Download february_2017 - Healthwatch Darlington

February 2017
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MRI scanners appeal launches
Earlier this month, we launched an appeal to raise £2.5m to buy state of the art MRI
scanners for Darlington Memorial and Bishop Auckland Hospitals. Modern scanners
provide much improved images and a better experience for patients and MRI scans
play an increasingly important role in diagnosing a wide range of health conditions,
including cancer, heart conditions and strokes.
Rotary Club is supporting the Appeal but we really need as many people as possible
to get involved, including you, our partners, to bring cutting edge MRI diagnostics to
our local communities. Could we ask you to support the appeal in any way possible,
including promoting it or by holding a fundraising event – coffee mornings, sponsored
sports events etc. Donations, however small, will all be very welcome. We can
supply you with donation tins and envelopes, information leaflets and advice and
support.
Our Inaugural Charity Golf Day is already planned for Friday 26 May 2017 at Rockliffe
Hall Golf Club, near Darlington – to find out more please ring 01325 743786 or email:
[email protected]
We’re also planning an Autumn Ball to take place on Friday 17 November 2017, at
Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield and will bring you more details soon.
To find out more about the appeal or for details of how to make a donation, visit:
https://www.cddft.nhs.uk/about-the-trust/county-durham-darlington-nhs-foundationtrust-charity.aspx. You can also make a donation at www.justgiving.com/cddft
To read recent coverage of the Appeal in The Northern Echo, go to:
http://bit.ly/2kP2V0o
Trust Performance
Carole Langrick, executive director of operations, writes, “Pressure on our emergency
departments has continued over the winter and for the past several months our
transforming care agenda has involved working with frontline colleagues to identify
and influence improvements in patient flow, outcomes and experience both internally
and externally, supported by many of you in the local health economy. We’re grateful
for this and for your continued support as we embed these improvements during our
Perfect Month – March. (See more on this below).
“Elsewhere, I’m pleased to report that the majority of specialties exceeded the 92%
target for patients undergoing treatment within 18 weeks of referral. We also
exceeded the 99% target for patients undergoing diagnostic tests within six weeks.
“We’re meeting national targets for seeing breast cancer patients within two weeks,
despite the pressure on services caused by the continued influx of patients due to
other Trusts in the region reducing or withdrawing this service.
“Other excellent news is that over 92% of patients, when asked, said they would
recommend us.”
Perfect Month - March
At the heart of Perfect Month is the way in which we deliver and sustain SAFER care
to patients, building on the success of our Perfect Weeks at the end of 2015 and other
initiatives since.
Your support and involvement as our health and social care partners will be greatly
appreciated in making the month a success.
SAFER care challenges the way we work to ensure that we:
 See our patients in the right place at the right time
 Support senior clinical decision-makers to develop timely individual care
management plans for every patient, and

Eliminate any delays in patients’ diagnosis, care and discharge management.
We’re piloting exemplar wards where particular attention will be on ensuring those
patients who are well enough to go home, do so as early in the day as possible,
including looking ahead to the following day.
Profile - Jamie Greenwood, medicines management assistant
We’re very proud of the passion and dedication of colleagues across our services and
will be demonstrating their commitment through regular profiles, starting with Jamie.
Jamie writes, “The Medicine Management Assistant role on
the acute medical unit (AMU) at University Hospital of North
Durham was created in May 2015 and is the first of its kind
in the Trust. This is my first NHS job and I absolutely love it!
“Before the role was created, nurses on the unit had to think
about medication as well as all the other aspects of their job,
whereas it’s my priority. Having this dedicated position
improves patient safety and experience in addition to giving
nursing staff more time to care for patients. I work 8.00am – 4.00pm each weekday
and, essentially, my role is to ensure that nursing colleagues can access medication
quickly and easily on the ward, that we’re aware of medication brought into hospital by
patients, what medications they’re prescribed and that prescriptions are filled as
quickly as possible – particularly discharge prescriptions.
“AMU is a large ward with 48 beds plus 12 GP beds. I visit every patient each day
focusing on new admissions, which can be over 30 on some days, getting details of
their medication and, with their consent, I also access their GP records for medication
information – which I pass to clinical colleagues. I make sure we never run out of
medications we use frequently, but also that we don’t hold too much stock which risks
them reaching the expiry date. I also manage our stocks of controlled drugs.
