Each month we produce a newsletter for our local GP community called "GP News". You can read the latest articles on our website by clicking here.

January 2014

Trust named as one of the top performing hospitals for mortality

This year's Dr Foster Good Hospital Guide, published over the weekend of 7th/8th December, once again confirms low mortality rates for our hospitals with the Acute HMSR listed as considerably lower than expected. This year we have been named in the report as one of the top performing hospitals for low mortality, including at the weekends ... read more

Is it more dangerous for patients with vascular diseases to go to hospitals at weekends?

Dr Foster Intelligence has published data suggesting that patients admitted as emergencies to NHS hospitals at the weekend suffer higher mortality rates compared to those admitted during weekdays. Such difference in mortality is more clearly seen in patients with vascular diseases ... read more

Christmas Opening Times

Click here to download a copy of our opening times over the Christmas period. Please note the Biochemistry & Haematology Service request that all routine GP samples are to be received by the Wednesday preceding the holiday weekends. Urgent GP samples only on the Thursday preceding the holiday weekends.

Ophthalmology clinic at Fordbridge Road Surgery

The consultant led ophthalmology clinic at Fordbridge Road Medical Practice sees adult patients with general ophthalmology complaints and cataracts, and patients from all practices can be booked. The service is available on Choose and Book and can be found by searching on the specialty of Ophthalmology, and selecting clinic type Not Otherwise Specified or Cataract ... read more

Please don't forget ...

The new form can be downloaded from our web site. There are two versions - one for Surrey and other GPs and one for Hounslow GPs. If you are a Hounslow GP please make sure you use the correct form as this has specifically been requested by your CCG.

Enhancing the Care for Older People

The OPAL service is based on our Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and provides a multidisciplinary assessment service for patients admitted to MAU. The OPAL team focus on patients who meet a set of frailty criteria. This new service aims to enhance the quality of care through ensuring that these patients are effectively managed by a specialist team early in their admission ... read more

December 2013

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and our local charity ‘Pancreatic Cancer Action’, is helping raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of the UK’s 5th biggest cancer killer so more can be diagnosed sooner. Find out about a new e-learning module for GPs ... read more

Vascular Surgery Update

A fifth vascular surgeon, Mr Abdullah Jibwali, has recently joined the existing team of Mr Kieran Dawson, Mr Neil Browning, Mr Tahir Ali and Mr Magdy Moawad. A further appointment has been made for a 6th vascular surgeon, expected to be in post by January 2014 ... read more

Referring to Radiology

In recent weeks the Radiology department have had a number of patients coming for a direct access ultrasound scan only to find that the type of scan required is not available as direct access, leading to a wasted journey for the patient ... read more

Tennyson Unit opens at Ashford

The opening of the new Tennyson Unit means our orthopaedic outpatient services are now located in the same place as therapies on the ground floor of Ashford Hospital, which will make things much more convenient for many of our patients ... read more

Endoscopy Unit Receives JAG Accreditiation

St. Peter’s Endoscopy Unit is proud to announce that we have been awarded JAG Accreditation in recognition of the excellent service that we provide for local patients ... read more

A look at the life of an ... Upper gastrointestinal nurse endoscopist

I qualified as a nurse in 1988, and after 5 years as a theatre nurse, I moved into day surgery. I picked up my first endoscope in a small private hospital 20 years back ... read more

November 2013

Change of Referral Process for Wet ARMD

Patients with suspected wet ARMD need to be seen quickly (within 1-2 weeks). In order to ensure that they get the fastest possible treatment please fax the patient’s demographic details, contact details and history along with the top copy of the new GOS18 (clearly marked “Wet ARMD – URGENT”) directly to our urgent fax number: 01784 884350 without delay ... read more

New referral process to the Surgical Assessment and Short-Stay Unit (SASU)

SASU will support the management of all direct GP emergency surgical activity referred to St. Peter’s Hospital. It will provide a triage and fast-track direct assessment of all adult emergency surgical referrals according to specific pathways, thereby easing pressure on A&E ... read more

Changes to Direct Access Radiology

Consultant Radiologist Jane Hibbert attended the GP/Consultant forum o0n 20th September, and can confirm that the following changes have now been made in imaging as a result. With agreement from CCG Leads, there will no longer be direct access for GPs to barium enemas and x-ray sinuses. Patients should be referred to the colorectal team or ENT as appropriate ... read more

GP Access to Pathology and Radiology Results

All practices SHOULD already have access to Sunquest ICE as this has been set-up in the surgeries for them to use for order comms. However, we are aware that some practices are not routinely using it. There is a link on the GP Browser (see screenshot below, top right hand corner drop-down menu lists “SPS ICE Desktop”), but the individual GP’s will have to contact Chris Robertson ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to ensure they; a) Have a log-on to the system b) Have had some basic training or have access to a step-by-step guide ... read more

Welcome to Mr Ramu Muniraju

Mr. Ramu Muniraju joined as Consultant Ophthalmologist with special interest in Medical Retina at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust since August 2013. He is also the Clinical Lead for NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) Surrey. Mr. Ramu Muniraju had his sub-speciality Medical Retina and Uveitis fellowship training at King’s College Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital ... read more

Memory Services Reminder

Please remember that all patients need to be referred to Surrey and Borders partnership (SABP) as the memory service at ASPH has now been closed for some time. For patients 65 years and over: if you consider that a patient may have a cognitive problem that is causing them difficulties, then you should consider a referral to SABP memory service local to them. A list of these is available from SABP ... read more

October 2013

The Bees Knees!

