The NHS Blood & Transplant Service figures show that 6,122people living in the Exeter area signed up as an organ donorduring the March-September 2011 Echo campaign period – asignificant increase on the 4,900 registrations for the sameperiod in 2010.

n More on page 2

n Pictured: Consultant Anaesthetist Dr Alasdair Dow, RD&E clinical champion for organ donation.

There has been a significant increase in the numberof people from the Exeter area who have signed upto the NHS Organ Donor Register since the RD&Eenlisted the campaign support of the city newspaper.

www.rdehospital.nhs.uk

RD&Enews

Inside

Care closer to home page 3

Fit For The Future 4

Patient safety 6

Staff health &wellbeing 9

Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust staff newsletter Nov/December 2011

Saving lives2

TUNE IN: The inspiring story of RD&E patient Kirstie Mills, now Mrs Tancock, will be aired in a programmecalled Love on the Transplant List on BBC 3 on 28 November at 9pm.

RD&E Dental Nurse Naomi Jones signedup to the national organ donationregister after reading about thecampaign on the Trust intranet.

Naomi, who works in the maxillofacial

outpatients department at Wonford, said:

“Although I have been a regular blood

donor for several years and always want to

help other people, registering as an organ

donor was a natural step to take as I

strongly believe that in the event of

anything happening to me I can play my

part, no matter how big or small, in

potentially saving another person’s life and

they get a good quality of life. I had no

hesitation or reservations to making my

decision and registering. It is important to

pass the message on to as many people as

possible and the awareness continues to

grow about the organ donation and

transplant programme.”

NHS Blood & Transplant organ donation

specialist nurse Chris Chalker said: "With

three people dying everyday it is really

important that people sign up to the NHS

Organ Donor Register and tell their family

their wishes. The Express and Echo has

been working hard to highlight how organ

donation helps to make a difference to

peoples lives and we'd like to thank them

for increasing awareness of this issue.”

n Continued from page 1

The Echo has raised awareness of the need for more donors sothat more patients with chronic health conditions get theopportunity of a transplant and hope of survival. The campaignwas spearheaded by RD&E cystic fibrosis patient Kirstie Mills whois now recovering from having had a life saving lung transplant.

RD&E Organ Donation Committee Chairman Mr Brian Aird said:“Our partnership with the Express and Echo has enabled us toinform and encourage the community to sign up as a donor. Atthe RD&E we also raised awareness among our staff with theorgan donor register being attached to payslips. We hope thatother major employers in the city would consider doing a similarinitiative so that the momentum is kept up.”

For more information or to sign up to join the NHS Organ Donor Register

call 0300 123 2323 or visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk.

The role of carers has been the focus of a campaign recently at the RD&E –with a new Trust policy and introduction of a identity card for carers so theycan benefit from discounts in our cafes and restaurant and also at a glancestaff know why they are on the ward outside normal visiting hours.

Associate Director of Midwifery and Patient Care,Tracey Reeves said:“As part of the RD&E ‘You Matter’ campaign we haveraised the profile of carers and how we can supportand work with them to improve patientexperience in hospital. Carers are a rich sourceof information about the specific needs of theperson they look after so we encouragecolleagues to listen, respect and support carersso that together we can provide qualitypersonalised nursing and treatment of ourpatients.”

carers

m

a t t e r

A new initiative is beinglaunched in East Devonto provide specialistelderly care in patienthomes.

Care closer to home 3

The ‘hospital ward at home’ pilot

will provide care and support to

patients in the comfort and familiar

surroundings of their own homes in

the Woodbury, Exmouth and

Budleigh area, instead of being

admitted in to hospital. The service

will involve a Royal Devon & Exeter

consultant geriatrician.

A range of health and social care

partners will invest the skills of

nurses, doctors, occupational

therapists and community care

workers during the six month trial.

This partnership involves the RD&E,

local GPs, NHS Devon and Devon

County Council.

RD&E Lead consultant geriatrician Dr

Anthony Hemsley said: “Patients with

cognitive impairment and dementia

respond better when their care and

rehabilitation is provided in the

familiar surroundings of their own

homes.

We intend to provide the same quality

of care and consultant involvement

the patient would have received on a

specialist hospital ward, prevent

unnecessary and often stressful

admission to hospital and enable

prompt discharge back home.

“As well as the ‘hospital at home’

pilot, the RD&E has created a short

stay rehabilitation ward (Knapp) to

provide care for up to 18 patients with

short term but intensive rehabilitation

needs and their discharge from this

ward will be directly to their homes.

