NHS Lothian – Page 65 – The NEN

Contracts signed for new Sick Kids hospital

Construction of a major new healthcare facility is set to start after the financial contracts were agreed yesterday. The new £150 million building will see services from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service brought together in a modern and high-quality setting at Little France.

Construction works will start over the next few weeks and the new building, which will adjoin the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, is expected to open in autumn 2017.

The six storey building (including basement) will have a large atrium with a shop and café, a stunning skylight linking both hospital entrances, a helipad on the roof and a link building adjoining adult and paediatric emergency departments.

It will also bring with it an increase in single rooms with ensuite facilities and a range of new technology.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “This is a momentous date for this project and I’m personally very pleased that work will soon be about to begin on the new co-located Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

“The new development brings paediatric care, specialist neonatal care, neurosciences and adult and children’s emergency departments all together in one place, making access to services much easier for patients and health professionals alike.

“The Scottish Government is investing over £2 billion in Scotland’s health infrastructure over the spending review period, with this development being one of many that demonstrate the Scottish Government’s commitment to continually improving health services. The investment in this development will ensure the hospital campus at Little France can continue to develop as a modern hub of research and medical practice.”

Susan Goldsmith, Finance Director, NHS Lothian said: “We are delighted to have reached this point and now look forward with anticipation to seeing the new facility taking shape over the coming years.

“This is an extremely exciting time in the proud history of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, along with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, which will find a high-quality new home at Little France from 2017.

“The building designs have been heavily influenced by staff, patients and families and, in addition to offering a modern, light and spacious environment, will also enhance the clinical services we deliver.”

Mark Bradshaw, IHS Lothian and Macquarie Capital said: “We are excited that construction will soon start on The Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences. This state-of-the-art facility will allow the delivery of quality healthcare services to the people of the Lothian region and beyond for decades to come.

“It has been a pleasure to partner with the Lothian NHS Board and the Scottish Futures Trust to develop an innovative and competitive financing structure that will ensure value for money over the next 25 years.”

Peter Reekie, Scottish Futures Trust, deputy chief executive and director of investments said: “This is a fantastic deal for NHS Lothian and its partners, bringing investment into the Lothians and allowing construction to start on a great new building which will support many hundreds of jobs as it is built.”

Some key features of the new facility include:

233 beds and 10 theatres. 154 beds in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, 67 beds in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and 12 beds in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.
11 beds will be added to the critical care department within the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
The specifically designed family hotel will mean that the experience for families whose child has to spend time in hospital is more homely.
Conjoined children’s and adult Emergency Departments will mean that the most appropriate services are available to teenagers who currently do not always fit well into either service.
Patients in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service suffering from physical illness and mental health problems will benefit from the immediate availability of both specialities.
The Department of Clinical Neurosciences will make neurology and neurosurgery available to all age groups on a single site, meaning potentially quicker treatment is available. One advantage will be that patients who present to the Emergency Department at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and who subsequently turn out to need neurosurgery will no longer need to be transferred to the Western General Hospital.
The most modern imaging equipment within the Department of Clinical Neurosciences along with its adjacency to the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic and the Clinical Research Imaging Centre will allow the Department of Clinical Neurosciences to further enhance its position as a leading clinical and academic neurosciences centre.

Scheme to identify harmful drinking goes citywide

A successful pilot scheme that helps frontline staff identify problem drinking amongst elderly people in the west of Edinburgh is set to be rolled out across the city.

An advice toolkit was drawn up after alcohol-related harm was identified as a significant concern amongst those aged 65 years and over and living in the Almond and Western Edinburgh areas of the city.

A report about the scheme will be made to members of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee when it meets on Tuesday (10 February).

Staff training and the toolkit, which includes a unit measuring glass, phone numbers and information leaflets, has been well received and it is anticipated that similar training may be received by Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and third sector partners in the future.

The scheme was created by the joint Almond and Western Edinburgh Neighbourhood Partnership Health and Community Care Sub-Group in collaboration with NHS Lothian who had concerns about drinking habits; these were supported by local health care partners and local GPs.

The next step is to roll the training programme out to third sector partners, equality groups and local businesses. Information sessions are also planned for GP surgeries, pharmacies, libraries and shopping centres.

Councillor Maureen Child, Communities and Neighbourhoods Convener, said: “Many elderly people enjoy the occasional tipple, and there is nothing wrong with that. This toolkit is aimed at those whose drinking habits are causing harm to their health and are in need of advice.

“Staff have been very positive about the pilot scheme and have welcomed the support it gives them to approach residents who may be struggling. It makes sense to roll it out to other areas of the city, and it’s fantastic that other organisations are also interested in using it.

“The health and well-being of our residents is the most important factor, especially with our ageing population. Anything that helps to reduce health inequalities should be welcomed.”

