jane is a hospital hero - University Hospital Southampton NHS ...

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2-3 CONNECT ISSUE 20 Welcome to issue 20 of Connect In this issue... SUHT in the news 2 Awake surgery 3 Hospital Heroes 4 Getting to know… 6 Golden Stethoscope 7 The Fundraising Connection 8 Tell us what you think... Let us know what you think of Connect, plus tell us what news and features you’d like to see in future editions. Email: connect@suht.swest.nhs.uk Write to: Communications Mailpoint 18 Southampton General Hospital Tremona Road Southampton SO16 6YD Telephone: 023 8079 4853 Website: www.suht.nhs.uk Connect is produced by SUHT’s communications team. Printed on environmentally friendly paper. When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it. Calf vein baby celebrates birthday in media spotlight A little girl whose life was saved when surgeons at Southampton General Hospital repaired her heart with a calf’s vein celebrated her second birthday under the media spotlight. Megan Mills was born with a rare heart condition called Truncus Arteriosus, which means she had only one main artery coming out of her heart to carry blood both around the body and to the lungs. Artificial veins were too big to be used on her tiny body, so consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Marcus Haw used the jugular vein of a dairy calf. Although Megan will need another operation when she is three, she is living a normal life with her grateful parents Joanne and Paul in Poole. media monitor the latest SUHT news Health minister visits showcase hospital for infection prevention Health Minister Ann Keen MP visited Southampton General Hospital to find out more about the innovative infection control initiatives being used by frontline staff. Ms Keen said: “Staff have already done a fantastic job in cutting infection rates. The hospital should be rightly proud that it’s at the forefront of testing new technologies with the potential to make a real difference to infection control throughout the NHS.” media monitor: This story was covered by ITV Meridian, BBC Radio Solent, Daily Echo, News of the World, Guardian, Nursing Times, Nursing in Practice, Mirror, Teletext and the Press Association. media monitor: This story was covered by The Sun, ITV News at Ten, Bournemouth Echo, 2CR FM and ITV Meridian. Reproduced with kind permission of the Southern Daily Echo A day in the life... The Daily Echo’s TV and Leisure magazine featured a day in the life of consultant neuro surgeon Paul Grundy. Speedy Southampton cervical screening programme sets standard Cervical cancer screening turnaround within Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust has been cut to just two weeks – hitting the national target set for 2010. Staff in the cytology team at Southampton General Hospital achieved the 14-day time by the end of December. Current Department of Health guidelines state that all women should receive their cervical cancer results within six weeks, but the government wants all NHS Trusts to meet a two-week target by next year. A more rapid turnaround time for cervical screening will help to provide a quicker diagnosis and lead to an improvement in clinical outcomes. media monitor: This story was covered by BBC Radio Solent
Awake surgery Ian Ford recently had one of his knuckles replaced – while he was still awake. The dad-of-two is one of a growing number of patients to undergo surgery without the need for a general anaesthetic. He has been described as one of the most complex patients seen by doctors at Southampton General Hospital. They knew the arthritis in his hands could be improved with a knuckle replacement, but his other illnesses made a general anaesthetic highly risky. Luckily for Ian, doctors at SUHT now regularly carry out ‘awake surgery’ for a range of upper limb operations. Ian lists at least ten illnesses that he suffers from, including Parkinson’s, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis and coeliac disease. He also has no antibodies, and is therefore very susceptible to infection. The problems began when he had his spleen removed, when he was 23 years old and living in Sheffield. Now 59, Ian lives in Fareham, and has been a patient at Southampton General Hospital for 28 years.Consultant anaesthetist Harry Akerman and consultant hand surgeon David Warwick are working together to develop the awake surgery service in Southampton. Mr Warwick said: “Avoiding a general anaesthetic not only improves the patient’s experience, it also allows us to operate on more patients each day, therefore reducing waiting times.” Dr Akerman explained: “Mr Ford suffers from the lung disease bronchiectasis, leading him to get short of breath very easily and also making him suscepitable to chest infections. By using a brachial plexus block instead of a general anaesthetic, surgeons can carry out certain operations while patients are still awake and able to breathe for themselves.” Nerves are identified using an ultrasound machine and local anaesthetic can then be placed next to the nerves, leading to a numb hand and arm Thanks to these developments, some higher risk patients are now being offered surgery, and their recovery is usually quicker, without the need for an overnight stay in hospital. Ian said: “I watched the ultrasound Wellcome Trust open day is a success More than 80 people attended a recent open day at Southampton’s Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility. The event was a rare chance for the public to tour the unit, based at Southampton General Hospital, and see the groundbreaking medical research being undertaken there. Jennifer Allison, senior nurse manager of the WTCRF said: “We are delighted with the success of the first Joint UK CRF open day. Staff and students from the Trust and University joined the public in a range of interactive activities, which resulted in a lot of positive feedback. I would like to thank our staff and colleagues for their hard work in organising the day and we look forward to hosting similar events in the future.” The state-of-the-art facilities include a self-contained paediatric research unit, physiology laboratory and bronchoscopy/endoscopy suite. Visitors saw practical demonstrations of how the work of the unit is helping to develop new treatments and improve health and patient care. They also had a chance to find out if they are suitable to take part in any current studies and have blood pressure, lung capacity and body composition checks. The WTCRF, a partnership between Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, the University of Southampton and the Wellcome Trust, is dedicated to research that will deliver maximum patient benefit across a wide range of diseases and conditions. The unit provides leading edge facilities for researchers together with a team of experienced and trained research nurses. It places Southampton at the heart of new developments in the causes and treatments of common diseases including asthma, arthritis, infectious diseases, cancer, food machine while they put the anaesthetic in my arm and although they put a screen up I did have a peep to try and see Mr Melikyan, my surgeon, replacing my knuckle! “I would definitely recommend it, as you can go home much quicker.” Consultant hand surgeon Erman Melikyan said: “I saw Ian about a year ago and he was complaining of intrusive pain in his knuckle. He was looking for a definitive solution and a joint replacement was the ideal treatment for his worn out knuckle. I am very pleased that we were able to do this surgery and all has gone well so far. I am also delighted that Ian had a very positive experience whilst under our care.” allergies, sleep disorders, diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
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