THE MAGAZINE FOR NORTHAMPTON GENERAL HOSPITAL PATIENTS AND VISITORS Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust InsightSpring 2016 ❘ Issue 58 More than just a magazine Bring these pages to life with our amazing new app See page two WIN Free tickets to Chicago SEE BACK PAGE Medical Records staff are just one of our teams working BEHIND THE SCENES to keep the hospital running smoothly – See page 18 Supported by the Northamptonshire Health Charitable Fund CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S COLUMN Download our app and watch the video! Insight is now more than a magazine! Welcome to another edition with added video content, which you can see on your smartphone or tablet with our amazing new app, NGH Plus. Just download the PRESSURE app from the App Store or Google Play, follow the instructions below, then point it at the photos which show the ‘Scan photo for video’ symbol here. Download the NGH Point your device at CONTINUES, Plus app from the the photos where you 1 App Store (Apple) or 2 3 see the AR BUT HOPE Google Play (Android). content logo pictured right – and BECKONS wait for the Urgent care continues to be our main surprise. concern, and this dominates all our Double tap for efforts, impacting negatively on staff a full-screen. Open the app with as well as patients, with delays to a simple tap. elective procedures and risks to quality of care. Our performance against the 4-hour urgent care standard has again been poor recently and this is partly because there is a continual difficulty in discharging medically fit patients. Augmented reality services by ooh-AR.com Pressure continued through what proved to be a relatively mild winter, with more admissions than last year, more referrals in medicine than ever before and the acuity of patients reaching its highest level. MORE INSIGHTS FROM SONIA WITH It is clear that, in order to really become efficient, we do need to have some more acute hospital beds. We cannot keep running the hospital with 100% of our acute beds full at all times. OUR NEW NGH PLUS APP Our task for this year is therefore to set out the case that shows that by ith our new NGH Plus app, you can now see and hear our chief executive Dr investing in 60 more beds we will be Sonia Swart as well as read her regular column in Insight. Simply point your offering better and more efficient care phone or tablet at the image below and watch her latest quarterly update so covering the cost of the investment. W With the support of our regulators and about life at Northampton General Hospital. commissioners, we could create two additional wards at the Cliftonville end of the site, ensuring that we develop new ways of working to maximise efficiency and cover the costs required. We have already been successful this year in obtaining loans for capital equipment to replace high cost items such as linear accelerators, CT scanners and MRI scanners. This type of loan is at an affordable interest rate and is currently the best way to finance this expenditure. Keeping our patients safe during the winter and pulling together during the junior doctors’ strikes tested all of us, and I’m proud of the efforts of ‘Team NGH’ in meeting the challenges. We still get some great compliments that stress the friendly, caring nature of our people - even when it is very busy. We’re very much hoping that more beds in 2016 will mean that we can continue to improve our services and ensure all our patients receive their care in the most appropriate location without delay. Dr Sonia Swart Chief Executive Northampton General Hospital 2 ❘ Insight NEWS Brian Stone BEM VOLUNTEER BRIAN IS HONOURED rian Stone, one of our Friends of NGH volunteers, was it. My wife Hilary deserves a lot of credit as she has been very awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours. understanding when I have spent time volunteering on Christmas B Brian, aged 77, was nominated for providing more than and Boxing Day.” 20 years’ service to a range of charities and organisations in Northampton since his retirement from the borough council. However his association with NGH goes back much further – as 60 years ago, aged just 17, he used to deliver the dinner trolleys from the hospital kitchens to patients on the wards every Sunday! Since then, his many volunteer roles have included being a church visitor to care homes (firstly with Mount Pleasant and then Milton Malsor Baptist churches), home visitor for Northamptonshire Association for the Blind, membership secretary for the NHS Retirement Fellowship, Neighbourhood Watch coordinator, fire victim supporter, cycling proficiency examiner for RoSPA – and many more! Since 2001 he has been a volunteer with the Friends