Countess Matters Spring 2017

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Countess matters

Spring 2017

Hey Mona!

96-year-old gets back on her feet 02 Countess Winter Care

06 Model Hospital

07 Sleep Out

t Find oPuage 5 more

Celebration of ards Achievement Aw Pages 8-9

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Contents

04 Diabetes Essentials

07 Cardiac Rehab

10 Governors look back on first years

Welcome

FROM YOUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Countess staff are voices of new winter care campaign

And we’re off… 2017 has begun.

Frontline colleagues at The Countess are the faces of a new winter care campaign to raise awareness of alternative NHS services.

Domestics, healthcare assistants, junior doctors, nurses and emergency department consultants have all stepped forward to take part in producing a series of filmed messages talking about their experiences of working in the hospital at its busiest time of the year. These are being widely shared on social media during peak times when patients are most likely to face delays in waiting to be seen or admitted.

Speaking about the winter initiative Executive Director of Nursing and Quality, Alison Kelly said: “This time of year can be extremely challenging for hospital services, with seasonal pressures meaning that patients can experience

delays particularly if they are waiting to be seen in our emergency department.

“Colleagues from all corners of The Countess do an incredible job and contribute to keeping our patients safe in many different ways. This is our opportunity to share frontline views on winter care, at the same time as offering helpful advice to people who may need NHS support in the months ahead.”

Alison added: “We have almost 4,000 people that follow and communicate with the hospital through social media, particularly Twitter (@ TheCountessNHS). We will do all that we can to keep people updated when we are at our busiest – and we continue to be grateful to our patients and the public for bearing with us at peak times.”

As well as managing the very pressing matter of the here and now, we’ve started our year as we mean to go on – pushing ahead with projects, investments and schemes that will help us stabilise the hospital and secure its future.

By now many of you will have heard about our ambitions to use new tracking technology to manage our beds, patients, staff and equipment more efficiently. This year will see us partner with TeleTracking Technologies to install more than 4,000 infra-red sensors above hospital beds and doorways that read from small devices on patients, staff and equipment. This investment will be huge for the Trust. You can read more about it on page 6.

Also in this edition we highlight the investment in new equipment to help us treat patients in the eye clinic more effectively, shine a light on lead governor Michael Hemmerdinger whom we sadly said goodbye to after 12 years of stellar service in December and we talk about putting our staff at the forefront of our winter care campaign in a bid to raise awareness of alternative NHS services.

It is another packed Countess Matters and I hope you enjoy reading the pages that follow.

Behavioural standards are launched More than 2,000 Countess employees have supported the development of new behavioural standards for the Trust. These now define the behaviours we expect to see and encourage in everyone such as working together, being respectful and fair, achieving excellence, leading people and having a positive attitude.

These are now being used to inform the development of a system that

will help us measure individual and collective achievements. Director of People and Organisational Development Sue Hodkinson said: “We want to bottle the specialness that makes this hospital so friendly and dependable. The standard we expect from one should be the standard expected from everyone. This shouldn’t be affected or influenced by the position we hold.”

Spotlight on…

former lead governor Michael Hemmerdinger Michael Hemmerdinger recently stepped down after 12 years as lead governor at the Countess. Michael, who started his career in hospital pharmacy before spending 40 years in the private sector, was part of the very first shadow board (now Council of Governors) in 2004. We had a chat with Michael to find out what he is going to do next and what he thinks about his 12 years at the Countess.

How did you get involved with the Council of Governors?

I joined Boots and the health service in 1962 and worked with Boots for 38 years in a number of senior positions throughout the UK. I retired in 1998 in Chester and decided to stay. In 2004 the opportunity (to join the Countess) came when the Government had decided to introduce the first 10 foundation Trusts – of which we were one. I applied as a public representative for Ellesmere Port and I was fortunate to be elected. When the post was up for re-election a year or so later the good people of Ellesmere Port picked someone else, but I was asked if I could be a representative for Chester Voluntary Services, having had a lot of experience with charities and representing the Festival Church.

