April 2014

The staff magazine of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the UCL Institute of Child Health

April 2014

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A parent’s perspective Lisa, mum of Faith, shares her experience of having a baby born with gastroschisis, see page 12

Welcome from the Interim Chief Executive

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Word on the tweet

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Julian Nettel

GO Create!

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Learnabout

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Welcome to April’s edition of Roundabout in which we unveil the categories for our annual Staff Awards ceremony.

Noticeboard

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Last word

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I am a very keen advocate of making sure we recognise our staff – both formally and informally, and on an ongoing basis. I believe that doing so not only helps create a sense of family within the hospital, but it also increases our knowledge and appreciation of one another’s contribution as we work together to provide the best possible service to young people and their families.

Want to read more?

Visit the lifeline blog for more news and stories from the hospital and charity blog.gosh.org

A lot of the work we do is very serious and complex, and we are dealing with patients and their families who are going through very difficult episodes in their lives. Our Staff Awards are an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution we all make and the support we give each other.

As you know, we have had annual Staff Awards for some years and recently introduced a monthly Staff Awards scheme, too, the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Exceptional Member of Staff awards, or GEMS. Last month, I had the pleasure of seeing the winners of our individual and team awards receive their prizes at our senior management team meeting.

It was a very jolly affair and I hope the rounds of applause from senior colleagues really made clear how much the winners’ contributions are appreciated.

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Contents

This year, I am really pleased to see we have created a new award category in our annual awards: improvement champion of the year. For some time, the emphasis at GOSH has been how we transform and improve the services for our patients and their families. But we haven’t really taken a lot of time to recognise those staff who make significant contributions to the way services are provided. In what are difficult financial times for us, as part of the NHS, the drive to make improvements and make even better use of our resources is more important than ever. It’s vital that we recognise those people who actively take us forward on that journey.

I hope you will all think hard about putting forward people or teams for the staff awards.

­Features Staff Awards 2014 Find out about this year’s annual Staff Awards, and how you can nominate a colleague

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The RBC Race for the Kids 2014 The RBC Race for the Kids is back. Find out more about Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity’s annual 5k family fun run

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Interview: Professor Helen Cross The Prince of Wales’s Chair of Childhood Epilepsy talks to us about her role and the future of epilepsy research

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A parent’s perspective: my precious Faith 12 Lisa, mum of Faith, recalls her shock at learning that her baby would be born with some of her organs outside her body A day in the life 14 Syed tells us what a typical day is like for a Mitie Domestic Cleaner

The copy deadline for the May edition is Wednesday 9 April.

Please note that submitting articles does not guarantee a place in the next issue. Submissions should be sent to publications@gosh.org

Editor Sally Mavin, ext *643042 Email: sally.mavin@gosh.org Designer Sharon Leese, ext *643100 Contributors Corinne Clarke and Mark McKenzie-Ray Printer Jigsaw Colour, www.jigsawcolour.co.uk Charity logo Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Registered charity no. 235825.

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This month’s social media highlights from Great Ormond Street Hospital’s (GOSH) Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Tough 24 hrs with Joshy.

So grateful to the fabulous doctors and nurses at GOSH for the superb support and training.

In the news

Sarah had a heart transplant at 23 days old after contracting viral meningitis

A six-year study carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), exploring the ‘untapped’ potential for neonatal organ donation in the UK, was published by the BMJ journal Archives of Disease in Childhood. The story has since been reported on Radio 4’s Today programme, which featured interviews with Joe Brierley (co-author of the study) and Matthew Fenton, as well as a case study of GOSH heart transplant patient Sarah Cox and her family. The story was also covered

by The Guardian, The Independent, BBC News online, ITV National News, Daily Mirror, Mail Online and the London Evening Standard.

A GOSH-led study published in the New England Journal of Medicine describes how babies with the severest form of congenital hyperinsulinism can benefit from taking the drug sirolimus, which has also been used to treat renal transplant patients. Consultant Endocrinologist Dr Khalid Hussain, lead author of the study, spoke to ITV London News about the drug trial, which has so far saved four GOSH patients from having their pancreas removed.

A pioneering new study led by GOSH and the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) has investigated the use of stem cells taken from the abdominal fat of patients to build cartilage. These stem cells could one day be used to grow facial cartilage for use in ear and nose reconstruction. GOSH surgeon Neil Bulstrode and ICH lead researcher Dr Patrizia Ferretti discussed this promising new method in The Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail and BBC News online.

My daughter has been under their care for the last eight years. They have been superb in their approach, explaining each process to her in terms she can understand without being patronising, and allaying any fears she might have. They take a holistic approach, treating the whole child, not just the condition.

Eternally grateful to the heart and kidney surgeons and all the staff. Also to the hearing department and all the wonderful staff there for their continued support!

