Construction work is under way on two modern bike compounds for staff cycling to Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

Each purpose-built cycling compound will have capacity for 100 bikes, with a gas-assisted higher tier, similar to the cycle parking at York Train Station.

The secure compounds, only accessed by trust staff, will have mixed gender shower blocks with changing areas and will be based in the central location in both hospital grounds, allowing easy access for staff working in all wards and departments while remaining under the watch of security surveillance and patrols.

Alex Best, Head of Capital Development at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH), said: “These fantastic facilities will be a major asset to the growing number of our staff now opting to leave their cars at home and cycle to work.

“They will be able to lock up their bikes, knowing they are in the safest place possible, instead of running the risk of finding their bike has been taken by gangs of thieves known to have targeted our hospitals in the past.

“The shower and changing facilities blocks will mean all staff now have access to changing facilities at all times of the day and night, regardless of where in the hospitals they work.”

The new compounds, costing £180,000, are part of HUTH’s Getting to Work project to encourage staff to find alternative ways of travelling to their jobs instead of taking the car.

Part of the trust’s Zero Thirty campaign to achieve major environmental improvements, three free park-and-ride services have been introduced for staff along with discounted bus travel on Stagecoach services with the SmartCommute card to help those not on the park-and-ride routes.

The trust has teamed up with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to hold bike events to encourage staff to cycle to work, including “Be Safe, Be Seen” events to give away free bike lights and hi-vis backpack covers, safer route planning to help staff find the best way from their home to work and security marking events with Humberside Police.

Free bike maintenance events have also been held at Castle Hill with Cottingham-based charity R-evolution and for staff at Hull Royal with Hull charity Giroscope.

As a result of the project, the same number of applications for HUTH’s Cycle to Work scheme were received in the first three months compared to the whole of 2021.

For those staff who do not qualify because of Government rules on minimum take-home pay, the trust has worked with East Riding of Yorkshire Council and R-evolution to provide free bikes for loan.

The trust was named finalists in two national awards by Modeshift, leaders in sustainable travel in the UK, recently for its Getting to Work project and its ongoing partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Work has been started on the construction of both compounds, which are expected to be open to staff by the end of the year.

Hull’s hospitals have been named finalists in national awards for a project to help staff travel to work.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust launched its Getting to Work project in May as part of its Zero Thirty campaign to tackle climate change, introducing three free park-and-ride services and discounted bus and rail travel for staff.

HUTH has also worked with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to host regular cycling events such as “Be Safe, Be Seen” events, safer route planning and tips on security to encourage staff to leave their cars and cycle to work.

Now, the trust has been named finalists in two awards – Business Engagement Project of the Year for its Getting to Work project and Best Project Under £1000 for an event run with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to offer staff the chance to try an e-bike.

Marc Beaumont, Head of Sustainability at HUTH who leads the Zero Thirty campaign, said: “We’re really grateful to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for nominating us for these awards in recognition of the work the team has done to persuade staff to leave their cars at home or for at least part of the journey.

“The team has done an amazing job, getting staff out of cars and giving them alternative options to travel to work.

“Since we launched the services in the summer, we’ve already saved more than 3,000 car journeys and that’s great news, not just for our staff but for pollution levels in the city.

“East Riding of Yorkshire Council has been a fantastic support to us and our staff and we look forward to continuing that partnership.”

The national awards are run by Modeshift, the UK’s leading sustainable transport organization, and the winners will be announced at a black tie event in Leicester on Thursday.

We’d like to say a big “thank you” to members of East Yorkshire Caravan and Motor Home Club who have donated £3,700 to fund new equipment for our Da Vinci Robotic Suite.

(left to right) Mr Nicholas Smith, Mr David Woolley, Ron Warner and Matthew Simms.

Club member Ron Warner contacted Wendy Brooksby, medical secretary to Consultant Urological Surgeons Matthew Simms and Nicholas Smith, about making a donation to fund their vital work to save lives.