Total Knee Replacement (TKR) is a significant operation but one of the most common orthopaedic procedures with over 84,653 operations performed during 2011 alone and this number is rising each year. Many people require this type of surgery and thankfully it has a very high rate of success. The most common cause of damage to your knee is arthritis. One in particular (known as wear and tear arthritis) osteoarthritis can set in over time and cause pain and stiffness ... read more

Specialist Weight Management Service

Obesity is detrimental to health, life limiting and an increasing problem within the population. Within Surrey alone there are estimated to be over 150,000 obese individuals. It is a long term condition which medically responds to lifestyle changes. The challenge is to embed and anchor these changes in people’s lives in a way that fits their individual needs and circumstances ... read more

The Overseas Approach

With the topic of NHS finances being frequently discussed in the corridors of Westminster and around the family dinner table, we at Ashford and St Peters are working hard to ensure that the right amount of funding goes in, and comes out of the right pot ... read more

Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy

From now on, all patients referred to Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy will be directed through a CAS service in the same way our Paediatric Services operate. Please make sure that your patients are aware that, as it says in the instructions on their Choose and Book printout, they should not attend for the initial appointment but that they will be sent an appointment by the physio team which best meets their needs ... read more

Podiatry at Ashford and St Peter’s

Nicholas Masucci joined the ASPH orthopaedic team in April this year and his clinics are proving to be popular and successful. Nicholas has had many years of practical experience in the management of foot and ankle disorders; his main interests are foot surgery and biomechanical problems ... read more

Mr Rishi Chana Joins the Orthopaedic Team

We are pleased to announce that Mr Rishi Chana joined the ASPH Orthopaedic team this month. Mr Rishi Chana is a Lower Limb Specialist with an interest in Hip and Knee Primary and Revision Joint Replacement Surgery. He completed a one year fellowship in Sydney, Australia specialising in primary hip and knee replacement and a further year at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, specialising in revision surgery for hip and knee replacements ... read more

August 2013

Paediatric Physio: When to Refer

The ASPH Paediatric Physiotherapy Team offer services across outpatients and inpatients (including NICU).

We provide early diagnosis, identification of needs, targeted treatment, continuing care, and give advice and training that includes health promotion and prevention ... read more

Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease: A Surgeon’s Perspective

Gastro oesophageal reflux disease is arguably the most common gastrointestinal disease encountered by physicians. Although, the treatment in most cases is simple and straightforward there is a significant proportion who require surgical treatment. GORD ranges from simple non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) to erosive reflux disease (ERD) with complications such as strictures, Barrett’s’ and malignancy. Failure to treat appropriately can lead to serious complications ... read more

  

Trust consultant leads regional drive towards best heart, stroke, renal and diabetes care

Trust Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Dr Adam Jacques, has been appointed Clinical Director for the South East Coast Cardiovascular Strategic Clinical Network. This is a new alliance, following the recent NHS re-organisation, that replaces the former local network which was one of 28 cardiac and stroke networks around the country. ... read more

 

Care of the Elderly Team Highly Commended in National Awards Scheme

The project, which has won a Highly Commended Award in the Musculoskeletal Care category was the brainchild of care of the elderly consultants Dr Keefai Yeong and Dr Radcliffe Lisk. It is a three-way partnership between the hospital team, GPs and the Community Falls Team (part of Virgin Care) with funding provided by pharmaceutical company Servier. The project aims to empower care home staff to reduce falls and fractures in their homes by providing training in early assessment and prevention of trauma in this high risk group ... read more

Duplicate Referrals - please help us treat your patients more quickly

Some of our services are reporting duplicate referrals, which take unecessary appointments and cause a delay in treatment for some patients. This is largely occurring where patients have been referred via Choose and Book and a copyy of the letter is also being faxed to the hospital. If you are referring through Choose and Book please do not send another copy of the referral unless specifically asked to do so - the correct letter and attachments should be attached to the patient's UBRN.

 

NHS Commissioning Board 2013/14 Standard Contract - Quality indicator: Notification of deceased patients

The Trust now has a contractual obligation to notify GPs of a patient's death within 1 working day. In order to achieve this we propose to send an initial notification via Docman which will not contain a cause of death. Further information will be sent in a second document once the necessary death notification has been completed by the clinical teams.

July 2013

Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis Specialist Nurse

Endometriosis is a debilitating condition that affects the lives of almost 2 million women in the UK.

Ashford and St.Peters was one of the first centres in the country to gain accreditation from the British Society Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) for the surgical treatment of advanced endometriosis.