Just wonderful.

Lullaby Factory wins a 2014 Civic Trust Award Great Ormond Street Hospital’s (GOSH) Lullaby Factory has won a 2014 Civic Trust Award, recognising the very best in architecture, design, planning, landscape and public art.

The Lullaby Factory is the transformation of an awkward exterior space at GOSH, landlocked by buildings, into a secret world. The fantasy landscape cannot be seen except from inside the hospital and cannot be heard by the naked ear. Children can listen through special pipes peering over the restaurant balcony, or by tuning into a special radio station on the wards, creating a calming and uplifting environment for the young patients to recover in.

The design also incorporates gauges and taps reclaimed from a hospital boiler house that was in the process of being decommissioned.

Civic Trust Awards Managing Director, Malcolm Hankey, said: “Projects are assessed on their architectural excellence, sustainability credentials, accessibility for all users and positive civic contribution. Once again, the judging process has been rigorous and all the winners thoroughly deserve their success.”

GO Create! is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

Great hospital. The nurses and surgeons at GOSH are amazingly supportive to the patient and their family. I can’t explain in words the care provided by staff on Squirrel Ward for my just one-day-old son. Thanks for looking after him. @GreatOrmondSt you guys do such a fantastic job. If it wasn’t for you guys doing heart surgery on me way back in 1975 I wouldn’t be here.

Join the conversation Facebook: facebook.com/ GreatOrmondSt Twitter: @GreatOrmondSt

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Staff Awards 2014

(Left) Metabolic Unit, Chemical Pathology were awarded team of the year at the 2013 staff awards. (Top right) Lindsay-Kay Leaver, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cardiac Unit, receiving the transformation award at last year’s ceremony. (Bottom right) Dr Khalid Hussain and the Hyperinsulinism team receiving the child and family award at the 2013 awards ceremony.

STAFF AWARDS 2014

This year’s Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Staff Awards will take place on Wednesday 11 June in the Kennedy Lecture theatre, UCL Institute of Child Health at 5pm.

The categories for the 2014 Staff Awards are: New! Improvement champion A team or individual who has made a tangible improvement at work.

Colleague of the year A special individual who improves the lives of people working around them.

Team of the year Working together to make a real difference to patients, families or staff.

Leader of the year An exceptional manager who listens, motivates and empowers their team.

Child and family award A special individual or team nominated by patients, parents or carers. Please note that only patients and parents/carers can nominate for this award.

Volunteer of the year For an exceptional person who has made the greatest impact and contribution to the experiences of patients and families at the hospital.

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New! Staff development champion A member of staff who has shown particular passion, skill and commitment to developing people.

The Patricia Lewisohn award for excellence in customer care A member of clinical or non-clinical support staff in bands 1–4 who displays excellent customer care.

The Gwen Kirby award donated by The Nurses League For a sister or charge nurse who shows concern and consideration for their colleagues and inspires high standards of nursing care. Please note that only hospital staff can nominate for this award.

Academic achievement awards If you have received an academic award related to work in the past 12 months and would like to be recognised in the ceremony, please contact Natalia Katting in the HR department at natalia.katting@gosh.nhs.uk Long service awards All staff who will have worked for the Trust for 10, 20, 30, 35, 40 years and over on 11 June 2014 should have received a letter inviting them to the award ceremony.

If you think you should have been included and have not had a letter, please email workforce@gosh.nhs.uk If you have received a letter and haven’t replied yet, please contact Natalia Katting as soon as possible at natalia.katting@gosh.nhs.uk

How to nominate: Fellow staff members, volunteers, patients, families and visitors are all welcome to nominate individuals or teams for the annual Staff Awards by using one of the following methods:

Send an email to staffrecognition@gosh.nhs.uk Complete our online survey: www.surveymonkey.com/s/PLCJ9Y5 Fill out a printed nomination card and drop it into one of the boxes located in the hospital reception and in The Lagoon.

Please remember to say who you’d like to nominate, for which category and why. Make sure you give us plenty of information about what makes your nominee especially deserving of the award.

The closing date for nominations is Saturday 10 May 2014.

Remember, you can nominate an individual or team each month for a GEMS (GOSH Exceptional Member of Staff) award. All nominees from monthly GEMS will automatically be entered into the annual Staff Awards.

The Staff Awards are funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

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The RBC Race for the Kids 2014 The RBC Race for the Kids is back – and you can help make it bigger than ever! Join us in Battersea Park on Sunday 8 June 2014 for our annual 5k family fun run.

Be part of something amazing!

Last year, 4,000 people took part in the event and raised an incredible £672,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. This year, we’re hoping to have 6,000 people take part and raise even more.

All the money goes towards helping us rebuild and refurbish Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), allowing us to care for more sick children and their families. So, whether you love to run or prefer to stroll, we’d love to have you as part of the team!

