Connections Newspaper Issue 27 - Jul/Aug 2008

THE NEWSPAPER FOR NHS LOTHIAN STAFF JULY/AUGUST 2008 ISSUE 27
Connections
YOUR AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER
ENTERING A
NEW DIMENSION
TURN TO CENTRE PAGES
COMPETITIONS
EXTRAVAGANZA!
SEE PAGES 18 AND 21
PROGRESS: medical services for the
elderly will move from the Royal Victoria
A NEW ERA IN CARE
Go-ahead
given for
new medical
services for
older patients
at the Western
General
Hospital
PLANS for a brand new building
for medical services for the
elderly, currently provided at the
Royal Victoria Hospital in
Edinburgh, have been given
the go-ahead.
NHS Lothian has announced the
approval of the outline business case,
subject to obtaining local authority
planning consent. This is a key stage
in the development process set out
by the Scottish Government.
The proposals are for medical
services for patients over 65 years to
be provided in a new facility to be
built at the Western General Hospital.
These will include medical
inpatient and outpatient services and
the medical day hospital. The new
facility will include a high percentage
of single rooms for patients.
Dr Charles Winstanley, chairman
I am delighted our plans to provide
this new facility are moving forward
Dr Charles Winstanley, NHS Lothian chairman
of NHS Lothian, said: “I am
absolutely delighted that our plans
to provide this new facility are
moving forward. It will provide
healthcare services for older people,
allowing better and easy access to
wider medical services on the
Western General Hospital site. It is
great news for people in north
Edinburgh and the community.”
Iain Whyte, NHS Lothian, nonexecutive board member, added:
“The new building will be a
fantastic facility for older people who
need hospital care, giving them better
facilities and combining these on the
Western General site will give
much better access to the diagnostic
services there when they are
needed.”
Councillor Paul Edie, spokesperson
for Health and Social Care for the
City of Edinburgh Council and NHS
Lothian non-executive board
member, said: “The plans for the
new building are very welcome.
Violet Laidlaw, Patient Focus
P u b l i c I n v o l v e m e n t g ro u p
representative and member of the
Older People’s Equality Forum said:
“I’m really glad that the hospital
is moving to new premises.
“I know, being an older
person, that it will be reassuring
knowing that the services will
be provided in an appropriate,
modern setting.
“I know there is a sentimental
attachment to the existing hospital
but new facilities are needed, such
as single room accommodation
which is much more suitable as you
get older. It is a real plus point that
there has been so much public
involvement. This has been important
in developing the new building.”
The next stage is to obtain
outline planning permission before
the health board can progress to Full
Business Case, which will include
patients, carers and staff being
involved in the potential design of
the building. The project is expected
to be completed in 2012.
NHS 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION – SEE PULL-OUT FOR DETAILS
2
NEWS
July/August 2008 Connections
Comment Jenifer Stirton
Join us as we
celebrate 60
years of the NHS
W
elcome to this very special
issue of Connections, in
which we celebrate a very
special occasion – the 60th
anniversary of the NHS.
In our four-page pull-out, we look
at how the service has developed
over the last six decades as well as
some of our own achievements over
the years.
NHS Lothian hit the headlines
recently when it was announced
that we are to become the first
health board in the United
Kingdom to receive a state-ofthe-art CT scanner.
We are delighted to be working
in partnership with the Royal
Bank of Scotland and Edinburgh
University in this exciting project,
which will help thousands of
patients each year. See the centre
pages for full details.
MAKING IMPROVEMENTS
In this issue, we also report on
improvements to a number of other
services for patients, including
cardiac care, chronic pulmonary
obstructive disease and cancer care.
You can also read about the latest
Jenifer Stirton, editor
Lean in Lothian developments on
page 8.
Once again, we have achieved
some medical firsts – on page 4,
you’ll read about an innovative
sterilisation project performed for
the first time in Scotland by a
medical team from NHS Lothian,
and we’ve achieved another
milestone by carrying out the
100th pancreas transplant. Turn to
page 5 for the full story.
YOU’RE ALL STARS!
We all know our staff are stars, but
it’s always satisfying when others
recognise our achievements. Over
the last few weeks, colleagues have
picked up a number of awards,
including midwife Linda McDonald,
whose fundraising work for
mothers and babies in Malawi has
won her the much-deserved title of
Edinburgh’s Citizen of the Year.
What an achievement, too, for
Simpson’s Centre for Reproductive
Health, which has received a
prestigious breastfeeding award
for the seventh year. And I’m
delighted that Connections won an
award of excellence at the recent UK
Communicators in Business awards.
We always like to hear what our
staff are up to, both at work and in
their free time, and from raising
funds at the Moonwalk to bagging
Munros for charity, you’ve been a
busy bunch! Others have been
travelling abroad to share their
medical experience.
If you’ve a story you’d like to share
with us and your colleagues, why
not drop us a note? Remember, it’s
your staff newspaper, so keep
your ideas coming – our contact
details are below. Enjoy this issue.
Connections
Editorial board:
Jenifer Stirton, Robert Aitken, Gillian Amos, Morag Barrow, Duncan
Blyth, John Boyce, Alexis Burnett, Shona Cameron, Stewart Cameron,
Noreen Clancy, Grahame Cumming, Eddie Egan, Wendy Fenemore,
Anne Gilchrist, Linda Haggarty, Shirley Johnston, Anne Laing, Angela
Lindsay, Sue Lloyd, Gordon Lynch, Aislinn McGrane, Dave Proudfoot,
Lesley Reid, Jim Sherval, Kathryn Sinclair, Tom Waterson, Moira
Wainwright, Sally Westwick, John White.
Contact the editor:
communications@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
0131 536 9432/9355
0131 536 9013
Staff Newspaper, Communications Dept, Deaconess House,
148 Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9RS
Editorial and production:
Connections is written, designed and produced by:
Connect Communications, Studio 2001, Mile End,
Paisley PA1 1JS 0141 561 0300 0141 561 0400
www.connectcommunications.co.uk
Printing:
Newsquest (Herald & Times) Ltd
CONGRATULATIONS:
David Gow receives
the award from Prince
Philip, who tries out
the bionic hand, left
NHS Lothian shares in development team’s delight as
they celebrate recognition of their work by their peers
INNOVATION AWARD FOR
BIONIC HAND INVENTORS
THE team behind the development
of the i-LIMB Hand, the world’s first
commercially available bionic hand,
has won the 2008 Royal Academy of
Engineering MacRobert Award, the
UK’s premier award for innovation
in engineering.
The bionic hand was invented by
David Gow, the director of rehabilitation
engineering services at NHS Lothian.
David is also the director of research
for Touch Bionics, which spun out of
NHS Lothian in 2003.
The MacRobert Award, first presented
in 1969, recognises the successful
development of innovative ideas in
engineering. It seeks to demonstrate
the importance of engineering and the
role of engineers and scientists in
contributing to national prosperity and
international prestige.
“We were delighted that we
have been recognised,” said David.
“We were up against some fairly
heavyweight competition.”
He added: “It’s recognition from
our peers and the award was
particularly sweet because it was for
engineering – we’ve been nominated
for other awards but they were for
the commercial aspect.”
Launched in 2007, the i-LIMB
Hand has five individually powered
digits. With more than 20 years of
research and development behind it,
“The award is
particularly sweet
because it was
for engineering
rather than the
commercial aspect”
David Gow, director of research
the i-LIMB Hand looks and acts like
a real human hand and represents a
generational advance in bionics
and patient care.
Since the launch, more than 250
patients worldwide have been fitted
with the hand and Touch Bionics is
rapidly expanding across the globe.
The key innovation behind Touch
Bionics’ i-LIMB Hand is the multiarticulating finger technology, which
has underpinned the product’s
resounding commercial success
since its launch.
The i-LIMB Hand is developed
using leading-edge electronic and
mechanical engineering techniques
and is manufactured using highstrength plastics.
The result is a prosthetic that is
lightweight, robust and highly
appealing to both patients and
healthcare professionals.
New stroke service launched in Edinburgh
STROKE patients under 65 in the
Edinburgh area now have access to
stroke-specific rehabilitation services
at two centres in Edinburgh.
The decision to boost services, by
NHS Lothian and City of Edinburgh
Council, follows consultations with
patients, the voluntary sector and
health professionals conducted by the
Lothian Stroke Managed Clinical
Network (MCN).
The new Edinburgh Community
Stroke Service (ECSS) is based at
Craighall Centre and at Firrhill Centre
as a pilot for two years. Clients have
access to a consultant in rehabilitation
medicine, occupational therapists
and day centre officers, with ongoing
referral to speech and language
therapy and clinical neuropsychology.
Two part-time physiotherapists,
funded by the Lothian Stroke MCN,
add their expertise to the team to
provide a stroke-specific service.
The management of the centres
have offered staff, premises and
access to transport for two “stroke
days” a week – Monday at Firrhill and
Wednesday at Craighall. Further
therapy input will be available in
addition to these days.
The service is supported by the
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
(CHSS) stroke liaison nurses who offer
ongoing support for people for up to
one year after hospital discharge. They
also support people who have had a
stroke but who have not been
admitted to hospital.
Stroke patients at any stage of their
recovery, during the time they are still
under the care of the CHSS stroke
nurses, may be referred into the service
by any professional. Documentation
is being circulated to staff to facilitate
this. Referral is directly to the CHSS
stroke liaison nurse caring for that
patient who will ensure that they
access the service they require
As part of this initiative, and also
funded by the Stroke MCN, stroke
patients of all ages in Lothian will have
the chance to learn how to better
manage their condition.
As an addition to the ECSS, the
Thistle Foundation based at Niddrie
will supply two 10-week courses in
lifestyle management training for up
to 15 stroke patients in each.
It is anticipated that the first
course will commence in October
2008, followed by a further course in
early 2009.
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
3
NEW SERVICE FOR
CARDIAC PATIENTS
Fast response
programme gives
heart attack
victims better
access to treatment
A PILOT project giving Lothian heart
attack patients the fastest and most
appropriate treatment has been so
successful that it has now been made
a permanent service.
The Lothian optimal reperfusion
programme, which is the first of its
kind in Scotland, is run in partnership
between NHS Lothian and the
Scottish Ambulance Service.
The programme aims to give
patients suffering from the type of
heart attack where a blood clot blocks
a heart artery the most effective
treatment based on the likely travel
time to hospital.
It means that suitable patients in
Lothian who can be delivered to a
cardiac catheterisation laboratory in
Edinburgh and have treatment
within 90 minutes of diagnosis will
be treated using balloon angioplasty.
This involves threading a long, thin
balloon through the artery and
inflating it to clear the obstruction.
The programme was initially
conducted over a 12-month trial
period through £500,000 of Scottish
Government funding, but has now
received £300,000 of funding from
NHS Lothian to be offered on a
permanent basis.
FAST ACTION: heart
attack patients can now
access a quicker service
Balloon angioplasty, also known as
primary PCI, is thought to be the most
effective treatment for heart attack
patients, provided it is administered
within a short period of time.
Paramedics carry out ECG tests
and then consult coronary care
experts by mobile phone to decide
the best course of action.
A dedicated entrance at the
front of the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh allows ambulances to
deliver patients directly to the
catheterisation lab for treatment,
bypassing the need to visit A&E, and
reducing the time taken for patients
to receive treatment.
Those who cannot reach the
cardiac catheterisation lab within 90
minutes will be given vital clot-busting
drugs by paramedics as recommended
by Scottish guideline committees.
During the 12-month trial, more
than two-thirds of patients were
treated using balloon angioplasty.
A team of five specialists are on call
24 hours a day to man the
catheterisation lab if needed.
Dr Charles Winstanley, NHS
Lothian chairman, said: “This
pioneering programme enables us to
work closely with the Scottish
Ambulance Service to make sure
patients receive the best treatment
within the shortest possible period
of time.
“The time saved in making
immediate decisions about the best
course of treatment could potentially
be the difference between life and
death.”
Dr Andrew Flapan, head of
cardiology services at NHS Lothian,
said: “We are delighted NHS Lothian
has provided funding for the
continuation of this programme.
“Our team is overwhelmed by the
obvious improvement in patients who
have undergone this procedure.
“We have demonstrated that
paramedics and coronary care
experts can make live decisions on
the best option for heart attack
patients across Lothian, including
both clot-busting drugs and primary
angioplasty.”
Adding up cost of unused medicine
NHS LOTHIAN has launched a
campaign to reduce the amount
of prescription medicines that
are wasted.
With wasted medicines
estimated to cost the health board
around £3 million each year, it’s a
serious problem not just in
Lothian, but across Scotland.
Medicines are often wasted
because people order more
than they need on their
repeat prescriptions, or continue
to order medicines they are
no longer taking.
Pat Murray, director of pharmacy
at NHS Lothian, said: “We need to
get the message out to patients
and carers that it is important to
only order the medicines they
actually need. We also want GPs,
nursing and pharmacy staff to
make sure they discuss medication
with patients on a regular basis to
ensure their medication
requirements are up to date.”
Sally Arnison, pharmacy
manager, Alliance Pharmacy,
Davidson’s Mains, Edinburgh,
GONE TO WASTE: Martin O’Dwyer, community pharmacist at
Springwell Pharmacy, Edinburgh with some of the unused drugs
added: “We’re asking people to
‘think before they tick’ each item
on their repeat prescription.
We’re not trying to reduce
people’s medication, we trying
to minimise waste.”
Leading the way
in cancer care
PHYSICIANS in Edinburgh are
pioneering a new form of diagnostic
procedure that could help them in the
treatment of patients with lung cancer.
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh is
one of only two reference centres in the
UK for this procedure – called the
Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) – and
its doctors are among the world’s
leading experts in this subject.
The new technique combines a
bronchoscope – a narrow tube with a
camera and sampling instruments
attached, which is passed into the
patient’s airways – and an ultrasound
probe. The latter allows doctors to
study images beneath the surface of
the bronchial wall and check if the
cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
Callum Gordon, service manager for
cardiac, thoracic and respiratory
services at NHS Lothian, said: “EBUS
is a much more effective tool than a
straightforward bronchoscopy. It allows
specialists to remove much finer
tissue samples from the areas they’re
looking at, and allows them to identify
how far the disease has progressed.
“If the tumour has not yet spread
to the lymph nodes surrounding the
lungs, the patient may be suitable for
surgery, which improves his/her
chances of staying cancer free.
“If the cancer has spread, then an
operation may not be the best route,
and other forms of treatment such as
radiotherapy or chemotherapy may be
more suitable.
“EBUS gives doctors better
information as to the state of the disease
and helps them make treatment
decisions at an earlier stage on the
patient pathway. It’s early days, but the
future for EBUS looks promising.”
In the past two years, EBUS has
reduced the number of
mediastinoscopies – where surgeons
operate to investigate the spread of the
cancer – by 20 per cent, and experts
are convinced the number may be
further reduced in the near future.
Dr Kris Skwarski, respiratory
physician from the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh, has been leading the
interventional bronchology research
team for NHS Lothian for the last four
years, and has performed about 500
EBUS procedures already.
He told Connections: “EBUS
was developed in Japan. The
manufacturers, KeyMed Olympus
UK, decided that NHS Lothian doctors
were sufficiently competent in the use
of another ultrasound technique
called EUS (Endoscopic Ultrasound)
and gave us the task of developing a
reference centre for EBUS in the UK.”
“EBUS gives doctors
better information
as to the state of
the disease. It’s
early days, but the
future for EBUS
looks bright”
Callum Gordon, service manager
Dr Skwarski has trained Dr John
McCafferty, consultant respiratory
physician from St John’s Hospital in
Livingston. He has also provided
background teaching in using the
EBUS technique for colleagues from
around Scotland, England and from
overseas.
Dr Ron Fergusson is NHS Lothian’s
lead lung cancer clinician. He said:
“There are only a handful of centres
worldwide with more experience of a
technique which I believe will become
a standard part of lung cancer
management in the future.
“Accurate staging of the extent of
lung cancer is vital to plan appropriate
treatment and to give the patient and
their family a better guide to prognosis.
EBUS helps us to plan the correct
treatment for our patients and may
spare unnecessary operations.”
Excellence award for Connections
CONNECTIONS has won an award of excellence at the
prestigious UK Communicators in Business awards. The
newspaper was shortlisted in the internal newspapers
category at the awards, which were held in Brighton recently.
4
NEWS
National study
day is voted
a success
MORE than 150 people
attended a national
study day for theatre
operating staff organised
by NHS Lothian.
The study day was
about the advances and
developments in theatre
work and peri-operative
theatre staff from 14 of
Scotland’s health boards
took part.
The event was held in
the Chancellor’s Building
at the Royal Infirmary
and gave people the
opportunity to look at
advancements in roles
and a forum for open
discussion. Those
attending included the
head of operations and
associate nurse director
Libby Campbell.
Gill Wood, the chief
professional of theatre and
anaesthetics, said: “We felt
organising the study day
was a good idea because
there have been so many
changes in roles in recent
years and the waiting time
targets. The study day gave
us a forum for sharing and
comparing our experiences
and it was well received.
“An evaluation of the
day was extremely positive
and many delegates asked
when the next one would
be taking place.”
July/August 2008 Connections
Doctors perform Scottish
first in female sterilisation
New procedure offers patients
permanent birth control
without the need for surgery
A MEDICAL team in NHS
Lothian has become the first in
Scotland to carry out a pioneering
new method of female
sterilisation.
more than 20 procedures, and the
project is to be evaluated to assess
its success.
Until now, sterilisation has
been performed laparoscopically
The team has carried out the through abdominal incision,
first hysteroscopic sterilisations in under a general anaesthetic. The
Scotland, allowing patients to procedure usually leaves patients with
undergo a non-surgical sterilisation. two small abdominal wounds and
The procedure, which uses the recovering for up to a week.
The process is carried out by
Essure method of permanent birth
control, involves inserting micro-insert placing a small tube with a camera
coils into the fallopian tubes, on the end (a hysteroscope) through
creating a blockage that prevents the vagina and cervix into the uterus,
and inserting tiny coils into the
sperm from reaching an egg.
fallopian tubes.
Four patients at the
During the next
Royal Infirmary of
t h re e m o n t h s ,
Edinburgh’s
tissue grows in
reproductive
and around
health outpatient
the microdepartment
Hysteroscopic
insert coils,
became the first
sterilisation by Essure
t h e r e b y
in Scotland to
is a method of permanent
blocking
the
u n d e rg o t h e
birth control which does
fallopian
procedure on
not require incision
tubes, and
22 February, as
or general
p
reventing
part of a pilot
anaesthetic
sperm from
project.
reaching an egg.
The department
Dr
Sue Milne,
has now carried out
DID
YOU KNOW
LEADING THE WAY:
women in Lothian were
the first in Scotland to
undergo the procedure
“Hysteroscopic sterilisation can be carried out
without patients being admitted to hospital
and is completed within about 30 minutes”
Dr Sue Milne, associate specialist in reproductive medicine
associate specialist in reproductive
medicine at the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh, said: “Hysteroscopic
sterilisation can be carried out
without patients being admitted to
hospital and is completed within
around 30 minutes.
