Thrombectomy, effective up to six hours or even up to 24 hours after the onset of symptoms.

Patients in Hull have been able to undergo the procedure for years but NHS England has just commissioned the extended services for patients living across the Humber, Coast and Vale region from November.

The procedure is currently performed at Hull Royal Infirmary between 8am and 4pm, Monday to Friday although the longer-term aim is to create a 24/7 service.

Dr Maliakal, who specialises in the brain and spine, is currently training other colleagues to perform the technique, enabling it to be offered to more patients.

Stroke doctors, interventional neuro-radiologists or vascular radiologists decide on the suitability of a patient for the procedure based on the severity of the stroke and the location and size of the blocked artery shown by a CT scan.

Scientific trials have shown Mechanical Thrombectomy is effective in resolving blocks in more than 90 per cent of suitable patients.

NHS England states: “When used with other medical treatments such as clot-busting drugs and care on a specialist stroke unit/rehabilitation, thrombectomy can significantly reduce the severity of disability caused by a stroke.”

One of England’s first hospital housekeepers has vowed to keep on working for the NHS after celebrating her 70^th birthday.

Jeanette Robinson became only the third hospital housekeeper at Hull Royal Infirmary when the trust introduced the vital role in November 2001.

Now, after celebrating her 70^th birthday in the same year as the NHS marked the milestone in its history, Jeanette insists she’s staying on Ward 12 at Hull Royal Infirmary.

She said: “My family always ask me when I’m going to cut my hours back but I tell them I’ll do it when I’m ready and I’m not ready yet.

“It’s the best job I’ve ever had and I couldn’t be in a happier environment. We’re a great team and this is the job if people are looking for something that can make a real difference to patients.”

Clinical Support Worker Lesley Gorcik, who has worked with Jeanette for 13 years, said: “She is just the most helpful person you will ever meet. She goes out of her way to help people and it’s always above and beyond.

“She’s so cheerful every time she comes on the ward. The patients absolutely love her.

“She helps all our volunteers and is such a help to us all. She’s a credit to the ward.”

The NHS Plan recommended the introduction of ward housekeepers in 2000 and the Labour Government of the day, under Prime Minister Tony Blair, advocated the introduction of the role in at least half of England’s hospitals by 2004.

Hull was chosen by the Department of Health as one of three reference sites in the country after the successful launch of housekeepers.

Jeanette, (back row, fourth from left) with some of the trust’s first housekeepers in 2002

House-keepers focus on food, cleaning and maintenance to ensure basics of care are in place for every patient, freeing up nursing staff to provide essential patient care.

Evaluation studies have found that the introduction of housekeepers means nurses and health care assistants have more time with patients, improving morale and job satisfaction among the nursing workforce.

Jeanette, who has three children, joined the NHS 46 years ago, working as a domestic based mainly in the surgical block at Castle Hill Hospital.

She was asked to take on the responsibility of domestic supervisor and remembers heading out on “mop runs” at 5am, collecting dirty mops from Hedon Road Maternity Hospital, Kingston General and Hull Royal Infirmary and collecting fresh ones from Princess Royal Hospital.

She was then promoted to a manager’s role, where she worked hard balancing her new responsibilities alongside her desire to keep working alongside her team on the ground.

“I’m a people person and although I got a lot of support from the people around me, it was the loneliest job for me because I was in an office and not out with people,” she said.

“I was working very long hours and not seeing my family and I decided it was time for me to step down.”

When hospital bosses heard Jeanette was thinking about leaving her role, they lined up an interview for Jeanette in one of the new housekeeper roles. She was immediately offered the job and started a fortnight later.

She worked on the orthopaedics ward originally on Ward 9 in the tower block, although the 28-bedded unit was moved to Ward 12 around three years ago, still caring for patients suffering major trauma injuries or with orthopaedic conditions.

Starting at 7am each morning, Jeanette checks in with patients at the start of each shift, ensuring everyone has fresh, iced water by their beds and making sure they have had a comfortable night.

She then takes round toast while catering staff offer patients cereal, making sure the ward is shipshape and patients have everything they need.

She goes round with hot drinks and milk shakes, cakes and biscuits twice a day to make sure patients who require extra calories to rebuild their strength have all they need.