What are you most proud of when you look back at those years as lead governor?

When I have been on various conferences throughout the country, other governors

then yes I could come back – not as a lead governor but I’d come back as a governor.

But that is for the future. If it hadn’t been correct and right for me to finish now I’d probably still be doing it, but we have a very good lead governor who’s taking over from me in Tom Bateman. We’ll have to wait and see. A lot can happen in a year can’t it?!

never had the close relationship with senior managers that we’ve always had here. It makes a huge difference. If you get those working relationships right you’re on the road to some success. In this Trust if any governor has any concerns, Stephen Cross will bring it up and if necessary someone would come and present to us and we can see how we can work together. The bottom line is we’re there to represent the public and our members.

Are you going to carry on as a governor?

I can’t carry on as a governor for at least one year. If after one year the council of governors say we still require a representative from the voluntary sector,

You also have experience of overseeing elements of primary care as well, how valuable has that been during your time at the Countess?

One thing we’re always talking about is patient journey and that once they’ve left the hospital, or if they’re seeing their GP, they’re still a patient and are part of the same journey. Quite often you might find that doctors at the hospital have to ask you all the same questions you’ve already answered for your GP. With the Cheshire Care Record now in place hopefully we’ll start seeing that change.

Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet?

I would say that the big moment the whole Trust can take pride in was the visit of the Duchess of Cornwall a few years ago. I wouldn’t say that was fame, but it’s something that was published and it was a great moment for the hospital. Other than that I tend to play myself low key, I can’t agree with people who are up on podiums showing off what they’ve done and tweeting about how great they are.

Senior nurses visit Uganda This visit was part of an 18 month programme between The Countess of Chester Hospital and Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda, made possible thanks to funding through a joint project with the Tropical Health Education Trust (THET) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Four senior nursing leads spent two weeks with the remote 300 bed rural healthcare provider, in the Rukungiri district of South West Uganda.

They were sharing their expertise on

patient safety culture and infection prevention and control, including hand hygiene techniques. The emphasis has been on developing safer working practices, through introducing systems for education, training, monitoring, auditing and reporting.

Speaking about the visit Lead Infection Prevention and Control Nurse at The Countess of Chester Hospital and trip organiser Samantha Walker said: “We haven’t just focused our activity around the hospital

- we also visited schools and the wider community to share tips on preventing the spread of germs, to help people stay well.”

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A group of senior Countess nurses visited Uganda to support a rural hospital with reducing risks from the spread of infection.

Dietitian offers simple tips for managing your diabetes The Trust’s diabetes support service ‘Diabetes Essentials’ has jumped on board the New Year health and fitness bandwagon in a bid to bring more support and guidance to people with diabetes.

offered for people with Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes and Borderline Diabetes, ensuring everyone receives the right information and support for their condition.

Simply call 01244 365 234 or email diabetes.essentials@ nhs.net

Dietitian, Alice Fletcher takes part in a video to give helpful advice on how to make small but significant changes to diet and exercise in order to help people with diabetes start 2017 on the right track. exercise as well as highlight how the Diabetes Essentials service can help anyone who needs support in managing their condition.”

Alice added: “Diabetes Essentials is here to support you throughout the year, to make sure you have the correct information and give you the confidence to know you can manage your diabetes. If you are living with diabetes, it is important to remember it is your health and you can be in control of your condition.”

Diabetes Essentials is a free NHS diabetes education service run by the Countess.

Group sessions are held at a number of venues throughout Chester and Cheshire offering advice and support for people with diabetes and there is no need to be referred by a doctor. Separate sessions are

The Diabetes Essentials service has its own Facebook page to enable people with diabetes to keep up-to-date with the latest information and advice on managing diabetes as well as when and where the groups will meet in the community. www.facebook.com/ DiabetesEssentials/

Alice explained: “After Christmas many of us will have put some weight on and it is important that we do all we can to shed those pounds in the New Year.

