June 2013 - Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

@NottmHospitals
Our monthly stakeholder update
June 2013
Dr Peter Barrett to step down as Chairman
Dr Peter Barrett CBE, Chairman of Nottingham
University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), is to step
down on 1 July 2013 having held the role for seven
years.
Dr Barrett has taken this carefully considered
decision within the context that his second (and
final) term of office as Chairman ends in 2014. NUH
is now well placed to become authorised as a
Foundation Trust in 2014. Peter believes it is not in
the interests of NUH and those it serves for there to
be a change of Chairman in its first year as a
Foundation Trust.
Louise Scull, currently Vice-Chair, will act as Chair
with effect from 1 July 2013 until a successor is
appointed.
Dr Barrett, previously a Nottingham GP, has led NUH from its establishment
through the 2006 merger of the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City
Hospital to form one of the largest acute trusts in the country. Under Dr
Barrett’s leadership, NUH has become well established as one of the leading
NHS Trusts known for its strong clinical outcomes, continuous improvement of
patient care with a national and international reputation for many of its
specialist clinical services and expertise.
Dr. Barrett says: “It has been a great privilege to be Chairman of NUH. I will
always treasure the experience of working with so many people who are
dedicated to ensuring that people within Nottinghamshire and beyond receive
the best possible patient care. I am especially grateful for this experience
having worked previously as a local general practitioner for 31 years. It has
been an extraordinary privilege for me to contribute to NUH’s development in
patient care, teaching and research and to the wider provision of healthcare
across the region.”
Our Emergency Department in on target
You may have seen media stories about A&E waiting times this week. NUH is
committed to meeting the emergency access target of treating 95% of patients
within four hours of arriving in our Emergency Department (ED) at QMC to

ensure patient care and experience is as good as it can be.
In May, we achieved a total of 96.2%. This is thanks to the hard work of our
emergency teams. We continue to work proactively with our commissioners to
ensure that, where possible, care is delivered to patients in the community.
Actions completed in our (ED) include:
increasing capacity with a plan to extend further this year
employing more doctors and nurses in ED – including the creation of
new Advanced Nurse Practitioners who bridge the gap between nurses
and consultants
creating an Initial Assessment Unit to improve the time that people are
seen on arrival
increasing the number of medical beds across the Trust and improving
the flow of patients to ensure beds are available for patients to be
admitted earlier in the day.
East Midlands designated
Academic Health Science
Network
The East Midlands economy has
received a significant boost following the
announcement that the region has been earmarked as one of 15 new
Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs).
East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN) is a new
partnership bringing together 87 organisations including the NHS, universities
and industry across the region to focus on key health issues such as the care
of frail older people and stroke rehabilitation while spreading innovation
across the NHS.
Leading the new network will be Martin Hindle, Chairman of University
Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), as its Independent Chair.
Martin will take up his new post with immediate effect and aims to step down
as chair of UHL no later than September.
Peter Homa, Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
and Interim Chair for the East Midlands AHSN, said: “We are naturally
delighted with the news that the East Midlands has been designated and
licensed as an Academic Health Science Network. The East Midlands starts
from a position of great strength with our excellent track record of world-class
expertise in research and innovative collaboration with our university and
industry partners. By working ever closer together across each of these
sectors and sharing our ideas for innovation, we will be able to act even faster
to put these innovations and ideas into practice, to further improve the health,
care and outcomes for our patients.”
Click here to read more.

Work starts on state-of-the-art
Wolfson Cystic Fibrosis Centre
Work has started on our new £6.6million
state-of-the-art centre for cystic fibrosis
(CF) patients at Nottingham City Hospital.
Over the next few months, visitors and
patients will see this amazing building take
shape next to the Radiotherapy Centre.
An incredible £2.1million was raised by
Nottingham Hospitals Charity, which
included donations, legacies and fund-raising events for this project. When
complete in spring next year, the centre will put patients at the heart of their
treatment – creating a new benchmark for hospital care, both locally and
nationally.
NUH’s international pull
As one of Europe’s largest acute teaching hospital trusts, NUH is visited
regularly by healthcare and other professionals from all over the world. In May
alone NUH hosted visits from MPs, commissioners, peers from other hospitals
in the UK and Australia, MBA business students from Lehigh University in
Pennsylvania and nursing students from Indianapolis.
MP Anna Soubry (Health Minister) said of her visit to NUH’s QMC: “Like many
of our hospitals the QMC has seen a sharp rise in the number of people
coming into accident and emergency. But the QMC is ahead of the game and
its discharge lounge is one of a number of important ways to ease the
pressure on hospital beds and make sure people are properly ready to go
home.”
Nursing students form Marian University in Indianapolis were shown nursing
within the children’s Hospital and in the emergency department. They
commented: “You made us feel so welcome and we will return to the USA
brimming with enthusiasm and ideas. Our visit was one of the highlights of
being in the UK. It was completely AWESOME!”
Nottingham Post People’s Nurse/Midwife of the Year award –
the shortlist
The shortlist has been announced
for the Nottingham Post People's
Nurse of the Year Award.
The Nottingham Post have been
asking people to nominate a nurse
who has made a difference to

