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The Trust would like to correct recent inaccurate reporting in the Derby Telegraph

In the Derby Telegraph on Tuesday 10 November it was reported that there has been an ‘Increase in bullying and harassment among Royal Derby Hospital staff’ and that ‘The problem is getting worse due to the pandemic’.

This was based on discussions at our Public Board meeting and is not correct. We have worked hard to encourage all staff to talk about their concerns this year, which is more important than ever due to the pandemic. What was discussed was the increase in staff choosing to talk about concerns, not an increase in bullying itself.

Our hospitals in Derby and Burton now have more inpatients who have tested positive for Covid-19 within 28 days than we had in April/May 2020.

A Renal Consultant and his colleagues have published the first piece of research in the UK and only the second in Europe about how Covid-19 patients who also develop Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) are adversely affected by the virus.

This Youth Work Week, we’re making sure to celebrate our national award-winning Youth Service Team.  The team, who consist of Qualified Youth Workers, Eleanor Gambini and Louise Melbourne, Playworker, Louise Trower and Volunteer, Mark Durkan, are a fantastic group of colleagues who have a number of different backgrounds, skills and training, many of which have had to be adapted throughout the pandemic to help support our younger patients.

The Youth Service Team play a key role aiding young people with long-term health conditions to feel empowered and to overcome some of the additional challenges that this can bring to their lives. 

The rising levels of Covid-19 in our communities has meant that we have seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 infected patients we’re caring for in our hospitals.

We’d like to wish a very happy retirement to the fantastic Fiona Keay, who retired from the Trust this week after working 30 years in the NHS.

A member of the Urology team at QHB has raised more than £1,300 for charity by completing a gruelling swimathon.

The Receipts and Distribution Team at Royal Derby Hospital have been awarded the Team UHDB Monthly Making a Difference Award for October. The team have been recognised for their consistent hard work in ensuring PPE has been readily available and delivered to everyone at RDH, as well as making sure routine deliveries arrive on time.

The team at Derby Private Health at Royal Derby Hospital has been recognised for the care and compassion they gave to patients throughout the initial peak of the pandemic with a Team UHDB Award.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton has again been rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission. We have retained ‘Good’ overall having been fully inspected last in 2019, following the merger in 2018.

A consultant at UHDB has been named as President of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI), becoming only the second woman to hold the role in the organisation’s 100 year history.

From 2 November, patients at Sir Robert Peel Community Hospital will have to pre-book their appointment before attending their blood test.

Every day, hundreds of skilled, hard-working cleaning staff are working 24/7 across our five hospital sites. Our Domestic and Cleaning Teams work day, night and weekends to keep our hospitals and work areas clean, safe and hygienic, often outside of normal working hours.

It is important we recognise the hard work cleaners and domestic staff do and let them know they are valued and appreciated, especially after going above and beyond for our staff and patients throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic. We asked members of Team UHDB to give a shout out to their fantastic domestic/cleaning staff on their ward/department, here’s what they had to say:

We are sorry to share the news that James Longmire, a member of our Estates Team at Queen’s Hospital Burton, has sadly passed away following an illness. James joined the Trust originally as a painter in 2010.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton is to reintroduce visiting restrictions. The Trust has seen a significant increase in admissions for patients who are Covid-19 positive and expects the number to rise further. From today the Trust is asking visitors not to attend the hospitals, unless:

• Accompanying a child
• Visiting a patient undergoing end of life care
• Accompanying a pregnant partner
• Accompanying a vulnerable patients, specifically those with learning disabilities, dementia, mental health or complex needs, as well as those who are unable to make decisions for themselves.

Mrs Katharina “Ineke” Anwar retires today after almost 20 years as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in Burton.

Ineke graduated 1986 in Utrecht, Holland and initially came to the UK the following year intending to stay just six months. Whilst working in general surgery she met her husband to be, and the following year she enjoyed her placement as a GP trainee in obstetrics and gynaecology so much that she changed plans and career path, settling as an O&G trainee in the West Midlands.

A number of UHDB specialties are set to be relocated from Royal Derby Hospital to London Road Community Hospital from Monday 19 October.

UHDB’s arts charity has received a helping hand in the form of a Government grant that will allow these colleagues to carry out their invaluable work during the winter months ahead.

UHDB’s Respiratory Infection team has been crowned the Respiratory Team of the Year at the 2020 British Medical Journal (BMJ) Awards.

The team has been recognised for their outstanding work in improving the quality of care for patients admitted to hospital with pneumonia, as well as both reducing the length of time patients remain in hospital with the condition and improving support during their recovery.

Allied Health Professionals (AHP’s) are often the unsung heroes of the NHS; they are the people who work with the medical and nursing teams to diagnose, treat and promote the rehabilitation of patients in a variety of settings.

The Trust held a minute’s silence earlier today for UHDB colleague Donna Cook, who has sadly passed away following a long illness. Donna joined the Trust in 2007 and worked as a support secretary in the UGI department at Royal Derby Hospital.

A brand new bereavement room for families to spend precious time alone with their child has been officially opened in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Royal Derby Hospital.

The Friends of the Baby Unit (FOBU) charity has raised £8,000 to help create a ‘Forget Me Not Room’, where families can create some priceless memories with their little ones in complete privacy, without having to leave the unit.

Four wards at Royal Derby Hospital that were converted into COVID-19 wards during the peak of the pandemic have this week been recognised with a Team UHDB Award for their dedication and compassion.

Our Medical Assessment Unit, Ward 305, Ward 206 and our Nightingale Macmillan Unit were all presented with their awards by Chief Executive, Gavin Boyle and Chief Nurse, Cathy Winfield.

The fantastic lengths a Royal Derby Hospital Senior Sister went to in order to help and support a colleague and their relative have been recognised with a Making a Difference Award.

Rachel Kirby, Senior Sister on Ward 311, truly went above and beyond what was expected when her ward became a ward that cared for elderly Covid-19 patients at the start of the pandemic.

Paediatric services at Queen’s Hospital Burton will soon reopen following a temporary relocation to Royal Derby Hospital during the pandemic. In response to Covid-19 the Trust combined inpatient services, bringing together its skilled workforce at Royal Derby Hospital, to maintain safe staffing levels and provide safe care to children across Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

A UHDB senior nurse has received a special award for going above and beyond for her colleagues and returning to work in our Intensive Care Unit throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Barbara Day, Head of Professional & Practice Development, was presented with the Trust’s Excellent Employee award after being nominated by a number of her colleagues who praised her excellent leadership and support that she had provided to them and to other departments throughout the pandemic.