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25
News from Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust
Life begins
on television
for baby Jack
Millions tune in for series filmed
at Princess Anne Hospital
Meet our
Hospital
Heroes
Spotlight
Audiology
Welcome to issue 25 of Connect
In this issue, find out more about two of the families in Channel 4’s hugely successful series, One Born Every
Minute. Plus, Connect meets our Hospital Heroes, puts the spotlight on audiology and spends a day in the life of
a critical care technologist.
mediamonitor
the latest SUHT news
Surgeons perform pioneering spinal procedure
Surgeons at Southampton
General Hospital have
carried out a pioneering
11-hour operation to
straighten the spine of a
child with spina bifida.
The procedure involved
removing and reconstructing
a severely curved part of
an eight-year-old boy’s spine while
simultaneously preserving the
spinal cord.
Consultant spinal surgeon Nick
MediaMonitor
MediaMonitor
Boeree and consultant neurosurgeon
Dorothy Lang performed the cutting
edge technique to give him the ability
to sit comfortably in his wheelchair.
“The surgery involved completely
removing the entire section of
the spine that had become kinked
backwards, while at the same time
preserving what was left of the spinal
cord running down through the
spine,” Mr Boeree said.
“Essentially, this required us to
resect the spine from the level of the
Before
Reproduced with kind permission
of the Southern Daily Echo
A Southampton eye expert has saved the sight of two
patients through a groundbreaking use of the drug Avastin.
Professor Andrew Lotery, a consultant ophthalmologist at
Southampton General Hospital’s eye unit, is using the drug
to treat Sorsby’s Fundus Dystrophy (SFD).
The rare genetic condition – an early onset form of macular degeneration –
meant the two patients, who are both in their 30s, suffered blurred vision and
a general deterioration of sight.
Avastin, which halts the growth of blood vessels and stems bleeding, is more
commonly used to treat ‘wet’ age related macular degeneration (AMD) – the
leading cause of blindness in the western world in people over 50.
Professor Lotery said: “We have discovered that the drug has prevented loss
of sight and improved vision in the younger patients suffering from SFD over a
long period and this is an exciting new treatment for what is a rare condition
affecting young people.”
MediaMonitor
lower part of the rib cage down to
the lower part of the waist, but then
we needed to reconstruct the spine so
that the patient could sit upright.”
He added: “This really was a big
team effort. Neurosurgeon Dorothy
Lang helped to preserve the spinal
cord, but even together we couldn’t
do this sort of surgery without
all of the support from so many
different people, such as the nurses,
anaesthetists, paediatric ITU – the list
just goes on and on.”
This story was covered by The Sun.
Eye expert uncovers
treatment for rare
genetic condition
MediaMonitor
After
Respiratory specialist calls
for complete smoking ban
A leading respiratory specialist based at Southampton General Hospital
has called for a complete ban on smoking.
Dr Anindo Banerjee said cigarettes are still a major health problem and
not just for older people.
“Year on year we are seeing increasing numbers of patients with
severe chest diseases due to smoking in which the lungs are damaged,
such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” he said.
“We are seeing increasing numbers of young people whose lungs
have been destroyed by smoking, who suffer the same breathlessness
and restriction and whose lives are blighted by their
enjoyment. Our youngest patient with this disease is
19 years old.”
Mr Banerjee added: “Cigarettes damage those
who smoke, and everyone around them. The
destruction of lives and health that it causes is plain
for everyone to see. It is time to work towards a
complete ban on smoking.”
This story was covered by the Daily Mail (online), the Press Association,
Optometry Today, the Nursing Times, Nursing in Practice, BBC Hampshire
(online), the Daily Echo, BBC Radio Solent, Play Radio and Heart FM.
MediaMonitor
MediaMonitor
This story was covered by the Daily Echo, Wave 105
FM, the Nursing Times and a range of online media.