them, whether it be in terms of their own individual recovery, or to their
friends, family or loved ones.
Congratulations to the following:
Adults' Nurse - Jenny Wright, Roxanne Godfrey, Cathy Hatfield, Louise
Weightman, Nikki Cotgreave-Keates
Children's Nurse - Amanda Ward, Louise Fairbrother, Caroline Kirk
Midwives - Rebecca Seager, Jennifer Ross, Angie Springhall
Voting closes on 8 June. Click here to find out how to vote.
Click here to read our annual nursing and midwifery report.
We celebrate staff who ‘just did it’
Key to NUH’s culture of implementing change is encouraging staff to suggest
ideas, no matter how large or small, that could make a positive difference to
the way that care is delivered. The ‘Just Do It’ scheme is designed to do
exactly as the title suggest, empower staff to get on and make change
happen.
Every six months NUH celebrates these with some of the ideas showcased to
NUH’s Board. In May some of the ideas that have made a significant
difference include:
reducing the number of cancelled appointments
enabling stroke patients to feed themselves more easily
reducing telephone call interruptions within pharmacy
saving staff travel time between sites
improving the mobility of older and frail patients
introducing fun and varied activities on wards to help better stimulate
patients
introducing safer beds for children
innovative ways to cut waste and save energy
Peter Barrett, NUH Chair, said: “The best ideas come from our staff who are
passionate and committed to delivering the best possible care to patients. As
a Board we want to do our bit to unblock bureaucracy and remove red tape
allowing staff to do what is necessary to improve the delivery of our services.”
Hospital team's £1.8m to study treatment
To coincide with World Asthma Day last month, NUH was awarded a £1.8m
grant to lead a study which could change treatment of asthma attacks.
Currently, asthma sufferers are told to up their inhale dosage two-fold when
suffering increased symptoms – but a University of Nottingham study has
suggested this is unhelpful.
The new study, which is looking for participants, will be a year long. Associate

professor and respiratory consultant Dr Tim Harrison said he hoped the
outcome of the study would make a big difference.
He added: "It could mean people can prevent themselves from having a really
bad attack."
This study will show whether inhaled steroids can stop asthma control from
deteriorating to the point that patients need to seek help and/or start oral
steroids.
The study is particularly important, as exacerbations can be frightening for
patients and oral steroids can have unpleasant side effects. Unplanned
healthcare can also be expensive for the NHS.
New non-executive director appointed
NUH has appointed Professor Herb Sewell as a new
Non-Executive Director.
Professor Sewell’s appointment with NUH
supplements his role as Professor of Immunology
and as an Honorary Consultant at the University of
Nottingham and NUH for more than 22 years.
Professor Sewell has also been Pro Vice Chancellor
for Research at the University (2002-2008) and a
Clinical Director for Pathology at NUH (2002-
2008/09).
Nationally, he has served on many advisory and
regulatory bodies for UK departments covering
health, science and business. He has been a
member of the governing body of the Medical
Research Council (2004-11) and has been chair and member of numerous
committees for Medical Royal Colleges including the Royal College of
Physicians and the Royal College of Pathology.
Annual plan now available
NUH’s annual plan for 2013/14 sets out to patients, public members, partners
and of course staff our key objectives and priorities for the coming 12 months.
The plan is now available to read here or click here for the summary and onepage
versions.
Speaking out safely’ is key to continuous improvement of
patient care
NUH is backing the Nursing Times’ ‘speak out safely’ campaign to
demonstrate its commitment to a culture of openness. Our commitment to
patients is that we will do all we can to ensure they feel cared for, safe and
confident in their treatment. Staff should be comfortable to raise concerns

about patient safety and quality of care.
Peter Homa, Chief Executive, said: “At Nottingham University Hospitals, we
already have an active programme to encourage our staff to raise concerns.
From the Trust Board to each ward and department, we are committed to
ensuring the fundamentals of patient care are consistently delivered to
patients. At our regular patient safety walkabouts involving Trust Board
members, we talk with front line staff and provide a forum in which staff can
share concerns directly with senior colleagues. Our whistleblowing policy is
also there for colleagues who would feel more comfortable raising their
concerns anonymously. At NUH, our staff can ‘speak our safely.
More details about the Nursing Times Campaign can be found at
www.nursingtimes.net/opinion/speak-out-safely
NUHonours Awards 2013 - Nominations now open
NUH is gearing up to celebrate the dedication of its 14,000 strong workforce.
Nominations for the annual NUHonours Awards opened this week.
Last year 636 nominations were received. Being nominated and winning helps
boost morale, strengthen teamwork and reward those who go the extra mile to
deliver safe and thoughtful care to our patients, their families and carers.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday 15 November.
Click here to make your nomination.
Keep up-to-date with news and events at Nottingham University Hospitals by
following us on Twitter @nottmhospitals or visit our website www.nuh.nhs.uk.
You can also email us at nuhcommunications@nuh.nhs.uk