Connections Newspaper Issue 44 - June 2011

The award-winning staff newspaper for NHS Lothian staff june 2011 issue 44
www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
capital
projects
PAGE 11
small steps
big difference
PAGE 14
Planning for
the Future
Excellent achievements and performance
puts NHS Lothian in strong position
NHS Lothian has the building
blocks in place to meet the
challenges of the next five years,
despite increasing demand and in
the face of considerable financial
challenges.
That was a key message from our
chief executive, Professor James
Barbour, at the fourth annual
Planning for the Future event held
on 11 May.
This year’s event showcased
NHS Lothian’s new video
conferencing technology with the
chief executive’s presentation being
delivered to approximately 80 staff
at Waverley Gate, and streamed
live to more than 170 staff at the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital, St John’s
Hospital, the Western General and
the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
“We are setting great store by
the use of new technology, such as
telehealth and teleconferencing,”
said Professor Barbour. “If
we believe in it, we need to
demonstrate that we can use it
and that it works,”
The event was timed to follow
the recent Scottish Parliament
election, and Professor Barbour
took the opportunity to
re f l e c t o n N H S L o t h i a n’ s
performance over the life
of the last parliament, highlighting
achievements, thanking staff for
their commitment and hard work,
reflecting on areas for improvement
and identifying lessons to help us
deliver the organisation’s priorities
for the future.
He praised the dedication of
staff over the past year, which has
ensured that we built on previous
performance to hit or surpass many
of the challenging waiting time
targets, although the four-hour
target for A&E continues to be a
challenge.
Professor Barbour (above) praised
our performance against the target
of having 95 per cent of urgent
cancer referrals treated within
62 days, a target we achieved in
March 2008 and one where we
have sustained a high percentage
ever since.
“This is a superb performance that
has taken away a lot of anxiety and
uncertainty among many patients
across Lothian,” said Professor
Barbour.
He thanked staff for their efforts
over the past year, reserving special
thanks to those who went the extra
mile (or sometimes, literally, the
extra miles) to reach work and
deliver services during the severe
winter weather.
He also highlighted the good
work in driving down delayed
discharges and hospital associated
infections and our excellent
results against some of the
lifestyle-related targets, including
smoking cessation and alcohol
brief interventions. All our
achievements, he said, would
help us rise to the challenges we
face this year and in future years.
EE
Turn to page 12-13 for
more on the Planning for
the Future event.
•
KEY PRIORITY: Continuing to drive down hospital delayed discharges
2
NEWS
Comment Clifford Burden
We’re on the
way to being
the very best
W
elcome to this bumper
edition of Connections,
which brings you news of
our “Planning for the Future” event
that points the way forward in our
ambition to be one of the world’s
top healthcare providers.
As part of that campaign, we take
a look at the capital development
projects that are currently ongoing
– some of which are rapidly
reaching fruition.
We’ve also launched one of the
biggest healthy living programmes
to be seen in the capital for
some time. Aimed specifically at
women between the ages of 20
and 49, it’s run jointly by NHS
Lothian and our colleagues at
City of Edinburgh Council. And
it shows that significant changes
to your health can be achieved
quite easily.
Inside this issue we report on
the achievements of NHS Lothian
staff in various award ceremonies
across the UK and on page 12 you
can read about the launch of our
staff Celebrating Sucess Awards
for 2011.
A new type of healthcare worker
– the healthcare technician – is
being introduced in a pilot project
in three of our hospitals. Read more
about it on page 6. It’s part of our
drive to increase efficiency across
the whole range of services that
we provide.
And you’ll see how a bright
idea by staff in the Metabolic
Unit at the Western General
Hospital could generate revenue
for the unit through their new
venture, ipSOX.
Walking’s one of the easiest – and
“Read about the
achievements of
NHS Lothian staff
in various award
ceremonies and
the launch of our
staff Celebrating
Success Awards”
Recording patients’ ethnic background can
make a difference to treatment options
Ethnicity – a
crucial factor
•
TAILORED TREATMENT:
people from different ethnic
backgrounds may be more
susceptible to certain diseases
cheapest – forms of exercise, and
in our lifestyle feature we provide
some tips on how to get the best
out of gentle exercise.
You’ll have the chance to win
a fabulous weekend for two at a
luxury hotel, or learn to swim, in
our competitions.
Enjoy reading Connections.
•
Clifford Burden, interim editor
Editorial board:
Robert Aitken, Morag Barrow, Duncan Blyth, Clifford Burden, Alexis
Burnett, Noreen Clancy, Grahame Cumming, Eddie Egan, Wendy
Fenemore, Anne Gilchrist, Linda Haggarty, Shirley Johnston, Anne
Laing, Sue Lloyd, Gayle Parker, Lesley Reid, David Ridd, Judy Scopes,
Kathryn Sinclair, Louise Taylor, Tom Waterson.
Contact the editor:
7
lothian.communications@nhs.net
) 0131 465 5647/5648
+Staff Newspaper, Communications Dept, Waverley Gate,
2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG
EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION:
Connections is written, designed and produced by:
Connect Communications, Studio 2001, Mile End, Paisley PA1 1JS
) 0141 561 0300 4 0141 561 0400 8 www.connectcommunications.co.uk
Printing:
Scottish County Press
June 2011 Connections
Knowing a patient’s ethnicity
can make a big difference to their
health and that’s why completion
of the ethnicity field on the NHS
Lothian’s TRAK system is now
mandatory.
Dr David Farquharson, Medical
Director, NHS Lothian, explained why
the collection of this information is vital
for healthcare: “People from different
ethnic backgrounds can be more
susceptible to diseases than others.
“For example, people from South
East Asian countries such as
Pakistan, India or Bangladesh are
more likely to suffer from diabetes
and coronary heart disease, and
we also know that medication can
affect people differently according
to their ethnic group. Knowing about
the range of patients from different
communities also helps improve the
planning of services to make sure
that the needs of Lothian’s diverse
population are met.”
Some services are performing very
well and are ahead of the game, such
as Clinical Genetics and Maternity
– both have passed 90 per cent of
patients and are increasing.
Chief midwife Maria Wilson said
that the introduction of electronic
patient records has made ethnicity
recording much simpler and easier
to monitor.
She added: “It has always been an
important factor in maternity care
because of the potential need to book
interpreters during consultations and
birth, plus the need to know about
ethnically-related medical conditions,
such as sickle-cell anaemia or
thalassemia.
“All our midwifes know the
importance of recording ethnicity and
that’s why our compliance reports
are nearly always 100 per cent now.”
EE
A range of training, support
and guidance is available to
help services incorporate
the changes into routine
activity. Visit the intranet
page at Corporate/Equality &
Diversity/Diversity Monitoring
for resources and for contact
details of your equality lead.
Cutting our carbon footprint
MORE than 800 of you have told
us how important you think energy
efficiency is.
You’ve also given us lots of
suggestions for how you think
you could help us to reduce the
amount of energy we use to deliver
services at NHS Lothian.
We’ll be drawing the winner of
the nPower energy monitor out of
the hat over the next few weeks
and we’ll be able to reveal more
of the survey results in the next
edition of Connections.
The information you’ve given
us will help us shape an internal
energy efficiency campaign, aimed
at reducing our carbon footprint.
NEWS
Connections June 2011
3
We’re still
on Trak to
hit target
Major changes this year to
the NHS Lothian system that
records patient information, is
set to help the health board
meet its 18-week referral to
treatment target.
Work is currently ongoing
to ensure that the patient
administration system TrakCare,
also known as Trak, will be
able to connect and measure
a patient’s entire journey from
referral to treatment rather
than just separate parts
of the journey, as is currently
the case.
Once the new system
is up and running, it will
automatically link up the
different parts of the patient’s
pathway, reducing the
administrative burden on staff.
It will also be able to flag up
delays in the patient’s journey
before they become a problem.
The 18 Weeks Team will be
asking Service Management
and Trak users about which of
the new features they require
“Well done to
the teams across
NHS Lothian which
have been doing
a fantastic job
to get waiting
times down”
Douglas Waring
and there will be training for all
users of the system later in the
year prior to the improvements
being launched.
The work to change the
system will be complete in
advance of 31 December,
the deadline the Scottish
Government has set for all
health boards across the
country to meet the
18 weeks target.
Already, NHS Lothian has
been successful in meeting the
yearly targets for the national
programme.
By 31 March, the health board
met the most recent targets
– for referrals to outpatient
appointments being under 12
weeks and from being placed
on a waiting list to inpatient
or day-case admission being
under nine weeks.
“Well done to the teams
across NHS Lothian which have
been doing a fantastic job to
get waiting times down to the
national targets,” said Douglas
Waring, project administrator in
the 18 Weeks Team.
“But more work is needed
to reduce waiting times even
further and be able to record
the full patient’s journey so we
can meet our target at the end
of the year.”
•
TIME WARDS: from left, Tranent Health Centre district nurse
Nancy Warne and healthcare assistant Roseanne Thomson,
Port Seton Health Centre staff nurse Dale McLellan and Tranent
Health Centre student nurse Caroline Millar
managing time
and workloads
The Releasing Time to Care initiative has aided efficiency
The irony of not having enough
time to give to the Releasing
Time to Care (RTC) initiative has
not been lost on community
nursing teams.
These misgivings are being
overturned as the teams across
Lothian recognise the benefits
of working more effectively and
efficiently.
District nurse Caroline Brown
and her team of three at the Crewe
Medical Centre in the north-west
of Edinburgh thought it was going
to be a challenge to fit in the extra
RTC work on top of an already busy
schedule of community visits and
administration.
She said: “Over the past few years,
community nursing has become more
challenging, as we deal with patients
with more complex and long-term
conditions, particularly in areas of
high deprivation.
“However, we were all aware of the
need to streamline our processes and
make the best use of our resources
and skill sets as we have seen from
the recent cluster initiative,” added
Caroline, whose team is working in
partnership with teams in Muirhouse,
Davidson Main’s, and Cramond.
She explained: “I think it helped
people appreciate the programme
when they realised they were doing all
the right things already and it was just
a case of fine-tuning them to become
more efficient.
“We are interested in the next
module which will be on planning,
as this is essential to us on managing
the increasing levels of complex cases
in our area.”
Gorebridge-based district nurse
Jean Anderson said that her
Midlothian team and cluster
colleagues from the nearby Newbattle
practice were a bit sceptical at first
“I think it helped people appreciate the
programme when they realised they
were doing all the right things already”
Caroline Brown
as she explained: “People were
asking how clearing up cupboards was
going to have any impact on patient
care. But, I must say, after an initial
slow start – because of the terrible
weather – it has worked very well.
Jean and her team are now
working on the audit part of the
programme and are interested in
looking at the time they spend on
computers, updating information
in the afternoon after their patient
visits in the morning.
In East Lothian, district nurse
Nancy Warne is really pleased with
how the cluster concept has helped
share resources across the Tranent,
Port Seton and Preston Pans area.
“The cluster has really improved
our ability to give time to patients
and draw on skills and resources
that we could not do before working
solely out of our GP practice,”
said Nancy.
“We are going to develop our audits
around patient satisfaction, wound
assessment and the time we spend
on our admin.
“As we’re not experienced in
developing audits, we’re going to talk
to other teams in Midlothian to find
out what they have done and see if
we can use their approach – no point
reinventing the wheel!”
West Lothian gets bronze for healthy workplaces
assessment in April.
The West Lothian Community
The CHCP was recognised for
Health and Care Partnership (CHCP)
offering health choices for staff, not
has secured a Bronze Healthy
just making healthy food available,
Working Lives award after an
Gill Cottrell, chief nurse for the
but also providing initiatives that
West Lothian CHCP, said: “It’s
promote wellbeing. These include
walking clubs, stop smoking support important we show we are taking the
welfare of staff seriously.”
and health screening.
4
NEWS
June 2011 Connections
GLOWING REPORT FROM
STAFF SURVEY RESULTS
NHS Lothian received a glowing
report as the 2010 Staff Survey
results were revealed – scoring higher
than the national survey average
overall.
The majority of NHS Lothian staff
told the survey they are well informed,
appropriately trained, involved in
decisions and treated fairly and
consistently.
NHS Lothian was also the best
performing board when compared to
the main teaching boards.
