BH life issue 5 PRINT.qxd:Layout 1 - Barts Health NHS Trust

Autumn 2013
Barts Health Life
The magazine for Barts Health staff, patients and partners
www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
Family fun
at the Olympic
Park
pages 4 and 5
PLUS
Our financial
turnaround
page 3
Our commitment
to compassionate
care
page 7
Nominate your
Barts health heroes
page 8

2
Message from the
chief executive:
News
There is no denying that the last
couple of months have been a
challenging time for everyone
associated with Barts Health.
The steps we have taken to place
ourselves on a sustainable financial
footing by voluntarily entering
financial turnaround, and the
standards of care we provide for our
patients - detailed in multiple CQC
reports - have caused much comment
and debate in the national media. In
such circumstances it would be easy to
forget everything we do well, and the
excellent care that is provided day-in,
day-out across our organisation.
This edition of Barts Health Life could
therefore have not been timelier.
While addressing the issues that have
caused us so much discomfort, it
features two stories that demonstrate
Bart Health at its best. The first is the
excellent #becausewecare campaign.
Launched in early August, the care
campaign is our way of raising
standards by highlighting best
practice and calling on each and every
member of staff to make a conscious
commitment to improve care and
provide a better patient experience.
Learning from
our mistakes
Barts Health made the headlines for all
the wrong reasons over recent weeks
after the publication of a CQC report that
found poor standards of care were being
provided at Whipps Cross - one of our six
hospitals. We apologised unreservedly for
these failings and took immediate action.
There were a number of areas highlighted for improvement including A&E, elderly care, maternity
and surgery, and we have put in place a number of measures including (but not limited to):
• a new consultant-led emergency assessment team to meet patients brought in by ambulance
to reduce any delay in diagnosis and treatment
• a review of emergency staff rotas to ensure adequate staffing levels at all times
• checks to ensure all staff are up-to-date with mandatory nutrition training
• action to address the appraisal, training and supervision gaps identified by the CQC
• the introduction of midwife-led care to reduce delays when consultants are not immediately available
Finding out that we were failing some of our patients was not taken lightly as Barts Health is
committed to providing high quality care. Chief nurse, Professor Kay Riley, said: “We have just
launched our care campaign, which is our opportunity to relentlessly focus on patients’ best
interests, to keep patients safe and to create a climate of care where we are open and candid;
and where we relentlessly pursue excellence and strive for all our staff to be compassionate,
caring and committed. We look forward to the CQC’s forthcoming visit as part of the new
inspection process and believe it will help us to continue to develop high quality services
and to address any areas still in need of improvement.”
You’ll also read about Glady’s Lewis.
Glady’s has been a volunteer for the
Trust for 25 years and aged 94 has no
plans to give it up. We could all learn
something from Glady’s as we do all
we can to make a difference.
I do hope you enjoy this edition of
Barts Health Life and I look forward
to working with you all over the
coming months.
Peter Morris
chief executive,
Barts Health
NHS Trust
Tackling cancer
Barts Health consultant Frank
Chinegwundoh made the news recently
after featuring in the Be Clear on Cancer
campaign to encourage people with a
persistent cough to see their doctor early.
Enhancing patient safety
Our Clinical Biochemistry Team have been
in the news after winning a prestigious
national award at the Health Service
Journal’s Patient Safety and Care
Integration Awards for transforming the
way they test patients suspected of having
had a brain haemorrhage.
Giving our patients a better future
Barts Health clinical nurse specialist,
Marianna Shiakfkou, was interviewed
about the Trust’s new Breast Radiotherapy
Injury Rehabilitation Service (BRIRS). The
service treats patients across England who
continue to suffer serious side-effects of
radiotherapy administered during the 80s
and 90s when techniques were less
advanced and precise.
Holistic care for Barts Health patients
An innovative partnership between Barts Health,
East London Foundation Trust and Epping Forest
College to provide hair and beauty treatments to
elderly inpatients at Newham University Hospital
made the news for its approach to providing
holistic care. Barts Health consultant, Tom Smith,
said: “Being able to offer our patients an
opportunity to have a haircut, or have a beauty
treatment makes a real difference and helps them
feel better, thereby aiding their overall recovery.”

