A man who spent seven years in a refugee camp before becoming a nurse at Castle Hill Hospital has shared his experience with children from an East Yorkshire primary school.

Justin Mwange fled to Zambia with his family from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo and spent seven years living without hope before he was granted refugee status and moved to Hull.

Now, after qualifying as a nurse this summer and joining Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Justin has gone to Newport Primary near Brough to share his experiences with Years 4 and 5.

Justin said: “I was very pleased to go to the school and tell the children about what it was like to go to school in Congo. We would walk 15 miles there and back to school every day and we’d to work to pay for all our books and even our pencils.

“They were interested to learn about my time in the camp and I was able to tell them why I wanted to become a nurse.”

Teacher Carolyn Ashley got in touch with the hospital trust to pass on the children’s letters and a visit was arranged for Justin and Vicky Needler, Practice Learning Facilitator so he could share his story.

Justin wanted to become a nurse after watching people die by the side of the road because of the lack of basic health care as his family and neighbours walked for three days in searing temperatures to flee the war tearing his country apart.

During his years in the refugee camp, Justin volunteered as a support worker with Medecins Sans Frontieres helping people with malnutrition.

Although fluent in French and Swahili, he spoke little English when he arrived in the country with his wife Elizabeth Nyota in 2007 as part of a refugee resettlement programme. He moved to Hull where he started English classes and took a job working in a factory to provide for his family.

He completed English as a Foreign Language programme at the University of Hull before applying to study social work and graduated in 2012. He then enrolled at the university to study nursing in 2016 and gained a first in his Bachelor of Science nursing degree this summer.

He now works on Ward 10 at Castle Hill, looking after patients with colorectal conditions and digestive problems.

Teacher Carolyn Ashley said: “We have been working on a project about peace, conflict and rights this year and one of the subjects we were looking at involved refugees.

“We then saw Justin’s story and the children decided to write him letters.

“It was a privilege to meet Justin and we’re so pleased he was able to come and meet the children.”

Staff at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital have donated two hampers to thank the vets looking after a therapy dog visiting sick children.

David Freer of Hull charity Nice2bNice brings black Labrador Lewis into Acorn Ward regularly to visit children in hospital, acting as a welcome distraction to patients and their families as they undergo treatment.

Lewis is sponsored by Haven Veterinary Group and staff have made up two hampers – one with tea, coffee and biscuits and the other with sweets and chocolates – to thank manager Hayley Bateman and staff at the vet’s.

Lewis has been independently assessed by a qualified dog behaviourist, he is fully insured for work in hospitals, and all visits are carried out in accordance with the respective health and hygiene policies.

Health Care Assistant Sally Hilton said: “Dave brings Lewis onto the ward and he brings so much joy to patients and staff.

“We wanted to do something nice for Haven as they look after Lewis and have always supported us in what we are trying to do.

“We’d like to wish them all a very merry Christmas and hope the hampers show just how much we appreciate them.”

A doctor from Hull Royal Infirmary is heading to West Africa to help reduce amputation rates in persons with diabetes.

Dr Kamrudeen Mohammed is travelling to the Gambia to share his expertise in diabetes as part of an international team of doctors supporting charity Humanity First.

Dr Mohammed was named Outstanding Individual (Medical and Dental) by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in this year’s Golden Hearts awards in June for his work as Tier 4 Bariatric Endocrinologist and clinical lead for the trust’s Tier 3 Weight Management programme.

He will now travel to Africa’s smallest country this month to underline the trust’s reputation as a leader in the field of diabetes prevention and treatment.

Dr Mohammed said: “This will be my second visit to the Gambia and I will be part of a team of health professionals from different hospitals all over the UK and beyond.

“I used my first visit to gather data on the extent of the problem of diabetes and amputations in the Gambia and I will now use this visit to work towards preventing or reducing the risk of amputations due to diabetes in the future.”

Between 12 and 15 per cent of the population of Gambia have diabetes, almost twice the UK’s rate.

Dr Mohammed visited the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul, the capital of Gambia, during his first visit to analyse patient data and discovered at least 10 amputations were being carried out every month on people with diabetes. Records from anaesthesia suggest it could be even higher.