The previous employee survey was
carried out in 2008 and the new results
also highlighted improvements in a
number of areas since, particularly
the number of people who have
agreed a Personal Development Plan
or equivalent with their line manager
– up to 91 per cent of staff compared
with 60 per cent in 2008.
Other categories that showed
improvement in the past two years
include staff being clear about their
jobs and responsibilities, supported
by managers to access training,
believing they get help and support
from their colleagues, agreeing that
patient service information is treated
confidentially, and being happy to “go
the extra mile” at work.
When compared with the NHS
Scotland average, NHS Lothian
excelled in a number of other
categories, such as undergoing
an induction in their current role,
having a Development Review
Meeting in the last 12 months,
having opportunities to put forward
new ideas or suggestions to
improve the workplace and being
confident that these ideas will be
listened to.
As you would expect, as well as
the very positive results, the survey
also highlighted some areas for
improvement for NHS Lothian.
These categories include staff
believing they can always meet all
the conflicting demands on their
time at work.
The results of the Staff Survey
have been discussed at the Staff
Governance Committee and the
areas for development will now be
included in the Staff Governance Action
Plan for 2011/12. Future articles in
Connections will report on the actions
being taken.
Your Community –
Your Health
Your Community Your Health is
a new health information service
that’s just been launched in the
Pilton and Muirhouse areas of
Edinburgh.
The project, which aims to
provide local people with easily
accessible information about
their health and wellbeing, will be
available via a web-based system,
with face-to-face support from
trained staff at health information
points in local communities.
These will be set up initially
in three community venues:
Muirho u s e L i b r a r y , P i l t o n
Community Health Project and
Craigroyston Health Centre.
The project is a partnership
between NHS Lothian, City of
Edinburgh Council Library and
Information Services, NHS Inform,
NHS Education Scotland (NES)
and the Pilton Community Health
Project.
Bob Anderson, chair of the
Edinburgh Community Health
Partnership, NHS Lothian, said:
“This is an excellent initiative and
the first of its kind in Edinburgh.
•
We want to make it as easy as
possible for people to know what
health resources are available and
how they can access them easily.
Having this information at the heart
of the community will do just that
and I am sure will be welcomed by
local people.”
The project, which has been
developed in response to local
community needs, will help increase
access to health information in
order to tackle health inequalities
and improve health.
“We want to make
it as easy as
possible for people
to know what
health resources
are available and
how they can
access them easily”
Bob Anderson
Edinburgh CHP chairman Bob Anderson launches the new
“Your Community – Your Health” initiative
•
PIONEERS IN EXCELLENCE: From left, back row: Dr Gayle Marshall, Kevin Clazie, Dr Jason Carroll,
Dr Mike Brough, Dr Ken McLean and Duncan Miller. Front row: Practice nurse Ann Brough, receptionist
Anne Brown, receptionist Jill McIntosh, practice manager Fiona Gilbert
Quality in Practice
Leven Medical Practice in the
centre of Edinburgh has become the
first in the UK to receive the modular
Quality Practice Award (mQPA)
from the Royal College of General
Practitioners (RCGP).
The practice, located in Tollcross
Health Centre, has been in its present
home since 2001.
The practice staff began their
journey towards the RCGP’s quality
award in 2009. Practice manager
Fiona Gilbert said: “We were a new
team, and the idea of the modular
award attracted us because of its
flexibility.
“It has been a positive experience
for the whole team at the Leven
Leven Medical Practice is first
in UK to secure an award
from accreditation scheme
Practice. Compiling the submission
gave us an invaluable opportunity
to review how we operated as a
practice, and helped us to identify
areas where we were performing
well, and where there was room for
improvement.
“We have already taken on board
this information and plan to use it
to improve our services to patients.”
The team members received their
award plaque from RCGP’s Dr Ken
McLean, who is QPA co-chair.
Fiona added: “We’d definitely
recommend the mPQA to any practice
that is looking for a challenge!”
EE
To find out more about the
modular QPA or the traditional
QPA, contact Claire Godley on
0131 260 6821 or email:
qpa@rcgp.org.uk
NEWS
Connections June 2011
How to beat
fraudsters
Campaign outlines the
problem of fraud, which NHS
Lothian continues to tackle
Fraud is not a victimless crime
in the health service, and those
who are caught will be brought to
justice. That’s the message from NHS
Lothian as it joins in the aim of a new
European campaign to help tackle the
problem in healthcare.
The aim of the European
Healthcare Fraud & Corruption
Network’s Awareness Campaign for
2011 is to reduce losses that could be
better spent on patient care. NHS
Lothian has been continuing its
efforts towards the same goal, not
least by pursuing cases in court and
applying disciplinary procedures.
Last year, the cases in NHS
Lothian that led to criminal
convictions were against individuals
who falsified timesheets, altered sick
notes or worked elsewhere while
claiming sick leave.
Currently, four more cases are
going through the courts, and
another three have been reported
to the Procurator Fiscal with a view
to prosecuting. Also, several more
cases are being investigated by NHS
Counter Fraud Services, with which
NHS Lothian works closely. The
fraudulent activities include falsifying
or forging prescriptions, claiming
for overtime not worked, stealing
•
BEWARE OF
FRAUDSTERS: look out
for suspicious people
In Brief
Board
meeting
dates
The dates of NHS Lothian
board meetings in 2011 are:
■■22 June*
■■27 July
■■28 September
■■23 November.
All of the board meetings
will be held in the
Boardroom at Waverley Gate,
Edinburgh, beginning at
9.30am.
*The June meeting is a
special meeting to discuss
NHS Lothian’s annual
accounts.
Get the
latest on
“Fraud is a real
threat within the
health service.
It takes money
away from treating
our patients”
and
David Woods
NHS property and patients claiming
fraudulently for travel expenses.
David Woods, chief internal
auditor, said: “Fraud is a real
threat within the health service.
It takes money away from our
primary purpose – to treat patients.
People may think that because
NHS Lothian is a big organisation,
small amounts here and there don’t
make a difference, but they do. It
all adds up. Fraud is certainly not
a victimless crime.
“We would urge staff to report
any suspicions, and they can even
remain anonymous if they prefer. All
reports are investigated by Counter
Fraud Services and, if there is
sufficient evidence, taken forward
to criminal prosecution and/or
disciplinary action.”
REPORT SUSPECTED FRAUDS
Anyone who suspects that fraud
has taken place is encouraged
to report the circumstances.
Suspicions can be reported either
directly to NHS Counter Fraud
Services via the Hotline (08000 15
16 28) or website (www.cfs.scot.
nhs.uk) or NHS Lothian’s Fraud
Liaison Officers (David Woods, Dave
Proudfoot and Duncan Miller).
Consultation to explore the
gap between rich and poor
A CONSULTATION paper is set to
be published that will look at ways
of addressing health inequalities
between rich and poor people.
The Edinburgh Community Health
Partnership, through its Health
Inequalities Standing Group (HISG),
has decided that a renewed focus on
reducing health inequalities is needed
across the city, and is proposing a health
inequalities framework for Edinburgh.
The aim is to promote a wider
understanding of a complex issue,
identify key players whose work
5
makes a significant contribution to
reducing health inequalities and to
encourage effective joint action to
achieve an improvement in outcomes.
“It has long been recognised that
there is a health gap between the richest
and poorest in our society,” explained
Ailish O’Neill, NHS Lothian health
promotions specialist who is currently
working with Edinburgh Council.
“This is evidenced most
dramatically by different rates of life
expectancy in people at different ends
of the social scale.
“Statistics for Edinburgh continue
to reflect this difference and,
although people are living longer,
the gap between rich and poor is not
narrowing.”
You can access the draft framework
on the City of Edinburgh Council’s
website www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Please tell us what you think in one
of the following ways:
■■Through our online survey:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/
HealthInequalities
■■By post: Feedback, Health
Inequality Framework
Consultation, City of
Edinburgh Council, Level 2/1,
Waverley Court, 4 East Market
Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG.
The consultation lasts until
10 June 2011.
EE
For more information,
contact Ailish O’Neill at
ailish.o’neill@edinburgh.
gov.uk or on
0131 469
3828.
Want to find out more
about NHS Lothian’s latest
news?
We’re now online, which
means you don’t need to
wait for the next edition of
Connections to keep updated
on our latest news and
developments.
You can now follow us at
home on Twitter, or become
a fan on Facebook. Be
among the first to receive
news updates and
much more.
Let us know what you’d
like to see in the next issue
of your staff newspaper by
logging on to Facebook.
EE
To start receiving our
tweets, log on to www.
twitter.com/NHS_Lothian
EE
To become a Facebook
friend, log on to www.
facebook.com and search
for NHS_Lothian
6
NEWS
In Brief
Help yourself
to health…
love your lungs
A FREE event has been
organised to help people
affected by lung problems.
NHS Lothian hosted an
event at Meadowbank
Sports Centre in Edinburgh
on 23 May to give advice,
hints and tips to people
with lung problems.
Visitors on the day were
able to try new activities
such as tai chi and indoor
curling. They also learned
how to control their
condition and pick up free
information from health
bodies like Chest and Heart
and Stroke Scotland.
EE
For further information
or a copy of the
programme, contact
Jane Dalrymple on
0131 465 5584 or jane.
dalrymple@nhslothian.
scot.nhs.uk or visit
the website at: www.
lothianrespiratorymcn.
scot.nhs.uk
Respiratory
event gives
an update
A ONE-DAY conference on
respiratory conditions is to
take place at Napier University
(Craiglockhart Campus) on
Wednesday 22 June.
The event will provide
specialist clinical training
and essential updates on
respiratory medicine.
Aimed at a range of
medical professionals
including GPs, hospital and
community-based nurses
and pharmacists, there will
be talks, workshops and
practical sessions on offer.
Topics will include asthma
in children and adults,
spirometry, lung cancer, sleep
disorders, COPD, allergy
and pulmonary rehabilitation
among other areas. There will
also be an exhibition area.
Registration will cost £30.
EE
The full programme and
details of how to register
are available at www.
lothianrespiratorymcn.
scot.nhs.uk
June 2011 Connections
Expanding
horizons
New kind of healthcare
role is set to extend career
opportunities for support staff
NHS Lothian is piloting a new
healthcare technician role, which
will expand career opportunities for
clinical support workers.
This new role will enable the
support worker to undertake a wider
range of personal care and clinical
duties across all professional staff
groups, resulting in a more flexible,
sustainable workforce and allowing
a smoother transition for patients
within their journey of care.
It will provide a career development
framework for staff and effective
succession planning of the workforce.
The pilot was launched by Eddie
Egan, employee director/vice chair,
and Melanie Hornett, nurse director.
Three wards will participate in the
pilot – Ward 8 at St John’s Hospital,
Ward 4 at Royal Victoria Hospital
and Loanesk at the new Midlothian
Community Hospital.
The pilot started in Ward 8 during
May, and there’s been a tremendous
“The pilot will give
the technicians
the chance to
develop wider
skills in a range of
competencies”
Jane Anderson
response from staff who wish to
be part of the pilot, and who have
applied to be trainee healthcare
technicians.
The ward team will be leading the
development of this role with support
from the pilot team.
Jane Anderson, workforce
modernisation manager and project
lead, said: “The pilot will give the
healthcare technicians the chance
to develop wider skills in a range of
competencies to support and enhance
Audit highlights adult
protection improvements
The findings of an internal audit will
help shape NHS Lothian’s revised
Adult Support & Protection Action
Plan later this year.
Adult Support & Protection was
audited by the internal auditors
earlier this year, to evaluate the
adequacy and effectiveness of internal
Inbox
Adult Support &
Protection Training
2008 -2011
Mandatory e-learning
Accessed: 33,228
Completed: 22,175
Intranet link
http://intranet.lothian.scot.nhs.
uk/NHSLothian/Corporate/A-Z/
ASAP/Pages/Introduction.aspx
controls for protecting adults at risk
of harm.
The audit focused on risk
areas, including adults at risk of
harm not being identified; cases
not being handled appropriately;
and information being shared
inappropriately with other bodies.
