ESNEFT life Issue 1: Spring 2019 The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) Magazine Meet the heroes of ESNEFT Turn to pages 8 – 9 Also in this issue... This issue of ESNEFT life is kindly sponsored by See page 16 Healing garden opens Surgery masterclasses The magazine of Ipswich and Colchester hospitals and community healthcare services in north Essex and east Suffolk Send your items to...ESNEFT life See back page for details ESNEFT life...your magazine Issue 1: Spring 2019 Main entrance and Emergency Department The second is a larger, two-storey block which forms the new façade at the front of the building. This will provide Big builds at Colchester Hospital non-clinical areas – visitor facilities and convenience / retail outlets on the A series of big builds at Colchester Hospital have been ground floor. Below: Colchester Hospital colleagues announced. ESNEFT life explains… The building work has begun, and is celebrate the green light from planners for a set to be finished at the end of the new cancer centre. A new cancer centre year. Nick Hulme, Chief Executive of ork has begun on building a state-of-the-art cancer centre at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS WColchester Hospital to support patients through their diagnosis and Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), said: treatment. “The entrance and reception areas are The £3.25 million project will bring together chemotherapy, haematology frequently our patients’ first impression and radiotherapy under one roof, alongside a wellness centre to offer The front of the main building, which of the hospital, and it shapes their counselling and support services. has largely stayed the same since whole experience of coming to hospital It follows a fundraising drive by Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals charity the hospital opened in 1984, will at what for many is a stressful and which has raised £2.7 million since 2014, and still needs to raise £220,000. change significantly – paving the way anxious time. By increasing the space for an expansion of the Emergency and improving the facilities in this area The new centre will be more modern, comfortable and welcoming, Department (ED). we aim to create a calming, safe and creating a significantly better experience for patients, their families and reassuring comfortable environment.” carers. The development will take the form of two blocks. The first is single-storey The build will also include improving Kathryn Ramsey, Macmillan programme manager at Colchester Hospital, Artist impressions Artist impressions of the new outside and provides additional space for ED, access for vehicles and pedestrians, and said: “We are extremely grateful for all the support from the public of the new of Colchester Hospital’s entrance, which will include an Urgent Treatment widening the narrow bridge, creating with the fundraising and have also worked closely with the Colchester cancer centre. which will be more modern and Centre (see bottom right of page), a drop-off and pick-up loop at ED, Cancer Services User group to ensure the design of the new unit meets spacious. forward-facing entrance, waiting room improving toilet facilities and creating a the needs of our patients.” and consultation rooms. turning circle for buses. After making a £1 million donation to the campaign, a donor who wishes to remain anonymous was invited to name the new chemotherapy and haematology suite, which as a result will be known as the Drugs manufacturing unit Urgent Treatment Collingwood Centre. new drugs manufacturing unit is to be built at Colchester Hospital so Centres at Ipswich The hospital’s existing facilities in the Mary Barron Chemotherapy Suite and patients can benefit from tailor-made medication, including chemotherapy Haematology Day Unit are cramped with little space for friends and family to A and Colchester drugs for cancer. accompany loved ones and no space to expand. The aseptic unit, costing more than £3 million to build, will open next to the Teams at both Colchester and Pharmacy this autumn. Deputy pharmacy production manager Stephen Pullen Ipswich hospitals are transforming Interventional radiology and cardiac angiography unit said: “The unit will house specialist equipment with a dedicated, skilled team, the way emergency and urgent care offering the most responsive, flexible and effective service to provide safe and is provided. he development of a combined interventional radiology Chandra Sekharan, clinical director for diagnostic imaging high-quality injectables to meet our patients’ needs.” Both hospitals are planning to and cardiac angiography (IRCA) unit means patients will at Colchester Hospital, said: “Many patients with peripheral T The specially designed building will mean aseptically prepared products, for open urgent treatment centres be treated more quickly and in a specialist environment at vascular disease and other major diseases like aortic cancer chemotherapy treatment in particular, can be prepared on site, as (UTCs) and change the way their Colchester Hospital. aneurysms