“The new procedure means
there is no longer the need for
an overnight stay in hospital
and recovery is more rapid.”
Audrey Burnside, clinical nurse
manager, Lothian gynaecological
services, added: “This procedure
is a landmark achievement in
female sterilisation as it allows
women to undergo sterilisation
with minimum pain and disruption
to their lives.
“We are delighted to become the
first centre in Scotland to offer the
procedure and we hope to be able
to offer it on a more permanent
basis within the next year.”
Scotland’s busiest A&E department
meets targets for treating patients
THE number of people going to
A&E departments across Lothian
has increased by 14 per cent in just
three years, according to new figures.
Despite this increased pressure,
NHS Lothian is continuing to hit a
key Scottish Government target on
minimising waits for accident and
emergency treatment.
Figures published by ISD Scotland
show that there were 209,514
“attendances” at accident and
emergency departments at the Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh and St John’s
in Livingston in 2007, compared with
183,639 attendances in 2004.
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
(RIE) is Scotland’s biggest accident
and emergency department, and sees
about 9000 patients a month.
This is busier than Scotland’s
second busiest A&E, Glasgow Royal
Infirmary, by more than one third.
Staff at the RIE have been achieving
the target 98 per cent success in
treating people within four hours of
their arrival, according to the latest
internal monitoring figures.
The ISD Scotland data also shows
that Scotland’s ageing population is
leading to an increase in the number
of emergency admissions to hospital
in general.
Dr Charles Swainson, medical
director, NHS Lothian said: “These
figures illustrate the hard work by staff
to continue to meet expected targets
and deliver swift care for our patients
despite the most intense pressure and
thanks are due to them for these
considerable achievements.
“Last year we made some
changes to these departments to
better support staff and it is good
to see that the hard work of
staff in suggesting and supporting
changes are clearly paying off
for patients despite the most
intense pressure.”
Sharing the journey to work
NHS LOTHIAN has signed up to a
car share scheme to combat global
warming and help staff save up to
£1000 a year in their transport costs.
The easy-to-use web-based system
matches people travelling back and
forth to work at similar times and
locations. With 28,000 staff and
about 300 sites, it is hoped that
Liftshare will help take cars off the
road, reduce air pollution and cut
greenhouse gas emissions.
Iain Sneddon, NHS Lothian
transport and travel manager, said:
“With rising fuel prices, increased
congestion and pressure on parking
spaces, we want to help staff save
money and reduce the number of cars
on the road.
“Car sharing can also take a lot of
the hassle out of journeys, which must
be a good thing. In the past, it has often
been tricky to find people who are
travelling to the same places and at
the same times to team up with.
“Hopefully this new web-based
system will make it a lot easier, and
allow many more people to share cars
and cut their travel costs.”
NHS Lothian has a commitment
in its Green Travel Plan to try to reduce
single occupancy car journeys.
The system is being set up by
Tripshare, which has 10 years’
experience in care share schemes.
Registration is free and users are
estimated to make average savings of
£1000 a year. NHS Lothian launched
the scheme on 9 June to coincide with
National Car Sharing Day.
E For further information about
Tripshare, visit www.tripshare
sestran.com
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
Six decades
of images
ARTLINK Hospital Arts will be
presenting The Dawn of a New Era,
an exhibition by Lothian Health
Services Archive, to celebrate the 60th
anniversary of the National Health
Service, featuring a thought-provoking
selection of images reproduced
from their collections.
The exhibition will run from 3 July
until October in The Gallery at the
Western General Hospital (located on
the ground floor between Alexander
Donald and Anne Ferguson
Buildings), with future plans to tour
to other hospitals across the Lothians.
There will be a free opening event
from 12.30-1.30pm on Thursday 3 July
open to all staff, patients and visitors.
Come along and enjoy an opportunity
BYGONE ERA: some
images from the exhibition
to hear more about the images
selected for the exhibition and how
to access the Lothian Health Services
Archive (www.lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk)
Artlink provides arts opportunities
for people with experience of disability
within communities across Edinburgh
and the Lothians. Artlink’s Hospital
Arts programme researches ways in
which artists can work with hospital
staff and patients to develop a
programme of activities, events,
exhibitions and commissions.
E For further information,
contact Artlink on
0131 229 3555 or
info@artlinkedinburgh.co.uk
THE Lothian physiotherapy pain
network has won a national award
for pain management.
The group received a £2000
grant after being awarded third place
in the NAPP Pharmaceuticals
Achievement in Pain Practice Award,
which recognises excellence and
innovative practice in pain
management.
The members won the award
for their work on a project to
implement formal training in
managing pain for all physiotherapists
in Lothian over the next three years.
Phase one will train eight
physiotherapists selected from four
different areas across Lothian to act
as specialists in pain.
In phase two, these specialist
physiotherapists will train every
physio in Lothian in pain
management. This training will be
repeated regularly for all new staff
joining Lothian.
Long term, this will ensure a better
quality of pain management for
patients and an equality of service
across Lothian.
The prize money will help buy
digital recorders, which will be used
for recording consultations with
patients as part of the training.
5
National award for Lothian
physiotherapy pain network
FROM RIGHT: John McLennan, lead clinician, Astley Ainslie
Pain Management Centre, Veronica Evans, clinical specialist,
Edinburgh Community, and Orla Crummey, team leader, outpatient
services West Lothian
The remainder of the money will
spent on evaluating the impact of the
training on patient care.
Dr Orla Crummey, team leader,
musculoskeletal outpatient services
at NHS Lothian, said: “This is a very
exciting project and we were thrilled
MILESTONE OPERATION
FOR TRANSPLANT TEAM
Stephen becomes 100th patient
to undergo pancreas transplant
SURGEONS at the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh have carried out
Scotland’s 100th pancreas transplant
operation.
Stephen Proctor, 43, became the
100th patient to undergo the surgery
at the start of April.
The transplant unit at the Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh is the only
centre in Scotland to offer the
pancreas transplant operation, and has
carried out 100 operations since the
programme started in April 2000.
Mr Proctor, of Portadown, County
Armagh, Northern Ireland, was
referred to the Transplant Unit in
Edinburgh by his consultant, Dr Hardy
at Daisyhill Hospital, Newry. Pancreas
transplants are not carried out at any
hospitals in Northern Ireland.
He received a pancreas and kidney
double transplant. Pancreas transplants
are usually combined with kidney
transplants for people with Type 1
diabetes and established renal failure.
The combined transplant removes
the need for insulin injections
and dialysis.
Mr Proctor has been diabetic
since the age of 10, and suffered
chronic renal failure five years ago. In
2005, he started continuous
ambulatory peritoneal dialysis before
being referred for a pancreas and
kidney transplant at the beginning of
this year.
Due to being the only patient with
his blood type currently on the list,
Mr Proctor waited only three days
after being put on to the transplant
list for Scotland to receive his two
new organs.
Now, several weeks on from having
the operation, Mr Proctor has
returned home and is recovering well.
He said: “I have a lot more energy
and it is brilliant not having to take
insulin any longer.
“The staff in the transplant unit have
been fantastic and every question I
have asked has been answered. I can’t
thank them enough for the work they
have done.
“My thoughts and sympathies are
with the family of the donor and I
would like to thank them for donating
“The staff in the transplant unit have been
fantastic and every question I have asked
has been answered. I can’t thank them
enough for the work they have done”
Steven Proctor
GIFT OF LIFE: Stephen
Proctor before and after
his milestone operation
the organs which allowed me to
undergo my transplant.
“I would urge people to join the
Organ Donor Register and to carry a
donor card. Donating your organs
could save someone else’s life.”
John Forsythe, director of the
transplant unit, said: “This is a
significant milestone for pancreas
transplantation in Scotland.
“Not long ago, pancreas transplant
was carried out sporadically across the
UK. Now it is a very well-established
treatment for diabetic patients who
have kidney failure and who are
suitable for this form of transplant.
“We are delighted that Stephen has
recovered so well and is able to go
back home to enjoy the success of his
transplant procedure.
“I know that he, like the rest of us,
is very keen to acknowledge the
gift of the donor who made this
transplant possible.”
to win the award. Many of our
patients struggle daily with their pain.
“We hope that this training will help
physios enable their patients to cope
with and manage their pain more
effectively thus improving their
quality of life.”
Joint working
to improve
the health of
the capital
BY 2011, Edinburgh will
have shown steady
improvement in the health
and wellbeing of its
people, and a reduction
in the health inequalities
experienced by its
disadvantaged
communities.
That is the vision of
the Health Inequalities
Standing Group (HISG),
part of the Edinburgh’s
Community Health
Partnership which brings
together representatives
from the Council, NHS, the
voluntary sector and the
Public Partnership Forums.
To achieve its aim, the
group has developed a
Joint Health Improvement
Plan (JHIP) which
identifies actions the city
partners will take to help
people in Edinburgh to
sustain and improve their
health and wellbeing, and
to reduce health inequality
in the city.
“Making Edinburgh
Healthier: a discussion
paper towards a Joint
Health Improvement Plan
for Edinburgh” is out for
consultation and the HISG
would like the views of
people living in Edinburgh
on its proposals before
18 July.
E To view Edinburgh’s JHIP,
visit www.nhslothian.
scot.nhs.uk/news/
consultationdocs.asp
6
NEWS
July/August 2008 Connections
As Partnership representative, Sue Lloyd aims to promote employees’ rights in the workplace
WORKING TO GIVE YOU A VOICE
SUE LLOYD: RCN steward
and Partnership representative
I BELIEVE getting our voice heard
and being involved in the decisionmaking process right from the onset
is crucial for me in order to represent
the views of staff, writes Sue Lloyd,
RCN steward and Partnership
representative.
Lothian Partnership Forum brings
together senior representatives from
all of the staff side organisations to
work alongside senior management.
The Royal College of Nursing
(RCN) has trained me not only to be
a steward but also a safety
representative and learning
representative. All three areas have
the interests of nurses and nursing
welfare at their core.
Stewards provide support and
representation to RCN members by
promoting workplace rights and
ensuring members are treated fairly.
POSITIVE
RESULTS:
the practice
works with
problem
patients
Practice challenges
aggressive behaviour
AGGRESSIVE or abusive patients
can be a real problem for
general practice staff, but there
could be a solution thanks to one
specialist service.
The Challenging Behaviour
practice can take patients who have
repeatedly threatened staff in
general practices across Lothian
to treat their ailments and tackle
the root of their aggression.
Based in the outpatient
department, Andrew Duncan
Clinic, Royal Edinburgh Hospital,
the practice is open every
Wednesday and Friday for two
hours and is staffed by GP
Elizabeth (Libby) Morton, nurse
Jessica Evans, and practice manager
Jacqueline Keogh. A security
guard is also present at the
practice as a deterrent to patients
being aggressive.
“The main difference from
general practice is that we have
longer appointments – up to 30
minutes,” said Libby Morton. “We
have more time to talk through what
is causing the problem and find ways
to help them.”
Jessica added: “We aim to help
people establish boundaries of
behaviour that will help ease them
back into mainstream practice as well
as improve their lives generally.”
With a maximum of about 35
patients, Libby is keen to point out
that while referrals are rarely
refused, the practice is a small one.
“We could easily be swamped,
so referrals must be appropriate,”
she said. “For example, a patient
who is repeatedly abusive because
of chaotic drug use and is not
manageable because of threatening
behaviour could be referred.
“We recently audited former
patients we’ve discharged and the
feedback from the GPs who have
accepted them has been almost
unanimously positive about the
affect our service has had.”
To discuss a referral, or receive
a referral form, contact Jacqueline
Keogh on 0131 537 8419.
“We aim to help
people establish
boundaries of
behaviour that will
help ease them back
into mainstream
practice as well
as improve their
lives generally”
Jessica Evans, practice nurse
Safety representatives play an
important role in ensuring the health
and safety of members within their
working environment while learning
representatives aim to support the
learning and career development of
RCN members.
A large part of my role as a steward
is as a Partnership representative. This
involves being nominated by the forum
and in contrast to my role as an RCN
steward, I have to bring the views of
all of the staff side organisations to
the table.
Partnership representation is about
empowering all staff to have their
voices heard at all levels of the
organisation and being involved in the
decision-making process right from
the onset.
It requires a real commitment on
all sides: management, staff and unions
must have an honest recognition of
shared goals and rather than react to
conflicts as they arise, work together
in order to work out solutions and
build consensus.
Where differences arise, we resolve
them in an atmosphere of trust and
mutual understanding rather than
resorting to the traditional industrial
relations methods of the past. It is
about being proactive as opposed to
reactive, and not walking away
“Partnership is about empowering all
staff to have their voices heard”
Sue Lloyd, RCN steward and Partnership representative
from the table when situations get
difficult or uncomfortable.
As an RCN steward/Partnership
representative, I have a responsibility
not only to my union members but
to the workforce as a whole to ensure
that their voices are heard.
Within NHS Lothian, I have been
involved in many major service
redesigns/reprovisions, and feel that
I have been able to develop a two-way
communication system that enables
meaningful consultation and
negotiation to take place.
As the lead Partnership
representative on many steering
groups such as Better Acute Care in
Lothian and the Older People’s
Review, I believe the commitment of
the Partnership Forum has achieved
better outcomes than would otherwise
have been possible.
Fair enables
staff to share
good practice
THE second Sharing Good Practice
fair to highlight good partnership
working took place recently.
More than 50 stallholders from
health, education, social work and
the voluntary services came along
to the event, which was held at the
Wester Hailes Education Centre.
There were also experiential
interactive sessions led by therapists
and specialist teachers to give
people a flavour of the difficulties
children with additional support
needs experience.
Comments from those
attending included “very useful
GOOD PRACTICE: more than 50 stallholders attended the event
event”; well worth attending”;
picked up/exchanged useful
information”; and “clarified
links between services”.
Because of its success, a bigger
event is planned for next year.
Self-help advice for heart patients
A NEW edition of the heart manual
to help encourage people with
coronary heart disease to selfmanage their condition is to be
launched by NHS Lothian in August.
This CHD edition is based on a
cognitive behavioural chronic disease
management approach and
facilitated with patients by specially
trained professionals in Lothian
and beyond.
The Heart Manual Programme is
part of a range of rehabilitation
services offered by the rehabilitation
directorate based at the Astley
Ainslie Hospital.
Research among NHS authorities
across the UK stated a clear demand
for one manual that would cater for
most cardiac conditions. Funding
from the British Heart Foundation in
2006 enabled the Lothian team to
develop it.
The Heart Manual (MI edition) has
already been shown to be clinically
effective in repeated studies, and
apart from being the UK’s leading
home-based cardiac rehab
programme, (recommended in SIGN
and NICE guidelines), it’s been
adopted in Canada, Italy, Holland,
Cayman Islands, Australia and New
Zealand. It can be used as a standalone rehab programme or integrated
with existing hospital/primary care
programmes.
An integral part of the programme
will be a two-day training package
for health professionals, supported
by a resource file on CD-ROM for selfdirected learning.
The course will include training on
the psychological implications of
CHD for the patient and their family,
risk factor management, and the
THE original heart manual for
patients who had had a heart attack
was developed by NHS Lothian in
the late 1980s, and was evaluated
between 1988 and 1991. Results
showed a reduction in readmissions,
process of facilitation.
The Heart Manual CHD edition will
be formally launched by NHS
Lothian on 26 August.
improved psychological adjustment,
less contact with general
practitioners and a reduction in
anxiety and depression at the end
of one year. Subsequent evaluations
have endorsed this.
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
On target for
immunisations
NHS LOTHIAN is continuing to
exceed Scottish Government
targets on the immunisation of
children against diseases such
as polio and diphtheria,
according to new government
statistics.
The target on immunisations
against diseases such as
Meningitis C, Hib, polio,
tetanus and diphtheria is 95
per cent.
NHS Lothian’s record on
these targets for the quarter
October-December 2007, is as
follows:
NHS Lothian’s performance
is as follows:
97.3 per cent diphtheria
97.3 per cent tetanus
97.3 per cent pertussis
97.1 per cent polio
97.1 per cent haemophilus
influenzae (Hib)
96.3 per cent meningitis C.
NHS Lothian is above
average in terms of Scottish
NHS boards on the vaccination
of children against measles,
mumps and rubella.
Dr Lorna Willocks, consultant,
public health, said: “The vast
majority of parents in Lothian
are continuing to back the
immunisation of their children
against what can be very
serious diseases. It is never too
late to protect your children
against these diseases.”
Forum offers community an opportunity for their views to be heard on services
GIVING THE PUBLIC A
SAY ON HEALTHCARE
PEOPLE power is alive and kicking
in West Lothian thanks to the local
Public Partnership Forum (PPF).
Set up at the end of 2006,
the forum now comprises just
under 100 individual members
of the public, plus a number
of affiliated community groups,
forums
and
voluntary
organisations, all of whom are
keen to help improve patient
care and develop and progress
healthcare services.
The forum plays an important role
in local consultation and engagement,
particularly for the Community
Health & Care Partnership (CHCP)
when looking at local service
development.
West Lothian Patient and
Public Involvement officer Julie
Cassidy co-ordinates the forum
and said that it has had some
notable successes in raising and
resolving issues.
“For instance, at the CHCP sub-
IMPROVING PATIENT
CARE: Julie Cassidy
committee after a presentation by the
Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS)
on problems with did not attend rates,
it was highlighted by a Public
Partnership representative that the
Special year for neonatal unit
NHS LOTHIAN is celebrating
the 40th anniversary of the opening
of the first special care baby unit
in Lothian.
Since 1968, the neonatal unit at
the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh has
treated thousands of sick and
premature babies from across
Lothian.
The department, in Simpson
Memorial Maternity Pavilion at the
former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
on Lauriston Place, became the first
dedicated neonatal unit in Lothian
when it opened in January 1968.
In 2002, the specialist unit
moved with the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh to Little France, and
became part of the Simpson Centre
for Reproductive Health.
When the unit was founded in
1968, it employed one specialist
consultant, and only had basic
incubator equipment. It now treats
about 600-700 babies each year and
employs seven neonatologists to care
for the babies.
Advances in technology mean that
more sophisticated incubator units,
ventilators, vital signs monitors and
blood saturation monitors are used
to provide critical care to newborn
pre-term babies.
When the unit was first set up,
basic checks such as taking a baby’s
pulse were done manually by a nurse
or doctor. Now, thanks to an
innovative computer monitoring
system called BADGER, doctors
have instant access to details such
7
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: the neonatal unit is 40 years old this year
as a baby’s heart rate, breathing,
blood pressure, temperature, and
oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.
The neonatal unit also has an
award-winning website, called
BabyLink, which was created
specially for parents of babies on the
ward. Parents are given secure login details to access information about
the neonatal unit and the treatment
and care their babies are receiving.
