Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

Surgery services at the RUH have retained their ‘good’ rating following an assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which is the independent regulator of health and social care in England 🏥 Inspectors found that staff and leaders worked well together to deliver safe, people-centred care, and they also saw that our cultural improvement programme was helping to make surgery a better place to work for staff and providing safer, more effective care to its patients. Other findings included that the service had a shared vision and there was a proactive and positive culture of safety among staff. Inspectors also said staff treated people with kindness and compassion, taking their individual needs into account. RUH Chief Executive Cara Charles-Barks said: “This is an overwhelmingly positive report which highlights the excellent work that is taking place across the RUH’s surgery service. “I was particularly pleased that inspectors concluded that staff should be extremely proud of the care they’re providing to our people who are accessing this service. “We are committed to consistently providing the people we care for with the very best levels of service and this report underlines the people-centred care that is provided for patients at the RUH. We already have plans in place to address the areas that we need to improve on.” ▶️ You can read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/eXJcKAXB The full copy of the report will be published on the CQC website in the next few days.

Congratulations to Deputy Cleaning Manager Kasia Cempura who recently received our Making a Difference staff award. Kasia was nominated for supporting the Cleaning team to deliver high standards, through implementing fresh ideas and building the team’s pride in their role. Improvements have included reintroducing team meetings, launching a newsletter, and providing more support for supervisors. Our amazing Cleaning team are absolutely invaluable in helping us to deliver safe care, so thank you to Kasia for your excellent work 💙

Today is World Stroke Day - an annual campaign to raise awareness of prevention, symptoms and care. At the RUH we're really proud to be active in stroke research. One example is an international study we're part of, looking at whether a new drug could help reduce the risk of strokes reoccurring. The Librexia study is investigating whether the use of milvexian, an anticoagulant that thins the blood and helps to reduce the risks of blood clots from forming in the bloodstream, can reduce the risk of future ischaemic stroke in patients who have already suffered an ischaemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. 🧠 An ischaemic stroke happens when a blockage cuts off the blood supply to part of the brain, killing brain cells. This can result in speech and visual disturbance, and numbness or weakness in the face, arms and legs. 🧠 A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is caused by a temporary disruption in the blood supply to part of the brain. This can cause sudden symptoms similar to a stroke. Trials like these are vital in providing the best possible care now and in the future. You can find out more about our research in stroke and our other services on our website: https://lnkd.in/eMEd4xNs

Congratulations to Cleaning Services Training Manager Sherron Watson, who has won our Making a Difference Award 🏆 Sherron recognised that a personalised tailored approach was the best way to ensure the Cleaning team are up to date on all the necessary training. By doing things differently, Sherron has motivated the team and, importantly, made sure everyone is included. Now, everyone can receive their training in the format that’s best for them. She’s described as a true ambassador for the team, and is always welcoming and friendly 👏

Congratulations to Staff Nurse Hannah Short from the Day Surgery Unit, who has won an Everyone Matters Staff Award. 🥳 Hannah was nominated for providing fantastic support to a child, going the extra mile to ensure they had a positive experience at the RUH at a really difficult time. Working with the child’s family, Hannah ensured the team put adjustments in place to keep the environment calm. She then took the time to thoroughly document what worked well, in case it is needed again for the child in the future. Thank you Hannah for your kindness and compassion.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Cara Charles-Barks as the Joint CEO of Great Western Hospitals, the Royal United Hospitals Bath and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. This appointment follows a decision by the Boards of each of the three Trusts earlier this year to establish a group model which will deliver better outcomes for the population we serve. You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/epPTny7Y

Today is Allied Health Professions’ (AHPs) Day and we’ve been celebrating the incredible work our AHPs do every day. 👏 There are more than 400 staff at the RUH working in AHP roles. These include dieticians, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists, podiatrists, orthotists, therapeutic radiographers, diagnostic radiographers and speech and language therapists. To mark AHPs’ Day, RUH staff have been talking about their roles and the different ways to start a career as an AHP. Dominic McBurney began his job as a diagnostic radiographer at the RUH five months ago after completing a degree with the University of the West of England (UWE). He said: “My mum used to be a radiographer, so it was something that was always around me growing up and there was always an interest there. I also like talking to people and using incredible equipment – so the job really appealed to me! “You’ll find me based mainly in our emergency department, carrying out x-rays for broken bones and imaging chests for possible infections. It’s a great job and the RUH has supported me really well with my career progression too.” Chelle Wright began an apprenticeship as a physiotherapist after spending 14 years as a technical instructor at the RUH. She said: “I’ve worked at the RUH for many years, but when the opportunity came up for me to start an apprenticeship I didn’t have to think twice. “Most people would associate apprenticeships with younger people just starting out in their careers but I hope to show it’s never too late to become an apprentice and learn new skills. “I’m really enjoying my role. You get such a sense of achievement when you get someone mobile and back home. You know you’ve really helped to improve their quality of life.” You can read more about Dominic and Chelle’s careers as AHPs on our website. Interested in starting a career as an AHP? You can search for AHP jobs on the RUH website and there’s lots more information about working as an AHP on the NHS Careers website - www.healthcareers.nhs.uk

Congratulations to Adult Safeguarding Lead Rachel Burns who has been presented with our Everyone Matters Staff Award. 🙌 Rachel was recognised for her exceptional commitment in ensuring we had the right reasonable adjustments in place to support a patient during their time in hospital. She ensured the patient’s voice was heard throughout the planning process, and advocated strongly for the steps we needed to take. This involved liaising with lots of different teams, taking the time to role model and teach how we could provide truly patient-centred care. Thank you Rachel 💙

Dr Simon Harrod has been appointed the new Clinical Non-Executive Director to the RUH’s Board of Directors. Dr Harrod trained as an anaesthetist in London and became a consultant at St Bartholomew’s in 1996. After several medical management roles, he was appointed as the medical director for the Royal London Hospital from 2015 until retirement in 2022. During his 40 years in the NHS, including 25 years in hospital management, Dr Harrod has led on many changes in healthcare, including the introduction of electronic record systems and the development of robust patient safety processes. Dr Harrod, whose non-executive director role has a key focus on patient safety and care, said: “I’ve had a career-long interest in patient safety and improving the quality of healthcare for all patients. “I am looking forward to working with the board and using my experience in the health system to ensure the hospital continues to deliver high quality care for its patients. I aim to understand the needs of the local community and ensure these are reflected in the trust strategy.”

A ground-breaking new medical device which improves the accuracy of drilling screw holes into bones during surgery has been used on a patient for the first time during surgery at the RUH. The drill guidance system (DGS), which has been developed in collaboration with the University of Bath, helps surgeons to be even more accurate when drilling the holes and reduce the time patients spend in the operating theatre. When fixing a break in the bone, the surgeon will normally use just their eyesight and x-rays when directing the drill to make the hole in the bone for a screw. Using the drill guidance system, the surgeon uses all the same techniques but with the addition of a camera on the drill and an indicator which helps them guide the drill in the correct direction as it passes through the bone. The increased accuracy the DGS provides helps to reduce the number of x-rays a patient needs as well as enabling a single-attempt approach to drilling, reducing bone and soft-tissue damage, and chances of infection. Since it was introduced, the DGS has been used in operations on wrists, arms, knees and ankles as a result of both trauma and planned surgery. It is hoped that the device will be used in even more operations in the future. Professor Grey Giddins, RUH Consultant Orthopaedic and Hand surgeon (pictured), said: “The use of the drill guidance system for the first time during surgery is fantastic news and really will improve the experiences of the people we care for, reducing the amount of time they spend in surgery as well as reducing the chances of infection." Read more about this story on our website.