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| Welcome to your new state-of-the-art
UCLH |
But it’s your hospital, so get involved and help us run it,
says Trust chairman Peter Dixon
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The new UCLH building viewed from Gower Street in Bloomsbury
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A FEW days ago a long planned vision became reality when we opened
the doors of the new University College Hospital in the Euston Road
to the first patients. I want to tell you about the hospital, what
makes it so special and what it offers to the people of Camden and
beyond.
First of all let me quote the comments of some of the local people
who came to the preview events we held a few weeks ago.
“If I should ever have to be admitted I shall feel I am privileged.”
“A state-of-the-art building, like a five star hotel.”
“Very inviting and welcoming. I am very impressed with the
care and thought which has gone into it all.”
The reason people were so impressed is because the hospital has
been designed around the needs of patients. We’ve achieved
that by involving our staff – doctors, nurses and managers
– right from the start.
We were determined to create a building that would help in our fight
against MRSA and other infections. So our infection control teams
have had a hand in almost every aspect of the hospital – from
the fabric used in furnishings to the surfaces used on floors. We
know hand washing is very important so we have 1,200 hand basins.
There is an entire floor dedicated to treating infectious diseases
and a third of all the beds are in single rooms (with en suite facilities),
making it easier to control the spread of infection. We’ve
already cut our rate of MRSA by half during the past year and we
believe we can now do even better.
Of course we also want to provide a comfortable and pleasant environment
for patients. Apart from being bright and light, with some fabulous
views over London, there are other advantages, like the multi media
unit at each bedside which allows patients to watch TV, access the
internet and make and receive phone calls and emails. On the ground
floor, we have services like our Patient Advice and Liaison service,
volunteers to help guide patients around the hospital and a comfortable
discharge lounge where patients can wait for their medicines or
transport home.
We have also become the first acute hospital trust in London to
ban smoking entirely from our buildings and grounds. While believing
this is in the interests of patients and staff, we recognise not
being able to smoke can be stressful. So we are offering advice
and support, including nicotine replacement treatment, for those
who need help.
One of the biggest advantages for local people is that services
are being brought together under one roof and will be much easier
to access. By the autumn, when services will have moved from the
Middlesex Hospital, there will be no more long walks from one clinic
to another, and no need to go to another building for tests.
Our services have also been designed with patients in mind. There
is a floor dedicated to adolescents, where teenagers get treated
in a custom built environment. There is the largest critical care
unit in Europe and new facilities to help patients recover after
treatment including a hydrotherapy pool and two gyms. We’ve
spent £26 million pounds on new equipment, everything from
the latest scanners to speed up diagnosis to a robot to speed up
dispensing medicines in the pharmacy. And the facilities of the
new hospital have attracted more top specialists to join our staff,
for instance a world renowned team dealing with colorectal cancer.
Our staff have done a magnificent job during the move. For instance
the A&E department managed to treat all our patients within
the four hour target during the week of the move, an amazing achievement.
On the other hand there have been the inevitable teething problems
you get in any new building, but we have teams on hand to resolve
these problems as quickly as possible.
You may have read about some concerns which have been raised in
the pages of the New Journal which I would like to address.
Firstly, it has been said that the beds are too close together for
infection control purposes. That is completely untrue. The bed spacing
was approved by our infection control team, is within Government
guidelines and is better than in most hospitals.
Secondly, that we are cutting our staff numbers. It is true there
will be some changes because we are bringing staff together from
different sites and because the new hospital allows us to work differently,
in a way that is better for patients. For instance we can now do
more day cases, so patients can come in, have their operation or
test, and go home within a day.
We will still have a higher ratio of doctors and nurses per beds
than most hospitals. And we will now be using less agency staff
than in the past, better for patients and for our budgets
Thirdly, access for the disabled and infirm. The new hospital has
all the ramps and lifts needed for easy access. To make up for the
lack of parking, which we cannot provide in central London, we have
50 disabled parking permits to loan to patients who really need
to drive to hospital.
Finally, I would like to make a plea to New Journal readers. We
want you to get involved with your local hospitals. A year ago we
became a Foundation Trust and one of the big changes is that we
now invite local people to become members of the Trust. As well
as receiving regular information about our services, members have
the opportunity to elect a Members’ Council.
The council has some real decision-making power: they elect me as
chairman as well as the other non-executive directors. We already
have 1,413 local patient and public members and are keen to recruit
more, and to involve those who reflect the diverse communities that
we serve. If you are interested in joining, please contact the Membership
Office on 020 7380 9290. |
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