What a great team! - East and North Herts NHS Trust

East and North Hertfordshire
NHS Trust
Grapevine
December
Lister, QEll, Hertford County hospitals and Mount Vernon Cancer Centre
2011
What a great team!
As part of the ARC programme, our annual awards
were refocused this year on our values and
incorporated the staff, nursing, volunteers and long
service awards in one spectacular celebration. For
the first time, we also asked for nominations for a
new public nomination award.
Over 120 nominations were received and the judging
panel found it incredibly difficult to make the final
selection – the quality of the nominations was so high.
Some of the staff winners are featured on this page and
page 2. Volunteers who won awards for their work are
pictured on page 11.
Team award:
Stanborough ward team
Improving safety and outcomes award:
Critical care outreach team
Long service awards:
Public nomination award:
Forster suite team
Public nomination award:
ICU and HDU teams
Keeping our staff and public members up to date

People news
Pam hangs up her uniform
Gastroenterology and endoscopy matron Pam Hardman
retired in September. Pam had worked at the Lister
since it was opened in 1972. Her friends and colleagues
held a special lunch in her honour as they gathered to
wish her a long and happy retirement.
Farewell to Margaret
Specialist diabetes nurse Margaret Ford has retired after
40 years’ service to nursing and midwifery. Her
colleagues described her as providing ‘invaluable
support to both junior and senior staff’.
New unit, new baby
Kade Roberts, weighing
in at 6 pounds and 5
ounces, became the first
baby to be born in the
Lister’s new £16.4 million
maternity unit on Monday,
17th October at 7.24 pm.
Kade’s mum, Janet, was
delighted with her new
arrival, needless to say.
Kade has two big sisters
waiting to dote over him.
First prize for poster
Congratulations to the QEII hospital's consultant
maxillofacial surgeons Shahid Khan and Jeremy
Sherman, whose poster on sialoplasties (a rare surgical
procedure on the salivary glands) won first prize at the
recent annual national meeting of the Royal College of
Radiologists.
Tom’s chapter in Urology
Lister consultant urologist
Tom McNicholas (pictured
left) is the only UK
specialist to have been
asked to write a chapter
for Urology, which is
recognised as the world’s
leading medical textbook
in this field. So well done
to Tom for finding the
time and energy to
contribute to this eminent
piece of medical
literature. You’ll find a
copy in the Trust library.
Proud of Katrina
Head of management accounts, Katrina Doyle, has been
awarded a ‘Pride of Stevenage’ award. Katrina has
been recognised for coaching and inspiring runners at a
local running group. Well done, Katrina.
See page 11 for winners
of the Volunteers Awards
Support service award:
Charlie Blows, estates
Continuous improvement award:
Janet Short, radiology
Patient experience award:
Kelly Skipper, Pirton ward
Team leader award:
Anne Bruton, stroke unit
2 Grapevine