Lesley Taylor, Neighbourhood Support Service Manager for the Council, has taken part in the training. She works with vulnerable adults through the housing support service. Lesley said: “Our priority is to support the people we visit to make the best choices regarding their health and lifestyles. This toolkit has been extremely helpful by giving staff the confidence to talk to clients where there is a concern about their drinking habits. We’ve found that people are open to the advice and have been able to dispel some of the myths surrounding alcohol use.”

Eleanor McWhirter, NHS Lothian Lead in Alcohol Brief Interventions, said: “This pilot is a great example of community groups, NHS Health Promotion Service and the Council working together to promote the health and well being of the local population.

“It revealed that intervening early and focusing on the needs of local people can be effective in reducing alcohol consumption. We look forward to potentially expanding this work to other areas of the city.”

‘Simply unacceptable’: Western’s cleanliness standards slammed

Standards of cleanliness at The Western General Hospital have been severely criticized in a report (see below) by official watchdog The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI). NHS Lothian chiefs have said they have already acted to respond to concerns.

Chief Inspector Susan Brimelow said: “We carried out an unannounced inspection to the Western General Hospital on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 November 2014. Due to significant concerns about the cleanliness of patient equipment and the environment, we escalated our findings to senior management in the hospital.

“We requested that NHS Lothian take immediate action to address these issues and produce an improvement action plan. We returned unannounced on Thursday 27 November 2014 to assess progress against the improvement action plan and found that significant improvements had been made. NHS Lothian must address the requirements and make the necessary improvements as a matter of priority.”

In a full statement issued earlier today the HEI said:

We previously inspected the Western General Hospital in February 2013. That inspection resulted in four requirements and five recommendations. The inspection report is available on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website.

We carried out an unannounced inspection to the Western General Hospital on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 November 2014. Due to significant concerns about the cleanliness of patient equipment and environmental cleanliness within the Western General Hospital, we escalated our concerns to senior management in NHS Lothian on 18 November and then again on 19 November 2014. On ward 52/53, we also raised concerns about the lack of working macerators and the procedures in place to reduce the risk of cross-infection to patients, staff and visitors. Macerators break human waste down into slurry so it can be sluiced effectively. We requested that immediate action be taken on these issues and an improvement action plan produced to show how these issues would be rectified.

We returned unannounced on Thursday 27 November 2014 to assess progress against the improvement action plan at ward and departmental level. Significant improvements had been made although we still noted some issues with the cleanliness of patient equipment and the environment.

We assessed the hospital against the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) healthcare associated infection (HAI) standards and inspected the following areas:

ward 2 (oncology)
ward 4 (oncology)
ward 15 (winter ward)
ward 20 (ICU)
ward 26 (general medicine)
ward 27 (colorectal)
ward 43 (regional infectious diseases unit)
ward 50 (stroke unit), and
ward 52/53 (gastroenterology).

Overall, we found evidence that NHS Lothian is not complying with the NHS QIS HAI standards to protect patients, staff and visitors from the risk of acquiring and infection.

In particular we found:

the standard of cleanliness of the patient environment was poor
the standard of cleanliness of patient equipment was poor, and
a lack of appropriate risk assessments, for example for out-of-order macerators.

The report highlights areas of strength and weakness as well as areas for further improvement, including requirements and recommendations.

This inspection resulted in eight requirements and one recommendation.
NHS Lothian must address the requirements and make the necessary improvements within the stated timescales.

Responding to the report, Melanie Johnson, executive nurse director at NHS Lothian, said staff had acted on the inspectors’ findings as ‘a matter of urgency’.

Ms Johnson said: “We recognise that some standards were below those we would expect and I apologise to any patients who may have been affected. I would also like to reassure them that those areas have been rectified – since the first of the visits in November, immediate changes were put in place to address all areas that were singled out for improvement.

“A detailed action plan was drawn up and all points have been completed. Many of these significant improvements were proven during the subsequent unannounced visit by inspectors as is detailed in the report.”

Commenting on the ‘extremely disappointing’ findings, Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The report shows that standards have fallen well short of what the public and patients expect. The inspectors have uncovered simply unacceptable levels of cleanliness and infection control in certain wards, and I will be meeting the chair of NHS Lothian to reiterate my desire to see standards immediately improve. The improvement plan in place must be delivered urgently.”

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Health and social care integration plans unveiled

Edinburgh’s health and social care chiefs have unveiled details of how they will strengthen ties and improve people’s well-being through the integration of services.

Both organisations must integrate the planning and delivery of certain services through legislation set out by the Scottish Government relating to all Scottish local authorities.

Integrating adult health and social care services will allow the City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian to:

Train and support staff to work together to meet people’s needs;
Improve health and reduce inequalities;
Give communities an active role in designing and delivering services;
Use shared resources in the most cost-effective way.

