Hull’s first Chief Registrar has been appointed to empower the city’s junior doctors to improve patient safety at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has created the role of Chief Registrar to provide a link between its senior leadership team, managers and its doctors in training.

Dr Alexander McNeil, a paediatrician entering his eighth year of training as a junior doctor, said: “We are aiming to transform the culture of how we approach patient safety.

“In the past, junior doctors felt that they receive very little feedback when they report near misses or patient safety incidents at hospitals. They fill in forms but it can be some time before they receive any feedback.

“We will be changing our approach so our staff feel more engaged and are confident that they will have real input into any lessons we need to learn.”

The Chief Registrar role was one of the recommendations in the Future Hospital Commission report, established by the Royal College of Physicians in 2012 to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality care.

Dr McNeil, who studied medicine at Hull York Medical School and has worked at the trust since 2012, is one of 71 registrars working for 43 NHS organisations in the country.

He will spend two days a week in the role supported by Chief Medical Officer Dr Makani Purva. The rest of his working week will be devoted to clinical duties at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital and in the children’s ward and High Dependency Unit on the 13^th floor of Hull Royal Infirmary.

Dr Alex McNeil

One of his first tasks since taking up the role in August has been to look at how the trust records patient safety data and delivers feedback to staff when patients have been at risk of harm.

Dr McNeil said: “We know staff are trying to help patients but we know mistakes and near misses happen. The fact remains that around one in 10 patients come to harm in the NHS.

“One of our initial findings is that people find it difficult to complete the forms but how can we improve patient safety if we don’t know it’s happening in the first place?

“I will be looking to change how we approach patient safety so staff  feel more engaged and that they are able to see valuable changes in practice based on their participation.”

Dr McNeil, who has been touring the trust to introduce himself to the junior doctors on the wards, clinics and departments, also aims to improve feedback following patient safety issues.

He said: “If an error happens or we prevent a near miss, we need to give immediate feedback to the whole team in a way that allows lessons to be learned. We want staff to feel like they have ownership and can learn from it.

“It is my aim to ensure staff have the resources, energy and enthusiasm to become part of the learning process.”

Local NHS organisations are once again working together to showcase some of the innovations and amazing healthcare teams there are across the region, as the Hull and East Riding Health Expo returns to the DoubleTree by Hilton, Hull on Thursday 10 October, from 10am until 3:30pm.

Now in its fourth year, the Hull and East Riding Health Expo is an annual exhibition and celebration organised by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, East Riding of Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Hull CCG, City Health Care Partnership CIC and Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust.

One in four people will be affected by mental health problems at some point in their life, as World Mental Health Day coincides with the Health Expo, advice, information and practical help with all manner of mental health issues will be on hand. In 2018, over 6,500 people took their own lives, in a bid to raise awareness of death by suicide the Health Expo will pause at 11am to dim the lights and ‘shine a light’ during a minute’s silence. Free 20 minute suicide training will be on offer to help people understand how they can make all the difference to someone experiencing suicidal thoughts.

There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK right now, and that number is expected to rise to 1 million people by 2025. The Health Expo will have experts on hand to reassure and guide people on what to do if they are worried about a friend or loved one, or they can step back in time and reminisce in a 50s-style kitchen. Avid knitters will also be able to pick up free knitting patterns for Twiddlemuffs and Twiddle Bears, which can help to calm people with dementia if they become anxious or upset.

Whilst this year will have a theme on mental health, there will be a wide range of other exhibitions offering advice and guidance. Many people who have been invited for cancer screening may be worried or anxious about this, at the Health Expo there will be experts to chat to about what is involved. Simple tests or scans are straight forward and can save lives. Over 60,000 people across Hull and East Riding have high blood pressure, the Health Expo will offer people the opportunity to come along and get their blood pressure measured. Advice and expertise will also be on hand on how to manage your blood pressure.

One of the most popular sections of the Health Expo in previous years has been the careers fair, and this year will be no different. Organised in partnership with the University of Hull and Hull York Medical School, those who are looking to embark on a career in the NHS, find out about the diverse range of careers available in the NHS or want information on returning to work after a career break will want to make sure they pop along for a visit.