All of this work has put the patient at

the heart of the development and

delivery of the service. A similar ‘care

closer to home’ approach introduced

for our stroke patients has proven to

be successful and we are hopeful that

likewise this pilot will improve patient

experience and care.”

Dr Sarah Jackson and her team have toured

the hospital raising awareness of Parkinson’s

disease and the importance of recognising that

patients with this illness need their

medication on time – every time.

One in three patients with Parkinson’s disease

are admitted to hospital each year, of which 75%

are emergencies. Their medication is complex

and if people don’t get their medication at the

right time, their needs will increase and they

won’t be able to care for themselves. Parkinson’s

UK has donated a blue folder for each ward,

which will provide an essential resource for

treating patients with this condition.

Fit For The Future4

The Royal Devon & Exeter is piloting a telephonereminder service for patients in a bid to reduce the30,000 hospital clinic appointments not attendedeach year.

The four RD&E specialist services

trialling the telephone reminder

service from 1st December 2011

are diabetes & endocrinology,

paediatrics, orthopaedics and

gastroenterology for their

outpatient clinics.

RD&E Chief Operating Officer Elaine

Hobson said: “We plan our staffing

and use of our clinical departments

and equipment for the anticipated

number of appointments made.

When a patient does not attend or

cancel their appointment we don’t

think it is fair that someone else

was denied the opportunity to have

been seen and there is an

unacceptable financial loss to the

NHS.”

Last year 1,875 patients did

not attend their orthopaedic

clinic appointments, 1,609 in

paediatrics, 1,528 in diabetes

and 1,075 for gastroenterology.

Patients taking part in the three-

month trial will receive a free

automated telephone message

reminder – not a text – a few days

before they are due to come in to

the RD&E. If the automated

approach is not acknowledged,

someone will get in touch with the

patient to remind them about their

appointment and give the option of

confirming, cancelling or re-

arranging the date. The Trust has

commissioned 360CRM to provide

the reminder service.

If the pilot is successful the Trust

will consider adopting the

reminder service across other

clinical services.

The RD&E Service Development team can:provide coaching and training to help colleagues work throughprojects and changes

offer a range of tools and techniques such as value stream mapping

guide you on how to plan a test of change

improve understanding of demand and capacity

We are part of the ‘Fit For The Future’ team and work closely with theProgramme Management Office.

You can find out more on our IaN pages or call on ext 6953.

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Fit For The Future 5

A display with mannequinsshowed:

the current linen cloth gown –

which costs about £6 to buy

and re-launder; and each year

costs the local NHS about

£30,000 to replace them when

patients take them home and

the gowns are not returned

a disposable gown which only

costs about £1 to purchase

without re-laundering costs

a much cheaper disposable

gown which the trust would not

consider using because they are

not hard wearing enough to

ensure privacy and dignity

Members had their say:

27 members supported the

disposable cheaper alternative

feeling it made sense in the

current financial climate and was

‘adequate for emergency

situations;’ though some likened

the material to a cheap dishcloth.

18 members preferred the

current linen gown feeling it

was more dignified and

comfortable to wear and ‘less

alien’ that personal nightwear.

It was also suggested that a

choice of bed wear could be

sold in the main concourse if

patients wished to wear

something else.

Everyone agreed the paper thin

disposable cheapest gown was a

non-starter

The feedback has been shared as

part of the ‘Fit For The Future’

savings programme review work.

*This review does not apply to

hospital gowns routinely given for

elective procedures. It is for those

patients who are admitted as

emergencies without the

appropriate personal belongings

for a hospital stay.

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The piloted new non-clinicalward support roles will beadopted across the RD&EWonford hospital from March2012.

This follows a successful 13-

week test of change on Dart,

Knapp, Okement and Yeo wards

of the Ward Housekeeper

(formerly known as Modern

Housekeeper), the Catering

Assistant and a re-designed

Domestic Assistant role, as part

of the Fit For The Future

programme. This achievement

was marked with a celebratory

event for those colleagues who

were involved in this pilot led

by Hazel Hedicker (pictured

cutting the cake).

Nursing & Midwifery teams will

be able to keep up to date with

the on going service re-design

work and changes at the RD&E

by reading a new bi-monthly

newsletter being launched

soon. ‘The Grapevine’ will be

distributed to clinical areas and

will encourage two way

communication. The editor is

Nolwenn Luke.

Local people attending a recent Members Sayevent hosted by the RD&E were asked for theirviews on a proposal to replace linen hospital nightgowns, given to emergency admission patients,with a cheaper and disposable alternative.

Patient safety6

All of us working in healthcare have aresponsibility and duty of care to keepour patients safe.

