Healthcare Keeping you up to date with what’s happening across Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf

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Issue 1: April 2013

Chief Executive’s note

Welcome to the very first edition of Your Healthcare - our e-newsletter which will help you stay in touch with all the changes and developments to healthcare services across Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf. To be sure you don’t miss out on future editions please register your details here to get your very own copy direct to your inbox. I hope that you find our e-newsletter useful and interesting and if you have any ideas for future editions please email our communications team. Thanks Allison Chief Executive Cwm Taf Health Board

Royal Glamorgan Hospital: 01443 443 443

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CONTENTS

Cwm Taf measles vaccination programme targets schools Measles – what you need to know Deputy medical director appeals for more blood donors £1m state-of-the-art radiology “theatre” opens at Royal Glamorgan Hospital Pharmacists to visit patients at home to help them use medicines properly and prevent med-icines waste Innovative steps to improve patient care taken at Cwm Taf Premiere for interactive film to guide cancer patients through hospital treatment Crystal Trophy for outstanding community projects Merthyr Tydfil to get re-vamped dialysis unit

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Cwm Taf measles vaccination programme targets schools A measles vaccination catch up programme across Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf will focus on the need for older, secondary school age children who have missed one or both doses of MMR to come for-ward. Data has been produced from the Child Health Surveillance records for each health board area detailing MMR take up allowing health boards to identi-fy which schools to target. The programme across Cwm Taf will initially target schools with children of 11 years of age or older where the level of vac-cine protection is at its lowest. Those schools have been iden-tified as: Cyfarthfa High School Bishop Hedley High School Porth County Comprehen-

sive Mountain Ash Comprehen-sive School

School based clinics have been set up to encourage maximum uptake and reduce inconven-

ience to parents or carers who would otherwise have to make appointments at GP surgeries and take time off work. There is also the additional peace of mind for many parents who have children with important examinations coming up that their child is fully protected. Consent forms will be sent to parents and carers of those pupils who are not fully protect-ed. Parents and carers are being strongly urged to sign and return the forms as soon as possible. Nicola John, Cwm Taf Health Board’s director of Public Health, said: “Although the measles outbreak is centred on Swansea it does continue to grow. We have confirmed two cases in the Merthyr Tydfil area - we don’t want to see measles spreading any further. “In the first instance it’s im-portant that we focus on those schools were immunisation lev-els are lowest. These are Cy-farthfa High School, Bishop Hedley High School, Porth County Comprehensive and

Mountain Ash Comprehensive. “A consent form to receive the MMR vaccine will be sent out to all parents and carers with chil-dren who are not fully immun-ised, attending these schools over the next few days. We would urge those parents to sign and return their consent form to their school to ensure their child can receive the MMR vaccine. “It is imperative that children are protected against measles if we are to stop this outbreak spreading further.” Public Health Wales is urging parents to work with health pro-fessionals and schools to en-sure their children are vaccinat-ed against measles, mumps and rubella. The measles virus has continued to circulate and spread amongst school children throughout the holiday period and now that they are returning to school, measles is expected to spread further amongst those susceptible. All health boards across Wales are developing plans actively to

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Measles – what you need to know

vaccinate unprotected children and young people and to pro-vide rapid implementation of school based immunisation in response to cases and out-breaks.

rash of tiny, red or brown spots breaks out. This rash starts at the head and spreads to the rest of the body. It can last for a week and coughing can last for 10 days. Some children who get measles also get diarrhoea or ear infections. Children who get measles can be off school for 10 days or more and, in some cases, they may need to be admitted to hospital. What do I do if I think my child has measles? If you suspect measles (you or your child has the symptoms described above) contact your GP surgery and tell them you or your child has a rash illness before attending so arrange-ments can be made to minimise contact with other vulnerable patients. Please remember the GP out of hours service, which operates on weekday evenings and at weekends, is for urgent health problems only; information and advice about measles and its symptoms is available from NHS Direct Wales by calling 0845 46 47. Anyone with measles should be closely monitored for complica-tions. Hospital treatment may be required if serious complica-tions develop. One to three out of every 5,000 children in the UK who get measles will die from the disease, even with the best care. The MMR jab is the most effective and safest way to protect children against measles. How do I protect myself and my children against measles? Measles can be

prevented by a highly effective and safe vaccine. This is part of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) immunisation. A complete course of the two doses will protect more than 95% of children against mea-sles, mumps and rubella. The current immunisation schedule recommends one dose to be given at around 13 months and a second dose given at be-tween three and five years of age. The MMR vaccine has been used for nearly 30 years (it was introduced in the US in the 1970s), is currently used in more than 100 countries, and more than 500 million doses have been given. Studies from around the world have shown MMR to be a high-ly effective vaccine, with an excellent safety record. Uptake of MMR in both Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf is relatively high but there are many children who have either not had the jab or have had only one dose. Where can I get vaccinated in Cwm Taf Health Board? Vaccination is available via your normal GP surgery. Front-line NHS staff in Cwm Taf Health Board area can contact occupational health for vaccina-tion.

