As 2022 draws to a close, I’m delighted to share some of the fantastic stories from across our hospitals during the past few months.
We were proud to honour a pioneer in medicine - and women's medicine in particular - by naming our new building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital after her - the Louisa Martindale Building.
We have also opened a faster, greener and more efficient laundry service at St Richard's Hospital, and we saw the team in our Urology Investigation Unit at Worthing Hospital reduce admissions and expand capacity one year after opening.
Of course, these are just a few highlights and there are many more to share in this newsletter.
You will know that it has been an exceptionally busy time for our teams, as it has been for all our partners across the health and social care system in Sussex. On behalf of everyone here I want to thank you all for your ongoing support for UHSussex.
Dr George Findlay | Chief Executive | University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
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Introducing The Louisa Martindale Building |
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We are proud to announce that our new building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital is named after a pioneer in medicine and medical education for women, Dr Louisa Martindale CBE. She was a general practitioner and surgeon in Brighton and London, who became a world-renowned gynaecologist.
All of the clinical areas in the eleven-storey building have now been handed over to the Trust and staff are working hard to turn this impressive building into a hospital, due to open in the spring of 2023.
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Young patients benefit from new dental X-ray unit |
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Patients can now be X-rayed using a new state-of-the-art imaging system at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.
This new unit was kindly funded by Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, partner charity of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, and their donors.
As well as supporting all paediatric dental patients requiring imaging, this replacement machine will also be used to detect bone tumours, soft tissue damage and issues related to the head and neck.
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Welcoming a faster, greener and more efficient laundry service |
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Our fully refurbished laundry facility at St Richard’s Hospital was officially opened in November.
The service has undergone a £7million refit, making it the most up to date hospital laundry in the NHS. It can provide a faster, greener, and more efficient service for St Richard’s, Southlands and Worthing hospitals.
Speaking at the opening, Dr Findlay Chief Executive of UHSussex, paid tribute to members of the laundry team, who worked at other sites around the region to maintain the Trust’s laundry service during the refurbishment.
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Celebrating the every day extraordinary |
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We are proud to share with you our most recent winners of Star of the Month, who have gone above and beyond what is expected of them, excelling in a way that embodies our values and contributes to our Patient First goals.
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Stephen Dorman, Princess Royal Hospital Catering Assistant |
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St Richard's Hospital Laundry Team
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Abi Downham, Worthing Hospital Pharmacy Technician
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Improving stroke care in West Sussex |
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Health and care leaders have set out plans to further improve stroke services for patients in West Sussex.
The proposed recommended option is for an Acute Stroke Centre to be developed at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, led by our Trust.
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STAR Awards winner rolls out innovation to support patients to stay fit and well throughout pregnancy |
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‘Innovator of the Year’ STAR’s winner and Specialist Physiotherapist Andrea Yeboah, along with her colleague Bella d’Almeida, has successfully rolled out the winning initiative to support pregnant women and people in Sussex through their pregnancy and after birth.
The initiative came about after Andrea and Bella, Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Service Lead, completed clinical improvement scholarships, allowing them to explore their respective areas of interest; perineal tears and the effects of antenatal yoga on anxiety, stress and depression.
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Sussex Network hit testing target as part of national programme to eliminate Hep C |
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The Sussex Hepatology Network at Royal Sussex County Hospital has reached a testing target set by NHS England, as part of a national project helping eliminate hepatitis C as a major health threat by 2025.
Hepatitis C is preventable, treatable, and curable for most people. If left untreated, however, the infection over time can lead to scarring on the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure or cancer.
In a bid to create a snapshot of how close we are to eliminating the virus across the country, networks were asked to test 400 people from high-risk groups over a six-week period.
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President of Royal College of Ophthalmologists opens unique hospital-based art gallery |
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A unique art gallery enjoyed by thousands of eye care patients in Sussex has been officially opened by the President of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Professor Bernard Chang.
“Chaos of Creation” is the first exhibition from Sooffee Art Gallery, an initiative borne from the passion and philosophy of ophthalmic surgeon and photographer Mr Masoud Teimory.
The stunning collection of images are displayed on the walls of the waiting areas and corridors of our eye care units at Southlands Hospital and St Richard’s Hospital, which welcome and care for more than 100,000 patients every year.
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One year on: Urology Investigation Unit reduces admissions and expands capacity |
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Part of a £2.1million investment, the Urology Investigation Unit (UIU) at Worthing Hospital opened last summer as a new specialist urology area and has transformed the way we care for patients.
