Inside Story is the UCLH staff magazine

Inside Story

A mystery visitor... Modern matron wouldn’t approveSmile you’re on cameraProtecting patients’ privacy

SURPRISE PARTY...Chelsea Cheer theChildren

Front cover stars: Chelsea’s surprise visit

You Shall go tothe Ball

It’s a must have ticket so get your

glad rags ready and book now for the

UCLH Nurses Ball. The annual

celebration is at the Savoy Hotel,

Strand, on Friday February 23rd with

cocktails, followed by dinner and

disco dancing. Price is £38.00 and

tickets are available from Sylivia

Jemmott (nursing only) x 9569 and

Lydia Pierre (admin only) x 2155.

New YearHonour forUCLHConsultant

Forty years of

dedication to

biomedicine won UCLH’s Mike Wren

an MBE in the New Year Honours.

Consultant biomedical scientist Prof

Wren has worked in the NHS since

1966 and began at UCH in 1989 as a

senior chief biomedical scientist. He

became a lab manager in 1994 and

was promoted to his current position

in September 2004.

During his time at the trust Prof

Wren estimates he has trained

thousands of biomedical scientists

and junior doctors and he was

recognised in the honours for his

services to biomedicine.

Microbiology service manager David

Baker prepared the citation which,

supported by the Trust, won Prof

Wren his honour.

”It’s been a wonderful, wonderful

career and I still enjoy it even after

40-and-a-half years,” said Prof Wren.

“Nearly half the time has been spent

here and I think this is a terrific

hospital to work for.”

Following more than three years working for a Professor at UCL,

Olwyn Sanderson has joined UCLH as a senior medical

secretary in Oncology. Olwyn says she takes pleasure in her

role from many things but primarily patient contact: “It’s a

demanding role but I like talking with the patients. "On her

thoughts about UCLH Olwyn points out that she was once a

patient at UCH – “I was really touched by the standard of care

and all the help I received toward my road to recovery.”

A new registrar in the neonatal unit at the EGA, Huda Fawa

joins UCLH from King's Lynn and Wisbech Hospitals NHS

Trust. Huda’s role involves caring for pre-term babies with

complex problems; “I’ve worked in paediatrics before and I

like it but it is stressful” Huda explains. The neonatal

placement is a sub-speciality part of her training so she’ll only

be here for three months but Huda says; “I hope to extend it if

possible because you get a first class service here and the teaching opportunities

are great – I turned down a job in Oxford for this one!”

After twenty five years at Oldchurch Hospital in Romford, seven of

which as an anticoagulation nurse specialist, Jenny Hills decided

it was time for a change. “Nurses I’d trained at my old hospital

moved to UCLH and recommended it’s innovative approach” says

Jenny. Joining UCLH in the same role; administering anti-

coagulants and monitoring their use and effect on patients Jenny

says; “People tend not to understand what my role involves but

there’s a lot of autonomy in it because the clinics are nurse-led

and there’s also minimal input from doctors.”

NEW faces @UCLH

Teenagers on the cusp of

adulthood will receive specialist care

at a crucial time in their treatment at

a new craniofacial centre at the

Eastman Dental Hospital.

The world class centre ensures vital

continuity of care for young people with

severe craniofacial deformities when

they leave children’s services and go

into the adult system.

“It’s a vital time for them

but we found there was no

continuity of care, said

Professor Nigel Hunt,

chairman of the division of

craniofacial developmental

sciences at the Eastman

and clinical lead.

“It has to be done when

growth has stopped at

around sixteen plus, just

when patients are moving

to adult services. Many patients from

Great Ormond Street for example will

be able to continue their care at the

Eastman.

The team works in tandem with state

of the art in-patient services at UCLH,

which now has the biggest adolescent

unit in Europe. It harnesses the

expertise of specialists in eight

disciplines, including oral and

maxillofacial surgery, plastic and

craniofacial surgery and neurosurgery,

as well as liaison psychiatry, orthodontic

and restorative dentistry.

Professor Mike Wren

The multidisciplinary team at the new Eastman

centre with Frank Dobson MP (left front)

New Eastman centre bridges the care gap

Treatment at thisstage shapes howpatients will look,their final facialappearance

Special guest and UCLH patient Barbara Windsor couldn’t

shake hands when she joined hundreds of visitors to the

Trust Open Day but she could pose for photographs.

“I was filming and fell a… over t… and came here with a

fractured hand, “she told everyone to laughter, when she

officially opened the event. The day was a great success for

all staff showcasing their first class services, pioneering

treatments and sophisticated technology. Visitors were given

tours of eight different areas of the new hospital including the

operating theatres, therapy pool and gyms.

