In addition to the Committee members, in attendance will be:

Clare Panniker, Chief Executive, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;

David Wood OBE, Chief Executive, Attend (formerly the National Association of Hospital & Community Leagues of Friends).

This year is a very special AGM because they are handing over to David Wood the MBE and citation given to the late Mrs Queenie Twittey in the 2000 New Year’s Honours List. Queenie was given this award for her dedication to the League of Friends over nearly 20 years. Queenie died in Basildon Hospital in December 2012, aged 94 and, having no family, all the memorabilia was given to the Basildon League of Friends. Attend have agreed to display it in their London offices.

During the last financial year, April 2012 – March 2013, the Basildon League of Friends donated a total of £68,488.86 to Basildon Hospital making the total, since the League was formed in 1961, a grand £1,172,553.

It cannot be stressed enough, that without all the good, dependable volunteers who regularly give up their time they would not be able to do this. They are always looking for new volunteers who should contact either Chairman, Terry Moore, 01268 285296 or Co-ordinator Rita Keeler 01268 793864.

For any further information, or to confirm attendance, contact ritalof@hotmail.co.uk

Further detailed information will be available at the AGM.

Staff at Basildon Hospital were able to find out more about what happens to their workplace waste, at a recent waste awareness day.

Hospital staff are required to segregate their waste and dispose of it in the correct containers. This is vitally important in the hospital environment, where different types of waste cannot be mixed for safety reasons.

Fraser Cutting, waste manager explains: “It is really important that our staff know how to safely handle and segregate the different types of waste generated in the hospital, and every member of staff has a role to play.

“Holding waste awareness days are just one way in which we inform staff about why correct waste management is important. They give us a chance to share information with staff, and to find out more about their understanding of the different types of waste and their proper disposal. Representatives from our waste management providers Veolia, SRCL and Thames Security Shredding were on hand to answer any detailed questions.

“We are also keen to encourage staff recycle their office waste where appropriate, as this prevents waste going to landfill and helps to save the Trust money.”

Alongside normal discharge processes, the team is concentrating on working with social workers and therapists to make sure that each patient is sent home as soon as they are medically fit, with the right support in place to prevent them returning to hospital.

The project is being piloted on four older people wards at Basildon Hospital and the rehabilitation ward at Brentwood Community Hospital and so far the response from patients, relatives and staff has been positive.
Karen Fashanu, Lead Nurse for General Medicine, explains: “No one wants to spend longer than necessary in hospital, so we are working with our partners to make sure each patient is assessed and supported properly, to get them home quicker and stop them from being readmitted.”

Some of the patients on the older people’s wards have end stage dementia, so the team work with the patients and their families to look at whether it is safe for them to return to their home or if their needs would be better met somewhere else, such as a residential home.

Karen Scott, Nurse Specialist for Older People, said: “Often because the right support is not in place for older people when they are discharged from hospital they end up being readmitted. They tend to stay in for longer, are at more risk of developing complications and in some cases, they become dependent on the care the hospital provides.

“Sadly sometimes older people are simply unable to care for themselves anymore and it isn’t appropriate for them to return home. The team works closely with social care around discharge and our common goal is to support patients to the most appropriate place, making sure thorough care plans are in place and where necessary, end of life care instructions are communicated.”

There are eight members of staff in the discharge team, which is made up of nurses and clinical support workers. They work closely with the hospital social workers, residential homes, therapists and community staff to make sure care plans are in place before a patient is sent home.

Karen Scott added: “The team has been a great support to our staff and we plan to do more education and training around the importance of discharge planning and begin thinking about getting each patient home from the moment they are admitted. Having a social worker on the wards has been effective as it has given medical staff a better understanding of their job and the role they play in working together to ensure our patients are discharged with appropriate support.

“The next step for us is to meet with the residential and nursing care home managers across Basildon and Thurrock so we can better understand each other’s needs. At the end of the day it’s all about the patients and making sure they are getting the care they need, whilst being treated with dignity and respect.”

Hannah Coffey, Chief Operating Officer, said: “Understandably most patients want get home as soon as they are able to. By planning a patient’s discharge thoroughly and working with our partners to put the appropriate support measures in place, it means the patient has the best possible experience.

In addition, prompt discharge leads to improved capacity within the hospital, which in turn decreases the number of patients who have to be moved between wards, and it reduces readmissions. It’s very encouraging to see the early results of this team’s work and the feedback from patients, partners and staff has been very positive.”

MORE people in Thurrock die of smoking related diseases than the national average.

We have more obese children and adults, worse rates of diabetes and fewer mums breast-feeding their children.