What is measles? Measles is a highly-infectious illness, which is caught through direct contact with an infected person or through the air via coughs or sneezes. Measles mainly affects young children, but can be caught at any age. Having measles once usually confers lifelong immuni-ty to catching it again. Measles can be a very serious disease and cause severe, even life-threatening, complica-tions. In the UK, complications are quite common even in healthy people and approxi-mately 20% of reported mea-sles cases experience one or more complication. Complications are more com-mon among children under five, those with weakened immune systems, children with a poor diet and adults. Catching mea-sles in pregnancy can cause miscarriage, premature labour or a baby with a low birth weight. Before the introduction of mea-sles vaccination in 1968, around 100 children a year in England and Wales died from the disease. What are the symptoms of measles? Measles starts with a fever, which can get very high. Soon after, it causes a cough, runny nose, and red eyes. About four days after infection a

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CWM TAF Health Board’s dep-uty medical director has made an emotional plea for more people to donate blood. In a video message, Dr Richard Quirke explained how a mem-ber of his family has had regu-lar blood transfusions as part of his ongoing cancer treatment. The short film, which is broad-cast on Cwm Taf Health Board’s YouTube channel, will also be used to promote blood donation among students at-tending Scottish universities – a recruitment drive masterminded by Dr Quirke’s nephew Eoin Greensmyth. Dr Quirke, a GP, said: “A close member of my family has re-quired regular, sometimes weekly, blood transfusions, par-ticularly over the last 12 months because he is suffering from a blood cancer. “This has made me even more

aware of the importance of the blood transfusion services throughout the UK because there’s no doubt that without their services he would not be with us today.” He also appeals for more peo-ple to sign up as potential bone marrow donors, explaining just 30% of stem cell transplants – a form of therapy for some blood cancers, such as leukae-mia – come from a patient’s close family. “Thank you for giving blood,” Dr Quirke added. “You never know when you, a close friend or member of your family will re-quire blood.” Dr Geoff Poole, director of the Welsh Blood Service said: “We’d like to thank Dr Quirke for his message of support to encourage more blood donors to come forward and donate. We are 100% reliant on the generosity of volunteers to ena-

ble us to supply our Welsh hos-pitals with whatever blood prod-ucts they require.” For more information about do-nating blood contact the Welsh Blood Service on 0800 25 22 66 or visit www.welsh-blood.org.uk The video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/L64UuCx03CY

Deputy medical director appeals for more blood donors

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£1m state-of-the-art radiology “theatre” opens at Royal Glamorgan Hospital A £1m state-of-the-art theatre at the Royal Glamorgan Hospi-tal opened today (April 9) for patients who need diagnostic and interventional radiology. The new theatre will allow high-ly-skilled radiologists to carry out cutting-edge procedures on patients using sophisticated imaging techniques, with real-time x-ray and focused CT scanning. The investment by Cwm Taf Health Board in the intervention room follows the completion of the new £2m MRI suite at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. The new facility will significantly improve the quality of imaging and therefore the treatment of patients. Dr Phillip Wardle, clinical direc-tor of radiology at Cwm Taf

Health Board, said: “The new theatre will provide us with much better image quality than was previously possible allow-ing us to see smaller things inside the body, which will ena-ble us to do more and increase diagnostic and therapeutic con-fidence. “Better imaging quality will ena-ble us to push the boundaries a bit more and hopefully provide faster treatment for patients.” Radiology, which includes MRI, CT, ultrasound scanning and x-ray, is used to help diagnose and treat conditions. Interven-tional radiology is the use of imaging techniques to, among other procedures, insert such devices as balloons and stents to open blockages in blood ves-sels and administer pain relief injections. The new intervention room will

ensure procedures such as EVAR – endovascular aortic repair – for patients who have an abdominal aortic aneurism and ERCP – endoscopic retro-grade cholangiopancreatog-raphy – to look at the pancreas and bile duct and remove gall-stones, can be carried out us-ing state-of-the-art equipment. It will also be used for all mus-culoskeletal interventions, in-cluding pain relief injections. Dr Wardle added: “We have been carrying out interventional radiology procedures for many years at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital but the refurbishment of this room and the investment in the new equipment will mean it is now fit for purpose.”

