Early findings from a collaborative project between Hull’s respiratory team and international biopharmaceutical group, Chiesi, were presented at an international conference this weekend.

Respiratory nurse specialists Kayleigh Brindle and Karen Watkins joined Professor Michael Crooks in travelling to Vienna to present at the 2024 European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress 2024.

Here, they addressed thousands of delegates with exciting early findings from the FRONTIER project, in which patients who previously attended an NHS Lung Health Check and who reported symptoms of lung disease and/or had emphysema on their CT scan were invited back for further COPD* testing.

During the first phase of the project, 201 people took part and over two thirds of those, 136 people, went on to receive a COPD diagnosis. The NHS Lung Health Check primarily screens for cancer, and these findings demonstrate that the checks also present a notable opportunity to identify and enable timely treatment for other respiratory illnesses.

L-R Karen Watkins, Prof Michael Crooks, and Kayleigh Brindle

Professor Michael Crooks, hospital consultant in respiratory medicine and Professor of Respiratory Medicine with Hull York Medical School and the University of Hull, says:

“Our early findings clearly highlight the burden of undiagnosed COPD among those attending the Lung Health Check programme in Hull.

“Many of those diagnosed with COPD during FRONTIER were living with daily symptoms but had not been able to access treatment due to a lack of diagnosis. Identifying people attending Lung Health Checks that are at high risk of having undiagnosed COPD and offering diagnostic testing enables access to evidence-based COPD care that has potential to significantly improve health outcomes.”

Around 1.4 million people in England aged 40 years or over are living with COPD, and a further 500,000 are thought to be living with the condition but without a formal diagnosis. The main cause of COPD is smoking, but it can also be caused by past exposure to fumes, chemicals and dust at work.

COPD is severely under-diagnosed, with many patients being diagnosed upon acute hospital admission. COPD causes 115,000 emergency admissions in England per year and as many as 24,000 deaths.

FRONTIER, which launched in September 2023 and will run for a further 12 months, seeks to support early COPD diagnosis and enable treatment to begin more quickly in order to improve outcomes for patients. Over the course of the study, around 1,000 people who have taken up the offer of a NHS Lung Health Check in the past will be invited back for COPD testing through spirometry.

Shish Patel, Medical Director, Chiesi UK & Ireland says:

“While chronic, COPD can be effectively managed, and the earlier it is diagnosed, the greater the opportunity for intervention, whether that be lifestyle changes, rehabilitation or treatment. The FRONTIER project represents Chiesi’s commitment to improving the lives of people living with COPD, and we look forward to sharing the full outcomes of the collaboration with the community to inform planning for a nation-wide screening programme.”

* COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, the name used for a group of lung conditions which cause breathing difficulties including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Around 21,000 people impacted each year by musculoskeletal problems such as back, knee and elbow pain are to benefit from a new service delivered by specialist physiotherapy and pain management teams in Northern Lincolnshire.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, part of NHS Humber Health Partnership, has just been awarded a £10.2m contract in partnership with Connect Health to deliver pain management and musculoskeletal (MSK) services for the next four years.

Hospital-based and community therapy teams will work with Connect Health, the UK’s largest independent community healthcare provider of MSK, pain management and mental health services, to care for people with MSK problems.

Ant Rosevear, Operations Director for Community, Frailty and Therapy Care Group at NHS Humber Heath Partnership, said: “This new service will offer patients timely access to assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

“Our clinical teams will work with patients, putting them at the centre of decision-making about their care so they feel empowered to manage their own conditions with expert support at the right time.

“By responding to individual needs, we’re aiming to remove the need for inconvenient and time-consuming outpatient appointments in hospital by delivering tailored care in community settings, closer to home.”

Currently, NLaG provides an MSK community service in partnership with other organisations in North Lincolnshire but the contract ends in December.

Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, which commissions health services for the local population, was keen to introduce a single service covering both North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.

NLaG and Connect Health launched a joint bid, which has now been accepted and will begin in January. Although the initial contract, worth around £2.5m a year, is for four years, there is an option to extend it to 2029.

Paul Allan, Chief Operating Officer at Connect Health, said: “We are excited to work with colleagues at NLAG to deliver this unified service across Northern Lincolnshire.

