HIS Royal Highness, the Duke of York, was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony for the new St Helen’s Hospital near Liverpool. Prince Andrew met with patients and members of staff before unveiling a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion. During a tour of the hospital, the prince visited the award-winning Lilac Centre and spoke to patients, relatives and staff, before going into the state-of-the-art radiology and cardio-respiratory departments to see patients being treated with the very latest diagnostic equipment. Staff who had worked closely on the planning and construction of the hospital then gave the prince a short presentation on the redevelopment. He said of his visit: “I’ve spoken to many patients who are clearly impressed with the high standard of care they are receiving. This is an innovative hospital, which is absolutely fantastic.” Ann Marr, chief executive of the hospital trust, added: “The visit by His Royal Highness is a proud moment for the staff and all those involved in the planning and construction of the new hospital, as well as for our patients and the local community.”

PATIENTS and visitors to Peterlee Community Hospital in County Durham are benefitting following an £800,000 refurbishment of the site. The recently-completed work is part of an upgrade programme by NHS County Durham and Darlington, which aims to ensure community facilities are fit for purpose as the NHS strives to move more health services into local communities. The refurbishment has included an increase in the number of clinical rooms in the urgent care centre and outpatient department, an upgrade of flooring and interior decoration throughout the building, and the installation of new X-ray equipment which will enable digital images to be viewed by clinicians. Debbie Edwards, assistant director of strategic projects and developments at NHS County Durham and Darlington, said: “We are very excited about this refurbishment and the upgrade of the hospital, which will provide improved facilities for both patients and staff.” David Gallagher, director of partnerships and services, added: “The refurbishment brings the hospital up to date with the standards required, modernising and improving the environment for patients, staff and visitors, as well as expanding the facilities for the urgent care centre and outpatient department.”

EFFORTS made to improve wayfinding at a Shropshire hospital have won managers a top award. At the 2010 Welsh Language in Healthcare Conference, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital was given a Special Recognition Award for its use of Welsh in signage in and around the hospital. The judging panel at the event, held in Cardiff, singled the trust out for praise as the first nomination ever received from a hospital across the border in England. The hospital’s diagnostics manager, Eric Hughes, said: “I felt strongly as a Welsh speaker that the trust should be nominated to receive an award in the category of Senior Management Team, which promotes the establishment of a bilingual organisation, in relation to the work undertaken by the estates department in introducing Welsh language signage across the site.”

Hartlepool toilets get a facelift

PUBLIC toilets at the main entrance of the University Hospital of Hartlepool have received a makeover, bringing them up to the same sort of standard as those found in top hotels. Teams of builders, plumbers, painters and decorators have been busy for the past few months upgrading the facilities with new toilets which, not only meet the latest hygiene standards and are easy to clean, but incorporate hotel-style details. There are four toilets in all; two for women, one for men, and a disabled facility and all feature sensor taps and driers to reduce the amount of electricity that is used and cut down on the potential transfer of germs. The hospital’s design and development manager, Glen Newby, said: “We are working to improve every part of the patient experience. The standard of the public toilets reflects our commitment to high standards of care and cleanliness at the trust.”

SPONSORED electronic information screens installed in three locations at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in March have proved a hit with patients, also bringing in revenue to pay for improvements to services and the patient environment. As part of a link-up with commercial partner, the Healthcare Messaging Group, which pays for the screens, secures sponsorship and designs the messages that appear, three systems were installed in the children’s outpatients and antenatal clinics and next to the M-PALS office. They provide vital patient information as well as bringing in revenue for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which receives a percentage of the sponsorship money. According to the results of a recent survey of parents in the children’s outpatients and pregnant women in the antenatal clinic, the screens are proving popular. The survey found:

• 80% of parents and 77% of pregnant women said they found them a useful source of information
• 77% of parents and 83% of pregnant women said the screens improved their experience of the hospital
• The messages most parents and pregnant women remembered seeing on the screens related to the reputation of the trust – for example, Chelsea and Westminster is rated by the Care Quality Commission among the top 10% of NHS hospitals in the country

Matt Akid, spokeswoman for the trust, said: “Our partnership with the Healthcare Messaging Group is a positive initiative because it has enabled us to improve our communication with patients and visitors to the hospital. We have involved frontline clinical staff in developing messages tailored to the areas in which we have installed the screens to ensure they are relevant to our patients.” The installation of the first three screens was part a pilot scheme and the trust is now actively exploring the possibility of placing more in other areas.