Around 90% of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight and even a small weight loss such as losing 5 pounds of fat, can help the pancreas which is where insulin is produced, to work more efficiently and reduce blood sugar levels.

“Taking part in regular

exercise such as walking, dancing or swimming is important as exercise burns energy and helps to lower blood sugar levels.

It is also important to set realistic goals and our Diabetes Essentials advisors can help with this as well as signposting people to local exercise classes and activities they will enjoy.

We produced the video so that we can provide some simple tips on how to manage diet and increase

Supporting eye clinic patients with investment in new kit Investment in new and highly specialist photographic equipment is set to improve services for patients with eye conditions.

The Countess has purchased a stateof-the art ophthalmic camera to take more precise and detailed images of the retina (back of the eye), and speed up treatment times for those attending its Westminster Eye Clinic.

More than 8,000 patients rely on the service every year, including increasing numbers of people living with Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

The kit, which costs more than £130,000 is used by three professionally trained medical ophthalmic photographers working at the hospital. Fiona Jackson explained: “The new camera is far better for patient comfort as there are no strong photographic flashes.

It is quicker to use and patients often don’t realise they have even been scanned. It is also helping us to get a deeper insight into the structure, function and metabolic activity of the retina – which informs the decisions taken about appropriate treatment.”

Mona gets back to her begonias Countess clinicians have been left inspired by the determination of 96-year old hip replacement patient Mona.

After a referral from her local GP for arthritic pain, Mona was placed under the care of orthopaedic consultant Mr Janardhan Rao. While exercising with her physiotherapist Eleanor on Ward 41, she explained: “I thought they would tell me I was too old for a hip replacement, but not at all. I had the operation and everything has gone well. I’ve been up and about and I’ll be going home shortly.”

Mona who lives in Ellesmere Port added: “I’ll miss my Countess porridge in the morning – it’s been very good. But I like gardening and I’m looking forward to getting back to my begonias.”

Speaking before Mona went home Mr Rao said: “It is rare to carry out a planned procedure of this kind on a 96-year old, but Mona has been an inspiration to us all. She is remarkable as she is so dynamic for her age, and we’ve seen her back on her feet within hours of her operation. We’ll be in close contact with her in the weeks ahead to support her with physiotherapy, adjusting to her new hip and getting her life back.”

Patient-led assessment praises Countess food portion size. Even special requests are taken into consideration.”

A Patient-led Assessment of the Care Environment (PLACE) took place at the Countess of Chester and Ellesmere Port hospitals over the summer, marking them on areas such as: cleanliness; food; ward food; organised food; dementia; disability; condition, appearance and maintenance; privacy, dignity and wellbeing.

The inspection involved a six-strong team of assessors, half of which were patients plus an external verifier, looking at hospital facilities from a patient’s point of view.

The food provided by the Trust scored particularly well, with both sites beating the national average in each food-based category, while the Trust is also in the top 20% across the country for cleanliness.

“The fact the food is prepared on site and, where possible, from fresh ingredients makes a real difference,” Yvonne Kirk, patient representative on the PLACE Committee, said.

“There is always a good choice of tasty, well presented meals and patients can choose

Assessments of wards, departments and external areas were completed, rating them on non-clinical factors such as lighting, security measures and how easy it is to understand the food menus.

Meals themselves were rated on texture, appearance, taste and temperature, which showcased the Trust’s ability to provide fresh food from good quality ingredients across both sites. Ellesmere Port scored 94.24% for food overall, which is well above the 88.07% national average, while the Countess scored 90.34%.

Cleanliness was another area of strength for the Trust, despite the high standards

set across the UK, with both the Countess (99.54%) and Ellesmere Port (98.58%) topping the 98.06% average.

