Hillingdon Hospitals pilot ward is on show!

Today Hillingdon Hospital’s Board heard several items of good news.

Firstly good news about recently published Healthcare Commission Ratings – it maintained its Good” rating for use of resources and improved its quality of service rating from “Fair” to “Good”, which was very pleasing.

Secondly it heard that it already has 4214 public members for its foundation trust – but it wants more, so it will continue recruiting. With only one MRSA case in September, it is currently on target for control of that infection and it is ahead of target for finances, which of course is all good news too.

However, the really exciting news was about Bevan Ward, now on show to staff and with invitations in the local press for members of the public to see it too. This pilot ward has 24 beds, in three wings each with eight rooms of different designs. The purpose of this pilot is to research the benefits for patients of having single bedrooms with en-suite facilities. Research will compare current and pilot ward facilities, to find out what effects the new facilities have on patient outcomes, including:

Reduction in healthcare associated infections
Sleep quality
Staff workload and walking distances
Patient satisfaction
Noise levels

Research will also test and compare room designs for:

Patient visibility if the door is closed
Distance from bed to bathroom
Space for visitors
Use of handrails to aid patient safety
Use of hoist for moving and handling patients

Staff are very excited about the ward and they praise the high quality of the facilities, which had not been expected in a prefabricated temporary building. They are confident that patients will be enthusiastic too. First patients will be using the ward before Christmas, after staff training is completed.

Joan

Hillingdon Primary Care Trust is in the news!

Hillingdon PCT’s October Board Meeting brought a lot of interesting news.

1. Healthcare Commission Annual Health Check
The PCT improved from “weak” to “fair” on use of resources and stayed “fair” for quality of services – a step in the right direction!

2. Finance
The PCT still expects to breakeven in March, despite overspending £2.9m in the first six months of the year. This will take all its contingency funds plus additional savings – repaying its historic debt is a big burden and is still keeping it poor.

3. GP led health centres
All London PCTs have to open a new health centre this year. Hillingdon’s plans to replace Yiewsley Health Centre with extended services did not meet NHS London requirements, because the services could not be provided competitively. So the PCT had to think again. Instead, tenders are now being considered to provide new services in Hayes, mainly for patients of the Elers Road practice. This project will strain the PCT’s finances in 2009-10, but replacing the Yiewsley Health Centre remains the PCT’s priority.

4. Strategy for GP health services
All London PCT also have to plan how to implement Lord Darzi’s proposals for GP services to be provided in polyclinics – services can be provided within one building or from a number of locations through co-operation between a group of GP practices. Public consultation on Hillingdon’s plans will take place from November 2008 to January 2009.

Hillingdon’s strategy is to organise GP practices into eight groups, within three polyclinic areas based in:
i) Hayes Town Centre - to serve Hayes and Harlington, with some services at The Warren practice
ii) Uxbridge Town Centre - to serve Uxbridge and West Drayton, with some services in Yiewsley.
iii) Ruislip Manor - to serve Ruislip and Northwood, with some services in Northwood.

5. Engaging with patients, the public and service providers.
The PCT will be in the Chimes, Uxbridge, on November 3rd to gather views about health services from the public. It is also holding a conference on 14th November to explore how it can work with all its partners in social care, primary and secondary health care and the voluntary sector.

6. Current services
The PCT is meeting some national targets, including currently no MRSA cases, but it is below target on:
1. Choose and book
2. Early psychosis intervention
3. Chlamydia screening
4. Immunisations and vaccinations
5. Number of patients seen by dentists
6. Workforce sickness
7. Workforce appraisals

News on pressure ulcers is good - no cases in this quarter or last in Northwood and Pinner Community Unit at Mount Vernon, and with cases in nursing homes down from ten cases to six.

There were early problems with referrals lost between the new Referral Medical Centre and Hillingdon Hospital, but these problems are being overcome. Many patients are now being treated swiftly in the community instead of waiting for hospital appointments.

Joan

Deputy Superintendent Radiographer - Alan McNair - X-Ray Dept.

The X-Ray Department is located in the Minor Injuries Unit in the Princess Christian building. Most types of x-rays are undertaken as are ultrasonic examinations. There is very little waiting time for x-rays, once called in, the whole process takes a few minutes.

Our meetings

Our last meeting, in early October, was packed with news - from the sorry plight of Northwick Park Hospital, (part of NW London Hospitals Trust which was recently deemed amongst the ten most challenged trusts in the country), to the dramatic improvement in Watford General Hospital, (part of West Herts Hospitals Trust which now dares to seek foundation trust status).