An online baby diary can also be
created from letters written by
nursing staff and by photographs
uploaded by the parents.
Dr Ian Laing, consultant
neonatologist, said: “I am very
privileged to be part of the team
looking after these fragile babies. After
many weeks of hard work, seeing a
mother taking her baby home is the
most rewarding experience.
“It is always a pleasure when the
families return to visit us in the unit
and we have the joy of seeing the
babies grow into happy children.”
appointments were often
made well in advance and sometimes
a patient’s circumstances have
changed.
“The solution was quite simple.
The CHCP knew that there was
already a reporting mechanism in
place to inform services that the
patient had passed away so they
simply included the SAS in the
reporting chain.
“This simple change has helped
reduce the number of incidents
and helped the Scottish Ambulance
Service provide a more efficient
service.”
Julie added: “These are the people
we provide services for, so it’s
imperative they have a say in how
services are provided.
“We need the public to tell us when
we are getting it right and
we need them to tell us what we
can do differently to make
things better.
“It’s often the simple common
Head injury
self-refer
system is
a success
THE mild head injury service was
established in January 2005 by the
We s t L o t h i a n C o m m u n i t y
Rehabilitation & Brain Injury Service
(CRABIS), which is based at the
Ability Centre in Livingston.
This innovative service was
developed by CRABIS in response
to various articles and research
highlighting the possible benefits of
early intervention for those who have
sustained a mild head injury, and
also from the team’s own experience
of patients with complex problems
being referred at a late stage after
a relatively mild head injury.
Po s s i b l e p o s t - c o n c u s s i o n
“It is felt that the
service is now
more appropriately
aimed at those
who would benefit
from input
following their
mild head injury”
sense comments or thoughts that the
public’s representatives bring to the
CHCP that can make a big difference
in a patient, carers or relatives lives.”
Members of the Public Partnership
Forum also sit on other forums such
as nutrition, disability and long-term
conditions groups so they are very
integrated and have networks in
many health and community-related
organisations.
Julie would like to involve more
people in the Public Partnership
Forum including staff who would
bring an important patient care
perspective element to the group.
The only way the PPF can
effectively represent the local
community is for more people to
become involved, getting the balance
right means having service providers
views and opinions too.
E If you would like to contribute,
e-mail juliecassidy@nhs.net or
call her on 01506 771883
symptoms following a mild head
injury could include reduced
memory, irritability, depression, or
fatigue.
Initially, CRABIS followed up all
patients with head injuries referred
by the observation ward at St
John’s but due to the fact that a large
proportion of individuals presenting
to A&E with mild head injuries are
not transferred to the ward, this
referral route was modified to a selfreferral system.
Since January 2007, a new system
was introduced in St John’s, giving
more detailed information to patients
about possible post-concussion
symptoms.
A short questionnaire also enabled
them to refer themselves to the
community rehabilitation and brain
injury service if difficulties following
their injury persist beyond two
weeks.
Although referral numbers have
been fewer with this new system, the
number of people who go on to
receive an offer of service has
been comparable, and it is felt
that the service is now more
appropriately targeted at those
individuals who require and would
benefit from input following their
mild head injury.
An initial appointment with the
team’s psychologist is offered to
provide an assessment, educational
support regarding symptoms and
advice as indicated.
Input from other disciplines in the
team can be provided eg if someone
is having difficulty organising
themselves in a work environment,
the occupational therapist may
become involved.
8
NEWS
July/August 2008 Connections
STAFF LEAD REVOLUTION IN CARE
Patients are reaping the benefits of
the Lean in Lothian programme
THE Lean in Lothian Programme is
about to enter its third phase after a
successful end to phase 2.
As we reported in the May/June
issue of Connections (No 26), the
Lean revolution in the way health
services are delivered – led by GE
Healthcare – has already brought big
benefits in patient services.
As phase 2 drew to a close, an
exercise was carried out at the
Royal Hospital for Sick Children. 5S
(Sort, Straighten, Shine, Systemise
and Sustain) is a way of organising
and managing workspace and
workflow with the aim of improving
efficiency by eliminating waste and
improving flow.
Among its outcomes were an “at-
desk” dictation trial to examine
whether time could be saved in
reduced rework; a reorganisation of
note-keeping in the medical secretaries
offices, and space being reclaimed in
medical records by the removal of
redundant equipment.
The psychology department at
St John’s Hospital held a workout
to streamline current processes in
the patient journey to reduce
waiting times.
The service agreed to develop a
patient reception area, trial voice
recognition technology to improve the
speed of report production, and
streamline the appointment system
by using the TRAK system.
A follow-up to the substance
misuse workout suggests that a
pilot programme of new processes for
patient referrals has had a significant
impact on reducing the “did not
attend” rate, and has been well
received by patients. A second
workout addressed capacity issues in
drug treatment services and will be
evaluated later this year.
The remaining phase 2 project looks
at the waste associated with repeat
prescribing of drugs. Two GP practices
“Ultimately the programme aims to achieve
better care for NHS Lothian patients”
Jackie Sansbury, director of strategic planning
Kids give views on new hospital
Children’s
suggestions will
help shape the
design of Little
France facility
THE case for a new Royal Hospital
for Sick Children in Edinburgh will
be considered by the Scottish
Government.
The Outline Business Case will
go to Holyrood in July. Meanwhile,
the clinical redesign phase of the
project has continued to be
developed, while the next stage to
develop the design brief for the
hospital is gathering pace.
The primary task is to ensure that
the design achieves the best
possible outcome in terms of
clinical services that are provided
close to each other, both within the
new hospital and with adult
VALUABLE INPUT: Helen Taylor hears young patient Corrine’s
services.
views about what she’d like to see in the new Sick Kids’ Hospital
There has been extensive
involvement and engagement with
The hospital’s Young People’s planning process.
patients, families and the public Advisory Group, made up of
The youngest member, 10-yearthroughout the project and they youngsters aged between 10 and 17, old Corrine, is enthusiastic about
have told us what is important to provides a forum for young people her role. She said: “Because I’ve
have in the new hospital.
to share their ideas and aspirations been in hospital I know what it’s
Here are some of the things they for the new hospital, and their like. We recently went on a tour of
have told us they’d like:
recommendations will be an the hospital to see old wards and
■ a mixture of single rooms and bed important part of the ongoing new ones, and saw how much
bays in the wards
better the new ones were.
■ adolescent facilities
“Generally we chat about what
■ overnight accommodation for
we would like – more space and
parents – both by the bedside and
more adolescent stuff to help you
in a separate facility
pass the time.”
■ late afternoon/early evening and
Helen Taylor, manager of the
“one-stop” clinics.
Drop- In Centre at the RHSC, is
■ access to a school room and being
co-chair of the group.
able to link into their own
She said: “We’re building a
classroom
new children and young people’s
■ play and recreational facilities
hospital – they’re the ones who will
both inside and outside the
be using it and it’s right they should
hospital.
Patient Corrine, 10
have a say.”
“We recently went
on a tour of the
hospital to see old
wards and new
ones and saw how
much better the
new ones were”
and community pharmacies in southwest Edinburgh and West Lothian are
involved.
Jackie Sansbury, director of strategic
planning at NHS Lothian, said: “The
Lean in Lothian programme is the
result of investing significantly in staff
development, service improvement and
external consultancy.
“The programme is rapidly
approaching self-sufficiency and on
the way has delivered improved
efficiency and cost avoidance which
will produce a positive return on
investment. Ultimately the programme
aims to achieve better care for NHS
Lothian patients, in rapid and
sometimes revolutionary change for
the better.”
Phase 3 of Lean in Lothian will
include further work on colorectal
cancer and the patient pathway
through treatment, introduce Lean
principles to the new Royal Hospital
for Sick Children design, and develop
a training plan for NHS Lothian what
will boost its capacity to deliver all
elements of the Lean training
programme by its own staff.
Other projects chosen for analysis
include: wheelchairs and seating
pathways; MRI waits; future models
of psychiatry for older people;
medical outpatient departments’
recording of clinical outcomes; social
work allocation and assessment
processes in Edinburgh, and
recruitment processes.
A Lean in Lothian project has
started in plastic surgery as part of the
national 18-week referral to treatment
initiative. This will require service
redesign on a scale far greater than
any previous single or linked Kaizen
events. A meeting in June agreed a
future state map for plastic surgery,
and the steps that will be needed to
get there will become specific projects.
FOCUS ON VIDEOCONFERENCING
OUR article on videoconferencing
in issue 26 of Connections
(May/June 2008) has prompted
several readers to ask for more
information about the service.
Tom Gardner is video network
manager at NHS Lothian, and he
is happy to be contacted by
anyone who wants more
information or training. He can also
help to arrange test calls if
required.
Tom said: “Our video network
website http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/
twg/sstn/ is currently being
revamped and it will have
clear instructions and other
guidance about how to use
videoconferencing. An NHS Lothian
intranet site will follow.
“ We h a v e d e d i c a t e d
videoconferencing facilities at the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the
Western General Hospital, Royal
Edinburgh Hospital and St John’s
Hospital in Livingston, as well
as several other sites.
“We also have mobile systems
on trolleys in paediatrics that can
be moved to a patient’s bedside if
a member of clinical staff wants to
confer with a colleague about the
patient’s condition.”
He offered a simple guide to
using the service.
“The meeting organiser books
the videoconferencing rooms first.
A list of these with booking
contact details for each is given on
the project website. Then they book
the videoconference.
“They can do this with me
directly, preferably by e-mail,
stating which sites are involved
and the time and duration of
the meeting.
“It is essential that the
conference is booked if it needs to
connect three or more sites, so that
I can allocate a number for all the
participants to dial into.”
E The videoconferencing
bookings phone number is:
0131 536 1050 (internal
6-1050) and Tom can also be
reached by e-mail on:
video.bookings@luht.scot.
nhs.uk
SHARING IDEAS: videoconferencing has proved highly
beneficial for staff to communicate with their colleagues
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
9
Weight loss surgery pilot proves
a success for Lothian patients
ACTIVATE: from left: Tony Mitchell (KTP adviser), Alison Meiklejohn
(head occupational therapist), Dr Kirsty Forsyth (senior lecturer, QMU),
Susan Prior (ActiVate collaboration), Linda Irvine (mental health
strategic programme manager) and Dr Mike Walsh (lecturer UoS)
ActiVating people
into employment
NHS Lothian’s occupational
therapy service and two of
Scotland’s leading universities
are joining forces to help
people recovering from mental
ill health get back into work.
The programme, called
ActiVate, will examine current
practice and develop new
methods to provide people with
the best possible first step on
their journey to employability
after a severe and/or enduring
mental illness.
It will directly involve
service users and frontline
providers to make sure the
services are tailored to meet
their needs.
Queen Margaret University
and the University of Stirling
are the academic collaborators
in the project, which is part of
the UK-wide Knowledge
Transfer Partnership. It helps
organisations to improve their
services through the use of
the knowledge, technology
and skills that reside in
academic institutions.
Funded by NHS Lothian,
the Economic and Social
Research Council and the
Scottish Government, the
three-year programme aims to
promote earlier access to
vocational rehabilitation
services and to develop clear
pathways within and between
services, allowing people who
need help to access the right
service at the right time.
It also aims to support the
adoption of a recovery ethos
across mental health services.
Susan Prior has been
appointed in a joint post
between the two universities
to facilitate the project over
the three-year period.
Alison Meiklejohn is head
occupational therapist for
Edinburgh adult general
psychiatry at NHS Lothian.
She said: “Many of the
rehabilitation techniques being
used to encourage people with
mental ill health into work are
perceived as quite old
fashioned and not in keeping
with current evidence on best
practice. This programme gives
us the chance to explore these
issues and bring them into the
21st century.”
She added: “ActiVate will
contribute to NHS Lothian
health efficiency action targets
(HEAT), by supporting
individuals at the time they are
discharged. Providing a good
care package in the community
means there’s less chance they
will slip backwards and be
readmitted to hospital.
“If you can provide
individuals with alternatives
to antidepressants, they will
be able to rebuild their lives
in other ways.”
Lose weight
- gain health
TEN patients in the Lothian area
recently underwent surgery to
reduce their weight.
Adjustable bands were fitted to the
patients’ stomachs by laparoscopic
(keyhole) surgery in a bid to make
patients feel full when eating much
smaller amounts of food. This kind
of surgery is only approved for people
with a body mass index of more than
35 and medical conditions that can
only be improved by weight loss.
The operations were performed by
surgeon Bruce Tulloh and Andrew
de Beaux at the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh.
The patients chosen for the
procedure, part of an NHS Lothian
pilot project, were selected according
THE RESULTS
■ Patients were encouraged
to lose weight weeks before
the operation and were advised
to take a low-calorie liquid
diet. One patient has lost
30kg over six months, with
the average weight loss about
20kg to date, which is 15 per
cent of their initial body
weight – and they are
continuing to lose.
to NICE guidelines. Patients
undergoing the procedure were
able to leave hospital the next
day. Most of the patients are
now eating a normal diet –
although they are consuming
much smaller amounts than
before and feel able to be
more active.
Dietitian Fiona Steven said:
“Since the operations were carried out,
everyone seems to be much happier
and healthier. They have lower
blood pressure and the diabetic
patients have been able to reduce the
amount of medication they are
taking. Another patient has reported
that his knees no longer hurt.
“There is a lot of camaraderie
between the group and everyone has
been able to share their experiences.
One of the patients is going to set up
a self-help group, which will be held
outwith a hospital/clinical setting.”
What is ironic is that dietitian Fiona
has been busily gaining weight as her
patients lose it…
“I’m expecting my first child in
October,” she explained, “so the
patients has a good laugh when they
saw me at our follow-up meeting!”
The pilot project has proven to be
successful, and now 50 patients a year
could be selected for the surgery.
First minister praises health board’s response
FIRST minister Alex Salmond
has written to thank NHS
Lothian for its response to
the challenges posed by the
Grangemouth Refinery
workers’ industrial action,
noting that public services
had been maintained with
minimum disruption.
Mr Salmond wrote: “Much
of the credit for this success
goes to the responsible
approach taken by a wide range
of organisations, including
yours, on which the people of
Scotland rely in order to go
about their daily lives.
“I am especially grateful to
the staff at all levels who helped
to minimise any inconvenience
caused by the events.”
NHS Lothian’s emergency
planning and business
continuity advisory tactical
group was activated during the
action at Grangemouth. This
gave NHS Lothian a strong
indication that the contingency
measures it has in place for
such events are resilient.
Accolade for Vision Support Centre
HERE TO HELP: Miriam Innes from the Vision Support Centre
THE Vision Support Centre
at the Eye Pavilion has been
recognised for its partnership
work.
The centre was shortlisted for a
Third Force News Award – or
Tiffany for short – at the Scottish
Council for Voluntary Sector
Organisations’ annual dinner.
Third Force News is the voluntary
sector newspaper for Scotland.
Run by the RNIB in
partnership with NHS Lothian
and the City of Edinburgh
Council at Edinburgh’s Eye
Hospital, the Vision Support
Centre opened its doors in 2004,
and has three members of staff –
two of whom are registered blind.
The centre’s role is to support
patients through providing
information and advice, a
listening ear and helping out
with people’s practical needs.
It can also provide simple aids
and equipment that can make
everyday life easier for those with
sight problems.
There is a specially adapted
kitchen, designed by Heriot Watt
University and donated by B&Q,
where patients and their carers
can learn about kitchen safety
design principles and try out
some useful aids and equipment.
Allan Jones of the RNIB
said: “We think the centre is
unique because it brings together
a diverse partnership of health,
social work, the voluntary
sector, university and private
sector agencies.
“The goal of everyone in the
partnership is to work together to
provide the best possible medical,
social care and information to
those who lose their sight and to
their families and carers.”
10
NEWS
Tantallon Ward workers sign up for innovative university quality programme
Midwife
Linda is
a MUM in
a million!
EDINBURGH midwife
Linda McDonald has been
named the capital’s Citizen
of the Year.
Linda, who founded the
MUMs recipe book charity to
help mothers and their babies
in Malawi, has had support
from ex-US President Bill
Clinton, millionaire
businessman Tom Hunter and
Prime Minister’s wife Sarah
Brown in her charity work.
She works in the Simpson
Centre for Reproductive
Health at the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh.
Linda received her award
from Edinburgh Lord Provost
George Grubb, who called her
“a unique individual, who has
used her determination,
enthusiasm and skill to save
lives and bring happiness to
many people in Malawi.
“As a great citizen of
Edinburgh, she deserves
all of the recognition that
this famous award brings.”
Linda said: “I was
nominated by my church elder
and everyone around me was
sworn to secrecy. I’m
absolutely delighted – and I
feel quite humbled.
“It’s not my award – it
belongs to everyone
associated with MUMs.”
Linda has raised more
than £100,000 with two
recipe books and a calendar
and is still involved in the
project to improve maternity
services in Malawi’s capital,
Lilongwe.
In January 2009, she’s
taking unpaid leave from
NHS Lothian and returning
to Malawi with her husband
Iain to work as a midwife for
six months.
She added: “Bwaila
Maternity Hospital in Lilongwe
– formerly Bottom Hospital –
is one of the busiest hospitals
in southern Africa, operating
with a chronic shortage of
doctors and nurses, soaring
HIV rates, and a criminal
lack of basic medical supplies
and drugs.”
FROM LEFT: occupational therapist
Kate Robertson, staff nurses Doreen Quate and
Carol Beattie, speech and language therapist
Mary Clark, and physiotherapist Guy Whitehead
STAFF’S SCOTTISH FIRST IN
THE QUEST FOR EXCELLENCE
STAFF at an East Lothian hospital
have achieved a Scottish “first”.
Workers in Tantallon Ward at
Herdmanflat Hospital are the
first in the country to enrol on a
university programme designed to
improve their performance and build
quality services.
The Excellence in Practice
Accreditation Scheme (EPAS) was
developed at the University of
Teesside in Middlesborough, and
allows clinical teams and services
to use evidence-based practice
across six core standards:
• working in organisations
• collaborative working
• user focused care
• continuous quality improvement
• performance management
• measuring efficiency and
effectiveness.
Stuart Cameron, healthcare
governance facilitator at East
Lothian Community Health
Partnership, said: “This is a first –
not only for NHS Lothian, but for
Scotland. Accreditation by the
university would mean so much to
the staff – and to the service
as a whole.
“Other teams who have been
accredited have said that it assists
greatly with staff morale, recruitment
and retention, and encourages
other services to come and see
what’s being done.
“By working towards achieving
the six core criteria, EPAS
Framework aims to tackle
obesity issues in Lothian
Picture: Edinburgh Evening News
CARING CITIZEN:
Linda with her MUMs
fundraising recipe books
July/August 2008 Connections
A NEW five-point plan to
encourage healthier lifestyles
through better diets and physical
activity has been adopted by
NHS Lothian.
The Healthy Weight “strategic
framework” aims to allow people
to adopt healthy lifestyles and was
given the go-ahead in May.
