Your Hospital Summer 2012

2012

your hospital Summer

brought to you by North Bristol NHS Trust

Major trauma centre

Two year countdown

Frenchay Hospital to see more patients with most serious injuries

Progress on new hospital at Southmead

Epilepsy surgery gives teenager new lease of life Exceptional healthcare, personally delivered

what’s inside

your hospital

2

3 Mobile version of website launched

Instant access to essential information

Mobile version of website launched

Instant access to essential information

The Trust has recently launched a mobile version of its website.

In addition the regular website has also received a refresh.

Research carried out on visits to the website revealed that around 10 percent of people were looking at it on their smart phones.

Many services now have their own dedicated web sections which have been tailored to better meet the needs of individual patient groups – for example, the Community Children’s Health Partnership section is now more child-friendly.

With this in mind, the Trust has created a version based on the pages that people look at most through their phones.

By entering the Trust’s website using their phone, people are presented with essential information instantly such as: n The quickest route to the hospitals n Emergency and minor injury

department details

Jennifer Jackson, Website Manager, said: “Over 350,000 people visit the website each year, but for the 35,000 who visit the site using their phones we’ve used analysis to really focus on what they need to know to help them when visiting or contacting the hospitals or our community teams.”

n Parking location and charges of car parks

www.nbt.nhs.uk

n Contact details – including ward

telephone numbers.

Reducing ulcers

Caring for those in their home

3 Reducing ulcers

Developing a pressure ulcer can be extremely painful and can lead to further complications including infection.

Here at North Bristol NHS Trust one of our main priorities is to reduce the number of patients developing pressure ulcers whilst they are in hospital.

In order to achieve this, a ‘skin bundle’ assessment is carried out on patients deemed to be at risk of developing a press ulcer when they are admitted to hospital.

Now for the first time, the ‘skin bundle’ has been rolled out to all patients who are cared for in the community by the South Gloucestershire Community Health Services – run by North Bristol NHS Trust.

Caring for those in their home

If required, a programme is then developed for each patient to prevent an ulcer from developing or getting worse.

This is followed by a number of simple, assessment checks such as making sure they keep the area dry and mobilised.

Alison Griffiths, Clinical Locality Lead, said: “Pressure ulcers can cause distress and anxiety for patients, carers and families within the community.

“Health professionals are often faced with extreme challenges when caring for patients who are at risk of developing

pressure ulcers or for those existing patients who already have developed pressure ulceration including monitoring, management and compliance of patients deemed to be at risk.

“The elderly population is increasing and more are being cared for in their own homes.

Factors that increase the risk of pressure ulcers in the elderly are immobility, age, poor nutritional intake and continence issues.

“Due to improved reporting, the incidence of pressure ulcers is being recorded more systematically which has helped to identify how clinical practice in pressure ulcer care can be improved both in terms of prevention and treatment.”

www.nbt.nhs.uk/sgchs

3

4 Epilepsy specialist centre

Excellence in surgery

Excellence in surgery

Your chance to get involved

Epilepsy specialist centre

your Fact file

Frenchay will become one of only four specialist centres in England for children’s epilepsy surgery from November 2012.

Epilepsy affects the brain and causes repeated seizures, also known as fits.

Epilepsy affects around 456,000 people in the UK. This means that about 1 in 130 people has epilepsy. Epilepsy usually begins during childhood, although it can start at any age.

Seizures The cells in the brain, known as neurons, communicate with each other with electrical impulses. During a seizure, the electrical impulses are disrupted, which can cause the brain and body to behave strangely.

5 Selecting our new Council of Governors

It means that Frenchay Hospital will be providing complex paediatric epilepsy surgery to around a quarter of the population - seeing children from across the South of England, the South West peninsula and parts of the Midlands. The hospital is also expected to treat patients from other regions in the UK. Potential surgical cases will be referred by paediatricians and neurologists across the network area covered by the designation.

They will then be assessed and evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of specifically trained and experienced clinicians.

Those selected for surgery will be looked after by specialist paediatric anaesthetists, theatre nurses and technicians and will receive support from neurophysiology technicians, radiographers, ward nurses, ward teachers, play leaders, speech and occupational therapists.