The life expectancy of a man living in Tilbury is more than eight years less than a man living in Orsett. This isn’t just unfair, it’s also uneconomic. The burden on the NHS including GPs’ surgeries is increased by this ill-health.

So it is extremely disappointing that the government’s allocation of money to deal with these issues falls short by more than a million pounds.

When there isn’t much money around it is important that the cash we have is spent wisely. Instead the government has chosen to allocate public health money simply on how many people live in an area rather than on need.

The top-down reorganisation of the NHS means tackling these issues is now in the hands of the local council. By handing over significantly less money to deal with these issues, the Tory-led government is making it harder for the local authority to tackle the high levels of obesity and smoking in Thurrock.

Early deaths from cancer, heart disease and strokes are all now higher than the national average, even though only a couple of years ago, the numbers were going down.

Public health programmes work. Without them more people will die early, and their illness will put more pressure on an already pressurised NHS.

The government should allocate this money to public health now in order to reduce the costs to the NHS of ill-health in the future.

The website www.feedingtogether.com offers a wealth of information about feeding and local parent support groups, and has a section especially for dads.

Feeding your newborn child is the most basic of parenting instincts, yet for some it can also be a frustrating and confusing process. This is why the specialist infant feeding midwife team at Basildon Hospital wanted to create a website giving soon-to-be and new parents a one-stop shop for all the information they need to know about feeding their baby.

Lisette Harris, specialist feeding midwife, says: “We know that breastfeeding is best for baby, but this is not always the first choice for mums. Our job is to make sure mum is supported whatever her choice. No-one should be made to feel guilty about bottle feeding. I would say to mums don‟t make any decisions about feeding until you meet your baby.

“When women have a better understanding of breastfeeding, they are more inclined to give it a try. Mums give up because they perceive that breastfeeding can be exhausting but, with the right support and understanding she is able to continue for as long as she wants to.”

The hospital recently became the first in the East of England to achieve full UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Accreditation for the support they give to parents thanks to the hard work of Lisette and Geraldine Purver, who make up the specialist infant feeding midwife team.

Since 2009, Lisette and Geraldine have trained maternity and neonatal staff to educate parents about feeding newborns, with an emphasis on developing the bond between the baby and parents.

The team are also piloting a three-month trial of feeding workshops so women can learn everything they need to know about feeding and the benefits of skin-to-skin contact.

Geraldine adds: “It‟s all about education and information with a freedom of choice, it‟s not the old adage „one size fits all‟. The gold standard is to exclusively breastfeed until six months however, it does not mean that combination feeding or bottle feeding are substandard.”

Visit the website at www.feedingtogether.com.

What is the Trouble with the NHS today?

The NHS is an ideal institution whose success is predicated on assumptions that the public will use it appropriately, politicians will not utilise it to further their own careers, and those who work in it will do their utmost to administer it with care. That is an awful lot of integrity to expect from a generation, 60% of which tell several lies (2.9) in the space of ten minutes of conversation. How likely are these three major guardians of the NHS to look after it? The NHS is on its last legs suffering from three plagues.

Politicians

Politicians often use the NHS as a vote winner. Therefore initiatives are announced with tremendous alacrity, which may chime with the public mood, often before they are fully assessed for cost effectiveness, feasibility or fairness. One such example is Walk in Centres, and Darzi Centres. Such centres have sent the wrong message that more appointments will improve the nation’s health. What we are seeing is the same patient with a simple sore throat visiting the walk-in centre, then OOH (paid for by the GP), then their own GP. This means management of this simple self-limiting condition has cost the NHS three times as much, without improving the outcome.

Politicians have lofty ideals and want the NHS to deliver what the nation can not afford. Rather than refrain from making promises they can not keep, they make them in order to win votes and when they fail to deliver, they blame GP’s amongst others. The longer they continue in this vein, the fewer young people will want to be doctors, let alone GP’s. We are struggling to recruit suitable candidates for general practice as it is. What planet are these politicians on?

Improving access does not necessarily improve health, unless it is appropriately used. The other name for Darzi Centres is “equitable access centres”. Apparently they were meant to improve access for the hard-to-reach. The real agenda is to strike a fatal blow to single handed practices who would lose patients and therefore find it hard to survive. However, the hard to reach are often poor people who can not afford to travel. Therefore these centres have only improved access for those in their immediate vicinity. The rest of the local population can be damned! If the government wanted to improve access equally across the board, they should have invested money in local practices, which would have benefited most patients. Therefore, in their eagerness to win votes, politicians, meaning to address inequality have actually created more inequality.