Tell Michelle…
We want to know what you think of Connect. Contact internal communications manager Michelle Harris with
your comments, along with any news or feature ideas for future issues. Feedback can be sent via:
Email: [email protected]
Post: Communications, Mailpoint 18, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road Southampton SO16 6YD
Telephone: 023 8079 4853
Website: www.suht.nhs.uk
2
CONNECT
ISSUE 25
Connect is produced by SUHT’s communications team. Printed on environmentally friendly paper.
A
star is born
More than 3.5million people watched as
Lisa Hall held her baby for the first time,
after an agonising ten-day wait.
“
The emotional moment was part of
Channel 4‘s One Born Every Minute,
filmed at Southampton’s Princess
Anne Hospital.
Lisa, 22, and her partner Will, 25,
agreed to take part in the series after
finding out that their baby had a
condition called gastroschisis. Lisa said:
“We wanted to do this to help reassure
other parents in the same situation.”
The couple, who live in Lulworth,
Dorset, had originally planned to have
their baby at Dorset County Hospital
in Dorchester. However, when Lisa’s
This is a rare problem, which occurs
in around one in every 3,000 births.
In the first episode of One Born
Every Minute, viewers saw Lisa have
an emergency caesarean section.
Jack was delivered 25 days early and
immediately taken to the neonatal
unit, with his bowel wrapped in a
special film.
Usually the bowel is put into a
plastic bag, known as a silo, for a few
days and gently squeezed back inside
the baby’s abdomen. However, as the
hole in Jack’s abdomen was too small,
We wanted to do this to help reassure
other parents in the same situation.
12-week scan revealed the gastroschisis
they were referred to Princess Anne
Hospital for specialist care.
Gastroschisis means the baby has a
hole in the abdomen, where some
of the bowel (intestine) has come
through to the outside of the body.
he needed an operation.
Lisa said: “I didn’t get to see him
until 12 hours after he was born,
just before he was transferred to
paediatric intensive care (PICU) for
his operation.”
Jack spent eight days on PICU, with
a special mesh bag that was gradually
made smaller until all of his bowel
was back inside.
One Born Every Minute rejoined
Lisa’s story in episode three, when she
was finally able to hold baby Jack.
She said: “I had no trouble bonding
with him because I was so desperate
to hold him. I held him for about an
hour but it seemed like minutes.”
Lisa spoke openly on the programme
about her emotions, including how
hard it was to watch nurses feeding
her baby when she couldn’t even hold
him. She said: “I had lots of comments
through the programme’s Facebook
page, including mums who felt the
same way and were relieved to see
they weren’t the only ones with
Worth the wait
Princess Anne
Hospital
•
•
•
The Princess Anne Hospital opened in 1981.
The service supports just under 6000 births a year, including home births and births at the New Forest Birth Centre.
There are 15 medical consultants in the department and 241 individual midwives.
If you would like to support
Princess Anne Hospital, you can
make a donation for the medical
staff on the Neonatal Unit’s
Killimanjaro challenge.
Visit www.justgiving.co.uk/
pahneonatalchallenge or call
023 8079 8881 to find out more.
There are also a few spaces
available on climb. If you would like
to take part in the challenge email
[email protected].
Joy and Fabio Schietroma, both 40,
from Warsash, had been trying for a
baby for five years, when their fifth
round of IVF was successful.
Viewers of One Born Every Minute
watched the couple’s long wait
for labour to start, after several
attempts to induce diabetic Joy did
not work.
Joy’s labour progressed very slowly
and after five days at Princess Anne
Hospital she was taken to surgery
for a caesarean-section to deliver
their baby, Ellie.
Joy said: “It was lovely to watch it
on TV, because I don’t remember
any of the details of the birth. It
was a bit embarrassing seeing how
grumpy I was at times, but I don’t
regret agreeing to take part.
“It was fine having the cameras
there, not at all intrusive. All of the
midwives and doctors were
MediaMonitor
MediaMonitor
fantastic. Princess Anne Hospital is
such an exciting place to be when
you have waited so long for a baby.