3
Our future
Securing
our financial
future
Our financial turnaround
In July, Barts Health announced its decision to
move into a period of financial turnaround to
create a real focus on delivering against our
financial challenge.
At the end of June we had a deficit due to a
variety of factors including: a reduction in
planned treatment income; the high cost of
using agency staff to cover vacancies;
unprecedented pressure on our three A&Es;
the end of a substantial programme of
funding that was made available to assist in
the creation of Barts Health; and the slower
than anticipated delivery of our cost
improvement plans (CIPs). As we are in a
period of financial challenge never before seen
in the NHS our size and scale means that our
savings target – which equates to £50 million
per year – is one of the largest in the NHS.
What is turnaround?
Going into turnaround means the whole
organisation is placing a greater focus on
improving the robustness and pace in the
development and delivery of safe cost
improvements, while never losing focus
on quality.
We have introduced a range of measures
to improve quality while reducing costs.
This includes introducing controls on
expenditure for temporary staffing, creating
a culture where learning and best practice
is quickly shared across the organisation,
improving progress on our CIPs and making
a commitment to getting it right first time,
every time.
You can find out more about
our financial turnaround at
www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/turnaround
Peter Morris, chief
executive, comments:
“We are making sure that every
day counts in delivering against our
financial challenge. In everything
we do to achieve financial
turnaround, patient safety is
paramount and cannot be
compromised. Our financial
turnaround is not just about saving
money – we are also radically
improving the quality and safety of
our services. Central to our quality
improvement work is the care
campaign being led by Kay Riley,
chief nurse #becausewecare - a call
to action for all of us to commit to
providing compassionate care and a
better patient experience.”
What can our patients do?
The NHS belongs to the people and the
NHS Constitution published in January
2009 explained that by working together
we can make the very best of finite
resources. There are a number of actions
that you can take to help us to use our
resources wisely:
Always keep your appointments, or
cancel within a reasonable time. This
will allow us to plan our clinics effectively,
minimise waiting times and offer your
unwanted appointment to another patient
waiting to be treated.
Use your emergency services wisely.
Don’t go to A&E unless it is a serious
emergency. Emergency Departments need
to focus their attention on treating patients
with life-threatening illnesses. There are a
range of healthcare services available to
care for non-emergency situations. To
find out about services near you visit
www.nhs.uk or call NHS 111.
Bring your medication with you when
coming into hospital. This helps us to
take an accurate drug history, avoids you
missing any doses, reduces the time
waiting for medication at discharge and
reduces the cost of the Trust having to
resupply medication you already have.
Tell us about your experiences – both
positive and negative. Where we receive
negative comments this helps us to
understand our failings and drives
improvements, while positive feedback
provides a much needed boost to the staff
caring for you (imagine if all you had was
negative feedback!) There are many ways
to tell us what you think, including via the
Friends and Family Test (page 7) at the
hospital or online at www.nhs.uk. We look
forward to hearing from you.

4
Our staff wellbeing
Investing
in our staff
Staff health and wellbeing is central to
providing high quality services and research
has shown that trusts with healthier staff not
only have better clinical outcomes and patient
experience, but have improved financial
performance as well.
Recognising the importance of investing in
our staff we took the opportunity to ask a
range of questions related to health and
wellbeing as part of the 2012 staff survey to
see how we could improve working lives. Over
a third of staff working at the Trust responded
to the survey and told us “We want to work in
an organisation that takes a positive interest in
our health and wellbeing.”
Since hearing the feedback from the staff survey
we have developed a range of ways to support
staff health and wellbeing. We have introduced a
wide range of staff benefits, along with access to
therapies and cultural and social activities, such
as the recent sports day, which are promoted and
reported on regularly through the staff bulletin
and intranet.
At the same time we have
been working towards
providing an environment
that is conducive to good
health, including engaging on
our smoke free vision, looking at
introducing healthy food across
our sites, and reducing our impact
on energy and water resources
through schemes such as
Operation TLC.
“
Investing in our staff is one of the best things we can
do in order to provide high quality services, achieve low
sickness rates, ensure high retention of staff and deliver the
high standards that the public expect from the NHS. We are
committed to doing the best for our staff and will continue
to listen to how we can improve their working lives.
”
Ian Basnett, director of public health
The 2013 staff survey is coming soon giving staff an
opportunity to have their say.