Each year, the club raises money for a different charity and members had chosen to raise money to support treatment of prostate cancer.

The club raised £3,700 and met members of robotic surgery team at a special reception in the seminar room at Urology at Castle Hill to hand over the cheque.

The donation will pay for audio visual monitor screens to help the training of robotics surgeons in a range of life-saving procedures for patients with diseases including prostate cancer, bladder cancer, colorectal conditions and gynaecological problems.

We’re really grateful to all members of the East Yorkshire Caravan and Motor Home Club for raising such a fantastic amount and thank them on behalf of all of us at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

She was enjoying her fish and chips on the seafront at Bridlington when a seagull swooped and knocked them onto the ground.

But as Helen Corns, 84, returned to the chip shop for more, her family realised something was seriously wrong. Her face started to droop, her speech was slurred and her left side became weak.

Realising she was having a stroke, Mrs Corns’s family called an ambulance and she was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary where an expert team of Interventional Radiologists performed a procedure known as ‘mechanical thrombectomy’ to restore her brain function and save her life.

Just one day later, Mrs Corns was well enough to continue her holiday after she was discharged from hospital with no lasting neurological damage.

Now back home in Scotland and able to walk her dog Max and go to her weekly exercise class, Mrs Corns said: “If I’d been taken to another hospital that didn’t do this procedure, maybe I wouldn’t have made it.

“But they were absolutely wonderful and I know how lucky I am.”

Dr Paul Scott and Dr Hamed Nejadhamzeeigilani removed the clot less than three hours after Mrs Corns first experienced symptoms.

Dr Nejadhamzeeigilani said: “We are glad to see her improvement following the thrombectomy procedure and pleased to hear that she was able to continue with her holiday.”

Hull University Teaching Hospitals (HUTH) has been offering a Regional Mechanical Thrombectomy Service to patients since 2018 at its Comprehensive Stroke Centre, based at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Saturday marks World Stroke Awareness Day and HUTH is announcing it is now extending the service from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, to help more patients.

Patients having strokes are “blue lighted” by ambulance from all over North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire for minimally invasive Mechanical Thrombectomy in the Interventional Radiology Theatres.

Performed under local anaesthesia or sedation, the Interventional Radiology team gains access to the blocked artery in the brain via a small puncture made in an artery in the groin or arm. Various devices known as guide wires, catheters, stent retrievers and suction devices are used to remove the blood clot and restore blood flow to the affected part of the brain thus enabling patients 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.

Mrs Corns was on a caravan holiday to Filey with her daughter Aileen and son-in-law Alec when they decided to go to Bridlington for the day.

She said: “I didn’t even realise anything was wrong until they got me in a chair. I heard someone say they were calling for an ambulance and I remember thinking ‘What for?’

“I don’t remember arriving at the hospital but I remember them taking me upstairs and telling me what they were going to do.

“All I could think about was my brother, who we’d lost to a stroke just a year ago.

“But then, in no time at all, I was back on the ward, phoning the rest of my family to tell them I’d had a stroke. They couldn’t believe that I was talking fine to them, although I wasn’t allowed to get out of my bed at first.”

When she was well enough to be discharged from hospital the following day, Mrs Corns decided to continue her holiday to be with her family and is now back at home.

“There was something with my grip at first and I dropped a cup of coffee but I think I was just tired,” she said. “My head sometimes feels a bit heavy but it’s nothing.

“People can’t believe it when I tell them I’ve had a stroke.”

Dr Paul Maliakal, Consultant Interventional Neuroradiologist and Director of the Imaging Division at HUTH said the service, which initially ran from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, is now being extended to 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, from today so the team can help even more people.

He said: “Mechanical thrombectomy is the most effective medical procedure ever invented. patients with stroke who are treated with mechanical thrombectomy have a significantly better outcome than other treatment options.

“Pioneering efforts from the interventional radiology team at HUTH has succeeded in training many more colleagues in this procedure.

“We are pleased to extend the service from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday , from October 3. This will enable us to treat many more suitable patients, reducing disability and death.”

