For Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust staff and volunteers Nov/Dec 2012

Christmas is coming...oh yes it is!

2

After driving around in an old bangerfor years, the in-car comforts ofGraham Bucknill’s sleek and gleamingHyundai i30 are utter bliss.Graham, an anatomical pathologytechnician in the mortuary, was thefirst employee to take advantage ofour salary sacrifice car scheme. Still dazzled by the dashboard whichis, he says, like ‘Blackpoolilluminations at night time’, Grahamsounds like a car salesman as hewaxes lyrical about the cruise control,Bluetooth and radio controls on thesteering wheel.He said: “I am still learning whateverything does. I have never had a

new car and this isheaven.“There was no depositand I know fromspeaking to dealersthat it is real value formoney. All I have to dois put petrol in. Andthe fuel consumptionis good – not like theold one which drank juice like tea.”Graham shares his new baby withGeorgina, his phlebotomist wife, andsoon after picking up the keys theywere driving down to Devon onholiday – in the lap of luxury. The new scheme allows staff to drive

away a brand new, fully maintainedand insured care for three years withthe money taken out of your salarybefore tax. For more details visitwww.cpcdrive.nhs.uk and click on‘my account’. Company code is SNHSand your payroll number is theemployee identifier.

When a terminally-ill patientneeded a fast-track dischargeso his wish to die at homecould be fulfilled, HCA MichelleHartman was there to help.She immediately offered to travel inthe ambulance with the man and hisfamily to provide support and be thereif the worst should happen.

The spontaneous gesture earned her aspecial commendation in our ongoing

search for Hospital Heroes.

Admission and discharge manager,Sandra Steeples (pictured extremeright), who nominated Michelle, said:“The patient’s wife and daughterswere extremely distressed buteverything for this complex dischargewas arranged in a couple of hours.”

Later, when the patient was backhome, sitting up and watching TV, thefamily rang to say how grateful they

were to Michellefor all she haddone: she wentthat extra step tomake a difference.

Michelle’s mercy trip

Oncology dietitians HenryWood and Rebecca Davieshad their tastebuds well andtruly tickled when theysampled new dishes whichwere introduced to ourpatient menu recently.

Mick Hailey, manager for caterersMedirest, explained that the bill offare gets a revamp every year and thistime a bumper feast of eight newdishes has replaced some of the lesspopular options. So meat balls andpasta carbonara have had the old‘heave ho’ to make room for treatslike salmon jambalaya, five-bean chilli,suet pud and spinach and ricottacannelloni.

But that’s not all. In response tounprecedented demand, Medirest hasbeen busy testing out how to steam

the perfect jacket spud in themicrowave and introduced thatfavourite with a choice of fourdifferent fillings.

A whole team of dietitians joinedHenry and Rebecca in the taste testand gave the new dishes their seal ofapproval.

Mick said: “We are delighted that thenew menu has gone down so wellwith staff and are sure that ourpatients will be just as delighted withthe choices on offer.”

Take it away, Graham!

EverybodyMatters Everything Counts Everyone’s Responsible

Yum yum yum!

3

With money raised from her legendarysales, she has bestowed asophisticated £10,400 diagnosticmicroscope on ENT and a camera,printer and other equipment on A&E.

Over the years Joyce, now 83, hasraised more than £1.5m. Here is ourshining star with chairman Alan Tobias,ENT surgeon Gavin Watters and chiefexecutive Jacqueline Totterdell.

Charity champ Joyce Long haswaved her magic wand againand come up with somefabulous kit for two luckydepartments.

Let’s hear it for our heroes!

Ooh matron!

Congratulations to Zoe Gregori and Wendy George, generalmanagers in cardiology and respiratory, who have been officiallyrecognised as NHS Heroes. The duo were nominated by their colleague Nikki Baines for ‘workingconstantly to improve patient care and quality of working life forstaff’. Nikki also described both Zoe and Wendy as ‘supportive anddedicated to quality in the department’. NHS Heroes is a nationalrecognition scheme that honours the individuals and teams who gothe extra mile to improve life for patients in hospitals, clinics andcommunity care. The scheme was launched by former HealthSecretary, Andrew Lansley, to mark the 64th anniversary of the NHS.

Joyce is ouryear-roundfairygodmother

Young patients and their siblings enjoyed a great party in therheumatology unit while their parents swapped telephone numbersand experiences. The ‘do’ was organised by the team which regularlysees young patients with arthritis – a disease more usually associatedwith older people.Consultant rheumatologist, Dr Frances Borg, said: “Over the last few years therehave been huge advances in medical treatments and support available to childrenwith juvenile idiopathic arthritis, such that we now expect these young people to be able to lead full and normal lives.”Rheumatology clinical nurse specialist, Madeline Whitlock, added: “Parents gained much support from meeting others inthe same situation – and patients in remission were there to give a positive outlook to newly-diagnosed youngsters.

