The magazine of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the UCL Institute of Child Health
for Sign up r’s RBC this yea the Kids Race for e 6 See pag
New horizons
Combining research and practice at the Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care
April 2011
A note from Jane Collins Chief Executive
Contents
Gear up for this year’s RBC Race for the Kids, see page 6.
Regulars
Features
A note from Jane Collins
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In the news
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A note from Professor Andrew Copp
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Faith in practice
22
GOSH revealed
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Word on the ward Octopus Ward
27
Charity pages
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Five minutes with Claire Gaymer
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RBC Race for the Kids Put on your training shoes and get running for GOSH
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The changing face of palliative care Introducing the Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care
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Meet the Non-Executive Directors An interview with Tessa Blackstone
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Keeping heart services safe and sustainable 18 Have your say on the future of children’s cardiac surgery
Social Out and about
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Free film show
21
Sports update
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The copy deadline for May’s edition is Thursday 7 April. However, to ensure space can be allocated you are advised to submit article proposals no later than Monday 4 April. Please note that submitting articles does not guarantee a place in the next issue. Submissions should be sent to Sally Mavin at mavins@gosh.nhs.uk Any articles submitted after this date will not be included in the April edition. Cover image: Medical toys on Dinosaur Ward. Editor Sally Mavin, ext *643042 Email: mavins@gosh.nhs.uk Designer Kirsty Seidler, ext *643168 Editorial board Jo Barber, Communications • Helen Cooke, Workforce Planning • Anna Ferrant, Executive Office • Amanda Macbeth, Brand Marketing • Anthony Higgins, Transformation • Andrée Hughes, Nursing and Workforce Development • Adam Levy, Chair of Staff Side • Marcella McEvoy, Brand Marketing • Lesley Miles, Marketing Communications and Community Fundraising. Printer: Jigsaw Colour, www.jigsawcolour.co.uk Charity logo ©2007 Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Registered charity no 235825.
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As we near the end of the financial year I want to thank everyone who has worked hard to care for the children and families who come to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). That is what we are all here to do wherever we work and whatever our job is. Of course we need money to be able to do this and the good news is that we have a small surplus again this year. In the past any surplus had to be returned, but for the past few years we have been able to keep it, which will help us in the next financial year when, as everyone knows, money will be much tighter. Most of us don’t come to work primarily to manage the finances of the hospital. But the reality is we have to be financially viable to deliver the quality of care, as safely as possible, that our patients deserve. The Finance team in particular, but managers more generally, are here to help you all do that. Over the next few years it will be even more important for us to demonstrate that we provide value for money because if we don’t we will not be able to protect patient care or even jobs.
Achieving no waste through the Transformation programme is difficult. Much of this is due to things that are not in a single individual’s control or even the CEO’s control, but it will need to be a focus in the next financial year. Cost Improvement Plans (CIPs) and CostReleasing Efficiency Savings (CRES) are disliked by most staff and I understand why up to a point. However, this year in particular it is worth reminding everyone that by making savings we have been able to reinvest in the Intensive Care Outreach Network (ICON) service, the acute general paediatricians and the first phase of expansion of the interventional radiology service. All are important if we want to do the best we can for patients. So thank you to all budget holders for making savings to fund these important developments. I would also like to congratulate and thank all our staff working in Haringey children’s services for the hard work and continuing commitment measured during the recent Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment.
A number of staff have mentioned they are worried that some other hospitals in London are cutting jobs, so I thought it would be helpful to set out where we are. The good news is we are doing better than many other trusts, but of course we are not immune to the very difficult financial position the country is in. The next few years will be tough. We need to make changes and deliver care for less money while still maintaining quality and safety. We need everyone to help with this and that will help us protect jobs. Obviously I can’t promise that the situation won’t get worse but that is how things stand now.
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Managers’ Toolkit Your questions answered Continuing our monthly tip from the online toolkit for managers, Roundabout brings you another much-asked question. Don’t forget to visit the site for many more useful bits of advice. You can find it by scrolling down the Commonly Used Links on our intranet, GOS Web. What do I do if I have problems with my PC or printer? As with all faults this should be logged with the ICT Service Desk who can be contacted on ext 5066 or on ictservicedesk@gosh.nhs.uk If the Service Desk engineers cannot resolve the issue over the phone they will ask an engineer to visit your ward or office to take a closer look. To update your contact details on GroupWise please talk to your manager who will need to submit the change through the Service Request System (SRS). If you are unsure who your SRS manager is or there is a problem or query please contact workforce@gosh.nhs.uk Departments who would like to update or include information about the services they provide in the toolkit should contact Sarah Wimhurst on ext 8301 or email wimhus@gosh.nhs.uk
In the news There was widespread national and regional press coverage around the announcement of the Safe and Sustainable review into children’s cardiac services. The review proposes four options for the future, all of which keep Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) as one of two London centres carrying out cardiac surgery. A four-month public consultation is now running and anyone with direct experience of children’s cardiac services is warmly encouraged to respond. See page18 for more.
The Times and Mail Online featured the announcement of a £28.5 million funding commitment from the Government Department of Business Innovation and Skills to Professor Carol Dezateux (UCL Institute of Child Health) and colleagues. They are set to carry out the largest ever UK-wide study of babies and young children, tracking their growth, development, health, wellbeing and social circumstances. Recruitment is due to begin in 2012. See page 7 for more. The Irish Independent and Irish Sun reported that general surgeon Mr Edward Kiely had been awarded an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. See page14 for more.
Foundation Trust Staff Councillors Last month in Roundabout we featured the role of staff representatives on the Foundation Trust Members’ Council. Staff governors in other trusts described the benefits and the positive contribution they are able to make. With our application for Foundation Trust status moving ahead, you will receive notification of the election for the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Members’ Council by the end of April. If you are interested in becoming a councillor you will be able to nominate yourself – you don’t need anyone else to sign the nomination. The election will be held in June and the results will be announced in early July. The first meeting of the Members’ Council will be in mid-July. We hope to be authorised as a Foundation Trust on 1 August 2011. We’re planning to hold three meetings of the council each year and it’s likely that these meetings will be planned to include other consultation events for our members.
