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Midwives Multiply! - 09.12.08

With more than 4,000 babies delivered in 12 months it's hardly surprising that the maternity unit at St. Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, needs an increasing number of midwives!

A recent recruitment drive has attracted a big interested across a wide age range and delighted Associate Director Maternity Services Eileen Nolan is very pleased with the results. The drive for more staff continues with a campaign to encourage former midwives to return to their profession

Said Eileen: "Since the beginning of September we have had 17 new midwives, 10 maternity assistants and a nursery nurse have joining the staff in the maternity unit at ASPH. I am delighted to welcome all the new staff, who will soon be joined by a further two midwives and another maternity assistant in December. This is the biggest increase in maternity staff in memory and demonstrates the commitment to improving maternity care for women in the area.

"We are not stopping there! As our maternity services at Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust continue to grow we are now taking part in a recruitment drive to encourage former midwives to "Return to Practice." We are doing this in partnership with the University of Surrey and there are places available on a new course which begins on 6 February."

The midwifery service provides staff for ante-natal clinics; the day assessment unit; the early pregnancy unit; antenatal and postnatal wards; the two operating theatres; the birthing pool; eight delivery rooms on the labour ward, two "Home from Home" rooms; the transitional care unit and in the community for parent education classes, home births and provide care in GP's surgeries and clinics.

There are 121 midwives supported by nursery nurses, maternity assistants and clerical staff.

Among the new recruits is Charlotte Edmunds of Horsell. Charlotte, 23, was one of 10 maternity assistants that began work in November. A former Woking High School pupil she had a working background in retailing before beginning a course at Brooklands College that now brings her into the maternity unit three days a week as a maternity assistant.

Said Charlotte: "I was six years old when my niece Michelle was born and during my sister Julie's pregnancy I became fascinated by babies. When I came out of school I felt a career with babies was too much of a responsibility to take on and I went into retailing."

She particularly enjoyed her time at the Piccadilly Circus Virgin Mega Store, coming into contact with many celebrities at their "signing sessions" where she learnt a lot of people skills that she still finds very useful.

Said Charlotte: "Then this year I had a "wake-up" call and thought that life is for taking and it's up to you what you do with it!"

That led Charlotte to applying to Brooklands College, Weybridge, in July and with their guidance things have been "Brilliant". She added: "I can still learn and have hands-on experience on finding out what the work of a midwife involves. My main aim is to put the Mum first and make sure she feels comfortable and that she knows she has the care and the support that she needs."

 As Charlotte sets out on the road to a new career she hopes to follow the lead of Sarah Knight who was also once a midwifery assistant and has gone on to become a fully trained midwife.

Said Sarah: "The course was 50% practical and 50% studies. It was a good mix because we were able to cement what we learnt in the classroom with the practical work. It was hard work but well worth the big commitment."

Since leaving university Sarah is now working on three-six month rotations on the Labour Ward, Joan Booker Ward and out in the community and at the same time studying and passing professional standard competencies in areas such as drug competency and suturing competency.ified nurses who are interested in following a new career path in the NHS can join an 18 month midwifery training course which is university, community and hospital based.

Midwives who have been out of practice for more than five years and want to learn more about returning to this very rewarding career can find out more, or ask for an application pack, by ringing Janet Masan on: 01483 689932 or emailing her on: j.masan@surrey.ac.uk before 19 December.

£10,000 gift to unit will give years of benefit - 08.12.08

A gift of £10,000 to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Peter's Hospital will help to ensure that the gift of "liquid gold" from the hospital's Breast Milk Bank to the unit's tiny patients does not dry up!

The unit wants to purchase a new £19,000 milk pasteurizer in 2009 and a £10,000 donation this week (08-12-08) now looks set to make this possible.

The gift came from Russell and Sharon Peirson-Hagger of Addlestone whose daughter Mia was born with complications at St. Peter's Hospital on 23 November 2007. They have also made a £10,000 donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital where she was transferred and treated before being returned to St. Peter's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at six days old. Mia was finally well enough to go home on 19 December, 2007, aged four weeks. The family immediately set up the Mia Grace Fund aiming to raise as much as possible for both hospitals in 12 months, intending to make Mia's "Birthday Gift" to those hospitals on her first birthday.

