Mainstream
www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk/mainstream.shtml
Getting ready
for winter
Sharing news about the Trust directly with staff | Number 207 | November 2009
Disapproval of street
parking near CGH
4
6
Parking in the side streets around Turner
Road is causing residents problems
Improving
neonatal care
8
A new Dept of Health
guide to improve
neonatal care
Electronic
prescribing
10
First steps taken in north east Essex
towards electronic prescribing
Colchester’s
Caring Past
John Grice writes on
historical matters
16
Contents
Staff invited to
give views
Would you like to be
a job matcher?
ave you ever wondered
about the process for
grading jobs within the
Trust? Or how your pay band
was decided?
Well, now is your chance
to find out and get involved by becoming
accredited as a staff-side job matcher, writes
staff-side Chair Barbara Rush. Staff-side job
matchers need to be trade union members but
don’t necessarily need to be union reps.
So what’s involved?
Firstly, local training will be arranged for
any union members wishing to take on this
role. This will take approximately four to five
hours.
Once trained you will join the pool of
accredited staff-side job matchers and would
spend a day, or half a day at a time, as part of a
job matching panel looking at new posts or
posts that have changed enough to warrant a
new job description.
At the moment our numbers of staff-side
job matchers have dwindled to just three which
H
is why we are in need of more staff-side volunteers!
The more job matchers we get, the fewer
would be the days you would need to commit
to job-matching.
If we could get three new staff-side job
matchers it would be three to four days per
year. With six then it would drop to only two
annually.
If you would like to find out more about
what’s involved, please send an email to
Barbara Rush or staff-side Secretary Pauline
Head. Arrangements will then be made for you
to be accredited and trained. (You will need to
get your manager’s agreement to taking part in
job matching.)
Please help if you can – it’s a good way to
find out what’s involved in other people’s jobs
and an opportunity to meet and work with
new people from across the Trust.
i For more information, email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Other news
Keep patients safe ....................5
National Insurance Error............6
Want to be a governor? ...........7
Transfer of Payroll Services ......12
Intranet redevelopment ..........13
Too focused on MRSA?...........14
Regulars
How long will I wait?..............13
In the diary.....................13 & 15
In the news & media.................4
Letters | Emails | Your views ....15
National news.........................11
People news .............................7
Sixty seconds interview ...........14
Trust news in brief............6 & 12
page 2 | Mainstream
Getting ready for winter
s the colours in
the grounds of
our hospitals turn
autumnal, the gardening
teams at Colchester
General Hospital have
been planting new trees
and shrubs around the
building works that have
recently been taking
place.
The new road around
Gainsborough wing is
A
being landscaped and
planted as part of this
work.
Several new buildings
come into their own this
month – see page 12 – as
well as smaller projects such
as new flooring and roof
outside Elmstead and floor
maintenance work in
Constable and Gainsborough wings at Colchester
General Hospital.
T
he Trust has invited its
governors to contribute
to a comprehensive
review of public and staff car
parking at the Trust’s two hospitals.
The review is looking at all
aspects of parking, such as
charges, when they apply, who
should have to pay them, the
signage, the number of spaces
provided and the division of
spaces between public and
staff.
A number of factors have
combined to put pressure on
both staff and public parking
at Colchester General Hospital
in recent months. The loss of
the Elmstead Day Unit car
park to build the new elective
care centre, new staff (more
than 100 in the six months to
September), and reduced street
parking have all combined to
make certain areas of the
Trust’s main site extremely difficult to park.
September’s announcement
by Secretary of State for
Health Andy Burnham about
phasing out all charges for
inpatients within the next three
years could also have an
adverse impact on staff parking.
On the more positive side,
the newly-improved High
Woods cycle route passes
Colchester General Hospital,
the country park and nearby
business parks and was developed as part of Colchester’s
Cycling Town status. The route
is the first to be improved as
part of the Cycle Colchester
project, forming a spine route
serving the 10,200 residents of
Highwoods and the 7,000
employees at the business
At Colchester General Hospital there is a drop-off point where
people can park free of charge for 20 minutes. Pictured is the
large ‘pay on foot’ car park which makes it easier for patients
and visitors to get to their appointment on time
parks. And in the coming
months further improvements
will be made to link the route
to the town centre.
The Trust’s Travel Plan
highlights the ‘Bike2Work’
scheme which allows staff to
live on page 13.
The Travel Plan also highlights the staff benefit of 50%
off the First Buses Essex
Travel Card, allowing unlimited
travel throughout Essex. And
the national car share scheme
Governors asked to
contribute to parking review
buy a bike and accessories for
30 per cent or more off the
retail price, paid back over 12
months via their salary. Better
cycle routes combined with
this scheme means it is getting
easier for staff to get to work
if they live within cycling distance: see maps of where staff
the Trust is part of is free to
register and use.
Director of Estates and
Facilities David Hewitt said:
“One way the Trust is trying to
help resolve this is discussing
with the local planning authority if we can increase our
parking allocation, currently at
one space per four employees.
“But despite these initiatives, everyone using the
hospitals need to consider
alternatives to driving on their
own to and from the sites.”
Leading the review is Head
of Facilities and Patient
Environment Phil Kitchener.
He said: “We know that many
public and staff governors are
passionate about this issue and
welcome their ideas.”
Governors are being asked
to contribute ideas and suggestions by 20 November.
i See also page 6. If you
would like to email any of the
Staff Governors with your
ideas, visit their page on the
intranet:
http://hermes/governors/
staff_governors.shtml
November 2009 | page 3
IN THE NEWS AND MEDIA
Highlighting some of the
news sent to the local media
and put on our website
4”Is my baby all right?”,
a free public health talk by
consultant Mr John Eddy this
month. More details page 13.
FT accuses Monitor of
‘intimidation’” An article in
the Health Service Journal
and further coverage in the
East Anglian Daily Times and
the Colchester Gazette resulting from a leaked
confidential email sent by our
Chairman Richard Bourne to
his counterparts at six other
NHS foundation trusts which
have also recently had issues
with Monitor in order to
explore the possibility of sharing experiences with them.
