Its sleek design and bold frontage are a far cry from what may traditionally be thought of as a hospital building, but then the new Allam Diabetes Centre is anything but ordinary.

The latest building to open on the Hull Royal Infirmary site has been generously supported by local businessman and philanthropist, Dr Assem Allam, with a donation of £3m. The balance has been provided by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, with the overall cost of the building development amounting to some £7.5 million.

After 12 months under construction and now boasting a light and airy feel, this new centre of excellence is serving as a hub to treat more than 9,000 people every year for diabetes and metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis. In addition, it is providing a significantly expanded range of accommodation for world-class diabetes and endocrinology research and other research teams.

The Allam Diabetes Centre on Anlaby Road

The vision originally set out by Dr Allam for the building’s curvaceous design has been made a reality with the support of the Zenith Development Group, and now enhances both the hospital estate and the gateway to the city centre as you travel along Anlaby Road.

Dr Allam says:

“It is a privilege for my family to be able to play a part in providing such a much-needed facility, which will not only care for the needs of patients with diabetes, but also support world-class research in the field of diabetes and endocrinology and related research activities such as vascular surgery. Bringing together both the clinical and research staff and facilities in one building will, without doubt, enhance the standard of care as related research informs the development of treatments in the coming years.

“Not only does the building do justice to the care and dedication of the existing clinical and research teams, but also it will play its part in continuing to attract high calibre staff to the area. Whilst the planning and development of this facility has taken a number of years, it has been well worth the wait.”

On the ground floor there is a large open waiting area leading to generously proportioned clinical facilities for all of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s diabetes and endocrinology outpatient services. Expanded diabetic eye screening facilities are now housed here and there is dedicated space for diabetic foot care.

The bone densitometry service, which helps to identify and manage bone conditions such as osteoporosis and which regularly performs in excess of 5,000 bone scans each year, also has a base here. This service has been on the receiving end of another generous donation from the Osprey Charity recently, having been gifted a further two bone scanners valued at £75,000 each to expand its diagnostic capacity.

Diabetes and Endocrinology research

The Allam family donation has facilitated a significant increase in research accommodation within this building. This has resulted in purpose-designed, spacious and modern accommodation in which to undertake diabetes and endocrinology research, and the new centre is now helping to reaffirm Hull’s reputation as a global leader in research too.

The entire first floor has been given over to diabetes and endocrinology research and the staff supporting this work, which seems fitting given this team is the most successful recruiter into endocrine studies in the whole country.

Their cutting-edge research facilities now include dedicated laboratories, a sports science laboratory, ultrasound, ECG and consulting rooms plus day case facilities for complex clinical trials. The team currently has over 200 people involved in 12 active clinical trials right now, the findings of which will go on to benefit people with long-term conditions by significantly advancing treatment options and medical knowledge.

Patient education sessions are already being delivered on the second floor, and further research teams, including those specialising in vascular surgery and neurology, are due to move in there over the next few weeks.

The Allam Diabetes Centre, on the Hull Royal Infirmary site

Dr Belinda Allan, consultant diabetologist, says the accommodation for the Hull diabetes service now reflects the high quality of care the team already prides itself upon:

“The ambition of the clinical teams at the Allam Diabetes Centre is to deliver world-leading care for individuals with diabetes, endocrine and metabolic bone conditions.

“The purpose-built outpatient facilities provide a bright, welcoming and modern environment, modelled around the needs of the patient. Integration of services means that patients can access specialist nurses, specialist dietitians, retinal screening, vascular surgery, podiatry, bone density scans and phlebotomy all on the same floor. The larger multi-purpose clinic rooms make it easier to bring the skills of specialist staff together to deliver the best possible care for our patients. The building also creates a great atmosphere for teaching and training the next generation of healthcare professionals serving the local communities of the Humber, Coast and Vale regions.”

Professor Thozhukat Sathyapalan

Professor Thozhukat Sathyapalan is an honorary consultant endocrinologist. In addition to providing clinical care to patients, he will also be leading on research projects and henceforth teaching students of Hull York Medical School in some of the most advanced, purpose-built educational facilities around. He says:

“The new Allam Diabetes Centre is a crucial next step in our journey to enhance and expand upon our established, world-renowned diabetes and endocrinology research. This facility houses the core infrastructure required to enable us to deliver an ambitious and innovative programme of diabetes and endocrinology research in an environment designed to stimulate collaboration, passion and growth.

“Bringing both clinical and research teams together under one roof allows us to promote research opportunities for all, and further enables us to deliver real and lasting improvements to patient experience and the quality of clinical care we provide within diabetes and endocrinology.”

