MARCH 2022
Investment at Aintree Theatre and A&E expansion
Quality Improvement plan Improving patient safety and care
Getting New Royal ready
Contents
5 8 9 12 14 15 16
£16 investment at Aintree A&E
Meet the Sustainability Team
Professor gains lifetime achievement award
Living our values: Supporting local youth boxing club
Get a better night’s sleep
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Getting to know you ... Laura Rose
Liverpool University Hospitals’ charity events
Send us your stories We want our staff magazine to reflect all the great achievements and inspirational stories from you and your colleagues. Within LUHFT Life we’ll be covering key Trust priorities but we also want to showcase the amazing people that make up our organisation and share what’s happening throughout our hospitals. Is there an award you’ve gained, an innovative way your team is working, an inspiring patient experience or a new patient treatment that deserves recognition? Send your stories to communications@liverpoolft.nhs.uk. 2 | LUHFT Life
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New Royal podium work begins
Our quality improvement plans
Recognised with Chief Scientific Officer award
Front cover image: Each month our cover will feature a member of staff who is living our values. Tony Chambers is our new Director of Hospital Readiness. He’ll be safely commissioning the transition and integration of staff and services across our three sites to the New Royal. If you know a colleague who is caring, fair and innovative and would like to feature on our cover, email: communications@ liverpoolft.nhs.uk.
* Some photos taken before COVID-19
Pupils become AHPs in training To inspire the future generations of Allied Health Professionals, our AHP team has been busy visiting schools and showcasing career opportunities at the Liverpool City Region Skills Show.
At the exhibition this month, the team highlighted the role of AHPs at LUHFT and demonstrated key therapy equipment through hands-on activities to attendees looking for career and apprenticeship opportunities in our community. Additionally, Danielle Brayford, Occupational Therapist, and Rachael Roberts, Physiotherapist, went to Bishop Martin Primary School to teach the children about the different roles and how AHPs treat and support our patients. Danielle said: “We had a lot of schools and colleges asking us to visit during AHP Day in 2021, but we couldn’t see them all, so it was great to be able to visit the children this year and help to teach them about what we do. “The pupils loved trying the mini versions of our uniforms, walking aids and stethoscopes – it gave them a feel for the equipment we work with.”
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BUILDING OUR FU
Groundwork begins on New Royal entrance Construction has officially commenced on the New Royal podium entrance, which will provide easy drop-off access for patients. The important milestone was marked by a ground-breaking ceremony attended by Sir David Dalton, Interim Chief Executive, Steve Gerard, Assistant Director of new hospital construction, and from Laing O’Rourke was Andy Thomson, Project Director and Neil Davies, Project Manager for the podium. Following a review of the increased footfall and traffic to the area, we made plans to introduce easy drop-off and pick-up points to the new Royal. Planning permission was granted in November 2021 and once completed, the new podium will deliver vehicular and pedestrian access to short stay drop-off points and disabled parking close to the north side main entrance. Work is starting on the foundations ready for the installation of the steel framed concrete structure. The build is scheduled to complete in late summer. Sir David Dalton, Interim Chief Executive explains: “This is an important stage in the construction of the new hospital as it is the final piece of the jigsaw that provides easy access for patients to the building. “Our clinical and operational teams are working on their move plans and a programme of familiarisation and staff training will take place following practical completion.” 4 | LUHFT Life
Preparing us for the big move Tony Chambers joins LUHFT as the Director of Hospital Readiness, which includes the transition and integration of staff and services across our three sites to the New Royal. After starting his career as a nurse, Tony has since been an executive director in the NHS for 20 years, including chief executive at the Countess of Chester Hospitals. He said: “I’ve been to see the New Royal and all I can say is wow! It’s amazing, the wards are airy and spacious, and the new hospital will provide a wonderful environment. I think the people of Liverpool will be blown away when they see it. “The new hospital is a starting point for the transformation of healthcare and integrated services across the Merseyside region. It’s a great opportunity to be involved in such a large scale, iconic project which will signal a new set of opportunities for hospitals across the city and beyond. “I’m looking forward to taking people into the building and finding out how they think we can use the move to re-imagine how we can work.”