Patients and their families place their

trust and confidence in us to ensure that

we all maintain high standards at all

times, follow the correct protocols and

good practice; and perform the right

surgical or interventional procedure on

the right patient, in the right place every

time.

When mistakes happen they can have

devastating consequences for the patient,

the staff team involved; and the Trust and

NHS in terms of public confidence.

At the RD&E there has been a clinically-

led review of the Trust’s Correct Site

Surgery Policy (2008) which has taken into

account national and international best

practice, including the World Health

Organisation (WHO) Checklist and

National Patient Safety Agency alerts.

The new Safe Surgery & Interventional

Procedures Policy is in place and we

expect all staff on the wards and in

theatres to rigorously follow the

procedures set out in it.

The RD&E launch of the Safe Surgery & InterventionalProcedures Policy included:

n Trust Executives and senior managers and matrons being

hosted by colleagues in Colleagues in the eye,

orthopaedic, general and child and women’s health

theatres to discuss our commitment to maintaining high

patient safety in theatres and on wards (Pictured

Director of Nursing Em Wilkinson-Brice and Joint Medical

Director Dr Vaughan Lewis on a visit)

n Over 70 colleagues attended a policy launch in Peninsula

Medical School

n An information display in Oasis promoting the policy and

good practice including

Patient safety 7

www.rdehospital.nhs.uk

A key aspect of this policy is the

requirement for all staff to demonstrate

fundamental behaviours to keep our

patients safe –

To work and communicate as a team

To have the courage to protect patients

and colleagues by speaking out if they

have any concerns regarding patient

safety

To receive challenge from a colleague

in a positive professional manner,

giving the concerns others may have

due consideration

We have immensely dedicated and skilled

staff at the RD&E who have already made

good strides in improving the ways we

work and patient safety. This policy does

not just apply to activity in theatres and

on wards, there are also specialist

interventional services such as cardiology

and radiology which need to follow the

protocols and procedures set out in it.

We owe it to our patients, their families

and ourselves to know and follow the Safe

Surgery & Interventional Procedures Policy

every time.

Mr Martin Cooper

Joint Medical Director

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We, along with the rest of the Devon health and social carecommunity, are seeing increased evidence of the highlyinfectious viral gastroenteritis bug Norovirus.

The Trust infection control service has reviewed recent Norovirusoutbreaks at the RD&E since the summer and revised guidance toall staff on the prevention and management of this bug.

It is essential that all Trust staff are familiar with and follow thecontrol measure guidance which can be viewed and downloadedfrom IaN. Colleagues without easy access to a computer in workshould be given the guidance from their supervisors or managers.

Colleagues should note that the new guidance has a significantchange concerning closure of wards when norovirus has beenidentified and spread has occurred to at least one other patient.There is 90% chance that even if only one bay appears to beaffected initially that the virus will spread to other bays.Therefore, in most cases, there will be no patient admissions tothat entire ward.

The anticipated benefit of this approach will be:n When planned discharges are realised there will be a reduced

number of patients at risk on the ward n With fewer patients to become exposed/infected, the

duration of the outbreak will be shorter with fewer bed dayslost

n reduced complaints from patients or their families about beingadmitted to an infected ward area.

This change will be closely monitored for its effectiveness interms of infection control management and the impact on bedcapacity.

Achievements8

All RD&E staff will shortly be receiving their

own personal Safety Passport or ‘clinical and

safety passport’ depending on their role in the

organisation.

These passports have been developed by NHS

organisations across Devon with the idea that

you will be able, if required, to show your

current training record and competencies

achieved to date in order to avoid duplication of

training. These passports are being rolled out to

all NHS staff across Devon and have been

printed by the Strategic Health Authority.

It is your own personal property and doesn’t

replace the need for training records to be held

centrally on ESR. Staff will use the passports in

different ways depending on their own

individual need e.g. if you work for more than

one NHS organisation in Devon your essential

training records will be recognised on

production of a verified passport, so you will

only need to cover the local application as

required. The passport could be used as

evidence at your PDR / appraisal meeting.

If you are moving NHS organisations in Devon,

you will be able to show through the

recruitment process that you are up to date

with essential learning / relevant competencies

and won’t need to repeat it again on arrival in

the new organisation.

Various methods are being used to get the

passports out to everyone and you should be in

receipt of your copy shortly. If your passport

doesn’t arrive with you in the next few weeks

or you would like it sooner contact

Alison Copp on ext 3001 or email:

Alison.copp@rdeft.nhs.uk

Congratulations to Clare McAdam

and the Perinatal Mental Health

Team on winning the ‘Raising

Standards’ award for excellence in

delivery of care and support as

part of the Devon Partnership NHS

Trust’s Celebrating Achievement

Awards 2011.