Trust assured patients
as postal workers strike
Patients with future appointments at our Trust
were assured they
would not be
affected by postal
strikes. The Trust
called patients
with upcoing
appointments by
phone rather than
by letter until Royal Mail and
the Communications Workers
Union (CWU) had resolved
their dispute.
BBC Look East. Trust
Staff were filmed having the
swine flu vaccine for BBC
Look East news – see page 5.
4
4
4
i Get your news in the local
media by calling Head of
External Relations, Mark
Prentice, on ext 2752.
page 4 | Mainstream
In the news
4
Staff invited to give views
he Trust’s long-running programme to
involve staff in organisational development continues this month with the latest
series of staff engagement activity.
Head of Human Resources Sharon
Rawlinson writes: “We want to build on the
excellent progress we have made in engaging
with staff and so the
focus of the next activity
is ‘what matters’. This
theme will be used for
the events which began
on 10 November.
Chief Executive Peter
Murphy said: “I would like to add my support
to the series of staff engagement events that
have recently been publicised and will be taking place over the coming months. I recognise
there are competing workload pressures, but
these events stimulate valuable input from people working within the Trust to enable us to
implement and progress improvements.”
Head of Human Resources Sharon
Rawlinson said: “Participation will make sure
you gain knowledge and understanding; are
able to ask and answer questions; and can give
your honest opinion.
“If our values, standards of behaviour and
T
workplace health and wellbeing are important
to you then book onto one of the events starting this month. Please encourage your
colleagues to come to a session.”
Peter added: “It is important that a good
representation of the Trust participates and I
would encourage people to nominate themselves or their colleagues
to attend so that their
department is represented
and has a voice.”
If you have any
queries, please do not hesitate to contact Sharon, or
a member of the HR team.
“valuable input from people
to enable us to implement
improvements”
Dates and locations of sessions:
Wed 18 Nov Clacton Hospital
Mon 23 Nov Colchester General Hospital
Mon 14 Dec Colchester General Hospital
Thu 21 Jan Colchester General Hospital
Thu 11 Feb Colchester General Hospital
Please contact Sue Featley in Human
Resources on ext 4682 to book places. Sharon
Rawlinson is on ext 4673.
i For dates, see page 13 or visit http://hermes
and click on ‘Noticeboard’ and then ‘Events’
Don’t share your passwords – warning
ome members of staff are
sharing their passwords
for email, computer and
network logon.
This is never appropriate
and is a clear breach of our
own policies and national
requirements.
Examples of breaches may
be where colleagues are giving secretaries passwords to
access email – this is not necessary as the system can be
S
enabled to do this through
the software.
A help file is available
from Information Governance
Manager Rees Cox. If network
drives need sharing this can be
actioned via ESSA.
i If anyone has any specific
concerns, please let Chief
Information Officer Nick
Elliott know, on ext 2990.
Rees Cox is on ext 2925
Rees Cox
Keep patients safe by
getting vaccinated
The Trust is encouraging all staff who have direct patient contact, such as doctors, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists
and radiotherapists, to follow Department of Health advice and be vaccinated.
ith NHS trusts across the country
embarking on a programme of vaccinating their frontline staff against
swine flu, the first clinic at Colchester General
Hospital was held on 22 October.
The Trust is encouraging all staff who have
direct patient contact, such as doctors, nurses,
midwives, physiotherapists and radiotherapists,
to follow Department of Health advice and be
vaccinated. Nurses from Occupational Health
are offering the swine flu vaccine, given as a
simple injection to the upper arm, to frontline
staff working at Colchester General Hospital as
well as at Essex County Hospital, Clacton
Hospital and The Fryatt Hospital, Dovercourt.
As of 17 November, 654 doses of swine flu vaccine and 832 seasonal flu doses had been given
to our staff.
Director of Nursing and Patient Experience
Julie Firth said: “Keeping patients safe during
the swine flu pandemic is a critical priority for
this Trust.
“The easiest way for our frontline staff to
reduce their chances of spreading the virus to
vulnerable patients is to be vaccinated against
swine flu and seasonal flu.
“It is also important for these staff to get
their seasonal flu jabs as soon as possible so
they are fit and ready to support colleagues
during what is likely to be a tough winter for
the NHS.”
Frontline staff can be vaccinated against
seasonal flu at the same time as they are given
protection against swine flu.
Staff from the Trust were filmed having the
swine flu vaccine by BBC Look East for their
W
evening news on 22 October.
Meanwhile, the NHS in the east of England
is urging people in the region to be patient and
not to call their GP while the swine flu vaccination programme is being rolled out. Only
people who are in the priority groups are currently eligible for the vaccine.
Dr Linda Sheridan, Director of Flu Resilience
for NHS East of England, said: “GPs will be
inviting people in the priority groups in for
their jab once they have received their delivery.
“We understand that people are anxious to
find out more information about the swine flu
vaccination, but we are urging them not to
contact their GP surgeries as they are currently
very busy.
“Both swine flu and seasonal flu are highly
infectious illnesses caused by a virus. People
should not underestimate the effects of flu. It is
not the same as getting a cold. It can seriously
affect your health and the risks of developing
complications are greater if you have certain
pre existing medical conditions.
“It is important that people understand
that the swine flu vaccine is very different to
the existing seasonal flu jab. The vaccine for
one will not protect against the other, which is
why people need to have both.
“Everyone can help reduce the spread of
the swine flu virus by maintaining good
hygiene and remembering to ‘Catch it, Bin it,
Kill it.’”
Eligible priority groups:
n People aged over six months
and under 65, who would
normally be eligible for the
seasonal flu vaccine
n Pregnant women
n Household contacts of people
with compromised immune
systems, e.g. people in regular
close contact with patients having
high doses of steroid medication or
on certain types of cancer
treatment
n People aged 65 and over in the
current seasonal flu vaccine clinical
at-risk groups. This does not
include otherwise healthy over 65s,
since they appear to have some
natural immunity to the virus.
i Keep up-to-date by visiting the intranet’s
Swine flu pages at:
http://hermes/swine_flu/swineflu.shtml
November 2009 | page 5
TRUST NEWS IN BRIEF
For more news, go to the
intranet http://hermes and
click on ‘Noticeboard’
Viral gastroenteritis
outbreak
Fordham Ward and Layer
Marney Ward, both at
Colchester General Hospital,
closed for a few days this
month due to an outbreak of
viral gastroenteritis.
