Chaplains will deliver messages for patients whose relatives can’t be with them

A messaging service which brought joy to patients in hospital last Christmas and New Year is being offered again this festive season.

Hospital chaplains working across Castle Hill Hospital and Hull Royal Infirmary launched the service in December 2021, when hospital visiting was still heavily restricted due to Covid-19 infection risks.

The service enabled patients who were unable to see or communicate with loved ones, largely due to visiting restrictions at the time, to received heart-felt messages – either spoken or hand-delivered – via the hospital chaplaincy team.

The service proved incredibly popular, with season’s greetings and ‘get well’ wishes received for patients from as far afield as Canada.

Now, as we approach the festive season once again, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team will be reintroducing the messaging service to help bring those who can’t be with their loved ones that little bit closer.

Revd Tony Brookes, Head of Chaplaincy

Revd. Tony Brookes, Head of Chaplaincy, says:

“There are many reasons why people can’t always speak to or visit their loved ones in hospital. Last year, visiting restrictions made seeing loved ones difficult, but issues such as geographical location, personal commitments or people’s own health or communication issues may also make it difficult to keep in touch if a family member or friend is admitted to hospital.

“Last Christmas and New Year, we really saw the value of the messaging service we offered, both to our patients and to the families and friends we spoke with. A ‘get well’ message or a Merry Christmas wish can really help to boost the spirits of someone in hospital, and it’s such a simple thing to do.

“Not all patients have mobile phones, and not all patients are well enough to use them, so by taking messages out to patients again, we’re hoping to be able to spread some festive cheer, bring people together and remind those in hospital that their loved ones are thinking of them even if they can’t physically be with them.”

To send a message to a relative or friend in hospital via the chaplaincy team, simply email
hyp-tr.greetingstolovedone@nhs.net, providing the name of the patient, the ward, unit or department they are on, which hospital they are in, and any other detail/information which may help the team to identify the patient. The service will operate Monday to Friday, across both HRI and Castle Hill, with any messages sent over the weekend being picked up on the following Monday.

Tony continues:

“Having a loved one in hospital and not being able to see them can be a difficult and worrying time, and being apart from loved ones over Christmas can be even more upsetting for some.

“Many of those patients we saw last year were pleasantly surprised to see us as they were feeling lonely without visitors, and for those we were able to visit on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, the contact proved to be the highlight of their day, an unexpected Christmas present.

“It was a true privilege for us to be able to support patients and families in this way and we look forward to being able to bring people together once again this festive season.”

Parents are being urged to be alert for the signs of Strep A infections.  This is also known Group A streptococcal (GAS) or invasive Group A streptococcal (iGAS) infections.

Especially in winter, there are a range of causes of sore throats, colds and coughs caused by viruses that will get better by themselves without needing antibiotics or medical intervention, meaning it not being necessary to contact your GP surgery.

Occasionally, Strep A can lead to more serious illnesses like scarlet fever and, albeit rarely, very serious disease such as sepsis, Pneumonia or bone infections.

Across East Yorkshire, there has been an increase in cases this year, particularly in children under 10. Nationally, there have sadly been some deaths. We want parents to know what to look out for and when to seek medical care.

• If your child has a fever, sore throat, or fine red or pink rash that feels rough (like sandpaper) read our advice below.
• If your child seems more unwell than usual or if your child is getting worse or this illness is different to their normal coughs and colds, please seek medical attention.

What to do if you suspect your child has scarlet fever

Scarlet fever mainly affects children under 10, but people of any age can get it. In the early stages, symptoms include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel. On darker skin, the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel.

We are asking parents to contact their GP if they suspect their child has scarlet fever, because early treatment with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia or a bloodstream infection.

Parents should contact their GP if they feel:

• their child is getting worse
• their child is feeding or eating much less than normal
• their child has had a dry nappy for 12 hours or more or shows other signs of dehydration
• their baby is under 3 months and has a temperature of 38°C, or is older than 3 months and has a temperature of 39°C or higher
• their baby feels hotter than usual when they touch their back or chest, or feels sweaty
• their child is very tired or irritable.

Call 999 or go to the Emergency Department if

• your child is having difficulty breathing – you may notice grunting noises or their tummy sucking under their ribs
• there are pauses when your child breathes
• your child’s skin, tongue or lips are blue
• your child is floppy and will not wake up or stay awake.
• Don’t put off seeking help if your child continues to get worse.