The team work with women with mental health concerns

in pregnancy to promote wellness in the months leading

up to birth so as to improve outcomes and reduce the

risk of further problems for these women and their new

babies after they are born. The team are thought to the

only one in the country specialising in providing this

specialist collaborative service between mental health

and maternity and are a great example of how

partnership working can benefit patient care.

Congratulations to Nigel

Lawrence, Assistant Directorate

Manager and Lead Nurse for

Children, on the successful

completion of his MSc.

Director of Nursing & Patient

Care, Em Wilkinson-Brice said:

“Nigel is one of those people who

will never shout about his own successes and so it is with

absolute pleasure that I am ‘exposing’ his achievement

of gaining distinction in a Masters in Integrated Health

from Plymouth University. Many congratulations Nigel!”

Nigel said: “I had a brilliant time over the four years

completing the MSc, and appreciate the support my

managers, colleagues, and the Trust gave me in

completing the programme. The amount of commitment

required was a challenge, but was made worthwhile by

the sense of achievement when I achieved the award.”

The new unit was designed to improve access for patients who often need to attend appointmentsfor both services and provide a more joined-up approach to their care with improvedcommunication between the teams.

There are four Pain Management clinic

rooms within the unit and a dedicated

procedure room where patients have

injections and other surgical procedures to

help reduce and manage their pain. The

Pain Management service delivers around

3,700 outpatient appointments and 800 day

case procedures a year, as well as running

regular pain management programmes and

information sessions.

The Physiotherapy unit features a large

treatment area with treatment bays, as

well as a gym and astro-turf area for the

rehabilitation of patients attending the

15,000 appointments offered there a year.

The additional patient and staff education

areas have also allowed treatments to be

developed further.

Rupert Broomby, Consultant in Anaesthesia

and Pain Management, said: “The new unit has

been a great improvement, both for staff in

terms of a single dedicated place of work with

enhanced liaison between teams, but more

importantly, providing patients with improved

facilities that are easier to access, and which

allow us to offer improved treatments and

therapies.”

Improving patient care 9

www.rdehospital.nhs.uk

Massage & Wellbeing Centre

Reiki Rosie 07814 529674 Acupuncture Claire 07711 323796 Homeopathy Jackie 07779 012725

Body Stress Release

Hugh

07941 612419 Cranio Sacral Therapy

Brad

07967 972707

Deep Tissue Massage

Joanne

07771 227462

10% discount for all NHS employees

18 Gandy St Exeter EX4 3LS Tel: 01392 258855

www.massageandwellbeing.co.uk enquiries@massageandwellbeing.co.uk

Gandy St Exeter EXTel: 01392 258855

The RD&E Joint Pain Management & Physiotherapy Unit was officiallyopened at the Heavitree site by Trust Chairman Angela Ballatti, whodescribed the relocated outpatient services as ‘a first class environment tobe proud of.’

Staff health & wellbeing10

Lounge | Dining | Bedroom | KitchenOnly 15 minutes from Exeter down the A38

5% Discount for all NHS Staff. NHS ID Card must be provided

Heathfield, Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, TQ12 6RY www.prestigefurniture.co.uk

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01626 830707For more information cal l

NHS Special - Buy a Jerez table with these 6 chairs and ONLY PAY FOR 5

Uniform Issues &Sewing RoomNeed a new or replacement nursingor medical staff uniform? Downloada Uniform Issue form from our pageson IaN and when authorised by yourmanager, send it to the Sewing Roomand we will despatch the items toyour ward or department.

Dry Cleaning ShopTrust staff receive a discount onthe professional quality drycleaning, washing and pressingservice provided in-house. We cando suits, trousers, dresses, skirts,ball gowns, wedding dresses andhousehold items like curtains andfurniture covers. Sorry we do notprovide an ironing service.

Our shop is at the front of theLaundry building. Dry cleaning pricesare on IaN. Check the garment labelsfirst and if in doubt give Janet ashout on ext 3076

Help join the fight against Flu bytaking part in the SeasonalImmunisation programme for RD&Estaff. The vaccination is especiallyaimed at front line staff and thosemost at risk, although anyone iseligible to receive the jab.

Vaccination sessions are taking place around the Trust, or with PeerVaccinators in clinical directorates. Look out for latest dates andclinic locations on posters and on IaN.

Common myths

Healthy people don’t get seasonal flu – FALSE! – Anyone can pickup the virus

The side effects of the vaccination are bad – FALSE! – Sideeffects are mainly mild or non-existent

The flu jab isn’t safe – FALSE! – The risk of having a seriousreaction is less than one in a million

The flu jab can give you the flu – FALSE! – It is impossible to getflu from the jab as it does not contain live viruses. The mildsymptoms you may experience are just your body’s immunesystem responding to what it thinks is flu

This illness is preventable. By getting the vaccination you willnot only be protecting yourself, but also your families, yourpatients and the services you provide.

