Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

If you work for the NHS, it's time to complete your NHS Staff Survey. ☑️ The NHS Staff Survey is the largest workforce survey in the world and has been conducted every year since 2003. The survey asks staff about their experiences of working for the Trust and is aligned with our NHS People Promise, a promise to ensure that every voice is heard from every background and across every role. In response to feedback from our staff last year, we have: • launched a Career Hub on our College of Healthcare Learning Hub providing opportunities for career progression • created the Positive Action Career Development Programme to harness potential and address under representation in senior roles • developed an equality, diversity and inclusion improvement plan and started the roll out of anti-racism in action sessions • increased the number of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians to support the accessibility of the service for all our employees. Please fill in your staff survey when you are contacted. Your feedback makes a difference. Read more about how the staff survey is managed: https://lnkd.in/e3mcDnhM #TeamGSTT #NHSstaffSurvey #MakeAdifference Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals

The wonderful garden at our Amputee Rehab Unit featured on Gardeners' World last Friday. As Jodie says, it's a pretty special place. Catch up on BBCiPlayer to hear from gardener and rehabilitation assistant, Joe Scoble, about how the garden helps patients to recover: https://lnkd.in/eCyGS_NU (21 minutes in) #TeamGSTT #AmputeeRehab #

“I remember not knowing what people were talking about when they spoke about theatres, I thought they were talking about plays and musicals!” 40 years after receiving new hearts, two patients were reunited with the surgeon who performed their transplants. Bert and Clive underwent heart transplants at Harefield Hospital when they were 18 and 12 years old, respectively. Bert, now a 58-year-old father of two living in the Netherlands, needed a heart transplant as a result of developing cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle where the walls of the heart chambers become weak, making it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. Clive, now 52 years old, lives in Stevenage with his partner Nicola and he devotes much of his free time to fitness and is an avid runner and gym-goer. As a child Clive was diagnosed with familial dilated cardiomyopathy – an inherited form of the same condition as Bert had – and required a heart transplant. Bert, Clive and their families were reunited with Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, who performed both of their transplant operations in 1984. They were also reunited with their cardiologist who treated them after their transplants, Dr Andrew Mitchell, and a previous sister in the transplant clinic who worked at Harefield from the 1980s to 2021, Rita Presnail. Read more about the reunion: https://lnkd.in/eXUjzmsc #OrganDonation #HeartTransplant #PatientStories

Two specialist nurses in the Rare Diseases Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ have been given the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse from the Queen’s Nursing Institute. Nurse Practitioners Phillipa Sellar and Paula Sullivan work with patients and families of people who have the rare conditions Bloom Syndrome, Trichothiodystrophy (TTD) and Cockayne Syndrome (CS). Alongside hospital-based clinics they travel across the UK to the homes of patients and their families, providing them with holistic care. The Queen’s Nurse title acknowledges individual nurses who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient care and nursing practice, particularly showing innovative care and a vision for nursing in the community. Paula said: “We are honoured to be Queen’s Nurses. We will have an opportunity to develop a nationwide network of colleagues, share and gain knowledge and influence practice, to the benefit of our patients. “One of the best things about our role is visiting patients and their families in their own homes, developing relationships and building trust, which provides the platform for delivering personalised care.” Phillipa added: “This will give us an opportunity to raise awareness and educate on the very rare conditions we specialise in, therefore benefitting our patients as more healthcare professionals acquire a better understanding of their condition. “This title is testament to all our patients and families. I have been a nurse for 40 years, and I’m very proud of it. Let’s celebrate nursing, its values and all the incredible work nurses do.” Dr Shehla Mohammed, consultant in paediatric clinical genetics at Guy’s and St Thomas’, clinical lead for National CS/TTD Highly Specialist Service, and joint national lead for Blooms rare disease collaborative network, said: “I am exceptionally proud of Paula and Phillipa’s achievements. It is a richly deserved accolade for the exemplary work they do with the many patients we see with life-limiting conditions as part of the Highly Specialist National DNA repair service (CS/TTD/Blooms RDCN) from the Rare Diseases Centre. “This is an important achievement which recognises their exceptional skills, knowledge and expertise, and the significant role nurses of their calibre play in innovative service developments to improve co-ordinated patient care for those with rare and ultra-rare diseases.” More information about the Queen’s Nurse title is on the Queen’s Nursing Institute website:https://lnkd.in/e-TC3tPE #TeamGSTT #Nursing #RareDiseases #SpecialistNurse

Some great reading recommendations from our Deputy Chief Executive Lawrence Tallon. #TeamGSTT #BlackHistoryMonth2024

Say hello to Pauline Martin, a patient access coordinator at Evelina London.👋 • What do you do? I'm a patient access coordinator in the Lambeth looked after children team. This is part of the vulnerable children's department in Evelina London’s community services. Before joining Evelina London, which is part of Guy’s and St Thomas’, I was a family intervention practitioner for a local authority. I first joined the Trust as part of the cancer data team. I then worked as a patient access coordinator for the community foot health services. When I saw the advert for my current role in children’s services, I knew my experience as a family intervention practitioner would help me care for young people and their families. • What are you passionate about? I'm passionate about my work with vulnerable people. I'm committed to my work and to supporting people to have equal access to health services. I'm a trained coach and have recently joined the Guy’s and St Thomas’ coaching and mentoring hub. I look forward to helping others achieve their goals. • What's your favourite part of working in Evelina London’s children’s community services? I work alongside an incredible team of diverse individuals who are just as enthusiastic as I am. I also have an excellent and supportive management team. We work hard and celebrate each other's achievements. #TeamGSTT #EvelinaLondon #CommunityServicesWeek

