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News
Obs and Gynae
The Trust hosted a Royal College of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists Basic Practical Skills in Obstetrics and
Gynaecology Course in early November.
This was a successful event with very good feedback
from the participating trainees who described the course
as instructive, educational and fun.
The course modules focused on the importance of
sound anatomical knowledge, correct development of
tissue planes, appropriate use of traction and countertraction,
meticulous haemostasis and gentle tissue
handling as well as practice of basic obstetric skills
and gynaecological procedures (hysteroscopy and
laparoscopy) under direct supervision.
It is hoped that the course will be a valuable early
step in building safe surgical and obstetric skills in our
future generation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The Trust aims to host two such courses per year, placing
us amongst other UK centres of excellence in basic
surgical training.
In October, the JPUH hosted the Autumn meeting of
the East Anglian Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society
(EAOGS) at Zest, Potters Leisure Resort.
All obstetricians and gynaecologists in the East
Anglian region met with trainee doctors and midwives
for a full day event of education. This included
presentations by the Royal College of Obstetricians
& Gynaecologists and eminent speakers from Trusts
around the UK.
This was one of the largest gatherings of EAOGS and
is one of the most important conferences hosted by the
Trust.
Organ Donation
There are currently more than 10,000 patients in need
of organ transplants in the UK and sadly around 1000
die each year before a suitable match can be found.
Step in Samantha Major - specialist nurse in organ
donation, who is based at the JPUH and employed by
NHS Blood and Transplant.
Samantha’s role is to work closely with staff on
Intensive Care and in Accident and Emergency to
support relatives of those patients in whom every
effort has been made to save their lives but there is
absolutely no hope of recovery, and to give them all the
information they need to help them make a decision
about organ donation.
Samantha said: “Obviously it’s an incredibly
harrowing time for patients relatives and the situation
needs to be handled with sensitivity and compassion.
We are not asking staff to approach the families
themselves but to contact a specialist nurse in organ
donation if they think a patient might be a suitable
donor.” There is no age limit to organ donation and the
only absolute medical contra-indication is CJD.
Patients need to be on a ventilator before death for
their organs to be suitable for transplant and the option
of organ donation will not be offered to the family until
it is clear that there is sadly no chance that their relative
will get better.
Samantha added: “When we work with the clinical
staff in these situations we spend time talking to
relatives, explaining what has happened and answering
any questions that they may have. Our job is to give
the relatives all the information they need to make a
decision that is right for them, whatever that may be.”
“We explain that one donor could change the lives
of several people since the kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas
and lungs could all potentially be used, as well as their
corneas, skin, heart valves and bone.”
“We never use persuasion or rush families into a
decision. If they agreed to donation we do all we can
to help them say goodbye to their loved ones, including
making hand prints, taking locks of hair and making
sure the patient is treated with dignity and respect at all
times.”
We do not carry out transplants here at the James
Paget so my role includes co-ordinating specialist
surgical teams from Addenbrooke’s and Papworth who
come and retrieve the organs, often at very short notice
and at all hours of the day and night. “It can be very
exhausting but it is also a great privilege, especially
when you read the thank-you letters from the recipients
and you realise that the organs that have been so
generously donated have either saved lives or changed
them beyond recognition. The gift’s that these patients
and their families give at the end of their lives will never
be forgotten and I am incredibly honoured to be a part
of the process”.
Samantha can be contacted at the
Eastern Organ Donation Services
Team office in Cambridge on
0300 123 23 1106.
To sign up to the NHS Organ
Donor Register, call free 0300
123 23 23 (24 hours), Text
SAVE to 84118 or visit www.
organdonation.nhs.uk
Page 4 Making Waves Newsletter December 2011 www.jpaget.nhs.uk