Said Sharon: "We respect and appreciate what was done for Mia. She has done so very well and we are very grateful and we want to say "Thank you" to everyone involved.

"We could not have raised this amount without a lot of back-up from people and we are thrilled that all their efforts have achieved this huge amount of £20,000. "

Russell and Sharon joined forces with their friends Wendy Jones of Basingstoke and Adam Roberts of Lyne together with Sharon's parents Neil and Sylvia Turner of Farnborough to set about fundraising. Russell's Mum, Doreen, of Brighton did her bit becoming a big knitter producing tiny woolly hats and blankets for the NICU babies.

The fundraisers major event was planned and on 3 May 2008 the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley, became the setting for a "Hullabaloo" night, with the venue donated by club owner Bob Potter OBE. An auction of 26 items kindly donated by friends and acquaintances raised £9,000 and a raffle with major prizes donated by Toshiba, Thorpe Park and Luigi and Carlos raised £3,000. A champagne hoopla stall, money from sales of event photos, plus donations from people who could not attend all combined to make the night a big success.

It wasn't just the big sums raised that touched the hearts of Russell and Sharon. Pupils at Pyrcroft Grange Primary School, Chertsey, where she is a teacher, held a "Name the dog" day this term.

Said Sharon: "It was lovely to go back and see the children and staff and we were thrilled to be able to add a bit more to the collection."

Receiving the donation on behalf of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Consultant Neonatal Paediatrician Dr Tracy Lawson said: "I am delighted to accept this extremely generous donation. Seeing Mia healthy and growing up is thanks in itself, but raising such an amount is a staggering achievement. We are all extremely grateful for this contribution to our "Early Births Fund", which will go a long way towards the purchase of a new pasteurizer."

  ENDS.

Baby Mia's story.

Sharon and Russell Peirson-Hagger's first child, Leo, was born at St. Peter's Hospital, Chertsey on 28 October 2004. All had gone well with his water birth and as Sharon's second pregnancy was normal there was no need to worry when she was a few days overdue and she went into a very fast labour on 23 November 2008. Meconium was seen in Sharon's waters when they broke and although Mia cried out loudly when she was delivered she suddenly went limp and couldn't breathe.

She was rushed to Neonatal Intensive Care where she was diagnosed with Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. While in the womb Mia had breathed in meconioum - the waste product substance that is normally excreted as stools by a baby after its delivery, and not before.

Said Sharon: "As a result of the ventilation she was receiving she developed a hole in her lungs. She was very, very poorly and her heart stopped. Dr Tracy Lawson and the team were fantastic but they knew that Mia needed specialist ECMO treatment and that she would need to be transferred to Great Ormond Street.

"We were at our lowest point. We weren't sure if she was going to make it. She was put into the special transport incubator that is always ready on stand-by for such emergencies. We were allowed to go in the ambulance with her and the CAT team (children's acute transport service) as she was zoomed up to Great Ormond Street. Once there the life-support machine ECMO machine gave her a chance to rest and recover. It's a very complex procedure and she faced risks every day that she was on it. Two nurses were always on duty specifically for Mia with one watching the machinery and computer and the other attending to her needs.

The teams at both hospitals were in constant touch, respecting and appreciating what had been done in both hospitals to save her life. After four days she came off the life-support machine ECMO machine and was placed on a ventilator and at six days old she was brought back to St. Peter's NICU. A day later Mum and Dad were allowed their first cuddle.

Said Sharon: "To prepare for taking her home, at four weeks, we were taught by the hospital how to look after the tubing and oxygen cylinders. Wires, cables and tubes are trickier than you might think! But the NICU staff were great and we followed their "Rooming-in" system of staying overnight and having total responsibility for her before we took her home to Addlestone."

Said Sharon: "Mia weighed 6lbs. 9oz when she was born and was really a very healthy baby until she breathed in the meconium. Once she got over that she really picked up and she has done very well. They are all thrilled with her progress and St. Peter's will keep a close check on her until she is walking and talking and she had her last check-up at Great Ormond Street in November."

Added Sharon: "When you see the NHS click into action it is amazing. We had faultless care from both hospitals - not just for Mia but for each of us. This is our way of saving "Thank You."