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PHARMACISTS will be able to visit patients at home to help ensure people are taking the right prescription medicines. The new service, which is avail-able to people who are house-bound and live in parts of Rhondda Cynon Taf and Mer-thyr Tydfil, is an extension of the regular medicines use re-view service. Pharmacists across Cwm Taf Health Board have been provid-ing a medicines use review ser-vice from community pharma-cies since 2005. But they are now able to offer a home visit to people who can’t get to their local pharmacy. Medicines use reviews are available to people who regu-larly take more than two pre-scription medicines or to people who are taking medicines for a long-term illness, such as asth-ma, arthritis or diabetes. Emma Hinks, Cwm Taf Health

Board’s community pharmacy facilitator, said: “The review involves an appointment with a pharmacist at your local phar-macy to focus on how you are getting on with your medicines. “It is designed to help you to find out more about the medi-cines you’re taking and to pick up any problems you may be having with your medicines. “They can also help improve the effectiveness of your medi-cines because there may be easier ways to take them or you may find you need fewer medi-cines than before.” Medicines use reviews also help the NHS as they help pre-vent prescription waste by en-suring the right medicines are being prescribed and they are being taken properly. Emma added: “If you are una-ble to attend the pharmacy for a medicines use review appoint-ment because you are house-

bound, your pharmacist may be able to visit you at home. “If you feel that a review would help you understand more about your medicines, then please contact your community pharmacist for more infor-mation. “Remember you can ask your pharmacist questions at any time, but a review will give you both more time to concentrate on you and your medicines.”

Pharmacists to visit patients at home to help them use medicines properly and prevent medicines waste

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Innovative steps to improve patient care taken at Cwm Taf The care of patients with de-mentia has taken a significant step forward with the roll out of an innovative new scheme across Cwm Taf Health Board. All adult wards at Prince Charles Hospital, in Merthyr Tydfil and Royal Glamorgan Hospital, in Llantrisant are now using the This is Me leaflet for patients with dementia, confu-sion or memory loss. The ‘This is Me’ leaflet provides a ‘snapshot’ of the person, giv-ing information about them as an individual, including their needs, preferences, likes, dis-likes and interests. A DVD has also been produced and is used during staff training sessions to illustrate the power of using ‘This is Me’. The leaf-let is also available in Welsh - ‘Dyma Pwy Ydw’ - to ensure the linguistic needs of our Welsh speaking patients are met. The leaflet, which was initially

designed by the Alzheimer’s Society, has been adapted and further developed by Cwm Taf Health Board. Angela Hopkins, director of nursing at Cwm Taf Health Board, said: “A person’s dignity contributes to their sense of good health, well being and independence. This leaflet takes a significant step towards ensuring patients’ needs are being recognised.” This is Me was a winner at the Welsh Language in Healthcare Awards last year. Rebecca Thomas, the transforming care facilitator at Cwm Taf Health Board, said: “It is great to have this work recognised at a na-tional level as it is so important to patients experience and en-sure the highest standards of care are maintained. “It also ensures that carers and relatives are involved in the care planning of their loved ones.”

As well as the ‘This is Me’ leaf-let, all wards in Cwm Taf Health Board use a picture of a forget-me-not as a visual cue to identi-fy patients who have the leaflet. Bilingual patients will have two magnets against their name - the Iaith Gwaith logo and the forget-me-not. Posters have been developed to inform the public and to raise awareness that the wards are using the leaflet. Relatives and carers have re-ported that they feel included in their loved ones’ treatment and feel reassured nurses care about the patient and their fami-ly. The health board now plans to further adapt the leaflet prior to its introduction into paediatric care. As children are another vulnerable patient group, This is Me will enhance their nursing care by ensuring their individual needs are also met.