“I’m glad we were in One Born
Every Minute, because we’ll be able
to show it to Ellie when she is older.”
One Born Every Minute was covered by many nationals newspapers and
magazines, including The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Record, The Times, the
Daily Mail, Mirror, The Independent, Radio Times, the Daily Express, The
Guardian, The Sun (TV Mag), Independent on Sunday and Sunday Times.
those emotions.”
After nearly a month in
Southampton, Jack was transferred
back to Dorset County Hospital,
until he was well enough to be fed
normally. Now home with Lisa and
Will in their Lulworth cottage, he
is a happy, healthy baby. Lisa said:
“He takes after his dad. Will was
my rock while Jack was in intensive
care – he just takes everything second
by second, while I panic about what
might happen next. Jack is very calm,
just like Will.”
For more information go
to www.suht.nhs.uk and
search for ‘Princess Anne’ or
‘gastroschisis’.
One Born
Every Minute
For 24 days last year, there were
40 fixed cameras at Princess Anne
Hospital, from the reception desk to
the neonatal ward, and from
the operating theatre to the
birthing pool.
The cameras were rolling round
the clock, seven days a week, with
the footage used to make eight,
one-hour episodes for Channel 4.
Emma Tutty from Dragonfly Film and
TV, one of the One Born Every Minute
producers, said: “We had to be very
careful when editing, to make sure
that we only included those people
who had consented to be in the series.
“We featured 14 births and two
babies in neonatal during the series.
For those families who agreed to
being filmed but were not featured
in the series, we gave them a DVD
of their birth.”
For more information about
the series, the hospital and the
families featured, visit http://lifebegins.channel4.com/
CONNECT
ISSUE 25
3
BEATING
THE
SUPERBUGS
GREEN
DREAM
TEAM
DEPARTMENT
OF THE
YEAR
DAILY ECHO
READER’S
CHOICE
CHAIRMAN’S
AWARD
Hospital
Heroes
Reproduced with kind permission of the Southern Daily Echo
More than 200 people attended this year’s Hospital Heroes awards
to celebrate and recognise staff achievements from the past year.
The members of staff and other
invited guests enjoyed a lively
speech from former England cricket
captain Graham Gooch, who also
stayed to help present the awards at
Southampton’s Novotel hotel.
Photos © Life in View
Chief Executive’s Employee
of the Year Award
Winner: Annette Mason,
senior sister, infectious
diseases unit, for her commitment to
providing care and support for three
specific patients and helping her staff
gain a wider experience of cystic
fibrosis.
Runner-up: Arlene Alano, theatre
sister, E level theatres
4
Infection Prevention Award
Winner: Joint working
between cardiovascular
and thoracic care group,
cardiac theatres and cardiac intensive
care unit, which has reduced the
number of MRSA infections in
surgical cases.
Runner-up: Melanie Griffiths,
infection prevention link nurse,
critical care
CONNECT
ISSUE 25
Ward/Department of the Year
Winner: AMU
multiprofessional team,
for their new Senior Triage and
Treat (STAT) process which has
improved patient experience and
prevented unnecessary admissions for
nearly half of the patients referred
to the unit.
Runner-up: Ward D6
Chairman’s Award for
Leadership
Winner: Lisa Freeman,
senior sister, C7 managed
care unit, who is described as an
inspirational leader and role model
for all of her staff.
Runner-up: Rachel Haggarty, sister
G4, surgery
Going for Gold
Winner: Consultant
cardiac anaesthetists,
who work together to
produce outstanding achievements
in clinical outcomes, clinical research,
teaching and training.
Runner-up: The Respiratory Centre
Service Improvement
Award
Winner: Ultrasound guided
regional anaesthesia
(upper limb surgery), a new procedure
driven by Dr Harry Akerman and Mr
David Warwick, which has improved
quality and increased the number of
patients per list.