of NGH, first as a guide and buggy driver, and now as a ward visitor. Despite currently suffering from prostate cancer himself, Brian found the time to visit lonely, elderly patients last Christmas. He said he was “absolutely amazed” by the award and that he got a lot of enjoyment out of his voluntary work. “I had been out shopping when I returned to find a letter from the Cabinet Office on the mat. It said I had got an award for services to the community in Northampton. Brian talks to a patient on Althorp ward “I was amazed. I don’t really know what I have done to deserve Insight ❘ 3 PEOPLE NEWS NATIONAL AWARD FOR LISA AND THE TEAM ongratulations to our Macmillan proactive, but this lung cancer nurse specialist Lisa It’s been a real really is a totally Wells, who has won a national C team effort so the patient-focused award for leadership and innovation approach and it in cancer nursing - the Lynn Adams award is a nice makes a huge Award presented by the UK Oncology acknowledgement and positive Nursing Society. of the hard work difference to the Lisa, along with Julie Reece, Rebecca that we’ve put in. care of patients.” Tapp and Georgie Morris, developed a “It’s been a proactive model of care which enables real team effort them to assess and prioritise the holistic so the award is a needs of lung cancer patients – and nice acknowledgement provide personalised support either in of the hard work that we’ve put in their own home or in clinic. They run a telephone support clinic and contact and the challenges we’ve overcome. It patients proactively to find out how endorses the project and the very good they’re coping. They also operate a rapid outcomes it has achieved for patients. response system to help implement a I was presented with a certificate care package or equipment at home to and plaque at conference, but for me help people remain in their own home. personally the greatest reward was to Lisa said: “We try to pick up the be able to stand up and present at that problems early and stop them building national oncology forum in front of very up to crisis point. We’ve always tried to be senior cancer nurse colleagues.” Strictly gifts from Glynis and Debbie Two of our Strictly NGH contestants from last year have presented Director of operations and deputy chief executive Deborah Needham also equipment to hospital departments as a result of their fundraising efforts. took part in Strictly last year, having seen her boss take part the year before. Firstly, a big well done to child services PA Glynis Miles, who donated She said: “I thought I would give it a go, it looked fun and I was keen to learn!” half her Strictly NGH sponsorship money to buy toys for the child Deborah raised over £1,500 which she chose to donate to Dryden cardiology development centre. ward. “From the age of 39 my father had quite significant cardiac problems, Glynis raised a total including gift aid of £780, which has been split equally having had several operations and, at the age of 52, he suffered a massive between the CDC and the children’s hearing clinic. heart attack,” she said. The CDC team, who see pre-school children who may have a delay in The ward purchased some telemetry equipment, which is a simple and their development or some other special need, are headed by lead nurse effective way of heart monitoring for patients on the ward. Bridget Mold. “Learning to dance was much more difficult than I anticipated and, being Bridget, seen here accepting the gifts, said: “We’re very grateful to Glynis for quite shy, I found it hard to put on a show on the actual night!” said Deborah. her generous donation, which means that we have been able to buy some My dance partner was amazing and he put a lot of hours in of his own time new toys and replace some of our more worn items. helping me to get the steps right. “Being tucked away on the second floor means that we’re not one of the “The whole Strictly NGH team had such a good time, it’s a memory I will keep most high-profile departments, but it’s lovely when we’re remembered in this forever. Due to work pressure over the busy winter period I haven’t managed way. The children will really appreciate the new toys.” to get to any more classes, but I do hope to start again in the spring.” 4 ❘ Insight NGH NEWS FIRST PATIENT IS TREATED ON NEW LINAC MACHINE Scan the photo to watch a video of Glynis talking about her treatment Glynis Albrighton, the first patient to receive treatment on the new machine with her oncology consultant Dr Qurrat Mehmood atients receiving radiotherapy designed converted building connected to the better accuracy in targeting cancer cells.” treatment at NGH are benefiting main hospital site by a new glass walkway.