This year’s Health Expo will also see something new brought to the event; an attempt to help local families tackle fuel and food poverty in partnership with EMS. Organisers are encouraging everyone who attends the Expo to bring an item with them which can be placed in a drop box available at the Hilton hotel and then passed through to the Hull Community Shop to help families in need  Suitable items include tinned food, toiletries and household cleaning products.

The Hull and East Riding Health Expo will take place from 10am to 3:30pm on Thursday 10 October at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Hull. Admission is free, and the event is open to both the public and professionals.

Eleven families have agreed to donate the organs of their loved ones in the past five months at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Nursing teams have referred 70 patients to the organ donation team at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust since April.

Of those, 11 families consented to organ donation with five proceeding to organ donation.

The figures were unveiled by the team at the board meeting of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust after the trust took part in Organ Donation Awareness Week, when the walkway through the gardens of Hull Royal was lit up with pink fairy lights and staff wore bright pink t-shirts to spread the word.

Specialist nurse Fay Turner said 14 families consented to organ donation for the whole of 2018/19 so having the consent of 11 so far this year was a great achievement.

She said: “We are so grateful to the families of donors for thinking of others and improving someone else’s quality of life when they are facing the most difficult times in their lives.

“It is through their selflessness that other people can get the chance to live a full and happy life and there is no better thing you could do for another person.”

More than 160 people attending Humber Street Sesh agreed to sign the organ donor register and the team has continues to increase the numbers on the register ahead of a change in legislation where consent will be presumed unless a person “opts out” of organ donation.

They will be attending student events at the University of Hull as part of their work to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.

Special clinics will be set up at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital next week to help pregnant women protect their baby from serious illness this winter.

Midwives trained to administer the flu vaccine will run the clinics every Tuesday to ensure women are protected against the flu virus which has been linked to miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth.

Women will also be able to receive the vaccine at the HEY Baby Carousel on the last Wednesday of every month throughout the flu season, which begins on October 1.

Healthy Lifestyle Midwife Caroline Clark said: “Becoming a mother means protecting your baby and getting the flu vaccine in pregnancy is as essential part of that role.

“Catching flu in pregnancy can be severe not just for the mum but for the baby too. We’ve made it as easy as possible for women to receive the vaccine so they can be assured of doing the best for their child.”

Around 5,500 babies born in Hull every year and studies have shown pregnant women are particularly susceptible to flu which can cause miscarriage in the early stage or stillbirth in the later stages of pregnancy.

As women’s immune systems are more suppressed in pregnancy, they are more susceptible to flu and it can have serious consequences for women and their babies.

Women will be able to receive the flu vaccine at one of the Tuesday clinics or at the Carousel providing they bring their green, hand-held pregnancy notes. You will not be able to receive the vaccine if you do not bring your notes.

Pregnant women are also able to get the flu vaccine from their GP or local pharmacy.

The next Carousel event will be held on October 30 at the Clinical Skills building near the Eye Hospital in Fountain Street between 6pm and 8pm.

As well as giving women the flu vaccine, Hull’s team of midwives, midwifery assistants and birth educators will also be on hand to give out hints and tips on having a healthy pregnancy.

Parents-to-be will be shown how to fit nappies, bath their baby and gain safer sleeping advice during practical demonstrations in a safe, non-judgemental learning environment.

Women living in the East Riding will now be able to book antenatal classes through Hull Women and Children’s Hospital from next month.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will take bookings from women for antenatal classes at Children’s Centres in the East Riding via their HeyBaby page on the trust website from October 1.

The online booking is just one of the many services now offered by the trust’s HeyBaby team.

Around 200 prospective parents attend the Hey Baby Carousel events, held on the last Wednesday of every month at the Clinical Skills building next to the Eye Hospital in Fountain Street between 6pm and 8pm. The next Carousel takes place on September 25.

Melanie Lee

Women can learn about services to support them and their partners through pregnancy, can discuss their birth plans with our midwives and learn how to care for their newborn by watching demonstrations by our team of birth educators.

They can also find out about their options for birth, such as delivering their babies at either the labour ward or the Fatima Allam Birth Centre at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, have their babies at home supported by the trust’s community midwives or use our new hypnobirthing service.