The centre, known as CEMIG (Centre for Endometriosis and Minimally Invasive Gynaecology),has recently appointed a Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis Specialist Nurse-Michelle Davies (RGN) ... read more p>

New Overseas Visitor and Private Patient Manager Role

Samantha Lamb is the newly appointed Overseas Visitor and Private Patients Manager for ASPH. The purpose of her role is to identify patients that may not be eligible to receive free NHS treatment and to support the development of Private Patient Services within ASPH.

The Overseas Visitor Policy has been developed to deliver requirements set out by the Department of Health, whereby NHS organisations are legally obliged to identify patients liable to charging for treatment and recover any charges issued ... read more

  

Trust welcomes Dr. Sonali D'Cruz to the Paediatric Diabetic team

Ashford and St. Peter’s have appointed Dr Sonali D’Cruz to the post of Consultant Paediatrician with Special Interest in Diabetes. This is a new appointment to the Paediatric Department.

In addition to General Paediatrics Dr. D’Cruz will be responsible, along with the Paediatric Diabetes Team, in developing further the Paediatric Diabetes Service at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals ... read more

 

New Cancer Support and Information Room opens at St Peter’s Hospital

The room was inspired by ideas from the Trust’s Improving Cancer Care Action Group – a group of patients, family members, carers, representatives of local support groups and healthcare professionals – who wanted to create a special, relaxing space for patients away from the bustle of the main outpatient waiting area ... read more

Sexually Transmitted Infections - Foundation Course and STIF PLUS Course

The Trust is offering STIF Foundation and STIF Plus courses on Monday 9th (Foundation) and Tuesday 10th September (STIF Plus). They are to be held at Waverley Abbey House, Farnham.

Course Organiser (on behalf of BASHH) Mrs. Shirley Cumming, Tel: 01932 723645.

A copy of the flyer with more details is available to download here.

 

Invitation to GP & Consultant Workshop

We have agreement with North West Surrey CCG for us to host this event and we hope that every local GP practice will send at least one GP to represent their practice. The ASPH consultant leads for each speciality will be attending and Dr David Fluck, our Medical Director will be hosting the event.

June 2013

Focus on Neonatal Intensive Care

St. Peter’s Hospital provides Neonatal Intensive Care for Surrey and takes referrals from hospitals in Surrey, Sussex and further afield as well. The NICU provides full medical intensive care for sick and premature babies. There are 5 Neonatal Consultants, two tiers of junior doctors with duties on the neonatal unit only, and neonatally trained nursing staff providing round the clock care.

We get excellent feedback from the doctors about the quality of their training and their experience whilst on the NICU; for example our most recent GMC junior doctors’ survey gave us 5 green flags. For nursing staff, there are regular in-house training days. We have a continuous programme of guideline development, participation in audit and service improvements. In June we are organising a Respiratory Care workshop for education of nurses and doctors from other units ... read more

Ashford and St. Peter's wins Top Hospital Awards 2013

Ashford and St. Peter's has been announced as one of the winners in the CHKS 40 Top Hospital Awards 2013.

Simon Marshall, Director of Finance and Information, collected our award at the ceremony held in London at Middle Temple Hall.

The awards recognise the 40 best performing hospital trusts across the UK (out of 120 in total that are CHKS clients), based on the evaluation of 22 indicators of clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and quality of care.

Extended Acute Stroke Therapy service

The extended stroke therapy project was based on the principle of ‘the faster you act, the more of the patient you save’, and the pilot ran from September and November 2012. By extending our physiotherapy and occupational therapy service to cover Saturdays, rather than just Monday to Friday, we are reaching stroke patients more quickly and this improves their outcome.

After collecting data throughout the pilot the results were promising and the achievements have even been recognised nationally at the UK National Stroke Forum. Compared to our control period between April and July 2012 we have improved the admission to therapy assessment time by 11.5 hours which is a 33% reduction, and more patients are receiving the recommended 45 minutes of therapy a day. Patients are reporting higher levels of satisfaction with the service and with earlier input from the therapy team they are able to go home more quickly. The average length of stay has decreased from 8 days to 7.
 

West Surrey and North Hants AAA Screening Programme GP Newsletter

The AAA Screening Programme have changed the way they book their clinics. They are now targeting each surgery in turn. This will enable them to report to each surgery regarding their patients. They will be writing to you to let you know how many patients have been invited from your practice, how many attended, how many withdrew and those that have failed to attend on 2 or more occasions.

For more information and to download the rest of the newsletter click here.

Goal Directed Therapy

Our anaesthetics team have trialled two new ‘LiDCOrapid’ monitors which enable advanced monitoring of a patient’s heart function throughout high risk surgical procedures, the pilot concluded in December 2012. Measuring heart function in this way enables us to very accurately identify the amount of fluid a patient needs during their operation and is particularly useful for high risk procedures. Using the monitor reduces the risk of post-operative complications such as chest and wound infections and ileus (the bowel not working) which in turn can reduce the patient’s length of stay in hospital.