Alison Kelly, director of nursing and quality, said: “The nutrition of our patients is very important, especially when they may be compromised physically and receiving food of a high standard is a valuable part of our patients’ recovery. A delicious meal can also give them a lift just when they need one the most and that’s why our in-house catering team work so hard to get it right. The fact cleanliness is rated so highly is also excellent and acts as another reflection of the pride we take in our environment and taking care of our patients.”

Governor Caroline Stein said: “As a member of the PLACE inspection panel I was very reassured by the in depth level of detail we had to report on. Improvements can always be made but overall this is a good result for the Trust.”

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Catering services at The Countess have been given a seal of approval by patients.

‘enabling change’ New tracking technology to support patient care The Countess will become the first hospital in the country to use new tracking technology to manage its beds, patients, staff and equipment more efficiently.

This year will see the Trust partner with TeleTracking Technologies to install more than 4,000 infra-red sensors above hospital beds and doorways that read from small tracking devices on patients, staff and equipment. This will provide real time information for live ward electronic bed boards and a centralised Care Coordination Centre that supports staff in getting patients to the right beds more efficiently.

The technology also automates workflows, certain domestic duties and discharge processes to allow NHS staff to spend more time with patients instead of on administrative tasks.

Work will begin on implementation in early 2017, with the first phase seeing the technology rolled out for requests with porters and transport.

Chief Executive Tony Chambers said: “We’ve spent the last year delivering an efficiency programme based on the recommendations of Lord Carter, placing a greater emphasis on using transparency of data to inform decision making that benefits patients. We see this as a flagship

project in turning around our approach to patient flow and providing faster, safer care by increasing the responsiveness of our NHS workforce. With the visibility of this data it will put a stop to nurses wasting valuable time searching for equipment, and limit duplication of efforts in clinical admission staff repeatedly chasing updates on patient status to understand bed availability.”

“The reality is that if we can reduce length of stay for each and every patient by just a few hours it gives us an additional 20 beds a day, which is much needed capacity

delivered through more efficient working instead of spending.”

Bernard Quinn, Director Improvement Programmes at NHS Improvement, added: “We are looking to a number of trusts to test out using patient flow software, and centralised co-ordination as an approach to optimising the capacity they have to treat patients across both emergency and elective pathways.

We welcome the Countess of Chester Hospital testing this approach and look forward to working with them as one of the national pilots”.

Pioneering approach with electronic rostering The Countess has now introduced its new electronic rostering systems to all inpatient wards at the Chester Hospital site and to the first non-ward based clinical team, Rapid Response.

It is helping ward managers and their teams plan rotas 6 weeks in advance, in an automated way that reduces dependency on paper based systems and frees up more time for patient care.

Early indications are that the system is also reducing spend on bank and agency staff (i.e. variable pay) through more efficient ways of working in keeping with intentions set out in plans to be The Model Hospital based on recommendations of Lord Carter.

At the same time, roster information is being enhanced with use of real time data of patient acuity on 3 pilot wards, through the use of a system known as ‘Safe Care Live’. It supports the allocation of staffing based on the complexity of the condition of patients on a ward at any given time, and can inform decision making around whether staff are distributed appropriately across all areas. The Countess Acuity Tool has been developed based on learning from an approach in Western Australia. It is an innovative approach, not widely

used in the UK. Progress with this at The Countess is attracting interest from other acute hospitals where electronic rostering is not being used to full effect.

The next phase of e-rostering implementation at The Countess will see the system extended to Poppy & Bluebell Wards at Ellesmere Port Hospital and to specialist areas such as Theatres, Critical Care, Outpatients, the Emergency Department, and Maternity.

Protection officer bounces back after heart surgery Sleep Out A group of therapists from the Countess recently slept rough for a night to raise money for a homeless charity after being inspired by a patient.

The five-strong team completed the 24th annual Sponsored Sleep Out on behalf of retired accountant Reg Bolton, who spent 10 weeks on the Countess’ stroke unit.

