Health workers are being encouraged to take up their seasonal vaccinations as part of Hull Hospitals’ preparations for winter.

Starting this week, thousands of staff working for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust including nurses, doctors and other frontline health workers are being offered free flu and Covid-19 vaccinations.

The vaccination programme is being rolled out to staff through two specially established vaccination hubs at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham. To make the jabs more accessible, a number of clinical staff across various wards and departments have been trained to vaccinate their colleagues, and members of the vaccination team will also offer a roving service for staff finding it difficult to be released from clinical duties.

Fewer than three days into this season’s vaccination campaign roll-out, and almost 1,000 healthcare workers have already booked in for the jabs. It’s all part of the Trust’s efforts to protect staff and patients from the worst the winter has to offer, as Jo Ledger, Acting Chief Nurse at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust explains:

Jo Ledger, Acting Chief Nurse

“Winter always poses significant challenges for the NHS and so our preparations begin far in advance. One of the ways in which we look to protect both our staff and our patients from serious illness is by offering the Covid-19 and flu vaccinations free to our staff. As well as helping to protect health workers from the viruses, vaccination will extend some of that protection to their loved ones at home and to the patients in our care, many of whom already have ongoing health conditions or weakened immune systems.

“For most healthy people, the effects of flu or Covid-19 will last a few days or a week at most, but in people who are already ill or clinically vulnerable, catching one of the viruses could be really serious or potentially even fatal.

“The protection offered by the vaccines is not just personal either, as a better protected workforce means more reliability and resilience within our services, and that means everything from outpatient clinics and diagnostic tests to those working behind the scenes in the laboratories, catering and estates teams for example.”

The new strain of Covid-19 has caused enough concern this year for the winter vaccination programme to have been brought forward by NHS England. While the virus itself poses less of a risk to otherwise healthy people, there is still significant concern among health experts about the new  BA.2.86 variant and the potential risk to people who are already vulnerable, living with ongoing health conditions or who are immunosuppressed.

Vaccinations for the public

Eligibility for free flu and Covid-19 vaccinations is determined by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation each year, and typically includes the over 65s, carers and those in clinical ‘at risk’ groups.

Those who are eligible will be informed when it is their turn with an invitation to be vaccinated, and should therefore wait to be contacted.

More details are available on the NHS England website.

More patients are having surgery at Goole and District Hospital and going home on the same day thanks to a new approach developed by medical teams at two local NHS trusts.

From last month, suitable patients in orthopaedics and urology have been able to have their operation at Goole and get up and about a couple of hours after they have left the operating theatre.

This has enabled them to start their recovery quicker so they have been able to go home without having to stay in the hospital overnight.

Kerry Owen, Outpatient Department and Surgery and Critical Care Matron at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG), said: “Research shows patients recover better from surgery in their own homes with their home comforts and families around them.

“Whilst this isn’t suitable for all patients, when it is appropriate we have been working with our teams to make sure we can support patients in and out of the hospital on the same day. This has also enabled more operations to take place and patients to be seen sooner.”

The work is part of a plan developed by staff at NLaG and Hull University Hospital Trust (HUTH) to treat more patients and reduce waiting lists in some areas of work. The plan has been to set up a Surgical Hub site so patients from across the Humber area can have their operation at Goole even if it is not their nearest hospital, meaning they will get their operation more quickly.

Since 7 August, the theatres at GDH have been available for use for both NLaG and HUTH operating teams to undertake hip and knee replacements and low complexity urology operations five days a week. In the first four weeks 44 orthopaedic patients have had their operation done following this change of approach and, of those, six patients have been able to go home on the same day. Another 30 patients have been able to go home the day after their surgery.

One of those six same day patients was Kathleen Bruce from Epworth in North Lincolnshire. She said: “The whole team are amazing, they really put me at ease and nothing was too much trouble for them. I was worried about going home the same day but they put my mind at ease and it was fine.

“I was given lots of information, including contact numbers, when I went home and I received a call the next day which was very efficient and helped to answer any questions I had. I would not hesitate to come back to Goole Hospital if I needed to.”

Collaborative working between NLaG and HUTH teams has been crucial to getting the new approach launched and working so well.

Mr Ricardo Pacheco, a Consultant Surgeon at NLaG, said: “I am immensely proud of what our joint teams have been able to achieve in the first few weeks. We know getting patients up and about swiftly when they have a knee or hip replacement can really help them recover more quickly.

“We have been working to be able to reduce the length of time many patients stay in the hospital since last October and now working to develop this new pathway and to have some patients go home on the same day has been fantastic.

