St Gazette

issue 21 December 2010

the

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�contents

2 the gazette

the gazette is written and published by thecommunications unit. The opinions expresseddo not necessarily represent those of St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust. The nextedition will be published in February 2011. If you are a staff member with a story for thegazette, please email:[email protected]

The front page main picture shows HRH theQueen officially opening the Tooting site inNovember 1980.

2 Building bridges

3 A word from David

3 Reflection from the chair

4 Integration update

4 Landmark diabetes studyremembered

5 Be my guest

5 Facebook and Twitter – a year on

6 AHSCN conference

6 Pioneering professor makes surprisevisit

7 Civic Award for Queen Mary’sarchivist

7 Changing gear

7 Transport awareness day

8-9 Celebrating 30 years in Tooting

10 View from the top Di Caulfeild-Stoker

11 Spotlight on Paul Silke

12 Past and present – Hunter Wing

12 10:10 campaign

13 Simulation brings trauma to life

13 AGM

14 Round-upfrom the chaplaincy

14 Patient feedback

14 New appointment

15 FT update

15 St George’s Nurses league

16 HCA on wards

16 Women and children’s hospital takesshape

17 Long service dinner awards

17 Safeguarding event

17 Mobile scanning unit

18 Theatres get productive

18 Renal centre exchange programme

19 Patient safety week

19 Hand towels initiative

20 Charity news

A presentation on the One Teamproject has inspired the elderly carenursing team to begin a series ofworkshops looking at customerservice and communication.

Alison Hempstead, matron for elderly care,identified the need to address issues ofcommunication and teamwork betweennurses on the wards and developed the‘building bridges’ workshops, with supportfrom practice educators and the trainingand facilities team.

“I didn’t feel that there was much unityaround the ward between teammembers,” says Alison, “so I went to thetraining and education team to develop aprogramme to help address issues in theworkplace.”

The workshops help staff to identify whatgood customer service is and how it isdelivered in successful organisations. Theythen talk about barriers to good teamworkand how these can be conquered.

Goals are identified and staff create‘blocks’ from the changes they’d like tomake in the workplace. These blocksrepresent parts of the ‘bridge’ they willpiece together to reach their goals. The

‘bridge’ and the actions agreed have beendisplayed in the staffroom, helping peopleto focus on the things they discussed.

“Communication was a key theme in thediscussions – most staff admitted that ifthey spent more time being polite andmore considerate of their colleagues theneveryone would get along better and workmore efficiently as a team. We also askedstaff to focus on the trust’s values – kind,excellent, responsible, respectful – whichare key fundamentals for team working onthe wards.”

“Our nurses have taken ownership of theissues raised and put into action their ownsolutions. It has helped us to get to thebottom of some of the issues on the wardsand has really improved the way peoplecommunicate. It’s easy to damage theoverall patient experience just through onesimple incident, like poor communication.I’m hoping that the project will improvestaff satisfaction and reduce complaintsfrom patients.”

90 per cent of the nurses across CaesarHawkins, Heberden and Thomas Youngwards have been on the workshops and others wards have taken interest, so the model could be rolled out in otherareas soon.

It’s easy to damage the overall patient experience justthrough one simple incident, like poor communication.

excellent

respectful

responsible

kindrespectful

Building bridges in elderly care

BUILDING BRIDGES: Elderly care staff show off the ‘blocks’ they will use to improve team work and customer service

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The last thegazette of 2010

is a special editioncelebrating the 30thanniversary of StGeorge’s official moveto Tooting. Inside,readers will find adouble page spreadfeaturing photographsfrom November’sanniversarycelebrations as well aspictures from the dayin November 1980,when HRH Queen Elizabeth officially openedthe Tooting site after Hyde Park Corner closed.

The trust has come a long way since it wasoriginally founded in 1773 but while there aredifficult goals ahead, such as achieving financialsecurity and becoming a foundation trust, staffmust always be looking forward and adaptingto new and innovative ways of working. It isimportant that, while we plan for the future, wedon’t forget the great work of those who havegone before. In past and present this month wereflect on the life and legacy of John Hunter.

There is a strong emphasis on patient safety andimproving care in this edition, as the spotlightfalls on Paul Silke, lead for prevention of fallsand we look back at patient safety week. Inview from the top we speak to Di Caulfeild-Stoker, divisional chair of community servicesWandsworth.

I am pleased to say that staff have made greatstrides in adopting the trust’s new values ofexcellent, kind, responsible and respectful whichwere launched in the summer. The stories aboutour building bridges workshops on page 2 andthe role of health care assistants on the wardson page 16 are both great examples of staff’swillingness to adopt positive change which willbenefit patient care. Someone who can teach usa thing of two about excellent customer care isAntonio Garcia-Fernandez, a housekeeper onAllingham Ward whose story is featured onpage 5.

As always, this edition of the gazette highlightsand celebrates our many successes, showcasingexamples of the great work throughout StGeorge’s Healthcare. We have some greatpicture spreads and round-ups of recent events.

Finally, I would like see 2010 out with a massive‘well done’ and ‘thank-you’ to colleagues for your continued support and commitmentand wish all staff a safe and veryhappy Christmas and New Year.

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A word from DavidSt George’s has a long and distinguishedhistory stretching back over 270 years,but we are relatively new to southwestLondon. Indeed, November marked 30years of being in the heart of Tooting.

Much has happened since that time andtoday we are a large teaching hospitalembedded in our local community, andproud to bring leading-edge, specialistcare to the people of Wandsworth,southwest London, Surrey and beyond.We also continue to work closely with StGeorge’s, University of London toundertake high quality research anddevelop the healthcare professionals ofthe future.

There have been many achievements thisyear of which we can all be proud of. Inaddition to receiving the green light tobecome one of four major traumacentres and one of eight hyper-acutestroke units for London, many of ourstaff and teams from across the trustwere recognised for their work andreceived awards and prizes.

We also continued with our programmeof refurbishments across the trust; thisincludes the refurbishment of the mainrestaurant in Lanesborough Wing andthe improvement of the standard of staffaccommodation at The Grove.

A significant achievement this year is ourintegration with community servicesWandsworth (CSW). This is an excitingdevelopment that will enable us toprovide improved care, especially for ourWandsworth residents, who will belooked after by the same clinical teams,whether they are in hospital or in thecommunity. This means that patients willonly have to come into hospital whenabsolutely necessary. I would like to takethis opportunity to welcome all CSWstaff and hope that they are beginningto feel like they are part of the StGeorge’s Healthcare family.

Going forward, the next twelve monthswill present challenges and opportunitiesfor the trust as we progress ourfoundation trust plans (FT). FT status iscrucial for our future. As a FT, greaterfinancial freedom coupled withaccountability to our members will allowus to develop facilities and services thatare better suited to our patients’ needs.The process leading to FT will test bothour financial management and patientsafety standards and will undoubtedlymake St George’s stronger as anorganisation.

A key focus of mine for 2011 will bestaff health and wellbeing. At ourAnnual General Meeting this yearcolleagues from the diabetes team gave

a presentationon their workand wereflected thatby 2025 overfour millionpeople willhave diabetesin the UK.This meansthat of our7,000 staff,up to 25 percent could beat risk ofgettingdiabetes. This is a serious concern, and Iam keen that we work together tomaintain and improve the physical andmental wellbeing of our staff.

St George’s Healthcare is also committedto doing its part for the environment.We pledged to cut our carbon emissionsduring 2010 by signing-up to thenational 10:10 campaign. I am pleasedthat we have stayed true to this pledge.An example of our progress is the factthat in 2009/10 we recycled more then333 tons of plastic, paper, cardboard,cans and glass compared to just 35 tonsin 2005.

I am convinced that the outlook for StGeorge’s Healthcare is brighter than ever.Our plans will set us on track to achieveour vision for 2015 which sees us as asuccessful foundation trust deliveringcutting edge local and specialist servicesof outstanding quality in community andhospital settings, supported by nationallyrecognised programmes of research,education and staff development.

However we are also mindful that in thecurrent financial climate, delivering safepatient care economically and efficientlywill pose a significant challenge for all ofus - the board and the staff. We willcontinue to need robust costimprovement programmes in place andeveryone will be required to payattention to patient quality as well asefficiency and costs.

I would like to end by saying a big thankyou to all our staff for your hard workand dedication this year. I would also liketo take this opportunity to extend mywarmest thanks to our volunteers,charities and the chaplaincy for theongoing support that they provide toboth patients and staff.

Season’s greetings and merry Christmasto all and good wishes for the New Year.May 2011 be our best year yet!