The 72-year-old and his wife Jane have been long-standing supporters of Chester Aid to the Homeless (CATH) and they have taken part in most of the sleepouts since the first one in 1992.

Michael Thurston, 54, has always taken immense pride in his physical condition – something he needed to maintain for the rigours of his working life – but he was stopped in his tracks by a congenital heart condition.

Michael, who lives in Chester and travels for his job, started noticing symptoms in late 2014 before finding out he had a bicuspid aortic valve in spring 2015.

“It was a shock without a doubt,” Michael said. “I’d been training normally and then to be told that all you can do is walk was quite humbling and actually I’d never considered walking a viable exercise until I couldn’t do anything else – then it really is.”

The father of two, whose heart had swelled to twice its normal size, became an avid walker to stay active while waiting to undergo valve replacement surgery in June 2015. It was this continued dedication to remaining as healthy as possible that enabled him to bounce back quickly when he returned to the Countess of Chester Hospital for cardiac rehabilitation after the procedure.

“I came here only able to lift a bag of sugar and I left able to lift my bodyweight again in just 10 weeks thanks to these guys,” he said.

The cardiac rehabilitation team, which uses a gym at the University of Chester, tailors plans for everyone from relatively young and fit patients like Michael to older ones who have a sedentary lifestyle. It is very much shaped

around the individual, their needs, hopes and expectations.

There was nothing Michael could do to prevent his condition developing over time, no matter how fit he kept himself, but being active for so long did help his body bounce back more quickly.

“Obviously your body does remember if you’ve been fit,” cardiac rehabilitation specialist Sophie McIntosh said. “What we do is bring new science, new evidence and different types of strength and conditioning to adapt programmes to meet individual goals.”

Having been back at work now for around a year, Michael recently revisited the gym to say hello and show the specialists how far he has come as they put him through his paces once more. He is currently completing training to become a qualified personal trainer in his spare time and hopes to work in cardiac rehabilitation when he decides to retire from the force.

“I’ve been back a couple of times and they’re very humble here, they don’t realise how good they are,” he said. “My whole NHS experience led me to this and it got me thinking that maybe I should give something back. I know I can help people.”

“Reg is such a lovely guy and when he told us about his involvement with the charity we were blown away by his dedication to helping homeless people,” therapist Lawrence Holland said.

“Knowing that he wouldn’t be well enough to do the sleep out himself this year we wanted to do it for him.”

The group braved the cold weather and overnight rain from 10pm to 6am on 2-3 December, bedding down in the car park of the St Francis Friary.

The team has raised more than £800 for Chester Aid to the Homeless and Reg, who recently left hospital after having a stroke in September, cannot thank them enough for their efforts.

“I wish I had a pound for every person who said they’re interested but nothing ever comes of it,” Reg said. “It was great that the guys at the hospital managed to get a whole team together and they’ve been amazing. It was great because although I was missing out I still felt that we were a part of it.”

Sophie added: “I think we surprised him with the rehab, I think we got him back to normal a lot sooner than he expected. It’s lovely to see him doing so well but it doesn’t surprise me at all.

“People often look at heart surgery and think they won’t bounce back but they can with the right training.”

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A Metropolitan Police Protection Officer fought his way back to full duty just three months after having open heart surgery.

Celebration of Achievement Awards In November we took time to celebrate the achievements of staff at a ceremony at Chester Racecourse.

The annual Celebration of Achievement Awards is always a highpoint and this year lived up to expectations with a bonus appearance from Britain’s Got Talent finalists Boogie Storm!