Surgery programme Currently Frenchay assesses around 40 patients per year on its paediatric epilepsy surgical programme and performs epilepsy surgical procedures on about 22 of these children. These numbers are expected to rise following the new designation.

Mike Carter, neurosurgeon and surgical lead for the service, said: “Epilepsy surgery is increasingly recognised as beneficial in certain children. There is evidence that the earlier children are treated, the better the likely outcomes in terms of the effect of ongoing seizures on their brain development.”

Your chance to get involved

Free from seizures Tarun Kellett has been free of epileptic seizures since an operation by

neurosurgeon Mike Carter and his team at Frenchay in March.

Before surgery, 14-year-old Tarun regularly suffered three seizures a night. Tarun has tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disease that causes non-malignant tubers.

Tarun’s epilepsy was caused by tubers growing on his brain. This led to him screaming in his sleep, as well as causing convulsions.

Tarun, of Combe Dingle, Bristol, has suffered epilepsy since he was 18-months old.

Medication helped control the seizures for several years but they gradually increased in frequency and severity.

As part of his treatment, Tarun underwent a craniotomy, in which a bone flap was temporarily removed from his skull to access the brain. This enabled monitoring of electrical activity and mapping of the brain to identify areas generating seizures - and enable their removal without damaging important structures involved in speech and movement.

Mum Lynda said: “His condition imposed a huge strain on the family. You didn’t sleep because you were constantly anticipating that Tarun was going to have a seizure.

“You’d wake with him, give him his medication and then sit up with him for a couple of hours to ensure he was OK.

The severity of the seizures can differ from person to person. Some people simply experience a ‘trance-like’ state for a few seconds or minutes, while others lose consciousness and have convulsions (uncontrollable shaking of the body).

Types of epilepsy There are three main types of epilepsy: Symptomatic epilepsy - the symptoms of epilepsy are due to damage or disruption to the brain.

Cryptogenic epilepsy - while no evidence of damage to the brain can be found, other symptoms, such as learning difficulties, suggest that damage to the brain has occurred.

Electing our new Council of Governors We will shortly be moving into the next phase of our application to become a Foundation Trust, the elections of our Council of Governors.

Once in place. they will represent the views of our public and staff members once we become a Foundation Trust in early 2013.

A Foundation Trust is still part of the NHS but has greater flexibility in its decisionmaking and planning of local health services and is no longer accountable to the Department of Health. Instead, a Foundation Trust becomes accountable to a membership, which is drawn from the local population it serves. These members are represented by a Council of Governors who hold the Trust Board to account.

Marie-Noelle Orzel , Interim Chief Executive, said: “We want Governors to play an active role in the Trust’s future plans.

“You could be involved in major service changes or building developments, be part of an interview panel for senior appointments, represent the Trust in

the local community and have a say how members are being recruited, kept informed and involved.”

Our public governors will represent the communities we serve and are drawn from four constituencies – Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Rest of England and Wales. These constituencies represent the population we serve, both locally and nationally through our regional specialties.

Becoming a member The public Governors represent our public members. We already have almost 6,000 public members who receive regular updates of what’s happening across Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals and our community health teams. We will also shortly have a host of events that member shave said they’re interested in knowing more about, such as the progressing of the new hospital development at Southmead, the work of our Emergency Departments and how we are caring for patients with dementia.

How do I find out more?

Further information is available on our website at www.nbt.nhs.uk/governors or you can call our membership helpline on 0800 731 0319 and request a governor information pack.

How do I express an interest in becoming a governor?

For more information telephone 020 8889 9203 or email customerservices@electoralreform.co.uk Please ensure you specify North Bristol NHS Trust. Nomination forms will be sent out when they become available in the Autumn.

How do I vote for governors?

All our members automatically receive voting packs which will be mailed early Autumn with a return date. Only our members are eligible to vote.

How do I become a member So if you are not yet a member and wish to vote please join us by going online and completing the form at www.nbt.nhs.uk/ joinus or call 0800 731 0319 to request a membership application form.

On time and on budget

New hospital at Southmead

Idiopathic epilepsy - no obvious cause for epilepsy can be found.

Outlook Epilepsy is a long-term condition and, for most people, the outlook is very good.

