Governors’ update 11 Spotlight on research and education Groundbreaking research and education took centre stage at this year’s RFL annual members’ meeting, held at the RFH. Members of the public, as well as staff and patients, heard from Professor Alan Salama, consultant nephrologist, and Nicole Matthew, a RFH patient. They discussed how Alan’s research into a vaccine that protects kidney transplant patients against urinary tract infections (UTI) has made a big difference to Nicole’s life. Shortly after receiving her new kidney, Nicole began experiencing recurrent UTIs. This led to her being admitted to intensive care. Sneha discussed how the Council of Governors had carried out their statutory duties and also shared their highlights of the year, including helping to develop the trust’s new public website and welcoming eight new governors to the council. Mark reflected on the challenges the trust faced. He said: “There’s been a huge demand for our services; we’re receiving almost 50,000 suspected cancer referrals each year, which is the largest in London; and our emergency departments and urgent treatment centres continue to be extremely busy. “However, staff from every corner of our organisation have responded magnificently. I would like to say thank you to them for their incredible work and dedication.” Peter and Mark also reflected on the civil unrest across the country over the summer. “These events strengthen our resolve to ensure that our hospitals are welcoming places for everyone,” Peter said. Discussing the trust’s new five-year clinical vision, Peter added: “We’ve done a lot of thinking on our future direction of travel as an organisation and earlier this year we launched our clinical strategy – an ambitious plan which will support our staff to deliver the very best of the NHS. “It is designed with the needs of our local populations in mind to ensure we deliver the best possible health outcomes.” The final message from the speakers was one of appreciation for the trust’s staff. Peter said: “We have fantastic equipment and amazing developments, but none of it would be possible without our staff – they are the life blood of the Royal Free London.” L-R: Speakers included Nicole Matthew, RFH patient and Satianand Groodoyal, endoscopy nurse L-R: Sneha Bedi, patient governor and lead governor, Alison Moore, appointed governor for Barnet Council and Sean Baine, public governor After joining the research trial last year, the number of UTIs Nicole contracted dropped significantly from six each year to only one or two. Nicole told the audience: “My quality of life has improved immensely. I had accepted I’d be in and out of hospital for treatment, but since being vaccinated, it’s just not the case.” Attendees also had the opportunity to hear first-hand about how the trust’s apprenticeship programme is benefiting staff. Satianand Groodoyal, an endoscopy nurse, shared his inspiring journey from healthcare assistant to registered nurse. The event was chaired by lead governor Sneha Bedi who was joined by group chair Mark Lam, and group chief executive, Peter Landstrom. My quality of life improved immensely “ “
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