Why not get a team together with your family, friends or colleagues?

Sign up today at www.raceforthekids.co.uk

Kirsten’s Race for the Kids Kirsten (left) is an Assistant Technical Officer in the Audiology department at GOSH. She also co-ordinates the GOSH Running Club and is hoping to get all the members involved in the RBC Race for the Kids this year.

“I’ve run in the event for the past four years. Last year I ran with friends and the year before that I ran with an Outpatients team. In 2012 we raised just over £1,000, so we were really pleased with that!

“I really like running and it’s something that I’ve never actually been very good at – I just like setting myself challenges. When I first did this race I had so much fun. I signed up for the next year and found

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more of my friends and colleagues were signing up so it was fun to run with them.

“It’s an amazing day out. When you leave the tube station you see this sea of bright blue t-shirts – it gets you really excited beforehand! You see other staff members running as well as families and kids. Lots of families take part with writing on the backs of their T-shirts or with photos of their children. You see all the things that drive other people and that’s a great motivator in itself.

“Even if you don’t normally run, it’s one Sunday in the year. You can bring your friends and family, have a good time, raise money, challenge yourself and help the patients in a way that you wouldn’t normally do.”

Charlie’s story Charlie has been a patient at GOSH since birth. His family all took part in the RBC Race for the Kids last year, as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the hospital.

effort to say thanks for everything that GOSH has given to our family and to Charlie”.

This year, they’re planning to enter an even bigger team: “As many of our friends and family want to say ‘thank you’ as well.”

When Charlie was born in 2007, one of his ears was missing, he had a lump on his right eye and a large lump on the top of his head. His local hospital couldn’t confirm a diagnosis for mum Ellie and dad Giles, but luckily Charlie was able to be seen by GOSH consultants at a local genetics clinic.

At four days old, Ellie and Giles had a diagnosis: Goldenhar syndrome. The condition affects the face, heart and kidneys. Although rare, Charlie’s condition was known at GOSH. He’s now under the care of the hospital’s Audiology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Maxillofacial and Plastic Surgery departments. He’s had eight operations on his eyes, ear and stomach, and has just been fitted with a bone-anchored hearing aid, which his parents say has transformed his life. Charlie will have ear reconstruction when he is 12 years old and other future operations are planned.

Charlie’s family raised nearly £900 taking part in the RBC Race for the Kids last year.

In Ellie and Giles’ words, it was “a real family

Help your hospital!

Sign up today!

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Interview: Professor Helen Cross

Is the collaboration between clinical practice at the hospital and research at the ICH important?

It’s a fabulous advantage to have GOSH and the ICH so intertwined. You’re only able to do the clinical research if you have the patient base to do so, and as children come to GOSH from far and wide we have that sample size. The closeness between the two institutions also helps accelerate the pace of translating findings into clinical practice.

“Much of my research is trying to determine new causes, but also trialling new treatments to improve outcomes in the long-term.”

Professor Helen Cross is the Prince of Wales’s Chair of Childhood Epilepsy, based at University College London, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Young Epilepsy. She is Head of the Academic Neurosciences Unit at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) and was recently elected Secretary General of the International League Against Epilepsy, the first woman to be elected to the executive committee in over 100 years. She lives in St Albans with her husband and three children.

When did you decide to be a paediatrician?

I was one of those irritating children who knew exactly what I wanted to do from an early age, which was to work in medicine and specifically with children. It was only at university that I realised I could combine the two! I was fortunate that I really enjoyed my paediatric attachments and had a special affinity with the people who taught and encouraged me to do my student elective in paediatric neurology in Sydney. When leaving my paediatric training in Birmingham I was very lucky as there were only two registrar posts for training in paediatric neurology and I got the one in London.

What exactly is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a symptom – the proneness of an individual to have recurrent epileptic seizures. An epileptic seizure is a change in movement, thought, behaviour or

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sensation – the direct result of a change in the electrical activity of the brain. It is an involuntary occurrence and there’s no prediction for when it is going to occur.

One in 20 individuals will have an epileptic seizure in their lifetime because it may be triggered by all sorts of things, like acute illness or alcohol withdrawal, but only one in 200 have a proneness to recurrent, unprovoked epileptic seizures.

When did you start specialising in epilepsy?

When I arrived at GOSH, Brian Neville had recently joined as the first Professor of Paediatric Neurology in the UK and he had a keen interest in epilepsy. He was very eager that an epilepsy programme be established and encouraged me to apply for a PhD that I started two years into my registrar training. It was linked to the fantastic Biophysics Unit that we have here.

What does your role at the hospital involve?