“We need to keep learning and refining what we do so we can see and treat even more patients and start to give them back their quality of life after living with pain and hearing their feedback has been extremely positive.”

Mr Tom Symes, Clinical Lead for Orthopaedics at HUTH, added: “Having this Surgical Hub at Goole means patients in Hull can get seen and operated on more quickly than waiting for an operation at Castle Hill Hospital or Hull Royal Infirmary. Working together on projects like this is the way we need to go if we are to help more patients across our area get the operations they need. I’m looking forward to seeing the project build in the weeks and months ahead.”

Kerry concluded: “All the team have worked tirelessly to get us to where we are now. Patients have already seen the benefits and more will as we continue with this work.

“Hearing comments like those from Kathleen and others have made it all worthwhile. We know this approach works and we are committed to continuing this patient pathway, we have great facilities and staff at Goole, all enhancing the service that we offer.”

Healthcare across the Humber will see more services disrupted in the coming days due to industrial action by hospital doctors.

For the first time ever, junior doctors and consultant members of the British Medical Association (BMA) will be coordinating their strike action, resulting in four days’ service disruption from 19^th to 23^rd September. On Wednesday 20^th September, action by the two groups will overlap, with both consultants and juniors providing only a ‘Christmas Day’ level of cover for 24hrs.

Simon Nearney, Director of Workforce for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust says:

“We’ve never seen doctors take this type of coordinated industrial action in the health service before, so this does give us cause for concern and will understandably concern our patients too.

“On any one of these four days there will be disruption, but on the 20^th in particular, consultants and junior doctors plan to take industrial action together, providing only emergency cover equivalent to that provided on Christmas Day.

“Once again, we will be using other skilled health professionals, such as clinical nurse specialists and advanced care practitioners, to deliver some services where safe and appropriate to do so, and their support continues to be invaluable to us.

“Ultimately, however, we could see hundreds of doctors walking out over the next few days and the operational impact of this, along with the personal impact on patients and their families who may have been waiting months to be seen, cannot be underestimated.”

Full details of the action are as follows:

Simon continues:

“We have been reviewing our services ahead of time to work out which clinics can continue, but there will inevitably be procedures postponed and appointments rearranged. Our key advice to patients is, if they have an appointment on the 19^th, 20^th, 21^st or 22^nd and they do not hear from us to reschedule,  they should continue to attend as normal. We will be in touch directly with anyone whose appointment needs to be rescheduled.

“Emergency care is also likely to find itself under pressure, so please only use our Emergency Departments if there’s a threat to life or limb, and for all other health complaints, please use NHS111 or other nearby community health services. “

WISHH, the official charity supporting Hull Hospitals, has received a significant boost from a kind donor who has offered to match fund donations made to our “Space to Grow Appeal”, up to the sum of £25,000.

This generous pledge is to inspire and encourage members of the community, local businesses and Charitable Trusts to get on board to help WISHH reach our Appeal target of raising £100,000 before the end of March 2024 so the much-needed work can be done.

Funds raised through the Appeal are to support Hull’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), based at Hull Royal Infirmary. The aim is to create a Sensory Room for some of the most vulnerable long stay infants, develop a siblings’ play area and create a quiet private space for parents of these tiny and often very poorly infants to reflect and gather their thoughts. The funds will also be used to develop a specialist learning facility for staff reducing the time spent travelling off site to training sessions.

The Appeal builds upon the Hull University Teaching Hospital Trust’s planned expansion of Hull NICU to increase the size of NICU with an additional five intensive care cots.

Hull NICU currently provides care for over 500 babies each year. Some stay for hours or days, whilst others stay for weeks and months. The unit cares for babies from 22 weeks gestation up to 49 weeks.

Since the formal launch of the Appeal, hospital staff and new supporters have taken part in an array of activities, including Hull Run for All, WISHH NHS Big Tea, coast-to-coast challenges, and a wide range of sponsored events to raise funds. Donations made in collection tins at till points at Home Bargains stores have also added to the current total, together with incredible support from local schools, businesses and charities. Collectively, all of these activities and support have helped us reach the current £50,000 figure, which is halfway to our £100,000 target.

Sue Lockwood, Chair of WISHH Trustees said, “I would like to sincerely thank our generous donor for coming forward and making this matched funding opportunity a reality.  This will enable new supporters to double their donation to help us reach our fundraising target, to make an incredible difference to the premature babies, their families and staff of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.”

“Babies in Neonatal Intensive Care at Hull Royal are the most vulnerable of all newborns and they need our help to grow. We are delighted that the WISHH Charity “Space to Grow Appeal” got off to a good start and thank everyone who helped us to reach the halfway mark of £50,000”.