We also had the pleasure of hearing Buzz Coster update us about the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre at Mount Vernon, a local jewel in its support services for cancer patients.Our next meeting is on Thursday 6th November, at 7.45pm in the Post Graduate Centre at Mount Vernon, when our guest speaker will be Jan Filochowski, Chief Executive of West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust, who will bring us up to date on all that is happening at Watford General Hospital. That hospital is in Hertfordshire, but its importance extends over a wide area - I personally have much to thank it for, although I live in Hillingdon. Visitors are welcome to this and all our meetings. There is a big car park nearby and parking is usually free.

Joan

The Community Voice visits the Houses of Parliament

Nick Hurd MP kindly organised our visit to the Houses of Parliament today. We were in two parties of twenty people, escorted by highly trained tour guides whose knowledge was extensive.

The whole event was fascinating, from the new arrangements for receiving and screening visitors - fortunately it was dry and we did not have long to wait, but some visitors must arrive very wet as the queuing area is open to the sky! - right through to the end of our hour and a half tour.

We saw both the House of Lords and the House of Commons and were treated to a huge amount of history, anecdote and detailed information. It made a big impression on us all. As so often happens, it was the little things that will probably stay with us longest. I shall always remember this happy occasion whenever anyone says "Toe the line!" or "Its in the bag!" And next time I see the Queen wearing her crown I shall remember that it is actually very heavy - in weight, as well as history.

It was a great pleasure to be there and I am sure we would all highly recommend taking this tour if the opportunity arises, but potential visitors should be warned that once underway no one is allowed to sit down. Fortunately, there is now a visitors cafe, which many of us were pleased to visit as soon as the tour was over!

West Herts Hospitals Trust gets better and better!

At this week’s Board Meeting the Trust was justifiably proud of its remarkable progress.

Last year the Healthcare Commission Trust rated the Trust “Weak” on both quality of service and use of resources but in recently published results for 2007-2008 it has been rated “Fair” on both counts – a tremendous achievement. However, the Chief Executive, Jan Filochowski, stressed that this only reflects progress up to the end of March and even more progress has been made since then. So the Trust hopes to do even better this year for quality of service but, sadly, it cannot improve it use of resources rating until its historic debt is cleared, which will not be until 2009-10.

However, improvements in current services are highly encouraging, with the Chief Executive suggesting that this year’s over all performance lies between reasonable and good. Many improvements were reported.

The Trust is now meeting and exceeding national standards for treating A&E patients within four hours.

For infection control, its has achieved the best improvement in the country, with a 98% reduction in clostridium difficile cases and no MRSA cases last month or this month. This achievement led to congratulations from Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust, NHS East of England, and even local newspapers – which do not often offer praise.

The Trust is also now close to achieving the 18 weeks targets, for the time between patients being referred by GPs and treatment actually starting.

Far fewer operations are now being cancelled and the Trust is now achieving the national target standard, although it is too late for it to reach that standard for the whole year. This improvement is despite St Albans City Hospital undertaking 50 more operations this year than last year, so it is considerable progress.

All this was good, but there was one area causing disappointment and concern. The recently published national patient survey showed that at the time of the survey (many months ago) patients were not happy with the service provided. The Trust is now making this issue a priority.

Joan Davis

The unveiling of a Blue Plaque to Aledxander Fleming at Harefield Hospital

The unveiling of a blue plaque at Harefield Hospital on September 29th, to honour Alexander Fleming, is the second in a series of plaques being erected around The Borough of Hillingdon to honour famous people who lived or worked in the borough. The first being William Wilberforce.

The unveiling was attended by Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, the renowned heart transplant surgeon and a group of invited guests. Lord Newton, Chairman of the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust introduced Cllr. Brian Crowe, the Mayor of Hillingdon who performed the unveiling ceremony.

Sorry for the unavoidable delay in posting this video.

Video No. 12 - Wendy Riddle, Chief Biomedical Scientist in Histopathology at MVH

Histopathology was previously known as Morbid Anatomy which may conjure up gruesome images rather like the painting by Dutch artist Pieter van Miereveld ‘The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Willem van der Meer’.
So what is it all about?

Histopathology is the branch of pathology which deals with the tissue diagnosis of disease. A tissue diagnosis can be made on the basis of biopsy material taken from the patient on the ward or clinic or in the operating theatre, or from autopsy material.