For more information please contact Sven Bunn on ext 6282 or bunns@gosh.nhs.uk Staff membership If you have a permanent contract with GOSH we will automatically enrol you as a member. You will also be enrolled as a staff member if you have worked at GOSH for more than 12 months as of 1 April 2011 and are in one of the following groups: • Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity staff • Volunteers • The Children’s Hospital School at Great Ormond Street and UCH staff • Social workers at GOSH • Contractors on the GOSH site • Honorary contract holders You can opt out if you don’t want to be a member. If you’re not on a permanent contract and have worked in the Trust for less than 12 months, you can join as a public member at www.gosh.nhs.uk/foundation
The Daily Mirror covered the visit of comedians John Bishop and Michael McIntyre to the hospital. They came in to launch the second Channel 4 Comedy Gala, to be held in May at the O2 arena in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
A royal party Staff Psychological and Welfare Service A reminder to all staff that a number of seminars are being run by the Staff Psychological and Welfare Service in April: • Application forms and CVs 4 April • Interview skills 4 April and 13 April • Career planning 6 April • Managing stress 11 April
To book a place on any of the seminars call 0845 155 5000 ext 9800 or email staffpsychologicalwelfareservice@uclh.nhs.uk The Staff Psychological and Welfare Service is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
Prepare to celebrate the royal wedding in style on Friday 29 April in the main dining room at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Patients are invited to the canteen at 2pm for a traditional street party, complete with bunting, balloons and plenty of party food. To celebrate the day patients will also be treated to a commemorative mug. And to make sure no one misses out, a special royal wedding supper will be making its way to the wards for those patients not well enough to attend.
Thanksgiving Service The annual service of thanksgiving and remembrance will be held on Saturday 30 April at 2.30pm in the Church of St George the Martyr, Queen Square. Please contact Senior Chaplain, the Rev Jim Linthicum, on ext 8232 (bleep 0677) or the Chaplaincy on 0207 813 8232 if you would like to attend this event.
Look out for further details around the hospital. 4
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race for the
Kids
5k fun run
Battersea Park, 12 June 2011 Join us in Battersea Park on Sunday 12 June for this year’s RBC Race for the Kids. Thousands of adults and children will be getting ready to walk, jog and run the 5k course to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Last year we raised over £300,000 and this year with your help we hope to meet it and beat it! Get your friends, family and colleagues together and join patient families, celebrity supporters and the general public for a great day out. You can enter on your own or as a team. Sign up at www.raceforthekids.co.uk Alternatively you can call ext 3164 or email raceforthekids@gosh.org to register your interest.
ur Help yo l! hospita p u Sign today!
©2007 Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Registered charity 235825.
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A word from Mike… Recently, Mike Stylianou from the Surgery team told Roundabout about his RBC Race for the Kids experience in 2010, and why he will be signing up again this year. “We had quite a large group of staff sign up from theatres last year and we also teamed up with colleagues from other departments. In the end it was quite a mixed group made up of anaesthetists, healthcare assistants, nurses, radiographers, radiologists, operating department practitioners and of course friends and family. We divided ourselves into three groups – those that ran, those that ate, and those that drank! “Charity events don’t just have to be about raising money for the hospital that we all work in on a daily basis. They can also be an opportunity for a bit of fun away from the workplace. We had loads of great feedback and everyone that came contributed by bringing food and drink. We ended up with a really good picnic that we all enjoyed after the 5k. I’d definitely recommend signing up – you’ll have a great day!”
A note from Professor Andrew Copp Director, UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) We recently received the very good news that funding has been confirmed for the 2012 birth cohort, which is led by Professor Carol Dezateux at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH). The new £33.5 million project will follow the lives of 90,000 British children from birth into adulthood with the aim of understanding how social, economic, biological, environmental and health factors interact to determine life chances for young people. The funding announcement was made by the Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts, who commented that the project will be the largest in a series of cohort studies dating back to 1946 when the first life course analysis was launched. It will have much greater power to detect life influences than its predecessors, being nearly five times the size of the millennium cohort study that began in 2000. The Government has committed £28.5 million to the project, with the Economic and Social Research Council and Medical Research Council (MRC) together contributing a further £5 million. This makes it the largest grant awarded to the ICH in living memory. Fifteen other universities are partners in the project including our neighbours the Institute of Education and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
as children. This provides much greater genetic discrimination as potentially inherited influences can be studied as they are transmitted down the generations. Additionally, gathering data from parents enables environmental trends within families to be identified with much greater accuracy. Importantly, cohort studies provide powerful evidence to inform government policy on a range of issues, including social mobility, inequality, education and public health. Mr Willetts commented: “This in turn has positive economic impacts through changes in the delivery of public services, earlier diagnosis of diseases and improvements in quality of life”. The MRC Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health at the ICH has considerable experience of birth cohort research. Professors Carol Dezateux, Chris Power, Catherine Law, Jugnoo Rahi and Dr Elina Hypponen have all published extensively on different aspects of health and disease using data collected within the 1958 and millennium cohorts. This wealth of expertise made the ICH the perfect place to locate the new 2012 project. My congratulations to Carol and her team for this fantastic achievement. Now for some hard work ahead…
Children from all backgrounds and all parts of the UK will be recruited into the study, starting with pregnancy and involving regular follow-up through childhood. Such studies need to be meticulously planned at the outset as once the cohort is underway it is very difficult to use information that was not collected at an earlier age. For the first time in the 2012 study, samples will be collected from parents as well 7
Executive Safety Walkround diary Reducing time spent on CICU By Tony Higgins, Communications and Engagement Officer Significant improvements have been made on the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) in recent months. Here, CICU Lead Nurse Barbara Childs speaks about one particular area of change: long-stay children. “When I came into post in May 2009 we had one or two long-stay patients. Now, medical advances mean we’re able to do more complex procedures, so we get additional patients staying longer. Children are long-stay if they’re here for more than 10 days. They usually have multiple conditions or very complex surgeries.” The need for change Despite all the expertise, technology and resources available, there were still shortcomings highlighted by parents whose children received prolonged treatment on CICU. So Barbara and her team decided to approach things differently. “There was no system in place for long-stay children on CICU, so we had a meeting with parents to see what their experience of the unit was like. We wanted to see what we could change, not only to make the parent experience better but also to reduce their stay on CICU.” Finding solutions Using feedback gathered from families the team started a project to improve the child and family’s experience on CICU and get children out of the unit quicker, in a safe and timely way. “We’ve been working on the patient’s journey through CICU and a ‘pathway’ was developed by the nurse practitioners. We now ensure patients get a multidisciplinary team (MDT) and that they’re allocated a lead consultant. We’ve put a system in place to make sure longer-stay children get a specific nurse practitioner and nursing team. There’s more emphasis now on asking ‘what do we need to get this child home or to a ward environment?’” 8