Chris Long, chief executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:

“It has been fantastic to watch this building take shape and we are incredibly grateful to Dr Allam and his family for their continued generosity in supporting our hospitals, our patients and our wider city.

The entrance to the Allam Diabetes Centre

“The new Allam Diabetes Centre is a striking building and we trust that our patients will appreciate their new surroundings. When combined with the innovation, experience and significant expertise of our clinical and research teams, I’m confident that Hull can now cement its reputation as a global leader in the fields of diabetes and endocrinology service provision and research.”

This most recent donation towards the Allam Diabetes Centre is just one a number of contributions made by the Allam family to enable Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to enhance the provision of clinical care and clinical research facilities for people across Hull, the East Riding and wider region.

Previous donations amounting to multi millions of pounds have supported the development of robotic surgery at Castle Hill Hospital, for example, delivered the Fatima Allam Birth Centre within Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, and contributed to research into cancer, cardiac and neurological conditions through the Daisy Appeal’s Molecular Imaging Research Centre, also based at Castle Hill.

Work is currently underway on a new digestive diseases and endoscopy facility at Castle Hill Hospital which has also been supported by Dr Allam and his family with a donation of £3 million. This facility is due to open in late summer 2022.

Some national ‘Plan B’ Covid restrictions are being lifted from today, but patients, staff and visitors are being reminded that there are no rule changes on the Hull Hospitals sites.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is still caring for more than 100 inpatients with Covid-19 right now, and as local community infection rates remain high, people are being asked to continue with Covid-19 precautions to protect patients and safeguard hospital services.

Masks and hand sanitising are among the rules which remain in place at Hull Hospitals

Patients and visitors to all hospital sites, including Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, should continue to:

• Wear a face covering inside all hospital buildings
• Attend appointments alone (a limited number of exemptions apply, e.g. a parent with a child, or someone caring for a loved one with learning disabilities or advanced dementia)
• Wash or sanitise hands regularly while on hospital premises, and
• Practice social distancing wherever possible

Up to 1 in 3 people may have the Covid-19 virus without any symptoms and still be able to infect others, so it is recommended that a lateral flow test be taken and a negative result produced before attending any of the hospitals.

There are also no changes to ward visiting restrictions, which will continue in their current form for the time being.

Full details on the current visiting guidance and exemptions can be found at www.hey.nhs.uk/visiting

Patients and the public are asked to be polite and cooperative if asked by staff to comply with any of the above rules. Abusive language or aggressive behaviour towards NHS workers will not be tolerated.

A team of health scientists at Castle Hill Hospital is showing that better care for cancer patients doesn’t have to cost the earth.

The routine replacement of a linear accelerator (linac) last year, used in radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients, with a new Varian Halcyon generated more than just improvements in throughput.

The Varian Halcyon

The Radiotherapy Physics Team, based at the Queen’s Centre, found that not only were the therapeutic radiographers able to treat around 20% more patients each month, but that power consumption in Bunker 4, where the Halcyon is now sited, dropped by an amazing 70 per cent.

Peter Colley, Consultant Physicist and the Trust’s Lead for Radiotherapy Physics says:

“Linear accelerators and the Trust’s Halcyon are both used at the hospital to deliver courses of radiotherapy treatment. Each machine uses precise high energy x-rays to target cancerous cells and treat hundreds of people battling cancer every month.

“Two of the main reasons for us getting the Halcyon were its technical treatment capabilities and the promise of a better overall patient experience.

“We knew that the Halcyon system would use less energy, but it’s not something we were able to quantify at the time and so not something which had been key to our decision making.  It turned out to be a value-adding bonus.

“Once the Halycon was installed, we began to see energy consumption drop dramatically, which is astounding given the number of treatments we deliver with the Halcyon averages around 610 treatments a month; with the old linac this stood at around 500.”

Energy consumption in Bunker 4, in fact, dropped by over two thirds, from 4,500kWh per month to just 1,200kWh, which equates to quarterly cost savings of over £2,000. But Peter and the team say the financial savings aren’t the only benefit.

A patient is treated with the more energy efficient Halcyon

He continues:

“Our patients have told us the Halcyon delivers a better experience for them, plus it’s quicker, it’s quieter and it generates much higher quality images for the therapeutic radiographers to use. In turn, this enables our radiotherapy team to target patients’ cancer cells with much more accuracy and avoid damaging healthy tissue.

“Not only that, but the reduction in energy we’re able to record doesn’t include the air handling and the chiller plant on the building roof which offsets the heat generated by the radiotherapy treatment machines. These aren’t metered independently, but it stands to reason that if we are putting that much less power in, we’re going to be taking proportionately less heat out and blowing it into the sky; we are also going to be cooling less.”