Yes, it's 'get vaccinated against flu' time again.
NHS staff know it makes sense, especially in busy
hospitals like ours. They don't want to give patients
flu. And they don't want to catch it from patients - or
from anyone else.
Our photo shows director of nursing Angela
Thompson getting her flu jab. If you haven't done so
already, make sure you follow Angela's example.
It's easy to get protected. Staff can simply turn up at
the walk in flu jab clinics being run by occupational
health services at the Lister and QEll.
A roll call of success for staff
Congratulations are due to the following staff who have
successfully completed their level 2 or 3 apprenticeships
with the Trust or have achieved foundation degrees as
assistant practitioners.
Clinical support workers level 2 apprenticeship:
Tracy Gentles, Alija Hamulic, Gina Peddie, Rachel
Mataba, Charlotte King, Maryam Waight, Katherine
Bellaris, Leanne Ferguson, Evita Hator, Nicolette Hyatt,
Claire Hodgson, Abdul Yunus, Anil Om Parkash, Natalie
Doolan, Nicola Jane Black, Colette Southern, Bryony
Howe, Mina Modi, Eleanor Seaton, Valarie Small,
Gabrielle Clarke, Alex Holding, Chantelle Bovelle Taylor,
Lynn Carrington-Brown, Dionne Towle, Shagufta
Mehmood, Deborah Bowden, Daniel Cook, Nicole
Waldock, Katrina Brown, Leigh Ann Howes, Jaymie
Gradwell, Carolyn Lemon, Jade Martin, Rachel James
Do the smart thing: get
vaccinated and protect your
patients and yourself from flu
The opening times are:
Mondays - 8.30 am to 11.00 am
Tuesdays - 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm
Wednesdays - 8.30 am to 11.00 am
Thursdays - 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm
Fridays - 8.30 am to 11.00 am
For further information, contact occupational health
at the Lister on ext 4073 or at the QEll on ext 4630.
Customer care level 2
apprenticeship:
Nicola Coghlan, Michelle Harris
Business and administration level 2 apprenticeship:
Anita Hulley
Clinical support workers level 3 apprenticeship:
Janice Cairncross, Candida Alcaraz Pardo, Jojet Villas,
Janette Collins
Business and administration level 3 apprenticeship:
Sally Peters, Leanne Gibbs
Assistant practitioners - foundation degree
Arnold Canares Jr, Caroline Redding, Justina Hassett,
Hayley Dean, Sandra Lead, Lynne Horsley
Focus on Hospital at Night initiative
Alison Dalby, associate director for workforce
education and development, speaks to Grapevine
about the new Hospital at Night initiative.
What is ‘Hospital at Night’? Essentially, it’s a team
approach to the delivery of care to the most acutely ill
patients during the out of hours periods.
Who is involved? This approach brings together the
general medical and surgical teams, supported and
managed by the night nurse manager and the critical
care outreach team.
What difference will it make and to whom? Critically
ill patients will benefit through earlier intervention and
referral, a holistic approach to the delivery of their care,
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR OUR STAFF
improved outcomes and, in many cases, reduced length
of stay.
What are the main challenges? Managing the
handover periods when much bigger teams reduce to
the resident night teams, and staff having to assimilate
information into different streams to manage all their
patients and the critically ill separately. It is also a
challenge to bring different teams, all with their different
ways of working, into one team with a common
approach.
What would you like to say to the team? The
engagement and sheer hard work of both the
permanently employed staff and the junior doctors on
rotation has been fantastic.
Grapevine 3

They’re all the ‘strongest link’
Congratulations to the following managers
(pictured right) for successfully completing
the Effective Manager Programme: Meredith
Arch, Julie Beechey, Debbie Cutmore, Siobhan
Dodrill-Rees, Kate Lockhart, Jerry Nool, Grace
Norman, Cathy Osborn, Barbara Silveston, Carole
Watkins and Linda Weeden.
Their 10-month programme involved attending
workshops, undertaking activities such as shadowing
colleagues, making observations of care provided to
patients and completing a portfolio of evidence-based
work.
The group concluded their programme with a celebration
event putting together a highly entertaining ‘Weakest
Link’ show that simply went to prove that they were all
the ‘Strongest Link’ in terms of their knowledge and
skills.
Congratulations also to the following supervisors
(pictured right) who have successfully completed the
6-month Effective Supervisor Programme: Victor Adoro,
Lynda Crates, Hazel Humphreys, Jo Jarvis, Yixin Lin,
Mary Noble, Susan Oliver, Jeannette Pearce, Craig
Pemberton, Lara Perrin, Graziella Rizzo and Colleen
Whawall.
They concluded their programme with a number of
excellent presentations on how much they had learned
as a result of the course.
Showing the way on
overseas visitors
Do you know whether overseas visitors to the UK
should be charged for their care? Do you know what
kinds of treatments they are entitled to receive free?
These are questions that our service co-ordinator for
overseas visitors, Karen Stroud, can answer. It’s her
job to make sure that all the necessary procedures are
followed, that overseas visitors who are eligible for free
hospital treatment are not charged, and that those who
are not eligible are charged.
Well, it appears that we have been implementing the
procedures so efficiently that other Trusts are taking an
increasing interest in how we do it. For example,
managers from Southend and Bedford hospitals have
already visited us to find out for themselves. In
particular, they wanted to see how we identify overseas
visitors and how we then go about deciding whether or
not they need to be charged for the treatment they
receive.
Karen told Grapevine: “It’s good to know that our
systems are regarded by others as effective. So we
are very happy to share our experiences, systems and
documentation with them. Of course, it’s very much a
team effort. I must thank all those involved, including
our doctors, nurses, ward clerks and receptionists.”
We’ve got a new
‘patient safety’ fellow
Consultant vascular and general surgeon
Sadasivam Selvakumar, who is also the
Trust’s medical director for patient safety, has
been made a fellow of the Improvement Faculty of
the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.
The faculty brings together what it describes as
‘passionate improvers’ from around the country who,
individually and collectively, seek to advance the cause
of patient safety and quality of care. They include
doctors, nurses and other NHS professionals who have
made a major contribution in this field in their respective
careers.
Mr Selvakumar becomes one
of around 230 fellows across
a very wide range of NHS
organisations. He and his
colleagues aim to provide
education and encouragement
to put patient safety at the top
of everyone’s agenda.
4 Grapevine

