Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Chief Executive, Chris Long, said:

“It is with the deepest regret that I have to announce the death of Nicola Diles. Nicola was diagnosed with Covid-19 and died in our Intensive Care Unit at Hull Royal Infirmary on 15 November 2020.

“We send heartfelt condolences to Nicola’s family, friends, workmates and everyone who loved her.

“Nicola became a part of the Hull University Teaching Hospitals family when she permanently joined the trust in 2016 and she worked as an admin assistant supporting the dietetic team based at Castle Hill Hospital. Prior to that she worked in a variety of agency administration roles across the trust, hence many more staff and patients will have had the honour of knowing her. Nicola was a highly valued member of the team and we are very grateful for her years of service to the people of Hull and East Yorkshire.

“Nicola’s death is a terrible reminder that Covid-19 continues to devastate our staff and our wider community. She is the third member of our team to die following the deaths of Adrian Cruttenden and Rich Albufera in the past few months and we feel the pain of the loss of all three.

“A Book of Condolence for colleagues to pay tribute to Nicola will shortly be shared among our staff.

“We will continue to support Nicola’s family and ask the media to respect their privacy as they come to terms with their terrible loss. We would ask that the privacy of Nicola’s friends and workmates is also respected.”

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has taken the decision to reschedule some routine day surgery, elective procedures and outpatient appointments following a significant increase in patients being admitted with Covid19. All urgent and emergency surgery continues as normal.

Chief Operating Officer Teresa Cope said: “We’ve seen a sudden and dramatic increase in patients with Covid-19 who need to be admitted to our hospitals over the past fortnight and it’s continuing to climb, reflecting the high numbers of people in the city currently being diagnosed with the virus.

“It has become increasingly clear that if we are to have the capacity and staff to care for these patients, we have to reschedule our other work.

“We know this will impact on patients and we are really sorry that we are having to do this. We are deeply sorry to every person affected by this decision. We assure them that we will seek to restart all of our services as soon as possible.

“Thank you for bearing with us through these difficult times, the toughest any of us have ever experienced in the NHS.”

If your appointment is within the next seven days and is to be rescheduled or changed to a telephone consultation, you will receive a telephone call from the Patient Admin team and a follow-up letter.

If your appointment is seven days or more from now, you will receive a letter if your appointment is to be rescheduled or changed to a telephone consultation.

Some patients will still be required to attend to continue treatment so, if you do not receive a letter or a phone call, please turn up for your appointment as normal.

Women and their birth partners are being asked to observe safety measures at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital to prevent the need for further restrictions during the second lockdown.

Birth partners will still be able to attend 20-week scans and be with their partners when they are admitted to the Labour Ward or the Fatima Allam Birth Centre. They will also be able to book one-hour visiting slots on antenatal and postnatal wards.

However, maternity leaders are asking women and their birth partners to co-operate with contact tracing, social distancing and safety precautions as England prepares to enter a second lockdown from Thursday until December 2.

L-R Katie Headlam, Nicola Easby, Angela Rymer, Janet Cairns, Lorraine Cooper, Joanna Melia, Wendy McKenzie

Janet Cairns, Head of Midwifery at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Everything we do is to keep women, their babies and our staff as safe as possible during the pandemic.

“We understand how difficult this situation is but we need everyone’s cooperation, patience and understanding to prevent the virus spreading.

“It is really important that women continue to access maternity services if they have any concerns. We are open 24/7, and we urge them to attend all their appointments.

“But if women are experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19, they must let us know as soon as possible so we can make appropriate arrangements for them to be seen.”

Birth partners must not come to hospital if they are showing any symptoms of Covid-19 such as a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste. They should stay away from hospital if they have come into contact with anyone testing positive for the virus.

Women attending the antenatal clinic and antenatal day unit should follow the one-way system and the waiting area has been expanded into the former café to enable social distancing.

One birth partner can still attend the 20-week scan and women will be given details of how this will operate before attending the appointment.

Women staying overnight as an antenatal inpatient on Maple Ward can pre-book one-hour visits for one named birth partner with their midwife involved in their care on the ward.

Women admitted to the Fatima Allam Birth Centre and Labour Ward can be accompanied by one named birth partner on admission, who must remain in the birth room at all times until their partner is either discharged home or transferred to the postnatal ward.

Those women who need to stay in hospital after their babies are born can also pre-book a one-hour visit for their named birth partners.

In ward areas which allow visiting, only four birth partners can attend at any one time to protect women, their babies and hospital staff.