The project was part of a larger programme around enhancing recovery, aimed at getting patients fit for discharge and back home as quickly as possible, and the pilot demonstrated improved outcomes of reduced average length of stay and emergency readmission rate (results for the colorectal patient cohort are shown below). As a result of the improvements demonstrated by the pilot the Trust has invested in 7 additional monitors via our Capital Programme.

Blanche Heriot Patient Survey

After designing a bespoke patient survey with the Picker Institute, the Blanche Heriot sexual health unit under took their first comprehensive survey of patient views during November and December 2012. With a traditionally hard to reach patient group, the survey attracted an excellent return rate of 60% which represented the views of 598 patients. The results showed that the Unit is positively perceived by its patients, and that the clinic is performing particularly well in patient experiences of seeing a healthcare professional and in clinic cleanliness.

The findings are now being used to plan future service provision, although several changes have already been made in response to the findings. For example, the team are piloting clinics at times more convenient for working people such as Saturday and Sunday and also have installed screens in our waiting rooms to show waiting times. By acting on this feedback the team are hoping to make services more attractive to other patients.

May 2013

Chronic Pelvic Pain In Women

Chronic pelvic pain is defined as pelvic pain lasting more than 6 months, not occurring exclusively with menstruation or intercourse. However, in most women with CPP, dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia are a major part of their problems.

CPP presents in the primary care as frequently as migraine or back pain and can affect the woman’s quality of life drastically with a very significant financial burden on both the patient and the society ... read more

Announcing a Specialist Knee Clinic at Ashford Hospital

As part of a review of our Orthopaedic services we have decided to provide a dedicated Knee Clinic at Ashford Hospital run by Mr.Hossam Roushdi. This service is aimed at improving outcomes for patients in two specific groups and by offering fast effective treatment this will reduce pressure on resources overall

The clinics are going to be held weekly on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon at the Ashford Hospital Outpatients Clinic department. We intend that this will enable these patients to be seen quickly ... read more

Urology Service Returns to Walton Community Hospital

A weekly Urology outpatient service for patients aged from the age of two and upwards is now running at Walton Community Hospital and accommodates routine, urgent and TWR referrals.

Referrals can be made both using Choose and Book (routine referrals) or by all other usual modes of referral ... read more
 

Update on Anti-Coagulation Clinic Capacity Issues

Over the last year we have seen a significant increase in referrals from GPs to our anti-coagulation clinics. We believe that this has been caused by a variety of factors including changes in the GP QOF indicators for Atrial Fibrillation for 2012/13 which encouraged increased use of anti-coagulation therapy based on CHADS2 scoring. The criteria of patients considered suitable for warfarin has also been extended and we have a general increase in demand due to the steady increase in the age of our population ... read more

Accessing Phlebotomy Services

The walk-in phlebotomy service runs at Ashford Hospital only on a daily basis Monday to Friday. Patients are seen in order of arrival and they should be prepared to wait - waiting times are kept to a minimum but may be up to 40 minutes on busy days. Patients should arrive between 8.30am (8.00am on Wednesdays) and 4.30pm to ensure that their bloods can be taken before the final collection of the day.

The service at St. Peter's is for patients coming from Outpatient clinics only and is not available for GP walk-ins. Please tell patients this and advise them of their alternatives ... read more

Infusion Suite Opens to Direct Access Referrals

The suite opened in October 2012 and is open between 8am – 8pm Mon-Fri. Referrals should be made by fax using the referral form which can be downloaded here.

Please note that referrals will not be accepted unless the form is fully completed.

The suite consists of 8 electric reclining chairs, and can be separated into male and female sections as required. All of the chairs have oxygen and suction call buttons, and each has its own equipment trolley and a locker for patients’ personal effects ... read more

April 2013

The Second Francis Report - Our Next Steps

This landmark report follows the 14 month enquiry led by Robert Francis QC on how poor care and treatment provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2006 was not detected by the many systems in place intended to protect the public and makes a total of 290 recommendations.

After the publication of the first report in 2009, Ashford and St Peter’s developed a detailed action plan in response and much of this work has now been embedded into our working lives and practice through programmes such as Best Care, Living our Values and this year our Team ASPH programme. We are steadily improving our identification and reporting of incidents and our general approach to openness and transparency. This includes our work to collect and use patient feedback, to improve our responses to complainants and to increase the time we spend meeting patients and carers and discussing their experience, concerns and issues ... read more

Haematuria in Children

Haematuria is relatively common in children, and it is one of the most important signs of renal or bladder disease. The physician should ensure that serious underlying causes are not over looked, arrange relevant tests or further referral where appropriate.

Macroscopic haematuria is visible to naked eye, but Microscopic haematuria is usually detected by a dipstix or microscopy of span urine sediment. It is defined as presence of > 40 red cells when tested with flowcytometry (or 5-10 RBC under high power field of microscope). An absence of red cells in the urine with positive dipstix suggests haemoglobinuria or myoglobinuria ... read more

Introducing the Butterfly Scheme

The Butterfly Scheme offers a straightforward but clear approach to caring for patients with dementia and other forms of memory loss and confusion. Not only does this mean care that is focused on what is right for patients, it also helps to reduce the length of time spent in hospital which is not in their best interests.