TURE TOGETHER
£16m improvements unveiled for Aintree ED As part of a major £16 million investment to Aintree, expansion work has started to introduce new hybrid operating theatres and improve patient facilities in our Emergency Department. By developing a two-storey extension, alongside the existing Emergency Department, we are refurbishing the existing theatre complex, as well as building new cutting-edge hybrid operating theatres to support the delivery of specialist surgical services. We will be creating additional space in the ED to expand our waiting and assessment areas, allowing patients to be triaged and treated in a more efficient way. The improvements also include a new CT scanner for assessing potential strokes and increased capacity for ambulance drop-off bays. Our Major Trauma Centre provides services to a catchment area of 2.3 million residents in the North West and Isle of Man, and Aintree’s Emergency Department had more than 89,000 attendances last year. Sir David Dalton, Interim Chief Executive, said: “This expansion will improve the delivery of high-quality emergency care and forms part of a major investment at our Aintree site to improve our facilities and infrastructure, ultimately ensuring patients get access to the right expertise as efficiently as possible.” The Emergency Department work, carried out by Tilbury Douglas, will be delivered in several phases to minimise disruption and is due to be completed in 2023. While the work to Aintree’s 125-foot tower block continues and is expected to be completed in summer 2022, the improvements will extend the lifespan of the tower block by up to 30 years. LUHFT Life | 5
Our new way of w We have started our journey to improving patient care – the foundations have been put in place over recent months and now colleagues are able to get involved in this new way of working. By shifting our focus to one where improving quality is at the heart of everything that we do, we can transform the care we provide for our communities, so that it is safer, effective and patient-centred. Not only will this benefit our patients, but improving care in this way will also empower staff to know that they have the influence and opportunity to make a real difference. The recent restructuring of the organisation into a model of hospital leadership at each site enables us to be in the best placed position to implement meaningful improvement, as local leaders will play a vital role in creating a supportive environment to ensure that staff are able to develop solutions and deliver change more rapidly. We want to support frontline teams to deliver better and more effective services for our patients. 6 | LUHFT Life
Sir David Dalton, Interim Chief Executive, said: “Establishing this new approach to leadership recognises that our frontline teams, those who are closest to delivering patient care, are best-placed to develop solutions and deliver the improvements that will make the most difference. We want to ensure that staff are empowered to deliver true change for the benefit of their patients and their teams.” Patients will also be at the heart of our work - by listening to those who are using our services, we can better understand where our focus needs to be and respond to what matters to them. Dame Elaine Inglesby, Interim Chief Nurse, said: “The key to improving care is ensuring our patients and their loved ones are central to decisions made around their care. By working collaboratively with our service users, and valuing their input, we in turn will improve safety, their experience of care and the effectiveness of care provided. A shared determination to make a difference is critical to our success.”
What is quality improvement? Quality improvement (QI) aims to make a difference by improving the safety, effectiveness, and experience of care. It is the continual use of methods and actions to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients, and develop a workforce that supports these as a matter of course in their day-to-day work. If we all continually strive to be better, through learning and refining what we do, we can drive the transformation of the services we deliver. What are we trying to accomplish?
How will we know that a change is improvement?
What changes can we make that will result in improvement?
Plan
Plan
Act
Act
Do
Do
Study
Study
Get involved: Deteriorating Patient Collaborative
working As well as encouraging change within individual areas, we will be taking an organisational-wide approach to tackling some of the biggest improvements that we need to make. This will be in the form of quality improvement collaboratives which bring together and utilise the knowledge of a range of people across LUHFT who are closest to the issue. These people will be key to identifying blockers, developing the solutions, making changes and embedding them. Other colleagues will be able to contribute ideas and suggestions through a series of online conversations, making it a wholeteam approach. Professor John Brennan, Interim Medical Director, said: “We will know if we’ve got it right when staff feel like they can make a difference – when they can make suggestions or feel safe speaking up and raising concerns, knowing they will be listened to. If we always strive to get it right first time, and we learn from our mistakes, we will develop a sustained change that will be felt throughout the organisation.”