The unit was converted from an unused eye theatre space into a dedicated area for appointments, clinics and procedures, enabling care to be given via a one-stop urology outpatient service.
The new space and way of working has resulted in a 30% increase in the number of new patients seen, follow up appointments and procedures. And a recent survey revealed 100% of people would recommend the UIU to their friends and family.
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Mobile screening units hit the road to help detect early signs of breast cancer |
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To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), we highlighted the importance of attending breast screening appointments to help find and treat cancers early.
There are seven mobile screening units across Sussex, enabling us to reach the community beyond our hospital sites, offering convenient appointments to thousands of women.
Our multi-disciplinary team provides a safe, private and friendly service from the mobile vans, which are fitted with state-of-the-art digital screening equipment to provide high quality images.
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UHSussex mum credits colleagues with son’s cancer recovery and raises funds for vital research |
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Appointment of new Lead Governor |
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We are delighted to announce that Lindy Tomsett was elected as Lead Governor following Frank Sims’ recent decision to stand down from the role.
Lindy has a longstanding passion for the services we deliver. Lindy was a member of staff at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester for 35 years, starting in General Nursing and then into Midwifery, from which she retired five years ago. During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lindy returned as a volunteer vaccinator.
UHSussex Chairman, Alan McCarthy, congratulated Lindy on her election and welcomed her taking on this important role in supporting the Governors to hold the Trust Board to account.
Frank Sims stood down as Lead Governor to avoid a potential conflict of interest following his appointment as an associate Non-Executive Director role with East Sussex Healthcare Trust. We are pleased that Frank will continue serving as a Public Governor for our Trust, representing the Brighton & Hove constituency.
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The Trust Governors have two Committees that report to the Council of Governors; The Member Engagement Committee and the Patient Experience and Engagement Committee. We thank our Public Governors John Todd and Frances McCabe for recently taking on the respective Chair roles.
The Member Engagement Committee oversees how the Trust Membership team is engaging with members and reaching new members from all parts of Sussex. We are pleased to welcome all new members, including the young people in Chichester and Worthing who joined us in October. We are very keen to hear from Members about any activities and subject talks by the Hospitals that might be of interest to you or your friends and family and thank everyone who completed the survey.
If you have friends or family who would like to join us and get the benefits of membership, which include NHS Discounts, please refer them to our membership page.
The Patient Experience and Engagement Committee has taken a close interest in the Trust’s Patient Experience Strategy and its focus on customer service excellence. Each Sussex Healthwatch is represented at the committee and they are collecting views to help inform our plans and training:
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Do we have your correct contact details? We don’t want to lose you |
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We regularly review our member contacts lists. When ‘not at this address’ returns are received, members are removed from our database. If you have recently moved or have a new email address, please share the new details via the member portal or by contacting our membership team by e-mail uhsussex.governors@nhs.net or by calling 01243 831888.
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We held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 27 July 2022, which included a review of the previous year and a fascinating insight into the developments in our Cardiac Services.
Details of our 2023 AGM will be publicised on our website.
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Dates for the diary:
Council of Governors Meetings - MS teams links available nearer the date
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- Thursday 16 Feb 2023, 14.00-16.00, Worthing HQ
- Thursday 18 May 2023, 14.00-17.00, Worthing HQ
- Thursday 17 Aug 2023, 14.00-17.00, Worthing HQ
- Thursday 23 Nov 2023, 14.00-17.00, Worthing HQ
- Thursday 29 Feb 2024, 14.00-17.00, Worthing HQ
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Social media highlights #UHSussex |
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Are you following UHSussex on social media? There’s so much that goes on across our hospitals but we aim to bring you daily news and updates through our social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Here’s a flavour of what’s been on social media recently…..
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Thanks to generous support from our charities, Love Your Hospital and BSUH Charity, we were able to offer a delicious selection of Christmas treat boxes and fruit baskets to all teams and departments.
Thanks to kind donations to Love Your Hospital and BSUH Charity, complimentary Christmas roast lunches were available again this year to all staff working across UHSussex sites, on Christmas Day. The charities were also pleased to fund free mince pies on Christmas Day for all inpatients across UHSussex.
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In case you missed it....
Here’s a round-up of more news stories from across UHSussex...
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Patient feedback highlights |
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We’re proud to share with you some of the lovely feedback we have had recently. If you’ve got a positive experience of using our services you’d like to share then we’d love to hear it. Contact us at uhussex.communications@nhs.net or leave us a Google review. |
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