Naaz Coker, chair

Reflection from the chair

David Astley, chief executive


4 the gazette

A small retirement dinner was held fortwo St George’s Healthcare staff, DrMary-Anne Whitehead and MaryAndersen, who were involved overmany years in the United KingdomProspective Diabetes Study (UKPDS). The UKPDS was the largest clinical researchstudy into diabetes ever conducted and StGeorge’s Healthcare played a key role,recruiting a large number of patients to takepart.

The study on type 2 diabetics was conductedin the UK from 1977-1997 and the resultswere published in 1998. On completing the

trial, the patients involved were entered into aten-year, post-trial monitoring programme.This was completed in December 2007 withresults published in 2008. Many patientscontinued being seen in the Thomas AddisonUnit after the trial finished.The trial produced more than a hundredmajor publications, a number of themlandmarks in the field, between 1983 and2009 on all aspects of type 2 diabetes. Indeedthe acronym UKPDS is recognised throughoutthe world by anyone who works in the clinicalcare of diabetics. The results threw particularlight on the factors affecting progression of

type 2 diabetes and its complications andaffected the various forms of treatment used.

Professor Stephen Nussey, consultant inendocrinology, who was involved in the trialin the early 1980s said: “The trial itself was atribute to Rob Turner in Oxford, whoovercame many difficulties to ensure itslongevity and locally to Professor TomPilkington and Dr Nigel Oakley, who ensuredlocal interest and recruitment. Sadly, RobTurner did not live to see its completion andthe legacy for diabetes care.”

This autumn the St George’sHealthcare family grew by 1,200 asthe community services Wandsworth(CSW) workforce transferred over tobecome employees of St George’sHealthcare.

From October 2010, St George’sHealthcare now provides a wide range ofnursing and therapy services to children,adults and older people in the community.

Many people will already be familiar withservices provided at Queen Mary’sHospital in Roehampton. These includeoutpatient rapid diagnostic and treatmentfacilities, a minor injuries unit, limb fittingservices and 70 elderly, intermediate careand rehabilitation beds.

Community services are also provided atSt John’s Therapy Centre, 11 healthcentres across the borough, Dawes Houseintermediate care unit, GP surgeries,schools, nurseries, and in people’s homes.

NEW FACES: (l-r) Joel Cullen, community nurse; Georgina Essenhigh, community matron;Josephine Odogwu , community nurse; Pius Akubue, community nurse

Welcome to the family

�staff news

The community services Wandsworthdivision also provides a full range ofhealth services at Wandsworth Prison, thelargest prison in the UK with up to 1,665inmates at any time.

Community services Wandsworth hasbecome our fourth care division, and isresponsible for providing a range ofspecialist services across the borough.

These services include:

District nursing, health visiting, schoolnursing, specialist nursing, sexual healthand family planning, HIV services,haemoglobinopathies, communitydentistry, occupational therapy,physiotherapy, speech & languagetherapy, dietetics, rehabilitation services,people with learning disabilities

An extended service portfolio is not onlygood news for our patients, it also meansthat there are now greater opportunitiesfor our staff to gain experience indifferent areas. Staff who are interested in

sampling life in another service shouldspeak to their line manager for advice.

In addition, community servicesWandsworth’s corporate teams providekey support functions of humanresources, clinical governance, nursingand therapists, professional leadership,finance, information, research and IT.Many of these staff have had a busyOctober, moving into their new homes inthe corporate offices at St George’sHospital.

A more joined up workforce will enable StGeorge’s Healthcare to play a greater rolein the prevention of ill health and focusour resources on developing integratedclinical teams providing even better care,closer to where people live.

This is a fantastic opportunity to develop atruly integrated health service for localresidents, by building on the strengths ofboth organisations and enabling GPs,primary, community and hospital servicesto work together to provide the continuityof high quality care we all want for ourpatients.

These changes will not affect local GPs orother healthcare providers. If outpatientcare is needed, GPs will still refer patientsto the hospital or healthcare centre thatthey and their patients choose.

David Astley, chief executive, said: “Weare delighted to welcome CSW staff andservices to the trust. This is an excitingchange, one which will improve thehealthcare choices available to localpeople by providing more care in theirown homes, reducing unnecessaryadmissions to hospital and helpingpatients leave hospital as soon as it is safefor them to do so.”

Find out more about Di Caulfeild-Stoker, divisional chair of communityservices Wandsworth, on page 10.

Landmark diabetes study remembered


Antonio recognition among his colleaguesaround the trust. All new housekeepersstarting in medical wards are sent tospend two weeks with him so they canemploy some of his personal tactics.

He said: “It was hard work at thebeginning but we saw the light at the endof the tunnel, and we arrived at our highpoint. However, we mustn’t becomecomplacent – complacency is the worstenemy people can have. Once you havebuilt a reputation you cannot afford tomake a mistake as everybody is looking atyou and expecting the best from you.

“In my opinion, hospitals need to learn alot of the customer service that they givein hotels, especially as the NHS ischanging. People don’t realise that this isgoing to become a very competitivebusiness.”

In these challenging times when all trustsmust gain FT status, when patients canpick one trust over another, it is going tobe more important than ever toimplement these changes to ensure weare the first choice for patients.

Antonio continued: “We have to realisethat there is always room forimprovement, we should be open toconstructive criticism and always take newideas on board. People become engrainedin a way of working and think thatchanging is not an option. But everythingchanges, and a business that doesn’tchange will die – you have to beinnovating all the time.

“It is not enough to have an excellentreputation medically. You can have thebest consults in the world but if theservice the patient receives after theconsultation is bad, our reputation willnever be good.

“People expect a certain standard, and ifwe want to survive, we have to exceedtheir expectations.”

atmosphere like they were in a coffeeshop somewhere – it is very relaxing.”

In addition to this, Antonio makes sure hetalks to the patients each morningensuring they have a complementarynewspaper. He stresses communication iskey in ensuring problems are solvedquickly, maintaining an excellent level ofcustomer service. “I talk to my patientsevery morning; I ask how they are andhow their evening was. People tend to tellme things they probably wouldn’t tell thenurses because they see me in a differentrole.”

It is this level of dedication to his‘customers’ which helped to turn theward around – last year it was judged asthe best medical ward by the healthcommission, described as being‘wonderful’ and ‘well-organised’. Thiscommitment to the job has gained

The gazette meets the man whomakes no room for complacency,housekeeper Antonio Garcia-Fernandez to find out more about hisrevolutionary take on the patient asthe customer and how this appliesacross the board.

Spanish-born Antonio has been aroundthe block and knows a thing or two aboutcustomer service. After working world-wide for 25 years at every level of thehotel industry, he decided it was time fora change.

“I wanted to do something different so Idecided to work in a job that would giveme the satisfaction of working withpeople again.

“Even though this is a hospital we are stilldealing with people, and customer serviceis terribly important to any business that isdealing with people. To me it makes nodifference whether I’m working in theDorchester Hotel with people who arepaying £500-600 per night or workinghere – I see people as my guests, mycustomers, and without them I have nojob.”

This is evident in the personal touchesAntonio has put in place in AllinghamWard, where he has worked for the lastthree years.

Antonio explains: “I put a selection ofcomplementary newspapers out in thecommon room for people to choose fromand make sure it is clean and quiet. I leavea trolley with teas and coffees and I comethrough from time to time to check thateverything is ok. I try to get the

excellent

CUSTOMER CARE: Antonio Garcia-Fernandezdelivers a paper to patient Monica Gilbert

It has been a year since the trust first launched its Twitter and Facebook pages.These help the trust communicate with patients, public and staff on a daily basis.Staff are unable to access these sites at work, but are encouraged to join up andview at home.

The communications team looks at different ways to use social networking sites toreach new audiences. One example of this was in September, when updates of theAGM were ‘tweeted’ in real time to allow people who were unable to attend tofollow the meeting’s progress and ask questions.

St George’s Healthcare now has more than 500 followers on Twitter and is ‘liked’ bymore than 370 people on Facebook.

Colin Wren, new media officer, said: “There is a really big shift in the way people accessand share information nowadays due to the impact of social media. It is important thatthe trust explores how it can use this medium to engage with key audiences.”

Facebook and Twitter – a year on

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Be my guest


6 the gazette

First AHSNconferencea successThe Academic Healthand Social CareNetwork (AHSN) heldits first conference inOctober at StGeorge’s, Universityof London.

The conference wasentitled CrossingBoundaries: Networksand Nudges. Newopportunities for jointworking between theNHS, local governmentand universities.Presentations weremade by keynotespeakers, includingPaul Ormerod,behavioural economistand fellow at DurhamUniversity, whosebooks include ‘Thebutterfly effect’ and‘Why most thinks fail’and Matthew Horne,managing partner atthe innovation unit,who described hisproject on radicalefficiency.