He said: “In the UK, when someone has an amputation, it is usually because we have exhausted every other possible treatment.

“Even when it does happen, the patient still has a good chance of returning to employment and having a normal life because we are able to use resources to help them. However, in the Gambia, these patients have no facility for rehabilitation so amputations have very serious consequences for them and their families.

“Patients with foot infections or ulcers do not attend the hospital for assistance as they are fearful of amputations. Instead, they approach local traditional herbalists for treatment. As the condition of their feet deteriorates, they spend their little savings accessing private care and as a last resort, they attend the local hospital. By the time they actually get to hospital, nothing can be done for them because the infection is so severe and the amputation has to be carried out to save their lives.”

Dr Mohammed will embark on a major programme of patient education during his visit to Gambia, appearing on national television and radio to encourage people with diabetes on foot care and how to manage their condition.

He will also be training frontline medical staff, showing them how to screen patients for diabetes and what action they can take to help avoid amputations in the future.

The team will also take equipment with them to support the Gambian health teams, ensuring a back-to-basics approach to diabetes treatment and care in the developing country.

He is setting up a JustGiving page where people can support his work and help him reach as many people as possible.

Dr Mohammed said: “As a large university teaching hospital, clinicians who work at this trust are used to sharing our knowledge and helping younger staff to build up their skills.

“My visit to the Gambia is an excellent opportunity for us to enhance our reputation as a teaching hospital on a global stage and make a real difference to the lives of people with diabetes in another part of the world.”

Businessman and philanthropist Dr Assem Allam is to donate almost £8m to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for the provision of world-class treatment and research facilities at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

The multi-million pound donation will create a centre of excellence in the care and treatment of patients with diabetes and metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis, a new facility to treat digestive diseases and a major expansion of robotic surgery. It will also provide additional funding for the Molecular Imaging Research Centre developed by the Daisy Appeal to help patients with cancer, heart disease and dementia at Castle Hill Hospital.

Major investment on this scale has not been seen in the city since the times of industrialist and philanthropists Sir Thomas Ferens and Christopher Pickering and will be matched by the hospital trust to create the £16m transformation of healthcare benefitting tens of thousands of patients.

Work will begin on the new projects early in 2020, with the centres up and running by the end of 2021.

Trust Chief Executive Chris Long thanks Dr Allam and his family for their generous donation

Dr Allam said: “I moved to this part of the UK in 1968 and I am passionate about this region and the people of East Yorkshire.

“People have always been very good to me and my family and we are grateful to them for their support and kindness. For those reasons we want to demonstrate our gratitude by investing in healthcare facilities which will bring greater longevity to people’s lives and benefit not just patients but their families and loved ones also.

“I believe that, in particular, we must invest in research and development, which will improve recruitment to our hospitals at the same time as generate further investment in this great city and ultimately enable us to develop new and innovative treatments for patients.”

Not only will the Allam family’s donation provide modern buildings in which to care for patients, it also strengthens Hull’s growing reputation as a global player in research, enhancing research and teaching facilities in endocrinology and diabetes and a vascular surgery diabetes research facility at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Additional education facilities to support the training of medical students in the Hull York Medical School will also be created as part of the new building proposed for Hull Royal Infirmary.

A new three-storey building housing clinical endoscopy, research and teaching facilities for the treatment of digestive diseases will also be built at Castle Hill.

Dr Assem Allam

The latest donation from Dr Allam and his family underlines their significant and outstanding contribution to the improvement of health facilities in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

• A 2014 donation enabled the development of robotic surgery at Castle Hill Hospital, significantly improving the procedures to undertake prostate surgery and its use has subsequently extended to include major gynaecological surgery, bowel cancer surgery and thoracic surgery. A second Da Vinci Surgical Robotic System and a major expansion of robotic surgery capacity can now be created, thanks to the Allam family donation.
•  The development of the Fatima Allam Birth Centre in April 2017 at Hull Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Since opening in April 2017, the midwifery-led unit has cared for more than 1,000 families while their babies are born
• Sponsorship of a pancreatic research project, undertaken jointly by clinical and scientific research staff at the trust and the University of Hull.
• A major contributor to the Molecular Imaging Research Centre being developed on the Castle Hill Hospital site by the Daisy Appeal. The prime aim of this development is to improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients with cancer, cardiac disease and neurological conditions.
•  And, in 2018 Her Majesty the Queen opened the £28m Allam Medical Building at the University of Hull, made possible thanks to a £7m donation from Dr Allam.

