The global Covid pandemic has been a frightening and uncertain time for us all. Personally and professionally, it has made us reflect and made us grateful for what we have. We appreciate being able to have friends and family around us more, we’re thankful for our freedoms, and we’re grateful for a health service which has spearheaded the battle against Covid-19.

But not everyone has been so fortunate. Some of us have already lost friends, co-workers and loved ones to the virus, and many of our own staff with family and loved ones abroad have felt concern for their wellbeing and the anguish of not being there to help.

Among those watching Covid-19 claim lives in her home country was Sri Lankan born critical care consultant, Dr Pumali Gunasekera. Having seen patients come in and out of Hull’s ICU with the virus for the past 18 months, she knows just how debilitating Covid can be and how important it is for patients to receive timely medical care.

Moved by images of countries like Sri Lanka and India struggling to cope with the sheer numbers of Covid infections, she set about gathering equipment and supplies which could be used to aid the international Covid response.

Dr Gunasekera appealed to colleagues throughout the trust for unused or obsolete equipment and supplies that could be sent abroad; and the response she received was amazing.

“I was overwhelmed with the response,” says Dr Gunasekera. “I received donations from all over; emergency care, theatres, ICU outreach, clinical practice educators and more, all with equipment which could no longer be used here, but which was still suitable for use abroad.

“Respiratory physicians Dr Pinder and Dr Crooks and senior matron Vicky Sharman helped me to source CPAP machines that were surplus to requirements and these were very kindly released by chief executive, Chris Long. Many of the departmental housekeepers also helped by sorting through their stores and finding suitable supplies to send over.”

Among the items sent to hospitals in Sri Lanka were more than 35 CPAP machines, a variety of airway and breathing equipment including oxygen masks, NIV masks, and laryngoscopes, plus PPE to protect clinical staff including surgical face masks, FFP3 masks and gowns.

And the recipients couldn’t have been more grateful. Chief nursing officer for National Hospital Kandy in Sri Lanka, Mr Jayamanne, wrote to Vicky Sharman upon receipt of a donation to say thank you.

“As a fellow nurse facing similar pressures of patient care and flow in a pandemic, I find it inspiring that you were able to think of the welfare of patients on the other side of the world during this crisis.  A true embodiment of the “missioner of health” pledge that we take”.

Members of the College of Anaesthesiologists and Intensivists of Sri Lanka also wrote to Chris Long with their thanks, having distributed CPAP machines among 15 of the hospitals they support.

“With the emergence of the third wave of the pandemic, patients requiring intensive care services in Sri Lanka have risen within a very short period of time. As a result, the healthcare system is saturated and overburdened due to a surge of admissions of critically ill, both COVID and non- COVID patients, to the intensive care units amidst limited resources.

“We greatly appreciate your donation and thank you for your generosity towards uplifting standards of critical care facilities [in our ICUs] in the country.”

Dr Gunasekera adds:

“This equipment could no longer be used by our trust, so it’s fantastic to know that it’s been put to good use in hospitals where it’s really needed. The compassion for others and the goodwill shown by colleagues here has been really uplifting, and just shows that even in the tough times, in the middle of a global pandemic, we are all in it together.

“On behalf of the ICU team and all the receiving hospitals over in Sri Lanka, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped with the appeal.”

We’re not on our phones! It might look like we are but only because we need to be.

From Monday, our wards at Castle Hill are switching over to digital nurse care records. This means our ward-based staff will be using hand-held devices that look similar to phones to record vital information about their patients and their treatment plans.

Please be reassured that our staff are not using these hand-held devices to browse through social media, check emails or use them for any other business. It’s all about patient care and our mission to switch from paper records.

Thanks very much for help, support and understanding as we make the transition to this new digital way of working to provide the best possible care for you and your loved ones.

Hospital staff caring for young people with cancer are launching a new service to help them when they lose their hair.

The Teenage Cancer Unit at Castle Hill Hospital is teaming up with the Living With and Beyond Cancer team at the Queen’s Centre to set up a new wig service.

Young people who come to the unit for treatment will now be able to purchase wigs in modern styles and in vibrant colors including ombre, blue and purple to help boost their morale if their hair falls out during treatment.

Claire Swift, Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Teenage Cancer Unit, said: “Losing your hair during treatment for cancer can be traumatic for everyone but it’s especially difficult for young people.

“This new service can make someone feel better about themselves when they’re already going through so much.”

Claire and Youth Support Co-ordinator Charlene Kent realised there was a need for the service after referring their patients to the Living With and Beyond Cancer team at the Queen’s Centre.

Charlene said: “They have a wigs service but the wigs they have were not really age-appropriate for the people we look after in our unit.”