The AHSN wasestablished in 2009 andis a partnership of allthe key health andsocial careorganisations insouthwest London’s sixboroughs, togetherwith KingstonUniversity and StGeorge’s, University ofLondon.

Laurence Benson,director for thenetwork, said: “Theconference had realbuzz with more than100 people attendingfrom across southwestLondon. The mix ofacademics andclinicians from acuteand communityproviders, along withprimary care and socialcare leaders, triggeredlots of shared learningand provided areminder that we allneed to work togetherto deliver better carefor local people.”

Children from across southwest London andSurrey who have had their lives transformedby a cochlear implant got the chance to meetthe device’s inventor, Professor GraemeClark, at St George’s Hospital in November.

Professor Clark met several children and theirfamilies, including seven year old Amie Lundberg,the first patient to have the implant at StGeorge’s, and her brother Jack, who had hissecond cochlear implant earlier this year, to findout how their lives have been changed since theiroperations.

A cochlear implant is an electronic medical devicethat replaces the function of the damaged innerear. Unlike hearing aids, which make soundslouder, cochlear implants do the work ofdamaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) to sendsound signals to the brain.

Professor Clark was in London to deliver the ListerOration at the Royal College of Surgeons, one ofthe most prestigious awards available in surgery.He visited St George’s Hospital to open a two-daycochlear implant course for surgeons from acrossthe UK and Europe.

St George’s Hospital was chosen to host thecourse by Cochlear Europe as recognition for thegreat strides made by the St George’s Healthcare

cochlear implant programme, which has beenrunning for four years and is the youngest in thecountry. Since the programme was establishedmore than 60 procedures on children fromsouthwest London and Surrey have beenperformed at St George’s Hospital.

David Selvadurai, consultant ENT surgeon anddirector of the cochlear implant programme, said:“I am so thrilled that the children have had theopportunity to meet the man whose life longwork has changed their lives. He is trulyinspirational and the children and staff will neverforget today.”

Amie Lundberg, the first child to have thecochlear implant at St George’ Hospital threeyears ago, is now seven years old. She said: “I ama special girl here because I was the first personto have the cochlear at the hospital when I wasonly three years old and I had a second sideimplant last year. I come to see Mr Selvaduraievery year.

“I have really been looking forward to meetingthe professor and it was nice telling him that I amgetting on well. I like my peach cochlear implantand I put stickers on it, and it helps me to watchmy favourite films, like Cinderella.”

MEMORABLE DAY: Prof Clark meets some of the children who have benefited from the cochlear implant

Pioneering Professor meetsyoung cochlear patients


the gazette 7

In October staff from thecommunity servicesWandsworth division cametogether for the last time at theclimax of the six monthchanging gear programme.

The programme, run by AdnanBajwa, organisational developmentmanager, with tutorials led bysenior CSW staff, aims to armmiddle managers and seniorclinicians with the tools they needto effectively manage change andto take the next step in the careersin the NHS into more seniorpositions.

Topics explored on the courseincluded personality type, selfawareness and self management,coaching skills, finance and data forservice improvement andrelationships management. Thosetaking part also worked on achange project of their choice,which fits in with the trust’s visionof developing a culture of employeeengagement and responsibility.

Before being able to collect theircertificates, the delegates all facedthe daunting task of delivering afinal presentation on the changeproject they had been working onfor half a year. The panel includedDi Caulfeild-Stoker, divisional chairof the community servicesWandsworth division, Paula Swann,NHS Wandsworth director offinance, and other senior managers,as well as the other 25 people onthe course.

Staff from a wide variety ofbackgrounds took part in thecourse, including therapists, healthvisitors, specialist nurses, serviceadministrators and corporate staff.

Di Caulfeild-Stoker said: “I feel veryproud that the common goal of allthis tremendous work is to improveservices for our patients. I applaudeverybody for all the time and effortthat they have invested in thisprogramme, and feel sure thateverybody who has completed thecourse, their colleagues and ourpatients, will reap the benefits for along time to come.”

Changing geardelegates prepare for thefast lane

Gordon Jones, chairman of the QueenMary’s Hospital archive and museumgroup, was honoured by the Mayor ofWandsworth with a Civic Award at atown hall ceremony in November. Theaward was in recognition of thesignificant contribution he has madeto life in the borough.

In 2000 Gordon took on the task ofpreserving many of the historic artefactsand documents at Queen Mary’s as thedevelopment of the new hospital gatheredpace.

Gordon’s work has seen the Queen Mary’sarchive classified by the National Archive asbeing of national significance, covering notonly medical history but many aspects ofmilitary, social and political history.

In his ten years as chairman of the archiveand museum committee, Gordon hasoverseen the opening of the new QueenMary’s Hospital museum and has securedfunding from the Heritage Lottery Fund forthe Queen Mary’s oral history project.

The project has seen the museumcommittee interview 60 people who havebeen a patient or worked at the hospitalduring its 95 year history. The project willdraw to a close next summer, when the 60recorded histories will be published on theQueen Mary’s website.

Di Caulfeild-Stoker, divisional chair ofcommunity services Wandsworth, said: “Iam absolutely delighted for Gordon, this isvery well deserved recognition for thetremendous amount of time and effort heand his team have put into bringing the

Civic Award for Queen Mary’s archivist

history of Queen Mary’s Hospital tolife. Without his leadership anddedication, an important part of localhistory could have been lost forever.”

Gordon said: “Documenting the workof Queen Mary’s has been a pleasure.Since opening in 1915, the hospitaland its staff have worked continuouslyto retain the accolade of being one ofthe best limb fitting and amputeerehabilitation centres in the world.

“These archives not only narrate thehistory of a world renownedestablishment, but also tell the story ofa small group of people, amputees,whose experiences may have goneunnoticed if it was not for the work ofthe Archive Group and its dedicatedvolunteers.”

To find out more about the archiveand museum committee’s work checkout the Queen Mary’s websitewww.queenmarysroehampton.nhs.uk

AWARD WINNER: (l-r) Mayor ofWandsworth Cllr Piers McCausland withGordon Jones

PATIENT TRANSPORT: G4S, the trust's non-emergency patient transport providers, held a patienttransport awareness day in September. This provided an ideal opportunity for staff to find out whatthe patient transport service entails and there was an opportunity to see the vehicles used totransport patients. Information leaflets were also handed out


8 the gazette celebrating 30 years in Tooting

St George’s, University of London.

Staff were also invited to get more hands-onwith the anniversary celebrations by enteringa photography competition, entitled StGeorge’s – 30 years in Tooting.

Although the history of St George’sHealthcare stretches back over

270 years the last threedecades have seen both thetrust and university becomevery much part of the fabricof life in southwest London.

The gazette’s editorial teamput out a trust-wide appeal to

find your stories and experiencesof St George’s Healthcare over the

last 30 years.

Here is what you told us:Roger Skinner, previous trust legal servicesmanager, who retired in 2005, recalls hisexperience of the Queen’s visit to the trust.He said: “Before the Queen's visit we hadvarious security visits followed by a fullrehearsal of those to be presented lining uparound the route. My secretary at the time,Hilary Cartwright, stood in as ‘Her Majesty’.

“The Palace told us that as well as havingEarl Grey tea for the Queen at the reception,a dedicated powder room should beidentified. Subsequently known as "the Royalflush" an office in Grosvenor Wing (now partof HR I believe) was identified.

On Monday 8th November, the ingredientsrestaurant, first floor Lanesborough Wing,went all 80s by offering a 1980s themedmenu, music and staff dressed up in 80s-inspired fashion.

500 complementary cupcakes werehanded out to staff, students,patients and visitors as theywere invited to join thecelebration by looking at aspecial display, chartingthe life of St George’sHealthcare NHS Trust and

November was a month of celebration as the trust anduniversity marked the 30th anniversary of St George’s moveto Tooting and an official opening by the Queen.

ROYAL VISITOR: The Queen took the time to visit somepatients and staff on the wards at the official opening

CelebratinCelebratin

JOINT CELEBRATION: Peter Kopleman, principal of St George’s,University of London and David Astley, chief executive of St George’sHealthcare NHS Trust celebrate the 30th anniversary

OFFICIAL OPENING: Her Majesty theQueen officially opened St George’sHealthcare on 6th November 1980

Celebrating30

TOP TICKET: Tickets were distributed to allow admission to the‘official opening and tea’ in the Monckton Theatre. Above, Staff,students, patients and visitors were invited to join the trust inenjoying a celebratory birthday cake, kindly sponsored by MITIE


the gazette celebrating 30 years in Tooting 9

“When the Grosvenor Wing was in its planningstages an on-call room was included there for somereason, hence the additional facilities.