The Hey Baby team are also offering mums to be the chance to book breastfeeding classes or antenatal classes in Hull through the website.

Janet Cairns, Head of Midwifery, said: “We are now offering women a whole range of services that will see them through their pregnancies and birth into the first few weeks of becoming parents.

“Our midwives and birth educators can support women through every step of their pregnancy and we would encourage women and their partners to come along to our Carousel events to find out what is available to help them at this exciting time in their lives.”

Frontline staff at Hull Royal Infirmary are under intense pressure today with patients arriving at its emergency department almost every two minutes.

Around 35 people have turned up at the hospital’s Emergency Care Area, which normally treats the less serious illnesses and injuries, every hour since 10am.

However, most could have gone to the GP Walk-In Centre at Wilberforce Health Centre, the Urgent Treatment Centres or even gone to their local pharmacist for help.

Now, Teresa Cope, Chief Operating Officer at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, is making an urgent appeal to people only to come to Hull Royal if it’s a genuine emergency.

She said: “We are seeing scores of people streaming through the doors of our Emergency Care Area, forcing us to move our doctors and nurses from other areas to cope with the demand.

“This increase in demand is not sustainable and we require people to think twice before coming here.

“If you come to Hull Royal with anything other than a genuine emergency, be prepared to wait hours and hours to be seen.

“And if you do show up at Hull Royal with less serious illnesses or injuries or just because you can’t get an appointment with your own GP, you could be putting someone else’s life in danger because you are taking our staff away from the patients who really need them.”

Urgent Treatment Centres are available in Bransholme, Goole, Beverley and Bridlington. Those in need of advice can also call NHS111, use their local pharmacist, or visit the GP walk-in service at Wilberforce Health Centre in Story Street.

If you live in Hull, visit www.hullccg.nhs.uk/other-services-2/local-services-and-your-health/find-local-services/ find out where you can go to be seen quickly.

You can visit http://www.eastridingofyorkshireccg.nhs.uk/choose-well/ to find the alternatives to A&E if you live in the East Riding.

If you are unsure about where to go for help, call NHS 111.

Rugby star Shaun Lunt is appealing to people to “think sepsis” after he developed the life-threatening condition following a rugby tackle.

Shaun, former captain of Hull KR, suffered an abscess in his spine following the tackle during a game in August 2018 which became infected and he developed sepsis.

Now, as the first anniversary of his battle for survival approaches, Shaun, 32, is supporting Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to mark World Sepsis Day on Friday.

He said: “None of us want to make a fuss but there’s a risk that we don’t take this seriously enough.

“People are scared to look stupid if they mention sepsis but we need to be more cautious and think sepsis, whether they work in the hospital, are looking after someone or feel the worst they’ve ever felt in their life.

“You can lose a limb affecting the rest of your life or even lose your life if you don’t.”

Sepsis is when your body reacts in a toxic, life-threatening way to an infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure or death.

Shaun’s health began to deteriorate after he suffered the back injury during the game in August 2018. He was taking painkillers but, by the end of September, he had gone to different hospitals twice as his condition worsened.

One morning, unable to get up off the floor between his bed and his wardrobe, he knew he had to get to hospital immediately.

“I’m one of those that don’t like to make a fuss but I phoned my wife Grace and said I needed to go to hospital,” he said. “It was the worst I’d ever felt.”

Shaun was taken to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield where doctors initially suspected bacterial meningitis before he was diagnosed with the abscess on his spine and sepsis.

After eight days, Hull KR arranged for him to be transferred to Nuffield Hospital in Leeds for 12 days. He was then given antibiotics intravenously through a PICC line for a further six weeks.

Shaun said: “When I came out, I thought I’m getting better and, a couple of months later,  I went to watch a football game with one of my friends. He told me how bad sepsis was and how someone he knew had died from it.

“I was quite naïve about it and hadn’t realised how serious it had been.”

Although he recovered enough to return to playing in March, his battle was far from over.

Shaun struggled with post sepsis syndrome, a condition affecting around half of sepsis survivors. It can leave people with depression, loss of self-esteem, debilitating muscle or joint pain and hallucinations.

“About 10 weeks after being in hospital, everything hit me like a tonne of bricks,” he said. “I’d come off the medication but that was when the real battle began.