‘Deteriorating Patient’ has been chosen as the topic for our first QI collaborative event, as feedback from colleagues demonstrated that this is the Trust-wide issue that we need to tackle first and foremost. Our aim will be to improve the recognition of and response to deterioration. This will be the first time that we will be bringing colleagues together to combine our knowledge, experience and combined focus to identify what needs to be improved and a plan for how we will fix it together. Professor Chris Holcombe, Clinical Effectiveness Lead for QI, said: “We all come to work to do the best for our patients, to give the best care and outcomes possible. However, we can all remember those times when a patient rapidly deteriorated and either it hadn’t been identified early enough, or it wasn’t managed well. None of us wants this to happen to patients in our care. “Between us, we have the answers – and through these collaborative events, together we can work out what prevents us from delivering the best care possible, and what needs to happen to create long lasting change.” Further details on the launch of the deteriorating patient collaborative event and online conversations will be shared soon.
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Meet the Sustainability Team Our Sustainability Team focuses on two key areas - reducing LUHFT’s carbon footprint and the Trust’s role as an anchor institution, which is how we positively contribute to our community.
Briefly, what does your team do? We love that our team can get involved in a variety of projects and work with teams from all areas. We manage Trust energy use and are also working to reduce our energy use, including reducing carbon emissions in water use, waste, our fleet vehicles, anaesthetic gases and metered dose inhalers. Our team also ensures that as an anchor institution LUHFT is working within the local community to have a positive impact. This includes supporting internship programmes, reducing singleuse plastics and looking at social value requirements when we procure goods and services. This also includes creating good use of our outdoor spaces within the Trust. We now have a nature recovery ranger and support officer who work with local community groups, delivering projects to provide biodiversity benefits and improve the green spaces for staff, patients and the community. 8 | LUHFT Life
Another part of our role is healing arts, which uses the arts to improve the patient and staff experience whilst in our hospitals.
What key projects are you working on at the moment? We’re working with procurement colleagues to influence our suppliers, to ensure that they are embedding environmental and social value benefits into their operations. This is how we can have the biggest impact. We are also working with Smart Carbon to accurately refine our carbon footprint. This will help us understand the true environmental impact the Trust is having, identify ‘carbon hotspots’ and properly measure the benefits our sustainability projects are having.
What have been some team highlights/ achievements? It was a big achievement launching the new LUHFT Sustainability Strategy. It sets out our three-year plan with ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions and to improve how we operate responsibly within our community. The creation of the new community garden and outdoor gym area at
Broadgreen is also a highlight for the team. It has given staff and patients access to good quality green space, which is so important for our mental wellbeing.
This year the team secured a £500,000 Government grant to make energy improvements to three buildings at Aintree. It will be used to install insulation, LED lights, solar panels and renewable energy heat pumps to replace gas boilers and more.
Looking ahead, what can colleagues expect to see next from the team? We are hosting an event on Tuesday 5 April from 10am to 4pm at Broadgreen. There will Dr Bike giving free bike maintenance, wellbeing activities and live arts performances. Everyone is welcome. There will be similar events at Aintree and the Royal later this year.
Get in touch •
Email: sustainability@ liverpoolft.nhs.uk
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Join LUHFT Sustainability Network on Microsoft Teams
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Twitter: @GreenerLUHFT
Vascular surgeon receives lifetime achievement award Sue Locke Congratulations Mr Brennan and so well deserved - your skills saved my husbands life and gave me and my family 10 more precious months with him - thank you x
Professor John Brennan, our Interim Medical Director and Consultant Vascular Surgeon, has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the Vascular Society. The award recognises Professor Brennan’s contribution to vascular surgery over the last 25 years and his role at the forefront of vascular education. Professor Brennan has worked at the Royal since 1997 and in 2021 he was appointed as our Interim Medical Director. Professor Brennan said: “I am honoured to have been presented with this Lifetime Achievement award. Whilst it is a personal award, it is, of course, a reflection of the outstanding team effort in Liverpool. I have had the pleasure of working with tremendously supportive colleagues and together we have created an excellent service - this award is in recognition of everyone’s contribution. I am incredibly proud of the work we do for our vascular patients. For decades Liverpool has been at the forefront of vascular surgery, and to have played a part in this has been a privilege.” The Royal was one of the first vascular units in the UK to perform endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) - a minimally invasive keyhole surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, which can be life threatening if not treated. Prior to EVAR the alternative was major surgery, a much bigger procedure with potential for serious complications. Mr Michael Jenkins, Consultant Vascular Surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare and Past President of the Vascular Society, presented Professor Brennan with his award. He said: "I was delighted to nominate John for this prestigious Vascular Society award which recognises his enormous contribution to vascular surgery over 25 years. I have worked with John on Council of both British Society of Endovascular Therapy and the Vascular Society, as well as teaching with him on many courses. He has been at the forefront of vascular education for many years and countless trainees owe him a debt of gratitude for his contribution to their training. He is a thoroughly deserving recipient of this award.”
