Highlights
OCTOBER 2nd 2015
How to join
the national
conversation
on health and
social care
SEE PAGE 11
Highlands
tribute to
heroine
nurse
Edith Cavell
SEE PAGE 24
A YEAR OF
STABILITY
AND CONFIDENCE
Chair strikes
hopeful note
at the board’s
annual review
NHS HIGHLAND is
in a strong position
despite facing a
number of outstanding concerns,
the health board’s
annual
review
heard last month.
WALK THIS WAY: NHS Highland staff are being urged to
get active on the new Inverness Campus. See page 8.
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Board chair Garry
Coutts
said
that
2013/14 had been a
“tough year” for the
board and he described 2014/15 as a
year of improvements
to systems and out-
comes. The next
year, he said, could
be characterised as
one of “stability and
confidence”, reflecting
the strong position he
said the board was
now in.
Mr Coutts told the
review of a range of
issues facing the
board, including cost
pressures,
medical
staff recruitment and
retention,
changing
Continued on page 2
NHS Highland’s annual review
Continued from front page
retention, changing demographics and embedding the integration of health and adult social
care, but insisted: “These are not
challenges – it’s just the environment in which we operate.”
The real challenge, he said,
was operating more effectively in
that environment.
The performance of all NHS
boards is reviewed by the Scottish Government at annual reviews, which provide an opportunity for boards to highlight their
achievements and discuss issues
with the Cabinet Secretary and
members of the public.
This year, NHS Highland
asked Cabinet Secretary Shona
Robison to consider holding it in
Wick, both to ensure that these
events are spread throughout the
board’s area (last year’s review
was held in Fort William and one
before that in Inverness) and in
recognition of the particular challenges the board faced in delivering services in Caithness.
While in Wick, Ms Robison
met members of the Caithness
and Sutherland Regeneration
Highland
Quality
Awards:
Page 13
Partnership, and attended meetings of the Area Clinical Forum,
which advises the board on clinical matters, and the Area Partnership Forum, which provides
staff with an opportunity to influence the board’s work. She also
met
patient
representatives,
briefly visited Caithness General
Hospital and, after the review,
met the NHS Highland board.
The review itself, held in the
Assembly Rooms, featured a
presentation by Mr Coutts and a
question-and-answer session in
which he, the Cabinet Secretary
and the board’s chief executive,
Elaine Mead, responded to en-
quiries from members of the public.
In his presentation, Mr Coutts
explained the Highland Quality
Approach, the management system employed by NHS Highland
to deliver better health, better
care and better value, and outlined some of the benefits this
was delivering to patients and
service users.
The question-and-answer session was dominated by Caithness
-related matters, and covered
problems with medical staff recruitment and retention, and the
ongoing redesign of services in
the area.
Mr Coutts said: “Some of the
questions we were asked were
certainly challenging, and I welcome that. We are absolutely
committed to Caithness General
Hospital and to delivering highquality services in Caithness, but
we need the support of the community if we are to continue to
develop and improve. The questions asked reflect the very real
interest there is in the community
in health and social care services, and we would wish to harness that interest going forward.”
‘Inspirational film’ screening raises awareness of stroke
THE incredible story of lyricist
Edwyn Collins’ recovery from a
stroke was shown at an event
held by NHS Highland and
Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) in Eden Court, Inverness, last month.
A viewing of the film ‘The Possibilities are Endless’ provided an
opportunity to raise awareness of
stroke and allow those attending
to network.
Sandra Hewitt, NHS Highland’s clinical lead speech and
language therapist for stroke ser-
vices, said: “This is an inspirational film showing one man’s
personal journey and I think it will
have a profound effect on stroke
survivors in Highland and across
the UK and beyond.
“Stroke is a lifelong condition
but you can improve with time.
We work alongside service users
and their families to enhance
their communication and support
them to grow in confidence as
they start communicating again.”
Gillian Currie, stroke education
facilitator at CHSS, said: “At
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Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
we provide a range of services to
support people after stroke that
have a loss of communication
due to aphasia. We understand
the tremendous impact that it has
on the individual and their families.
“The film ‘The Possibilities are
Endless’ shares with us how life
after stroke and communication
loss impacted on Edwyn and his
partner Grace Maxwell. Many
people after stroke will identify
and find comfort in their story.”
Friends and colleagues gather for Nigel’s farewell bash
Colleagues’ farewell to
director of operations
Nigel with the sculpture he
was given as a farewell gift
THE director of operations for
NHS Highland’s former south and
mid operational unit, Nigel Small,
has left NHS Highland to take up
a chief operating officer post in
Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent
Partnership NHS Trust.
And friends and colleagues of
Nigel gathered last month to say
goodbye to him and to present him
with a “spectacular” wooden sculpture and a voucher.
Speaking for the team Nigel had
led for 11 years, south area manager Jean Pierre Sieczkarek told the
gathering of the tremendous support, compassion, tolerance and respect Nigel had given to everyone
As a leader Nigel inspired total
loyalty trust and confidence: “a legacy we will protect and maintain on
his behalf”.
Jean Pierre reminded everyone
of Nigel’s love of Sunderland AFC,
with a cake baked by Aileen Birch,
Nigel’s PA, decorated with the football club’s motto, “In Pursuit of Excellence” – a motto he may well
have modelled his team on.
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Nigel expressed his thanks to his
team, and his admiration of their
support and excellence. He talked
about his love of the Highlands, the
pleasure his job had given him and
the friendship and support he received from his team and wider colleagues.
A cake featuring the motto of Nigel’s
favourite football team, Sunderland
Working
towards a
fairer NHS
NHS HIGHLAND has appointed
a principal officer for health
inequalities, equality and diversity.
And, despite having only been
in post for just a short time, Helen
Sikora has a clear vision of how
the service will develop over the
next few years.
“My vision is to promote understanding of equality and
health
inequalities
issues
throughout NHS Highland,” she
said. “I want to equip staff with
this knowledge and how we might
respond to these issues. I am
developing some training sessions for staff which I plan to rollout shortly.
“The aim is for us to have a
fair NHS in Highland, where everyone can access and benefit
from our services regardless of
race, gender, disability, other
characteristics or circumstances.
This is part and parcel of what we
should be doing as a publicsector organisation, and it is everyone’s responsibility.”
Mrs Sikora arrived in Highland
from York, where she had considerable experience in developing
Helen Sikora,
who has been
appointed
principal officer for health
inequalities,
equality and
diversity
strategies and policies in the public sector. She worked for the
NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group as the strategy
and assurance manager – a role
which included responsibility for
health inequalities and equalities.
Mrs Sikora, who also served
as an intelligence analyst in the
Royal Air Force, said: “The key
thing that I will be looking at is
how we embed awareness and
understanding of equalities and
health inequalities in our planning, policies and practice.”
Mrs Sikora has recently refreshed guidance about the interpretation support that NHS High-
land provides for its patients if
they do not speak English or if
they require communication support; e.g. British Sign Language.
The guidance has been updated to reflect current legislation, contact details and has been
made more concise so staff can
easily understand when and how
to use interpretation services.
This guidance is available on the
NHS Highland intranet site in the
Policies Library.
For further information on
health inequalities, equalities and
diversity, you can contact Helen
on 01463
704730 or
at
helen.sikora.@nhs.net
Support for drive to recruit more retained firefighters in Highland
COMMUNITY Planning Partners (CPP) in Highland
have agreed unanimously to support the recruitment of retained firefighters.
Although recruitment is open periodically and is
specifically targeted to those parts of the Highlands
that are most in need anyone interested in becom-
ing a retained firefighter can speak to someone at
their local fire station or visit https://
www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/emergencyservices/scottish-fire-and-rescue-service/jobs to
find out when the recruitment process opens once
again.
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Islanders
quizzed
on patient
travel
HIGH on the agenda for the Islay
and Jura Services Review Group,
especially since the new Patient
Travel Policy was introduced, is
the transport of patients both
within Islay and from the island to
the mainland.
A survey on patients’ travel for
residents on Islay and Jura is currently under way and forms can
be found at venues around the
islands, including at Islay Hospital, in GP surgeries and in the
Third Sector Interface Office in
Bowmore. Responses to the survey should be returned to Alison
Guest, Islay Hospital, by midOctober.
The review group has been
told that Marcin Padarowki, Islay’s recently appointed dental
practitioner, was now settled into
his new role in the dental unit at
the hospital and there had already been positive feedback
about the service from the community.
The outstanding part-time dental practitioner vacancy currently
remained unfilled, the review
group heard.
The process for appointing the
integrated posts of Mid Argyll,
Kintyre and Islay locality manager
and the local area manager for
Islay and Jura had now been
agreed and it was anticipated that
the date for completion of the
process would be close to the
original planned timescale of the
end of September.
