A new room for families of people with cancer has been created in memory of a woman who was cared for by staff at the Queen’s Centre in Cottingham

Laura Cook

Almost £4,000 was raised by the family of Laura Cook, 38, after she died of breast cancer in March to thank staff on Ward 30 and they decided they wanted to create a relatives’ room outside the ward.

Laura’s mum Liz Gelder, her father Bill and her husband Nick Cook have now officially opened “Laura’s Room” in front of doctors, nurses and support staff who knew and cared for Laura.

Preparing to cut the ribbon on the new relatives’ room at the entrance to the ward, Laura’s mum Liz Gelder said: “Today is bitter sweet because we’re so pleased to do this for the hospital but so sad that we had to lose Laura to do it.

“But this is something Laura would have wanted us to do and she would be happy with what we’ve achieved.”

Claire Swatman, the breast care specialist nurse who looked after Laura, said: “Laura was a beautiful person inside and out. She had a heart of gold and a beautiful smile and was a complete inspiration to everyone she met.”

Laura grew up in Goole and was well-known throughout the town. She was diagnosed with cancer seven years before her death but had earned widespread respect for her positive approach to her illness.

Covid-19 restrictions meant only 30 people could attend Laura’s funeral but the love and admiration people felt for her was reflected on the day of her funeral when residents packed three streets to pay their respects as her funeral cortege travelled past.

Laura’s workmates at XPO Logistics also asked for the cortege to make a special trip past their site so they could line the entire road to say a final farewell.

Mrs Gelder said: “Laura was vivacious and bubbly. She was a big Stereophonics fan and loved music and her and I used to go to as many concerts as we could.

“We did know she was well thought of before her death but we didn’t realise just how much and it has just been so humbling.

“It was just amazing to see all those people lining the streets who cared about her.”

Housekeeper Marie Shevchenko, Laura’s mum Liz Gelder and Sister Hayley Butler

Laura’s family started receiving donations in sympathy cards after her death and decided to set up a Just Giving page to raise money for the Queen’s Centre. However, they reached their initial target of £500 within hours and ended up raising more than £3,800.

Mrs Gelder worked with housekeeper Maria Shevchenko to design a beautiful, calming and tranquil place where families will be given updates on their loved ones’ conditions in privacy and away from the normal hustle and bustle of a busy hospital ward.

Sage green walls compliment the comfortable sofas and tasteful furniture with soft furnishings and artwork chosen specially to create a peaceful environment. Centre stage is a framed pebble design of robins, so loved by Laura.

Mrs Gelder said: “She told me she would send me robins to let me know she was ok. For weeks, we got one every single day.”

As a sign of their gratitude to Mrs Gelder and her family, staff on the ward raised money to present her with an identical framed pebble design of robins.

Ward Sister Hayley Butler said: “The new room will make such a difference to us. It’s somewhere peaceful where we can have what are often difficult conversations with relatives, giving them the space and time to come to terms with what we have to share with them.

“Marie worked so hard to create this for the family and we’re really pleased they like the end result.”

Hospital buildings in Hull are being upgraded to make them warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) is putting the finishing touches to the major upgrade, fitting special roof insulation to buildings at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

The work is part of HUTH’s Zero Thirty campaign and its plan to reduce emissions by 1,000 tonnes this Autumn.

As well as the insulation of existing buildings, the trust is also working with Yorkshire company Enhabit to design a specification for external wall insulation and windows to ensure all new buildings have improved airtightness and are as energy efficient as possible.

Marc Beaumont, Head of Sustainability at HUTH, said: “One of the difficulties the NHS faces is making our existing building stock as efficient as possible. Here in Hull, we have buildings dating back to the 1960s so it is a massive challenge.

“Knocking them all down and starting again isn’t possible and would result in more emissions so we have to find ways of bringing these buildings up to our current standards.

“As well as coming up with workable and practical solutions to insulate our existing buildings to make them more energy efficient, we’re ensuring everything we build upholds our ethos to reduce our impact on the environment.”

Funding for the project has been possible after HUTH received a £12.6m grant from the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy as part of its Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

Examples of some of the buildings being retrofitted with better roof insulation include Breast Care, the Centenary building and Nightingales, the staff restaurant at Castle Hill Hospital. The Tulley Building and the Therapies Centre at Hull Royal Infirmary have also been improved.