Stephen Bennett Congratulations John and thank you. You kindly agreed to assist the surgical team at Alder Hey operate on "the impossible" and remove a huge malignant tumour from my little girl Leah's abdomen back in 2019. She survived the op and two and a half years later she's just come home from playing footbaII with her friends. You guys pushed the boundaries and saved her life that day and I'll never, ever forget what you did. The fact that you came over to Alder Hey to check how she was the day after says it all about you. You are a hero. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Dot Barrow Congratulations Professor. You are a gift from heaven to me. You have saved my life for over 15 years I can never repay you and you deserve every award. You have sat at bottom of my bed when I was petrified the odds were 50/50 and I trusted you and I am still here. Thank you.
janemullin7 Congratulations on this achievement he saved my dad's life and gave us an extra six very special years with him, I could never thank him enough.
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Duo adapted, innovated and delivered Two LUHFT biomedical scientists, Hannah Williams and Emma Larne, have been recognised in the 2021 Chief Scientific Officer’s Excellence in Healthcare Science Awards. The pair scooped the Healthcare Science Rising Star award for their contribution in helping to implement large-scale asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for LUHFT staff and NHS workers across the region. Working in Liverpool Clinical Laboratories (LCL) the duo have been pivotal to the success of new technology, such as the OptiGene RT-LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) test, which rapidly processes saliva samples to detect for COVID-19. The lab can now process up to 10,000 samples per week, which helps protect patients 10 | LUHFT Life
and colleagues by rapidly identifying any individuals with asymptomatic COVID-19. When LCL were selected to validate this new test for the Cheshire and Merseyside region in 2021, Hannah and Emma stepped into leadership roles as COVID-19 LAMP Laboratory Operations Managers to develop and advance this newly established technology into a meaningful service. The lab now processes the highest volume of tests in the country - an impressive 400,000 samples since the project began.
Emma said: “Although it is challenging at times, managing the LAMP team has been an incredibly rewarding opportunity and the greatest achievement in my career so far. “To win a CSO award makes me feel so proud of the service and what we have achieved – but it’s been a real team effort and we couldn’t have done it without the support and hard work of everyone at LCL. It’s a great feeling to know that we are part of a service that has had a direct positive impact on helping to keep our fellow NHS colleagues safe at work during a global pandemic."
virology or microbiology, but both were keen to advance their own skill set and to grow technically. They adapted, innovated and delivered! Hannah and Emma are a credit to the profession and worthy winners of this CSO award.” As well as winning a CSO Rising Star award, Emma and Hannah, were highly commended finalists in the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) COVID Unsung Heroes Awards.
Hannah is now the manager of LCL’s Bone Marrow Transplant Laboratory. She said: “There have been challenging and rewarding aspects, but I am really proud to have been the first LAMP lab in the country to go live. Following this opportunity, I was able to apply for my new job as it gave me the confidence and learning to prove I can run a service and step into that leadership role.” Andrew Bamber, Director of Operations for Liverpool Clinical Laboratories, said: “Hannah and Emma are a key part of our LAMP success story. Neither scientist had previous managerial experience, nor did they work in molecular diagnostics, LUHFT Life | 11
LIVING OUR Our values are ‘the way we do things around here’. They are the very core of who we are, for every colleague, patient and individual who comes into contact with us. Our values enable us to work together more effectively and to deliver great patient care more consistently. We see examples of our values in practice on a daily basis, and each month we will celebrate individuals or teams who are clearly caring, fair and innovative.