Working alongside nursing staff and the ward clerk, Jeanette helps to ensure the ward runs as smoothly as possible, with patients’ care plans, paperwork and cleaning tasks carried out and in place.

Jeanette said: “It’s a great job and different parts have been added over the years but all for the better. It all works together to make sure the ward runs like it’s supposed to run.

“We’ve got a fantastic team here, from the matron and consultants down to the domestics, and there isn’t one person I could say I couldn’t work with.

“I never get fed-up helping people and I know in this job you can make a difference to someone else.”

Hospital scientists are using ground-breaking technology to help rebuild the faces of cancer patients, those hurt in accidents and people born with complex facial deformities.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s reconstructive scientists are using 3D printing techniques to produce resin models of patients’ skulls.

The models are then used to create titanium plates and implants used by maxillofacial surgeons and neurosurgeons to repair damage to people’s faces.

Scientists and consultants have already used the technology to help a patient who has suffered serious facial injuries in a cycling accident, a patient with cancer of the nose and a patient with a large defect in their skull.

Robert Goddard, Maxillofacial Surgeon and Clinical Lead, said the new 3D printing techniques mean the team can help people recover more quickly from devastating injuries and illnesses.

He said: “By using these new techniques, we are now able to have a faster turnaround time to repair defects. This means our patients endure less psychological damage and can return to work and their social lives far more quickly.

“For other patients who have a longer journey ahead of them, the models we can produce give them a better understanding of their injuries and why it may take time for them to recover.

“It also helps patients with cancer who can suffer both soft tissue and bony problems as it allows us to treat them with greater accuracy.”

The scientists are part of the maxillofacial team, based at Castle Hill Hospital, to help patients with facial deformities, reconstruction of orbit or those needing reconstructive surgery after oral, head or neck cancers.

They took charge of the computer software programme (Mimics) and 3D printer earlier this year, one of the few trusts able to deploy the ground breaking technology.

CT scans are used to create a 3D image on a computer screen, which the scientists overlay with mirror images to analyse the extent of the damage from both inside and outside the skull.

The image is then sent to the 3D printer to produce the model, costing under £10 and often produced in less than five hours, in the lab at Castle Hill.

Consultants and scientists then work together to determine the best solution for each patient, based on their condition and the extent of their problem.

The new process eliminates the costly and inefficient previous process of sending CT images to Europe meaning any future changes due to Brexit will not affect services.

Patients benefit from the new system because they spend less time on the operating table, meaning a shorter stay in hospital.

As well as being better for the patient, the new technology is also saving the NHS money by reducing theatre time required for each person.

Reconstructive scientist Helen Dehkordy, head of Maxillofacial Scientists, said: “We can now make 3D models right here in hours instead of waiting months for them to be produced and delivered to the trust.

“Recently, a surgeon came to see me about a patient and we were still able to produce the surgical model two days later. Before we had this technology, just getting the model would have taken at least two weeks and that was for urgent cases.

“Not only does this new technology produce better results for patients, it also improves their whole experience at what can be a very difficult and anxious time for them.

“The first time we used the technology, the whole team stood around watching the 3D printing in progress because it was so exciting. I’m really pleased we’re moving forward with new technologies in this trust and it’s great to be a part of this innovative project.”

Midwives will help pregnant women protect their babies from flu at the HEY Baby Carousel event at Hull Women and Children’s hospital this week.

Mums-to-be will be able to receive flu vaccinations from a team of specially-trained midwives if they bring their hand-held maternity notes to the event on Wednesday night (November 28) between 6pm and 8pm.

Hull’s team of midwives, midwifery assistants and birth educators will also be on hand to give out hints and tips on having a healthy pregnancy with parents-to-be shown how to fit nappies, bath their baby and gain safer sleeping advice during practical demonstrations in a safe, non-judgemental learning environment.

Janet Cairns, head of midwifery at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Keeping your baby safe is an essential part of parenthood and getting the flu vaccine in pregnancy is one of the first steps you can take to achieve that.

“Catching the flu in pregnancy is really serious for both the mother and the baby so getting your flu jab now means you’re protecting your baby, even before they’re born.”