Better insulation is expected to save the trust around 15 per cent in energy usage, preventing heat escaping from the roof into the atmosphere and improving the comfort of buildings. It is part of the work already under way to cut building emissions in half by 2028.

As well as better insulation and improved airtightness in our buildings, HUTH is also fitting a Building Management System (BMS) to work lighting and heating in its buildings, reducing energy usage across the trust.

A much-loved sculpture created by a popular local artist is set to bring comfort to patients after finding a permanent home at Castle Hill Hospital.

The life-size creation, fondly named ‘Arthur’, was created by Jill Atley, who passed away from brain cancer at the age of 64 in February 2020.

Jill’s last wish was for Arthur be placed at the Queen’s Centre for Oncology and Haematology to welcome visitors and bring comfort to patients and their friends and family.

The Queen’s Centre at Castle Hill Hospital

At her request, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has made a donation to Yorkshire Cancer Research in return for the opportunity to host the sculpture. Jill supported the charity for nearly 40 years as a member of the charity’s Driffield Volunteer Group.

Jill’s husband Noel said: “I’m delighted that we have been able to fulfil Jill’s final wish for Arthur to be permanently installed at the hospital where she was treated. Jill wasn’t very fond of hospitals, even though she was in a lovely ward and being well looked after.

“She thought that Arthur would be a good way of bringing a little joy into what might be, for many, an overwhelming experience when entering the Queen’s Centre for the first time. We hope that families, who may be facing uncertain and emotional times ahead, are able to take comfort from being able to sit and chat with Arthur.”

Described as “bringing love, laughter and a shining talent into all our lives”, Jill developed a passion for sculpting while at university, which began with detailed depictions of East Coast fishermen. Due to the high quality of the work she produced, Jill began receiving commissions, which she completed “to perfection”.

Among her notable pieces is a sculpture created to commemorate the Cattle Market in Beverley following the building of a Tesco supermarket on its former site.

‘Arthur’ was first created for an exhibition at Newby Hall and was viewed and enjoyed by more than 40,000 visitors to the country house during the summer of 2019. He was modelled in clay before being cast in bronze resin and then hand finished.

After Jill’s death, the sculpture was displayed at St. Mary’s Church in Beverley, where her funeral took place.

Noel said: “After the Tesco relief, Jill was always looking to the next big job. She was continuously improving her work and treated each piece as a new challenge. She eventually graduated to life size pieces, and Arthur was the last one.”

Sculpting allowed Jill to pursue other passions in life, such as sports and teaching. She taught art to students with learning difficulties and was an accomplished sportswoman, having played tennis, golf and squash competitively and playing tennis for Yorkshire in her youth.

Arthur at Newby Hall

Noel added: “Her sculptures schedule allowed Jill to enjoy the sports that she loved. She led a full life, and sculpting was always high up on the list. She had a powerful sense of fun and a very generous nature.”

Alongside bringing up three daughters, Jill dedicated a huge part of her life to raising funds and awareness for Yorkshire Cancer Research. She first joined the Driffield Volunteer Group in 1984, following Noel’s diagnosis with cancer just one year after their marriage.

Noel said: “During this period, she became aware of the need for funds to invest in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. She really loved that the money raised at Yorkshire Cancer Research stayed in Yorkshire and benefited people in the region.”

Jill’s commitment was recognised when she was invited to Buckingham Palace to acknowledge 30 years’ service of volunteering.

Her friend Liz Pexton, a long-standing member of the Driffield Volunteer Group, said: “While she brought her humour to the meetings, she was a very constructive and dedicated member of the team, helping to increase the profile of the charity locally and to raise more than half a million pounds.”

Following Jill’s own diagnosis with incurable brain cancer in November 2019, she spent the time she had left making memories with her friends and family and continuing her work. Learning that her daughter Katherine was expecting a child brought her joy in her final days.

Noel said: “Underlying her optimistic and fun approach to life, Jill always had an understated but nevertheless gritty, determination and courage. She really had to draw upon this when facing the very sudden and devastating diagnosis. She knew there was no escape, but seemed to accept the situation, stoically and without resentment, to the very end.

“She was overjoyed and delighted when she discovered Katherine was expecting, although she knew she would never meet her grandchild. He is now with us and is named Jack Arthur in tribute to his grandmother’s work.”

The installation of Arthur complements Hull University Teaching Hospitals’ arts programme, Flourish. This programme is supported by the hospital charity, WISHH, whose Board of Trustees gave approval for the installation of Arthur at Castle Hill. Flourish recognises that the arts and creative approaches throughout our hospitals can keep people well, aid recovery, and help meet major challenges including long-term conditions, loneliness and mental health issues.