Trust Chief Executive Chris Long has described Dr Allam’s generosity as unprecedented in modern times.

He said: “With this latest philanthropic gesture, Dr Allam is unrivalled in terms of the investment he has made into healthcare facilities in modern times. You would have to go back a hundred years to find anyone who donated so much of their personal wealth for the benefit of this community, in terms of their health and the care we provide for patients.

“We are extremely grateful to Dr Allam for this latest donation which will leave a legacy for patients in this region for generations to come.”

Enabling works for the diabetes scheme at Hull Royal Infirmary are already underway. Once completed in January 2021, diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic bone disease services will be re-located from their current home in the Brocklehurst building on Anlaby Road to a modern facility next to Women and Children’s Hospital. While patients would directly benefit from a much improved environment, the overall aim is to enhance and develop world-class endocrinology and diabetes research facilities at Hull Royal Infirmary and attract staff and funding streams into our region.

Development of the digestive diseases and endoscopy facility at Castle Hill Hospital will significantly increase the scale of clinical accommodation available and ensure that the trust has the capacity to effectively respond to the continued growth in demand for these services. This building will also provide dedicate research space and a new purpose-designed facility for the Hull Yorks Endoscopy School, which is centred on the hospital.

Investment proposals in robotic surgery are a less developed at this stage but with the finances secured Hull University Teaching Hospitals is confident that they can now progress with the detailed planning work required.

David Haire, Project Director Fundraising at the trust, said: “Once again, this is a significant donation from Dr Allam and his family to the trust, and our city and wider region.

“Sometimes, his generosity is taken for granted but that certainly isn’t the case from our perspective. Everyone at the trust, along with those patients and their families who will benefit from this continuing patronage, is very grateful to Dr Allam and we look forward to developing these new schemes into facilities of which all can be extremely proud.”

A couple have purchased special equipment to help patients with brain tumours as part of their £165,000 fundraising drive in memory of their daughter.

Ruth and Tony Knowles embarked on the mission to support the neurosurgical department at Hull Royal Infirmary following the death of their daughter Emma-Jayne in 1998.

The couple, of Sutton-on-Sea in Lincolnshire who were awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours List in 2014 for their fundraising, presented their latest cheque for £6,690.91 to staff on Ward 40 today.

Family and friends of
Emma-Jayne Knowles joined Ward 40 staff for the latest cheque presentation

Terry Moran, Chairman of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are extremely grateful to Mr and Mrs Knowles for their continuing efforts to raise money for our neurosurgical department.

“Thanks to them, we can offer our patients some of the latest technology to save their lives and assist their recovery after surgery.

“They have raised a phenomenal amount of money which makes a difference to so many lives and ensures Emma-Jayne’s memory lives on. Their continued efforts are very humbling.”

Emma-Jayne was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary in April 1998 after an MRI scan confirmed she had a rare brain tumour affecting just one in 1.5m people.

She underwent 35 radiotherapy sessions because the tumour was too deep in her brain for surgeons to operate but died in December 1998, six days before Christmas and two weeks before her 23rd birthday.

Her parents started fundraising at her funeral, raising £1,100 after they asked mourners for donations instead of flowers. Half of the money went to Hull Royal and half went to the GP’s surgery which had originally helped Emma-Jayne when she first started experiencing double vision and cold hands.

The couple discovered the team on the neurosurgery ward were attempting to raise £12,000 for a spinal turning bed so they organised a series of charitable events including a bikeathon, which has now become an annual event.

The bikeathon, a 10k run and a four-and-a-half mile walk were held during the summer to raise money for the latest donation to the hospital.