Symptoms can usually be controlled using medicines known as anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).

It can take some time to find the right type and correct dose of AED before your seizures can be controlled.

The countdown has begun. In less than two year’s time the new hospital at the Southmead site will be open.

Since construction started in 2010, the project has remained on time and in budget.

A topping out ceremony (pictured) attended by a wide range of staff also took place recently.

Work has now started on how we will bring the teams from Frenchay and Southmead together to ensure there is a seamless transition when we move into the new building in 2014.

As the tower cranes complete their jobs they are being removed and the skyline is changing.

“Tarun is still on medication and his condition is being monitored but the surgery has been life-changing. He’s far less fatigued than he was and can now do all sort of things he couldn’t do before, such as staying over at friends’ houses.”

At the beginning of June only two cranes remained. The external cladding is substantially complete and good progress has been made on glazing the atrium/concourse roof.

The internal fit out including partitions and suspended ceilings are also on programme. Work has also started on some of the internal and external courtyards, with pennant stone being applied to the building elevations.

Don’t forget you can keep up-to-date with all the latest developments at our website www.nbt.nhs.uk/newhospital

The service will transfer to the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in 2014 when inpatient paediatric services move from NBT.

4

5

5 On time and on budget

Snowboarding champ shares experiences

your Fact file Diabetes is a long-term condition caused by too much glucose, a type of sugar, in the blood. It is also known as diabetes mellitus.

There are two main types of diabetes: n Type 1 diabetes

New hospital at Southmead

n Type 2 diabetes

In the UK, diabetes affects approximately 2.8 million people. More than 1 million people are thought to have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

What are the symptoms?

The main symptoms of diabetes are: n Feeling very thirsty n Going to the toilet a lot, especially

at night n Extreme tiredness n Weight loss and muscle wasting

(loss of muscle bulk) How does diabetes occur?

Normally, the amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland behind the stomach. When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves any glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it is broken down to produce energy.

6 Supporting young people with diabetes

However, in people with diabetes, the body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there is either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or because the insulin that is there does not work properly.

Regional designation for Trust

Supporting young people with diabetes One of the UK’s top freeride extreme snowboarders, who also has diabetes, met young patients from Southmead Hospital to talk about the condition.

Chris Southwell (pictured) is a world-class freeride snowboarder who travels the globe to compete and is the highest world-ranking Briton.

He has type 1 diabetes and in June met with teenagers with the condition at Southmead Hospital to talk about how diabetes has not held him back in pursuing his dreams.

The diabetes adult and paediatric teams at North Bristol NHS Trust have redeveloped their teenage and young adult services.

At the age of 16 or 17 diabetes patients move from being seen in paediatric clinics to adult clinics and the team at Southmead Hospital want to make this transition smoother.

Each year they hold an open evening for teenage diabetes patients to get to know each other and talk about their experiences.

“It is great to be involved in such a positive project with the diabetes service at Southmead Hospital.”

Diabetes Specialist Nurse Debbie Stern, from Southmead Hospital, said: “Understanding the experiences of other people with diabetes is important for teenagers who are becoming more responsible for managing their own condition.

“Adolescence is a challenging part of any teenager’s life which is why the diabetes team want to ensure the transition is a smooth journey from paediatric to adult services.

“These open evenings are a chance for young people with diabetes to find out that the condition does not have to hold you back from achieving your goals.

“The feedback we have had has been great, with people telling us the session has helped them realise they were not alone.”

Centre for major trauma In April, North Bristol NHS Trust became one of two Major Trauma Centres in the South West.

This will be based initially at Frenchay Hospital but the designation will transfer to Southmead when services move in 2014.

After the project was piloted in London two years ago, the Department of Health set up a national project to created trauma networks across England. The rest of England will also go live on April 2.

Major trauma is multiple, life threatening or life changing serious physical injuries.

Chris said: “I want to show these young people with diabetes that the condition is not a barrier to your ambitions.