The Eastenders star stopped to chat at the stalls. “The staff

are truly wonderful,” she said.Chairman Peter Dixon and

chief executive Robert Naylor thanked everyone for making

the afternoon such a great success.

OPEN DAY A MASSIVE HIT

A big thanks to everyone who helped make the open day a huge success

Got a story? Contact anne.burns@uclh.nhs.uk or call x 9897

This photo of

Mr Alexander

Litvinenko in his

hospital bed at

UCLH flashed

across the world.

Taken just days

before his tragic

death, it

prompted many

questions about

how to deal with

requests to take photographs or video, from press,

patients or relatives and friends. The case of Mr.

Litvinenko was an international high profile case, but the

same rules apply to each and every patient.

Dealing with Media requestsAll media requests should go through the

communications unit, who’ll arrange consent

from patients, which must be given. The unit

will also get any other permissions needed i.e.

from the Trust or staff. In Mr. Litvinenko’s case, he asked for

the picture to be taken and used his own photographer.

Clinicians gave their opinion on whether it was advisable.

The unit sorted out consent forms and told the media how

they could access the photograph, ensuring minimum

disruption to staff and patients.

Requests from family and friendsIt’s so easy now to take pictures or videos

with mobile phones and usually there is no

problem when family or friends take pictures

for personal use. Questions arise when the

patient is not conscious, and this is often a time when family

members are very distressed. If next of kin give written

consent, and pictures are for personal use, permission may

be given. If the patient regains consciousness then

retrospective permission should be sought. A similar case to

this came up recently and staff were unsure what to do.

When we’re looking after patients like the July 7th bomb

victims or celebrities we need to be extra watchful that no

one takes photos or video that might be used by the media.

If you have any concerns or queries at all please contact

the communications unit who will be able to advise.

Pictures of patients for clinical useUCLH policy on consent for images used for

clinical purposes is stricter than the national

policy, and has just been updated to maintain

the highest level of security and confidentiality.

At the Trust, a patient must consent in writing to any kind of

photography whether or not the patient can be identified.

Taking images without consent can only be done when it’s

demonstrably in the patient’s best interest or for legal

reasons... The patient’s consultant, clinical director, or Child

Protection Team, must authorise. These become part of the

patient’s medical records and are protected by law in the

same way as any other part of the record.

Photographs of an unconscious patient may only be taken

if consent is obtained from the patient when he or she is able

to give it; without it they must be destroyed.

Parents or guardians must sign consent forms for children.

If a competent child does not want an image to be used, it

must not be used, even if consent has been given by those

with parental responsibility.

May I take a picture?

A scheme to spot and groom NHS

leaders of the future is set to put four

staffers on the road to success.

They’ve won a place on the national

“Breaking Through” programme for

black and minority ethnic employees

with potential to take on senior jobs. It’s

run by the Institute for Innovation and

Improvement.

Esther Dontoh-Sikwese, a call centre

manager, wants to be a service

development manager and then

general manager involved in service

improvement in areas like clinical

efficiency. “I’m flexible and adapt well. I

hope the course will open up my mind

more and help in furthering my NHS

career.”

Trupti Patel is an

HR manager for the

new acute services.

“I want to work at a

more strategic and

influential level. I

hope this course

gives me the

confidence and

skills to achieve

that.”

Hamise Djoshkoun, at UCLH as a

clinical dietetic services manager for

nearly four years, currently manages a

team of five at the NHNN. “I want to be

pushed further. I’m confident this

programme will achieve this.

The assessment was

challenging. I felt I’d already

learnt a lot.”

Tamara Gyapong joined as a

clinic co-ordinator and is

currently an outpatient

supervisor at the EGA.

“I hope the course helps to

develop my strengths, enables

me to look at issues from a wider

perspective and improve my

negotiating skills. I want to get into

senior management in service

improvement and development.”

Contact Marita Brown, x 5145 for

more details on the scheme.

Full guidance on

photography and video images

of patients can be found in

Appendix 19 of the information

governance policy 2007, which

is available on Insight.

Top training for top jobs Tamara, Hamise and Trupti

Send details of your upcoming events to weekly.email.bulletin@uclh.nhs.uk

Young patients at UCLH were amazed when some of

the biggest stars in English football made a surprise

visit… and so were some of the staff!

Tracey Spraggs, mother of 18-year-old Ben, said: “It’s

made his day and it’s taken away his pain for a while.”