Renal unit aims to cut
time from diagnosis
to transplant
The Trust’s renal unit has succeeded in its bid to take
part in a 6-month NHS Kidney Care project to find ways
of reducing the time it takes for patients to receive a
potentially life-saving, life-enhancing transplant.
Specifically, our renal unit will be using NHS Kidney Care
funding to help ensure that more patients with chronic kidney
disease receive what is known as a ‘pre-emptive transplant’.
This means trying to identify a living donor before the need
for dialysis arises, or spending as short a time as possible on
dialysis before a transplant.
Research shows that this enhances the chances of the
transplant being successful and increases patients’ life
expectancy. Nationally, in 2009, only about 7% of all patients
with chronic renal failure received a pre-emptive transplant.
The degree to which renal units taking part in the project are
able to make improvements will be carefully evaluated, with
the results expected to be published some time during 2012.
It’s been a
really great
conversation
Patients who have received treatment at the
Trust’s four hospitals recently took part in
three ‘community conversation events’
designed to find out what they thought about
their experiences and to seek their ideas on
how we can best meet the health needs of
people from a wide range of backgrounds.
Delivering equality was very much the theme of
the events, which were jointly organised by NHS
hospital, community and ambulance trusts
operating across Hertfordshire.
“Feedback from participants has been very
positive,” said Claire Short from human
resources. “They thought it was great to be able
to share their opinions with staff and other
patients and to have the chance to influence
how services are provided in the future.”
Plaudits for patient information
Patient information leaflets produced by Mount
Vernon’s Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre won
plaudits at the recent British Medical Association
patient information awards.
A guide for patients having cyberknife treatment for lung
cancer was highly commended by the judges. Three
other guides for patients with cancers of the pancreas,
prostate and brain also received commendations.
The BMA awards were introduced in 1997 to encourage
the production and dissemination of accessible, well
designed and clinically balanced materials that enhance
patients' understanding of health issues and their ability
to participate in decisions about their care.
Grapevine says ‘well done’ to everyone who contributed
to writing these materials, including radiographer Kerry
Chapman, Dr Peter Ostler, Professor Peter Hoskin,
Dr Nihal Shah, head of radiotherapy Sue D'Arcy and
superintendent radiographer Alex Aitken.
5

8
Electrics
11
New theatres and
endoscopy
The changing
face of Lister
hospital
2
Gynaecology
5
10
Cardiology
New ward block
9
New emergency
department
1
We are often asked
“What’s happening? Where?”.
So Grapevine thought a quick
summary might help.
New £16.4 million maternity and
neonatal units: Opened fully on 19 October
2011, which is also when inpatient births and special
care baby services transferred from the QEII. Features
a co-located midwife and consultant-led service,
obstetric theatres and day assessment unit. Also
features a refurbished ward area. Ante and postnatal
outpatient services are retained at QEII and Hertford
County hospitals.
Trust’s gynaecology service now on
2 £2.2 million ward 11A: 19 October also
saw the Trust’s new combined inpatient gynaecology
service open on the new ward 11A in the Lister’s tower
block. Having opened on 30 September, when the Lister
service moved on to the ward, it was joined by the QEII
team and patients when they transferred over on 19
October. Features a co-located early pregnancy unit and
gynaecology emergency unit. This is a temporary move
until it goes to a new home on ward 7A.
Lister Surgicentre now operational:
3 The new £47 million Lister Surgicentre, built and
run by Clinicenta, started treating adult day case
and short stay surgical cases in September, followed by
all adult ophthalmology services – including an urgent
eye clinic – in October. Clinicenta provides adult
ophthalmology outpatient services from the QEII and
Hertford County hospital sites. Children’s services
remain with the Trust, with day case surgery taking place
at the QEII and an urgent eye service at the Lister.
£7.9 million Lister multi-storey
4 car park: A key enabler for the Our changing
hospitals programme, the new car park opened
to schedule on 2 September. It has sufficient spaces to
cope with public parking demand right through to the
planned final bringing together of all remaining inpatient
and emergency services at the Lister by 2014.
Hertfordshire cardiology centre:
5 The Trust’s new £4.5 million cardiology service
located in Hertfordshire opened in early
November. The two-floor building features two cardiac
catheterisation laboratories on the ground floor, with all
outpatient and multi-disciplinary team services based
upstairs. The new centre represents a further stepping
stone in achieving a 24/7 heart attack service – currently
the Trust is authorised to offer a limited daytime hours
service, Monday to Friday.
6 Grapevine