The money raised this year will be used to purchase specialist equipment used by neurosurgeons to remove brain tumours, a reclining chair to assist patients during the initial stages of their rehabilitation and an iPad and applications for speech and language therapy.

Mrs Knowles said they would now continue their fundraising appeal to buy more equipment for the department including an ophthalmoscope and otoscope, used to look in a patient’s eyes and ears following brain injury, a wheelchair and physiotherapy for patients to assist their recovery.

She said: “When Emma-Jayne was brought here, everyone was fantastic and we wanted to say thank you.  This is our way of thanking the people working at the hospital.”

He spent seven years in a refugee camp, watching the sick and dying suffer in a camp with little access to nursing or medical help.

Justin Mwange fled to Zambia from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo as a teenager with his family and spent seven years living in abject poverty and deprivation.

He watched men, women and children dying at the side of the road because they were not able to get medical attention and what he saw in the camp fuelled his passion to help the sick and vulnerable.

Despite his lack of formal education or access to financial support to further his studies, he was determined to become a nurse.

Justin, 40, was nominated for a national award by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust after achieving his dream of becoming a nurse and impressing staff throughout his placements at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

“Being in a refugee camp for seven years, I lost my self-esteem and self-confidence of achieving anything in my life,” Justin said. “I always see myself at the bottom of the queue and as the weakest link in anything.

“Just being nominated for the award has raised my self-confidence and self- esteem.”

During his years in the refugee camp, Justin volunteered as a support worker with Medecins Sans Frontieres to support people with malnutrition. He would help monitor blood sugars, weigh patients and distribute extra food parcels to children and the most vulnerable adults to keep them alive.

Although fluent in French and Swahili, he spoke little English when he arrived in the country with his wife Elizabeth Nyota in 2007 as part of a refugee resettlement programme. He moved to Hull where he started English classes and took a job working in a factory to provide for his family.

He completed an English as a Foreign Language programme at the University of Hull before applying to study social work. He graduated as a social worker in 2012 with a 2:1.

He worked as a care assistant in the community and supported clients with learning difficulties and children with autism for almost four years before he enrolled at the university to study nursing in 2016.

Throughout his Bachelor of Science nursing degree at the University of Hull, Justin has come to Hull Royal and Castle Hill Hospital on placements and has proven to be a valuable member of the nursing team.

As well as his work at the hospital, Justin is an active member of the Jubilee Church in the city and has helped to form a support group for Congolese refugees, helping children to celebrate their culture, heritage and language.

He also contributes to a shared savings pot which supports families in times of bereavement or financial worries to prevent them relying on Hull City Council for support.

Justin was nominated for the Chief Nursing Officer’s award in the category of BME Student Diversity by Vicky Needler, Practice Learning Facilitator at the trust.

He said: “It was a long journey to get to where I am now and I am feeling very proud to fulfil my ambition of becoming a nurse.

“My contribution, however little, if it makes a difference in people’s lives, will be a big achievement in my life. I just hope this new career works for me so that can put a smile of people’s faces.”

Vicky Needler said Justin was training on the trust’s Infectious Diseases ward and was able to help a patient from Africa, using their common language and his understanding of the person’s cultural background to help them understand their treatment. Although Justin didn’t go on to win the award in October, Vicky said he was already making a difference to patient care.

She said: “Justin is an outstanding individual who has overcome more than most people could ever imagine to achieve his aims of becoming a nurse.

“Justin will be joining the team on Ward 10 at Castle Hill after qualifying as a registered nurse and he will be such as asset to patient care.

“He shows such compassion to patients and we are certain he will become an excellent nurse. We are very lucky to have had him with us throughout his studies and he is destined for a fantastic nursing career.”

Outpatient services at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital are to be transformed as part of a major plan to save patients time, money and stress.

Hospital consultants and GPs will work more closely after Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull Clinical Commissioning Group and East Riding of Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group were selected to take part in the transformation programme.

The Elective Care Transformation Programme, part of the NHS Long Term Plan to improve the efficiency of the health service, aims to save patients the time, stress and hassle of travelling to hospital appointments lasting just a few minutes when they could be seen closer to home.

