Pennine News 83 - June 2010 - Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Please recycle this magazine 

Issue 83 • June 010 

WENDY’S 

READY FOR 

HER FIRST 

PATIENTS 

AT K BLOCK, 

NMGH 

SEE PAGE 6 

…To provide the very best care for each patient on every occasion…

pennine 

news 

CONTENTS 

Clinical haematology update Pg 4 

Single sign on systems for PCs. . . Pg 4 

Pennine on film . . . . . . . . . . . Pg 5 

Update on women and children’s 

development at NMGH . . . . . pg 6 

Supporting breastfeeding week Pg 6 

New black and minority 

ethnic support group . . . . . . . Pg 6 

Infection prevention updates. . Pg 7 

Advancing quality . . . . . . . . . Pg 8 

ECIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pg 8 

Lottery winners . . . . . . . . . . . Pg 8 

Celebrations for Oldham 

League of Friends . . . . . . . . . Pg 9 

Darrell’s Pennine challenge . . Pg 9 

Core brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pg 10 

50 years of Northern Air . . . . Pg 11 

Policy news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pg 11 

Thought for the month. . . . . . Pg 11 

Employees of the month. . . . . Pg 1 

Supporting national carers’ week . Pg 1 

Houses for sale or rent . . . . . Pg 13 

0 years of up-to-date info . . Pg 13 

Colleagues on the move . . . . Pg 14 

Charity news . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pg 15 

Pennine noticeboard . . . . . . . Pg 16 

Inside News 

The Trust has several communication 

tools to help keep staff up to date: 

� Core brief is sent round monthly, for 

use in all team briefings. 

� Weekly bulletins are emailed on 

Mondays and contain a range of 

operational and site information. 

� A medical director/nursing director 

bulletin is circulated monthly. 

� Online copies of all the bulletins and 

core brief, plus more, can be found 

on the Trust intranet at nww.pat.nhs. 

uk/communications 

You can send your stories for either 

Pennine News or for local media 

to Trust communications at: 

trust.communications @pat.nhs.uk, 

or call Nicola Berry on 44 84. 

If you have any ideas, views or 

suggestions regarding communications 

across the Trust, please email: 

staff.views@pat.nhs.uk 

New device offers 

dignity for patients 

MainTaining patients’ 

dignity was the inspiration 

behind a new piece of 

equipment in the 

radiology department 

at north Manchester 

general Hospital. 

The proctogram chair which is 

used for specialist investigations 

was devised initially by specialist 

radiographer Denise Pearce and 

consultant radiologist Dr Ken 

Uzoka. 

Now taken up by the national 

company Wardray Premise, who 

specialise in magnetic 

resonance products for the 

medical industry, the prototype 

chair has been delivered to the 

hospital and has been in use 

since last December. 

Denise takes up the story: 

“Patients who come into 

hospital for a proctogram 

investigation are suffering from 

severe constipation and the 

procedure is basically an x-ray 

which produces a series of 

images which show how the 

rectum functions during the 

emptying of the bowel. 

“To help the radiologist to see what is happening 

inside the bowel, a barium paste is inserted into 

the rectum and this will then show up on the 

x-ray once the patient is asked to perform a 

number of exercises. 

“Previously patients had to lie on the x-ray table 

and then sit on a small step on the table with a 

bedpan underneath them, whilst they emptied 

their bowel during the procedure. We 

recognised that this was embarrassing for 

patients and so decided to look at devising a 

chair for them to sit on during the investigation 

whilst we recorded their images. 

Nursing Times' awards 010 

THE Nursing Times' awards ensure that 

individual nurses or teams are recognised and 

rewarded for the excellent work which they do. 

Also raising the profile of the profession 

and highlighting the quality of work being 

undertaken by nurses in all specialties and 

settings, the awards offer £1,000 prize 

money and a trophy, plus the opportunity 

to disseminate information about your work 

to the whole of the nursing world by writing 

it up for publication in the Nursing Times 

magazine. 

Categories to enter include: 

� A&E nursing 

� Bank or agency nurse of the year 

� Cancer nurse leader of the year 

“My father-in-law built the first chair for us to try 

out and we were then delighted when Wardray 

Premise and Toshiba decided to take the idea 

further.” 

With around five people per month needing 

a proctogram, the investigation which takes 

around 30 minutes is now performed in a more 

comfortable position for the patients. Their 

dignity and privacy are ensured as the addition 

of the chair means that they can be screened 

off with a modesty curtain. 

Denise and Dr Uzoka are pictured above with 

the new chair. 

� Child health 

� Continence promotion and care 

� Infection prevention and control 

� Innovation in your speciality 

� Improving maternity services 

� Mental health 

� Nursing and technology 

� Patient dignity 

� The patient pathway - making quality 

count 

� Patient safety improvement 

� Team of the year 

� Chief nursing officer’s award 

For more information click on 

www.ntawards.co.uk 

Closing date for nominations 

18 June 010. 

page …To provide the very best care for each patient on every occasion…

New centre provides support and listening 

ear for people affected by cancer 

Living with the impact of being 

diagnosed with cancer can be 

a devastating and confusing 

time. However a new Macmillan 

cancer information and support 

centre, recently opened at north 

Manchester general Hospital aims 

to assist both the patient and their 

family and friends going through 

this traumatic period. 

Funded by the charity Macmillan Cancer 

Support, the development of the centre aims 

to provide an open access service for anyone 

looking for information about cancer. This 

includes information about how to reduce your 

risk of cancer, information for people 

diagnosed with cancer and signposting to 

services for people affected by cancer. 

Open from Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, 

the centre (which is based just off the main 

corridor running down to the Gallery 

restaurant at the hospital) provides a light, 

calm and welcoming environment where centre 

users can talk in confidence to specially trained 

volunteers or the Macmillan-funded staff. 

Managing the centre is Felicity Keeling. She 

said: “The centre is a very important 

development in an area which has high levels 

of cancer. A cancer diagnosis and treatment 

for cancer can have a profound impact on 

the person with the disease and those around 

them. The staff here, as well as providing 

information and advice, also offer a listening 

ear for people affected, whether as patients, 

family members, carers or friends. 

“For the person diagnosed with cancer, it is 

often difficult for them to absorb all the 

information which is given to them by the 

clinicians. We therefore are here as back-up 

as we are detached from the clinical side of 

things. The patients can talk to us as to how 

it really is and how the illness and treatment is 

affecting them.” 

Offering her expertise and experience at 

the centre is volunteer Sheila Martin, one of 

13 volunteers who have been recruited and 

trained specifically to work in the centre. As 

well as being a former Macmillan specialist 

palliative care nurse, Sheila knows what it is 

like to be confronted with the news that you 

have a life threatening illness. 

Diagnosed with a brain tumour two years ago, 

Sheila appreciates how important it is to get 

up-to-date information to patients. She said: 

“When I was diagnosed with my tumour in 

a way I was lucky working in the profession 

that I did. Although I had fantastic support 

from all my former work colleagues in the 

palliative care team, I still struggled in getting 

timely information which was relevant to me. 

I thought if I don’t know how to access the 

information in my job, how on earth do other 

people outside the NHS manage. 

“You go into panic mode when you are given 

confirmation of your illness and because the 

disease is changing all the time, the information 

you receive needs to be constantly updated. 

“I was therefore more than happy to become a 

volunteer at the centre. I am passionate about 

the Macmillan service and I feel that I have 

a good idea of what patients may be going 

through. Crossing over the threshold of the 

doorway to the centre is a major thing for 

anyone affected by cancer and that is just the 

first step. A request for an information leaflet 

can soon turn into a good chat where they can 

open up and be honest about 

how they are really feeling.” 

People wanting to access the 

centre can either turn up (no 

appointment needed) during the 

opening hours or ring 0161 604 

5 44 during office hours to speak 

to a member of staff. The centre 

is open to anyone within Pennine. 

The history of Macmillan at Pennine 

PENNINE Acute has a strong history of 

working in partnership with Macmillan 

Cancer Support (who have pump-primed 

and adopted posts)in both cancer and 

palliative care. Currently there are 38 

Macmillan professionals within the Trust, 

but there are an additional nine posts that 

are being considered for 'adoption'. 