“With your help the incredibly generous pledge of a donation of up to £25,000 can be a game-changer in us reaching the Appeal Target of £100,000. We have been given a golden opportunity to make a difference in neonatal facilities and I encourage everyone who can to get on board and help us rise to the challenge we have been given”.

How to double your donation through matched funding!
Donations can be made via the Appeal’s Just Giving page rebrand.ly/SpaceToGrowDonate – include the words ‘WISHH matched fund’ in your donation message and WISHH will double your donation. Cheque donations can be made payable to “WISHH Charity”. Please include ‘Space to Grow Appeal – Matched Fund!’ on the reverse of the cheque and post to: WISHH Charity Space to Grow Appeal, First Floor Administration Block, Castle Hill Hospital, Castle Road, Cottingham, HU16 5JQ.

All donations made to the appeal from September until the £25,000 has been reached will qualify for matched funding. All donations will be formally acknowledged, so please include your email address/contact details.

How your donation will make a difference

«  £5 will become £10 – this could provide books and distraction items for siblings.

«  £25 will become £50 – this may provide a range of games and toys.

«  £100 will be come £200 – this could provide a range of sensory items for parents to interact with their premature babies.

«  £500-£1000 donations will be matched to support sensory lighting and bubble tubes.

«  £2000-£5000 will be matched to contribute towards the upgrading of rooms, provide furniture, artworks and equipment.

Become a fundraiser of our Appeal!
Keen to fundraise and need inspiration? WISHH has a range of fundraising ideas for supporters to take part in. Our fundraising pack can be downloaded by visiting our appeal webpage: https://www.wishhcharity.org.uk/get-involved/help-with-our-latest-appeals/space-to-grow-appeal/ We also have events and activities planned from now up until Christmas, which you can become involved with. Contact WISHH for further information on 01482 622299 or email us at hyp-tr@hellowishh@nhs.net

Are you a business and would like to become involved?
We have a range of sponsorship opportunities available to businesses, if you are considering becoming involved contact Lisa Whitton, WISHH Charity Manager lisa.whitton3@nhs.net or call on 01482 622299 or for further information.

Thousands of people living in the Holderness area could be living with uncontrolled/severe asthma but not even know it, or not be getting the treatment they need.

According to estimates, there are 110,000 people living with asthma in the Humber and North Yorkshire region. Around 2,500 of that figure live with the condition in Holderness, with five percent expected to have severe asthma.

To provide respite for these people, the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme Humber and North Yorkshire (InHIP HNY) is set to launch the asthma biologics project in Holderness.

The project will ensure that people who struggle to control or have severe asthma can have access to newly developed medicines to aid in their treatment.

Known as asthma biologics, these medicines help to reduce the number of asthma attacks people experience and decreases their dependence on strong medicines like oral steroids that have bad side effects.

Charlotte Riches, Senior Respiratory Nurse Specialist explains:

“Oral steroids can be an important treatment for asthma attack but are associated with debilitating side effects and can place further burden on quality of life with prolonged use, which we see occur often in asthma patients.

“We find it unacceptable that many patients continue to suffer with their asthma and rely on course after course of oral steroids when there are potentially life-changing medications available to improve their asthma control.”

The asthma biologics medicines have shown remarkable effectiveness, are known to improve the lives of people living with uncontrolled/severe asthma in Holderness.

Charlotte continues: “Our goal is to ensure that every individual living with uncontrolled/severe asthma regardless of location, lifestyle, background or education received the highest standard of asthmas care with accessibility to treatment made as easy as possible.”

“By providing the biologics medicines to those who need them most, we hope to alleviate suffering and enhance their quality of live.”

Severe asthma can cause a lot of serious attacks and make life hard. People in underserved areas like Holderness might find it difficult to get the right treatment.

One of the benefits of using asthma biologics medicines is that it can be administered in the patient’s own home once every four to eight weeks to help prevent symptoms, rather than treating symptoms as they occur.

Charlotte said: “We are excited to bring this project to Holderness and take a strong approach towards achieving equitable asthma care for all. We are determined to reduce the disparities in access to biologics medicines and make a positive impact on the lives of those living with severe asthma.

“Through this project, we are not only providing advanced treatment but also addressing the root cause of healthcare disparities.”

Individuals have already been identified for the project and will be contacted shortly and invited to attend an appointment with Charlotte and if appropriate, referred to the Severe Asthma centre at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Hospital consultants across the Humber are preparing for a second round of industrial action later this week.

The BMA has given notice of industrial action taking place among consultants on Thursday 24^th and Friday 25^th August, less than two weeks after a 96-hour period of strike action by junior doctors concluded.