GPs and hospital consultants are sharing their ideas

Eileen Henderson, Head of Outpatients at the trust, said: “Our consultants will work closely with GPs in Hull and the East Riding to ensure patients get the best possible care in the best place for them.

“Introducing change will reduce the time people have to wait for follow-up appointments and we will be able to use more modern methods to speed up the entire outpatient process to benefit our patients.”

Around one million outpatient appointments are handled by the hospital each year and many of those could be treated sooner if they were seen closer to home or through another format rather than attending for face-to-face hospital consultations.

The trust and the CCGs submitted a joint bid to NHS Improvement to join the programme, which was launched in March 2017, and the area was chosen as one of eight to take part.

GPs and consultants attended an event this month to discuss how  they could work together better to benefit patient care, reduce the time patients are waiting for follow-up appointments and alternative ways of treating patients without the need for face-to-face appointments.

They shared their ideas to ensure every contact with patient, either with a GP or a hospital consultant, is in the best interests of the patient and makes best use of NHS time and resources.

Senior clinicians will now work with NHS Improvement to review their feedback to formalise a plan to drive forward real and lasting change which will benefit patients.

Around 200 school students will learn how major open wounds are healed by bacteria when a world expert comes to Hull Royal Infirmary during National Pathology Week.

Professor Mat Hardman of the University of Hull, regarded as the world’s leading expert on using bacteria to heal wounds, will outline his work to students aged 14 and over during the 90-minute interactive demonstration.

The event for schools will be held at the Lecture Theatre in the Medical Education Centre at Hull Royal Infirmary on Wednesday, November 6, to give young people an insight into the importance of pathology in health care.

Professor Hardman has more than 20 years’ experience in the field of skin biology and works with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to benefit patients through his research and wound healing group.

He will help student see how bacteria can co-exist alongside humankind and what happens to the skin, the largest organ in the body, when an imbalance occurs.

Chris Chase, the trust’s Pathology Training Manager, said: “This is not for the overly squeamish, which is why we’ve restricted the event to the over 14s, but we think students will be fascinated by Professor Hardman’s work.

“They will see how bacteria is used to create a film across the wound to stop more infection getting in. It’s actually infecting the wound in a controlled way to create a crust over it to allow it to heal.

“Professor Hardman’s work is at the forefront of technology and it’s fantastic that young people will get to see a world expert carrying out this amazing work in their own city.”

Schools including St Mary’s Academy, Newland School for Girls, Hymers and Aspire Academy, which serves vulnerable students within Hull and the East Riding, and Sixth Form Colleges Wyke and Wilberforce will be invited to send students to the afternoon session.

More than one quarter of a million patients in Hull and the East Riding will be invited to sign up for a new digital online system to allow them to keep track of hospital visits and play an active role in their own health care.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is introducing the Patients Know Best online system initially for outpatient appointments so patients can receive electronic notification of their appointments as soon as they are booked using a computer, tablet device or smartphone.

Around 271,000 people who have been referred to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for treatment or investigations by their GPs and patients who are already undergoing treatment will be invited to join, with more patients set to benefit in the coming months.

Jenifer Barker, who is leading the project for the trust, said: “It will be so convenient for people because they will be able to access their hospital letters all in one place through their mobile phone or whichever device they feel most comfortable with.

“They will also be notified of their appointments as soon as they are booked by our hospital teams instead of waiting for the letter to arrive through their letterbox.”

Patients will be invited to sign up to PKB by letter or SMS text , which will provide a link and individual code to register for an account.

People who wish to join the scheme but do not have digital access will be able to give permission for their relatives or carers to sign up for the online system on their behalf to help them manage and keep track of their hospital appointments.

Patients can decide who has access to their records, such as family members, carers or health professionals involved in their care, and what information they can see. They will have the option of restricting access to information, such as certain health matters.

All records held in PKB conform to strict NHS security standards, meaning only patients and those they permit to view their records will have access.

In the future, the PKB system will enable people with long-term conditions to play an active role in their own healthcare, such as sending their own glucose, weight or heart readings to their health teams, preventing unnecessary visits to hospital. It may also see patients being given access to their test results and inpatient attendance records.