Dr Maliakal said the long-term aim was to extend the service to weekends before rolling it out to 24/7.

A research team from Hull is taking part in an international study that investigates whether it’s possible to reduce the chance of babies becoming seriously unwell with Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Commonly known as RSV, this common virus causes cold-like symptoms in older children and adults, but can cause inflammation in the lower airways (bronchiolitis) in babies, which makes them short of breath. They can also have difficulties feeding and develop a rattly cough and /or wheezing.

Many areas of the country saw a notable rise in RSV associated hospitalisations of babies and children last year, thought to be linked to restrictions put in place to limit the spread of Covid-19. Fewer infections in young people meant they were unable to build up as much immunity, leaving them more susceptible to viruses such as RSV, and this may still be the case to some extent this year.

In Hull, doctors normally expect to see over 130 children hospitalised with RSV each year during the winter months.

Baby Oscar is taking part in the HARMONIE study

Through the HARMONIE study, a dedicated paediatric research team from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is now assessing the benefits of giving a drug – called Nirsevimab – to healthy babies aged under 1 year during the winter, when RSV is most common.

One person who understands the importance of this research work is mum-of-two, Sophie.

In 2019, Sophie’s daughter Harriet was born at just 24 weeks and spent her first three months in hospital under the care of the neonatal team.

Baby Harriet then enjoyed a month at home with her family before being hospitalised again for a week after contracting RSV which led to bronchiolitis.

Now Sophie is keen for Harriet’s new baby brother Oscar, aged 10 weeks (pictured, right), to take part in the HARMONIE study in order to prevent other families going through the experience that her family shared.

Sophie says:

“Harriet spent her first few months in the neonatal care unit. It was such a relief to finally get her home after all that time, so then to have her hospitalised again because of RSV a month later was just awful.

“When I heard about the HARMONIE study after having Oscar, I was keen to be involved. The requirements of the study are pretty straightforward and involve keeping an e-diary about Oscar’s health and progress, which I can do at a time to suit me, rather than having to attend clinic.

“If we can prevent just one family going through the upset and the worry that we did with Harriet, it will be well worth it.”

Dr Khan (third left) and the paediatric research team working on the HARMONIE study

Dr Khan, the Principal Investigator for the HARMONIE study at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, said:

“Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospital admission in infants in developed countries and Respiratory Syncytial Viral is the most common viral cause of bronchiolitis.

“No parent wants to see their baby in hospital, to be dependent on oxygen, to require tube feeding or even intensive care. This study doesn’t just have the potential to prevent children from catching this nasty virus and becoming seriously ill, but it could also reduce the impact on families, save them unnecessary heartache, and reduce admissions to children’s wards during our busiest months of the year.

“Please, if you have a child aged under 12 months, consider taking part in the HARMONIE study. With your support and that of your little one, you could be helping many thousands of others like you in years to come.”

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking to recruit a minimum of 50 participants in total, part of an international effort to recruit some 28,860 children to the study overall.

If you or anyone you know is interested in taking part in the study, please visit the HARMONIE website: https://www.rsvHARMONIEstudy.com/en-gb

Alternatively, if your child is aged under 12 months and you visit hospital regularly, please ask for details and a member of the paediatric research team at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will be pleased to discuss the benefits of being involved in the study with you.

A famous Hull landmark is entering the final stages of a two-year multi-million pound transformation.

Photographs by Jasmine Lee

Hull Royal Infirmary has undergone a £19.3m overhaul to create a new three-storey entrance with an assessment unit, modern pharmacy, multi-faith area and restaurant and shops for patients, visitors and staff.

A new children’s ward is being created on the second floor with direct access over the link bridge to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital. As well as the very latest and best in modern health care facilities, the ward includes facilities for parents of sick children who wish to stay overnight.

A much larger and self-contained assessment unit provides better facilities for patients with views over the front gardens and natural light. Pharmacy has moved to the back of the ground floor of the hospital, with a new robotic arm installed to pick prescriptions.