Seeing results This shift in emphasis is showing real results: “We’re thinking more about the family’s needs and that wasn’t in place before. The parents have been involved in giving us advice, which is incredibly valuable. Recently we had a child in need of home ventilation support discharged from CICU within eight days. Previously this would have taken three months’ preparation. That’s an amazing achievement. That’s teamwork”. Working together And Barbara believes it’s teamwork that is so crucial to making change happen: “It’s about everyone on CICU wanting to make changes so things get better. The nursing and medical teams have worked together to make these improvements. You need to have good leadership and seek out solutions. For example, if you can’t get a child back to their local hospital, what else can you do to make something happen? Our team explore all the options together and usually find an alternative. You have to think as a team and bring everyone into that solution otherwise you won’t get everyone on board”. For more information contact Barbara Childs, Lead Nurse (CICU) at childb@gosh.nhs.uk
Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) 10.30am, 5 April Robbie Burns (Executive), Stephen Moxley (Estates and Facilities), Roisin Mulvaney (Clinical Governance and Safety), Elizabeth Ball (Transformation) Parrot Ward 10.30am, 12 April Robbie Burns (Executive), Terry Durack (Estates and Facilities), Charlie Magness (Clinical Governance and Safety), Caroline Wells (Transformation)
Radiology 10.30am, 19 April Claire Newton (Executive), Anna Cornish (Estates and Facilities), Erin Healy (Clinical Governance and Safety), Roksanna Hussein (Transformation) Peter Pan Ward 10.30am, 26 April Fiona Dalton (Executive), Margaret Hollis (Estates and Facilities), Salina Parkyn (Clinical Governance and Safety), Elizabeth Ball (Transformation)
Health 4 Life The health and wellbeing campaign was launched by the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Sports and Social Committee in December 2010 to help staff get fit, have fun, and achieve a healthier lifestyle. Health 4 Life Champion Would you like to be the first to find out about upcoming Health 4 Life events and help decide what future events should be organised by the team? If you volunteer to become a Health 4 Life Champion we’ll email you details of upcoming events. All you have to do is forward emails to colleagues in your ward, office or department, give us your opinion on events we are thinking of planning, or print off advertising posters to display on your social noticeboard. If you would like to be a Health 4 Life Champion please send an email with ‘champion’ in the subject field to s&sc@gosh.nhs.uk Free fitness classes Until the end of April Health 4 Life is offering free fitness classes to GOSH staff at the 52 Club, just a ten-minute walk from the hospital. Please see the schedule of classes available on the All Notice Boards section of GOS Web or email Lisa Sharman at sharml@gosh.nhs.uk for the list. Places are limited so book soon!
Fantastic gym offer The 52 Club is a health club which only serves NHS staff. It is not open to the general public or to families with children, making it a great environment for your workout. It caters for staff on shifts and working weekends, making it easier to access facilities and machines at unsocial hours, and without having long waits to use facilities. The club has all the amenities you’d expect from a local gym, including a swimming pool, gym, squash courts, fitness classes and sauna. As a member you will be entitled to free use of the gym and pool; squash courts are very cheap to hire and there are great discounts on fitness classes. Membership costs just £16 a month. There is no joining fee or contract and the monthly membership fee will be deducted straight from your salary via payroll. To request an enrolment form please email s&sc@gosh.nhs.uk putting ‘52 Club’ in the title. The Sports and Social Committee is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
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The changing face of palliative care By Sally Mavin The opening of the Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care marks a new chapter in research-based practice at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH). So what is children’s palliative care, why is it important, and how can it revolutionise the way in which we look after our patients? Being diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting condition is a traumatic experience for any child and their family. The demands of care and treatment interrupt every aspect of life, with the illness becoming a constant, albeit unwelcome, companion. Anguish, pain and suffering are not limited to the child or even to the family; they echo in the very fibre of all those who care for that child. As an international centre of excellence in child healthcare, GOSH sees children with the rarest and most complex conditions. But alongside world-class treatments it is imperative that we explore what we can do to alleviate pain and enhance the quality of life for our patients. Dispelling the myths Contrary to popular thought, children’s palliative care does not just relate to the terminal phases of illness. In fact, it is an active approach to the care and treatment of children with lifethreatening illnesses and life-limiting conditions. Palliative care should be delivered seamlessly alongside disease-directed care, addressing the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the child and family with the goal of enhancing the child and family’s quality of life. It is appropriate at any and all points in the lives of these children and families as well as those who are bereaved.
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Why Great Ormond Street Hospital? Children’s palliative care is a relatively new field where the need for services has outpaced research. The close relationship between GOSH and the ICH provides an unprecedented opportunity to integrate research and clinical practice, meaning health problems identified on the wards can be investigated quickly. Similarly, medical solutions found in the lab can be swiftly translated into new treatments. With no other palliative care team in the world seeing as many children with so many different life-threatening illnesses and life-limiting conditions, GOSH is the perfect place to bring research into meaningful practice. At the helm: Professor Myra Bluebond-Langner In February 2010, Professor Myra BluebondLangner was appointed the True Colours Chair in Palliative Care for Children and Young People; the UK’s first chair in children’s palliative care. She will head up the research programmes at the Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care. Professor Bluebond-Langner’s early work on children with leukemia is regarded as marking an important change in the way all children – well and ill – are studied and regarded by researchers. Her studies of decision making for children with cancer when standard therapy had failed and cure was not likely, broke new ground in understanding parents’ approaches to care of children with cancer. Her studies, conducted with Dr Ann Goldman, then director of the palliative care team at GOSH and Dr Jean Belasco, a neuro-oncologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, also emphasised the need for palliative care and treatment to be integrated.
Louis Dundas Louis Dundas, a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital, died from a brain tumour in April 2008, aged four. Although Louis and his family received specialist palliative care support, at times he still suffered terribly.
Louis’ family experienced first hand the critical role that palliative care teams can play in supporting not just the child but also the wider family. Crucially, their experience highlighted to them the lack of research in the field and the desperate need to share knowledge within the UK and worldwide. After Louis’ death his family resolved to help draw attention and funding to children’s palliative care. The result is the Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care which promotes research, training and practice in their son’s name for the benefit of very sick children. 11
The Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care Bringing academic research and clinical expertise together, the centre will use a multidisciplinary approach to revolutionise palliative care and pain management for children, and will undertake studies across four major areas. 1 Documenting the illness experience To improve palliative care, healthcare professionals need a solid understanding of the experiences of patients and their families, along with the social and cultural reality in which these experiences unfold. Children and families will be followed over the course of the illness – from diagnosis to death – whether it is in hospital, at home, at clinic or in school. This research will form the basis for recommendations for how palliative care should be undertaken. 2 Decision making about care and treatment With ever-increasing advances in medical care and research, the process of how care and treatment decisions are made becomes a larger feature in the lives of children and families, for instance: • What are the significant steps in the decisionmaking process? • What should the child or young person’s role be in that process? •H ow are parents and children best served by clinicians and other healthcare professionals as they consider the options for care and treatment?