Women must give the contact details of their named birth partners to ward staff in advance and these will be kept for one month following the women’s discharge from hospital.

If they have symptoms of Covid-19, birth partners must stay at home, arrange a test and self-isolate in line with national guidance. If this happens, their partner will be supported to select another birth partner who must be part of their support bubble.

Staff will assess and support any woman with additional communication or care needs who may require more support.

For women giving birth at home, only the named birth partner can be in the room with the woman and the community midwife. Another family member from their support bubble can be in the house but not in the same room.

Parents with babies in Neonatal intensive Care are both allowed to visit the unit at any time but are asked to, where possible, limit themselves to one at the cot side as much as possible. They should wear hospital-provided masks and wash their hands regularly. Parents who think they may need a test for Covid-19 should speak to the neonatal nurse in charge.  All efforts are made to give parents the chance to be together with critically ill babies.

Anyone requiring more information on safety measures during lockdown should speak to their midwives or chat ‘virtually’ to a senior midwife via the Ask the Midwife on the Women and Children’s Facebook page. The live chat service is available Monday to Friday between 10am and noon and again between 2pm and 4pm.

Janet Cairns said: “Our measures will be kept under constant review and will not hesitate to bring in additional safety precautions should they become necessary.

“Until then, we ask everyone to wear face masks, wash their hands regularly, observe social distancing, stay at home when they can and only come to hospital when absolutely necessary.”

She remembers being fascinated by the Head of Midwifery, a tiny woman puffing on a cigarette who reminded her of Margaret Rutherford, as she spent her school holidays helping her hospital secretary mum put letters in envelopes.

Her interest in the NHS sparked at such a young age, Janet Cairns became a nursing auxiliary at 18 and qualified as a nurse in the early 1980s.

But she stumbled on a career which would see her lead a team transforming maternity services in Hull after taking a short cut through hospital grounds and spotting a recruitment advert for midwives.

L-R Katie Headlam, Nicola Easby, Angela Rymer, Janet Cairns, Lorraine Cooper, Joanna Melia, Wendy McKenzie

Now, after dedicating 42 years to the NHS, Janet – known as Jan to her friends and colleagues – is retiring as Head of Midwifery at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Jan said: “I just feel the time is right to step back and let someone else take over the next stage.

“I was on holiday in June, thinking how I’d be 60 in November and realizing there’s a lot of things I would like to do with my life outside of work.”

Jan never envisioned that her connection with that first Head of Midwifery at a hospital in Bury near Lancashire as a schoolgirl would have such a profound impact on her life.

Back then, she cleaned the nurses’ home for nothing, just to be part of it. She remembers the Head of Midwifery asking if she’d like a job and Jan saying she’d like to work with the babies.

“Everyone wants to work with the babies,” the Head of Midwifery said. “But if you want to be a credible nurse, start by caring for older people. If you can care for old people, you can care for anyone.”

So, that’s exactly what Jan did. At 18, she got a job as a nursing auxiliary and went to work in geriatrics, caring for the elderly.

Again, an older woman had an impact on her life that resonates to this day – Minnie, a long-term patient on a ward with what we’d now call dementia but was probably put down to senility back then.

Jan said: “Back then, around 1977/78, elderly wards were almost like care homes and people were there for a very long time. Minnie was so lovely but she was completely in her own world. I never forgot her because she was so challenging to look after.”

It gave Jan a fantastic grounding in patient care and she went on to study nursing at St James Hospital in Leeds – Jimmy’s – from 1980. Always drawn to acute medicine, she worked in plastic surgery and then theatres.

A year after qualifying, she took the shortcut one day on her way from one block to another, past the School of Nursing, and saw the advert for midwives, applied and landed a place.

“I was in the right place at the right time, I suppose,” she says.

She qualified in 1986 and became pregnant with her son Iain that November. She remembers going for a promotion and being told she wouldn’t be interviewed because she was “having a baby.” The advancement of working mothers in the service has been just one of the changes she’s seen.

After her first baby, she returned to work part-time and had Fiona, her second, in 1990. She moved to Hull in 1997, landing a job at Hedon Road Maternity Hospital.

“That first day, I couldn’t believe what I was walking into,” she says, reminiscing about the prefab building which served the population for decades before it was replaced by the purpose-built Hull Women and Children’s Hospital. “It was like something out of Call the Midwife.

“But the warmth of the staff you were working with made it such a lovely place. The canteen there cooked their own food and it was a bit like being at home.”