Dr Alison McCallum, director of
public health and health policy of
NHS Lothian, said: “The Healthy
Weight framework is about
i m p ro v i n g t h e q u a l i t y o f
life for people in Lothian and
helping people lead long and
healthy lives.
“By promoting a healthy
environment, NHS Lothian can
help people avoid some of the
debilitating and occasionally fatal
conditions associated with being
severely overweight.
“The solutions to helping people
maintain healthy weight are not just
down to the NHS – while we will
do our bit for people who already
have problems associated with
obesity, it’s important that people
realise we need to improve things
at a society-wide and cultural level.
“Society needs to realise that living
in a built environment where people
are forced to use cars, rather than
walking or cycling to get around,
is part of this problem and that
transport is one of the many factors
making it harder for some people
to maintain a healthy weight.”
The framework sets out a fivepoint plan for helping people in
Lothian remain healthy:
These are:
• to increase the awareness of
recommended levels of physical
activity and understanding of food
and diet to maintain healthy
weight
• to work with local
and national
government to
tackle problems
such as urban
design promoting
car use and
dissuading people
from
walking or cycling
• to develop and implement
specific initiatives to increase
physical activity and promote
healthy eating in vulnerable
communities
• to support effective national
programmes that aim to increase
physical activity and promote
healthy eating
• to provide appropriate evidencebased interventions for people
who are overweight and obese.
It’s estimated that the cost of
treating obesity-linked illnesses in
NHSScotland in 2001 was £171m.
More than £22m a year could be
redirected to the
treatment of other
conditions if the
public acts on
healthy eating
messages.
uniquely offers a team or
organisation a framework for
seeking, finding, implementing,
evaluating and sustaining best
practice.
“After a period of 12 to 18 months
facilitation, Tantallon Ward will
undergo a final accreditation
visit by peers and experts in the
field to see if they have acquired
a standard and level of practice
to be offered the Excellence in
Practice Award.”
Communicating
our strategy
FEEDBACK from staff, partners and
the public has helped shaped NHS
Lothian’s corporate communications
strategy.
NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
requires boards to have a corporate
communications strategy as part of
their corporate and risk management
governance standards.
The first Lothian-wide corporate
communications strategy was approved
by the board of NHS Lothian in 2004.
This final draft reflects organisational
changes since then, including the
new CHPs and CHCP and the points
made during the consultation.
The updated strategy is based on
feedback from staff surveys, a range of
public consultations, CHPs, CHP and
CHCP Public Partnership Forums and
from the public in a workshop held
by the Patient Involvement Team.
CHPs, West Lothian CHCP, UHD,
Patient Councils, the Partnership
Forum, Staff Governance Committee,
Primary and Community Partnership
Committee and Patient Public
Forums across Lothian were all
invited to comment on the draft.
The director of communications
also attended a number of meetings with
patients, PPFs and Patient Councils to
listen to views and answer questions.
This final draft also makes reference
to the Patient Information Framework
which is still to be developed and
will be led by the director of nursing.
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
11
Meet our two
local heroes!
Dental centre
opens wide!
Off-duty nurses come to the rescue of
elderly heart attack victim
TWO off-duty nurses saved a
man’s life after he collapsed on a path
in Linlithgow.
Together they fought for almost 30
minutes in the pouring rain to provide
CPR until paramedics arrived.
Staff nurse David Adams and
charge nurse Fiona Low from
St John’s Hospital were praised for
their bravery by doctors who said the
victim, in his 70s, would not have
survived without their help.
David works in the observation
unit at St John’s, while Fiona is
in Ward 24.
David said: “I was on a day out
with my family when I saw that
someone had collapsed. A pedestrian
– I later found out she was an offduty police officer – was already
giving him aid when I arrived and
look over. She’d done a fantastic job
on her own up to that point.”
Fiona added: “I was on my way
to work when I saw the man
lying on the pathway with David
kneeling beside him. David had
stopped – as I had – because of our
training and because our roles carry
a weight of responsibility and
expectation when it comes to
patient care.
“We followed the resuscitation
guidelines. At one point I thought my
knees were going to give up – but
we certainly were not going to!”
Fiona Low, charge nurse
LIFE SAVERS: staff
nurse David Adams and
charge nurse Fiona Low
“We followed the resuscitation
guidelines surrounded by a group of
passers-by. At one point I thought my
knees were going to give up – but
we certainly were not going to!”
She added: “When the ambulance
arrived the paramedic was
outstanding, cannulating, intubating
and defibrillating the patient, and
administering the drugs, while we
continued to give artificial respiration.
“The paramedic asked if we
were nurses, and added that we were
doing not a bad job!”
Fiona and David were later told
the victim had no pulse when he
arrived at hospital, and medical staff
said they considered he had no
chance of survival at that point.
Fiona added: “Happily, when I
called some days later, he had been
moved out of the ITU to the
medical high dependency unit and
then to a mainstream ward.
“He is home now – and back to
normal. He had only gone out that
day to buy a birthday card. I think
it ended up being his birthday!”
Improving the quality of
the patient experience
FRONTLINE staff and patients from
all over NHS Lothian gathered for
the third annual conference on
quality improvement held at Napier
University’s Craiglockhart Campus.
The conference drew its delegates
from various specialisms and
settings – from primary care through
community workers to the area’s
acute hospitals – and patients and
partnership organisations. They
came together to share good
practice in relation to quality
improvement and patient
involvement.
Pat Murray, director of NHS
Lothian pharmacy service and
chair of the healthcare governance
and risk management committee,
chaired the conference – entitled
“Improving the Quality of the
Patient Experience” – along with
Dr Nikki Maran, consultant
anaesthetist at the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh.
More than 180 delegates –
representing frontline staff,
partnership and voluntary
organisations, health managers,
practitioners, patients and their
representatives – heard presentations
from a number of highly experienced
practitioners.
They also had the chance to see
and discuss six oral presentations
and an impressive 33 poster
presentations, delivered by health
staff working to improve patient
ABOVE: Catriona MacGregor, Pat Dawson, Pat Murray, Nikki
Maran, Hazel Smith and Narelle Gregor. Right: Fiona Hutcheson,
clinical effectiveness facilitator, and Margaret Meikle, Datix trainer
“The event showcased the wide range
of quality improvement work being
undertaken by NHS Lothian and its
partnership organisations”
Pat Murray, director of NHS Lothian pharmacy service
care across NHS Lothian. The
exercise allowed teams to share
success stories, ideas and lessons
learned with each other.
Organisations including the
Citizens Advice Bureau, NHS
Volunteers, the Scottish Health
Council and the Scottish Public
Service Ombudsman also
attended for the first time.
Pat said: “The main purpose of the
conference is to share good practice
between health professionals.
“The event showcased the
wide range of quality improvement
work being undertaken by NHS
Lothian and its partnership
organisations. It also gave an
opportunity for staff to learn more
about the Scottish Patient Safety
Programme and the perspective of
frontline staff who have been
involved.
“It also motivated people to get
involved, gain knowledge, and
hopefully encouraged teams to
come back and share their own
success stories with colleagues
and patients at future events.”
THE new Bonnyrigg Dental Centre
is now complete.
The centre shares its premises
with the community mental
health team, who will be providing
unscheduled care services for
mental health patients in East and
Midlothian.
The dental centre has five
dental surgeries and a
decontamination unit for
instruments. It provides dental
services for East and Midlothian
patients who don’t have a dentist.
There is a specialist paediatric
dentist, who will take referrals from
local dentists, and a special care
dentist who will deal with adults
and children with learning
disabilities and patients with
complex medical problems.
The centre is staffed by some
15-20 dentists and dental care
professionals, supported by six
administrative employees, and is
equipped with digital radiography.
New service
offers support
to women
A NEW service managed by
NHS Lothian aimed at supporting
women involved in street
prostitution has been awarded
almost £55,000 by Edinburgh’s
Community Safety Partnership.
The Women’s Health Living and
Education Project, based within
the Community Link Centre at
SACRO premises in Edinburgh,
aims to reach women in crisis, and
provides free and confidential
support to those involved in or
at risk of becoming involved
in the sex trade.
Public health practitioner for
prison leavers Yvonne Dalziel said:
“We’re delighted to have been
awarded this funding, which will
allow us to provide an integrated
service and give our clients a
chance to bring structure into
their lives.
“We’ll be basing our work at the
SACRO Community Link Centre
at Nicolson Square, and will be
helped by people from other
agencies which are also involved
in supporting these women.
“We aim to encourage them to
look after themselves by offering
them cookery lessons and tips on
better sexual health.
“We’ll ask them what kind of
interests they have, such as
swimming or visiting museums
or the cinema, and try to set up
outings if that’s what they want
to do.
“There’s also a therapeutic
element to the work. A lot of these
women are emotionally damaged
and have experienced abuse, so
we will offer counselling sessions
if they want them.
“The third service we’ll offer is
the opportunity for these women
to get back into work away from
prostitution.
“APEX Scotland is an agency
that works with Napier University
to offer a tailor-made course for
women, and teaches them
employability skills.”
12 NEWS
Logging on to enhance
the patient experience
CD-ROM gives staff
easy access to quality
improvement material
D R I A N M C K AY, c h a i r m a n o f
Edinburgh CHP’s quality improvement
team, and Jennifer Evans, administrator
for the quality improvement programme,
recently demonstrated their latest
support aid at an event in June on
“Improving the Quality of the Patient
Experience”, held at Napier
University, Edinburgh.
Edinburgh CHP’s quality improvement
team is the only team in Lothian to use
a CD-ROM in place of printed material
to manage its quality improvement
programme, which members of the team
can easily access from their desktop
PCs or laptops.
Jennifer and Ian demonstrated the
simplicity of the new system at the event
and emphasised that capturing the
information that staff need on a CD-ROM
makes the process more manageable
than the previous paper-based version,
which had become very unwieldy. In
addition, the use of hyperlinks throughout
the CD allows speedy navigation of the
programme to view supporting
documents, manage specific actions and
check timelines to ensure timely
submission.
Future plans include reformatting
the quality improvement programmes
for associated services such as care of
the elderly, rehabilitation medicine,
family planning and well woman services
and community mental health, and
including these within the overall
programme.
There are also plans to improve
access to the quality improvement
programme by having it available on the
NHS Lothian intranet and website.
E To ask about a demonstration or
for further details, please contact:
Jennifer Evans, QIP administrator.
Tel: 0131 537 9516. E-mail:
jennifer.evans@nhslothian.
scot.nhs.uk
Staff praised for meeting
delayed discharge targets
STAFF throughout NHS Lothian
deserve huge credit for their efforts in
meeting targets for the second
successive year for delayed discharges
set by the government.
The success is down to the hard
work and effort of NHS Lothian and the
four local councils (West Lothian, the
City of Edinburgh, Midlothian and East
Lothian) to reduce the number of
patients whose discharge from Lothian
hospitals may be delayed.
NHS Lothian’s head of integration
and performance, David Heaney,
said: “This excellent
performance reflects the hard
work which colleagues
throughout the health
service and the local
councils have been
undertaking to reduce delayed
discharge and minimise its
consequences. They all deserve
our thanks and praise.
“We have made it a priority to
robustly tackle delayed discharge
and to develop, in co-operation with
our local authority partners, ways of
ensuring patients are not denied the
opportunity of maximum rehabilitation
and care in the community.”
NHS Lothian and its local authority
partners are now focused on
maintaining low levels of delayed
discharge patients.
Unique partnership will give NHS Lothian patients access to the world’s most advanced CT scanner
ENTERING A NEW DIMENSION
NHS Lothian and
Edinburgh University will
soon be running the RollsRoyce of CT scanners
thanks to a unique funding
partnership with Royal
Bank of Scotland (RBS).
The Toshiba Aquilion
ONE is the world’s most
advanced CT scanner and
is capable of producing
four-dimensional images
of entire organs in a
split second.
Scotland is the first
place in the UK and one
of the first countries in
Europe to obtain the
scanner which, in
addition to helping thousands of
patients a year, will also give
Edinburgh University’s Queen’s
M e d i c a l Re s e a rc h I n s t i t u t e
(QMRI) a cutting-edge tool in
which to progress its world-leading
medical research.
The scanner will be based at
the QMRI’s Clinical Research
Imaging Centre, which is being
SENT HOME: staff have
worked hard to reduce delayed
discharges
ANYTHING TO TELL US?
Do you have a story for
Connections? The copy
deadline for the next issue
is Friday 15 August. Send
your story ideas or articles
to the communications
team – contact details
are on page 2.
NEWS 13
Connections July/August 2008
CUTTING-EDGE CARE:
the new scanner will
help in the treatment of
cancer and heart disease
ADVANCED: the scanner
can produce four-dimensional
images of organs in seconds
established at the University of
Edinburgh in partnership with
NHS Lothian, and will be operational
by January 2009.
The funding of this specialist
equipment is unique in Scotland.
RBS has funded the acquisition and
will contribute to the operating costs
in return for 25 per cent of the
scanner’s operational capacity being
used to treat RBS’s employees
under its company health plan.
The remaining 75 per cent will be
used by NHS Lothian for patient care
and QMRI for research.
It is estimated that the new scanner
will provide an additional 4000
patient scans a year and will also
accelerate the University’s cuttingedge research to improve the
diagnosis and treatment of a range
of heart and cancer illnesses. This
Centre, said: “The potential of new
imaging technologies lies not only in
replacing more intrusive tests, but also
in helping us to better understand and
treat conditions such as heart disease,
cancer and strokes.
“The 320-multidetector CT scanner
represents a major advance in
imaging the body and, in particular,
provides the ability to examine the
heart and the coronary arteries
within one heartbeat, at high
resolution and with markedly reduced
radiation doses.
“The scanner, as part of an
integrated approach encompassing a
range of equipment, will enable the
Clinical Research Imaging Centre to
carry out cutting-edge research with
the ultimate aim of improving
treatment for patients.”
NHS LOTHIAN is investing
nearly £3m in a number of
projects to help people in
Lothian live healthier lives.
The funding is supporting
15 projects working with
younger people, older people
and parents until 2011.
The projects were chosen to
receive further backing after
evaluations showed they were
making a real difference in terms
of improving the health of the
people receiving help and advice.
The total funding – nearly £2.9m
over three years – is coming from
the Health Improvement Fund,
which was originally set up by the
Scottish Government in 2000.
Dr Alison McCallum, director
of public health and health
policy, NHS Lothian, said: “We
are delighted to use this funding
to work with partners to deliver a
healthier Lothian.
“This money is helping us
immeasurably in addressing the
health inequalities we see in
Lothian – where your health and
even how long you live can be
connected to your socioeconomic background.
“These projects are all
targeted at specific groups of
people that are known to suffer
poorer health. The projects will
continue to help improve their
health and wellbeing.”
The near £3m funding will be
spent from 2008 till 2011, and
follows a previous three-year
cycle running from 2005-2008.
Protecting
our children
will make a significant contribution
to Scotland’s fight against heart and
cancer-related deaths.
Charles Swainson, NHS Lothian
medical director, said: “We are
delighted that this partnership
will result in such an advanced
scanner being available to NHS
patients in Lothian.
“It will allow our clinicians to
diagnose life-threatening illnesses
within a matter of minutes and will
also pave the way for quicker
treatment.
“Another major advantage is that
the extra scanning capacity it
provides will free up time for other
patients to benefit from our existing
diagnostic facilities.”
WHAT IS A CT SCANNER?
A CT (computed tomography)
NEW SCANNER IS A REAL BOOST FOR BURGEONING BIOQUARTER
THE acquisition of the Toshiba
Aquilion ONE scanner is a real
“feather in the cap” for Edinburgh
University and the city’s burgeoning
BioQuarter, which plans to establish
Edinburgh and Scotland as one of the
world’s top ten centres for biomedical
commercialisation.
The BioQuarter consists of a 100acre site alongside the new Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh. It provides an
ideal location for the development of
translational medicine, especially as
it is on the doorstep of University of
Edinburgh’s world-renowned medical
school and bespoke biomedical
research and development facilities,
such as Queen’s Medical Research
Institute (QMRI).
Professor David Newby, director of
the QMRI’s Clinical Research Imaging
£3m funding
announced
scanner uses a series of X-ray
beams to build up images of the body
in slices. Unlike an X-ray, which sends
one beam of radiation through the
body, a CT scanner emits a succession
of narrow beams as it moves
through an arc. This produces a very
detailed image which is analysed by
a computer to build up a crosssectional image of the body and
displays it on the screen.
The Toshiba Aquilion ONE, which
has taken 10 years and £250 million
to develop, is the first to allow
clinicians to view continuous 4D (like
video) real-time images of the heart
and brain without the patient
having to move continuously through
the scanner.
Unlike previous scanners, it can
capture entire organs such as the
heart and brain in a fraction of a
section and in precise detail, while
using a lower dose of radiation.
CT scanning can identify normal
and abnormal tissue, making it a
useful tool to plan areas for
radiotherapy treatments and as a
guide for taking tissue samples and
needle biopsies.
COMMON USES OF CT SCANNERS
BIOQUARTER: an artist’s impression of the new 100-acre site
beside the RIE which will be home to the pioneering scanner
■ Head: checking the brain for
tumours, bleeding or swelling of the
arteries, plus post-stroke conditions.
■ Abdominal: detect tumours and
d i a g n o s e
conditions of
internal organs,
including the
liver, kidneys,
pancreas,
intestines and
the lungs.
■
Assess
vascular (blood
flow) conditions
to different parts of the body.
■ Assess injury and disease to bones,
particularly in the spine and to assess
bone density and osteoporosis.
What’s in
it for RBS?
ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS), the
country’s largest company, has
made a £40 million donation to the
acquisition of the world’s most
advanced CT scanner in a unique
partnership with NHS Lothian and
Edinburgh University that will benefit
the public, medical research and
RBS’s employees.
Allan Watt, RBS group head of
brand communications, explained
the benefits to his company and
employees: “We are delighted that,
in partnership with NHS Lothian and
the University of Edinburgh, we have
been able to bring this state-of-theart scanner to Scotland.
“As well as supporting the UK’s
reputation for medical research
and bringing additional diagnostic
support to Scotland, it will allow RBS
to extend its current health screening
options to staff.
“RBS has one of the largest
benefits choice programmes in
Europe and we know that health and
wellbeing is one of the benefits that
our staff value most.
“We already offer a range of health
benefits such as medical checks and
critical illness cover and this will
complement our existing lifestyle
choices and take our provision of
staff benefits to a new level.”
THE 4th annual NHS Lothian
child protection conference was
held in June. This year’s topic
was child abuse and mental
health and the event attracted
more than 300 delegates.
The event was co-hosted
with Napier University, who
have been working in close
collaboration with NHS Lothian
to ensure the best child
protection training (now
mandatory for all NHS Lothian
staff since January 2006) is
available to staff.