“During her speech, the Queen, who was the Patronof the hospital, said how she would "miss havingher own hospital at the bottom of her garden.”

Matthew Haswell, deputy mortuary managercellular pathology, was born in the hospital on 12th November 1980. He said: “Today, I work in the mortuary in cellular pathology, after Istarted work in the medical school ten years ago.”

Robin Dobinson worked in the theatres as aporter at Hyde Park corner, and moved to theTooting site when HPC closed. He recalls: “I was the first theatre porter to collect apatient from Nicholls ward for an operation inLanesborough Wing theatres, which wasreported in the local guardian.”

Robin moved from Lanesborough Wingtheatres in 1981 to become a mortuarytechnician and today is still working at the trust as themortuary manager.

Berit Moback, senior Macmillan nurse who works inthe palliative care team, said: “I was a student nurse at Hyde Park and was actively involved in the campaignto keep Hyde Park open. I even have an old badgewhich reads “Stop the cuts – keep St George’s SW1 open!”

After working across southwest London, Berit returnedto work at St George’s Healthcare four years ago.

Helen Greensmith, haemophilia clinical nurse specialisthas worked with the trust since 1978 when she startedas a student nurse. She recalls the Queen’s visit: “I wasworking in paediatrics in 1980 when the Queen cameto open the medical school and new wing. I recall hervisit to the children’s ward.”

St George’s 1980-2010

1980 St George’s at Hyde Park Corner (HPC) formally closes on 30th June

1980 The Queen commemorates the transfer of services from HPC toTooting on 6th November. Lanesborough Wing opens

1984 Jenner Wing added

1988 St James Wing opens following closure of the St James Hospital,Balham

1993 St George’s Group becomes St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust

1995 The Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences is established, jointlyrun by Kingston University and St George’s

2000 The medical school introduces MBBS Graduate Entry Programme(GEP), and new building work begins on new Atkinson MorleyWing where the NHS trust’s cardiothoracic and neurosciences will based

2003 Atkinson Morley Wing opens following a transfer of services fromthe Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon

2005 St George’s Hospital Medical School is renamed St George’s,University of London

2009 Grosvenor Wing main entrance is refurbished in March

2009 St George’s Healthcare was named as Dr Foster’s large trust of the year

2010 St George’s Healthcare became one of London’s four major traumacentres (MTC) in April and one of eight hyper-acute stoke units for the capitalROYAL ASSEMBLY: Eager staff members waiting for

their turn to meet the Queen

ng 3 0ng 3 0

80s TEAM: The staff at MITIE went all out for the1980s themed day in the ingredients restaurant

0years in TootingSt Gazette 20new7:Layout 1 13/12/10 09:40

10 the gazette

�

What does your role as divisionalchair involve? For the last year or so most of myattention has been focused on theintegration of community servicesWandsworth (CSW) with St George’sHealthcare. Now we have integrated andestablished CSW as the trust’s fourth caredivision, service transformation is verymuch on the agenda.

I am ultimately accountable andresponsible for all activity within thedivision, working very closely not only withmy own senior management team, butalso with the other divisional chairs anddirectors and GPs and commissioners tomake sure that the pathways betweenservices are working as smoothly andeffectively as they possibly can.

We provide so many services from so manyplaces, from hospitals and health centres,to Wandsworth prison and in schools, thatno two days throw up the samechallenges!

How did you get to where you arenow?I am still a registered general nurse andalso have an MA in marketing. I firmlybelieve that you should never stop tryingto improve your skills and push yourselfoutside of your comfort zone to help yourdevelopment.

I trained at Guy’s Hospital specialising inintensive care and cardiac nursing, workingmy way up to nursing officer and seniornurse positions. In 1990 I moved to QueenMary’s Hospital, Roehampton to becomedirector of nursing for acute services.

I have held three other director of nursingposts at the former Richmond,Twickenham & Roehampton Trust, theSouth West London Community Trust andmost recently Wandsworth PCT, beforebecoming director of provider services atWandsworth PCT in 2005.

In April 2009 the provider servicesdirectorate became an autonomousprovider organisation in line withDepartment of Health guidance andbecame known as community services

Wandsworth, and I took the role of chiefoperating officer. Now we are part of theSt George’s Healthcare family my role hasevolved into divisional chair.

What benefits do you thinkintegrating CSW with St George’sHealthcare will bring?I am excited to see the benefits thisintegration will bring for patients over thecoming months and years.

I think that integrated acute andcommunity services will significantlyimprove care for people in Wandsworthby providing more services in their ownhomes, reducing unnecessary admissionsto hospital and helping patients leavehospital as soon as it is safe for them todo so.

A more joined-up workforce will alsoallow us to play a greater role inpreventing ill health and focus ourresources on developing integrated clinicalteams providing even better care closer towhere people live. It also means a wholenew world of fantastic opportunities forstaff to go and get experience in differentareas that they previously didn’t have easyaccess to.

The key to a joined-up health and social

care system is appreciating thedifferences and values of eachservice so we can best worktogether for the benefit of allWandsworth residents,including patients who chooseto go to another hospital.

Several clinical working groupshave been exploring how wecan improve services andpathways, not just acrossacute, community and primarycare, but also with socialservices and the voluntarysector. Although the work sofar has been focused onspecific areas, over the nextfew months clinical andmanagement teams willidentify additional areas whereclinical pathways can bechanged to improve quality ofcare and patient experience.

Do you still get the urgeto treat patients? Once a nurse always a nurse! Iwould like to be able to putaside more time to spend with

our nurses and therapists but I don’t getout as much as I would like. Last year weran a successful back to floor programmewhere all the senior management teamspent time shadowing clinicians.

I think it can become too easy to get lostin paperwork when you become amanager and lose touch with whathappens at service level, so I amdetermined that my team and I have asmuch contact as possible with the peoplewho are treating patients, service usersand clients every day.

It is important for the staff to see us outand about and to realise that although wespend a lot of our time behind a desk orin meetings, we all share the same goal ofimproving patient care.

What do you do to relax?I’m a pretty keen golfer! I play as often asI can, and have got myself down to a 21handicap. I like to keep active, and havebeen known to tear up the dance floorfrom time to time! I am also very excitedabout volunteering at the LondonOlympics, it is the biggest event to hitLondon in my life time and I hope to be apart of it.

Di Caulfeild-Stoker,divisional chair ofcommunity servicesWandsworth

�view from the top

Di Caulfeild-Stoker


the gazette 11

Simple activities like de-cluttering wardareas to remove obstacles and not leavingcommodes by the bedside at night areensuring that the environment is as safeas possible and that patients receiveassistance and can be observed whenrequired.

Paul continues: “We’ve organised reviewsevery two to three months with eacharea. They all have an action plan soknow what their falls performance lookslike and where they can makeimprovements. We’re also trying tointroduce ‘falls champions’ in each area,who are a mix of people from sisters tohealthcare assistants.”

The work is only looking at inpatient fallsso doesn’t tie into falls in the communityor at home. However, once the inpatientfalls programme is fully embedded, Paulhopes that a long-term strategy for alltypes of falls can be put into place,including visitor and staff falls.

Paul concedes that you can’t stop all falls– and this isn’t the expectation. “In areaslike neuro, where patients have cognitiveimpairment and wards with very youngchildren, it is impossible to prevent allfalls. But we can minimise the number offalls at the trust by becoming more awareof the risks. The benefits are clear –reduced length of stay, better patientexperience, less nursing and therapy timeand a cost saving to the trust – and it justtakes a few minutes each day.”

Work on the programme is ongoing andthere is still plenty to do to ensure it’sembedded, so anyone interested inhelping with falls prevention, or anyonewith any ideas around improvementsshould get in touch with Paul.

For more information contact PaulSilke on ext 6500 or bleep 7933.

successfully reduced the number of falls atthe neurorehabilitation centre inWimbledon from around 15-25 a fewyears ago to approximately four to eightper month presently. “But eachdepartment at St George’s Hospital is verydifferent, so it has really been up to thewards themselves to agree systems andtools that suit the way they work,” addsPaul.

The full trust roll-out didn’t take as long asexpected and all wards throughout thetrust were involved before the end ofSeptember. Paul reflects on the enthusiasmof staff: “When we first met about theprogramme in June 2010 we had a goal ofgetting all the wards onto the programmebefore December but the response fromnurses has been fantastic and people havereally recognised the value in this area ofcare. Every nursing area is on board, apartfrom A&E, which is a very uniqueenvironment and we hope to start workwith them soon.

“We’ve added about 10 minutes to thenurses’ day by asking them to identifywhich patients are most at risk. They makeclear who is at risk, why they are at riskand what the action is for the day. Thisraises the profile and, by talking about itdaily, ensures that all staff are aware.”Some wards are using their patient statusat a glance boards to flag up high riskpatients, some include it as part of theirdaily handover or on their board rounds –the important thing is that they talk aboutit every day.”

