Dear Colleagues
Welcome to the August edition of our UHSussex staff newsletter. There’s been lots happening, from pioneering heart surgery, to creative wellbeing workshops and even a swim across the English Channel.
Communications
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Team designs new tabards to improve drug safety |
A nursing team is putting safety first and empowering team members through new drug tabards worn during medication rounds.
The team who care for neurosurgical, spinal and head and neck patients at the Royal Sussex County Hospital (Level 8a West), first introduced the tabards as a trial around two months ago following feedback during a bi-weekly Patient First improvement system (PFIS) huddle.
The tabards have made a positive impact from the outset, giving the the team enhanced confidence to focus on the medication round and resolve any colleague queries at a later point. And best of all, there are virtually no low-level drug errors now being recorded on the DATIX system for their ward.
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Grandfather Ron set for 'High Life' after pioneering heart-op |
Ron, 81, from Sayers Common, had a leaking valve in his heart and to correct this with a new replacement would normally have required open-heart surgery.
But for the first time in the UK a procedure was carried out without surgically opening the patient's chest. The valve was introduced from a vein in the leg, up through the body and replaced the leaking valve.
Ron was back home walking his dog less than two days later!
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Cardiac team Dr James Cockburn; Senior Research Nurse Jessica Parker and Professor David Hildick-Smith |
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First patient treated with innovative and life-saving radiotherapy in Sussex |
Peter, 78, from Peacehaven, has become the first patient to be treated in Sussex with a new highly precise type of cancer treatment called stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR).
SABR uses multiple slender beams of radiation which are carefully directed from different angles to meet at the tumour. Sophisticated image guidance technology takes account of the patient's breathing to ensure that these beams are targeted with greater accuracy.
This allows higher doses of radiation to be safely delivered helping to reduce the number of hospital visits that vulnerable cancer patients need to make.
Peter was treated at the Sussex Cancer Centre in July 2021, as part of the fast-track national rollout of the treatment during Covid-19.
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New nursing director appointed |
Edmund Tabay joins us in September from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Trust in Kings Lynn and will work alongside our Chief Nurse, Maggie Davies, to support all our nursing, midwifery and therapy colleagues as they continue to provide high standards of care for our patients and families across our seven hospitals.
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Critical care team are 'walking angels', says the organ donation committee |
Critical care colleagues at Worthing and St Richard’s hospitals have been recognised for their care of patients and families during the pandemic, through a commemorative painting.
The organ donation committee commissioned local artist Horace for the paintings entitled ‘The Walking Angels 2020’, which is based on the mural he also painted at St Richard’s hospital.
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First chance to see how ward rooms will look at the 3Ts site in Brighton |
The outside of the Stage 1 Building is now complete and three ward rooms on its eighth floor have been decorated and furnished.
The first glance at the new rooms shows the quality of finish, space, and modern facilities our patients and staff can expect in the future.
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Congratulations to our Avios points winners! |
Congratulation to the six lucky winners of 60,000 Avios points each who were selected in last month’s prize draw. The Avios points were kindly donated to NHS workers across the UK by Avios and its members.
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QVH and UHSussex developing business case for merger |
We have a long-standing collaborative relationship with QVH and strong clinical links have existed for many years, including a number of shared posts and service level agreements.
Detailed work to explore the operational, clinical and financial aspects of a potential merger will now carried out. It is anticipated this work will take around six to nine months.
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Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) in East Grinstead |
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Congratulations to the St Richard’s Bariatric Team! |
James O’Brien from the St Richard's Bariatric team has been awarded a Royal College of Surgeons Research Fellowship.
James is working under the guidance of Mr Christopher Pring MA MD FRCS Consultant Laparoscopic, Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon and Visiting Professor at University of Surrey.
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'Holding Hands' painting donated to Beacon ward |
Two Faced Twins created a painting from this picture and donated the painting to Beacon ward in Worthing, where the couple were cared for.
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Wellbeing workshops in full swing |
The workshops have now travelled to The Princess Royal, Worthing and most recently St Richard’s, proving a hit with a variety of teams.
Colleagues from Occupational Therapy, Urology, A&E, Women & Children, Pharmacy and Facilities & Estates have all got stuck into trying Cyanotype, creating a blue-print on fabric using foliage they picked nearby. This will contribute to a collaborative artwork to be hung in our hospitals.
Masseuses have also been on hand to offer hand and neck massages, while colleagues enjoy delicious cake and refreshments. Additionally, a psychotherapist or counsellor has been available to talk to colleagues in a safe and discreet space.
We appreciate it’s a busy time, so if you can’t make it, please don’t forget there is a broad range of health and wellbeing support available whenever you need it at www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/wellbeing
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Annie swims the English Channel! |
On 3 August, nurse, Annie Shotton, took on the challenge of a lifetime and completed her swim of the English Channel, taking 12 hours 45 minutes to complete the 40 km distance!
This swim was 2.5 years in the making, with Annie training extremely hard to ensure she was prepared both physically and mentally.
Annie has worked as a nurse at the hospital for nearly 15 years and did the swim to fundraise for the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, via BSUH Charity — the hospital’s dedicated charity. Well done Annie!
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Love Your Hospital, the dedicated charity for St Richard’s, Worthing and Southlands hospitals, held its first quiz night in over a year and a half at the Worthing Pavilion Atrium. Eight teams, mainly made up of Trust staff, congregated on Worthing’s seafront on to put their brains to the test and show off their knowledge in sport, food, geography and music rounds. |
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The Xrayters were crowned the winning team, generously donating their £40 winnings back to the charity, and the Gynae Girls secured a prize for the best team name. David Clayton-Evans, head of charity, said: “It was wonderful for Love Your Hospital to run a small-scale event after such a disrupted fundraising schedule due to Covid, and lovely to see a great turn out too.
A huge thanks to the Worthing Pavilion for so kindly offering us the venue for free, Rens Kitchen for supplying a delicious curry, Alan Prior of AP Architectural for donating a bottle of champagne as a prize and to everyone who joined us to make it a great evening. I’m pleased to say we raised more than £450 on the night which is fantastic.”
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The Brighton marathon returns on Sunday 12 September and we're on the look-out for volunteers from across our hospitals and with a variety of specialist skills to join our marathon medical volunteer team.
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The Seagulls are giving away more than 1,000 Premier League and 500 Women’s Super League match tickets to NHS staff and emergency service workers throughout the coming season.
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NHS staff across Sussex are offered the chance to get free tickets to a concert by Sussex choir, Coro Nuovo. The tickets are gifted as a thank you to all health care professionals for their dedication and hard work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The next all staff briefing is Thursday 16 Sept 1pm |
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