Welcome to NHS News -News and Information from NHS Grampian

Welcome to NHS News -news and information from NHS Grampian

NHS Grampian is responsible for improving the health of the Grampian population and for providing safe high-quality health care when it is needed and where it is needed. The people of Grampian are at the heart of what we do – over half a million people who live and work in Grampian, spread over 3000 square miles of city, town, village and rural communities.

We provide a wide range of services in hospitals, health centres, GP practices and in homes. We do not do this in isolation but in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and the Moray Council. This newspaper tells you about some of our healthcare services and gives you practical information that we hope is helpful to you. Most of what you will read is about our staff, rather than about buildings or equipment, and the work all our dedicated staff do, as a team, to improve patient care and services.

We hope you find NHS News interesting, informative and useful. Please tell us what you think, by returning the feedback form below, or emailing us on or writing to us at FREEPOST NHS Grampian.

Checking up on cleaning standards

Pictured - Domestic assistant Maxine Robertson, domestic service manager Joan Leslie and public representative Willie Jaffray at one of the inspections.

NHS Grampian Domestic Services departments regularly monitor standards of cleanliness using Scottishwide standards. Results are reported nationally on a quarterly basis, and the first set for 2006 show that NHS Grampian achieved the required standards in all hospitals. Overall performance compared favourably with other areas of Scotland.

A new feature of the regular cleaning inspections is the involvement of trained volunteers. We now have a group of public representatives who have been trained to carry out the cleaning inspections alongside the domestic service managers checking up on the inspections of floors, furniture and fittings and sanitary areas. As far as is practical, the volunteers are free to choose which wards or departments they visit.

One of the public representatives, Willie Jaffray spoke of his first inspection visit: “I was introduced to all the patients and the nurses and staff in the wards and was given a very warm welcome. People were pleased to see someone from outside the cleaning service checking up on cleanliness.“

Audrey Bell, Support Services Manager said: “Although this initiative is in its early stages, we are confident it will have a very positive effect. Our domestic service managers and supervisors are having their inspections verified by members of the public. It is reassuring that there is a very high level of correlation between the monitoring outcomes of NHS Grampian staff and those of the public representatives. We warmly welcome the involvement of the public representatives and are grateful to them for giving their time to participate. Their efforts are much appreciated.“

Public representative Mr Jaffray (pictured above) added, “I was surprised at how thorough the inspections are – we inspected all the nooks and crannies in the wards, tops of notice boards, mirrors, underneath the toilet bowls. Everything is checked. It wasn’t just a paper exercise.“

Dental information

Pictured – A dentist using instruments to examine a patient’s teeth.

NHS Grampian is committed to developing a dental service for the public of Grampian and continues to invest in the sustainability of long term alternatives for NHS dental provision.

NHS Grampian has a dedicated Dental Information and Advice Line (DIAL) where patients can talk to fully trained qualified dental nurses who can assess patient needs and give advice on dental problems. It also provides access to the centralised waiting list for practices owned by NHS Grampian. This line is manned between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday and can be accessed by the local rate number 0845 45 65 990.

NHS Grampian currently operates a number of salaried dental practices, some of which also provide access to emergency services for unregistered patients in acute pain during the day. These appointments are booked through the DIAL operators, who will assess the need and provide advice and information.

NHS Grampian operates an out of hours emergency dental service, GDENS, for unregistered patients, visitors to the area and patients of participating dentists who are in acute pain and require emergency treatment. The clinics are open between 6.15pm and 9.15pm, Monday to Friday and 9.30am to 12.30pm Saturday and Sunday. Patients are required to telephone a dedicated telephone line 01224 558140 for an appointment. This line opens at 5.40pm during weekday clinics and at 9am during weekend clinics.

Moray – for local emergency treatment for non-registered adults please contact the West End Dental Practice on 01343 567891 between 9am and 4pm. For non-registered children please contact 01343 567205 between 9am and 12.30pm. All other emergencies should go through the DIAL or GDENS systems as above.

Up to date local information on Moray dental service developments can be accessed by telephoning the local dental administrator on 01343 567205 between 9am and 12.30pm who can direct your call to the appropriate service delivery unit.

Ultrasound scanning in Aberdeenshire

Every year thousands of patients from Aberdeenshire travel to Aberdeen for an ultrasound scan but, from now on, a trip to Foresterhill or Woodend may not be necessary for a considerable number of patients.

This is due to the Aberdeenshire Community Health Partnership’s Care Ultrasound project, which has trained existing local GPs in abdominal and pelvic ultrasound scanning. With the provision of ultrasound scanning equipment in local areas, these GPs have been able to set up and run regular clinics in their own practice areas.