The HEY Baby Carousel is held on the last Wednesday of every month in the ground floor of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital. Parents-to-be are asked to note there will be no Carousel in December as it was due to fall on Boxing Day. Instead, they are encouraged to attend the event this month or on Wednesday, January 30.

Hundreds of couples attend, often with their own parents, friends or other children, to talk to our midwives and childcare experts at the friendly and welcoming drop-in session. Some choose to come more than once, at different stages of their pregnancies.

People can wander through the stalls offering advice on healthy lifestyles, smoking cessation, emotional and mental wellbeing for partners and keeping fit during pregnancy, birth and after your baby has arrived.

If women bring their hand-held maternity notes, the midwives can discuss birth plans and give out MAT B1 forms which need to be handed into employers to claim maternity leave and pay.

Families can also speak to our midwives for advice and discuss options for giving birth including the midwifery-led Fatima Allam Birth Centre, in your own home or with consultant-led care at Hull’s delivery ward on the second floor of the hospital.

There’s no need to book an appointment – just drop in any time between 6pm and 8pm.

Nursing staff looking after sick babies, children and young people this winter are appealing for help to bring festive cheer to their wards this year.

Every Christmas, members of the public inundate Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust with requests to bring toys and selection boxes onto the wards.

This year, the trust is asking for donations to help brighten up the two wards on the 13^th floor of the tower block with an approach that embrace the city’s fishing heritage and reflects the success of The Deep.

Junior sister Helen Lyon, pictured left with members of her team, said a £5 donation could help buy a wall sticker to decorating cubicles, corridors, bays and the Ward 130 playroom in sea themes.

She said: “People are so generous every year and bring toys and selection boxes onto the wards for the children. We have enough toys now and we do our best to get most of our children home to spend Christmas with their families.

“If people would still like to help us this year, we thought they could help us pay for the wall stickers which will benefit not just the children we look after during the festive season, but the ones who will come to us throughout 2019 and beyond.

“It’s a lasting gift from the people of the city to let our sickest children know they are always in our thoughts.”

The paediatric department, which includes Acorn Ward in Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, the Paediatric High Dependency Unit and Ward 130 West, has received some funding as part of the trust’s newly developed Arts Strategy.

Woodwork is being painted in calming blue and pastel colours and cubicles decorated with artwork including dolphins and penguin transfers. Those cubicles used by older children will also have sunflowers and trees incorporated into the design.

Cubicles used to look after children with cancer and long-term conditions will also be fitted with entertainment systems featuring TVs, DVDs and games consoles after the ward received funding from children’s charity Candle-lighters.

The playroom is also being decorated and the clinical room where children undergo procedures is also going to be refurbished over the coming months.

Helen Lyon said: “We appreciate there are significant demands on the trust’s money so we’re doing what we can with the funds we have available and can raise through fundraising activities and support from others.

“We’re holding fundraising events to collect as much as we can to put towards the work and we’re hoping the public and businesses in the city will support us in the run up to Christmas.”

Anyone who would like to help us can send cheques, made out to the WISHH Charity and send them to Helen Lyon, Junior Sister, Ward 130, Hull Royal Infirmary, Anlaby Road, Hull, HU3 1JZ. They can also make a donation to the WISHH Charity through www.justgiving.com/wishh, marking your donation WALLSTICKERS.

Pathology staff at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are celebrating after winning Quality Team of the Year in a prestigious international awards ceremony.

The International Quality Awards 2018 recognise excellence within the quality profession and winners are acknowledged for enhancing the reputation of their organisations around the globe.

Judges voted to award the honour to the Hull team after praising the “rigorous quality structures in place across their laboratories.”

They said: “The team provides a high culture of transparency and a shared drive for continuous improvement.”

Pathology Quality Manager Ernesto Jr Quider, who entered the service for the award, said: “It was an amazing moment for the pathology lab team when we heard our name being called.

“We have worked very hard to uphold the highest standards in quality and this award is reward for the part every member of our team has played in securing this global recognition for the trust.”

More than 200 women are to become the first in East Yorkshire to see the same midwife from the start of their pregnancies to the birth of their babies.

Known as the “Ivy Team”, the seven midwives will look after pregnant women from their very first appointment right through antenatal visits and parenting classes. Each midwife will be responsible for caring for 35 women.