Working with Sarah Guest from the Living With and Beyond Cancer team, they were given some free samples of modern hairstyles from Welsh wig company Lush to pass onto patients for feedback.

Charlene said: “They loved them so we knew this was something we wanted to do.”

The team has purchased a small number of wigs from the company and patients have added to the stock by donating wigs they no longer need.

Patients will be able to purchase a wig for £15 with available packages including the wig, a wig stand, hair brush and products to wash, condition and style the wig.

Jane Griffin, who volunteers for the Living With and Beyond Cancer team, will help them choose the wig that suits them best, fit it and show them how to care for their new hairstyle.

*If you have a wig suitable for a teenager or young person that you would like to donate, please contact the team on:01482 461091/01482 461326 .

*Photograph: Charlene Kent, left, and Sarah Guest with their new display cabinet for young people’s wigs

Twenty-one husbands, wives, sons and daughters in East Yorkshire have been given a second chance of life thanks to the courage of bereaved families.

Between April 2020 and March this year, 14 families agreed to donate the organs of their loved ones when they discovered there was no hope of them surviving illness or injury.

Thanks to those people who had shared their wishes with their families for what should happen in the event of their deaths, 21 people were able to receive life-saving or life-changing transplants.

This week is Organ Donation Awareness Week, which will run until Sunday,

Fay Turner, Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation, said: “We want to say a massive thank you to the families who know what their loved ones would have wanted to happen in the event of their deaths.

“Their selflessness in the face of their grief means 21 people have a chance to spend longer with their families and the people who love them, or to live pain-free lives.

“We owe them a huge debt of gratitude and, on behalf of us and the people who have a received an organ, we thank them for all they have done to help us.”

The message of this year’s Organ Donation Awareness Week is “Leave Them Certain”. The national spotlight is also highlighting the importance of education,  with blood, organ and stem cell donation now part of the school PHSE curriculum for young people in Key Stage 3 and 4.

To mark the event in our area, staff at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust who work in the hospital restaurants, post room, general offices and reception desks will be wearing bright pink organ donation t-shirts.

Hull City Council’s buildings in Queen Victoria Square will light up pink along with The Deep, St Stephen’s shopping mall and other key landmarks in the city.

Hull Hospitals are here, by your side when you need them, from the delivery of exceptional care, to supporting families and loved ones.  They are a team we can truly depend on when we need them most.  Many of us will have our own story to tell on how hospital staff have touched our lives and gone above and beyond to make a difference.

WISHH, the official charity of Hull Hospitals, has launched a new ‘By Your Side Appeal’ to raise £40,000 to enhance parental accommodation as part of a major redevelopment project at Hull Royal Infirmary.  The project includes expanding the number of family rooms for parents and carers of the area’s sickest children that are being cared for at the hospital.

Each year, Hull University Teaching Hospitals provides care for approximately 49,000 babies, children and young people with a variety of health problems, conditions, and other childhood illnesses.  They range from those who are critically ill and who stay in the High Dependency Unit for care with cancer, complex needs or other significant disabilities, as well as premature babies cared for within the Neonatal Unit.  A number of these babies and children need to stay in hospital for an extended period of time, placing additional pressures on their families.

It has been a long-term ambition of Hull Hospitals to expand upon the provision of accommodation for parents and carers, which will enable them to stay close by the side of their child whilst their child is receiving treatment.  The development project will double the existing capacity from four rooms to nine.  The WISHH Charity is asking members of our community, local businesses and fundraisers to get involved in this appeal to ensure the new rooms provided are as welcoming and comfortable as possible for families, to include furnishings and distraction items for siblings, making it a home-from home environment, during such challenging times.

The campaign launch has received a fantastic start with Home Bargains providing an initial sum of £12,000 in support.  They have committed to continue fundraising across their stores in Hull and Scunthorpe.

Mike McDonald, Area Manager of Home Bargains said, “As a result of the generosity of our customers donating their change at tills in our stores and our staff taking part in fundraising activities, we can make this fantastic donation to kick-start the fundraising for this great appeal.  We are delighted to continue our support of this appeal and encourage others to get involved too.”

This purpose-built family accommodation will be located in a self-contained area on the same floor of Hull Royal Infirmary as the High Dependency Ward.  It will enable families to stay close to their ill child, shower and recharge, and have facilities to make refreshments, which will make a tremendous difference to the families, the child receiving care and other family members.

Sister Anne Dalby

Sister Anne Dalby of Ward 130 and the High Dependency Unit said, “This accommodation will make a massive difference to the families of patients cared for on our ward and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, especially for babies and children needing longer term care and their families who do not live near the hospital.  We provide care to babies and children from across Hull, East Riding and the wider region.