The training for the GPs has been carried out by Portsmouth University and is combined practical hands-on training. Practical sessions are also carried out with trained staff in ARI, Woodend and at some of the Community Hospitals in Aberdeenshire. The help and support of colleagues from the radiology department during the GPs’ training period has been invaluable to the success of the project.

Of course, not everyone will be able to have their scans done locally. Scanning for relatively common medical conditions may quite easily be done at a local clinic, but there are also times when GPs will have to refer their patients on for a second opinion or for specialist assessment. It is important for GPs and specialists to have close links so that patients get the best possible treatment for their condition.

In terms of location for these GP clinics, there are currently ten trained and accredited GPs in Aberdeenshire, based in the following areas: Ellon; Alford; Huntly; Turriff; Banff; Peterhead; Fraserburgh; Cuminestown and Banchory. In addition, the coming months will see GP clinics starting in Inverurie and Mintlaw, and by the end of 2007 a further five GPs around Aberdeenshire will have completed their training.

By seeing patients with less complex conditions locally, there is an additional benefit in that it will also help to reduce overall waiting times for scanning, and allow specialist staff to focus on the more complex types of scan.

Join our NHS Grampian team

It’s not just doctors and nurses who are essential to the NHS. It takes a wide variety of people to keep the NHS running smoothly.

Whatever your skills, qualifications or ambitions, NHS Grampian has a worthwhile and rewarding career option for you. You’ll enjoy all the benefits of a good salary and pension as well as the job satisfaction which comes with knowing that you’re making a real difference to people’s lives.

Consider a worthwhile career which makes a positive contribution to improving the health and welfare of Scotland’s population.

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Development of services in Fraserburgh

A new service for patients with colon cancer has been launched at Fraserburgh Hospital.

Patients who had bowel surgery or are on certain oral chemotherapy drugs will now have their cases reviewed locally. Until now they had to attend the ANCHOR Unit for their regular three weekly reviews with a nurse specialist. At the first community hospital clinic, nurses saw five patients from the Fraserburgh area.

Two nurses, Anne Waugh, ward manager in Fraserburgh Hospital and Fiona Davidson, community nurse in Mintlaw have been trained to carry out these reviews by Macmillan consultant oncologist Dr Leslie Samuel and oncology nurse Danny Lynch.

The development is to be closely monitored to ensure standards of care are maintained and patients are satisfied with the outcomes. The Aberdeenshire Community Health Partnership (CHP) team plan to extend the new service if it is successful. A further two nurses from Portsoy and Turriff Community Hospital have also been trained and will commence the service in Chalmers Hospital in the near future.

This pilot has highlighted the potential for other significant improvements which will bring services closer to people’s homes. This has been made possible by the close co-operation between the ANCHOR Unit staff and nursing teams within Aberdeenshire CHP, supported by Lynn Adams, consultant nurse.

Looking for help with your health?

For free advice or information on:

Practical ways to improve your health
Your health concerns

Support groups and organisations

How to access NHS services
Access to free condoms

Call the healthline free and confidentially on: 0500 20 20 30

Or visit your local healthpoint at:

Aberdeen Indoor Market, 8 to 10 Market Street, Aberdeen

239 High Street, Elgin.

Nurse triage system

More and more nurse practitioners in the GP practice setting are being trained in triage – a system where some of the more routine patient problems are assessed and dealt with by the nurse. Some of the problems can be dealt with on the telephone, but those patients who still wish to see a doctor can still certainly do so.

Liz Cook, Nurse Practitioner at Portlethen Medical Centre, believes the triage system really contributes to the smooth running of the practice. She said: “Coupled with weekly training sessions going over triage guidelines, I listened in on all calls coming into the practice for requests for house visits, emergencies, advice and minor illness which could be dealt with by phone. From that we drew up a list of conditions which could be dealt with this way. The nurse triage only runs in the morning so afternoons are still covered by a doctor. I can deal with over 30 calls some mornings, which has certainly taken pressure off the GPs. Our practice population is very positive about the triage system: they like to be able to have advice or be prescribed over the phone when appropriate. I can also book them into my minor illness surgery if necessary.”

Another minor illness nurse has just been trained to deal with triage at the practice.

New child development services

Pictured - Tullos-based physiotherapist Shona Halliwell (right) and occupational therapist Fiona Wyllie (left) working on posture and hand coordination with nine-year-old Sean Sinclair.