The programme is about ensuring thathigh risk patients are always given theextra attention they need. Caesar Hawkinsward reduced falls by more than 40 percent by simply introducing discussions aspart of their daily handovers and a trafficlight system to flag up this group ofpatients.

Most interventions are about assistance,observation and making adjustmentswhere needed. For instance, ensuring thata patient who is meant to be bed-boundhas the arms of their bed up at all times,that patients always have the right sort offootwear on, and that commode brakesare always secured.

As part of the nursing quality agenda,the Royal College of Nursing identifiedeight high impact actions for nurses –areas of care that should be focusedon to deliver the best outcomes forpatients. One of these is theprevention of falls, and matron PaulSilke is taking the lead on a nurse-ledprogramme of work to achieve a year-on-year reduction of inpatient fallsacross the trust.

Paul explains, “If each ward can reduce itsnumber of falls by just one each month,this equates to 350 patients who are notgoing to suffer an injury – it makes amassive difference to their lives. Theamount of additional time nurses spendlooking after patients that have fallen issignificant and it can be avoided byintroducing some simple daily systems thattake just minutes to carry out.”

During 2009/10 there were 1110 fallsrecorded among inpatients at St George’sHealthcare and Paul aims to meet a 20%reduction this year. “The plan has been toraise the profile of falls across the trust andlook to develop sustainable systems on thewards which reduce falls.”

Sarah Teague, physiotherapist, had aparticular interest in falls and became jointlead with Paul. They identified the wardswith the highest number of falls. Thesewards cared for medical, elderly andcancer patients.

Paul said: “Patients often suffer significantfatigue from treatments likechemotherapy, which is why the numberof falls on wards like Trevor Howell tendsto be higher than average.”

Starting with these wards, Paul and Sarahvisited and spoke to the nursing teamsabout introducing some form of visualmanagement tool which allows them toassess, at a glance, which of their patientsare most at risk of falling. They also askedteams to look at how they can optimisetheir environment to further reduce therisks. “All patients over 65 are consideredvulnerable to falls so these patients shouldalways receive a full risk assessment onadmission to the trust,” Paul says.

“Paul brought ideas across from the fallswork introduced at the Wolfson. He

�spotlight

Meet Paul Silke,matron for neurorehabilitation and leadfor prevention of falls

�

Paul Silke


12 the gazette

absorbed into the trust’s Think Greencampaign, and was rebranded as Savingcarbon, Saving lives.

St George’s aims to work with the localcommunity, raising awareness ofenvironmental issues and their impact onthe health and the healthcare system.

Staff, patients and visitors renewedtheir commitment to cutting carbonat a special one-day event, getenergised about energy, held inOctober.

The event marked a six-month milestonein the trust’s 10:10 campaign. Patients,visitors and staff pledged their support bysigning the 10:10 banner, which will beframed and displayed in the trust. Theywere also given an eco-inspired tote bagfilled with eco-friendly goodies andcarbon-cutting tips.

David Astley, chief executive, highlightedthe importance of the campaign. He said:“Making changes to how we offerservices now is the first step towardsimproving the future health economy. Wewill always be looking for waysto make our services, and theway we deliver them, moresustainable.

“The long-term benefits ofreducing carbon include areduction in climate-linkedhealth risks and a healthiercommunity. Rather thantreating climate-linked lifestyle-related diseases, we will offermore preventative care.

“In the long term this will savemoney – which can be investedinto new technology andclinical developments.”

In May this year, the national 10:10campaign – to cut ten per cent of ourelectricity, on-site fuel, road transport andair travel carbon emissions – was

Energised by saving energy

GREEN TEAM: (from front to back) GemmaAstafanous, capital projects; Alan Hall, wastemanager; Rachel Gerdes-Henson, capitalprojects manager; Jackie Young,accommodation manager; Hazel Gleed,emergency planning and liaison officer;Darren Maytham, facilities; Peter McDermott,health and safety manager; John Broughton,principle engineer; Andrea Wright, generalmanager facilities; Elly Edwards,communications officer; Catherine Leak,assistant facilities manager; and JenniDoman, general manager facilities

Past and PresentJohn Hunter

a hospital

This month the gazette takes a closerlook at the life of John Hunter. Born in1728, Hunter was a Scottish surgeonand is regarded as the father ofmodern surgery.

He was famous for dragging surgery intothe modern age by applying scientificmethodology. Prior to his revolutionarymethods, surgery practice was outdatedand tended to be inexact. He was alsodedicated to improving medical education,which partly led to his death in 1793, ashe suffered a heart attack after having anargument with colleagues over theadmission of students.

He joined St George’s Hospital in 1756 asassistant surgeon and was appointedsurgeon in 1768. Following his arrival in1756, Hunter was very involved in trainingdoctors at the hospital’s medical trainingsection before it officially became StGeorge’s Hospital Medical School.

Edward Jenner, famous for developing thesmallpox vaccine in 1796, studied underHunter and was a great friend.

John Hunter wrote many books, some ofwhich were published after his death andshow the wide breadth of knowledge andexpertise he accumulated over his lifetime.Among the books are works on animalanatomy and gunshot wounds, whichwere both based on his experiences withthe army, after he was commissioned as anarmy surgeon in 1760. There is also a bookon venereal disease (a sexually transmitteddisease), which he was considered theleading authority on.

The Hunterian Society was founded inJohn Hunter’s honour in 1819, and is asociety of doctors and dentists based inLondon. The Society is dedicated to thepursuit of medical knowledge andlearning. Since 1813, the Society hasissued the ‘John Hunter medal’ to thepresenter of the Hunterian Society Oration.

Today, Hunter Wing sits in St George’s,University of London and houses theuniversity’s busy main entrance, lecturetheatres and teaching rooms. A display ofHunter’s artefacts are on display in themain entrance, and include the couch onwhich he died as well as personal effectssuch as his shaving mirror and spectacles.

FULL SUPPORT: (l-r) Neal Deans, director ofestates and facilities; David Astley, chiefexecutive; and Alison Robertson, director ofnursing, patient safety and infectionprevention and control, lead the way inshowing support for the 10:10 campaign bysigning the 10:10 banner, which will beframed and displayed in the trust


�technology

the gazette 13

Presentations were given by chair NaazCoker; chief executive, David Astley anddirector of finance, Richard Eley. The workof the diabetes service was highlighted byclinical nurse specialist Angela Flanaganand dietitian Tutangi Amataiti. Diabetespatient Ciara O’Toole then gave anaccount of her experience as a patient atSt George’s Healthcare.

The audience also received an update onthe major trauma centre from Simon

Simulation bringstrauma training to lifeTrauma staff are benefiting from a new state-of-the-artsimulation manikin, SimMan 3G, designed to teach and teststaff working with severely injured patients.

The £60,000 manikin, funded through a bid to NHS London, iscompletely wireless and self contained, making it easy to transportto a variety of settings. It is used as an educational tool to enhancethe care of patients with multiple serious injuries, allowing staff topractice a trauma call from start to finish.

Consultant nurse in emergency care, and assistant clinical directorHeather Jarman, said: “This new technology will play a key role inhelping staff to develop the skills needed to respond to a majortrauma call. Our aim is to use the manikin to test the wholetrauma system – it is not just to teach staff how to deal withclinical issues, we can look at how the team works together as well.

“The SimMan 3G will be programmed with real-life situationsexperienced by our patients and used in a ‘mock’ trauma call; wecan video this and use the video to feedback as a training tool. We are very excited by this new equipment as it presents a greatopportunity for us to develop and test our trauma service.”

AGMThis year’s annual general meeting (AGM)was attended by more than 150 staff,patients and foundation trust members.

The meeting, which took place on 28th

September in the Hyde Park Room,Lanesborough Wing, provided anopportunity for the attendees to learn moreabout the work of the trust during the2009/10 financial year.

JUST REWARDS: Deputy Mayor Cllr Jennifer Nicholls presents Richard Shannon, Hayley Richards,David Harvey and Simon Julian with the porters’ team award

Individual Staff AchievementAward winnersJo Bratchell, lead nurse for pre-opassessementGlen Brice, genetic counsellorAnn Broughton, senior nurse in theemergency departmentCharlotte Ennis, volunteer patientadvocate in the urology departmentSandra Linton, fetal medicine unitmatronMonica Morris, clinical nursespecialist in haematologyCarol Simms, administrator, WolfsonRehabilitation Centre

Team Staff AchievementAward winners Cardiology ACS nursepractitioners Cavell ward teamPortering departmentPreoperative assessment team

Bridle, clinical director, Kelvin Wright,clinical director for the South WestLondon and Surrey Network andconsultant nurse in emergency care andassistant clinical director Heather Jarman.