A Draft Integration Scheme will set out how the agencies will work together to deliver services through what will be known as a new organisation, the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board. A Shadow Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership Board has been operating since 2012.

A report recommending that the draft is approved to go forward for consultation will be considered by members of the Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee on 20 January.

A targeted and extensive consultation plan on the draft with relevant organisations and the public will run until 20 February, with the results set to be submitted to the Scottish Government for approval by 31 March.

Councillor Ricky Henderson, Health and Social Care Convener for the Council, said: “These are exciting plans and are the start of a new phase of development for health and social care in Edinburgh. I am confident that they will lead to an improved and more targeted service for everyone who needs it.

“It’s important to recognise that health and social care staff from the NHS and Council already work together very effectively to deliver integrated services, and the details will build on what is a very solid foundation.

“It’s vital that we engage with all the relevant groups so that everyone has the chance to have their say on how integration should work. They will be at the heart of the scheme’s decision making process and together we can shape a more streamlined service which will lead to improved health for citizens.”

Professor Alex McMahon, Director of Strategic Planning, Performance Reporting and Information, NHS Lothian, said: “We welcome and support these proposals on the integration of health and social care services for adults in Edinburgh.

“Having worked closely with our partners at the City of Edinburgh Council to develop this joint plan, this new approach will build on the integrated work and good relationships which already exist between health and social care colleagues and services.

“We look forward to continuing to work together on the development of these important proposals as we move forward.”

More money for Scotland’s health boards

NHS in Scotland to receive additional £65 million

The Scottish Government has today announced that an extra £65m will be made available to NHS in the next financial year. The funding boost for 2015/16 will ensure that all health boards will receive uplifts next year which are at least 1% above the rate of inflation.

This will bring all health boards to within one per cent of parity under the NHS funding formula, NRAC, a year earlier than planned.

Health Secretary Shona Robison (pictured above) said the funding increase demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to protecting the NHS. She said: “This Government has not only protected the NHS budget, but increased it.

“Our NHS services faces challenges as a result of the increase in patients, with more complex illnesses, and the rising costs of expensive new drugs.

“This £65m additional investment increases the resources available to health boards will help alleviate these pressures and ensure our NHS can continue to deliver effective and sustainable care to all patients across Scotland.”

“We’re clear that all patients in Scotland should be treated as quickly and as effectively as possible, with the right care, in the right place, at the right time. With this increase in funding, health boards are being given more support to achieve this.

“Despite Scotland’s fiscal resource budget being slashed in real terms by 10 per cent by Westminster since 2010, we’ve increased the health resource budget by 4.6 per cent in real terms.”

Health Boards publish holiday A & E figures

More than 90% of Lothian A & E patients seen within four hours

Scotland’s core accident and emergency departments saw 88.8 per cent of patients within four hours over the challenging Christmas and New Year period. NHS Lothian outperformed the national average, recording a 93.4% figure.

The figures which have been reported to the Government by NHS boards, outline performance at A&E departments between December 22 to January 4.

Boards have also reported one of the key challenges over this period has been the number of admissions to hospital, reflecting the fact that more seriously ill people are presenting at A&E.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said:

“The winter months bring increased pressure on the heath service and these figures show that this year’s Christmas period was a particularly challenging time for our A&E services and across our NHS.

“It is clear we must improve our performance – both in winter and year round – which is why we’ll go on increasing investment, improving systems and protecting staffing levels.

“Health board staff across Scotland have been working extremely hard to meet this demand and ensure long waits in A&E are minimised – and for this they have our thanks.

“However, across many health boards, delayed discharge is having a significant impact on the flow of patients through hospital and boards have informed us there has been an increase in seriously ill people presenting at A&E, who need admitted to hospital.

“I have already stated that reducing delayed discharge is a top priority for this government and we are continuing to work with health boards and local authorities to ensure effective co-ordination so that these patients, who are often very frail, can either get home or into a homely setting as quickly as possible.

“While we have significantly reduced by two-thirds the number of patients who are delayed for longer than four weeks, we recognise that we must go further to ensure all patients are safely discharged as quickly as possible when they’re judged clinically fit enough.

“To help deliver this we’ve already legislated for the integration of health and social care from this April.

“Of course, more must be done to deliver sustainable change and we are working with partners to make sure this happens.

“We have also recently made £28 million available to support boards experiencing an increase in demand over the winter and ensure local plans are in place across Scotland, supported by this extra investment.

“This investment is enabling the creation of an extra 200 intermediate care beds across Scotland, expanding community capacity substantially. That means fewer people will be unnecessarily delayed in hospital, freeing up beds and easing the pressure on A&E.”