Melanie Hornett, nurse director
and executive lead for Adult Support
and Protection, said: “We have made
real progress over the last year to
ensure systems and processes are in
place. We aim to make it as easy as
possible for staff to recognise those
who may be at risk of harm, and for
the correct reporting to occur.”
New developments include a
Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
intranet page with links to Adult
Support and Protection and Child
Protection.
Further awareness sessions will be
provided over the next few months,
with PVG being covered within the
mandatory management programme.
•
TOP-CLASS CARE: from left – Helen Ogilvie, charge nurse,
Loanesk Ward, Midlothian Community Hospital; Eddie Egan,
employee director/vice chair; Melanie Hornett, nurse director; Jim
Adamson, charge nurse, Ward 8, SJH; and Carol Paterson, charge
nurse, Ward 4, RVH, were at the launch of the pilot project
the quality of direct patient care and
free up registered staff to undertake
higher level duties commensurate
with their training and grade.”
Jane added: “The new role will
help to improve the quality of the
patient experience. It will also
provide more patient-centred care
which in turn will support better
outcomes for discharge from hospital,
and the independence of daily living
for patients.”
Training helps to
tackle delirium
The first Dementia
training day for
consultants and senior
doctors in training was
held at the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh (RIE) in
March.
The Delirium and
Dementia Implementation
Group was set up in 2010 to improve
the diagnosis and management
of both disorders and help prevent
delirium.
Consultant liaison psychiatrist
Dr Tracy Ryan (above) said: “We
are currently piloting a screening
tool for delirium and cognitive
impairment, and have had a training
programme running for all nursing
and auxiliary staff on selected
wards in the RIE and Liberton
hospitals for the past year.
“Age is a major risk
factor for dementia
with the average
number of people in
Lothian suffering from
the diagnosis set to
increase by 50 per cent
by 2024. Dementia is
a major risk factor for
delirium and both are associated
with increased lengths of hospital
stay, increased mortality, loss of
independent function and increased
new institutionalisation.”
Further training days are planned:
on 12 October this year, 15 March
2012 and 15 March 2013.
Any interested parties please
contact Dr Tracy Ryan, consultant
liaison psychiatrist, RIE, or Prof
Alasdair MacLullich, professor of
geriatric medicine at the RIE.
NEWS
Connections June 2011
Event explores implementation of measures
to improve maternal and child health
How to give them the
best start in life...
Health professionals from
across NHS Lothian gathered
in the Edinburgh Lister Institute
to discuss how a range of
government health-specific
polices and frameworks will be
implemented within maternal and
child health.
The event was chaired by Sally
Egan, associate director and
child health commissioner. Sally
said: “Never has the need for
robust joined-up maternal and
child health strategies and the
development of pathways from
pre-conception to three years
and beyond been as evident and
important.
“The roles of pre-conception,
maternity, community health
and primary care services will be
essential in delivering the Early
Years Agenda. Early intervention
at the earliest opportunity with
an emphasis on supporting
pregnancy and promoting effective
parenting is at the heart of NHS
Lothian’s Children and Young
People’s Health and Wellbeing
Planning and Modernisation
Agenda.”
The keynote address was from
Dr David Farquharson, NHS
Lothian’s medical director, who
told delegates: “Quality of care
is extremely important, and this
includes prompt access to a
pregnancy support centre for
women who develop problems
in early pregnancy, high quality
antenatal screening, and oneto-one midwifery care when
established in labour.”
Dr Rhona Hughes, clinical
director, concluded the event
and reiterated that NHS Lothian
is committed to working in
partnership with our children
and parents and with statutory,
independent and third sector
partners to ensure we are Getting
it Right for Every Child and Young
Person in Lothian.
Years Policies is available
at: http://intranet/
NHSLothian/Healthcare/A-Z/
communityHealthPartnerships/
mcn/Pages/UsefulLinks.aspx
The SMART Centre at Astley Ainslie Hospital
has produced a short training DVD to help referrers
to complete the wheelchair/buggy and seating
referral form.
It is aimed at ensuring the referral form is completed
correctly and that the service has the necessary details
to provide the best possible service.
The DVD also includes guidance on how referrers
can take accurate measurements to ensure that the
correct size of chair is provided.
Modernisation manager Les Malone said: “The
SMART website (www.smart.scot.nhs.uk) has been
updated with a members’ area for NHS staff, social care
occupational therapists, GPs and other professionals
who may refer into SMART services.
“It will allow referrers to log onto the website and
access a range of documents that will assist with the
referral process. The section will be accessible once
individuals have registered online.”
DVD or the website, please contact Les Malone
on 0131 537 9436 or by email at:
Lothian.smartmanagement@nhs.net
Book pioneers
stroke self-help
When it comes to dealing with
the aftermath of a stroke, patients
and their families can soon turn
to a pioneering manual being
launched by NHS Lothian.
The Stroke Workbook, to be
introduced across Scotland
later in the year, will provide
information on how to deal with
the physical and psychological
consequences of a stroke, and will
include a relaxation CD. Health
professionals will be trained on
how to educate patients and
their families on using the book.
The first training session for
staff is in September.
The publication uses a
similar application to the highly
successful Heart Manual
developed by NHS Lothian, which
has been rolled out to other
countries since its launch almost
20 years ago.
The Stroke Workbook has
been successfully evidenced in
trials. The positive outcomes from
these prompted the project to
receive funding from the Scottish
Government and Chest
Heart and Stroke
Scotland
to initiate a roll-out of it
nationally. The funding will be
used for the editing and printing
of the workbook, development
of the training and the
employment of two clinicians and
a psychology assistant for the
duration of the project.
Louise Taylor, head of the
Heart Manual Department,
said: “The Stroke Workbook
will empower patients and their
families by helping them gain an
understanding of the diagnosis,
encouraging them to increase
confidence and maintain as well
as improve their overall health.
When patients are first given the
diagnosis there is a lot to take in.
With the workbook, supported
by a specially trained healthcare
professional, they can go through
it in their own time. The project
leads will be training staff so they
can teach patients how to use the
workbook.”
EE
For more information on
the Stroke Workbook,
call Sara Joice or Kareen
Darnley in the Heart Manual
Department on 0131 537
9534 or 0131 537 9535 or
email sarajoice@nhslothian.
scot.nhs.uk or kareen.darnley
@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
EE
A briefing on all Early
New SMART Centre DVD
EE
If you have any questions about the training
7
New website for
addiction issues
The Edinburgh Alcohol and Drug
Partnership (EADP) has launched
a new website about addiction and
recovery across the City.
As well as keeping people updated
on the latest EADP news, the website
will provide valuable information to
health professionals on alcohol and
drug use and local services.
Nick Smith, joint programme
manager, EADP, said: “The misuse
of drugs and alcohol is an important
social issue and can cause grave
harm to individuals, families and
communities.
“We believe it is important that
people know where to go for help
and support as well as being able
to make informed decisions. This
website will give the facts about
alcohol and drug use as well as
letting people know what we are
doing to address alcohol and drug
issues in Edinburgh.”
DID YOU KNOW?
•
Occupational therapist Gillian Murdoch (far left)
with a wheelchair user at the SMART Centre at Astley
Ainslie Hospital
■■The national drug strategy puts a focus on supporting people to
move into recovery from problem alcohol / drug use. Edinburgh
has a thriving community of people in recovery.
■■In the last 50 years, alcohol consumption has doubled in Scotland
to 12 litres of pure alcohol per person per year.
8
NEWS
June 2011 Connections
NEWS
Connections June 2011
9
An innovative partnership is seeing NHS Lothian improve patients’
lifestyles and generate money through the sale of insulin pump covers
WE’ve got great
ideas covered
Staff at the Metabolic Unit at
the Western General Hospital
(WGH) have come up with a neat
solution to help diabetes patients
carry their insulin pumps more
comfortably.
And their clever idea could also
make money for the unit.
It was launched at the Diabetes
UK conference in London on 29
March with considerable interest
from healthcare professionals and
industry representatives alike.
The NHS Lothian staff have
formed a new company called ipSOX,
in collaboration with Edinburgh
Napier University and The Funky
Fone Sox Company Limited.
The idea developed after Jacqui
Charlton, a diabetic specialist nurse
from the WGH who has Type 1
diabetes, changed from using insulin
injections onto an insulin pump.
Jacqui said: “I tried to find covers
for the pump, but it soon became
apparent that there were limited
accessories available.
“So with colleagues Liz Mackay
and Dr Mark Strachan, we decided
to ask patients how they coped with
using a pump.”
Patients’ feedback, combined with
the staff’s experience, highlighted
that wearing an insulin pump can
be uncomfortable and impractical
at times.
Jacqui said: “The pumps are
made of hard plastic and can be
•
“I tried to find
covers for the
pump, but it
soon became
apparent
that there
were limited
accessories
available”
INNOVATORS: from left, are Jacqui
Charlton, Liz Mackay and Jenny Cusiter
Jacquie Charlton
uncomfortable when worn directly
against skin. Pumps also come with a
clip for wearing on a belt or attaching
to clothing. However, some people
wish to ‘hide’ the pump under their
clothes, but we couldn’t find any
suitable products on the market for
holding the pump.”
Jacqui added: “When searching
online for accessories, we found a
family-run company from Yorkshire
called The Funky Fone Sox Company
Limited, which supplies covers
that would fit pumps even though
they were not manufactured for
that purpose.
“Through Dr Jenny Cusiter at the
Bioquarter, who is responsible for
projects with an NHS component,
we arranged a meeting to discuss
promoting the covers to patients
in Lothian, and then the idea
snowballed to have them accessible to
all patients who use insulin pumps.”
From this, and in response to the
patients’ feedback, the collaboration
between healthcare professionals
and a commercial company has led
to the development of ipSOX Ltd,
which will sell and distribute funky
covers for the insulin pumps that are
made of a machine-washable cotton/
Lycra mix.
Training tackles
mental health
•
SUPPORT:
Kathryn Sinclair
A TRAINING programme that
helps managers promote positive
mental health and wellbeing in
their teams has been rolled out
nationally after a successful pilot
in NHS Lothian and four other
health boards.
Developed by the Scottish
Centre for Healthy Working Lives,
the Mentally Healthy Workplace
training involves an online module
as well as a day of face-to-face
training.
The training includes good
practice in promoting positive
mental health and wellbeing and
NOT-FOR-PROFIT venture
supports diabetes care
ipSOX Ltd is a ‘company limited by guarantee’ and profits will
be channelled back into the NHS Lothian Metabolic Unit at the
Western General Hospital. This will be used to help support
diabetes care, which will include funding research into lifestyle
issues when using an insulin pump.
Feedback from the questionnaire included:
■■“The more discreet the better”
■■“I want accessories that will co-ordinate with my outfit”
■■“I want to wear a white T-shirt without my pump showing through it”
■■“I always wear my pump in my bra and want something comfortable
and discreet to use”.
provides practical examples of how
to support employees experiencing
mental health problems. The
“blended learning” format was
developed following feedback from
managers who attended the original
two-day course.
As part of the pilot for the new
format, NHS Lothian’s Workplace
Team delivered two sessions in
March to a total of 28 managers
from organisations across
Edinburgh and the Lothians. Both
sessions received very positive
feedback and more are planned in
the next year.
Kathryn Sinclair, healthy working
lives advisor for NHS Lothian, said:
“This course is vital in providing
managers with the necessary
knowledge and skills to help staff
by identifying people who may be
having trouble, and by creating a
supportive environment for all.”
EE
Contact NHS Lothian Workplace
Team on 0131 536 8014, or
kathryn.sinclair@nhslothian.
scot.nhs.uk or call the Healthy
Working Lives Team on
0800 019 2211. Also, visit
www.healthyworkinglives.com
10
Launch
of Sexual
Health
and HIV
strategy
Following extensive
public consultation, NHS
Lothian has launched its
Sexual Health and HIV
strategy that sets out the
vision for services over the
next five years (2011-2016).
Its core aims include
reducing harm from
sexual ill-health and
HIV, ensuring people
with HIV live long and
healthy lives, reducing
unintended pregnancies,
and encouraging people
to make confident and
competent decisions
about sex.
The consultation
included the views
from patients, service
providers and third sector
organisations, including
people living with HIV,
young people and sex
industry workers.