It is an ‘opt-in’ scheme which uses simple butterfly symbols to show staff patients are asking for additional help and support. Simple actions such as reminding patients where they are, and why, can help to reassure them and prevent them feeling frightened. Arranging familiar items, such as a favourite mug, their glasses, a bag and so on, also help to make an unfamiliar setting more comforting. Staff are also reminded that they must remember to carry out additional care checks as often patients with dementia will not remember or be able to ask for help. Butterfly champions have been identified for our wards who will be responsible for signposting the scheme to patients and carers so they can opt in if they wish, and we are working hard to roll the scheme out over the coming weeks.

Accessing Phlebotomy Services

The walk-in phlebotomy service runs at Ashford Hospital only on a daily basis Monday to Friday. Patients are seen in order of arrival and they should be prepared to wait - waiting times are kept to a minimum but may be up to 40 minutes on busy days. Patients should arrive between 8.30am (8.00am on Wednesdays) and 4.30pm to ensure that their bloods can be taken before the final collection of the day.

The service at St. Peter's is for patients coming from Outpatient clinics only and is not available for GP walk-ins. Please tell patients this and advise them of their alternatives ... read more

A Further Accolade for the Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals Nursing Home Project

The Foundation Trust Network have been using the case study on the Ashford and St. Peter's Nursing Home project as an example of best practice in outreach and proactive care in several forums, and a clear example of how acute care is a set of skills that do not need to be tied to a particular physical care setting. Most recently it was included anonymously in the Payment by Results guidance as an example of the sort of scheme that CCGs should invest in using the withheld funding from the marginal rate for emergency admissions (page 30 case study 1 ... Guidance Document 2013/14

 

February 2013

Percutaenous Renal Denervation now offered at Ashford and St. Peter’s for Resistant Hypertension

Hypertension can often prove difficult to manage despite lifestyle and dietary changes and a trial of various medications. Data extrapolated from Primary Care in 2008 suggests there may be 0.5 million hypertensive patients resistant to such therapy.

Without treatment these patients will continue to be at increased risk of heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease or renal failure. Up to now medical therapy has been the mainstay of treatment for patients with hypertension and this is often associated with significant side effects and cost ... read more

Two Week Rule referrals - Could You Tell us More?

Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals continue with their excellent performance against the cancer wait time standards. Achieving these standards are a high priority within the Trust as efficient and effective pathways ensure patients are seen, diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible.

To help us to continue to deliver this efficient service we require your support to ensure that we have sufficient information about your patient's condition and any tests which have been carried out recently. We have had a number of instances where a form has been sent with only a box ticked and no further clinical information included. In the worst cases this causes a delay in treatment for the patient as the team have to chase information and test results prior to the patient being seen ... read more

Surgical Podiatry Clinic now Available

Mr Nicholas Masucci has now joined the ASPH Orthopaedic team. Examples of the procedures which he will be undertakes include

Great toe - hallux rigidus/degenerate big toe joint
Correction hallux valgus
Correction lesser toes
Lesser matatarsal osteotomy

... read more

Pioneering Knee Surgery at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals

With the increase in patient numbers having flexible sigmoidoscopy we have become aware that patient experience could be improved regarding having bowel preparation.

Currently the patients have use of a purpose built ensuite room in the Endoscopy Unit, for use with enema preparation.However we only have 2 of these and we see dozens of patients daily who need enema preparation.

The result can be long and anxious waits for the patients to get ready for the procedure and use the toilets ... read more

Change of venue for Ashford Breastfeeding Clinic

Local patient Debbie Wragg from Shepperton is the first to have pioneering knee replacement surgery on the NHS, thanks to consultant orthopaedic surgeon Mr Hossam Roushdi.

The new surgery uses computer technology to scan a patient’s knee so that a whole new joint, or parts of the joint, can be made to exactly the same size and shape as the original – a real bespoke service. Whilst the scan takes place in hospital here, the images are sent to a specialised company in the United States who make the new joints and then send them back over to be fitted ... read more

KnowledgeNet now optimised for Mobile Devices

KnowledgeNet, the online arm of Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital Health Sciences Libraries, has now been optimised for use on mobile devices, such as Smartphones and Tablets. KnowledgeNet currently offers access to a wide selection of online library resources including:

a book and journal database
links to full-text journals
book, journal article and literature request forms
website links for medical students
literature searching workshops
NHS news and bulletins

... read more

January 2013

Christmas opening times

As usual the Trust will be closing some departments over the Christmas break, but this is being kept to a minimum with the majority of departments offering a normal service every day except for the Bank Holidays.

Click here to download a copy of our opening times over the Christmas period.

The GP Relationship team at Ashford and St. Peter's would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New year.

