Update from Alison Jones, GP Liaison GPConnect - Royal ...

GPConnect
Update from Alison Jones, GP Liaison
June 2012
Keeping GP Practices up-to-date with news from The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
New Chief Executive appointed
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Peter
Herring as the new Chief Executive of The Shrewsbury and
Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Peter is currently Chief
Executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust, a role that he has held since May 2000.
Under Peter’s leadership the Trust became one of the first
ten Foundation Trusts in the country in 2004, so he has
exactly the track record and experience we are looking for in
Shrewsbury and Telford. Peter’s passion and commitment
for the patient experience and patient safety is also clear, as
the Countess of Chester is one of only five Trusts to have
been awarded the CHKS Top40 Hospitals Award for its high
clinical standards and outcomes for 12 consecutive years.
Looking forward to his new role which he will take up later
this year, Peter said “I am delighted to have been appointed
as Chief Executive of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital
NHS Trust. I have been really impressed with the team at
the Trust and the staff I have met. The Trust is clearly
making great progress in improving services to patients in
Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and mid Wales. By
continuing to work in close partnership with our patients, our
commissioners, other healthcare providers, local authority
and voluntary sector partners I am confident that we will
continue to enhance the services that we provide. Our
priorities must be to continue to focus on the needs of our
patients, to provide great care and to live within our means.
By doing this we will also meet our key objective of gaining
Foundation Trust status. Having led one of the first Trusts to
achieve NHS Foundation Trust status I look forward to
helping The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
achieve that, and also to put in place the new capital
developments that have recently been approved by the
Strategic Health Authority”.
Steve Peak, previously the Trust’s Transformation Director,
is now interim Chief Executive over the summer, taking over
the reins from Adam Cairns until Peter joins the Trust in
September. Steve’s main priorities over the summer will be
to continue with the improvements in the quality and safety of
patient services, and to move forward with the development
and the reconfiguration of hospital services, which includes
beginning the building work on the new Women and
Children’s unit at Princess Royal Hospital.
New Trust Consultant appointments
We are pleased to welcome our new colleagues to the Trust:
Dr T Jones, Consultant Histopathologist, Royal Shrewsbury
Hospital
Mr M Kimuli, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Royal
Shrewsbury Hospital
Dr B Pandey, Locum Consultant Obstetrician &
Gynaecologist, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
Contact details are in the directories on the GPConnect web page.
News for GPs: changes to C difficile testing
Just to keep GPs informed that the Department of Health has
recently issued updated guidelines for the diagnosis and
reporting of Clostridium diffcile, and the Trust has made the
appropriate changes to its laboratory testing and reporting.
In brief, samples from patients over the age of 65 years will
continue to be tested for C difficile. However, samples from
patients who are more than 2 years old but younger than 65
years should only be tested if the patient has risk factors:
these risk factors are if the patient is taking proton-pump
inhibitors, has taken a recent course of antibiotics or has
been a hospital inpatient in the last 30 days. We will only
test for C difficile in this group of patients when GPs tell us
that the patient is at risk, and if any of the risk factors are
present please make an appropriate note in the clinical
details on the laboratory request.
Dr Graham Harvey, the Trust’s Lead Consultant
Microbiologist, has recently written to GPs giving further
details of the C difficile testing and reporting procedure, and
a copy of this letter can be found at www.sath.nhs.uk/
gpconnect/gpinformation.aspx
The Consultant Microbiologists will be happy to give advice
on the testing and reporting of C difficile, and on appropriate
patient isolation and treatment, and they can be contacted on
(01743) 261161. Please also email Dr Harvey directly at
graham.harvey@sath.nhs.uk if you have any queries or
concerns you would like to address to him.