“I never expected to meet the players.They’re actually

quite normal which really is surprising,” said fourteen

year-old fan Andrew Walsh.

Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack spent

90 minutes handing out presents and signing autographs

at the children’s Christmas party. The trio were

joined by goalkeepers Magnus Hedman and

Hilario, defenders Paulo Ferriera and

Khalid Boulahrouz and striker Salomon

Kalou.

England left-back Ashley Cole said it

was a humbling experience. “It’s sad

that the children are in hospital for

Christmas, and if we can take some

time out of our lives to put a smile on

their faces then that’s brilliant.”

The visit was organized by CLIC

Sargent, the official charity partner

of Chelsea FC.

The unit was officially

opened by Frank Dobson,

MP for Holborn and St

Pancras. He was recently a

patient at the Heart Hospital

and sent this letter of

“deepest gratitude” to all

there, along with presents

of House of Commons

chocs.

A thank you letter to all at

the Heart Hospital and

boxes of House of

Commons chocs came

from grateful patient Frank

Dobson, MP for Holborn

and St. Pancras.

“From the people in the

operating theatre, other

clinical staff through to the

people making the beds

and cleaning the floors, I

was treated and cared for

with professionalism,

warmth and concern. And

just as important, so were

all the other patients.

The Heart Hospital is an

example to us all – people

working together for the

benefit of their fellow

citizens. It did my heart

good in more sense than

one.

I will never be able to

repay my debt to everyone

who helped look after me…

my deepest gratitude.”

If you go down to the

wards today…

Look

who

turned up

in a taxi

to pay a

surprise

hospital

visit way

back in

1950.

No Big Bear wasn’t

looking for Goldilocks.

Not sure modern matron

would approve but Big Bear

was visiting his owner and

keeper circus impresario Mr

Chipperfield himself, who

was a patient at The

Middlesex. He missed his

favourite bear so much he

persuaded staff only a visit

could cheer him up. Just

after the Second World War

Chipperfield’s circus was

the biggest in Europe, and

the picture, taken by a

press agency would

probably have made

newspapers headlines.

The pictures are in the

Trust’s archive collection of

photographs, documents,

and correspondence. Annie

Lindsay, trust archivist

showed off some of the

archives at the Trust open

event, and they proved a

great hit with visitors and

staff alike.

Frank

Lampard with 14-

year-old Andrew

Walsh

Surprise Surprise –it’s Chelsea !

I couldn’thave receivedbetter care andattention

Frank Dobson

Thank you to Heart Hospital staff And Another Surprise Visit

Check out the 52 club’s fantastic sports and leisure facilities

Tiny tots and youngsters with diabetes met UCLH’s top

specialist team for an open day lesson in cutting edge

care for children. They all hope to switch to insulin pump

therapy. The pump, the size of a bleep, is a small

computer-driven gadget attached to the body and

delivers insulin continuously via a cannula.

Rebecca Thompson,

specialist nurse, gave a

tailor made lesson to

families on how the

pump works by using

Rufus the teddy as a

patient. ”It’s not a quick

fix but there are real

benefits for children”,

said Rebecca, “fewer

injections, more

flexibility, and better

control with improved

long term outcomes.”

Research indicates it

gives greater control of

diabetes. Already the

UCLH team have 42

children under the system with patients from far and wide, as

multidisciplinary specialists in the field, incorporating dietetics,

psychology, podiatry, nursing and medicine.

Toddlers Thomas Sugden

and Deborah Saywell would

benefit, say their parents.

“With a two year-old you don’t

know what they are going to

eat or when, and it can all be

very and worrying. The pump

gives flexibility”, said Thomas’ mum Katy.

Ella Dowling and Ben Simms gave the new

gadget the thumbs up: “They

come in great colours and

you get to choose your own”,

said Ben. Ella added ”You

don’t have to have as many

injections – they’re horrible.”

Sleepy Sam Marcus said “It sounds

great. I’m about to become a teenager

and I’ll want to sleep a lot. I’ll be able to

have a lie in instead of getting up to

give myself an injection with this.

Fantastic.

And it’s really good for sport – I can

take it out before a football or rugby match instead of worrying

about eating and injections. Brilliant.”

The Royal London Homoeopathic

Hospital hosted an open event to

mark Carer’s Day, with staff from care

centres on hand to give advice and

support..