NHS Lothian chief executive
Professor James Barbour,
who opened the event, said
that this collaboration has
been strengthened through
the joint appointment of the
post of nurse consultant for
vulnerable children.
The highlight of the day was
an extended presentation from
Dr Bruce Perry, senior fellow
from the Child Trauma Academy
in Houston, Texas, an authority
on the effects of child
maltreatment and child trauma.
He spoke about the significant,
long-term impact that abuse and
neglect can have on the neurodevelopment, mental health and
wellbeing of children.
Feedback from the conference
has been very positive. Those who
have not yet done so are asked to
complete the online survey.
14
Shaping the
future of
community
nursing
NHS LOTHIAN is one of four
health boards piloting a
new way of reorganising
the way community nurses
deliver care.
The Scottish Government’s
review of community
nursing, published in 2006,
recommended a new model
of community health nursing
which would incorporate the
disciplines of district
nursing, public health
nursing (health visiting and
school nursing) and family
health nursing.
The pilot started in May
last year, with work done to
develop what the model will
actually mean to current
staff and how NHS Lothian
will put it into practice.
The pilot is taking place in
the north-west and southeast local health partnership
areas in Edinburgh. Staff in
these two areas have been
involved in discussions
about the new role and the
shape of the community
health nursing team.
Over this next year, more
work will be done to test the
practicalities of the model
including how community
health nurses will work with
specialist services.
The model aims to support
the policy directives of
providing more care for
people closer to home,
improving the population’s
health and preventing
unnecessary hospital
admissions. It hopes to
address the problem of
an ageing community
nursing workforce by having
greater flexibility of roles
as well as providing better
career choices for nurses
in the community.
NEWS
July/August 2008 Connections
Posters urge everyone to pay attention to the hand hygiene message
HELP ‘EXGERMINATE’
THOSE NASTY GERMS!
IT looks like Dr Who’s mortal
enemies, the Daleks, have joined
NHS Lothian in its fight to wipe out
germs!
“Exgerminate” is the catchword
for a new poster campaign to
bring home the importance of
hand hygiene in reducing healthcare
associated infections (HAI).
Ann McQueen, NHS Lothian’s
h a n d h y g i e n e c o - o rd i n a t o r,
“borrowed” the idea after hearing
about a friend’s son who came up
with the catchphrase for his school
project and felt it was perfect to
convey the message around NHS
Lothian.
She worked with communications
manager Clifford Burden to develop
the message and St John’s medical
photographer Duncan Blyth worked
on designing the poster.
Ann was delighted with the
results: “I think they are great.
They are very bright and eye
catching and call for everyone to join
the battle to fight infection by using
the liquid soap and alcohol gel
available throughout healthcare
settings.”
When Ann started her hand
hygiene campaign in January
2007, an audit showed that about
66 per cent of healthcare staff were
compliant with hand hygiene
practice.
A recent audit showed this had
increased to 87 per cent, but
Ann has a high target to meet
by the end of the year.
“We have made good progress
thanks to the hard work and
commitment of all staff.
“There are some outstanding
and dedicated hand hygiene
champions out there and I’m
confident we can make the 90 per
cent target by November.
“The posters are very bright and
eye catching and call for everyone to
join the battle to fight infection by
using the liquid soap and alcohol gel
available throughout healthcare settings”
Ann McQueen, hand hygiene co-ordinator
E For more information,
please contact Alison
Jarvis, project manager
0131 536 9264
Celebrations for mental health team
Staff lottery
winners
MIDLOTHIAN joint mental health
team celebrated its first anniversary
at a teambuilding afternoon at the
Scottish Mining Museum,
Newtongrange.
The event was facilitated by Alison
Ferahi, organisational development
practitioner, and its aims were to take
stock of progress made over the past
year and make plans for the future
direction of the service.
The team has had a very successful
y e a r a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r, t h e
co-location of teams has improved
communication, fostered closer
working relationships and enabled
a faster response when dealing
with clients.
Another theme emerging was the
team’s enthusiasm for welcoming new
staff and trainees and for sharing ideas
and experiences with professionals
from other areas. It was a positive
event, which the team plans to
repeat on a regular basis.
The multi-disciplinary team is
THE main winners of the
April NHS Lothian lottery
prize draw were: first –
£3500: Ailsa McMullan,
nursing, Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh; second – £1250:
Elizabeth Brown, radiology,
Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh; third – £750:
Jean Saddler, Cullen Centre,
Royal Edinburgh Hospital;
fourth – £500: Barbara
MacPherson, nurse,
Marchhall.
The lottery is now being
run by PSSB, who are the
new staff benefits
organisation for NHS
Lothian. More details will
appear in the next issue of
Connections.
employed by Midlothian Community
Health Partnership (CHP) and
Midlothian Council and is made up of
professionals from a range of
backgrounds including nursing,
occupational therapy, medical,
physiotherapy, psychology, pharmacy
and mental health officer/social
work, with administrative support.
All based in the same office, the staff
have a wide range of skills and areas
of expertise. The team works in
TEAMBUILDING: Midlothian joint mental health team celebrates
its first anniversary at the Scottish Mining Museum in Newtongrange
partnership with non-statutory
agencies including Health in Mind and
Carr-Gomm.
Midlothian’s mental health strategy
aims to offer support to service
users in the community wherever
possible.
A year ago, the Midlothian intensive
home treatment team was created to
provide intensive support to people
with acute mental health problems
who may otherwise have needed
hospital admission.
The smaller number of people who
require admission to hospital are now
cared for in the Royal Edinburgh
Hospital.
Other parts of the team include the
continued recovery team, which
supports people and their carers in
recovery from moderate to severe
mental illness, offering a range of
therapeutic options.
The psychological therapies team
provides a range of interventions, on
a group and individual basis.
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
15
Simpson’s wins
UNICEF award
MATERNAL SUPPORT: Lynda Howie (third
from left) with some of the mums – and babies –
who attended the many events during National
Breastfeeding Awareness Week
DID
YOU KNOW
MUMS AGREE –
BREAST IS BEST!
SPECIAL coffee mornings and a tea
party were among the many events
organised across Lothian to raise
awareness of the benefits of
breastfeeding as part of National
Breastfeeding Awareness Week.
NHS Lothian is a strong supporter
of breastfeeding as the best way
of ensuring children get a good start
in life.
Dr Alison McCallum, director of
public health and health policy,
NHS Lothian, said: “Breastfeeding is
the best, most natural option for
feeding babies. It’s really important
that women and their partners know
that there is support and advice
available from the NHS and other
agencies to help mums get
breastfeeding established.”
Coffee mornings took place at
Gilmerton Community Centre and
the community wing within
Craigroyston Community High
School, while a special tea party was
organised by midwife Carla Napier
at Simpson’s at the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh.
NHS Lothian also provided an
information stall at the Parents Like
US Festival in Leith Links, Edinburgh,
while a second stall was provided at
the Mayfield Leisure Centre in
Dalkeith, Midlothian.
BREASTFEEDING FRIENDLY
AWARDS
West Lothian Community Health and
Care Partnership (CHCP) presented
its first breastfeeding friendly award
to the Jungle Tums Café at the Five
Sisters Zoo, Polbeth.
The café received the award for
welcoming breastfeeding mums, who
are allowed to breastfeed in all the
public areas and provided with
clean and comfortable facilities.
David Kelly, director of West
Parents support
breastfeeding
awareness week
Lothian CHCP, said: “This project
shows our dedication to raising
awareness among the local community
of the benefits of breastfeeding so
that more women who choose to
breastfeed receive the support and
encouragement they need.”
The café’s manager, Catherine
McNulty, added that the award
meant a lot to the café and those who
visited it.
BREASTFEEDING STATISTICS
Almost half of babies born last year
in Lothian were breastfed, according
to new figures.
Checks six to eight weeks after birth
showed 48 per cent of newborns were
either fully or partially breastfed, ahead
of the Scottish average of 36 per cent.
About 9000 babies are born in
Lothian each year.
NHS Lothian is already ahead of a
new Scottish Government target
which comes into force in 2010-11. Of
the 48 per cent of Lothian infants
receiving breast milk, 35 per cent were
exclusively breastfed. The new Scottish
Government target is for 32.7 per cent
of Scottish infants to be exclusively
breastfed by 2010-11.
BREASTFEEDING DIARY COVERS
All health visitors and midwives were
given special breastfeeding-branded
diary covers and charts for calculating
birth dates as part of National
Breastfeeding Awareness Week.
The covers and charts were
SIMPSON’S Centre for
ensure that mothers and
Reproductive Health is
babies receive high-quality
celebrating seven years as a baby support to enable successful
friendly unit after retaining a
breastfeeding.
prestigious breastfeeding award.
Maria Wilson, chief midwife
The unit, at the Royal
for NHS Lothian, said:
Infirmary of Edinburgh, has
“Celebrating seven years as a
been reaccredited with the
baby friendly unit is a great
UNICEF Baby Friendly Award in
achievement to show our
recognition of the work staff do
commitment to breastfeeding
to support new mums in
and providing care and support
breastfeeding.
to new mothers.”
The award was presented to
New mum Sue-Ella Holmes,
the unit as part of National
39, was grateful for the
Breastfeeding
support given to her
Awareness Week, at
by staff at
a special tea party
Simpson’s after
attended by
giving birth to
parents, babies
twins William
and staff.
and Gemma.
The Baby Friendly Award is
James
She said:
given to hospitals and health
McCaffery,
“It was
facilities after an assessment
director of
much more
by a UNICEF team has shown
acute services,
challenging
that recognised best
presented a
for me having
practice standards are
special plaque to
twins and
in place
Maria Wilson, Chief
trying to
Midwife, to be
breastfeed both
displayed in the unit.
of them.
It is seven years since
“The staff at Simpson’s were
Simpson’s first received the
fantastic and very supportive.”
award and special seventh
UNICEF Baby Friendly
anniversary lanyards have been
Initiative programme director,
produced to distribute to staff.
Sue Ashmore, added: “We are
The Baby Friendly Initiative,
delighted Simpson’s has
set up by UNICEF and the World
achieved full Baby Friendly
Health Organisation, is a global
status. Surveys show us that
programme which provides a
most mothers want to
practical and effective way for
breastfeed but don’t always get
health services to improve the
the support they need.
care provided for all mothers
“Mothers at Simpson’s can
and babies
be confident that their
In the UK, the initiative works
midwives will provide the
with health professionals to
highest standard of care.”
produced by NHS Lothian’s health
promotion service and infant feeding
advisers.
The diary covers used pictures from
the breastfeeding calendar that was
produced last year. Historically,
diaries for healthcare professionals
often used advertising and branding
from infant formula producing
companies and it is now NHS
Lothian’s policy not to allow direct
advertising of breast milk substitutes,
feeding bottles, teats or dummies on
NHS premises.
The 2000 diaries have been given
to midwives, health visitors, local
authority staff and voluntary sector
partners. The plastic covers don’t have
a date on them so they won’t go out
of date and can be used every year.
The covers also included a copy of
NHS Lothian’s Breastfeeding Policy.
Senior health promotion specialist
(food and health) Fiona Bayne said:
“The idea behind our breastfeeding
diary covers is to promote NHS
Lothian’s encouragement of
breastfeeding.”
BREAST IS BEST: mums at Simpson’s
are encouraged to breastfeed
City’s sparkling occasion
THE City of Edinburgh Council
has marked its close working
relationship with NHS Lothian
with its own series of events to
mark the 60th anniversary of the
National Health Service.
A Lord Provost’s reception
for current and former
health care staff was held on
9 June to formally mark the
diamond anniversary, and a
commemorative exhibition
is to be set up in the Council’s
main public service areas.
A tree is to be planted in Princes
Street Gardens that will be
admired by millions of visitors to
the capital in the years to come.
The Council also plans to
highlight the integrated working
between the Council and
NHS Lothian and the continuing
improvement work that is
currently under way with a
special feature in its community
newspaper Outlook.
The feature also recognises
and celebrates the contribution
of staff and voluntary
organisations over the past
60 years, and the contribution
made by local carers during
that time.
16
Consultation
on uniform
THE Scottish Government has
started a public consultation on a
new NHS uniform that it feels will
promote a more coherent image for
the organisation.
This will also allow NHS National
Procurement to purchase better
quality clothing that is more
appropriate to staff needs.
At the present time, more than
250 different styles of tunic in over
100 different colours are purchased
from NHSScotland.
Independent research suggests
that patients are confused by the
array of colours and styles, and find
it difficult to identify relevant staff.
In October 2007, NHS Scotland’s
national uniform group was
established to examine the issues
of the wearing of a uniform in
consultation with staff groups.
Many staff working in a variety
of settings don’t wear a uniform for
safety, clinical and other reasons.
The new uniform policy that’s being
developed will not compel anyone
who doesn’t currently wear a
uniform to do so.
If you would like to take part in
the national consultation, visit:
www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/
2008/05/30115423/0
There you will find all the
information you will need –
including a set of questions in each
section to which your views and
comments are invited. These
comments will be used to develop
the specification, which the Scottish
Government plans to finalise by
September 2008.
E You can also contact
Alan Milbourne at
nationaluniformconsultation
@scotland.gov.gsi.uk
NEWS
July/August 2008 Connections
IMPROVED SERVICE
FOR COPD PATIENTS
Programme offers a better quality of
life for those with breathing problems
THE chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD) service is to be
extended to reach more patients
suffering with chronic breathing
problems.
This will allow all patients across
Edinburgh suffering from long-term
health conditions, such as chronic
bronchitis or emphysema, access to
the services.
The programme offers patients 12
sessions over a six-week period.
During this time, patients take part
in a range of exercise programmes,
designed to increase fitness, improve
muscle strength and decrease
breathlessness. Treatment is tailored
for the individual needs of each
patient, based on the outcome of their
individual assessment.
NHS LOTHIAN recognises carers as
key partners in the provision of care
– and the largest component in
Lothian’s care “workforce”.
The health board has published a
carer information strategy that’s
designed to deliver more effective
working practices between the NHS
and carers, who are now entitled to
an independent assessment of their
ability and willingness to provide care.
Under the strategy, NHS staff will:
■ identify carers at all levels within
NHS Lothian
The programme also provides
educational sessions to teach
people how to cope with
breathlessness and offers advice
on stopping smoking, healthy
eating and medication.
Susan McNarry, respiratory
physiotherapist, said: “This addition
to the current service is set to make
a real impact on the lives of
patients suffering from COPD
conditions.
By promoting healthy eating
and
physical
a c t i v i t y,
NHS Lothian can help people
avoid some of the debilitating
symptoms associated with COPD,
such as breathlessness, wheezing
and coughing.”
David Small, general manager,
Edinburgh Community Health
Partnership, said: “We want to offer
all patients in Edinburgh who
suffer from COPD conditions
access to services that will improve
their quality of life.”
David Akers, a patient with
COPD, said: “This programme
has taught me how to control my
breathlessness. By doing this I am
able to take regular exercise which
has given me the confidence to live
an active life.”
The programme aims to improve
patient’s symptoms and increase
t h e i r e x e r c i s e c a p a c i t y.
Physiotherapy helps clear mucus
from the lungs and teaches people
exercises they can do every day to
help themselves.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease is the umbrella term used to
describe a variety of illnesses,
including chronic bronchitis,
emphysema and chronic obstructive
STUB IT OUT: the service
offers stop smoking support
airways disorders. People with
COPD have permanently damaged
lungs and find it difficult to breathe
most of the time.
Information strategy launched for carers
■ proactively seek their views when
planning care packages or
discharging patients home from
hospital
■ be aware of carers’ rights to
independent assessment and make
sure carers know about their rights
■ refer carers to appropriate local
support agencies
■ build on and extend good practice
that already exists within NHS
Lothian and partner organisations.
Gordon Gray, assistant programme
manager (older people) at NHS
L o t h i a n, s a i d : “ M a n y c a r e r
organisations and groups assisted us
in developing the strategy over the last
few years, and the Scottish
Government announced additional
funding in February this year to allow
us to take it forward.
“We will produce information and
training for carers to help them
develop the knowledge and skills
they need to continue caring
effectively, while also looking after
their own health.
“We will improve carer awareness
among NHS staff, especially in
identifying carers and working with
them as partners. And we will
provide appropriate training courses
for health service staff.”
BOOKSTART FOR BABIES
Campaign raises
awareness among
the elderly about
the danger of falls
A SERIES of posters designed to raise
awareness among patients and their
carers about the dangers of falling has
been launched at Lothian’s hospitals.
The 13 posters were devised and
designed by a multi-disciplinary group
of occupational therapists,
physiotherapists, pharmacists,
dietetics and medical professionals.
They were paid for by endowment
funding and unveiled on National
Falls Day on 24 June.
Occupational therapist Alison
Chalmers told Connections: “In the
past we’ve tried various ways to
advise elderly patients and their carers
of the dangers of falls, with group
meetings and drop-in centres.
“We thought posters containing
good messages about the risks
might have more impact, especially
if they are located in places where
they’ll be seen by patients and their
relatives and friends.
“There are posters about safety in
the home, the importance of a healthy
diet and how exercise and balance
can help prevent falls.”
Posters will be on display at Astley
Ainslie, Liberton, the Royal Infirmary,
the Western General, St John’s and
at the Leith Community Treatment
Centre.
In the Royal Victoria they’ve been
displayed in the WRVS café, in the day
hospital and at the hospital entrances
where people will see them.
YOU’RE never too
young to enjoy a book,
as 12,000 babies,
toddlers and their
mums and dads proved
on national Bookstart
in Scotland Day.
NHS Lothian works
in partnership with
Edinburgh City
Libraries to promote
the national Bookstart
programme. The
programme encourages
parents to share and
enjoy books with their
children from as early
an age as possible.
The idea is to provide
free packs of books to
babies, which will
inspire, stimulate and
create a love of reading.
The Bookstart in
Scotland day was
held at The Hub in
Edinburgh where
parents and children
enjoyed their favourite
songs, rhymes and
a story, followed by
cake, juice and lots
of fun activities.
Health visitor
Rose McKendry,
Carolyn Bevin,
staff nurse Julie
Haley and
healthcare
assistant Doreen
Piercy were also
at the event.
Rose, who is
based at Wester
Hailes Health
Centre, said: “All
the children are
clearly delighted
READ ALL ABOU
when they get
T IT: attendees
their Bookstart
at the Bookstart
launch with
bags.
Sally Lee of NHS
Lothian, second
“We want to
right
give everyone
in Scotland a
BOOKSTART
lifelong love of books.
Rhymetime.
Locally we meet
FANS
Jenny McCusker
parents in various
Elizabeth McCandlish
and her son Joe,
community settings
and her son Daniel
13 months, received
and invite them to join
(eight months) first
a Bookstart bag from
Bookstart rhymetimes
heard of Bookstart
their health visitor at
in their local libraries.
through their health
Slateford Medical
“This gives parents
visitor at Stockbridge
Centre.
and children an
Health Centre and now
Jenny and Joe
opportunity to enjoy all
visit McDonald Road
regularly attend
that Bookstart has to
Library twice a month
Bookstart Rhymetime
at Sighthill Library.
for Bookstart
offer.”