Predominantly, my role is one of research into complex childhood epilepsy. My research started looking into new neuroimaging techniques that helped increase the number of children who could be suitable for epilepsy surgery. It has evolved into improving outcomes for children with complex epilepsy: 70 per cent of children with epilepsy can control it with medication, but 30 per cent continue to have seizures. So much of my research is trying to determine new causes, but also then trialling new treatments to improve outcomes in the long-term, particularly early onset epilepsy. Parallel to the research, the clinical epilepsy service has grown to be one of the largest in Europe.

I also have a policy and training role as an advocate for increasing the availability of epilepsy surgery across the country. A national children’s epilepsy surgery service was launched in November 2012 and the neurosurgeon William Harkness and myself are clinical advisors to the programme. It involves four centres across the country being able to evaluate children with complex epilepsy for possible surgery, with an aim of quadrupling numbers that are undergoing surgery in the UK.

Is surgery now a viable option for children with epilepsy?

Surgery is available for children when we feel the seizures are arising from one area of the brain and they’re resistant to drugs. By undergoing a very detailed evaluation, including imaging, electroencephalography (EEG) brainwave testing and psychological assessments, we can determine whether the seizures are coming from one specific area and whether that can be removed without causing further damage to the child.

We’re obviously not in the business of removing part of the brain if it’s going to halt a child’s speech or change their personality. Our main goal is to try and complete this evaluation as early as possible. By stopping their seizures early, we aim to improve their long-term learning potential and neurodevelopmental outcome.

What does being the HRH Prince of Wales’s Chair of Childhood Epilepsy entail?

The position was set up in 2004 and I’ve been in the role since 2008. I’ve met HRH The Prince of Wales several times over the past decade and he has always shown a keen interest in individuals with epilepsy. When he visited the hospital recently he was incredibly chatty and spent a long time with the patients. He’s interested in the different treatments available, in particular the ketogenic diet, which is a high-fat diet used when a child is resistant to epilepsy drugs. This is an area I have a keen interest in and I recently completed the first randomised controlled trial demonstrating the effectiveness of the diet where drugs have failed. The diet has been used for a long time, but my trial was the first to really prove that it worked. We’ve now got funding to do a European study for which I’ll be the chief investigator of 15 centres around the continent. I have also recently obtained National Institute for Health Research funding for a trial of the diet in younger children.

(Far left) Professor Helen Cross in her office. (Above) Professor Cross talks with HRH the Prince of Wales during his visit to the hospital.

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A parent’s perspective: my precious Faith

her dad was able to hold her and we were able to give her a bath as well. After a brief stay at our local hospital after leaving GOSH, we were able to bring Faith home. The first year was a bit up and down: she had her Hickman© catheter removed, which was a significant milestone, but she spent her first Christmas in the local hospital as she was susceptible to chest infections. However, she now just has to go back for regular check-ups at GOSH with the wonderful surgeon Kate Cross. All she’s left with is a small scar, which she’s happy to show off to anyone!”

“Over the coming days, the doctors and nurses slowly but surely started tucking the rest of her organs back into her body. It was a very stressful time, especially when Faith dislodged her silo that was holding her external organs so had to go down for further surgery.

I stayed at the hospital the whole time and was fortunate enough to have a room at the patient hotel, which was a great help. My husband would come and stay but he also had to look after my two other children so it was really hard for the family.

“The staff at GOSH have done so much for Faith and our family. The staff are just amazing. The mix of expertise and commitment is what makes the hospital so special.”

At her 12-week scan, Lisa discovered that her baby had a rare congenital defect. The next nine months were a rollercoaster of emotions. Here, she tells us about her experience.

“When I was told by the midwife at my 12-week scan that my baby had gastroschisis (where the child’s organs are born outside the body) I was in a state of shock. I was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and University College London Hospital (UCLH).

“Initially, being referred to the hospital only made me more nervous as I thought only really serious cases were referred there. However, the monthly meetings with surgeon Mr Joe Curry really put my mind at ease. Joe was the first person who was able to talk me through the condition in depth, explain what would happen at birth and the plans that were being put in place.

“I was induced early, as is standard practice with gastroschisis, and gave birth to Faith in UCLH at 37

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weeks. She was born with her bowel and half of her bladder outside of her body. I was allowed to hold her for a precious minute before she was rushed over to GOSH in an incubator. I was told I had to wait in the hospital for six hours before I was able to follow her to the hospital, which felt like an eternity.”

Coming to GOSH “By the time I arrived at GOSH, Faith had already had her first major operation. They’d been able to put most of the bowel and bladder back in her body but not all of it. When I’d held her for that one minute after birth she was so well wrapped up that she looked like a normal baby. Now to see her on the Intensive Care Unit with wires and machines everywhere was quite a shock. We were assured she wasn’t in pain, but it just looked really horrendous.