1
Maternity
7
Stroke unit
6
Inpatient coronary care
4
Car park
3
Surgicentre
Inpatient coronary care services:
6 In August 2011, coronary care services were
brought together at the Lister on ward 9B, which
is now the main base for the Trust’s inpatient cardiology
services.
Stroke unit created: August 2011 also saw
7 the Trust create its first-ever full stroke unit on
the Lister’s ward 6A, following the transfer of the
acute rehabilitation service that up until then had been
based on the QEII’s Bayford ward.
Upgraded electrical infrastructure:
8 Since 2009, the Trust has been upgrading the
Lister’s electrical infrastructure. This includes a
new electrical ring main, the hospital’s own dedicated
link to the national grid and new emergency back-up
generators, the latter due for completion by end
December 2011. Work has also just got under way on
installing the Lister’s new combined heat and power
plant, which should be ready before the end of 2012.
New emergency department:
9 The £19.3 million full business case for the
Trust’s new emergency department – a key
element of phase four – has been approved by NHS
Hertfordshire and NHS Midlands and East. It is now with
the Department of Health and HM Treasury for final
approval. Work on the new unit is expected to start in
2012, ready for opening in early 2014.
New ward block
10 and
New theatres and endoscopy unit:
11 These are the other two major projects within
phase four. The full business case is being
developed and is expected to be ready for approval by
the end of 2011. The timetable sees both buildings
being completed in early 2014.
Emergency surgery changes:
With the Surgicentre open, during October the Trust
made changes to where emergency surgery happens.
Since 3 October 2011, all of the Trust’s emergency
general, gynaecology and trauma surgery now takes
place at the Lister. At the same time, all of the Trust’s
remaining day case surgery now happens at the QEII in
Queens Wing, with the hospital’s Princes Wing now the
Trust’s dedicated fractured hip surgery centre. Both of
the latter will move back to the Lister once its final
redevelopment (phase four) is completed by early 2014.
Other phase four projects still to come:
Critical care expansion. Wards 10A and 7A
refurbishment Chemotherapy. Mortuary. Health
records. Pathology – hot laboratory on site, with a
solution linked to the regional pathology project.
The Trust would like to say a big thank you to all
those involved in the changes so far and in the
future.
Grapevine 7

Foundation Trust update..
Growing public interest in our work
We held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in
September at Onslow St Audrey’s School in Hatfield
and would like to thank over 150 of our public and
staff members, the mayor of Hatfield, Councillor
Howard Morgan, and other local councillors for
attending and helping make this event a success.
The size of the attendance reflects growing public
interest in what we do.
This was a great opportunity to hear from our chairman,
Richard Beazley, and chief executive, Nick Carver, about
our progress over the past year. Attendees also got the
chance find out more by speaking directly to our staff
about their work and visiting several display stands.
We know that the highlight for many on such occasions
is hearing from our clinical staff. So this year we had
presentations from our specialist stroke and medical
teams, as well as one of our hospital doctors, Mr
Sigmund Wilkey, who took sabbatical leave to help set
up a new hospital in Nigeria. We hope to see you all at
next year’s AGM.
Did you know?
We tweeted live for the first time at this year’s AGM from
our Twitter channel (@enherts). If you use Twitter,
please follow us to get the latest up-to-date information
about:
• our hospitals and our services
• upcoming events and focus groups
• becoming a public or staff governor
• keeping in touch with us
Don’t have Twitter?
We also have a Facebook page: East and North
Hertfordshire NHS Trust. Please hit the ‘like’ button on
our page and you will receive all the latest updates from
us.
Grapevine spoke to two members to
find out more about their involvement.
Member Profile:
What is your name?
Eric Sherrard
Why are you a member?
Being a Foundation Trust member
enables me to learn more about
changes in the health system, and
join walks around various places
around the Trust like the ‘new’
Lister site and the multi-storey car park.
Grapevine also keeps me updated with the changes at
the QEII, which is becoming a local general hospital
with a local A & E while the Lister hospital becomes a
specialist acute hospital, including plastic surgery and
renal treatment as well as the new Surgicentre.
I look forward to the time when a wider group of the
population has a say in how the four hospitals progress
when we become a Foundation Trust.
8 Grapevine
Governor profile:
What is your name?
Councillor Sherma Batson
Who do you represent?
I am an elected member of Stevenage
Borough Council and Cabinet Member
for Community, Health and Older People.
I have been appointed to be one of the
shadow local authority Governors.
What do you like about your role?
I grew up in the town and I am committed to help make
Stevenage a better place for everyone to live and work in,
no matter what their background. I am in regular contact
with residents, so I can be a voice speaking on behalf of
potential hospital users.
What advice would you give to our public and staff
members thinking about standing for election as
Trust governor?
If there are members of staff or the public who would like
to help the Trust to provide an excellent service that is
sensitive to the needs of patients, and if they can do this
in an objective way, they should put themselves forward.

