Over the last year ULHT has reason to celebrate the great strides we have made in turning around the quality and safety of services provided to patients.
It’s a year since we were was placed into special measures. While the last year has been challenging, staff are celebrating everything they have to be proud of.
Chief Executive Jan Sobieraj said: “It takes time to turn around the quality and safety of services in a Trust our size but we have collectively achieved so much. Our staff should feel proud of all we have done to improve the quality and safety of services for our patients.
“We recognise that we still have a long way to go, but we’ve made some great strides in improving the experience of our patients.”
Some of the achievements made during the year include:
- Over 81% of staff have had a flu vaccination this year- one of the highest vaccination rates in the country – helping to protect our patients and each other from getting ill.
- We employ more consultants, middle grade doctors, allied health professionals and health care support workers than in 2016.
- We’re spending £2.5m a month to improve the fire safety of our buildings for staff and patients.
- Invested £4.6m million in new neonatal facilities at Lincoln and maternity services at Pilgrim.
- The number of patients waiting over 12 weeks for a first outpatient appointment has halved.
- Improving screening patients for sepsis in our A&E departments, and then ensuring that these patients get the treatment they require within the hour.
- Introduced children’s bereavement bags for children to help them remember their loved ones, to comfort and entertain them and to help them to cope.
- Cancer patients in ULHT are now able to have robotic assisted surgery thanks to a ground-breaking new partnership with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. Surgical precision of the robot with has excellent oncologic and functional outcomes, there is a reduced need for blood transfusion, less post-operative pain and a shorter inpatient stay
- Following patient feedback we introduced new Ask Me wristbands, to staff to identify patients with sensory impairments so that their needs can be met more efficiently.
- The daily “golden hour” introduced where heads of nursing and matrons do structured checks of the wards to see how we are providing care to patients, to ensure that each area of the hospital is providing the same high quality standard of care.
- Launched the Swan scheme to ensure we provide the best quality end of life care for patients and their families. It includes end of life care training for all hospital staff, establishing new volunteering roles to support end of life care and individual memory boxes and bags introduced on wards to help families in these circumstances.
- Our ‘meet and greet’ corridor volunteer guides who are strategically stationed at mobile hubs around its hospitals, have helped point 10,000 patients and visitors in the right direction.
- Launched our staff charter, after consultation with staff, which seeks to bring people to account and focuses on the behaviours we expect from everyone.
Well done everyone. Here’s to a great 2018/19.