Elaine becomes a deacon
THE woman who heads the
public health team in Argyll
and Bute Health and Social
Care Partnership has been ordained as a deacon in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
The ordination of Elaine
Garman was carried out by the Rt
Rev Kevin Pearson, Bishop of
Argyll and The Isles, in St John’s
Cathedral, Oban.
Those attending the ordination
included visiting clergy as well as
the congregation of Oban worshippers,
members
from
churches in which Elaine will
serve, family, friends and work
colleagues.
Elaine was presented to the
bishop for ordination by friends
who had taken a significant role
in her journey to this new ministry, one of whom was her work
colleague,
nurse
consultant
Patricia Renfrew.
The Rev Elaine Garman will
serve as curate in St Paul’s
Rothesay and Holy Trinity
Dunoon. Her new role will see
-5-
her carrying out pastoral duties
and leading worship in Rothesay
and Dunoon churches as she
continues into the next phase of
the ministerial training, with the
guidance of Dean Andrew Swift,
the rector of the churches.
She will continue her full-time
job in public health.
Elaine trained for the ministry
in the Scottish Episcopal Institute,
the Scottish Episcopal Church’s
theological college.
The training, carried out over
several years, was a mix of distance learning with Aberdeen
University, residential periods
and placements in various
churches.
Ordination as a deacon is the
first stage of ordained ministry in
the Episcopal Church and other
Anglican churches. Some people
may then remain as a deacon,
with a ministry focused on service
both in church services and in the
community. Others are ordained
priests, usually about a year after
being ordained deacon.
Continued on next page
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Continued from previous page
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NHS Highland staff urged
to get active on campus
NHS HIGHLAND staff are being
urged to make use of the network of paths and cycleways
on the new Inverness Campus.
With more than 30 acres of
parkland, the campus was designed as a facility for everybody:
a gathering place in which people
can enjoy their leisure time.
And the occupational health
physiotherapists behind NHS
Highland’s ‘Beware of the Chair’
initiative, which encourages employees to be less sedentary during their working hours, say it’s a
great resource for staff to use in
their spare time.
“It would great to see our employees in Inverness nipping
across to the campus for a run or
a walk at lunchtime,” said Lesley
Marshall. “Along with my colleague Michelle Smith I recently
checked out the campus and immediately saw its potential for
leisure use by NHS Highland
staff.
“Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which owns the campus, is
keen to encourage more people
to use it, and I’d urge our staff to
do so. In our ‘Beware of the
Chair’ campaign we point out that
inactivity is the fourth biggest killer in Britain. Too many of us live
sedentary lives and going for a
walk, a jog or a cycle at the campus, either before or after work or
during lunchtime, would get us
moving, fitter and healthier.”
The Inverness Campus site is
well connected to the adjacent
Life Science district with the distinctive ‘golden bridge’ over the
A9 offering a direct route for
those on foot or cycling from the
campus to Raigmore Hospital,
the Centre for Health Science,
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Assynt House and LifeScan Scotland, as well as a connection to
Inverness city centre.
 The ‘Beware of The Chair’
campaign has been adopted by
NHS Highland as one of the three
priorities in the board’s health
and wellbeing strategy for staff.
 Rise to the challenge: See
next page.
Photographs courtesy of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Map copyright Tristram Woolston
Rise to the Challenge!
OVER the past year we have
been campaigning to raise
awareness about the negative
health risks attached to sedentary behaviour. Increasing
numbers of NHS Highland staff
are aware of these risks and
are making positive changes
on how to become more active
at work.
However, there are certain
areas that have been slow to
change.
During our occupational health
physiotherapy consultations staff
are frequently complaining about
the amount of time spent sitting
at meetings. Many find this un-
comfortable and tiring. Feedback
from staff who are endorsing
standing meetings is that they are
less sore and the meeting times
are now much shorter and more
efficient. A standing meeting experiment found that meeting
times were reduced by 25 per
cent!
So, during October we would
like to all NHS staff regularly involved in meetings to ‘Rise to the
Challenge’.
Here are some ideas:
 Try to stand for all or part of
a short meeting
 Stand for every third agenda
item (written into the agenda) and
invite attendees to continue
standing thereafter if they wish.
 Break meetings every 20-30
minutes to allow for activity/
movement
 If there are small numbers,
try a walking meeting. There
have proved very popular with
staff and with the lovely new UHI
in Inverness there really is no excuse for staff based near the
campus.
So, give it a go. It would be
great to receive feedback so
please get in touch.
Lesley Marshall and
Michelle Smith, occupational health physiotherapists
shortlisted as a finalist under the
‘best educational initiative’ category in Scotland’s Dementia
Awards 2015.
The distinctive features of this
educational initiative are that it
integrates the ‘Standards of Care
for Dementia in Scotland’, the
Promoting Excellence Framework, is delivered using a multi-
agency approach and is underpinned by the National Dementia
Strategy.
BDS is a proactive response
to the National Action Plan for
Dementia in Scotland that will
contribute to the development of
the nursing workforce against the
Promoting Excellence Knowledge and Skills Framework.
Educational
initiative is
shortlisted in
Scotland’s
Dementia
Awards
‘BEING Dementia Smart (BDS) is
an innovative dementia curriculum integrated within the preregistration nursing programme
since 2014 across all three campuses at the School of Health
Sciences, University of Stirling.
The curriculum development
group was led by Dr Leah Macaden, lecturer on the Highland
campus, in collaboration with
Ruth Mantle, the Alzheimer Scotland dementia nurse consultant
for NHS Highland.
This programme has been
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Applications
being sought
for abstracts
for NHS
Highland’s
annual R&D
conference
THE call has gone out for abstract applications for the forthcoming annual NHS Highland
Research, Development & Innovation conference which will
take place at the Centre for
Health Science, Inverness, on
Friday 13th November.
This event will include keynote
speakers, break-out sessions,
posters, lunch, project and business stands, and networking opportunities. It promises to be an
informative day to highlight research, development and innovation activities in NHS Highland.
Anyone who is interested in
attending, submitting a poster or
presenting their work at one of the
break-out sessions should contact
laura.mcilhatton@nhs.net or complete the relevant application
forms which can be found on the
NHS Highland intranet under the
heading Staff > Research and Development.
The closing date for applications is Friday 9th October.
Staff fund-raiser
STAFF in NHS Highland’s patient
booking service have raised £256
for Macmillan by selling cakes
and bakes for a week in their department.
Gift funds new scales for team
Mhairi Fraser (left) and Lisa Macleman (right) accept the donation from
Susan Maniquiz from CCUK Highlands and Islands Group
C
HRON’S and Colitis UK
(CCUK) Highlands and Islands Group have donated
money to the IBD team at Raigmore Hospital allowing them to
buy a new set of weighing scales.
The scales will be used to improve patient care from a dietetic
and nursing perspective and will
allow specialist IBD dietician Lisa
Macleman to monitor patients
more thoroughly and highlight
any patients with IBD who may
need her care.
Lisa said: “The scales will al-
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low for a more accurate nutritional assessment for our patients. Having electronic weight
and height readings will allow us
to highlight any at-risk patients
who can then be referred.”
IBD clinical nurse specialist
Mhairi Fraser added: “We are
incredibly grateful for this donation from the group; they have
always been supportive of us.
The scales will absolutely be put
to good use and we can’t thank
them enough for this kind donation.”
Re-opened care home
serves up a tasty treat
STAFF and volunteers at a recently re-opened care home in
Mallaig have served up a very
special treat to residents and
locals.
The Mackintosh Centre recently laid on a slap-up evening
dinner, giving residents and
guests the opportunity to dress
up and enjoy some fine dining.
The event was sold out, with
25 bookings having been taken.
Jackie Hodges, the home’s
interim manager, said: “This was
all part of a programme of community engagement events at the
centre.
“Since NHS Highland reopened the centre on 3rd August,
having been closed for almost a
year, we have had a fantastic response from the local community.
“It was standing room only at
an excellent open afternoon we
held recently, when family and
friends of residents, along with
others from the local community,
turned out in force to see the centre and meet staff. Entertainment
was provided by a ceilidh band
from Mallaig High School and a
member of staff who played the
accordion.
“The temporary closure of the
home pending ongoing internal
investigations was obviously a
trying time for all involved and it’s
great to see that the five residents who were relocated to Invernevis House care home in
Fort William are now happy to be
back at the Mackintosh Centre.”
She added: “Everything we do
there is for them, and it was the
residents themselves who came
up with the dinner idea. They told
us that one of the things they
missed about living in a care
home was dressing up and going
out for dinner, so we thought
we’d turn our dining room into a
posh restaurant for the evening,
and lay on something a bit special for residents and invited
guests from the local community.
