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It has been six months since the newGrosvenor Wing entrance opened its doors. The modern acilities and environment,together with the external gardens, have

made a huge dierence to the way peopleview St George’s. First impressions really docount and, judging by the number o positivecomments I have received since March, thenew entrance is proving a real asset.

 The confdence o our patients can only beenhanced i they are welcomed by a clean andmodern environment. But that’s just the start. The experience must be carried through ourcorridors and on to our wards. Simple things,such as how sta talk to colleagues andpatients, make a lasting impression.

Improving the patient experience

 The importance o the patient experiencewas underlined by Proessor Dame ChristineBeasley, Chie Nurse or England, who recentlycame to St George’s to present at a nursingseminar. In her presentation, Christine spokeabout how the NHS consistently perorms wellon saety and eectiveness, but still needsto do better when it comes to the patientexperience.

Christine was visiting the Trust at theinvitation o Geraldine Walters, Director o 

Nursing, Patient Involvement and InectionControl. Geraldine has spent the last fve yearsdedicated to improving the experience o patients at St George’s and has now decided

that the time is right to move on to a newchallenge at King’s. She leaves with our verybest wishes and our thanks or all o herachievements, in particular the work she hasled to successully drive down the number o hospital-acquired inections at the Trust. 

Ongoing improvements

I am sure colleagues will have noticed themajor building works outside the St James’Wing. Earlier this year, the Trust was successulin obtaining unding rom the Strategic HealthAuthority to purchase a modular ward, which

will allow the creation o single sex medicaladmissions units.

I know that sta have worked hard to try andmaintain single sex acilities, but this is otendifcult to achieve when balanced against theneed to isolate patients with inections andmaintain A&E targets. The new modular wardwill help us to raise standards o privacy anddignity. Good team work and co-operationbetween sta has enabled us to produce anew 15-bed ward in less than six months andmy congratulations go to all o those involvedin this project.

Making a positive impression

 The monthly sta briefng

rom the Chie Executive August 2009

Our values +  Treat all

people with respect and

dignity + Deliver care in

partnership with others 

+ Continually strive or

excellence + Ensure

probity and transparency

in spending public money 

+ Be an exemplary

employer + Be committed

to education, training and

research + Be open and

honest with each other

Dear colleague,

One Message

Pic left to right: David Astley, Chief Executive; Professor Dame Christine

Beasley, Chief Nurse for England; Geraldine Walters, Director of Nursing. 

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A centre o excellence

All o this new work is helping to enhanceSt George’s reputation as a centre o excellence. This was urther underlined by

the announcement by Healthcare or Londonin July that the Trust is to become a majortrauma centre and hyper-acute stroke unit.

By becoming a major trauma centre, StGeorge’s will be at the heart o a clinicalnetwork that stretches into the HomeCounties, serving over two million people. Thechanges mean that the most serious traumacases will have rapid access to specialistservices, helping to improve patient care andsave lives.

As a hyper-acute stroke unit, St George’s

will provide expert emergency care tostroke patients, which will include access toa CT scan and thrombolysis (clot-bustingdrugs), i appropriate, within 30 minutes.Once stabilised, patients will be moved tothe stroke unit or to a local hospital closerto home. The announcement will enable StGeorge’s to enhance its already leading edgestroke services.

While trauma and stroke haveunderstandably dominated the agenda inrecent months, they are only part o the St

George’s success story. The Trust’s annualreport, due to be published later this month,includes many examples o outstandingclinical practice across the organisation. Thereport takes as its theme the 24/7 nature o St George’s service, and highlights a range o activities including paediatrics, rehabilitation,simulation training and cancer surgery.

In order to deliver our range o expertservices, St George’s needs high calibre sta.It is only through your extraordinary eortsthat the Trust continues to go rom strengthto strength.

Answering Mayday’s call 

A fre at Mayday Hospital recently saw StGeorge’s come to the rescue and oertreatment and support to patients diverted

rom Croydon to Tooting. This was a greatexample o how the NHS pulls together intimes o crisis. Working with colleagues romthe Mayday, we were able to ensure thatpatients continued to have access to hospitalservices in south west London.

Spreading the word

I think it’s air to say that in the past mucho St George’s good work went unnoticedoutside the walls o the Trust. I am delightedto say that things are changing and the Trustis now regularly achieving positive news

coverage across local and national media.Some examples o our work that have beeneatured in the media include robotic surgery,A&E and cardiology. This coverage notonly helps to raise the general profle o StGeorge’s, it also means that the public is ableto gain a better understanding o the rangeo expert services we provide.

Media coverage is one way in which wecan ensure our voice is heard, but there areothers.We are exploring alternative wayso reaching a wider audience, includingengaging with social media. I am pleased tobe the frst to tell sta that St George’s hasrecently launched a Facebook page and isalso on Twitter.

I you know o any interesting work that isgoing on in the Trust I would encourage youto share this inormation with the Trust’sCommunications Unit, which is working tospread the St George’s message.

David AstleyChie Executive

Our values +  Treat all

people with respect and

dignity + Deliver care in

partnership with others 

+ Continually strive or

excellence + Ensure

probity and transparency

in spending public money 

+ Be an exemplary

employer + Be committed

to education, training and

research + Be open and

honest with each other

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