.Foundation Trust update
Successful car park preview tour
Back in August of this year, 14 of our public
members and community representatives from
Hertfordshire Action for Disabled, Lister Kidney
Foundation and Hertfordshire Local Involvement
Network joined us for an exclusive preview of the
Lister hospital’s new multi-storey car park before it
officially opened to the public with over 650 muchneeded
spaces.
Not only did they take part in a comprehensive tour of
the car park, but they also found out more about how
we had used feedback and suggestions from patients
and public groups to influence the overall design.
On campus with
our new members
Grapevine would like to welcome and say a
big thank you to all the 140 University of
Hertfordshire first year students who signed up
to support the Trust as public members at this
year’s Freshers’ Fair in September.
The team was very pleased with the level of interest
shown by the students wanting to find out more about
the different ways they can get involved. We wish
them all the best in their studies.
Let us have your views about future
priorities for improving the quality of care
We would very much like to hear from patients and
members of the public what they think are the most
important things we should be doing to improve the
quality of the services we provide.
To get a good idea of what we are doing right now to
make services better, you could log on to our Trust’s
website at www.enherts-tr.nhs.uk and look for a report
called Quality Account. This is something that we and
other NHS organisations have to produce every year.
Basically, it sets out what action we have taken or will be
taking to measure and improve the quality of care across
all our hospitals.
In putting our Quality Account together, we look at the
safety and effectiveness of our services. We also take
account of what patients tell us about their experience of
receiving care. All these different elements help us to
paint an overall picture.
For the current year (2011/12), we identified five key
priorities:
1. Improved safety in elderly care: focusing on falls,
pressure ulcers, nutrition and dementia
2. Improved outcomes in stroke services, heart attack
services and hip fracture management
3. Staff development: focusing on making improvements
by using staff surveys and reducing sickness
4. Improving children’s and maternity services as a result
of changes in how and where care is delivered
5. Improving outcomes in cancer care: focusing on
information and new technologies
So please tell us whether you think we should continue
to focus on these priorities, or whether there is anything
else you consider to be as important or more important
for the year ahead. You can let us have your views
by emailing them to qualityaccount.enh-tr@nhs.uk
Grapevine 9

Helping our hospitals....
Five lucky people
win £1,000 each
in new staff lottery
Since the charity team launched the new staff lottery, five lucky staff have won
the jackpot of £1,000 each: Khawar Jaffar from ophthalmology, QEII; Isabel
Perfett from Lister plastic surgery; Ben Littlechild from catering at QEII; Jamie
Kerr from Lister AAU; and Stella Noble from Hertford County.
If you would like a chance to be the next £1,000 winner, email rebecca.cheesman
@nhs.net for a sign up form, or telephone the charity team on Lister 5541 to join.
Buy a very
special
star for
Christmas
Donate just £5 to receive a special personalised
Christmas star decoration for your home, or have one
delivered with a special message from the charity as
a gift to family and friends.
The star can be used for display on your Christmas tree
or mantelpiece to acknowledge a special achievement
your child has had this year, or in memory of a loved one.
Please support the children’s ward this year with this
appeal and order online at www.justgiving.com/
Christmas-Stars, by telephone on 01438 781682, or
email rebecca.cheesman@nhs.net
Two marathons and
one great cause!
Sue Williams smashes
target of £50,000 for
new Lee Haynes Renal
Research Institute
Sue Williams, who started fundraising in memory
of her son Lee Haynes in 2005, has reached her
fundraising target of £50,000.
The money is planned to go towards the development
of a new Renal Research Institute based at the Lister
site, which will be opened in Lee’s name. Sue was so
inspired by the care and treatment that her son Lee
received from Paul Warwicker and his team that she
decided to support their work.
Volunteers thanked at
a special tea party
Inspiring fundraiser Lisa
Jerrom (pictured) recently
visited The Forster Suite to
present a cheque for £1,800.
Lisa ran the London Marathon
and her friend Tracey Robb
ran the Barcelona Marathon to
raise money for the Forster
Suite. Well done Lisa and
Tracey and thank you.
Over 120 volunteers were
treated recently by Michael
Sobell House staff to an
amazing afternoon tea. The
event, inspired by voluntary
services manager Louise
Gourlay, provided a chance
for volunteers to network,
exchange experiences and in
some cases meet old friends. Louise told the
volunteers: “Today’s tea party is an opportunity for us,
the staff, to acknowledge your outstanding efforts.”
10 Grapevine