“Blending our national expertise and infrastructure with the local knowledge, skills and capabilities of the trust and its people will deliver the commissioners’ aims and improve services for local people.”

On Sunday 8th September, fourteen individuals forming #TeamWISHH will be heading to Newcastle upon Tyne for the fantastic Great North Run, known as the “World’s biggest and best half marathon”.  With 60,000 runners taking part, the race will see participants running the 13.1-mile route from Newcastle and finishing in South Shields.

The fourteen-strong team includes Hull Hospital staff from the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Plastic Surgery, Medical Oncology, Cardiology, Theatres and nurses across a number of specialist areas. They’re joined by friends and family, and supporters of the WISHH Charity.

Physician Associate, Lily Woodford

Our team will be part of 600 runners who are raising funds for their local hospital charities across the United Kingdom who are members, including WISHH of NHS Charities Together.

#TeamWISHH are raising funds to enhance our hospitals for the benefit of patients, from Children’s Emergency Department, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Other team members are going to be helping kick-start our new fundraising appeals, which will be announced shortly.

Lily Woodford, a Physician Associate student at Hull York Medical School said, “When I decided to take on the Great North Run, I knew I wanted to give something back to the patients who we care for across our hospitals and make such a difference to students like myself and countless others. A significant part of my course and clinical training involves speaking with patients to understand what brought them to the hospital. I am continually struck by their generosity in sharing personal experiences and stories allowing me to practise my examination skills, for the benefit of my learning, which is why I chose to run for WISHH charity.

Anaesthesia Associate, Luke Chatizwa

Luke Chatizwa, Anaesthesia Associate, said, “I am a seasoned runner and have been part of the NHS since 2009.  This is a great opportunity for me to a give a little back, and raise money for WISHH to help with their new appeals. I’m looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere and aim to complete the race in 1 hour and 25.”

Lisa Whitton, WISHH Charity Manger said, “A heartfelt thank you to everybody who is taking part in the Great North Run to support WISHH.  We can’t wait to hear how our fantastic team get on and hope they all enjoy the day.  Every pound raised will help make a difference to patients cared for across Hull Hospitals and will also kelp kick start our new appeals, which we will be launching soon!”

If you would like to support our #TeamWISHH #GreatNorthRun team or our individual runners taking part visit WISHH Charity (THE HULL AND EAST YORKSHIRE HOSPITALS HEALTH CHARITY) (enthuse.com)

We have guaranteed places for the Great North Run 2025! If you would like to be part of #TeamWISHH and beat the ballot, register your interest with us by emailing: hyp-tr.hellowishh@nhs.net

Families in Hull are missing out on thousands of pounds of financial support to help them buy healthy food.

The “Healthy Start” voucher scheme was introduced to help people buy fruit and vegetables, milk and claim free vitamins from 10 weeks into pregnancy or until their child was four.

However, between £250,000 and £350,000 is going unclaimed every year in Hull alone because people don’t realise they’re entitled to the support.

Joanna Melia, Public Health Specialist Midwife at Humber Health Partnership, said: “Eating and drinking healthily during pregnancy means you’re giving your baby a great start to life while looking after your own health.

“These vouchers are a great way of paying for healthy fruit, vegetables, pulses and milk and I’d encourage everyone entitled to the benefit to claim it.”

People on Universal Credit can apply for the “Healthy Start” voucher scheme when they are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4.

Those entitled to the benefit will be sent a Healthy Start card preloaded with money that can be used in shops, with the entitlement renewed every four weeks.

You can use your card to buy:

• plain cow’s milk
• fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
• fresh, dried, and tinned pulses`
• infant formula milk based on cow’s milk

You can also use your card to collect:

• Healthy Start vitamins – these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding
• vitamin drops for babies and young children – these are suitable from birth to 4 years old

You’ll get money added onto your Healthy Start card every 4 weeks. You’ll receive:

• £4.25 each week of your pregnancy (from the 10th week of your pregnancy)
• £8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year old
• £4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4 years old

Your money will stop after your child’s fourth birthday, or if you no longer receive benefits

If you’re pregnant and under 18 you can claim even if you do not receive any benefits.

Visit the NHS Healthy Start website for more information or to apply.

People with cancer are to benefit from a £1.4m investment in radiotherapy technology at Castle Hill Hospital to remove permanent reminders of their illness.