With only a ‘Christmas Day’ level of consultant cover guaranteed, now hospital bosses across East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire are putting plans in place to manage the absence of some of the organisations’ most senior clinical decision-makers.

Simon Nearney, Director of Workforce for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust explains:

“Any large-scale staff absence is going to cause disruption for our hospital patients and for overall business continuity. At the current time, we do not know how many consultants plan to take strike action, however we are already in the peak summer holiday period when it’s more difficult to secure extra staffing support due to annual leave.

“Recognising the doctors have a right to strike, our job is to make sure the most essential services, such as critical care, emergency care, neonatal and trauma services can continue to operate safely.  This does, however, mean that some of our non-urgent and routine work will need to be rescheduled as we divert resources, so some patients will regrettably have to wait longer for their care or treatment.

“We are guaranteed a Christmas Day level of consultant cover, of course, but demands for emergency care in particular are likely to be much higher than we’d expect to see on Christmas Day. With the potential for more limited medical staffing therefore, we are expecting long waits in A&E again, and would encourage anyone needing medical advice or routine treatment to use community services such as their GP, pharmacy or local urgent treatment centre or contact NHS111.”

In order to direct available staffing to the most critical services, some routine care including appointments and planned surgical procedures are being rescheduled. Patients who are affected will be contacted directly to discuss and rearrange. Anyone with an appointment due to take place on either 24^th or 25^th August who does not hear from their hospital team should continue to attend as planned.

The HEY Baby Carousel, a special event to support expectant parents and those involved in babies care has returned to Hull Royal Infirmary.

The monthly event took a break at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic will take place on Wednesday 13 September 2023 from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, offering a relaxed and informal opportunity for attendees to gather information, insights and receive support.

Pregnancy is a significant journey, and the HEY Baby Carousel aims to empower and educate people who are expecting babies and their families on the many aspects of childbirth and care.

Geraldine Hotham, Child Birth Educator Project Lead said: “We are delighted to bring back the HEY Baby Carousel to the Women and Children’s Hospital. The event is a valuable opportunity for expectant parents, new parents and those expecting a baby into the family to access important information, receive support and connect with other families in a friendly environment.”

“As well as being exciting, becoming a parent can be daunting, so any information that expecting parents and families might find beneficial is going to support them. A happy, healthy, comfortable, and positive parent is the best thing for any child’s health and wellbeing.”

At the event, attendees will have the chance to chat with the ‘Ask the Midwife’ team, and representatives from many of the services in the local area. Participants can meet staff from the Fatima Allam Birth Centre, Labour Ward and other wards in the hospital, gaining valuable insights into its facilities and services.

For those looking to explore birthing experiences in an innovative way, the event offers the use of Virtual Reality headsets, allowing participants to have a feel of the various labour wards and provide a better understanding of different birthing options.

The event extends beyond childbirth preparation, offering practical information for participants and families at every stage of pregnancy and parenthood. Demonstrations on how to correctly install baby car seats, an essential safety aspect, will be conducted alongside an accident prevention stall.

Participants will also find out about:

• Feeding infants
• Home birth
• Safe sleeping
• Oral health
• Demonstrations of bathing and nappy changing
• Hypnobirthing
• Baby massage and many more

Claire Porteus, Charge Midwife, Maple Ward said: “We understand the importance of providing comprehensive support to expectant parents and families. The HEY Baby Carousel brings together a range of experts in one place for people to ask questions, gain advice and help ensure they’re ready to welcome their little one into the family.

“We believe that when families come together, the journey of parenthood becomes even more enriching and rewarding.”

A parent who participated in the previous event said: “The HEY Baby Carousel was a fantastic and informative event to attend while I was pregnant with my daughter. It was great to be able to get up front advice on health, safe sleeping, car seat safety, and even information on swimming lessons with my baby.”

“As well as a wide variety of information to take away, we were also given a tiny knitted hat that had been kindly knitted by someone in our community. This was the hat that we brought our daughter home in when she was safely delivered, and we have kept it to this day.”

The HEY Baby Carousel is more than just an informative event, it is a celebration of family and support. In addition, grandparents and other family members are welcome to share their skills or maybe learn something new.

The event is open to all and does not require appointments. Interested individuals can just come to the Women and Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, 13 September, anytime between 6.30pm and 8.30pm.

HEY Baby Carousel events are held every month at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital; more information and dates of future sessions can be found at https://www.hey.nhs.uk/heybaby/carousel/

Jonathan Lofthouse has started in post today (14^th August, 2023) as Group Chief Executive at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG).