Runner-up: Managed care unit, C7
Education and Training
Award
Winner: Anaesthetic
department, who have
revitalized and reinvented the
way they deliver training, in line
with changing work practices, with
excellent results,
Runner-up: Samantha Boulin, lead
clinical educator, critical care
Southampton Hospital
Charity Star Award
Winner: Elaine Havercroft
and Bramshaw Women’s
Unit, who have raised £4,000 with
activities including a sky dive, to
furnish two rooms for patients where
their partners can stay with them.
Runner-up: Bursledon House team
The Gift of Time
Volunteer Award
Winner: Pip Leach, who
has helped create and
maintain the beautiful gardens at
Countess Mountbatten House for the
last 32 years.
Runner-up: Jan Harding, Time4You
project
Southern Daily Echo
Readers’ Choice Award
Winner: Zillah Leach,
clinical nurse specialist,
nutrition support, who was
nominated by Paul Harris for
teaching him how to use a Hickman
line to give his wife nutrients and
liquid at home, during her final
months.
Runners-up: Elaine Billows, booking
and admissions clerk for breast and
endocrine admissions and Dr Sanjay
Gupta, consultant in anaesthesia and
intensive care
For a full list of nominees
and a short film of the event,
go to www.suht.nhs.uk and
search for ‘heroes’.
Fighting fibroids
When friends and family started asking Tendai Musiyazviriyo
if she was pregnant, she knew it was time to talk to a doctor
about the lump she could feel in her stomach.
“
The 31-year-old recruitment consultant,
who is originally from Zimbabwe but
now lives in Totton, Southampton, had
also been feeling tired, and could no
longer sleep on her front.
Tests revealed that the lump was in
fact one of several fibroid tumours non-cancerous growths in the walls
of her uterus. The largest fibroid was
the size of a full term pregnancy.
the country. This, along with other
pioneering research performed at
Southampton General Hospital, has
led to NICE fully supporting UFE as
a treatment option for women with
symptomatic fibroids.
Tendai, who does not have any
children, said: “I knew other women
who had fibroids and had to have
big operations. I was very sceptical
When I heard of the embolisation
procedure, I said yes please, straight away
Fibroids affect between 20 and
40% of women over 35, but three in
every four Afro-Caribbean women
will develop fibroids.
Less than fifteen years ago the only
option for treating fibroids was major
surgery – either a hysterectomy or in
some cases a myomectomy, where
just the fibroid is removed.
However, SUHT offers an alternative
to these procedures, called uterine
fibroid embolisation (UFE). The team
at Southampton General Hospital
is one of the busiest UFE units in
• There are up to 60,000
hysterectomies carried out every
year in the UK, and around 40,000
of these are to treat fibroids.
• Approximately 80% of fibroids
can be treated with embolisation.
• Up to 60 fibroid embolisations are
carried out at SUHT each year.
about surgery as I’m still young and
I want children. In fact I want to
challenge my mum for numbers of
children, and she had seven!
“People from my church, Guta Ra
Jehova (G.R.J.), prayed for me that
there was another way. When my
mum and dad visited in the summer
they prayed too.
“I thanked God when I found out
that they could treat the fibroids
without a major operation. When I
heard of the embolisation procedure,
I said yes please, straight away.”
UFE only requires a tiny cut in the
groin area, so that a catheter can be
inserted and guided to the uterine
arteries. Tiny particles the size of sand
are injected in, to cut off the blood
flow to the fibroids.Over time they
shrink, or in a few cases disappear all
together. Patients are sedated, but do
not need a general anaesthetic.
This procedure is carried out by
an interventional radiologist, who
is specially trained to treat patients
with miniature tools, while watching
the progress on x-rays or
other imaging equipment.
Dr Nigel Hacking, who was
a pioneer of UFE and one
of the first to start using it
in the UK, carries out the
procedure at SUHT.
He works closely with the
gynaecologists, particularly
Adam Moors and Nigel
Saunders. They ensure that women
with fibroids are made aware of all of
their treatment options and refer them
to Dr Hacking if they choose UFE.