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Premiere for interactive film to guide cancer patients through hospital treatment FIRST Minister Carwyn Jones recalled the death of his great-grandfather in 1936 as he launched a ground-breaking interactive patient DVD about bowel cancer. Speaking on his first visit to Prince Charles Hospital, in Mer-

thyr Tydfil, he contrasted the new film, which was shot in the hospital, to the paucity of infor-mation available when his an-cestor was diagnosed with can-cer. “It wasn’t that long ago that pa-tients didn’t get much infor-mation about their conditions and they didn’t ask,” he said. “My great-grandfather went into hospital for an operation on some kind of cancer in 1936 and six weeks later he died. “My grandmother died two months ago – between then and 1936 she had no idea what

he died of. When I said why didn’t she ask, she said it was-n’t her place to. “We now know that the more information people have, the less frightened they are. It gives me great pleasure to be at Prince Charles Hospital to

launch these DVDs – they are the culmination of the process of change from 1936 to 2013.” The first DVD guides patients through their cancer treatment before they are admitted to hospital, introducing patients with suspected colorectal can-cer to the clinicians who will care for them in hospital and to the treatment they will undergo. It also includes a range of inter-active features to help patients fully understand what will hap-pen and their treatment. It is hoped the film will help alleviate some of their anxiety about be-ing diagnosed and treated for bowel cancer. Filmed at Prince Charles Hospi-tal, in Merthyr Tydfil, by

DigiMed, the DVD follows pa-tients on their journey through their hospital stay and their re-covery from surgery, providing a step-by-step visual guide through diagnosis and treat-ment. A second, shorter film explains the early or enhanced recovery after surgery programme (ERAS), a programme of inno-vations and development in pre and post-operative care, which allow patients to safely go home within 48 to 72 hours af-ter undergoing bowel surgery. Leading laparoscopic colorectal surgeon Professor PN Haray, who devised the films, said: “The colorectal cancer patient DVD will be given to people who have been diagnosed with bowel cancer or are strongly suspected to have it, before they come to hospital. “This can be a very difficult time, not just for the patient themselves, but also for their family. We created this film, which takes them through the process of investigations, tests and treatment, to support them. “This film has been made pos-sible by the help of many staff and patients at Prince Charles Hospital and I hope it gives people an insight into what to expect when they are being diagnosed and treated for bow-el cancer.” Graham Clarke, a patient who has been treated by the team at

“We now know that the more in-formation people have, the less frightened they are.”

Carwyn Jones, First Minister

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“We created this film, which takes them through the process of inves-tigations, tests and treatment, to support them.”

Prince Charles Hospital, said: “They gave me a DVD to look at. There is lots of information, which is really good from my perspective, as I felt the more I have on this matter, the clearer picture I have of it and that will hopefully give me much more confidence.” And Kay Rees, a patient who is featured in the film, said: “I’m looking forward to being fit and healthy, that's my main thing - eat well, sleep well and enjoy my life because I’ve been given it back.” This is the second version of the colorectal cancer DVD to be made and covers updates in treatment and techniques, as well as introducing patients to new members of staff at Prince Charles Hospital who will be involved in their treatment. The original film, which was also made by DigiMed, was launched five years ago and won an NHS Wales Award and a UK-wide Patient Experience award. David Brown, from DigiMed, said: “Working on the produc-tion of the second version of the patient information DVD has once again been a privilege

and a humbling experience. “This time we’ve been able to hear directly from patients who watched the first DVD and knowing how much it helped them through their own journey has spurred us on to make this version even more informative and interactive.” The second film, which is also fully interactive, covers the ear-ly (or enhanced) recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme – a collection of procedures, im-provements in care and measures, which allows pa-tients, who have major colorec-tal surgery, to be operated on and discharged within 48 to 72 hours. As well as allowing patients to

Professor Haray, Surgeon

return home sooner, ERAS helps to reduce the risk of peo-ple developing post-operative complications associated with prolonged immobilisation, which can result in thrombo-embolic problems as well as chest infections. Mel Jehu, chairman of Cwm Taf Community Health Council, who helped to develop the colo-rectal cancer DVD, said: “I’m delighted the CHC has been involved in this exciting project, which is an excellent initiative and will help to enhance the patient experience.” A trailer of the patient bowel cancer DVD can be viewed on Cwm Taf Health Board’s You Tube channel www.youtube.com/cwmtafhb

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Crystal Trophy for outstanding community projects