“Waiters were kitted out in formal dress and everyone met in
the lounge for sherry and nibbles
before dinner was served.”
Jackie had been working as
interim manager at the centre
since mid-July, but earlier this
month returned to her role as
NHS Highland service improvement lead for residential care.
She handed over the reins to a
new interim manager, Nancy
Campbell, who has started a sixmonth secondment from her role
as a public health practitioner in
Lochaber.
Jackie said: “It really does feel
like the centre is starting afresh.
We improved the level of staffing,
training and future planning before the home re-opened and our
staff have been working above
and beyond the call of duty.”
Join national conversation on health and social care
THE Scottish Government has launched what it
calls a “national conversation” about health and social care services.
To help get the conversation started, the government has developed three broad questions:
 What support is needed to lead healthier lives?
 What areas of health and social care matter most
to you?
 Thinking about the future of health and social
care services, where should the Scottish Government’s focus be?
The conversation, which will run until April next
year, will explore what health and social care services should look like 10-15 years from now.
The government wants to know what it is that
often stops people from eating healthily, exercising,
giving up smoking, or drinking less.
It wants to talk about how healthcare treatment
can be more easily accessed, whether in hospital,
in our communities or at home.
It wants to talk about how social care is accessed.
And it wants to discuss how a greater range of
services can be provided for people in local centres
and what these services should look like, as well as
how some specialist care could be best delivered in
centres of excellence.
More information on the national conversation is
available on the website www.healthier.scot
To complete a local Survey Monkey questionnaire go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/
HealthierScotland
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Team receives award for Carelink work
THE cardio physiology department at
Raigmore has received an award from
Medtronic in recognition of their use of
the Carelink system.
The department provides a Highlandwide service, including the Western
Isles, looking after patients with implantable devices (pacemakers, ICDs and
monitoring devices).
Technology has allowed them to follow up some of these patients remotely
from their own home; it can alert them
to any problems and also saves the pa-
tient a lot of travel time.
The award from Medtronic is to recognise that they have over 100 patients
with the Carelink system in their home
and over the last six years have received 1,382 transmissions.
Principal cardiac physiologist Fiona
Dawson said: “We are very proud to
have been presented this award as recognition of the service we provide to our
patients.”
Senior cardiac physiologist Claudia
Graune is pictured with the award.
Football club
helps to tackle
mental health
ROSS County FC is becoming a
centre for tackling mental health
stigma in the Highlands, after
working with the NHS on an innovative new project.
Over the past year NHS Highland has been working on a number of new ways to change the
way mental health is viewed.
One project, devised by the
Mid Ross community mental
health team, started with information on mental health stigma being handed out at a Ross County
v Celtic match last season.
Since then the group has been
working with the football club’s
charitable foundation to make it a
centre for community work.
A room in the club’s Victoria
Park stadium is now being transformed into a place for community
groups to work in and there are
plans for the players to record anti
-stigma messages which can be
played in the room.
During the project the community mental health team have
trained anti-stigma volunteers,
who will speak about mental
health to local groups and employers.
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CARE HOME TEAMS
WENT ABOVE
AND BEYOND!
Do you know a
possible quality
award winner?
NHS HIGHLAND’S annual review,
held in Wick last month, saw presentation of two Highland Quality
Awards, which are given monthly
to members of staff or teams of
staff who have gone above and
beyond the call of duty in their
work.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health,
Wellbeing and Sport, Shona Robison,
presented a Highland Quality Award
to senior social care workers Liz Sinclair, who accepted it on behalf of
Pulteney House care home in Wick,
and Donalda Cook, who accepted it
on behalf of Bayview care home,
Thurso.
The Pulteney House team was
nominated for the award by Jackie
Hodges, service improvement lead
for residential care in recognition of a
particular episode of care involving a
long-term resident of the home and
his family.
Staff provided support as necessary to all, facilitating complete family
involvement in the person’s care,
even at such a difficult and stressful
time.
The family had written to staff expressing their thanks and relief at being able to be part of the end-of-life
care.
This was felt by the judging panel
to be an award for the whole team,
which recognised best practice in palliative/end-of-life care with a strong
emphasis on ensuring a person-
centred,
relationship-based
approach.
The Bayview team was nominated
by the home’s manager, Claire
McIntosh, on behalf of a resident,
Willie Mackay.
This award was felt by the judging
panel to show the level of care and
support which allowed Mr Mackay to
return to his own home. The original
intention had been for Mr Mackay to
be placed in another care home.
An unusual aspect of this case
was that Mr Mackay had written a
poem about his care which captured
with some humour what he felt at the
time.
NOMINATIONS for the
Highland Quality Award
can be submitted by
staff, patients, carers
and the wider public for
an individual or team
employed by NHS Highland, or working as part
of the wider NHS.
The award reflects on
an individual or team
who has demonstrated
actions and behaviours
which epitomise everything about the Highland Quality Approach.
Nominations should
be made to: Highland
Quality Awards, NHS
Highland,
Ass yn t
House,
Beechw ood
Park, Inverness, IV2
3BW, or by e-mail to
n h s h i g h l a n d board@nhs.net
The Cabinet Secretary presents Highland Quality Awards to Liz Sinclair and Donalda Cook, with NHS Highland chair Garry Coutts looking on
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Sharing key hospital role
seen as ‘perfect solution’
THE senior charge nurse role ship deals with is patients with
at Lawson Memorial Hospital in motion sickness but it’s not like
Golspie has been filled follow- that at all. A ship’s hospital can
ing the retiral of the Allison cater for a population of 4,000
Mackay – and it’s being shared patients and crew, and their
by two people.
healthcare needs are as diverse
Joanne Gemmill and Ashley as those you would see in any
Ross have taken over the post on hospital on land.
a job-share basis, Ashley working
“In many ways, it was very
Mondays-Wednesdays
and much like working in a rural hosJoanne Wednesdays-Fridays.
pital setting, dealing with a wide
Lorraine Coe, NHS Highland’s range of problems, from trips and
district manager for Sutherland, falls to intensive care. It was chalsaid that having the post shared lenging – just like working in the
was “a perfect solution to filling Lawson.”
an important and often
demanding role”, and
added: “Joanne and
Ashley are both experienced nurses with quite
different
backgrounds,
though they both share a
passion for developing
healthcare provision in
hospitals such as the
Lawson.
“They have been in
post for only a short time
but their respective skills
and experience are already proving a real asset.”
Joanne
is
from
Ashley Ross (left) and Joanne Gemmill
Ardgay, where she now
lives, and did her nurse training in
Joanne added that she knew
Glasgow before going to work in the hospital from childhood – “It’s
the A&E department in the city’s where I was sent as a young girl
Southern General Hospital.
if I needed treatment” – and was
Before taking up her new post impressed with the changes
she spent five years travelling the made to the site in recent years.
world as lead nurse in various
“It’s a very dynamic place,”
cruise ships – work she believes she said, “and I am looking forto be closely related to her cur- ward to seeing the development
rent job.
of the old Cambusavie Unit over
She explained: “People tend to the next few years.”
think that all a nurse on a cruise
Ashley, who is from Dornoch,
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has been at the Lawson Memorial Hospital throughout her nursing career. She did her nurse
training in Inverness and qualified
in 2001, when she went to work
at the Lawson on a part-time basis.
She has worked in a range of
roles at the hospital and says she
is able to tap on that wide range
of experience in her new role.
“There is certainly a lot to the
job,” she said. “Our role is multifaceted, engaging and communicating with the integrated care
team regularly to ensure
that strong links are maintained between the community and the hospital.
“As a team, Joanne and
I are committed to supporting the staff in the Lawson
Memorial Hospital to ensure the high standards of
care to our patients and
relatives that the Lawson
has always provided.”
The person the new
senior charge nurses is replacing, Allison Mackay,
recently retired after 25
years at the Lawson – but
she’s retained her ties with
the hospital.
She now works there occasionally as a “bank” nurse, providing staff cover when it’s
needed.
Lorraine Coe said: “It’s great
that we are still able to tap on Allison’s tremendous experience as
a nurse. She was very much partand-parcel of the hospital for
many years and we wish her well
as her life moves into a new
phase.”
Couple
makes
‘grand’
diamond
gesture
A DIAMOND wedding anniversary has given a welcome
boost to the children’s ward at
Raigmore Hospital.
Ken and Peggy Watson, from
Easter Kinkell, recently celebrated 60 years of marriage but
instead of gifts they asked for donations for the ward and have
now been able to donate £1000.