3 Pain and symptom management Astoundingly, reliable pain control in severely ill children is an aspiration, not a reality. All too often, practitioners are left to estimate choice and dosage of pain-relieving medication from adult medicine. Many of the drugs used in paediatrics are trialled and licensed for an adult population, but children’s bodies are different, as are the side effects of medication. Working with the Pain Management team and the Pain Research Unit at the ICH, the Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care will launch a series of projects aimed at improving pain and symptom management. 4 Delivery of palliative care services Equally important is the way in which children and families access palliative care. This portion of the research agenda will look to identify physical, social, psychological, economic or structural barriers to children and families receiving quality palliative care and what can be done to remove them. The team will undertake collaborative studies of specialist, hospital, community and hospicebased services across the UK. The results of these studies will be used to develop effective models of palliative care service delivery.
A vision for the future Palliative care needs are not limited to the confines of GOSH and that’s why the hospital’s Palliative Care team takes a holistic approach by establishing strong links in the community. From family doctors and schools to local hospitals and hospices, by working inclusively with other services, children and families can have access to high quality care when and where they need it most.
The team will undertake real-time studies of patients from the outset of their treatment, moving beyond models of consent and assent to formulate an evidence base for how some of medicine’s most challenging decisions are made. Crucially, the studies undertaken will include the voices of children themselves.
Professor Myra Bluebond-Langner
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The challenges in caring for children with life-threatening illnesses and life-limiting conditions are complex. Children, parents
and clinicians confront not just pain, but suffering as well. Children must be guided wisely through whatever portion of time they have, be it decades, years, months or even days. As Professor Bluebond-Langner concludes: “Palliative care as I view and study it exists to support children, parents and clinicians to fulfill the roles which they have been given and the responsibilities which fall to them. Their wisdom and compassion must be built on understanding. It is to this base of understanding that I hope to contribute as the True Colours Chair in Palliative Care for Children and Young People”.
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Tesco for Schools and Clubs Tesco have once again launched Tesco for Schools and Clubs and we need you to get involved. Last year the Children’s Hospital School at Great Ormond Street and UCH received an incredible 20,300 vouchers, which were used to buy six digital cameras and a selection of memory sticks for the school’s computers. If you regularly shop at Tesco, don’t forget to pick up your vouchers at the till. Collection boxes are located in main reception and the hospital school. For more information log on to www.tescoforschoolsandclubs.co.uk A huge thank you to everyone who donated vouchers last year.
Surgeon honoured Mr Edward Kiely, who alongside Professor Agostino Pierro led the successful separation of conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf, has been awarded an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Major surgical procedures, like the separation of twins, involve many experts across a wide range of specialties and show the hospital working at its best. Mr Kiely, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital said: “I am delighted to have been awarded this honorary fellowship. Carrying out successful surgery is certainly not just down to me but to the whole team at the hospital who provide families with consistently high levels of care and expertise”.
Staff Awards 2011 There are just a few weeks left to nominate colleagues for this year’s Great Ormond Street Hospital staff awards.
on 25 May 2011, then get in touch with HR by emailing workforce@gosh.nhs.uk putting ‘long service award’ in the subject field.
Nominations are welcome from across the Trust, and forms are available around the hospital and on GOS Web.
Education and training awards If you have gained a vocational qualification in the past 12 months (June 2010 to May 2011) then you are entitled to an award. Recipients get a framed certificate. If you think you are eligible for a qualification award then contact Tim Starkey at starkt@gosh.nhs.uk or on ext *647827.
Staff can nominate for all categories except the Child and family award, and patients, parents or carers can nominate for all awards except Colleague or Manager of the Year. Long service awards We celebrate people who have been employed contractually by GOSH for 10, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years.
The awards take place on 25 May at 5pm in the Kennedy Lecture Hall, UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH).
On the road Look out for the animations on the Amscreens created by artist Viyki Turnbull and children and young people in Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) outpatients. The pictures include imaginary and everyday journeys, so follow the road and see where it takes you… Woodland collage Using images by Erin Burns for inspiration, the artist Lucy Fergus worked with patients in the Somers Clinical Research Facility (CRF) to create beautiful leaf artworks. A large-scale graphic was produced from the artworks which was recently installed in the CRF. Hands On Isobel Manning continues as artist in residence at GOSH. She is working in departments across the hospital on a series of creative workshops for patients and their families, exploring why they are encouraged to wash their hands. The final outcome will be an animated film to be screened in September. Have a look at Isobel’s blog www. thehandsonproject.blogspot.com to see how the project is going. For further information contact either Vivienne Reiss on ext 5480, reissv@gosh.nhs.uk or Chanel Cole on ext 0201, colec2@gosh.nhs.uk Go Create! is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. The Woodland collage was supported by Santander. The Hands On project was supported by the Wellcome Trust.
The staff awards are funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
If you or a colleague has hit a particular milestone since last year’s awards and will be employed
Closing date for nominations is Friday 6 May 2011 14
update
Top to bottom: picture by Grace; Olivia puts together her Woodland collage; the final artwork at the Somers Clinical Research Facility; Vivek takes part in a hand hygiene workshop.
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Meet the Non-Executive Directors: Tessa Blackstone By Rachel Tomkys This month Junior Editor Rachel Tomkys speaks to Baroness Tessa Blackstone about her role as Chair of the Trust Board and what challenges lie ahead for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in the new financial year. Tessa Blackstone was appointed Chair of the Trust Board in 2009: “I have been a great admirer of Great Ormond Street Hospital over many years. I live quite locally and I had visited the hospital once or twice. I decided that I would like to get involved with the NHS and when Great Ormond Street Hospital came up I was extremely lucky to be appointed”. Outside the hospital, Tessa’s extensive professional background includes being a Labour life peer in the House of Lords, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, Chairman at the British Library and a trustee of the Royal Opera House. Defining the job So what does the role of Chair entail and how does it differ from that of Chief Executive? “The Chief Executive runs the hospital,” Tessa says. “She is responsible for day-to-day issues, for implementing the hospital strategy and for making sure that clinical care is of the highest possible quality”. As Chair, Tessa’s role is different: “The Chair is responsible for working with senior management and the other non-executives to define the strategy, making sure we’re clear about our aims and objectives and that we have the resources to implement them. Above all, we must be effective in looking after our patients, ensuring the child is first and always.”