Barbara Lancelott and Ian Gould share the ‘Volunteer of the Year Award’ The Emergency Department, Chester Zoo and North West Ambulance Service win the ‘Partnership Award’ The Rapid Response Scrub Team with the ‘Countess Cornerstone Award’

ICU and Occupational Health win the second ‘Partnership Award’ after Miles’ story fronted the flu campaign Michael Hemmerdinger wins the ‘Governor Outstanding Achievement Award’

The ‘Commitment to Learning Award’ goes to Pharmacy’s Rebecca Houston

The ‘Patient Choice for Outstanding Care’ is won by our fabulous Midwifery Team

The ‘Leonie Kenny Award for Inspirational Leadership’ goes to Superintendent Radiographer Emma Fondacaro Pharmacy’s Ammar Abbas receives this year’s ‘Patient Safety Award’

Director of Pharmacies Chris Green accepts the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ on behalf of Deputy Dispensary Manager Lesley Harrison IT Technician extraordinaire Alan Milburn wins the ‘Unsung Hero Award’

The ‘Haygarth Medal for Nurse of the Year’ goes to Karen Perkins The ‘Quality Improvement of the Year Award’ goes to the Rapid Response Team A double winner on the night... Karen Perkins receives the ‘Outstanding Individual Achievement of the Year Award’

‘Outstanding Team Achievement of the Year’ is shared between our Medical Education and Medical Staffing teams

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Our ‘Living the Values Award’ is shared between Margaret Gough and Lawrence Holland

GoveRnors’ News Governors reflect on first year in posts Thank you Michael Sitting on the Trust’s Council of Governors gives people a chance to have a say and make a difference to how the Countess operates. We caught up with Sue Bagby and Brian Jones to reflect on their first years as governors, their experiences and hopes for the future.

Sue’s story Sue spent her entire working life in the NHS, starting as a nursing assistant at the Deva Hospital at the age of 18 through to taking early retirement from her role as a ward manager at Ellesmere Port Hospital last year.

“I feel I am giving something back to the thing I have loved and enjoyed working in over the many years of service,” she said.

Brian’s story Brian was a mechanical engineer for 28 years before switching to working as a mental health bank nurse and has been Mayor of Ellesmere Port three times.

His best moment from the past year was helping dialysis patients arrange transport to the Countess and going forward he wants to help improve communication between fellow governors and the general public.

With Sue’s long association with the Trust she feels well-placed to speak on behalf of staff and has been pleasantly surprised by how far-reaching the role of being a governor can be.

“It’s good that our suggestions are taken on board by the directors,” he said. “Progress has been made regarding no smoking on the site and I will continue to be interested and involved in this matter.”

Hemmerdinger At the beginning of the year we saw Michael Hemmerdinger step down as the Lead Governor on the Trust Council of Governors after 12 years in the role.

Michael has spent many years putting in long hours to be an advocate for patients in our area. His wealth of experience has been a great asset to the Countess and he will be sorely missed.

We would like to say thank you to Michael for his dedication and passion for the role, which is being continued by his successor Tom Bateman and we wish him well as our new Lead Governor.

Please visit our website for more information about public board of directors and council of governors’ meetings.

You can read more about Michael in our Spotlight On… feature on page 3.

Blood bikes charity celebrates Angel taking flight Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes (SSBB) have unveiled a brand new bike called ‘Angel’ that will be used at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

It has been named Angel after blood bike volunteer Steve Hunter’s first granddaughter who was stillborn at the hospital five years ago. Steve, 63, and his family have never forgotten how staff looked after them during what was a tough time.

“The care they received here made such a difference,” Steve said.

“The staff were brilliant. It was quite a difficult labour and the staff let them have time with her.”

Angel’s parents had been expecting to have a boy and had not prepared any

was touched by how the charity supports the community.

“It’s marvellous to see volunteers helping the hospital in this way and the bike Angel will prove invaluable to the people in this area,” Cllr Claydon said.

girls names, but on her delivery when staff said she looked like “a little angel” they decided that would be the perfect name for her.

All 12 bikes in the SSBB’s fleet are named for poignant tributes such as Angel or to say thank you to donors and organisations.