Staff are reminded that
handwashing between
patients is vital. Also, staff
who are affected by diarrhoea and vomiting should
not return to work until they
are symptom-free for 48
hours.
i Infection Control, ext 4267
or bleep 246
Error over National
Insurance contributions
A number of staff have
received a letter from HM
Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
concerning a possible gap in
National Insurance contributions (NIC) for 2007/08, which
seem to have been issued in
error following a computer
system problem at HMRC. The
problem has been
rectified and a further letter will be
issued, by midJanuary 2010 at
the latest, confirming the position
regarding your
NIC.
i Kevin Ward, ext 4686
More news on page 12
page 6 | Mainstream
In the news
4
Informed decision making
cancer nurse from Colchester has played
a key role in a national project to help
men with prostate disease to make
informed decisions about their treatment.
Uro-oncology clinical nurse specialist Lucy
Powell recently attended a reception at the
House of Commons to
launch an information
pack which has been created to help patients
take decisions best suited
to their needs.
As well as including a
DVD voiced over by former newsreader Martyn
Lewis, it contains a values questionnaire that
Lucy, who is based at Colchester General
Hospital, helped to devise with input from
about 50 prostate cancer patients from north
east Essex.
“The object of the Informed Decision
Making project is to empower the patient with
the knowledge to make the right treatment
option for his individual needs,” she said.
“For example, before a patient with
prostate cancer takes his decision, it is important that he understands the disease and the
side effects of treatments, which can include
A
impotence and incontinence.
“The questionnaire, which patients in north
east Essex helped to shape, asks the patients
about their values and what is important to
them, which helps to inform their decision.”
It is hoped that the informed decision making pack, which has been
funded by the NHS
Institute for Innovation
and Improvement, will
become widely used
throughout the NHS.
Also attending the
launch at the House of
Commons were Dr Mary
Archer, Project Chairman, Urology Informed
Decision Making Steering Group; Judy Cecil,
Manager of the Urology/Continence Service at
NHS North East Essex and a member of the
steering group; Roy Williams from Tiptree, a
patient representative on the group; Mr Chris
Booth, a former consultant urologist at
Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation
Trust and a member of the steering group; and
Dave Monk, presenter, BBC Essex.
“empower the patient with
the knowledge to make the
right treatment option”
i Full story on website’s ‘Latest News’ pages:
www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk
Disapproval of street parking near CGH
he issue of patients and
staff parking in the side
streets off Turner Road
came to a head this month
with a meeting of 100 residents, the PCT, our Trust and
Essex County Council.
Residents reported that they
often find driveways, pavements and even the road itself
blocked by staff and patients’
cars being inconsiderately
parked. Clearly the Trust wish-
T
es to be a considerate neighbour and all staff are asked to
help resolve the issues. Our
Travel Plan lists ideas such as:
n try to avoid being a single
car user. Register for the
free national car share
scheme the Trust is part of.
n use the free hospital staff
shuttle bus between the
two sites.
n take advantage of the halfprice unlimited travel
throughout Essex on First
Buses.
n do not park in the side
streets off Turner Road.
n make patients and visitors
aware of parking discounts
to avoid them being tempted to park in side streets.
i Schemes mentioned can be
found on the intranet here:
http://hermes/travel_plan/
tplan_home_page.shtml
Next month’s free public
health talk – given by members of the Trust’s diabetes
team – will also be an opportunity for people to find out
more about being a governor
of the Trust.
The health talk on 16
December at Clacton Hospice
will be combined with an ‘I
want to be a governor’ event
as the Trust is holding a byelection in the Tendring public
constituency. This follows the
resignation of public governor
Mark Lowdell.
During the evening, Dr
Charles Bodmer, Consultant
Diabetologist and his colleagues Maureen Bancroft, a
Consultant Diabetes Nurse,
and Hannah Griffiths, a
Specialist Diabetes Dietitian
will give a 40-minute presentation about ‘Technologies in
Diabetes Care’, after which
they will answer questions.
Our Members’ Council has
13 public governors and five
staff governors and they are
elected by postal ballot.
At the event the FT
Membership Office team, governors and senior directors will
explain about the election
process to be held in Tendring
starting in the early New Year.
Only Tendring public members can vote in the election,
which is being overseen by the
independent Association of
Electoral Administrators.
i To attend call 0845 8734610
during office hours or email:
ft.membership@colchesterhospital.
nhs.uk
4
PEOPLE II| IINEWS FROM THE INTRANET’S NOTICEBOARD
People news
Do you want to
be a governor?
Welcome
We are pleased to welcome
KATHY FRENCH as the newly
appointed Deputy Director of
Nursing, joining the Trust around
Christmas from Luton &
Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust.
JANET PERRY has been
appointed the new Deputy Chief
Executive & Director of Finance
and starts next April.
STEPHEN PRINCE is new
interim Associate Director of ICT
replacing David Boakes. Stephen
has a wealth of experience in
senior NHS leadership roles as
well as substantial experience in
management consultancy
specialising in IT, process and
systems analysis and organisation
development. Stephen will be
leading on the IT agenda for the
Trust with a key focus on the
ESSA extraction work.
Dr WILLIAM HOWARD
(pictured below) is the newly
appointed Consultant
Radiologist. Dr Howard
commenced on 2 November and
is a General Radiologist with
special interest in Nuclear
Medicine including PET/CT. Dr
Howard trained in the Eastern
Deanery and was previously
based at Southend University
Hospital. He is a keen hockey
player and resides in Chelmsford
with his wife and daughter.
Carla climbs Mt
Kilimanjaro!
Congratulations to
anaesthetist PA Carla
Holroyd (pictured
right) who raised the
magnificent sum of
£1,675 (Gift Aid
included) for the
Catherine Bullen
Foundation when
she conquered Mt
Kilimanjaro in
September. The
Foundation are now
halfway to their
target of £50,000 to build a
canteen and Kitchen at
Omuhaturua Primary School in
eastern Namibia. It is again
running its very popular ‘Gift a
decades of working as a hospital
consultant, a Colchester doctor
is celebrating the publication of
his first novel.
