In the Press

This article was written by Lucy Richardson, and appeared in the Borthern Echo on 11th January 2015. The original article can be viewed at www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/11716418.Hundreds_march_against_NHS_services_cut_at_Hartlepool_Hospital/

HUNDREDS of demonstrators showed their opposition against cuts to NHS services at Hartlepool Hospital by taking part in a protest march.

Armed with placards and boosted by honks of support from passing traffic, the wintry conditions did not deter people of all ages, including Hartlepool MP, Iain Wright, from walking from Seaton Carew to the rear of the hospital on Saturday.

The rally was organised by Sue Little who launched a Facebook campaign urging local people to unite over the downgrading of their hospital.

In recent years acute medical and surgical services, including its Accident and Emergency department, have been transferred to the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton by the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.

Health bosses argued this was needed to maintain and improve the safety and quality of hospital-based care.

More than 1,000 people indicated they intended to stand alongside Mrs Little and, as she clapped to welcome them in at the end of the two-hour march, she said she was overwhelmed by the response.

“I am absolutely over the moon. I started the campaign because there’s not a big enough forum in this town to help all these people. We want A&E, maternity and the children’s ward brought back," she said.

"The trust said the issue is over safety but where is the safety of people in Hartlepool being considered in all this,” added Mrs Little, 41, from Seaton Carew, who met with trust deputy chief executive, Julie Gillon, and director of nursing, Cath Siddle, following the protest.

Amanda Corbett, a specialist nurse at Hartlepool Hospital who took part in the event, said: “I feel for my patients. I think they should keep up the pressure."

"I am passionate about this because people in villages who don’t drive are having to take three buses to North Tees in Stockton and three to James Cook in Middlesbrough, our elderly and disabled residents just can’t manage," added former Peterlee town mayor Mary Cartwright who now sits on Peterlee Town Council as the first member of the North-East Party win a council seat.

Medical director for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust Dr David Emerton, who is also a consultant in accident and emergency, said: “We totally respect people’s right to protest about issues which concern them.

“However we would like to emphasise that the centralisation of services at the University Hospital of North Tees was driven by our clinicians, is fully supported by our commissioners and was done purely for reasons of safety and quality.

“What was acceptable in terms of clinical practice in the health service ten or even five years ago is no longer acceptable because medicine has moved on. We have to ensure our services can meet the higher standards now expected.”

The following article was published on the BBC news website on 23rd October 2014 and is accessible via www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-29743091

The development of a £300m "super-hospital" on Teesside has been put on hold until after the general election.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust says it is unlikely to get the "political support" to complete the development before the 2015 vote.

Chief executive Alan Foster said: "Any new government is likely to review all new developments (causing) further delay."

Stockton MP James Wharton welcomed the suspension.

The trust had been proposing to replace hospitals in Hartlepool and Stockton with the new development, but Mr Wharton said his own survey of 2,673 people found 76% were opposed to the move.

'Inevitable delay'

Mr Wharton said: "This is a suspension rather than cancellation but the trust now needs to turn its attention to North Tees (hospital in Stockton) and the investment it needs.

"The trust should immediately start planning to use some of the hundreds of millions it had earmarked for Wynyard on North Tees so that local people get the care they deserve."

Mr Foster said: "The new hospital is a fundamental part of our strategy for the 21st Century.

"However a general election is now looming and the board recognises that any new government is likely to review all new developments in the light of its own priorities.

"As a result, there will inevitably be further delay in the completion of a new hospital.

"The board has therefore decided to pause the development work on the new hospital."

Mr Foster said the trust would speak to staff and the public about ways of delivering "more care closer to home" while improving the "safety and quality" of its hospitals.

Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson tweeted: "North Tees and Hartlepool Trust pause the future of the new hospital as a result of government indecision and lack of commitment to the North East."