Knockout for
Fazakerley boxing club
Contractors delivering projects across our Trust jumped in the ring to refurbish a local boxing and community club, while also raising £1,550 for new equipment. Members of the LUHFT construction team, including BAM NW and Bagnalls Painters, rolled up their sleeves and helped to redecorate Long Lane ABC Boxing Club, which has provided boxing training and community wellbeing sessions since 1971. Ged Moran, who runs the club on a voluntary basis, explains: “We can’t thank LUHFT and the construction team enough. 12 | LUHFT Life
They’ve done a fantastic job, the club has a fresh new look and the changing facilities have been completely revamped. This boxing club is at the heart of the community and makes a real difference to young people’s lives, the donation will allow us to continue to work with them and give them a positive experience that not only improves fitness and discipline but also builds life skills as well.” BAM Construction are working on the extension at Aintree’s Emergency Department and the team from Bagnalls are redecorating the new Royal Liverpool Hospital.
VALUES
Patients praise considerate care Enabling a new lease of life Dr Asangaedem Akpan was presented with his Employee of the Month award following a patient nomination which highlighted his highly professional, caring, considerate and effective attention. The patient said: “I was presenting with symptoms not typical of any one physical or neurological diagnosis. Immediately Dr Akpan arranged for an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, a brain scan, and an appointment with a neurologist. The OT responded immediately, and my home was adapted to allow me to live as ‘normally’ as possible. “What shines through all the issues are Dr Akpan’s personal care, amazing, reassuring personality, and his ability to “get things done!” Now here I am – as near back to normal as is reasonable for someone of my age with complex medical conditions. He enabled me to have a new lease of life.”
Foundation doctor praised by colleagues Since working as a doctor in August 2021, FY1 Dr Rebecca Gorman has already picked up Employee of the Month award after being nominated by her colleagues for making an outstanding impact with her team. In the nomination her team said: “Becky is such a fantastic doctor and ensures patient care is to a high standard, patient safety is maintained, and our patients feel reassured. Becky strives to help the team and ensures no job is left unfinished. Both staff and patients really appreciate her kind, compassionate approach and are proud to work alongside her.”
On call care awarded Maureen Davies, Switchboard Operator, was nominated by a patient for her kind and generous actions, which gained her an Employee of the Month award. The patient nomination said: “Switchboard staff are the first point of call for anyone telephoning the hospital and the impression they create can be so important. “When I telephoned to enquire about my son who was attending the A&E following an accident at work, this member of staff took extra care to help me and made a great difference. She spent over 20 minutes before she found where he was and kept me informed while she was searching. I was anxious about my son, and this was a really kind, generous action.”
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COUNTING SHEEP?
World Sleep Day on Friday 18 March highlights the importance of quality sleep to help maintain mental health.
Dr Jane Hutton, our Consultant Clinical Psychologist, said: “We know after a challenging shift colleagues can struggle to wind down, relax and sleep well. We have put together a selection of tried and tested tips to help you enjoy a better quality sleep, which can improve your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.”
Protect your sleep space Make the area where you sleep as calm and uncluttered as you can. It helps if your bedroom is dark and cool. Activities such as working from home, should be kept out of the bedroom wherever possible.
Switch it off Looking at your mobile phone and other electronic devices at night disrupts sleep, particularly during times of high anxiety and increased news. Try to stay off your phone for at least one hour before bed and use functions such as ‘do not disturb’ to minimise night-time disruption.
Write down the worries Write down your worries in a notebook by the bed and agree that you’ll make time to think about them in the morning instead - things tend to feel a lot less stressful in daylight.
Relax your mind Holding on to frustration and tension will not help you sleep. Try practicing deep breathing and mindfulness exercises to help your mind switch off. ‘Body scan’ and ‘Leaves on a stream’ are great exercises to start with and are widely available online.
Get into a bedtime routine Establish a regular bedtime relaxation routine. This could include having a warm bath or shower, doing some gentle stretches, reading a soothing book, or practicing a relaxation or mindfulness exercise. Try to avoid upsetting conversations or news during your relaxation period.