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“Visiting wards, hearing about the progress children are making, talking to parents and realising we are responding to their needs – that’s what makes it all worthwhile.” Baroness Tessa Blackstone
Safety first Patient safety is always on the Board’s agenda and Tessa, along with her fellow Non-Executive Directors, is focused on ensuring it is paramount at GOSH. There are three must-dos, she explains: “Firstly, we have to make sure we are performing as we should. If we slip for one reason or another we need to investigate and find out what’s gone wrong, what lessons we can learn and how we can move forward and improve. Secondly, we need to listen to parents and patients, making sure any complaints are properly considered. And thirdly, we must strive to undertake high quality research which will lead to better outcomes for our patients”. What’s in store? With the onset of a new financial year GOSH faces several tough challenges and Tessa is clear on the Board’s priorities: “Our biggest challenge is to get Foundation Trust status which we hope to achieve later this year. But we also have to meet the efficiency saving requirements set out by the Department of Health. We need to make sure that the treatment we provide is efficient as well as effective, so that we are not wasting money. That way we can treat more children and young people who can benefit from our services”. Reflecting on her highlights so far, Tessa says: “Visiting wards, hearing about the progress children are making, talking to parents and realising we are responding to their needs – that’s what makes it all worthwhile. I think that has to be at the centre for any Chair at GOSH.”
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Keeping heart services safe and sustainable By Sally Mavin The NHS is reviewing paediatric cardiac surgery to ensure children get access to the best medical care. Here, we take a closer look and find out how staff can get involved. What is Safe and Sustainable? “Safe, sustainable and world class. Not ordinary, OK or just good enough. Children and young people who need surgery must have excellent care.” This is the remit for Safe and Sustainable, a new NHS project to review children’s cardiac services in the UK. A public consultation has been launched to inform the future of children’s heart services. It aims to capture the opinions of all stakeholders, from professional bodies and clinicians to patients and their families. A vision for the future The aim is for future children’s cardiac services to include: • Fewer deaths and complications • Better and more accessible assessment services and follow-up treatment • Reduced waiting times and fewer cancelled operations • Improved communication between parents and cardiac services • Better training for surgeons and their teams • A trained workforce of experts in paediatric cardiac services • Surgical centres with the latest working practices and technologies that are leaders in research and development • A network of specialist centres sharing knowledge across the network.
The GOSH view Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) thinks the review has set out the right principles and will mean better outcomes for patients. We believe that fewer, larger centres carrying out cardiac surgery will allow professionals to become experts and will result in larger, more sustainable teams in the long term. We also believe it is best for local centres to continue providing follow-up appointments close to patients’ homes. Have your say It’s important that those who have experience of this service make their voices heard, and you can do this in the following ways: Online Complete a short, 15-minute survey at www.ipsos-mori.com/safeandsustainable The closing date is 1 July 2011. In person A consultation event will take place on Saturday 7 May 2011 at the Emirates Stadium in North London. There are also events throughout England and Wales. You can find out more and register for an event at www.eventsforce.net/safeandsustainable The full consultation document can be found on the Safe and Sustainable website at www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/safeandsustainable
“I’m inspired by the people that work here; there are so many world leaders across the hospital. But the real key is the range, severity and volume of heart disease that’s referred here – it’s quite unique, both in the UK and internationally. I feel that I am working at the leading edge of paediatric medicine, and that has to be helpful to the children we treat.” Mike Burch, Paediatric Cardiologist and Director of Cardiothoracic Transplantation.
Breakthroughs in children’s medicine: heart and lung Our interactive heart and lung breakthrough guide takes you through our most exciting historical milestones in treating heart and lung disease at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Find out how we developed the very first heartlung bypass machine to allow open-heart surgery in children, right through to pioneering new research into how stem cell treatments might be a lifeline for those with heart failure. Visit www.gosh.org/gen/breakthroughs to find out more. The breakthrough guides are funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
Cardiac services at GOSH GOSH is the largest centre in the UK for children’s cardiac surgery, carrying out around 600 procedures every year. What’s more, we’re the only paediatric hospital in the UK to offer the full range of National Commissioning Group (NCG) cardiac services: ECMO, bridge to transplant, heart transplant, tracheal services and pulmonary hypertension. GOSH also provides a paediatric cardiology outreach service to 29 hospitals including foetal diagnoses at a number of centres. 18
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Sports and Social Committee GOSH Book Group
Out & about April
April Fools Day Comedy Show HMV Hammersmith Apollo 1 April Forget the date, as this is no joke. For one night only, comedy geniuses such as Lee Mack, Harry Hill, Sean Lock and Lucy Porter will be taking to the stage to put on a riotous evening of stand-up and sketches. The event will be hosted by comedian Jo Brand and with more acts being announced all the time, it’s sure to be a hit. All proceeds go to Mencap, to support people with learning disabilities, their families and carers. For more information and ticket prices check out the Mencap website www.mencap.org.uk Hoppé Portraits National Portrait Gallery Throughout April This spring’s exhibition features one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, E O Hoppé. Take a look at over 140 strikingly modernist portraits of figures from the worlds of literature, politics and arts, including George Bernard Shaw, Margot Fonteyn, Albert Einstein and members of the royal family. Also on display are images of British street life, including studies of the homeless, a dog hospital, night watchmen and borstals. For more details and for admission prices, log on to www.npg.org.uk
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Free event
Royal Wedding Westminster Abbey 29 April This is one wedding that everyone’s invited to. Celebrations will be held throughout London as locals and tourists gather to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot. While the main service will be carried out at Westminster Abbey, street parties and special events across the capital will mark the occasion, with TV screens cropping up in every corner to ensure no one misses out. To find out what’s happening near you, log on to www.allinlondon.co.uk Real Street Food Festival Free event Southbank Centre Starts 29 April Street food nowadays is less about grease and high fat content and more about fresh, well-sourced, exciting foods. Specialist vendors including popular favourites Choc Star, Healthy Yummies and Bhangra Burger will be on hand to create gastro delights in front of your very eyes. And if that isn’t enough to tickle your taste buds, there will be a host of wedding-themed activities to celebrate the royal wedding and even a giant TV screen to watch it on. Check out the website at www.realfoodfestival.co.uk for more information.
