BUSY BEES - Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust

‘Developing Excellence
in Practice’ was the theme
of the Annual Healthcare
Conference held at
Tingewick Hall on 9 May.
In his opening speech,
ORH Chairman Sir William
Stubbs, reflected on the
complex roles of health
professionals, with staff
now having to cope with
“complex machines, complex
technology and rapid
scientific developments”
while also being adept at
“interaction with patients,
families and colleagues who
are often under stress”.
This year’s keynote speaker was Jon Snow, Chancellor of
Oxford Brookes University and anchor for Channel 4 news
whose speech highlighted staff achievements and praised the
renowned reputation of the Trust. In his speech Jon said that
to him the NHS represented a “central connection of what it
is to be British.” At the end of his speech Julie Hartley-Jones
challenged Jon to report “15 minutes of remorselessly good
news about the NHS”. He confirmed that he would “try and
take up the challenge.”
In the morning session, the opening speeches were
followed by presentations reflecting on the theme of
Developing Excellence in Practice; with Jo Hunter, Research
and Effectiveness Librarian at the Cairns Library giving an
overview of how her team can support health professionals
by saving them valuable time in their search for information;
Catriona Fleming and Ann Brett then delivered a passionate
presentation on the Development Of Resuscitation Link
Practioners; and finally Carol Welch and Laurie Agar reflected
on their work in enhancing the Mealtime Experiences of
Older People in Hospital.
One of the highlights of the day was the presentation of
the ORH Special Achievement Awards.
The first achievement award went to Gill Siuda who has
developed an innovative service for patients requiring enteral
feeding at home and in hospital. Gill has successfully crossed
the boundaries of several specialities and works closely with
multi-disciplinary teams in GI Surgery, Clinical Neurology
and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery. On a daily basis it was
felt that Gill brought the special qualities of dedication and
commitment to all aspects of her work. Her colleagues
describe her as a “beacon of professionalism in every sense
of the word – she is always ready with a smile and a positive
response”.
Then Angela Houlston received an award for her work
in the paediatric haematology oncology department. She
leads a nursing team with vision, encouraging and enabling
clinical excellence. Angela is very involved with paediatric
cancer at a network and national level – extending her skills
and knowledge to other hospitals in and out of the region.
She has been commended for her work in transforming the
patient pathway for children with brain tumours, working
closely with the multi-disciplinary teams on different
treatment sites.
The ORH
X-Factor
The final achievement
award of the day went to
Jo John a staff nurse who
works in the Gynaecology
Day Surgery Unit. Despite
working in an environment
where patients are in
hospital for a short time,
Jo has the unique ability to
forge intimate and confiding
relationships quickly. Patients
regularly make comments
about Jo and mention her
specifically in thank you
letters. A consistent theme
in these letters is Jo’s
kindness and her ability to
reassure patients. When
presenting the award, Caroline Owens Matron of the Unit,
said “Her personal and individual approach makes her an
extremely valued member of the nursing team.”
In addition to the Special Achievement Awards, the
Joan Lucy Main Travel Award was won by nurses Wendi
Snart and Angela Houlston from the Children and Clinical
Genetic Directorate. They will use the award to support the
introduction of nurse prescribing to the paediatric oncology
department. Wendi and Angela will visit St Jude’s Research
Hospital for Children in Memphis Tennessee to evaluate the
introduction of the first nurse practitioner programme in
paediatric oncology. This programme has been successful at
introducing nurse prescribing and has effectively integrated
the roles of nursing and medicine whilst protecting the
fundamental beliefs and goals of children’s nursing.
The poster award was given to the Inpatient Diabetes
Team for their Hypo-box poster describing their award
winning innovative training and resource box which is given
to ward staff to help them manage patient hypoglycaemia.
During the afternoon concurrent sessions addressed a
range of issues including antimicrobial stewardship, nurse
prescribing, an individual view on how to develop the nurse
practitoner role, the medicines management collaborative,
and an ethnographic study of patient care on a trauma unit.
The penultimate presentation of the day by Fran
Woodhouse on The role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist in
stoma/colorectal nursing revealed that stoma procedures
had risen in recent years. Figures show that in the year 2000
there were 195 operations compared with 315 in 2005.
However, Fran reported that “temporary stomas were now
being used instead of permanent ones.”
Closing the conference Julie Hartley-Jones thanked the
organising committee and delegates and called for staff to
“Celebrate their achievements and look forward.”
Front cover courtesy of the Oxford Mail – left to right: Angela Houlston, Clinical
Nurse Specialist for paediatric haematology oncology (special achievement award
and Joan Lucy Main Research Award); Wendi Snart, Professional Development
Nurse Childrens and Clinical Genetic’s Directorate (Joan Lucy Main Travel Award);
Gill Siuda, Clinical Nurse Specialist Enteral Feeding (Special Achievement Award);
Joanne John, Staff Nurse Gynae Day
Surgery (Special Achievement Award).