Issue No. 243

New unit for GP referrals A new service has been set up to

assess and treat ambulatory

patients referred by local GPs.

Located in the Medical Assessment

unit at St Peter’s, MGPU has been

running since the end of September

and has seen around 70 patients to

date.

The unit is run by Senior Sister

Sheila Gomm and is specifically

aimed at patients who have been

seen by their GP and require further

tests or another medical opinion, but

not immediate care in A&E or

admittance as an inpatient. Sheila

said: “So far the unit is working well

and feedback from patients is good.

The majority can be sent home with

a treatment plan within a few hours

so they really like the quick

turnaround time. And it benefits the

Trust, by reducing the pressure on

A&E and freeing up bed capacity.”

The unit is currently open from

10am to 6pm, Monday to Friday

and GPs can refer patients by

contacting the on-call medical

registrar. Adds Sheila: “We can

accommodate around five patients

in chairs and try to carry out all

necessary tests as soon as a

patient arrives so the doctor can

make a speedy diagnosis.”

Congratulations to

all our colleagues who

have been recently

promoted.

Karsten Alvar, to Holly

Ward Deputy Sister

Ifor Lucman, Sterile Services

Technician to Supervisor

Karen Cook, Senior

Specialist Nurse to Lead

Nurse, Palliative Care

Linda McEwan, Specialist

Nurse to Senior Specialist

Nurse, Palliative Care

Our infection control team was

busy last month educating staff,

patients and visitors about good

infection control practices.

Throughout International Infection

Prevention and Control Week (17th –

23rd October) the team set up a

promotional stand at the entrance to

both hospitals and also held a

‘Sharps Awareness’ afternoon. The

highlight of the week was a trolley

dash around the wards, where the

team wore special t-shirts reading

‘wash those bugs away, hand

decontaminate today’ and tested

staff’s hand hygiene with a UV

Infection

control nurses

Mo Farish,

Prodine

Kubalalika and

Linda

Fairhead, with

Richard

Crimins from

Deb Ltd and

Deputy Sister

Karsten Alvar.

machine. Said Consultant Nurse

Linda Fairhead: “We gave out

several prizes to those with the best

levels of infection control

compliance, including SAU,

Fielding, Heron and Cedar Wards.”

Washing the bugs away

From the team

“It is the fantastic

team in place here

which makes the unit

run well. We have

grown together as

EPU has established

itself over the years

and the nature of our

work means

everything needs to

be watertight. Our

nursing team is

brilliant and I have

absolute confidence in

them.” Catey Bass

“We are working in a

fairly confined space

and it can be a

stressful environment.

Luckily, we all get on

well, talk through any

problems and support

each other through

the difficult days.”

Lesley Smith

“We try to treat all

patients with the same

empathy and respect

and give them the

time they need to talk

through their

particular case,

however busy we are.

It’s so rewarding when

you get thank-you

letters back from

patients.” Oriel

Hampson

“When patients go on

to have successful

pregnancies in the

future and pop back in

to share their good

news it makes it all

worthwhile.” Sue Bull

If you have a story for Aspire

please contact Anna Scott,

Communications Officer, on ext

2330 or via Trust email.

Spotlight on: Early Pregnancy Unit

Each week, our Early Pregnancy

Unit (EPU) sees around 90 women

with problems in the first twelve

weeks of pregnancy.

Headed up by Saikat Banerjee,

Consultant Gynaecologist and Dr

Catey Bass, Associate Specialist,

the unit is run by a permanent team

of six staff plus a junior doctor on

rotation.

The team treats and supports

women suffering miscarriage and

ectopic pregnancy, which is a

potentially life threatening condition

where the pregnancy grows outside

of the uterus. Explains Sister Lesley

Smith: “It is unpredictable how many

patients we see each day, as we are

one of the few units in the region

who will accept self referrals and try

to never turn a woman away if she

is worried. Often, our patients have

experienced some pain or bleeding

and we can carry out tests and

scans to assess very quickly if the

pregnancy is progressing normally

or not.”

As an emergency assessment

centre, EPU needs to treat all

patients within four hours and this

can prove tough on busy days. Said

Senior Staff Nurse Sue Bull: ”The

time we spend with each patient

varies greatly - some leave

reassured and delighted that

everything is fine but many others

Above: Senior Staff Nurse Sue Bull, Sister

Lesley Smith and Staff Nurse Oriel Hampson.

Left: Associate

Specialist

Dr Catey Bass

scans and

assesses

patients.

receive bad news that comes as a

huge shock and need much more

time and support.

Adds Catey: “It is never easy to tell

a woman, and often her partner, that

the pregnancy is not progressing as

it should be, but the way we support

and communicate with patients

when they receive bad news can

make all the difference.”

The team work closely with

ultrasound and the ante natal clinic

and also offer other services, such

as a monthly recurrent miscarriage

clinic and informal counselling

appointments for women who need

more support after losing a

pregnancy or want advice about

conceiving in the future.

In the future, EPU would like to have

more space to develop their

scanning facilities and explore the

possibility of offering a dedicated

out-of-hours service.

Right:

Receptionist

Enza

Sciampagna

books patients

into the unit.