Faces in the Water by Janet Frame Writing from personal experience, Janet Frame’s intensely imagined, fictionalised novel sees the protagonist, Istina Mavet, moving in and out of mental hospitals, facing the terrors of electric-shock treatment and the threat of a leucotomy. This riveting novel has since become an international classic translated into nine languages. This book is wonderfully poetic and visually descriptive in style, but not florid, so it’s a joy to read. This is not just a fascinating, poignant, and well-written fictional story; it’s also a true reflection of the author’s own experience of living in a psychiatric hospital in the 1950s. You’ll be frustrated and horrified by the treatment of women in this tale, but you’ll also be delighted by the writing style and heartened by the determination, optimism and strength of its characters. Lisa Sharman Review rating: The Sports and Social Committee is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
GOSH free film show The free film show will take place on Monday 4 April in the ground floor lecture theatre at Weston House. This month a criminal mastermind faces three orphans and a socially awkward student starts a social revolution when he invents a computer programme to try and get a date. For our younger audience we have Despicable Me (U) at 6.15pm. In the middle of suburban normality sits a black house with a dead lawn. In its cellar is a vast secret hideout. This is home to the criminal mastermind Gru, voiced by Steve Carrell. Gru is finalising his plans to steal the moon when three orphans – Margo, Edith and Agnes – appear on his doorstep. Will Gru be able to pull off his audacious heist or will the three little girls convince him to spend his time being the daddy they never had? At 8pm we have The Social Network (12). On an autumn night in 2003, Harvard undergraduate and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and begins working on a new idea. Six years later Facebook has 500 million users and Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history. This hit film explores what drove Zuckerberg to success, how it cost him dearly in his social life and asks: “was it all worth it?” If you would like to know more about April’s film show please contact Tim Starkey on ext *647827.
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Learnabout
Faith in practice
This month’s Education and Training feature looks at two new online developments.
Festival focus Easter Date: 24 April Faith: Christian
Easter is the day on which Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. Having been crucified on the previous Friday (Good Friday), Christians believe that Christ arose on Easter Sunday. Through this act Christians believe all people are given eternal life and are shown that God’s love extends beyond the temporal life in which we now live. While Christmas tends to be the most recognised Christian feast, Easter Sunday, along with Good Friday and Maundy Thursday (the day when the Last Supper occurred), is the most significant of all the Christian festivals. Lifestyle implications Easter is a festival of celebration. Those things which have been given up for Lent can now be enjoyed and resumed, made all the more enjoyable after the previous time of abstinence. Salutations The typical salutation would be “Happy Easter”. In churches the formal greeting in worship would have the worship leader saying, “Christ is risen” with the congregation responding, “He is risen indeed”. Easter at GOSH On Friday 15 April there will be an Easter festival presentation in the Children’s Hospital School at Great Ormond Street and UCH at 10am. On Easter Day itself (Sunday 24 April) there will be a service with Eucharist/Holy Communion held in the Chapel at 10.30am.
Other festivals in April
3 April – Mothering Sunday (Christian) 13 April – Vaisakhi (Sikh) 16 April – Mahavira Jayanti (Jain)
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Electronic PANDA coming to your ward soon At present all wards (except intensive care units) complete PANDA (Paediatric Acuity and Nurse Dependency Assessments) on paper forms. During the next few months the paper forms will be replaced by an electronic tool (ePANDA).
A statue depicting Jesus Christ.
Reflection Two of this month’s festivals point to the idea of liberation from oppressing forces. Passover reminds us of the movement of the Jewish people to freedom. Easter points to liberation from fear of death with the promise of eternal life. While some people even within the faiths struggle with these images, their assurances of hope can offer new ways of looking at situations. The concept of hope is never far away in a place like GOSH. The expertise and abilities of everyone in the hospital can point to opportunities and solutions that can be profound and life giving. Not all interventions are successful, but often one hears families say of their children: “they are in the best place”. Perhaps this month’s holidays can help us reaffirm our stories of hopes fulfilled in the past and those situations that call us to new hope. And, in this, can be found inspiration. Contact Jim Linthicum, Chair of the Great Ormond Street Hospital Multi-Faith Group for Spiritual Care on ext 8232. Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity helps fund the chaplaincy.
ePANDA replicates the paper form so training on the new system will be minimal. Training is supported by e-Learning packages available on GOLD, www.goshgold.org
The training contains lots of useful guidance explaining how to: • Keep patient information confidential; • Understand data protection laws and how they are relevant to you; • Recognise a freedom of information request and what to do if you receive one; • Manage your records effectively; • Use IT equipment and systems in a secure way.
PANDA is a tool designed to collect data on the needs of all inpatients on wards outside intensive care. It is used to predict the level of nursing staffing needed for that ward or unit.
There are two modules to complete depending on your staff group: • Introduction to IG – for all staff with routine access to personal information (this covers all staff with access to patient and staff information) • IG: The Beginner’s Guide – all other staff.
PANDA also supplies data to Information Services to ensure we charge our commissioners appropriately for children who require a higher level of care than is normally expected on a ward.
All NHS organisations need to ensure that 95 per cent of staff have had IG training. We have reached just under 20 per cent and need everyone’s help in completing this training immediately.
For further details please contact Workforce Project Manager, Farmeen Kapadia on ext 0871 or farmeen.kapadia@gosh.nhs.uk
For more information please contact Clare Reed, Head of Information Governance on ext 5213 or carvec@gosh.nhs.uk
Information Governance training is turning GOLD It’s mandatory for all staff to complete their Information Governance (IG) training. To make this easier a version has been developed for GOLD, which means you can access it using your GOLD login details.
GOLD is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
18 April – Theravada New Year (Buddhist) 19 April – First day of Passover (Jewish) 21 April – Anniversary of Haile Selassie’s visit to Jamaica (Rastafari) 23
GOSH revealed The Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease
itself. In 1878 she published what became the standard text book of its era on nursing management, A Handbook of Nursing for the Home and the Hospital.
By the Museum and Archive Service
Crossing Queen Square you may have noticed the imposing Edwardian Alexandra House in its north west corner, which now houses the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. This was formerly the home of Bloomsbury’s other children’s hospital, the Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease, with which The Hospital for Sick Children at Great Ormond Street had close links. Origins of the hospital Tuberculosis in its various forms was rife in 19th Century London, with tubercular disease of the joints in childhood liable to spread to the bones causing lifelong discomfort and disability. Protracted rest was the only available treatment. The hip hospital opened in March 1867 in a converted house in Queen Square. It was originally named The House of Relief for Children with Chronic Disease of the Joints, being renamed in honour of Alexandra, Princess of Wales in 1881. Founded by women The Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease was the first hospital in England to be founded by women: Catherine Wood and a Miss Percival, one of the nurses at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Catherine Wood grew up nearby in Doughty Street and first became involved with GOSH as a ‘lady visitor’. She went on to become Matron of the hospital’s country branch at Cromwell House in Highgate and then Lady Superintendent (Matron) at the hospital Catherine Wood, circa 1880.
