Summer 2013Summer 2013
£2Free to
Members
Here to helpAffiliated to the British Heart Foundation and
Arrhythmia Alliance - The Heart Rhythm Charity
POOLE HEART SUPPORT GROUP MAGAZINEPoole Community Health Centre Shaftesbury Road, Poole BH15 2NT
Telephone: 01202 683363 ext. 133Telephone manned Mondays and Thursdays: 1:30-3:30pm
Web site address: www.poolehsg.org.uk
Please send magazine articles and photos to:Editor, 10 Hill View Road, Ferndown, Dorset BH22 9QY or bye-mail to; [email protected] Tel. 01202 855001Magazines are published 1st March, 1st June, 1st September and 1st December.Last date for articles to Editor is 10th day of month before publication.
PRESIDENT: Dr. ANDREW MCLEODV.Ps. Dr CHRISTOPHER BOOS MBBS Dip IMC RCS (Ed) MD FRCP RAMC : Dr. DIANE BRUCE MB Bsc.Hons FRCP : ROBERT PAYNE RGN, RHV, BSc Hons, PG Dip PGCE MAGGIE RICHARDSON : JIM WAINE : GEOFFREY WALKER OBE JP RGN,
PHSG COMMITTEEKEITH MATTHEWS Chairman [email protected] 01202 855001DAVID ANDERSON Secretary [email protected] 01202 697376RITA HOLMES Treasurer [email protected] 01202 743960GEORGE LLEWELLYN Monthly Meets [email protected] 01202 605455JAN MESHER Office [email protected] 01202 250108JOHN OFFER Member 01202 386674DEREK POPE Database [email protected] 01202 889070ROBIN PRINGLE Exercise Coord [email protected] 01202 884250ROGER RIDOUT Purbeck [email protected] 01929 423079DOREEN TOBITT Member [email protected] 01202 670137GEORGE WILKINSON Member 01202 740374PAM BAILEY BHF Rep. 01202 574944
If you know a member who is ill, please tell us by contactingMavis Terry, Welfare Support, on 01202 874760
OTHER CONTACTSJOHN DEFTY Chat Stops 01202 760350CYRIL MARTIN Walking Group 01202 733956DAVID ANDERSON Website [email protected] 01202 697376JIM WAINE Founder and VP [email protected] 01202 871532GERRY WRIGHT Special events [email protected] 01929 421864
3 PHSG Magazine
Chairman’s Letter
Keith
Membership has remained absolutely stablewith 591 paid up subscriptions and with 286partners registered, not forgetting the 45honorary members and the 12 committee. Weare now up to member number 2110. Most ofour members come from referrals after rehabat Poole Hospital but we are acutely awarethat many people could miss the benefits thatwe offer if they take an alternative care route.Accordingly, we are trying to embark on acampaign to recruit from doctors surgeries,and we also seek to appoint someone to thecommittee to take on some publicity for us.All of the management functions of the PHSG continue to run smoothly. The officefunctions, the hospital liaison meetings, the website, our social events, and ourAlmoner’s contacts with our members presents us as an efficient organisation and weare grateful for the work of all the volunteers.The work of the PHSG continues with our popular programme of gentle physicalexercise classes, and the walking and cycling groups which cater for physical activitywith different sections of our membership. Cyril Martin reports that 2013 has startedwith good attendance on the walks and he would like to offer his thanks to all hishelpers. We note that we have a literally healthy number of regular exercisers acrossour various venues. The “step down” class continues and this year we have been ableto start a class at a new venue in Hamworthy Fire Station.Thanks too to Pam and helpers for their hard work in providing tea and coffees, andGeorge and Margaret Wilkinson for the raffles and George & Sandra Llewellyn fororganising the club branded clothing.The Magazine continues to be published in colour and the paper quality improved. Westill really need a full time editor, or perhaps another chairman so that the present onecan concentrate on the Magazine. However, the articles from several regularcontributors does make the task easier and quite enjoyable and this is essential.2013 was PHSG’s 21st anniversary but we did not make too much emphasis on this.The year rounded off in March with our annual dinner at Bentley’s attended by one ofour Vice Presidents, Dr Christopher Boos who addressed us in entertaining fashion.Our hospital rehab team and our trainers were out in force. In all 105 people enjoyedan excellent meal.Many people work voluntarily for PHSG, they all deserve a big round of thanks.
PHSG Magazine 4
from Poole Hospital NHS Foundation TrustMedicine and Cardiology News
Dear Friends,How the time flies by and here I am writing to you all againabout the work and issues we are undertaking in cardiologyand medicine at Poole. Firstly I would like to say a big thankyou for the lovely article and kind remarks regarding myaward of, ‘Nurse of the Year 2013’. It was really kind and Ihave been touched also by the many personal congratulationsthat I have received. I was so thrilled to be even nominated butto receive the award was a great honour. I only knew threeweeks before that I had been nominated and was in the final three and to go to theceremony in March. The evening was run by the British Journal of Nursing and was aglittering occasion and the awards hosted by Esther Ranzen. I was called onto the stagewith the finalists in front of over 300 guests and she read out the citations before thesponsor opened the golden envelope and announced the winner, it was like the Oscars!It was a very humbling and emotional moment and my colleague and friend SeniorSister Shelley Pasamar was able to come with me, and as she put it, “so we looked goodon the red carpet!”It has been a very busy time. On the 9th May Dr Dan Poulter the undersecretary of Statefor Health visited the Medical Investigations Unit as an exemplar of innovative practice.I had invited him to visit when I was at a reception last October where he was presentingthe awards. He kindly agreed and came. He met all the staff and some patients and heardabout our public patient involvement group from Mrs Pat Smith, a member, which hewas really interested to hear about. He was impressed with the nurse led service and asyou know we do the cardioversion service there now and prepare all our pacemakerpatients on the MIU and recover them there. So the day was a wonderful showcase forthe ground breaking work we do at Poole. I always think that it is worth noting that wereally lead the way in the care and services we provide and I never miss an opportunityto let people know that! I know that Dr Poulter enjoyed his visit and it really raised ourprofile.We now have a new position on CCU as a trial, and that is a specialist nurse forcardiology whose role is to see that cardiac patients are supported throughout the wardsand if necessary transferred to CCU. As well as ensure swift referrals onward forangiography etc., it is proving really successful and I will ask her to do an article on therole for the next edition.So as you can see it’s a busy and exciting time and I look forward to continuing with thework we undertake here and keeping in touch with you all to tell you all about it. Pleasehave a wonderful summer and speak again soon.Geoffrey Walker OBE JP RGNMatron Medicine, Cardiology and Specialist ServicesPoole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
5 PHSG Magazine
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Golden Wedding for two MembersHenry and Heather Bartlett, long standing andactive members of the PHSG and the walkingGroup, recently celebrated their Golden WeddingAnniversary with parties for family and friends.We all offer them our congratulationsand all best wishes for many more yearsof happiness and good health together.