Helping our hospitals....
Christmas cards from
the Trust’s charity
The charity team now have a beautifully designed selection of
charity Christmas cards available for you to buy (sample designs
shown), with all proceeds going towards the Trust’s charity.
To purchase cards, order online at
www.justgiving.com/charity-cards, by
telephone on 01438 781682, or simply
email rebecca.cheesman@nhs.net
Awards for
volunteers
Volunteers who won awards at the Trust’s recent
Celebration of Excellence event were Des Saunders,
Michael Sobell House (below); David Blundell, therapies
department (top right); and Arthur Payne, renal unit.
Grapevine offers its congratulations to them, as well as
thanks to all our other volunteers across the Trust.
Grapevine 11

A fond farewell to the QEII’s maternity unit
Having been part of the QEII since it opened to
patients in 1963, the hospital’s maternity unit has
been the starting point in the lives of literally
thousands of local people over the intervening
48 years.
With the QEII’s birthing service having transferred fully to
the new Lister-based service from 19 October 2011, it is
very much an occasion that Grapevine wishes to mark.
The closure was marked by the staff themselves with
an ‘end of an era’ party held in Welwyn on 30th
September and attended by many staff both past and
present. The event was a great opportunity to catch up
with old friends and colleagues and reminisce over the
many happy years spent on the QEll site.
Lots of staff brought photographs covering the many
events and special occasions experienced over the
preceding years on the unit. They were the source of
many a lively discussion, story telling and laughter during
the course of the evening.
There was a fantastic team spirit in the final few days
leading up to the change. Indeed, the teamwork
demonstrated by all staff involved in the move was a
major factor in the smooth transition of maternity
services on to the Lister site. Thanks to all involved!
From volunteer to clinical support worker
Barry Gillespie explains how he moved from unemployment into a volunteer role
at the Lister and ended up studying to take on a full-time, paid caring role.
“After spending most of 2010 unemployed, whilst
nursing two feet that had been badly damaged in an
accident, I decided to try and get back into the world
of work by doing some kind of volunteering.”
The decision to volunteer brought forward many
responses from family and friends – from “I’m not
working for nothing” to “good for you; well done”.
Undaunted, I went to volunteer in A&E at the Lister.
I stayed for seven months, during which time I greeted
patients and directed and helped a wide variety of
people.
It occurred to me that I would like to work at the Lister
full time as a member of the clinical staff. After a quick
look on the internet, I found the “NHS jobs” website
with vacancies for clinical support workers.
I completed my application on line and, before long,
with knees knocking and hands shaking, I passed the
exams in English and mathematics and got through the
interview. I was on my way.
I was invited to fill a vacancy in Pirton ward on
Strathmore wing, caring for elderly patients. I accepted
and I now have a job that is sometimes fun, sometimes
difficult, sometimes heartbreaking but always busy and
rewarding.
Under the guidance of senior sister Sheila Troy and
her wonderful staff, I now have a new start in life, and
all because the Trust gave me the chance to be a
volunteer.
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer
ward assistant, call 01438 284285.
Ideas
Do you have an article for Grapevine? The closing date for information to go into the next issue is
6th February 2012. Staff members: sue.thaw@nhs.net Public members: ftmembership.enh-tr@nhs.net
Printed on
recycled
paper