Another interventional radiologist,
Tim Bryant, joined the team last
year, to work with Dr Hacking in
UFE, the management of obsetric
bleeding and uroradiology
Like most women who are treated
with fibroid embolisation, Tendai
only spent one night in hospital after
the procedure. Scans show
that just three months later, all of
the fibroids had died and the largest
was half the size it had been before
the embolisation.
Tendai said: “I don’t remember much
about the procedure, but I was back
to normal within a week. I can now
get back into clothes that didn’t fit me
before. Everyone at church is amazed
by the success and I want to let other
women know about this option.”
Sharing skills
Dr Hacking has also set up fibroid embolisation services in the
Caribbean and Kenya.
Fibroid Caribbean, based in Trinidad and
Tobago, is the only UFE service in the
region. A team based there carry out all
of the pre and post-operative care, but
due to the highly-specialised nature of
the actual embolisation, Dr Hacking visits
the island three times a year to carry out
the procedures himself.
He stays for a week at a time, treating
up 40 to patients during each visit.
Since he established the service in 1999
he and his team have carried out 900
fibroid embolisations in the Caribbean.
Last year, he set up The Fibroid
Centre, in Nairobi, Kenya, with
Professor William Stones, a former
SUHT gynaecologist.
Prof Stones is now based in Nairobi
and Dr Hacking carried out the first
12 embolisations there last December.
He plans to return in May to treat
more women and is training two local
interventional radiologists to work with
Prof Stones in Kenya.
Hayfever and
asthma study
The Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility at
Southampton General Hospital is looking for
children aged four to 11 years to take part
in clinical trials.
The five-year study aims to find out whether
a tablet for treating hayfever can prevent
young hayfever sufferers from
developing asthma.
Participants will receive either the
allergy tablet or a placebo.
For further information contact Michelle Casey, Wellcome
Trust senior children’s research nurse, on 023 8079 6322 or
[email protected].
The study is sponsored by ALK Abelló and has been approved by an independent ethics committee.
CONNECT
ISSUE 25
5
in the
hotseat
Alastair Matthews
director of finance and investment
Tell us a little bit about your
background.
I grew up in the Midlands, then
moved to the south coast when I was
10. I studied at university in Cardiff and
qualified as a chartered accountant
with Price Waterhouse in Bristol. I
moved back to the south coast in
1989 working for Price Waterhouse,
then chief finance officer at Computer
Science Corporation and finance
director at Ordnance Survey before
joining the Trust in August 2007.
for £270m out of a total paybill
of £303m. The drugs bill is £29m,
clinical supplies are £51m and nonclinical supplies are £11m. There
are other items of spend linked to
clinical delivery e.g. support services
bought in from other Trusts
The difference between the
divisions’ budgets of £428m and the
overall budget of £470m relates to
central services such as maintaining
the estate, utilities, IT provisions and
other central services.
What do you like most about
working for the NHS?
The strong sense of purpose and
positive attitude of staff.
What are the Trust’s costs in
respect of PFI payments compared
with the national average and are
these are negotiable or not?
Ian Kaye, clerical officer
The Trust has only one small PFI
scheme under which Dalkia provide
the energy for the hospital site. We
pay about £1m for them to maintain
and run the boiler room and
associated plant. There is 19 years
left on the scheme. Energy costs are
paid at market rates.
What percentage of SUHT’s
annual budget is spent directly
on patient care (clinical
staff salaries, investigations,
treatments, drugs, etc) and how
much on administering it?
Dr Bernard Stacey, consultant
gastroenterologist
The five operating divisions
account for £428m out of the Trust’s
total operating expenses of £470m.
Doctors, nurses, healthcare related
professions and healthcare support
workers/ other support staff account
How much does the Trust
receive for having a Burger King
on the premises?
The Trust receives nothing directly
from Burger King. It sublets the
Audiology
units in the hospital foyer to an
agent who pays us an annual sum
but keeps the rents received.
What is our level of
accountability to commissioners
in terms of where we decide to
spend money in the hospital?