“Post sepsis syndrome was an absolute nightmare and the worst thing was that no-one had warned me what was to come.”

His love for wife Grace and their two sons, Noah, 7, and four-year-old Jude helps Shaun find the strength to continue his recovery and he rejoined Leeds Rhinos on loan in June.

He missed Noah’s seventh birthday because he was admitted to hospital just three days before on September 27 and then spent days in quarantine so this year’s celebration will be extra special.

He understands how close those who love him came to losing him and he’s determined to return to full health.

“I’m not afraid or ashamed to admit I’m still not 100 per cent,” he said. “It’s just an on-going process but I know I’m getting better.

“In the beginning, I was lucky to get a couple of good hours because every day was a bad day. Then it was one good day in a week. Now, I maybe have a tough day every couple of weeks but I know what it’s about now.

“I can talk to my wife and we know it’s all part of the healing process and something I have to go through.”

Hull’s A&E department sees at least 50 patients with sepsis every month while other people already in hospital with other illnesses and injuries can also develop sepsis.

Since the trust introduced its sepsis team in 2015 as part of a national initiative to drive up survival rates, around 90 per cent of patients brought to A&E with signs of severe infection are now screened for sepsis.

Around 80 per cent of those diagnosed with sepsis receive life-saving antibiotics within an hour.

Donna Gotts, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Sepsis at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, said: “We are so grateful to Shaun for the work he is doing to help us spread the message.

“We need all health professionals to think sepsis and to be ready to take swift action so we can save more lives.

“In Hull, we’ve got a really good pathway which begins with Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff who can start the escalation pathway, alerting our Emergency Department so they’re ready for the patient arriving.

“This means that we can start the treatment for sepsis quickly. “

SIGNS OF SEPSIS

If your child is under five, call 999 or head straight for A&E if they have any of these symptoms – looks mottled or bluish, is very lethargic or difficult to wake, feels abnormally cold to the touch, is breathing very fast, has a fit or convulsion, has a rash that does not fade when pressed.

In older children or adults, early symptoms of sepsis may include a high temperature or low body temperature, chills and shivering, a fast heartbeat, fast breathing.

Symptoms of severe sepsis include feeling dizzy or faint, confusion or disorientation, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, slurred speech, severe muscle pain, severe breathlessness, less urine production than normal, cold, clammy and pale or mottled skin and loss of consciousness.

More than 140 nurses are due to start at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital this month as part of a plan to address the national shortage of nurses.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has recruited 142 newly qualified nurses from the University of Hull and universities further afield as part of its hugely successful Remarkable People campaign.

Many of the new nurses were offered posts during their training, on condition of passing their final exams, in a radical approach by the trust to recruit as much of the locally-grown health care talent as possible.

Chief Nurse Beverley Geary

Chief Nurse Beverley Geary said: “Not only are we able to offer students jobs upon qualification, we can also support them throughout their training and time at university so they are more likely to pass their exams with flying colours.

“That means that when they arrive at the hospital, they are already part of the ‘HUTH family’ and we will continue to mentor them throughout the early stages of their careers to ensure they can achieve their full potential.”

The trust, in line with other hospitals around the country, has experienced a shortfall in nurses in recent years and the new recruits will fill the 143 vacancies for nurses.

In addition to the newly qualified staff, the trust has also recruited 60 nurses from the Philippines in the last two years with just two leaving thanks to a concerted effort to welcome the new staff to the trust and help them settle in the city as well as in their jobs.

A further 10 nurses will be arriving from the Philippines later this month and will work in the hospital’s theatres and endoscopy department to ease the pressure in particular areas affected by staff shortages.

The trust has also launched its “Once A Nurse…Always a Nurse” advertising campaign aimed at international staff now working at Hull Royal and Castle Hill although not in nursing roles. So far, seven members of staff have been supported to obtain the qualifications they require to attain registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Ms Geary said: “We have to come up with innovative ways of bringing nurses into or back into nursing and we’ve been really successful in what we’ve done so far.

“Creative thinking is required to tackle the nursing shortfalls experience by hospitals all over the country. We have to do all we can to showcase the fantastic career opportunities we have here for people are lucky enough to live and work in the wonderful, vibrant city of Hull.”