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QE NewsThe magazine for QE Gateshead

September 2014

Maternity

pg 8 Spotlight on Endoscopy

Wayfinding Open Event

pg 11

pg 6-7

How the QE

is delivering a dementia friendly future for you pg 4-5

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The last few months have been an exciting and rewarding time at QE Gateshead with the rest of 2014 set to be one of the biggest in our history.

I’m delighted to be able to tell you that in July the QE was again been named as one of the safest units in the country and is now the only hospital in the North East to win and retain the top rating from the national regulator. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has confirmed that the QE will remain at a band 6 rating and this is fantastic news for the hospital and for the thousands of patients we treat every year.

It is the strongest possible acknowledgement of the efforts made by our staff to provide high quality care to all of our patients day in, day out. The success is testament to the work of the whole team from clinical and corporate staff, to our dedicated governors and members.

Very few hospitals around the country have been able to achieve and maintain this high standard and I know that all our staff work so hard to ensure services are safe, caring, responsive to need and well led. Our managers and front line clinicians are working together every day to ensure that areas of good practice can be shared across the trust.

I’m also proud to say that 2014 has, so far, been the best ever year for the prevention and reduction of infection at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. QE Gateshead adopts a zero tolerance approach to all avoidable infections including Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and has had zero reported cases of MRSA bacteraemia up until July.

This is a very exciting time for health services in Gateshead and the CQC rating comes as we prepare to deliver some major developments at the QE during the rest of the year. This winter a new £32m specialist emergency care centre will open for our patients and it’s something that we’re all incredibly excited about. We’re also opening a brand new state-of-the-art pathology centre of excellence, which will be one of the best facilities of its kind in the UK.

By the end of this year these new facilities will be open to the public and we will have entered a new era for healthcare in Gateshead.

Chief executive,

Welcome

News in briefCentenarian birthdays!We’ve been celebrating some more centenarian birthdays in the last three months. Joining Bill Lorraine who turned 100 at the hospital last November, is Norman Brown who fought in the Coldstream Guards in the second world war, rising to the rank of Sergeant. Norman spent his big day surrounded by family on ward 24 enjoying some cake and his telegram from the Queen. We also had Elsie Jones turning 103 years old in May at the hospital! Born in 1911 Elsie led an adventurers life sailing from England to Egypt single handed, to join her sweetheart, Army Captain George Jones. The pair were married in Egypt and when George was posted to India, Elsie gave birth to her daughter there, they also had another son David, and settled in County Durham after the war.

Signage event successThank you to everyone who came down to our restaurant Quenellies and gave your opinion on our proposed new signage which will start to be introduced once the new emergency care centre opens later in the year. We got lots of valuable feedback which we’ll be taking into account before producing the new signs.

Thanks to our young mumsWe’d like to thank the young mums who recently helped out our maternity unit by telling them what was important to them during their pregnancy, birth and after. We’ve taken everything they said on board and will be making sure that all young mums giving birth at the QE will have the things that are most important to them focused on during their stay.

Diabetes@Trinity Square Our diabetes team have just had a successful move into the brand new health centre at Trinity Square in Gateshead. We remain part of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust. The move is part of a change in the delivery of diabetes services as we head to integrating care within the community.

FluWe’re aiming to vaccinate 75% of our staff to keep you safe from the flu. It’s ok to ask if your healthcare professional has been vaccinated before they treat you.

Welcome to the September edition of your foundation trust membership magazine QE News

Ian Renwick

Chief executive, Ian Renwick

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An amazing run of fundraising efforts over the last few months has resulted in almost £10,000 being donated to the hospital.

Half of that money was raised by Colin Noble and the South Hetton Cycling Club who undertook a cycling challenge around Holland. Colin wanted to raise money for the QE’s gynae cancer unit which had looked after his daughter, Emma.