These include a range of clinical nurse 

specialist posts within cancer, chemotherapy, 

…To provide the very best care for each patient on every occasion… 

pennine 

news 

The new centre is pictured above, and right, 

at the official opening with John Jesky, Trust 

chairman. Centre manager Felicity Keeling gives 

advice, top. 

lymphoedema and palliative care. There 

are also three lead nurse posts within the 

lead cancer and palliative care team (the 

Macmillan lead cancer and palliative care 

team, the Macmillan associate lead cancer 

and palliative care nurse and the soon to 

be adopted lead chemotherapy nurse). The 

Macmillan specialist AHPs in Oldham are 

located at TROH, but are now managed 

by NHS Oldham. 

page 3

pennine 

news 

Prompt payment - 

the benefits go on 

CASHFLOW is the lifeline to every small 

business, and none more so than the 

many external suppliers who help the NHS 

in the North West to provide vital services 

to the people it serves day in, day out. 

Paying promptly is not just a question of 

good business. It benefits real people’s 

lives. For the knock-on effect of a business 

not being paid on time, especially in this 

climate of economic uncertainty, could be 

devastating. With no money coming in, 

wages may not be paid, employees may 

have to be laid off and businesses may go 

under. 

Our prompt payment initiative is a pledge 

to our suppliers, a demonstration of our 

commitment to pay them for their goods 

and services, fast. Not within weeks but 

within days, in single figures if possible, 

which would be going beyond our 

contractual terms. 

Play your part in our prompt payment 

initiative by adhering to a few simple 

processes. Together we’ll put an end to 

the knock-on effects of delayed payment. 

How you can help in our push 

for prompt payment 

1. Make sure all goods are obtained 

using official order processes. 

. Where possible, shop from existing 

e-catalogues. 

3. Make sure non-catalogue requisitions 

are completed correctly, including 

price, codes and authorisation. 

4. When goods are delivered directly to 

your department, follow your 

organisation’s goods receipt processes 

to confirm that you have received 

them. This might be via an electronic 

system or by completing and returning 

the goods receipt paperwork. 

5. Ensure the prompt return of any 

invoices sent to you for coding and 

authorisation. 

For more details on Our Prompt 

Payment Initiative, email: 

promptpayment@northwest.nhs.uk. 

Alternatively contact the finance 

department. 

Clinical haematology update 

SignificanT 

progress has 

been made over 

the last month on 

Pennine acute’s 

new clinical 

haematology 

inpatient and 

daycase unit. 

The unit which will 

become F11, remains 

on schedule to open 

on 6 June on the first 

floor of the Christie at 

Pennine building at The 

Royal Oldham Hospital. 

Len Fielding, directorate manager of pathology 

said: "The unit is now really beginning to take 

shape and I feel all Pennine staff should have 

the opportunity to see it for themselves so we 

are planning a series of open days in the week 

beginning 1 June for any staff member who 

would be interested in looking round our new 

unit; please keep an eye on the weekly 

Timetable for changes 

Monday 21 June 

IT systems at your fingerstips with 

single command 

A new initiative which will allow staff to logon 

to different systems within their PCs using 

just a single password is being rolled out at 

the Trust. 

The single sign on project has been given the 

go ahead and is due to go live from June. 

Currently PC users log-in to their PC when 

they turn it on and then have to log-in again 

if they use different systems such as PAS and 

SMART. The new system will confirm that the 

PC user has access rights for the computer 

systems they are listed for and so stop further 

log-in prompts when they switch between 

different applications. 

bulletin for further 

details about how you 

can book your tour." 

Ann Doyle, head of 

nursing service, 

diagnostics and clinical 

support, said: “This 

is an exciting time 

for nursing staff who 

work with haematology 

patients because of 

the opportunities of 

influencing how the 

unit will function and 

knowing that the 

patients will experience 

a state of the art facility. 

“We have attracted many staff from within and 

outside Pennine Acute hospitals who will have 

specific training depending on their individual 

needs to ensure that patients receive the highest 

standards of care possible. Nurses will work 

within the inpatient and day case areas which 

will enable them to build up a wide level of 

diverse skills, again which will benefit patients 

and themselves.” 

Ward 11 handed over to the 

clinical haematology service 

Saturday 26 June Transfer of all Oldham inpatients 

Monday 28 June 

Monday 5 July 

Ann Doyle, head of nursing service, 

diagnostics ad clinical support 

commencement of new day case 

unit 

Transfer of all north Manchester 

inpatients 

Monday 13 July new unit f11 fully operational 

If a new application is added or upgraded, 

the PC user will have to enter their login 

details into the application login as a one off 

process initially, and then when the system is 

used again they will automatically be logged 

in. 

To sign up to the new system, a self- 

enrolment form will appear on each Trust 

PC. Individual users will have to answer a 

set of questions which will allow them to give 

answers personal to them. This will then 

permit a high secure password to be set. 

page 4 …To provide the very best care for each patient on every occasion…

Girls on film - Pennine staff hit the 

big screen as they promote the Trust 

THe Trust has recently played host to a number of 

Tv filming requests. With three members of staff 

appearing on national Tv, the profile of Pennine 

acute has been raised both on serious documentary 

programmes, and also on lifestyle shows. 

Community matron Denise Woods was lucky enough to be filmed 

for BBC1’s Panorama and also for the Trust’s Foundation Trust 

marketing DVD which is now available online. 

Showing the BBC team from London around the maternity wards 

and the new development at North Manchester, Denise spoke of 

the rising birth rate in the area and the plans for the hospital to 

cope with this. The programme estimated that in 0 years the UK 

population is projected to rise by 8 million to 70 million people. 

Across the UK, births have risen by 11% since 004; one baby is 

now born every 40 seconds. 

Danielle's Gok 

fashion fix 

A healthcare support worker at Bury has 

got her eye on the latest fashion collections 

going down the catwalks in Paris and 

London, after a star style make-over. 

Danielle Hollick who works in theatres at 

Fairfield has been ‘revealed’ in her new 

look after exchanging style tips from top 

fashion guru Gok Wan. 

Due to appear on Gok’s Channel 4 

series ‘Fashion Fix’ in June, Danielle has 

received the full hair and make-up 

treatment and will also be given a new 

wardrobe which will consist of 4 key 

items which can be interchanged to create 

different looks. 

Describing herself as a ‘fashion disaster’, 

Danielle used to have over 500 items of 

clothes in her wardrobe. She said: “For 

the past six years I have been wearing 

maternity clothes, even though I wasn’t 

pregnant! The clothes in my wardrobe 

range from size 1 - 4 and I have 

absolutely no idea as to what my actual 

dress size is. I don’t know what suits me 

and so the whole ‘Fashion Fix’ experience 

has been like a fairy tale. I have been 

pampered and treated like a princess.” 

“At this hospital alone at 

North Manchester we are 

delivering ,800 babies 

a year which is a rise of 

600 in the last 8 years”, 

explained Denise. “We 

are opening a brand new 

women and children’s 

development in June 

which we are all very 

excited about. It will give 

us state of the art equipment and a brand new building for children’s 

services and maternity which will incorporate a new midwifery-led unit 

which will have two birthing pools and four beds.” 

Nargis masters the art of TV meals! 

TIPS on how to create the perfect souffle could 

soon be swapped at the fracture clinics in 

North Manchester and Fairfield, following the 

success of a member of staff in a national TV 

cookery competition. 

Arthroplasty practitioner Nargis Chaudhary 

recently took part in BBC1’s ‘Masterchef’ and 

was placed fifth in the country, for food which 

was described as “big and homely” by 

restaurateur judge John Torode. 

Initially applying to be on the show over 18 

months ago, Nargis had forgotten about her 

original application form. “The telephone call 

from the BBC came out of the blue,” she said. 

After receiving 1 ,000 applications they had to 

whittle them down to 136 successful contestants 

by putting them through an hour long 

telephone interview and then an audition which 

included a camera and taste test. 

Passionate about cooking, Nargis enjoys 

experimenting with different flavours and 

influences. Listing Thai, Spanish and Japanese 

food as some of her favourites, she enjoys 

matching complementary tastes and textures. 

“Cooking seems to come naturally to me and 

so I thought that I would do well on the TV 

show. I felt fine throughout the competition 

and was confident. However the strain of the 

final day got to me when I realised just how big 

the competition was and how life changing it 

could be for the eventual winner.” 