The evening ended with the presentationof the Special Achievement Awards byDavid Astley, to staff who have made anoutstanding contribution to the trust overthe last year.

DUMMY RUN: (l-r) Heather Jarman, Ben Patterson, vascular registrar and Natalie Holbery, lecturer practitioner in major traumacare, get to grips with ‘Bob’ – a challenging patient


14 the gazette

kind

PA

TIE

NT F

EED

BA

CK In the last edition we introduced a section for

patient feedback which offers a chance forour staff to be recognised by our patients. Each edition will highlight some of the bestfeedback we receive, so if you, your team or yourdepartment receives a compliment, be sure toforward it on to the complaints and improvementsdepartment [email protected] for achance for it to be included in the gazette.

● For Dr Hussain, Dr Whitehead, Dr Loftsand Mr Robert Hagger“I would like to take this opportunity torecommend my GP, Dr Hussain at Streatham ParkSurgery, Mitcham Lane, my diabetes consultant, Dr Whitehead at St George’s, now retired, and herassistant Mary; Dr Lofts in oncology and last butnot least, Mr Robert Hagger.

“I owe so much to them for their outstandingwork in doing so much to keep me well. They allwork together as a team, communicating very wellby letter, informing my GP every time I visit thehospital and I always receive a copy of the letter tomy GP.

“I am so grateful to them for all that they havedone so far and I just wanted you to know thewonderful job they are doing.

“It is now coming to the end of the year and I feelstrongly that these doctors need to beacknowledged for the work they are doing at thehospital. Thank you!”

● For the attention of Mr Scott Lonnee,dietician in weight loss surgery“I have seen many dieticians throughout my lifeboth at St George’s Healthcare and other medicalpractices, as well as diet organisations and I canhonestly say I have never come across someonewith so much passion and ability in their job. It feltlike he understood how I felt and could explainthings to me in a way that noone else could, andthat made complete and utter sense to me.

“He has ability in adapting himself and his skills toeach and every person’s individual needs – I feel heis a true credit to St George’s Healthcare.”

● For the attention of the A&Edepartment“I am writing to compliment you on the service Ireceived when I recently had reason to visit yourA&E department. The triage nurse system worksvery well and although I was told it may be a long wait, I only had to wait for slightly more thanan hour. The doctor who treated my injury gaveme expert care and advice; I was very pleased with that.”

NEW APPOINTMENT:Congratulations to Dr Andy Rhodes on his recentappointment as president ofthe European Society ofIntensive Care Medicine,which is a non-profitorganisation that promotesthe advancement anddistribution of knowledge inintensive care medicine.

Christmas is nearly upon us again and is traditionally atime used for reflection and celebration by all.

The birth of Jesus continues to be celebrated by Christians atChristmas, and just as God gave the gift of the Christ child to theworld so we give gifts to one another.

Those of many different faiths and no faith have adopted thistime of year as a time to enjoy a break from the routine of work.Some of us will rest and have fun with family and friends, somewill give the gift of their time, skills and money to charities tobenefit those who struggle to keep hope alive in our day.

Christmas is a time to step back from the busy routine of ourlives and to rediscover friendships, offer reconciliation tomembers of our families that we have grown apart from, nurtureour spiritual lives with walks in the countryside, or on holidays inwarmer climates, or whatever it is that we do that makes ourhearts feel lighter.

Even those who will be working here at St George’s Healthcareover the Christmas and New Year holidays will still feel a sensethat this is a special time. The atmosphere here changes as thedecorations go up and parties take place. Our senses areheightened so that the joys of a new birth or a patient healedenough to return home seem more joyful, and the sad eventsthat sometimes occur here strike us more painfully.

Members of the chaplaincy team will be working across all thisholiday period to provide care and support to staff, patients andtheir visitors. We are here to help everyone have the bestexperience possible in their particular situation, and to bealongside those who will find themselves having a difficult timethis Christmas.

On behalf of the chaplaincy team, I would like to wish staffa happy and peaceful Christmas.

�Feedback

Seasonal messagefrom Hilary Johnson,head of chaplaincy

SEASONS GREETINGS: (l-r) Canon Hilary Johnson, chaplaincy teamleader, Rev’d Martin Taylor, Free Church chaplain and Father PhilipPak, Roman Catholic chaplain


George’s Healthcare staff willautomatically be signed up as members inFebruary 2011 with the chance to opt-outif so wished.

Membership MattersAs part of our commitment to keepmembers informed about the work of thetrust, a new publication, MembershipMatters, was launched in November.

Published quarterly, Membership Matterswill highlight key trust work anddevelopments and also bring news andviews from patient, public and staffmembers.

All staff will receive a copy of Membership Matters via email.

Local MP becomes St George’s 1,000th foundation trust member

the gazette 15

Local MP becomes St George’s 1000th memberTooting MP, Sadiq Khan, became the 1000th member of St George’s Healthcare when he visited the trust in September and is supporting its plans to become a foundation trust.

Speaking about becoming a member Sadiq Khan said: “As a local resident and someone who was born at St George’s,

becoming a member is a great way for me to be involved in shaping the future of healthcare services that will best serve the needs of the community.”

As Membership Matters went to print St George’s Healthcare had 3000 members. Please encourage your family and friends to join via www.stgeorges.nhs.uk.

A time of change From Naaz Coker, chair of St George’s HealthcareThank you for the interest you have shown in becoming a member of St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust. As part of our commitment to keeping you informed about our work I am pleased to launch Membership Matters, a new publication for those who have signed up to be part of our future.Published quarterly, Membership Matters will keep you up-to-date with all of our key developments including foundation trust plans, integration with community services Wandsworth and the development of new healthcare services. In future editions we will also bring you news from your governors (once elected) and take an in-depth look at the excellent work going on across the trust from a patient and staff perspective.

The health White Paper Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS, published in the summer, has signalled plans for great

change across the NHS and we will keep you informed about how this will affect St George’s Healthcare through the pages of Membership Matters.

As part of our ongoing commitment to patient care we have developed a new set of values that places patients at the very centre of every decision we make. These values are: excellent, kind, responsible and respectful.

A set of behaviours underpin these values and will help ensure that our staff deliver high quality care to patients across community, hospital and specialist settings.

These are undoubtedly exciting and challenging times. I hope you enjoy reading this fi rst edition of Membership Matters and will be pleased to hear your thoughts and suggestions for future articles.Please email these to me via [email protected].

M embershipattersWinter 2010

Issue 1

MEET THE CHAIR: Naaz Coker (r) with ward sister Stephanie Sweeney

SIGNING UP: (l-r) Sadiq Khan MP with St George’s nurses Kate Fincham, Vennessa Sookhoo and Kimberly O’Hara

NEW MEMBER: (l-r) Sadiq Khan MP with St George’s Healthcare nurses Kate Fincham, VennessaSookhoo and Kimberly O’Hara

Local Tooting MP, Sadiq Khan, becamethe 1000th member of St George’sHealthcare in October and issupporting its plans to become afoundation trust (FT) in 2011.

Speaking about becoming a memberSadiq said: “St George’s Healthcareprovides expert and specialist healthcareto patients in Tooting and beyond and Iam pleased to support its plans tobecome a foundation trust.”

“As a local resident and someone whoMEMBERSHIP MATTERS: The new FTnewsletter was launched in November

St George’s Nurses League annual conferenceIntegration of Health Care, theautumn conference of St George’sNurses League was held in October.The conference provided anoverview of the recent changes inthe local health service, including St George’s Healthcare’s integrationwith community servicesWansworth (CSW) and gave someexamples of how the changes willaffect patient care.

This year’s conference was chaired by DrDeborah Hennessy, who was chiefnurse for the Wandsworth community,matron at St George’s Healthcare and iscurrent president of the St George’s

Nurses League, and Kath Start, chair ofthe Nurses League.

Presentations were given by keymembers of St George’s Healthcarestaff, including Di Caulfeild-Stoker,divisional chair of CSW; Alison Ludlam,associate chief operating officer andAlison Robertson, director of nursing,patient safety and infection preventionand control.

The league aims to serve nurses whohave worked or trained at St George’sHealthcare by valuing the experience ofnurses who have worked for the benefitof future nurses.

Kath Start, chair of the Nurses League,said: “The conference was a greatsuccess and really displayed therelationship developing betweenhospital and community nursing. Thisrelationship will create a culture ofinnovation that will aim to provide thevery best care for patients.”

