Latest news

UHDB has been formally recognised with a new accreditation that has strengthened the Trust’s position as an ally to the Armed Forces community. The Trust is proud to have such a strong working relationship with the Armed Forces and can count on veterans from the Military and reservists as valuable members of our workforce. After further emphasising this support by re-signing the Armed Forces Covenant earlier this year, UHDB has now been formally recognised with ‘Veteran Aware’ status by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA).

Five wards have been awarded with their bronze accreditation for the Every Day Counts initiative to ensure all patients are cared for in a safe, smooth and are appropriately discharged.

Experts at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton and University of Nottingham have been awarded £1.2m from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) to improve the rehabilitation of patients following surgery for finger flexor tendon injuries.

Ward 801 at Queen’s Hospital Burton have received silver accreditation for the Every Day Counts initiative to ensure all patients are cared for safely and are appropriately discharged.

Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Judy Veale, after she sadly passed away last week.

A UHDB anaesthetist is aiming to help raise the profile of Speciality and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors at Trust level and on a national scale too after being appointed into a role that is the first of its kind in the NHS.

Dr Gauri Sankhe recently took on the role of UHDB’s first ever SAS Advocate, which is a position that has been created to improve support for the wellbeing of SAS doctors – something that is especially important right now in the midst of the pandemic.

Hospital staff on ward 310 organised a wedding in only three days after the groom was told he has terminal cancer.

Two new heart sculptures were officially unveiled this week to remember our colleagues who sadly died from Covid-19 during the pandemic.

During two intimate memorial services, one at Queen’s Hospital Burton and Royal Derby Hospital, family, close friends and colleagues came together to reflect on the last two years and remember those who paid the ultimate price.

Health Care Support Workers (HCSWs) are hugely important to ensuring our patients at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton receive exceptional care.

Elaine Whiting is a Registered Nursing Associate and is currently training as a Student Nurse working in Long Eaton.

The dedicated team on Royal Derby Hospital’s Ward 216 has been recognised for their unwavering support to their colleagues throughout the pandemic as they were presented with a monthly Making a Difference Award.

We are pleased to announce that our UHDB Wellbeing Team were announced as the winner for Best Wellbeing and Staff Experience Engagement Initiative at the Nursing Times Workforce and Summit Awards.

Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for NHS England and Improvement, has met colleagues across UHDB to hear first-hand about the work of our nurses.

Executive Chief Nurse, Cathy Winfield welcomed Ruth to Royal Derby Hospital where she met some of the highly skilled nurses and nursing staff who work at UHDB.

A UHDB colleague with “the patience of a saint” has been praised for helping an “important but largely unrecognisable” system that all our staff rely on to keep running smoothly. Jeanette Harper has made an invaluable difference as the Trust’s ESR Project Support Officer for nearly 14 years – helping many of our colleagues to get out of “an ESR hole” along the way. The Electronic Staff Record, or ESR, is an extremely useful tool for all NHS staff – helping them to view their payslips online, access pension benefits and view other important details – but as with all electronic systems, can often be hard to navigate for some!

Team UHDB is getting right behind a life-saving police campaign to help eradicate knife crime from our communities.

Every evening this week, different anti-knife crime images and messages will be projected onto the side of Royal Derby Hospital’s main entrance, so that they are seen by as many people as possible.  

Matthew Fowler is one of the first consultant ACPs (Advanced clinical practitioners) for oncology and haematology at UHDB with over 24 years of experience. He shares his experience within the NHS as an ACP.

Teams at Queen’s Hospital Burton and Royal Derby Hospital have this week been presented with awards for their unflagging dedication and care to cancer patients.

UHDB radiographers are now using a state-of-the-art technique to treat cancer patients more effectively, without leaving them with permanent reminders of what they’ve been through for everyone to see.

Surface Guided Radiotherapy (SGRT) targets tumours even more accurately than techniques used before but crucially doesn’t rely on marks being left on the skin to do this – meaning patients are not left with these “tattoos” following their treatment.

Teams across University Hospitals of Derby and Burton marked the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces Community this morning at our annual Remembrance Day Service.

Over 300 colleagues attended Remembrance Day services across Queen’s Hospital Burton and Royal Derby Hospital, led by the Armed Forces Network, Chaplaincy Team and Executive Team, at 11am where a selection of poignant readings, prayers and poems were shared and all colleagues observed a two-minute silence together. 

OMFS specialty doctor, Dr Jothi Srinivasan, Dr Jothi Srinivasan, has been awarded with the 2020 Associate Fellows Award by the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial at their annual scientific meeting in October 2021.

A Derbyshire patient who badly gashed his hand whilst using a pair of secateurs has spoken in glowing terms about the swift care that he received at his local Urgent Treatment Centre.

After nearly slicing the end of his finger off tending to his garden, Richard Lindop had to be driven straight to the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) in Ripley, where he was seen much sooner than he would’ve been at A&E.

This November, NHS England and NHS Improvement has launched the next phase of the latest ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign which focuses on NHS 111 online.

On 4 November Sikhs and Hindus around the world will not only be celebrating Diwali, but also Bandi Chhor Divas, which celebrates the acts of compassion and selflessness from Guru Hargobind – a Guru is a religious teacher of Sikh faith – who remained imprisoned to protest for the rights of wrongly imprisoned Hindu princes.

Pharmacist, Gurbir Johal, explains the importance of celebrating Bandi Chhor Divas in his own words below:

Today staff and patients from across our Trust will be celebrating Diwali – one of the main annual events celebrated by Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities to mark new beginnings and light over evil.

A student who was having trouble accessing the medical care she needed out of hours has shared her relief at discovering NHS 111 Online for the first time.

A member of #TeamUHDB has created a stunning new mural has for colleagues and patients alike to enjoy at Sir Robert Peel Community Hospital.

A UHDB Consultant has appealed to anyone who is showing symptoms of a stroke to not hesitate – but to “seek medical attention immediately” instead.

The fantastic work of the urology team at Queen’s Hospital Burton will be showcased to cancer clinicians from across the UK at a national conference taking place next week.

A Royal Derby Hospital nurse has spoken about sharing her lived experiences of working in the NHS as a black woman to UHDB’s Chief Executive – as part of her role as his mentor in a new Trust initiative.

Members of UHDB’s Board have been matched with colleagues from underrepresented groups – including the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and LGBTQIA+ community – since the start of the year as part of our Reciprocal Mentoring programme.