Their hair’s off their collars,they are bare below the elbowand not a glint of jewellery insight. But that make-up……..!‘Matrons’ Les Hodgson, from SEPT,teamed up with our cunningly-disguised HCA Michael Daley tocompere the highly-successfulSouthend Hospital’s Got Talent showat the Palace Theatre.

Michael, aka Lily Alcock, who arrangedthe fund-raising extravaganza withA&E staff nurse colleague CarolineDiggin, said: “It was such a goodnight. There were more than 400 inthe audience and a wonderfulatmosphere. Those who didn’t comealong regret not being there and wehave been asked to do another onenext year. So we’ll be out talentspotting from now.”The show raised nearly £3,000 tobenefit our dementia patients.

EverybodyMatters Everything Counts Everyone’s Responsible

Party time

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Mandy Overton didn’t need a magic wand totransform the old chemo unit into a brightand welcoming elective admissions lounge –a paintbrush and lots of elbow grease didthe trick.Deputy sister Mandy gave up her weekends and evenings toperform her own ‘DIY SOS’ – and earned herself the‘employee of the month’ title into the bargain.

The pilot project currently has space to care for 10 patientswhile they undergo their pre-surgery checks. They are thentaken straight to theatre from the lounge. Mandy explained:

“It takes some of the pressure off the wards.” Surgicalmatron, Anita Martins, who nominated Mandy forthe award, said: “She has given up her own time to create

a welcoming lounge for our patients and really doesembody the Trust’s values. The 12-week pilot has been sosuccessful the plan is for Mandy to expand the service totake more patients.”

Mandy celebrated her‘significant’ birthday witha 60s-themed bash whichshe dedicated toconsultant anaesthetist DrAlex Stone, who diedearlier this year. Moneyraised at the party isbeing shared betweenAlex’s pet charitiesAsthma UK and Water Aid.

Everyone knows JoFeatherstone! She is afamiliar figure aroundthe site as she deliversthe post cheerfully,promptly and efficiently.

Jo was highly commended in our‘employee of the month’ awardfor always going out of her wayto help staff and fulfilling herinterview promise ‘if you give methis job, you will never have toadvertise it again’.

Jo comes highly commended

Patients can wait for theiroperation in a more chilled-out atmosphere and their

relatives can stay with themuntil they go to theatre.

We are delighted to report that the recent Care QualityCommission (CQC) inspection has shown us to be fullycompliant in all the outcomes inspected.

The inspection report, which will be posted on the CQC website, states: “Patients told us that they were happywith how staff explained their care and treatment. They told us that everything was explained in a way whichthey could understand so that they could give their consent to the care and treatment they received.” Directorof nursing, Sue Hardy, praised staff who took part in the inspection and said: “My thanks and congratulationsgo to all staff for the hard work they continue to do - and for the significant improvements we have all madetogether.” Her comments were echoed by Trust chairman Alan Tobias OBE: “Can I add my thanks andcongratulations for all the hard work and effort resulting in the Trust receiving a clean bill of health from thelast CQC inspection. I am sure that such a result only came about through the efforts of many people.”

Mandy’s magicmakeover

Clean bill of health from the CQC

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Grahame,who left us on November 2, has awhole armoury of irons in the fire inhis mission to keep improvingpalliative care. And he won’t just beconfining his expertise to these parts –high on his agenda is to devote moretime to the Cairdeas InternationalPalliative Care Trust where he hasbeen on the board for the past 18

months. The Scottish-based charity (itsname means fellowship andfriendship) was set up to helpestablish palliative care services indeveloping areas, notably India andAfrica.

Grahame came to us as a consultantin October 1992, sharing his timebetween the hospital and Fair HavensHospice. With the help of MyfanwyHowells, our first palliative care nursespecialist, he developed our servicefrom scratch. Grahame said: “Wespent the first five years setting upnetworks between hospices,community teams and hospitals insouth Essex and establishing Southendas a training unit.”

Immensely proud of the excellentteam of palliative medicineconsultants he has now built up,Grahame felt the time had come tohand over the reins to them todevelop services further.

He became medical director in 2002,but always said that five to 10 years inthe role was his limit.

Reflecting on his time here, Grahamepicked the development of the serviceas a particular achievement. “I feelreally happy that I am leaving thehospital in relatively good fettle. Overthe last 10 years, we have made somereally good consultant appointmentsand that bodes well for the future.Many of them first came here asjunior doctors and enjoyed the culture

because they felt well-supported andpart of the team. And we haveestablished really good relationships ofmutual respect with our local GPs.”

His time with us has not been all hardgraft – as these pictures suggest.

Grahame’s lycra-clad arrival by bike ata recent core brief is still being talkedabout – and he was a wow at thelegendary hospital revues a few yearsago (not to mention his guitar-strumming appearance in The PugJugglers at the recent SouthendHospital’s Got Talent show at thePalace Theatre). He has also swung amean hockey stick with fellowconsultants and led the doctors’cricket side in annual fixtures againstthe finance department.

“There is a level of informality acrossthe hierarchy. The hospital hasmanaged to retain a lot of its familyatmosphere and sense of fun. “

Anyone thinking that medicaldirector Dr Grahame Tosh hastaken ‘very’ early retirementto put his feet up with thedaytime telly remote controlcould not be more wrong.