These might include injuries such as: n Severe head injury n Multiple fractures

“I hope that I can inspire them to think differently about their diabetes and how they can manage their condition rather than their condition controlling their lives.

n Severe knife or gunshot wounds

A Major Trauma Centre is a specialist hospital providing trauma care services. It manages all types of injuries, providing consultant-level care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Professor David Lockey, Clinical Director for the Network, is based at Frenchay. He said: “North Bristol NHS Trust was chosen as we already provide the type of care that these patients need through our orthopaedic, neurosurgical, plastic surgery, general surgery, critical care teams and other supporting services.

“The visiting panel who assessed and selected North Bristol to be the major trauma centre were impressed both with the existing services and in particular with the enthusiasm and ability of the staff to provide the additional services that will be needed.”

Dr Ben Walton, Lead Consultant for the Major Trauma Centre, said: “We will be able to influence the way trauma patients are looked after in the region “We already provide excellent care for this patient group in NBT and we hope that by treating more of these patients at North

Bristol NHS Trust our skills in relation to looking after them will increase and, as a result, the clinical outcomes for this patient group will continue to improve.

“We believe this will also improve the care of other patient groups within the Trust and the Network by ensuring more efficient patient pathways are implemented.”

Each trauma network consists of a one major trauma centre and a number of trauma units, supported by ambulance service providers The Major Trauma Network covers the former Avon area as well as parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

North Bristol NHS Trust will be the Major Trauma Centre for this region. In addition there will be six trauma units within the Severn Network: UH Bristol, Royal United Hospital Bath, Musgrove Park in Taunton, Yeovil, Great Western Hospital in Swindon and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

The major trauma centre takes responsibility for the care of all patients with major trauma in the area covered by the network and will mean that those patients with the most serious of injuries will be brought directly or via a trauma unit to the Major Trauma Centre for treatment.

From information obtained from the National Trauma Audit and Research Network to which each hospital submits data, we know that each year there are approximately 600 patients within the Network who are seriously injured. At the moment NBT looks after approximately half of these and over the next few years this percentage will rise.

6

7

Snowboarding champ shares experiences Charity news

7 Centre for major trauma

Sailing on the Matthew Come on board and join us for the a leisurely two hour trip around Bristol Harbour on The Matthew, the replica of the boat sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to North America on Sunday, August 12.

Shine together

Sailing is from 2.30pm until 4.30pm and the trip around the harbour will also include a cream tea.

Tickets are £25 each with all proceeds going to the Mum’s the Word appeal, supporting Southmead Hospital Maternity Unit.

To book your tickets call 0117 323 6462 or email info@shinetogether.org.uk Tickets are extremely limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Regional designation for Trust

Charity gets in on the act!

The cast and crew of the St Andrew’s Players in Filton are raising the curtain in support of Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals.

The team behind their recent Calamity Jane pantomime have donated £500 to Shine Together. The money will be used to support patients and buy new specialist equipment.

Run the Bristol Half Marathon and help your hospital

8 Shine together

This year’s Bristol Half Marathon takes place on Sunday, September 30 and we are looking for runners to join Team Shine Together.

This year we are raising funds for the hospitals to be distributed to areas and patients in the most urgent need of support and you can play your part.

Why not be part of Team Shine Together at this year’s Half Marathon and help us provide even greater care for people in Bristol.

To book your place in Bristol’s biggest running event, call the Shine Together fundraising office on 0117 323 6462.

Charity news

8

Ride back in time for Shine Together Cyclists across Bristol are preparing to dress up in period outfits for a charity bike ride with a difference.

The ‘Ride back in time’ event will see participants pedalling historic bikes and wearing vintage costume as they tackle a course from Bath to Bristol.

The ride is being staged in support of Shine Together, the charity based at Southmead and Frenchay hospitals.

The event takes place on Sunday, July 8 and will start at the Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath and finish at the Marriott Royal Hotel at College Green, Bristol.

One of the organisers Dave Hart was motivated to support the Shine Together charity after he broke his back in a jet-ski accident. Dave said: “I am so grateful for the care I received at Frenchay Hospital. There was a point when I thought I might never walk again, so to be taking part in this event is a tribute to the work of the medical teams.”

There are now several ways you can keep up-to-date with all the latest news from North Bristol NHS Trust:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NorthBristolNHSTrust

Website: www.nbt.nhs.uk

You Tube: www.youtube.com/NorthBristolNHSTrust

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NorthBristolNHS

Hello and welcome to the summer edition of Your Hospital.

other inspirational young people who are living with the condition.