Membership of the Nurses League isopen to all nurses who trained at St George’s Healthcare or worked at theTrust for at least six months. For further information on the league,visit the website atwww.stgeorgesnursesleague.org.uk

�FT status

was born at St George’s hospital,becoming a member is a great way forme to be involved in shaping the future ofhealthcare services that will best serve theneeds of the local community.”

The FT membership team has workedhard on a membership recruitment driveand a number of promotional actions,such as a major mailing to patients andthe new GP surgery poster and leafletcampaign. As the gazette went to print,3,000 members had signed up and all St


One Team training is currently beingrolled out across the trust, following thesuccessful pilot project. The trainingfocuses on the central theme “we are allsaving lives”, which demonstrates thatevery job in the hospital isequally important in contributing tosaving lives.

The training is being rolled out in a phasedapproach, currently focusing on clinicalareas, including medical wards, elderly careand outpatients.

Staff in bands one to four takepart in high impact, two-dayservice partner training to becomeOne Team ‘champions’. Thefeedback received from staff thathave gone on this training hasbeen very positive.

All other members of the teamsfrom bands one to five areattending one hour serviceenergisers which have beendeveloped to highlight the trustvalues, alongside One Teambehaviour’s and teamdevelopment.

One team continues to be led in partnershipwith the trust and the unions. Alan Thorne,general manager for therapies and JanePilgrim, Staff Side secretary, co-lead theproject. Chantelle Donald has recentlyjoined the team as the One Teamcoordinator and is also a qualified One TeamService Educator. Chandelle is helping toorganise and deliver the One Team training.

Jane Pilgrim, Staff Side secretary said: ”OneTeam is about all staff, in every department,being professional by listening and sharing,

having the right attitude and showing thatwe care in order to make a difference.”

During the last six months the team hasbeen able to train ten One Team serviceeducators who are now helping to deliverthe One Team training. The team is hopingto train more educators at the end ofJanuary. Staff in any band can attend thisthree-day training course. Passion for OneTeam is required! For more informationplease contact Jane Pilgrim [email protected]

Jodie is a One Team shiningexampleJodie Carr, senior sister on Richmond ward,has been so inspired by One Team that sheis planning a daily focus during her wardmeetings along side her productive wardfocus. A dedicated notice board will be setup, with a visual display of the One Teambehaviours. Time will be set aside daily toshow appreciation for staff who have madea difference individually or as a team.

Team leaders inspired by Jodie’s idea areencouraged to contact Jane Pilgrim.

16 the gazette

Plans to buildChildren andWomen’s hospitaltake shapeAn exciting new redevelopmentof Lanesborough Wing has beenapproved, in principle, by thetrust board. The redevelopmentwould create a modern, fit-for-purpose children’s and women’shospital.

The proposals will enhance thehealing environment and experiencefor patients, families and carers. Thechanges will improve the existingfacilities by providing same sexaccommodation and increasing thenumber of single rooms, spacearound beds and the number of en-suite bathroom facilities.

The next stage will be to develop afull business case for the first phaseof refurbishment, which will takeplace on the fifth floor,Lanesborough Wing and create thenew children’s wards.

The trust will be working with StGeorge’s Hospital Charity to providea charitable contribution to thisproject.

Frances Elmslie, clinical director forchildren’s services, said, “We are veryexcited about the prospect of achildren’s and women’s hospital atthe heart of St George’s Healthcare.The refurbishment gives us thechance to provide children of all ageswith areas equipped specifically fortheir needs and women the bestpossible chance of the privacy theydeserve.”

LEADING THE WAY: Jodie Carr’s team in front of her OneTeam notice board

TOP TRAINING: Staff on the One Team training

Rolling out One Team training


An event to raise staff awareness ofchild safeguarding issues is takingplace at St George’s Hospital inFebruary. It is hoped that throughbetter awareness and understanding,more progress can be made toimprove care for children across theborough.

“So often we hear about sad and difficultstories relating to child safeguarding, suchas the well publicised Baby P case,” saysDr Peter Green, designated doctor forsafeguarding children. “But there are a lotof staff and people doing good work toimprove the care of children acrossWandsworth, and this event will drawthose people together to shareinformation, learn and trade ideas.”

Peter insists that by focusing andcoordinating efforts it really does produceresults. “St George’s Healthcare isimportant as a centre of excellence insouthwest London, however, it’s importantthat we work closely with local partners,such as colleagues at St George’s,University of London, our GP community,community therapists, the police, socialservices and schools.”

St George’s Healthcare staff are thereforenot alone, but colleagues must shareinformation and speak openly about thebarriers. “Share, share, share is what I sayto people. We must create a culture wherepeople feel confident speaking openlyabout safeguarding issues. I hope thesafeguarding event in February will gettrust staff and external partners togetherand inspire them to talk about issues intheir departments.”

Dr Sarah Thurlbeck, consultantpaediatrician and named doctor for childsafeguarding at St George’s Healthcare,echoes Dr Green’s views. “One of themost important aspects of safeguardingchildren is effective communicationbetween those involved in their care andthis does not mean just paediatricians orindeed only clinical staff. Others, such asreceptionists, can play a vital role. Thisevent will be a great opportunity to meetlike-minded colleagues and help improvestandards of care for children throughoutthe trust.”

Children first is taking place in the PhilipConstable Board room on Thursday 17th

February 2011 and all staff, clinical or non-clinical, are invited to attend.

the gazette 17

The annual dinner celebratinglong serving members of staffand special achievement awardwinners was held on 11thNovember.

The dinner was held in the HydePark Room and was attended bymore than 100 award winners, theirguests and senior members of staff.Entertainment was provided by theIsmaili Community Ensemble.

Long service members received agift from the trust which waspresented to them from NaazCoker, St George’s Healthcare chair.Sally Storey, interim director ofhuman resources, read a shortcitation on each of the specialachievement award winners.

David Astley closed the eveningwith a vote of thanks to the longservice staff and award winnersfor their outstanding contributionto the trust.

Dinner celebrates staffNew mobile scanning serviceIn September, the radiologydepartment started using amobile PET CT van on-site, inorder to deliver positron emissiontomography (PET) computedtomography (CT).

PET is a nuclear medicine imagingtechnique, which is combined with aCT scan, performed on the patientduring the same session, in the samemachine.

This means that cancer patients whoare under the care of St George’sHealthcare will be referred to the on-site PET CT scanner, rather thanhaving to travel to other hospitals forthis service. The mobile unit is on sitefor one day each fortnight.

The trust is working with AllianceMedical, a private organisation thatprovides the mobile PET CT, to offerpatients access to this service in theKnightsbridge Wing car park onalternate Fridays.

responsible

Children first: Safeguarding eventaims to raise awareness

Long service awardwinners:Mary AllanLydia Appiah-KyeiLutcheemee ArmoogumSylvia AttrydeAudrey BarrosBarbara BashfordBetty BrackGeoffrey CattiniElaine ConnellyNorma DixonRobin DobinsonChristopher EntwistleNancy EstersonJill FelsteadCaroline FinlaysonBarbara FisherSandra GaulBrian HayesElaine HeadIcieola HenryBeryl HowePaul KensitYvonne LalgieVilma LewisJanusz LibanVictoria LuckStephen Mc-HaleAnnie O’DellHansa PatelMike RemziJulie Riddle Amanda SilvesterJeremy StratfordGek Cheng TeyAnne Walton

WINNING NIGHT: (l-r) Anne Walton, diabetes clinicalnurse specialist, receives her gift from Naaz Coker, chair


18 the gazette

Theatres get productive The productive operating theatre (TPOT) project is givingtheatre staff the tools and support to improve the workplace.

Jus t like the productive ward project, rolled out throughout StGeorge’s Healthcare in 2009, TPOT is designed to improve the patientexperience by increasing the reliability of care, improving teamperformance and staff wellbeing, adding value and increasingefficiency. It is based around the idea of ‘lean’ thinking, removingwaste activity and steps that add no value to the patient experience.

“It all began with day surgery unit staff in June this year,” explainsprogramme lead Jenna Evans. “Staff, including consultant surgeons,anaesthetists, matrons, nurses, managers and operating departmentpractitioners, explored barriers in the workplace which prevent themfrom working in the most efficient way. They took those ideas awayand have made significant improvements which are beneficial to bothstaff and patients.”

A similar visioning session was held for staff working in Paul Calverttheatres in September, continuing the roll-out of the project across alltrust theatre suites, which will complete over several years.

The 5S method – sort, set, shine, standardise, sustain – which is a toolused to improve workplace organisation, has been applied in severalareas.

Jenna continued: “The main store room has now been arranged intosurgical specialty and an index hasbeen created, making it possible tofind any item in the room in a matterof seconds. This improves the workingday for staff as they no longer wastevaluable time looking for items.”