‘The Kingmaker’ by Dare
Demuren (pictured with MP Bob
Russell) has been published by
Untie Publishing of Colchester.
Dr Demuren, who has
worked for the Trust since 2002,
unveiled the novel during last
month’s Black History Month
celebrations.
i Copies can be obtained
Goat Appeal’ where for £35, a
goat is purchased as a Christmas
present and donated to the San
bushmen, while the donor
receives a certificate in the name
of the person the present was
for. Last year, this resulted in the
San receiving 78 goats.
i Contact Linda Bullen,
Orthopaedic Pre-admission,
ext 2913 or email:
[email protected].
Debut novel – at 58!
At the age of 58 and after two
directly from Dr Demuren, or
www.daredemuren.com
Farewell
RACHEL HEARN has left the Trust
to take up a post at NHS North
East Essex as Interim Head of
Patient Safety. The post of
Matron for Medicine is currently
vacant and Rob Nicholls is
currently covering that post.
i Anyone can add items to
‘People News’ by browsing
the Trust’s intranet’s
Noticeboard at:
http://hermes/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl
November 2009 | page 7
New guide to improve
neonatal care
T
he Department of
Health is this month
publishing new guidance to help the NHS improve
the care provided for premature and sick babies during
their first days.
The NHS has made great
progress in caring for babies
with the lowest infant mortality rates and NHS neonatal
services now care for over
60,000 babies a year.
Babies who are born prematurely, or have a low birth
weight, require very specialised
care in their first hours and
days. A neonatal taskforce was
established to identify ways of
further improving services to
offer the best neonatal care
possible. Experts from baby
charity Bliss and specialist
NHS staff have helped to
develop the neonatal toolkit to
share its findings and guidance
with the NHS.
While England remains
one of the safest places in the
world to give birth, the taskforce has recommended that
neonatal care become more
family-centred to ensure the
psychological as well as physical needs of babies and
families are considered. The
page 8 | Mainstream
toolkit they have created provides practical advice on how
to improve the areas that really
matter to parents including:
n making sure the right staff
are on hand at the birth
n managing high-risk pregnancies to make sure babies are
born in the best place
n improving transfers between
services where necessary.
H
ealth Minister Ann
Keen said: “As a nurse
I’ve seen the excellent
care the NHS provides for
small and premature babies,
and the doctors and nurses
working in neonatal care
should be proud that more
babies than ever before are
surviving.
“Having a sick baby is
very distressing for parents at
what should be one of their
happiest moments.
“That’s why we’re providing the NHS with practical
guidance on how to make
neonatal services even better
and take a family-centred
approach to care.
“To ensure this toolkit
makes a real difference to
neonatal care I have also asked
to have ministerial oversight of
its implementation.”
Neonatal services have
been boosted in recent years
with the establishment of
neonatal networks which
ensure joined-up care in each
area and have helped to
increase the number of neonatal beds and staff in England.
The neonatal taskforce was
established to identify and
deliver further improvements
to services.
The taskforce will continue
to support the NHS to introduce the recommendations
made in the toolkit ensuring it
has a significant impact on
neonatal care.
Principles for quality
neonatal services
To achieve high-quality neonatal care, networks and their
constituent services will need
to meet a range of markers of
quality of care.
Eight principles cover the
major areas of activity within
the neonatal care pathway and
should be read with other professional standards.
They are supported by
markers of good practice that
define the characteristics of
high-quality services.
Each principle is supported
by measurable indicators for
use in benchmarking.
The principles aim to
establish the following standards:
n Organisation of neonatal
services
n Staffing of neonatal services
n Care of the baby and family
experience
n Transfers
n Professional competence,
education and training
n Surgical services
n Clinical governance
n Data requirements.
Upgraded neonatal
services at Colchester
Above and left:
Dr Sarah Dalton
For any family, having a baby
that needs special or intensive
care is possibly one of the
most stressful experiences in
life.
Our Trust is working hard
to ensure that babies in north
east Essex get the best access
to the highest level of specialised care if they need it,
from experts such as Dr Sarah
Dalton, one of Colchester
General Hospital’s consultant
paediatricians.
Neonatal care specialises in
caring for the smallest, sickest
babies such as those born prematurely or born with a low
birthweight.
These babies will need
extra help, for example with
breathing, until they are strong
enough to go home.
Last summer, our neonatal
unit at Colchester General
Hospital improved to become
an accredited level 2 service.
Dr Dalton said: “We start-
ed in 2008/09 by investing
additional money and will continue in 2009/10 by appointing
an additional consultant
neonatologist, four additional
junior doctors, seven nurses
and clerical support.”
i Read more about neonatal
care in the Trust’s Annual Plan,
which is not only our blueprint
for the current year but looks
forward to the next five:
www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk/
annual_plan.shtml
November 2009 | page 9
nce fully active, the Electronic
Prescription Service will bring a
range of benefits to patients, GPs
and dispensing staff such as pharmacists:
O
For patients:
n more convenient service with fewer trips
to the GP
n greater freedom of choice
n reduction in pharmacy waiting times.
For prescribing staff:
n reduction in workload
n ability to make wider use of the repeat
dispensing service
n ability to either sign electronic prescriptions individually or by multiples
n ability to cancel electronic prescriptions
at any point up until they are dispensed
n staff will no longer need to sort (or post)
prescriptions.
For dispensing staff:
n no more re-keying prescription information
n scope to streamline workflow
n manage stock control more effectively
n dispensing contractors no longer
required to physically collect prescriptions for patients
n dispensers will be able to manage the
submission of reimbursement endorsements electronically
n reduction in volume of paper that needs
to be sorted and posted.
page 10 | Mainstream
With thanks to Colchester’s Caring Past
The Dispensary at Essex
County Hospital in 1900
First steps taken towards
electronic prescribing
The first steps towards electronic prescribing are being taken locally as patients start
receiving information about the pharmacy they wish to receive their prescription from
HE first steps towards electronic prescribing across north east Essex were being
taken this month as patients started receiving information about nominating the pharmacy
from where they wish to receive their prescription.