When she goes into labour, the woman will be able to contact her midwife who will meet her at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital or will come to her house if she has opted for a home birth.

Janet Cairns, Head of Midwifery at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “During a national review, half of the women questioned said they would prefer to see the same midwife during their pregnancies.

“We want women to have a positive experience and this change will enable our team to work closely with them to offer a more personalised approach to maternity care.

“We will start with a small group of women at first and then assess the results. If it proves a success and women tell us it’s what they want, we will look at extending the service.”

Known as “continuity of carer”, closer relationships between a woman and her midwife can empower the woman with a greater sense of control, reduce stress and anxiety and enable the health professional to gain the trust of the woman, allowing them to identify and monitor potential problems.

Studies have shown women experiencing continuity of carer were 16 per cent less likely to lose their babies before 24 weeks and 24 per cent less likely to have their babies too early.

The new way of working was recommended in a national review of maternity services in 2016 called “Better Births” when women said they saw too many different midwives and doctors during their pregnancies.

Half of the women questioned rated having the same midwife before, during and after birth as five out of five in terms of importance to them, with an additional 23 per cent of women scoring it four out of five.

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, Head of Maternity, Children and Young People at NHS England, visited the trust this summer to learn about plans for introducing the new model of care.

Now, the seven midwives – Nikola Donner, Charlie McSherry, Nicole Blake, Frances Hodgson, Vicki Ward, Kirsty Flemming and Natalie O’Reilly – will become the named midwives for 220 of the 700 pregnant women from the Beverley area from November 26.

While they will have their own group of women to look after, the midwives will be introduced to all of the women and will meet them on regular occasions.

Charlie McSherry said: “While the aim is to ensure the women see the same midwife each time, there will be occasions such as annual leave or when a midwife’s not at work and someone else will step in.

“We want to make sure the women know all seven midwives so they will feel comfortable with whoever steps in on these very rare occasions.”

A mother has been reunited with the midwife who helped her husband when she gave birth to their daughter on the bathroom floor.

Sarah Hirst, 34, gave birth to daughter Matilda in March at home before she had time to get to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

Her husband Steve, an accountant, supported Sarah through the final stages of labour with the help of a midwife on the end of the telephone.

Now, the couple have returned to the hospital with baby Matilda, now eight months old, to be reunited with midwife Leanne Petherbridge.

Sarah, 34, said: “I’ve often thought about Leanne over the months and wondered if she ever thought about Matilda. You never know if these things happen all the time for midwives.

“Although we didn’t even know her name, Leanne really helped us and Steve was so calm during the whole thing.

“We just wanted to thank her and to get to meet Matilda.”

Sarah was two days over her due date when she started having mild contractions throughout the day on March 3.

By 6.30pm, they were coming faster and stronger so Steve called the labour ward at the hospital to say they were on their way.

However, the contractions started coming every two minutes before they could get out of the house and while Steve called the labour ward again, Sarah felt the urge to push.

She said: “I was on the toilet floor while Steve was on the phone again to the midwife and staff on the labour ward rang an ambulance for us.

“The baby was born in my waters so when I was first pushing, the midwife was able to talk Steve through what was happening and that everything would be ok and he told me.

“He was just so calm and he was relaying everything the midwife was telling him back to me.”

The couple’s baby daughter Matilda was born on the bathroom floor, with Steve catching her in a towel when Sarah’s waters eventually broke.

With Leanne talking to the couple on the phone, Steve went to fetch a hat and clean towels while Sarah cradled Matilda in her arms.

The ambulance arrived minutes later and took Sarah and Matilda to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital to stay in overnight for observation.

Sarah said: “The easiest thing would have been to ask for the midwife when we got to hospital but you get caught up in the moment.

“It was only recently that I got in touch with the hospital and they were able to check through staff rotas to see who could have been on shift that night. They narrowed it down and got in touch with the midwives on duty in the labour ward that night and Leanne remembered us.”

Leanne said: “It’s really nice to meet Sarah and Matilda and I’m happy I was there to help.

“Midwives are often called on to act quickly to help mothers and fathers during labour and I’m pleased that Sarah and Steve felt supported, even over the telephone.”