Politicians wanted to give patients choice of hospitals. This poorly thought out policy caused my then PCT an overspend of £50.00M. This is because we had a block contract with our local hospital, on top of which we paid other hospitals if our patients chose to be treated elsewhere. Which NHS managerial morons forgot to take that into account?!!! Politicians, over anxious to suck up to public demand have spent NHS money with a less than infantile sense of responsibility.

Commissioning hatched up by the last Labour government was supposed to improve efficiency in the NHS. Again, the idea was made public eight years too early by a government eager to win more votes. To-date we have no real commissioning taking place. We have recycled PCT’s to local commissioning Boards, and CCG’s. We may for now have saved money on excessive management. But watch this space and see if the past is about to repeat itself. These bodies may give rise to numerous new subsidiaries with increasing management costs. But ultimately, the aim of commissioning is to privatise the NHS. I personally have no problem with that, except politicians ought to be more honest about it. If the government gives GP commissioners the responsibility of shopping around for cheaper hospital services, money will follow services out of our inefficient NHS hospitals till they are not viable, and ripe for a takeover by private providers.
Whilst it was politicians who brought the NHS into existence, it will be they who will also see it to its grave. Civil servants are probably the engineers of all these disasters. They are self-serving nurseries of new ideas that are simply designed to keep them in their posts, hence the numerous major change sin the NHS which simply cause more confusion.

Patients:

Patient vary in attitude vastly.

However there is a significant minority who treat the NHS like a big fat cow from whom they expect milk on demand, and at whim. My 25 years as an NHS doctor have shown me the tremendous waste our public is guilty of. From failure to attend appointments, to pressure on doctors for unjustifiable treatments or investigations, through manipulative behaviour to over-medicalisation of social problems; from insisting on un-necessarily expensive prescriptions to complete brazen failure to take medication which they are happy to request for two years or even longer. The NHS has promoted dependence on others, not self-reliance. We have to chase the same people every year to make sure they take their treatment and have their usual tests. Some patients think they are doing the surgery a favour by complying. 66% of our suspected cancer patients cancel their first appointment. I find this astonishing.

Politicians have colluded with the voting public against the NHS which everyone apparently loves. I have never heard a politician criticise the public for the years of abuse the NHS has suffered from the public. I am yet to meet a politician who has the courage to hold the public responsible or accountable for the way the NHS is ravaged. When we speak of high infection rates in hospitals, we only criticise hospitals, nursing staff and cleaners. It is the public who makes the hospitals filthy in the first place. I have been a hospital patient and have seen the filth created by some patients, worse than animals. Yes, hospitals are negligent too, but this does not absolve the great British public from the responsibility of decent personal hygiene, which includes the state of a bathroom after use.

Complaints in the NHS have increased year on year. I have analysed my practice complaints over the years. They mainly stem from an unrealistic sense of entitlement, lack of respect for the medical profession and practice of medicine, and ignorance, by people who exercise little personal responsibility, keep low personal standards and expect the NHS to do their work for them. There are always those few compensation seekers.

Professionals:

From managers who simply want to tick boxes, to nurses who are too proud to do menial tasks and who have lost the ability to care, to doctors who practice defensive medicine and exercise no responsibility in utilising NHS resources; they all have abdicated their moral responsibility to give their best.

Why do we have long waiting lists for hospital treatments? Amongst other reasons, because we spend too much money on management, some doctors over- refer and over investigate thus clogging up the system. In the last few years, some GPs have saved the NHS billions in reduced prescribing costs and reduced un necessary referrals. However, in some specialities up to 80% of referrals are not generated by GP’s. In my region, after many years of trying to deal with the problem, we still have 1/5 of all referrals to consultants generated by other consultants, most of which referrals are entirely un-necessary.

Whatever the intentions of the founders of the NHS, it has become a vote-winning tool in the hands of politicians, a fat cow in the eyes of an entitled dependent irresponsible public, and a dreadful place of work for many health care professionals who have abdicated their responsibilities. The solution to this problem is improved personal standards: personal integrity is a good place to start the repair process. Only then can the three plagues of the NHS be managed effectively.

The two struck up a close relationship that has endured for nearly 20 years, as Samantha grew up and Nicola developed a career in specialist diabetes care. This week, the two women celebrated the birth of Samantha’s first baby on the maternity ward at Basildon Hospital.

With Nicola’s support during her pregnancy, Samantha controlled her glucose levels so well that her baby was not overweight, and did not have to be taken the neonatal intensive care unit. Baby Sienna still has a higher than average risk of acquiring type 1 diabetes, but this will be reduced because Samantha intends to breastfeed her for as long as possible.