The Trust’s responsibility is to provide
the services that its commissioners
require based on PCT assessment of
their population’s healthcare needs.
We need to work with commissioners
to help ensure the pathway is most
appropriate. We need to manage
our service provision to ensure it can
be done within the agreed tariffs.
This will be very challenging over the
next few years given expectations of
reducing tariff prices.
Twelve doctors in a hospital wear
glasses. Twenty per cent of the
doctors wear glasses. How many
doctors are there in the hospital?
60.
As we are running the hospital
as a business, why don’t we use
the same software packages as
private hospitals to enable us to
‘invoice’ our ‘customers’ (PCTs)
and prove the activity we have
produced?
There is a
high level of
complexity
involved in the payment by results
arrangements and nationally
required data, which means more
straightforward billing packages
would not fulfil the requirements.
The Trust is planning to change its
inpatient PAS in the next year which
should help improve the process.
What is your financial goal for
SUHT in the next five years?
As everyone is aware, the next few
years are likely to be very challenging
for the whole public sector and this
will include the NHS. The full extent
of the challenge will presumably be
clearer after the General Election.
Over the next few years, my goal
has to be to help the Trust adapt
to the significant changes that will
be required to continue to provide
the services our commissioners
can afford at a cost we are able to
provide them. I would like to see the
Trust become a Foundation Trust
well within that time but this will
only be possible when commissioner
affordability, demand and Trust
capacity are aligned.
spotlight
on services
Connect has been to find out more about
SUHT’s audiology service, based at the Royal South Hants Hospital.
Reading through the comments book
at the reception desk, it is clear to
see that patients are delighted with
the service they receive when they
are referred to audiology. There
are comments on everything from
the friendly and helpful staff, to
the speed of hearing aid repairs,
although there is one complaint –
from a man who can now hear his
wife nagging him again!
The team carry out hearing
assessments, fit hearing aids
and make associated follow-up
appointments and repairs. Their
patients range from premature
babies to adults more than 100
years old.
All babies are screened for hearing
problems at Princess Anne Hospital.
Around four per year are referred
to audiology with permanent
hearing impairment, where they
6
CONNECT
ISSUE 25
• The NHS is the largest purchaser
of hearing aids in the world.
• It is estimated that nearly 1 in 6 of
the UK’s adult population have a
clinically significant hearing loss.
• However, only one third of those
who could benefit from a hearing
aid actually have one.
• SUHT’s audiology service has
more than 17,500 active patients.
• The team supplies around 4,000
hearing aids to Hampshire Primary
Care Trust patients every year.
• 98% of audiology patients report
an increase in the enjoyment of
their life with their hearing aid.
• 99% of patients are satisfied with
the treatment from audiology.
are seen within a week. They can
have hearing aids fitted at just a
few weeks old and the team see
them frequently as they grow and
develop.
SUHT’s audiology service regularly
meets and exceeds all of its targets
for seeing and treating adult and
paediatric patients. Adults must
have a hearing test within six
weeks of being referred, but in
Southampton they are consistently
seen within four weeks. Their
hearing aid must be fitted within
18 weeks of referral, but usually it is
within ten weeks.
Sue Robinson, audiology service
manager, said: “It is not unusual for
a patient to receive their hearing aid
the day after we have carried out their
hearing test, depending on the type of
aid they are being fitted with.”
Repairs and adjustments are also
carried out within days, as the
team recognise that being without
their hearing aids can have a huge
impact on patients’ lives.
To find out how hearing aids made
a difference to one patient, see our
Talkback feature on the back page
of this issue of Connect.
a day in
the life
…of a critical care technologist
The Golden e
Stethossucltaontspin
Are SUHT con own – or
eir
a world of th
ing it real?
are they keep
-question
Facing the 10
time
challenge this
is consultant
t
dermatologis
ry.
te
Dr Helen Lo
Which of Albert Square’s
favourite couples is returning
to Eastenders later this year?
No idea, I’ve never watched
Eastenders. Not a good start...