Retirement? Not as we know it

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Growing our own – how we nurture our doctors

Consultants who come toSouthend to work frequentlysay they came here duringtheir training and loved it somuch they wanted to comeback.It is a habit we naturally want toencourage, says medical educationmanager Katie Palmer. “Doctorsgain an excellent grounding duringtheir training here and know wehave dedicated consultants and asuperb support network, so theywant to return as senior grades orconsutants.”

Our education centre is alwaysbuzzing with academic activity,providing skills courses and trainingfor all grades of staff. And we liketo start them young: everyNovember, we host a careersmorning for up to 100 teenagerswho are interested in studyingmedicine and a career in the NHS.

Sixth-formers already steering acourse to a medical degree via theirA-level options can find outsomething of what the future holdsby applying to work shadow one ofour newly-qualified doctors.

Medical students (mainly from Bartsand the London and ImperialCollege) spend time with us in theirthird to fifth years, rotatingbetween various departments.After two years in lecture theatresand bent over text books, this is thepoint in their training when theyget a real taste of life at the sharpend. They are taught by newly-qualified (F1) doctors – whothemselves were in the same

situation only a few short years ago– as well as by our consultants whogive hugely of their time to nurturethe next generation of medics.

Once qualified, doctors in trainingrotate to Southend to gaininvaluable experience in variousspecialties.

Katie said: “We teach them all theway through to the top of theircareer path. Newly-qualifieddoctors (F1s and F2s) can expect towork for seven more years to reachconsultant level.

“And, even as consultants, they stillhave to build on their knowledgeand keep up with developments.The medical education teamprocesses and records approvedstudy leave for courses which arerelevant to the individual doctor’straining.”

But the education centre doesn’tjust support training for hospital

doctors: utilisingour educationcentre facilities, wealso invite qualifiedGPs to attendweek-long teachingprogrammescovering a range oftopics which theythemselves select.

The latest refresher week featuredeverything from palliative care andchest pain management to CPR andbowel cancer, with our clinical staffdelivering many of the sessions. Inaddition, we organise ‘minimasterclasses’ for GPs and nursepractitioners every month, and themedical education team hasorganised a new programme foremergency care practitioners.

Furthermore, our director ofmedical education, Prof JohnKinnear, has developed a clinicaland educational supervisors courseto provide in-house training for ourconsultants who are the keytrainers of our junior staff.

Our reputation for training isgaining ground, with the East ofEngland multi-professional deaneryfinding us an ‘excellentpostgraduate training provider’ andinviting us to present a number ofexamples of outstanding practice atits annual meeting earlier this year.

Katie said: “It is an exceptionallybusy centre with always so muchgoing on. As a team, we always doeverything we can to make surethat everyone who comes to us fortraining feels they have had anenriching and enjoyableexperience.”

Education staff look after everything to do with training and education for ourmedical staff and students

Friendly welcome at the educationcentre: Helen Proud and Roger Kittle

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Okay, well assuming it is still November when you are reading this, maybe it is a bit premature.But, come next month, there is a whole sackful of Christmas goodies to put some sparkle andspangle into the lead-up to the Big Day.

We are launching our Advent Calendar on Monday December 3 in true unabashed Essex style when home-grown duo 2Shoes come along to our tree lighting-up ceremony and perform a couple of numbers. The former X Factor contestants willbe joined by the Salvation Army band so there will be carols (and, of course, the traditional mince pies). Lights will beswitched on by Kath Donovan of the discount stores Choice, who have kindly donated a fine fir.

Sleigh bells ring – are you listening?

The comms team will endeavour to record as many of the celebrations as possible on camera and a selection of highlightswill be published in the next edition of Look.So, it’s jingle all the way……

During the rest of the month,we will be bringing backsome of last year’s favouritecompetitions and activities –and a few more have beenadded. You will find the full calendar overleafand on STAFFnet, but here is just ataster of what is about to hit you:

We’ve been amazed by how inventivestaff can be with a pound or so ofsprouts (see some of previoussculptures here) – so think what youcould do with a butternut squash anda few carrots! The best-dressedwinter veg competition hasbecome a seasonal staple and judgingthis year will be on December 7. Othercompetitions include the best-dressed office (new for this year),Christmas photography,cookery, poetry and crafts.Don’t worry if the Christmas rush hasdepleted your inventive streak – thereare plenty of treats for you just toenjoy without taxing your creativeabilities whatsoever: the LadybirdChristmas concert onDecember 19, our popular

bazaar and another concert inoutpatients by SouthendChoral Society. By populardemand, chocolate hampers will bewhizzing around the corridors to wardsand departments and everyone has thechance of winning a £1,000windfall in our grand prizedraw. And the Christmas fairies inthe fundraising department couldgrant your wish – they have eight£500 grants up for grabs to get a newbit of kit or some ‘optional extra’ foryour area. Phone ext 6402/3 for anapplication pack (closing dateWednesday, December 12).

