NUH News Summer 2017

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FeatureStory
NewsBites
NUH Quiz
How many planned operations do we
carry out each month?
A: 2,000 B: 1,700 C: 5,000
Answers on P15
Forever Stars
second Serenity Suite
under way
Forever Stars
have a number
of upcoming
fundraising
events including:
August 31
Nottingham Forest Legends
evening, City Ground, 7pm.
Hear former players Duncan
McKenzie, Kenny Burns and
Mark Crossley talk about their
time at the club. Table of 10
costs £350.
October 27
Halloween Gala Dinner at The
Village Hotel, Nottingham.
Hosted by Mark Dennison,
with live entertainment, three
course meal and disco. £40 per
head or £350 per table of 10.
Alex McQueen
Baby beats
odds to
celebrate
first
birthday
A baby who doctors feared may not
survive when he contracted meningitis
has just celebrated his first birthday
and is becoming a “fully-rounded
rascal”, according to his dad.
Alex McQueen was admitted to
Nottingham Children’s Hospital in August
last year suffering from meningitis.
He was transferred from Good Hope
Hospital in Birmingham and his condition
was so serious that his parents were warned
to expect the worst.
Paediatric Consultant Dr Charlotte
Goedvolk said: “When Alex was admitted
we weren’t sure he would make it through
the night.
“By morning he had stabilised and
improved enough to come off the ventilator
but we were still concerned he would have
serious long term health problems.”
Cheeky Alex has gone on to defy doctors’
predictions and is now a healthy one-yearold.
His dad Martin said: “My wife Lindsey and
I have always said that without the support
from Charlotte Goedvolk and her team he
wouldn’t have survived the first night.
They have given us the best gift anyone
has ever given.
“After he was released from QMC he went
back to Birmingham for a week, and since
then he seems to have made it his business
to prove he can do all of the things we
were told he would never be able to do.
We really think we have witnessed a
miracle. He’s turning in to such a little
monkey. He’s mastered crawling and is
close to walking as well as eating us out of
house and home."
Charlotte said she and the team on
the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit were
delighted to hear of Alex’s progress: “It is
great to hear he’s doing so well. I’m really
pleased that Dad has stayed in touch and
has given us an update on how he
is doing.”
Health scientists leading the
way with first ever awards
Richard and Michelle Daniels
A new bereavement suite for parents
of stillborn babies is planned to open
at City Hospital later this year thanks to
the fundraising efforts of local charity
Forever Stars.
Richard and Michelle Daniels set up Forever
Stars in 2013 following the loss of their
baby daughter Emily. The charity raised
more than £100,000 for a bereavement
suite at QMC, which opened in 2016.
Now, they have raised a further £80,000
which will enable even more bereaved
parents to receive specialist support in a
purpose-built environment.
Their money will be combined with
donations from two other baby loss
A new service
for bereaved
parents and
the staff
helping them
charities – SANDS and SiMBA: The Lola
Commons Fund – to create a dedicated
delivery room and family room which can
be used by those who are dealing with the
devastating news that their baby has died.
Design work on the new suite is underway
with construction due to begin over the
summer and an official opening expected in
October.
Richard said: “We have been overwhelmed
with the support we have had since
announcing plans for a second
bereavement suite and can’t thank
everyone enough for their help in making
this a reality.
“This suite will mean even more families
Zephyr’s bereavement support
centre is now open at City Hospital.
The centre is available to families
affected by the loss of a pregnancy,
baby or child and offers counselling,
bereavement support, group peer
support sessions, arts activities and
complementary therapies.
Anyone, including staff can refer bereaved
families to the new centre by contacting
the Child Bereavement Team on 0115
9249924, ext 66276, or the Bereavement
Midwives on 0115 9691169, ext 55186
and can leave a message if necessary.
can have the time and space to grieve in
peace, in a place where they feel supported
and cared for.”
It has been an eventful year for Richard
and Michelle, who have recently welcomed
new arrival Monty in to the family, and
also received the honour of having a
Nottingham tram named after them.
Stephanie Moss-Pearce, Nottingham
Express Transit (NET) Assistant Marketing
Manager, said: "We think Michelle and
Richard, whose work has helped so many
other grieving parents across Nottingham,
are a really deserving couple and if it helps
to keep their charity in the local spotlight so
much the better.”