can be treated without an open operation by using well as a range of general intravenous preparations (IV), parenteral nutrition, emergency departments (EDs) are modern techniques of interventional radiology and this suite If the £7 million plans are approved, it will also prevent some radioactive injections and blood labelling for use in nuclear medicine. run. The UTCs will create single people having to travel to a centre of excellence outside of will provide an excellent place to do this. Many diagnostic ‘front doors’ for each hospital. All Colchester for their treatment. investigations, such as a biopsy using ultrasound guidance, walk-in patients will go to the UTC, will be done here to facilitate quicker diagnosis and planning and patients will only go to ED if of treatments.” clinicians at the UTC advise, or if Staff on the unit will be able to carry out invasive procedures, ambulances bring them in. usually involving the insertion of a needle, cannula, catheter The plan is for the Colchester UTC or wire into the patient for diagnosis and / or treatment. This to be open by the end of this year, type of minimally invasive technique will reduce the level of and Ipswich by the end of next year. risk to the patient, meaning they spend less time in hospital and can recover quicker. Go online Chief Executive Nick Hulme (left) with cardiology and Find out more about these builds at radiology colleagues at the site of the new building. www.esneft.nhs.uk 2 3 Send your items to...ESNEFT life See back page for details ESNEFT life...your magazine Issue 1: Spring 2019 Virtual robots have arrived at our hospitals. Digital Robots making life technology experts in our IT team are working with clinical Exercise therapy for Patients in waiting teams to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to our computer systems. stroke patients room busy knitting better for patients Here are two success stories about how the robots are making time matter. and staff id you know we offer therapy groups for stroke for dementia wards Dpatients across ESNEFT? Cutting down wasted appointments Sessions such as Tai-Chi, craft workshops and exercise herapeutic radiographer Lara Burgess has enlisted classes are held at Colchester Hospital. Tthe help of radiotherapy patients and their loved- ones to help her knit fidget quilts for patients with in Outpatients Ipswich Hospital hosts upper and lower limb exercise dementia. The activity is helping them to pass the time irtual robots are helping our teams reduce the number of wasted classes and relaxation in the waiting room at Ipswich Hospital. outpatient appointments by working behind the scenes in our sessions. V Fidget quilts are lap-size quilts made from fabrics with electronic patient records system. The pictures show junior touch-and-feel elements sewn on – buttons, ribbon, zips Our outpatients are sent a text message before their appointment to remind physiotherapist Rebecca and shoe laces for example. They provide comfort and them about their hospital visit. Now, if a patient selects to cancel the Fawcett and stroke distraction to patients who otherwise may spend time appointment, virtual robots at Colchester Hospital ‘pick up’ the cancellation, physiotherapy care tugging their clothes or bedding. search for the appointment in our electronic appointments system – just like assistant Sue Bycraft a human would – and notify the clinic. The newly freed appointments can in therapy classes with Lara (pictured with the first blankets off the production then be given to other patients on the waiting list so they get seen sooner. patients at Ipswich line) said: “I thought it’d be a good use of time. People chat and talk in the waiting room and it’s nice to have In the first week alone, the robots helped 301 unwanted appointments be Hospital. Saving medical secretaries something else to get involved with.” reallocated to other patients and prevented wasting more than £48,000. Darren Atkins (pictured right) is ESNEFT’s deputy Information and valuable time Communication Technology director. He said: “Going ur virtual robots are giving back hundreds on these early figures, over the course of a year, this Oof hours to medical secretaries so they can process will release 34 weeks of admin staff time, spend more time helping patients. offer 15,652 slots back to our patients and avoid the The virtual workers are handling admin-style tasks NHS wasting just over £2.1 million. at Ipswich Hospital, including GP referrals. The “If we book people in to those free slots we can lower robots monitor the electronic referral system and waiting times, see more patients and clinics are more when a new one arrives, it gathers, downloads productive.” and records key clinical data. Simon McCarthy (pictured right), ESNEFT’s operational This was previously carried out by medical lead for Outpatients, and Richie secretaries who had to print out all the Clayton, senior outpatient documents, before scanning each one – which coordinator, have been working could take between 10 and 20 minutes per alongside Darren’s team and referral.