The latest edition of the Grapevine - East and North Herts NHS Trust

Hospital birthday50 years since the Royalopening of the QEll hospitalFifty years ago the QEll hospital in Welwyn GardenCity was formally opened by Her Majesty The Queen,who returned almost exactly 30 years later to openwhat we all know as Queens Wing.Back in 1963, Her Majesty said that, for all its newnessat the time, the hospital’s success would depend on thedevoted and unselfish service of voluntary workers andprofessionals alike.Fast forward to July 2013 and the 50th anniversary ofthe QEll. To celebrate the Trust held a special eventattended by many current and former staff, volunteersand members of the local community, including the ViceLord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Richard Beazley, andthe Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield, Councillor HowardMorgan.Among the activities taking place on the day, RichardBeazley read out a message from Buckingham Palace.It said: “Her Majesty remembers with fondness her visitsto the opening of the hospital in 1963 as well as theopening of the Queen’s Wing in 1993. The Queensends her best wishes and congratulations to all thehospital staff, volunteers and supporters for theirdedication in caring for their patients and members ofthe community in Hertfordshire.”Trust chief executive Nick Carver invited the Vice LordLieutenant to make presentations to some of the longestserving members of the QEll team. They includedElizabeth Cannon, catering assistant, who started workin January 1971 and Hannah Middleton, Unisonrepresentative, who started in January 1974.In addition, a special presentation was made to SheilaMarwood from the QEll League of Friends, who hasbeen giving the hospital her time and devotion since1971.Paying tribute to the hard work of all concerned with therunning and development of the hospital over half acentury, Trust chairman Ian Morfett said it was also rightto look to the future when most hospital health care willbe provided in a new £30 million hospital on the WelwynGarden City site, with lifesaving and acute serviceslocated at the Lister.He said: “What’s important today is to give thanks for theQEll and the team of wonderful staff and volunteers whohave touched thousands - if not millions - of lives.”6 Grapevine

celebrations ....Thanks to the League of FriendsIt’s not just the QEll hospital celebrating a 50thanniversary - its League of Friends are too. Theystarted off as volunteers trying to improve thequality of life for patients, especially patients whodidn’t have visitors or were long stay patients andneeded cheering up.Founded by Iris Cropp, the League of Friends is madeup of just that - friends. Everyone gets on, and peoplejoin because they want to give back to the hospital whenthey’ve been treated well there.League members run a shop at the QEII, with volunteersalso taking trolleys with shop produce to people onwards. There are 17 volunteers per day for the shopalone. Members receive badges when they’ve worked acertain amount of years. Altogether, the years add up to1,750. One membereven walked 5 miles inthe snow to come in tovolunteer, such is thelevel of commitmentshown.Over the years, theLeague of Friendshave raised£1.2 million for hospital equipment - not bad for a groupwhose first donation to the hospital was two hairdryers!Sheila Marwood, the longest serving member, toldGrapevine: “TheLeague of Friendsbring a smile topatients’ faces, whichis important. We’vebrought happiness toboth patients andvolunteers for 50years.”Grapevine comments:“Everyone at the Trust would like to say a huge THANKYOU to all those involved in the League of Friends. Youhave made such adifference over theyears, and yoursupport is verymuch valued.”20 years of Queens Wing at QEIIJust days after the QEII hospital celebrated its 50thanniversary, Queens Wing turned 20. Opened on 30July 1993 by Her Majesty The Queen, the unit deals withendoscopy procedures and day surgery for both adultsand children. Commenting on the celebration event heldto mark the occasion, Jill Dickinson, senior sister inQueens Wing, said: “It was a lovely day. The QueensWing team are amazing - they really are like a family.Our team work so hard to care for our patients, so it waslovely to be able to stop for a short time, enjoy afternoontea with the staff and celebrate the many achievementsof which we areall extremelyproud.”Grapevine 7