Don’t forgetyour Bosom PalsChristmas cards–

available in packs of 10for £4 and availablefrom Louise Championon ext 6402. All pro-ceeds to our BosomPals On The Road

appeal.

And, onceagain, thehospital topbrass willbe attending

to our every whim as theytake time out of the dayjob to serve us our Christ-mas lunch in the Spice ofLife restaurant

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Execs and matrons serve Christmas lunchin the Spice of Life restaurant

Launch! Christmas lightsswitch-on, mincepies & carols

Christmas crafts competition judging

Chocolate hampers delivered this week

Christmas photography

competition judging

Carol singing on the wards

Christmas quizlaunch

Review of Christmas activitieson STAFFnet andChristmas quizdeadline

Bosom Pals and corporate Christmascards go on sale

Southend ChoralSociety singing inmain outpatients

Christmas Day!

Morning mass

Where’s Cinderella’s slipper?

Guess who is Santacompetition launch

Nursery children takecards around the wards

PAT dogs visiting

Decorations go up(clinical areas)

Ladybird Christmasconcert

Boxing DayBank Holiday

Word search andquiz winners announced

Decorations andtrees to be removedfrom all depart-

ments by tomorrow

24 25

31 1 2

26

10

17

4

11

18

5

12

19

3

Grand prize draw –first prize £1000!Best dressed office competition judgingChristmas trees

distributed to wards

Thursday Friday Weekend

Patients getcrafty for Christmas

Cookery competitions:best dressed or decoratedcake, best tasting mincepies or six of the best festival platter

Nursery childrentake cards around

the wards

Where’s Cinderella’sslipper?

Winner announced

Best dressed winter veg competition judging

Christmas bazaarDecorations go up(non-clinical areas)

Christmas poetry competition judging

Best dressed tree competition judging

Where’s Cinderella’sslipper? closing date

Christmas celebratory cross-word and wordsearch deadline

8-9

1-2

15-16

22-23

29-3027 28

6

13

20

7

14

21

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Win yourself a £20 voucher!The answers to all thefollowing questions appearin the pages of 2012 editionsof Look. Email yourresponses to Pat Stone byDecember 14 to have achance of grabbing the prize.First correct answer out ofthe hat wins.

Question 1Who was named our first HospitalHero when the scheme wasintroduced:

(a) Ebenezer Scrooge? (b) JimBurns? (c) James Bond?

Question 2What are our hospital values:

(a) Every day we’re gettingbetter and better? (b) We areall in this together? (c) Every-body matters; everythingcounts; everyone’s responsible?

Question 3We have been highly successful inrecruiting willing helpers to helpencourage vulnerable patients to eattheir meals. How are these volunteers– recognisable by their red tabards –known:

(a) Feeding Buddies? (b) DinnerLadies? (c) Mealtime Monitors?

Question 4A&E nursing staff Michael Daley andCaroline Diggin put on a fundraisingshow at the Palace Theatre. What wasit called:

(a) Nightmare on PrittlewellChase? (b) How clean is yourward? (c) Southend Hospital’sGot Talent?

Question 5What is the name of our currenthospital fundraising appeal for thebreast unit:

(a) Bosom Pals On the Road?(b) Bosom Pals Go To TheSeaside? (c) Bosom Pals Strike ItRich?

Question 6Why was a giant turkey strutting

around theEducation Centreearlier this year:

(a) To encouragesmokers to packin their habit?(b) To promoteweight loss byeating leanmeat? (c) To

remind staff how manyshopping days were left untilChristmas?

Question 7Staff were handing out cupcakesdecorated with bright red blobs oficing – why?

(a) To celebrate the Queen’sJubilee? (b) To raise awarenessof the dangers of blood clots?(c) To make them glow in thedark?

Question 8We reported our PEAT scores, whichgave us an ‘excellent’ rating forcatering. What does PEAT stand for:

(a) Producing Excellent AppleTarts? (b) Patient EnvironmentAction Team? (c) Poached EggsAnd Toast

Question 9HCA Bryan Record spoke about his‘once in a lifetime experience’. Towhat was he referring:

(a) Acting as a Games Maker inthe Olympics? (b) Abseilingdown the tower block? (c) Being a contestant in the X Factor?

Question 10How much was our electricity bill lastyear:

(a) Nothing – NHS hospitalsdon’t have to pay forelectricity? (b) £1.29 million? (c) 10p?

Question 11Who was childcare business managerLisa Green pictured with at the staffbenefits exhibition?

(a) The Sugar Plum Fairy? (b)Justin Bieber? (c) The Nando’schicken?

Question 12Barbara Hitchcock, from facilities, wasan enthusiastic supporter of our BikeWeek. What does Barbara call hertrusty bike:

(a) Betty? (b) The MeanMachine? (c) Speedy Gonzalez?

Question 13IT staff Alan Tuckwood, DavidRobinson and Paul Tracy undertook afundraising challenge for charity –what was it:

(a) To beat the chip buttieeating world record? (b) Tobreakdance non-stop for fivedays? (c) To conquer the UK’sthree highest peaks in 24hours?