We are affiliated to the ArrhythmiaAlliance. Their website lists all theiraffiliated groups.
Review what they do on:www.theheartrhythmcharity.org.uk
PHSG Magazine 6
Dr Christopher BoosPalpitations
I have been asked by several readers to talk aboutpalpitations and its investigation. Palpitations refer toan abnormal awareness of the heartbeat. It may befelt as the heart beating too fast or too slow or evenbeating at a normal rate (60-100 per minute). It canbe either regular or irregular and may indicate thepresence of an underlying abnormal heart rhythm(arrhythmia). The importance of an arrhythmiadepends on their type, frequency, duration and whether they occur at the sametime you have symptoms. Attacks may last anything from seconds to hours.They do not necessarily mean there is anything wrong with the heart. In fact Iwould say from experience less than one third of all the cases I see relate toany serious or concerning underlying rhythm disturbance.A good clinical history is fundamental to establishing a diagnosis. Thesensation of a missed or extra beat is generally less concerning than thesustained sensation of a very fast heart rate coming on ‘out of the blue’particularly if it is associated with chest pain breathlessness or light-headedness. It is useful to know if there any triggers e.g. alcohol or caffeine asthis may help in establishing the cause and aiding with symptom alleviation.Because arrhythmias can occur very sporadically, it may be difficult to recordan arrhythmia while you are in the doctor's office. Nevertheless a 12 leadelectrocardiogram (ECG) is an essential initial investigation. This is a non-invasive test which provides a point-in-time assessment of the electricalactivity of the heart. Ten electrodes are attached to the patient and the testtakes less than 5 minutes, from which 12 snap shot electrical images (leads)are obtained. The ECG does not directly assess the contractility of the heart, asprovided by echocardiography. However, it can provide information of thepatient’s heart rhythm, rate and an indirect assessment of whether there hasbeen any damage to the heart. Ambulatory Heart rate monitoring (ECG)records the electrical activity of your heart while you do your usual activities.Ambulatory monitors/ECGs are referred to by several names, includingambulatory ECG, Holter monitoring, 24-48 hour ECG, or cardiac eventmonitoring. These ambulatory monitors are used to record the heart’s rhythmover longer periods and usually only 3 electrodes are attached to the patient’schest and are used when symptoms of an abnormal heart rhythm do not occurvery often. These can range from 24-48 hours of a continuous recording to amore prolonged ambulatory monitor for up to 10 days where due to data
7 PHSG Magazine
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All Talks are held at Poole Hospital Postgraduate Centre at7:30pm. All PHSG talks are free.
June 20th Groucho Marx by scriptwriter Nick ThomasJuly 18th A talk and songs by Bonny Sartin of the YettiesAug 22nd Treasure Hunt in Poole. More details later
PHSG Monthly Meetings - Diary Dates
storage issues only short snippets (loops) of abnormality are recorded forfuture review. Where symptoms are very intermittent but important thenoccasionally patients may have an implantable loop recorder inserted. Thisdevice is the size of a cigarette lighter and is inserted under local anaesthetic asa day case and has a batter life of up to two years. Conditions identified bythese differing monitors include atrial fibrillation, frequent ectopics (extrabeats), heart block and the need for a pacemaker where the heart is seen to gotoo slow or even stop. The patient’s diary is critical to assess the relationshipof symptoms to any important findings. I hope this helps youunderstand this area just a little better.
PHSG Magazine 8
Monthly Talks Organised by George LlewellynFebruary Talk - Atrial FibrillationAnother great presentation by our Rehab Nurses talk given by Fiona andably assisted by Vikki. A subject that is obviously dear to her heart, ifyou’ll pardon the pun. A self assured and confident presentation.But this was Fiona just prior tothe talk, struggling with theNHS computer! Don’t you hatecomputers? Well help was athand, Vikki to the rescue.Anyway Fiona won thestruggle and as I said anotherinformative talk ensued.It is surprising the number ofpeople that suffer from thiscondition.
Fiona was a bit concerned thatit may be a technical but I amsure it was explained at theright level for most of us. Thegraphics hit the spot and wellsupported the talk. Then a fewwords about the causes, risks,symptoms and treatment. Apositive and re-assuringpresentation followed by lots
● Atrial fibrillation is defined as chaotic electrical activity in theatria, the 2 upper chambers of the heart.
● The atria usually beat regularly and together.● In AF, the usual pacemaker, the Sinus Node,is totally
overtaken by the chaotic electrical activity and so the atria nolonger beat in an organised way.
9 PHSG Magazine
of interesting questions. This is the second year running we have hadthe Rehab Nurses present, and I have promised to give them a year offunless I can persuade them for next February?Many, many thanks to all of our Rehab Nurses and Fiona and Vikkiand well done!