Foot note:

ECMO stands for Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation. This involves inserting two tubes into a baby's circulation system, removing the blood from the baby, then circulating it through a machine that oxygenates the blood, then passing it back into the baby. It is usually done as a last resort when we cannot ventilate a baby adequately and they have to go to one of five centers in the UK that can do this.

Milk Bank: Premature babies, and particularly those born at 23-30 weeks, are delicate so need to be given breast milk as formula milk is too rich for their digestive system. Their mothers may not be well enough to express their own milk so donor milk is used. Parents' permission is always sought before a baby is given donated milk. Most babies cannot co-ordiante sucking, swallowing and breathing until about 34 weeks. The baby is tube-fed directly into the stomach, either via the nose or mouth.

Following a screening process suitable donors are supplied with sterile containers and instructions on how to store the milk in a home freezer until transported to NICU in special containers where the milk is prepared for pasteurization. The new pasteurizer will allow more bottles to be processed in a shorter space of time.

07.08.08 - GRATEFUL FAMILY & FRIENDS DONATE £1,000 TO HOLLY WARD - A grateful family and friends have donated over £1,000 to Holly Ward at St. Peter's Hospital in memory of Walton on Thames resident Philip Cox who died on 13th April 2008. Presenting the cheque to the medical ward Mrs Hilary Cox, Philip's widow, said: "You see so many negative stories written about the NHS that we wanted to say how good we found the service at St. Peter's despite the sadness of losing my husband. We are so appreciative of the fantastic care and treatment Philip and we received during his stay on Holly Ward that we cannot speak highly enough of the service provided."

The donation from family members and friends, amounting to £1,168, was collected at Philip's funeral and was brought to Holly Ward by Mrs Cox and her daughter Amy, who also lives in Walton on Thames.

Mrs Cox continued: "Everyone at St. Peter's Hospital, on Holly ward and especially Deputy Charge Nurse Duncan Harris were so helpful that family and friends were in full agreement that the proceeds from the collection should benefit patients and staff using Holly Ward in the future."

Matron for Medicine, Kathryn Wood commented: "Donations and words like this raise our spirits. We are always sad to lose a patient but the service we provide can make all the difference to what is a very difficult time for patients and their family. The Family Room on Holly Ward has just benefited from a make over made possible by donations from other patients and we hope to use this money to provide pictures and mirrors for the family room and ward. We're very grateful to Philip's family and friends and he will be in our thoughts for a long time to come."

05.08.08 - MORE TIME TO CARE AT ASHFORD AND ST. PETER'S

More time to care is being created at Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals. That is the aim of the 'Productive Ward' project at the local hospitals NHS Trust which serves over 400,000 people living in the Boroughs of Elmbridge, Hounslow, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, and Woking. Staff at the hospital will be explaining more at a stall they are setting up at St. Peter's hospital as follows:

Date: Thursday 7th August 2008

Time: Between 11:00a.m. and 4.00p.m.

Location: Level 3 Corridor, Duchess of Kent Wing, St. Peter's Hospital, Chertsey

Ruth Lallmahomed, Associate Director of Nursing at Ashford and St. Peter's comments: "We know that ward based care is at the heart of hospital services. And we know that the way wards are organised affects how they function. Our work is about improving the quality and safety of care through releasing time for staff to spend on direct patient care rather than on carrying out tasks that add no value to the patient".

Working with the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (the NHS Institute) the staff on Kingfisher Ward, a female surgical ward, have looked at how they spend their time. The programme helps them release time to care and spend more time with their patients, by looking at how everyday ward activities are carried out, focussing on value and removing waste. The ward has worked through various processes and practices including:

· Review of medicine rounds, observation rounds, mealtimes and patient hygiene (in progress). This includes feedback from the patients on their observation and experience of the procedures under review.

· Review of midday handover together with activity timing showing that direct care time is improving.

· Through reorganisation of stock items and purchase of more equipment, less time is wasted and more time can be spent in direct patient care.

· Review of waste on the ward via waste walks and supported by photographic evidence has resulted in improvements in the environment and improved storage of equipment on the ward.

· Installation of electric sockets behind every bed to ensure that nurses do not have to hunt for a free socket each time they need to plug in a piece of equipment.