“The new facilities will enable parents and carers to get a proper rest and a break in tranquil and comfortable surroundings away from the clinical area, yet still be close to their child. The psychological benefits it will provide for families, to be in close proximity to the ward, where a nurse can get them if they are urgently needed will provide reassurance and will have a beneficial impact on the overall mental health and wellbeing of families.

“Due to current Covid restrictions we currently can only accommodate one parent per child and this new facility will enable both parents and carers to be there, taking it in turns to visit the ward and enabling family time. It will also enable siblings and families to come together on special occasions.”

Caroline Horler, parent said, “You cannot under estimate the importance of parents’ facilities on a children’s ward.  I have spent many weeks over a period of many years in hospital with my daughter.  To be able to recharge your batteries, have a shower and rest whilst always being close to your child makes so much difference and will help alleviate the stress parents are already going through.  This facility will also provide space for a parent to spend some time with siblings as not everyone has family support close to hand.”

To support the appeal visit https://justgiving.com/campaign/ByYourSide  Donations can also be made via cheque made payable to WISHH Charity, posted to WISHH By Your Side Appeal, WISHH Office, First Floor Administration Building, Castle Hill Hospital, Castle Road, Cottingham, HU16 5JQ.  Donations can also be made via Bacs transfer, contact the WISHH team for further information hyp-tr.hellowishh@nhs.net or call us on 01482 622299.

Any amount large or small will be welcomed and help us achieve our target. If, however, you wish to contribute to a specific item, or sponsor a room this can be arranged.  To discuss in more detail please contact Lisa Whitton lisa.whitton3@nhs.net or call on 01482 622299 or mobile 07827 881766.

Background of the scheme
Ward 130 and the Paediatric High Dependency Unit are currently based on the 13^th floor of the tower block at the Hull Royal Infirmary.  The project is part of a major transformation of Hull Royal Infirmary.  The new three-story extension at the front of the hospital, in part facilitates the relocation of the paediatric wards to the second floor. This change will not only make access to these wards much easier, but it will also enable paediatric medical staff to move more quickly between the main building to the Women and Children’s Hospital.

School children are to benefit from the latest design innovation to learn about the importance of organ donation in saving lives.

Specialist Nurses in organ donation, based at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, will use a 3D interactive torso with removable organs including the heart, liver, pancreas and gall bladder, when they tour schools across Hull and the East Riding to explain their work.

The 3D torso, which cost more than £3,000, was funded as part of NHS Blood and Transplant’s mission to promote education and awareness about the importance of organ donation and was created by the design team at Aura Innovation Centre, part of the University of Hull.

Children and young people are set to take centre stage as the main theme of this year’s Organ Donation Week, which will run from Monday, September 20 to Sunday, September 26.

Fay Turner, Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation, said: “We’re very grateful to the team at Aura who worked with our specifications to create this fabulous teaching tool to support our education work.

“The teaching tool has arrived in a very timely manner as Organ Donation Week 2021 aims to inspire millions of family conversations and registrations by putting children and young people at the heart of our message.

“It will encourage organ donation conversations across the generations and really press home the ‘leave them certain’ message.”

“Previously, we have had to rely on videos and photographs but our new teaching tool will encourage the students to take out the organs, feel what they’re like and understand how each one functions.

“It will provide students with valuable hands-on learning so they can understand exactly how important our organs are – and, therefore, why we need organ donation to save people’s lives.”

As well as focusing on stories of children who have received or donated organs, Organ Donation Week will shine a national spotlight on the importance of education, with blood, organ and stem cell donation now part of the school PHSE curriculum for young people in Key Stage 3 and 4.

To mark the event in our area, staff at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust who work in the hospital restaurants, post room, general offices and reception desks will be wearing bright pink organ donation t-shirts.

Hull City Council’s buildings in Queen Victoria Square will light up pink along with The Deep, St Stephen’s shopping mall and other key landmarks in the city.

Hospital emergency teams sprang into action today as part of their training for a major chemical spill in the city.

Porters, staff from the Emergency Department and security teams worked together to ensure five casualties received the best possible care after the mock accident.

Operation Hoddle was set up by Hull University Teaching Hospitals (HUTH) to test staff’s response to a chemical or hazardous waste accident.

David Roney, Head of Emergency Planning, said: “The exercise is about testing our response to any chemical or hazardous waste incident. It’s particularly relevant to us because we have so many refineries and factories within the area.

“We have to train and practice for the time when we might have to use that equipment for real.”

A decontamination tent was set up at the side of Hull Royal infirmary’s Emergency Department so staff from the hospital’s Emergency Department, dressed in powered respirator protective suits (PRPS) were able to treat their injuries in the safest possible environment.