Mr Watson said: “We had
about 40 family and friends at a
party to celebrate our anniversary
and were delighted that we have
been able to donate £1000 to the
ward as a result of that.
“We’ve donated before after
our golden wedding anniversary
but since then our great grandson
Pictured above, from left, are Kirsty Watson, Stephanie Mackenzie,
Harris Watson, Peggy Watson and
Ken Watson
Harris has been a patient in the
ward when he had meningitis at
the age of one. We’re both delighted that we’re able to say
thank you for the care he received in this way.”
Stephanie Mackenzie, senior
play specialist for NHS Highland,
said: “This is a very kind gesture
from the Watson family and I
really can’t thank them enough
for the donation to the ward. It
shall be put to good use within
the department.”
Stephanie Mackenzie, senior play
specialist for NHS Highland, pictured above with two-year-old Harris Watson
Highland charity launches appeal for more members
THE charity Men’s Health Highland is looking for including public talks from health professionals and
new members and is asking anyone interested to we have organised conferences and have carried
attend their upcoming annual general meeting to out research projects.
meet current members and find out more about
“We have also published or presented at medical
what the charity does.
meetings on the state of men's health in the HighThe charity, which uses a programme of activi- lands as well men’s readiness to seek advice and
ties throughout the year to help improve the health treatment and we frequently have public stands that
of people in the Highlands, holds its AGM at offer blood pressure checks, height and weight
2.30pm today (2nd October) at Inshes Church, In- measurements as well as advice to members of the
verness.
public.
Robin Stewart, from Men’s Health Highland, ex“I hope those interested are able to come along
plained that members got involved in a wide range on the day but for those who are unable to make
of activities.
the meeting I’m more than happy for them to get in
He said: “Activities are held throughout the year touch and find out more.”
- 15 -
Cash boost
for unit
RIGHT:
Professor
Stephen
Leslie, consultant cardiologist;
Glen Haddow, of
Heartbeat
Challenge;
Fiona Dawson, prinicipal cardiac
physiologist, holding
one of the
monitors
(also below
right)
STAFF in the cardiac unit at Raigmore Hospital have received a donation of over £2,000 from the
Heartbeat Challenge which has
allowed them to buy equipment
for the department.
Using the donation the department has bought monitoring equipment that can be used in hospital
and in GP surgeries to help diagnose
people who have palpitations. A total
of six monitors have been bought.
Patients are able to wear these
monitors at home and, when they
experience symptoms, press a button on the monitor which then records the data. This can then be sent
to the hospital down the phone line.
Professor Stephen Leslie, consultant cardiologist for NHS Highland,
said: “The majority of people who
have palpitations do not need to
come to hospital and the purchase of
this equipment means that more
people can be treated closer to home
which is particularly useful for patients who live in remote and rural
areas.
“We are very grateful to the Heartbeat Challenge for this donation and
are working closely with our colleagues in primary care to make sure
it is put to the best possible use for
our patients.”
- 16 -
Some of the artwork in the room
A
DONATION to the cardiac
unit has lead to improvements to the quiet room in the
cath lab at Raigmore Hospital.
Mrs Ishbel Clarkson, from
Brora, made the donation in
memory of her husband John and
asked that it be used to benefit
both patients and staff.
Professor Steve Leslie, consultant cardiologist for NHS Highland, explained that the quiet
room was designed as area for
families and/or friends to wait
news of their sick relative.
He said: “When patients are
admitted as an emergency they
will often come directly to the
cath lab.
“Quite often relatives and/or
friends may come with them and
we have this area set aside
where they can wait, in private,
for news on their loved one. The
room is also used to discuss Xray procedures with patients.
“However, what we noticed
was that the room was quite basic and it was agreed that we use
the donation to improve this
space.”
New furniture was bought for
the room but Professor Leslie
also approached the charity Inverness Men’s Shed to see if
they could help brighten up the
room and he is delighted with the
result.
He said: “The skills they have
as a group are perfect for a project like this. They were very
happy to be approached to help
Pictured from left are Mrs Ishbel Clarkson, Dave Norwood, Allan
Beattie, staff nurse Karen Hercher, Professor Steve Leslie (back row),
Colin Bain and Robbie Smart
Quiet
room gets
new look
brighten the room up and have
provided us with photographs
and paintings.
“This is an excellent example
of the community type work and
service that Men's Shed can provide and the department as a
whole is very happy with the end
result.”
Robbie Smart, from Inverness
Men’s Shed, explained that the
group was pleased to assist with
the project.
He said: “The Men's Shed in
Inverness was the first in the
Highlands & Islands and opened
- 17 -
for business almost two years
ago. We have about 70 members
many of whom attend the Shed
throughout the week.
“We have a very strong woodworking group and also, among
others, an enthusiastic photography and watercolour group.”
Mr Smart, who is retired from
Northern Constabulary, explained
that he, along with two other
members of the group provided
the pictures.
He said: “Colin Bain is retired
from the force like me and Allan
Beattie is a retired head Technical teacher with Inverness Royal
Academy.
“I’d also like to mention Dave
Norwood, a retired manager from
Dalcross Airport who did a lot to
assist us with the overall work.
“As a group our motivation is
to help others as well as ourselves by making and repairing
things within our local community
and we were more than happy to
help with the quiet room.”
T
HE
Special
Care Baby Unit
(SCBU) at Raigmore Hospital has
received
£12,000
from a little girl
who wanted to say
thank-you for the
care she received
there.
Amelia Jo Kelly,
from Inverness, was
eight weeks premature when she was
born on 16th September last year and
spent four weeks in
SCBU.
Amelia’s
mum,
Kelly, explained that
they wanted to give
something back to
the unit for the care
she received and
they were delighted
that they could donate such a large
amount on Amelia’s
first birthday.
She said: “Our
initial goal was to Pictured from left are staff midwife Sheilagh Grace, Chris Kelly, Kelly Macrae, staff
midwife Sharon Lawrence and, in the foreground, Amelia Jo Kelly
raise £1,000 and I
can’t believe that
we’re able to hand
over a cheque for 12
times that!”
Kelly
explained
that a number of
fundraising events
were held over eight weeks to
Kelly said: “It’s a lovely gesShe said: “It was such a
raise money for the unit, includ- ture from Tony and Graham. I’m pleasure to see Amelia again.
ing a fun day, money collection incredibly grateful for their sup- Many of the staff remember her
at a recent Ross County match port and the support we’ve had from when she was a patient,
and a balloon release which from everyone during the fund- and we couldn’t wait to wish her
represented all the babies who raising campaign.
a happy birthday!
had been treated in SCBU.
“It seems fitting that Amelia
“We’re so grateful for this
These events raised £7,348 got to present the unit with the very generous donation and
and Kelly’s friends Tony Vas- cheque on her first birthday. I’m would really like to thank the
tano and Graham McPherson just so pleased we have been Kelly family and everyone else
donated £5292 which they able to do this.”
who put in so much time and
raised by doing a sponsored
Senior charge nurse Alison effort to raise this amazing
cycle, taking the grand total to Maclean accepted the cheque amount. It will certainly be put to
£12,640.
on behalf of the unit.
good use within the unit.”
£12,000 thanks for baby unit
from birthday girl Amelia Jo
- 18 -
Event provides
food for thought
PEOPLE attending or passing by
Gairloch Health Centre this
month were able to learn more
about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorders (FASD) as part of
FASD Awareness Day, which is
held on the ninth day of the ninth
month each year.
This year the awareness day
encouraged people to have
breakFASD, which not only allowed people to come in for a bite
to eat but they also got to learn
more about FASD from the staff
present.
Community midwife Rona
McCall held the event in Gairloch
to raise awareness within the
wider community about supporting women to avoid alcohol when
pregnant or trying to conceive.
She said: “I offered a continental style breakfast to those waiting to be seen by the nurse or
GP, and any passerby who
Power walking
group launched
ARE you tired of sitting behind
your desk all day? Are you
looking for a way to exercise
during lunchtime and meet new
friends?
Then the new power walking
group at the John Dewar Building
in Inverness could be just what
you’re looking for.
The group was started by occupational therapist Rachel Hince
in a bid to meet new people and
get some fresh air during the
working day – and she is encouraging staff based at the office to
get involved.
“I started the group as I was
recently transferred to John Dewar from Raigmore, and I didn’t
really know anyone,” said Rachel.
“It’s a great way of getting some
fresh air and exercise during your
working day – and I have met
some wonderful people in the
process.
“We have been power walking
for the last three weeks and now
have nine members in our group.
We walk for half an hour every
Tuesday and Thursday, leaving
from the front door at 1pm.
“Over the last three weeks we
have managed to find an excellent route which takes us out into
the countryside and away from
the traffic. It’s a great way to
switch off from the office for 30
minutes and is great way of improving your fitness.