Question 14The ground floor seminar room in theeducation centre was given a newname. Was it:

(a) Room with a view? (b) theJudi Sharpe room? (c) thelounge bar?

Question 15How did patient ‘Little Johnny’ helpstaff in the Neptune unit?

(a) He acted as a seriously illpatient in a training exercise?(b) He tidied up the staff room?(c) He taught them to yodel?

Question 16One of our PAT dogs, Zeke, won a

first at Crufts. Inwhich category:

(a) Mosthandsomehound? (b)Waggiest tail?(c) Goodcitizen dog?

Take Another Look

Zoey Flanagan could wellbecome one of our ‘homegrown’ doctors.Now an F2, she came to us in her firstyear after medical school. But forpersonal reasons she was unable tostart until two months after her peersso had some catching up to do incertain competencies in her portfolio.

Zoey says: “With the enormoussupport I received from the medical

education team, I was able to get backon track. It is a huge learning curvewhen you first qualify as a doctor, butespecially when you start at a differenttime. Katie, Pam (Barton, who looksafter training posts and placements),Sue (Wilkinson, medical educationadministrator) and the team really wentabove and beyond and were absolutelyfantastic.”

Having worked at three other hospitalsduring her training, Zoey rates

Southend the best. “I have had a reallylovely experience and could notrecommend it highly enough. I wouldcome back here in an instant.”

Southend is popular hospitalfor rookie doctors, saysfoundation programmedirector Dr Ayesha Siddiqi.“It is a busy hospital, there is goodaccommodation and it is very friendly.”

When they first arrive here, the newly-qualified doctors undergo a two-week‘preparation for practice’ course sothey know what to expect from dayone when they hit the wards. Theyfollow a curriculum with lectures every

week while they are with us. Moresenior trainees act as mentors and, ofcourse, Katie, Pam and Sue have a‘walk-in’ policy to nip any problems inthe bud

The beating heart of the education centre isits well-stocked library with shelves stacked withedifying tomes on all facets of medicine, nursingand management.Although open to all from 8.30am to 6pm Monday toFriday, members can access its 24-hour study room to burnthe midnight oil or at weekends. According to KarenMorgan, library and knowledge manager, the empty pizzacartons on Monday mornings are evidence that it has beenused to its full potential.

The library is open to all staff and students while onplacement with us. Bedsides the 7,600 books on theshelves, users also have access to the 23 PCs.

Karen, who heads a staff of five, said: “We are here tosupport all our members, both clinical and non-clinical. Ifthey are looking for information we can save them precioustime by using our skills to find it. We also do literaturesearches for particular areas and can obtain specific

academic articles for members.”

With so many new titles coming out all the time, the stockis being constantly renewed. Every month, Karen puts in anorder for up to £1,000 worth of books, while old stuff isregularly sold off. Nothing on the shelves is more than 10years old – apart from some real gems in the ‘historical’section, where yellowing volumes such as a nursingdictionary and one on ‘war wounds and injuries’ date backto the 1930s.

Library staff are also only too pleased to provide freetraining on using electronic resources and finding just whatyou’re looking for. Membership is free – all you have to dois show your staff badge.

Find out more about the library services on Staffnet at:http://intranet/hr/edcentrelibrary/Pages/default.aspx

And Karen’s expertise can be accessed at the end ofthe phone – her extension is 5343.

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Growing our own – how we nurture our doctors

Glowing testimonial

Knowledge when you need it

Patients on Westcliff wardhave entered wholeheartedlyinto the spirit of having theirrear ends regularly inspectedby nursing staff. They are as enthusiastic as the wardteam to be involved in the drive toeliminate all avoidable hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by December.

Westcliff has been chosen as our pilotward in a massive regional projectinvolving more than 80 NHS trusts –and were already seeing encouragingresults even before the official launch,with a zero recording in September.

The key has been to ensure allmembers of staff follow procedures tothe letter. That means looking for anyreddening of patients’ skin at any ofthe pressure points, meticulously

recording everything they do, andensuring appropriate action is takenwhen needed. In other words, stoppingthe damage before it happens.

Nursing director Sue Hardyput herself on night shift soshe could get round and talkto staff who steer thehospital through the ‘weesmall hours’.She said: “As a nurse and midwife, Iremember well the different ‘feel’ of ahospital during the night with a lotfewer interruptions than during the dayand the great benefit of being able toreally get on with patient care.”

As well as chatting to staff, she was ingreat demand by patients eager to tellher about the ‘smashing load ofnurses’ on their ward.

She even managed to get inside thesecurity room and watch what wasgoing on all round the premises.

“I try to get out and about to talk topatients and staff at least once a weekand always get an overwhelming sense of pride at the good work being done.”

12

No pressure

Sue makes it through the night

To demonstrate ourcommitment to our patientswith learning disabilities, wehave signed up to Mencap’s‘Getting it right’ charter. The document was drawn up in thewake of the charity’s ‘Death byindifference' campaign, highlightingthe untimely deaths of six people witha learning disability in NHS care.