It’s amazing to think that in less than two years the new hospital at Southmead will be open for business and the great news is that work remains on time and in budget. You can get the latest on the development by turning to page five.

Enjoy the summer and we’ll see you again in the autumn. In the meantime, you can keep up to date with all the news from the Trust on our revamped website at www.nbt.nhs.uk or on our recently launched mobile website.

The Trust has also received some prestigious regional recognition recently with designations in major trauma and children’s epilepsy surgery.

We also find out about the work of our diabetes team who have set up a group for young people recently diagnosed with the illness, introducing them to

Richard Cottle Editor

Instant access to essential information

Mobile version of website launched The Trust has recently launched a mobile version of its website.

In addition, the regular website has also received a refresh.

Research carried out on visits to the website revealed that around 10 percent of people were looking at it on their smart phones.

Many services now have their own dedicated web sections which have been tailored to better meet the needs of individual patient groups – for example, the Community Children’s Health Partnership section is now more child-friendly.

With this in mind, the Trust has created a version based on the pages that people look at most through their phones.

By entering the Trust’s website using their phone, people are presented with essential information instantly such as: n The quickest route to the hospitals n Emergency and minor injury

department details n Parking locations and charges of car parks n Contact details – including ward

Jennifer Jackson, Website Manager, said: “Over 350,000 people visit the website each year, but for the 35,000 who visit the site using their phones we’ve used analysis to really focus on what they need to know to help them when visiting or contacting the hospitals or our community teams.”

www.nbt.nhs.uk

telephone numbers.

Caring for those in their home

Reducing ulcers

Developing a pressure ulcer can be extremely painful and can lead to further complications including infection.

Here at North Bristol NHS Trust one of our main priorities is to reduce the number of patients developing pressure ulcers whilst they are in hospital.

In order to achieve this, a ‘skin bundle’ assessment is carried out on patients deemed to be at risk of developing a pressure ulcer when they are admitted to hospital.

Now for the first time, the ‘skin bundle’ has been rolled out to all patients who are cared for in the community by the South Gloucestershire Community Health Services – run by North Bristol NHS Trust.

If required, a programme is then developed for each patient to prevent an ulcer from developing or getting worse.

This is followed by a number of simple, assessment checks such as making sure they keep the area dry and mobilised.

Alison Griffiths, Clinical Locality Lead, said: “Pressure ulcers can cause distress and anxiety for patients, carers and families within the community.

“Health professionals are often faced with extreme challenges when caring for

patients who are at risk of developing pressure ulcers or for those existing patients who already have developed pressure ulceration.

“The elderly population is increasing and more people are being cared for in their own homes. Factors that increase the risk of pressure ulcers in the elderly are immobility, age, poor nutritional intake and continence issues.

“Due to improved reporting, the incidence of pressure ulcers is being recorded more systematically which has helped to identify how clinical practice in pressure ulcer care can be improved both in terms of prevention and treatment.”

www.nbt.nhs.uk/sgchs

3

Excellence in surgery

Epilepsy specialist centre

your Fact file

Frenchay Hospital will become one of only four specialist centres in England for children’s epilepsy surgery from November 2012.

Epilepsy affects the brain and causes repeated seizures, also known as fits.

Epilepsy affects around 456,000 people in the UK. This means that about 1 in 130 people has epilepsy. Epilepsy usually begins during childhood, although it can start at any age.

Seizures The cells in the brain, known as neurons, communicate with each other with electrical impulses. During a seizure, the electrical impulses are disrupted, which can cause the brain and body to behave strangely.

It means that Frenchay will be providing complex paediatric epilepsy surgery to around a quarter of the population - seeing children from across the South of England, the South West peninsula and parts of the Midlands.

The hospital is also expected to treat patients from other regions in the UK. Potential surgical cases will be referred by paediatricians and neurologists across the network area covered by the designation.

They will then be assessed and evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of specifically trained and experienced clinicians.