A national Electronic Prescription Service
(EPS) is being rolled out across the country, and
locally the first electronic
prescriptions are expected
to be dispensed from
April 2010 onwards.
In preparation for this,
patients are being invited
to express their interest in
choosing or ‘nominating’
a pharmacy, though not
all pharmacies are in a position to accept nominations. Patients are advised to check at their
preferred pharmacy to see if they are ready to
accept nominations yet. A patient can have up to
three places nominated including a pharmacy, a
dispensing appliance contractor and, if eligible,
their dispensing GP practice.
The purpose of EPS is to make it easier for
patients, particularly those on repeat prescriptions, by reducing the need for people to call at
their GP practice just to collect a prescription
form. Around 1.5 million paper prescriptions are
issued every working day and about 70 per cent
of these are repeat prescriptions.
With the advent of EPS, patients can choose
a pharmacy to receive their bar-coded electronic
prescription. The pharmacy might be convenient
to where the person lives, shops or works. Once
a pharmacy is nominated, and a GP is ready with
T
their EPS system installed, the GP will send all
future prescriptions electronically to this location where the patient can then pick them up.
The patient can change their nominated pharmacy at any time.
Yvonne Benstead is EPS Project Manager at
NHS North East Essex. She said: “The introduction of EPS will make life a lot easier for many
people, because, by nominating a pharmacy, their
prescription will be sent
there, meaning the patient
won’t have to visit their GP
practice to pick up the prescription.
“If people don’t want
to ‘nominate’ they can
continue to pick up their paper prescription in
the traditional way, and they can change from
one system to the other if they find that more
suitable.
“Locally, EPS will be introduced on a phased
basis next year. Patients should check with their
GP to find out when they will be offering EPS.”
The introduction of EPS has been welcomed
by the medical profession. Clacton GP, Dr Gary
Sweeney, said: “I am sure EPS will be welcomed
by patients, particularly those who require
repeat prescriptions, as a more convenient way
of collecting their prescriptions. GPs will also be
spending less time writing prescriptions which
will enable us to spend more time with
patients.”
“the electronic prescription
service will be welcomed by
patients” – Clacton GP
i To find out more, please visit:
www.northeastessexpct.nhs.uk/
HE head of NHS North East Essex, Dr Paul Zollinger-Read, is
leaving to take up a new post in Cambridgeshire. Dr
Zollinger-Read has been Chief Executive of the PCT since its
creation in 2006 when the former Tendring and Colchester primary care trusts (PCTs) merged.
NHS North East Essex serves a population of approximately
315,000 in the 255 square miles covered by Colchester Borough
Council and Tendring District Council.
Dr Zollinger-Read will
leave the organisation early in
the new year to take up his
new role as Chief Executive of
NHS Cambridgeshire. He said:
“I will be really sad to leave.
When I started here, one of
my objectives was to ensure
we had sustainable healthcare
– a firm foundation to build
upon. We have achieved that
and risen to many challenges
such as to focus on the unfairness in health that some of
the poorest members of our
society experience and the
challenge of mental illness in
our area.
“This work has only been
possible by close working relations with Colchester Borough
Council, Tendring District Council and Essex County Council. As
the public would expect of us, we have developed very good
working relationships which have delivered improvements to our
residents’ care.
“This organisation has many excellent staff committed to
serving the public and it has been an honour to work with such a
team.”
As well as his role as Chief Executive of NHS North East Essex,
he has remained a practicing GP and has also been temporary
Chief Executive of NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney since May.
Professor Sheila Salmon, Chairman of NHS North East Essex,
said: “Dr Zollinger-Read has been an inspirational leader and
north east Essex has felt his presence strongly during the past
three years. He is fondly known as Dr Paul to many of our residents and has relentlessly championed better quality healthcare,
achieving impressive results.
“He has helped us embark on an important journey of health
improvement in our locality. Whilst he will be hugely missed, we
sincerely wish him every success in his new role.”
T
4
NATIONAL NEWS II| IIPCT, Dept of Health, SHA and beyond
National news
Dr Paul Zollinger-Read
to move on
Survey on violence against staff begins
The NHS Security Management Service has commissioned a survey into violence against NHS frontline staff. Ipsos MORI
Telephone Surveys will interview around 2,000 frontline staff
by phone. Participants will be randomly selected for the 12minute telephone interview from an NHS database to ensure
national coverage. Results will be published in early 2010.
i Clare Fletcher, Senior Research Officer
[email protected]
New quality mark for health information
A new set of standards was launched this month to give people
confidence to trust health and social care information. Once
people know an organisation has met
the standard, they will know it is a reliable source of information. The scheme
is open to any organisation that produces health or social care information
for the public and they must demonstrate their information is accurate,
impartial, balanced, appropriately
researched, accessible and well-written.
i Find out more about the Information Standard at
www.theinformationstandard.org
Consultation launched on legal rights to waiting times
Patients will have legal rights to maximum waiting times and
urgent cancer referrals and to an NHS Health Check every five
years, if proposals published this month are taken forward. The
proposals, set out in ‘The NHS Constitution: A consultation on
new patient rights’, will mean that from April 2010, patients
will have the legal right to maximum waiting times to start
treatment by a consultant within 18 weeks of GP referral, and
to be seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks of GP referral. In addition, everyone aged 40-74 will have the right to an
NHS Health Check every five years to assess their risk of heart
disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.
i The consultation can be found at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/index.htm
Trust shortlisted in Patient Safety Awards 2010
Education Facilitator Leonie Lowe and Consultant
Microbiologist Dr Gillian Urwin have been shortlisted in the
Patient Safety in Clinical Practice Category for the Patient
Safety Awards 2010. More next month.
November 2009 | page 11
TRUST NEWS IN BRIEF
Continued from page 6
Unacceptable internet use
Interim guidelines into unacceptable internet usage have
been posted on the Trust’s
intranet. They refer to using
Trust computers for viewing
obscene images, committing
criminal activity or attempts
to bypass security measures.
The Trust will not tolerate this
type of behaviour and considers that it may constitute a
serious disciplinary offence.