The laboratory is staffed by a team of Histopathologists (medical doctors who have specialised in histopathology) and Biomedical Scientists who work together to prepare samples for examination and to establish a diagnosis.

The diagnostic information provided by the Histopathologist will enable the clinician to determine the best course of treatment and /or any further surgery that is required for the patient.

Joan Interviews Nick Hunt, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust

After the unveiling of the blue plaque to Arthur Fleming at Harefield Hospital on 29th September, Nick Hunt , Director of Services, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, responded to some questions from Joan Davis, Chairman of The Community Voice.

Donald

Video No. 11 - Michael Bishop, The 'Bio-Engineer'

Physics and bio-engineering are little known but essential components of the cancer centre. The highly skilled workforce both service and check the complicated equipment to ensure that the correct amount of radiation is delivered to the area to be treated. It also creates bespoke items to meet individual patient need, such as supports to immobilise limbs or heads during radiation therapy.When new equipment is delivered the physics staff can spend between 2 and 3 months taking measurements to ensure the characteristics of the machine are known. These checks are repeated throughout the machines life as part of a rolling program of quality assurance.

News from Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust

Heart transplantation programme at Harefield Hospital to undergo review.

Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust will be working with the National Specialised Commissioning Team (NSC Team) and the Healthcare Commission over the next month on a review of Harefield Hospital’s heart transplantation programme.

As part of the Trust’s routine monitoring and audit of its transplant operations, data is collected on post-operative survival including 30-day survival rates. Over the summer months of 2008, the Trust noted a small increase in mortality rates within 30 days of heart transplant surgery and, specifically, that the small number of deaths had occurred consecutively.

As a result, the Trust commenced an internal review at the hospital, developed an action plan and alerted the NSC Team. The NSC Team subsequently liaised with the Department of Health and the Healthcare Commission and all parties agreed that an external review should take place.

The review will be carried out by an independent heart transplant surgeon and a transplant cardiologist, agreed by the Trust, the NSC Team and the Healthcare Commission. If suitable donor organs become available during the course of the review, the transplant team will consult with the external reviewers before undertaking any heart transplantations. All other services, including the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) and lung transplantation programmes, will continue as normal.

The review will comprise a case note review, a review of the actions taken so far and those planned by the Trust, and is due to be completed by the end of October 2008.

Professor Timothy Evans, Medical Director at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust, said, “We welcome the opportunity to work with the National Specialised Commissioning Team and our independent reviewers over the coming month. Heart transplantation is an incredibly complex field of medicine and a high-risk procedure. We are keen to be informed by the conclusions of the review and we will work hard to implement any recommendations which might emerge.”

(This is a press release from Harefield Hospital, which we have permission to copy here)

Cllr. Ray Puddifoot on Hillingdons Blue Plaque initiative

Chairman Joan Davis interviews the Leader of Hillingdon Borough Council, Cllr Raymond Puddifoot, on the blue plaque scheme. The initiative involves Blue Plaques being put up in the borough to mark notable resident of the borough.
Donald

A blue plaque for Alexander Fleming at Harefield Hospital

A Hillingdon Council initiative has honoured Alexander Fleming with the erection of a blue plaque at the entrance to Harefield Hospital, where he worked for a number of years from 1939.

The plaque was unveiled by the Mayor of Hillingdon, Councillor Brian Crowe, on Monday 29th September, in the presence of dignitaries from both Hillingdon Borough Council and the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust. The Mayor paid tribute to Alexander Fleming’s pioneering work in the development of penicillin, which brought such profound and lasting impact to the fight against infections.

Donald Edwards, Publicity Office of The Community Voice, was well prepared with both video and still cameras to capture the event. He also seized the opportunity to record interviews with some of the people who were present, adding another dimension to this very special occasion. We were most grateful to all those who allowed him to do this.

West Herts Hospitals seeks to become a foundation trust!

The astonishing turn-around of West Herts Hospitals Trust over the last year has been frequently noted on this site. At yesterday's AGM we heard again about its meteoric rise from being one of the worst NHS trusts in the country to it becoming a leader in several fields.

This amazing progress has culminated in the Trust daring to seek foundation trust status - at one time an inconceivable development! East of England SHA backs this application and public consultation started on 22nd September. To obtain the consultation booklet telephone 0844 776 321 or visit the Trust's website.

The Trust needs to demonstrate public support for its application and it aims to recuit 5,000 members. Applying for membership will show personal support and help the Trust towards its aim, so we hope that many of our own members will choose to do so.

Joan