Staff, GPs and other community health
professionals can also use the centre as
a meeting venue, or place for bereaved
patient appointments, by contacting
contact@zephyrsnottingham.org.uk
Families can self-refer for free
bereavement counselling at Zephyr’s by
calling The Laura Centre 0116 2544341
who run this at Zephyr’s for self-referrals.
“Taking Care” is a new peer-support
group for any NUH or CityCare staff who
feel affected by their work supporting
bereaved families, or by a personal loss.
Run by Health Visitors Dawn and Lucy
For more information about the events
and how to book visit
www.foreverstars.org
Peter Homa, Chief Executive, said:
"What Richard and Michelle have achieved
is nothing short of remarkable. I had the
pleasure of meeting this inspirational
couple, who have become friends of our
hospital, at the end of 2016. Richard
and Michelle have and continue to make
a significant contribution to improving
facilities at our hospitals for patients and
their families who have experienced loss."
alongside NUH Bereavement staff, the
next of the monthly support sessions will
take place at Zephyr’s on Wednesday 20
September, 2–4pm. It is an informal and
confidential opportunity to talk through
your feelings and experiences.
Find out more from Dawn 07810658498 or
Lucy 07901009011.
Zephyr’s, Embley Road, Nottingham
City Hospital, NG5 1RE. To find out more
about opening hours, upcoming creative
activities, coffee mornings, and other
support groups and events on Facebook
@ZephyrsNottingham.
Update on NUH car
parking enforcement
Over 200 parking charge notices have
been issued since the Trust introduced
financial penalties at the beginning
of August to tackle dangerous and
inappropriate parking at QMC and
City Hospital.
Enforcement is having some impact,
reducing dangerous and obstructive parking
and improving access to disabled spaces.
Andrew Chatten, NUH's Director of Estates
said: “Our emergency routes have been
clear and traffic has been able to flow better
across our sites.
“The feedback has been generally positive,
especially from disabled drivers, who have
been able to access the bays they need,
when they need them.
“I was told that one family had been
bringing their son to QMC for a number of
months and said they couldn’t believe the
improvement and how much easier it was
to find a disabled space and the difference it
has made to their experience."
For more information about alternative travel
options to get to and from our hospitals, visit
www.nuh.nhs.uk/getting-here
Around 80% of decisions about your
healthcare are supported by the
work of a group of staff that you
may not immediately have heard
of. Healthcare scientists are highlyskilled,
highly-trained staff who work
alongside teams on the wards and in
clinics in a wide range of roles from
the laboratory, to vital equipment
and research.
This year, for the first time, NUH
has recognised the importance and
contribution of our healthcare scientists,
with the first ever annual Chief Scientist
Award.
Supported by the Nottingham Hospitals
Charity, the prize on offer was an award
of up to £2,000 for the winner(s) to
attend a conference of their choice
(to include registration, travel and
accommodation) or to visit another
centre in their specialism to learn about a
particular technique.
This awards were launched in June and
open to all staff working in any of the
30 scientific, technical or engineering
specialisms across NUH. These include
services such as pathology, blood
transfusion and hearing services.
Following presentations to the judging
panel, the winner of the inaugural award
was Jonathan Sutton, who works in
Radiotherapy Physics. Jonathan was
selected for his work in improving the
efficiency and quality of the stereotactic
radiosurgery verification. Stereotactic
radiosurgery (SRS) is a non-surgical
radiation therapy used to treat small brain
tumours. It can deliver precisely-targeted
radiation in fewer high-dose treatments
than traditional therapy, which can help
preserve healthy tissue.
Clare Greaves, NUH’s first Chief Scientist
said: “In the end it was such a tough
decision. Every entry was truly worthy of
recognition and the finalists gave us some
amazing presentations that just made the
job of choosing a single winner all the
more difficult.
“I’d like say a heartfelt thank you to
everyone who took part. The awards
definitely show the depth of talent and
the innovation and ingenuity that our
colleagues bring to NUH. We hope that
Jonathan will find the award a useful and
inspiring contribution to his excellent work
and to future learning”
Well done to all of the finalists who
were:
• Lewis Darnell (Genetics)
• Caroline Chapman (Bowel Cancer
Screening)
• Anna Bangiri (Radiotherapy Physics)
• Jo Burton (Cardiology)
• Lucy Ford (Cardiology)
• Nathan Dickinson (Nuclear Medicine)
• Richard Terrington (Cardiology)
The plan is for the awards to become
an annual event, highlighting the
contribution of healthcare scientists
right across the hospitals and providing
opportunities to learn and develop best
practice.
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