The following article appeared in the Hartlepool Mail on the 13th October 2014. The original article is available at http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/health/local-health/health-chief-s-urge-hartlepool-patients-to-get-their-flu-jab-1-6892736

PEOPLE are being urged to keep themselves safe from flu by having an annual jab. 

Public Health England’s national seasonal flu campaign launches today, and encourages the uptake of the influenza vaccine among the most at-risk groups in the North-East.

The campaign targets people of all ages with a health condition, pregnant women and parents of children aged two to four.

People with flu are approximately 11 times more likely to die if they have an underlying health condition than if they don’t.

Despite this, only 52 per cent of people in England, aged six months to 65 years, living with an underlying condition, putting them at risk of severe infection, took up the offer of the free flu vaccine during 2013-14.

Louise Wallace, Hartlepool’s director of Public Health, said: “The vaccine changes every year to fight the latest strains of flu, so even if you had a jab last winter you still need another one this year to stay safe from catching flu.

“Flu isn’t just a cold. For some people it can be a very serious illness, and it doesn’t just affect those who are older.

“The flu jab is safe and it can’t give you flu.

“It’s particularly important that children with serious underlying conditions get the flu jab as they are at higher risk of complications of flu.”

The following article appeared in the Hartlepool Mail on the 4th October 2014, and on the Hartlepool Mail website on the 7th October 2014. Written by Tracy Walker, the original article is available at www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/retired-teacher-compiles-booklet-to-help-those-tackling-dementia-1-6882475

A RETIRED teacher has compiled a booklet to help those who support people with mental illness. 

Hartlepool woman Liz Fletcher has put together a 12-page leaflet called Caring For People With Dementia.

The free booklet, which has been sponsored by the town’s Wharton Annexe, offers help and advice for carers of people who have suffered from dementia and memory loss.

Liz, who taught at the town’s King Oswy and then Henry Smith School, and also High Tunstall 
School, said the book is in “simple language” and 
helps signpost them to services.

She said the inspiration behind the book was “triggered by personal loss” after she witnessed first-hand the effects of dementia, as her mum passed away after a five-year battle with the illness.

Liz had also visited people in care homes suffering from the condition.

It offers simple advice, including to buy a replacement key and to keep it safe, to stop dementia sufferers from wandering the streets at night.

She said: “Many years ago my mother died from dementia.
“My father decided he was going to keep her at home.

“I saw the effect it had on him.

“During the day, when there were lots of people around, it wasn’t so bad.

“But it’s at night, when they have to close the door and lock it.

“They have got to keep the key with them as sufferers of memory loss can find the key and end up wandering the streets.

“It’s about keeping the sufferer safe.

“I wanted to alleviate things a bit with some ideas, and also signpost them to services to show they are not alone.”

Liz thanked Hartlepool Healthwatch members, Gretton Court, and Atkinson Print for their support in producing the leaflet.

The book was launched during an event at Wharton Annexe to mark International Day of the Older Person.

This included a coffee morning, tombola, and stalls ran by Hartlepool Carers, Hartlepool Healthwatch and Greatham Hospital of God, as well as refreshments.

Teresa Driver, youth and community co-ordinator at the Annexe, said around 50 people attended and added that it was a good way to promote the booklet.

The event also raised funds for a trip for the young people of the Annexe.

The book is available from Hartlepool Voluntary 
Development Agency (HVDA), and there are plans to make 
it available in doctor’s 
surgeries.

In recent Hartlepool Healthwatch columns I have talked about the Hospital Discharge Project we are currently working on. Our dedicated volunteers continue to gather information. Our next fact finding visits are to the Hartlepool Community Therapy Team and Hartlepool Holdforth Unit. In order to actively involve Hartlepool patients in this project a 'Patient Experience' questionnaire will be distributed to wards at both the University Hospital of Hartlepool and the University Hospital of North Tees. Healthwatch England is also conducting a special enquiry on discharge and Hartlepool Healthwatch has been asked to provide information from their project to contribute to this regional piece of work. This will provide people with a stronger voice about both the positive and negative aspects of the discharges procedure and inform recommendations to improve the process for patients nationally.