Director and WISHH trustee, David Haire, who leads on Flourish, said: “I had the pleasure of working alongside Jill regarding her work and we were exploring the possibility of featuring a sculpture at our hospitals.  Arthur is a fantastic addition to the Queen’s Centre, a truly striking sculpture.”

Chris Long, Chief Executive at the Trust, said: “It was our privilege to have been able to care for Jill in her final days and weeks, and it’s an honour to have her last work, Arthur, permanently reside with us now. I have no doubt that he will serve as both curiosity and comfort to patients and visitors to the Queen’s Centre for many years to come.”

Doctors, nurses, therapists and social care staff working together to help people with Parkinson’s disease in Hull have won two major prizes for outstanding excellence at a national awards ceremony.

UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network, supported by Parkinson’s UK,  has presented its “Winner of Winners” award to the team from Hull University Teaching Hospitals (HUTH), City Health Care Partnership (CHCP) and Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in recognition of their pioneering work.

The team, based at the Jean Bishop Centre in East Hull, was also named winners of the “Innovation in Practice” by the network, which has 7,000 members and is seen as the driving force behind improvements in the care of people with Parkinson’s and frailty.

Consultant Geriatrician Dr Tom Mace, who leads the Hull team, said: “We are proud and humbled with this award. It’s testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in creating a unique, innovative hub to help people with Parkinson’s and their families live well.

“The integrated service makes tangible improvements in the quality of life for people and their carers. We work together to help people achieve their goals, ensure they feel supported and knowledgeable about their condition and reduce troubling symptoms and emergency hospital admissions.

“We hope that by sharing our learning experience from the hub, we will inspire and encourage colleagues across the UK to discuss and consider working in an integrated and holistic fashion across organisations and services, ensuring that people living with Parkinson’s and their carers and families experience improved continuity of care.”

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system which causes parts of the brain to become more damaged over time. Around 1 in 500 people are thought to be affected by the condition. There is no cure although treatment can help reduce main symptoms of involuntary tremors, slow movement and stiff and inflexible muscles and maintain a good quality of life for as long as possible. It is a systemic disease which can affect the whole body and other symptoms can include anxiety and dementia.

Hull’s “Parkinson’s hub” was commissioned by Hull CCG. Members of Parkinson’s UK were consulted and listed education, quick access to specialists, expertise from healthcare professionals and quicker medication changes as priorities for a new community-based, multi-disciplinary service offering comprehensive assessments.

It now provides vital support to people with Parkinson’s, their carers and their families in one place, preventing multiple visits to different clinical teams at different locations around the city.

The hub pioneers a multi-disciplinary approach, with health specialists working with social care staff as well as private and voluntary organisations to support people with Parkinson’s. The team assesses general health, nutrition, swallowing, speech issues, oral health, sleep, impulsive compulsive disorder, continence and bowel function and direct people to other services provided by charities and social care.

As well as working proactively, the team also has the ability to respond to health-related issues quickly.

The Hull approach has prevented many emergency hospital admissions, allowing people with Parkinson’s the chance to live well and as independently as possible in their own homes with the right support from the right health care professionals.

The UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network announced its winners at a virtual award ceremony co-hosted by Parkinson’s UK’s President Jane Asher and Terence Manning, a former head teacher living with Parkinson’s, who judged entries.

The Hull team saw off competition from the “Sharing, Learning and Education” and “Person-Centred Care” award winners to be named “Winner of Winners” and claim the Excellence Award.

The judges, including a panel of Parkinson’s health and service professionals, as well as patients, praised the Hull hub for its overwhelming dedication to pioneering good practice and striving to improve the experience of people with Parkinson’s.

They said: “It is a great project that has people affected by Parkinson’s at its very heart. It has received excellent service-user feedback. It is a really comprehensive, joined-up and holistic service for patients and good for multidisciplinary teams’ skill sharing.”

Dr Donald Grosset, Clinical Director of the UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network, said: “This year, the quality of entries was exceptional and I would like to congratulate Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, City Health Care Partnership, NHS Hull CCG for a great team effort on their well-deserved success, outstanding feedback and for being at the forefront of pioneering truly innovative Parkinson’s care.