This year marks the launch of the fourth community-based service dedicated to helping children with multiple and complex needs. The new Child Development team is based in south Aberdeen and offers a wide range of services to children, from birth to school leaving age. “Families will not face long journeys and our team can work with children in places which the children know, such as their nursery, and being where they feel comfortable and act naturally, enables valuable observation,” says consultant paediatrician Dr Suleman Daud. “Another advantage is that we can work with families over long periods. This approach is very effective and has been used by our rural community-based child development teams in South, Central and North Aberdeenshire.” The new team is based at Tullos Primary School and has paediatricians, as well as expertise in clinical psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language. The NHS team, led by DrDaud, works alongside a dedicated social worker and educational psychologist from Aberdeen City Council.

The team will be working in a complementary and integrated way with NHS Grampian’s Raeden Centre in Aberdeen, the regional child development centre. NHS Grampian is working with the VSA Carers Centre, to ensure families are at the heart of this new service, which will be fully evaluated.

Local endoscopy service

Any initiative which makes life easier for patients is always welcomed. Currently we are providing patients with a local endoscopy (visual examination of the interior of a hollow body organ) service in Peterhead, Banff and Stonehaven at their respective community hospitals. This common procedure has, in the past, meant patients having to travel into Aberdeen.

Locality manager Gordon Murdoch said: “This procedure is now being done by local GPs, and the feedback from patients has been very positive. The GPs are supervised by consultants from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary until they are fully accredited. This is clearly much better for patients in these areas not having to make the journey to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.”

In the heart of the community

Pictured - Inverurie Cardiology Service in action.

Plans to make major improvements to cardiac diagnosis and care throughout Grampian are underway. In a development which is unique in Scotland, six Community Cardiology Clinics – in Elgin, Turriff, Peterhead, Inverurie, Stonehaven and Aberdeen – are being established for patients with non-acute cardiology problems. The clinics are set to be fully operational by the end of the year.

Dr Jim Black, lead GP for the clinics project and formerly a GP in Inverurie said: “This is another example of innovation in healthcare in Grampian. The clinics will allow previously accessed hospital services to be delivered as a community-based service, convenient for patients.”

Traditionally, a GP refers a patient with signs of non-acute heart problems to the cardiac unit in a major hospital.

With this new system, there will be a locally-based team of experts including a consultant, GP, and cardiology technician / nurse, to investigate symptoms such as palpitations, chest pains and heart failure, and give support to the surrounding GP practices.

“We will also be able to interpret the test results on site, give the patient their diagnosis and in many cases deliver their treatment,” explains lead clinician Dr Robert Liddell, based in Turriff.

“The new services build on the success and experience of well-established cardiology clinics in Inverurie and Turriff. They have demonstrated over 10years how local management of cardiology can work with around only a third of patients having to travel to be seen at either of our hospital-based cardiac centres.”

Free eye tests

Pictured – optometrist using an instrument to examine a patient’s eye.

Eye appointments are now free under the NHS at your local optometrist (ophthalmic optician).

From April 2006 eyecare in Scotland changed with the introduction of a new NHS contract for optometrists. An ‘eye test’ is no longer limited to a check of vision and a prescription for spectacles or contact lenses. Optometrists are now trained to conduct comprehensive eye examinations, screen for eye disorders and to prescribe treatment and / or manage a wide range of common eye conditions. Optometrists assess the visual needs for people of all ages, from pre-school screening to managing age related conditions such as glaucoma, cataract and macular degeneration.

Patients may not require to see their GP if they have sore or red eyes, but can now consult the local optometrist for assessment. The optometrist may be able to treat and manage the eye problem within their practice or, following examination, may refer the patient to the GP or directly to the hospital eye clinic.

All optometrists are qualified and registered with the General Optical Council and have undergone further training and accreditation to provide free NHS eyecare. Attending your local optometrist ensures a thorough examination, with up to date equipment, the skills to assess any eye problems quickly without excessive waiting times and all free on the NHS.

Best foot forward

Pictured – a foot being massaged.

Promoting foot health to new podiatry patients and encouraging safe self-care has resulted in significant reductions in waiting times.

Invitations are sent to all people referred to the Aberdeen City Podiatry Service as non-urgent cases, asking them to attend a foot health talk, following which they would be invited to attend for assessment, should they still feel they require podiatry input. Since the new patient-focused talks in Aberdeen City, waiting times have dropped from 12 months to four weeks.

One of the Health Promotion podiatrists, Rachael Smith, said the response has been very positive: “During the talks we show examples of foot conditions and simple tips on how to keep feet healthy and how the patient can easily deal with minor foot complaints. The patients really feel empowered to cope with their own foot care after receiving education and often won’t require further treatment.”