She moved to the new hospital in the grounds of Hull Royal in 2003 and worked in practice development, sharing a job with Julie Jomeen, now Professor of Midwifery at the University of Southern Cross in Queensland, Australia.

“Taught her everything she knows,” Jan laughs, the sunlight catching a twinkle in her eye.

After a spell as Clinical Governance Midwife and managing a small team, Jan became Head of Midwifery in 2011. And that’s where she had stayed, overseeing and driving through major change such as the opening of the Fatima Allam Birth Centre and the Continuity of Carers teams.

“The opportunities I’ve been given at this trust have been phenomenal,” she said. “I’ve been supported to do a Masters, put through a leadership programme and I’ve been supported through every step of my career by senior people and a very supportive executive management team.”

But she’s repaid that faith in her talents by establishing Hull firmly at the heart of the national transformation of maternity services. The implementation of key recommendations in the Better Births programme for reform has attracted national attention, with visits from the report’s author Baroness Cumberledge to Professor Jacquline Dunkley-Bent OBE, England’s first Chief Midwifery Officer.

She puts those achievements down to the dedication of her team. “The best part of my job, without a shadow of a doubt, is the people I work with.

“Even on very difficult days, we pull together. We might not always see eye to eye or agree on steps we are taking but I have complete faith in their professionalism and everyone is doing what they believe is best for the development of trust services.”

She’s a no-nonsense type, is Jan, and is all the better for it. She knows what she wants and will go all-out to get it. And what she wanted was to put women at the heart of maternity care, to listen to them and adapt and change services to meet their needs.

“I have seen a sea change in maternity care,” she says. “Women’s voices have become stronger. We listen to what they have to say, more than ever before, and try to give them those services.

“We provide a service but we are listening to women about what they want.”

She’s toyed with retirement for a while. This time, it’s happening and she will leave the trust, and a job and team she clearly loves, on November 27.

“I used to say I’d go when the Birth Centre got sorted, then it was when the Continuity of Carer teams were set up. But there was always something else to do.

“One of the midwives has been waiting for a new laptop and I used to joke I’d retire when she got her laptop. She got it the other week and offered to give it back so I’d stay.

“But it’s time for me to do something else now.”

Quite what that something else will be, she’s not sure. “I’ve no idea what I’m going to do,” she laughs, that twinkle back again. “My son’s just got married, my daughter lives in Tunbridge Wells so it’ll be great to go and see them without having to get back to work or thinking about work. It’ll just be time for myself.”

Chief Nurse Beverley Geary said: “Women across Hull and the East Riding have a lot to thank Jan Cairns for because her commitment and dedication has driven through real and lasting changes in maternity services.

“There is no doubt we will miss her but we thank her for her decades of public service and her passion to provide the best possible maternity services for the women in our care.”

We received an incredibly positive response to a story we shared recently from Katie, who had her baby Jack during lockdown.

In light of the current coronavirus situation and the associated restrictions, we felt it would be good for you to know that, when it’s time for your baby to arrive, we have all the family’s best interests at heart and we’ll do all we can to make your birth experience a positive one.

With that in mind, mum-of-two Rachael has also given us permission to share her experience with you. Rachael’s experience of giving birth to baby Austin was not without its clinical difficulties, but she says the staff looking after her kept her safe and feeling well supported all the way through.

“I had my son Austin in lockdown in June and received absolutely amazing care. 

“Before he was born, I had lots of hospital appointments due to recurrent miscarriages and previous problems in pregnancy with my daughter. 

“I was already more anxious because of our history, and dreaded the thought of going to appointments on my own in case something was wrong. Thankfully everything was okay, and at each appointment all of the staff were so friendly, chatty and professional.

“I needed to attend the hospital several times due to reduced movements, and each time I called up the staff were brilliant, encouraging me to go in, and it was very reassuring to be checked over and put on the monitors.

“I had to be induced, which I was a bit upset about as I knew at the time my husband and two-year-old wouldn’t be able to visit. All of the staff were incredibly friendly and chatty and provided amazing care. Most of the staff who looked after me this time around had looked after me during my induction with my daughter two years ago, so I knew I was in great hands as they were all brilliant then too.

“One of the midwives, Alison, kept my spirits up by trying to guess what my son was going to be called. We hadn’t told anyone his name as we wanted him to be the first to know, so Alison affectionately and jokingly kept referring to him as “baby Bert” when she was looking after me. Little things like this just really helped to keep me smiling while I had to stay in. 

“Unfortunately, my induction wasn’t successful, so I was able to go home and was told to return the following day when I’d either have a Caesarean section or an attempt to break my waters would be made.