“We were impressed by the exemplary care given to people with Parkinson’s and the difference the hub is making to people’s lives. It shows the difference we can make by working in collaboration. “

Dr Mace added: “The team would like to thank all those who assisted this work including colleagues from CHCP, HUTH and Hull CCG. Particularly, we would like to thank Dr Alec Ming and Lesley Windass for their ongoing support.”

Wards, clinics and offices at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital have been fitted with new LED lighting to reduce the impact of Hull’s hospitals on the environment.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) has introduced 20,000 LED light fittings at both hospitals and hospital buildings across East Yorkshire to cut its energy bill.

The major relighting project, overseen by HUTH’s capital team, began in December 2020 and has just been completed.

Marc Beaumont, Head of Sustainability, said the LED lighting switch was part of HUTH’s Zero Thirty campaign, launched in the summer, to be a UK leader in tackling the NHS’s impact on climate change.

He said: “We’ve set ourselves the ambitious target of becoming the first hospital trust in England to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

“The completion of the lighting project next month means our plans are gathering pace. We have said we will not stand by and do nothing and this is just the first project of many that will be undertaken by the trust over the next nine years.”

Other projects include the insulation of roofs and external walls to reduce heating loss, the use of wind and solar power to general electricity and the replacement of gas-fired boilers with air source heat pumps.

These projects focus on one of our largest source of emissions, the buildings that we occupy. However, we’re looking at how we can reduce carbon emissions from everything we do, how we treat our patients, the drugs we use and how we travel to work.

HUTH is also constructing a solar panel field in Cottingham that will to generate all of Castle Hill hospital’s day-time energy needs during the summer months.

Congratulations to liver nurse specialist, Dianne Backhouse, who has been announced as the deserving winner of the Nurse of the Year award at the Nursing Times Awards 2021.

Last night, in a glittering ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, London, nurses and organisations from across the profession were honoured across 25 categories in a night of recognition dedicated to celebrating exceptional achievement.

Following a rigorous judging process, Dianne emerged as the winner of the evening’s final and arguably most coveted award, Nurse of the Year. She earned the title based on her work to develop the role of the liver nurse specialist at HUTH as well as for the work she has carried out to improve care for her patients with liver disease and support them to stay at home.

The judges were won over by Dianne’s innovative, patient-focused approach and genuine impact on patient care. Before her appointment at the trust, there was no hepatology specialist nursing which was greatly needed; working with the matron and consultants she established a job plan to fill this gap.

Steve Ford, editor of Nursing Times, said:

“Every year, the Nursing Times Awards showcase the innovation and best practice of nurses and midwives across the UK, providing an opportunity to celebrate and share all that is good about the nursing profession.

“But I think it’s safe to say that 2021 is special. The past 18 months have once again seen truly incredible work by nursing staff, as the unprecedented and ongoing challenge posed by the pandemic and its impact on services continues. Their efforts deserve our thanks and recognition.

“Having read through the judge’s comments on our winners, I know we are giving awards to some very, very special individuals, organisations and projects.”

Discover the complete winners list at awards.nursingtimes.net/2021-winners.

A charity which is working to develop “dose-on-demand” radiotracers with improved detection and personalised treatment for patients with cancer, heart disease and dementia has taken a big step towards its goal with the delivery to Castle Hill Hospital of a consignment of UK-leading PET-CT scanning and research equipment.

Prof Nick Stafford, founder and Chair of the Daisy Appeal, said the arrival of the 30-tonne GE Healthcare GenTRACE  600 cyclotron is “a very exciting day for the Charity and the healthcare community in our region.”

Prof Steve Archibald, Professor in Molecular Imaging at the University of Hull, said the technology will maximise benefits to patients from across East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire by making available a wide range of imaging and diagnostic techniques.

Prof Archibald added that his team will be able to attract more clinical trials to the region. Prof Stafford said the project will also bring considerable economic benefits including raising the region’s profile with facilities which are unique in the UK, and generating high-quality jobs.

The cyclotron components arrived at Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, and were transferred in a series of crane lifts over the roof of the admin building to the loading bay at the new Molecular Imaging Research Centre (MIRC).

The pieces will be assembled in the new building over the next two weeks and the cyclotron will become operational early in 2022 as the latest piece in a jigsaw which Prof Stafford has been working on since he launched the Daisy Appeal in 2000.

The Daisy Appeal Medical Research Centre opened at Castle Hill Hospital in 2008 and was followed, in 2014, by the opening of the Jack Brignall PET-CT Scanning Centre, housing the first in a new type of Siemens scanner in the country.