The good news is that we are already

meeting seven of the nine points ofthe charter, one of which is to have adedicated learning disability liaisonnurse – step forward Sarah Haines(pictured).

She says: “Getting the trust to sign upto the charter shows how dedicatedwe are to providing the very best careto patients with learning disabilities.We want to ensure that all ourpatients are treated with dignity and respect.”

You can read the nine standards at

www.mencap.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2010-06/charter.pdf

Getting it right

Don’t believe the myths – the

flu jab is completely safe, says

head of occupational health,

David Maslen-Jones. At the

very worst it might make you a

bit sore and achey – but from a

patient safety point of view, it

is vital we get ourselves

protected.“We are working with the most high-risk population in the country,” hepointed out. “Those admitted tohospital need protection and weshould all do our bit by gettingourselves immunised.

“No-one would like their child or

elderly relative tocontract flu from amember of hospitalstaff so we all havean ethical duty toprotect ourselvesand our patients.”

Immunisationsessions in yourarea can bearranged by callingoccupational healthon 01702 222900.If you have had thejab from your ownGP, please let OHknow so they canupdate theirrecords.

13

Alex’s award legacy Popular consultantanaesthetist Dr Alex Stone isto be immortalised in aspecial staff award to bepresented for the first time atthis year’s Research and Auditday on December 7.The Alex Stone prize for patientsafety will go to the team makingthe best presentation on the day,following the traditional week-longdisplay of posters.

The award is being sponsored byAlex’s father, retired GP Dr BrianStone and consultant clinicalbiochemist Dr Sarah Mapplebeck.

Sarah said: “Alex was inspirationalto so many members of staff. Hewas really passionate about patient

safety so his dad and I thought thisaward would continue the excellentwork he promoted.”

Everyone is welcome to come andview the posters, on display in theeducation centre foyer fromMonday December 3, and to attendthe winning presentations on Friday,December 7.

The Alex Stone prize is the latest ina tradition of awards to honourdistinguished members of staff whohave died, and follows the ColinGoodbourn prize in microbiologyand the Philip Hagan award in obsand gynae.

Prof Bhaskar Dasgupta, our clinicaldirector of research and audit, said:“Patient safety is something every

one of us constantly strives for, sowe are delighted to have thisadditional award. Alex acted as amuse to many members of staff andwe are very grateful to both hisfather and Sarah for sponsoring thisprize.”

Deal flu a knockout blow

Keeping bugs at bay:now on a screen near youWe have introduced infectionprevention and control as part of ourexpanding suite of e-learning courses.

The two-module course is foreveryone, not just those with directpatient contact, and will replace theface-to-face component of our annualmandatory training sessions.The interactive programme, whichtakes around 90 minutes to complete,includes videos and graphics,

followed by assessments, and covershand and environmental hygiene, safedisposal of contaminated materialsand how infection is passed on. Andthose who complete it successfullywill get two certificates – one foreach module!

14

Welcome to:Dr Ann Cheesman,consultantneurologist, whohas joined us toreplace Dr MilicaMavra. Ann initiallystudied physics andspent six yearsworking as an engineer on valves forTV transmitters. But a year out beforeuni working as an auxiliary nurse onan elderly ward had given her a tasteof the caring professions and shereturned to studying for another fiveyears to get her degree in medicine.At first, she planned to specialise inoncology but was drawn to neurologybecause it satisfied her love ofdiagnosis.

“You have to look at patterns and useall your examination skills to work outif something serious is going on. Andten per cent of medical patientsadmitted to hospital have someneurological problem other thanstroke.”

Married with three children, Ann’sfirst impressions of the hospital are ofa dynamic organisation with goodsupport. Having lived in Hockley untilthe age of seven, it is – she says – abit like ‘coming home’.

In her free time, she loves cycling butis putting piano lessons on hold untilthere are more hours in her day!

Dr JayashreeThirumal Raj,consultant in obsand gynae, whohas joined ourconsultant bodyafter a few monthsworking with us asa registrar.

Jayashree gained her initial medicalqualification in her native India beforemoving to Germany for her specialisttraining. She worked as a consultantnear Dusseldorf before coming to theUK as her two daughters, now 14 and18, were keen to study here.

She says: “I like everything about thehospital. The midwives and all mycolleagues are excellent.”

Mr SanjayaKalkur,consultantobstetrician andgynaecologistwho has joinedus from Oxfordwhere, on afellowship post,he developed hisspecial interest in gynae-oncology.Sanjaya, whose wife, Pallavi, has alsojoined our staff as a haematologyregistrar, has been struck by the warmand friendly welcome they have found here.

He said: “I am looking forward toworking with the team to developminimally invasive surgery and do thebest for our cancer patients.”

Outside of work, the couple are keptbusy by their two-year-old daughter,Srishti, whose name means ‘creation’.

Dr KieranFernando,consultant insexual health andHIV medicine,who has joined usin his firstconsultant postafter five years at Queen ElizabethHospital, Birmingham.