George
PHSG Magazine 10
Monthly Talks AGM report by George Llewellyn
George
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● 2012 my first complete year.● I seem to be developing a theme; a mixture of
medical, local history and fun.● Rehab nurses for the second year, many thanks.● Consultant speaking to us last year was Dr
McLeod this year may be Dr Boos or Dr Bruce.● Of course we always welcome Geoffrey Walker
back.● Coming up is Upton house and Groucho Marx.● Last year we held a Treasure hunt in Upton
House, it seemed to go down well despite the weather. This year it isplanned for August and it will be in Poole.
● Something we did this year was to invite a member of PHSG to talk.Alistair Allcroft came along and regaled us with personal stories of histime in the RAF during the cold war. If you have a an interesting story Iam only to pleased to get you on.
● The Quiz at Xmas was a bit difficult, work has already started on thisyears, it will be a bit different.
● The good thing about this job is you get to choose the subjects. I hopeyou have enjoyed my choices as much as I have.
● If you have any suggestions for the future, if they arephysically possible I shall do my best.
11 PHSG Magazine
Puzzle - SolutionA PUZZLE FROM THE 30s: Every day at noon a ship leaves Southampton for NewYork and another ship leaves New York for Southampton. The trip lasts seven daysand seven nights. How many New York to Southampton ships will the ship leavingSouthampton today meet during its journey to New York?ANSWER: Most replies I had said that it must be 7 assuming that number of daysat sea, or 9 if they counted the ship they would meet in each port. However if yourealise that there are already 7 ships at sea before our ship sets off, you’ll realisethat it meets 13 ships at sea plus one in each harbour, a total of 15 ships.
I am taking part in the Blenheim Palace Triathlon on June8th. I will swim, bike & run my way round the scenic courseand raise money for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research inthe process. If anyone can spare a small donation pleasevisit my Justgiving page on the Internet.http://www.justgiving.com/Jennifer-SweetloveMany many thanks, Your trainer, Jen
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PHSG Magazine 12
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Well, we are off to another walking season and, so far, we have beenextremely lucky with the weather - the sun seems to shine on Cyril.The first trip was over Ballard Down - saw the demise of my walking bootswhen the sole came adrift! The second walk at Cowgrove & Pamphill was a bitwet and muddy underfoot. I hope the young lady's camera still works aftertaking the group's photo! Hope to see the results in a future publication.We have had excellent results on the turnout of both the last two walks withnearly 30, especially the 5-mile bash over Hengistbury Head.Onto another nice day, I decided to have a look at Corfe Castle. Been past itmany times, wish I had visited it sooner. Mind you my legs were "groaning" bythe time I got to the top. Well worth the effort though for outstanding views ofthe local countryside, and "birds-eye" view of the Swanage steam trains(something else from the past).Walking again tomorrow, weather permitting with "Walk-for-Life" around UptonHouse grounds. Just turn up and walk, costs only a bit of energy.The next walk will put me in the spotlight as I could not find the car-park last year! Hopefully, I will have more luck this year!
The Walking Group by Eric Bullen
Eric
13 PHSG Magazine
For those who are interested in the Walking Group,we walk every 10 days on Wednesdays andSaturdays from 2 to 5 miles. Some of us round offthe day’s walk with a Pub lunch – Pleasure afterpain! If you require more information or theWalking Book (£3) please contact me on01202 733956.Cyril, Walks Coordinator.
PHSG Skittles Evening by Derek Pope
My wife and I have organisedanother skittle night atCobhams near Merley forMonday, 24th June.We expect to offer the ‘MainMeals’ selection that the clubdoes for Skittle Nights ratherthan the ‘Finger Buffet’. I willwant captains to come forwardwith their team details andpayments in advance of thedate, so if you are interested in
putting a team together please email me for information.Teams will be of six people (including the captain) and will need tohave a nominated pin setter to help with setting up the skittle alleyduring the evening. The alley should cost £25 and we will add thischarge to the meal costs at 75p a head. Any excess will be handedover to the PHSG treasurer, if there is a deficit, we will fund thatourselves. We had four teams of 6 last time round and themaximum is 36 people so we could just manage six teams of 6 ifenough people are interested.So, put a note in your diary, sort out a captain and email me fordetails. If you would like to have skittle nights closer to where youlive, please find a skittle alley and get it organised, I’m willing tohelp with forms and advice if you need it and they are alwayspopular.My contact details are on the inside front cover of themagazine. Derek
PHSG Magazine 14
Membership Matters by Derek Pope
Derek
We presently have 601 full members and only 291partners. Each member is entitled to have someoneentered as their ‘partner’.If you are a member and would like your spouse,partner or a friend to be able to join you atexercise classes, walking or cycling group outings,talks or social events, then please send their detailsto me so that they can be entered as your ‘partner’into the database.This month I did some analysis of the database,breaking up the membership into post code areas,just using the first part of the post code. This was done for every entry in thedatabase so the numbers will not match the full and partner members above.We have single members from these postcodes:- AL3, BH2, BH3, BH4, BH6,BH7, BH31, BS40, CV37, DT4, SO16, TN6, W1H, WR14.These other ‘out of area’ postcodes each has a small numbers of members:-BH8 has 3, BH10 has 3, DT11 has 8.The main BH area statistics are as follows, the approximate geographiccoverage I have shown comes from the Wikipedia website:-BH11 18 Kinson, Bear Cross, West Howe, WallisdownBH12 58 Branksome, Alderney, Upper Parkstone, NewtownBH13 24 Canford Cliffs, Sandbanks, Branksome ParkBH14 87 Lower Parkstone, Lilliput, Penn HillBH15 109 Poole Town Centre, Hamworthy, OakdaleBH16 45 Upton, Turlin Moore, Lytchett Minster, Lytchett MatraversBH17 92 Canford Heath, CreekmoorBH18 96 BroadstoneBH19 36 SwanageBH20 54 WarehamBH21 182 Wimborne, MerleyBH22 84 Ferndown, West MoorsBH23 5 ChristchurchBH24 4 Ringwood
If there is membership information you would like to know about, please dropme a line or give me a ring, my contact details are on the inside frontcover of the magazine.