Strep infections are spread by close contact with an infected person and can be passed on through coughs and sneezes.

Please consider that emergency departments and GP surgeries are very busy. If you feel that your child can stay at home or be seen elsewhere, such as a pharmacy, please do so.

Know what to look for and when to seek medical care.  Go to  https://humberandnorthyorkshire.org.uk/strepa/

For further information on scarlet fever, visit www.pha.site/ScarletFever

Patients and families attending Hull’s Emergency Department will now be able to keep in touch with relatives after the introduction of two new mobile charging stations.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals (HUTH) has teamed up with phone charging company Joos to provide power banks in its Children’s A&E and its Emergency Care Area (ECA) at Hull Royal Infirmary.

People waiting in the department will be able to select a power bank providing up to two hours’ charge for £3, allowing them to keep in contact with other family members, call taxis or keep in contact with employers.

As well as helping patients and relatives in the department, the mobile charging stations will reduce the pressure on reception staff working in ECA and Children’s A&E who often have to help families with phone calls or problems with mobiles which have run out of charge.

Amy Lockyer, Commissioning and Support Services Manager at HUTH, said: “People often don’t know they’ll be visiting the Emergency Department so arrive with little charge in their phones.

“This means they can now get their phones topped up so they can keep in contact with the rest of their families while they’re waiting.”

People can return the power banks to the central charging station as soon as their phones are topped up and they won’t be charged further.

However, if they leave the department without returning the power bank, they will be charged a further £4 a day until it is returned. After eight days, people are charged a final lump sum charge of £30 and the power bank is then theirs.

Families of patients with dementia and memory impairment are being invited to play key roles in their care while in hospital.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) has pledged to uphold John’s Campaign, a national initiative to ensure families play active roles, despite unprecedented pressure on hospitals.

Relatives who have loved ones with dementia or memory impairment – known as essential care givers – are entitled to unrestricted visiting while the patient is in Hull Royal Infirmary or Castle Hill Hospital.

Lead Dementia Matron Karen Harrison said: “We’re shifting mind sets from “allowing” family members to visit to actually promoting and encouraging visiting for these often-vulnerable patients while they’re in hospital, away from familiar surroundings.

“Family members are the experts here. They know these patients best so can tell us what’s normal for their loved ones, explain their likes and dislikes and what works to calm and comfort them if they become distressed.”

Posters promoting John’s Campaign are being displayed in all clinical areas at both hospitals and senior ward staff are checking members of their team knows what the campaign means, particularly in relation to visiting.

If a ward is affected by Covid-19, family members of these patients can still visit but must wear the correct PPE for the area and follow handwashing directives. We also ask that family members have tested negative on Lateral Flow Devices before visiting to help us prevent the spread of the virus.

Families of patients with dementia and memory impairment can also visit during mealtimes, which are usually closed to visitors, to assist in supporting their relative to eat and drink.

Relatives are also encouraged to visit during doctors’ ward rounds, usually a time when wards are closed to general visiting, so they can act as an advocate for their loved one.

Karen Harrison said: “Other patients on wards who do not have memory impairment or dementia often ask why their families can’t benefit from unrestricted visiting too but, once we explain John’s Campaign, they understand we’re acting in the best interest of these often-vulnerable patients.

“We’re grateful to all of our patients and their families for their support and understanding.”

You see can latest details of visiting at both hospitals on the trust’s website.

A new 20-bed ward is to be opened at Hull Royal Infirmary next month for patients with acute heart problems.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) will open Ward 39 to treat patients admitted to hospital with cardiac conditions including heart failure.

The new purpose-built ward, situated behind the tower block next to the Emergency Department (ED), will support services currently provided in the Cardiology Department at Castle Hill Hospital.

While patients suffering heart attacks or cardiac arrest and those requiring surgical intervention like stents or pacemakers will still be admitted directly to the Cardiology Department, Ward 39 will admit patients arriving in Hull’s ED who require monitoring, assessment and medication.

Chief Operating Officer Ellen Ryabov said: “Having a specialist base at each hospital to help assess and treat patients with heart problems means they will be seen by dedicated specialist cardiology teams at a much earlier stage in their patient journey.

“Those in need of emergency cardiac care including surgery and intensive care will continue to go to Cardiology and be treated by specialist staff on Wards 26 and 28 at Castle Hill.