Score: Zero points
Where is this summer’s
Football World Cup taking place?
I know that one – South Africa. Yay,
I got one right!
Score: One point
A range of highly specialised equipment is used to support
patients in Southampton’s critical care units. Connect has been
to meet the team who make sure this equipment is working
and used correctly and to find out what their day involves.
“
There is a team of eight critical care
technologists (CCTs), plus two trainees,
who work across the general, cardiac
and paediatric intensive care units
at Southampton General Hospital.
The beauty of the job is getting to know
everyone, the variety of work we do and the
great relationship we have…
They also cover the cardiac, medical
and surgical high dependency units,
plus resus. Neuro intensive care and
Princess Anne’s neonatal intensive care
unit have separate CCTs.
The first job of the day is to check
all the anaesthetic equipment in the
emergency department’s resus area.
Other routine tasks involve setting
up machines and initiating therapy
for patients going onto dialysis,
Photos © Life in View
maintaining and checking kits, such
as the difficult airway trolley and
ensuring that equipment is used
safely and effectively.
The CCTs are also involved in the
• Each critical care technologist
walks up to five miles around the
hospital each day.
• They carry out approximately 375
paediatric retrievals each year.
• The team assist with around 350
transfers from intensive care units
to CT and MRI scanners each year.
transfer of critically ill patients from one
place to another. This might be taking
a patient to have tests in another part
of the hospital, or it might be bringing
a child to Southampton for specialist
care, from as far away as Dorchester or
the Channel Islands.
This is known as paediatric retrieval
and the team travel in a variety of
modes of transport to collect these
critically ill children. As well as having
two dedicated ambulances, they also
use a rapid response car, helicopter,
fixed wing planes and even the Red
Funnel ferries.
During the winter this service is
particularly busy, often with children
who have severe respiratory problems.
The team are all trained in advanced
life support and hold two of the
hospital’s crash bleeps. They work
very closely with consultants, nurses
and the Trust’s critical care outreach
team and train staff to use the
equipment on these high-tech units.
Richard Scott, a CCT who has worked
at Southampton General Hospital
for 11 years, said: “The beauty of the
job is getting to know everyone, the
variety of work we do and the great
relationship we have with theatres,
the emergency department and the
outreach teams.”
How much is a pint of milk?
I only ever buy four pints of milk.
That’s £1.70, so I’d guess about 50p.
Score: One point
When was the last time you slept in
a tent?
(Long pause) My Duke of Edinburgh
gold award, aged 17. It was in the
Sperrin Mountains, County Tyrone.
Score: Zero points
Which film won Best Picture at this
year’s Oscars?
Um... that one about the Nazis. The
Reader? Oh no, that was best actress.
Score: Zero points (it was Hurt
Locker. Kate Winslet won best
actress for The Reader in 2009)
Do you shop at Asda or Waitrose?
Waitrose. Does it make it worse if I
tell you I shop online too?
Score: Zero points
Glass of tap water or sparkling
Perrier?
Sorry, it has to be sparkling Perrier.
Score: Zero points
Have you ever owned a pair of
Jimmy Choos?
A pair of what?! Designer shoes?
Oh no, definitely not.
Score: One point
Mid-morning snack: Wotsits or
Kettle Chips?
I don’t do snacks. I have a proper
breakfast – large bowl of porridge or
muesli – and that keeps me going.
Score: Half a point
Can you name two of the
contestants from this
year’s Dancing on Ice?
No! I could answer
questions on things for
under 10s, like Club
Penguin characters...
Score: Zero points.
score
3.5
10
CONNECT
ISSUE 25
7
talkback
Dear Connect
I am writing to thank the
audiology team for the fast and
helpful service they provided
me with.
I am 58 years old, and about
eight years ago I began noticing
problems with my hearing.
As it got worse, it began to
affect my social life. I struggled
to follow conversations with
friends and it became difficult
to hear in church. Eventually I
gave up listening, as it felt too
much like hard work.
