Hospitals in Hull are gearing up for the next wave of industrial action by junior doctors, which will begin next week.

Late last month, the BMA announced three further sets of strike dates after national negotiations around changes to junior doctors’ terms and conditions failed to reach agreement.

As a result, junior doctors will be providing only emergency cover between 8am on Wednesday 9^th March, through to 8am on Friday 11^th March.  Locally, this will affect services at both Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.

Two further 48hr strike periods are also planned for 6-8 April and 26-28 April.

Kevin Phillips, Chief Medical Officer at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says plans are in place to cope with the extended period of strike action:

“We recognise the junior doctors’ right to take industrial action, so we will be implementing our business continuity plans to try and minimise disruption for patients and ensure our services can continue to run safely.

“As was the case during the recent 24 hour strikes, extra support has been arranged for those areas which are expected to come under additional pressure. This includes more pharmacy support for our wards to help with prescribing issues and patient discharge arrangements, and extra technical support to help staff with electronic patient record systems.

“Patients who have appointments which fall on either Wednesday 9^th or Thursday 10^th March should assume they are going ahead unless they have already been contacted to advise otherwise. The majority of hospital services are still expected to run as normal, but a relatively small number of people will, regrettably, be subject to cancellations in areas where it would not prove safe or possible to continue running a service. All affected patients have now been contacted to advise them and make alternative arrangements.”

Emergency care will be unaffected by the upcoming strike action as junior doctors will continue to staff this service. Picket lines are expected outside Trust premises on both strike days, but will not block access to or from the sites for patients, staff and visitors.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust would like to apologise for any inconvenience, and thank patients and the public for their cooperation and understanding during the forthcoming period of industrial action.

Important information for patients:                                                     

• Whilst some disruption as a result of the strike action is inevitable, the vast majority of services and clinics at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital are expected to run as normal.
• Those patients who have appointments or surgical procedures scheduled to take place on Wednesday 9 March or Thursday 10 March are asked to attend as planned, unless they have already been contacted by a member of hospital staff to cancel and reschedule.
• Patients with specific queries around their appointments are asked to contact the hospital using the details provided on their appointment letters.
• Emergency care services will continue to run as normal.
• In light of additional pressures anticipated on the day, members of the public are asked to familiarise themselves with alternative, non-hospital based sources of healthcare advice and treatment, including minor injury units, walk-in centres, GP surgeries and pharmacies. A full list of local community health services is available via hey.nhs.uk/alternatives

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Knitting needles are the latest pieces of kit being put to work by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in order to help care for people with dementia.

The unusually named ‘Twiddlemuff’ is a single, knitted tube which is worn on the hands, can be any combination of colours, and is often adorned with buttons, bows, zips and decorations, inside and out. Twiddlemuffs are being given out to people with dementia on both the older people’s wards and the orthopaedic wards at Hull Royal Infirmary, which also care for a high number of elderly patients, as a way of occupying their time and their hands.

The first batch of Twiddlemuffs was donated to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust by the residents and staff of Goulding Court residential home in Beverley last month. But their needles could barely keep pace with demand, as their brightly coloured creations began to fly out to patients as quickly as they were coming in.

Chris Venton, Dementia Lead Nurse for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust explains how they’re being used:

“Twiddlemuffs are such a simple idea, and yet they can help to bring a lot of pleasure to people with dementia. It’s well known that people with the condition have memory problems, so whereas you or I could quite happily spend time thinking about the holiday we’ve just had or plan what we’re doing at the weekend, often people with dementia don’t have those thoughts or recollections, so either they don’t do anything, or they look for things to do instead.

“We’re using Twiddlemuffs as a way of keeping patients with dementia occupied; essentially giving them something to twiddle with. People with dementia can get bored or anxious whilst they’re on the wards, and the Twiddlemuffs certainly seem to have a calming and comforting effect. There can also be other benefits, for example, one member of staff recently remarked how their patient has stopped removing their drip now that they have something else to keep their hands busy, so they can actually help with a person’s clinical care too.”

Chris continues:

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response we’ve had to them; everyone pays an interest in them because they’re so bright and colourful, and unusual.

“Thanks to the initial donation from Goulding Court, we’ve been able to share the Twiddlemuffs around, get people talking about them, and encourage a few more knitters to get their needles out. We now have some of the nurses’ mums knitting them for us, and we even have a volunteer who usually brings another one or two in each time she comes!

“Because we do come into contact with so many patients with dementia and because each person is given their own Twiddlemuff to keep, we would always be grateful for more, of course. Staff care for people with dementia throughout our hospitals, not just on the older people’s wards and not just at Hull Royal Infirmary, so we’d like to be able to share this initiative with other areas and give as many people as possible the chance to start twiddling!”

Anyone who is interested in knitting Twiddlemuffs and donating them for people with dementia should contact Chris Venton in the first instance – email christine.venton@hey.nhs.uk

More information and details of how to make a basic Twiddlemuff are available here.