“After 12 days, Faith was taken off the ventilator and moved to an inpatient ward. After a week on the ward we were informed she was being taken to theatre with the hope that they’d be able to completely move all her organs into her body. If it was successful she’d be taken to intensive care, if not then we’d be back to the ward. While I was delighted when I was told to meet her in intensive care, I was shocked when I saw her. She was now on an oscillator as well as an incubator as her body couldn’t handle the arrival of all her organs. The next 48 hours on the oscillator were probably the lowest point of Faith’s whole journey, from the happiness of having her body closed to watching her fighting for her life. I didn’t leave her side for a minute over those 48 hours.”

Four years later “Faith is now four years old and loves ballet, painting and stickers, and is adored by her older brother and sister. Faith’s sister initially gave me the silent treatment when I returned home as I’d been away for a month. However, the whole family is now doing really well and Faith has started at her local primary school. She’s very independent and tough, she never cries, and I think that comes from having to fight just to stay alive when she was born.

“The staff at GOSH have done so much for Faith and our family. I wouldn’t want her to go to any other hospital in the world. The staff are just amazing.

The mix of expertise and commitment is what makes the hospital so special. GOSH gave my daughter Faith a chance at life and I simply can’t thank them enough.”

Coming home “Thankfully, Faith showed what a little fighter she is and made it through this critical time. When we were moved back to the ward and she was able to feed for the first time I knew she had a good chance. This was the first time

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A day in the life of a Domestic Cleaner

Syed Ahmed is a Domestic Cleaner who works for Mitie, one of the largest cleaning services in the UK, who are employed by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Syed works on Flamingo Ward and has been at the hospital for two years.

An early start “I usually begin work at 7am, so I get up at 4.44am to get to work on time. I shower, and then depending on how much time I have, I might pray or have breakfast before I come to work. Then I normally have to run for the bus at Manor Park,

“I like working at GOSH because of the patients: it’s great being around the children. There was one patient on Koala Ward who would run up to me, give me a hug and shout ‘Hi, Syed’ whenever he saw me!”

“I think what’s most important about my role is that I do a good job and my supervisor is happy with the work I’ve done. I try and help the staff, patients and families where I can: even something as simple as opening the door for them if they can’t get in. If the people around me are happy, then I’m happy.”

Working for the patients and families “I like working at GOSH because of the patients: it’s great being around the children. I have two daughters at home, so my whole day is spent around children. I try and have a really good relationship with the children as much as the adults. There was one patient on Koala Ward who would run up to me, give me a hug and shout ‘Hi, Syed’ whenever he saw me!

“The families at the hospital are really kind.

Sometimes they will try to offer money to us for doing a good job, but I say ‘I’m sorry, I can’t accept that’. Instead, I will direct them to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity box near the entrance to the Ward. I’m just doing my job, and it is more important for the money to go to the charity so it can be put back into the hospital.”

near where I live. While I’m on the bus I might read or speak to my mum on the phone. Sometimes I will wait until I get to work to pray or eat before my shift starts.”

Busy days “I used to work in a hotel as a cleaner before I came to GOSH – it’s a job I like doing. I started on Koala Ward before being moved to Flamingo Ward, where I now work with my colleague, Nelson. We work as a team and help each other.

“Most days involve doing the same sort of work, but it’s always busy. Some days are a bit quieter, but that doesn’t happen very often. The days go by really fast and sometimes I don’t have time to go to lunch, or I might pray instead of going to lunch. The hospital has its own prayer room where I can go to pray.”

“I try and help the staff, patients and families where I can: even something as simple as opening the door for them if they can’t get in. If the people around me are happy, then I’m happy.”

Lending a helping hand “We have to clean to make sure the rooms and wards are safe for the patients. We go in and empty the bins, mop the floors, clean the rooms of dust, particularly on the top of machinery up high – that’s important because people might miss it, and the dust would just build up. We need to make it as

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sterile as possible. We never run out of work to do – there’s always something that needs to be cleaned!

Being rewarded “In 2013, I won the Colleague of the Year Award at the GOSH annual Staff Awards, which was really amazing. It was for my work on Koala Ward. I’m not really sure why they gave it to me – maybe it’s because I try and help everyone where I can. I got on really well with everyone on the Ward. They were like friends and family to me, and I just enjoyed being around them.”

Outside of work “I don’t have much time to do anything after work. I will finish at around 3pm, go home and have a shower. I take care of my daughters, and a lot of my time is spent at the mosque, helping people there.”

Who are Mitie?

Mitie are an outsourcing company that provide facilities, property and energy management for a range of public and private sector businesses.

They have been delivering domestic services to GOSH since 2006 and employ over 200 domestic cleaners on-site.