Duncan Taylor, Director of Estates, Facilities and Development at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We needed more flexible space to deliver our services and we’ve now got this fantastic facility more suited to the delivery of modern health care.

“Our patients, visitors and staff will benefit from this major transformation of Hull Royal Infirmary and we thank everyone for their patience while we were busy creating these amazing hospital facilities.”

The new front entrance on Anlaby Road transforms the front of the tower block, a landmark building in Hull City Centre which has remained largely unchanged for more than 50 years.

It’s part of a £60m major capital development project undertaken at Hull Royal Infirmary since the start of the pandemic.

As well as the new front entrance, a special block has been created behind the Emergency Department with an additional 52 beds, including isolation facilities for patients with confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19, other infectious diseases and seasonal illnesses more common during winter, including flu.

A new 24-bedded Intensive Care Unit costing £8m for critically ill and injured patients from all over Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire was opened at the end of last year.

Visitors may still experience some disruption over the next few weeks as the retail units are fitted out and the lift lobby, complete with two new lifts directly to the second floor to ease congestion at busy visiting times, is refurbished.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s maternity department is working in alliance with the University of Hull’s research department to support midwives in their efforts to assess alcohol habits before, during and after pregnancy. The research study is called the CHAMPION study.

What does this mean for me? –

When you attend you community antenatal appointments, some individuals will be asked to complete a short questionnaire asking about your alcohol habits while you wait for your appointment. Take this questionnaire into your appointment with you and give it to your midwife to complete. You have the choice to complete these forms and information is completely confidential and will help us to support your midwives to give you the best information during your pregnancy.

What if I don’t want to take part? –

The questionnaire is completely optional, and you have every right to decline taking part.

What happens with this information? –

The questionnaire will go to our research midwife who will anonymously input the data onto a confidential database for analysis by the University’s research team. This information will help the team identify any need for staff training, clinical needs (more appointment time, more staff, more resources) and any issues from the participating clinical team. Therefore, your participation will help mould the future of the maternity services in the area and influence clinical practice, enhancing safe care for you and your family.

What would happen after the questionnaire? –

After the questionnaire, you will have the option to leave your phone number if you would be happy for a member of the research team to contact you to explain the process of a short, simple interview process – please note, leaving your phone number doesn’t mean you have agreed to be interviewed, it is simply a small chat to explain the interview process further. If you agree to be interviewed, the researcher will ask you a series of questions about your experience of completing the questionnaires and any issues you came across. No answer is right or wrong and your answers will be kept confidential.

We thank you in advance for your participation in our CHAMPION study.

Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will be lit up pink and blue from tonight to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is marking Baby Loss Awareness Week, now in its 20^th year, so families, staff and all those affected by the loss of a baby can come together to remember and commemorate these much-loved and missed babies.

The week provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the impact of pregnancy and baby loss, the importance bereavement support plays in the ongoing bereavement journey and the vital work needed to improve pregnancy outcomes and save babies’ lives.

Specialist Bereavement Midwife Sue Cooper said: “We want Hull Women and Children’s Hospital to become a beacon of light in the darkness and to show bereaved parents and families we will never forget their precious babies.”

HUTH is about to launch a programme of training with a cohort of recently qualified midwives to ensure families experiencing the death of their babies are supported and counselled by expert staff.

While restrictions had to be put in place throughout the early months of the pandemic, extended family members can now join bereaved parts in our special bereavement suite, away from the rest of the hospital’s labour facilities, to spend precious time with their babies.

This year, Baby Loss Awareness Week will be exploring the theme of Stepping Stones and how someone whose baby has died finds themselves on a new path they never expected to be on.

Clea Harmer, Chief Executive of Sands and Chair of the Baby Loss Awareness Alliance, said: “Following their loss, families find themselves on a new path they never expected to be on. This year, Baby Loss Awareness Week focuses on the steps along that journey, and how they are different for everyone. Some steps along the journey can feel harder than others, but there is always a hand to support anyone when they feel unsteady.