For more wellbeing advice visit the COVID-19 Hub. 14 | LUHFT Life
Getting to know you… Laura Rose, Community Outreach Worker for axess sexual health, is passionate about educating young people about sexual health … plus she loves a good musical!
I am also really passionate about LGBTQ plus issues and felt that I would be able to make a difference in sexual health inequalities in this group. What’s your favourite thing about your job? I love being part of a creative, hardworking team. We all strive to make sexual health accessible for everyone and are all so passionate in what we do. I feel very lucky to be a part of this outreach team, as well as the wider axess service. What are the standout highlights or experiences during your time at LUHFT? A highlight for me was the World AIDS Day campaign in 2021. This is the biggest campaign I have been involved in, with landmarks lit up red, and it helped spread positive messages as well as remembering those who lost their fight to HIV/AIDS. I am particularly passionate about HIV and ending the stigma attached to it so having a campaign with such a wide platform was so important to me. What are your hobbies outside of work? My two young children take up a lot of my time, we go on lots of family walks and our favourite park is Allerton Towers. I am a massive musical theatre fan and I love travelling and reading. I am part of a book club that has been going strong for almost 10 years… and not just because of the wine! What’s your favourite restaurant or café? Mowgli. Especially the yogurt chat bombs! What’s your favourite film or song?
Briefly, what does your role involve? I work across Liverpool and Knowsley promoting our sexual health services, specifically to vulnerable and hard to reach groups in the community. We also aim to promote positive sexual health messages such as regular testing, consent and healthy relationships. I coordinate condom distribution schemes, lead on chlamydia screening, plus deliver education and training sessions. Did you always want to work in healthcare? I have always been interested in working in the community and have worked with a homeless project, alternative education and domestic violence support. I became interested in sexual health when working at an alternative education provider. I realised that education is vital to ensuring young people are aware of the risks involved in having unprotected sex and the importance of informed choices around sex and consent, particularly for vulnerable people.
My favourite film would probably be a musical, I’ve watched Hamilton a lot, but I don’t think that counts! My favourite song is Elbow, One Day Like This, it makes me smile every time I hear it. You win the lottery, what’s your dream holiday? Travelling around South America. I love the lively culture, especially the dancing! You’re stranded on an island, what three items would you want with you? Factor 50 sun cream as I burn so easily, a hammock and my husband as he is the most practical person I know. I’m sure that’s cheating but that’s what I’m going with! LUHFT Life | 15
LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS’ CHARITY EVENTS TAKE ON A CHALLENGE LIVERPOOL SPRING 10K / 5K Sunday 1 May 2022
AFTERNOON TEA DANCE Sunday 22 May at 1pm
Sefton Park
Adelphi Hotel
With a fantastic atmosphere and live music along the route, you can take on a 5k, 10k and kids can join in shorter distances too.
Hosted by One for All Fundraising Committee, tickets are just £15pp and include afternoon tea with sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee. Dancers and non-dancers are welcome, plus dance demos and lessons are included.
SKYDIVE CHALLENGE
LIP SYNC FOR YOUR LIFE!
Friday 6 May 2022 Hillam Lane, Lancaster
Friday 17 June 2022 Bierkeller, Liverpool One
Dive through the air from 10,000 feet in the trusted hands of a British Parachute Association qualified instructor.
We’re looking for 10 members of staff, patients and charity supporters to take to the stage and give it their all to be crown Liverpool’s Lip Sync Champion of 2022.
SPARTAN SURVIVAL
LIVERPOOL ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL ABSEIL
Saturday 14 May 2022 Cholmondeley Castle Woods Teams of two will be pushed to their limits, undergoing two days of outdoor survival training delivered by the British forces elite, facing military-based challenges and trials.
Saturday 9 July 2022 St James Mount, Liverpool Take a leap of faith over the side of the worldfamous Anglican Cathedral down a 150ft drop. You can also take on the challenge as a duo, but you’ll need to be quick and register.
For more details on any fundraising events contact loren.slade@liverpoolft.nhs.uk or call 0151 706 3150.