The hospital’s end of life ward, the St Bede’s Unit, was given nearly £3,000 from the fundraising efforts of Debra and Clare Maddison and Ben Frith and his friends. Debra and Clare’s father Rollie died on the unit in January and the girls took part in the Pretty Muddy event in Sunderland to raise funds for the ward. Their efforts don’t stop there though, they held a charity night in July and are taking part in more sporting events. Ben’s grandma Kathleen also died on the unit in January and he and his friends held a fundraising evening at a Newcastle nightclub.

Barry Leonard trekked up Macchu Piccu to raise money for ward one where his partner Brenda Hernandez’s parents, John and Elizabeth Laffey, were cared for before they died within months of each other.

In the coming weeks, Keeley Woodgate will be doing a bungee jump off the Tyne Bridge to raise money for the critical care unit in memory of her friend Michael Temperley who died following an accident.

In September, our very own Team QE will be swapping stethoscopes for sport and participating in the Great North Run. Team QE is a collective of 20 staff and supporters taking part in the world’s largest half marathon to raise funds for the QE critical care unit and cardiac rehabilitation team. Local parents Dan Irving and Jill Nicholson are also doing the run in aid of the hospital’s special care baby unit which looked after their children Luka and Harvey.

If you are planning to attend the start or the end of the Great North Run or line the route and wish to show your support for Team QE, we have banners with “Go Team QE!” get in touch on the details below for your free one!

If you would like to organise a fundraising event for the hospital, our charity office would love to hear from you! We now have fundraising

packs and a range of other materials to help support your efforts and turn your hard work into money to help our patients. You can contact us on 0191 445 6451, email qecharitablefunds@ghnt.nhs.uk, or visit www.qegatesheadcharitablefunds.org.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook by searching for QE Gateshead Charitable Funds and on Twitter @QEfunds.

Every year, the hospital is humbled to receive thousands of pounds donated to our wards and departments by the families whose loved ones have died on our units. These donations can be a cheque from the next of kin or a donation received in lieu of flowers at a funeral on top of fundraising efforts undertaken by friends and family at a later date.

We have also recently received several generous legacies from people who have chosen to remember the hospital in their wills. We do everything we can to support families at this difficult time and further information and advice is available from our charity office.

Any money given, donated or raised for the charity is used to purchase those items which will improve the experience of our patients which are above and beyond those items purchased through normal NHS budgets. The money also goes to support staff training so our staff can give you and your loved ones the very best care and we also engage in research to contribute to a global programme of continuing to understanding of science and medicine.

Charitable funds

Fabulous fundraisers help the QE!

L-R: Karen Fraser, Clare Maddison, Liz Lough, Amy Molloy, Debra Maddison and Jill Clasper.

L-R: Ben Frith, Allan Frith, Val Thurman,

Ryan Oliver, Glen McLeod and Karen Fraser.

QECharitable Funds

GATESHEAD

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Dementia feature

How the QE is delivering a dementia friendly future for you It’s a sad fact that dementia is on the rise. The Health and Social Care Information Centre recently released statistics showing that the number of people diagnosed with Dementia in England, has risen by more than 60 per cent in seven years. In 2013/14 there were 344,000 people diagnosed with dementia, 319,000 the previous year and 213,000 when the figures were first collected in 2006/7. Almost 70% of hospital beds are currently occupied by older people and one half of these beds have patients with some cognitive impairment, including dementia and delirium, in them.

Gillian MacArthur, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Quality at QE Gateshead said: “We know that one in 14 patients over the age of 65 currently has a diagnosis of dementia and this number will increase because of an aging population. Our patients tell us that what they need from us is kindness, compassion, a smile, understanding and most importantly to be their voice when they are unable to speak.

“We fully understand some of the mental health issues that can emerge as we get older and our team is on hand to assess patients as well as providing them with information and management plans for their conditions. Our mental health liaison service is well embedded in the general hospital and will see any person over the age of 65 years of age for assessment.”