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
17
Details unveiled of new staff and patient facilities at the Western General Hospital
MAJOR FACELIFT PLANNED
FOR ACUTE RECEIVING UNIT
PhD awarded
to ‘pioneering’
physio Orla
CONGRATULATIONS to
physiotherapist Orla Crummey,
who’s been awarded a PhD
degree for her research work in
comparing neck and back pain.
Orla, who is the team leader
for outpatient musculoskeletal
services at St John’s Hospital in
West Lothian, has also become
something of a health pioneer.
When she began the research
for her thesis seven years ago,
she discovered that hardly
anything had been written on
the comparisons between neck
and back pain. “I think most
people assume they are one and
the same,” she told Connections.
“A lot of researchers have
studied them as the joint.
Others have studied back pain
and extrapolated the results out
to neck pain. Very few have
considered them as two distinct
groups.”
Orla added: “This research
has shown that there are many
similarities between neck and
back pain in terms of sensory
pain and function.
“Back pain patients, however,
have a lower perception of
wellbeing and more emotional
issues related to their pain.
“This research emphasises
the importance of dealing with
both the physical and emotional
aspects of pain.”
Orla successfully completed
her thesis with an oral
examination before a panel
of experts, and will graduate at
the University of Teesside later
this year.
THE Western General Hospital’s
acute receiving unit is set to
undergo a major facelift to improve
the facilities for patients and staff.
The work of extending and
refurbishing the existing facilities is
due to start at the beginning of 2009
and is expected to take about a year
to complete.
As the “front door” to the Western
General, the unit accepts unscheduled
patients and plays a vital role in
meeting the Scottish Governmentset target of admitting or discharging
these patients within four hours.
The new receiving unit will have
14 cubicles (one with an en suite
WC) surrounding a central staff base,
a larger resuscitation room with a
sitting room for relatives close by,
a comfortable waiting area for
patients and two additional
consulting rooms.
For staff, there will be changing
rooms and toilets and a new
communal coffee and conference
room where staff can relax during
busy shifts, as well as office
accommodation.
The refurbishment will be
completed in two phases. The first
will see the patient area relocated
to adjacent accommodation with
minimal disruption to the normal
operation of the current department.
The second phase will see parts
of the existing unit refurbished for
staff accommodation and storage.
Sue Donaldson, project nurse for
the refurbishment, said: “The
long-term gain will be a more
efficient service for patients. The
refurbishment is about ensuring
patients continue to receive a high
standard of care, but in better
surroundings.
“By improving the physical
environment and patient flow, we will
significantly enhance the experience
of patients arriving at the Western
NEW LOOK: the acute receiving unit is to be revamped
General and improve the morale of
the staff team.”
Sue continued: “By giving us a
department that is better suited for
21st-century healthcare than the
current facilities, the refurbishment
will help us to achieve high-quality
patient care.”
Mentoring project will help nurture talent
NHS LOTHIAN has been given
approval to develop a mentoring
scheme for under-represented
staff in the health service.
The opportunity’s been
provided by the Scottish
Government’s Health Workforce
Directorate, and its aim is to
nurture and encourage all of
the talent in the NHS in Scotland
to move into developed and
enhanced roles as clinicians
and leaders.
David Lee, of NHS Lothian’s
workforce and organisational
development department, said:
“The primary aim is to improve
how we manage our services in
a way that meets the needs of
communities that are culturally
and ethically diverse.
“We are working to make
our management more reflective
of the populations and
communities we serve.
“If the project is successful, we
should also have strengthened
our pool of management by
reaching people who historically
and currently are underrepresented at middle and
senior level.”
As well as identifying and
selecting mentors for the
programme, the pilot wants to
sign up a number of “mentees”.
David added: “We are
using a ‘positive action’
approach, which is legally
permissible for certain
under-represented groups such
as black and minority ethnic
(BME) backgrounds.
“Positive action is provided for
within the terms of both the Sex
Discrimination Act 1975 and the
Race Relations Act 1976. Both
Acts include provisions to provide
members of minority ethnic
groups (Race Relations Act,
Section 38) or men or women
(Sex Discrimination Act), with
access to facilities for training
for particular work when they
have been under-represented in
that work within the previous
12 months.
“This allows organisations such
as NHS Lothian to provide
opportunities specifically for
members of the identified, underrepresented groups to improve
their skills, thus enabling them to
compete for jobs and progress
their careers.”
The success of the programme
will be measured not just by
individual stories of achievement,
but also by a change in the
profile of the senior leadership
workforce locally over time.
E For information and to register
your interest, contact: Gerry
Cavanagh on gerry.cavanagh@
luht.scot.nhs.uk
RIE labs team turn in a peak performance!
AFTER last year’s successful Three
Peaks/24-hour challenge (completed
with just five minutes to spare!),
the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
labs team designed a charity
challenge of their own this year
in June.
The plan was to scale the four
Munros at the furthest points on the
compass – Ben Lomond, Sgurr na
Banachdich, Skye, Ben Hope and
Mount Keen – in 36 hours.
The good news is that the team,
comprising Bruce Harris, quality
manager for Lothian laboratories,
L o u i s e M c V i c a r, D o u g i e
G r a n t , G o r d o n Wa l k e r, a l l
biomedical scientists and Paul
Cawood, Maria Warner, both clinical
scientists, completed the challenge.
The bad news was some pretty
poor weather!
Bruce Harris said: “It was quite a
challenge and the weather didn’t help.
Thanks to our support drivers, Ian
King, clinical manager for
biochemistry and Keith Williams,
biomedical scientist, we had plenty
to eat and drink and got to all our
locations on time.”
So far the team have raised
£1200 for prostate cancer research
and are on course to beat last year’s
total of £2000.
E If you would like to contribute
to the effort, go to: justgiving.
com/rie4peakscompass
ABOVE: the lab team from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh celebrates after climbing the
last Munro. From left to right: Paul, Maria, Bruce, Keith, Louise, Ian, Gordon and Douglas
18
NEWS
THE UNSUNG
HEROES OF
HEALTHCARE
Marion’s glad to give something back
The important role of volunteers is to
be recognised in a new partnership
THEY are the people manning the
WRVS café where you can get a coffee
at the end of a hard day in hospital,
or the friendly voice on the hospital
radio station.
Volunteers make a massive
contribution to improving the
experience of patients in hospitals and
other healthcare settings.
Now the role played by volunteers
is to be recognised and more people
encouraged to step forward under new
links between Scottish health boards,
including NHS Lothian, and
Volunteer Development Scotland, the
centre for excellence in volunteering.
NHS Lothian has about 1700
volunteers working across its hospitals
and healthcare centres.
Some 700 volunteer direct with
NHS Lothian, while a further 1000
people are connected with various
organisations such as the WRVS, the
British Red Cross, Breast Cancer Care,
Macmillan, carers groups and the
hospital radio broadcasting service,
Red Dot Radio.
Heather Tierney-Moore, director
of nursing, NHS Lothian, said: “All
our volunteers bring something
special to the healthcare service
in Lothian.
“They do a brilliant job in providing
lots of support including tea and coffee
bars, manning information desks,
driving people to appointments and
socialising with patients.
“Sometimes our volunteers talk
about what they get from volunteering
– such as a boost to their self esteem.
“Our volunteers bring something special
to the healthcare service in Lothian”
Heather Tierney-Moore, director of nursing
HAPPY TO HELP: volunteers
play a vital role in healthcare
“I’m very clear that NHS Lothian
– and our patients – gain
tremendously from the services
provided by our dedicated and
selfless volunteer colleagues.”
George Thomson, chief executive
of Volunteer Development Scotland,
said: “We are delighted to be
working with our strategic partners
in driving forward volunteering in
Scotland’s health service.
“Our role will largely be to provide
leadership and guidance to assist them
in identifying the value and
contribution of volunteering as well
as ensuring the highest quality for all
those participating in this integral
element of the health service.
WIN! WIN! WIN!
TO celebrate the 60th anniversary of the creation of the
National Health Service, we’ve a bumper competition
where you can win everything from a meal for two to a
family day out at the Royal Yacht Britannia!
We’ve a goulish prize up for grabs this issue – five
family passes to the capital’s scariest secret, Edinburgh
Dungeons. A feast of fun with history’s horrible bits,
Edinburgh Dungeons features live actors, an eerie ride,
shows and special effects which transport you back to
the darkest chapters of Scotland’s gruesome history.
New for 2008 is William Wallace: Brave Heart’s
Bloody Truth. Freedom! Feel the passion of Scotland’s
warrior hero Sir William Wallace as you experience the
glory of victory against the English at the Battle of
Stirling Bridge.
We also have one family pass for two adults and up to
three children to visit Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh,
where you can travel back 15 million years to learn
about Mother Earth and what the future hold’s for this
unique planet.
If you’re a lover of all things nautical or Royal,
you’ll be tempted by our Royal Yacht Britannia prize –
two family passes for two adults and up to three
children. The former home of Her Majesty the Queen
and her family, this beautiful ship is now a major
tourist attraction in Leith.
Film buff will be keen to get their hands on some
of our other prizes – we’re offering two pairs of tickets
for Cineworld to catch the latest blockbusters, while
the Filmhouse is offering a pair of tickets for one
lucky reader.
And if you fancy rounding off your evening at the
cinema with a delicious meal, Howies restaurant
could be just the place for you – we have a three-course
dinner for two and a bottle of house wine at any
Howies Restaurant to be won.
If pampering is more your thing, Jenners are offering
a 10 per cent discount for NHS Lothian staff and a
free make over at any make up counter – fab! Simply
take along this page for your discount.
How to enter…
To be in with a chance of winning one of these great prizes, simply answer the following question:
On what date did the National Health Service begin?
Complete the entry form, stating which prize you
would like to win, and send to NHS anniversary
competition, Connections, NHS Lothian, 148 Pleasance,
Deaconess House, Edinburgh EH8 9RS by Friday
29 August. If you would like to enter for more than
one prize, you can submit a photocopy of the entry
form. Alternatively, send a postcard to the above
address.
Answer
Prize
Name
Job title
E-mail address
Work tel. no.
July/August 2008 Connections
FOR Marion Robinson, from
Newington in Edinburgh,
volunteering at the city’s Royal
Hospital for Sick Children is a way
of repaying the NHS for the help
she received as a young mother.
Marion’s daughter Pamela
spent periods of time in both the
children’s hospital and adult
service from 1967 until 1989.
Marion now volunteers one day
a week at the busy Sciennes
hospital, assisting play specialists
in one ward and working with the
Sick Kids Friends Foundation in
the afternoon.
Marion, 67, said: “Things have
changed massively at the Sick
Kids since the time I was there
with my daughter. It used to be
that parents were asked to leave
after a set visiting time and that
was heartbreaking.
“Now there’s more flexibility
and parents are able to be there to
help relieve the stress for their
children. I’m just
really giving back
something that I
got out – giving
the NHS
something back.”
Marion, a former
City Council
and bank
staff
member,
described her work as emotionally
rewarding. Working with play
specialists at the hospital’s ward
7, she plays with children who
have suffered brain injuries and
other neurological problems.
She also lends a sympathetic
ear to parents who regularly
spend long hours in the hospital
on a frequent basis due to the
nature of their child’s difficulties.
“Having a child in this situation
is quite stressful and so part of
this work is just letting parents
offload, just listening to them.
“Sometimes the parents can’t
talk to their own family, and
sometimes there is so much
information that they have to
absorb that their brain goes on
overload and they just need to get
it out, and that’s when I can give
them the time to talk to me.
“That’s when I really feel that I
am doing something that is really
helping people.”
NEWS
Connections July/August 2008
19
Orchard medical practice is first to notch up consecutive quality award
IT’S TWO IN A ROW AS
TEAM EFFORT PAYS OFF!
AN East Lothian medical practice
has been awarded a prestigious
Quality Practice Award – for the
second time.
T h e O rc h a rd P r a c t i c e i n
Haddington is the first in the area
to win the award more than once.
It will receive its award from the
Ro y a l C o l l e g e o f G e n e r a l
Practitioners (RCGP), which
established the accolade in
recognition that an individual
successfully completing RCGP
fellowship by assessment depends
on substantial support from his/her
partners and practice team.
Other awards, such as
Investors in People and ISO 9000,
reflect on organisational excellence,
but none incorporates or
assesses clinical care like the
Quality Practice Award.
Practice partner Dr Rob Lawson
said: “Our mission is to work with
our patients to provide better
quality healthcare. We saw the
achievement of this award again as
a means of not only maintaining, but
AIMING FOR QUALITY: practice manager
Ed Witkowski, Lorraine Skene, practice
nurse, Susan Robertson, senior receptionist
and Frances Brock, QOF manager
also improving, the quality of the
service we provide.”
The award required the practice to
submit written evidence covering
23 aspects of its work – followed by
a peer review visit by a team of
experienced doctors, nurses and
managers.
“We’re all extremely pleased
with this success,” said practice
manager Edmund Witkowski. “It’s
been a real team effort.”
Bringing
pain relief
to thousands
of patients
THOUSANDS of patients have
had their lives improved by a
team of experts at Lothian’s
chronic pain service.
Physiotherapists,
psychologists, specialist
nurses, consultant
anaesthetists and a
rehabilitation specialist have
pooled their knowledge and
experience to help people cope
with incurable pain.
Set up in the 1990s, the
service has grown over the
years, and over the past year
treated 1142 new patients at its
pain clinic at the Western
General Hospital and pain
management programme at
Astley Ainslie Hospital.
John McLennan, the
service’s lead physiotherapist,
said: “For 300 years persistent
pain was seen as directly
relating to pathological
processes. Rene Descartes’
“Telling someone
that they need to
be more active
and ignore the
pain isn’t helpful”
John McLennan, lead
physiotherapist
Diabetes register
gives patients
quicker access
to care
NHS Lothian has signed its
30,000th patient up to the Lothian
Diabetes Register.
The register, which was set up in
2002, enables clinical information
about patients to be shared across
NHS Lothian by medical
professionals involved in a patient’s
treatment.
It means patients with diabetes
can receive consistent and prompt
treatment by staff across NHS
Lothian.
Up-to-date information is collated
from a variety of sources, including
hospital clinics, laboratories and
general practices, and made available
to all members of the team looking
after a diabetic patient.
Just over 30,000 people are now
on the register – which is about
“The register
ensures people
with diabetes
receive prompt
treatment”
Dr Ewan Crawford
3.8 per cent of the total population
in Lothian.
Access to the register is carefully
controlled in a secure online database
to protect patient confidentiality.
Patients are able to request an
extract of the information which is
stored about them on the register.
It is also shared with the National
Diabetic Retinopathy Screening
Programme to ensure patients with
diabetes are invited for an annual eye
screening test.
Local GP Dr Ewan Crawford,
primary care lead for diabetes,
NHS Lothian, said: “The register
ensures that patients with diabetes
receive prompt treatment and are
screened for the complications that
can develop in diabetes.
“It offers a secure way of sharing
patient data with relevant healthcare
professionals so that we can offer the
best possible care to patients
across Lothian.”
People with diabetes are normally
cared for by a team of health
professionals including their GP,
practice nurse, dietician and
podiatrist. Some may also need to
attend hospital diabetes clinics.
Cameron is LEAP’s
25th success story
LEAP (Lothians & Edinburgh
Abstinence Programme) has
celebrated the graduation of its
25th patient from the innovative
community based rehabilitation
project.
Cameron is the 25th patient to
complete the three-month
programme and received his
certificate at the programme’s latest
graduation ceremony in June.
Dr David McCartney, clinical
lead of LEAP, NHS Lothian, said:
“This latest graduation marks a
milestone for LEAP. I am
delighted that 25 patients
have now completed the
programme and have their
life back on track.
“The programme is both
intensive and demanding
so our patients need to be
motivated to get clean
and stay clean.
“I would like to
congratulate
today’s graduates
for showing the
commitment and
determination to
reach this goal.”
Cameron said:
“LEAP has given me
something that I never
had before – hope for my future.
I now have the tools I need to deal
with life. Since I came to LEAP,
the staff have put me at ease,
showing me that I wasn’t on my
own and supporting me every step
of the way.
“It is great to have this continual
support and know that the team
will always be there to guide me
through the next stages of my life.”
LEAP, the first of its kind in
Scotland, is a partnership
programme between NHS Lothian
and the drug
and alcohol
action teams in
Edinburgh and the
Lothians.
The programme has
been running since last
September for people dependent
on substances who want to get
clean and stay clean.
Patients follow an intensive
three-month community based
programme
w h i c h
includes
group work, oneto-one counselling and
family therapy.
Vocational training and
education courses are provided,
by Transition to equip patients
with skills and qualifications to
move on with their lives once they
finish the programme.
medical model, formulated in
1664, suggested that messages
from disease or injury
stimulated a pain centre in the
brain. This model lasted well in
spite of numerous
inconsistencies such as
phantom limb pain.”
John added: “In 1975, Ronald
Melzack and Patrick Wall
developed the Pain Gate
theory in which pain varies,
and led to the current
definition which includes the
emotional aspect of pain.
“At this time, an American
psychologist named Wilbert
Fordyce started using
behavioural therapy. Quality of
life was improved by modifying
behaviour, self-managing pain
and stopping cure seeking.”
Since then, research has
gone on to shown that
cognitive behavioural therapy
is effective.
John added: “Lately,
motivational interviewing
techniques are helping patients
change. Telling someone they
need to be more active and
‘ignore the pain’ isn’t helpful.
Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy and
Mindfulness encourage
patients to pursue values that
are important in their lives and
control the focus of their
attention.”
* See the Lothian Referral
Guidelines at: www.ref
help.scot.nhs.uk/
pain-management
20
LIFESTYLE
July/August 2008 Connections
Follow our tips to ensure your barbecue is
The centre that’s
one in a million for
cancer patients!
MAGGIE’S Edinburgh, the
first of five in Scotland,
offers a range of services, from
one-to-one therapy sessions
relaxation classes, Tai Chi,
nutrition advice, benefits
advice and much more to
people affected by cancer. And
a glance at some of the centre’s
statistics gives an idea of just
how much support it offers.
Last year, the centre
received 18,000 visits from
people from Edinburgh and
surrounding areas – that
works out as around 75
people a day visiting the
centre to access emotional
and practical support.
Cancer can be a financial
burden to people diagnosed
with cancer and their carers.
However, figures show that
since January 2007, Anne
Maggie’s Centre at the
Western Infirmary doesn’t do
anything by halves – in fact,
it does it by the thousand!
Foster, the Centre’s benefits
adviser, has secured benefits
and grants totalling £740,000
for people affected by cancer
in the region.