Changes to our Peterbus Service

At Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals, putting patient care first means making the right investment decisions so we can continue to develop high quality local health services.

For some time now, our Peterbus service – originally set up to help patients travel to and from St Peter’s from villages across our catchment area – has been running at a considerable financial loss. Falling passenger numbers and high fuel and maintenance costs mean it is now costing the Trust £130,000 a year to subsidise - equivalent to four nurses or 43 hip replacement operations ... read more

Trust Welcomes Mr. Andrew Cruise to the ENT Team

Andrew Cruise recently joined the Trust as an ENT consultant with a special interest in otology, complementing the current team of three ENT consultants, John Hadley, Pandora Hadfield and Lisa Pitkin. He comes from having spent a year as a locum consultant at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow.

Andrew undertook his specialist ENT training in North London spending time at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, Barts, Charing Cross, The Royal Free and St Mary’s Hospitals ... read more

Bowel Prep for Patients undergoing Colonoscopy and Flexible Sigmoidoscopy

With the increase in patient numbers having flexible sigmoidoscopy we have become aware that patient experience could be improved regarding having bowel preparation.

Currently the patients have use of a purpose built ensuite room in the Endoscopy Unit, for use with enema preparation.However we only have 2 of these and we see dozens of patients daily who need enema preparation.

The result can be long and anxious waits for the patients to get ready for the procedure and use the toilets ... read more

Change of venue for Ashford Breastfeeding Clinic

The breastfeeding clinic currently running from the Topaz suite at Ashford Hospital is moving to Clarendon Childrens Centre, Knapp Road, Ashford from 7th January 2012. The timing of the clinic will not change.

We would be grateful if you could display the poster which you will be sent to help us make all mums aware.

If you have any queries about this please contact Kim McHarg, Infant Feeding Advisor by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

New Consultant Podriatric Surgeon starts in January

Mr Nicholas Masucci will be joining the ASPH Orthopaedic team in January. He is currently working at Newham University NHS Trust. Examples of the procedures which he will be undertaking include

Great toe - hallux rigidus/degenerate big toe joint
Correction hallux valgus
Correction lesser toes
Lesser matatarsal osteotomy

Referrals can be made to him either via Choose and Book (service awaiting approval by Mr. Masucci before publishing), or send referral letter addressed to him at the Rowley Bristow unit, or send an email referral to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

December 2012

Waking Up To Sleep Apnoea

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is part of a spectrum of Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), ranging from uncomplicated snoring through OSA to frank nocturnal hypoventilation in Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (OHS).1

OSA syndrome comprises symptoms due to repetitive transient upper airway closure during sleep, in which airflow either stops (apnoea) or is reduced (hypopnoea). This is often, but not always, associated with a drop in Oxygen Saturation (SaO2). Theobstructive episodes are terminated by arousal, during which control of airway muscle is regained, occasionally resulting in waking from sleep ... read more

Change of Referral Process for Dietetics

As from Monday 26th November all referrals to the Dietetics team will need to be processed via the Appointments Centre. This change is being made to make the referral process quicker and more convenient for patients and GP Practices alike.

Phone: 01784 884351
Fax: 01784 884291

Referrals can also be sent by e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please ensure that the new forms are used as, apart from a change of contact details, the service is no longer available at certain locations listed on the old forms ... read more

Trust Achieves Best Practice Tariff for Paediatric Diabetes

Ashford and St. Peter’s are one of the few Trusts nationally who have achieved the Best Practice tariff for Paediatric Diabetics. Children with diabetes seen at the Trust are now only seen by one of our two consultants, Dr Shailini Bahl or Dr Gillian Baksh, which enables patients to see the same doctor every time they attend and helps to build relationships with both patients and parents alike.

24 hour on-call cover is provided (including weekends) which allows access to specialist advice for patients who are newly-diagnosed out of hours ... read more

Care of the Elderly team win HSJ award

You will have read in our October edition that the Care of the Elderly team were nominated for an HSJ award for their work on the Nurisng Homes Project aiming to improve healthcare for elderly nursing home residents and reduce emergency admissions to hospital. We are delighted to announce that they won their category.

The ceremony was hosted by BBC Presenter Huw Edwards, and a team of four Elderly Care Consultants collected the award: Dr Keefai Yeong, Dr Radcliffe Lisk, Dr Raad Nari and Dr Bhaskar Mandal ... read more

New Virgin Care Clinics Supported by ASPH

Following a formal process run recently by NHS Surrey Virgin Care have been appointed as a Qualified Provider for pathways of care in Dermatology, ENT, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics & Urology. To meet NHS Surrey’s requirements Virgin Care had to provide community based outpatient clinics in conjunction with an elective provider to identify where patients would receive any onward treatment required. ASPH have agreed to be a subcontractor supporting this new Virgin Care service. In addition to providing any elective treatment required we are also providing our consultants to run clinics at the initial location in Woking ... read more

November 2012

New Infusion Suite Opened at Ashford Hospital

The new Infusion Suite at Ashford Hospital opened on Monday 8th October to provide enhanced infusion services to local patients. It is located between Main Outpatients and the Jasmine Suite, where breast and gynaecology clinics are held.