COMMUNITY projects promot-ing healthy living in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf today celebrated the annual Crystal Trophy Award ceremo-ny. The Crystal Trophy Awards recognise the achievements of local groups and organisations who are working to improve health and wellbeing in the Cwm Taf Health Board area. Ian Davy, chief officer at Volun-tary Action Merthyr Tydfil said: “The Crystal Trophy Awards are about grassroots projects that make a real contribution to our communities’ health and wellbeing.” Scooping first prize was The Stories from the 3G’s Media Project which picked up the coveted Crystal Trophy and a prize fund of £1,500. Stories from the 3G’s - a trilogy of films, Sun beds and Steroids, The Hut and The Boxer - ad-dress issues such as body im-age, substance misuse, healthy lifestyles, discipline and territo-rialism. The films were pro-duced by young people from the Gurnos, GalonUchaf and

Penydarren concerned about the issues within their commu-nity. Daniel Walsh, one of the young people involved in producing the films, said: “We didn’t mind if we came first, fourth or no place at all. The important thing for us was that these films helped us to improve as people and that was big enough re-ward for us.” Other awards also presented: Seventy-two-year-old Horace Rogers won second prize of £1,000 for Heol Kier Hardie Allotment Society. Based on Penywaun Estate in Penywaun, Aberdare, the allotment associ-ation grows vegetables for the local community, aiming to en-courage local residents to eat five-a-day. The group also en-courages young people in the area to take an interest in gar-dening and healthy eating. The association has close links with local schools and pupils visit the allotments as part of their lessons where they are given practical advice on planting and growing their own vegetables. Third prize of £750 went to Merthyr Aloud, which is a com-

munity singing group. The weekly meetings on Friday morning begin with a gentle physical warm-up and breath-ing exercises to help reduce stress and promote wellbeing. Heather Murray, Merthyr Aloud’s musical director, said: “I feel really passionate about what signing can do for peo-ple’s health and wellbeing. Even if you think you can’t sing, it lifts your spirits and makes you feel better. Everybody is welcome, you don’t need to be able to read music or even sing.” Made a Difference, which runs weekly drop-in sessions to sup-port people with substance mis-use or alcohol dependency is-sues, collected the fourth prize and £500. Nicola John, director of public health at Cwm Taf Health Board, who presented the awards, said: “We learn such a lot from awards such as these when we hear of all the things that are going on in our com-munity – it’s really humbling. It demonstrates that communities can really work together to make a difference.”

Nicola John, Director of Public Health presenting the Crystal Trophy Award to the Forsythia Youth Project/3G’s Development Trust

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Merthyr Tydfil to get re-vamped dialysis unit Renal patients in Merthyr Tydfil will soon be cared for in a new state-of-the-art dialysis unit. In December 2012 the former Minister for Health and Social Services, Lesley Griffiths, announced funding to build a centre replacing the current unit in Prince Charles Hospital. The cost will be determined after the contract has been awarded, with a projected investment worth approximately £3m. There are around 10,000 people with renal disease in Wales and many more at risk. It affects the daily lives of the patients, their family and friends. The proposed new development will provide the opportunity to increase dialysis capacity in Merthyr Tydfil by an additional 17 stations, giving a total of 30. These will be commissioned in stages as clin-ical demand dictates. The new unit is expected to be completed in the summer of 2013, and will offer welcome

relief to patients using the unit at Prince Charles Hospital, which has been experiencing maintenance problems with the fabric of the current building, air conditioning and water supply. The former Minister for Health and Social Services, Lesley Griffiths said: “Ensuring people have access to renal dialysis is why we have invested in the service in Wales." “Together for Health, our five-year plan for the NHS in Wales, emphasises our key policy of delivering safe, high-quality services as locally as possible close to people’s homes to reduce the burden of travel". “This centre will be a great example of the Welsh Government’s commitment to improving services in Wales to make them safe and sustainable for now and into the future, even at a time of such perceived uncertainty". “We will continue to modernise facilities and increase capacity

for dialysis in a number of suita-ble sites across Wales as part of a programme of development in renal dialysis care.” Allison Williams, chief executive of Cwm Taf Health Board, said: “This new dialysis unit will make a real difference to the care we are able to offer patients while they are undergoing dialysis. When the new unit is opened, patients will undergo dialysis in a state-of-the-art centre and in a much-improve environment." “It will also give us room to expand the service and meet the needs of patients suffering kidney failure." The Welsh Government is urging the people of Wales to share their wishes about organ donation with their families, as part of the ‘heart to heart’ campaign. On average, one person a week from Wales dies while on the organ donation waiting list. The current shortage of donors continues to cause otherwise preventable death and suffering.

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