5
Healthy and happy: our
Olympic sports day
On Sunday 18 August Barts
Health staff had an amazing
opportunity to enjoy a day of
healthy family fun at the Copper
Box in the Olympic Park. The
Trust was one of the first
organisations to be able to
take advantage of the opening
of the Copper Box.
Staff got involved in a wide
range of activities including
netball, basketball, Brazilian
dance, volleyball, athletics,
street dance, football and a
walking tour, led by Andrew
Attfield, associate director of
public health. The walking tour
was arranged after over 100
staff members responded to
the sports day survey to say
that they wanted to take part
in a walk.
The verdict!
Ian Walker, director of corporate affairs,
attended the day with his wife and three sons.
Ian commented: “I signed up because improving
public health is such an important part of what
Barts Health is all about, and that includes
supporting all our staff to improve their health
and wellbeing. The sports day was a fantastic
opportunity to try out some new activities while
having fun with friends and family.
“The best thing about the day was the great
atmosphere – lots of smiles and laughter –
and lots of members of staff, their families and
friends meeting each other, having fun and
doing something healthy at the same time.
I can’t wait to get involved with more and think
it would be great to make this a regular feature
of the Barts Health calendar.”
Yvonne Dockery, clinical lead for health
visiting, met up with colleagues and their
families to make the most of the day. Yvonne
said: “I already do a lot of sports and
volunteered at the London Olympics so when
the event got advertised I just had to sign up.
I did the street dancing and went on the walk,
which was my favourite part of the day.
I really enjoyed myself and it made me feel like
the Trust is committed to improving staff health
and wellbeing. Having a dedicated sports day
doesn’t happen in many other trusts and I think
as an organisation in the business of promoting
good health it is an brilliant way of saying to
staff ‘thank you for all your hard work’.”
Jaclyn Lee, clinical nurse specialist in
urology, said: I was going to bring a friend
but unfortunately she couldn’t make it so
I went alone, however, as the day unfolded
I never felt alone. After the warm up I joined
the walk. It was fantastic as Andrew had
knowledge of the whole area including history,
places and buildings.
I loved everything about the day – getting to
see the venue, feel the place, actually exercise
in the Copper Box. The best for me was the
walk – exploring as we went, visiting the pub
halfway, meeting other staff from Barts Health,
and Andrew was really patient and polite.
The walk blew my mind to be honest, as I now
know there is a lot of green in London! I took
the chance to explore the area where I can
cycle. Andrew gave lots of tips on where to
cycle. All the staff, including Charmaine, Lyn
Hinton and others I don't know their names
who were there to prepare the event for us
where great. Attending this day made me feel
proud to be Barts Health staff!”

6
Our staff
Thanking our volunteers for their dedication
Volunteers are a vital part of the Trust and provide an invaluable service. To mark their
contribution and say thank you for their dedication we held our annual volunteers party in July.
Gladys Lewis, aged 94, received an award at the
event to mark her contribution. Gladys started as
a volunteer in the WRVS tea bar in the maternity
department at Whipps Cross in 1987 and since
then has supported patients and staff in a variety
of roles around the hospital.
Gladys said: “I started volunteering as I wanted
to do something after I finished paid work.
It has been fantastic and over the years, I
have made many friends and really enjoy
everything I do. It was lovely to get the award,
and I hope to carry on as a volunteer as long as
I am able to.”
Our annual volunteers’ party is just one of the
ways we celebrate the invaluable work of our
army of more than 800 volunteers working at the
Trust. By donating their time, they help us to offer
patients the best possible care. You too can
recognise our volunteers by nominating them for
a Barts Health Heroes award (pg8).
Interested in volunteering? Find out about how you could volunteer for Barts Health
on our website at www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/volunteering
Pictured:
Gladys with
Ian Walker,
director of
corporate affairs
Prestigious award for representative
workforce initiative
In July we were proud to receive an award in
recognition of our work promoting nursing
careers in the Bangladeshi/Muslim community.
The work led by the Public Health Team,
received the ‘Highly Commended’ award in
the ‘Representative Workforce’ category of
the annual enei awards, which celebrate the
achievements of organisations that take a lead
in challenging discrimination.