The strategy will build
on some of the successes
of the past five years,
including the development
of an integrated sexual
“We are confident
that we can
improve sexual
health and reduce
the harm caused
by HIV in Lothian”
Jamie Megaw
health service which will
open at Chalmers Sexual
Health Centre (see right)
and a 14 per cent increase
in the uptake of the most
effective long-acting
methods of contraception.
There are also plans
to review the location of
local sexual health clinics,
develop a programme to
reduce the level of stigma
associated with HIV and
to raise awareness of
and improve access to
longer-acting, reversible
contraception.
Jamie Megaw, strategic
programme manager for
sexual health, said: “We
were pleased that so many
people and organisations
took the time to respond
to our consultation and
that, on the whole, the
responses supported our
proposals.
“We have incorporated
this feedback into our
strategy and are confident
that we can improve sexual
health and reduce the harm
caused by HIV in Lothian.”
NEWS
June 2011 Connections
INVESTING IN
healthcare
NHS Lothian’s goal to become one of the
world’s top healthcare providers is being
significantly helped after £93 million of
capital investment in services which have
either recently opened or are scheduled to
come on stream within the next 12 months.
This investment will ensure that our staff
will have the very best in modern and
effective healthcare facilities and equipment
to help them support communities
across Lothian.
Here is an update on the new facilities that
have either opened or are scheduled to be
completed soon...
Midlothian
Community Hospital
■■Opened: September 2010
■■Location: Mayshade South,
near Bonnyrigg
■■Investment: £18 million
■■Services: community hospital
which also includes a day
hospital for older people with
mental health problems. Also,
a centre for Lothian’s GP Outof-Hours service (Lothian
Unscheduled Care Service).
Clinical nurse manager Robert
Clement is proud to show
visitors around the Midlothian
Community Hospital that opened
last September, ahead of schedule.
“It’s a pleasure to escort people
around, not just because of the new
facilities, but for the atmosphere
here, too – the staff are really positive
about the hospital,” he said.
Senior charge nurse Liz Kirkwood
agreed: “Patients benefit from having
the privacy of their own bedrooms and
choices about where to spend the
day, and staff enjoy an extremely
pleasant working environment. It’s
light, spacious and very well equipped,
and we also benefit from working
as part of a larger team which has
widened our social and support
networks.”
Physiotherapist Jo Gordon said the
“fantastic” therapy facilities are great for
the patients and the investment in IT has
Did
you know?
had benefits for staff
Lothian’s chairman,
too. She explained:
Dr
Charles
A time capsule was unearthed
“Hot desking has
Winstanley, and
improved working
chief operating
during the Royal Victoria
relationships with
officer
for
excavations. It was buried in
professionals we
acute
services,
1913 to mark the creation of a
would have not
Jackie Sansbury,
new children’s home for the
otherwise been in
cemented the final
Craigleith Hospital and
contact with, and
piece in the roof to
Poorhouse
this is leading to
complete the exterior
more joint planning of
shell of the building –
initiatives between services
less than one year on from
that would not have happened
the initial turf-cutting on the
had they not co-located.”
development.
The hospital is working towards
Dr Charles Winstanley said:
gaining Health Promoting status and “Completing the exterior shell of the
has introduced lunchtime exercise building is a tremendous step forward
classes and a “Toot for Fruit” service in the creation of this new purposewhere a van visits the hospital built facility.
selling fruit and vegetables.
“Once completed next year,
“We’re also looking at plans to the Royal Victoria Building will
develop the grounds around the become one of our flagship hospital
hospital into community gardens for buildings and will be the first of its
local people to use,” added Robert.
Royal Victoria Building ■■Opening: April 2012
■■Location: on Western General
Hospital site
■■Investment: £43.6 million
■■Services: specifically designed
to meet the needs of elderly, plus
rheumatology and dermatology
patients.
The Royal Victoria Building completed
a major milestone in April when NHS
•
kind in Scotland to consist entirely
of single rooms to promote privacy
and dignity.”
Musselburgh Primary
Care Centre
■■Opening: spring 2012
■■Location: Musselburgh
■■Investment: £20 million
■■Services: a new Primary
Care Centre including new
accommodation for three
GP practices.
The new Primary Care Centre will
accommodate three GP practices,
paediatrics and adult outpatients,
speech and language therapy, clinical
psychology, children’s services, school
nurse teams and outpatients and
community dentistry.
ON THE UP: Progress is good on the Musselburgh Primary
Care Centre with the steel frame being erected
NEWS
Connections June 2011
11
•
Did
you know?
The construction at
Musselburgh had to work
patients, and
around the discovery of
clinicians will
Mesolithic flint tools thought
be able to
manage both
to be up to 10,000 years old.
service aspects
The skeleton of a Roman
with limited
soldier was also
re q u i re m e n t f o r
found
cross referral.
•
TOPPING OUT: chairman,
Dr Charles Winstanley, and
chief operating officer for acute
services, Jackie Sansbury
Following the opening
of the centre, this integrated
model of sexual health services will
be rolled out to local centres across
NHS Lothian.
Dalkeith Health
Centre
■■Opening: late summer, early
autumn 2011
■■Location: Dalkeith, Midlothian
■■Investment: £2.4 million
■■Services: local medical practice
and community health services
The steel frame of the building is
erected and work is progressing well
to meet its scheduled completion in
spring 2012.
When operational, the centre
will provide an integrated facility
to replace the NHS services that
are currently dispersed across the
Edenhall Hospital site, the three
local GP Practices and other areas
of Musselburgh.
Chalmers Sexual
Health Centre
■■Opening: June 2011
■■Location: 2A Chalmers
Street, Edinburgh
■■Investment: £9 million
■■Service: integrated sexual health
services, bringing Family Planning
and GUM services together.
All clinics that have been previously
provided by Family Planning at Dean
Terrace and GUM at Lauriston have
transferred to the new Centre (see
artist’s impression, top).
Dr Gordon Scott, lead clinician for
sexual health, said: “The integrated
centre will be a great benefit to
patients, particularly women, who
will be able to see specialists across
the whole range of family planning
and sexual health services, without
having to be referred elsewhere.
“It will also enable clinicians to
give patients more holistic treatment
through the integration of services on
one site, and the light and airy design
of the clinic will provide a pleasant
working environment for staff.”
In preparation for the opening, staff
from Family Planning and GUM have
been in training, so that they are all
familiar with the needs of each others’
•
TAKING SHAPE: the new
Royal Victoria Building
The new centre is being built on
the site of the former building and is
scheduled to become operational in
late summer/early autumn this year.
The Dalkeith Health Centre will
incorporate sustainable energy
f e a t u re s i n c l u d i n g r a i n w a t e r
harvesting, a ground-source heat
pump and solar panelling. Once open,
it will be home to a medical practice
and services including physiotherapy,
podiatry, speech and language
therapy, midwifery and community
psychiatric nurses.
EE
For further information on these
new developments please visit the
intranet or contact Iain Graham
on 0131 465 5516.
Now open
Over the past year a number of new
centres have opened, such as:
■■St John’s Hospital Short Stay
Surgical Centre
Investment: £8.2 million
■■The Clinical Research Imaging
Centre is a partnership between
the University of Edinburgh
and NHS Lothian and is based
at the university’s Queen’s
Medical Research Institute, at
the RIE. It is a fully integrated
imaging facility to improve
diagnosis and treatment of
illnesses such as cancer, heart
disease and multiple sclerosis.
Investment: £20 million
HEALTHY READING: (from left) Helen Galloway, CAMHS;
Simon Miller, Choose Life; Cathy Richards, CAMHS; Provost
Adam Montgomery; Karen Forrester, CAMHS; and Philip
Wark, Midlothian Council
Book scheme
extended
A NEW scheme aims to
improve the mental health
and wellbeing of children,
young people and families
in Midlothian.
Healthy Reading Midlothian
follows on from the success
of the adult service, which has
provided more than 1600
‘books on prescription’ so far.
The scheme, targeted at
children and young people
with mild-to-moderate mental
health problems, enables both
them and their carers/families
to access self-help resources
including books, CDs, DVDs
and websites from Midlothian
libraries.
Cathy Richards, head of child
& adolescent psychology for
NHS Lothian, said: “The wide
range of resources available
address common child and
adolescent mental health issues
including low mood, stress and
anxiety, self-esteem, bullying,
eating disorders, sleep problems
and bereavement.”
Any child, young person or
family member living in Midlothian
will be able to access the scheme
without a referral.
Councillor Adam Montgomery,
Provost of Midlothian, added:
“I’m pleased to see this free
and confidential scheme, which
has helped so many adults, is
now being extended to families
and younger people in our
community. I also welcome
the healthy reading areas in
libraries as they enable anyone
with concerns to access a wide
range of useful resources.”
The multi-agency partnership
behind the initiative includes
Midlothian Council, NHS
Lothian, Choose Life and the
Midlothian Library Service.
Groundbreaking
online resource
We’ve developed a new online
learning resource for healthcare
professionals working to reduce
alcohol-related harm.
NHS Lothian’s health
promotion team has created
an Alcohol Brief Intervention
(ABI) e-learning course to
help professionals to identify
individuals whose drinking might
be impacting on their health or
other aspects of their lives.
The course, the first of its
kind in Scotland, is suitable
for a wide range of healthcare
practitioners with varying levels
of knowledge and experience
in delivering Alcohol Brief
Interventions, such as smoking
cessation, mental health and
sexual health harm reduction.
It provides the skills
and understanding to
deliver ABIs in line with
NHS Health Scotland’s
ABI training programme,
enabling practitioners to help
individuals reduce their alcohol
consumption.
The module includes
information on how to calculate
unit consumption and how to
use validated screening tools to
identify individuals at risk from
alcohol-related harm.
Eleanor McWhirter, Alcohol
Brief Interventions lead for
NHS Lothian, said: “The online
format gives practitioners the
freedom and flexibility to learn
when and where they want.”
EE
To access the module, visit
the ABI intranet page.
12
In Brief
Delivering world
class healthcare
NHS Lothian has been identified
as the leading health system
involved in the McKinsey,
‘Healthtracker’ project.
The ‘Healthtracker’
benchmarking and performance
management system has
been expanded to become the
‘Leading Systems Network of the
Health Systems Institute (HSI)’.
There are nine full members of
the Network spread across the
globe with several more Health
Regions due to join this year.
The programme enables us
to benchmark our performance
with best practice from other
health systems around the world.
This global healthcare
network allows us to share
ideas, experience and learning
with some of the leading
healthcare systems in the
world. The NHS Lothian
annual member report tells us
that in over a quarter of the
areas measured, NHS Lothian
is leading the network.
Developing the
Royal Edinburgh
Hospital
The Royal Edinburgh Hospital
will be redeveloped on its
existing site over the next 10
years. The plan to reprovide
the existing mental health
service and consolidate
services from other hospitals
onto the site was announced
as part of the Planning for the
Future event on 11 May.
A detailed master planning
and feasibility study indicated
that the site can comfortably
accommodate many more beds
than will be needed for inpatient
mental health services. The
process of identifying opportunities
for other services to relocate
to the site is now underway.
Patient safety
“Patient safety is the first
standing item on every Lothian
Health Board agenda and we
have seen excellent progress,”
said Professor Barbour. “We
have done a lot of good work
and have a lot to build on, but
we can’t be complacent.”
The chief executive reinforced
his message from last year’s
Planning for the Future event
that we should never lose sight
of the most important part
of our work – providing high
quality individualised patientfocused care.
NEWS FEATURE
June 2011 C
planning for t
The fourth annual Planning for the
Future event heard NHS Lothian chief
executive, Professor James Barbour,
describe the scale of NHS Lothian’s
work and the importance of primary
interventions.
He said that across NHS Lothian,
GPs have more than 2.8 million faceto-face consultations with patients a
year, while GP practice-based nurses
have nearly 1.2 million patient contacts.
“That’s a success story in primary
care that we need to reflect on in terms
of demand management and how we
proceed moving forward,” he said.
Praising the improvements that have
been made in shifting the balance of
care, improving patient safety and the
patient experience, and addressing
health inequalities, Professor Barbour
added: “These are the areas we need
to continue to focus on, ensuring we
invest our money where it will have the
greatest impact.”