QE Gateshead wants to make sure that we are ready to provide the best care now, and in the future for the rise in dementia patients that we know is coming. Although the Queen Elizabeth does have a special inpatient unit, Cragside, for older people with mental

health problems, we wanted to integrate dementia care into everyday life at the hospital, on every ward, and instil it in every member of staff.

There is a whole raft of initiatives that have been introduced at the hospital to make life a little bit easier for patients with dementia. Most notably ward 23, where £35,000 has been invested into turning it into a dementia friendly pilot ward, with a view to rolling it out across the trust.

Ward 23 has had the strands of being dementia friendly woven throughout everything that happens there. The ward certainly looks different to others around the hospital, with:

• Very large clocks to help those with dementia or visual impairments have access to the time

• Coloured crockery indicating to staff those patients who may need a little extra help eating and drinking

• Information in patient rooms helping them to connect with the world such as the day, and what the weather is like outside

• Large size labels indicating toilets and other rooms to help them find their way around and give them some independence

• Large picture menu boards to help patients choose what they would like to eat

• A back in time space in the day room

with items such as a mangle, an old television and wireless, and photographs of Gateshead from years gone by

• Pastimes to help keep patients active such as painting in the day room

At Gateshead we believe that taking care of dementia patients is not just the responsibility of those clinical staff on the wards but everyone that works at our trust. So last year we made it mandatory that all staff attend a one hour training session called Barbara’s story to understand more about dementia and how everyone can help make the experience of these patients better. This is based around a powerful film of one woman’s experience of NHS care and what older patients need from hospital services.

The QE has also introduced a forget me not scheme where patients who have extra communication needs, such as those with dementia, are issued with a blue wrist band when they come to hospital so that staff know they may need a bit of extra help. This is arranged ahead of time before any inpatient stay, with the consent of the patient or their carer. So when staff see this wristband they know that the patient has some communications issues, and also if they are found on their own that they may need guiding back to their ward.

QE Gateshead also recognises that dementia doesn’t just afflict older people, the number of younger sufferers is also on the rise. Sadly this seems to be a growing

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Dementia feature

problem with day care places increasing by 50 per cent since 2009 and predictions are for further increases.

Although dementia is often associated with older people, sufferers can be diagnosed in their thirties or forties The Woodside Unit at QE Gateshead’s Dunston Hill Day Hospital is a unique service providing care for people with young onset dementia using a specialised day hospital and community outreach support. The service also runs a monthly Dementia café and carers support group.

Emma Prendergast, a nurse who manages the service said: “Patients who are diagnosed with dementia before the age of 65 have complex needs because services are usually organised around the needs of much older people. The traditional healthcare services are inappropriate for younger patients and their families, especially if the patients are in their thirties or forties.

“Woodside gives people a place to go and build new peer relationships, maintain skills and learn how to manage the symptoms of their illness. Ultimately we aim to reduce the number of people going into residential care by supporting complex patients five days a week at the Woodside unit.”

“We’re also working hard to try and reduce the stigma of having an early onset of dementia by raising awareness. Our unit is providing information and advice to GP services, neurology clinicians and social care teams to ensure that younger people with dementia have their unique needs recognised and adequately addressed.”

One team at the QE are recreating a famous Victorian park within a hospital garden, as part of their work using nature to treat patients with Dementia.

Recent research by two of our doctors has also revealed that exposure to nature had a range of beneficial effects on patients and could trigger positive emotions and memories.

Features from Gateshead’s beautiful Saltwell Park, which opened in 1876, have served as the inspiration behind a new nature area for Dementia patients at the hospital’s Cragside court.

Dr Karen Franks, our consultant in old age psychiatry and one of our psychologists Kate Andrews have just published their findings as part of a new book looking at the benefits of outside spaces for people who have dementia.

As part of the research the team visited care homes with boxes of home grown vegetables, herbs, compost, hay, flowers and autumn leaves. They then worked with residents using a technique that explores in detail how patients make sense of their personal and social world.