“Some of our members use
the group to improve their health
and make new friends, but there
are people who are using it to
help them quit smoking. We
cover a two-mile route at a brisk
walking pace, so if you’re interested, come along and join us!”
For more information, call Rachel Hince on 01463 706738 or
email Rachel.hince@nhs.net
- 19 -
wanted to pop in.
“Those coming in did engage
with FASD and asked what it was
about with some taking the literature away with them. It also
sparked some discussion with a
few of the attendees about other
health messages: not smoking
and the value of breast feeding.
“My community nursing colleagues who helped me to set it
all up were also interested in the
message.”
Alcohol and
pregnancy
 If you are pregnant or
planning to be pregnant you
should avoid alcohol
 If you’re pregnant and
you have a drink, your baby
has a drink too
 If you didn’t know you
were pregnant and have
been
drinking
small
amounts the risk is low but
the best thing is to stop
drinking now
 Drinking when pregnant
increases the risk of miscarriage and also may cause
permanent life-long damage
to your baby
 There is no known safe
amount of alcohol to drink
when you are pregnant
There is no safe stage of
your pregnancy to drink alcohol
 All kinds of alcohol do
the same harm
Be the nominated driver
if you don’t want to drink
and don’t want to disclose
you are pregnant
 If you have been drinking during pregnancy, especially binge drinking, speak
to your midwife and she can
offer advice and support
during and after pregnancy.
Anniversary
event sees launch
of support group
THE stroke unit at Raigmore
Hospital and Chest Heart and
Stroke Scotland (CHSS) held a
joint celebration this month to
launch Strokeness, a new support group for stroke survivors, and to celebrate 10 years
of the Stroke Patient and Carer
Group.
As well as stalls, games and
mini competitions, head and hand
massage and a raffle there was
music provided by the Merkinch
Pipers and Tom Cruikshank and
his ceilidh band.
A total of £1347 was raised
and will be split between the
Stroke Unit and CHSS.
Linda Campbell, stroke coordinator for NHS Highland, explained that the patient and carer
group had been involved in a
number of developments that had
benefited stroke patients and
their carers locally and nationally
and she was pleased their contribution was marked in this way.
She said: “Highland Stroke
Services already had a good
track record of working with our
patients, carers and the wider
public and since implementation
of the patient and carer group it
has just got better.
“I’m delighted that we’re able
to mark their 10 years with this
joint celebration and we also
couldn’t think of a better time to
launch the new support group,
Strokeness, which looks to support and enhance the lives of
stroke survivors.”
Strokeness, which is affiliated
to CHSS, was set up to provide
support to stroke survivors
throughout the Inverness area.
Alan Reeks (61) is one of the
founding members of Strokeness.
Farewell to
Margaret
COLLEAGUES said a
fond farewell last
month to Margaret
Featch, who had
worked as a laundry
assistant at Raigmore
Hospital for the past
14 years. Margaret,
who is pictured with
assistant facilities
support manager
Morag Drew, is known
by colleagues for her
hard work and rarely
missing a day at work.
- 20 -
Originally from Guildford in Surrey he has been living in Inverness for the past 10 years and
suffered a stroke in October
2013, remaining in Raigmore
Hospital until January 2014.
He said: “I still have problems
with my left hand and my left foot
can go numb but I’m OK, although I haven’t been able to get
back to work as I started having
seizures this year.
“I first heard about Strokeness
when I was approached by Paula
Young, occupational therapist, to
see if I would be interested in
helping set the group up. I didn’t
hesitate in saying yes; I wanted
to give something back.
“The stroke staff are excellent
but the support we can give is
knowledge and first-hand experience of what they are going
through and the feelings and
emotions associated with that.
“At our second meeting everyone said how good it was to be
able to share their experiences
with others who have been
through it.
“Through social gatherings,
support meetings, education and
representation we want to improve the lives of stroke survivors
who can often feel isolated by
their condition. We want them to
know that they are not alone.”
For more information about
Strokeness or if you know somebody who would be interested in
joining, call 07835 035089 or
email strokeness@mail.com
Westminster beckons
for trainee manager
TRAINEE project manager Ross
McEwen is leaving NHS Highland to walk the halls of Westminster when he takes up a
nine-month placement on the
‘Speaker’s Parliamentary Placement Scheme’ in October.
Ross, who has worked at Raigmore across a number of different
departments since the
age of 16, will be one of
10 people taking up the
position out of an application list of over 500.
He explained that he
had been assigned to
work with front bench
SNP MP Dr Philippa
Whitford, member of
Health Select Committee and the party’s
health spokesperson at Westminster.
The post will involve research
and information gathering regarding the NHS and the many different arenas of care within it on a
UK level as well as a Scottish
one.
General day-to-day duties will
include working on press releases, attending meetings and
committees and working towards
a close-knit line of communication
between Dr Whitford’s office and
the office of the Cabinet Secretary
for Health and Wellbeing in Holyrood.
Ross will start two-week induction training on 12th October,
which will include a welcome to
Parliament from the Speaker of
the House of Commons, John
Bercow, and he starts
work with Dr Whitford
on 26th October.
He said: “I will miss
working with Raigmore
Hospital. I started here
back in 2004 collecting
glasses and serving
drinks in the Recreation
Hall.
“I then worked with
portering for seven
years and my most recent position
was as a member of the capital
projects team under NHS Highland Estates.”
He added: “I’ve had congratulations and well wishes from further afield including members of
the Meatloaf band, The Offspring,
Bad Company, Whitesnake, Deep
Purple as well as from Inverness
MP Drew Hendry.
“I am really looking forward to
this new challenge.”
How to work
up a research
question…
A COURSE on ‘Developing a
Research Question’ is to be
held on 10th November from
10am-4pm in the Centre for
Health Science, Inverness.
To be presented by NHS
Highland consultant cardiologist Professor Stephen Leslie,
the course is designed to help
structure an approach in developing a good and effective
research question, to understand the implications of the
question for the whole of
one’s research approach and
to help bring a critical eye to
the research question process.
The sessions will be largely
interactive and will have capacity to focus on participants’ individual questions
and areas of interest.
To apply for this study day
complete and return the application form which can be
found on the NHS Highland
intranet under the heading
Staff > Research and Development.
Those who do not have access to the intranet should
email
laura.mcilhatton@nhs.net
Paramedic availability to be stepped up on islands
AT a meeting of Mull and Iona Health and Care
Group last month, members heard that through a
training and development programme the Scottish
Ambulance Service was on track to increase paramedic availability for the islands.
The meeting was also told that the GP recruitment process was continuing with further interviews
scheduled to take place at the end of October.
Plans are also under way to purchase a 4x4 immediate response vehicle for use by the Doctor on
call and the vehicle will be kitted out with emergency medical equipment.
A medical practice newsletter will be issued
shortly which will inform all patients of the new island-wide Practice. The new practice is also keen to
develop patient participation groups across the island.
A staff development day had been organised for
28th September for all the staff working across the
three sites.
- 21 -
A
THERAPY
radiographer from NHS Highland has just returned
from Kenya after spending 10
days in the area raising
awareness of cancer among
the local population.
Adesh Jutton (27), who is
based at Raigmore Hospital,
was there with a group of volunteers with the charity Cancel
Cancer Africa, which raises
awareness of the early signs
and symptoms of cancer.
Adesh, who heard about the
opportunity via the Society of
Radiographers, was one of six
volunteers who spent time in
Busia County, a rural area in
West Kenya, encouraging people to come forward to find out
more about cancer and to get
checked.
He said: “The charity travels
to various countries across Africa each year and this is the
Kenya trip
helps cancer
charity
second time Cancel Cancer Africa has been to Kenya raising
awareness. People there tend
to know very little about the disease as other diseases are
more prevalent but cancer is
still affecting many people.
“With many cancers in the
- 22 -
region being diagnosed at very
late stages, raising awareness
on early detection and screening can save many preventable
deaths and remove the stigmas
they have there about cancer.
Continued on next page
Charitable work in Africa
Continued from previous page
“As volunteers we are there,
along with the nurses who do
the screening, to encourage
people to come forward and we
ask them questions to get information on them and their family
history.”
Adesh explained that before
they started there was a big
march through the city, complete with band, which was
heavily supported by the Health
Minister and the First Lady of
the county
which
received a lot
of attention
and helped
publicise
what they
were doing.
He told
Highlights:
“All
the
checks provided by the
charity are
free which
also helped a great deal in getting people to come along.
“Busia County has seven sub
-counties and we travelled to
each of the hospitals there. We
saw about 2500 people this
year compared to the 1000 they
saw last year.