He highlighted that, for the first
time in 10 years, we have changed
from expanding our workforce to
reducing and reshaping it, to designing
a workforce that will sustain our services
and help us to live within our means.
During the past year we have
reduced our workforce by 762 whole
time equivalents (WTE) and reduced
spending on bank and agency staff by £4
million. Our overtime spend has reduced
by £1 million over the last five years.
“By reducing, reshaping and using our
workforce better, we have made around
£40 million of efficiencies; a superb
result and a tribute to the hard work
of staff, innovative working and close
partnership working,” said Professor
Barbour. “The new government has
reaffirmed its commitment to no
compulsory redundancies and to
reducing the number of senior managers
in the NHS. We are already ahead of
target in meeting the required 25 per
cent reduction.”
He said ongoing work, in Partnership,
to reduce our workforce, would continue
to be done in a structured strategic way.
He highlighted the recently launched
Healthcare Technician Role pilot as
an excellent opportunity for workforce
redesign. The eHealth strategy for the
next five years will also support this
work, enabling patients to interact
Primary Care – a success
story on a grand scale
electronically with the NHS through the
roll out of Telehealth and ensuring that
frontline staff have real-time, accurate
information through the TRAK system.
Professor Barbour stressed the need
for continuing efforts to drive down
sickness absence levels. Our 4 per
cent figure in February 2011 was our
best result for a decade, but this needs
to be sustained and improved upon,
with every 1 per cent reduction in
sickness absence equating to savings
of £7 million a year.
He highlighted work underway to
examine 288 cases where employees
have been absent from work on a
repeated short-term pattern to see if
these absences were justified. He made
it clear that occupational health and
management support is there to help
those staff who are genuinely unwell,
or have problems at work or at home,
to feel supported and valued.
“How we treat the underperformers
is a hallmark of the organisation as
much as celebrating success”, he said.
“This is entirely consistent with making
sure that people who have difficulties
in their lives are treated properly
and decently.”
Professor Barbour spoke of our
commitment to getting greener and our
success in reducing carbon emissions
by 4 per cent – exceeding the
3 per cent HEAT target – and planned
savings of over £1 million a year in
ongoing energy efficiencies.
Financial performance for 2010/11
has also cemented NHS Lothian’s
position in being prepared for the
challenges ahead. Professor Barbour
reported that we have delivered our best
performance ever in terms of the Local
Reinvestment Programme (LRP). Since
March 2007, £150m has been reinvested
in essential services as a result of this
programme.
Looking to the future, he was clear
about the need to continue this focus on
reducing spend and improving efficiency
to take the organisation forward. He said:
“We are entering a new political
climate and where the government
is going will have a fundamental
effect on what we do.
“As I outlined last year, there
are significant pressures on
public expenditure and we need to
continue to think creatively to ensure we
continue to deliver high quality care.”
This year we received an additional
£13.9 million under the NRAC (National
Resource Allocation Committee)
formula, a welcome uplift. However,
we remain £58 million off our NRAC
target. “With a growing population
and increasing demand on services,
we have been successful in taking a
step towards funding parity under the
NRAC formula and we hope we see
this gap continue to close,” said
Professor Barbour.
Future ways of working include a
continued focus on investment in new
capital build and making better use of
the buildings we have and taking further
steps towards our ambition of being in
the world’s top 25 healthcare systems.
“By reducing, reshaping and
using our workforce better, we
have made around £40 million of
efficiencies; a superb result and a
tribute to the hard work of staff”
Professor James Barbour
Celebrating Success Awards 2011
Time to celebrate the NHS at its
Have you done something
wonderful at work lately?
Now’s your chance to tell
everyone about it.
We’ve just launched NHS
Lothian’s annual Celebrating
Success Awards, which mark
the inspiring and truly amazing
work that is done across the
organisation every day.
All staff have the opportunity
to vote for individual members
of staff – or teams – that they
feel deserve recognition for their
hard work.
You can read more about the
awards, and find out about the
10 categories that are up for
grabs, on the intranet, under
NHS Lothian.
Last year, we had over 200
entries, so it’s important that
as a nominator, you understand
what information the judges are
looking for.
To help you, here are some tips:
■■What the entry has achieved –
outcomes and benefits
■■How the entry brings
■
■
NEWS FEATURE
Connections
the future
s very best
NHS closer to achieving our
ambition of becoming one of
the world’s top 25 healthcare
systems
■■How the entry “goes the
extra mile” to benefit patients,
colleagues, and local healthcare
services
■■How the entry demonstrates the
NHS at its best.
•
Professor Barbour praised
the improvements made in
shifting the balance of care,
improving patient safety and
the patient experience
13
Teamwork delivers
better patient care
NHS Lothian’s 5x5x5 programme has
again delivered a comprehensive set
of suggestions to improve patient
care and service delivery. The
Planning for the Future event opened
with audiences across the five sites
watching a film on the work of the
5x5x5 teams, featuring the team
leads:
■■The demand management
team led by Dr Gerry Beattie,
consultant gynaecologist
■■Dr Talat Aziz led the group
looking at cost versus quality.
■■Carol Crowther, chief nurse,
Quality and Professional
Standards led the clinical
quality group
■■Angela Lindsay, AHP manager,
led the patient experience team
■■the health inequalities group
was led by Scott Garden, site
lead pharmacist.
The 5x5x5 programme drives
cross-departmental team work and
a fresh approach to thinking about
some of the challenges we face. The
suggestions and actions from these
teams will now be implemented
by the relevant departments. The
projects for the 2011/12 teams are
currently being finalised.
Government support
The SNP committed in their
manifesto to protect the health
budget and support the NHS
to make a further £300 million
savings over 2011/12. They have
also committed to:
■■increasing the number of
cancers detected at first stage
by 25 per cent
■■continuing to tackle hospital
associated infection and
introduce new minimum
standards for MRSA screening
■■introducing a minimum
pricing bill on alcohol
■■delivering a single integrated
system of health and
social care.
“NHS Lothian is well placed to
meet these commitments and it
is essential that we continue to
invest our money in the areas that
will have the greatest impact,”
said Professor Barbour.
Key to this is the development
of our clinical strategy for the
next five years. This will build on
the strategies we already have,
creating a strategic framework
that will help us sustain our
position as Scotland’s best and
our aspiration of being in the
world’s top 25 healthcare systems.
“I see this as a map of where we
want to get to and what we need
to do to get there,” said Professor
Barbour. “The emphasis will be
on quality improving outcomes for
patients and improving the health
of the population while ensuring
we can measure our progress and
re-prioritise resource and activity
as required. We are going to have
to look at a range of treatment and
options that harness patient input
and tailor services accordingly.”
in brief
The award categories are:
■■Innovative in healthcare
■■Lean in Lothian
■■Best service redesign
■■Effective communications
■■Improving patient access
■■Partnership in practice
■■Equality in Lothian
■■Volunteer of the year
■■Staff member of the year
■■Team of the year.
EE
Nominations must be received by 5pm on Friday 8 July 2011.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on
29 September at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange.
Staff feedback
Feedback from the event was
positive, with staff enthusiastic
about the live link-ups to other
sites. The video conferencing
facilities worked and the only
unforeseen event was a fire
alarm that sounded in Waverley
Gate towards the end of the
presentation. All five sites used
the unscheduled 25 minute break
to discuss what they had seen so
far and think of questions for the
closing Q&A session.
Spreading
the word
Copies of Professor Barbour’s
presentation will be placed on the
staff intranet and on CDs that will
be sent to heads of department/
senior managers who
attended the event, for
them to brief their
own teams. The
5x5x5 film will
also be placed on
the intranet.
14
NEWS
June 2011 Connections
BALFOUR BEATTY STAFF
Meet the managers
Duncan Colville is the Balfour
Beatty Workplace catering
services manager at the Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE).
Duncan, who’s worked in the
catering industry for more than 30
years, is responsible for 152 staff
across the catering department,
and he delivers training for food
hygiene and safety.
A qualified head chef, he
likes to spend his spare time
decorating (yes, really!) or with
his two dogs.
“Just knowing you don’t have to go
the gym to be active or go on a diet
to be healthy is a positive message
for lots of women like me”
Dawn Thomson, Pilton
Carol Stirrat is performance
manager at Balfour Beatty
Workplace in the RIE, and is
on secondment from Consort
Healthcare.
She has overall responsibility
for the hospital’s compliance
team, and has worked in the
private finance initiative sector
for more than 10 years.
Before that, Carol worked in
retail merchandising, and in
her spare time runs, cycles and
plays squash.
Ian Muir
returns
Ian Muir has returned to Balfour
Beatty Workplace at the RIE after a
secondment that saw him working
in close partnership with Mid Yorkshire
Hospitals Trust.
Ian was BBW’s transitional catering
manager, responsible for feeding
patients and staff at three
hospitals and a
nursery with
up to 2,500
meals a day.
He’s now back in
his role as patient
food services
manager at
the RIE.
make a big
Small steps can bring huge benefits to people
wanting to shift to a healthier lifestyle
Celebrity c h e f J a c q u e l i n e
O’Donnell reckons that small steps
really do make a big difference to
your health.
She made the observations as
she helped to launch a healthy
living campaign targeting women in
Edinburgh.
Small Steps Big Difference is a joint
campaign between NHS Lothian and
City of Edinburgh Council. It aims to
raise awareness of the importance of
physical activity and eating a healthier
diet to women between the ages of
20-49 years old.
“Making a small change to the way
you eat or to the things you do can
have a big impact on your health,”
said Jacqueline, owner of The Sisters
restaurants in Glasgow and a regular
guest on BBC Radio Scotland’s
MacAulay & Co morning show and
STV’s The Hour.
“I run a healthy eating class each
week,” she added. “And it amazes me
how unaware some people are about the
impact certain foods can have on them.
“It can be as easy as substituting
herbs and lemon juice instead of salt
to season your food, or a piece of fruit
instead of crisps – just a little change
can be so beneficial in the long run.”
Nine local Edinburgh women are
taking part in the campaign and will
appear on bus shelters, billboards and
in-bus posters. The women live in
different areas of Edinburgh, including,
Pilton, Broomhouse, Gilmerton,
Granton, Leith and Moredun.
Dawn Thomson, 39, from Pilton, is
urging other women to follow her lead.
“I’ll be trying to make small changes to
the things I do, like walking instead of
getting the bus or getting off the bus a
few stops earlier. That type of thing is
definitely achievable.
“I think a lot of people are unaware
of the need to eat better or get regular
exercise, or even what that means to
them. Just knowing you don’t have to
go the gym to be active or go on a diet
NEWS
Connections June 2011
15
Free event gives
carers a ‘taste’
of services...
A FREE one-day conference is
being organised for carers and
health care staff who work
with them.
The event, run during
Carers’ Week by Edinburgh’s
Community Health Partnership
with the Office for Public
Management, will be held on
Friday 17 June in the city’s
Hilton Grosvenor Hotel.
It will provide a wide range
of information about support
available to carers in Edinburgh,
offering “tasters” of different
services to promote carer health
and wellbeing.
The event will highlight
existing work going on in the
capital to support carers, and
will outline how NHS Lothian’s
Carer Information Strategy
2008-11 has been taken forward.
Carers and professionals will
have the opportunity to share
their views on the developments,
and tell the organisers what
support for carers they’d like to
see in the future.
EE
For more information,
contact Carole Kelly, carer
services development
manager at Edinburgh CHP,
at carole.kelly@nhslothian.
scot.nhs.uk
•
FRUITFUL
CAMPAIGN: from left –
Clare Duncan, Suzie Kerr,
Dr Margaret Douglas
(project leader),
Jacqueline O’Donnell
(chef), Dawn Thomson,
Amy Fraser and Stacey
Fleming
difference
to be healthy is a positive message for
lots of women like me.”
Dr Alison McCallum, director
of public health and health policy,
added: “This campaign highlights the
very important message that small
but very meaningful changes can be
achieved quite effortlessly by building
these ideas in to everyday life and not
altering too much.”
Councillor Paul Edie, Health Leader
for the City of Edinburgh Council,
said: “Making small changes to
daily routines can make the world of
difference health wise. It doesn’t have
to be hard or expensive – there are
lots of little things, such as walking
to work or varying your eating habits,
that can help.”