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Learnabout

Patient Safety Awareness Week

Personal development review (PDR) appraisal update We are delighted to announce the launch of the new PDR appraisal documentation for non-medical staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The new version is more intuitive than the previous version and can be completed on a computer or tablet. It will be the template to use for the next 12 months as we work towards introducing the new NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions from April 2015.

The Learning and Development team are running onehour training sessions, which commenced in March and will continue running throughout April and May. This is a very lean session taking staff through the paperwork, but does not cover the non-technical skills required to

ensure a quality discussion. Those skills will continue to be covered in the one-day PDR appraisal skills course – details of which can be found on the GOLD website, www.goshgold.org Please book a place on the one-hour session via the Service Request System. The session is titled ‘PDR appraisal documentation workshop’. If a timeslot fills up, we will open up another timeslot on the same day to meet demand.

GOLD is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

School celebrates outstanding OFSTED report Teachers, students and parents at the Children’s Hospital School at Great Ormond Street and UCH are celebrating after the school was rated ‘outstanding’

by OFSTED in March. This is the third consecutive ‘outstanding’ rating for the school, which also achieved top marks at inspections in 2009 and 2006.

The report praised teachers for their enthusiasm and the high standards they set for all their students, providing “creative and challenging learning opportunities that meet the needs of every student”.

Inspectors were impressed by the school’s innovative use of technology to overcome the practical challenges of teaching in a hospital, including using video links and digitally recorded work to ensure students on isolation wards are included in lessons and activities.

There was also high praise for the achievements and behaviour of students, with the report noting that they make outstanding progress and highlighting their “excellent attitudes towards learning, even when they are uncomfortable or in some pain”.

Head Teacher Jayne Franklin, who has led the school since September 2011, said: “We’re delighted that the Children’s Hospital School has again been rated ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED. This

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fantastic achievement recognises our ongoing hard work to keep improving our school, and is a reflection of the time and support given by everyone connected with the school and the hospital.”

(Above left) staff pledging, (top right) staff take part in a marshmallow challenge, (bottom right) group drawing competition.

In March, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) marked Patient Safety Awareness Week, an international education and awareness campaign founded by the National Patient Safety Foundation.

A series of events for patients, their families and staff were hosted by the Quality and Safety and Transformation and Improvement teams. Darzi Clinical Fellow, Dr Anita Jayadev, explains more.

Making a pledge “The start of the week coincided with NHS Change Day on 3 March, the largest social movement in the history of the NHS. A ‘pledge wall’ was set up in the entrance to The Lagoon, and featured a huge number of great pledges, from our Chief Executive to our youngest pledger.”

Spring clean “The team organised an equipment amnesty for any occupational or physiotherapy equipment misplaced across the hospital. We asked staff to have a spring clean of their cupboards and drop off any unused equipment so we could see if it could be rehomed or reclaimed.

We saved £1,068 through this initiative, so a big thank you to all staff that helped and took part.”

Let it shine “On Tuesday 4 March, we held a SHINE workshop for staff and patients. This award-winning project was displayed on the pledge wall to show staff and families how we have successfully developed a tool asking patients and families to report any incidents.”

Getting arty “A drawing competition for patients was held on 5 March, with the help of our volunteers, play staff and GO Create!

We asked for patient feedback by asking them to draw ‘what makes them feel safe in hospital’.”

Staying safe “On Thursday 6 March, we held a learning workshop for staff alongside the Health and Safety, Risk, Patient Safety and Audit teams. The departments received useful feedback and staff learnt more about where and how to address any safety concerns, how to run incident reports and how we learn from risks and incidents.”

(Above left) staff at the risk workshop, (top right) a patient’s drawing from the drawing competition, (bottom right) SHINE workshop.

Finishing up “The closing session was held by the Deputy Medical Director for Patient Safety, Dr Peter Lachman, discussing how we can ‘close the safety gap’.”

Thank you to all staff for engaging and supporting Patient Safety Awareness week and NHS Change Day. For further information please contact anita.jayadev@gosh.nhs.uk

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From the archives Each month, we bring you a selection of images from the hospital’s archives.

The Drinker respirator (known as the iron lung) was used in the 1930s to treat children with acute polio, partial drowning, alcoholic coma, smoke inhalation and other severe bronchial conditions. The patient was sealed up to their neck on a bed in the device’s steel vacuum chamber.

Electronically-operated bellows manipulated the air pressure to artificially recreate the natural inhalation and exhalation of the lungs.

Image ©Royal Air Force Museum

The Friends and Family Test Regular feedback from families about the care and treatment of our patients is vital for making improvements. The Friends and Family Test (FFT) gives patients, parents and carers the chance to explain whether or not they would recommend the ward to friends or family if they needed similar care or treatment. The FFT, which has been implemented across the NHS, aims to ensure transparency, celebrate success and galvanise improved patient experience.