“I hope that Hull Women and Children’s Hospital being lit up pink and blue during October will help will help reassure anyone who finds themselves on this journey, whether recently bereaved or longer ago, that there is a community that exists to help with whatever is needed, whether that is advice, support or simply someone to listen and walk by their side.”

Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will be featured alongside other buildings and landmarks turning pink and blue around the country during Baby Loss Awareness Week 2022 on the interactive map and on the official Baby Loss Awareness Facebook page.

Anyone in East Yorkshire can share their photos of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital on social media and include the hashtag #BLAW to reach as many people as possible.

Baby Loss Awareness Week culminates with the “Wave of Light” on 15 October when people around the world light a candle at 7pm to remember all babies that have died too soon.

Rev Tony Brookes, Head of Chaplaincy at HUTH, said: “Please join us and light a candle at 7pm on 16 October to remember all babies that died too soon and leave it burning for at least one hour to create a wave of light across the world.”

Staff at Hull Royal Infirmary are urgently appealing for the community’s help to ease hospital pressures.

Hull Royal Infirmary in particular has grown increasingly busy in recent days and today finds itself under significant strain.

Pressures are being seen at both exit and entry points, with:

• Very high numbers of people attending the Emergency Department (ED)
• Lengthy waits for patients in ED requiring anything other than the most urgent attention
• A high number of patients who are ready to leave hospital but are unable to be discharged, often because they are awaiting community care packages or placements

Local people are now being asked to avoid using the Emergency Department for anything other than very urgent or serious conditions, and to use other services across Hull and the East Riding to meet their needs. This is to allow medical staff at the ‘front door’ to focus on the most critically ill and seriously injured.

Professor Makani Purva

Professor Makani Purva, Chief Medical Officer for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:

“Demands on hospital care are as high as they have ever been right now, with large numbers of people attending for walk-in care, high numbers of people requiring admission, and a high number of people who are ready for discharge but unable to leave until the right community support is in place.

“We are working with NHS and local authority partners to try and create capacity within the system but this takes time, so we’re also reviewing what non-urgent activity we have taking place and whether moves such as staff redeployment may help to ease the pressure.

“Staff are doing a great job under the circumstances, but there is something everyone can do to help our medical and nursing staff prioritise the most seriously ill in our community.

“It’s something we say often, but we really do need people to use services other than A&E where at all possible; not only will this be quicker and usually more convenient for them, it will also be a huge support to our emergency care staff, ward staff and partners in the ambulance service right now.”

Where it is felt clinically safe/suitable, patients arriving at the Emergency Department may be asked to use alternative services such as Urgent Treatment Centres where waiting times will be significantly less.

Patients should continue to seek help for routine medical complaints and non-urgent health issues through their GP surgery, local pharmacy or use the NHS111 phone or online service.

How you can help:

If you feel you need to be seen today and you are unable to get a same day GP appointment, visit an Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) in Bransholme (within the Health Centre), Goole (within the main hospital), Bridlington (within the hospital) or Beverley (within East Riding Community Hospital, Swinemoor Lane). You will almost certainly be seen more quickly here than in the Emergency Department, so please save yourself some time and use these facilities wherever you can.

UTCs are open until late into the evening, and can provide assistance, advice and treatment for a wide variety of health problems including wound infections, rashes and allergic reactions, simple broken bones, muscle strains and sprains, cuts, bites, urine infections and minor head injuries. Some also have x-ray facilities operating between certain hours.

If you wish to attend a UTC, you can check its location, opening hours and the specific services it provides at https://www.chcpcic.org.uk/chcp-services/urgent-care

If you’re unsure where to seek treatment, call NHS111 or go online to www.111.nhs.uk  The 111 service can provide advice over the phone, make UTC appointments if necessary or advise what to do if a clinician decides you need more immediate help.

Local pharmacies are also open throughout the day, and some late at night, to advise on medications, routine health complaints and provide over the counter treatments. You can find your nearest pharmacy via https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy