Virtual consultations and soft plaster casts - how Hartlepool's health teams are keeping positive

Soft plaster casts are being offered to certain patients as part of the Trust teams' campaign.

A new campaign has been launched to recognise NHS staff during global pandemic

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust wants to showcase the tireless efforts of staff who are coming to work to save lives every single day.

The Trust has launched the #KeepingPositive campaign and sharing how teams are playing their part across hospitals in Hartlepool and Stockton as well as across the community.

Phone and video calls are being encouraged to help with social distancing.

For the latest updates and case numbers on the Coronavirus, visit the Hartlepool Mail website.

Bosses said it was ‘the biggest health pandemic of our generation and so we are continually changing the way we work to make sure that we are responding as effectively as we can.

“Our staff are really rising to the challenge, taking on physical distancing measures where ever they can and making improvements to their areas to make them as safe as possible for patients and the public.”

They also shared examples of how #KeepingPositive was really making a difference.

Cards have been produced by the Trust’s employee engagement team as a way of helping guide staff through what is a challenging period.

- To help with social distancing and to provide quicker outcomes, clinical teams are converting appropriate urgent appointments to virtual consultations.

That means a video consultation in place of a face to face appointment appointment for some people and it is giving ‘an additional layer of reassurance over telephone appointments for some patients’.

Outpatients and Pathways Manager Michael Butler said: “We are delighted to have developed the capability to offer virtual consultations at scale. We have been working for some time with NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop this offer for our patients and clinicians.

“Providing a more convenient service for our local population, with patients being reviewed from the comfort of their own home has always been part of our long term plan which we have accelerated over the past couple of weeks.”

The team in the endoscopy service have made a number of improvements to continue to provide the very best care to patients.

- Another development is softer plaster casts. The team in the plaster room has used innovation to help patients get successful treatment from their own home.

When appropriate, patients with fractures are being offered soft plaster casts. This means, after the fracture has healed and following a video or phone appointment, the patient can safely remove the cast without the need for support by a health professional.

- On the Minor Injuries unit, patients are now being triaged to orthopaedic outpatients at the University Hospital of North Tees where they can be assessed by a team of health professionals including consultants, registrars, nurses, healthcare assistants, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

The new temporary musculoskeletal minor injuries area will be open seven days a week.

Patients with minor injuries are now being triaged to orthopaedic outpatients at the University Hospital of North Tees.

Ward matron Tracy Maddison said: “This new service will allow patients presenting at urgent care to be quickly and efficiently streamed into orthopaedic outpatients – helping reduce pressure on the emergency department while also leading to quicker treatment for patients.”

- In the endoscopy service, a number of improvements have been made.

Patients appointments are still going ahead when appropriate, while staff will use their experience and skills to help work with services across the organisation to care for patients.

Ward matron Alison McCullagh said: “We have a highly experienced team of skilled staff who are not only able to continue caring for patients in the endoscopy unit when appropriate but also care for patients across the organisation as and when required.”

- The chaplaincy team have been out and about on the wards offering advice and support to staff.

Cards have been produced by the Trust’s employee engagement team as a way of helping guide staff through what is a challenging period.

They offer words of advice and comfort to staff such as “Do something nice for yourself today”, “You can’t take care of yourself, unless you first take care of yourself”, “Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe”, and “Put your problems on pause”.

People are also being urged to back the campaign by sharing messages of love and positivity using the hashtags #KeepingPositive #OurResponse #InThisTogether.

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