“Robin, the doctor, was brilliant; I’d seen him in the clinic for my plan and he had booked my induction. He reviewed me on the day I returned and gave me, in his words “a heroic sweep”, again said in such a joking and reassuring way, and it did actually start my labour and saved me from having a C-section. He had also nicknamed my son “Baby Top Secret” as he also wanted to know what he was going to be called!

“My labour initially progressed quite quickly, and the staff on Maple Ward were brilliant. I was unwell and in quite a lot of pain, but Cat was brilliant with me, she was so caring, even ringing my husband for me when I got upset – she was so sympathetic. 

“When I got to the labour ward, my epidural was arranged quickly and my husband arrived just in time for this. During my son’s birth, both mine and my baby’s heart rates began to drop, and I was having difficulty pushing. Our midwife, Jo, was really calm and promptly arranged for doctors to review me and they approved the use of forceps to help deliver my son.

“All the staff in the room were incredible, they were very caring and explained what was happening. Our son, Austin, was delivered safely, and they were great with my husband too. 

“We were transferred to the post natal ward around 7 hours later, and the outstanding care continued there too. 

“The day after Austin was born, Robin popped in to see us on the postnatal ward, had a cuddle and said he was glad his sweep had worked. He was so kind and caring, and was clearly pleased to see my son had been delivered safely. The continuity of care was incredible and I felt so valued. I really appreciated him “visiting” us when nobody else could. 

“I genuinely cannot fault anything or anyone, and despite the complications which arose, I felt totally safe and well cared for. 

“I’d like to offer a huge thank you to all the midwives, everyone on Maple Ward who looked after me during my induction, especially Alison, Karen, Becky, and Cat who got me up to Labour Ward, Jo who delivered Austin, and Tracey on Rowan Ward, our consultant Keith and, of course, Robin whose heroic sweep saved me from a section. The anaesthetists and doctors who helped deliver Austin during what turned out to be a bit of a dramatic birth were also fantastic.

“You are all amazing and we’re so grateful for the outstanding care we received.”

“I cannot imagine how we would have made it through without your wonderful staff” 

We understand that local families who are expecting a baby right now may be worried about the COVID19 situation or have questions about current hospital access arrangements.  That’s why we thought we’d share with you the story of Katie, who had her baby, Jack, at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital a few weeks ago.

We hope Katie’s story* – told in her own words – helps to reassure you if you’re concerned about your birth partner not being able to spend time or be involved with you and your newborn.

If you have any questions at all, please speak to your midwife for up-to-the-minute, accurate information, or use our daily ‘Ask the Midwife’ facility on our facebook page. Please be assured we’re committed to doing all we can to keep your family safe and make your birth experience a positive one, and we thank you for your understanding in these most testing of times.

*Forenames have been changed at the family’s request

“My husband Connor and I recently welcomed our son at your hospital, and I just wanted to highlight the incredible care I received from your staff. 

“Given the COVID restrictions, I had been very anxious in the lead up to delivery, largely around attending alone without Connor being able to support me.

“From the first call from the induction clinic, I was offered reassurance, had my options explained to me, and advised on the earliest opportunity my husband could join me.

“As soon as a bed was available for me on the labour ward, the staff let me know I could call Connor to join me.

“While on the labour ward, the midwives were wonderful. They involved both me and my husband throughout, ensured he was as comfortable as possible and offered reassurance. They gave me lots of notice as the end of their shift approached, and time was given to introduce us to our next midwife, who then remained with us through to delivery.

“As my labour failed to progress, our baby became distressed but all of the midwives had open and frank conversations with us. We appreciated this so much, and felt fully informed in decision making around our care.

“The decision to undertake a caesarean section was made, and my midwife, the medics and anaesthetists involved were all calm, reassuring and informative throughout.

“When our baby needed support to breathe and I became unwell during surgery, the team looked after me, and particularly my husband, wonderfully. The anaesthetists in particular supported me while my husband was with our son.

“While the delivery was traumatic for us both, the team of staff ensured my husband was supported which will forever mean so much to me. 

“Our midwife stayed with us throughout the night in recovery, sensitively supporting all three of us at such a stressful time. She enquired as to our wishes and helped me to begin breastfeeding our son. Despite the difficult circumstances around his arrival, we have successfully breastfed so far, and I put this down to staff respecting my views and helping me to achieve this. 