Nicola said: “It’s been a real privilege to see Samantha grow from a child into a mother. As a nurse the most rewarding aspect of my job has to be seeing the education Samantha has had come to fruition. Because she understands her diabetes, she is able to control it and this has led to the best possible health for her and baby Sienna.”

Samantha’s mother Debbie first realised there was something wrong with her daughter in 1992, when she began losing weight and seemed constantly thirsty.

Samantha was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which develops when the body fails to produce insulin, essential for controlling levels of blood sugar. The causes are not related to diet or lifestyle and people with the condition need to take insulin.

Debbie recalls: “Samantha became a patient at Basildon Hospital and without exception, the service was fantastic.

We said we would sell our house to get her the best treatment but she could not have had better care.”

While Samantha was young, her diabetes care was relatively easy. She did well and was happy at school, and loved horse riding. “Apart from keeping insulin in the fridge for her regular injections no one would have known she had a medical condition,” says Debbie.

But when Samantha hit adolescence, like all teenagers, she began to resent what she saw as interference from adults to ensure that she stayed well.

Debbie says: “It was very difficult, she hated me checking what she was eating and being told to monitor her blood sugar. I would text Nicola for help.”

Nicola jokes: “She was a nightmare! As a typical teenager she didn’t want to listen to her mum but was a bit easier with me.”

By this time Samantha was using a pump to continuously administer her insulin. Nicola had worked for a spell as a nurse educator for the company that produced the pumps, and was therefore in an even stronger position to support Samantha with managing her condition.

Nicola added: “When a child is diagnosed, much of the education is given to the parents, so you become a support to the parents.

“As the child becomes an adult the support switches to them and it’s about helping them to become independent by educating them about diabetes, ways it can be controlled and the consequences if you don’t control it.”

Now aged 29 and settled in Benfleet with her partner Stephen Price, when Samantha became pregnant she knew where she wanted to give birth. “We live in Benfleet, so Basildon is not our nearest hospital but I had no doubts where I wanted to have the baby.”

Pregnant women with diabetes need specialist care because of the risk of complications. Frequently their babies are heavier and have to be born by caesarean section, and there is also a high chance the babies will require special care. Samantha contacted Nicola at Basildon Hospital, and once again was placed under her care.

Nicola explains: “If the mother’s blood glucose level goes up, some passes into the placenta. This causes the baby to produce insulin, which they would not normally do in the womb. After they are born, they continue making insulin, leading to dangerously low blood sugar for the baby.”

With Nicola’s support during her pregnancy, Samantha controlled her glucose levels. She said: “I was so happy with the care I had during pregnancy and the birth. Everyone has been absolutely brilliant. And to have Nicola there for me, when we have known each other so long, made it even more special.”

Six of Nicola’s diabetes patients have given birth this year and all of them have been nursed by Nicola since they were children.

Nicola added: “It’s a happy coincidence that my career has gone down a path that has kept me in touch with Samantha and the others. As a nurse it’s great to have that connection and to see how their life develops, especially when it involves such momentous occasions as becoming a mother.”

THURROCK LIFESTYLE SOLUTIONS has started a football team.

The first match practice turned into a match as training concluded with a keenly fought match.

The winners were the team in orange. The team produced football similar to the brilliant orange of the Dutch team of the seventies!

The first half was a full blooded affair. Tony injured his leg but was soon up just to see Martin score two great goals.

For the rest of the half the orange team struggled to keep up with him.

When the second half of the game began both teams came out strong with Kevin pushing forward to score the first and Tony to score soon after, but Michael soon put Green ahead again with a good shot that left Danny standing still.

After a few near misses by both sides Lee took on three opposition players and slotted the ball into the back of the net bringing the score level again until Kevin put the Orange team ahead, closely followed by Martin levelling the score.

Andrew injured his arm when Tony kicked the ball hard at it but he was soon back up.

Just when the final whistle was about to blow Michael caught the ball in his hands conceding a penalty which was expertly slotted in by Tony.

Everyone had fun with only a few clashes and are excited about their next match.

With one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over 80 suffering a form of dementia now and a predicted increase of nearly a quarter in Thurrock by[S1] 2020, dementia is everybody’s business.

On Tuesday (21 May), the local Alzheimer’s Society and a member of the Memory Service will be at Blackshots Library in Blackshots Lane, Grays, between 2pm and 5pm to give information and advice to anybody who is worried about their memory.

And two days later (Thursday 23 May) they will be at Corringham Library in St John’s Way, between 10am and 2pm.