“However, those who require assessment or stabilizing will now go to our new ward under the care of specialist cardiology nurses and cardiologists instead of being transferred by ambulance across the city to Castle Hill.

“We know patients who are seen by the correct specialist team who can assess and treat their condition as soon as possible have much shorter stays in hospital and therefore this new ward will ensure that all patients have a much better experience during their time with us and get home much faster.”

Additional cardiology nurses and consultants have been recruited along with Advanced Clinical Practitioners to work on Ward 39, which will be fully equipped with specialist ECG bedside monitoring. The heart failure nurses will provide additional support to the ward.

The new ward is expected to start accepting patients before the end of the year, with a Same Day Emergency Care unit opened within the ward next year to help patients who do not require an overnight stay in hospitals.

Nursing staff at Hull’s hospitals are celebrating this week after they won a prestigious national award in recognition of its work to recruit and support new nurses.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) won the Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff at the Nursing Times Workforce Awards 2022 this week.

Judges picked the trust for its “Grow Our Own” campaign to tackle the national shortages of nurses, resulting in the trust reducing its registered nurse vacancies by 95 per cent through initiatives including nurse apprenticeships and support for healthcare assistants and internationally educated nurses to gain UK nurse registration.

The judges said: “The holistic approach to support the growth of staff from school all the way through to post registration shone through. The judges acknowledged the breadth and depth of partnership working their social capital and their commitment to giving back to the community.”

Chief Nurse Jo Ledger said: “This is amazing news for our trust and our incredible nurses.

“It’s been a very challenging few years but we have always tried to put our people at the heart of everything we do so our staff in turn can focus on patient care.

“I am extremely proud of my teams and of all our nurses, midwives and healthcare staff and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for everything they do.”

The trust’s practice development team, working with HR, nurse educators and its recruitment team, supported health care workers and nursing assistants to become fully qualified staff nurses and its apprenticeship programme to support school leavers to become trainee nurse associates. Staff who trained overseas were also helped to gain the necessary qualifications to work as nurses in the UK.

Members of the team including Practice Development Matron Karen Mechen, Senior Matron in Nursing Services Nicola Buckle, Practice Development Nurse Michio Schuck and HR Business Partner Sarah Addleshaw attended the glittering ceremony at the Hilton London Metropole on Tuesday night, along with more than 700 professionals from across the NHS and care sector.

Director of Workforce Simon Nearney said: “We are incredibly proud of everyone who works on behalf of the trust to support our nursing teams.

“This award is also testament to our nursing teams and everyone else who has made a massive contribution to our apprentice programmes, Remarkable People recruitment campaign, recruitment and retention and our international nursing programme.”

Editor of Nursing Times Steve Ford, who hosted the awards, said: “Our awards highlight nursing’s workforce achievements and some of the brilliant work being carried out during what continues to be an incredibly difficult period, due to enduring staff shortages, the aftermath of the pandemic and the approach of winter

“Once again, we have shone a light on those organisations and individuals that go the extra mile when trying to attract new nursing staff and, just as importantly, celebrated efforts to retain staff.”

Student nurses at the University of Hull are to be offered jobs at Hull’s hospitals before they graduate as part of our on-going recruitment programme.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) will offer jobs to third-year degree students, providing they achieve their degrees, as part of its “Remarkable People” recruitment campaign.

Around 90 per cent of student nurses at the University of Hull now come to work at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital since the launch of the campaign five years ago.

Simon Nearney, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development at HUTH, said: “In the past, students completed their studies in Hull but then some chose to move away and work elsewhere.

“Our programme means we can offer local people jobs in their home city, giving them the security of knowing they have a job when they qualify. Instead of trying to find work, they can then concentrate on their studies knowing they will start their careers with us.”

Since the programme began five years ago, 564 newly qualified nurses have joined both hospitals from the University of Hull. While other hospital trusts around the country have struggled to recruit, Hull is bucking the trend and has a nursing vacancy rate of just one per cent compared to the national rate of 10.3 per cent.

Student nurses promised jobs with the trust are supported by nurse educators at the trust, given help with their studies to help them achieve the best possible results.

The trust will host a recruitment event at the University of Hull next month with the view to attracting future staff. Interviews will be held in February with job offers made to successful candidates well in advance of them sitting their final exams. They will then begin work at the hospitals as newly qualified nurses in September.

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.