Those selected for surgery will be looked after by specialist paediatric anaesthetists, theatre nurses and technicians and will receive support from neurophysiology technicians, radiographers, ward nurses, ward teachers, play leaders, speech and occupational therapists.

Surgery programme Currently Frenchay assesses around 40 patients per year on its paediatric epilepsy surgical programme and performs epilepsy surgical procedures on about 22 of these children. These numbers are expected to rise following the new designation.

Mike Carter, Neurosurgeon and Surgical lead for the service, said: “Epilepsy surgery is increasingly recognised as beneficial in certain children. There is evidence that the earlier children are treated, the better the likely outcomes in terms of the effect of ongoing seizures on their brain development.”

Free from seizures Tarun Kellett has been free of epileptic seizures since an operation by 4

neurosurgeon Mike Carter and his team at Frenchay in March.

Before surgery, 14-year-old Tarun regularly suffered three seizures a night. Tarun has tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disease that causes non-malignant tubers.

Tarun’s epilepsy was caused by tubers growing on his brain. This led to him screaming in his sleep, as well as causing convulsions.

Tarun, of Combe Dingle, Bristol, has suffered epilepsy since he was 18-months old. Medication helped control the seizures for several years but they gradually increased in frequency and severity.

As part of his treatment, Tarun underwent a craniotomy, in which a bone flap was temporarily removed from his skull to access the brain. This enabled monitoring of electrical activity and mapping of the brain to identify areas generating seizures - and enable their removal without damaging important structures involved in speech and movement.

Mum Lynda said: “His condition imposed a huge strain on the family. You didn’t sleep because you were constantly anticipating that Tarun was going to have a seizure.

“You’d wake with him, give him his medication and then sit up with him for a couple of hours to ensure he was OK. “Tarun is still on medication and his condition is being monitored but the surgery has been life-changing. He’s far less fatigued than he was and can now do all sort of things he couldn’t do before, such as staying over at friends’ houses.”

The service will transfer to the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in 2014 when inpatient paediatric services move from Frenchay.

The severity of the seizures can differ from person to person. Some people simply experience a ‘trance-like’ state for a few seconds or minutes, while others lose consciousness and have convulsions (uncontrollable shaking of the body).

Types of epilepsy There are three main types of epilepsy: Symptomatic epilepsy - the symptoms of epilepsy are due to damage or disruption to the brain.

Cryptogenic epilepsy - while no evidence of damage to the brain can be found, other symptoms, such as learning difficulties, suggest that damage to the brain has occurred.

Idiopathic epilepsy - no obvious cause for epilepsy can be found.

Outlook Epilepsy is a long-term condition and, for most people, the outlook is very good.

Symptoms can usually be controlled using medicines known as anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).

It can take some time to find the right type and correct dose of AED before your seizures can be controlled.

Your chance to get involved

Electing our new Council of Governors We will shortly be moving into the next phase of our application to become a Foundation Trust, the elections of our Council of Governors.

Once in place they will represent the views of our public and staff members when we become a Foundation Trust in early 2013.

A Foundation Trust is still part of the NHS but has greater flexibility in its decisionmaking and planning of local health services and is no longer accountable to the Department of Health. Instead, a Foundation Trust becomes accountable to a membership, which is drawn from the local population it serves. These members are represented by a Council of Governors who hold the Trust Board to account.

Marie-Noelle Orzel , Interim Chief Executive, said: “We want Governors to play an active role in the Trust’s future plans.

“You could be involved in major service changes or building developments, be part of an interview panel for senior appointments, represent the Trust in

the local community and have a say on how members are being recruited, kept informed and involved.”

Our Public Governors will represent the communities we serve and are drawn from four constituencies – Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and the rest of England and Wales. These constituencies represent the population we serve, both locally and nationally through our regional specialties.

Becoming a member The Public Governors represent our public members. We already have almost 6,000 public members who receive regular updates of what’s happening across Southmead and Frenchay hospitals and our community health teams. We will also shortly have a host of events that members have said they’re interested in knowing more about, such as the new hospital development at Southmead, the work of our Emergency Department and how we are caring for patients with dementia.

On time and on budget

How do I find out more?

Further information is available on our website at www.nbt.nhs.uk/governors or you can call our membership helpline on 0800 731 0319 and request a Governor information pack.

