New partnership offers the best support in end of life care
SASH has launched a new partnership with Marie Curie to enhance the support given to patients given an end of life diagnosis.
A dedicated end of life care discharge team, of two Marie Curie discharge liaison practitioners and two nursing assistants, are working with St Catherine’s Hospice and community health partners to improve and speed up the discharge process, enabling patients to leave hospital and be cared for at the place of their choice. Often, for many patients, there is very little time for arrangements to put in place. This is where the team can support patients and their families by liaising with the hospice and community teams and getting the patient discharged from hospital with their immediate care needs provided by the discharge liaison team ahead of the arranged care starting.
End of life care at the Trust was rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission last year. This new partnership will allow staff to build on this achievement and support the end of life wishes of more patients.
Lung cancer two week rule (TWR)
The cancer team is continuously working to improve the lung cancer two week rule (TWR) pathway. One of these improvements is that, when indicated, clinicians organise a CT scan before the patient’s first appointment in the chest clinic.
To comply with the Royal College of Radiology guidelines, patients need to have had an eGFR within the last three months. If this is not the case, when GPs send the TWR referral they also need to request U+Es.
In the next few months, the cancer team plan to announce a new streamlined pathway, which will help clinicians diagnose and initiate treatment even earlier.
GMC review
The Trust has received positive feedback from the General Medical Council (GMC) following their quality assurance review of the education and training provided for doctors at East Surrey Hospital by Health Education Kent Surrey and Sussex.
The GMC reviewed the training provided for foundation doctors and doctors training in emergency medicine, general internal medicine and general surgery. The visiting team praised Board engagement with education, reflected by both doctors in training and the patients they care for.
NHS England medical director visits the Trust
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, national medical director for NHS England, visited East Surrey Hospital recently. Sir Bruce held a Q&A session with clinicians and clinical leads before touring the hospital and meeting members of the emergency department; acute medical unit and theatre teams.
Contact details for consultants in elderly medicine
You can now telephone a consultant in elderly medicine between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, or between 8am and 12noon at the weekends via switchboard 01737 768511 x4133 for clinical advice.
Shortlisted for national award
SASH has been selected as a finalist in the Trust of the Year category in the national Patient Safety Awards.
The Trust is just one of six trusts to be shortlisted from a strong field of 68 for the prestigious award organised by leading health publication the Health Service Journal.
The winners will be announced in July.
Trust council of governors
The polls have just closed for Trust members to vote for one of the 84 people who are standing for election to our council of governors.
SASH held the election as a step towards NHS foundation trust authorisation and members can vote for a local candidate to represent their area.
There are 19 elected seats with governors representing eight geographical areas and four staff groups within the Trust. The full council of governors will also include nine nominated partner governors.
The polls close on 2 July and the results will be announced on the 3 July. To find out more about our foundation trust plans or to become a member please visit our website at www.surreyandsussex.nhs.uk/ft/
Performance (month 1, April 2015)
- ED Performance against the four hour standard in April was 96.8%.
- The incomplete referral to treatment (RTT) standards and admitted RTT standards were achieved at aggregate level while the non-admitted standards were not achieved.
- Cancer access: All cancer standards were achieved except for the 62 day referral to treatment standard.
- Patient safety indicators continued to show expected levels of performance.
- The latest HSMR data shows overall Trust mortality is lower than expected for all our patient groups.
- The Trust had no MRSA bloodstream infections and one Trust acquired C-diff in April.
- Maternity indicators continue to show expected performance.
Performance (month 2, May 2015)
- ED Performance against the four hour standard in May was 96.0%.
- All cancer access standards were achieved except the 62 day referral to treatment standard.
- All referral to treatment standards were achieved at aggregate level.
- Patient safety indicators continued to show expected levels of performance.
- The latest HSMR data shows overall Trust mortality is lower than expected for all our patient groups.
- The Trust had no MRSA bloodstream infections and three Trust acquired C-diff in May.
- Maternity indicators continue to show expected performance.