15 PHSG Magazine
A Romantic Gift by AnonA young man wished to purchase a gift for his new
sweetheart’s birthday, and as they had not been datingvery long, after careful consideration he decided apair of gloves would strike the right note – romantic,
but not too personal.Accompanied by his sweetheart’s younger sister, he
bought a pair of white gloves, the younger sister purchased apair of panties for herself.
During the wrapping, the shop assistant mixed up the items and the sister gotthe gloves and the sweetheart got the panties. Without checking the contentsfirst, he sealed his package and posted it to his sweetheart along with this note:Darling,I chose these because I noticed that you are not in the habit of wearingany when we go out in the evening. If it had not been for your sister, Iwould have chosen the long ones with buttons, but she wears the shortones that are easy to remove.These are a delicate shade, but the lady I bought them from showed methe pair she had been wearing for the past three weeks and they werehardly soiled. I had her try yours on for me and she looked reallysmart.I wish I were there to put them on for you the first time, as no doubtother hands will come into contact with them before I have a chance tosee you again.When you take them off, remember to blow in them before puttingthem away as they will naturally be a little damp from wearing.Just think how many times I will kiss them during the coming year.I hope you will wear them for me on Friday night.All my love,Hollingsworth
P.S. The latest style is to wear them foldeddown with a little fur showing.
PHSG Magazine 16
P.H.S.G.IN
ACTION
George & Margaret sort Raffle TicketsPam thinks about getting the Kettle on!
This is how your Magazine gets Distributed.Some of our Volunteers
Your Committee at WorkExcept the Chairman Taking the Picture.
Dr. Chis Boos Talks to theAnnual Dinner
17 PHSG Magazine
“The more intelligent a man is, the more originality he discoversin others.” Blaise Pascal“In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods; they have notforgotten this.” Terry Pratchett
Why Some Men Have Dogs And Not Wives:☺ The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.☺ Dogs don't notice if you call them by another dog's name.☺ Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.☺ A dog's parents never visit.☺ Dogs agree you have to raise your voice to get your point across.☺ You never have to wait for a dog; they're ready to go 24hrs a day.☺ Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk.☺ Dogs like to go hunting, fishing and don’t mind spending the whole day
with you in front of the tv.☺ A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, "If I died, would you get
another dog?"☺ If a dog has babies, you can place an advert and give them away.☺ A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a
pervert.☺ If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't get mad. They just
think it's interesting.☺ Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck and don’t care how
much money you have.
To test this theory: Lock your wife and your dog in the garage for an hour.Then open it and see who's happiest to see you.
See “Our Lesley” and some of our PHSG members intheir new musical production of “ANYTHING GOES” atthe Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne.
25th to 29th June 2013www.tivoliwimborne.co.uk
PHSG Magazine 18
Know your Trainers By Roger Ridout
Roger
Clare Barratt has been with PHSG for 13years, having been on the same course asLesley in January 2000, following which sheestablished the first Wareham classes at thePurbeck Sports Centre supported by GeoffLane as the local exercise coordinator until Itook over. We have expanded to four classesin Wareham and Swanage each week.Clare spent her early life in Harpenden, priorto joining the Metropolitan Police as a cadet inSeptember 1979 and undertaking a trainingcourse at the Hendon Police College. As aqualified WPC she was based in Ealing, WestLondon from where she saw duties in thepublic riots at Southall and Brixton, policedthe antinuclear demonstrations at GreenhamCommon as well as being on duty at the DailyMirror group marches in Fleet Street.
In April 1991 she was involved in a serious road accident on her motorbike, when acar hit her in a road tunnel forcing her bike to swerve into another car, resulting in hercrashing through the rear window. The injuries sustained required 60 facial stitches, abroken arm and leg causing a 4 month absence from work. Unfortunately when theplaster cast was removed from her leg the bone was found to be badly set, requiringre-breaking and a further period of absence from her duties. In 1992 she was forced toretire from the Police and was pensioned off.With her husband and two small daughters she moved to Dorset later that year, butduring 1996 she was divorced which, as a single parent with custody of the girls,forced her return to work with Securicor. Being determined not to let her accidentinjuries dictate her future employment, in 1998 she joined Premier Fitness as anInstructor, from where Robin Pringle using his unique ability to obtain and keep theservices of all our excellent instructors, persuaded her to join us.Her daughters; Maria is 22 and in her final year in London studying Fashion and Annais 20 studying Business Management in Winchester. Both show the same independentspirit of their mother and are daughters of whom she can be very proud.Clare has an in depth knowledge of cardiac problems, formed whilst undertakingphase 3 rehabilitation for the Dorset County NHS Trust, Dorchester at BlandfordHospital over a 5 year period.A keen Leicester Tigers rugby fan, she thinks Valentino Rossi is the best motorcycleracer ever and enjoys vintage car racing, regularly visiting the GoodwoodRevival Festival, Clare lives life to the full. Our members thank her for thesupport and understanding we receive during rewarding and enjoyable fitnesssessions, which she controls despite the constant chattering.
