Military Cross Award for Naval Medical Assistant Kate Nesbitt

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Children take the plunge into new aquatic themed unit When children enter the Children and Young People’s Theatre Suite they could be forgiven for thinking they had walked into the National Marine Aquarium! The department, which was previously used to treat adults, has been given a fantastic new makeover to transform it into a child friendly area. Dull and plain walls have been brought back to life with underwater creatures and exciting murals based around an aquatic theme. New furniture and facilities have also helped create a vibrant and outstanding young persons unit. Dr Anna Johnson, Consultant Anaesthetist, explains: “It is very important that the environment is non-threatening and is as relaxing as possible for children during what can be a stressful time. Distraction is vital so that they are not worrying about the impending surgery. “Certainly, children do now appear more relaxed and less agitated when they arrive in the anaesthetic room. We also have iPods in the anaesthetic rooms filled with lots of video clips from Barbie to Dr Who, sport and children’s TV programmes, which work brilliantly at keeping the children’s’ minds occupied.” Even infection control has been made more child friendly and incorporated into the aquatic theme with a giant crab table housing the disinfectant hand gel at the entrance to the unit. 10 Artist Paul Farrington has worked closely with staff and children to create a brighter and more welcoming environment for all of the users of the unit. This has been achieved through stunning murals and artwork on both the exterior of the department as well as the waiting lounges and theatre walls. The Children’s Theatres treat patients of all ages ranging from newborn to teenagers and the new department’s design caters for the whole range of patients using the unit. There is a dedicated waiting room for younger patients with bright colours splashed all over the walls. Colourful new furniture as well as a huge array of toys will help to keep youngsters entertained whilst in the department. Older children can relax in a separate lounge with beanbags and a big screen television as well as table football to keep them entertained. There is a Nintendo Wii within the lounge to relieve boredom during waits. Another artist Tony Walker has continued the aquatic theme within this lounge with a cool surf style mural and trendy wall prints. Feedback from both staff and patients has been extremely positive and the unit’s makeover has resulted in an environment that keeps young people relaxed and entertained prior to surgery. Autumn 2009 Cascade
DID YOU KNOW? What do you know about the Discharge Lounge? The Patient’s Discharge Lounge recently changed location from Level 2, to Level 10 Meldon Ward. The Discharge Lounge is managed by Sister Hilary Adams, with the assistance of Staff Nurse Gillian Saunders, who ensure all the patients receive professional care in a friendly atmosphere. The rest of the Discharge Lounge team consists of health care assistants, general support assistants, clerical staff and a housekeeper. Patient discharges can become complicated, and it can take several hours sometimes to deal with these and provide the patient with a safe discharge. Therefore the lounge provides seating facilities for 15 patients and a bed is available for stretcher patients to wait on, or for patients needing rest. The lounge seen by many patients as a safe and comfortable environment with television, armchairs and refreshments served throughout the day. South West Ambulance Service is our main transport provider and the team liaises closely with them to make sure patients arrive safely at their destination. Alternative transport can be booked through private ambulance services, with St. John’s Ambulance, Crusader Ambulance and Plymouth Central Ambulance services being used most frequently. The Trust is also able to contact other providers in the west country if transfers are required to areas outside the South West. This can prove quite challenging at times. A volunteer car service is also provided to the Trust through TAP Transport, organised by Age Concern, who are based in Truro. They provide the discharge team with car drivers at short notice, which is a vital service. To assist the wards with their discharges, the Discharge Lounge provides a “Pack and Transfer” service, which is free to all wards. HCA’s Debbie Ackland and Kay Braddon visits the wards daily and will help organise the patient’s property, notes, transfer letters etc. and liaise with the team, regarding suitability to come to the Discharge Lounge and any transport arrangements, prior to the transfer time. This service can be requested on the booking e-mail request form and can help save patients waiting unnecessarily within the lounge. Patients are transferred to the Discharge Lounge in wheelchairs, with their property, by the HCA’s and GSA’s, where they await their transport and TTA’s. All medications are checked and explained to the patients by the trained nurses, and given at the appropriate times, if still waiting for transport. Hilary Adams, Junior Sister in the Discharge Lounge said: “Patients enjoy the change of scenery from the ward, as they feel, that they are a step closer to going home. Relatives appreciate the ease of collection too.” The service is also complemented by three excellent and extremely helpful volunteers: Anne Ryan, David Strutt and Teresa Long, who assist the team with the TTA collection from pharmacy and other duties within the Discharge Lounge. Hilary added: “We would like to take this opportunity to offer our services to the wards and welcome all patients who wish to use the Discharge Lounge. Information leaflets are available for patients and relatives. We would also like to thank our volunteers for all their hard work.” The Discharge Lounge is available to receive bookings from 8.00am and receive patients from 9.00am until 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. Cascade Autumn 2009 11
Page 1 and 2: Military Cross Award for Naval Medi
Page 3 and 4: Kate Nesbitt THE BIG INTERVIEW Kate
Page 5 and 6: SPECIALITIES AROUND THE TRUST End o
Page 7 and 8: H H CHARITY H H H H WORK H H H & FU
Page 9: SHARING EXPERTISE Inaugural Global
Page 13 and 14: Immunology Patient Forum More than
Page 15 and 16: You Talked, We Listened We know - b
Page 17 and 18: FLU SEASON Seasonal Flu Vaccine - H
Page 19 and 20: John Yarnold John Yarnold, the Depu

Military Cross Award for Naval Medical Assistant Kate Nesbitt

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