Our Changing Hospitals updateLister adults’ emergencydepartment moveBy 2014, changes at the Lister will see an overallinvestment of around £150 million in better servicesfor local people. Around £19 million of this money isbeing spent on expanded, improved facilities in theemergency department (the new name for A&E).The adults’ emergency department moved overnight onWednesday 28 August into a new extension at the frontof the existing unit.Along with other facilities, the new department has astate-of-the-art resuscitation area to help with caring forthe sickest patients, which includes an over-the-bedx-ray machine so that very ill patients can be x-rayedwithout the need to move them to radiology.Lister scanning centre is openedStevenage MP, Stephen McPartland, has openedthe new £3 million Lister Scanning Centre - housingtwo state-of-the-art CT scanners and an MRIscanner. A second MRI scanner is also in theprocess of being installed.Other developments on the Lister siteChemotherapy suite constructionConstruction work is scheduled to start shortly to createan improved and expanded chemotherapy suite forcancer patients at the Lister hospital. The new facilitiesare scheduled to open in the spring of 2014. MacmillanCancer Support is busy fundraising for the £2.6 millionproject.Fracture clinicWork started on 3 September to create the new fractureclinic area and associated services (radiology andmedical photography) in the existing outpatientdepartment.Now work beginson upgrading therest of theemergencydepartment.Nick Carver, chiefexecutive, said:“The whole teamhas workedtremendously hard to make the move happen smoothly.I’d like to thank everyone involved - including thevolunteers who helped out all through the night - for alltheir hard work.”Between them the Centre’s two CT scanners providehigh quality imaging for patients, including those withcancer and strokes and those who require emergencyscans.Once installed by the autumn of2013, the Centre's second MRIscanner will provide betterfacilities for patients who requiresedation or anaesthesia.It will also provide faster andimproved quality of imaging in anumber of areas, including forcardiac patients and childrenwho need head scans.The Lister Scanning Centresees about 24,000 patients ayear.New ward blockConstruction work continues on the new £18.6 milliontwo storey ward block on the Lister site. The building,located in front of the emergency department that iscurrently taking shape, will provide 62 beds and isexpected to be open in the summer of 2014.Theatres and endoscopy blockConstruction work continues on the new theatres andendoscopy block at the Lister hospital. The building isexpected to be open in the autumn of 2014. Internalrefurbishment work to create a new elective admissionsunit is expected to start shortly.Grapevine 9

Helping our hospitalsMagic of Playappealreaches anamazing£75,000!A huge thank you to all our generous local supporters,including local companies, community groups, staff andindividuals, who have so far raised an amazing £75,000since March for this appeal. The goal of £250,000 willenable the new playroom in the children’s ward to bebuilt in 2014. And now there’s a chance for you to helpreach that target by taking part in the Stevenage halfmarathon due to be held on Sunday, 3 November (seebelow).Raise funds by taking part inthe Stevenage half marathonThis annual event - now in its 27th year - will start at10.30 am on Sunday, 3 November from Ridlins Stadium,Woodcock Road, Stevenage. By taking part, you couldraise sponsorship funds for the Magic of Play appeal.For further information, please contactshm@fvspartans.org.uk10 GrapevineRichard’s recliner chair gift inmemory of PatriciaThank you very much to Richard Clancy and his familyfor arranging donations of £1,200 in memory of his latewife, Patricia, who joined the catering department at theLister site in 1984, where she worked for 16 years.Richard commented during his recent visit to present thecheque: “Our sincere thanks to Sister Sheila Troy andthe nursing and care team on Pirton ward and to all themedical staff, who worked so hard for Patricia’s comfortand care. We are grateful for the kindness, sympathyand understanding they have shown us. She would bedelighted to know that the £1,200 has purchased arecliner chair for families to use.”Poormina’sHimalayan trekPoormina Kumar is raisingmoney for the cancer unitat Lister hospital by takingpart in a Hiking in theHimalayas challengebetween 24 April and 5 May2014. You can sponsor herby going online to:www.justgiving.com/poormina-kumarHelp LMJC by taking part inthe Moor Park 10k fun runPlanning is well under way for theLynda Jackson Macmillan Centre’slargest annual fundraising event,the Stewarts Law Moor Park 10kand Junior Fun Runs on Sunday,29 September. We were thrilledthat last year’s event raised£50,000, with our site neighbours -the Mount Vernon DentalSpecialists - becoming our topfundraisers with a total of £3,220.We welcomed a record number ofrunners to Merchant Taylors’ Schoollast year and hope that we’ll see even more this year.Was this due to Olympics fever or had word spreadabout this fun, family day? We hope you will helpspread the word this year, getting your family andfriends to sign up to take part and help us beat lastyear’s amazing total.If you can’t take part, we need help with a range ofactivities on the day, from marshalling to running thetombola. Please call Daniel Craggs (01923 844589) ifyou’d like to be a part of this successful event.