Manjula Parmar told of her struggle to

raise two young children while looking

after her husband, then desperately ill

with Huntington’s Disease, an inherited

incurable and degenerative brain

disorder. Manjula watched fearfully for

signs of the disease in her children. Her

teenage son Amar is now very ill.

Manjula’s story“When my son Amar saw his father in

the final grip of Huntington’s disease, he

told me; ‘Mum I will be like that one day’.

It tore my heart apart.

He was already finding it hard to

swallow and could barely even speak.

He was ten when I first noticed some

of the signs but I tried to convince

myself there was nothing wrong with my

beautiful son. Finally at fourteen he was

diagnosed with it. Everything around me

stopped. I didn’t know how I would cope

seeing my son suffer with am incurable

disease.

Amar, now nineteen, needs round the

clock care. He can’t swallow solids, his

speech is barely recognisable and he’s

unsteady when he walks. At night the

pain keeps him awake.

Despite his suffering he has great will

power and a determination to enjoy life.

He’s been commended at school and

like any teenager he’s hooked on

computer games. He met the England

football team and Arsenal at their new

stadium, and has been to Disney World.

I am praying that God keeps giving

Amar the will and the strength to carry

on living for a long time to come.”

Who Cares? Manjula with her son Amar

Marathons in memory of myloIn just one day Army Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Todd ran

a 26 mile marathon, cycled 112 miles, and swam nearly

two and a half miles. And on top of the triathlon he ran a

brace of marathons - New York and

London - raising £3,500 for the neonatal

unit of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

and Obstetric Hospital.

The gift is in memory of their baby son

Mylo who was cared for in the neonatal

unit. It will buy new furniture and gentle

lighting for the parents’ quiet room on the unit. “We wanted

to give something for other parents who are going through

such a difficult time,” said Alastair. He and his wife Kim

presented consultant neonatologist Dr Jane Hawdon and Sue

Beatson, operational lead nurse, with a giant cheque.

Dr Hawdon said “We are overwhelmed that they

have done so much for the benefit of other families.

We’re also delighted that Kim has agreed to assist

the neonatal unit team by advising on the important

family facilities of the new neonatal unit in the phase

2 of UCLH to ensure that a peaceful and supportive

environment is provided.”

Class act for Children with Diabetes

front Sue Beatson and Alastair Todd and wife Kim, Dr Jane Hawdon, back left

Have you seen the new policy on e-mailing patients? (check Insight for details)

When Sasha Wilson starts

talking about blood money it’s

enough to make your own

curdle. She’s talks a lot about

blood. She can tell you how to

suck it up and repackage it, how it’s a multi-million

pound operation, and why we all need to take care of

every little drop. Sound like a double agent in a Bond

movie? No, Sasha Wilson x 8096 at Trust HQ, is our new

blood transfusion clinical nurse specialist.

“We spend over £4 million a year on blood products. That’s

a great deal of money. I try to encourage people to use it

correctly and not to waste any.”

Her job is part detective, part teacher, part laboratory

liaison. She rattles off the cost of a bag of blood to the last

penny, and the figures are quite an eye opener.

“A bag of Adult Red costs £132.07. Neonatal Red is

£131.80. Platelets cost £216.87 a bag. Pooled

Cryoprecipitate costs £227.80.”

A lot of her time is spent shuttling between hospitals and

the lab blood laboratory just off Tottenham Court Road,

promoting safe transfusion practise, ensuring that ‘the right

blood goes to the right patient’ is her main priority. And

when the paperwork doesn’t match up she turns detective to

track down an explanation.

“We all need to be vigilant. A rigid rule is to do all checks at

the patient’s bedside.

New theatres at UCH now have a special cell salvage

machine which sucks up fresh blood during an operation,

cleans it and puts it back into the patient. The Heart Hospital

has them and main theatres should be equipped in the near

future.

It’s safer for the patient to be given back his or her own

blood where possible.

And at times there may be serious shortages of blood,

particularly now there are fewer eleigible donors, we need to

promote alternatives.”

KEY FACTS•33 million blood components have been issued nationally

from the UK Blood Services in the nine years to 2005.

•“Wrong blood transfusion” is the most frequent hazard. 439

incidents were reported to the SHOT (Serious Hazard of

Transfusion) in 2004, a 26 percent increase from the

previous year.

•Over 4,800 “near miss” events were analysed.

When Jim

Costello decided to

nip out and do a bit

of gardening he

just couldn’t stop.

For a whole year.