Challenged with making one dish in one hour 

from the ingredients supplied to the contestants, 

Nargis felt that she panicked at the final hour 

and instead of sticking to her signature dessert 

dishes, she instead chose to make red mullet 

with caramelised hazelnuts on braised cabbage 

with onion puree and a tomato chilli sauce. 

“I was devastated when I was knocked out 

of the competition,” she said. “Desserts have 

always been my strong point, especially my 


pennine 

news 

On a lighter note, arthoplasty practitioner Nargis Chaudhary competed 

in ‘Masterchef’ and healthcare support worker Danielle Hollick was 

chosen for a make-over in 'Fashion Fix' with Gok Wan. 

delicious lemon tart which is my own creation. 

I have had so many compliments on it. I just 

wish that I had stuck to what I know best!” 

Appearing on national TV for a grand total of 

five times, Nargis is now getting used to being 

recognised in the street. Unfazed by her 

popularity she has been approached for 

autographs and is even in consultation about 

writing her own cookery book and marketing 

some of her dishes. 

But with a background in physiotherapy and 

used to seeing people with hip and knee 

problems, does this means that she will be 

swapping her hospital work clothes for chef’s 

whites? 

“I really enjoyed the whole experience and it 

has taught me that you need to be prepared to 

work towards your ambitions and dreams. I’m 

totally torn between the two different careers as 

I have been blown away by my success on the 

programme. Who knows what will happen in 

the future. At the moment I’m keeping an open 

mind and just enjoying my moment for fame.” 

Watch out Delia and Nigella – Nargis is on her 

way! 

page 5

pennine 

news 

Network ready to 

hear YOUR voice 

THE Trust has launched its first Black, 

Asian and Minority Ethnic support network. 

With backing from the Trust Board, chief 

executive, John Saxby, opened the first 

meeting of the group which aims to meet 

every three months. 

Open to all employees of Pennine Acute, 

the network has been created to provide 

support to members of staff from Black, 

Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. 

Pennine employs 15.43% of its staff from 

Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic 

backgrounds, and so it is important to 

ensure that we listen to the views and 

experiences of staff. 

Patient partnership manager Angela Wood 

is keen to get the message out that the 

Trust is here to listen. This will help us to 

ensure that: 

� the health care services we provide 

reflect the needs of our local 

communities and are accessible to all; 

� the needs of staff are considered within 

recruitment and retention; 

� that existing staff have fair and 

equitable access to training and 

promotion opportunities. 

Angela said: “At the moment we are 

seeking opinion as to how we can move 

the network forward, what its aims will 

be and basically what staff of all grades 

would want from the group.” 

For more information contact: 

equality@pat.nhs.uk 

or telephone 0161 604 5891. 

Wendy’s ready for the 

challenge of new job 

On the move - new W&C unit at North Manchester 

The new women and children’s 

services are due to open at North 

Manchester this month. 

Located in a brand new state-ofthe-art 

£3 million development, 

the following services at NMGH will 

transfer into the new building: 

Sat 19 and Sun 20 June 

� paediatric inpatients 

� paediatric day surgery 

� paediatric observation and 

assessment unit 

� paediatric theatres 

Dig out the pink to highlight benefits of breastfeeding 

A ‘pink pram posse’ of mums are due to launch national 

breastfeeding week on Monday 1 June. 

Led by infant feeding co-ordinator Val Finigan, MBE, the mums and 

babies will be donning pink clothing and decorating their prams pink. 

Meeting in Heaton Park at 1 midday, they will be taking a gentle 

stroll around the grounds, walking one to two miles, and then taking 

part in a picnic. 

Val who is going to dress up as Teletubby Tinky Winky, said: “The 

walk is open to all families and children and as we will be having a 

picnic, people can bring along their own food to join in. 

“As well as being a great way to exercise, the day will highlight the 

awareness of breastfeeding and we will have breastfeeding 

information and goodies at each of the cafes in the park.” 

a midwife with 31 years’ experience 

is eager to play her part in the 

greater Manchester Making it Better 

maternity improvement programme. 

Wendy Grundy has been appointed as the 

matron for inpatient services and is looking 

forward to her new role in the new women and 

children’s building at North Manchester, which 

opens this month. 

Responsible for the operational day to day 

management of inpatient services covering 

North Manchester and Bury, the former specialist 

midwife for safeguarding across all the four 

Trust hospital sites, will be participating in 

providing high standards of care to women, 

children and their families. 

Wendy said: “This is an exciting time for 

Pennine Acute as the new development at 

North Manchester will enable us to provide 

state-of-the-art high quality care to our 

patients. I will be actively involved in achieving 

Breastfeeding brings benefits to babies including: 

� perfect nutrition for the first six months 

� helping protect them against stomach bugs and chest infections, 

and 

� cutting the chance of being over-weight in later childhood. 

Benefits to mums include: 

� weight loss, 

national and corporate nursing and midwifery 

agendas.” 

As a senior midwife used to working in hospital 

and clinical settings, Wendy believes that she 

is a positive role model for the job as she has 

good organisational and analytical skills. 

“The biggest challenge in my job will undoubtedly 

be the Making it Better reconfiguration in 

010 and 011 with the transfer of maternity 

inpatient services from Fairfield to the North 

Manchester site. I hope however, to play 

a part, along with all my colleagues in the 

successful transfer of services. 

“It will start straightaway this month with the 

opening of the fantastic new development and 

then continue on into the summer of next year. 

“I intend to be instrumental in ensuring that 

women receive the highest standard of care 

and that as a team we achieve both corporate 

and divisional objectives in meeting national 

standards in relation to maternity care.” 

Sat 26 and Sun 27 June 

� Antenatal ward 

� postnatal ward 

� labour ward 

� neonatal unit 

For further information, contact Keith Swindell, commissioning manager on 43940. 

� making it easier for their wombs to return to normal, and 

� reducing the risk of pre-menopausal breast and ovarian cancer. 

For more information, contact Val Finigan, infant feeding 

co-ordinator on 784 0. 


Have your hands gone green? 

MOST staff at the Trust went green during 

the week of 19 to 25 april! 

They weren't taking part in a mass recycling exercise, but 

instead underwent their annual handwashing training and 

if they were assessed as competent, received a green tick 

sticker to affix to their ID badge. 

The Trust Board, executive directors and all grades of 

clinical and non-clinical staff took part in the training 

which was delivered on all sites, as close to individual 

places of work as possible. 

Vic Crumbleholme, associate director of nursing, said: 

"We've been delighted with how many staff have signed up 

to the short training sessions and would like to thank all 

those involved. 

"Whether you have a clinical role or not, handwashing 

training is the single most important measure in reducing 

the transmission of infection at work and in the home. It 

only takes a few minutes to complete the training but it's 

time well spent. The Trust’s target for hospital-acquired 

MRSA bacteraemia infections is only one per month and 

despite our excellent progress last year – due in no small 

part to staff really picking up on hand hygiene – we’re 

expected to see a 40% improvement in 010-11.” 

MOre wards at the Trust have been awarded with their 

infection prevention accreditation certificate. 

The scheme which aims to motivate wards to achieve success in infection 

prevention and control, utilises established audit processes and existing 

action plans. 

Mark Ronan, infection prevention/performance nurse at North 

Manchester, said: “Congratulations to all the staff on ward F6 who have 

A presentation took place in April to acknowledge the achievements of 

security guards on the North Manchester site. 

The awards which commemorate outstanding acts or acts of helpfulness 

were presented to the guards by Diane Lever, contract manager for Securitas. 

During the ceremony Diane outlined the difficult situations which guards can 

face and also remembered Alan Bickerstaffe, a security guard who had 

tragically passed away recently and who is sorely missed by his colleagues 

and staff on the hospital site. His mother and brother collected his award on 

his behalf. 

Presented with a glass award, a framed certificate and champagne, the 

guards are pictured, left to right: Dean Finegan - helpfulness and outstanding 

act; Ian – on behalf of Alan Bickerstaffe – outstanding act; Stephen 

Newbiggin – helpfulness; Liam Howarth – outstanding act; Dave Thomson 

– outstanding act; Jeff Newell – outstanding act and Dean Mellor – 

outstanding act. 