Formerly site Chief Executive as part of King’s College Hospitals, Mr Lofthouse will oversee the management of both organisations, after the two trust boards agreed to move towards a group leadership model, in November 2022. As well as five hospitals – Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital, Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, Scunthorpe General and Goole – Mr Lofthouse will be responsible for some community services on the south bank of the Humber. He has previously held the position of Director of Improvement at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

HUTH and NLaG will continue to be two separate organisations although they will, in future, share an executive team. While the two organisations already collaborate closely in the delivery of many key hospitals services, the appointment of Jonathan Lofthouse is the most significant step in enabling them to work more effectively on shared regional challenges.

Mr Lofthouse said:

“I am extremely proud to be joining two organisations each with their own unique, rich history, and looking forward to meeting as many of the staff as possible to understand what they are proud of and what support they need in the future.

“We all know how busy NHS services are and how much pressure services are under. We also know that following the pandemic many of the demands we are now experiencing across our hospitals and community services are really challenging and difficult to respond to. That’s true across all our north and south bank hospitals. We have emergency pressures, challenges in discharging patients and too many patients who have been waiting far longer than we would desire for our care, whether that be surgery, diagnostic or therapeutic.

“Now is the time for us to act creatively and courageously and innovate, focusing all of our efforts on making things better for patients and for staff. Through a group operating model we get to do that on a far bigger scale, and the power of that collective focus, the effect of coming together, I believe will allow us to create stronger, higher quality, better functioning services for our patients, and create more opportunities for our 17,000 staff.”

Former HUTH Chief Executive Chris Long informed staff earlier this year that he would be stepping down from his position and has now retired from the NHS. Meanwhile Dr Peter Reading, previously Chief Executive at NLaG, has taken up the post of Interim Chief Executive at Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Hospitals in East Yorkshire are preparing for the fifth period of strike action this year by junior doctors.

The BMA and HCSA unions have announced a 96-hour period of industrial action will begin at 7am on Friday 11 August and end at 7am on Tuesday 15 August.

The walk-out will affect services across Castle Hill Hospital, Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull Women and Children’s Hospital and the Hull and East Yorkshire Eye Hospital, where junior doctors collectively number almost 500.

Junior doctors are qualified doctors who have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working in hospitals. Accounting for half of all doctors in the NHS, they play a key role in the day-to-day running of hospital services and specialties.

While it is not clear how many junior doctors will support industrial action this month, previous waves across East Yorkshire have seen between two thirds and three quarters of all those eligible taking part.

Hospital managers are once again putting plans into place to manage reduced levels of medical cover, but the timing of action – during peak summer holiday season – does give some cause for concern.

Professor Makani Purva, chief medical officer for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust explains:

“There is never a good time for hospital staff to go on strike, but as we are now in the main summer holiday period, we have higher numbers of staff with annual leave already booked for this period.

“Staff groups including our ACPs, specialist nurses and consultants have all stepped up to help cover the absence of junior doctor colleagues previously, but we know a fair number of those people will also be taking some well-earned leave and so this makes it even harder for us to operate ‘business as usual’.”

The Trust has committed to maintaining all essential services including emergency care, neonatal care, critical care and trauma services, but some routine appointments and procedures are, once again, having to be postponed.

“Our focus must be on providing safe services first and foremost, so we will be concentrating on ensuring we can deliver the essential services safely,” Professor Purva continues.

“Some routine activity will still go ahead, so patients with appointments who haven’t already heard from us should still attend as planned, however we are regrettably having to reschedule a number of other non-urgent appointments and procedures, and for this we apologise to anyone who is affected.”

Bransholme Urgent Treatment Centre is open round-the-clock

Demands on emergency care are also expected to be high, resulting in long waits to be seen, so the advice to anyone whose problem is not life-threatening is to seek advice and treatment using other local health services such as pharmacies, GP services or urgent treatment centres.

Walk-in care and treatment for minor injuries is available from the following centres across Hull and East Yorkshire, all of which are open late into the evening or round-the-clock:

• Hull – Story Street walk-in centre
• Bransholme – Urgent Treatment Centre within Bransholme Health Centre, Goodhart Road (open 24hrs)
• Beverley – Urgent Treatment Centre within East Riding Community Hospital, Swinemoor Lane
• Goole – Urgent Treatment Centre within Goole & District Hospital, Woodland Avenue
• Bridlington – Urgent Treatment Centre within Bridlington Hospital (Entrance A), Bessingby Road

Information and medical advice is also available from NHS111, 24 hours a day, by calling 111 free of charge or by visiting www.111.nhs.uk

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is in the process of contacting patients whose appointments cannot go ahead during the strike period, with a view to rescheduling as soon as possible.