Kieran's specialist interest in the fieldwas prompted by the multi-systemeffects of diseases like HIV andsyphilis.

He says: "Apart from the medicalcomplications these conditions alsohave socio-psychological implications.Looking after the psychologicalwellbeing of patients living with HIVand keeping them on medication canbe both challenging and rewarding.We need to reach out to thesepatients to help them and reduceonward transmission."

Kieran, who also has a particularinterest in genital dermatology, hasfound a warm welcome from thesexual health team and has beenencouraged by patient feedback.Married to a nurse, he enjoys runningand keeping fit in his spare time.

Farewell to:Sue Mantell,office managerand exec PA in theTrust corporateoffice, who isretiring after a quarter of a century with us to tackle her ever-lengthening ‘to do’ list.

As right-hand woman to a successionof the top brass – three chiefexecutives and four chairmen as wellas various other directors - there is notmuch that has escaped Sue’s noticeover the years. But now she reckonsthe time has come to accompany herhusband, Dave, on some of hisbusiness trips around Europe.

Having completed one degree, she isalso looking forward to going back tostudying with the Open University,decluttering her house, getting downto earth in the garden, embarking ona fitness regime and reviewing her listof future holiday destinations.

Sue says: “I feel very passionate aboutthe hospital. It is a lovely place towork with wonderful people and I willmiss them.”

Sara Brown, who is lookingforward to joiningthe ‘ladies wholunch’ set as wellas spending moretime with hergrandchildrenafter 14 years’service in our main outpatientsreception. She will be greatly missedby colleagues and friends.

Congratulations to:Sister MarionShea, our firstcandidate onAnglia RuskinUniversity’senhancedneonatal practicecourse, whopassed withdistinction. In fact, her dissertation onthe introduction of new ventilation

Welcomes, congratulations and farewells

15

practices for very premature babiesso impressed the examiners that theyadvised her to get it published in oneof the specialist nursing journals.Marion, a neonatal nurse for 16years, is now qualified to interpret X-Rays as well as insert and removelong-term invasive lines from tinybabies. Following her success, shewas promoted to senior sister and isnow looking forward to acting as arole model and encouraging othernurses to undertake the six-months’course. Maureen Barnes, neonatalunit manager, said: “This is anextremely exciting initiative whichcan only enhance links between themedical and nursing teams. We areall extremely proud of Marion andgrateful to our lead consultantneonatologist Dr Arfa Khan who hasplayed a key role in herachievement.”

Kerry Lagden,staff nurse in ourcritical care unit,who helped save a67-year-old manwho collapsedafter a SouthendUnited home game – and received a Policecommendation for her efforts.Lifelong Blues supporter Kerry, whoattended the match with herhusband, didn’t hesitate to assist twopolice officers who were trying toresuscitate the casualty. She said: “Isaw the two officers performing theCPR which can be quite tiring after awhile and offered to help until theparamedics arrived.” Kerryperformed chest compressions forfive to 10 minutes. “It was just luckywe happened to be there at the righttime. It was quite different fromgiving CPR on the ward where youare used to it.” Kerry has sincespoken to her impromptu patient,who has made a good recovery.

Senior clericalofficer JuliaWhite, supersecretary’ toconsultant clinicalbiochemist DrSarah Mapplebeck

(and others), who has gained herNVQ level 3 diploma in business andadministration. It meant a lot ofweekend and evening work but, saysJulia, it is a welcomeacknowledgment of the job she doesday in, day out.

Sarah says: “She works like a trooperand organises me, which is a task initself. She is a total asset to the Trustand the department. I'd be lostwithout her!”

The WET (waste, energy, travel)team for scooping the NewsquestEssex 2012 business environmentalawareness award in ‘large business’class.

Consultantinterventionalradiologist DrMatthew Tamon beingawarded theConstanceThorntonFellowship 2012,a £3,000 research grant from theRoyal College of Radiologists. Thiswelcome boost will help Matthew’splanned research into polymyalgiarheumatic (PMR) in conjunction withProf Bhaskar Dasgupta. It’s been agood year for Matthew: followingthe publication of five peer-reviewedarticles in a number of majorprofessional journals, he is currentlypreparing an education book oninterventional radiology which is duefor publication in 2014. And, in hiscapacity as a council member of theBritish Association of ClinicalAnatomists, he is also hostingdelegates from all over the country ata one-day conference at AngliaRuskin University’s postgraduatemedical institute in December.

All involved in research: we werenamed the best medium-sized acutetrust in the East of England. Andnationally our hospital ranked ninthout of 49 in the same category forrecruiting patients onto clinical trials.

Claire Newnham (neeHammerman)

5 May 1980 – 7 September 2012

Claire first joined us as ajunior physiotherapist inSeptember 2001 and, apart from a shortbreak, worked with the Trust until herdeath. Colleagues remember her as asmiling, happy ‘beautiful girl’ whoalways put patients first. One said:“Claire always put in 100% whether itwas playing tennis in her leisure time orpromoting the physiotherapy input intothe enhanced recovery programme atwork. She touched many people’s lives,both patients and colleagues, with herinfectious enthusiasm for everything shedid. She was an exceptionalphysiotherapist and the most caringperson you would ever hope to meet.