(Pictured l to r) Denise Keating, chief executive of
enei, with Barts Health staff, Dilwar Hussain, equality
and diversity
co-ordinator, Sadhek
Khan, community
programmes manager,
Banji Adewumi,
associate director for
inclusion, and Hardev
Malhi, equality and
diversity advisor.
Developing staff as future leaders
Congratulations to the 30 nurses who celebrated their completion of the first Barts
Health preceptorship programme. The programme provides newly qualified
nurses the opportunity to learn from more experienced staff, giving them a
foundation for lifelong learning and helping them to provide effective
patient-centred care with confidence.
The programme means newly qualified nurses from across the
Trust can benefit from an intense nine-month training
programme aimed at developing their clinical skills and
shaping them to become future leaders. Two more
cohorts are currently underway and a
further two cohorts set to run in
October and December.
For more information, contact
Frances Shaw, preceptorship nurse
facilitator on tel 020 3465 5277 or
0203 594 6288/6289 or email
frances.shaw2@bartshealth.nhs.uk
Our first nurses to
complete the Barts Health
Preceptorship programme
Staff at the heart of making Barts Health a positive employer
Giving our workforce a voice is vital in ensuring
Barts Health is a positive and inclusive employer
– that’s why in June we launched our staff
diversity network.
The network will help to develop policies, raise
concerns on behalf of staff, and help to keep our
workforce engaged and informed. Chair of the
network, Julie Stevenson, explained: “Staff are the
key to improving patient care and experience. We
want to enable staff to share work related issues
and concerns in a safe environment and to provide
a source of mutual support with an opportunity to
identify solutions and improvements.
“We will challenge stigma and discrimination and
positively promote good employment practice in
order to make a difference for staff. To do that, we
need them to be involved and to let us know their
concerns and issues.”
The network has dedicated subgroups
including disability, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, BME (black minority ethnic)
and religion.
For more information about the staff
network, email Hardev Malhi in the
Organisational Development Team at
hardev.malhi@bartshealth.nhs.uk

7
Around our hospitals
#becausewecare
Would you
recommend us to your
friends and family?
Finding out what our patients’ think of
our services has never been more
important, that’s why in April, Barts
Health was excited about introducing the
Friends and Family Test.
The Test works by asking every inpatient
and all those who are treated in A&E to
answer a simple question: "How likely are
you to recommend our ward/ department
to friends and family if they needed
similar care or treatment?"
Pictured: Jubilee Ward at Mile End Hospital with
their care campaign folder
Our care campaign #becausewecare launched in earnest on Friday
2 August, after work with clinical and corporate colleagues to develop
the campaign started in March this year.
Kay Riley, chief nurse, comments: “Initially the
campaign was developed as our response to the
Francis report, but when we announced financial
turnaround we were clear that it is not just about
saving money – we also need to continually
improve the quality and safety of our services in
order to improve community confidence and trust
in Barts Health. The care campaign is our way of
raising standards by highlighting best practice
and calling on each and every member of staff to
make a conscious commitment to improve care
and provide a better patient experience.”
We are already seeing some great areas of good
practice being highlighted and shared. Robert
Selley, matron for acute medicine, shared a
template for a ward safety information board.
This is now being introduced across the Trust
giving patients and relatives information about
the ward they are being nursed on and providing
staff with visible feedback on the quality and
safety performance in their clinical area.
Pictured: Senior sister Janet Famusudo, senior staff nurse
Jean Pasqual and senior staff nurse Kate Iriogbe on East
Ham Ward with their #becausewecare folder and SMILE
Our objectives
Best Leadership
Environment/cleanliness
Complaints matter
Accreditation
Upholding our values
Safety first – deteriorating patients and
Eliminating falls and pressure ulcers
Welcoming and listening to patient and staff
feedback
Everyone matters – team meetings, appraisal and
supervision
Caring with compassion
Assurance – check outcomes and drive
improvements
Risks are well managed
Economical – cost effectiveness and productivity
In June, our patients gave overwhelmingly
positive feedback, with 95 percent of
inpatients and 91 percent of A&E patients
who took part saying they would be
extremely likely or likely to recommend
our services. Patient feedback is
anonymous but here’s what some of our
patients said:
“The staff were very friendly and the
waiting time was minimal compared to
other hospitals.” (A&E)
“The nurses and all other staff on the
ward are very friendly and helpful. They
are great. They know what they are doing
for patients.” (East Ham Ward)
“The staff was very busy but at all times
had the time to care and look after
everyone, thanks.” (Vicary Ward)
Not all feedback is positive, but feedback
from our patients helps us to improve. If
you are treated at one of our hospitals this
is your chance to tell us what you think.
