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PROPOSED NEW HOSPITAL FOR MOORFIELDS

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is proposing to develop a new centre for eye care, research and training.

Subject to consultation, the new centre would take around six years to complete and would replace the current services at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in City Road. The development is known as "Oriel" and you can find further information by visiting:

https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/landing-page/oriel.

The commissioners of the services at Moorfields Eye Hospital are consulting patients, public, staff and stakeholders. There will be a consultation process starting in late spring, but views and feedback are being gathered now to inform proposals.

There will be a public consultation on the proposal later this year. There are a number of Oriel discussion groups during March and April 2019 in Camden, Dartford, Ealing, Hemel Hempstead, Islington, Milton Keynes, Stratford and Waterloo.

If you have any questions please contact the communications team at moorfields.oriel@nhs.net.

For other ways to have your say, or for a large print pain text version, please visit www.moorfields.nhs.uk/oriel or contact Moorfields on 020 7521 4684.

For more information contact elliott.spiteri@nhs.net.


Local NHS raises awareness of good nutrition and hydration for wellbeing

11/3/19  NHS Southend and NHS Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) are supporting a national campaign to raise awareness of the importance of good nutrition and hydration care.

Nutrition and Hydration Week runs from 11-17 March and is a campaign of joint action by Hospital Caterers Association, National Association of Care Catering and NHS England to improve awareness of good nutrition and hydration for patients in health and social care.

In the UK at any one time, there are an estimated three million malnourished people, with many more at risk. Around one in three people admitted to hospital or care homes in the UK are found to be malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. Malnutrition is caused by having an inadequate diet or a problem absorbing nutrients from food. To aid identification of the condition, carers can look out for common signs which include:

unexplained weight loss ,  feeling tired all the time and lacking energy,  frequent and long-lasting infections, delayed wound healing, poor concentration, difficulty keeping warm, depression.

There are many reasons why generally healthy people can become malnourished, including reduced mobility or dexterity, poor dental health, or financial difficulties. Some health conditions or treatments can cause problems with the mouth or with swallowing, which can affect eating and, even, drinking – adding the risk of dehydration. To encourage people to eat and drink:

Encourage the person to eat and drink with others

Use a favourite cup and plate

Take smaller meals and drinks more often

Try different foods, particularly those that contain fluids. For example, fruit and vegetables, soup, breakfast cereal with milk, yogurt, jelly, ice-cream and sauces.

If dry mouth is a problem, the following may also help: suck on ice; use mouth moisturising gels, chew sugar free gum and high fluoride toothpaste; and clean the mouth frequently.

There is evidence that poor nutrition and hydration can harm patients’ health and wellbeing, reduce their ability to recover and even lead to death. Poor and inconsistent practice in nutrition and hydration care can also lead to serious and avoidable harm.

Tricia D’Orsi, Chief Nurse and Interim Accountable Officer said: “Nutrition and Hydration Week continues to grow each year with more and more organisations taking part across all care settings. The week is all about raising awareness around the vital need for good nutrition and hydration and recognising we all have a role to play in improving the health and well-being for ourselves and those in our care.”

For more information contact elliott.spiteri@nhs.net


Local NHS supports ‘Cervical Screening Saves Lives’ campaign

Your local NHS is supporting Public Health England’s (PHE) new national campaign launching on Tuesday 5 March to encourage all eligible women to go to their cervical screening and protect themselves against the risk of cervical cancer.

In the NHS Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area 76.7% of women invited attend for cervical screening (England 71.7%) and in the NHS Southend CCG area just 70.6% of women invited attend for cervical screening (England 71.7%). The national target is 80%.

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme has made a significant impact on cervical cancer mortality since it was established in 1988, saving an estimated 5,000 lives a year.

Latest figures show 1 in 142 UK females will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in their lifetime and that 99.8% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are preventable - with 21% of cervical cancer cases in the UK caused by smoking.

There are around 3,200 new cervical cancer cases in the UK every year, that's nearly 9 every day (2013-2015). In females in the UK, cervical cancer is the 14th most common cancer, with around 3,100 new cases in 2015. Over the last decade, cervical cancer incidence rates have increased by a twentieth (5%) in females in the UK. When diagnosed at its earliest stage, around 95% of women with cervical cancer will survive their disease for five years or more, compared with 5 in 100 of women when diagnosed at the latest stage.

The campaign is call to action for all women to attend for cervical screening when invited, as it could literally save lives. It is estimated that in a well screened population, four out of five cervical cancers can be prevented.

Tricia D’Orsi, NHS Castle Point and Rochford and NHS Southend CCG Interim Accountable Officer and Chief Nurse said: “The best way of significantly reducing your risk of developing cervical cancer is to attend for regular cervical cancer screening, also known as smear tests, when invited. I would strongly encourage all women, particularly those who have just been invited for screening for the first time, to see it as a positive step.

“A screening test is not a test for diagnosing cervical cancer. It is a test to check the health of the cervix. Regular screening tests are the best way of detecting early changes in the cells of the cervix that don’t cause any symptoms and could go on to develop into cervical cancer if left untreated.”

“This is one of the few cancers that is preventable so it is important for women to get screened when they are invited to do so – it could literally save their life. The test only takes a few minutes and can be carried out by a female doctor or nurse if you prefer.  Women of any age who are concerned about symptoms such as abnormal bleeding or pain or discomfort in the lower pelvis should seek advice from their GP.”

The screening programme is offered to women aged 25-49 every three years, and 50-64 year olds every five years. Women under 25 could be invited up to 6 months before their 25th birthday. You can book your screening appointment as soon as you get the invitation.

Women who haven't had a cervical screening test within the appropriate time, may be offered one when they next visit their GP or family planning clinic. They can also contact their GP practice to book a screening appointment if overdue one.

Do ensure the GP has correct name and address details, and let them know of any changes so contact can be made if a screening test is due.

To find out more about the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, ask your GP or Practice Nurse.

To find out more about cervical screening visit:   https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening/

For more information, please contact elliott.spiteri@nhs.net.

Health technology improves outcomes for care home residents

25/1/19

Care home residents in Southend are benefitting from new technology, supplied by the local NHS, that means care home staff can play a key role monitoring the health of residents to improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable and distressing trips to hospital.

The health technology has been commissioned by Southend Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) as a pilot scheme, for a 12 month period. The scheme is currently running across eighteen residential care homes in Southend.

The health technology consists of a portable handheld device that connects to Bluebooth medical appliances, such as weighing scales, blood pressure monitors, oximeters and thermometers, it enables care home staff to record and monitor a resident’s key health indicators easily and more efficiently. If health data readings are outside of the usual parameters set for a particular resident, an alert will automatically be raised on the system. The findings will then be clinically triaged by an experienced team of nurses.

Care home staff are then advised on the best action to take. This enables healthcare professionals to intervene at a much earlier stage and it lowers the risk of them becoming so unwell, they require a hospital admission.

For example, if a reading shows an increase in a resident’s temperature it can indicate the start of an infection, but this health technology can provide a much earlier identification of potential health issues; this is particularly helpful for residents with dementia who may not be able to describe their symptoms clearly.

The health data collected for each resident can also be shared securely with other healthcare professionals involved in the residents’ care, such as the Out of Hours GP service or NHS 111. This is very useful should a resident fall ill during the night or over a weekend.


Due to the success of the pilot scheme Southend Clinical Commissioning Group is now looking at a future pilot for Skype between care homes and GP practices. This will support remote consultations by allowing GPs to make informed clinical decisions remotely, which should reduce the number of GP visits required each year.


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