Advanced technology called Surface Guided Radiotherapy (SGRT) is being introduced at the Queen’s Centre to enable therapeutic radiographers and the radiotherapy physics team to deliver treatment more efficiently.

Tattoos, marked on patients’ skin during the radiotherapy CT planning scan as a guide to deliver radiation to the correct part of the body, will no longer be required for some patients.

Higher Principal Physicist Nikki Mullins, Specialist Healthcare Scientist in Radiotherapy Physics, said: “This innovative system will continuously monitor patients with high-tech infra-red cameras during treatment, ensuring sub-millimetre accuracy.

“It will enable us to deliver treatment more efficiently and remove the need for most patients to be tattooed on their skin, taking away that permanent reminder of their cancer treatment.”

Radiotherapy treatment is high dose radiation delivered to the affected area of a patient’s body with precision and accuracy under one millimetre, protecting surrounding tissue and organs.

Radiotherapy teams using SGRT receive a 3D image of the patient lying on the Linear Accelerator (Linac) couch and then compare it to the radiotherapy CT planning scan to manoeuvre patients into the identical position to receive treatment.

Victoria Sykes, Macmillan Advanced Practitioner, said: “The new technology enables patients to be positioned more quickly, with less manual positioning and movement required, so it’s more comfortable for the patient.”

The new SGRT system is being introduced to treat patients with breast cancer first, with plans to offer it to those with different forms of cancer by the end of the year. Patients with certain types of cancer including breast, chest wall or abdominal have a technique known as Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) and another benefit of SGRT is for patients to view a screen in front of them to assist them holding their breath for 20 seconds.

Appointment times are likely to be reduced because of enhanced patient positioning and the efficiency of the new SGRT system.

The SGRT has been fitted on four of the six Linacs at the Queen’s Centre. The new system will then be rolled out to the remaining two machines in the coming months, allowing more patients to benefit.

Patients at our hospitals say they’re treated with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect and they have trust and confidence in staff.

That’s according to the 2023 Adult Inpatient Survey (published today), which asks patients 63 questions about their admission and discharge, the hospital and ward environment, care and treatment, their operations and procedures, communication with staff, involvement in decisions and being treated with respect and dignity.

More than a thousand patients responded to the CQC survey which was carried out by an independent company (Picker) across all adult inpatient areas at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH). A random sample of patients from November 2023 were asked to complete the survey with results gathered between January and April 2024.

The two Trusts, now part of a group, NHS Humber Health Partnership, have five hospitals between them – Castle Hill, Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, Goole, Hull Royal Infirmary and Scunthorpe General.

Highlights of the survey include:

• 98% of patients said they were treated with respect and dignity
• 98% of patients said they were treated with kindness and compassion
• 98% of patients said had confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses
• 82% of patients at NLaG and 83% at HUTH rated their overall experience as 7/10 or above

Areas where we scored better than the national average included:

• ‘Hospital food was fairly or very good’ (NLaG scored 74% against an average of 68%)
• ‘Did not have to wait too long to get to a bed on a ward’ (HUTH scored 75% compared to 72% average)
• ‘Able to take own medication when needed to’ (HUTH scored 99% compared to average of 87%)

On most improved scores included:

• At both Trusts the scores for ‘Asked to give views on quality of care during stay’ more than doubled
• ‘Always or sometimes enough nurses on duty’ went up from 87% last year at NLaG to 93% this year
• ‘Did not have to wait too long to get to a bed on a ward’ increased from 73% to 75% at HUTH

Other positives, where scores were in the high 90s included:

• ‘Staff helped when needed attention’
• ‘Got enough to drink’
• ‘Staff helped control pain’
• ‘Understood information about what they should or should not do after leaving hospital’
• ‘Staff answered questions in a way patients could understand’

Melanie Sharp, Deputy Chief Nurse said: “We know that coming into hospital for an inpatient stay can be a daunting experience so to see that 98% of patients had confidence in our staff and were treated with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect makes me incredibly proud of the staff who continue to provide excellent patient care across our five hospitals.

“The survey ranks us 39^th for HUTH and 40^th for NLaG out of 64 Trusts surveyed by Picker. Our wards and departments are regularly reviewed to ensure they’re meeting the highest of standards and providing the care all our patients deserve to receive. We’re continuously making improvements and working hard to make our patient’s experience with us the best it can be. Listening to patient feedback through surveys like this and acting on the findings helps us to provide the best inpatient experience possible.”

