5 4 Waiting time screens, digital clocks for intensive care patients and a blood desensitisation clinic are just three new projects to receive funding from the Royal Free Charity in its latest funding round. The charity invited RFL staff to apply for grants to improve the experience of patients. Twelve applications – ranging from £911 to £10,000 – were approved, supporting enhancements driven by frontline insight. One grant will fund digital waiting time screens in North Mid’s radiotherapy department to provide real-time updates for patients having scans. By improving communication, the screens will help ease anxiety and support staff, benefiting more than 1,300 patients each year. Brishna Mohammad, a radiotherapy quality manager and the project’s lead, said: “This grant will enable us to provide our patients with clear, up-to-date information, directly supporting improvement in their cancer treatment. We are extremely thankful for this opportunity.” Other grants awarded include music therapy tools and sensory resources for dementia patients. The funding will also enable the launch of a blood desensitisation clinic to support patients with learning disabilities who have extreme needle phobia. People living with axial spondyloarthritis will also benefit as money has been awarded to run patient events. Applications were assessed by a panel of clinicians and patient representatives. Warren Sims, a panel member, said: “Staff identified very real challenges facing patients and proposed solutions that were rooted in daily experience. The quality of applications was impressive – each addressed issues that patients had identified themselves.” I felt everyone should have the benefit of support “ “ Charity backs staff ideas for patient care Patients across the RFL are benefitting from the opportunity to take part in a number of exciting new research opportunities. Having the ability to recruit more patients on to studies as a result of the merger makes the trust an even more attractive prospect for national and international trials. Two trials opening shortly at BH, North Mid and RFH are EASY CARE, a new sampling technique for detecting womb cancer, and EVITA, the first cross-site paediatrics trial, which will examine the effectiveness of different asthma drugs. Dr Charlotte Clements, a paediatric emergency medicine consultant based at North Mid and overall trust principal investigator for the EVITA trial, said: “All three medications are already available in the NHS for treating severe acute asthma and the study is trying to determine the most effective option clinically and in terms of cost.” The aim is to recruit 18 children at each hospital. Dr Clements added: “Taking part in this study strengthens the RFL’s reputation as a centre for excellence for the delivery of paediatric care and will hopefully lead to further research opportunities.” Triple the opportunity for research A new test for womb cancer will seek to recruit 1,500 women from the RFL, with 500 each from BH, RFH and North Mid. Due to open in early February, the EASY CARE study will compare a new swab test – which detects a different type of DNA secreted by the tumour – with the current test, a transvaginal ultrasound. The potentially faster, more sensitive and less invasive test could be a game changer for early diagnosis. If the swab highlights something that the scan does not pick up on, further investigation will be arranged. Dr Maria Memtsa, early pregnancy and gynaecological scanning consultant and principal investigator for the trial, said: “It is fantastic to be able to offer this cutting-edge research to our patients.” Dr Charlotte Clements Brishna Mohammad, radiotherapy quality manager L-R: Dr Maria Memtsa, early pregnancy and gynaecological scanning consultant, and Gemma Gluckman, bereavement midwife The early pregnancy loss support clinic at RFH has been running for three years this February, and such is its impact that the plan is to extend the clinic’s scope to include patients whose early pregnancy loss was treated at BH, and ultimately at North Mid. The motivation behind the clinic came partly as a result of a patient’s own experience of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. She was unaware of her pregnancy and had to have life-saving surgery, during which her fallopian tube had to be removed. Dr Maria Memtsa, a gynaecological consultant and expert in early pregnancy and gynaecological scanning, was contacted by the woman a few weeks later after her surgery. Maria performed a scan to reassure her and took time to answer her questions. The positive impact of this appointment on the patient was so profound that it stuck with Maria. At the same time, Maria was leading a group of international experts in early pregnancy care about developing future research priorities in ectopic pregnancy. “Today I’ve made a real difference” She said: “The work included hearing from service users as well as health care professionals and a common theme from women who responded to our survey was they wanted follow-up care.” This chimed with what Gemma Gluckman, the RFH bereavement midwife, was experiencing. Her involvement with early pregnancy loss patients and their partners had previously only occurred if they had chosen to have a hospital-arranged funeral. Gemma would then contact them offering additional support. She said: “I felt everyone should have the benefit of support, not just people who had opted for a funeral.” Patients who have experienced an early pregnancy loss are routinely called three weeks after the event by a nurse to check on their wellbeing. This call now includes the offer to attend this dedicated early pregnancy loss support clinic three weeks later. During the appointment, Maria and Gemma revisit the events surrounding the recent loss and patients are offered a transvaginal scan as well as pre-conception or contraceptive advice. In addition, patients can be signposted back to their GP for specialist care if needed. Data collected over the last three years shows a significant reduction in anxiety amongst patients before and after the consultation. The clinic has also received numerous positive comments via the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). Maria said: “The consultation and scan give our patients an extra level of reassurance, while also providing some closure and planning for the future. At the time of booking the appointment, the patients are encouraged by the nurse to bring any questions with them to help get the most out of the session. “For me, the clinic gives the immense satisfaction of knowing that today I’ve made a real difference.”
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