“The Halcyon is helping us to care for our patients and care for the planet at the same time, and this is definitely an approach we’ll be looking to continue as we move the service forward.”

Chaplains will continue delivering messages and get well wishes to patients in hospital

A messaging service which has brought joy to patients in hospital at Christmastime is to be extended into 2022.

Hospital chaplains working across Castle Hill Hospital and Hull Royal Infirmary began a service last month, offering to hand deliver messages to patients unable to see or communicate with loved ones due to Covid visiting restrictions.

Season’s greetings, heartfelt messages and get well wishes came from as far afield as Canada.

Now Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team says the service has been so worthwhile that they intend to continue visiting patients on behalf of loved ones for as long as Covid-related visiting restrictions remain in place.

Allison Dean, Senior Site Chaplain, says:

“Not all patients have mobile phones to be able to use in hospital or are up to speed with video calling, so for those who have no other means of keeping in touch, it can be a very difficult and worrying time.

“The messaging service we ran over Christmas was a success, with messages being well received and families grateful for the opportunity to reach out to their loved ones in this way.

“Many of those patients we went to see were pleasantly surprised as they were feeling lonely without any 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.”

Messages of thanks received by the Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team included:

“What a lovely thing this is to do, it is much appreciated for us to get messages to loved ones we are unable to see under the terrible restrictions we currently face. So a BIG thank you!”

“I live in Canada and the pandemic has kept me from seeing my Grandma. I miss her so much and want her to know that I’m always thinking of her.  My sister contacted you earlier and informed me of this wonderful service you provide.”

Allison continues:

“As chaplains, all of us have felt that it has been a real privilege to be able to read and deliver these messages to patients. Many have been grateful for the time we have taken to sit and chat with them, and have asked for return visits; this was not something we expected to happen and so this has been a real gift to the team too.”

If you would like a message delivered to a relative or friend in hospital, 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.

As we approach Christmas, we understand that relatives and friends will want to stay in touch with loved ones spending time in hospital. We appreciate the current visiting restrictions make this difficult but would like to present a few options for how you can keep in contact over the festive season.

Our hospitals are very busy right now and so for this reason, where possible to do so, we would encourage you to keep in contact directly using personal mobile phones, bedside communication systems, tablets or other devices. This will enable you to message or speak to your relative or friend at a time to suit you both, and enable our doctors and nurses to continue focusing on the clinical care of their patients.

Patients are permitted to charge personal mobile devices on the wards and if their admission to hospital was urgent or unexpected, a relative is able to drop off essentials for them at the ward which could include a phone or tablet charger. Please ask a member of staff if your loved one needs help to charge their device.

If your relative does not have a mobile phone or device, perhaps doesn’t know how to use one or is too unwell to do so, the Trust’s Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team is offering a free messaging service while visiting restrictions remain in place. Simply email your message and a few details about the patient, and the team will aim to deliver it in person to your loved one within one working day, Monday to Friday. Full details can be found on our website.

If there is a Hospedia bedside entertainment unit where your relative is being cared for, you can either call through directly to them (charges apply) or your relative can use this to telephone you – all outgoing calls to mobiles and 01482 numbers are free of charge. Full details can be found on our website.

Some wards may be able to access iPads to enable patients to communicate with loved ones via video calling. However, the number of iPads available is somewhat limited. To enquire whether this is possible, please contact the Senior Nurse or Ward Clerk on the ward/unit/department where your relative is being cared for in the first instance. All requests to use the iPads must be made to the Trust’s Digital Nursing Team by a member of staff on the ward. Please note that it will not always be possible to accommodate every request, and we apologise in advance should this be the case.

Again, to reduce the risk of infection and to free up staff time for clinical care, we encourage family and friends to communicate directly with patients in hospital using either the Hospedia bedside units or their own mobile phones, tablets or other devices.

If you need to telephone the ward for status updates on your loved one, we kindly ask that this is limited to just one call from one nominated family member per day, and that family member then shares the update with other relatives and friends as appropriate.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding at this difficult time.

Hospital chaplains will be taking Christmas messages out to patients over the next few weeks as visiting restrictions continue.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team is inviting relatives and friends to email them with messages for patients which they will then deliver in person.

The team of chaplains works across both Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, and will be offering the service from Monday 20 December with intention to continue into the New Year or for as long as visiting restrictions remain in place at the Trust.

In the first instance, it is designed to bring comfort to those patients with little or no means of outside communication, but is open to all to use.