Areas identified for improvement compared to other trusts include the waiting times for admission, being able to get food outside of meal times and discussions around discharge from hospital.

Healthcare staff in Hull have been shortlisted for two national awards based on their support for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff.

NHS Humber Health Partnership, which runs hospitals in Hull, Cottingham, Scunthorpe, Goole and Grimsby, has two staff members competing in the finals of the National BAME Health and Care Awards 2024.

Launched in 2019, the awards celebrate those professionals who strive to create opportunities for BAME staff and communities, and who show a real determination to demonstrate the contribution and value they bring to the healthcare setting.

This year, Hull-based practice development matron, Karen Mechen, has been shortlisted for ‘Ally of the Year’, while clinical nurse educator, Grace Kapangyarihan, is competing to be named ‘Educator of the Year’ when the awards ceremony takes place in London next month.

Chief People Officer for NHS Humber Health Partnership, Simon Nearney, says:

“One of the absolute strengths of our workforce is our diversity. Our internationally recruited staff make us much better and stronger as a Group of hospitals, so to have two people shortlisted for their work to embrace and support colleagues from different cultures, communities and backgrounds is nothing short of fantastic.

“The NHS in particular has always been reliant on an immigrant workforce. Locally, we employ people of 95 different nationalities and one in every five members of staff working across our hospitals comes from a BAME background, so there’s a clear need to support our colleagues from both a personal and professional perspective.

“The fact that we are up there competing with the best in the country for the pastoral and professional support we give to our BAME staff and internationally educated colleagues sends out a really strong, positive message and makes me incredibly proud.”

Karen Mechen

Karen Mechen is one of six people from across the country nominated as ‘Ally of the Year’. This award recognises someone who has gone out of their way to support and advocate for marginalised groups – while not being a member of this group themselves – and to help deliver equality within the healthcare setting. Karen has been the driving force behind ‘Once a Nurse, Always a Nurse’, a programme aimed at fast-tracking internationally educated nurses working in the UK as healthcare assistants in order to make best use of their skills and experience as qualified nursing staff. Within the space of a few years, the programme has turned around a significant staffing shortfall among qualified nurses in Hull and delivered a 97% retention rate among the hospitals’ internationally educated nurses.

Grace Kapangyarihan

Grace Kapangyarihan will be competing to claim the title of ‘Educator of the Year’. This award recognises someone whose role involves teaching, mentoring, coaching and developing BAME staff, as well as supporting their ongoing learning and career development. Using her own lived experiences as a starting point, Grace has introduced various tools to support the training and development of international nurses and enhance patient safety, such as a competency booklet and IV passport. She also personally delivers medicines management training to offer a safe platform for colleagues to understand UK practices. This and other highly visible work to upskill and promote the professional competencies of internationally educated nurses has helped colleagues see the true value they bring to our hospitals and helped to ensure fair and equal opportunities are available.

Winners will be revealed at the National BAME Health and Care Awards ceremony which takes place in London on the evening of Thursday 26 September.

A neurorehabilitation consultant, a team of radiotherapy nurses and a mortuary assistant are going up against each other for an award after being nominated by local patients. Dr Faisal Riaz, Neurorehabilitation Consultant based in Brigg, the radiotherapy nurses at the Queens Centre at Castle Hill Hospital and Lisa Wilson, Mortuary Assistant at Grimsby hospital have all been revealed as finalists for the Healthcare Heroes award.

The accolade is one of 15 awards set to be announced at Golden Stars 2024 – the first joint staff awards ceremony celebrating employees and volunteers of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The two Trusts are now working together under the group name of NHS Humber Health Partnership.

Dr Faisal Riaz, Neurorehabilitation Consultant, was described as a ‘beacon of hope’ for a family who felt all but abandoned after a rare and complex diagnosis. Dr Riaz carried out home visits, helped with pain management, chased equipment provision and adaptations with community partners, and was always available to provide advice. They knew they were not alone, and it meant the world to the family when Dr Riaz really pushed to ensure the patient’s wishes were honoured when it came to arranging end of life care.