The researchers found that access to

nature and the natural world can play a key role in restoring a sense of purpose, unlocking memories from the past, bringing meaning to patients experiences and providing a calming affect for people living with dementia.

Dr Franks, who is based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead said: “Access to nature really helps evoke positive memories for our patients and many have talked about working in allotments, taking trips to the beach or family outings to Saltwell Park. Unfortunately patients can often spend long hours indoors and helping them connect with nature has a really positive effect which can also mitigate some of the more challenging behaviour associated with dementia.

“There is increasing recognition within dementia care that access to the natural world is beneficial for people with dementia, even in the later stages of their illness. We noticed that most of this work was about people who had lived in rural or suburban settings. This did not reflect the lives of many of our patients who had grown up and worked in Gateshead and surrounding areas. We wanted to try to capture the experiences and meaning of nature for people who had grown up in more built up areas and worked in pits and factories.

“Most of the patients we worked with grew up in a very urban setting and throughout their lives sought out ways to connect with the natural world. They used nature as a way to bring balance to their lives and emotional state. Sadly, they became disconnected with this relationship later in life and you have to wonder if this may add further to the loss of a sense of purpose that appears to be experienced by many people with dementia.

“Lots of people in 24 hour care or in care homes often have poor access to nature and the outside world is rarely brought in except on the coats of visitors. We found that the sensory experience can be calming and refreshing for patients but also seems to trigger people’s memories.

“This is really beneficial because dementia forces people into an unfamiliar mental state and these positive memories of the past are both familiar and reassuring.

“We need to look at new ways of treating and managing the condition because more and more people will suffer from dementia and live longer. We’re really encouraging people in care homes or care settings to utilise nature and make the best use of their outdoor spaces.”

If you want to read any more about the dementia work happening at Gateshead, or find out dates of our dementia cafes, you can visit www.qegateshead.nhs.uk/dementia

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Spotlight on

QE Gateshead has a very busy endoscopy department, which is one of the busiest departments in the whole QE hospital. Sue Dreyer, Endoscopy Sister/Nurse Endoscopist says: “There’s never a dull moment in Endoscopy.”

“Endoscopy is a non-surgical procedure used to examine a person’s digestive tract. It’s done using an endoscope, which is a flexible tube with a light and camera attached to it. The endoscope

is inserted via the mouth and fed down to the digestive tract. It can be used for all sorts of things, both investigative, looking for problems, and also for treatment. In conjunction with another piece of kit, we can use it to remove benign growths as well as pre-cancerous or even cancerous growths.”

“We’ve been very lucky to have a big refurbishment completed last year, which included the installation of

decontamination equipment, improved patient changing areas and an additional procedure room meaning less waiting times for patients. We’ve also had some great commitment from staff to improving the patient experience with some nurses expanding their role to train in endoscopy. This is great news as the additionally trained staff means the department currently has no waiting times for patients requiring endoscopic procedures.”

Join us as Sue takes us on a tour of the unit:Entonox is the gas we use for sedation and pain relief during lower GI (gastro intestinal) endoscopic procedures. People may have heard it referred to as gas and air, the same as a pregnant lady may get during labour, lots of people ask us if they’ll be leaving with babies when they hear that! The good thing about entonox is that patients are able to drive 30 minutes after using it. It definitely makes most people a lot happier about having the procedure!

Spotlight on Endoscopy

Some of the endoscopy

team

This is our diathermy

machine which is used for removing

polyps, which are growths

in the bowel or stomach. We use the machine to

remove pre-cancerous

growths to try and limit them

becoming cancerous,

growths that are already

cancerous, or even benign

growths.

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Patients are asked to wear this mouthguard to protect their teeth during the procedure.

Spotlight on

After the procedure, patients are brought into our recovery ward. Again listening to our patients, the ward is separated into male and female recovery areas by our nurses’ station. There are even separate entrances through which male and female patients will be brought. The dignity of everyone who comes into the endoscopy department is very important to us.