EE
The campaign will run until the
end of 2011 and more information
can be found at: www.
smallstepsbigdifference.co.uk
•
THANK YOU:
In appreciation
for their
involvement in
our Small Steps
Big Difference
campaign, we
teamed up with
Co-operative
Employeee
Benefits for
the women
to receive
a Fairtrade
hamper.
The ladies have all given up their spare time to be involved in the
campaign. A big thank you goes to them and also to Co-operative
Employee Benefits for generously donating the fantastic hampers.
PICTURED: Back row, from left, Amy Fraser and Susie Kerr.
Front row, from left, Clare Duncan and Stacey Fleming
•
PEDAL POWER:
Duncan presents
Chelsea with her prize
Chelsea powers
up with prize bike
Trainee clinical support
worker Chelsea Duncan won a
mountain bike in a prize draw
run by Balfour Beatty Workplace
(BBW) in association with
Coca-Cola.
Chelsea, who works in Ward
202 at the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh, was presented
with her new bike by catering
manager Duncan Colville.
To enter, customers had to
buy a Powerade Zero product
and their proof of purchase
receipt was entered into the
prize draw.
Chelsea reckons she had
seven receipts in the draw!
Walk this way
WALKING is one of the best ways to stay
fit and healthy. AND, now that the good
weather is here, it’s a chance to get
fresh air to boost wellbeing.
Learn more on page 20>>
16
NEWS
June 2011 Connections
Poster project
shows staff care
RIDDOR
reporting
training
The Reporting of Injuries,
Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations
(RIDDOR) applies to
events that arise out of –
or in connection with –
work activities.
Reportable accidents
are defined under various
categories, including major
injury, death, specified
diseases and specified
dangerous occurrences.
And they can apply to an
employee, a self-employed
person or a person not at
work – such as a member
of the public – who suffers
as a result of an accident on
NHS Lothian premises and is
taken to hospital.
Training has begun to
improve the skills of NHS
Lothian managers responsible
for investigating accidents
to report certain incidents
(categorised RIDDOR) directly
to the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE). This was
previously undertaken by the
Health and Safety team.
The aim is to improve NHS
Lothian’s compliance with
RIDDOR legislation, and to
make sure our managers
meet the 10-day deadline for
reporting incidents.
Managers who attend the
course will be able to explain
the purpose of RIDDOR
reporting, identify the
different categories under
which incidents can be
reported or are exempt and
report directly to the HSE.
The Health and Safety
team’s training programme
will run until the end of July
2011 and the participating
managers will cascade the
training to their nominated
deputies using a training
package that has been set
up on the H&S homepage on
the NHS Lothian intranet.
EE
For further information
go to http://intranet.
lothian.scot.nhs.uk/NHS
Lothian/Corporate/A-Z/
OccupationalHealthAnd
Safety/HealthAndSafety/
health%20and%20
safety/Pages/default.
aspx or contact Anne
James on 0131 537 6541.
A RECENT project has helped
to boost the compassionate
communications skills of staff in
NHS Lothian.
A joint project between Edinburgh
Napier University and NHS Lothian,
supported by NHS Education for
Scotland, saw clinical support
workers and ward clerks focus on
their communications skills to provide
compassionate care to patients.
As part of the project “Providing
Healthcare Support Workers with the
Knowledge, Skills and Confidence
to Engage in Compassionate Caring
Conversations with Patients and
Relatives”, the participants from the
Western General and Royal Victoria
hospitals attended study days.
They were also engaged in
independent learning through
observing and reflecting on practice
within their area of work and were
encouraged to take forward projects
in their local area.
For example, two participants
– clinical support worker Jossie
Pearson and clerkess Joyce Malone –
chose to raise the profile of protected
mealtimes in ward 3 at the Royal
Victoria Hospital.
Phonecalls and visits were found
to be a constant interruption to staff
assisting patients during mealtimes,
so Jossie and Joyce designed a
poster that outlined the rationale for
protected mealtimes and posted it at
the ward entrance.
Joyce audited interruptions during
mealtimes before and after the poster
•
LEADING THE WAY: The poster developed by Joyce Malone, left,
and Jossie Pearson had great results
was put up and found the number of
interruptions reduced dramatically.
Liz Adamson, the project mentor,
and lecturer at Edinburgh Napier
University, said: “Jossie and Joyce’s
project contributed to the ongoing
aim of the ward team, to consistently
and continuously enhance personcentred compassionate care within
the ward.”
training to help
prevent suicide
Rolling programme raises
awareness for frontline staff
Lothian’s Mental Health and
Wellbeing Programme achieved
its target of administering suicide
prevention training to 3,300 NHS
Lothian staff by December 2010.
Not only has this been achieved – it
has, to date, trained around 3,500 staff.
Marie Sutherland, who leads the
training programme, is now working
on a rolling programme of training
dates for frontline staff.
The move is part of the 10-year
Choose Life national strategy and
action plan, which launched in
December 2002. It gave impetus,
momentum and support to
staff in suicide prevention,
education and awarenessraising.
The Scottish Government
published Delivering for
Mental Health (DFM)
in December 2006.
It set out 14
commitments
and introduced
for the first time
HEAT
targets directly associated with mental
health and wellbeing.
DFM recognised that a key skill for
all staff working across the NHS and
social care settings is their ability to
identify and assess individuals using
their services who may be at risk of
self-harm or suicide and to be aware
of how to provide and obtain help
and support for people.
This commitment was then
translated into one of the
Government’s HEAT Targets.
For NHS Lothian, this meant key
frontline staff in mental health and
substance misuse services, primary
care and accident and emergency being
educated and trained in using suicide
assessment tools/suicide prevention
training programmes by 2010.
Suicide prevention training was
extended to all those working in
the front line of mental health,
substance misuse, primary care and
acute services.
A comprehensive suicide
prevention training programme was
developed and focused on:
■■Raising awareness of high-risk and
vulnerable groups and the impact
on families and communities
■■Improving the assessment and
management of risk of suicidal
behaviour and self-harming
■■Increased skills and competencies
to assess and respond to people at
risk of suicide.
EE
The programme comprises
nationally evaluated and
recognised courses on SafeTalk,
Mental Health First Aid, STORM
and ASIST.
NEWS
Connections June 2011
Helping others
understand
health science
Healthcare Science
Awareness Week, which this
year coincided with National
Science and Engineering Week
(14-18 March), raised the profile of
healthcare scientists, highlighting
their work.
More than 80 per cent of patient
diagnoses can be attributed to
the tests and investigations that
healthcare scientists carry out,
and they are also involved in
the treatment and monitoring
of disease.
Sarah Smith, healthcare
science education development
lead for Lothian and Borders, said:
“Healthcare science is divided
into three different streams: life
sciences, physiological sciences
and physical sciences, covering
over 50 different disciplines.
“Within each division there
is a range of professional staff
delivering a range of different
functions.”
Many members of the public
and NHS staff came to find
out more about such topics as
parasites, blood groups, organ
donation, wheelchair provision,
prosthesis, and respiratory
physiology.
Thanks goes to everybody
who donated material to this
event, and who gave up their
time and effort to help.
An audit of the services SCAN provides
will help the centre to plan for the future
reviewing
way ahead
The team of medical and clinical
oncologists based at the Edinburgh
Cancer Centre provides clinics
for cancer patients, not
only in Edinburgh, but
also in other parts of
south-east Scotland –
Borders, Dumfries
& Galloway
A key priority for 2011
and Fife.
is
to better understand the
The service
interfaces between the
consistently
Edinburgh Cancer Centre,
meets relevant
targets, provides
regional oncology services
high-quality
and other health and
care for patients
social care services
across the region, is
efficient and has little
underutilised capacity.
Clinicians have made
significant changes to clinical
practice in response to changing
priorities, emerging clinical best
practice and other service pressures.
In view of all this, the decision
of the South East Scotland Cancer
Network (SCAN) to carry out a
review of regional oncology services
may seem surprising.
Tom McCarthy, SCAN
Modernisation Manager, explained
why it was needed: “There has been
an increase in demand for services
because more patients are being
diagnosed with cancer, and more
people are living with cancer and
requiring ongoing supportive care.
“At the same time, there have been
changes to the way the non surgical
oncology service is provided. As new
treatments become available, there
is a need to ensure NHS Boards are
able to continue providing the most
appropriate care and expertise.
“Finally, the current financial
climate means services have to be
delivered as efficiently as possible.”
The review has involved patients
as well as NHS staff.
Sandra Bagnall, SCAN’s Patient
Involvement Manager, described the
open meetings and drop-in sessions
that have been taking place across
the region: “We’ve been asking
people – whether they are patients, Tom McCarthy
carers, friends or family members –
what it is like to receive treatment
for cancer, so that we can review the were a concern for many, particularly
way things are now, as well as plan if they were on low incomes. There
for the future.
were also comments about patient
“In general, people have been information, for example about not
very positive about the care they’ve feeling prepared for side-effects.”
received and have praised doctors
So far the review has developed
and nurses highly.
a clear picture of how the service
“Some people found travelling to is currently provided. Work is now
Edinburgh tiring and travel costs focusing on identifying options
Did
you know?
EE
If you want more information on healthcare science then please
contact: Sarah Smith, Healthcare Science Education Development
Lead (Lothian and Borders) at sarah.j.smith@luht.scot.nhs.uk
Explaining why
pathology matters
The biochemistry and
haematology department at the
Royal Hospital for Sick Children
organised a series of events
themed around the role pathology
specialists play in the healthcare
of mothers and babies.
The project, which was held
in the Sick Kids, helped to
raise public awareness of the
important job that biomedical
scientists and laboratory
sciences play in the
healthcare profession.
The team of specialists
gave children, and their
parents, information
on what happens to
their blood samples,
and provided some
interactive science
entertainment as well.
17
Biomedical scientist Tamara
Hanson said: “It provided a fun
and educational way for children
and their parents to learn about
biomedical scientists, who work
behind the scenes testing their
blood samples and providing
the valuable information that
doctors need to make a patient
diagnosis and decide on
the treatment.
“It also proved to be an
educational experience
for our department as
well, since it was the first
time we’ve embarked
on a venture like this
and it puts us on the
map in terms of the
children and their
families knowing who is
involved in their care.”
“There has been an increase in
demand for services because
more patients are being
diagnosed with cancer”
for future service delivery; a range
of options will be produced and
implementation of the preferred
option will be taken forward in
the summer.
EE
More information can be found
at www.scan.scot.nhs.uk/
oncologyreview
18
partnership forum/awards
June 2011 Connections
celebrating
role as rep
Susan Smith, specialist biomedical scientist,
explains how much she has learned as a union rep
It’s quite difficult to believe
but I have been employed
as a biomedical scientist in
virology in NHS Lothian for
23 years, and I have been a
Partnership representative
for Unite for about 21 years.
I joined the NHS pretty much
straight from university when
the laboratories were separated
into different disciplines –
i.e. virology, bacteriology,
pathology, biochemistry and
haematology, along with a
group of highly specialised
reference laboratories.
There have been massive
changes to this group of
staff during this period.
Individual departments have
been combined, relocated
and automated on a grand
scale. The vast majority of lab
staff now work in the more
integrated Department of
Laboratory Medicine at the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh,
Western General Hospital, St
John’s Hospital, and the Royal
Hospital for Sick Children.
There are advantages to
this centralisation for staff;
there are more representatives
“I think the best part of
being a union representative
is that you can really help
the individual staff members
when they are most in need”
Susan Smith
within the department to
give advice on a range
of issues and it is easier
for the reps to liaise with
each other when potential
problems arise.
I think the best part about
being a union representative
is that you can really help
individual staff members when
they are most in need. They
may need support through
serious disciplinary or relatively
simple attendance management
procedures, but it is hugely
important that they have help
from someone who understands
the formal process.
During the last two years, I
have studied hard to become
a Fellow of the Institute of
Biomedical Science and a
chartered scientist. In 2009, I
was lucky enough to take part
in the first 5x5x5 programme in
NHS Lothian.
Five groups, each with five
members, had to develop five
ideas, which could reduce
health inequalities in the
Lothian area. Everyone involved
worked really hard to develop
their projects as much as
possible and several ideas have
become routine practice in
primary or secondary care.