If you have not undergone your 010 handwashing training, contact the infection 

prevention staff on your site: 


pennine 

news 

Lorraine Durham 719 at Oldham, Mike Beesley 4 935 at North Manchester, Sylvia 

Maxfield 8 4 8 at Fairfield and Anne Taylor 56150 at Rochdale. 

recently completed the ward accreditation programme. Staff nurse 

Jeanette Dean has been the driving force behind this programme and has 

worked extremely hard educating staff, supporting the ward sisters and 

gathering the relevant evidence for the ward portfolio.” 

Also receiving their accreditation (above right) were five wards at Fairfield. 

Vic Crumbleholme, associate director of nursing is pictured presenting 

wards 3, 5, 8, 1 and 0 with their certificates. 

Recognising the outstanding acts of the security guards 

page 7

pennine 

news 

north Manchester, fairfield and 

rochdale staff lottery winners 

March draw 

£750 - J F Siddall, £500 - M P Warrender, 

£ 50 - K P Abbott, £150 - J F O’Donnell, 

£100 - S A L Brogden 

Easter bonus draw 

£500 - L Shirley, £500 - S Lowe, £500 - P 

Phillips, £500 - M Keating 

If any of the above winners have not 

already been notified, please contact 

Andrea Lowe in finance on 44980. 

ECIST work 

kicks in!!! 

Measures to improve emergency 

access and reduce length of stay 

begin to pay dividends. 

FOLLOWING the implementation of the 

ECIST work across the Trust, performance 

in the emergency 4 hour access standard 

has continued to improve. Variances in 

performance are gradually becoming more 

static with less erratic dips. 

All staff have embraced the concept of the 

Department of Health’s ECIST work which 

is proving to have a positive impact on 

both patient care and all staff involved. 

“The emphasis has shifted in managing the 

patient’s journey which ensures patients receive 

safe, high quality care in the appropriate 

environment”, says Su Statom, senior manager 

service transformation unscheduled care. 

“Staff are empowered to proactively manage 

patient flows, therefore reducing length of 

stay (LOS). With a reduction in LOS, patients 

are less likely to develop hospital acquired 

infections and therefore will have a positive 

outcome from their hospital stay. From a 

capacity management view, reducing LOS and 

using a focused approach enables the Trust to 

predict bed availability and highlight potential 

capacity issues earlier thus ensuring that 

patient flow is managed proactively which in 

turn will enable all aspects of hospital targets 

to be met”, she adds. 

Divisional Internal Professional 

Standards have now been submitted by all 

departments which have supported patient 

flow and encouraged escalation in delays 

in the patient’s journey. To date, IPSs have 

been developed for radiology, gynaecology, 

wards, pharmacy, occupational therapy and 

physiotherapy. 

“At North Manchester we have developed 

two Fast Flow wards (E5 and E6) which 

care for patients with a shorter length of stay. 

Initial findings show that patients are being 

discharged in a timelier manner enabling them 

to return to their home environment sooner 

and improving the overall patient experience, 

plus the added benefit of freeing up potential 

Advancing Quality 

THe Trust has been participating in 

the north West regional advancing 

Quality (aQ) Programme since 

October 2008. 

The programme measures how well NHS Trusts 

adhere to evidence-based clinical pathways and 

enables Trusts within the North West region to 

benchmark their outcomes with one another. 

The aim of the programme is to improve the 

quality of care offered across the region in the 

treatment of five major high volume health 

conditions. There are four clinical pathways of 

care applicable to The Pennine Acute Hospitals 

NHS Trust: 

� Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) - heart attacks 

� Heart Failure 

� Pneumonia 

� Hip and Knee replacement 

AQ results: Care amongst 

best in region for 

pneumonia patients 

THe Trust has been named as a high 

performing Trust in the north west 

for treating patients admitted with 

pneumonia across its four hospitals 

by advancing Quality (aQ). 

Last month AQ published the results from year 

one of the programme based on inpatient data 

between October 008 – September 009. 

The Trust was ranked 5th out of 3 hospital 

Trusts for its clinical treatment of patients 

admitted with pneumonia. This is based on five 

clinical process measures, approved by The 

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). 

The pneumonia AQ performance reflects the 

high standard of care delivered to people with 

bed capacity,” explains Collette Parker, clinical 

matron at NMGH. 

The Expected Date of Discharge (EDD) 

policy has been circulated which supports 

the improvement of patient flow through 

the hospital by having a proactive case 

management plan with an EDD in place. This 

helps to focus patients, carers and all members 

of the multi disciplinary team (MDT) in a 

common goal i.e. to have the patient home by 

a certain date. 

The MAU at The Royal Oldham Hospital has 

introduced a process to take all GP referrals. 

The advanced nurse practitioner now takes all 

GP calls in clinic hours and the shift co-ordinator 

takes the calls out of hours. Initial findings have 

been positive where by several referrals have 

been deflected to a more appropriate service 

thus enhancing the patient experience. 

Fairfield General Hospital is fully engaged 

with the Patient Flow Database (PFDB) 

pneumonia 

coming into 

the Trust’s A&E 

departments. 

The data is 

based on 

1,087 inpatient discharges. As part of the 

initiative and in recognition of this strong 

performance, the division of medicine will 

receive around £ 09,000 to invest back into 

patient care. 

Marian Carroll, director of nursing at Pennine 

Acute Trust, said: “We have been fully 

supportive of this programme since it was 

launched 18 months ago. The Advancing 

Quality process is the right thing to do because 

it’s not purely focusing on access targets, but 

rather on the actual care and treatment patients 

receive. It’s a really big lever for change and 

for making improvements to clinical practice in 

specific areas, ensuring we deliver best quality 

of care for all patients all of the time. 

“For the first time we are now able to measure 

clinical treatment standards across the region so 

Trusts can compare and work with other Trusts. 

We now know what we have to focus on to 

improve based on the data we have. We can 

use this to improve clinical practice; to strive and 

move from common practice to best practice.” 

“The programme has highlighted areas where 

we can improve and learn lessons from other 

hospitals and our peers. We are beginning 

to see clear improvements in the way we are 

treating and caring for our patients across all 

four areas. The key is to focus on how we sustain 

improvements for the sake of our patients.” 

The AQ programme is now operating in all 4 

Acute/Foundation Trusts across the region. The 

Trust was ranked 15th out of 4 for AMI, 19th 

out of 4 for heart failure and 18th out of 3 for 

hip and knee elective and non-elective surgery. 

For more information about Advancing Quality 

visit online at www.advancingqualitynw.nhs.uk 

function across the site. “All staff, both nursing 

and AHPs, are encouraged to use it to its full 

potential as it assists in both monitoring EDD 

and LOS. When used to its full capability the 

PFDB can quickly identify delays in the patient’s 

journey, delays in discharges and gaps in 

service provision”, explains Su. 

The Trust’s executive management team 

are encouraged with the efforts made by all 

members of staff and are positive that we can 

continue to maintain this momentum in building 

on our improvements to ensure this way of 

working embeds into our organisational culture". 

More information can be found 

on the Trust intranet. click on the 

“emergency access/ 24/7 project” 

button found on the homepage 

under key sections. alternatively 

contact Steve Taylor, divisional 

director medicine, on ext. 42995. 


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The sound of celebration for 

hospital League of Friends 

THe chirping sound of budgerigars 

was once heard within the wards of 

The royal Oldham Hospital. 

The purchase of nine budgies and nine cages 

in 196 costing £15.50 was just one item 

purchased by a fundraising group which has 

celebrated its 50th anniversary recently. 

The Royal Oldham Hospital League of Friends 

started in 1960 by the then Mayoress of 

Oldham, Sallie Hilton and 17 other volunteer 

members and over the years has raised a 

staggering £18 ,000 for the hospital. 

Although not purchasing budgies now, they 

do buy fish tanks for waiting rooms, as well 

as more costly items which have included TVs, 

ward equipment and refurbishment, tables and 

chairs. They also officially started the first of 

the contributions towards a brand new Royal 

Rover minibus which transports patients and 

visitors around The Royal Oldham Hospital site. 

Raising money from collections in supermarkets 

to coffee mornings, everything which is donated 

to the League goes straight into their funds for 

the hospital. 

Celebrating their special year at an anniversary 

dinner, chief executive John Saxby thanked the 

group for their continued commitment to the 

hospital. 

Chairman John Jesky added his thanks by 

saying: “The Trust is extremely fortunate in 

having so many volunteers and fundraisers to 

call upon at our various sites. In the case of 

The Royal Oldham Hospital League of Friends, 

you and your colleagues have donated over 

£40,000 to the Trust over the last five years. 