NHS England and NHS Scotland A&E core site/Type 1 performance Christmas period figures are:

4 Hour A&E Performance:

Country (2 Weeks Ending the 4th January 2015)

England (Type One Sites) 82.8%

Scotland (Core Sites) 88.8%

NHS Scotland A&E core site Performance Christmas period (unvalidated) figures are:

Scotland NHS Boards (Core Sites) – 2 Weeks Ending the 4th January 2015

Ayrshire & Arran 89.6%

Borders 89.0%

Dumfries & Galloway 96.3%

Fife 87.3%

Forth Valley 83.1%

Grampian 90.6%

Greater Glasgow & Clyde 82.6%

Highland 95.9%

Lanarkshire 89.4%

Lothian 93.4%

Shetland 97.5%

Tayside 98.1%

Western Isles 99.2%

Scotland (Core Sites) 88.8%

Seasonal health advice from NHS Lothian

Holiday Health Advice

Check you have cold and flu remedies

Many children and adults pick up common winter ailments such as a cold or flu-like illness. These can often be effectively treated at home with readily available medicine. Parents are reminded to restock their medicine cabinet with remedies suitable for children.

Use your local pharmacy

Your local pharmacy is an accessible resource for you and your family. Your pharmacist can offer advice or help if you have run out of any prescribed medication. You can also collect medicine for minor ailments or illnesses.

Make sure you have repeat prescriptions. Only order what you need and pick it up in plenty of time.

If you, or someone you care for, require medicines regularly, check that you have enough and if you need more remember to order and collect repeat prescriptions in good time to ensure you or your family have enough medicine to last over the Christmas holiday period. Only order what you need.

Know when your GP surgery will be open

Your local doctor’s surgery will be open on Wednesday December 24^th and will then reopen on Monday 29th December. This means there are four days when it is closed – Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Saturday 27^th and Sunday 28^th.

Doctors Surgeries will follow normal opening hours on Wednesday 31 December and will then reopen on Monday 5 January.

Have you heard about Healthy Start?

Healthy Start is a food and vitamin scheme scheme for families on low income (families on income support or Child Tax Credit recipients with household income less than £16,190). Pregnant women under 18 years old are also eligible, regardless of income.

Vouchers can be spent on fruit, veg, milk or formula feed. Supermarkets and many local shops and food coops accept them. They are worth up to £899 (if eligible all the way through from week 10 of pregnancy to 4th birthday).

A quarter of eligible families don’t currently receive vouchers so it’s worth checking your entitlement. Ask your midwife, health visitor or GP practice.

Watch a video about the vouchers here: http://vimeo.com/m/102126052

Check eligibility on website: http://www.healthystart.nhs.uk

Thanks to our friends at Dads Rock for passing on this information

NHS Lothian launches six-year plan for children’s services

Health and wellbeing services for children and young people in Lothian are set to be strengthened with the launch of a pioneering new strategy.

NHS Lothian’s Children and Young People’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which sets out a clear vision, principles and approach to services over the next six years, was unveiled by Aileen Campbell, Minister for Children and Young People at a conference organised by NHS Lothian last week.

The document sets out NHS Lothian’s vision and is the road map for reducing inequalities and improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people in Lothian.

Tim Davison, Chief Executive, NHS Lothian, said: “This strategy is crucial to children’s and young people’s services. It will underpin all the work we do over the next six years and will help to transform services to ensure that the interests and health of children are at the forefront of everything we do.”

The document outlines how the health board will work with children, young people, their families, public, the voluntary sector and local authorities, to improve the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Sally Egan, Associate Director and Child Health Commissioner, NHS Lothian said: “Every child should have the best start in life and grow up being healthy, safe, confident and resilient. This new strategy puts children and young people at the centre of their care and makes it clear who is responsible for their welfare.

“It comes at a time when we are forming closer working relationships with local authorities to fully integrate health and social care and are also looking ahead to the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children (pictured above).”

Created with the help and input of children and young people and supported by the Children’s Parliament, the ambitious strategy is based around the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and underpins the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

It aims to tackle three key issues; how NHS Lothian engages with children and young people in their care and treatment, ensuring the health board recognises how children and young people feel, and improving access to health information and health services, which were all highlighted by children and young people during the extensive consultation period.

The strategy sets out plans to:

· Involve children, young people and their families in decisions that affect their health and wellbeing

· Improve the range and quality of healthcare services for children and young people

· Reduce the impact of social circumstances on health

· Ensure disabled children and young people will have their additional needs met

· Increase staff understanding of the needs of the younger population.

Minister for Children and Young People, Aileen Campbell said: “I’m delighted to help launch this ambitious new strategy. This successfully builds on the NHS services already in place, with a renewed focus on children’s rights and wellbeing to help ensure they and their families can get access to the right help at the right time.

“The Scottish Government’s aspiration is for Scotland to be the best place to grow up and this type of pioneering work will make a real difference to the lives of our children and young people, and ensure they have the best possible start in life.”

NHS Lothian launches six-year plan for children's services