Stakeholder update from Chief Executive Tony Chambers: 22 September 2020 | Chief Executive’s video diary and stakeholder update

Stakeholder update from Chief Executive Tony Chambers: 22 September 2020 | Chief Executive’s video diary and stakeholder update

Stakeholder update from Chief Executive Tony Chambers: 22 September 2020

New maternity visiting arrangements

During the pandemic, as with all areas of our hospitals, we had to introduce visiting restrictions. This was particularly hard for those using our Maternity services, as while women have always been able to have a birthing partner with them during labour, they were asked to leave after the baby was born.

We’ve now reviewed this in line with Government guidelines and have extended some visiting times, while introducing timed slots for others.

From this week, the birthing partner can visit our Antenatal, Postnatal and Coral wards for a two-hour time-slot between 1pm and 5.30pm. Birthing partners can also stay with women who have had an elective caesarean while they are in the High Dependency Unit or recovery area.

And for parents of a baby in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), one parent at a time can visit between 10am to 10pm.

We know many women have been keen to have their partner at scan appointments. While we are keeping this under review, at present, due to the size of the waiting room and scan area, it is not possible to allow this safely while social distancing.

Further information on our services during the pandemic can be found on our website, which also includes the latest update on paediatric patients at King George Hospital.

Funding boost for King George Hospital

I’m delighted to be able to share with you that we will receive £15million in Government funding over the next two years to improve our Emergency Department at King George Hospital (KGH).

The first £3m will provide a Rapid Access and First Treatment (RAFTing) area, and Point of Care Testing (POCT), meaning patients’ results are available immediately, cutting treatment delays and providing a better quality of care to our patients.

The further £12m funding, subject to approval of a business case, will fund a Paediatric Assessment Unit and implementing ‘same day emergency care’, which aims to treat complex patients without them needing to be admitted.

This upgrade will allow us to ensure we can meets the needs of patients now and in the future, while also ensuring we can keep them safe as we approach winter with the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing. Read more on our website.

Coping with death amid the pandemic

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve had staff from across our Trust sharing their stories and experiences. Recently, we heard from someone in our Bereavement team.

Julie Atkins has been a bereavement officer for 12 years and she told us what it was like during the peak, when they were often dealing with double the number of deaths than usual.

The team also had to completely change how they responded to bereaved families – speaking to them over the phone and scanning and sending death certificates, rather than seeing them in person.

I was pleased to hear that, despite the challenges, Julie felt well supported by her manager during this time, and that it was having a good rapport with her colleagues, including doctors and undertakers, which helped her through it. Read her story.

Another of our colleagues, palliative care consultant, Andrew Gage, has also written his own blog, focusing on the importance of high-quality end-of-life care during the pandemic. While reminding the rest of our staff that his specialist team are on hand 24/7 to provide support with patients nearing the end of their lives, he had this important message, ‘the most essential things we can do are the basics: listen to our patients, be with them, and give them the comfort and dignity they deserve’.

Elective (planned) surgery restarts at Queen’s Hospital

After restarting elective care safely at KGH and treating a rising number of patients over the last few months, we’re now establishing low risk departments at Queen’s Hospital to support our elective pathway.

The first list was carried out on Monday 7 September, and this will be gradually increased over the coming weeks. We also plan to provide a designated low risk inpatient area.

Unlike at KGH, we’ve not been able to develop completely separate zones as staff and patients need to use shared corridors. However, we have introduced several measures, including temperature checks and staff remaining in the ‘green’ elective surgery zone throughout the duration of their shift, to keep everyone safe.

Devesh’s third and final blog

For the last few weeks I’ve been sharing with you the first two blogs from our consultant and co-clinical lead for stroke, Devesh Sinha, about his everyday lived experience of racism in the NHS.

We’ve now published his third and final blog, and it is as interesting and though-provoking as the first two, if not more so, as he reflects on how racial inequalities have impacted BAME staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a must-read.

While they may not make for comfortable reading, these are absolutely the stories we should be sharing, so we can all reflect on our own behaviour, and the part we can play in making change happen.

A wedding and a shortlist

It’s always nice to share happy news with you, and while lots of important events including weddings have been postponed, we were pleased that Gemma Norburn, who works in our Mortuary, was able to have her wedding after all.

She married Chris in August after expecting to have to postpone until next year. The nicest thing to hear was that while facemasks and social distancing meant it wasn’t quite the day she was expecting, getting married during a pandemic actually took the pressure off everything having to be perfect.

Gemma also arrived in unusual style – a hearse. She said: “Chris suggested a limo and as I know funeral directors from my role in our mortuary, I thought that might be my best chance to get one at short notice.

“When we were discussing it, they made a throwaway comment that it should be fine as it wasn’t like I was asking for a hearse! That made me think, is that an option? It’s probably the most plush car you’ll ever be in, and we’re only ever in them when we’re dead, I also thought it was quirky, like me. We did attract lots of looks on the way to the ceremony, in an empty hearse. I think it’s good to help normalise the use of a vehicle like that.” Read more.

Another piece of positive news we’ve received (especially given how important international nurses are to our team) is that we’ve been shortlisted in the Nursing Times Workforce Awards in the ‘Best International Recruitment Experience’ category.

This recognises the work we have done to support international nurses joining our Trust, some of which was showcased in the recent ‘Saving our Nurses’, BBC One documentary which was filmed in our hospitals. The awards will be held this December, including a live and virtual element. Check out the rest of the shortlist on the website.

Lastly, I’d like to share an animated video that has been created to support patients coming for treatment. We know we still have a large group of people who are worried about attending hospital and this will be another way to provide some reassurance, you can view the video online.

As always, take care and stay safe.

Tony Chambers
Chief Executive

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