You also actively contribute by running 

bookstalls at The Royal Oldham Hospital and 

collecting money from a whole host of fundraising 

activities. 

“May I, on behalf of the Trust Board, thank you 

for everything you have done for The Royal 

Oldham Hospital and wish you continued 

success over many years to come.” 

Rose Hall, chairman of the League of Friends 

during the anniversary year, said: “It is a 

great honour to be Chairman in this the 50th 

anniversary year and we as a group will 

endeavour to carry on fund raising for the 

forseeable future to purchase many more items 

for the use of the patients and their visitors to 

The Royal Oldham Hospital. 

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank 

Mr John Saxby and Mr John Jesky for their kind 

words, and also many thanks to the committee 

of the League of Friends for all their help and 

assistance since I took over as the chairman.” 

If you are interested in joining the League of 

Friends, contact Chris Mylott, voluntary services 

manager on 0161 6 7 8561 or Rose Hall 

chairman of the League of Friends on 0161 

65 1049 or Mob 07913484101 

Wishing the League happy birthday are from 

the left: Shaw Parish Council chairman Mari 

Wisewell; the Mayor of Oldham Councillor Jim 

McArdle; Saddleworth Parish Council chairman 

Alma McInness; the Mayoress of Oldham 

Councillor Kay Knox; Ian McInnes; league 

secretary Anne Morris and league chairman 

Rose Hall. 

Photo courtesy of the Oldham Evening 

Chronicle. 


Pennine challenge 

for Darrell 

pennine 

news 

THE sudden death of a cousin has prompted 

A&E charge nurse Darrell Whittle to undertake 

a mammoth cycle challenge. 

Riding the 355 mile Pennine Cycleway from 

Derby to Berwick on Tweed in July, Darrell is 

going to donate all the sponsorship money 

raised to the Marfan Trust which funds research 

into the cause and possible prevention of 

Marfan syndrome. 

Darrell said: “My cousin died suddenly when 

his was in his thirties from Marfan Syndrome. 

After complaining of a bad back, he went to 

lie down and his wife found him dead a 

couple of hours later, after his aorta had torn. 

“It came as a complete shock to the family and 

we have now found out that my cousin’s 

children have also been diagnosed with the 

condition.” 

The syndrome which is an inherited disorder 

of the body’s connection tissue can affect the 

eyes, causing dislocation of the lenses, short 

sightedness, retinal detachment and glaucoma; 

the skeleton causing excessive height with 

long limbs, flat feet, loose joints and early 

osteoarthritis; and the heart by ballooning with 

the potential of fatal tearing of the aorta. 

Already in training for the route which he 

intends to complete in just one week, Darrell 

has taken delivery of a new bike and is busy 

commuting to work on it and fitting in 50 mile 

rides around his off-duty. 

With an average of 50-60 miles needed to be 

covered every day, Darrell will be carrying all 

his camping and cooking gear on the bike, 

and will only resort to staying in hostels if the 

weather turns very bad. 

If you would like to sponsor Darrell, you can 

contact him in A&E at North Manchester or log 

on to his blog www.middleagecyclist.blogspot. 

com Hoping to raise £1,000 which will go 

entirely to the Marfan Trust as Darrell will cover 

all his own expenses, he is also asking for 

support if people would like to join him on 

specific routes of the ride. 

You can follow Darrell along the route on 

Twitter via his blog. 

page 9

pennine 

news 

Core Brief - May 2010 

STanDarDiSeD 

MOrTaLiTY 

Based on CHKS 008 standardisation 

modelling, the Trust has achieved its 

objective for 009 in reducing its 

standardised mortality by 5%. The Trust’s 

crude mortality rate (trend) has continued 

to show an improvement over the last 

three years and has mirrored its peer 

group, which is made up of approximately 

90 other trusts. Within this overall 

downward trend the peer and Trust 

average mortality rate peaked significantly 

during December 009 and January 

010. The Trust and peer group are 

looking into the reasons for this. 

More information: contact Dr Ruth 

Jameson, medical director, on tel. 45461. 

PaTienT SafeTY 

cOMMiTTee 

A new Patient Safety Committee, which 

reports to the Clinical Governance and 

Quality Committee, held its inaugural 

meeting on 30 April. The group, chaired 

by Dr Ruth Jameson, medical director, 

meets monthly and includes clinical leaders 

and patient safety project leads. Its main 

purpose is to ensure that the Patient Safety 

Improvement work is delivered using 

improvement methodology in accordance 

with the Trusts key outcome measures. It 

will be looking at end of life strategy, 

coding and evidence-based care bundles. 

Care Bundles are packages of evidencebased 

interventions that are applied to 

selected patients. 

More information: contact Dr Ruth 

Jameson, medical director, on tel. 45461 

fOUnDaTiOn TrUST 

UPDaTe 

The next version of the Trust’s Integrated 

Business Plan (IBP) which sets out the 

organisation's five year business strategy as 

an aspirant Foundation Trust has been sent 

to the Strategic Health Authority. One of 

the key elements is the “mini-IBPs” which 

are being developed within divisions. The 

Trust is soon to commence a membership 

recruitment campaign to encourage the 

public and partner agencies to sign up as 

FT members. Further information on the 

staff membership process will be issued 

shortly. 

finance - Year enD 

2009/10 

The Trust successfully achieved its financial 

duties for 009/10 and ended the year 

with a small surplus of £6 0,000 (0.1 % 

of budget) before technical adjustments. 

Trust expenditure was £5 6,30 ,000 in 

the year (£1.4million per day). 

More information: contact Robert 

Chadwick, director of finance and IM&T, 

5469. 

The core brief should be included in everyone’s team briefing following 

circulation, which takes place the week after Trust Board meetings. These 

are held the last Thursday of the month. if you need more info, then each 

article contains contact details. Some of the items on this page have been 

edited slightly for space reasons. for a full copy of the core brief either 

click on the communications page of the intranet or ask your manager. 

reDUcing HeaLTHcare acQUireD infecTiOnS 

The Trust has achieved its target for reducing 

MRSA and Clostridium Difficile (CDT) for 

009/10. 

The target set for MRSA bacteraemia in 

010/11 is no more than 14 post 48 hour 

cases – effectively a maximum of one 

hospital-acquired MRSA case per month. Hand 

washing remains the single most important 

procedure for preventing the spread of 

biological contamination. Staff are reminded to 

use the 7-step procedure when hand washing 

and to contact their hospital site infection 

prevention nurse if they have not already had 

this year’s training and 010 ‘tick’ sticker. 

More information: to receive mandatory 

training and this year’s sticker, contact: 

ROH – Liz Wilson ext. 78771, Lorraine Durham 

ext. 719 , Pat Gallagher ext. 719 3 

NMGH – Michael Beesley ext. 4 935, 

Mark Ronan ext. 47945 

FGH – Sylvia Maxfield ext. 8 4 8, 

Cheryl Wood ext. 8 91 

Rochdale – Anne Taylor ext. 56150, 

Marie Boswell ext. 56151 

PerfOrMance - Year enD 2009/10 

The Trust achieved a number of national and 

other performance standards in 009/10. 

� 36 MRSA bacteraemias were recorded 

during 009-10, against a target of 38. 

� 394 C Difficile infections were recorded during 

009-10 compared to 47 for 008-9 

� Cancer research performance at the Trust 

has seen considerable success this year in 

exceeding all of the research targets set 

by the National Cancer Research Network 

(NCRN). Fifteen per cent of the Trust’s 

cancer/pre-malignant patients participated 

in a NIHR study. 

� Declaration of compliance with same sex 

accommodation requirements. 

� 80% of staff had a personal development 

plan review during the year. 

� Successful registration with the Care Quality 

Commission with no conditions. 

� Achieving rapid access to chest pain clinics 

in weeks 

The Trust achieved the overall national 18 

weeks admitted and non-admitted standards. 