It's Community Services Week and a chance to share an inspiring story from our Amputee Rehabilitation Unit. Luke Tarrant, whose leg was amputated following a serious motorcycle crash in South America, has paid tribute to rehabilitation unit staff for keeping his hopes alive of biking to Antarctica. He has no memory of the crash and spent a traumatic month in hospital in Medellín, first having his left leg amputated and then being treated for sepsis in the Colombian hospital’s intensive care and critical care units. He was eventually airlifted to hospital in the UK before moving to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Amputee Rehabilitation Unit (ARU), where he has taken his first steps towards greater independence. Luke, who was at the ARU for 6 weeks from July, said: “Things started to improve from the moment I managed to get to that centre. It really is a good place. Within 3 weeks of being there you’re taking your first steps on a prosthetic leg. “The staff make the place – the nurses are so warm, looking after you in a caring way and the physios who are getting you up walking again. They are a sort of landing pad for people who have had a severe injury or illness, and they very quickly give you a bit of hope for a new lease of life, and allow you to actually make plans for the future. Because I’ve had that time in the rehab centre I can see a way forward. It gives you hope and a bit of purpose.” The unit is made up of a team of physiotherapists and occupational therapists (who support patients to engage in meaningful tasks after an injury or illness), prosthetic specialists (who improve people's mobility by creating and fitting limb replacements), a counselling team, rehabilitation nurses, and pharmacists and doctors. Watch a 2-minute news story about Luke and the Amputee Rehabilitation Unit team: https://lnkd.in/e2UmUCM2 #TeamGSTT #CelebratingCommunityServices #AmputeeRehab

Experienced nurses, newly qualified nurses, student nurses and nursing assistants (including nurse associates) are invited to our Evelina London nursing open day at St Thomas’ Hospital. Join us to find out more about a career in children's nursing at Evelina London. Where: St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH When: Friday 11 October, 2024 from 10am to 2pm Book your free place: https://lnkd.in/es2qKXvF #NHSjobs #EvelinaLondon #NursingCareers #PaediatricNursing

A mural celebrating the contribution of African women in healthcare has been unveiled at Guy’s Hospital. You can see the mural displayed on the outside of the recently refurbished Nuffield Theatre Suite, which provides two new state-of-the-art theatres, surgery prep rooms, a recovery space and surgical admissions lounge. The artwork features six pioneering women who represent a range of eras. The colourful background motif is formed of medicinal plants located on the African continent, including the mangrove forests for their rich biodiversity located across Africa as well as the Caribbean. Metian Parsanka, an advanced clinical practitioner and highly specialist occupational therapist in the emergency department (A&E) at St Thomas’ Hospital, features in the artwork. She was born in Kenya in a small village near Kilimanjaro, and came to the UK at 14 years old. Metian said: “I am honoured to be included in such a vibrant display of African women in British healthcare, highlighting the great work delivered by a diverse multicultural workforce. “I am surprised, privileged and happy to be able to represent my culture and profession amongst such accomplished women.” Other women featured in the artwork include: • Kofoworola Abeni Pratt • Matilda Clerk • Dzagbele Matilda Asante • Blanche La Guma • Dr Irene Elizabeth Beatrice Ighodaro The mural is a product of a research initiative by the Young Historians Project – a non-profit organisation formed by young people of African and Caribbean descent. It is the third piece in a series of commemorative murals created with heritage interpreter and artist, Dr Michele Curtis. This mural was made possible through the support of Guy’s and St Thomas’ arts department and the Greater London Authority Fund, Untold Stories grants by the Commission for Diversity in Public Realm. Read the full story to find out more about the women featured in the mural : https://ow.ly/VNFj50TC3z6 #BHM2024 #GuysHospital #BlackHistoryMonth

It’s Black History Month and our staff networks and equality, diversity and inclusion team have arranged a number of events for colleagues throughout October, designed to celebrate, educate and empower. Our Multicultural Staff Network and ‘Showing we care about you’ health and wellbeing team started the month off on Wednesday with a crisp autumn afternoon walk from our gardens at St Thomas’ Hospital to Westminster Abbey. On the way they stopped at statues connected to Black History. We are very proud that one of these important statues stands in the gardens of St Thomas’ Hospital. The statue honouring the Crimean War nurse, Mary Seacole, was unveiled in 2016 and is believed to be the first statue in the UK dedicated to a named black woman. For many, this statue is a symbol of diversity and inclusion. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of how we demonstrate our values and many of us are fortunate to be able to walk past the statue each day we come to work. Mary Seacole’s high profile position, overlooking the Houses of Parliament, is a constant reminder of the contribution of our Black colleagues, past and present, both to the NHS and wider society. #TeamGSTT #BHM2024 #BlackHistoryMonth Mary Seacole Trust