Last summer, I was given
the opportunity to apply
for a place on the Masters
Degree in Leadership
Practice, run by the Business
School at Edinburgh Napier
University. Teaching modules
are undertaken by faculty
Best practice
wins praise
Two teams based at the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital
have won prestigious awards
for best practice.
The Royal Edinburgh
Hospital Self-Harm Service
and CAPS Personality
Disorder Project – working in
partnership with service users
– jointly won the award for
Service User Participation and
Influence.
CAPS, the Consultation and
Advocacy Promotion Service,
is a mental health advocacy
organisation and the
Personality Disorder Project is
funded by NHS Lothian.
In addition, the Lothianwide Early Psychosis Support
Service team won the Care
and Treatment of Younger
People title, at the recent
Principles into Practice
Awards (PIP).
The principles are all about
providing care and treatment
that respects the individual.
The awards, which celebrate
best practice in mental health,
are made to services that can
demonstrate how they have
embraced the principles in
their work.
Consultant clinical
psychologist with the Early
Psychosis Support Service,
Dr Helen Griffiths, said:
“For those team members
who were able to attend the
awards ceremony, it was
incredibly moving to hear that
we were providing the kind
of service that young people
and their families would like
to receive.”
•
WINNERS:
Jacqueline Atkinson,
Professor of mental
health policy and
head of public health
and health policy at
Glasgow University,
presents the SelfHarm Service and
CAPS Personality
Project team with
their awards
from Harvard University, for
NHS Lothian staff.
I was lucky enough to
be allocated one of the 50
available places. The course
is a fantastic opportunity
to work with colleagues
from widely different areas
within the organisation. The
Harvard tutors are very
skilled and incredibly
entertaining; they manage
to hold our attention for
12-hour sessions without
difficulty (with the aid of many
cups of coffee!).
We are certainly learning
a lot of valuable information
that we will be able to use
through the interesting and
challenging times that lie in
the future of NHS Lothian.
•
CELEBRATING: from left – Hazel MacPherson,
Sandra Stephenson, Sally Arnison and Leanne Carey
National award
for innovative
Barnton team
AN Edinburgh pharmacy is celebrating after winning a national
award. Barnton Pharmacy won the Innovation and Change in
Pharmacy Practice Award at the recent Scottish Pharmacist
Ball and Awards.
Pharmacist Sally Arnison said: “We are thrilled and honoured
to accept this award. We have worked very hard at improving
the service we offer and making sure we really do listen to
what our patients want.”
The pharmacy now offers several ailment-specific clinics,
including asthma and chronic pain. It also offers the NHS
minor ailment and chronic medication services.
AWARDS
Connections June 2011
19
IN brief
Teddy
toddle
back
in June
•
PRIZE-WINNERS: Left to right – David Wood, vice president, Oracle UK; Grant Brodie, senior server engineer; director Martin Egan and
Iain Robertson, head of IT operations and infrastructure at NHS Lothian’s eHealth; and Craig Johnson, technical consultant, Northgate
Information Solutions
Oracle award win
The eHealth team led by Martin
Egan has won a major international
award from Oracle, the information
technology giant.
Martin and his team were
nominated for the award after
•
negotiating the installation of up
to 10,000 Sun Ray thin clients
equipment in place of NHS Lothian’s
existing PC-based infrastructure.
The nomination stated: “This
customer has reduced costs and
WINNING SMILE: Sylvia Baikie from
the Harm Reduction Team celebrates
her achievement alongside
TV doctor Christian Jessen
improved access to a wide range of
applications, enabling doctors and
nurses to log in to their application
in just six seconds with the use of a
smart card.
Martin said: “We will reduce our IT
costs by £1.2 million, improve our staff
efficiency, and provide our staff with
flexible access to records. We have
also reduced our electricity costs by
£800,000 over a seven-year period and
lowered our carbon footprint.”
Success for
capital clinic
Harm reduction nurse Sylvia
Baikie’s work with female
drug users and sex workers
in Edinburgh has been
recognised by the British
Journal of Nursing Awards
for Women’s Health.
Sylvia, who is c:card
manager at the Harm
Reduction Team, based at
the Spittal Street Centre,
was runner-up in a national
competition to find the
country’s best women’s
health services.
She said: “Five years ago I
recognised that there was a gap
in health services for the clients,
and that no specific sexual
health clinic existed for female
drug users and sex workers.
“Many of these women have no
fixed address, and have complex
needs that alienate them from
mainstream services.”
Sylvia, and consultant
gynaecologist Alison Scott,
established a women’s clinic to
provide a “one-stop shop” that
allowed the women access to sexual
health care.
Initially numbers using the
facility were low; today, the service
is so successful it is planning to
expand. Since its launch, the centre
has recorded a large uptake of
contraceptive services, from 50 per
cent to 90 per cent of its clients.
Jim Shanley, head of the Harm
Reduction Team, said: “Both Sylvia
and Alison provide a warm service
and go the extra mile to meet the
needs of their clients.”
“Five years ago
I recognised
that there was
a gap in health
services for...
a sexual health
clinic”
Sylvia Baikie
The Sick Kids Friends
Foundation Teddy
Toddle and Summer
Fair returned for its
eighth year on 4 June at
Meadowbank Stadium.
Balamory’s Spencer
and other TV celebrities
helped to raise money for
the foundation, whose
corporate and event
fundraiser Will Guest said:
“The funds raised will
make a huge difference
to the lives of children
and their parents at the
Royal Hospital for Sick
Children.”
“The funds raised
will make a huge
difference to the
lives of children
and their parents
at the Royal
Hospital for Sick
Children”
Will Guest
Under-sixes loved the
Sponsored Teddy Toddle
where they chose their
favourite teddy, toddled
down Meadowbank
running track, and raised
funds for the Sick Kids.
And the fun didn’t
stop there.
There was a bouncy
castle, cup and saucer
ride, games and activities,
entertainment, a whole
host of interesting stalls
to browse through, and
much more.
You don’t have to be
a doctor to help sick kids
get better!
20
LIFESTYLE
take st
boost h
Connections Crossword
Across
7.A recent project has
helped to boost the
_____ communications
skills of staff in
NHS Lothian (13)
8.The ‘_______ learning’
format has been
developed in
promoting positive
mental health and
wellbeing (7)
9.Cara, whose hit
singles include
‘Fame’ and
‘Flashdance…
What A Feeling’ (5)
10.Edinburgh Community
Food has opened a
new fruit and _____
stall at the Royal
Infirmary of
Edinburgh (3)
13.These cover
women’s faces (5)
14.Sporting stadium (5)
15.NHS Lothian wants
to help staff and
patients enjoy a
healthier one (4)
16.Greenish blue (4)
18.This team led by
Martin Egan has won
a major international
award from Oracle (7)
19.And 20 Down.
Provocation for
a bull (3,3)
21. Rolls dice (6)
22.Clouding that develops
in the crystalline lens
of the eye (8)
23. Representatives (6)
Down
1.It is held each year to
highlight what can be
done for people who
have voice disorders
(5,5,3)
2.Hospital areas (5)
3.Piece of stage dialogue
intended for the
audience (5)
4.Award-winning female
presenter on Radio
Grapevine (6)
5.And 11 Down. 2011
NHS Lothian board
meetings take place
here (8,4)
WIN
a £20 book voucher
courtesy of WATERSTONE’S
There’s now a prize for doing the crossword!
Send your completed grid to Connections, NHS
Lothian, Waverley Gate, 2-4 Waterloo Place,
Edinburgh EH1 3EG by Friday 15 July. The first
correct entry drawn out of the hat will win a £20
book voucher courtesy of Waterstone’s.
Name ���������������������������������������
Job title �������������������������������������
E-mail ��������������������������������������
Work tel. no. ���������������������������������
Connections sudoku
Fill in all the
squares in the grid
so that each row,
each column, and
each 3x3 square
contains all the
digits from 1 to 9.
Good luck!
solution for
issue 43
June 2011 Connections
6._____ Medical Practice
has become the first in
the UK to receive the
modular Quality
Practice Award from
the RCGP (5)
11.See 5 Down
12.TrakCare will be able to
connect and measure a
patient’s entire journey
from ________ to
treatment (8)
13. Malta’s capital city (8)
16.And 17 Down. Destroy
snug research for NHS
Lothian workers! (6,6)
17.See 16 Down
20.See 19 Across
Issue 43 solution
Across
Down
5.NDP
7.Birth
Centre
8.Adult
Support
10. FAST
11.And
12. RIDDOR
15. Protection
18.Involve
19.Small
20. e-Learning
1. Bird
2.Stilts
3. Venus
4.Steps
5.Near
6. PVG
9.CDI
10. Florence
11.Ark
12. Recover
13. Dross
14.Stroke
16.Hello
17.SAB
Walking is one of the best ways to stay
healthy – with better weather, now’s
the time to build some extra physical
activity into your day and lifestyle
Winter is finally over, and with the longer days
and better weather comes a renewed enthusiasm
for getting active. One of the easiest ways to
improve your level of physical activity is walking.
It doesn’t need to be a vigorous 10-mile hike –
just 30 minutes of walking each day will benefit
your health.
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of high
blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol. An
active lifestyle is also good for the bones, joints
and muscles, and can help to delay osteoporosis
and arthritis. By keeping muscles strong and
flexible, you can participate in everyday life to
the full, with less risk of injury or falling.
Regular physical activity will also lift your
mood, help you deal with negative emotions (such
as anger), and bring a general sense of mental
wellbeing. It can help you sleep better, reduce
tension levels, feelings of stress or fatigue, and
give you more energy. These are changes that
can happen straight away and not just through
being active regularly over a long period of time.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t have half
an hour to spare? That’s no excuse! If you need
to, you can break it down into smaller amounts
– say three 10-minute slots over the day. Try a
walk before, during, and after work.
There are lots of ways you can incorporate
walking into your working day. Why not:
■■walk up the stairs instead of taking the lift?
Taking the stairs can sometimes be faster than
the lift and using the stairs burns twice as many
calories as walking.
“Regular physical activity
will also lift your mood,
help you deal with
negative emotions and
bring a general sense of
mental wellbeing”
■■get away from your work area at lunchtime
and go for a walk in the building you work in
or outside? A change of scenery will make you
feel better and energised for the rest of the day.
■■walk to see a colleague or arrange a walking
meeting? Don’t send an email or pick up the
phone.
■■Park your car further away than usual or, if you
can, take the bus, cycle or even walk to work?
join a group
You could also join a walking group and
meet new people. There are walking groups
all over the NHS Lothian area. The walks are
organised by fully trained volunteers and
are usually free and open to all. For more
information on local walking groups, visit
www.pathsforall.org.uk
Let us tell your gr
Connections is your
newspaper. Written about,
and for, every single member
of NHS Lothian’s staff across
a wide area in the east of
Scotland.
We aim to keep you right
up-to-date on the new policies
and procedures that are being
developed by the health board,
and about the decisions that
are made that will affect you
and your colleagues.
Equally importantly,
Connections will share with you
the everyday experiences of
“If you have a story you want to
tell – as long as it’s legal, decent
and honest – let us know about it”
your fellow members of staff in
hospitals, health centres, in the
community and in offices around
the Lothian area.
It’s your newspaper and
we want you to use it to
spread the word about your
fundraising efforts or the
initiatives you’re involved in
that are helping to improve
patient care in the health
service.
If you have a story you want
to tell, let us know about it and
we’ll help you to share it with
your workmates.
We’re also keen to know
what you want to see in your
staff newspaper. Small ads?
More competitions? Job
Connections June 2011
eps to
ealth
You may learn more about your local area.
LIFESTYLE
21
COMPETITION
Win great break
Acarsaid Hotel is a perfect getaway
Here’s the chance to win dinner, bed
and breakfast and afternoon tea for two
in our competition, courtesy of the
Acarsaid Hotel.
The Acarsaid is one of Pitlochry’s oldest
and most popular hotels and is known
for the warmest welcome in Highland
Perthshire.
From the moment you arrive at the
Acarsaid you can relax in the knowledge you
will be well looked after – staff are genuinely
pleased to have you under their care.