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Staff health & wellbeing 11

www.rdehospital.nhs.uk

The RD&E Improving Working LivesLottery Committee invite colleagues to

take part in The Christmas CakeDecorating Competition &

The Grand ChristmasSuper Draw 2011

Both annual festive activities will take place onFriday 16 December in Oasis restaurant at Wonford.

Cake Decorating CompetitionThe competition is open to all members of staff to

display a one-tier Christmas cake in either Royal

Icing or sugar paste. The cake will not be tasted.

Cakes can be either traditional or novelty and

prizes will be awarded for first, second and third

place winners. Judging starts at 9.30am with

winners announced after the Grand Christmas

Super Draw at 10.30am.

For further details and an entry form pleasecontact Marie Taylor on ext 4551 or viamarie.taylor2@rdeft.nhs.uk

We would welcome your entries as soon aspossible but the final date for entering is Monday12th December.

Grand Christmas Super DrawBefore the draw children from First Steps nursery

will sing to get us in the festive spirit.

The first draw prize will be an estimated£3000* with further prizes of £600, £300 andsix prizes of £100.

To be in with a chance to win, you must have

joined the Lottery by 9 December. See our IaN

page for how to join.

* the lottery figure is an estimate based on

previous figures and numbers of participants,

final jackpot figure will be announced prior to the

lottery draw.

Other news12

Neonatal Unit matron Louise Ratterbury had as much fun asformer patients on an art workshop with Exeter HealthcareArts and local artist Catherine Cartwright. The unique art workwas created by youngsters aged from six months to 15 yearsold and will brighten up for unit for parents and staff.

Colleagues from the RD&E respiratory team, as well asrepresentatives from the British Lung Foundation and BLFBreathe Easy East Devon, helped raise awareness aboutPulmonary Fibrosis, by creating the first ever Fibrosis Dayin October with an information display in the Oasisrestaurant and leaflet advice. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressivelung disease which currently has no known cause or cure. Itgenerally affects people in middle age (usually aged 50+) andis becoming increasingly common, especially among men.

The ‘Antibiotic Stewardship’ team toured the Trust onFriday 18 November raising awareness about theserious issue of responsible antibiotic prescribing.

The number of infections due to antibiotic-resistantbacteria is growing globally and is related to the over-use of antibiotics and inappropriate prescribing. It isessential that all antibiotic prescribers and dispensersconsider both their clinical responsibility to provideoptimal patient care and a public health responsibilityto minimise the emergence and spread of resistantorganisms.

The team has produced a safety briefing for staff,which is on IaN.

The Peninsula Clinical Research Facility at the RD&E iscurrently recruiting volunteers into the Exeter 10000project. The project aims to improve the diagnosis andtreatment for common conditions such as diabetes andheart disease. Over the last two years 4,000 people havekindly volunteered. Over the next three years we need torecruit a further 6,000.

Anyone over 18 years of age, whatever your healthcondition, can take part.

Being involved couldn’t be easier we simply need you toattend a 30 minute appointment when we will take bloodpressure, height, weight, hip and waist measurements;answer some health questions and provide a blood/urinesample.

Half of your blood sample is used for routine health checks,such as cholesterol and diabetes screening and the otherhalf is stored anonymously to be used for medical research.If you wish, the results of your blood tests can be sent toyou and your GP.

To make an appointment, call 01392 406769 weekdays,8.30am – 4pm. More information about the project isavailable at www.peninsulacrf.org/node/155

There was a modest take up of the bus service to thisadditional stop which unfortunately cannot be financiallysustained so the PR3 bus service run to Heavitree will cease on30 December 2011. The service will continue after 30December to operate from the Digby site to Wonford hospital.The timetable from 02 January 2012 can be found on IaN. Ifyou have any questions or queries please contact the CarParking department on rh8.carparking@nhs.net

The pilot for the dedicated hospital parkand ride bus service to include the RD&EHeavitree site has been reviewed.

Four external assessors spoke to 90 women about theinformation and support they received about feeding theirbabies. Further training will be held over the coming monthsto address five remaining criteria to be met. The InfantFeeding Co-ordinators would like to thank everyone for theirhard work and commitment to ensuring women get highquality care and support on this issue.

The RD&E maternity service, birth andneonatal units have been assessed forUNICEF Baby Friendly Accreditation andpassed with excellent results.