“Unfortunately, I remained unwell and continued to need hospital care for almost a week afterwards. Staff on the postnatal ward went above and beyond to care for and support my son and I. Despite the obvious clinical pressures staff were facing each shift, those I saw regularly ensured that I felt looked after and able to ask for any support I may need. 

“Given the understandable restrictions currently upon visiting, at times it was incredibly difficult to care for my new born son despite being so ill myself, but I genuinely cannot imagine how we could have made it through admission and be at the point we are now – recovering well at home – without your wonderful staff. 

“When my husband was able to visit the ward, they supported him to be involved in our care. One key action which meant so much to us was the staff ensuring that both my husband and I had a full debrief in order to understand and process the circumstances around delivery. 

“I have no doubt that for these amazing clinicians, all of this was simply ‘another day at the office’. And yet I’m not sure words can ever fully express how grateful we are for the care and support we received during a period which was quite simply the scariest time in our lives. We will never, ever forget them or their work.”

The first wave of the COVID19 pandemic asked a lot of all hospital staff. From doctors and nurses to porters and housekeepers, life on the frontline of hospital care took a rapid and unexpected twist in just a matter of days, but what of the other teams working behind the scenes?

Today is Clinical Engineering Day, so it seems only right to highlight how the work of this small but perfectly formed team supported frontline staff, enabling the carers to continue caring for critically ill patients while the techie bits were taken care of.

Professor Andy Beavis, head of medical physics for the trust, takes up the story:

“Every one of us working for the trust was impacted in some way by COVID19 back in the Spring, and many people stepped forward to contribute their skills in different ways.

“One of the great positives that came out of the situation was the spirit of how staff pulled together and worked to deliver services in the middle of the biggest challenge we have ever faced. For me, nowhere was this more evident than within our own clinical engineering team.”

Clinical engineer Dean Young tests a ventilator

At any given time, this team of 36 engineers has an enormous inventory of medical equipment to service and maintain, from equipment used in the care of premature babies right through to the care of older people. Among the items on their lists are heart rate monitors, thermometers, pressure relieving mattresses and ventilators, anaesthetic machines and ultrasound scanners, and the list is always increasing. Last year there were 22,000 pieces of equipment in the inventory, but with the arrival of COVID-19 came a growth in the amount of equipment being used, and that figure is now closer to 30,000.  The team must also ensure items don’t get stuck in the service cycle, and that equipment is freely available to wards and teams whenever and wherever it’s needed.

Towards the start of 2020, as the scale of the COVID19 challenge was becoming more apparent and as ventilators became the most sought after item of the year to date, the team soon realised that demand for their knowledge and skills within the trust would skyrocket.

“From the outset, the team was worried about the availability of equipment for frontline clinical teams such as ventilators and infusion pumps, and the associated implications for patient care; such items were considered essential in the initial management of the effects caused by the virus,” Andy continues.

“A significant part of the engineers’ work in the early weeks, therefore, was helping to source, locate, collect and transfer equipment from wards and theatres to those parts of the hospital which were most in need. The engineers made sure those staff on the receiving end were briefed on how to use the items and manage any risks, but it soon became apparent that there was still an unfamiliarity for some staff around using equipment in ways they may never have done before.

“At this point, this small team of engineers put their own convenience to one side and decided to establish 24/7 technical cover in order to support and reassure those staff working on the frontline of the coronavirus effort. This was not without its challenges as the team is ordinarily designed to work a ‘standard’ five day working week, but support for our patients and intensive care staff was central to all our discussions, and the engineers were really keen to step up and play their part.”

Andrew Mills sets about fault-finding on a humidifier

Almost immediately, the team agreed and put in place a split shift system, providing on-call cover throughout the night for more than 16 weeks.

“One of the other issues we had to overcome was that the team members each had different specialisms and areas of expertise, meaning not all of the team were familiar with troubleshooting or maintaining all types of systems. Before the on-call system was started, the team overcame this by developing service packs of information and cross-training each other to ensure they, and the staff they were supporting, could be confident that any given problem could be dealt with.

“While delivering this high level of support, the team also ensured that extra new equipment being supplied to the trust to support the COVID effort was brought into use as soon as possible, and kept more routine non-COVID equipment maintenance going.

“The team would say they simply provided what was expected of them at such a time, but what I saw was a genuine willingness to help and a real commitment to supporting others.

“Just like many other frontline workers, they too sacrificed their own personal or family time to support the COVID19 effort. The team underwent appropriate Fit testing and PPE training to be able to work in the most high-risk areas around our hospitals and ensure patients could receive the high quality care they needed. I’m incredibly proud of our clinical engineers.”