Staff on Kingfisher have learnt a lot from being the first Ward in the NHS South East Coast area (Kent, Surrey and Sussex) to participate in the 'Productive Ward' initiative. The initiative is now being rolled out to other Wards at Ashford and St. Peter's and across the South East Coast area and staff on Kingfisher are drawing on their experience to help other Ward staff. They have commented as follows:

Staff Nurse Olivia Quinn says "It has been hard work, trying to get everything organised and in the right place and to stick to it. But we have saved time, especially now the ward cupboards are stocked up and people are taking pride in keeping them well stocked and tidy. The new equipment we've got now has made a huge difference and our last 12 hour activity follow showed clearly how things had improved. All the team work well together - it has worked so well with us because we all care about Productive Ward, and want to make more time for the patient."

Deputy Sister, Sam Knipe says: "Productive Ward has made a massive difference to the clutter on the ward because we had a huge turf out and now we can find what we want when we want it. The filming of the drugs and observations rounds and then doing the process mapping was very interesting. I think personally I am spending more time with my patients, and the ward seems calmer. We had one of our consultants doing a waste walk, and he made some very useful suggestions on how to do things differently."

Sister Tracy Ockwell says: "One area we've looked at is lunchtime handovers. These could take up to 1½ hours so it was a real priority, and we've now got it down to an average of half an hour which has made a huge difference, giving us an extra hour each day for patient care. In the beginning we had a weekly Productive Ward meeting, but now we meet every two weeks. We have a board for people to write any comments on between times, but because we are such a close team most people know what's going on. Communication is the key - if you communicate well with your team they will all come on board and work with you."

Terri Hess, Matron for Surgery says: "One problem highlighted early on was lack of power points on the ward - this was addressed by putting a power point behind every bed which has made an enormous difference to the nurses who are now not having to run around trying to find extension cables. It has been wonderful to see the team bonding through the various activities - process mapping, activity follows, video watching etc, and for their suggestions and ideas to be acted upon, and not lost in the ether as they may have been before Productive Ward."

Ruth Lallmahomed, Associate Director of Nursing says: "Support from senior management is valuable - our Director of Finance is very supportive and patient focused, and has come down to the ward to meet nurses and Health Care Assistants (HCAs) and see what's going on with Productive Ward, which does boost morale. Other wards in the hospital are coming along to see what's happenin, - the whole hospital is beginning to take notice.

"The module handbooks are very useful and excellent guides, although at first we found them a bit daunting; but once you start to do the practical activities it all comes alive and makes sense. At first staff thought, oh no, not another one of those NHS schemes, but now they're all contributing to the meetings and discussions and really enjoying it."

Ruth continues: "We have been so impressed with the programme that we have already rolled it out to an orthopaedic and a medical ward and we have just employed a programme manager to ensure that it is rolled out to the rest of the organisation. Like many other organisations in the NHS we have problems recruiting experienced nurses. This means it is even more essential to retain our own staff, who feel empowered to make changes, feel they have time to spend in direct care and have improved satisfaction with their work life. The Productive Ward initiative is helping us to improve the working environment for staff, improve our chances of retaining our experienced nurses, whilst improving the experience for patients."

01.08.08 - HOSPITALS DUO ARE BEIJING BOUND - Ashford and St. Peter's represented at Olympics

"Participating in the Olympics is a great honour," says hospitals Chief Executive Paul Bentley. "We are proud that two colleagues from Ashford and St. Peter's are part of Olympic team during this prestigious event and everyone at the Trust will be supporting both of them."

Susan Scott (30), a cardiac physiologist, will be running in the 1500m. Susan produced a strong performance to finish third at the 2008 European Cup. She ran 4:07.00 over 1500m to achieve the Olympic A qualifying standard, finishing second in Lille in June 2008. She finished just off the podium in fourth at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games for Scotland. If all goes to plan Susan will be running on the following days:

* 19th August at 10:00am in the Women's 1500m Round 1

* 21st August at 7.00pm in the Women's 1500m Semifinals

* 23rd August at 7.50pm in the Women's 1500m Finals

Susan, who works on both the Ashford and St. Peter's Hospital sites and lives in Twickenham, flies out to Beijing on Wednesday 6th August. She said: "I've been training hard for this event and am looking forward to the competition. I am very proud to be representing Great Britain and will be doing my best for the country and all those that know me. I've had great support from all the patients and staff at Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals."