When a National Lottery grant of £10,000 paved the way for a new Yamaha FJR 1300 to be used as a blood bike at the Countess, the charity knew they wanted to do something special for Steve and his family.

Lord Mayor of Chester Councillor Angela Claydon

SSBB, which has 220 members and recently celebrated its third birthday, started a trial transporting blood products for the Countess last April and it has proven to be a big success.

“It is great that the rest of the hospital had the opportunity to meet members of the SSBB and hear what a fantastic service they are providing to the Countess,” Pathology Quality Manager Kathleen Holden said.

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, has not vetted the advertisers in this publication and accepts no liability for work done or goods supplied by any advertiser. Nor does Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust endorse any of the products or services.

Fundraising roundup Legacy for the Cardiac Department The renal unit team, including Sister Libby Critchley, children Jake and Jessica who also completed the 6k route, the team raised a total of £650 of which Jake and Jessica raised £210! Well done Jake and Jessica and the renal team.

Walk for Wards

Patients sitting in the Oncology waiting area will no longer be looking at painted walls thanks to Chester Golf Club but will instead be able to day dream about the sound of the sea.

Jane Blackwell, Ward Manager says “We have chosen freezes for the waiting room, quiet room and side room – all of which we hope will help our patients to relax in between treatments. We are also going to have a better way of displaying patient information and some new chairs! We are very grateful to the Captain and Lady Captain and all the members of Chester Golf Club for all their hard work in raising this money.”

They recently purchased an additional 2D Cardiovascular Ultra Sound System for the Cardiology Department from a legacy left to the Countess by the late Harold Cooper, who was a former patient at the hospital.

“It was very kind of Harold Cooper to leave us this gift in his will. The equipment that has been purchased with the legacy will be of benefit to our cardiac patients for many years to come.” Dr Sedgwick, Consultant Cardiologist.

“If the time is right for you to remember our charity in your will, it will have a lasting impact.

There is no doubt that every gift in every will, however small or large, makes a difference. ” Ngozi Ikoku, Trust and Legacy Fundraiser, said.

Thank you to all walkers that took part and also the many volunteers including sea cadets, Dale Barracks soldiers, hospital volunteers and security staff.

The total raised was £6,000. Some of the wards that will benefit are the stroke unit, breastcare unit, renal unit, stoma care, ITU and the neonatal unit.

The date for this year’s Walk for Wards is Sunday 8 October 2017.

The Lord Mayor of Chester Councillor Angela Claydon and Lady Mayoress of Chester who walked for the Breast Care Unit as a thank you for care received. Co. Claydon has chosen the Breast Care Unit as one of her charities during her time in office.

Also pictured are Liz Redmond, Consultant, and Jackie Phillips, Breast Care Unit Manager.

Can you help your local hospital?

Lesley Woodhead, Head of Fundraising says: “Whilst we are probably best known in the community for our Babygrow Appeal the team works to raise money for over 80 funds across the hospital – each one making a real difference to patient care.

“We would be delighted to hear from anyone wanting to support their local hospital by fundraising for an area of care or piece of equipment. The charity exists not to replace what the NHS provides but to enhance it.”

Please call us on 01244 366240 or message us through our Facebook page – COCHFundraisingTeam

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Charitable Funds Make a Difference!

Another beautiful sunny day saw the second Walk for Wards to raise funds for all wards in the Countess of Chester & Ellesmere Port Hospitals.

Over 40 people signed up to raise funds for the Babygrow Appeal and many other people signed up to raise funds for other wards within the trust. The 2k or 6k walk along the Countess Country Park included craft activities, seed bombing and a nature trail with a prize for all children collecting in the items on the Nature Trail list. All participants received a bacon batch, drink and a branded key fob at the finish.

As a thank you for the care he received, Harold Cooper made a very generous donation to The Countess in his will. This is for the Cardiac department, who have already made some improvements with this gift and are now planning what to do next.

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