19 PHSG Magazine
Ashdown School Sports Monday 12:00 Tuesday 09:30 10:30 Wednesday 09:30 Friday 09:30 10:30
Canford School Sports Monday 09:00 10:00 Tuesday 09:00 10:00 Thursday 09:00 10:00 11:00 Friday 09:00 10:00
Canford Stepdown Class Friday 11:00
Ferndown Sports Monday 10:30 Wednesday 10:30
Hamworthy Fire Station Monday 09:30 10:30
Hearts on Seats,Broadstone Thursday 14:00
Images, Lower Parkstone Wednesday 11:00 Friday 11:00
Lytchett Minster Sports Tuesday 18:00 19:00 Thursday 18:30
Swanage, Burlington Sports Tuesday 14:30 15:30
Wareham, Purbeck Sports Monday 16:00
PHSG Exercise VenuesAll sessions last 1 hour
If you are not exercising with us and would like to start (or restart)then please call Robin Pringle or Roger Ridout. Contact details are on
the inside cover
PHSG Magazine 20
Robin’s Notes By Robin PringleThis is my annual report as I gave it to the AGM.Recruitment. Almost all new members to PHSG arerecruited from the Cardiac Rehab Dept at PooleHospital. It is imperative therefore that we retain thegoodwill and assistance of the Rehab Team.
David Curtis and /or his deputy John Offer attend each Education Day topromote our Group. Then it is up to Tony Wilkinson and me to sell PHSG toprospective members as they progress through the Rehab program. If we havepersuaded patients to join, then the application form is processed by Jan andher Team at our Office, thence to Rita our Treasurer and to Derek, keeper ofour Database. The introduction of the new Yellow form has speeded up andsimplified the process but there are occasions when the old Blue form is stillnecessary.EXERCISE VENUES AND SESSIONSSwanage and Wareham :- There are a total of 4 sessions a week at these twovenues. Overall supervision is under the control of my friend Roger Ridoutand the trainer for all sessions is Clare Barratt. This is a super little group whohave raised monies to purchase their own Defibrillator. They have anindependent Christmas Party and this year it was attended by 64 members andpartners.Images, Lower Parkstone : Two sessions weekly run by Paula TrowbridgeLytchett Minster: There are 3 sessions each week the trainers being JayneFrank and Livvy InglisFerndown: Two classes per week run by Jenni Sweetlove and Emma ThomasAshdown: Six classes run by Jenni Sweetlove and Jayne FrankCanford School, Merley :- There are 9 classes plus a Step-Down HeartFailure Class run by Lesley Bradshaw and Emma Thomas. The Rehab Deptalso has one “ Rehab in the Community” class in which Emma assists Fiona.Hearts on Seats, Broadstone:- One class each week is run by Jayne Frank.Hamworthy :- A very new venue has just commenced at Hamworthy FireStation gymnasium and the 2 sessions are run by Emma Thomas. It is earlydays but we have been offered support from Dr Mowbray at the local surgery.We will have to see how it progresses.In addition to the above, Lesley works within the Rehab Dept covering fourclasses on a Wednesday at Poole Hospital. Jayne assists Nurse Fiona with the“Heart Failure Rehab in the Community” at QE School. Where possible the
21 PHSG Magazine
trainers assist each other during holidays and illnesses and, in particular, Jaynecovers for Livvy at Blandford Hospital and the HSG classes in Blandford.Our trainers are all qualified for BACPR Phase 4 classes. The cost of a courseis now 645 pounds plus expenses. We now have another reserve on the blockwho will eventually be sponsored for such a course. Her name is NorineBurke. We also have Michelle Evans and Karen Fisher who assist inemergencies.I would like to place on record my grateful thanks to the trainers, the nursesand those who assist by way of collecting fees and helping with kit.You may wonder about the finances of all the exercise venues. I believe thatonly the turnover at Canford goes through the books, with surplus or losses forthe other venues going through as net figures. There are approximately 400exercising each week, multiply that by £3 (£3.50 for Purbeck sessions) andthen by say 48 weeks of the year we have a turnover of £57,600. The booksshow quite a surplus at present, but negotiations take place with each venueregularly regarding the amount they charge us for using their facilities. Thetrainers’ wages are also reviewed. If I get it wrong we could be in trouble !!!It is imperative that we retain the goodwill of the management of the variousvenues. It is also important we show our appreciation of the trainers. However I do believe that with the current surplus from exercise the presentcharge can be maintained for the next two years at least.The Future:- More of the same but we are embarking upon publicityto bolster numbers where class numbers have fallen.
Robin
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PHSG Magazine 22
Medical Clinical Care Group Jim Waine
QSG Meeting on the 19th March 2013
Poole Hospital Matron, Geoffrey Walker, hasrecently been granted the award of Nurse ofthe Year in a prestigious national awardsscheme, in recognition of the outstandingcontribution he has made to patients in Pooleover more than 25 years of nursing.A delighted Geoffrey received the award fromtelevision personality and campaigner EstherRantzen at a glittering event held inShakespeare’s Globe Theatre Complex.Geoffrey’s nomination cites the role he hasplayed in establishing Poole Hospital’scardiology and medicine Quality ServiceGroup- now in its tenth year- and the creationand development of the medical investigationsunit (MIU), both at Poole Hospital.In announcing the award, Julie Smith, fromthe British Journal of Nursing said,“Geoffrey’s dedication to nursing goes above
Another Honour for Matron Geoffrey Walker
Practice Development Unit for Cardiology andMedicine - Quality Service Group Meeting
PHSG has a voice on this group representing itsmembers. This exciting group, under the very capableChairmanship of Geoffrey Walker, OBE, MatronCardiology and Medicine, really gets things done!Positive changes are made to hospital procedures, as aresult of patient feedback given to PHSG patientrepresentatives. All PHSG members can feed backinformation to Poole Hospital in complete confidenceabout their treatment.So if you want to say anything good or bad about your experience in Poole CardiacUnit, or its related departments including the ambulance service, please forward yourcomments.You can contact me by e-mail (preferred), letter, or telephone. All information will betreated in strictest confidence. Looking forward to hearing from you. Jim Waine, VicePresident PHSG [email protected] or 01202 871532
Geoffrey shows his Award
23 PHSG Magazine
and beyond all expectations, and his passion for excellence in nursing and developingand improving patient care is unmatched. It is nurses like Geoffrey who restore ourfaith in the profession and we are absolutely delighted to have awarded him BJNNurse of the Year 2013”In responding to the award, Geoffrey said, “I feel so proud and humble to receive thisaward. Nursing is a profession I absolutely love, and the award is as much for mycolleagues and Poole Hospital as it is for me”. Geoffrey’s passion for innovationknows no bounds and continues with the Medical Investigation Unit at Poole, recentlybecoming the first unit of its kind in the UK to offer blood prescribing to patients fromspecially trained nurses.
