Content originally from Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Julie Godfrey, Lead Vascular Access Nurse Consultant and Luigi Gallipoli, Clinical Nurse Specialist
Patient care recognised by world experts
A nurse has been recognised for her pioneering ways to make patients’ stays in hospital more comfortable.
Julie Godfrey, Lead Vascular Access Nurse Consultant at Broomfield Hospital, has introduced a new way to give fluids to patients. Her team is now training hospital departments to ensure patients benefit from the innovation that has been commended by world experts.
Catheters are devices that are inserted into a patient’s vein to draw blood or give fluids. They sometimes become dislodged and need to be replaced, which can not only cause discomfort, but also delay care as patients don’t receive the medicines they need.
Julie has introduced a simple solution, where her team use a longer catheter that is guided into the vein using ultrasound. These devices are more likely to stay in place and are less painful, while hospital staff do not need to replace the devices as often.
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Enhanced discharge lounge in Southend Hospital
We have opened an extended lounge in Southend Hospital to provide a better experience for our patients before they are discharged.
Initially made up of 12 beds and 12 chairs, the Active Home Suite will help patients to maintain their mobility, ensuring that they are in the best possible position to be discharged home or to their next place of care.
It will also free up beds elsewhere in the hospital, supporting wards to admit patients who most need their care.
The Active Home Suite is staffed by doctors, nurses and allied health professionals under the direction of senior nurse leadership. Pharmacists will visit the lounge to provide medication, and there is a dining table that supports patients to remain active. We also have a rainbow table to provide care for patients with dementia, as well as group activities.
We are aiming to expand the lounge to 18 beds over the coming weeks, and it will remain in use throughout the winter. This will support our work to discharge patients more quickly, including the Southend Enhanced Discharge Service and our expanded Bridging Service.
Pathology service review
Our Board has accepted the recommendations of an external report proposing an outsourced operating model for pathology services at our hospitals.
The plans will involve a change from our current service, which is provided by Pathology First and Synlab at Southend and Basildon hospitals, and an in-house team at Broomfield Hospital, to a single operating model run across all sites which will be operated by an external provider. No changes will be made until autumn 2024, at the earliest.
The decision to move to a single external provider is based on a detailed risk assessment and will create the foundation for a merged service that will provide a simpler and more consistent process for referrals. It will also make it easier to access and share test results across our sites.
This will not impact on how patients access pathology services in the community. Patients will benefit from being able to access phlebotomy services from anywhere in the mid and south Essex area, regardless of where their treatment or procedure is booked, reducing their need to travel.
We are now in a discovery phase to gather views from clinicians, staff and patients on how the service might best meet the needs of local communities, system health colleagues, and stakeholders.
| For any queries, contact us at mse.communications@nhs.net |
Percy Pig, Cllr Little, Hannah Coffey, Cllr Mackenzie, Nigel Beverley
Mayors officially open Basildon Hospital’s welcoming new front entrance
The bright and airy entrance of Basildon Hospital has been officially opened by the Mayor of Basildon and Deputy Mayor of Thurrock.
Cllr Luke Mackenzie and Cllr Sue Little cut a bright blue ribbon to herald the opening of the £7.6 million building, which has already been impressing patients, visitors and staff.
They were joined by Hannah Coffey, the Acting Chief Executive of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Chair of the Trust Nigel Beverley and Percy Pig for the cutting ceremony.
Stars who’ve improved patient lives shine bright at awards ceremony
Our amazing staff celebrated award wins for their continued dedication to helping improve the lives of patients and fellow staff members.
The Shine Awards, which took place at Orsett Hall, showcased how hardworking staff, through their innovation and good practice, have continually helped enhance or improve patient care.
Hannah Coffey, Acting Chief Executive, said: “I’m very proud we could recognise all the amazing hard work and dedication of our staff tonight; this is just a snapshot of the work delivered across the Trust.”
There were 350 nominations in total, which were whittled down to just 27 finalists by a panel of judges, which also included patients. From that number there were nine deserving individual and team winners.
SWF Health & Social Care Group 