This is the screen that we use to look at the images projected from the camera that is inserted into the patient’s, bowel, stomach, bladder or whichever organ we need to look at in more depth. From here the endoscopist can begin to diagnose and treat conditions.

This is the bed where people will lie for their procedures. There will normally be a minimum of three staff in the room, the endoscopist, a nurse who monitors the patient’s vital signs and patient comfort and an assistant to the endoscopist.

These are our automated decontamination reprocessors where the endoscopes are decontaminated.

These are the drying cabinets where endoscopes are stored under strict conditions to ensure there is no cross contamination.

We listened to lots of feedback from patients who were very keen to have all female and all male areas in the unit. The patient journey will start in our female or male changing and waiting rooms here.

This is the gastroscope, this has the

light and camera

which are inserted via

a tube down the throat.

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Maternity

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Reducing infection

So far, 2014 has been the best ever year for the prevention and reduction of infection at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

QE Gateshead adopts a zero tolerance approach to all avoidable infections including Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and has had zero reported cases of MRSA bacteraemia up until July 2014.

The hospital now has one of the lowest Meticillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteraemia rates in the region during 2013/14 and has reduced cases of Escherichia coli by 53% against the same reporting period last year.

The infection prevention and control team has done lots of work to help and educate not only staff but visitors of the impact that they can have on infection rates in the hospital. A number of life-size pop-up banners of

the infection prevention team now greets visitors at most entrances asking them to wash their hands before and after visiting, and to stay away if they aren’t well.

Phil Pugh, Head of Infection Prevention and Control at QE Gateshead said: “A zero tolerance approach is taken by the Trust towards all avoidable healthcare associated infection. Good infection prevention and control is essential to ensure that our patients receive safe and effective care and our staff are protected. We strive for the prevention and control of infection to continue to be part of everyday practice and be applied consistently by all staff.”

The hospital has also seen a reduction in outbreaks of infection. An outbreak is the occurrence of two or more actual or potentially related infections within a ward or department. The Trust has only experienced two outbreaks to date in this financial year demonstrating a reduction of 82% against last year’s figures to date.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) presents a key challenge to patient safety across not only our trust, but others too. Last year the trust reported a total of 20 positive cases of CDI however this year only 5 cases have been reported to date.

Best ever year for reducing infection at QE Gateshead

Membership Office contact informationGateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust Membership Office can be contacted by post to:

FREEPOST NAT14353 Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust Queen Elizabeth Hospital Sheriff Hill Gateshead NE9 6BR

on 0191 445 3713 (voicemail available out of working hours)

or via email to foundation.enquiries@ghnt.nhs.uk

Life-size pop-up banner

Could you be a voice for your community?October sees the beginning of the Trust’s annual election process. This time eight seats on the Council of Governors are becoming vacant; two in Western Gateshead, two in Central Gateshead, three in the Staff constituency and one out-of-area governor.

The role of the Council of Governors is to provide local assurance to the people of Gateshead that the Trust is being correctly managed by its Board of Directors and that it is listening to the views of its members who access services, in its forward planning. They are also involved in the development of our Annual Plan and the Quality Account, and are members of various Trust committees. Being a governor is an exciting opportunity to get involved in the work of the Trust. For more information on being a governor, our guide is available at http://www.qegateshead.nhs.uk/elections

Anyone who is a member of the Trust is eligible to apply to become a governor. However, those who

are thinking of applying for the first time are asked to attend a short information session on Thursday 9th October 2014 at 5.00 pm.

Key dates are:

• Information session for potential governors: Thursday 9th October 2014

• Deadline to apply to be a governor: Thursday 30th October 2014

• Results of the poll published: Wednesday 10th December 2014

• Governors’ term of office begins: Monday 5th January 2015

Ballot papers for the contested constituencies will be sent to all members on Wednesday 19th November and you will have until Tuesday 9th December to cast their vote.

