Read All About It! February 2012 Issue 40

Read All About It! February 2012 Issue 40 Welcome to this edition of the GP Practice Newsletter which gives news and up-dates from us. We hope that all the staff within your Practice will find this useful. Patients at the Heart of the NHS - Partners in Care Conference Patients and health professionals came together in Manchester on 7 th February to learn from each other about delivering the best care for patients. The Partners in Care Conference was the first time an NHS organisation and The Patients Association have come together to organise such a learning event. The conference was hosted by the Patients Association's Vice President, Angela Rippon and speakers included many staff from our Trust, together with: Dame Christine Beasley, Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health Kathryn Hudson, Deputy Ombudsman, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Deborah Westhead, Acting Regional Director, Care Quality Commission Professor David Oliver, National Clinical Director for Older People, Department of Health Martine Price, Head of Patient Experience, Musgrove Park Hospital Sir Stephen Moss, Chair, Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust Gill Heaton, Chief Nurse at our Trust said: "Our organisation prides itself on the excellent care we strive to give to our patients. Over recent years we have introduced a number of projects to ensure that standards are not only maintained, but are improved, such as our Quality Campaign and Brilliant Basics initiative. We are excited that this event will give us the chance to not only show case our work, but to learn from others what improvement opportunities could be developed for the future." Angela Rippon Vice President at the Patients Association says: "Action needs to be taken to combat poor care where it occurs on our hospital wards, something that has been highlighted in several reports published by the Patients Association and others. The Patients Association is leading the way in encouraging joint initiatives on patient care within the health service, and in ensuring that the issue remains at the top of the NHS agenda. I am really looking forward to hearing from our outstanding panel of experts and debating with them to hear their ideas for improving the way that the NHS cares for people in hospital. I would like to think that the lessons learnt during the course of the day will have a direct impact on the care that is being delivered across the country." Pathology Services The Directorate of Laboratory Medicine (DLM) recently carried out a survey of the 27 GP Practices for whom we are the primary pathology service provider. Responses were invited from all staff within the Practices including; medical, nursing, administrative, support and other health care professionals. Overall 1

we received a rating of excellent and a number of positive comments. The DLM has actively responded to a number of highlighted issues and the full report can be found here http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/info-for-health-professionals/laboratory-medicine/new-in-laboratory-medicine/how-primary-care-users-rate-our-pathology-services.aspx If you would like to know more about how we can support your Practice please contact Alison Cartmill, Directorate Operations/Primary Care Services Manager on 0161 276 4694, Alison.Cartmill@cmft.nhs.uk. New Pathway for the Treatment of Patients with Hepatitis C The Health Protection Agency estimates that there are 250,000 people with Hepatitis C in the UK, while some estimates put the prevalence as high as 466,000. Most people go undiagnosed and less than half receive treatment. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that can cause inflammation, swelling and scarring of the liver tissue, and often leads to significant liver damage. Greater Manchester has the highest levels of hepatitis C in England, with estimates reaching around 16,000 cases, due largely to its high prevalence among the sizeable local injecting drug using population. Without a doubt, hepatitis C is an escalating public health issue that will cost the NHS up to 8 billion over the next 30 years unless testing and treatment is improved. The Greater Manchester Hepatitis C Strategy, in partnership with NHS Greater Manchester, has developed a new clinical care pathway for the treatment of people with suspected hepatitis C. The new pathway puts patient care at the heart and will streamline and shorten the various processes a patient needs to go through. At present, General Practitioners carry out a basic test on patients to see if they have hepatitis C antibodies in their system. About 20-30 per cent of people clear the virus from their bodies and so the problem with this test is that it does not show if the virus is still present. This means the patient is then referred to secondary care ie. hospital, for further tests. What the new pathway promotes is for GPs to do a PCR test (polymerase chain reaction) which detects whether or not the hepatitis C virus is still in the patient's system. This cuts out the need for patients to be referred to secondary care, wait to see a Consultant and then wait for testing and results. Patients who show as positive in both tests will then be referred directly to the nearest or preferred treatment centre instead of being referred to a local gastroenterologist first. In Greater Manchester there are four treatment centres including North Manchester General Hospital (Lead Consultant, Dr Vilar), Manchester Royal Infirmary (Lead Consultant, Dr Prince), Royal Albert Edward Infirmary (Lead Consultant, Dr Banait), and Wythenshawe Hospital (Lead Consultant, Dr Newton). Further details: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/media-centre/latest-news/new-pathway-for-the-treatment-of-patients-with-hepatitis-c.aspx Team Wins Top UK Award for Service for Pregnant Women with Heart Problems Saint Mary's have won the RCM Award for 'Excellence in Maternity Care', one of the UK's top midwifery prizes at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Awards. The award was given for their work with pregnant women with complex heart problems, one of the leading causes of maternal mortality. The two midwives and their wider team set up a specialist service in 2004. This involved appointing a specialist midwife and also moving antenatal appointments for these women from the outpatients department to the antenatal clinic. This simple change meant that the focus was more on the women's' pregnancy and wellbeing, rather than their heart condition, and generated very positive responses from the women using the service. 2