Consultant Rheumatologist Dr Michael Irani is the other member of staff attending. He has been invited by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and International Olympic Committee (IOC), to attend the games in China as an official Doctor. Dr Irani is proud to have been involved in both the Commonwealth and Olympic Games having been to them many times and said: "It is a real privilege to have been asked by the IWF and IOC to be an official doctor at the games in Beijing. My work over the past 23 years in the NHS at Ashford and St. Peter's and elsewhere has provided me with the experience in musculoskeletal conditions and science required to provide these world class athletes and their managers with the advice they need to ensure their weightlifting is safe and within the rules of the Olympics."

Dr Irani, who is from Chiswick, is for the first time in his many visits to the Olympics permitted to take a guest and will be accompanied by his 14 year old son. He has been a medical officer at the Olympic Games since the games in '84 in Los Angeles and was first asked in 1986 in Edinburgh to be an official Doctor for the England Team. In his role as Official Doctor he will be looking after athletes from many nations and the IWF and IOC sees him as being a true and unbiased person. Unlike Susan you are unlikely to see Dr Irani on the television unless there is a problem at the weightlifting events which can last for up to two hours at a time.

Dr Irani said: "Weightlifting is a very safe sport but because the weights being lifted are tremendous if things go wrong, they go very wrong. My role in Beijing will include training the Chinese support workers and paramedics how to handle things if there is a serious problem and also providing health education for the weightlifters and their managers about the policies of the IWF and IOC on drugs and supplements. With the development of new technologies it is increasingly difficult for any athlete to beat the tests which are available for the 2008 Olympics."

"Working at the games helps with my work as a rheumatologist. I get to see what the body can and more importantly, can't do in people whose physiques are honed for a specific task - lifting huge weights. This helps with improving the care techniques for many of my patients in my normal working life."

Beijing was elected as the host city for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad on 13 July 2001 in Moscow, shaking off competition from Istanbul, Osaka, Paris and Toronto. It is the first time the Olympic Games will be held in the People's Republic of China and coincides with a period of vast economic growth in Asia. The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will take place on 8th August 2008.

Sixteen days of intense competition will follow as 10,500 elite athletes from around the world compete for the 302 gold medals on offer across 28 sports. The Closing Ceremony will bring down the curtain on 24th August 2008. Besides Beijing, Qingdao will hold the sailing competition; Hong Kong will be the location for the equestrian events; Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao are the co-host cities for the football tournament. The Paralympic Games will take place from 6th-17th September 2008.

The Games slogan of "One World, One Dream" captures China's aspirations to open their doors to the world through the Olympic Games and leave a lasting legacy for their population of 1.3 billion people, which includes some 56 ethnic groups. The Beijing Organising Committee has labelled the 2008 Games the "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics" with a focus on three core issues: Environmental protection; Technological expertise and above all else cultural exchange between people from across the world.

29.07.08 - Technology company 2e2 are making a £10,000 donation to the West Surrey Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Club (ICDC) to support them in their important work with patients at Ashford and St. Peter's and elsewhere.

 

The West Surrey Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Club (ICDC) is a self funding support group run by volunteers. It was formed in January 2007 to support currently 170 patients who have had internal cardiac defibrillators fitted, but more importantly, support is extended to the families and friends of these patients. The support group is run by patients themselves. ICDC is affiliated to Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals and the British Heart Foundation.

The need to provide support post surgery was compelling, as many patients found themselves being alone, isolated and anxious about future prospects after leaving hospital. In addition their partners, family and friends are often unable to cope with the change in circumstances and the day to day management of this condition.

Whilst still early in our development, the ICDC Support Group has had very positive feedback from patients, cardiac specialists and doctors. They produce four newsletters/year for their members. The newsletter which illustrates the group's aims and also highlights the way in which they seek to support their members. The committee members are all patients & volunteers, whose previous roles in the community allow them to bring a unique blend of skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to the team.

Sundays . . Kids Request Show where Zoe, Callum & listeners set each other challenges [simply email telling us what it is :)] How many questions can you answer in a minute or how many marshmallows can you fit in your mouth?

Rob's Jazz Club . . . lots of classic tracks this coming Sunday