Within the overall Trust figures some specialities 

did not meet the 18 weeks standard, including 

orthopaedics, general surgery, plastic surgery, 

urology and neurosurgery. Action plans for 

these specialties to meet the standard have 

been developed and are monitored by the 

Scheduled Care Group. 

nHS nW reSTricTeD cLearing HOUSe fOr 

BanDS 1-9 

An NHS North West restricted Clearing 

House for Bands 1 – 9 posts came into effect 

on 1 April 010. All such vacancies will 

initially be advertised via this clearing house 

to ensure NHS staff who may be affected by 

organisational change throughout the North 

West region have the opportunity to apply for 

vacant posts first. This has required several 

changes in the recruitment process. Stage 

of the clearing house process is open to any 

existing NHS employee working within north 

west NHS Trusts to apply on their substantive 

The Trust achieved the cancer week access 

target. However, only 83.8% of symptomatic 

breast patients where cancer is not initially 

suspected were seen within weeks against 

the 93% target. The Trust also fell below the 

national Cancer 6 day target from GP referral 

to treatment and the Cancer 6 day screening 

service referral to treatment target. An integrated 

cancer performance improvement plan is being 

monitored by the Trust’s Cancer Committee 

and Scheduled Care Group. The plan focuses 

on care pathway redesign, enhanced monitoring, 

and increased capacity. 

The Emergency Care Access Standard requires 

at least 98% of patients to be seen, treated, 

admitted, transferred or discharged within fours 

hours of attendance at an A&E department. 

The Trust achieved 96.6% in 009/10. This is 

a key national target and Trust wide and site 

based plans to achieve the target have been 

developed following recommendations made 

by the Department of Health’s Emergency Care 

Intensive Support Team (ECIST). As part of this 

work North Manchester General Hospital has 

introduced fast flow wards on E5 & E6 with 

the aim of providing a focused environment 

for patients with an expected date of discharge 

of less than 7 hours. This commenced 

Wednesday 5 May 010. Ward-based Internal 

Professional Standards (IPSs) and similar IPS 

for gynaecology and radiology have been 

produced. These can be viewed on the intranet 

and will be displayed on sites. 

(permanent) band/salary (i.e. individuals cannot 

apply for a promotion at Stage of the 

clearing house). Once a vacancy has been 

processed through the clearing house, and if 

no one applies or is appointed, the vacancy will 

be placed on the Trust vacancy bulletin 

following normal recruitment procedure. 

More information: for more details and to 

apply for vacancies visit online at 

www.jobs.nhs.uk/internal/in/northwest.html 


A golden year as Northern 

Air celebrates 50 years 

‘cOngraTULaTiOnS’ will surely be 

a popular request title as northern 

air Hospital radio achieves its 50th 

anniversary of broadcasting in June 

this year. 

The radio station has evolved since 1960 from 

the initiative of Stanley Langer and Norman 

Mendelson who devised the idea of screening 

films to patients at North Manchester General 

Hospital and later covering all the local 

hospitals. Backed by The Rotary Club, Stanley 

also established a hospital radio service 

and every Thursday would broadcast record 

requests and dedications direct to the wards. 

Marshall Gellman, disc jockey and Sidney 

Wander MBE also joined in those early days. 

Half a century later, Marshall still entertains 

patients with his daily music show and Sidney 

continues to produce a classical show. Northern 

Air Hospital Radio is now a 4/7 

service produced and delivered by 5 volunteers. 

Stanley’s son, Dave Langer still has some 

involvement, assisting Joe Sambrook, station 

manager and Dave Bee, programme controller. 

Joe Sambrook, said, “I have seen Northern Air 

Hospital Radio grow from strength to strength 

during my 0 years as a volunteer and in the 

15 years as station manager. The future is 

looking very positive with the station about 

to start broadcasting on line very soon. To 

coincide with our 50th birthday, we have 

completely re-fitted Studio . 

“After 15 years as the station manager, I have 

decided to hand over the reins to someone 

younger with the idea of taking Northern Air 

forward into the next 50 years. However, I will 

POLICY NEWS ... POLICY NEWS … POLI 

Absence policy - career grade medical and dental staff 

THE absence policy – career grade medical 

and dental staff has recently been updated and 

is now available to view on the Trust’s intranet 

site. 

The main amendments to the policy are 

amendments to the study / professional leave 

flowchart to reflect the addition of leave forms 

and expenses claim forms as appendices - 4. 

Reference is made to the new appendices within 

the text of the policy and there is also the 

inclusion of the approval process for clinical 

directors. 

This document is designed to set out the Trust 

policy relating to medical and dental absences 

for consultants, associate specialists, staff grade 

doctors, speciality doctors and Trust equivalent 

career grade posts as well as hospital 

practitioner and clinical assistants in The 

Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. It contains 

information about the processes for requesting 

annual and study leave, who should be 

still be a part of the team and continue as a 

volunteer with Northern Air.” 

Although staffed solely by volunteers, Northern 

Air Hospital Radio offers a range of 

programmes to the North Manchester General 

Hospital and Salford Royal Hospital communities 

that would be the envy of any professional 

broadcasting organisation. This includes 

regular broadcasts of the Halle Orchestra, live 

from the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. The 

volunteers are proud of the fact that they can 

play virtually any record request from the 

station’s vast record library. News is broadcast 

every hour via a satellite and sports shows and 

regular sports updates are a high priority at the 

weekend. 

The Northern Air volunteers and invited guests 

are looking forward to their 50th Anniversary 

celebration to be held at The Fairways Lodge, 

Prestwich on 6th June. 

Happy birthday Northern Air hospital radio and 

a big thank you from all our patients and staff. 

� The radio station has also been 

enjoying a celebration of a different kind 

when it was recognised at the Hospital 

Broadcasting Association annual 

conference and national hospital radio 

awards 010. 

Nominated in the best speech package 

and male presenter of the year, programme 

controller and breakfast show presenter 

Dave Bee, went to Scotland to pick up 

the silver prize for the male presenter of 

the year and was commended in the best 

speech category. 

notified, who authorises the forms and where 

they should be sent on completion. It also 

contains references to policies and procedures 

relating to all types of absence which may 

necessitate absence from duties, with the 

exception of sick leave where staff should refer 

to EDH0 7 for the Trust’s attendance 

management and sickness absence policy. 

Staff should familiarise themselves with the 

content of the policy, which can be found on 

the Trust’s intranet site under documents/non 

clinical/HR policies & procedures. 

Line managers should ensure that appropriate 

staff who do not have direct access to the 

intranet have a hard copy of the policy 

available locally to review. 

For further information or advice please contact 

your divisional HR team/medical staffing or 

divisional absence manager where appropriate. 


Thought for 

the month 

Lots of questions 

and answers 

by chaplaincy co-ordinator 

Rev John Hall 

pennine 

news 

WHEN we talk about the term ‘Spiritual Care’ 

there are often a number of questions that are 

raised to do with what ‘Spiritual Care’ means. 

Some people think they know straight away 

and offer an immediate answer whilst others 

ponder and need time to work out an answer 

that they are happy to stand by. 

When I am taking induction training with new 

staff I like to ask the question to whoever is 

there and the variety of answers never fails to 

impress me. I reassure those attending that I 

am not looking for the ‘right answer’, whatever 

that is, for the point of the whole task is to 

try and see ‘Spiritual Care’ as something that 

includes everyone, those from all belief groups 

and those who prefer not to align themselves 

with any particular belief group. 

Yet questions always arise and when you think 

about those who are inpatients who are feeling 

very uncertain about themselves due to a 

change in their own lives those big questions 

about life tend to emerge. 

In the recent general election lots of questions 

were raised yet no one political party gained 

an overwhelming backing of the public as 

people were divided on what they thought the 

main questions should be and how you try to 

answer those questions. 

Who knows what has happened since then but 

it could be a lot of constructive listening and 

working together with people of different view 

points and different backgrounds in order to 

try and offer something positive to the general 

public. 

Good constructive times of questions and 

discussions are an important part of our work 

as well as in other areas of our lives. Good 

spiritual care allows very difficult questions to 

be asked, to be properly listened to and to be 

taken seriously. 

Some questions come from a faith perspective, 

at times questioning why things happen in 

the way that they do, some questions are left 

hanging in the air, never neatly answered but 

all the better for being asked. 

When we are being told not to ask questions, 

that I believe is the time to be concerned. 

Many of us of faith ask our own faith traditions 

awkward questions. At times those questions 

remain unanswered, but again we feel better 

for being heard. 

As a team we want to encourage those 

opportunities to question, for patients, staff, 

and relatives as we welcome the time to listen. 

page 11

pennine 

news 

PAT supporting 

national carers’ 

week in June 

eacH year, national carers’ Week 

is given a theme. This year’s 

theme, ‘a life of my own’ refers to 

supporting carers to have their own 

interests and activities. 