How do I express an interest in becoming a Governor?

For more information telephone 020 8889 9203 or email customerservices@electoralreform.co.uk Please ensure you specify North Bristol NHS Trust. Nomination forms will be sent out when they become available in the Autumn.

How do I vote for Governors?

All our members automatically receive voting packs which will be mailed early Autumn with a return date. Only our members are eligible to vote.

How do I become a member So if you are not yet a member and wish to vote please join us by going online and completing the form at www.nbt.nhs.uk/ joinus or call 0800 731 0319 to request a membership application form.

New hospital at Southmead

The countdown has begun. In less than two year’s time the new hospital at the Southmead site will be open.

Since construction started in 2010, the project has remained on time and in budget and a topping out ceremony (pictured) attended by a wide range of staff also took place recently.

Work has now started on how we will bring the teams from Frenchay and Southmead together to ensure there is a seamless transition when we move into the new building in 2014.

As the tower cranes complete their jobs they are being removed and the skyline is changing.

At the beginning of June only two cranes remained. The external cladding is substantially complete and good progress has been made on glazing the atrium/concourse roof.

The internal fit out including partitions and suspended ceilings are also on programme. Work has also started on some of the internal and external courtyards, with pennant stone being applied to the building elevations.

Don’t forget you can keep up-to-date with all the latest developments on our website www.nbt.nhs.uk/newhospital

5

Snowboarding champ shares experiences

your Fact file Diabetes is a long-term condition caused by too much glucose, a type of sugar, in the blood. It is also known as diabetes mellitus.

There are two main types of diabetes: n Type 1 diabetes n Type 2 diabetes

In the UK, diabetes affects approximately 2.8 million people. More than 1 million people are thought to have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

What are the symptoms?

The main symptoms of diabetes are: n Feeling very thirsty n Going to the toilet a lot, especially

at night n Extreme tiredness n Weight loss and muscle wasting

(loss of muscle bulk) How does diabetes occur?

Normally, the amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland behind the stomach. When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves any glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it is broken down to produce energy.

However, in people with diabetes, the body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there is either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or because the insulin that is there does not work properly.

6

Supporting young people with diabetes One of the UK’s top freeride extreme snowboarders, who also has diabetes, met young patients from Southmead Hospital to talk about the condition.

Chris Southwell (pictured) is a world-class freeride snowboarder who travels the globe to compete and is the highest world-ranking Briton.

He has type 1 diabetes and in June met with teenagers with the condition at Southmead Hospital to talk about how diabetes has not held him back in pursuing his dreams.

The diabetes adult and paediatric teams at North Bristol NHS Trust have redeveloped their teenage and young adult services.

At the age of 16 or 17 diabetes patients move from being seen in paediatric clinics to adult clinics and the team at Southmead Hospital want to make this transition smoother.

Each year they hold an open evening for teenage diabetes patients to get to know each other and talk about their experiences.

Chris said: “I want to show these young people with diabetes that the condition is not a barrier to your ambitions.

“I hope that I can inspire them to think differently about their diabetes and how they can manage their condition rather than their condition controlling their lives.

“It is great to be involved in such a positive project with the diabetes service at Southmead Hospital.”

Diabetes Specialist Nurse Debbie Stern, said: “Understanding the experiences of other people with diabetes is important for teenagers who are becoming more responsible for managing their own condition.

“Adolescence is a challenging part of any teenager’s life which is why the diabetes team want to ensure the transition is a smooth journey from paediatric to adult services.

“These open evenings are a chance for young people with diabetes to find out that the condition does not have to hold you back from achieving your goals.

“The feedback we have had has been great, with people telling us the session has helped them realise they were not alone.”

Regional designation for Trust

Centre for major trauma In April, North Bristol NHS Trust became one of two Major Trauma Centres in the South West.

This will be based initially at Frenchay Hospital but the designation will transfer to Southmead when services move in 2014.

After the project was piloted in London two years ago, the Department of Health set up a national project to create trauma networks across England.

Major trauma is multiple, life threatening or life changing serious physical injuries.