“Our focus was originally on
breast cancer but the project in
Kenya has grown to include cervical and prostate cancers.
From what we saw cervical is
proving to be the biggest problem.”
Adesh explained that through
their survey and data gathering
Asdesh Jutton pictured above at
work in Raigmore and, on the
left, with a patient in Kenya
they would find out that many of
those attending had family
members who were or had been
affected.
He said: “We found that there
were quite a few who had symptoms when they attended, not
all of these were necessarily
cancer but I think we were all
just glad that they were coming
along to get checked out, that
way we could inform what to
look out for, how to perform selfchecks and encourage them to
spread the word and to continue
attending further screening sessions.
- 23 -
“In speaking to them as part
of the information gathering you
would be told so many stories
about them, their family and
their history.
“It was an amazing experience.
“I would happily volunteer
with Cancel Cancer Africa
again. I’d like to go somewhere
where they have not been before as I think a real difference
can be made in the work that
they do.
"I would also encourage anyone with an interest in volunteering or would like to know
more to contact me at
adesh.jutton@nhs.net."
Highland
tribute
to heroine
nurse Edith
A DEDICATION and memorial
service for nurse Edith Cavell
will be held next month at Cavell Gardens War Memorial, near
Bellfield Park, Inverness.
Born in 1865 Edith had several
jobs as a governess before taking
up nursing following a period of
nursing her father through an illness. In 1905 she was put in
charge of a pioneering training
school for lay nurses on the outskirts of Brussels.
In the autumn of 1914, two
stranded British soldiers found
their way to Edith’s training
school. Others followed and were
spirited away to neutral territory
in Holland. An underground lifeline was established, masterminded by Prince and Princess
De Croy at a chateau in Mons,
and some 200 soldiers were
helped in their escape.
Two members of the escape
team were arrested on 31 July
1915, and five days later Edith
was interned. The German military authorities, having tried in
secret and sentenced Edith and
four others to death, were determined to carry out the executions
immediately.
Despite frantic efforts to save
her by the American and Spanish
ambassadors to Belgium, Edith
was executed by firing squad at a
rifle range just outside Brussels
at dawn on 12th October 1915.
The Allies acclaimed Edith as
a martyr. Within eight weeks of
her death, recruitment into the
British Army (this was before conscription) had doubled.
The dedication and memorial
service will be held at 11am on
Monday 12th October, the 100th
anniversary of her death.
New number for National Poisons Information Service
FROM 5th October the prefix code of the telephone
number for the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) will change from 0844 to 0344. The
new telephone number for the service will therefore
be 0344 892 0111.
For a transitional period callers using the previous number will be reminded of the change and
their enquiries will be automatically transferred to
the new number free of charge.
This forwarding service will cease on 11th Janu-
ary 2016.
Direct dial/switchboard settings should be updated as soon as possible after 5th October and before the 11th January 2016 deadline.
Users have been reminded that the National Poisons Information Service is not a public access service and this telephone number should not be issued to members of the public.
The online database of the NPIS, TOXBASE®,
will continue to be available at www.toxbase.org
- 24 -
Hospital birthday celebrations planned … for Christmas
A HAPPY birthday looks set to turn into a great
Christmas night out for staff at the Lorn and Islands
Hospital in Oban.
It’s the hospital’s 20th anniversary and plans are
in hand to hold a celebratory dance in the Argyllshire
Gathering Halls in Oban on 5th December. The event
will feature DJ George Noble and the band Trail
West.
Advanced nurse practitioner Stuart Macdonald
explained that it was thought to be a good idea to
have an event that all wards and departments could
go to as their Christmas night out, instead of having
separate nights.
Tickets cost £30 each and are available to NHS
Highland staff from Diane in the finance office at
Lorn and Islands Hospital between 9am-12.30pm.
H&S managers
achieve their
‘top-of-the-tree’
qualification
NHS HIGHLAND health and
safety managers Amanda Glen
(South and Mid, Estates) and
Rosie
Brunton
(Raigmore)
have qualified as chartered
members of the Institution of
Safety and Health (IOSH), the
professional organisation for
health and safety practitioners.
Both of them hold the NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Safety & Health, and
various other H&S qualifications,
so have been graduate members,
but they wanted the ‘top-of-thetree’ qualification for practicing
H&S professionals.
Amanda said: “To become
chartered members we each had
to complete a skills development
portfolio which consisted of seven
assessments to evidence our
Amanda Glen (left) and Rosie Brunton with their certificates
knowledge and skills and attending a peer review interview.
“We also had to prove continued professional development
which has to be continually maintained in order to retain our chartered status.”
The process took around nine
Spotlight on remote and rural trauma response
‘MAJOR trauma – a remote, rural and islands response’ will be the
subject of a presentation in the Centre for Health Science, Inverness,
from 12.30-2pm on 24th November. It will be given in the NES Boardroom by Colville Laird, medical director, Graeme Ramage, Sandpiper
Fellow, BASICS Scotland, and Arran GP Dr David Hogg.
Another presentation for the Rural GP VC Education Network will
be given on 25th January from 12.30-2pm in the same venue on
‘Mental health (skills based training in suicide prevention - assessing
those presenting with suicidal ideation)’, by Helen Neville, CMHT.
For more information, contact rrheal@nes.scot.nhs.uk
- 25 -
months.
Rosie said: “We were both interviewed during July by a panel
of senior peers. Each interview
consisted of delivering a 10minute presentation followed by
in-depth questions in order to
demonstrate our levels of professional competence; the questions
had to be answered to the
panel’s satisfaction and using
NEBOSH terminology!
“It was a lot of work, and the
pass mark is not high, so we
were both relieved and delighted
to receive notification advising
that we had achieved chartered
status.
“We now proudly use the designation ‘CMIOSH’.”
Improvements to physio service
OVER the past two years, Argyll and Bute Health and Social
Care Partnership has seen a 70
per cent increase in the number of referrals for muscular
and joint injuries to the physiotherapy service in Lorn & Islands Hospital, Oban. Physiotherapists in the hospital are
now seeing over 2,500 patients
a year.
To make sure that people get
the right service and treatment at
the right time and to manage the
increasing demand for the service the partnership has been
redesigning how the service is
delivered.
This culminated early in September with an intensive workshop following a period of data
collection and observation of the
service in operation.
The workshop identified how
- 26 -
to make sure that:
• Patients are kept well informed
about their treatment options
• Waiting times are reduced
• There is a reduction in the number of appointments wasted due
to patients not attending and not
letting the department know in
advance
The overall self-referral process has been streamlined
through the introduction of a new
comprehensive
referral form
which includes details of NHS
Inform (a national health information website) and MATS (the new
non-emergency service for adults
with muscle and joint problems).
Both of these provide information for patients and are an additional resource that patients have
the option to use.
Use of the new referral form
will also enable patients be triaged before they attend the Department in order to ensure that
they are directed to the most appropriate health professional for
their needs, which may not always be a physiotherapist.
The new referral form will be
available online, through local GP
practices and from the physiotherapy department at the hospital, and patients can return it by
email, post or in person.
Patients will, if they wish, be
notified of their appointments
through the use of a text and
email system and for those people who don’t have access to
these systems a postcard with
their appointment details will be
mailed out.
Patients will be reminded that
it is important they let the department know if they are unable to
make their appointment as this
may allow the team to slot someone else in at short notice.
NHS Highland
‘socks it to sepsis’
NHS HIGHLAND has been
working hard to ensure that
patients being admitting to
hospitals with sepsis, and patients in hospitals who develop
sepsis,
receive
life-saving
treatment within an hour of developing sepsis.
Consultant physician Grant
Franklin has been leading a
group of doctors, nurses and
pharmacists with the aim of reducing the number of people who
die from sepsis in Highland.
He said: “Sepsis is one of the
biggest challenges faced in
healthcare and early recognition
and treatment are paramount.
NHS Highland has data to demonstrate that we have come a
very long way in improving sepsis
management and improving outcomes for patients in our care.”
World Sepsis Day was on
September 13th, during Sepsis
Awareness Month.
NHS Highland joined in with
this by holding an awareness stall
in Raigmore Hospital, giving out
information leaflets and sepsis
socks to staff, patients and relatives.
Staff from across Raigmore
turned up to help out with raising
awareness of sepsis and modelling the sepsis socks, spreading
the word that we need to ‘sock it
to sepsis’.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis is a global healthcare
problem. It is more common than
heart attack, and claims more
lives than any cancer, yet even in
the most developed countries
fewer than half of the adult population have heard of it. It happens
when the body’s attempt to fight
an infection results in the immune
system damaging tissues and
organs.
What causes sepsis?
Sepsis is always triggered by an
infection. Sepsis occurs as a result of infections acquired both in
the community and in hospitals.