The aim of the week (14 – 18 June) is for 

carers to recognise and identify how they can 

have a life outside their caring responsibilities. 

The week will highlight why supporting carers 

is crucial, how carers miss out on things we 

all take for granted and what needs to be 

changed. 

The Trust is supporting the carers’ centres in 

Manchester, Bury, Rochdale and Oldham to 

run stands on the Trust sites, throughout the 

week, in order to raise the profile of carers and 

provide information. 

Trust volunteers will be assisting on all sites, 

and the adult and childcare service will ensure 

that material on behalf of the Trust is available 

to supplement what the carers’ centres provide. 

‘Keys to caring’ key fobs will be available, and 

dates of the staff carers’ network will be 

advertised. 

The stands will give staff and visitors an 

opportunity to discuss what being a carer 

means as most carers would still not recognise 

themselves under the term 'carer'. They will 

allow carers to access relevant and practical 

information to help them with their caring role. 

The carers’ care manager, Joanne Byrne, 

will be involved in activities on the North 

Manchester site, carrying out carers’ needs 

assessments should they be required, benefits 

advice and reiki and relaxation sessions. 

The other sites will be supported by carers’ 

centre and Trust staff who can give advice and 

information. 

A computer screen saver will run throughout 

the week in the Trust, publicising the location 

of the stands. 

The Trust has worked with the four local 

Councils, four PCTS and local carer 

organisations since the last carer’s week to 

develop a Trust carers’ strategy, in order to 

support staff and patient carers to access 

services and support more readily. The Trust 

has also developed a patient carers’ charter 

and staff carers’ charter, and has provided 

training opportunities for staff to allow them to 

meet carer’s needs, and will publish a carers’ 

handbook shortly. 

Further carer training and support activities are 

planned for the coming year. 

For more information on the stands 

and the carers’ charter, email: 

victoria.cooney@pat.nhs.uk 

Celebrating our star employees 

Emphatic nominations for Irene 

HARDWORKING, conscientious and dependable are just some of the words used to illustrate 

the medical division’s latest employee of the 

month winner. 

Irene Bate who works in the specialist 

palliative care team at North Manchester 

was nominated by her work colleagues 

for showing dedication and commitment 

beyond all expectation in supporting them 

to prepare for two conferences within 

two weeks of each other, in addition to 

managing the office and her usual daytime 

work activities. 

With her work always of the highest standard, 

Irene is described as a perfectionist who is a 

valued and integral part of the team. Possessing excellent organisational skills with an ability to 

juggle competing priorities, her calm and efficient manner is second to none. 

Tom marks for Tim 

A staff nurse has been credited with improving the tissue viability care within a ward by 100%. 

Tim Severs who works on ward 1 at Fairfield took on the role of tissue viability link nurse 

after a history of pressure sore incidents on the ward. Producing an information leaflet on the 

subject, he took part in an audit which recorded his excellent work. 

Divisional nurse manager Julie Owen nominated Tim for the medical division’s employee of 

the month award. 

It pays to be honest 

DARRYL Alston found that honesty really does pay when he found a wallet containing a 

considerable amount of money on The Royal Oldham Hospital site. 

Handing it in to the extremely grateful patient who had lost it, Darryl was rewarded with the 

facilities’ employee of the month award. 

Beryl draws in the nominations 

A long serving member of staff on mat at Oldham had a double nomination for the 

women and children’s employee of the month award. 

Auxiliary nurse Beryl Skinner has worked for the Trust for 31 years and is a valued member of 

the maternity team. Her colleagues comment that they don’t know what they would do 

without her as she is always willing to help and never stops working to assist her colleagues 

and patients. 

Feasting on awards 

INFANT feeding advisors Tracey Lake and Tina Hughes have got their fill of awards recently. 

Working tirelessly to achieve stage two of the UNICEF baby friendly award for Rochdale and 

Fairfield, the pair have now been recognised for their efforts by the women and children’s 

division employee of the month award. 

Nominated by infant feeding co-ordinator, Val Finigan, she said: “The services they provide 

reach the entire Trust and also stretch into the surrounding primary care trusts, babies 

attending the maternity units, neonatal units and children’s ward. They provide advice, 

education and support to staff and are a joy to work with.” 


20 years of up-to-date info 

a department which 

always has its finger 

on the button in terms 

of live bed information 

is celebrating a 

special anniversary 

this year. 

The intensive care bed 

information service (ICBIS) at 

North Manchester is 0 years 

old in June and the data it 

provides today is even more 

crucial than that collated last 

century. 

Initially developed by 

two ICU consultants, Ian 

McCartney and Gary Brear, 

the service was designed to 

collect information on ICU 

bed availability in the north 

west. Using a paper based 

system, all critical care units 

in the region were contacted 

at least four times a day 

to record the number of 

‘available beds’. 

Now benefiting from a 

browser based Lotus notes 

system on the NHS net, the 

information is available to the 

Department of Health at the 

click of a button. 

Anne Hanson, the regional co-ordinator, 

based at North Manchester General Hospital 

has been with the team since 1996. She 

said: “Clinicians who are searching for a 

critical care bed contact us and are advised 

where there are beds available in their transfer 

group. If there are no beds available within 

their group, they are advised of this and 

then given the nearest available beds, which 

the consultants need to arrange with the 

counterparts at the transferring hospital. 

“I can’t believe how much the work and how 

we provide the data has changed over the last 

0 years. In 1996 we started working in 

conjunction with YAS in Yorkshire, NAS in 

Newcastle and EBS in London, covering the 

Charity event is knockout! 

rest of England to provide a national bed 

register. At this time we were still faxing bed 

states up and down the country!” 

Responsible for updating the critical care beds 

available in the north west on the north west 

emergency care web page, the team also dealt 

with almost ,000 enquiries last year, picked 

up 1,700 critical care transfers, sent out over 

1,000 reports and made almost 100,000 

phone calls. 

Recognised by the DH emergency services 

action team as a provider of accurate 

information, the reputation of the team has 

spread far and wide. Hospitals in Wales, the 

Republic of Ireland and even the USA have 

asked for copies of their transfer forms as 

evidence of best practice. 

A staff nurse at Fairfield put her weight behind a fundraising event to raise money 

for a weighing hoist for her ward. 

Sharon Pizelis and her friends organised a black and white masquerade ball, 

including a champagne reception and five course meal at the Village Hotel in 

Bury. 

With over 00 people attending, including most of the hospital stroke team, a 

staggering £4,715 was raised for the acute stroke unit, ward 19 at Fairfield. 

Party revellers were treated to some pretty special auctions prizes too. Ranging 

from boxing gloves signed by Amir Khan, to a week’s holiday in Portugal, one 

of the most popular prizes was a dinner party for six to be cooked in your own 

home including all wine, food and washing up! 


pennine 

news 

Houses for sale or rent 

Royton 

Three bedroomed mid town house with 

conservatory one mile from TROH. Off road 

parking, large rear garden and fully furnished. 

£129,950. Ring 0161 290 0040. 

Luxury apartment in Spain for rent. 

Special NHS Rates £1 5 per week for 

people. Deserve a break but money is tight. 

I have a 1 bed luxury apartment situated 

in a beautiful seaside village near Mojacar 

in Spain. Sea and mountain views from 

the apartments, small quiet complex, pools, 

close to restaurants and shops. Golf, dive 

centre, tennis, water park all close by, mins 

from beach and marina. Can be viewed on 

www.ownersdirect.co.uk Property No S 633. 

Ring Ginny Newman on 01706 351110 

Derker, Oldham 

Single room for professional person to rent in 

cosy small terraced house close to Oldham 

town centre. The house was recently been 

re-decorated, is fully double glazed and 

furnished with double bed and wardrobe. 

Shared kitchen, bathroom and living facilities. 

Parking on street. £350 per month 

including all bills except food, seasonal 

costs and windowcleaning. Ring 07754 

717975 after 4pm. 