For more information on the elections or to book a place at the information session, please contact the Membership Office on 0191 4453713 or via email to foundation.enquiries@ghnt.nhs.uk

QE Membership

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Membership

Council of Governors Annual General MeetingThe Council of Governors Annual General meeting will be held at 10.00 am on Wednesday 24th September 2014 in the Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14 will be presented by members of the Board of Directors.

Copies of the Annual Report and full accounts will be available. Further copies are available by contacting the Trust Secretary, Mrs D Atkinson, Trust Headquarters, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, NE9 6SX, via email debbie.atkinson @ghnt.nhs.uk or by telephoning 0191 445 3712.

If you would like to attend please contact the Membership Office on 0191 445 3713.

Introduce a friendDo you have any family or friends who would like to become a member? If yes, it’s easy for them to join.

They can either complete the membership application form online at www.qegateshead.nhs.uk/apply or contact the Membership Office direct for an application form. This can be done by telephoning 0191 445 3713 or sending an email to foundation.enquiries@ghnt.nhs.uk

Once their completed application form is received, we will confirm their membership and send out a membership card.

Go on – why not introduce a friend today!

Calendar of eventsBoard of Directors Meeting

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 9.30 am

Council of Governors Annual General Meeting

The Council of Governors’ Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 24th September 2014 at 10.00 am in the Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Potential Governors Information Session

An information session for anyone interested in becoming a governor of the Trust will be held from 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm on Thursday 9th October.

To book a place please contact the Membership Office on 0191 4453713.

Board of Directors Meeting

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 9.30 am

Medicine for Members – Care in the Last Few Days of Life

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital from 6.15 pm to 8.00 pm

Registration opens at 5.30 pm where a light buffet will also be served

Come along and find out more about palliative care, care in the last few days of life and principles of good practice

Medicine for Members – Lung Cancer

Barmoor Hub, Ryton, NE40 3AR from 6.15 pm to 8.00 pm

Registration opens at 5.30 pm where refreshments will be served

Come along and find out more about lung cancer, including symptoms and diagnosis, and treatment and services at the QE

SEP

23

SEP

24

OCT

9

OCT

22

OCT

22

NOV

12

NOV

19

NOV

26

JAN

28

FEB

19

FEB

25

APR

15

Council of Governors Meeting

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm

Board of Directors Meeting

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 9.30 am

Board of Directors Meeting

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 9.30 am

Medicine for Members – What is Pathology?

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital from 6.15 pm to 8.00 pm

Registration opens at 5.30 pm where a light buffet will also be served

Come along and find out more about the work carried out at The Pathology Centre for Excellence at the QE

Council of Governors Meeting

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm

Medicine for Members – Asthma

Education Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital from 6.15 pm to 8.00 pm

Registration opens at 5.30 pm where a light buffet will also be served

Come along and find out more about Asthma, including symptoms and diagnosis, and treatment and services at the QE

To ensure that you receive your copy of QE News, please let the Membership Office know if you move house or change any of your contact details.

Keep your details up to date

If you would like to change the way that you receive QE News, please contact the Membership Office. The newsletter can be sent to your home address or to an email address.

QE News

2015 >>>

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Wayfinding Open Event

Volunteers Event 2014In May, the Trust held its annual volunteer celebration event to thank volunteers for their amazing contributions.

Over 100 volunteers and fundraisers were invited from across the Trust to celebrate and socialise with colleagues and staff in Quenellies restaurant.

The celebration event was a great way to congratulate and thank our volunteers and fundraisers for their commitment to making a positive difference to the patients and staff in their local hospital.

The Chairman gave a special

mention to one of our volunteers, Mrs Brenda Gibson, who has recently retired from her work with the Women’s Cancer Detection Society. Brenda has worked with the charity since 1998, when she retired from the Breast Screening Unit as a secretary.

Everyone enjoyed the evening and the hospital’s catering staff were once again commended on their first-rate hospitality.