A focal point in the centre
is the kitchen area, where
people gather to chat to staff,
fellow centre users, or simply
to be in a warm, homely
environment where they can
read their newspaper and
enjoy a cup of tea. In fact,
each month, visitors to the
WARM WELCOME: Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh
centre consume about 20,000
biscuits washed down by
about 14,000 cups of tea and
coffee! And like all of Maggie’s
services, this is free also.
Maggie’s Edinburgh’s
community fundraiser,
Marion Taylor, said: “The
figures compiled verify that
Maggie’s Edinburgh is
offering a much-needed
service throughout the
region. It’s great to see that
more and more people are
taking advantage of a free
service that can make a huge
difference to their life.
“I hope that more people
affected by cancer, who are
perhaps intimidated to make
that first step through the
door, will see these figures
and be inspired to visit the
centre. Keeping track of
this information is very
useful, so we can tailor the
service to suit centre users’
needs and see which areas
to expand.”
AVOID DISH
BBQ BUGS
WHATEVER you’re cooking
up this summer, keep food
safe for friends and family by
following essential food
safety tips.
Bugs such as E.coli O157,
salmonella and campylobacter
can cause serious illness. But
you can steer clear of food
poisoning by taking some
simple steps.
So enjoy a barbecue this
summer that is safe for you
and your guests, by following
this health and hygiene
advice:
COOKING BARBECUED
FOOD PROPERLY
■ Always make sure you
cook chicken, pork, burgers,
sausages and kebabs until
they’re piping hot all the
way through, none of the
meat is pink and any juices
run clear.
■ Remember, when you
reheat food on the barbecue,
always make sure it’s piping
hot all the way through
before serving.
TOP BARBECUE TIPS:
■ Wait until the charcoal is
glowing red, with a powdery
grey surface, before you
start to cook.
■ Make sure frozen food
is properly thawed before
you cook it.
■ Turn the food regularly,
and move it around the
barbecue, to cook it evenly.
■ Check that the centre of
the food is piping hot.
■ Don’t assume that if meat
is charred on the outside that
it will be cooked properly on
the inside.
KEEP RAW MEAT AWAY
FROM READY-TO-EAT FOOD
Raw meat can contain food
poisoning bugs. So if raw
meat touches or drips on to
food that is already cooked
or ready to eat, the bugs can
get on to that food.
Bugs can also transfer on to
food from your hands, chopping
board, knife or tongs.
This is called crosscontamination. You can
prevent it by doing the
following things.
■ Always wash your hands
thoroughly after handling raw
meat.
Keep food cool in warm
weather. Warm weather
is perfect for bugs to
grow. So, try to keep food
out of the fridge
for the shortest time
possible
■ Use separate utensils for
raw and cooked meat.
■ Never put cooked food on
a plate or surface that has
been used for raw meat.
■ Keep raw meat in a sealed
container away from readyto-eat foods, such as burger
buns and salads.
■ Don’t put raw meat
products next to cooked or
partially cooked meat on the
barbecue.
■ Don’t add sauce or
marinade to cooked food if
it has already been used with
raw meat.
E For more information, go
to: www.eatwell.gov.uk
Can you s
to help in
Volunteering is
a satisfying –
and varied – job
Maggie’s Edinburgh in numbers: 2007
• 60% of the people who visit the Centre have,
Chi group at any one time, with ‘graduates’
or have had, cancer
moving to the advanced group.
• 40% are families, friends and carers
• 12 people attend a nutrition course run each
• Last year, 180 people took part in one of the
week to learn more about the impact diet
courses Maggie’s runs: either the Living
has on their health and what they can do
with Cancer Course, the Caring for
to help themselves.
Someone with Cancer Course or the • There are 15 people in the Young Person’s
Relaxation & Stress Management Course.
Support Group, a support network for
• 240 people have attended a Look Good
people aged between 17 and 30 who are
Feel Better Workshop since the start
living with cancer.
of the year.
• 10 children attend the Kids Day. This is run
• Approximately 30 people pop in to the
by Seonaid one Saturday a month and is
Centre each week to attend one of the dropan information day for young children of
in relaxation sessions.
parents with cancer.
• There are 10 people in the beginners Tai
** all figures are approximate
KEEP
IT COOL
MAKING A DIFFERENCE:
you can volunteer for everything
from handing out tea and coffee
to knitting baby blankets
ANYONE can be a volunteer,
as NHS Lothian proves
with its team of those who
give up their time for free on
a regular basis.
At the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh, the hospital’s
volunteers range in age from
16 to 89 and the 17 different
nations represented include
Bulgaria, Romania, China,
Malaysia, Canada, South
Africa and Ghana.
NHS Lothian is currently
developing a volunteer action
plan that is aimed at making
LIFESTYLE
Connections July/August 2008
one to remember for all the right reasons
ING UP ANY
21
WIN a fabulous 8gb
Apple i-Pod Touch
SOUNDS good! We’ve teamed up John Lewis to
offer one lucky reader a fabulous prize – an Apple
iPod, which will let you listen to music on the
move, store your photos and even browse the web!
The 8gb iPod Touch will hold 1750 songs, 10,000
photos or 10 hours of video, which you can view on
the 3.5” touch screen.
And its rechargeable battery gives up to 22 hours
of music or five hours of video from full charge –
enough to keep even the biggest music fan happy!
The iTouch also has WiFi web browsing
capability which means you can keep up to date
with the latest news, views and much more.
How to enter…
To be in with a chance of winning this great
prize, simply answer the following question:
What kind of music can you download
onto an iPod – is it
a) iSongs
b) iMusic
c) iTunes?
Send your answer to
Connections, NHS Lothian,
148 Pleasance, Deaconess
House, Edinburgh EH8
9RS, by Friday 29 August.
The winner will be the
first correct entry drawn
from the hat
USE
THE OVEN
If you’re barbecuing
for lots of people, you could
cook meat indoors and finish
it off on the barbecue for
added flavour (but make
sure it’s piping hot
all the way
through)
Answer
Name
Job title
E-mail address
Work tel. no.
For your chance to win more great prizes,
turn to page 18
Issue 26 competition winners
E Wordsearch: Emma Brown, AFC project accountant, St John’s
E Pure Spa competition: Fiona Sutherland, physio assistant, Astley Ainslie Hospital
Wordsearch Barbecues
pare a few hours
our hospitals?
sure the health board meets
statutory requirements and
the needs of its volunteers.
There are also plans to
become an Investor in
Volunteers, which will mean
adopting a set of standards
relating to the management
and treatment of volunteers.
Diane Lockhart is the
voluntary services manager
for the Royal Infirmary.
She said: “We have 150
direct volunteers, but we also
have many others working
with different organisations
such as the WRVS and the
Red Cross.
“Volunteers do everything
from giving out teas and
coffees, to talking to patients,
staffing the information desk,
knitting baby hats and rugs
and meeting and greeting
relatives in intensive care.
“One new project we’ve
started is getting a volunteer
to collate all the good
feedback we get from patients
to pass this on to the
management teams.”
The Royal Infirmary is
currently working in
partnership with Jobcentre
Plus in Wester Hailes.
Diane has visited the
centre to look at the
possibilities of bringing in
unemployed teenagers
to do voluntary work on
the wards.
She added: “By coming
into our wards, they would
see that there are a lot
more jobs in hospitals than
just nursing.”
MORE INFO
If you are interested in
becoming a volunteer
or having volunteers
in your clinical area,
please contact:
■ Denise Claxton,
Royal Hospital for
Sick Children, on
0131 536 0068
■ Diane Lockhart,
Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh and the
Western General
Hospital, on
0131 242 3389
■ Jackie Kilburn,
CHP Projects in
Edinburgh, on
0131 537 4260
■ Beth Thomson,
Royal Edinburgh
Hospital, on
0131 537 6395
■ Agnes McKenna,
West Lothian CHCP,
on 01506 523588.
Can you find which word or phrase from the list is missing from the wordsearch? There’s a
£25 Love2Shop voucher up for grabs, courtesy of our publishers, Connect Communications.
Send your answer to Connections, NHS Lothian, 148 Pleasance, Deaconess House, Edinburgh
EH8 9RS by Friday 22 August. The first correct entry drawn out of the hat will win.
THE MISSING WORD IS…
Name
Job title
E-mail
Work tel. no.
F
P
N
U
Y
P
E
V
O
A
L
U
K
T
O
B
M
Q
S
H
K
N
A
S
B
Q
F
I
O
A
A
T
E
B
O
N
A
W
T
R
S
D
D
R
B
V
C
M
S
F
P
G
O
O
E
E
A
B
R
A
A
T
E
G
Q
Z
N
L
B
R
A
E
L
U
J
T
H
I
U
I
S
J
H
R
M
C
I
E
Y
A
V
I
N
A
C
E
O
A
J
U
N
D
D
X
N
G
G
H
N
O
D
H
N
E
V
Z
F
L
S
G
E
W
O
O
F
C
I
B
I
G
M
J
L
N
O
B
F
P
A
G
V
G
C
M
L
T
A
E
F
W
A
R
Y
X
N
Y
A
M
A
R
I
N
A
D
E
H
F
X
R
E BARBECUE E FOOD E MARINADE E SAFETY
E CHARCOAL E CHARRED E KEBABS E HYGIENE
E RAW MEAT E POISONING E SALMONELLA
22
BEST WISHES: Pat
Murray, right, with Ann Mair
PEOPLE
July/August 2008 Connections
CELEBRATING THE ROLE
OF NURSES WORLDWIDE
Colleagues’
Malawi trip
farewell to Ann gives staff
COLLEAGUES joined together
in early May to mark the
voluntary early retirement
of Ann Mair, NHS Lothian’s
head of pharmacy quality
assurance services.
Ann’s career with NHS
Lothian spanned some 35 years.
She started at the Western
General in 1972 as a summer
student, returning in 1973 as a
pre-registration pharmacist
before qualifying as a member
of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society of Great Britain in 1974.
Quality assurance (QA)
became her specialist subject
in 1976.
The Western General Hospital
(WGH) has been Ann’s base
throughout her career, providing
QA services initially to the
former Eastern and Bangour
General Hospitals as well as the
WGH and latterly (since 1989) to
all hospital pharmacy services
in NHS Lothian.
Ann is looking forward to
spending more quality time
with her husband Angus,
pursuing their shared passion
for Scotland, fly fishing and
foreign travel.
opportunity
to promote
healthcare
COMMUNITY psychiatric nurse
Geoff Earl travelled to Malawi in
May as part of a Royal College of
Nursing trip aimed at helping the
country’s nurses.
Geoff is a board member of the
Royal College of Nursing and he is
the college’s lead nurse on
equality and diversity issues.
The trip, which took place from
2-13 May, was about helping the
country develop its nursing
capacity and promote greater
understanding of health and
nursing issues among the
Malawi media.
Workshops were held to discuss
the different issues – one of
which was partnership working,
something that NHS Lothian has
excellent experience of.
Geoff was in Malawi for
SHARING KNOWLEDGE: Geoff with the district nursing officer and a ward nurse from Mzimba District
Hospital, which is twinned with Lothian Branch RCN Scotland, Dorothy Ngoma, executive director of the
National Organisation of Nurses and Midwifes of Malawi, and Anne Thomson, officer RCN Scotland
International Nurses Day on
12 May – the anniversary of
Florence Nightingale’s birth
and a celebration of the
valuable contributions nurses
make to society.
Malawi has some 6000
Building a better
future in Africa
COMMUNICATIONS officer
Aislinn McGrane and her fiancé are
house-building this summer, but
they don’t plan to end up with a
two-bedroom des res somewhere in
the Lothian area!
Instead, the couple will be
working for the charity Habitat for
Humanity helping to build affordable
homes for people in Malawi.
Aislinn and Gary will be part of a
group of 10 volunteers travelling to
Embangweni on 14 July for a
fortnight of hard work.
Habitat for Humanity is a
non-profit, non-denominational
Christian housing movement. Its
goal is to eliminate impoverished
housing and homelessness from
the world.
To date, in excess of 230,000
Habitat homes have been built in
over 90 countries, providing simple,
decent homes for more than one
million people.
For their trip, Aislinn and Gary are
covering the costs of their flights,
accommodation, food and
immunisation. The couple are also
healthcare workers affected
by Aids.
“I’m very grateful to NHS
Lothian, who gave me time
off for my trip and who have
been very supportive in allowing
me to do this.”
Connections
letters
Patient says
‘thank you’
holding a number of fundraising
events for the charity, with the aim
of raising £3000. This money will go
directly to Habitat for Humanity to
cover the cost of the materials and
equipment needed to build two
homes.
Aislinn said: “So far, we have
received great support for our
fundraising but we are still a bit off
our £3000 target.
“I am extremely excited about
taking part in this project and getting
the chance to make a real difference
to a family’s life. I am still a bit
nervous about the trip too, but
maybe once I’ve had my last jab I’ll
be more at ease!
“For all those who have supported
our fundraising so far, thank you. Rest
assured they’ll be working us
hard!”
E To support Aislinn and Gary’s
fundraising efforts and to
make a donation to Habitat
for Humanity, visit
www.justgiving.
com/garyandaislinn
nurses and healthcare workers.
Geoff said: “The trip was very
worthwhile and interesting. While
I was there, I also got to visit one
of the projects we support – a
restaurant where the profits are
used to help nurses and
HOME BUILDER:
Aislinn is heading to
Malawi with the charity
Habitat for Humanity
PLEASE pass my sincere thanks
to everyone who helped me
on the afternoon of Saturday
19 April, when I arrived in severe
pain from what turned out to be
a kidney stone.
My wife and I were visiting
our son and his wife in
Livingston that weekend. We
were in North Berwick when I
was taken ill.
I was not sufficiently alert
to remember the names of the
many people who came to my
aid, but they were all organised,
attentive, helpful and concerned.
The staff at ward 56 at the
Western General, where I
eventually ended up on the
Saturday night, couldn’t have
been better.
Many thanks to you all from a
very satisfied patient.
Colin MacLaine
Kirkcudbright
Dumfries & Galloway
PEOPLE
Connections July/August 2008
Art competition is a real draw for kids
YO U N G a r t i s t s h a v e b e e n
encouraged to put pen to paper and
create a portrait of their doctor in
a children’s art competition.
The competition was organised
by the British Medical Association
Scotland to mark the 60th
anniversary of the NHS by
celebrating the role of doctors in
today’s NHS.
The competition was open to all
patients (inpatients and outpatients)
of the Royal Hospital for Sick
Children in Edinburgh and the
children’s wards at St John’s
Hospital in Livingston.
Dr Maeve McPhilips, a consultant
at the Royal Hospital for Sick
Children, said: “This is a great
opportunity for us to see ourselves
as others see us, although I hope that
the children are flattering in their
artworks! Being in hospital can be
a difficult time for children and their
families and I hope this competition
provides some distraction to keep
children occupied and happy.”
The competition was judged by
a panel including Forth 2’s Tonya
Macari, and prizes will be given to
the winners at a ceremony during
the BMA’s annual conference in
Edinburgh in July.
Winning entries will be exhibited
at the BMA Scotland Festival Art
Exhibition at 14 Queen Street,
in August.
The winners were: age 0-5 – 1:
Kirdhay Mahesh (5), Edinburgh; 2:
Shiona Hill (5) Roslin; 3: Krianth
Mahesh (3), Edinburgh. Age 6-10
– 1: Charlie Paterson (6), Edinburgh
(overall winner); 2: Nadya Clarkson
(6), Edinburgh; 3: Leah Tweed (7),
Edinburgh. Age 11-18 – 1: Marianne
Craven (12), Edinburgh; 2: Erin
Brolly (12), Penicuik; 3: Zoe
Stewart (11), Rosewell.
Colleagues help John celebrate the big 7-O
JOHN CAMERON’S
colleagues at NHS Lothian
board headquarters marked
his 70th birthday with a tea
party. They presented the
Deaconess House security
man with gifts and a 70th
birthday balloon so that
everyone could celebrate
his special day. John’s wife
Mary joined him for his
celebration party.
23
Grateful family of former resident raise
hundreds of pounds for nursing home
THANKS: Belhaven staff Carol McQuade, Betty Rae, Eileen Watson
and Emily Higginbottom with Julie Gilmour of the Black Bull, centre
Belhaven says thanks
for generous gesture
THE family of a former resident at
Belhaven Nursing Home has
raised hundreds of pounds for the
home to say “thank you” for the
care their aunt received.
Matilda McLean lived at the
home until last year and following
her death, her nephew Edward
Gallagher organised a raffle
which raised £900. And in May,
Edward held a quiz night in the
Black Bull, Dunbar, which raised
another £466.
Sister Betty Rae of Belhaven
said: “We’d like to say thanks.
We’re well supported by the local
community and we were keen to
support Edward at the quiz night,
so the nursing home put in a team
– and won a prize!”
The team was Sister Rae,
healthcare support workers Eileen
Watson and Carol McQuade and
staff nurse Emily Higginbottom.
Belhaven Nursing Home, which
is part of Belhaven Hospital, has
11 residents and the money raised
by Edward and his friends will be
given to the League of Friends to
be used for outings and to buy
items to make the home more
comfortable and homely.
HIV patients in South Africa benefit from Lothian exchange programme
GPs swap surgeries to share skills
SOME GPs in Lothian are swapping
their surgeries for the chance to
work with HIV/AIDS patients in
South Africa.
A pilot project allows Scottish GPs
to work as medical officers in
community health centres in
the Cape.
South Africa has 10 per cent of the
world’s HIV-infected citizens, but
large-scale emigration of the country’s
doctors has put pressure on the health
system there.
Dr John Budd, who works in the
Edinburgh Homeless Practice in the
capital’s Cowgate and who helped
set up the pilot, said: “There’s an
untapped desire among Scottish
healthcare professionals to work in
Africa, particularly with patients
suffering from HIV and AIDS.
“We set up this skills exchange
programme to give GPs from
Lothian the opportunity to use and
develop their primary care skills in
a different and challenging setting,
while their broad training experience
helps to build confidence among
people working in the host service.”
The exchange is co-ordinated by
staff at the University of Cape Town
VITAL SUPPORT: left:
Nolungile Clinic in Khayelitsha
township. The area has more
HIV-infected inhabitants than the
whole of the UK. Above: patients
wait to see a doctor or nurse
inside the Nolungile clinic
and doctors’ work visas and local
registration are processed by the
National Department of Health.
The GPs pay their own travel costs
and are paid a salary during their
secondment by the Western Cape
health department.
Eight doctors are already involved
in the programme, with a further two
set to go out later this year and two
more at the beginning of 2009. So
far, the feedback from all those GPs
involved has been very positive with
them seeing it as a very enjoyable and
rewarding clinical experience.
Dr Budd added: “The programme
has led to the establishment of new
links between South African health
and education institutions with
health care organisations in Scotland,
including NHS Lothian and the
Department of General Practice at
Edinburgh University.
“It has also helped in strengthening
existing links between the University
of Cape Town and the Western Cape
department of health.”
24
NEWS
July/August 2008 Connections
HAVE A BALL FOR
RADIO LOLLIPOP!