The majority of cases are
caused by infections we all know
about: pneumonia, urinary tract
infections, skin infections like cellulitis and infections in the abdomen (such as appendicitis).
Invasive medical procedures
like the insertion of a catheter into
a blood vessel can also introduce
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bacteria into the blood and trigger
sepsis. Sepsis can affect all age
groups and is not respectful of
lifestyle choices.
What can be done
about sepsis?
Cost-effective basic interventions
save lives. We can double the
patients’ chances of survival simply by recognising the condition
and responding rapidly by administering appropriate antibiotics
and fluids and checking blood
results.
Saving lives depends not just
on treatments specific to a particular infection, but by focusing
on early recognition and awareness of sepsis with rapid treatment. In short, sepsis is a medical emergency and each hour
matters.
Raising awareness of sleep condition
THE benefits of getting a good
night’s sleep on your physical
and mental health are often
spoken about but for some an
uninterrupted, good night’s
sleep isn’t that easy.
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Syndrome (OSAS) is a significant
public health concern that affects
four per cent of middle-aged men
and two per cent of middle aged
women in the UK with even more
out there who are unaware that
their lack of sleep could be down
to this condition and that help and
support is available.
With this in mind the NHS
Highland Sleep Service is planning an awareness day to be held
in the Raigmore Hospital canteen
on 7th October to help raise
awareness of this public health
concern and to showcase how
the new masks and devices have
developed since the first sleep
study 20 years ago in Ward 11.
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Wendy Douglas, the sleep service sister based at Raigmore,
explained that OSAS was a condition which caused people to
stop breathing during their sleep.
The upper airway closes repeatedly resulting in brief awakenings
from sleep causing disturbed,
non-refreshing sleep with many
debilitating symptoms experienced during the day.
She said: “People with sleep
apnoea will often experience daytime sleepiness and report poor
concentration and memory. This
affects not only them but can also
affect their family, friends and
sometimes colleagues. Overnight
the bed partner may report snoring, spells of breath holding or
choking. Sleep can be further
disturbed by the need to visit the
toilet frequently overnight.
“It is a condition which can affect people of all ages but we do
see an increase as people get
older. However, we also know
that for all the cases we do know
about there are going to be many
who have not been diagnosed.”
Wendy explained that the
Highland service, which got about
500 referrals a year, not only
wanted to raise awareness of the
condition and hear from people
who may be going untreated but
to engage with those who may
have previously accessed the
service but who had not been in
contact recently.
She said: “We are keen to target those patients who have old,
dusty devices unused in their
lofts. They can either return the
device or see how CPAP has developed/be seen at clinic for review. I hope staff are able to engage with the awareness day and
come along and talk to us and
find out more about what we, as
a service, can offer.”
Highland projects
to be presented
at US conference
TWO Highland research projects both centred on cystic
fibrosis will be presented at the
annual North American Cystic
Fibrosis Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, this month.
Lesley Blaikie, NHS Highland
cysitic fibrosis clinical nurse specialist, explained that both projects would be presented as posters at the conference which attracts delegates from around the
world.
She said: “The first poster
looks at how we can improve the
safety and quality of discharge
letters for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with a district general hospital (Raigmore).
“Over a six-month period we
did an audit of CF discharge letters and, using a number of different quality improvement methods, were able to improve the
accuracy of both paediatric and
adult discharge letters.
“Posters, teaching sessions
and a hand held leaflet all played
a key role in improving medicine
safety and accurate discharge
letters. The work we have done
will be monitored to ensure we
are able to maintain this.”
The second poster is a joint
piece of work which Lesley was a
part of evaluating the experience
of parents when, following
screening, their newborn receives
a diagnosis of CF.
Lesley said: “Early diagnosis
Village Hub in baby clothes and toys plea
THE Brora Village Hub is appealing for donations of baby clothes
and toys for children in the north
of Scotland and beyond.
Engaging with Activity, a community interest company working
in a pilot partnership with NHS
Highland, is providing activities
for local people. One of many projects taking place in the Hub, ‘Knit
and Natter’, is dedicated to the
support and comfort of babies and
young children.
Service users have been busy
knitting clothes and donating
toys, which will be passed onto
MFR’s Cash for Kids and a unique
project for vulnerable children in
South Africa.
Oliver’s Village is a social en-
terprise where orphaned children
with HIV and Aids gain access to
healthcare, education and skills
development. Located in Johannesburg, it inspires disadvantaged
children by providing a caring and
stimulating environment.
MFR Cash for Kids is the charity arm of Moray Firth Radio, and
works to raise funds for children
across the north of Scotland. The
Hub is keen to support MFR’s
Christmas appeal for gifts, and is
appealing for new items to be donated.
Lindsey Tennent, resource centre manager for NHS Highland, is
urging people to support the project. She can be contacted on
01408 622312.
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LESLEY BLAIKIE
and early treatment can improve
outcomes but there have been
reports from parents about poor
experiences when being told of
the diagnosis which will obviously
have an impact on their adjustment to this news.”
Lesley explained that anonymised data was collected following a survey of parents in
North and South East Scotland.
What was clear is that this is an
important and emotive issue for
CF parents but there was a lack
of information on the newborn
screening process.
Unsurprisingly, it was clear
from the data that the more
knowledge that those giving the
diagnosis had on CF the more
positive the response from the
parents with support from the CF
team consistently highly rated
and in particular the role of the
CF Nurse Specialist.
This study has informed the
work done locally in Highland
with the development of a pathway for delivering a CF diagnosis
that looks to provide the best
overall parent experience.
Lesley said: “Both studies
have proved very worthwhile and
practices have changed following
the results for the benefit of all
involved.
“I’m very much looking forward
to presenting these at the conference and looking forward to
learning from others about what
else we can do.”
To tweet or not to tweet
A dietician’s story of how Twitter changed her work
By Evelyn Newman,
NHS Highland nutritian and
dietetics adviser, care homes
AT the start of this year, if anyone had said to me that I’d be
actively promoting tweeting at
work, I’d have dismissed them
out of hand.
However, at the time of writing
this, I now have 190 followers
from all levels of the NHS, social
care, a range of agencies, companies and colleagues.
The turning point came in
January, when I was accepted,
as a representative of NHS Highland, onto Cohort 3 of the NES
(NHS Scotland Education Services) e-NMAHP leadership programme.
Aimed at improving confidence
in the use of new and available
technologies, one of the first
tasks we had to complete was to
set up a twitter account.
Armed with my iPad at home, I
was forced to ask for help from
an expert: one who cannot function without iTechnology; who
starts and ends the day on social
media; whose whole life revolves
around technology: one of my 16year-old twin daughters!
To say she was horrified is an
understatement: “You’re not going on Twitter!” “You’re not following me!” “What do you mean you
have to do it for work?”
However, once she got over
the initial shock and had finally
agreed that she would not follow
my Twitter account, we moved
forward with a common purpose
and I started to learn how to ‘like’,
retweet, search and follow. Within
24 hours I had the courage to retweet but it took many more before I felt brave enough to write
my first one: overseen, of course,
by a proud teenager!
A couple of months later life
was transformed even further
when I received my first iPhone
for work and the second twin
daughter set it up with Twitter …
so much more accessible!
During Dietitians Week, with
Debbie Provan’s help, I even
managed to write for the
NHSScotland AHP blog site and
tweeted about the events of the
week to all my followers, sharing
good news stories about dietitians around the country and reacquainting myself with colleagues who I hadn’t had contact
with for years.
Since then I have managed to
tweet/retweet 1500 times and
‘liked’ many others. I hope that
some of you have benefitted from
information in some of them or
have felt encouraged by a ‘like’ or
a ‘retweet’.
I have discovered many agencies, people and groups that I
had been unaware of, which provided lots of useful information
and connections that have been
relevant and helpful for my work.
The tweets, which prompt and
remind me of events and those
which share new resources or
contacts are great because they
open up whole new aspects of
work, which I might never have
normally come across and even if
I’d searched for them it would
have taken up huge amounts of
time.
I’ve written this article to encourage those of you who still
don’t have a twitter account, to
seriously consider setting one up
and trying it for yourself. No matter how long it takes to send your
first tweet I’ll guarantee it’ll be
worth it. Social media at work can
be a real bonus, if you use it to
your advantage. Your teenagers
might even help you get started
too!
Feel free to use my account to
start. @evelynnewman17
Conference investigates inequalities and older people
THE Professor of Sociology and co-director of the reputation. His research on ageing has been conManchester Institute for Collaborative research on cerned to understand the patterns and determinants
ageing at the University of Manchester, James Naz- of social and health inequalities in ageing popularoo, was the keynote speaker at a conference on tions.
inequalities and older people in Inverness.
