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The newsletter for Trust members with an interest in heart and lung care
December 2022
New Chairman takes up joint role
On 1st December Charles Alexander started in his new role as Joint Chairman of Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts.
Charles joins from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, where he has been Chairman since 2016.
He succeeds Sir Hugh Taylor, who served as Chairman of Guy’s and St Thomas’ since 2011, and King’s College Hospital since 2019.
Charles has had a long and distinguished career working at board level across a number of different sectors, including the roles of Managing Director of international corporate and project finance at NM Rothschild, and President of GE Capital Europe. He is currently Chairman of VIVID Housing, a leading Housing Association and Housing Development Company in southern England, a role he has held since July 2021.
Read more here.
Lung health checks launched
Lung check services have been launched for current and former smokers across four boroughs in west London and southeast London, both involving Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
The west London service, in which Royal Brompton is a lead partner, was visited by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 28 October. Mr Sunak was shown around one of the programme’s mobile units and introduced to the clinical team by Dr Emily Bartlett, consultant radiologist at Royal Brompton.
“We discussed the importance of early diagnosis of lung cancer and the positive impact on five year survival rates that can be achieved through CT screening of people who currently smoke or who previously smoked,” said Dr Bartlett.
The west London lung health check programme is run by RM Partners West London Cancer Alliance, and provides free lung health checks to eligible patients aged 55-74 in the boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, and Sutton.
Read more here.
Pioneer of cardiothoracic surgery, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, opens new research facility at Harefield Hospital
A new state-of-the-art research facility at Harefield Hospital, led by a team of research nurses, was opened on Monday 14 November 2022 at a ceremony by the pioneer of cardiothoracic surgery, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub.
The Clinical Research Facility provides a dedicated space for research patients at the hospital, many of whom require longer hospital appointments than regular clinical patients. These patients at Harefield Hospital are valuable to researchers because of the complex, and sometimes rare conditions, that they live with.
Currently there are over 50 pioneering and world-class research projects at Harefield aiming to develop new treatments, improve care for patients and help to inform decision-making and policy across the NHS and beyond.
Read more here.
Disability History Month 2022
We’re at the half-way point of Disability History Month 2022, an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of disabled staff, and to raise awareness of the inequalities disabled people face and what more needs to be done to create equity in the workplace.
At our hospitals, our Disability and Wellness Network (DAWN) has been at the forefront of helping to ensure the needs of disabled people are met, and, since its inception, the network has introduced a range of initiatives to improve the experience of disabled patients, staff and visitors. One of these initiatives, Changing Places toilets, is the subject of Luke Blair’s (head of communications) blog for Disability History Month. In it, Luke speaks about the journey of building a toilet specially designed and equipped for people limited in their mobility, and provides an insight into the issues disabled people face in their daily lives.
Read the full blog here.
Innovative projects celebrated at annual research showcase
Nurse-led sedation for heart procedures, remote genetic counselling, and asthma and food anaphylaxis were some of the exciting projects on show at this year’s Annual Research Showcase, an annual celebration of the research conducted by NMAHPPs (nurses, midwives, Allied Health Professionals, healthcare scientists, pharmacy staff and psychologists) at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals.
At the event on Tuesday 22 November 2022, Catherine Renwick, consultant nurse, was invited to give a keynote speech, where she shared her own experience and research career to date, as well as insights into the multitude of routes available to NMAHPPs to develop their own research.
The poster competition attracted some excellent projects, and two posters were specially selected by judges to be presented at the event.
Suzy Brown, clinical nurse specialist, presented her work on nurse led sedation for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (a procedure which involves fitting a valve into the heart) which led to reduced procedure length and shorter hospital stay for patients.
Jennifer Kilduff, senior rotational physiotherapist, presented her work on virtual physiotherapy for children and young people with asthma which showed that patients who have a combination of in-person and virtual sessions are more likely to complete their treatment than those who have virtual only or in-person only sessions.
Read more about these awards and the winners here.
Raised inflammation markers in people with lung scarring after severe COVID sheds light on potential preventative treatments for severe respiratory conditions
Markers of inflammation, found in the bloodstream and upper airways of patients who had recovered from severe Covid infection, could be targeted with existing medications to prevent debilitating lung scarring conditions, a paper published on Wednesday 16 November in Science Translational Medicine found.
A team of researchers from Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, in partnership with Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust analysed the blood and upper airway mucus of patients who had experienced severe Covid infection and were treated in intensive care, between three and six months following their hospital discharge.
