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| Board Matters |
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| Welcome to Board Matters |
Welcome to our February edition of Board Matters. This month’s Board meeting highlighted some key agenda items including
our £9.9m plans for our maternity services. I would like to remind everyone that our meetings are held in public and everyone – including all
staff - are welcome to attend. I would also like to welcome two councillors who have joined the Board as observers from Islington and Haringey Borough
Councils: Cllr Paul Convery, full-time executive member responsible for community safety at Islington BC, and Cllr Bernice Vanier, deputy leader of
Haringey BC and cabinet member for health and adult services.
For this email to display correctly, please select 'click here to download pictures' at the top of this email and then 'download
pictures'. If you are unable to view the newsletter including all its images, please click on the website version at the top of the page. I hope you
enjoy our new newsletter design. |
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| Steve Hitchins |
| Chair of Whittington Health |
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| I would like to know your thoughts |
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| If you have any comments or views on any agenda items, please get in touch by clicking on
the ‘email Steve’ button below or give me a ring on 0780 1106860. We have another vacancy for a non-executive director, so I am also keen to
hear from anyone interested in the position. This role is also the chair of our quality committee so a clinical background would be desirable but not
essential. |
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| Patient story….as told by Theo’s mum Helen |
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Neeta Patal explained there had been a sharp rise in childhood allergies in recent years, almost 40 per cent of children have some
type of allergy and one in five develop eczema. In six years, Whittington Health’s paediatric allergy clinic has grown from a weekly service
to six sessions per week with consultants, dieticians and specialist nurses. Helen Roberts told the story of her son Theo who was born weighing 7lb 3ozs
but had struggled with weight gain and eczema since he was one. His GP had prescribed a cream which turned out to be an irritant, and both she and Theo
had been advised to avoid many foods. Many perceived Theo as a happy, engaged baby but in reality his eczema made him constantly
uncomfortable.
Eventually a locum health visitor had referred them to Whittington Health’s paediatric allergy clinic. For the first time, Helen said, she was
given practical information about how to manage Theo’s condition, describing the allergy nurse as ‘wonderful’. The clinic gave him
allergy tests, monitored his weight and a planned programme of care. All issues were dealt with in a joined-up and holistic way, and regular detailed
reports were sent both to their GP and to Helen. They saw the same health professionals and so did not have to repeat their history. Theo, now aged
four-years-old, has little memory of the eczema. Helen added, “Thanks to the clinic, I now have an energetic and bright little boy whose questions
about what eczema is are music to my ears.” |
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Enhanced recovery programme |
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Chief Executive Dr Yi Mien Koh highlighted that Board members had recently taken part in
a service improvement walkabout focussing on our enhanced recovery programme, a key element of our clinical strategy. The programme helps
patient get better more quickly and safely following illness, so they can go home sooner. The aim is to enable the patient to know what to
expect and be an equal partner in their care. Among the initiatives showcased were multidisciplinary
‘board rounds’ – a review of patients’ progress against their care plan involving the consultant, medical team, ward manager and
therapists, and a going home set of standards to ensure a smooth journey and improved experience for patients from their admission through to
discharge from hospital. They were also told about innovations in urology care to reduce the length of stay to 23 hours for prostate resection and kidney
stone management. |
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| Transforming our maternity services |
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| We are a step closer to securing a multi-million investment to transform our maternity
and neonatal services. The Trust’s Board has approved a £9.9m outline business case to provide improved quality and increased capacity in the
Trust’s maternity and neonatal services. The plans include new facilities for The Whittington Hospital’s neonatal intensive care and high dependency units, a second obstetric theatre to increase the capacity and quality
of maternity theatre and a refurbished labour ward. We hope to increase the number of babies delivered
at the hospital to 4,700 a year, by April 2019. |
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Whittington Warriors |
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Whittington Health is stepping up its fight against healthcare associated infections
(HCAI) by launching a new campaign to urge people in the hospital to stop and clean their hands. Under the banner – Join the Whittington Warriors -
the campaign encourages staff, visitors and patients to practice quick and easy hand hygiene measures to reduce healthcare associated infections and save
lives. Around one third of healthcare associated infections are preventable and good hand hygiene is the main way of reducing infections. Please join the
campaign on twitter using the hash-tag #WhittingtonWarriors
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| Staff flu vaccination target hit |
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| Whittington Health was the first NHS Trust in London to achieve the staff flu vaccination
target of 75 per cent. A comprehensive vaccination programme was put in action across our hospital and community sites with regular flu clinics and 45
‘flu champions’ who administered the vaccine to colleagues. Dr Yi Mien Koh thanked Whittington Health occupational health and infection
prevention and control teams for their ‘tireless’ work as well as all staff involved in the programme. Together, they had helped the Trust protect staff, patients and families against flu this winter. |
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New catering contract
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The Trust Board approved plans to go ahead with a new contract for the Trust’s patient, staff and visitor catering services.
The decision followed a lengthy debate and a comprehensive procurement process aimed at continuing to improve the quality of food while delivering
efficient services.
A five-year contract is to be awarded to facilities management provider Sodexo – subject to the final stage of the procurement
process. Sodexo has a proven track record delivering a wide range of services, including catering and retail, across 17 NHS Trusts. The
contract will save the Trust £2.2m over the five years.
The service is currently provided in-house and all the Trust’s 22 catering staff will be entitled to transfer to Sodexo. They will maintain the
same NHS pension rights and continue to be paid under NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) pay rates. The Trust will also look to ensure that all new
staff joining Sodexo to work at Whittington Health will be paid either the London Living Wage or AfC rates. The Trust has carried out a staff
engagement programme throughout the tendering process to keep our catering staff and unions fully informed.
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