In 2009, Geoffrey receivedan OBE in recognition ofhis services to nursing. Heis Vice President of theBritish Red Cross inDorset, a lecturerpractitioner at theUniversity ofBournemouth andhonorary Vice President ofthe Florence Nightingalefoundation, a charitywhich supports thedevelopment of nursesthrough scholarships.Geoffrey is pictured herereceiving his award fromEsther Rantzen.
Matron Walker at the Group’s meeting held on 19th March reviewed some of thework and the achievements of the Group since its inception.The inaugural launch day of the Group in 2003, took place at the Springfield CourtHotel and since then the Group has gone from strength to strength. Some of the manyachievements and topics discussed included Blood Taking, Ward Rounds, Right Wardfor Right Patients, Waiting Times for Echocardiography, new work completed oninfection control, phlebotomy appointments and in recent months, the launch andimplementation of the highly successful Red Cross Discharge Scheme.The latter scheme, jointly developed between the British Red Cross and Poole HospitalNHS Trust, saw two teams, one led by John Towers of British Red Cross and thesecond, led by Geoffrey Walker from Poole Hospital respectively, develop andimplement a highly successful programme. This enables elderly patients who havesuccessfully completed their medical treatment in hospital, but who live alone, to bedischarged and return to their own homes, accompanied by trained Red Cross staff
2013 sees the 10th Anniversary of the Quality Service Group
The Award Ceremony
PHSG Magazine 24
who then give daily support for a period of four weeks. To date some 90 patients havebenefited from the scheme and feedback from both patients and family members hasbeen positive and appreciative.
The scheme was nominated for an award by the Poole Hospital NHS Foundation TrustAwards 2012/2013 and at a ceremony held at the Haven Hotel on 27th March, JohnTowers and the BRC team, won the Service Improvement Scheme Award for theirachievements.Also Geoffrey Walker updated the group, informing them two newCardiologists would be commencing in the Trust in June.
Cake cutting by Pat Smith in celebration of our 10th Anniversary
Jim
Poole NHS Awards 2013I am delighted to be able to inform you that the BritishRed Cross Assisted Discharge Service won the ServiceImprovement Team award at the Poole Hospital NHSFoundation Trust Awards which were presented at aceremony held at The Haven Hotel on 27 March 2013.
The Quality Service Group should be particularly proud of this achievement asthe group was instrumental in the commencement of this valuedservice which has proved to be a great success. I am sure you willjoin me in congratulating John Towers and his team.
By Geoffrey Walker
Geoffrey
25 PHSG Magazine
Meet our MembersA Showcase on Members - This issue: Jean-Daniel Kursner reflects on stress
Monday 3rd of October 2011, just three months intomy retirement, I was hit by an unexpected heart attack.My life nearly ended that day, but thanks to the promptand effective emergency actions of all the peopleinvolved: my GP, the paramedics, the ambulance andthe Coronary Care Unit Team of the BournemouthHospital, this life threatening event ended happily andis now just an old souvenir.Why did it happen to me? At 65 I felt healthy and fitand I never suffered an illness in my life. I had beengiven a clear bill of health only 6 months earlier after afull private check-up.
My easy, comfortable and conventional childhood in Switzerland led to a PhD anda good job with a well-known Swiss chemical company. Married at 21 with twosons, Stephane and David, things looked settled. Unfortunately, things started togo wrong and ended in a divorce in early 1978. Fate struck later that year, when Imet and fell in love with Jill from Bournemouth. Like me, Jill was going throughsimilar trauma, and we brought our lives together and married.This relationship was the beginning of an eventful life, we had a son Yvan in1981. There were traumatic events at work and the stresses of never remainingstill; 23 moves around the world in 35 years, the last one in 2009. For 19 years Ienjoyed my work, now as a Risk Engineer, and accumulated more than onemillion air miles that I planned to spend during my retirement!There were significant emotional events now to follow; the death of my sonStephane, the death of my mother-in-law, my retirement, and the death of my bestfriend Tony. The first time I was made aware of stress was after my heart attack,when I talked with my GP and later with the nurses of the Poole CardiacRehabilitation. With the stress rehabilitation sessions, I discovered that not onlyphysical stress had been a threat to my health, but also emotional ones. I wasshocked that a risk engineer never considered stress as a major risk to life.I believe now that stress, physical or emotional, is the most underestimated andunder-assessed risk to life. In particular emotional stress is certainly the mostignored because it deals with a status of mind that people are reluctant to talkabout. They feel that exposing themselves to “strangers” could be the acceptanceof a mental weakness.Now I am trying to re-organise my retirement life, changing all the plansthat Jill and I made before my heart attack. One of them was retiring to awarm place in Cyprus!