Fuerteventura 

One bedroomed apartment for rent, sleeps 

four adults. On friendly clean complex with 

pool (inc children’s section), bar with 

entertainment, pool table. Situated in centre 

of Caleta-de-Fuste, close to all amenities, 

restaurants, banks, shops, bars, markets. Five 

minutes from large beach and two golf courses 

less than a mile away. Ten minutes from 

airport, transfers can be arranged. £135 

per week for up to two adults. Ring 

07748636441 or email 

Advertising in this column costs 

£10 per month, per advert. For 

further details contact Nicola Berry at 

nicola.berry@pat.nhs.uk 

The Trust offers no warranty to services/items 

offered in this section. You are strongly advised 

to check your rights and obligations as a 

landlord or tenant. Advice on this is 

available from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. 

page 13

pennine 

news 

Farewell from 

Umesh 

Colleagues on the move 

“AFTER being a consultant paediatrician at 

Fairfield for 17 years, I am about to leave 

my job to take on the new post as medical 

director of Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh 

Foundation Trust. 

“I would like to take this opportunity to 

thank everybody in the Pennine Trust for 

their help, support and guidance over the 

years. 

“My particular thanks go to all my medical 

colleagues, nurses, physiotherapists, 

occupational therapists and many other 

colleagues working in paediatrics as well 

as other departments. 

“I am proud that we have a fantastic 

team of nurses and doctors on the 

children’s wards throughout the Trust, 

but more so at Fairfield. Of course, I am 

biased but who wouldn’t be after spending 

17 years with so many wonderful people! 

“For me, it is a mixed feeling. Happy that 

I am taking on a much more challenging 

job as the medical director (some would 

say, what a fool!) but really sad that I am 

leaving such a wonderful team behind. 

“The most difficult thing is leaving such a 

wonderful department and excellent 

colleagues behind. Without all their 

support, help and guidance I would not 

have been able to provide the excellent 

quality of care which our children and 

their families deserve. 

“I wish you all every success and I 

sincerely hope that I will be invited to any 

parties that you are planning to have, in 

particular the children’s department at 

Bury. 

“I would like to thank the management for 

the excellent support which I received 

during my stay at Fairfield Hospital. It is 

only when managers and clinicians work 

together that we can provide the best 

possible care for our patients. 

“Over the years, I have received strong 

support from many, many consultants 

and colleagues from other departments 

such as radiology, obstetrics, pathology, 

orthopaedics, ENT, anaesthetics, and I am 

ever so grateful to all of you. 

“I am taking nothing but sweet and happy 

memories with me. My wishes are with 

you all. 

Kindest regards 

Umesh Prabhu” 

Linda leaves the orthopaedic team for R&R 

AN orthopaedic medical secretary 

who was part of the team at Oldham 

who won the team of the year award 

in 007 for its KSF work has retired 

from the Trust to enjoy a life of 

retirement. 

Linda Howarth who worked for 

Mr Elsworth and who was also the 

deputy medical secretarial manager 

for Oldham and KSF facilitator, 

worked for the Trust for years 

before giving her typing fingers a rest! 

With a leaving party attending by 

friends and colleagues, Linda was 

presented with a National Trust 

membership card which her and her 

husband can use, Debenhams 

vouchers, an amethyst ring and a 

brooch. 

Already enjoying spending more 

time in her garden and with her 

grandchildren, Linda said: “I would 

like to thank all my friends and 

colleagues for the presents, cards 

and fantastic send off you gave me. 

I was overwhelmed on the day by 

your generosity and the kindness 

you showed me. It was a pleasure 

knowing and working with you and I 

will miss you, but, with my comprehensive Memory Book, everyone's still with me. I am sure you will 

be pleased to know how much I am enjoying retirement and the freedom it brings." 

Flowers and vouchers for Kath 

THE staff on Marland ward at Rochdale 

Infirmary held a retirement party in April for a 

long serving member of staff. 

Auxiliary nurse Kath Payne had worked for 

the Trust for 31 years when ward manager 

Gill Fogarty and all her friends and 

colleagues wished her well for the future. 

New director of 

operations 

HUGH Mullen has started at The Trust as the 

newly appointed executive director of 

operations. 

He joins Pennine from the Health and Social 

Care Board in Northern Ireland where he 

was director of performance and service 

improvement. He was director of operations 

at Salford Royal Hospitals Trust from 001 to 

006, and immediately prior to that was 

divisional director for surgery at the former 

North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust. 


On your marks, get set for charity run 

PENNINE Acute Hospitals Charity recruited 30 

runners (from staff and within the local 

communities) to fight for the finish line in the 

Manchester 10K Run on Sunday 16 May 010. 

Sporting new charity tee shirts, sponsored by 

Ready Steady Store of Bury New Road, the 

group ran on behalf of a variety of wards and 

departments from each of the hospital sites. 

Easter bunny brings money to charity 

THe staff and users of the coldhurst 

Lifelong Learning centre in Oldham 

held an easter raffle to raise money 

for the Link4Pink appeal. 

Pictured above in the centre is Joanne Nolan, 

executive assistant based at Trust HQ, who 

regrettably injured her foot a week before the 

run. Joanne is surrounded by friends who have 

trained together over the last three months and 

who all ran for the Link4Pink Appeal at The 

Royal Oldham Hospital. 

Jan Bolton, charitable fundraising manager 

visited the centre to receive the £65 donation. 

Pictured at the handover are Ruki Mahfooz, 

Barry Hemingway, Jan Bolton, Caroline Giblin 

and Susan Wright-Westhead. 

Small change 

Big 

difference 


forthcoming events 

pennine 

news 

� Five-a-side football, 

auction and family fun 

day – 1 June at Waterhead 

Rugby Club from 1 noon. 

Supporting Oldham SCBU. 

Contact Catherine Thomas 

on 077 4 796441 for more 

details. 

� Race night – 6 June at 

Fairfield General Hospital 

social club. In support of the 

Carendo chair appeal for 

ward 18. For more details 

contact the ward direct. 

� Charity golf day – 0 

August at Manchester Golf 

Club. Four person team 

£140 to include evening 

meal and entertainment. In 

support of the Link4Pink 

appeal. To book a tee 

time ring Rita on 0161 6 6 

6935 or Denise on 01706 

6391 6. 

Link4Pink 

Pink Promenade 

Sponsored walk around 

Hollingworth Lake (2.25 miles) 

Raising funds for the Victoria Breast 

Unit at The Royal Oldham Hospital 

Sunday 4 July 

Starts at 2.30 pm from the 

visitors’ centre 

More information and sponsorship 

forms from Adele Rooney in the 

recruitment office at NMGH or 

adele.rooney@pat.nhs.uk 

page 15

pennine 

news 

Glamourous gran 

CONGRATULATIONS and 

best wishes to Nikki (Lena) 

Seasman on the safe arrival 

of her first grandchild, Jack, 

born on 14 April 010. 

Love from all your friends in 

x-ray at Rochdale Infirmary. 

PENNINE NOTICE BOARD 

Come and join the party 

THE North Manchester nurses’ league reunion for 010 is to 

be held on Saturday 5 June at NMGH’s post graduate centre. 

With a full day planned from 10am to 4pm, nursing and non 

nursing staff from North Manchester, Ancoats, The Northern, 

The Jewish and Monsall Hospitals are welcome to attend and 

meet up with their old friends. 

For further information contact Mary Varey on 0161 665 

3190 or email nomanurse@btinternet.com 

Golden celebrations for 

Jackie 

Congratulations 

to Jackie and Tony 

Eaton, who recently 

celebrated their 50th 

wedding anniversary. 

Jackie is a medical 

support worker and 

has worked at NMGH 

for a very long time 

now! 

All her friends wish her and Tony very best wishes for the next 

50 years. As you slide down the remainder of the banister of 

life, may the splinters be always turned the other way! 

Easter baby 

Congratulations to Jennie O’Reilly (PA to head of claims) and her 

husband, Robert, on the safe arrival of their first baby, Ryan Martin 

O’Reilly. Ryan was born on Easter Sunday at Fairfield. 

Love and best wishes to you all from everybody in the claims 

department, Fairfield House. 

UNISON 

Pennine Acute Health 

The largest public sector union in Europe 

represents all grades and professions of 

NHS staff in all departments. 

Over 30 stewards throughout the Trust 

Offices on all sites 

Why not join us today? 

You’ll never know when you need us 

Ring 0161 720 2149 

email contact@unison-pah.org,uk 

www.unison-pah.org.uk 

Free welcome pack For all new members

Pennine News 83 - June 2010 - Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

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