TICKETS are now available
for the annual Radio Lollipop
(Edinburgh) Black Tie Ball,
which is taking place on
Friday 3 October at the
Roxburghe Hotel, Charlotte
Square, Edinburgh.
Tickets cost £50 and the event
will include a champagne reception,
three-course meal and entertainment.
Guests can also sample the Radio
Lollipop Cocktail, which has
been specially designed for the
occasion!
Radio Lollipop provides care,
comfort, play and entertainment to
children and young people in
hospital. Volunteers are committed
to making a child’s stay in hospital
less frightening through fun and
laughter. All the money raised by the
black tie event will support the
continuing work of Radio Lollipop
at the Royal Hospital for Sick
Children in Edinburgh.
Last year’s ball raised more than
£5000 and every effort is being made
to make the 2008 event even more
successful.
Forth One DJ Iain Waugh will
compere the ball. There will also be
lots of Lollipop fun throughout the
night, including a raffle and auction.
For more information or to book
your tickets, please contact Graham
Barr, graham.barr@radiolollipop.org
Cash boost
gives welcome
support to
health project
A HEALTH community project in
Musselburgh that offers support to
older people with mental health
problems has received a welcome
cash boost from the Co-operative
Pharmacy.
The St Andrew’s Project, which is
based at St Andrew’s Church in the
town, was one of 16 projects to
receive funding from the Co-op’s
£20,000 Community Health Fund.
The project, which is run by staff
from NHS Lothian, the church and
volunteers, offers a range of activities
for a group of 12 people over 65 who
are vulnerable to health issues
such as depression and anxiety.
Each Monday from noon until
3pm, they meet at the church for
lunch and also to enjoy group
activities such as quizzes, guest
speakers and craft groups. The
project also runs a number of outings,
including trips to Peebles, North
TUNE IN: Radio Lollipop provides a welcome distraction for young people during their stay in hospital through play and entertainment
Berwick and local garden centres.
Now, thanks to the extra funding,
volunteers at the centre plan to
organise more trips over the next few
months, as well as buy new
equipment such as books.
Occupational therapist Linda
Sneddon, who organises the project,
said: “The group has been running
for the last five years and many of
those who come are original clients.
“The project provides structure to
their day and helps them interact with
their peer groups. The group
members are very supportive of each
other and keep in touch outwith the
group. It’s possible that for some, they
may have had to go into hospital if
they hadn’t been coming here.”
The project is completely selffunding – the clients contribute £2
for lunch and £1 for a raffle – so the
grant was particularly welcome.
Linda said: “The extra trips and
equipment just wouldn’t have been
possible without this funding.”
Scott McIntosh, the Co-operative
Pharmacy’s regional manager, said:
“We had so many high-calibre
applications it was a difficult choice
to decide which would be successful.
“We’re delighted to be able to make
a difference in local communities and
we wish everybody well with their
individual projects.”
Over the moon at
fundraising effort
EDINBURGH GP Dr Anne
Marshall and a group of her
friends are hoping they’ve raised
about £3000 for breast cancer
care as a result of their recent
midnight Moonwalk through the
capital.
Anne’s team of seven, collectively
called the Breast Girls, donned
their bras, T-shirts, shorts and
hiking boots to join 12,000
other women – and a few hardy
men – on the marathon-sized
route around the city, the third
time the fundraising event has
been held in Edinburgh.
Anne, who is based at
Morningside Medical Practice, said:
“ We ’ v e b e e n t r a i n i n g v e r y
seriously since the end of last
y e a r, d o i n g f o u r, f i v e a n d
six-mile walks to get into
condition.
“Before the Moonwalk began,
we’d managed to raise about
TIRED BUT HAPPY: (from left) Suzanne Daly, Laura Donald, Liz Byrne,
Karyn Holdgate, Julie Amers, Catriona Ferguson and Anne Marshall
£2600 for breast cancer care and
we’re hoping to increase that to
about £3000, with a coffee
morning and other events before
the final totals have to be
sent in.”
NHS 60th Anniversary Commemorative pull-out
Connections
YOUR AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER
HAPPY 60
BIRTHDAY!
th
THE NHS is 60 years old – and
we’re celebrating the diamond
event in glittering style.
What an anniversary! What a
long way the health service has
come in those 60 years.
The NHS didn’t suddenly appear
from nothing on 5 July 1948. It also
did not create a single new nurse,
doctor or bed.
Health minister Aneurin (also
known as Nye) Bevan merely
nationalised the existing system
across the UK. The revolutionary
change was to make all services
freely available to everyone.
Half of Scotland’s landmass was
already covered by a state-funded
health system serving the whole
community and directly run from
Edinburgh. The Highlands and
Islands Medical Service had been
set up 35 years earlier.
In addition, the war years from
1939 to 1945 had seen a statefunded hospital building
programme in Scotland on a scale
unknown in Europe. This was
On 5 July 1948, Britain led the way
in free public healthcare with the
launch of the National Health Service
incorporated into the new NHS.
Scotland also had its own
distinctive medical tradition –
centred on its medical schools
rather than private practice, and a
detailed plan for the future of
health with the Cathcart report.
Even before the launch of the
NHS in Scotland, when the White
Paper was laid before Parliament in
1944, secretary of state Thomas
Johnston said: “There is no
question of having to abandon bad
services and to start afresh.
“Reform in this field is not a
matter of making good what is
bad, but of making better what
is good already.”
We in Lothian have always
striven to follow that example. We
have improved what was good, and
Reform in this field is not a matter
of making good what is bad, but of
making better what is good already
Thomas Johnston, former secretary of state, 1944
our “Improving Care, Investing in
Change” strategy is already paying
dividends in the health and
wellbeing of everyone who lives
and works in the Lothian area.
As a health board, NHS Lothian
is spending more than £1.3 billion a
year improving services for
patients, and bringing treatment
closer to where people need them.
We’re bringing our acute
hospitals right up to date, with new
facilities and new specialisms in
our university teaching hospitals –
the latest of which is St John’s
Hospital, serving West Lothian.
We’re making sure that
communities are well served
by facilities in their own areas,
such as Haddington, Midlothian
and Leith.
And we’re playing our part in
looking after the area’s elderly
people with day care facilities and
treatment centres where they live.
Working effectively with our
partners is helping us all to
improve our services, our ways of
Healthcare has changed almost beyond recognition in 60 years.
Above: Sister Dickson at the former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh,
circa 1945, which has now been replaced by a modern new building,
top. From blood donors in the 1950s to state-of-the-art technology,
the health service has helped millions over the years
working, and – most importantly –
our patients’ experiences.
That is why we value the
working relationships we
have built with partners in
the four local authorities, the
education sector, police,
patients, our staff and the many
voluntary agencies which operate
in the Lothian area.
In this special pull-out, we
look back at some of the
achievements of the NHS and
NHS Lothian over the decades –
and forward to a bright future in
pioneering healthcare.
INSIDE: LOOKING BACK OVER SIX DECADES OF INNOVATION IN HEALTHCARE
NHS timeline and clinical breakthroughs: 1948 - 2008
Photographs by kind permission of Lothian Health Services Archive
Much has changed in healthcare since 1948
– and NHS Lothian has been leading the way
5 July 1948 Day one
1950
The official ‘vesting’ day of the
NHS across the UK. The new service
promises to provide equal healthcare
to all regardless of age, sex or
occupation; to provide all services
free of charge at the point of delivery
and to promote good health rather
than only treat bad health.
The first intercardiac operation in a
Scottish hospital takes place at the
Eastern General Hospital on a
21-year-old woman with intractable
pulmonary oedema.
Nurse giving
medicine
to a child,
circa 1950s
Louise Brown is the first baby in the
world to be born as a result of invitro fertilisation.
The first heart, lung and liver
transplant is carried out at Papworth
Hospital in Cambridge.
1979
1988
Live liver
transplant
patients
Daniel and
Jennifer
Foster
1980
The world’s first clinical service for
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
scanning is launched by Dr Francis
Smith at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
During the 1950s, Professor Sir John
Crofton and his team revolutionise
the treatment of TB at the Royal
Victoria Hospital.
1982
1952
1983
Prescription charges (of one shilling)
are introduced and a £1 flat rate
charge for ordinary dental treatment.
Opening of Sighthill Health Centre,
Edinburgh, the first of the new
generation of health centres.
1956
A causal connection between smoking
and lung cancer is established in a
study by Richard Doll and Austin
Bradford Hill.
1987
The first successful bone marrow
transplant on a child takes place in
London.
1951
1953
1950
Central Leith health
campaign against TB, 1955
25 July 1978
The first case of Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is
reported.
A large-scale trial of birth control
pills is launched.
Carol Young
1957
1958
Scottish obstetrician Ian Donald
is the first to employ ultrasound
scanning to detect problems in
the unborn child.
A UK-wide breast cancer screening
programme is introduced, following
a report by Sir Patrick Forrest,
Professor of Surgery at the
University of Edinburgh.
1989
The internal market is introduced to
the NHS – the most fundamental
change to the NHS since its
inception, bringing in the idea
of competition and a market for
health services.
1990
Dr Stuart Shaw carries out the UK’s
first percutaneous mitral balloon
valvotomy at the Western General
Hospital.
We used to make
cones of newspaper
during home visits
to put the dirty
dressings and
waste material in!
The UK government sets up the
national Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
(CJD) Surveillance Unit at the
Western General Hospital, to monitor
CJD cases.
1991
The first NHS trusts are established
in England and Wales.
1992
School medical
service, diphtheria
immunisation, 1953
A 44-hour week for nurses is
introduced. By March 1958, a
national chest X-ray campaign had
screened 276,526 people.
GP services,
Edinburgh, circa 1950s
We used to carry out research on patients’
diet history using nothing more than a pencil
and calculator, which would take a while.
There were no computers at our desk then
Sheena Douglas, senior dietician
1 November 1994
The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is
introduced to the NHS.
The nurse-led minor injuries clinic
opens at the Western General Hospital
– the first of its kind in the UK.
1994
7 November 1996
The NHS National Donor Register is
set up to co-ordinate the supply and
demand of organs for transplant.
The Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer
Caring Centre opens at the Western
General Hospital. It is the first in a
network of Maggie’s Centres to
open across the UK in subsequent
years.
1998
The world’s first fully mobile bionic
arm is fitted. The arm was developed
at Edinburgh’s Princes Margaret
Rose Orthopaedic Hospital.
SIX DECADES OF INNOVATION
1959
1967
Scotland proves a world leader in
nursing education and research,
setting up the first nursing
studies unit.
British electrical
engineer Sir
Godfrey N.
Hounsfield
develops the
Computerised
Axial
Tomography
(CAT) scanner.
30 October 1960
Professor (later Sir) Michael
Woodruff’s team at the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh performs the UK’s first
successful kidney transplant, with a
49-year-old man receiving a kidney
from his twin brother.
1963
The first hip replacement operation is
performed.
1963
The world’s first chair in general
practice is established by the
University of Edinburgh with the
appointment of Professor Richard
Scott.
Doctor holding baby,
Edinburgh Royal Maternity
Hospital, circa 1930s
We may do lots of
high-powered things
these days, but the
simple skills such as
helping people to
eat a little bit
haven’t changed
since day one
Dietetic manager Christine Johnson
3 May 1968
Donald Ross
performs the
first NHS
human-to-human heart transplant
operation at the National Heart
Hospital in Marylebone, London.
Dental treatment
circa 1950s
1999
2006
The Free Personal Care report
comes out. The Royal Commission
recommends this for older people and
the Scottish Parliament introduces it
in 2002.
The Scottish Liver Transplant Unit at
the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
becomes the first in the UK to offer
living donor liver transplantation.
2001
The ban on smoking in public
places comes into force across
Scotland, making it illegal to smoke
in public places that are fully or
substantially enclosed. NHS Lothian
welcomes the new law, hailing it as
probably the single most effective
measure ever taken in Scotland
to reduce illness and death from
diseases such as cancer, stroke
and heart disease.
The £40 million ward and theatre
block, the Anne Ferguson Building,
opens at the Western General.
The pioneering
bionic hand
2002
The first
patients are
treated in
the new
Royal
Infirmary of
Edinburgh
at Little
France. It
fully opens
in 2003.
1972
Under
the NHS
Reform
(Scotland)
Act, NHS trusts are abolished and
absorbed into health boards.
June 2004
2007
The £8.5million Leith Community
Treatment Centre, above, opens.
The first service of its kind in
Scotland, it provides a wide range of
outpatient and day services.
The first paired kidney transplant in
the UK takes place. The partner of a
patient at the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh gave one of her kidneys to
a patient in Cambridge. The partner of
1972
1973
Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen
invent DNA cloning.
1974
The Scottish Ambulance Service is
launched.
July 2007
The culmination of decades of
research results in the launch of a
new bionic hand by Scottish firm
Touch Bionics. The i-LIMB hand looks
and acts like a real human hand, with
five individually powered digits, and
represents a new benchmark in
prosthetic devices. The origins of the
hand date back to 1963 to a research
programme at the Princess Margaret
Rose Orthopaedic Hospital to help
children affected by Thalidomide.
Computerised Tomography (CT)
scanning revolutionises the way
doctors examine the body.
NHS in Scotland Act comes in – the
first major reorganisation of the NHS
in Scotland since 1948, which
establishes 15 health boards and
other bodies for a more efficient and
fully integrated service.
26 March 2006
2004
that patient donated a kidney was
brought north and transplanted in
our patient.
clearer patients’ rights and enhanced
local democracy such as through
direct elections to health boards.
2007
16 January 2008
The robotic arm is introduced,
allowing pioneering operations to
treat patients for fast and irregular
heartbeats.
The first live liver transplant in
Scotland takes place at the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Transplant Unit.
2008
The Scottish Government announces
its programme for the future of the
NHS, based on the principles of
mutuality – with patients and the
public as partners rather than
recipients of care. The action plan
for Better Health, Better Care is
launched in December 2007. Stronger
public involvement is a key theme –
improving patients’ experience,
Below: Edinburgh foot clinic,
circa 1940s. Bottom: Wilma and
Jim Kinniburgh, the UK’s first
paired kidney transplant patients
The NHS today
DEVELOPING SERVICES
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
THERE are exciting times ahead for
health in the NHS Lothian area, with
new services being set up close to
where people live.
A new community hospital is
being planned for Haddington in
East Lothian.
Gerry Power, general manager,
East Lothian Community Health
Partnership, said: “We are looking to
deliver the hospital within the earliest
possible time and it is our goal to
start work on the site in 2010.”
Plans are also well under way to
build a new community hospital for
the people of Midlothian.
The new NHS facility, on a site
at Eskbank Road, will have 40
beds for the care of frail elderly
NHS Lothian is continuing its tradition of being
a pioneering influence in Scottish healthcare
patients, and a further 48 beds for
the care of elderly people with
mental ill health.
The new hospital will also have a
20-place day hospital for elderly
people with mental ill health, and
designated physiotherapy and
occupational therapy facilities, as
well as some out-patient and
diagnostic services.
The new hospital is scheduled to
open in March 2010.
And a new Primary Care Centre in
Musselburgh will provide a wide
range of community services under
one roof in a modern facility.
It will have new, improved
accommodation for three GP
surgeries and a range of healthcare
services and clinics.
These will include podiatry,
physiotherapy, community paediatric
services and community dental
services, speech and language
therapy, clinical psychology school
nurse teams and out-patient clinics.
Mental health services provided
from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital
are being examined to ensure
patients continue to receive highquality care. The review will
consider how services should
best be designed to meet patient
needs now and in the future.
Service users, their families,
carers and voluntary organisations
all have a say in the process.
Plans for a new Royal Victoria
Hospital in Edinburgh have been
At the forefront of medical research
The BioQuarter
at Little France
is set to become
a world-leading
research park
A MILESTONE development in the
history of the National Health
Service is taking place right here
in Edinburgh.
The new BioQuarter at Little
France will create thousands of
jobs and become one of the
world’s top 10 biomedical
research centres.
The new research park has taken
a huge step forward with a major
American investment trust –
Alexandria Real Estate Equities –
joining NHS Lothian, Edinburgh
University and other partners on
the site.
The BioQuarter will be the only
research centre in the UK to have
a large, modern 900-bed teaching
hospital and a world-class medical
school as its neighbours.
It will connect Scotland to
the world’s most important
life-sciences markets and
become a key site for
translational medicine.
The research park sits in 100
acres of land and, when fully
developed, will provide 1.4 million
square feet of high-tech
accommodation in a range of
purpose-built pavilions in a
parkland setting. The centre
will accommodate:
■ The Scottish Technology
AcceleratorSM, which bridges the
gap between research and
commercialisation
■ Bio Hot Rack LabSM, which
will offer scientists and researchers
short-term access to laboratory
space and work equipment to
conduct exploratory research
■ Innovation Centre, which will
house emerging and mid-stage
companies working in a
collaborative environment.
This development will be in
tandem with the creation of the
Scottish Centre for Regenerative
Medicine on the park.
Edinburgh BioQuarter is at the
heart of the Edinburgh Science
Triangle, counting the Roslin and
Moredun Research Institutes as
its neighbours.
The Scottish Centre for
Regenerative Medicine is the
latest addition to the University
of Edinburgh’s 12 world-class
research centres in the College
of Medicine and Veterinary
Medicine.
It is focused on the development
of regenerative medical therapies
for the treatment of diseases
such as cancer, liver disease,
Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and
spinal cord injury.
The centre will move to a new
£59 million building within the
Edinburgh BioQuarter research
park development from 2010.
given the go-ahead. NHS Lothian
has announced the approval of
the outline business case, a
key stage in the development
process set out by the Scottish
Government.
The new Royal Victoria Hospital
will be one of the first NHS
hospitals in Scotland to provide
100 per cent single rooms for
patients. The hospital is expected
to be completed in 2012.
NHS Lothian has also submitted
detailed proposals for a new Royal
Hospital for Sick Children to the
Scottish Government.
If approved, the new hospital will
be built at Little France beside the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Join us as
we celebrate
A SERIES of events is planned
across NHS Lothian to mark the
NHS’s 60th birthday.
Open days: we’re having open
days at each of the major
hospitals within Lothian where
we will showcase our innovative
work. These will be organised
throughout the year.
Exhibition: we’re pulling
together an exhibition of
photography and other items/
memorabilia from the past six
decades. This will travel round
our sites.
The Medical Staff Committee
at the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh is also planning its
own exhibition, which will tour
round the major hospitals across
the University Hospitals Division.
Art committees at major sites
are also planning to mark the
anniversary. The RIE Art
Committee is opening an
exhibition on 5 July entitled
“Narratives” which comprises
five installations of historic bed
plaques from the former RIE.
The RIE Main Mall also has a
timeline which has recently
opened which shows the history
of the RIE.
NATIONAL WEBSITE
Catch up on what’s happening
across Scotland to celebrate 60
years of the NHS at www.60years
ofnhsscotland.co.uk