Find out more here.
Clinical Research Facility director awarded professorial research chair
Professor Philip Molyneaux has been awarded the role of chair of respiratory research by Asthma + Lung UK.
The role recognises Professor Molyneaux’s significant contribution to research and will support him and his team for the next five years. With this appointment, Asthma + Lung UK aims to ensure that lung health remains a key focus in the research landscape in the UK.
Professor Molyneaux is the lead consultant for clinical trials into pulmonary fibrosis at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, and is the director of the NIHR Cardiorespiratory Clinical Research Facility. He runs an active clinical and translational research program that oversees a team of basic scientists and clinical research staff.
Professor Molyneaux’s research will focus on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), the most common form of pulmonary fibrosis, a disease caused by a build-up of scar tissue in the lungs. With no known, exact cause, and no cure for the disease, Professor Molyneaux’s research will aim to address this by focusing on potential triggers for IPF, in the hope to significantly improve the lives of individuals with the condition.
Read more here.
Patient and Public Engagement Group update
Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals want more patients, their families and carers to share their lived experiences to help us improve healthcare services for all.
Plans are in place support this ambition, including a refresh of the Patient and Public Engagement Group (PPEG) Terms of Reference and a new recruitment drive in the new year.
Two PPEG members, Jude Irvine and Lindsey Stedman, together with Karen Taylor, lead for Arts and Patient and Public Engagement, are undertaking a year-long Quality Improvement Fellowship with the National Institute of Health Research (North West London). The project aims to improve patient experiences of care, provide training for patients and staff involved in quality improvement projects, and to embed co-production across the organisation.
As well as attending bi-monthly virtual PPEG meetings, there will be a range of different ways you can support the project.
They will include:
• Taking part in quality improvement activities
• Giving your feedback about a service
• Sharing your experience of care and recording your story
• Reviewing patient resources and information
• Volunteering and / or fundraising
PPEG particularly wants to increase its membership with people:
• aged 18 to 35 (although we encourage anybody interested to apply, regardless of age)
• from the global majority
• living with chronic conditions and/or disabilities
• who are family or carers of people treated at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals
• heart and lung patients from St Thomas’ Hospital or Guy’s Hospital
Look out for more information and how to sign up in the new year.
Member Events
Join our free
health and wellbeing webinars
Festive Creative Break drawing workshop
with live harp
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Breathe Arts Health Research invite you to join an online festive creative break with Breathe Artist Liz Atkin and Harpist Ruby Aspinall; relax and recharge in this 45-minute workshop of mindful drawing accompanied by beautiful live music.
You and Liz will draw winter snow globes, baubles and festoon lights. You can take part wherever you are, just bring materials: a graphite pencil, white paper and colouring pencils and a small side plate or mug to draw around. Optional extras: soft pastels or chalks and black paper.
We very much hope you will be able to join us to unwind after a long day by immersing in an absorbing workshop, focused on relaxing and reducing anxiety by channelling attention through simple drawing activities.
Date: Thursday 8th December 2022
Time: 5.30 -7.00pm
Location: online, via MS Teams
Click here to reserve your place.
Webinar recordings
Catch up on any webinars you may have missed. Access the webinar recordings here.
Charity news
Brompton Fountain
Christmas Appeal
The Brompton Fountain is raising money for seriously ill children and young patients receiving care at Royal Brompton Hospital this festive season. They will be buying toys and funding treats, parties and special experiences for patients, their families and staff.
You can support the appeal by making a donation via Christmas Appeal by following this link.
Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity
Christmas events
With less than two months to Christmas Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity is getting into the festive mood with a series of Christmas events.
Harefield Carols by Candlelight
Harefield Carols by Candlelight will take place on Thursday, 8 December at St Mary’s Church in Harefield. Join the charity and special guests Singing for Breathing, Harefield Junior School Choir and St Mary's Adult and Youth Choir for a wonderful evening of carols and music. There is no need to buy a ticket in advance. More details can be found on the Charity’s website.
Harefield Hospital Christmas Fayre
The Harefield Hospital Christmas Fayre will be taking place in the Pavillion at Harefield Hospital on Friday, 9 December. There will be cakes, jewellery and gifts to buy. All proceeds will go towards Harefield Hospital.
Please do come along to our Christmas events. All the funds raised will go towards helping patients at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals.
To learn more about your Trust membership, share your feedback or update your contact details, please contact Nancy Dickinson at [email protected]
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