The radiotherapy nurses at Castle Hill were put forward by the family of a cancer patient with learning difficulties. They were praised for the extra efforts they went to help them feel at ease when going through treatment. This included playing their choice of music whilst undergoing radiotherapy and when they were in hospital with Sepsis they even visited her and put up posters of their favourite band, Take That, which they had printed out especially.

From her base at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Mortuary Assistant Lisa Wilson provides comfort and reassurance to grieving families not least to those who have lost a little one. Two separate families nominated Lisa as their ‘Healthcare Hero’ this year after losing a baby; they praised her compassion and her desire to help parents and siblings say goodbye in a way that was right for them. One family said they would always be in awe of her, and that Lisa had become ‘a part of the family’.

Earlier this year members of the public were asked to put forward their nominations for the award and a judging panel whittled down the nominations to the three finalists.

The winner of the Healthcare Heroes Award, and 14 others, will be revealed on Friday 13 September at Golden Stars 2024, which is being held at the Hilton Hotel in Hull.

Golden Stars would not be possible without the generosity of sponsors. Thank you to all of the Golden Stars 2024 sponsors:

Stroke patients in Hull and parts of East Yorkshire are to benefit from a new rapid assessment system aimed at saving lives and improving care.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals, part of NHS Humber Health Partnership, is introducing a Pre-Hospital Video Triage Scheme after securing some funding from NHS England on a trial basis.

Stroke Co-ordinators, supported by Stroke Services Consultants, will connect to Yorkshire Ambulance Service crews using video technology enabling visual checks and digital evaluation of patients.

Patients with a suspected stroke will be “blue-lighted” to Hull Royal Infirmary, straight into the care of the specialist stroke team for CT scans or to begin life-saving treatment such as mechanical thrombectomy to remove blockages from their arteries.  Some patients who do not require hospital admission will be redirected to community services.

Dr Bernard Esisi, Consultant in Stroke Services, said: “This will allow clinicians to formulate a more accurate diagnosis so people having strokes can be treated in the right place at the right time, as quickly as possible.

“Every minute counts when someone is having a stroke so this new system means we can help people who need us more quickly while making sure those not having strokes get the right support without having to come into hospital.”

This triage scheme aligns with “Flow”, a major campaign spearheaded by the hospital group to improve patients’ experience of emergency or acute care and reduce unnecessary stays or admissions.

Ambulances parked outside Hull Royal Infirmary

Around 39,700 stroke survivors are registered with GPs across Humber and North Yorkshire and the prevalence of strokes in our area is 2.25pc compared to the national prevalence of 1.8pc.

Early diagnosis is crucial. Strokes can have a devasting, life-changing impact, with health and social care costs estimated at around £45,000 in the first year alone if a stroke survivor doesn’t get the right treatment at the earliest opportunity.

Hull Royal Infirmary sees around 1,000 patients with strokes every year. However, a further 300 or so people are brought to hospital with “stroke mimics” – conditions such a Bell’s Palsy, migraine or low blood sugar, which do not require emergency treatment in hospital and can be dealt with by GPs or community services.

Dr Esisi said: “There is no pre-hospital process that is 100pc effective at excluding a stroke or confirming a stroke diagnosis. At the moment, we rely on telephone conversations which can mean, for a variety of reasons, that some patients are not picked up or those not having strokes are brought to hospital when they may not need emergency care.

“This video triage system will allow us to add another level of assessment so that patient can be triaged to the most appropriate place for treatment.”

Tim Millington, Consultant Paramedic (North and East Yorkshire) at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “Stroke video triage offers ambulance clinicians rapid access to specialist support when caring for stroke patients. This pilot follows a successful trial in South Yorkshire and the senior clinical support provided to our pre-hospital clinical teams is beneficial in enabling our patients to get the right care, first time.

“We will be seeking feedback from patients, colleagues and partners throughout the pilot to ensure this innovative initiative on pre-hospital stroke practice works well for all those involved.”

Results from the scheme will be reviewed and, if the Hull scheme is a success, the project will be rolled out to North Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire.

Our Group directors will come together on Thursday 8 August for a meeting of our Trust Boards-in-Common.

The meeting will start at 9am and will be held in the Boardroom at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby. This is a formal meeting with a set agenda, which is available on the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) website.

Members of the public are welcome. Please email sarahmeggitt@nhs.net before noon on Wednesday 7 August if you wish to attend.