He found treasure

galore. So far, Jim, a

technician in the

sterile services

department at UCLH,

has unearthed 15,000 Roman artefacts in the backyard of

his Enfield semi – as well as bits and pieces from Neolithic

times. A history buff since schooldays, Jim turns Time Team-

style amateur archaeologist at weekends. It all started when

he moved into a new house in Enfield and tried to dig up the

foundations of an old greenhouse in his garden. “I was

digging deep and came across a piece of Roman pottery –

really top notch stuff, the equivalent of Royal Dalton. It had a

hunting scene of hounds chasing hares. The house is on the

line of Ermin Street, one of the great Roman roads of

Britian.“ My radar was up. I really thought I was on to

something.”

Jim dug for a year, joined by members of the local

archaeological team and they couldn’t believe their finds.

“My wife made thousands of cups of tea and a lot of

sandwiches to keep us going”, Jim laughs.

Amongst the rarest items found was an iron candlestick

holder that’s now being restored in the Museum of London.

“We also came across a star find – an 8,000 year old

Neolithic flint blade.”

Jim now boasts a genuine Roman path down the side of

his house “I built it from the cobbles I found, not bad eh.”

Secret lives

A day in the life...blood transfusion clinical nursespecialist - Sasha Wilson

Jim Costello at work at UCLH

Family and friends join

the quest

Jim digs deep for his next

find

Congrats to December’s competition winner: Rina Lochan

Good Luck PatIt’s a fond

farewell to

staff nurse

Patience

Duncan

Bosu who

notched up a

quarter of a

century with

UCL, starting

at St Peter’s

Hospital in

Covent Garden.

“She will be greatly missed as a well loved and

respected colleague, said sister Claire Nicholls. We

wish her a very happy retirement.”

Fancy That !Everyone got into the party

swing at the Eastman with a

marathon fancy dress,

partying through the night to

raise £500 for Great

Ormond Street. Wendy

Taylor won the best

dressed outfit and

claimed a bottle of

champagne as her prize.

Cheers!

Winner Wendy made her

dress out of rubber dam

sheets sewn together - the

stuff they use in root canal

treatment. Ouch!

Competition...Banish the badhair day!

We’re offering four

lucky readers the chance

to win a pair of Trevor

Sorbie’s new Client

Collection Professional

Ceramic Irons (£49.99 in

the shops!). They heat up

instantly to provide salon

performance

temperatures you can

control (includes digital temperature display with indicator) and

switch off automatically after 60mins. The slim ceramic plates

smooth the hair so you can achieve salon sleek styles at home!

To enter, answer this simple question:

Babara Windsor opened the Trust Open Day – what

character does she play in Eastenders?

E-mail entries to competition@uclh.nhs.uk or send to

communications unit, 2nd floor central, 250 Euston Rd via

internal mail. Closing date is Friday 9 February 2007.

Pat’s retirement party at 52

Club (L to R) Jo Parker, Sue Fell, Pat

Duncan Bosu, and Babs Tirbhowan

Let them eat cake!The cakes were worth

every calorie and they sold

… well like hot cakes,

raising £120 for homeless

charity CRISIS. Bakers

Clare Prudden, secretary in

the anaesthetics

department and Marion

Hazzard, secretary in

critical care, both at UCH,

only had the crumbs to

clean up.

Clare Prudden and Marion

Hazzard

He’sbehindyou!

Cinders did go to

the ball, Dick found

his fortune on streets

paved with gold, and

Jack climbed the

beanstalk… all in a

hectic panto day on

children’s ward T11.

The panto players from

SG Productions was organised by Starlight. The troupe

entertained the kids with a panto medly and some of the

corniest jokes around.

Graze yourway to winterfitness

Are you a grazer or a

gorger? It’s healthier to

be a grazer says Alexa

Scott, the Trust’s head

dietician. ”The body is like

a car it needs topping up

with fuel regularly.

Better to eat little and

often than big meals.”

Alexa gives three top

tips to kick start a good

health plan in the chilly

winter months.

Break the fast – the first

meal of the day is

important.

Exercise regularly – 30

minutes five days a week.

Eat seasonally – it’s

cheaper and tastier.

“We all need to look

after ourselves so that we

can look after others,

says Alexa. Hospital staff

are busy and often take

snacks on the run – it can

be healthy if you choose

wisely. Eating a little often

means the body burns off

energy efficiently. If you

go without food for long

periods you will have poor

blood glucose and

cholesterol control and

you can also end up

putting on weight that

way. Breaskfast is

important.”

Regular exercise can

reduce the risk of heart

disease, strokes, and

diabetes by fifty per

cent.

Kay Stringer

as the ugly sister