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Links with GOSH The hip hospital complemented the work at GOSH rather than being in competition with it and there was considerable overlap of both the nursing and clinical staff. The GOSH patient admissions registers indicate that only 12 inpatients were transferred to Queen Square during the 19th century, but many more were probably referred from outpatients. A look at some of the inpatients who were transferred reveals how the system worked. Harry Drew, an eight-year-old carpenter’s son from Holloway, was admitted to GOSH for two days in 1887 with hip disease, under the surgeon Mr Howard Marsh. He was then referred to the hip hospital by another GOSH surgeon, Timothy Holmes, and after a few days back at home was admitted to the hip hospital for a further week, but still under the care of Howard Marsh. Five-year-old Thomas Wall from Battersea was admitted to GOSH in 1889 with hip disease, was then sent to the country branch at Cromwell House for 28 days, after which he was referred back to Bloomsbury for admission to the hip hospital. He spent almost a year there (351 days), before being discharged in June 1890 with the note that his condition was good, but that he was still lying down a month after surgery; a contrast with the modern trend to make the earliest possible discharge. The hospital’s decline The present Alexandra House replaced the original converted house in 1899, but in 1920 the Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease moved out of central London to a more rural location at Swanley in Kent. During World War II it was moved again, to Stockwood Park near Luton, and survived into the early years of the NHS. With tuberculosis in decline and longstay convalescence becoming unfashionable, it closed in 1958. The Museum and Archive Service is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. 25
National study launched to help children with visual disability
A view from Staff Side By Adam Levy, Staff Side rep
This month we have an update on two of the issues mentioned in last month’s Roundabout – on-call changes and the royal wedding. There’s also some ominous news about pensions. On-call A letter has been sent from management and the unions to all staff currently doing on-call duties about the proposed changes that will take place in the next few months. Unfortunately it was not possible to give details about what is likely to happen or when because there are too many different payment methods to fit into one agreement for the whole Trust. Initial discussions have only included a few staff representatives and the only firm decision is that the national deadline of 1 April has been put back provisionally until 1 July. Although this deadline may move again, one certainty is that changes have to take place and the eventual pay rates will almost certainly be based on the Agenda for Change agreement. Your reps will all need to be involved in the negotiations and many unions are currently organising training for the difficult process. Everyone will have strong views about this and it is essential that your reps are fully informed about your current system so we know what the changes will mean and can negotiate appropriate protection or even back-pay.
The royal wedding The Trust has announced that the royal wedding will not be a normal working day, with surgery and outpatients being severely curtailed on Friday 29 April. There is still, however, the question of how much staff who do work will be paid, (the commitment to give all staff one day’s annual leave will stand). Nationally this has not been properly agreed, except in Scotland where it will definitely be paid at public holiday rates, and at least some unions are maintaining that there should be no local agreements that deny proper bank holiday payments. Pensions Lord Hutton’s review of public sector pensions has been published, and while he has admitted that these deals are not ‘gold-plated’ he has recommended major changes which include higher contributions, working until at least 65, and no more final salary calculations. This will not happen overnight and the government’s plans will be outlined later this year, but the issue will unite all the unions and we can expect a battle ahead.
In March, the Developmental Vision service at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) launched an unprecedented study to investigate the effectiveness of early intervention approaches for babies and toddlers with visual impairment. This national study is the brainchild of the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and is being co-funded by Fight for Sight and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Chief Investigators Naomi Dale and Alison Salt (Neurodisability) will track the development of 95 babies born with a congenital visual impairment over the first three years of life, in order to establish the value of support materials including the Early Support Developmental Journal for Infants (commissioned by the government in 2005–6) and other standard forms of intervention. They will work alongside colleagues Michelle De Haan (Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience) and Chris Clark (Neuroradiology). Each year in the UK, around 430 children are diagnosed with a visual impairment, mainly in infancy. The Developmental Vision service sees over 150 new referrals each year with most aged between birth and two years. The main objective of the study is to identify whether specific early intervention materials improve the child’s outlook and whether they alleviate some of the serious vulnerabilities in development, such as ‘developmental setback’, which the Developmental Vision team have identified clinically and in their research. Naomi Dale, Consultant Clinical Psychologist/ Neuropsychologist, explains: “We’re looking forward to beginning this important work, which is the result of a unique collaboration between our three organisations. The interaction of a parent or practitioner with a severely visually-impaired child may be key to supporting the child’s social and cognitive development. Early intervention with families has the potential to overcome some of the early challenges to development. This study will help us learn a great deal more about the most effective ways of helping parents and infants and will lead us to the evidence-based practice of the future”. The team hopes to complete the study in 2014. To find out more email n.dale@ich.ucl.ac.uk
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ward e h t on Word Octopus Wa rd This month sees Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot, so Roundabout went along to Octopus Ward to ask some of the staff: If you were king or queen for the day, what rule would you enforce? “I would grant everyone a free shopping day so they could buy whatever they wanted and spoil themselves.” Louise Turpin, Student Nurse “I would include a Bank Holiday in every week, so that people have an extra day to do whatever they want to – even if it’s just to stay in bed!” Caroline Paez, Student Nurse
“I would give everyone a day out of their choosing, because everyone deserves to be pampered for a day.” Pauline Williams, Bank Nurse “I would make it a rule that all public transport, including plane tickets and petrol, is free for everyone!” Julia Arthur, Specialist Trainee
About Octopus Ward (previously Cardiac Day Care): This is a day ward where cardiac investigations such as ECGs and Echo tests are carried out. Children also come to Octopus Ward for pre-assessment cardiology clinics. For your ward to feature here, email Sally Mavin at mavins@gosh.nhs.uk or call ext *643042. 27
Charity pages We need to raise £50 million every year to help rebuild and refurbish Great Ormond Street Hospital, buy vital equipment and fund pioneering research. For more information please call 020 7239 3000 or log on to www.gosh.org
On your marks... Title?
The Virgin London Marathon is fast approaching, so this month Roundabout speaks to Senior Fundraising Executive Helen Nevulis to find out how the hospital benefits from this special event. “The Virgin London Marathon is one of the charity’s biggest annual fundraisers,” Helen explains. “Last year we had a fantastic team made up of nearly 300 runners who raised £479,855, which was a staggering amount.” Every year the team is made up of friends and families of patients, hospital staff, past patients and enthusiastic fundraisers who are all eager to undertake the challenge. “Many people take part in the Virgin London Marathon as a thank you for the support they’ve received from the hospital,” Helen says.
So where exactly does the money raised through the marathon go? Helen explains: “The majority of the 2010 money went towards The Morgan Stanley Clinical Building, which is currently under construction. When it opens in 2012 it will provide world-class facilities enabling us to treat up to 20 per cent more children.” However, the redevelopment isn’t the only area to benefit from the Virgin London Marathon. “Some of our runners have benefitted from particular areas of the hospital and wanted to raise money specifically for them. In total 24 areas were fundraised for last year,” Helen says. If you or someone you know has a place in the Virgin London Marathon and would like to join our team, please contact us at challenges@gosh.org
Why not join o ur cheering squad?