“I make sure that some of the more frequently used drugs are stored in more than one
place on the ward, for easy access, and I keep updated lists in the treatment rooms,
of where each drug is kept. Everyone on the ward knows where these lists are so no
time is wasted looking for medication. This can be particularly useful when it comes
to drugs we don’t use that often, and seems to save the nurses and pharmacists lots
of time and helps keep their stress levels down! On a more serious note managing
stock levels closely has also saved money.
.
“When a patient is well enough for discharge, waiting for a prescription to come from
central pharmacy can be frustrating. This isn’t a criticism of pharmacy team who have
hundreds of prescriptions to fill each day, it’s just a fact of life - so I collect and check
every prescription to minimise the patient’s wait. I also do the daily oxygen port and
suction port checks on all 56 beds each morning, as well as blood collection and ward
fluid replenishment, so there’s never a dull moment!
Decade of Care
We are delighted to be marking 'a decade of care' this year,
celebrating 10 years as a foundation trust. We have huge pride in
what has been achieved over the past 10 years and will be
sharing experiences and achievements from our colleagues and
partners in a Northern Echo supplement on 28th February and in a
special edition of the Trust's magazine, 'Your Trust'.
We have no doubt that one of our greatest achievements is the coming together of
'Team CDDFT' and the tremendous efforts of our dedicated 8,000 colleagues,
working alongside you our partners from across the health and social care economy.
Shotley Bridge Community Hospital
You may be aware that at the end of 2016 we temporarily moved our inpatients out of
Shotley Bridge Community Hospital, into other community hospitals, while essential
works identified by the building owner, NHS Property Services, were carried
out. Most of the work has now been completed but there remains further checks and
infection control assessments to be carried out to provide full assurance on patient
safety before the ward is reopened. We are working through this process with our
health partners - the local clinical commissioning group and NHS property services.
We will keep you updated on the timeline as the work progresses.
New Chapel for Darlington
A new chapel and chaplaincy suite at Darlington Memorial Hospital offers a place for
worship for those of all faiths. Dedicated last month by the right reverend, Mark
Bryant, Bishop of Jarrow, the chapel will host a weekly ecumenical service and
Catholic mass. With an office within the suite, our chaplains welcome everyone,
particularly patients, their families and other visitors to the hospital.
New theatres at Darlington near completion
Plans for six new theatres at Darlington Memorial Hospital are on track to open in
April 2017, following which the six existing theatres will be upgraded. The suite of 12
theatres, which will be fitted with the latest equipment, is planned to open in Spring
2018.
Health Call Undernutrition
Working closely with Age UK Darlington and Healthwatch, a pilot scheme led by our
dieticians offers elderly people living in Darlington and identified as being at risk of
undernutrition, a FREE weekly hot lunch where they can meet others in a similar
situation and talk to experts about their diet and eating patterns generally. Their
weight is monitored each time they attend and Health Call technology means this can
be shared, electronically, with those involved in their care.
If you know someone who might benefit from a referral to the lunch club please
contact Catherine McShane, lead dietician on 07717 480208.
The project, which received over £73,000 from The Health Foundation, has had a lot
of press and media coverage, including reports on both BBC Look North and Tyne
Tees regional news.
Celebrating careers in health care science
Our healthcare scientists will be celebrating British Science Week by opening their
doors to schools and the public on Wednesday 15 March 2017.
Staff including scientists from Biochemistry, Nuclear Medicine and medical
photography will showcase the many opportunities available with fun and interactive
demonstrations and give advice on pursuing a career in healthcare science. The
event will take place at Prospect House in Durham 9:00 am to 4:00pm.
Anyone interested in attending, including schools, can register for a place by emailing:
[email protected]
Awards & accolades
Kitemark for volunteers
We are delighted to share with you that our patient experience team & volunteer
managers have been awarded a Kitemark by Durham Community Action for the
support and training given to our volunteers who play an essential role in clinical and
other services. CDDFT is the first large public sector organisation to be awarded the
Kitemark.
Microbiology accreditation
Congratulations to our Pathology Laboratory teams who have been instrumental in
helping gain full accreditation to ISO15189 for Microbiology, from the UK
Accreditation Service (UKAS). This is the highest accreditation available to Pathology
labs in the UK.
Partnership success
We’re delighted that Derwentside College has been shortlisted for a national award
from the Times Educational Supplement. One of the contributing factors was the
strong relationship demonstrated with CDDFT in helping us recruit and train
apprentices in a number of areas, including healthcare assistants and business admin
support. We work closely with the college to ensure the apprentices receive both
vocational training and a qualification, making them ideal candidates for permanent
positions at the end of the training period – so this is great news for us and our local
communities.
Contact us………
We welcome your feedback, please email any comments to:
[email protected]