Other improvements have alsoemerged, including new operationalstatus at a glance boards, basedoutside the operating theatres. Thismeans

that staff can seethe status of theoperating listwithout goinginto the theatreand disturbingstaff. “This isbeing trialled in

the day surgery unit theatresand has enhanced communication and patient safety.”

An important part of the project is measuring the impact of thechanges, which is something the project team are working on, saysJenna. “It is vital that we develop meaningful measures to prove thatthe changes being made through TPOT are improvements and not justchanges.

“Staff are currently collecting baseline data from areas that haveintroduced new ways of working so that we can see where the mainbenefits are being felt.”

For more information on the productive operating theatre callJenna Evans, programme lead, on ext 4359.

�smarter working

BEFORE

AFTER

Staff from the trust’s renal unit have shared theirexpert knowledge with staff at a developingrenal centre in Ghana to help them provide abetter service.

Michaela Mayhew, nurse consultant in venous accessservices and her colleagues from the trust’s dialysisunit, Liz Donovan and Dennis Kennedy, visited theirsister dialysis unit at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital(KATH) in Kumasi in Ghana earlier this year. The visitwas part of the International Society of NephrologyGlobal Outreach (ISN GO) sister renal centers (SRC)program.

The programme, which was launched in 1997, aims toenhance the practice of nephrology (study of kidneydisease) in the developing world by linking emergingrenal units with established centers of excellence in thedeveloped world.

Staff from St George’s Healthcare collaborate toundertake these educational visits where they trainstaff in our SRC, KATH dialysis centre, to improve theirskills helping to raise standards of care and treatmentfor patients in these regions.

KATH dialysis centre, which opened in 2000, treats fiveto six patients per dialysis session and provideshaemodialysis for local residents and patientsholidaying from abroad.

Michaela said: “We all felt extremely privileged to havevisited Ghana and KATH. The renal team is dedicatedto providing the best care possible for their patientsand are amazingly resourceful.

“The KATH centre depends on charitable equipmentthat includes no supporting information on history,decontamination status, age, or even operator andservice manuals. In our opinion, the hospital mustincrease resources and improve supporting systems toensure that the local population will continue to haveaccess to a safe and consistent hemodialysis service.”

HELPING HAND: Members of St George’s Healthcare dialysisunit visited a developing renal centre in Ghana earlier thisyear to share their expert knowledge

�

Education visit to renalcentre in Ghana


the gazette 19

As part of the wider initiative toimprove supply chain managementthroughout St George’s Healthcare,the estates department, incollaboration with the procurementteam, nursing, infection control, R&Dand MITIE, have introduced practicalchanges which have made a bigdifference to wards and departments.

“We recognised an opportunity to findefficiencies in the supply of domesticconsumables, such as hand towels, handsoap and alcohol gel,” says generalmanager Jenni Doman. “Previously, all thewards and departments were ordering theseitems through the supply chain. Eachdepartment was having their own itemsdelivered, which had to be ordered in bulkto achieve the best price. These bulk itemswere stored at ward and department level,taking up valuable space, and had to beorganised and stocked by the department.”

The facilities team felt that the processcould be managed as part of the domestic

and cleaning service, and set out to organisea central store of these items which wouldbe automatically delivered by MITIE, whomonitor stock levels on a regular basis, andspeak directly with departments if theirlevels are low. The store cupboards areeasier to manage and staff spend less timeadministrating orders, which supports theproductive ward initiative. Now, staff onlyneed order these items from the MITIEhelpdesk if they are running low, and theydon’t have to keep large amounts of stockin the department.

The contribution from MITIE, the trust’sdomestic services provider, has been crucialin achieving the changes. They installed newdispensers throughout St George’s Hospitalbetween September and November. Jennisays. “They are providing an additionalservice to the trust and have turned it allaround in a four-week period installing over2000 dispensers which is just brilliant.”

The scheme is expected to save the trust inexcess of £125,000 over the next 12months, which will be generated from

November. “It shows what can be achievedvery quickly with joined-up thinking andplanning,” says Jenni. “Change is nevereasy but I think staff across the trustrecognised the benefits of this, so werekeen to work together to make it happen.”

The work has also freed up the supply chainmanagement team to focus on other areasof improvement, so the knock-on effect isbeing felt across the trust.

“We have just completed phase one of athree phase programme,” says Jenni. “Handtowels, soap and alcohol gel is the firstphase. Rubbish disposal sacks will be in thesecond phase. We hope to introduce astandardised cleaning kit for ward nightstaff in phase three, which we hope tocomplete by December 2011.”

For more information on this initiativecontact Jenni Doman on ext 0781. Foradvice on how to find improve

efficiencies in supply chain management foryour department call the procurement teamon ext 3541.

Hand towels initiative saves time and money

SIMULATION SCENARIO: The simulation team provided demonstrations during patientsafety week

Patient Safety Week took place from15th-21st November and provided anexcellent opportunity to highlightissues around patient safety, ensuringit was everyone’s top priority.

Patient safety themes around simulation,medication safety, prevention of Venousthromboembolism (VTE) and safe

anticoagulation, getting the right patientand the global trigger tool, were promotedthroughout the week. Staff wereencouraged to get involved by submittingtheir patient safety ideas while theexecutive directors visited clinical areasevery day to talk about patient safetyissues. Theatre staff highlighted safer

SAFETY FIRST: Charlie Pointing, seniorpharmacist, promotes medication safety aspart of patient safety week

�

�patient safety

Patient safety weeksurgery initiatives and pharmacy set upmedication safety mobile units across thetrust.

Yvonne Connolly, head of patient safety,said, “Patient Safety Week really providedan opportunity for us to put patient safetyat the top of everyone’s agenda. We hopeto keep the momentum gained from thisweek going throughout the year. Thankyou to everyone who made the weeksuch a success.”


20 the gazette

�fundraising

Pedal powerStephanie Shea completed the challenge of alifetime by cycling 874 miles from Lands End toJohn O’Groats in Scotland in just 12 days, in abid to raise money for St George’s HospitalCharity. She was inspired by her work as anurse in the general intensive care unit at thetrust, and she intends to raise £1,000 tosupport the work ofher team.

Dizzy heights Amy Ridout, midwife, and Palina Marhel, theatres practitioner, scaled thedizzy heights of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, to raise funds and awareness forSt George’s Hospital Charity. The pair took only ten days to complete thechallenge which saw them climb 5895 metres and battle the cold andaltitude sickness to achieve their goal.

Cake giveawaySeptember’s highlight for the fundraising officewas the great cake giveaway. One very gratefuland generous dad donated £600 worth of cakesfrom M&S to say thank you to all staff at StGeorge’s for the care his baby son received. So forthree days, over lunch time, staff came to thefundraising office to collect their free cakes!

Football match has charity as its goal A charity football match organised by the family of a previous patient raiseda whopping £4,100 for the Wolfson Rehabilitation Centre in Wimbledon.James Stone, who was a patient at the Wolfson, and his family presented acheque to sister Mary Holland and the fundraising team of St George’s Hospital Charity.

News from St George’sHospital Charity

PEDAL POWER: Stephanie Shea cycled874 miles to raise money for the charity

CAKE GIVEAWAY: The Pinckney ward staff pickedup their free cakes in the great cake giveaway

On Saturday 18th September, Otis Delayfrom CBBC, along with a team of rugbyplayers called The Storks, cycled from StGeorge’s hospital in Tooting to the QueenAlexandra hospital in Portsmouth, a total of72 miles.

The ride raised more than £3,000 for FirstTouch. The money will be put towards thecharity’s current campaign to fund a£36,000 transport incubator. The team hadalready raised more than £2,000 for FirstTouch through fund raising at its rugbymatches.

Team captain and organiser, Dylan Wrixon,said: “These two hospitals have treated thechildren of many of our close friends overthe last few years. Eva Tozzi was born at StGeorge’s hospital in March 2007. To helpraise money to thank the unit for the careshe received, her family’s friends created theStorks rugby team and friend Ortis Deleybecame the charity’s patron.”

Briggs family and friends raiseover £17,000 for First TouchIn October 2010, the family and friends ofIsla Briggs put together a team to run theRoyal Parks Half Marathon and raised morethan £17,000 for First Touch.

Incredible baby Isla was born four monthsearly, weighing just 470 grams. She hasspent several months on the neonatal unitand has proven to be an amazing littlefighter.

Sarah Collins, First Touch charity manager,said, “We are extremely grateful to theBriggs family and friends for their enduringsupport of First Touch and theneonatal unit.”

First Touch TV presenter Ortis Deley cycles72 miles to raise money for First Touch, the neonatal unit atSt George’s Hospital.

CYCLE CHALLENGE: The Storks raised morethan £3,000 for First Touch


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