Alongside this the team also arranged for the other relevant clinics the women need to attend to run at the same time. This made it easier for the women to have different aspects of their care managed together during one visit, rather than multiple visits to different clinics. The high dependency facilities on the Delivery Unit were also improved and expanded, enable some women with heart disease requiring critical care around the time of delivery to be looked after on in a maternity environment, instead of being transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. This means they are not separated from their baby and improves bonding between mother and baby and enables breastfeeding. For further details: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/media-centre/latest-news/saint-marys-get-to-the-heart-of-maternity-care.aspx Trafford Hospital Services Review - Come and Talk to the Doctors Local Trafford residents have the chance to hear from doctors about the review of Trafford's hospital services at events across the borough during February and March: Wednesday 29 th February, 6.00 pm-8.00 pm, Partington Primary School, Partington Monday 5 th March, 6.30 pm-8.30 pm, Seymour Park Primary School, Old Trafford Wednesday 7 th March, 6.00 pm-8.00 pm, Broomwood Centre, Timperley Following a presentation about why these services may need to change, those attending the events will be asked to take part in a workshop to: Give their views on what they've heard from the doctors Tell us about their views and experiences in the specific clinical areas being reviewed, including urgent care, out-patients, day case surgery and orthopaedics Give their views on the proposed checklist that will be used to assess any potential service changes during a formal consultation process These are RSVP events, so to book visit www.healthdeal.trafford.nhs.uk e-mail newhealthdeal@trafford.nhs.uk or call 0161 873 6008. Vascular Awareness Week 2012 Did you know that Vascular Disease is as common as cancer and heart disease affecting 4 million people each year in the UK alone and accounting for 200,000 preventable deaths? If you have a patient with claudication, they would benefit from advice on the whole range of risk-factor reduction strategies and lifestyle advice to prevent peripheral, cardiac or cerebrovascular events. Patients with suspected or clinical vascular disease can be referred to Mr JV Smyth, Mr F Serracino-Inglott or Mr D Murray at the Regional Vascular and Endovascular Unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary. We provide one stop Consultant clinics to reduce the numbers of visits to the hospital and time to treatment. The Vascular and Endovascular Surgical Department at Central Manchester Foundation Trust also provides the full range of surgical and endovascular interventions for vascular conditions such as aneurysms, critical limb ischaemia and stroke, in addition to claudication. For more information about Vascular Disease Awareness Week, please click on the following link: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/media/329590/vascular%20awareness%20week%202012.pdf 3