Tony Brookes (third left) and members of the Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team

Tony Brookes, Head of Chaplaincy for the Trust says:

“There’s never a good time to be in hospital, but to be hospitalised in the run up to the festive season and with visiting very much restricted for Covid safety reasons at the moment, we felt the need to do something for our patients.

“We appreciate many patients will have mobiles these days and will be able to keep in touch with loved ones by phone or social media, but there will be some who don’t own a phone, perhaps they don’t know how to use a mobile, or they may simply not be well enough to do so.

“We’d like to make sure those patients in particular, who cannot communicate with family or receive visitors in the coming weeks, still have the opportunity to connect with loved ones and know that they are still thinking of them.

“Quite simply, we’re inviting people to send us the details of their friend or relative, and we’ll pass on any messages, poems, stories or good wishes which they choose to share with us. It’s such a small gesture but one we think will make a huge difference to many patients in our care this Christmastime.”

The team is offering the service Monday to Friday, across both HRI and Castle Hill, with any messages sent over the weekend being picked up on the following Monday.

Messages should be emailed to hyp-tr.greetingstolovedone@nhs.net along with 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.

A hospital-based security team from Hull has received one of the profession’s highest accolades.

The security team at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been named ‘Healthcare Security Team of the Year’ by the National Association for Healthcare Security (NAHS).

The team serves the two major local hospitals, namely Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, and comprises both directly employed NHS staff and contracted staff from APCOA.

This year, they beat off national competition to earn the award, which is made annually by the NAHS to a team considered most outstanding and worthy of recognition.

To earn the award, the Hull-based team was able to demonstrate how they:

• Have developed a much more customer focused service, for example by making themselves more available to patients/staff though 24/7 staffed offices on both hospital sites
• Worked with nursing and clinical staff to design and deliver safe, appropriate escalation procedures (the ‘Enhanced Care’ model) for patients with challenging behaviours
• Reduced the number of calls for police assistance and improved working relationships with the local force
• Invested in the professional development of team members through the delivery of extra training such as customer service, ICT, physical intervention and NHS core skills
• Took feedback from security team members working on the frontline with staff and patients and delivered service improvements as a result
• Improved team cohesiveness to ensure all team members feel valued, are working to a common purpose, and placing patients and colleagues at the heart of what they do

Chris Watson, security manager for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:

“The past couple of years have been very difficult for everyone in the healthcare sector, but not least for security staff and I’d like to pay tribute to just how well they have all coped with the various challenges and demands made of them during the pandemic.

“In the middle of all this, the team has maintained its focus very much on supporting our staff, patients and visitors to the hospital as a single team. While members of the public don’t always see the full extent of what they do, we know hospital staff regularly rely on the team for support and hold them in very high regard.

“Over the past few years, our security team has become more visible, more innovative and more proactive, and they are thoroughly deserving of this award.”

Hospital chief executive, Chris Long (right) presents APCOA contracts manager, Joe Moore, with the NAHS award

Chris Watson’s view is endorsed by Kim Challis, APCOA’s regional managing director UK & Ireland, who says:

“This prestigious award recognises the impact of great partnership working. Since APCOA began the contract with the Trust in April 2020, our relationship has strengthened and we work closely together to identify ongoing opportunities for further improvements.

“APCOA has more than 500 SIA-trained security officers specifically specialising in NHS environments and awards like this recognise the important job they do to support NHS staff, visitors and patients in sensitive and sometimes challenging healthcare locations. We’re all very proud of our colleagues at Hull, who are great ambassadors for APCOA and the Trust.”

The award for the wider team supplements the  ACS Pacesetters Security Officer of Distinction Award earned by security team leader, Josh Welch, earlier in the year.

Hull Hospitals’ commitment to sustainability and to patient care have been recognised at a national awards ceremony this afternoon.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had two projects shortlisted at this year’s Health Business Awards, which was hosted online by well-known TV medic, Dr Mark Porter MBE.

Emerging triumphant in the Patient Safety category was the Trust’s eco-friendly slide sheet. Made from recycled plastic and wrapped in biodegradable packing, the sheets are used to move patients safely in their beds and protect their skin from tissue damage. The sheets are particularly useful for bariatric patients, those who are recovering from surgery, or other patients with frail or fragile skin.

‘Field of Dreams’ – the Trust’s £4.5m solar field project

The Trust’s multi-million pound ‘Field of Dreams’ solar farm was also one of five in the running for the Estates & Facilities Innovation Award. It was narrowly beaten to the title by a project being led by our neighbours at Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust, who are seeking to use renewable geothermal power for heating and hot water.

It was great to see innovation and healthcare sustainability within the Humber region so well represented on a national stage.

Congratulations to everyone involved in our shortlisted projects.