Risky move
Risk Management have now
moved to Villa 2 at Colchester
General Hospital with new
phone numbers: Anthea
Christodoulides, ext 5290;
Nigel Arthur, ext 5293; Mike
McCarron, ext 5291; and Jan
Kieran, ext 5292.
Transfer of Payroll Services
On 1 November ESSA payroll
services transferred to Anglia
Support Partnership (ASP).
Payroll will continue to be
based at the same office in
Witham and can be contacted
on the existing phone numbers. Any paperwork sent to
payroll in future should be
addressed to ASP, not ESSA.
Trust briefs
4
Much progress on capacity
he root cause of last winter’s problems at
Colchester General Hospital – capacity – is
being addressed successfully with new
buildings being opened this month and new
staff being recruited.
That was the message given by Chief
Executive Peter Murphy at his November briefing to senior staff. He wrote later: “We have
turned the corner performance-wise and much
progress has been made on our plans set out in
March. It is pleasing to see this sustained
improvement.”
Part of those plans are for a new 11-bed
infection control ward at Colchester General
Hospital. This new Isolation Unit opened earlier
this month to free up 20 beds currently used for
this purpose on Easthorpe Ward in
Gainsborough Wing. On 7 November patients
and staff vacated Easthorpe and moved into
the new Isolation unit located on the first floor
(opposite critical care) in the main hospital.
The 12-bed extension (rehab beds) to the
Stroke Unit is due for completion as
Mainstream went to print. We will be covering
the opening of the new Isolation Unit and the
Stroke Unit’s new extension in next month’s
edition.
The new laparoscopic operating theatre for
T
Electric
privacy
screen on
Nayland
Ward
National staff survey
i John Loxley, ext 4674
page 12 | Mainstream
emergency patients was created following an
investment of £277,000, as written about in
October’s Mainstream.
Meanwhile, part of the road running alongside the villas at Turner Village will be closed
periodically weekdays this month to allow for
improvements to be made to the electrical
infrastructure.
Work on the new Elective Care Centre on
the former Elmstead car park is due for completion on 27 November.
i The new numbers for the Isolation Unit are:
Main reception
Nurse station
Sisters office
5298
5297 or 5298
5295 or 5296
Same sex accommodation
i Kevin Ward, ext 4686
850 of our staff have received
the national NHS Staff Survey
2009 questionnaire. Please
ensure staff can complete it
during their working time.
The new Isolation Unit pictured being built
lectric privacy screens
have now been fitted
across bays in Colchester
General Hospital main build-
E
ing wards, as part of the
Delivering Same Sex
Accommodation project.
From 14 November, Birch
Ward and Darcy Ward is solely
same sex admitting only
female patients. Peldon Ward
and Tiptree Ward is solely
male wards. The new
Easthorpe Ward, with its 20
beds freed up earlier this
month by the creation of the
new Isolation Unit, will remain
a mixed ward with compliance
with the same sex guidelines.
The unit will use the first two
weeks to make this transition.
The Department of
Health’s deadline for delivering same sex accommodation
is next March and the Trust is
working with NHS North East
Essex to achieve this.
i Read more here:
http://tinyurl.com/y96d6zn
Visit the page ‘How long
will I wait’ on Trust website:
www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk
ollowing feedback from
managers and staff, the
intranet redevelopment
project is now moving to the
next stage of user involvement.
The current intranet at
http://hermes is out-of-date,
difficult to use, hard to manage and only accessed by
certain staff. In the summer, a
small team started looking at
creating a new intranet, using
new ‘content management
system’ (CMS) technology.
It is hoped that the new
intranet will grow to provide a
single point of access for all
Trust staff that will be developed in stages and deliver a
F
Clinical Audit meeting
range of simple but effective
tools that will provide immediate benefits to staff.
Two 45-minute focus
group sessions on 27
November are taking place to
which interested people are
invited. At the sessions attendees will be able to look at
several potential new designs,
layouts and new features and
give feedback. Attendees will
also be able to look at the
CMS which sits behind the
intranet.
i
To attend a session contact
Wendy Cooper 07980 688552
wendy.cooper@colchesterhospital.
nhs.uk
THIS MONTH’S GRAPH
This month’s graphs (or maps) show the concentration of staff who live near Colchester General
Hospital ( ). Source: FT Membership database.
0
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8–9
10+
Boxted
A12
RA ILW
AY
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1
2
3
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5
6
8
9
11
Boxted
A12
RA ILW
AY
4 Wednesday 18 November
Clinical Audit meeting
Medicine and Care of the Elderly only 12–2pm.For more
information, contact
[email protected]
4 Wednesday 18 November
Health Talk | Colchester
‘Is my baby all right’
Mr John Eddy, Consultant Obs & Gynae (and Staff
Governor), will give a presentation about routine screening tests during pregnancy, after which he will answer
questions. Free and open to staff or the public, full
details from the Membership Helpline 0845 8734610
weekdays 9.30am to 5.00pm or email [email protected]
4 Friday 20 November
Long Service Award Event
Lunchtime event to recognise staff who achieved long
service in 2007 and 2008. By invitation only. Details
from Jillian Thurston, ext 4688.
4 Monday 23 November
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
11
12+
Boxted
A12
RA ILW
AY
0
1
2
3
4
5
6–7
8–10
11–14
15+
Boxted
A12
RA ILW
Support Staff
4
i
You can also see monthly
reports on our website under
‘Board Meetings’.
4 Wednesday 18 November
AY
AHP/Scientists
i
All events at Colchester General Hospital unless
otherwise stated. Look on the Trust intranet’s
Noticeboard under ‘Events’ at: http://hermes
Surgery, Anaesthetics, Obs. and Gynae., and all specialties other than Medicine. For more information, contact
[email protected]
Nursing & Midwifery
For April to September 2009:
n 54,263 outpatients attending
our hospital for first time
n 119,001 follow-up outpatients
n 12,270 day case spells
n 4,291 elective inpatient spells
n 18,174 non-elective inpatient
spells
n 3,561 regular day attendances.
The Trust had 6,036 Accident &
Emergency department
attendances in September
(previous month 6,154) and the
average performance of patients
seen, treated or discharged against
the four-hour standard was
95.50% (previous month 99.10%).
