WELCOME FROM THE Chief Executive

Welcome to the first edition of The Pulse for 2023. There are lots of exciting things happening in our hospitals right now, all with the aim of doing one, very important, thing – improving our patients’ experience.

I am really proud to share the efforts of our staff who are living our values of Putting Patients First by helping to deliver improvements in patient care. In this edition we share news of some specific projects that are making a positive impact upon waiting times and access to clinical teams.

We are now running a number of Virtual Wards that offer suitable patients the chance to receive hospital-standard care, monitoring and support in the comfort and safety of their own homes. Take a look on page 3 for more information.

On page 10 you can read about our new Ambulance Handover Unit at Peterborough City Hospital. This is a modular unit which was delivered and fitted out in record time to enable us to reduce the length of waits in ambulances when our hospital is very busy. Not only does this mean a better experience, it is also a safer one for our patients as this means we can avoid using corridors as a place for temporary care when all other areas are full.

On the same page you can also read about a new, innovative service for patients with lower limb wounds. Through a new app, wounds can be remotely monitored by clinicians, which enables concerns to be addressed without waiting for an appointment, and, for those wounds healing well, appointments to be reduced, saving time and travel for patients.

Thank you to all the staff involved in these three exciting projects. Also in this edition, we profile some of our staff and volunteers with a focus on their roles. I am particularly proud that we can offer more opportunities to our young volunteers, and hopefully inspire them to pursue a permanent NHS career. Meet young volunteer, Ali, on page 6.

I am pleased to report that the construction of our new main operating theatres block at Hinchingbrooke Hospital is progressing well and we will soon place the final steel beam on the roof to officially complete the build. Read about this important development, and our other plans for the Hinchingbrooke site, in our feature on pages 4 and 5.

Finally, if you are visiting Peterborough City Hospital, look out for the amazing mural recently installed along the corridor towards the outpatients department. It features some fantastic photographs of healthcare in Peterborough dating back over the past 40 years. Some of the staff captured in the photos still work in our hospitals today. You can read the story of how this fabulous artwork came to be displayed in our hospital on page 13.

Caroline Walker Chief Executive Officer

The Pulse magazine is compiled by

Communications Team at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust. If you have any comments, or would like to make a suggestion about a subject you would like to read about in our magazine, please call the Communications Team on 01733 678024 or email: nwangliaft.communications@nhs.net