Patients and families are asked the following question: “How likely are you to recommend our ward to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?” Participants can respond by selecting from a scale, from ‘extremely likely’ to ‘extremely unlikely’. A follow-up question asks patients and families why they gave the answer selected.

The process • Paper feedback cards are given to patients/families at the point of discharge or within 48 hours of discharge.

• Feedback cards can be returned anonymously into feedback boxes or by post.

• Responses are entered into an internal electronic system.

• Results are reviewed by staff for improvements and results displayed for patients/families to see each month.

Simon is the father of patient Scarlett. He says: “Being able to feed back while my experience with my

daughter at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is fresh in my mind is important to me. To know that my feedback will count and not just disappear is very reassuring – it’s not just a tick-box exercise. It seems our views matter and I feel we should all make every effort to share them through the FFT.” National targets • By 1 April 2014, the FFT will be offered to all inpatients.

• Every month, 15 per cent of patients should respond.

• Outpatient and day case areas will be included by 1 October 2014.

What next?

The FFT will also be extended to NHS staff during 2014. A new quarterly survey will be introduced, which asks staff to rate their organisation as a place for care or treatment, and as a place to work.

The hospital’s Electrical department attempted a number of approaches that today might be considered unconventional. ‘Sun-ray’ treatment was offered to children with a variety of conditions, including tuberculosis.

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For more information about the FFT at GOSH, please contact Charlie Magness (Project Manager) at charlotte.magness@gosh.nhs.uk

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Save the date!

Great Ormond Street Hospital Staff Awards

Upcoming Grow events

GEMS awards winners: February

Wednesday 11 June 5pm Kennedy Lecture Theatre, UCL Institute of Child Health

The Grow Network is a support group that aims to empower black and minority ethnic staff to reach their full potential through the offer of education, training and development, and networking opportunities.

3 April 8.30–9.30am Teaching Room 1, Level 1, Weston House 25 April 5–7pm The Lagoon restaurant (staff side)

12–2pm

Individual award: Atiya Bhutta, Receptionist in Outpatients

Teaching Room 1, Level 1, Weston House

Listen

Do

See

Watch

Eat and drink

Read

London International Ska Festival Various locations 17–20 April Prices vary

Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs Tate Modern 17 April–7 September £18

Team award: The Security team Nominate someone for a GEMS award!

If you think an individual or team should get wider recognition, drop an email to staffrecognition@gosh.nhs.uk providing as much information as you can about why they’re a Great Ormond Street Hospital GEM.

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8 April – Rama Navami (Hindu) 8 April – Swaminarayan Jayanti (Hindu) 14 April – Passover (start – Jewish) 14 April – Vaisakhi (Sikh) 15 April – Theravada New Year (Buddhist) 18 April – Good Friday (Christian) 20 April – Easter (Christian) 21 April – Ridvan (start – Bahá’í) 22 April – Passover (end – Jewish) 23 April – St George’s Day (Christian) 27–28 April – Yom Hashoah (Jewish)

t u o b a d n a Out

Want improvements or change? What are your suggestions?

30 April

Multi-faith festivals

Feast of St George Trafalgar Square 21 April Free

Easter Egg Hunt Cutty Sark 18–21 April Admission charges to Cutty Sark apply. Activities free with entry

Sundance London Film and Music Festival 2014 The O2 25–27 April £25–£170

A Girl Called Jack: 100 delicious budget recipes “Sassy, political and cooking amazing food on £10 a week. We need more like her.” Xanthe Clay, The Daily Telegraph

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Charity page We need to raise at least £50 million every year to help rebuild and refurbish Great Ormond Street Hospital, buy vital equipment and fund pioneering research.

Making an impact: Saturday Club For patients staying at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), weekends can be rather quiet, so in July 2010 the Volunteer Services team joined up with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity to set up the Saturday Club.

How it works Each week, the Saturday Club follows a different theme, such as pirates and fairies, Christmas fun, Valentine’s love and friendship, dinosaurs and monsters and lots more. All the activities are designed around that theme.

Recently, two young participants, Connor and Luke, who had attended the club three years ago, came back to GOSH and took part in the club again. They were among the first siblings to attend Saturday Club and were excited to see familiar faces among the volunteers. This time they brought their sister, who is now old enough to come to Saturday Club. The boys’ favourite activities are volleyball, dodgeball and football.

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Last word

GOSH staff survey results show steady improvement

Hay fever

The staff survey results for 2013 are back and they show that we are improving in a number of key areas, which is very encouraging. We had one of the highest response rates in the country (62 per cent), so thank you to everyone who took part in the survey.

Eighty-seven per cent of staff would recommend Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) as a place to be treated, and 76 per cent as a place to work. Both of these are average scores for acute specialist trusts.