Organiser Eilidh Macmillan, NHS Highland lead
The event, held in Smithton Church, also fea- social worker (south and mid), said: “There were
tured presentations from NHS Highland’s head of several aims of the conference, most notably to
strategic commissioning, Simon Steer.
raise awareness of what drives inequalities in older
Professor Nazroo’s research on inequalities in people, and to examine patterns of inequalities in
later life places him as the leading UK researcher in later life and how it relates to our development of
this field and has earned him a strong international policy and practice.”
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Fire alarms
to be given to
people with
hearing loss
ARGYLL and Bute residents who are deaf or have
hearing loss are to benefit from specially-designed
alarms in a bid to help them stay safe from fire in
the home.
A partnership between the Scottish Fire and Rescue
Service (SFRS), Argyll and Bute Council and NHS
Highland has seen £3,000 allocated to buy the potentially life-saving devices.
The smoke alarms are connected to a powerful under-pillow pad that vibrates in the event of a fire to immediately wake someone with limited or no hearing.
Group manager David Cowley, the SFRS head of
prevention and protection in the area, said: “We’re determined to make sure everyone in Argyll and Bute is
protected by appropriate and effective fire detection
systems and this partnership means we can provide
people who are deaf or hearing-impaired with exactly
that.”
Elaine Garman, head of public health in Argyll and
Bute for NHS Highland, said: “Those with a significant
hearing loss can be extremely vulnerable especially at
night-time, when they are likely to have taken their
hearing aid out to sleep.
“Smoke alarms are a very cost-effective way to keep
people safe, particularly if you have a hearing loss.
“We have been delighted to work together not only to
pool money to purchase this specially-designed equipment but for a coordinated response between audiology, social services sensory impairment team and the
fire and rescue service.”
Elaine continued: “I would encourage those who
think they can benefit to contact the freephone number
below.”
Free home fire safety visits are available by calling
SFRS on the freephone number 0800 073 1999, texting
‘FIRE’ to 80800 or filling in an online form at
www.firescotland.gov.uk.
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What’s your
story? Keep
Highlights
informed
Do you know of something
you think should be featured
in Highlights? An award, an
achievement, a piece of research, an appointment, a
retiral … you name it, Highlights has a place for it.
Please send your articles
for
Highlights
to
tom.davison@nhs.net (01463
704903) or visit the Staff
Dropbox on the NHS Highland intranet home page.
You can follow
NHS Highland on:
WEBSITE
www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk
FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/
NHSHighland
TWITTER
www.twitter.com/NHSHighland
or @NHSHighland
Highland Health Sciences Library
Where have
all our
By Rob Polson (rp5@stir.ac.uk), subject librarian
TO paraphrase Pete Seeger and Joe Hickerson’s song title Where have all the flowers
gone? – the library is asking: “Where have all
our users gone?”
The library’s gate entry system may appear
rather unfriendly and imposing but one of the
main reasons for having it in place is to collect
statistics on library usage.
These statistics are analysed weekly and are
showing us some interesting trends which are
illustrated in the two weekly ‘snapshot’ pie charts
shown below.
Figure 1 shows that in 2006 our biggest users
were student nurses, NHS Highland staff, NHS
Education Scotland (NES trainee grades) and
general practitioners.
In Figure 2 you can see that in 2015 student
Joe Hickerson by kind permission of Ell Smith
Pete Seeger by kind permission of Anthony Pepitone
nurses and NHS Highland staff still are our biggest user groups, followed by Aberdeen University medical students and other students on
placements.
There are now no GP users present and NES
usage has also shrunk.
Further analysis of the figures reveals that usage from the rural areas has shrunk – for example staff and trainees based in the Belford and
Caithness General Hospitals used to use us a lot,
now hardly anyone from these locations uses the
resource.
When the visitor statistics are examined we
find that overall visits to the library have also reduced.
Continued on next page
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Highland Health Sciences Library
Continued from previous page
For example, in 2006-07 we had c19,000 visits
whereas in 2014-15 thus has reduced to 14,000
visits
What is going on? Are, for example, the
online resources of the Knowledge Network being used instead?
Investigations into usage of this set of resources however have shown that these are not
being used either.
Informal enquiries into the levels of underuse
have revealed that some of the factors involved
include: increased workloads, reliance on guidelines, reliance on personal sets of resources
(apps, textbooks and other resources) unavailable on the Knowledge Network, general un-
awareness, and lack of knowledge of the tools
and how to utilise them.
Readers are welcome to share their reasons
for underuse with us - we would really appreciate
this feedback – please contact me
(rp5@stir.ac.uk) with these.
Remember, whatever your needs the Highland
Health Sciences Library exists to help you. As
Peterson, Harris and Siemensa (http://
t.co/7kfutCREya) state: “There is a substantial
and growing body of evidence that health libraries are vital to the delivery of healthcare, both
financially and clinically.”
Don’t spend more than 10 minutes on a problem you may be having – contact the library.
To find out more about the library and its many
services call 01463 255600 (x7600).
A friendly word can save a life
IF you can read between the
lines, you can save lives. That
was the message Choose Life
sent out to people in Argyll and
Bute to mark Suicide Prevention Week, from 7th-12th September.
Last year, 15 people in Argyll
and Bute took their own lives,
leaving a lasting impact on families, friends and communities.
Choose Life is tackling this
through its ‘Read between the
Lines’ campaign, which calls on
everyone to be alert to the warning signs of suicide in people
close to them. The message is
that if you’re worried about someone, such as a friend, family
member or workmate, asking
them directly about their feelings
can help to save their life.
The campaign acknowledges
that signs of suicide can be ambiguous, but encourages people
to take all signs of distress seriously, even if the person seems
to be living a normal life. It also
aims to assure people that asking
a person about what’s troubling
them can make a positive difference.
Tracy Preece, Choose Life coordinator in Argyll and Bute said:
“You tend to know when someone close to you isn’t quite themselves. So if you notice any
changes in their behaviour that
worry you – even if the signs
come and go – ask them about it.
“You’ll find that talking can
help a person get clarity about
what it is that’s troubling them,
and often gives a sense of perspective. Starting a conversation
is half the battle.
“If it feels right, ask if they are
thinking about suicide. It won’t
put the thought in their head if it
wasn’t there before, but it can be
a big relief for them to be able to
say, ‘yes, I am’ and acknowledge
they need help.”
The campaign targets men
and women who are likely to be
in greatest contact with people
most at risk of suicide – men
aged 30-59, since statistics show
that around three-quarters of suicides have been men in every
- 33 -
year since 1990.
To support people in Argyll &
Bute to get behind the campaign,
Choose Life has made widely
available information cards with
simple ‘how to help’ steps, and
leaflets such as ‘The Art of Conversation’, which gives advice on
starting conversations about suicide and listening effectively.
Raising awareness of suicide
prevention and giving the public
information is a vital part of the
work of Choose Life.
Scotland’s suicide rate has
been decreasing since 2002 with
the latest figures showing that
that they are at their lowest level
since the 1970s.
Choose Life in Argyll and Bute
has made a key contribution by
hosting an annual conference to
raise awareness of suicide as a
public health issue, training over
200 people every year to identify
the signs that someone is struggling with thoughts of suicide and
how to help as well as working in
schools to raise awareness of
help-seeking.
&A
Q
Answering the questions this
month is Crawford Howat, service manager — hotel services at Raigmore Hospital
What’s your role, Crawford?
I am responsible for catering, portering, security,
accommodation, telecoms and the mailroom at
Raigmore.
What about a favourite book?
Anything by Martina Cole and James Patterson.
If you won £10 million in the lottery, what
would you spend it on?
I’d have a fleet of sports cars and I’d buy a house
abroad and one in Devon and Cornwall.
How would you describe yourself?
Very positive. I enjoy challenges and working at
Raigmore.
What is you won a smaller sum, say £1,000?
I’d go on an additional holiday.
Do you have any hobbies and interests?
Eating out and exercising — and I’m a petrol
head.
What are you pet hates?
Bad manners
What was the first single you ever bought?
Blondie – Parallel Lines.
If you could have dinner with three people,
dead or alive, who would they be and what
would you cook them?
Lorraine Kelly, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Olly
Murs. I’d cook an Indian buffet.
What is your favourite food?
I love both Chinese and Indian food.
How about your favourite film?
Double Jeopardy with Ashley Judd
Do you have a favouriteTV programme?
Programmes like Location Location Location – oh,
and Big Brother.
What are the best and worst parts of your job?
The best are the people I work with; I do work
with some really nice people and have a really
good supportive management team under me.
The worst part is the financial challenges we face.
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