Staff recruited to 'cut patient waiting times' at Lincolnshire hospitals

Medical Negligence Lincolnshire

THE recruitment of new staff to Lincolnshire hospitals is hoped to transform endoscopy services for patients.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) is transforming the way services are run to ensure they are as efficient as possible with patients always receiving good experiences of care and treatment.

The Transformation Programme aims to enhance the patient experience in many ways such as carrying out diagnostic tests at the weekend instead of just Monday to Friday, providing alternatives to accident and emergency for conditions that are not life-threatening, planning each patient’s care down to the day they can expect to leave hospital and improving the use of theatres therefore reducing waiting times.

Trainee nurse endoscopist Chloe Holly said: “This is a really exciting development for the department. I previously worked as an endoscopy nurse at Boston but to be able to develop my skills in this way is fantastic.

“The extra resource we will be bringing means we can provide an even more improved service for our patients.”

Work has been on-going behind the scenes over the last few months and results of the Transformation Programme are starting to be seen.

Many patients can now expect to have tests carried out in the endoscopy unit over the weekend or in the evening. So if they are admitted on a Friday they may no longer have to wait until Monday for a test.

To enable this to happen, three new endoscopy nurses and a GP have been recruited to extend the hours the service can be offered and provide weekend appointments.

Patients at Lincoln County Hospital, Boston Pilgrim Hospital, Grantham and District Hospital and Louth County Hospital will start to see a difference as the service begins to expand.

Patients will be able to return home more quickly, waiting times will be reduced and more beds will become free for those in need of care and treatment on the wards.

Endoscopy nurses have been undergoing further training at Hull University, with practical training in the trust’s departments.

Following this they will be able to carry out certain procedures themselves.

A GP who currently works within the team is set increase her work to enable the department to offer appointments over the weekend.

source: thisislincolnshire.co.uk

Portsmouth police car knocks down woman

Personal Injury Hampshire

A woman who was hit by a police car in Portsmouth has been seriously injured.

Hampshire Police said the 32-year-old pedestrian was injured just before 22:00 GMT on Sunday.

Police responding to a burglary were travelling along Eastern Road, close to the junction with Hayling Avenue.

The woman was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and police have cordoned off the scene of the accident. Officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

source: bbc.co.uk

University of Lincoln fined £10,000 for asbestos failings

Asbestos Claims

The University of Lincoln has been fined £10,000 after it admitted leaving students and staff at risk of exposure to asbestos.

The university failed to take adequate steps to tackle asbestos found in four of its buildings, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) heard.

Managers failed to follow their own asbestos management plan, between 2006 and 2010, the HSE was told.

Lincoln University said it had since made its buildings safe.

The failings came to light when a lecturer noticed "strange" dust around a broken door handle, in February 2010.

Policies 'updated'

Independent asbestos surveys carried out by the HSE identified the dangerous material in doors at four university buildings over several years but no remedial action had been taken.

Two members of the estate's management team have resigned since asbestos was found at Chad Varah House, Greestone Court, the Old Hall and Wordsworth Hall.

After the hearing at Lincoln Magistrates' Court, HSE inspector Edward Walker said: "Exposure to asbestos fibres is a well known health hazard that results in approximately 4,000 deaths a year.

"The university had an asbestos management plan but had failed to follow it and failed to take appropriate steps to manage the risks associated with asbestos over a number of years, putting staff, students and contractors at risk of potential exposure."

The University of Lincoln, which was was also ordered to pay £12,759 costs, said it had since updated and modernised its policies and procedures and all of its premises were now compliant with current regulations.

source: bbc.co.uk

Asbestos buried at Gloucester nature reserve by council contractor

Asbestos Claims

A COUNCIL contractor ignored the rules when deadly asbestos was buried on a city nature reserve.

Instead of disposing of the asbestos correctly, the Enterprise employee shoved it into the ground at Alney Island.

He has since been relieved of his position and the fibrous material was dug up.

Barry Leach, from Gloucester City Centre Community Partnership, said: "I am disappointed an employee feels cutting corners is the way to do things. I hope measures are put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Enterprise workers were called to the site in July after 20 travellers left tonnes of rubbish.

Among the waste was roof tiles from what is believed to be a garden shed. These contained asbestos.

Strict regulations surround the disposal of the substance, which is responsible for 4,000 deaths a year.

But although asbestos particles pose a serious risk to humans if inhaled, they do not pose a problem when in the ground.

It is still an offence to bury asbestos under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It must be sent to licenced dealers. When being dug up, it can release the dangerous fibres.

Unfortunate

Keith Rowe, general manager at Enterprise, said: "This is completely out of character, nothing like this has happened before. Procedures were not followed. It should have been bagged, collected, skipped and taken to a licensed asbestos disposal point.

"It is unfortunate they acted in this way. We have high standards and expertise in cleaning up and in Health and Safety. Once I knew what had happened we worked very swiftly to deal with the issue.

"We took action internally against the individuals for working outside the organisation's process."

It is not known when the tiles were buried, but they were removed last month.

The land is jointly-owned by both Gloucester City Council and the Environment Agency.

A spokesperson for the city council said: "The issue was quickly identified by our partner Enterprise and promptly and appropriately dealt with by them."

While a spokesperson for the Environment Agency added: "The matter was handled very quickly between Gloucester City Council and the contractor. As a landowner, we will be seeking confirmation that the asbestos was removed using the appropriate paper work and has been taken to a licenced site."

Steve Morgan, cabinet member for the environment, added: "Clearing up after travellers is a particularly unpleasant job. That does not condone what happened, but it brings home what we ask the Enterprise staff to do is often pretty unpleasant."

source: thisisgloucestershire.co.uk

Surgeon killed your husband, claims worker with a grudge

Medical Negligence London

A grieving widow told today how an NHS worker sent her a letter alleging her husband was deliberately killed during surgery.

Bernard Garcia underwent a routine heart operation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich but died unexpectedly after the procedure.

Less than a month later his widow, Linda Cook, received a letter which alleged that he died because of an "experiment" undertaken by the surgeon.

Following a year-long investigation, it was discovered that Mr Garcia died of a rare complication during the operation, and it is now being alleged that the author of the note made up the story because of a personal feud with the surgeon.

Ms Cook, 59, who retained her maiden name during her marriage, said she had found the time since her 74-year-old husband's death in May last year "unbearable", and the letter made it even harder to cope with the grief.

"Since Bernie died my health has deteriorated and I haven't been sleeping," said Ms Cook, an environmental health officer.

The letter, sent to the couple's Bexleyheath home, alleged that the doctor who had operated on Mr Garcia to insert a stent tube into a narrowing artery had deliberately perforated his heart. It read: "He experiments with human hearts to find out how long it takes to die when their heart is punctured."

A man connected to the hospital trust was arrested in June after police said they had matched his DNA to that found on the letter. No charge has been brought but Mr Garcia's family are pursuing a civil action.

source: thisislondon.co.uk