GPConnect contact: Alison Jones, GP Liaison
Strategy Directorate, Princess Royal Hospital, Apley Castle, Telford, TF1 6TF
Telephone (01952) 641222 x4827 Mobile 07747 532926 Email: GPConnect@sath.nhs.uk Website: www.sath.nhs.uk/gpconnect
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Maternity Services update: Expanded Newborn Screening Programme as from July 2012
As reported in the May 2012 edition of GPConnect, screening for the genetic metabolic disorder MCADD is part of the newborn
screening programme. After careful consideration and discussion between the National Screening Committee and the Health
Technology Assessment programme, it was agreed to undertake an evaluation of screening for an additional five rare genetic
metabolic conditions using the same blood spot sample as is used for the MCADD screening. This evaluation is due to start in
July 2012 and will run for one year. It is a joint piece of work between the National Institute of Healthcare Research and the UK
National Screening Committee, and with the parents’ consent, babies born between July 2012 and July 2013 in our area (which
is served by the newborn screening laboratory in Birmingham) will be tested for extra genetic conditions such as maple syrup
urine disease, homocystinuria (pyridoxine unresponsive), glutaric aciduria type 1, isovaleric acidaemia and long chain
hydroxylacyl CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MSUD, Hcys, GA1, IVA and LCHADD respectively). The pilot will assess whether
screening is clinically viable and cost effective, and all associated costs (such as laboratory and treatment costs) will be funded
from the pilot, so there will be no additional financial costs for commissioners or providers. Further details for parents and
healthcare professionals have been included in an information leaflet; healthcare professionals will give this leaflet to parents
when they discuss the newborn screening programme with them, and the leaflet also explains how the results will be given to
parents and the implications of a positive result. Please go to the GPConnect web page at www.sath.nhs.uk/gpconnect/
gpinformation.aspx to see this leaflet and further information in the Expanded Newborn Screening Programme section. If you
have any queries please contact the Trust’s Antenatal and Newborn Screening Co-ordinator, Sharon Lord, at
sharon.lord@sath.nhs.uk or by calling Sharon on (01743) 261000 ext 3104.
Support for children who have severe allergies
The current recommendations for children who have had a
suspected anaphylactic reaction is that they are admitted to
hospital under the care of a paediatrician. Following
discharge from the children’s acute ward, these children
need to be seen in a specialist allergy service and require an
adrenaline auto injector device and a comprehensive
package of support (NICE Guideline 134, December 2011).
In Shropshire we have a well established service for those
children who have allergies, and both Royal Shrewsbury
Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital have a specialist
allergy clinic for children. The recently published NICE
Guideline and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child
Health Allergy Pathways both highlight the importance of a
comprehensive package of support and training for children
who need to use devices. This has become well established
over the years, and is provided by the Respiratory and
Allergy Nurse Specialists within the acute setting, by the
Children’s Community Nurses, and by the Shropshire School
Nursing Service, who all provide support to children, families
and school staff. When a child attending a Shropshire
school is diagnosed with anaphylaxis an individual care plan
is developed with the parents and training and support is
offered to the child, the parents, carers and school staff.
Annual training updates are also offered to families and
school staff to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date.
Ongoing prescribing of the Epipen device for the
management of anaphylaxis within primary care supports the
current training and care package provided.
If you have any questions about the allergy service or need
further information please contact the Respiratory and
Allergy Nurse Specialists in the Trust on (01743) 261636 at
RSH, (01952) 641222 ext 4003 at PRH, the Children’s
Community Nurses at Coral House on (01743) 450800 or the
Shropshire School Nursing Service on (01939) 235277.
Next GP education evening meeting - 19 July 2012
Ophthalmology, with Dr Mike Lewis, GP with a special
interest in ophthalmology, in the Shropshire Conference
Centre, from 6.30pm. If you are interested please contact
Eluned Eagle at eluned.eagle@shropshirepct.nhs.uk
Improved telephone system at Royal Shrewsbury
Hospital is bringing benefits to callers
GPs and practice teams will be pleased to hear that an
improved telephone system was introduced at Royal
Shrewsbury Hospital on 27 June 2012, to bring benefits to
people calling the hospital’s main number. When you call
the main switchboard number (01743) 261000 you now have
the option to key in the extension number if you know it, as
currently happens at Princess Royal Hospital. Callers will
immediately be put through to the operator if they do not
know the extension number.
The improved system has been introduced after callers said
they found it frustrating that they did not have the option of
going straight through to the extension they required. The
system at Princess Royal Hospital has proved a big success
with over half of callers keying in the extension they want
without needing to go through an operator.
This will be a major advantage at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
as only some of the extension numbers could be dialled
directly, meaning that even if you knew the non-direct dial
extension number you had to go through the main
switchboard to be connected.
Just to remind practices that the Consultant/secretary contact
directories are updated each month on the GPConnect page
on SaTH’s website, giving current extension numbers: please
look at this link http://www.sath.nhs.uk/clinicians/consultants/
Consultant_Directories.aspx for the latest versions, and
bookmark this page for your future reference.
Keep in touch with the Trust’s GP Liaison Service
Please keep your calls, emails and letters coming to me at
Princess Royal Hospital: I can be contacted there on (01952)
641222 ext 4827, or on my business mobile phone on 07747
532926, or by emailing me at GPConnect@sath.nhs.uk
GPConnect contact: Alison Jones, GP Liaison
Strategy Directorate, Princess Royal Hospital, Apley Castle, Telford, TF1 6TF
Telephone (01952) 641222 x4827 Mobile 07747 532926 Email: GPConnect@sath.nhs.uk Website: www.sath.nhs.uk/gpconnect
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