Last month I talked about our AGM which is to be held on Tuesday 17 June at Hartlepool College of Further Education. The AGM will be preceded by a special event which will focus on heart conditions - this will take place between 10.00am and 12.30pm. Registration will begin at 9.00am and there will be an opportunity to look at various trade stands. The formal meeting commences at 1.30pm when I will welcome everyone then Dr Boleslaw Posmyk (Chair of Hartlepool and Stockton Clinical Commissioning Group) will talk about the NHS 'Call to Action' consultation and then take questions and discuss with the audience. At 2.30pm the Healthwatch Executive Committee (the governing body of the organisation) elections will take place and the meeting will close at 3.30pm. There are ten positions on the Executive:- Chair, Vice-Chair and someone to represent each of the following groups:- Primary Health; Social Care; Acute Care; Elder Persons; Children & Young People; Mental Health; Disability and Life Long Conditions.

We aim to be a consumer champion and need your support. We are independent, transparent and accountable, have the strength of the law and the national influence of Healthwatch England behind us. The six functions of Hartlepool Healthwatch are:
• Gathering views and understanding the experiences of patients and the public
• Making people's views known by communicationg with relevant local services
• Promote and support the involvement of people in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of local care services
• Recommend investigation or special review of services via Healthwatch England or directly to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• Provide advice and information (signposting) about access to services and support for making informed choices
• Make the views and experiences of people known to Healthwatch England (and other Hartlepool organisations) and provide a steer to help it carry out its role as national champion
If you would like to be considered for any of the positions on the Executive Committee you will need to complete a Nomination Form (including the name and address of both a Proposer and Seconder) - these are available from Healthwatch (HVDA, 36 Victoria Road) and must be returned by noon on Friday 13 June.

Please come along and find out more, you will be warmly welcomed.

Tuesday 17 June 2014 is an important and busy day for Healthwatch Hartlepool.

In the morning we are facilitating a health seminar about heart conditions in Hartlepool College of Further Education. The aim of the seminar is to raise awareness of the causes of, and treatments for, heart disease. Representatives from clinical support services will be on hand to offer advice and guidance to the public about issues related to heart conditions. Some of the many organisations attending are British Heart Foundation, Community Stroke Team, Health Trainers, Smoking Cessation Service, The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service. Members of the public will have the opportunity to take advantage of having a free blood pressure check carried out by a qualified nurse. There will be two speakers giving presentations about heart conditions.

In the afternoon Healthwatch are holding their 2014 Annual General meeting (AGM). This will offer the public the chance to learn about the way Healthwatch operates and the work members have completed during the past year, for example the Transport Project (which looked at the public transport services to and from North Tees Hospital from various locations in the town), The Substitute Prescribing Report (looking at the supervised consumption of methadone in pharmacies), Domiciliary Care Report (looking at the care received at home from contracted care providers). We have been asked to comment on the North Tees and Hartlepool Hospital Trust Quality Account. The AGM will also elect the Healthwatch Executive which comprises ten members who represent the broad areas of the work of Healthwatch, including primary care (GPs); secondary care (hospital, community services), mental health, long term conditions. Over the coming year Healthwatch will be working to establish itself as a stand alone organisation with its own Board and the Executive will oversee this transition, leading to taking over full responsibility for all aspects of running this important service from HVDA who are currently commissioned to do so.

Also, at the AGM the findings of the NHS Call to Action – Listening to the Seldom Heard will be reported – Healthwatch Hartlepool have invited representatives of the groups that took part in this consultation to attend.

Members of the public wishing to attend either, or both, events can turn up on the day or preferably, book a place by contacting Tony Leighton, Public Engagement Officer on 01429 262641 or email tony@healthwatchhartlepool.co.uk Please come along where you will be warmly welcomed.'