These might include injuries such as: n Severe head injury n Multiple fractures n Severe knife or gunshot wounds

A Major Trauma Centre is a specialist hospital providing trauma care services. It manages all types of injuries, providing consultant-level care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Professor David Lockey, Clinical Director for the Network, is based at Frenchay. He said: “North Bristol NHS Trust was chosen as we already provide the type of care that these patients need through our orthopaedic, neurosurgical, plastic surgery, general surgery, critical care teams and other supporting services.

“The visiting panel who assessed and selected North Bristol to be the major trauma centre were impressed both with the existing services and in particular with the enthusiasm and ability of the staff to provide the additional services that will be needed.”

Dr Ben Walton, Lead Consultant for the Major Trauma Centre, said: “We will be able to influence the way trauma patients are looked after in the region.

“We already provide excellent care for this patient group and we hope that by treating more of these patients at North Bristol NHS

Trust our skills in relation to looking after them will increase and, as a result, the clinical outcomes for this patient group will continue to improve.

“We believe this will also improve the care of other patient groups within the Trust and the Network by ensuring more efficient patient pathways are implemented.”

Each trauma network consists of one major trauma centre and a number of trauma units, supported by ambulance service providers.

The Major Trauma Network covers the former Avon area as well as parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

North Bristol NHS Trust will be the Major Trauma Centre for this region. In addition there will be six trauma units within the Severn Network: UH Bristol, Royal United Hospital Bath, Musgrove Park in Taunton, Yeovil, Great Western Hospital in Swindon and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

The Major Trauma Centre takes responsibility for the care of all patients with major trauma in the area covered by the network and will mean that those patients with the most serious of injuries will be brought directly or via a trauma unit to the Major Trauma Centre for treatment.

From information obtained from the National Trauma Audit and Research Network to which each hospital submits data, we know that each year there are approximately 600 patients within the Network who are seriously injured. At the moment the Trust looks after approximately half of these and over the next few years this percentage will rise.

7

Charity news

Sailing on the Matthew Come on board and join us for a leisurely two hour trip around Bristol Harbour on Sunday, August 12, on The Matthew, the replica of the boat sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to North America.

Shine together

Sailing is from 2.30pm until 4.30pm and the trip around the harbour will also include a cream tea.

Tickets are £25 each with all proceeds going to the Mum’s the Word appeal, supporting Southmead Hospital Maternity Unit.

To book your tickets call 0117 323 6462 or email info@shinetogether.org.uk Tickets are extremely limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Charity gets in on the act!

The cast and crew of the St Andrew’s Players in Filton are raising the curtain in support of Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals.

The team behind their recent Calamity Jane production have donated £500 to ‘Shine together’. The money will be used to support patients and buy new specialist equipment.

Run the Bristol Half Marathon and help your hospitals This year’s Bristol Half Marathon takes place on Sunday, September 30 and we are looking for runners to join Team ‘Shine together’.

This year we are raising funds for the hospitals to be distributed to areas and patients in the most urgent need of support and you can play your part.

Why not be part of Team ‘Shine together’ at this year’s Half Marathon and help us provide even greater care for people in Bristol?

To book your place in Bristol’s biggest running event, call the ‘Shine together’ fundraising office on 0117 323 6462.

8

Ride back in time for Shine together Cyclists across Bristol dressed up in period outfits for a charity bike ride with a difference.

The ‘Ride Back in Time’ event saw participants pedalling historic bikes and wearing vintage costume as they tackled a course from Bath to Bristol.

The ride was staged in support of ‘Shine together’, the charity based at Southmead and Frenchay hospitals.

The event took place on Sunday, July 8 and started at the Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath and finished at the Marriott Royal Hotel at College Green, Bristol.

One of the organisers, Dave Hart, was motivated to support the ‘Shine together’ charity after he broke his back in a jet-ski accident. Dave said: “I am so grateful for the care I received at Frenchay Hospital. There was a point when I thought I might never walk again, so to be taking part in this event is a tribute to the work of the medical teams.”

There are now several ways you can keep up-to-date with all the latest news from North Bristol NHS Trust:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NorthBristolNHSTrust

Website: www.nbt.nhs.uk

You Tube: www.youtube.com/NorthBristolNHSTrust

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NorthBristolNHS