End of Life Central Manchester district nurses are currently working on a project which aims to improve end of life care for residents living in residential homes. Over the past 6 years, 358 people who live in Central Manchester Residential Homes have died and 54% of these deaths have been in a hospital. It is hoped that by providing training to residential home staff and working closely with the homes to improve end of life care the number of residents who die in their preferred place of care will be increased. A training programme for residential home staff has been developed which includes an introduction to end of life planning, end of life care and communication skills. Each home will identify a champion for the project and the staff will be supported to raise awareness about end of life, develop end of life care plans with their residents and identify residents who may be suitable for the supportive care pathway. The first homes to become involved are Russley Lodge, Carrickfinn and St Georges and if successful, the programme will be rolled out to all other residential homes in Central Manchester. If you would like any further information about this project please contact Caroline Lowthian, Head of Service for District Nursing, at caroline.lowthian@manchester.nhs.uk. Humphrey Takes on George Sampson Royal Manchester Children s Hospital mascot Humphrey Bear has been warming up for the Great Manchester Run weekend by challenging Britain s Got Talent star George Sampson to a street-dance off. If you would like to know Humphrey got on then a short film of the dance battle can be viewed on Youtube by searching for George V Humphrey or RMCH Charity. If you would like to get involved in the 10k run taking place on Sunday 20 th May in support of any of our hospitals, or if you have children who would like to take part in the mini to junior runs on Saturday 19 th May then please contact Clare McManmon on 276 4404 or e-mail clare.mcmanmon@cmft.nhs.uk Fly High for Charity If you are up for the challenge of a lifetime then why not sign up to take part in our bespoke skydiving day on Sunday 15 th July and help to raise funds for our family of five hospitals. After climbing to 14,000 feet you will exit the aircraft with your highly experienced British Parachute Association Instructor and freefall for 30 seconds, reaching a speed of about 120 miles per hour! Your descent under the large parachute will then take several minutes, and family and friends can watch and cheer as you make your landing. The jump takes place at Black Knights Parachute Centre in Cockerham, Lancaster. All participants will receive a free fundraising pack, including t-shirt, sponsor forms and information on setting up your own justgiving.com page! For more information, or to request a registration form, contact Clare in the charity office on 0161 276 4404 or e-mail clare.mcmanmon@cmft.nhs.uk. Alternative dates are available. Dedicated Phone line for GPs If a patient needs to be admitted to one of our hospitals or you need urgent advice you should call 0800 515 807. 4

Calls to this number are given a higher priority of answer on the Switchboard and are directed straight to the top of the queue ensuring that the caller does not wait long for a response Information for Patients If you are referring patients to us and need to provide them with information about how to find us, parking etc all this information is available on our website. From the home page there are links at the top to each hospital and each hospital has a Plan Your Visit section. Under this section there is a Map and Directions option. This page has downloadable maps. Here are the links to each of the pages for our hospitals: Manchester Royal Infirmary: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/royal-infirmary/plan-your-visit.aspx Royal Manchester Children s Hospital: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/childrens-hospitals/plan-your-visit.aspx University Dental Hospital of Manchester: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/dental/plan-your-visit.aspx Manchester Royal Eye Hospital: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/royal-eye/plan-your-visit.aspx Saint Mary s Hospital: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/saint-marys/plan-your-visit.aspx Dial Direct If you need to contact a department in our hospitals please call them direct. Direct dial numbers are available on our internet: Royal Manchester Children s Hospital: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/childrens-hospitals/contact-us.aspx Manchester Dental Hospital: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/dental/contact-us.aspx Manchester Royal Eye Hospital: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/royal-eye/contact-us.aspx Manchester Royal Infirmary: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/royal-infirmary/contact-us.aspx Saint Mary s Hospital: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/saint-marys/contact-us.aspx Become a member of our Foundation Trust: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/trust/foundation-trust.aspx New DVD on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhyct8ejkuy Thank you for your time. If you have any comments or items you would wish to see in future editions please contact The Communications Office e-mail: comms@cmft.nhs.uk Previous copies of the Newsletter are available at: http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/info-for-health-professionals/gpnewsletter.aspx Produced by: Yvonne Davies, Head of Communications & PR 27 th February 2012 www.cmft.nhs.uk 5