The Blackshots and Corringham areas have the highest percentage of people with dementia in the borough.

Wednesday (22 May) sees a 20-minute film called Darkness in the Afternoon at the Thameside Theatre with showings starting at o 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm. All showings are open to the public and free of charge – just turn up!

Finally, on Friday (24 May) the Dementia Action Alliance is being launched at the Beehive Resource Centre in Grays.

Four one-hour information sessions are being held starting at 9am, noon, 1pm and 5pm where local organisations can find out more about the scheme.

The Dementia Action Alliance will see local businesses, council and other services, organisations and charities come together to make the local community a place where people can be supported to live well with the condition.

If you would like to find out how your organisation can take action and make a difference please e-mail info@healthwatchthurrock.org. stating which session you would like to attend.

Over 70 clinical staff from the hospital and the region, including consultants, doctors, nurses and therapists, attended to hear talks from specialists and experts on the latest developments in diagnosis, surgery and therapy.

The conference was organised by Dr Anil Agarwal, Stroke Consultant at Basildon Hospital, backed by the Royal College of Physicians. Topics included recent innovations in surgery on carotid arteries, (the blood vessels that supply blood flow to the brain), new clot busting medication and an introduction to CT head perfusion, a specialised scan to measure blood flow in the brain.

Dr Agarwal said: ‘Stroke can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, so caring for people who have had a stroke involves a wide range of health professionals. The conference brought together doctors, nurses and therapists, from the hospital and the community, to share and develop new ideas to benefit patients.’

An experienced team of doctors, nurses and patient representatives will go the beleaguered hospital as part of the Keogh Review into mortality rates.

The review, ordered by the Prime Minister, aims to discover if there are any “sustained failings” in the quality of care and treatment being provided.

Chief Executive of Basildon University Hospital, Clare Panniker, said: “We fully support the review. A great deal of work has already taken place and more is underway to ensure we are providing our patients with good and compassionate care.

“This review will look at all areas of patient quality and safety and we are determined to listen, learn and implement any changes we need to.”

The findings of the review will be published this summer.

Clinical staff from the hospital and the region involved in caring for stroke patients, including consultants, doctors, nurses and therapists, will be invited to learn about up-to-date developments in diagnosis, surgery and therapy.

The conference is being organised by Dr Anil Agarwal, Stroke Consultant at Basildon Hospital, backed by the Royal College of Physicians. Topics will include recent innovations in surgery on carotid arteries, (the blood vessels that supply blood flow to the brain), new clot busting medication and an introduction to CT head perfusion, a specialised scan to measure blood flow in the brain.

Dr Agarwal said: ‘Stroke can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, so caring for people who have had a stroke involves a wide range of health professionals. The aim of the conference is to keep improving stroke care and treatment by bringing together doctors, nurses and therapists, from the hospital and the community, to share and develop new ideas to benefit patients.’

In a poll of stroke survivors released yesterday (1 May) by the Stroke Association, 42% said they felt they had been abandoned after their physical needs had been seen to. A patient group has recently been set up by Basildon Hospital so people affected by stroke can help to influence stroke services and aftercare in hospital and the community.

As part of hospital plans to improve services for children and young people, the paediatric assessment service is moving from Penguin Unit in the paediatrics department, to the dedicated children‟s accident and emergency department.

The move will bring together a team of nurses, consultants and other medical staff with training and experience in all aspects of paediatric emergency and acute care. There will be one „front door‟ for the assessment and initial care of all emergency and acutely ill youngsters who attend Basildon Hospital.

Children and young people will not have to wait with adults attending the main A & E department, but will go straight to the separate children‟s emergency department with its own waiting area.

Currently the children‟s emergency department is open from 8am to around 10pm, but from Wednesday (1 May) it will be available round the clock.

Families and carers of children with long term conditions who regularly attend the paediatric assessment service have been told about the move. Their direct access arrangements to the service will continue, children will see the same team of nurses and doctors and their hospital records will be available in the emergency department. The new joint service will see approximately 25,000 patients.

Celia Skinner, Medical Director, said: “By bringing our teams of specialist paediatric nurses and doctors into one place, providing a round-the-clock service, we aim to offer safe and improved care and treatment for children who are acutely ill.

“Once the new arrangements have had time to settle, we will ask patients to give us their views and help us make any necessary adjustments.”

The children‟s emergency department, which opened in March last year, was part of a £17m expansion of A&E at Basildon University Hospital. It was designed to provide a calm and reassuring environment for children and young people, and their families, separate from the adult emergency area.