Heartbeat September 2018

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Paediatrics party delight raises over £500 WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH On Friday 24 August, Your Trust Charity hosted their first garden party to celebrate the fantastic work our children’s services deliver across the Trust. The party was open for all to enjoy and played host to a variety of fun and games from arts and crafts, to hook a duck with all the money raised from the special occasion going towards the children's department trust fund. The rainy weather arrived early on, but organisers and party-goers alike didn’t let that dampen their spirits with the party being swiftly moved into the recently renovated Education Centre. Children at the party had the opportunity to meet Dippy the Clown, Paw Patrol’s Marshall and Poppy from Trolls whilst enjoying a wide selection of delicious treats from ice cream to slushies. The celebration was then topped off with a raffle prize draw and a highly anticipated appearance of Fifi - the miniature Shetland pony who visited the Trust earlier in the summer. Jez Jones, Maton - Acute Paediatrics was delighted with how the party went: “Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the party such a success. "We had lots of people who donated items, baked cakes and gave their time in helping set up on the day. “It was lovely to see so many smiles on faces and it’s safe to say the adults enjoyed it as much as the children. “Colleagues in paediatrics are constantly looking for ways to improve our service for our young patients and to have raised over £550 will go towards this.” Your Trust Charity hope to hold similar events in the future so be sure follow them across all their social media platforms for more information. If you would like to get involved with the charity in capacity or would like to find out more, please contact amanda. winwood@nhs.net. The party raised over £500 and put plenty of smiles on faces 18
Waits cut for surgical patients SURGICAL SERVICES L-R: Trainee Nursing Associate, Lauren Davies; Senior Sister, Angie Smith; Staff Nurse, Jane Whyte; Sister, Rosy Hill and Matron, Amanda Green Our surgical assessment unit (SAU) at Sandwell Hospital recently implemented a new way of working, resulting in a smoother pathway for patients. This new method will mean that patients who go to the emergency deparment will now have direct access to SAU, reducing waiting time for them. In addition, patients will have the opportunity to be booked in for time-slotted appointments meaning that waiting time at the hospital will be vastly reduced. Having time-slotted appointments for patients will give senior doctors on wards the ability to be able to action plan for patients prior to them visiting. It will also result in clinical colleagues across SAU becoming more productive as they will be able to plan ahead. With this new system in place, GPs will have access to SAU so they have the ability to refer patients directly, likewise with clinics. Senior Sister, Angie Smith believes efficiency will be improved as a result of this and said: “By introducing this new way of working we will ensure our service as a whole will become more direct. “There will be a better turnover of patients which will reduce patient waiting time, improving the patient journey at Sandwell Hospital.” Matron, Amanda Green echoes these thoughts and added: “Patient satisfaction is a key priority within our organisation so to be able to improve the patient journey in any capacity can only be seen as a good thing. “Time management can always be challenging when working in a consistently demanding clinical area so to be able reduce patient waiting times is always a positive. “The new way of working was introduced on 15 August and we’re already reaping the rewards so long term, I think it will only prove beneficial for the Trust.” Radiation doses slashed thanks to new system New software has been introduced by our nuclear medicine team which has a number of benefits around patient care. The new tracer, called Tektrodyd, assesses neuroendocrine tumours. Tektrotyd replaces an older tracer called ‘Octreoscan’ and has the following benefits: • 70 percent lower radiation dose to the patient • Shorter imaging time • Can be performed in one day rather than, making the test more convenient for patients • Staff have greater flexibility to arrange the appointment and setting up a scan is more straightforward • More readily available • Better image quality (sharper images and less noisy). Ruth Bateman, Chief Technologist, said: “Essentially, Tektrotyd is more practical for us to use and produces better pictures. “A real bonus is the test can be performed in a few hours rather than a few days. As well as being more convenient for patients, it also means the team have more time available to get on with other patient studies.” Wendy Sanders, Radiopharmacy Operational Manager, added: “Tektrotyd is also safer for us to handle when we prepare the product for use.” IMAGING The two images show the differences in quality. *images courtesy of Dr Kat Dixon, Poole Hospital 19
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Heartbeat September 2018

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