Jenny Thipthorp7 June 195024 September 2012

Jenny, a domestic in our doctors’accommodation,worked for us for nearly13 years before retiringearlier this year. Shesadly died just onemonth later on Elizabeth Loury wardwhere her daughter, Susan Freeman, is astaff nurse. Susan said: “She spent thelast year of her life in and out of Louryand felt very much at home there. Shewas tremendously loved by all the staffthere and respected for her positiveoutlook.”

Known as ‘Mrs Flipflop’ as nursing stafffound her real name a bit of a mouthful,Jenny leaves Susan, daughter Leigh, adomestic on critical care, two sons andsix grandchildren. Her patriotic naturewas reflected at her funeral service witha Union Jack draped coffin and everyoneleaving to ‘Land of hope and glory’.

Christopher Poole 25 December 1946 – 9 October 2012

Chris, one of our valued volunteers,worked first in outpatients as a hospitalguide before transferring to phlebotomywhere he booked in patients and ranerrands for the staff there.

“Nothing was too much trouble for him,and he went above and beyond whatwas needed of him,” says SandieLivermore, phlebotomist supervisor.

Obituaries

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‘The oldest nurse in captivity’is how the awe-inspiring JeanColclough describes herself –having started her nursetraining in September 1956.She is thought to be thelongest-serving nurse in thecountry.Now Jean can hardly walk two pacesdown the corridor without beingstopped by some admirer, eager tocongratulate her following her myriadTV appearances and media fame whichhas spread to even the Pakistani andArabic press.

Jean, whose student wages were aprincely £260 a year, is still goingstrong – walking miles and miles ofcorridor every night as a clinical sitemanager. Extremely reluctantly, she isretiring at the end of the year – andonly because her pension will beadversely affected if she stays.

At nearly 75 and with twice thestamina and energy of those half herage, Jean was not expected to live pastthe age of 40. Just after she qualifiedin 1960, she was in the London ChestHospital to have most of her left lungremoved. Due to the aggressivecondition bronchiectasis, her consultanttold her she would be a ‘respiratorycripple’ by the age of 30.

Just 22 when she qualified andresplendent in her regulation butterflycap, pale blue dress, white apron andblack lace-ups, Jean was desperatelyshy and ‘as green as grass’ – so havingto deliver a bed bath or a urine bottleto young male orthopaedic patientscaused agonies of embarrassment. Shebecame known throughout thehospital as ‘Nurse Urge’ after naivelyasking the whole ward if anyone ‘hadthe urge’, and still remembers thehumiliation of being summoned tosister’s office when she was not nimbleenough on her feet and ended up inthe patient’s bed. She received thestern rebuke: “When young men areconfined to bed, you have to be morevigilant.”

Jean never thought she would ever getthe hang of all those ‘ectomies’ and‘otomies’ but, at the end of hertraining, she was awarded thehospital’s Johnson gold medal forexcellence.

She had originally wanted to train as adoctor, but her parents could notafford the university fees. But now shesays: “I don’t think I could have donebetter than I have done. It’s been lovely– every ward I worked on was the bestplace I had ever been.”

In November 1982, Jean was promotedto night sister. She has never calculated

her weekly mileage as she repeatedlytours the wards and departments but,after bilateral replacements, claims tohave the ‘best set of knees in SouthendHospital’.

It is hard to imagine how she has everfound time to come to work. Whenshe is not in uniform, she runs acatering business – thinking nothing ofproducing a three-course meal for 120.She makes and decorates cakes,teaches cannulation and IV drugadministration to doctors and nurses,gardens, and treads the boards withthe East Essex Players where she alsomakes the costumes. She has recentlycompleted a run in Fawlty Towers atthe Palace Theatre where she broughtthe house down.

Jean says: “My retirement letter wasthe hardest I have ever had to write. Iwas on my own and just sat there andgrizzled. I would happily stay on.

“Fifty-six years is a long time. Juststopping is not going to be easy. Iwould certainly consider coming backon the bank. But first we have to movehouse.”

Friend and colleague for more than 30years, discharge coordinator SandraSteeples, said: “Jean will be so greatlymissed. I wish I could clone her - andbottle her energy!”

”I’m a celebrity…..”

Friday, November 23Environmental road show9am to 2.30pm in the old boardroom; featuring accessories,jewellery and gifts made fromrecycled items, home solar panels,

plants and energy efficientlighting and ethical pamperproducts. Freebies, offers, demosand refreshments.Friday, November 30Maximum Robbie – Top RobbieWilliams tribute, plus supportingacts. 7.30pm til late

At Hullbridge community centre,Pooles Lane Hullbridge in aid ofour Ladybird nursery. Tickets £8.50in advance(www.wegottickets.com orwww.thebrothersduo.co.uk) or £10 on the door.

Diary Dates