For September the Trust’s
performance for 18-week ‘referral
to treatment’ was 92.00% for
admitted patients (previous month
92.90%). For non-admitted
patients it was 98.80% (98.70%).
There were no breaches in the
outpatients 13 week target.
Of all the urgent suspected
cancer referrals, 96.90% met the
two-week maximum wait from GP
urgent referral to first outpatient
appointment.
There was one case of MRSA
(target is 13 for 2009/10) in
August and two cases of
Clostridium difficile (target is 84 for
2009/10).
Hand hygiene compliance was
97.1% in August (previous month
96.9%).
4 IN THE DIARY
Intranet
redevelopment
Medical & Dental
How long
will I wait?
“What Matters”
evening session
Training Block South. 5.30–7.30pm. See page 4 for full
details. To book a place check first with your line manager (and colleagues where necessary for service cover).
Then contact Sue Featley ext 4682
[email protected]
4 Tuesday 24 November
Do you take patient consent?
If you do, you need to be up-to-date on consent developments, Making Experiences Count and the Mental
Capacity Act 2005. Training sessions have been
arranged at 5.30–7.30pm at the Postgraduate Medical
Centre with medico-legal advisers coming from the
Medical Defence Union. There will be opportunity for
questions. Queries, please contact Michelle Michaelides
on ext 2800.
Continues on page 15
November 2009 | page 13
PEOPLE II| IISIXTY SECONDS INTERVIEW
If you want to
take part in a Six
ty
Seconds Interview
contact Paul Searl
e
(back page)
4 JOANNE TOMKINSON
4 OCCUPATIONAL
THERAPIST
4 CGH MEDICAL WARDS
60 seconds
4
4 WORKED FOR NHS ONE YEAR
Describe your job
My role specifically involves
enabling patients to return home
safely, address aspirations,
ensure quality of life and wellbeing. We enable independence
through equipment provision,
problem solving, adaptations and
rehabilitation. We assess previous
function, current needs, home
environment, medical conditions,
social needs and consider each
individual’s values and beliefs.
We work with other members of
the multi-professional teams on
wards and in the community to
ensure seamless care and avoid
re-admission.
How does your role
improve patient care?
We act as advocates ensuring the
patient’s voice is heard. It is our
philosophy to treat each patient
page 14 | Mainstream
individually, ensuring a clientcentred and holistic approach.
What would you change
at the Trust?
Our patients would benefit from
a more comprehensive hospital
assessment with an activity of
daily living suite so they can be
assessed to carry out tasks in different environments, such as
bathrooms and kitchens. It
would enable patients to identify
their strengths and weaknesses.
Best part of your job?
Being involved in a multiprofessional team and working
with patients to achieve their
goals.
i Read ‘People News’:
http://hermes/mainstream_online/
mainstream.shtml
Too focused on
MRSA and
C. diff?
very year over 300,000 patients
in England acquire a healthcare
associated infection (HCAI)
whilst in hospital, leading to a range
of symptoms from minor discomfort to
serious disability, or even death.
Overall, our hospitals’ cleanliness
has improved and the priority given to
reducing MRSA and C.diff has had a
big impact on our overall infection
prevention and control. Our efforts to
deliver clean, safe care and drive down
healthcare associated infections have
been taking effect, with MRSA and
C.diff cases falling. We have only had
one case of MRSA a month since April
and there were only two cases of
C.diff in September.
Not all of the MRSA cases we have
are acquired in hospital: in September
the one MRSA case was in a patient
with no recent healthcare exposure. It
has been confirmed as a unique strain
(true community-acquired MRSA).
This continuing excellent performance verifies the independent report
published by the Care Quality
Commission (CQC) in July, which gave
us full marks for our work to prevent
and control infections. Rigorous clinical hygiene measures (hand washing,
bare below the elbow and cleaning),
controls on the prescribing of antibiotics and isolation of infected patients
have all had a significant impact.
But whilst the number of MRSA
and C.diff cases may have fallen significantly, this has been at the expense of
other bugs, which make up eight out
E
of ten of all HCAIs.
So are we too focused on MRSA
and C.diff?
With the new 11-bed isolation
ward scheduled to open this month,
further reducing the number of hospital acquired infections remains one of
our Trust’s leading quality priorities in
2010. We have targets for implementing MRSA screening for emergency
admissions and achieving zero MRSA
cases involving peripheral vascular
lines. While much of our focus will
continue to be on MRSA and C.diff, we
are starting to take more measures to
tackle other infections, like E.coli,
MSSA and ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Finally, as I said at this month’s
briefing for senior staff*, it is pleasing
to see the sustained improvement at
the Trust performance-wise. Much
progress has been made on our plans
set out last March. In the 12 months
ending 30 August, the Trust took on
80 extra nurses, partly to address the
cause of last winter’s problem – capacity. With new buildings being opened
at Colchester General Hospital (see
page 12) and work continuing to
recruit the additional staff needed to
support the expansion of our estate, I
want to extend my thanks to everyone
connected with getting these projects
in on time and broadly to budget.
Peter Murphy | Chief Executive
*See ‘In the Diary’ page 13–15 for
dates
Colne Gallery open invitation
May I extend an open invitation to staff
to submit all types of artwork for inclusion in the December Colne Gallery
exhibition, including paintings, photographs, textiles and craftwork.
Jacqui Gregory, Facilities Officer
Ext 2010
Tesco Computers for Schools thanks
Children’s Services would like to say a big
thank you for all the support we receive
throughout the Trust, for our coupon collection schemes, Tesco Computers for
Schools being the largest. Without your
ongoing help and support we would not
be able to order extra equipment and
activities that improve the experience of
the children that we care for each year. So
thankyou, it doesn’t go unnoticed and is
very much appreciated.
Sarah Amos, Hospital Play Specialist
Trust HQ, Colchester General Hospital
;
EMAIL: [email protected]
without prestige and a little power of
influence.
And then an uncle who was in charge
of the Meta Shop, another anachronism
in today’s world. His work seemed to combine brute and noisy force with specialist
precision skills required to repair equipment and instruments. Again something I
assume rarely now undertaken ‘on site’.