Security Investigations Officer David Liddle, Clinical Administrator Cameron Walker, who works in Suite 36, James Garnett, a clinical administrator in the Department of Medical Elderly, Donna Major, manager of the Hull Institute of Learning and Simulation (HILS), and Emily Clappison, an Administrator in Clinical Skills, all volunteered to act as casualties.

The 90-minute exercise was filmed by the trust’s Clinical Skills Department and will be used to train ED nursing staff and be included in HEY247 to help train other staff who may be involved in a real-life accident.

East Riding Council has approved plans for a solar panel field to generate energy for Castle Hill Hospital.

Known as “ground mounted solar photovoltaic array”, the development will cover 7.7 hectares, including access roads, on land south of Castle Road in Cottingham.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust plans to erect almost 11,000 solar panels to generate a third of the total energy requirements of Castle Hill Hospital, meeting all of its daytime requirements in the summer.

Landscaping will be used to screen the development and protect wildlife, with information boards put up around the site to inform people living near the hospital about our environmental plans.

Construction work on the field is now under way with the solar panels expected to be generating energy by the end of the year.

Marc Beaumont, Head of Sustainability at the trust, said: “We’re grateful to East Riding Council for a swift decision on our plans and we’ve already started the work because the time for action is now.

“We cannot afford to wait any longer to make radical changes to the way we run our organisation and this is a major step forward.”

The field is all part of “Zero Thirty,” the trust’s campaign to be a UK leader in tackling the NHS’s impact on climate change by achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

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

A national campaign to attract the best talent to vital health and social care roles in Hull and East Yorkshire is the latest to support Inner City Sesh.

Under the banner, East YorkSHH!re: ‘the secret’s out’, the new campaign has had unprecedented success by telling the stories of those people who came to work here, fell in love with it, and now want to spill the beans.

As Humber Street Sesh is a firm favourite with so many who come to the region, the campaign has stepped up and joined forces with the Inner City version – supporting the East YorkSHH!re Silent Disco at the Queen’s Gardens event on Sept 18th.

John Skidmore, Director of Adults, Health and Customer Services, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, explains:

“Everyone loves the Sesh events, they are a part of our cultural identity, so it’s great to be able to get together with our healthcare partners in Hull and East Yorkshire to support Inner City Sesh, and show our region off at its best.

“We want more and more people with vital skills and knowledge to come to live, work, study and play in Hull and East Yorkshire and discover what a hidden gem it is. Events like this are hugely important in telling that story and encouraging people with vital knowledge and skills to lay down their roots here.”

“Maybe, in the past, our perceived isolation worked against us in attracting people here but we’ve turned that on its head to share the secret of what an incredible place this is and it’s really paying off.”

The “East YorkSHH!re” campaign is an unprecedented recruitment partnership between East Riding of Yorkshire Council, City Health Care Partnership CIC, Hull CCG, East Riding of Yorkshire CCG, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, Humberside Fire and Rescue Services, Humberside Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Hull York Medical School and the University of Hull.

Launched in October 2020, it has built on the success of earlier recruitment campaigns which have succeeded in bringing health care staff to the region.

A series of short films celebrate the distinctiveness and diversity of Hull and East Yorkshire, celebrating the connectivity of the area as well as low house prices and affordable cost of living with easy access to beautiful countryside, coastline and natural beauty. It also showcases the hidden beauty of the city, from the Marina and the Old Town to the revamped city centre, celebrating Hull’s cultural depth and its thriving communities.

A microsite, street advertising and brochures have been supported by a blitz on social media, encouraging health care professionals to take a look at what’s on offer across the region.

The campaign tells the stories of people who have come to live, work and play in the area from as far afield as Nigeria, Poland, India, USA, and every corner of the UK.

Inner City Sesh will feature the best of Humber Street Sesh with The University of Hull Main Stage, Hull Trains Dead Bod Stage, Emerging Musicians Stage, and a stage dedicated to some of the finest DJs in the region.

Community favourites include: The Silent Disco Marquee, supported by East YorkSHH!re; Team Extreme Skate Park, with displays from the experts; Festival Markets for independent traders; a funfair on Guildhall Road; Photo Exhibition, supported by Wykeland Beal, showcasing Hull’s burgeoning music scene; graffiti art, art installations and an array of food choices and bars.

Festival organisers are keen to make the event as environmentally friendly as possible with 2 solar powered music stages, and recycling stations around the site.

Inner City Sesh, Queens Gardens, 12 midday until 11pm, Saturday, September 18, 2021.

£10 e tickets are available via innercitysesh.co.uk and seetickets.com. Booking fees apply.

£15 at the gate. Free entry for 12 years and under, when accompanied by an adult.

Wristband exchange locations TBC.

www.eastyorkshhire.co.uk