Every Saturday, volunteers spend the day in the Activity Centre, providing sports, games, arts and crafts. Small teams of volunteers also visit the wards for those patients who aren’t able to come to the Activity Centre.

A pilot period ran once a month for five months, before increasing to fortnightly at the beginning of 2011. Eventually, the Saturday Club became so successful that it opened every week, with teams of volunteers and two paid staff members.

In brief

Connor and Luke’s mum said that she was delighted that the Saturday Club was still going and how much her children enjoyed attending.

Through the dedication and commitment of the team of volunteers, the Saturday Club is a welcome distraction for families, who are able to get some time away from the clinical environment of the wards. Families have commented that the volunteers are a welcome friendly face for both patients and siblings at the hospital.

One volunteer, Aaron Gardner, who has been with the Saturday Club since the beginning of 2011, enjoys supporting all the participants and attends nearly every week. He says: “Over the past three years, I’ve seen hundreds of patients and siblings in the Activity Centre and on the wards. Every Saturday is different and extremely fun! There aren’t many jobs where you can go home feeling a great sense of accomplishment, knowing that you gave children a place to be free from the hospital ‘routine’ and let them have hours of fun.”

The Saturday Club is open every Saturday, 1pm to 5pm in the Activity Centre on Level 2 of the Southwood Building.

Volunteer Services is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

However, we know that there is always more we can do to make things even better and so all divisions and directorates are currently developing local action plans, focusing on the things that you said were most important to you. Keep an eye out for more information in your area or team meeting.

There are things happening already that will pick up on some of the areas that we need to improve, including: • Continuing our emphasis on making sure all staff receive their statutory and mandatory training, which includes health and safety training.

• The work to develop a new set of values and behaviours for GOSH – Our Commitment – will help us focus on how we work as teams more effectively.

We will publish a more detailed analysis of the results and what we are doing about them in a future edition of Roundabout. In the meantime, the full set of results can be found on the staff survey page on GOSH Web.

Hay fever (also known as seasonal allergic rhinitis) is a common allergy to pollen that affects up to one in five people at some point in their life.

Hay fever symptoms include sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes. This month, Occupational Health Manager Lisa Liversidge answers some common questions about hay fever.

What can I do to reduce my hay fever? Try to stay indoors when the pollen count is high, making sure doors and windows are kept closed (visit www.metoffice.gov.uk for pollen forecasts). You can also buy filters for the vents in your car.

Avoid hanging washing outside where it can trap pollen, and now is also a good time to do a spring clean at home.

What if I need to go outside when the pollen count is high? Apply a thin layer of Vaseline just inside your nostrils before going out, and wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting in your eyes. After going outside, shower, wash your hair and change your clothes to remove pollen.

Can diet improve my hay fever?

Certain vitamins and minerals can help. Vitamin A helps keep the mucous membranes that line the nose and sinuses healthy, so stock up on sweet potatoes, carrots, kale and butternut squash. Vitamin B5 can reduce allergic symptoms and can be found in oily fish, avocadoes and eggs. Zinc can also boost your immune system, so try shellfish, beef, spinach and wheat germ.

Is there a cure for hay fever? Unfortunately, there is no cure for hay fever, but it can usually be managed effectively through lifestyle changes and over-the-counter medications, such as antihistamine tablets, eye drops and nose sprays. Talk to your GP or pharmacist about possible treatments.

For more advice, contact Occupational Health at ohadmin@gosh.nhs.uk

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They need us. We need you.

Band 5 nurses For our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Are you looking for a new challenge or change of direction? If so we want to hear from you. Demand for our services and our planned national service growth means we need to recruit more dynamic, experienced nurses.

Approximately 1,000 patients per year are admitted to our PICU. The majority of our patients come from the North Thames area, but we also admit patients from all over the UK and around the world.

We admit children to PICU post operatively who have had specialised surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The unit also offers support and services for our colleagues in other specialties throughout the Trust, such as oncology, neurology, metabolic medicine, renal medicine, ear, nose and throat, endocrinology and respiratory medicine.

We particularly want to hear from adult nurses with an ICU qualification or intensive care experience who would like to make the move into paediatrics.

Great Ormond Street Hospital is one of two London centres for children requiring neurosurgery and intensive care in London.

We are committed to staff development and we are able to provide comprehensive career development through London South Bank University as well as in-house training and education. The specialist nature of the work offers nurses the opportunity to develop levels of expertise second to none.

For further information or to arrange an informal visit please contact Ghislaine Stephenson on 020 7405 9200 ext 8389 or email ghislaine.stephenson@gosh.nhs.uk This post is open to experienced nurses only.

Closing date for applications: 18 April 2014

We encourage participants from all sections of the community.

We conduct full criminal record checks on all successful candidates.