Over 60 members and local people attended an open event for Trust members in June in Quenellies restaurant.

The drop-in event gave attendees the opportunity to view the plans and feedback their thoughts on the proposed new signage.

Staff were on hand to explain the new wayfinding strategy, describe the planned improvements to the directions and directory boards and explain changes to wayfinding in the hospital at night.

Comments on the proposed signage included:

• “Colourful and easier to follow”

• ”Great idea – easy to see”

• ”Much clearer and noticeable”

• ”A more modern approach”

• ”Using both colours and alphabetical listings should make it easier for most visitors and patients”

• ”Looking for a particular zone colour is much easier to recognise”

Further information is available at http://www.qegateshead.nhs.uk/newsigns

Direction signs

Membership

QE staff explain the proposed signage zones and colours to members Example of zone signs

New non-executive director appointedFormer local government director John Robinson has joined QE Gateshead as a new non-executive director. He has been appointed to the board until 2017 and will also sit on one of the Trust’s formal committees.

Mr Robinson’s professional background is in environmental health, with over 40 years’ experience of local government. He has developed and managed a wide range of services provided by Gateshead Council and led various partnerships involving the local community.

He said: “I am very pleased to be joining the board of such a good performing Trust and look forward to working with colleagues to continually improve services for the benefit of the community, which I have had the privilege to serve in other capacities over many years.”

Julia Hickey, Chairman of the Trust, said: “I am delighted to welcome John to our board as he clearly knows the local community well having served the public with Gateshead Council for many years. He will bring a wealth of experience to this important role as well as a clear commitment to our overall aim of delivering excellent healthcare to our patients.”

The board is responsible for the effective running of the hospital in line with established objectives and priorities. It also has a duty to consult and involve governors in the strategic planning of the organisation.

John’s final role at Gateshead Council was strategic director of local environmental

services.

He is a member of the Reserve Forces and Cadet Association of

the north east and is an active member of the local community.

Gateshead volunteers

Brenda Gibson

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Membership

Membership cardAs a member you should have received your membership card.

You can use this card to receive discount in the restaurants at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Bensham Hospital.

If you haven’t got a membership card and would like to request one please contact the Membership Office.

“Celebrating our Staff” award – Patient AwardThe Trust’s Staff Awards “Celebrating our Staff” is an annual event, now in its second year. The event aims to recognise the things that our staff do, that go above and beyond what would normally be expected from them in the normal course of their work. The patient award is nominated by patients or relatives, and acknowledges a person or team who through their excellent care and approach made a significant impact to the care of the patient.

Would you like to nominate someone who has really made a difference to your care,

or to the care of one of your relatives? If you do, contact us and we can send you a nomination form. Judging takes place every March, with nominations that have been received up until the 28th February being considered. Any nominations that are received after 28th February will be carried forward for consideration the following year.

Please help us recognise, celebrate and thank those staff who have made a difference to your experience of QE Gateshead by contacting odandtraining@ghnt.nhs.uk or calling 0191 445 5412 and asking for a patient nomination form.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading your newly launched QE News over the last six issues, we’ve had a lot of fun telling you about what’s happening in the hospital. We’re always looking to make sure that the stories we’re sharing are what you want to read about. To make sure we’re sharing things you want to know, please take two minutes to fill in and return this short survey to us via the FREEPOST address at the bottom of the page. Alternatively if you’d prefer to fill in the survey electronically, you can by visiting http://goo.gl/mbk32K

FREEPOST NAT14353, Gateshead Health NHS Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, NE9 6BR

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❍ More pages ❍ Less pages

❍ More colourful ❍ Less colourful

6. Do you think that three issues per year is enough to be kept up to date with what's happening in the hospital?

❍ Yes ❍ No

7. Ideally, how often would you like an issue of QE News?

❍ Four per year ❍ Three per year

❍ Two per year ❍ Monthly

8. Do you have any other comments about your QE News magazine?

✁