But with the radiotracers used in the Jack Brignall Centre having a short life span, the Daisy Appeal’s vision was to raise funds for the MIRC and pursue a “dose-on-demand” approach by making their own isotopes.

The total cost of the new centre is around £8.5m, including equipment to the cost of about £3.5m, about £1m of which is accounted for by the cyclotron components.

Once up and running the centre will initially be able to produce Fluorine 18 radiotracers, which are currently used in most scans but which the Daisy Appeal previously had to source elsewhere. During the next two or three years the centre will also be able to produce Carbon 11 radiotracers, which have great potential for neurological and cardiological use and will open up other opportunities.

The new building creates the opportunity for the isotopes to be piped directly from the cyclotron to hot cells in the room next door, where the product will be processed, checked and then delivered through a hatch in the wall direct to the Jack Brignall Centre for injection into patients.

Prof Archibald said: “The technology from GE Healthcare matches our unique approach to ‘dose-on-demand’ radiotracer production which will make a wide range of imaging and diagnostic techniques available. This will maximise benefits to local patients.

“The provision of cutting-edge cyclotron technology in Hull elevates us to the level of a handful of clinical sites in the UK and, when combined with our expertise and our own unique technology, will enable us to deliver improved clinical imaging to diagnose and monitor treatment response in cancer, cardiac and neurological patients.

“The technology will also improve our research, which is already internationally competitive, and attract clinical trials to Hull to further improve standards of patient care.”

Prof Stafford said: “The delivery of the cyclotron really sees the whole PET-CT project finally coming to fruition. The MIRC will become operative next year, at which point patients will benefit from our ability to manufacture personalised radiotracers tailored to the requirements of their disease on site.

“The cyclotron puts us in the top tier for this work in the UK and also opens up the opportunity for us to make carbon based radiotracers which have exciting new applications in cancer, cardiac and neurological imaging. It is a very exciting day for the Daisy Appeal and the healthcare community in our region.”

The Daisy Appeal has raised more than £20m to fund cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Hull-based construction company Hobson & Porter built the Jack Brignall Centre and the new MIRC, which is due to be formally handed over to the charity later this year.

Claire Levy, Daisy Appeal Fundraiser, said: “One of the most important aspects of fundraising is having the ability to show donors how their money has been used to deliver on the charity’s aims and objectives.

“The Daisy Appeal has already brought enormous benefits to patients from across the Hull and Humber region with the Medical Research Centre and the Jack Brignall Centre, and the delivery today of a cyclotron is another huge step forward.

“We are grateful to all the businesses, communities and individuals who have played a vital part in helping us to reach this milestone, but the journey continues. We are closing in on our target of £8.5m to complete the MIRC and we will then focus our efforts on meeting the substantial running costs.”

To find out more about the Daisy Appeal please visit https://daisyappeal.org/

You can now securely access your outpatient letters and hospital appointments electronically via the NHS App.

The NHS App already allows you to see your vaccinations status, order repeat prescriptions, book and manage GP appointments, get health information and advice, view your NHS Number and view your GP health record securely.

The new service, which is completely free, will link your hospital information in the App, allowing you to view your hospital outpatient appointment letters and appointment details and add information to your record, such as measurements, data from devices such as fitness watches and symptoms.

In the future it will also give you secure online access to hospital scans and test results and it’s all thanks to some extra technology that we have added to the app for our patients.

How to register

1. Download the NHS App

First you need to register for the national NHS App, which you can do by searching for ‘NHS App’ in the App Store or Google Play and following the instructions. If you don’t have a smart device you can also sign up and access the service via a web browser.

You will be asked to follow a number of steps to verify your identity so that you can securely log in and access all of the services in the national NHS App.

2. Sign up to our additional service in the NHS App, run by Patients Know Best (PKB)

To get access to your hospital appointment letters, you need to follow a few further steps:

• Open ‘messages’ in the NHS App and select ‘consultations, events and messages’
• A message will open asking if you agree to share your NHS login information with Patients Know Best. Click ‘I agree’
• Register with your email address, a strong password and a security question
• Accept the privacy agreement and click the ‘register’ button
• You’re all set! Next time you log into the app you will be able to see both your GP and hospital appointment information.

Please be reassured that whilst PKB is our partner in providing this service, they do not have any access to your health information, which remains secure. Your information doesn’t move from the NHS and you will be the only person who can view the information available through the App.