The prize includes a one-night stay at
the Acarsaid Hotel plus dinner, bed and
breakfast for two plus afternoon tea for two
at Hettie’s Tearooms in Pitlochry.
www.acarsaidhotel.com
To have a chance of winning this great prize, just tell us:
Which part of beautiful Scotland is
the Acarsaid Hotel located?
Is it: a) Inverness b) Stornoway c) Pitlochry
Answer ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Name�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Job title ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
E-mail ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������­­
Work tel. no. ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Send your answer to: Acarsaid competition, Connections, NHS Lothian, Waverley Gate,
2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG by end of August 2011. One entry per person.
Wordsearch Swimming
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, Waverley Gate,
2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG by Friday 15 July 2011. The first correct entry
drawn out of the hat will win.
•
TAKE THE STAIRS: This can
sometimes be faster than the
lift and can burn twice as many
calories as walking
THE MISSING WORD IS…
Name:
eat stories
vacancies? It’s your choice.
We’ve made it easy for you
to contact the NHS Lothian
Connections editorial team on the
telephone, by e-mail, or by post.
EE
You can email: lothian.
communications@nhs.net
tel: 0131 465 5647/5648.
By post to: Staff Newspaper,
Communications Department,
NHS Lothian, Waverley Gate,
2-4 Waterloo Place,
Edinburgh EH1 3EG.
•
SPREAD
THE WORD:
we want
to hear
from you
Job title:
Email:
Work tel no.:
H
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e ABILITIES e BACKSTROKE e COMMONWEALTH e FAMILY e GOGGLES
e FLOAT e lessons e MEDALLIST e OLYMPIC e SWIMMING e TECHNIQUE
Issue 43 competition winners
e L
ove2shop vouchers: Kathleen McSherry, Community staff nurse, The Conan Doyle
Medical Practice, Edinburgh.
e Bike: Louise McFarlane, dental receptionist, Sighthill Health Centre, Edinburgh.
22
Fruit
and veg
at RIE
Edinburgh Community
Food has opened a new fruit
and veg stall at the Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh to
help staff and patients enjoy
a healthier diet.
The food co-operative
is a firm supporter of
health-promoting NHS
Lothian, and its aim is “to
get people into healthy
food, and healthy food into
people”.
Karen Miller from
Edinburgh Community
Food said: “We’re all
about helping people enjoy
delicious, fresh healthy
food and making sure
everyone in our city has
access to a healthy diet.”
The initiative tackles
health inequalities in lowincome communities in
Edinburgh through its food
and health development
“We make sure
everyone in our
city has access
to a healthy diet”
Karen Miller
and promotion work,
including cooking courses,
cookery demonstrations,
nutrition workshops, health
information sessions
and tasting sessions.
Edinburgh Community
Food runs and supplies
food co-ops throughout the
capital. Here, people can
access high-quality good
food and pick up handy
cooking hints and advice
near where they live.
After discussions with
Balfour Beatty Workplace,
the new fruit stall at
the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh is open every
Wednesday from 8am-3pm.
Other outlets can be
found in the Oncology
Department at the
Western General Hospital
(Mon and Thurs), Royal
Edinburgh Hospital (Tues)
and Lauriston Building in
Lauriston Place (Wed).
NEWS
June 2011 Connections
Local voices
for a global
campaign...
Information stall helps to raise the awareness
of voice disorders during World Voice Day
World Voice Day is
held each year to celebrate
healthy voices, and highlight
what can be done for people
who have voice disorders.
On Friday 15 April,
NHS Lothian speech and
language therapist Moira
Little organised a World
Voice Day stall in the main
mall of the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh.
Moira works closely with
the Ear Nose and Throat
Department. “We run a joint
Voice Clinic at Lauriston
Place – one of the few in
Scotland – for patients
with voice disorders from
South East Scotland who
have been referred by their
GPs, and I treat people with
voice problems at the Royal
Infirmary,” she said.
Moira and her colleagues
conducted a very short survey
with members of the public
who came to the stall, to find
out their awareness of their
voice and voice problems.
She said: “An interesting
finding from the survey
was that while few people
knew how many vocal
cords they had (answers
ranged from one to 50:
actual answer is two),
nearly everyone rated their
voice as extremely important
to them.”
A deeper shade of fundraising
•
HEALTHY FOOD IS
GOOD FOR YOU: the
new fruit stall at the RIE
with Community Food
driver Tommy Miller
•
PURPLE POWER: From left: Linda Haggarty; Diane Stewart, Becky Kaye, Craig Scott and Rita Nogueira
The Healthy Working Lives team
and the health intelligence unit at
Waverley Gate raised more than
£330 for Pancreatic Cancer Research
during their Purple Day on 7 March.
Many staff came to work wearing
purple, and brought a range of
home baking, which they sold to
colleagues. And they played the
numbers game too, with “bingo
lingo” raising a fair amount of
cash towards the total, and a prize
generously donated by John Lewis
Partnership.
Linda Haggarty, a PA in the
public health department, said:
“We decided to hold the fundraiser
in memory of a colleague and were
surprised at how much we raised
in the space of just 90 minutes!
“We’re very grateful to all the
people who gave donations, and
to those colleagues who helped
us organise the day.”
NEWS
Connections June 2011
23
Big boost for charities
•
CHEQUE IT OUT: AEGON UK Chief Executive Otto Thoresen
and members of the AEGON Charity Committee present cheques
for £25,000 to the nominated charities
•
VOICING KNOWLEDGE: Lucie Wincott, speech and language therapist
(on left) interviews Lesley Conlon. Moira Little, on the right, interviews Shirley Hill
Two NHS Lothian charities have
benefited by £25,000 each thanks
to the generosity of staff at the
Edinburgh-based life and pensions
company AEGON UK.
St John’s Hospital Oncology
Unit and the Simpson’s Memory
Box Appeal based at Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh have both
featured in the firm’s fundraising
efforts, along with Maggie’s
Centre.
The company and its employees
donated £75,000 from fundraising
activities during 2010 equally
between the three local charities.
John Henderson, AEGON’s
senior customer services
representative, explained why he
nominated St John’s Hospital
oncology unit: “I have had firsthand experience of the wonderful
work the nurses of the oncology
unit do – day in, day out.
“Thanks to the team’s work and
care, the various treatments the
patients have to endure are made
just that bit more bearable.”
Gill Scott, AEGON UK’s director
of human resources, said: “Our
employees are thrilled to be able
to contribute to these worthwhile
charities, who do such valuable
work within our community.”
COMPETITION
TOTAL
SWIMMING
Revolutionising the way people swim
•
WINNERS: Radio
Grapevine delegates collect
their national radio awards
2011 (from left) Dave
Broderick, Peter Johnston,
Grant McNaughton and
Graham Gilmour
Radio Grapevine is
a winning service
St John’s Hospital broadcaster,
Radio Grapevine, was short
listed in three categories at the
Hospital Broadcasting Association’s
national awards.
A group of the radio station’s
volunteers travelled to Maidstone in
Kent for the annual conference and
award ceremony, and heard Prime
Minister David Cameron praise the
hard work and dedication of hospital
radio stations throughout the UK.
Three entries from the West
Lothian hospital station were shortlisted as finalists: Shelley Nobile
“We are all still
excited that our
wee service is
one of the best
in the UK”
Grant McNaughton
for Best Female Presenter; Callum
Gallacher for Best Newcomer;
and one for the UK’s Best Station
Promotion.
Shelley scooped the Bronze
award, with Callum also winning
Bronze, and the Station Promotion
entry, created and edited by Grant
McNaughton, won Silver for the
second year running.
Chairman and programme
controller Grant said: “The service
Radio Grapevine provides brings
together patients, family, friends
and staff. We have been recognised
as an outstanding station over the
past few years and we are all still
excited that our wee service for
those in West Lothian is one of the
best in the UK.”
Always wanted to learn to swim?
Or maybe you are looking for
swimming lessons for your family?
Now with our special
competition, you can win a free
course of lessons worth £61.25.
Just answer the question below
and send the completed form to
us by Friday 1 July 2011.
With Olympic medallist Steve
Parry behind everything it
delivers, Total Swimming can
say with confidence that the
Learn to Swim programme will
develop anyone’s swimming
skills no matter their age or
starting ability.
Total Swimming has high
quality teachers and its beginner
classes have one teacher for six
swimmers.
In addition to running lessons
for all ages and abilities in
Edinburgh, it also has classes in
Glasgow, Cumbernauld and East
Dunbartonshire.
EE
For more details call 0844
892 0149 or visit www.
totalswimming.co.uk
Total Swimming is proud of its association with the NHS
and would like to offer any NHS staff member or their
immediate family a 10 per cent discount when they sign up.
To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, tell us:
Where are the 2014 Commonwealth
Games being held?
Answer ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Name�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Job title ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
E-mail ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������­­
Work tel. no. ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Send your answer to: Swimming competition, Connections, NHS
Lothian, Waverley Gate, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG by
Friday 15 July 2011. One entry per person.
24
NEWS
Top two go on
the fund run
Staff raise
funds for
good cause
Did
you know?
Colin hits
trail for
dementia
donations
•
A DEMENTIA nurse is taking
on the Rob Roy challenge
to raise money for a very
important cause.
NHS Lothian dementia
nurse, Colin MacDonald,
is taking on the physically
demanding challenge
alongside his 18-year-old son
Stuart, to raise money for
Alzheimers Scotland.
“I have connections with
the charity through my job
but I feel it’s an area that
needs exposed to greater
public awareness.
“There seems to be a
stigma that goes along with
dementia; a lot of people
think nothing can be done
“It’s a personal
challenge of
course but
I also think
it’s good to
do things for
charity in an
area you
work in”
Retirement’s no
time for idleness
for our Isobel
Colin MacDonald
so they don’t get help, but if
it’s diagnosed early enough
there’s more that can be
done to treat it.”
Colin has been training
hard for this challenge
by going hill walking and
cycling through the week.
He said: “It’s a personal
challenge of course but I
also think it’s good to do
things for charity in an area
you work in.”
“Rosslynlee was
always well liked,
with a friendly
atmosphere...
Isobel was a major
contributor to that”
Robert Clement
us to bring the same atmosphere to
Midlothian Hospital too.
“When we were preparing to move,
there was a lot of stuff in store rooms and
attics that had to be sorted and some of
it thrown away. It must have been harder
for Isobel since it represented a large part
of her working life.”
He added: “Now she’s retired, but she is
not the kind of person to stay idle – she’s
volunteered to work for the Red Cross.”
In Brief
CHALLENGER: Colin
MacDonald
Congratulations
to Eric Brown and his
Anyone who wants to help
partner Deborah Lough,
add to Eric Brown’s and
who both completed the
Deborah Lough’s fundraising
Edinburgh Half Marathon
total can still make a
on Sunday 10 April to
donation at
raise money for the Child
www.justgiving.com/
Bereavement Charity.
Eric works as a junior
deblough
charge nurse in the Intensive
Care Unit at St John’s Hospital,
while Deborah is a staff nurse in
Ward 118, Intensive Care at the Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh.
The couple have two children Jack,
three, and one-year-old Ben.
Eric said: “This was our first
half marathon and we – but mainly
Deborah – worked hard at raising
money for the Child Bereavement
Charity. So far, we’ve raised more than
£1600, which we are delighted with.”
Friends and colleagues gathered to say
goodbye to Isobel Moore, who has retired
after 40 years with NHS Lothian.
Isobel, a cashier at Rosslynlee Hospital
for all but the last few months of her
long service, will be remembered for her
fundraising activities that added much to
the comfort and care of the patients.
She started her NHS career in catering,
then moved into administration where
she became the hospital cashier. Rosslynlee closed recently, and
the patients moved to the brand new
Midlothian Community Hospital.
Robert Clement, clinical nurse
manager (mental health) at East
and Midlothian Community Health
Partnerships, said: “Rosslynlee was
always well liked, with a friendly
atmosphere, and it was people who
gave it that. Having been part of the
building for 40 years, Isobel was a major
contributor to that, and she has helped
June 2011 Connections
EE
If you would like to
•
FAREWELL: Isobel and Robert at her retirement party
support Colin for this
worthwhile cause you
can make a secure
online donation by
visiting the link:
http://my.artezglobal.
com/personalPage.
aspx?SID=326430
&Lang=en-CA