Sustainability factfileThe Trust’s total energy consumption has fallenby 2.3% in 2012/13 compared with the previousyear - despite the coldest late winter on record.This is thanks to the introduction of the combined heatand power plant (saving 3,224 tonnes of CO2 perannum) and a new lighting scheme at the Lister (saving562 tonnes per annum).The Trust has introduced mixed waste recyclingin the Lister kitchen. Up to 25 bags of kitchenwaste per day are now sent for recycling ratherthan to landfill.When the Trust purchases goods and services,it takes sustainability issues into account indeciding where to award the contracts, withsuppliers expected to commit themselves to a numberof sustainability goals including reductions in waste andcarbon emissions.Feedback from Staff Survey 2012Many of our staff completed the annual national staffsurvey towards the end of 2012, which is designedto find out how they feel about working for the Trust.According to feedback received, the highestsatisfaction levels are:• Staff feeling satisfied with the quality of work andpatient care they deliver.• Effective team working.• Number of staff who have had equality and diversitytraining.• Staff having effective appraisals.Team working now more effectiveStaff feedback tells us that team working is one of themain areas where we have improved. Team working isone of the Trust’s core values and in the last year a lot ofwork has been done through the ARC programme toimprove it. So it’s really encouraging to hear staff sayingthat team working is now more effective than it waspreviously.Need for improvement in minimisingbullying and harassmentStaff tell us that one of the areas where we need tomake improvements in the future is in creating a workingenvironment that minimises the risk of experiencingbullying and harassment from patients, the public andfrom other staff members. The Trust takes this issuevery seriously and is fully committed to taking action toimprove matters.What we have done about it and what moreis planned?• Around 400 managers were given awareness trainingon bullying and harassment in December 2012.NHS Supply Chain has agreed to collect allunwanted pallets from Trust sites and todispose of shrink wrap.An on-line car sharing scheme has beenintroduced so that staff can cut their fuel costsand exhaust emissions. Staff can find links tothe scheme on the Trust Intranet. Just click on nonclinical departments, then car parking and green travelplan.Some aspects of mandatory staff training cannow be completed on-line, which also helps toreduce car journeys between hospital sites.Our Trust has become the first to pilot ascheme, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline,for the recycling of inhalers. Patients areadvised in their clinics about the possibility of returningtheir inhalers for recycling by the hospital.• Awareness training for all staff is included as part ofvital training and induction.• Support drop in sessions have been offered to staff totalk about concerns.• Additional training has been delivered in departmentswhere incidents are higher.• The Trust’s mediation service has been relaunched.We have over 20 people signed up to train asmediators.• Bullying and harassment advisors have been createdto support staff who need advice and guidance.• All policies are reviewed on a regular basis.• Breakaway and assault avoidance training is providedfor staff working in higher risk areas.• Security officers have a higher profile and betterequipment/visibility to deal with incidents.• There is now wider promotion of the confidentialEmployee Assistance phone line.• A working party involving staff members in a variety ofroles is being set up to continue to plan for andimplement further improvements.Looking ahead to the 2013 surveyAround 20% of staff will be receiving the survey tocomplete between September and December. If youreceive a copy, please ensure you take the opportunityto provide your feedback.Finger on the pulseAll staff have the chance to give feedback at regularintervals throughout the year by completing our internalFinger on the Pulse survey. Look out for the remindersin the coming months.Grapevine 11