Contact challenges@g osh.org to find out mo re
Where does the money go? Incubators £14,000 of marathon money went towards new incubators for our neonatal patients. These incubators allow us to provide the best care for these babies who are often unable to adequately maintain their own body temperature. Ventilators £4,017 helped to fund new ventilators. These life saving and essential pieces of equipment are used on our intensive care wards where babies are being treated for various complex conditions. These machines effectively take over the breathing of the very ill or anaesthetised child. EEG Machine £4,700 was raised towards a new EEG machine which records the electrical activity of the brain and are often used on the intensive care wards. Bereavement services £2,015 went towards Great Ormond Street Hospital’s bereavement service, which provides support and counseling to staff and families.
Birthday? Wedding? Anniversary? Why not make your celebration even more special by asking for donations instead of unwanted gifts? Create your own personalised celebration web page at www.gosh.org/getbettergifts or call 020 7239 3002 for a celebration pack.
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Hospital school gets creative for the environment
Five minutes with Claire Gaymer
The Children’s Hospital School at Great Ormond Street and UCH recently got involved with the Joint Environmental Committee (JEC), designing posters featuring the ‘Envirolump’ to remind people of their environmental responsibilities. The JEC will feature new posters in future issues of Roundabout. If wards or departments want a laminated copy to hang on their noticeboards please contact Sarah Lewis on ext 5509 or on lewiss2@gosh.nhs.uk. You may even get a visit from Envirolump himself!
Hi, my name is Claire. I have worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) since qualifying in 2002 and am currently a Senior Staff Nurse on the renal unit where I have spent the last five years. We have a great team on the unit who help manage the care of children in renal failure. The age range of children we see is from new born babies to 18-year-olds. It is both a very challenging and rewarding place to work. No two days are the same with the majority of admissions being emergencies. The children and families can find this a stressful and worrying time. As a team we work with the families to listen to their concerns and adopt a holistic approach to their care. What was your childhood nickname and how did you get it? As a child my Dad used to call me and my brother bangers and mash! I can’t remember why – I will have to ask him.
Meetings in the Trust The Medical Equipment and Supplies Group (MESG) at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) plays a lead role in delivering savings and shaping the direction of purchases for the Trust. Chaired by David de Beer and William Harkness and coordinated through the Procurement team, the group meets fortnightly to discuss new or ongoing issues. They also make key strategic decisions on the future direction for medical equipment and supplies. The group is attended by representatives from across the Trust and acts as a link between clinical and non clinical areas. Key staff members from Theatres, Finance, Facilities, Procurement, the Clinical Practice Committee, Infection Control, general management, Patient and Staff Safety and Biomedical Engineering all play active roles within meetings. This helps to ensure that decisions are made with valid input and that all factors are considered in a forward thinking way. Since its inception, the MESG has contributed to significant projects Trust wide. A recent example
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involved changes to enteral feeding products, where the group facilitated an estimated saving of £175,000 per year. The group also deals with a number of clinical and product alerts and was fully involved in helping the Trust prepare for the swine flu outbreak. Key drivers of the MESG are patient safety and standardisation, particularly where this can be achieved to the high clinical standards that GOSH expects. This is a vital part of improving clinical results and driving forward cost savings. By following the right processes and involving the right people, we ensure that GOSH is at the forefront of paediatric medical equipment technology.
What’s your favourite thing about your job? This is a difficult question because I like lots of things about my job, but I think it would have to be meeting new people every day and learning about their lives and backgrounds to ensure the care we give meets their individual needs.
If you could visit any point in history, when would it be? I would love to have lived during the 1940s. I enjoy listening to stories from my grandparents. It must have been an extremely tough time living during World War II but the solidarity and patriotism that the country displayed was remarkable. I think today’s society could learn many things from this era. Their resourcefulness and strength during an amazingly tough period is admirable. What’s the most memorable place you’ve ever visited? In my early 20s a friend and I travelled to Mexico and had an amazing time. While there I climbed (I say climbed because each step came just above my knee!) a Mayan site called Chichen Itza where they would have made sacrifices to their gods in years gone by. The views at the top were amazing but it was really scary knowing I had to get back down again! What’s your favourite book or film? My favourite book has to be Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. I love the language and etiquette of the time. It is also enlightening to know that love is complicated whatever century you live in.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what CD would you most want with you and why? It would have to be Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill – I could sing away to it at the top of my voice and no one could hear me! As anyone who knows me will tell you, my singing voice is far from quiet.
If you have any ideas of relevant projects in your area, please contact us as we are always happy to receive new input. Alternatively, for more information or if you are interested in receiving copies of the group’s minutes, please contact Philip Neale on ext 6761 or nealep@gosh.nhs.uk 31
Sports update By Paul Ryves and Hayley Dodman
GOSH football back on form
GOSH netballers storm ahead
GOSH 2 – 1 Limeys Following the crushing defeat that GOSH suffered in the last game, it was time to get back to winning ways as the season reached its midway point.
GOSH 24 – 12 Newington Ninjas After a defeat against the Newington Ninjas’ sister team Newington Samurai earlier in the season, GOSH enacted revenge and ran out comfortable winners.
GOSH carried on where they left off in the second half of the last game with some high tempo football. The two goals scored were of the quality of Barcelona – a lovely build up of play on the right wing leading to a neat finish in front of the goal for the first. The second goal was scored by Jake Salmon (or should I say Leonardo Messi) as he tricked his way past the opposition goalkeeper to slot home.
A close first quarter saw GOSH matched goal for goal but the Ninjas weren’t able to take the lead. Some exceptional attacking play, especially from the GOSH shooting partnership, resulted in a 24–12 victory.
GOSH were unable to keep a clean sheet towards the end of the game as the defence dealt with a period of sustained pressure. A long-range shot from outside the box, which Sam Danquah eloquently jumped out the way of, resulted in goalkeeper Dene Nash diving the wrong way.
GOSH 18 – 19 Sheilas GOSH tasted defeat against the all-Australian Sheilas after a fast-paced and closely fought game in which the teams were matched goal for goal until the dying seconds. With 100 per cent shooting accuracy, Kat Morris in Goal Attack was awarded player of the match. GOSH 17 – 12 Swanettes Another game against an all-Australian team saw GOSH go into half time with a comfortable 14–8 lead after a frenetic start to the match. The Swanettes were galvanised after the break, but not enough to overcome their goal deficit with the final score 17–12.
The Sports and Social Committee is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. 32