Those days and duties seem comforting and warm and it is hard not to yearn
for a simpler and more individual world.
But in truth I don’t think most of us
would like to go back in time in health
care. ‘Side to middle’ was the practice of
cutting bed sheet in half lengthways,
then reversing and stitching back so the
worn centre was replaced by the unstressed edges. Those were the days!
John Grice
League of Friends
NHS Professionals success
Side to middle
Strolling alongside Turner Village Villas
probably holds memories for many. For
me I am transported far from Colchester
and back to a Yorkshire childhood.
One faded Villa sign reads Sewing
Room and I think back to an aunt who
worked in such many years ago. I remember visiting the happy bustling workplace
where several ladies seemed always to be
swamped with acres of white linen and
garlands of floral patterned ward drapes.
Those were the days when most hospitals
maintained the sheets, uniforms and
essential assorted fabrics of daily use.
But give nostalgia an inch… and a second aunt comes to mind. She was a
Matron’s Maid, which even then seemed
an old fashioned role, but I recall one not
Since NHS Professionals recently launched
a better online process there has been a
significant increase in the number of staff
applying for NHSP work. More fixes will
be released soon and this should see a
significant impact on the system performance, resulting in enhanced user status.
Paula Davis, Trust Co-ordinator
07717 652 405 or ext 2953
Standard adopt Scanner Appeal
I am pleased to announce the Essex
County Standard have adopted the
Children’s Heart Scanner Appeal. Since its
launch £22,500 has been raised and we
are very pleased to be supported this way.
Graham Appleton, Children’s Services
Fundraising Co-ordinator
[email protected]
Your views
Letters | Emails
Your views
# WRITE TO: Mainstream Editor
4 IN THE DIARY
Continued from page 13
4 Friday 27 November
Domestic Abuse seminar
The Safeguarding Children Team would like to draw
your attention to this seminar. Full details and an application form can be found here:
http://hermes/child_protection/
Domestic_Abuse_Course.doc
4 Friday 27 November
Intranet redevelopment
Two 45-minute focus group sessions at midday and 1pm
are taking place to which interested people are invited.
See page 13 for full details.
4 Wednesday 2 December
Chief Executive Briefing
Peter Murphy meets and briefs senior managers. People
who report to a director should attend at 9am. Key
messages are then to be cascaded to all staff as appropriate. Postgraduate Medical Centre. Email
[email protected] if you want to know
more or do not receive the cascade.
4 Wednesday 2 December
Members’ Council
The Members’ Council will meet at 2pm, in Training
Block South. Details here:www.colchesterhospital.nhs.uk
and look for ‘Members’ Council’.
4 Monday 14 December
“What Matters”
Training Block South. 9.30am–12.30pm or 2–5pm. See
23 November for booking details.
4 Wednesday 16 December
Diabetes Health Talk | Clacton
‘I want to be a Governor’
Page 7 has the story. Full details from the Membership
Helpline 0845 8734610 weekdays 9.30am to 5.00pm or
email [email protected]
4 Thursday 17 December
Clinical Audit meeting
Surgery, Anaesthetics, Obs. and Gynae., and all specialties other than Medicine. For more information, contact
[email protected]
4 Thursday 17 December
Clinical Audit meeting
12–2pm Medicine and Care of the Elderly only. For more
information, contact
[email protected]
November 2009 | page 15
Colchester’s
Caring Past
any of you will have
seen the exhibition
Colchester’s Caring
Past now on permanent display at the Primary Care
Centre, Turner Road.
Based on the archive
amassed by the late Doctor
John Penfold of Essex County
Hospital, the display honours
the doctors and nurses who
have cared for our community
over the last two centuries
and provides insight into
buildings and communities of
yesteryear.
But the public display is
only part of the story.
Penfold’s archive included
items of printed memorabilia,
many photographs and a fascinating hoard of vintage
medical and surgical equipment.
Since Penfold’s death in
1990 the collection has been
in the care of the Colchester
Medical Society. Retired
M
Consultant Anaesthetist
Fabrizio Casale and town GP
Doctor Pamela Wright have
worked hard over the last few
years gradually to sort and
make safe the many valuable
items.
John Grice, from the
Colchester League of Hospital
and Community Friends, also
helped create the exhibition
and ensure the treasures’ safety for future generations.
Some documents have
been transferred to the Essex
County Records Office and key
artefacts have been passed to
The Welcome Trust in London.
Dr Casale explained: “We
felt it important that the components of such a diverse and
unusual archive should be
professionally cared for but
also be available for reference
and viewing by both medical
professionals and interested
laymen.”
A representative selection
of the various items is also on
display in both the lobby and
a seminar room at the Post
Graduate Medical Centre at
Colchester General Hospital,
and the task of categorising
history past continues.
There are still a number of
medical devices that defy
understanding and the help of
several national organisations
has been enlisted.
The
Science
Museum,
Intellectual
Property
Office
(Patents),
Imperial
College
London and
the Welcome
Trust have all
Retired Consultant
been of assisAnaesthetist Fabrizio
Casale (left) with
tance.
John Grice
In store
at Essex
County is one mystery still to
be solved: what can the purpose be of a six foot heavy
wood and metal device looking something like a medieval
torture rack?
It was Winston Churchill,
speaking at a Royal College of
Physicians gathering in
London in 1944, who said:
“The longer you can look
back, the further you can look
forward.”
John Grice urged staff to
visit Colchester’s Caring Past
saying: “if you have a specialist interest we would be
happy to unlock other treasures and of course hear from
anyone who might be able to
assist in the caring quest.”
i Further information from
John Grice at the Colchester
League of Hospital and
Community Friends
on 01206 286643
www.colchestermedicalsociety.org.uk
For next edition, send your photos, news or articles, by 10am Wednesday 25 November, to: [email protected]
4 DISTRIBUTION: Mandy Tapfield ii| iiTrust HQ ii| iiColchester General Hospital ii| [email protected] | ext 2347
4 OVERALL EDITOR: Paul Searle ii| iiHead of Communications ii| [email protected] ii| iiext 2348
Photos by Judy Payne, Harland Payne Photo. www.harlandpaynephoto.com
John Grice