Healthcare Messaging Group

IT COMPANY, CSC, has announced a partnership with healthcare kiosk specialist, Savience, to expand its offering of electronic health systems designed to improve the quality and accessibility of the patient information available to clinical and administrative staff. The key component of the collaboration will be the delivery of self-service kiosks to NHS trusts, enabling patients to check in automatically for an appointment and to ensure their information is as up-to-date as possible – helping to improve the patent experience, eliminate queues and free up reception staff time for vital duties. By automatically logging patients, the system will also help clinical staff keep a roster so they can better manage their workflow and cut down on time wasted waiting for patients who do not turn up. The kiosks have been designed for people of all ages and abilities and they can read a barcode printed on an appointment letter or patients can key in their details manually on a touch screen. The technology comes in a number of languages as well as a format for visually-impaired people. “This is an exciting addition to our range of solutions that we can now offer UK trusts,” said Andrew Spence, CSC’s UK director of healthcare strategy. “Savience has an excellent track record of delivering innovative self-service kiosk technology and that combined with our expertise in healthcare IT means we are perfectly positioned to continue delivering solutions that will save time and money while improving the patient experience. By cutting down or eliminating reception queues, hospitals can run far more efficiently and clinical staff can be assured they have accurate up-to-date information about the patient. I believe trusts will greatly appreciate the 40% time saving benefits the kiosks have been proven to deliver.”

Savience

CSC

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has given the go-ahead for an £800,000 project to treat emergency patients more quickly. The initiative – aimed at patients with minor injuries and illnesses arriving at the Queen’s Medical Centre Emergency Department – was approved by the trust board earlier this month and includes the creation of a larger assessment area for patients, with 10 dedicated cubicles for adults; a new assessment area for children, including three new assessment and treatment cubicles; an improved reception area; and the creation of separate entrances for adults and children. The changes will allow multidisciplinary teams to work more closely together to make better use of their skills. Building work will start next month and is expected to be completed by early December. The department, which was last redesigned more than 10 years ago, will stay open throughout the works. Liz Williamson, deputy director of the trust’s Better For You change programme, said: “The project is based on feedback from patients and some of the hundreds of ideas and suggestions from staff as part of the Better For You programme to improve quality and efficiency across the whole trust. Patients with minor injuries and illnesses will be treated more quickly and efficiently as part of the trust’s widespread focus on improving its services.” The project in the emergency department is the first phase of a wider re-organisation of the hospital’s emergency processes.

FROM the end of this month, patients scheduled for an operation at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital will benefit from a new, fully-refurbished pre-admission assessment unit. The unit is purpose built and has been designed to improve the patient experience so that any necessary tests and screening before surgery can be done at the same time and in the same place. Patients can also discuss their treatment and care with specially-trained staff. Private assessment rooms have been built so staff can check that a patient is both suitable for, and fit to go ahead with, the planned operation and anaesthetic. Staff will also be able to make sure they have the information they need to ensure that the patient’s admission to hospital runs smoothly. Hilary Walsgrove, pre-assessment lead nurse, said: “We are delighted with the brand new pre-admission assessment unit. The design of the unit will ensure a better patient experience, enabling consultations with patients to be held in absolute privacy and in a suitable and pleasant environment.”

PLANS for a hi-tech innovation centre that will transform surgical care and research at Imperial College London Hospital (UCLH) have been given the green light. The Imperial Surgical Innovation Centre (ISIC) will be based at the Paterson Centre at St Mary’s Hospital in London and will boast two theatres, a 14-bed short-stay ward and outpatient clinics designed around the patient pathway. The one-stop shop facility will specialise in general and breast surgery and bariatric (weight loss) surgery, as well as gastroenterological and urology cases and will feature cutting-edge diagnostic equipment. It will also house Imperial College London’s clinical skills laboratory for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, as well as the robotic-assisted microsurgery laboratory, which will continue the college’s research in the field of technology development and robotic surgery. Justin Vale, clinical director of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s surgery and cancer clinical programme group, said: “This development will mean our surgical and cancer patients benefit from the very latest technologies and techniques in an environment that is designed around their needs. It will deliver a sea-change approach in how we provide surgical and cancer services and is a fantastic example of the benefits of being an academic health science centre by bringing together education, research and patient care under one roof.” Professor Ara Darzi, head of the surgery division at Imperial College London, added: “The demand in surgery is for less-invasive procedures and one of our key aims is to meet and exceed this demand through innovation in computer and robotic-assisted technologies in our new lab, which can then be applied not only in our operating theatres, but nationally and internationally as well.”

ALSO IN THE NEWS: … Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is to introduce new parking regulations and provide more dedicated parking spaces on the Queen Alexandra Hospital site. As part of the changes, the previous clamping system will be replaced with a fixed penalty ticketing system. Neither the trust, nor its supply chain partner, Carillion, will make a profit from the changes… A dialysis treatment centre has officially opened in Bexley. The stand-alone unit is the second managed by Diaverum Renal Services, specialist dialysis provider, in partnership with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Based at Queen Mary’s Hospital, the facility has 12 new patient stations and is fully equipped with individual flat-screen TVs and adjustable couches, all remotely controlled by the patient… The Park Medical Practice in Ashton on Ribble, Lancashire, is to relocate to a purpose-built £1.5m centre in Cottam Lane…