My family noticed the
difference too. They had to
remind me to turn off my
indicators in the car, because
I couldn’t hear the noise they
made and left them on.
In September last year I was
referred to the Southampton’s
audiology service for an NHS
hearing aid. I went in for my
assessment and we decided to try
an open-fit rather than moulded
hearing aid,
in both ears.
I was so
impressed
to be called
back the
next day to
collect my
hearing aids.
I now wear
my hearing
aids all day,
every day. In fact, they are so
comfortable and work so well
that I forget I am wearing them,
and have even got in the shower
still wearing them, by mistake!
It is only now that I realise
just how much I was missing out
on by not going to see someone
about my hearing sooner.
I’m a landscaper, working
outside all day, and my son used
to tell me about the buzzards
he could hear. The other day
I thought I heard a buzzard
on the fence post behind me,
thanks to my hearing aids, but
when I turned around it wasn’t
where I thought it was. It was
500ft up in the air!
I am so pleased with the
service and the difference the
hearing aids have made to life,
I only wish I had spoken up
sooner.
I would urge anyone who
thinks they have a problem to
see their GP and get a referral
to the team – don’t let your
pride get in the way like I did.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Morton
The fundraising
connection
Call Southampton Hospital Charity on 023 8079 8881 or visit www.suht.nhs.uk/charity.
Stage one of £7m project complete
Southampton Hospital Charity’s Red &
White Appeal aims to create the transplant
treatment centre of choice for patients with
leukaemia and other blood disorders from
Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire,
Dorset, West Sussex and the Channel Islands.
With the entire project costing just over
£7 million, £5 million has already been
secured from the Department of Health.
This has funded a brand new extension to
the hospital, housing state-of-the-art rooms
for patients, with double-aspect windows
and private bathrooms.
Southampton Hospital Charity is
delighted to announce that the extension
build has been completed, with the unit
officially opening in April. This will mark
the completion of stage one of the project.
However, this is as far as the money stretches.
comfortable environment for them and
their families, who may be donating
cells for their loved ones’ transplant. The
improvements will also provide continuity
of care by co-locating inpatient and day
case services.
With your help we can do it. Visit www.redandwhiteappeal.org today to view
a short film about the appeal, and to find
out how you can help us to reach our goal.
Support the appeal...
We aim to raise an additional £2.2 million
to complete stage two, a new purpose-built
day case unit.
This will improve patients’ privacy
and dignity, and create a calming and
Dates for your diary...
Watch out...
there’s a lottery
man about!
If you see this man, stop him...and pick
up a lottery leaflet!
Every Friday, Southampton Hospital
Charity gives away nine fabulous cash
prizes. Don’t delay, sign up today!
Call us today on 023 8079 8881 or
download your joining form at www.suht.nhs.uk/charity
i
Saturday 8 May
Red & White Appeal spring dinner dance
Join us for a wonderful evening in
the grounds of Steeple Court Manor,
a beautiful Elizabethan manor house
with its own vineyards.
Monday 24/Tuesday 25 May
New member of the Southampton
Hospital Charity team, David McLean
Find out more... Sign up to Southampton Hospital Charity’s newsletter to receive
more news and fundraising information. Email [email protected].
Sudoku challenge
Win tickets to the
Offside Comedy Club
Enter numbers from 1 to 9 into the blank squares, so that every row,
every column and every 3x3 square has one of each digit.
Send your entry in the internal post to Connect, Mailpoint 18, to
be in with a chance of winning two tickets to the Offside Comedy
Club at St Mary’s Stadium. Entries close Friday 14 May.
Congratulations to Mary Weavers, from the Macmillan Centre,
who successfully completed Issue 24’s puzzle.
www.offsidecomedy.com
Enjoy ’Hairspray’, the West End’s
favourite musical at the Mayflower
Theatre, then join Michael Ball for an
exclusive after show drinks reception.
Raising funds for the Red & White
Appeal.
Email [email protected] or
call 023 8079 8881 for more information.