Initially the unit will be open from 8am – 8pm Mon-Fri, staffed by two trained nurses (Team Leader Gemma Forde plus one other) supported by nurses on rotation from OPD. It will offer all types of infusions, including Rheumatology, blood transfusions and breast chemotherapy. It also offers the possibility of repatriating the patients currently travelling to St. George’s hospital for Tysabri infusions, although this is still to be confirmed ... read more

Are You Using the New MAU Referral Process?

The new process for referring patients to the MAU was launched on Monday 8th October. Some practices are still not using the updated process, which is causing delay to treatment of their patients.

When you call the MAU, the Patient Navigator will answer your call and will discuss the referral with you. She will ask you a number of questions about your patient. These are recorded on this form and are designed to help decide the pathway which is best for your patient. Please make sure you have a look at this form as we think it will be helpful if you know in advance the questions that we will be asking you when you call ... read more

Changes to Radiology Services

In response to requests from local GPs, the non-urgent Direct Access Ultrasound Service can also now screen lumps and bumps. To access this service you will need to download an updated copy of the form here.

Please ensure that all forms are completed before being given to the patient and that the patient takes the form to the appointment with him.

Failure to complete the form or have it available for the appointment causes a delay to the service and extra work for practices ... read more

Trust Top for Hip Fractures

Latest figures from the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) Report for 2012 show that Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the best in the country for providing top quality care for patients with hip fractures.

Consultant Orthogeriatrician at the Trust, Radcliffe Lisk, explains more:

“At Ashford and St. Peter's we work very hard to ensure that this group of patients get the care and treatment they need and I'm very proud that we came top nationally in providing best practice to our hip fracture patients." ... read more

Trust Welcomes Mr Magdy Moawad

Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are delighted to welcome Mr Magdy Moawad to the Vascular Surgery team.

Mr. Moawad has a Masters degree in general surgery and gained his FRCS (Ed) in 1999. He also gained FRCS (Gen.Surg) in vascular surgery in 2009.

Magdy has advanced training in vascular surgery, and has worked in many eminent Regional Vascular and Endovascular Units such as St. Thomas’, St. George’s and Royal Free hospitals in London. This has enhanced his skills and has allowed him to become familiar with different and diverse surgical practices ... read more

October 2012

Metal on Metal Hip Replacements

Metal-on-metal (MoM) devices have been implanted into over 60 000 patients in England and Wales since 2003 when the National Joint Registry first began to record procedures.

Metal-on-metal hip implants were re-introduced after observing damage caused by polyethylene debris in standard hip replacements. Advances in manufacturing technology ensured that MoM hips produced the least amount of wear debris. Furthermore MoM implants allowed for larger femoral head sizes offering greater stability and lower risk of dislocation ... read more

Care of the Elderly Team Shortlisted for HSJ Award

The Ashford and St Peter's Trust Care of the Elderly Team have been shortlisted for a prestigious award from the Health Services Journal (HSJ) - the Oscars of the healthcare world - for their initiative on reducing emergency admissions from nursing homes.

The shortlisting for the HSJ award for Managing Long Term Conditions comes in the wake of a reduction of 40% in emergency admissions from participating nursing homes. ... read more

Acute Diabetic Foot Problems

Foot problems can affect anyone with diabetes, whether they are being treated with insulin, tablets or diet. Patients with diabetes are more likely to be admitted to hospital with a foot ulcer than with any other complication of diabetes.

Diabetic foot complications affect over 3 million people in the UK.

It is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputation for patients ... read more

Trust Fully CQC Compliant

On Tuesday 11th September Ashford and St. Peter’s received another unannounced visit from the CQC. Following on from their last report, where they had noted concerns around record keeping, they visited 6 wards across St Peter's Hospital and examined around 30 sets of patient notes. We are pleased to say that all our hard work to improve this area has paid off and we were given a clean bill of health. We are now fully compliant with CQC standards, which is great news.

Pregnancy Dermatoses - What to refer

The new Pregnancy Dermatoses Clinic will be on the first Thursday of every month. I am keen to see women who are either pregnant or post-partum with skin problems such as:

Polymorphic eruption of pregnancy (PEP)
Pemphigoid gestationis (PG)
Eczema
Psoriasis
Other Miscellaneous skin diseases (e.g. rosacea, acne, urticaria) ... read more

September 2012

Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

Most medical treatments for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding (HMB) can be commenced in the primary care, without the need for further investigation.

Management of Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) has changed dramatically with the advent of endometrial ablation and the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (Mirena) over the past two decades ... read more

Two Week Rule referrals - Are Patients Aware?

Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals continue with their excellent performance against the cancer wait time standards. Achieving these standards are a high priority within the Trust as efficient and effective pathways ensure patients are seen, diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible.