PHSG Magazine 26
Keith
The Cutting EdgeAdvances in Medical Technology - Life giving Light
By Keith Matthews
The healing properties of light are wideranging. We all feel better on a nicesunny day! Now scientists are workingon PhotoDynamic Therapy (PDT)which uses targeted light at a particularcolour working with specificphotosensitive compounds, known asphotosensitisers. These generatereactive oxygen that kills cells.In the treatment of cancer as anexample, a photosensitiser binding tomalignant cells can destroy them whenactivated by light. Microbial cells areanother target for treatment with PDT,used in dentistry and dermatology -killing the bacteria causing acne forinstance. Trials at the Wellman Centerfor Photomedicine in MassachusettsUniversity are ongoing for treatingvarious infections with PDT, andparticular interest centres around thetreatment of drug-resistant bacteria suchas MRSA. The work involves designingparticular photosensitisers for differentmicrobial cells.PDT could potentially treat variousforms of drug-resistant strains ofbacteria, such as those for tuberculosis,but this is challenging because itmultiplies internally. Dr Hamblin of theCenter says “With fibre optics it is conceivable to treat internal infections withPDT. You can thread fibres pretty much anywhere in the body, even to the heart.Bacterial endocarditis for example, an infection of the heart valves with a highmortality rate has been considered for PDT treatment.”What will come of this? Who knows. But remember, you read it here first inPHSG Magazine.
Take a deep breath . . .A number of drugs have problemspassing cells membranes or gettrapped in endosomes and areeventually broken down before theycan work. Norwegian oncologycompany, PCI Biotech, hasdeveloped a photosensitier calledAmphinex which is specificallydesigned to adhere to cellmembranes. It gets taken up inendosomes along with the drug.When activated by red light at 652nmit breaks open the endosomereleasing the drug into the cell.
Original reporting courtesy of:[email protected]
27 PHSG Magazine
EExxeerrcciissee iiss ssoo mmuucchh eeaassiieerr iinn tthheerriigghhtt ggeeaarr!!PHSG Clothing
T-Shirts £7.00
Polo Shirts£11.00
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This exclusive range of clothes areavailable from the PHSG
Sizes Small, Medium, Large& Extra Large
For the RETRO nostalgic we still have a small stock of the previous Sky Blueversions (Price on application).
Contact: Sandra Llewellyn at [email protected] ,01202 605455or ask your trainer.
PHSG Magazine 28
After a slow start to sign up PHSG members and theirpartners the number of attendees suddenlysnowballed a couple of weeks before the first session,resulting in three classes finally having to be
organised, two at Canford School and a third at the Purbeck Sports Centre. Badweather meant that the Red Cross Instructor (Gavin Churchill) could not get to uson the 23rd. Jan and that course was rebooked for the 16th. Feb. The other twocourses went ahead as planned on the 6th. Feb resulting in 32 members andpartners in total receiving their “Saving a Life – General” certificates, a safetybooklet and a single use mouth to mouth safety mask.Following the sessions all reports on the content and presentation were good andour thanks go to Gavin Churchill, and Hugh Honneywill who took the Purbeckcourse, for making the course content interesting - and boosting our confidence
that we could carry out emergency resuscitation if we wereever in a position to help someone.
Red Cross First Aid By John Offer & George Llewellyn
JohnI never wanted to do First Aid Course. As a young engineerresponsible to write the accident reports and later as a SafetyOfficer, I was often asked, “do want to do a first aid course”?My answer was always an unequivocal NO!! I made the excusethat I didn’t like the sight of blood. The sight of my blood doesupset me, however the truth is I never liked the idea of mouth-to-
mouth resuscitation. Yuk, its no good I thought, if was trained and really needed touse it I couldn’t do it.I am now 67 and retired and this caught me up again. John Offer arranged a course forthe PHSG. Was I interested? The truth was still the same, but I like people to attendmy talks so I was obliged to support my fellow committee members. I bit the bullet andsaid I would attend.The session was run by the Red Cross and was very professional. At the beginning Istill wasn’t sure that I would use it but it was fun and very informative, thedemonstrations were managed in a way that help you understand the process. As forthe yucky bit, we practised on dummies and they were cleaned every time they wereused, so that overcame my first fear. But the presenter went out of his way to explainthat in real life it may be a lot messier than that. Oh my god all my fears returned “if Ineeded to I would not do it”. The Red Cross had anticipated my fear. We were issuedwith a face veil with a one-way valve. The presenter told us that many other thingscould be used to protect us , shopping bags, crisp packets etc.Walking back to my car I was sure of two things . . .
● I would use the technique if called upon and . . .● I would always, always always carry the face veil with the one-way
valve with me wherever I went.Many thanks to John Offer, a good experience, well done. George
29 PHSG Magazine
An Award for a Member
You can always call the Office !
You can always call the officeWe’re a happy little bunch.On a Monday or a Thursday,We’re there just after lunch.
If you need some information,Exercise or walking club,(Cyril says they rambleand then end up at the pub!).
We distribute magazinesand sign in each new member.We are on the go all the timefrom January to December
Jan MesherPHSG Office Co-ordinator.
Volunteers wantedto helpin ourP.H.S.G.HeadOfficefor only2 hoursper month
Please Telephone01202 683363 ext. 133
Manned 1.30 - 3.30pmMon & Thurs
PSHG haveintroduced a silvercup award for serviceto PHSG which is tobe awarded annuallyin recognition ofvalued contributionto the group. MaxSmith, who ran ourwebsite and ourComputer Club formany years is thefirst recipient of theTrophy . He receivedthe award at theDinner in March. Max Smith receives the trophy from chairman Keith Matthews
PHSG Magazine 30
31 PHSG Magazine
The next Chat Stop will be on June 4th , shortlyafter you receive this Magazine. Then we take abreak for the summer and will return inOctober, either the 1st or the 8th to be decided.At the June chat stop, our members SonjaSparrow & her husband Bill have asked if theycan talk about ‘Utility Warehouse’.So in addition to the normal book sales, tea, coffee and biscuits, andmaybe a quiz, you can listen to reasons to consider changing your gas,electricity, phone or broadband supplier.There was a good turnout for the May chat stop and we would like tosee even more visitors in June.
