Welcome to the latest edition of your UHSussex staff newsletter, a round-up of the news stories from across our hospitals throughout June |
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Dear colleagues,
As we bid farewell to another busy month, we are delighted to reveal the winners of our Patient First STAR Awards and share the special celebrations from the glittering ceremony.
June was a milestone month for the Louisa Martindale Building, which officially opened its doors to the public. We shared the historic moment wards moved from the hospital's oldest building to the newest.
What's more, we welcomed pioneering knee replacement technology to the Trust, shared an exciting milestone in the build of our first Community Diagnostic Centre, and highlighted a successful antibiotic study led by one of our consultants.
Celebrations continued throughout the month as we marked Volunteers' Week, Facilities and Estates Day and Pathology Week. And finally, we saw a huge collaborative effort from colleagues to help limit the disruption following severe IT issues.
Thank you,
Communications
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The sheer dedication and commitment of colleagues was recognised last week (23 June) at our second Patient First STAR Awards.
Winners were chosen from more than 1,100 nominations submitted by colleagues, patients and the public for individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond. The 12 award categories reflected one or more of the Trust’s values, from compassion, communication and teamwork, to respect, professionalism and inclusion.
It was an incredible night of celebrations, followed by plenty of dancing. See if you can spot yourself, colleagues or your team as we captured special moments from the night for our STARS highlights video, photo gallery and social media message wall.
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First patients treated in the Louisa Martindale Building |
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Following monumental efforts from our colleagues, the Louisa Martindale Building (LMB) at the Royal Sussex County Hospital opened its doors for the first time this month. During the past few weeks, wards have moved from the oldest acute NHS building in England, the Barry Building, into the newest, LMB.
While teams settled into their new environment, we asked patients and members of the public on the day of opening to tell us what they think about the new building.
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Striding ahead with pioneering knee technology |
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The Sussex Orthopaedic Treatment Centre, at Princess Royal Hospital, is now the first NHS hospital in the South East region to offer Mako robot technology for knee replacements.
Chris Ives, 74, from Brighton, who has severe arthritis in both his knees, was one of the first patients at UHSussex to be offered the innovative robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery.
Compared to traditional surgery, the robotic-assisted procedure allows the surgeon to remove bone more precisely, and position the new knee more accurately, which can mean better results for patients.
We followed Chris' journey with Mr Majid Chowdhry, the Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who led the operation.
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Imaging milestone in build of first Community Diagnostic Centre |
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This month marked an important milestone in the build of our first UHSussex Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Southlands, with the delivery of a brand-new CT scanner – the first large imaging item to be accepted for installation.
The scanner will be used by patients awaiting a diagnosis for a wide range of conditions, including those on cancer pathways. As the first static scanner on site at Southlands, replacing the current mobile scanner, patients will be able to enjoy much easier access to hospital facilities.
Now that installation is complete, the machine will be thoroughly tested by medical physics and the room will be finalised ready for use by the first patient when Phase One opens to patients in the Autumn. This will include MRI, X-Ray, as well as CT services – with the MRI expected for delivery at the beginning of July.
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We have more than 850 dedicated volunteers at UHSussex, and for Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June) we recognised the valuable contributions they make to our staff, patients and visitors.
In line with this year’s national campaign theme ‘celebrate and inspire’, a range of celebratory lunches and tea parties were held across our sites to thank all of our incredible volunteers for their ongoing support.
The events also provided the opportunity to shine a light on some of our volunteers who have reached key milestones at the Trust, and reward them with a long service award in appreciation.
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National Pathology Week 2023 |
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National Pathology Week (19 – 25 June) is an annual celebration showcasing the essential contributions pathologists and clinical scientists make to healthcare.
Hear from some of our fantastic colleagues as they explain their roles within pathology and the highlights of their job.
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Courtyard screening project off to flying start |
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Courtyard Infectious Diseases Ward at the Royal Sussex County Hospital has seen its Patient First improvement project get off to a flying start in the first six months – increasing effective screening for HIV, hepatitis B and C from 0% at baseline to 81% of ward patients, with the aim to achieve 100% at 12 months.
The project has also identified two patients with unknown hepatitis C and no identifiable risk factors, referring them on for treatment.
The team used teaching sessions, bite-sized digital media content, visual aids in the workplace and amendments to handover sheets to deliver the improvement project, within the Patient First’s Plan, Do, Study, Act framework.
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UHSussex consultant leads successful antibiotic study |
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A study led by Professor Martin Llewelyn, Consultant in Infection at UHSussex and Professor of Infectious Diseases at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, has been linked to a change in antibiotic prescribing behaviour and a reduction in antibiotic use.
Professor Llewelyn and a team of researchers developed a new toolkit, called the antibiotic review kit (ARK), which was first introduced into Royal Sussex County and Princess Royal hospitals, to help tackle antibiotics being overly or unnecessarily prescribed in hospital settings and carried out a study to understand its effectiveness.
The kit has four elements; a prescribing decision aid which makes it easier for prescribers to stop antibiotics at a review within 72 hours, online training which takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, implementation guidance and a patient leaflet explaining why they might be prescribed antibiotics and then be taken off them.
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National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day 2023 |
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There are more than 2,000 members of the Facilities and Estates Team at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, who collectively play a crucial role in creating a safe, clean and comfortable environment for colleagues, patients and visitors.
On National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day (21 June), we broke down the roles within Facilities and Estates and highlighted the key areas of support they provide across our services.
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Zoe shines brightly with Cavell Star Award |
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Neonatal Matron, Zoe Hall, was awarded a Cavell Star Award after being nominated by members of her team from the Trevor Mann Baby Unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Zoe was recognised for her support of fellow colleagues and for going above and beyond her usual duties to help them.
Cavell Star Awards is a national awards programme that shines a light on nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare assistants who show exceptional care to their colleagues, patients and patients’ families.
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Fired up with our new Chief Medical Officer |
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This month, we caught up with Professor Catherine Urch (Katie), Chief Medical Officer. Since joining UHSussex in April 2023, Katie has poured her energy into meeting colleagues across our hospitals to discover more about her new Trust and see where she can make the biggest difference.
But Katie’s appetite to learn, galvanise teams and challenge norms is nothing new – as seen from her early classroom days, through to her ascent as a junior doctor on cancer wards.
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Patient First Planet First news |
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Charity funding to improve bike facilities for staff and patients |
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During National Bike Week (5-11 June), we were delighted to announce that we have received charity funding to enhance cycling facilities across our hospital sites.
The bid was informed by a Trust-wide cycle facilities audit, led by the UHSussex Cycle Group Green Ambassadors and Green Travel Team, to identify priority areas for improvement.
The funding application to the Trust’s dedicated charity, My University Hospitals Sussex, has now been approved by the Board of Trustees and planning is underway.
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For the first time ever the LGBTQI+ network is holding its very own Pride Awards on Friday 4 August for UHSussex colleagues.
Categories include Ally of the Year, Diversity Hero, Exceptional Inclusion Team and LGBTQI+ Trailblazer of the Year.
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In case you missed it....
Here's our round-up of all the stories and updates across the Trust in June:
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Patient feedback highlights |
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