To help us to continue to deliver this efficient service we require your support to ensure that patients are aware that they are being referred to rule out a cancer diagnosis ... read more

Important Information - GP Radiology Requests

We would be grateful if you could note and action two key changes in our Radiology Services.

1.Direct Access Non Urgent Ultrasound Service now within 7 Days NOT same day

2. Walk-in Same Day Direct Access X-Rays

read more

New AAA Screening Service

The NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme is being introduced gradually across England and is led and coordinated nationally. Phased implementation began in March 2009 and coverage across all of England will be achieved by 2013. Screening is delivered locally in line with national quality standards and protocols and there will be around 42 local screening programmes in total once national implementation is complete ... read more

Invitation to Ashford Hospital GP Evening - 26th September

Planned topics to be discussed are: Ashford Outpatient Department Refurbishment, Breast One-Stop Clinics, Rapid Access Services, Paediatric Services, Cardiology Services.

If there is any service not on this list which you would like to know more about please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Welcoming Dr. Jan Coebergh

Born in the Netherlands, Dr Coebergh trained at Newcastle medical school and returned to the Netherlands to complete his specialist training in neurology after being a house officer.
He has now returned to the UK with his English wife to be closer to the family and continue his career in clinical neurology. He started at Ashford and St. Peter’s as a Locum Consultant in January and the Trust was pleased to confirm him in post in June ... read more

August 2012

Management of Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease

Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease is one of the most common health problems and its treatment accounts for the biggest single pharmaceutical expenditure to the NHS. There were 36 million prescriptions written for PPI’s in the UK last year- a threefold rise since 2000 ... read more

A New Look for Ashford Hospital Outpatients Department

The long-awaited £2.8 million refurbishment of Ashford outpatients department started on 23rd July. The new department will provide a modern, comfortable and therapeutic environment. Walls will be opened out and glazed to give more external views and natural light, allowing people to orientate themselves inside the building more easily. The entrance lobby and reception will also be modernised with glazed walls to let in more light ... read more

Invitation to Ashford Hospital GP Evening

Planned topics to be discussed are:

Ashford Outpatient Department Refurbishment
Breast One-Stop Clinics
Rapid Access Services
Paediatric Services
Cardiology Services

If there is any service not on this list which you would like to know more about please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

New Midwife Led Unit Will Offer More Choice for Local Women

The Trust Board at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals has approved plans to build a new Midwifery Led Unit, which will be located in Abbey Wing at St Peter’s Hospital alongside the existing maternity facilities. Sandra Houston, Head of Midwifery, said: “This is absolutely fantastic news for local women and our midwives can’t wait to see the new unit built. It’s all about offering a choice of birthing experience to women and providing different facilities to enable that choice." ... read more

Patients wanted for COPD Study

Ashford and St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are involved in a number of Clinical Trials. We especially require your assistance to identify suitable patients for a COPD study we are now recruiting to. We have only a few months to recruit 10 patients to this 6 month study which compares the efficacy and safety of Indacaterol (Onbrez Breezhaler) with salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (Seretide Accuhlaer) in patients with moderate COPD. Therefore, we would very much appreciate your assistance in identifying suitable patients ... read more

Physiotherapy First Appointment Booking Line

As an initiative to reduce the DNA rate for physiotherapy appointments at ASPH, an appointments phone line was opened on Monday 2nd July, for a 4 month trial period. The phone line is open from 8-10am Monday to Friday for first appointment bookings only. Patients are sent a letter inviting them to call the dedicated phone line to book their appointment ... read more

July 2012

Why Choose to Refer for Bariatric Surgery?

Bariatric Surgery is one of those areas where many people wonder whether it should be provided on the NHS. Surgery always carries risks and many people see it as a drastic option for dealing with obesity. However the outcomes can be compelling and that is why Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust has been accredited by specialist commissioners to deliver this service to patients in Middlesex, London, Surrey, Hampshire, Kent and Sussex. We have opened a dedicated Bariatric Unit (the WREN unit) recently to provide specialist care to this group of patients ... read more

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme

The NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme is being introduced gradually across England and is led and coordinated nationally. Phased implementation began in March 2009 and coverage across all of England will be achieved by 2013. Screening is delivered locally in line with national quality standards and protocols and there will be around 42 local screening programmes in total once national implementation is complete ... read more

New GP Link Email Newsletter

We are going to start sending our regular newsletter to GPs by email. It will be emailed out to Practice managers and we would be very grateful if they would forward it to all relevant colleagues ... read more

Are You Using Our GP Browser?

Included in the tools and information on our online GP Resource Centre – www.asph.nhs.uk/gp - is the GP Browser. This tool has been available from ASPH for some years but usage has been dropping so we thought it would be helpful to give you a reminder of what it can do for you. It’s available for all our local GPs and Practice Managers to use ... read more

Dates for your Diary

Join us for our educational events ... read more

Welcome to Mr Pasha Nisar

Ashford and St. Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust are delighted to welcome Mr Pasha Nisar to the Colorectal Surgery team at the Trust. He qualified in medicine in 1998 from Trinity College, Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital ... read more