Chat Stops
THE FLATTENING OFUNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE,
IS THE JOB OFTHE CHAMBERMAID.
Yugoslav Hotel
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF
ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE
OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM,
IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY
BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.
Zurich Hotel
PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE ASKED NOT TO EXPOSETHEMSELVES IN THIS CHURCH.
Russian Church
WE TAKE YOUR BAGS ANDSEND THEM INALL DIRECTIONS.
Airline Office, Copenhagen
WOULD YOU LIKE
TO RIDE ON
YOUR OWN ASS?
Advert for Donkey Rides, Thailand
PHSG Magazine 32
Rides are about 15 to 20 miles long, the rides are open to all membersof the PHSG as long as your doctor approves. For help, advice,weather check and bike maintenance call Keith Matthews on 01202855001ALL STARTS at 10:00amSunday 23 June Meet Ringwood Underpass - Forest FollySunday 28 July Meet Winterbourne Kingston - Bulbarrow GrovelSunday 25 Aug Meet Wimborne Square - Blandford BrevetSunday 22 Sept Meet Broadstone Leisure - Lytchett Link
In bad weather call before 9:00am to see if the ride is going ahead.
PHSG Cycling Group Rides
I have heard it said that the path to Hell is paved with good intentions.I’ve been intending to join a PHSG Cycle Group ride for several yearsand on Sunday 17th February I finally did it, so hopefully my path hasnow changed direction.I met Keith and Alan at the Broadstone Leisure Centre car park and ittranspired it was going to be just the three of us (I guess the others hadheard I was coming). It was a superbly sunny morning and the journeyto Poole Quay was on varied cycle paths passing through Creekmoorand the east side of Upton Country Park to reach the Holes Bay tarmacpath where there was a bit of a headwind (so I stayed at the back for atow).We had a chat over a coffee at the Custom House on the quay beforethe return journey along the Broadstone relief road cycle way. To myrelief the climb back to Broadstone was not at all steep, thanks to therailway engineers of old. I’d had a most enjoyable and invigoratingSunday morning and much healthier than Breakfast in bed watching oldepisodes of ‘Heartbeat’ on ITV3. On the ride I was wearing my ‘Polar’cycling heart monitor that records heart rate, cycle speed and altitude.Here is a screen-shot of the results showing the steady pace in bothdirections and two peaks in heart rate of 123 bps when ‘attacking’ shortinclines, one on the way to Poole where the Holes bay path rises overthe railway (at 45 minutes) and the other on the way back part way upthe relief road (see the step in altitude at 1 hour 40 minutes).
My First Ride by Peter Eames
33 PHSG Magazine
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Note that the ‘Altitude’ is really a reading of atmospheric pressure and Idid not bother re-calibrating it before the ride. Atmospheric pressurewas high and clearly I last reset it during a low as it recorded a start atabout minus seventy feet descending to minus 200 feet. Assuming thelowest point my wrist reached was about ten feet above sea level thissuggests Broadstone is about 140 feet AMSL! Thanks to Keith andAlan for welcoming me on my inaugural run, I am looking forward to thenext one.
Peter
PHSG Magazine 34
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Our Word Searches are compiled by Derek Pope
A A R T S A I R A N A C N A R G C H M O QD I L W A D C J Y L S A N T A C R U Z M PA D V G I R L G F I Y Z V Y V W G Z A J GN U U X N A A C G M D A I B P A P H O S SA C Y G T G N S F A N W R S N Q O A F A TR L A R K E Z E L S E Y D E G N A F E R EG A M H I K A V O S Y N G S K L E D F U VG W S Y T A R I L O A A E C B N H G I T ON M T L T L O L W L H L L U O M T A R N RG A E T S H T L T N E S F I C X Y I E E OR D R A O K E E E G Y E L S I S W N N V BU E D L M R H P N L I L U A R A T I E E KB I A Y B S O A T R M S H N O G S D T T DS R M B O C S N A A O I O T T E Y R H R UR A B O D O I A T D S Y N A R V R A R E BE P V N L R I K A O M L O P E S E S H U RT E R T S F M B P U L L L O U A B P O F OE R Z A O U R M R V B I U N P L A R D D VP T Y I G A F D H A I C L S C R O G E U NT H U R B U O X N M O S U A I M Z T S B IS C T D N B E N I D O R M S E C I N E V K
Poole Heart Support Group operates underthe umbrella of the British Heart Foundationwho rely on voluntary help for fund-raising.If you’d like to help them, please contact:Pam Bailey BHF Rep.4 Knighton Heath Close. BH11 9PP.
01202 574944Poole Branch meet once a month at Poole Hospital to planforthcoming events.
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WHAT TO DO IF YOU BECOME UNWELL
Medical help and advice is available if you become unwellwhen your GP surgery is closed.You should:Dial 999 or go to A & E as soon as possible if you areworried about the sudden onset of new symptoms or havesuffered a serious Injury or illness.A & E departments are open 24 hours a day, 365 days ayear. They are for a critical or life threatening situation, forexample chest pain, suspected heart attack, severebreathing difficulties, severe loss of blood, loss ofconsciousness, deep wounds and suspected brokenbones. They are not for minor injuries or health problems,nor an alternative to seeing your GP or for a ‘secondopinion’ if you have already seen your GP.Call the Dorset Out of Hours Medical Service on 0845600 10 13 if you are unwell but not facing a life-threateningemergency and you think you cannot wait until your GPsurgery opens.Go to an NHS Walk-In Centre or Minor Injuries Unit witha minor injury or illness. Find your nearest one by callingNHS Direct on 0845 46 47.You can also call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 if you arefeeling unwell and are unsure what to do, or needinformation about finding a pharmacist, dentist or otherservice.
REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE CHEST PAINDIAL 999 WITHOUT DELAY
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