Staff on East Ham Ward at Newham have
developed and shared their own take on
#becausewecare using the acronym SMILE to
ensure dignity in care:
Say hello
Make the person feel at ease
Introduce yourself
Look and listen
Explain clearly
There are many examples of good practice
and we invite everyone to get involved in
the campaign on Twitter using the
#becausewecare hashtag. If you work for
Barts Health make sure you read the social
media guidance on the intranet before you
join the conversation.
Find out more at
www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/fft
More information and comparative data
is also available at: www.nhs.uk

8
Getting involved
Celebrating our
Barts Health Heroes
Last year we launched our Barts Health
Heroes awards, providing an opportunity to
recognise the staff, volunteers and partners
who are living our values on a daily basis and
delivering world-class healthcare services for
local people.
Through the Barts Health’s Heroes initiative,
anyone can nominate an individual or a team
who exemplifies the kind of behaviour set out
in our values.
Transforming and saving
lives with our dedicated
charity partner, Barts Charity
A gift to Barts Charity can change
somebody’s life. Barts Charity provides
charitable funding to innovative projects
across all Barts Health hospitals, which help
one million patients a year.
Just last year the charity funded:
• a new educational programme to help
kids adjust to life after eye cancer surgery
• the Barts Health Heroes scheme, which
allows patients, staff and members of the
public to identify and thank staff who live
our values
• a state-of-the-art portable CT scanner that
improves prognosis for critically ill brain
injured patients.
To find out more about how to nominate
visit www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/heores
or pick up a nomination card at
one of our hospitals before
Friday 15 November 2013.
If you work for Barts Health…
The Charity’s aim is to promote excellence
in patient care and outcomes. They are
happy to talk to any member of staff who
has an interesting project that would not be
funded by the NHS. The fundraising team will
also support you in raising funds for your
area or service.
If you would like to support our nurses
and clinicians…
Any donation can make a tremendous
difference. The Charity will manage your
donations and support your fundraising efforts
ensuring that it benefits your chosen ward
or service. And the best part is that 100
percent of all donations go directly to the
chosen cause. “Funding from the Charity has
equipped Barts Cancer Centre with the
most advanced technology in the country and
enabled us to recruit world-leaders in cancer
research.” Prof Nick Lemoine, Cancer Clinical
Academic Group.
To get in touch with Charity Team
please call 020 7618 1720 or email
appeals@bartshealth.nhs.uk or visit
www.bartscharity.org.uk
What’s on
Service of Remembrance
This year’s Remembrance service will be held
on Sunday 17 November at St Paul’s Cathedral,
6pm – people of all faiths are welcome.
No booking is required – for further details
contact the Chaplaincy Team by emailing
david.rushton@bartshealth.nhs.uk or calling
020 3594 2070.
Trust Board meetings
Trust board meetings are open to the public
and provide the opportunity to ask questions.
Upcoming meetings:
• 2 October, 11am -1.30pm, Henry VIII
Room, St Bartholomew’s
• 6 November, 11am - 1.30pm, Main
Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, The
London Chest
• 4 December, 11am - 1.30pm, Room 8,
Education Centre, Burdett House, Mile End
Watch out for…
Your annual flu jab
Don’t suffer with flu this winter – get the flu
jab from your local GP to prevent you from
catching the virus and spreading the infection
to others. All of our staff will be offered a free
flu jab from Occupational Health to protect
themselves, their families and our patients
from the risk of infection.
Staff survey
Listening to our workforce is one of our core
values so we are inviting all staff to have their
say as part of the 2013 staff survey and tell
us what it’s like to work for Barts Health.
The feedback we receive is vital to drive
improvements that improve working lives.
Barts Health magazine is produced by the Barts Health NHS Trust Communications Team. You can find out more about
the Trust on our website at www.bartshealth.nhs.uk. If you have any queries, would like this magazine in a different
format or would like to suggest articles for future issues, please email communications@bartshealth.nhs.uk
Website: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk | Twitter: @NHSBartsHealth | Facebook: www.facebook.com/BartsHealth