Holby star officially opens new hospital diagnostic scanners

TV and film personality Guy Henry has proudly cut the ribbon on two new scanners at Poole Hospital.

The new machines are housed in the nuclear medicine department and allow for fusion imaging, meaning the images can be overlaid or viewed together to give a better picture than both images being looked at separately. They will help clinicians treat a range of patients from across the whole of Dorset dealing with a variety of issues, such as cancer or heart related problems.

The style of scanning is faster, uses smaller radiation doses and produces more accurate diagnostic information. Since the installation, the speed of cardiac imaging has already improved. 

Dr Kat Dixon, head of nuclear medicine, said: “As a team we are so excited to learn how to use these machines to their full potential and take on new projects. We named the machines after Marie and Pierre Curie for their pioneering work in nuclear medicine and we are so proud that we are improving our service to our patients.

“I’d also like to thank our team for working so flexibly during almost a year of building works to house the scanners and for ensuring we were still able to run a full clinical service and keep our waiting lists under control.”

Poole Hospital Cancer Treatment Trust kindly donated £500,000 to the machines, with the remaining funds provided by NHS Improvement.

Guy, patron of the Poole Hospital Cancer Treatment Trust, added: “I know from personal experience how important these machines are in helping patients get the best care and the earliest diagnosis. I am very proud to cut the ribbon knowing the great work this department will do.”

We need to hear from you

We are contacting patients via text message as part of our work to tackle the large waiting lists caused by the pandemic.

Over the last year many non-emergency operations and procedures across the NHS had to be cancelled or postponed because of Covid-19. We are working hard to prioritise our lists and will be contacting patients waiting for appointments at the Royal Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch hospitals via text message or letter to obtain further details.

If you receive one of these messages, please respond so we can help you with your care. We would like to assure you that: 

• our communication will only ever ask questions relating to your care
• we will never ask for bank details or reference to money or payment
• we will never ask you for your name or address, however you will be able to update your details if they are not correct
• our message will include a unique pin and we will ask you to input your date of birth only to log in
• a business reply address in Macclesfield will be supplied – this is where our team are collating your responses 

Cardiology patients are among those being sent messages. Steph McCormick, nurse specialist and cardiology service manager, said: “We know how long some patients have been waiting and we know how hard this can be. We are determined to do everything we can to help work through our waiting list as quickly as possible. Contacting patients digitally will enable us to do this as efficiently as possible so please do respond when you receive a message from University Hospitals Dorset.” 

Thank you for your patience.

Work has started to transform the top floor of Beales department store in the Dolphin Centre in Poole into an outpatient assessment clinic. This is part of our ‘Think Big’ initiative to help tackle our waiting lists and bring diagnostic services closer to the community.

We have been developing plans with our partners across Dorset to run outpatient appointments in a completely different way than they are currently run in our hospitals. The unit is initially planned to cover dermatology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, and breast and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm screening.

Many of the team involved with the transformation from retail space to clinic were involved with the build, design and kit out of the first Nightingale hospital in London’s Excel building. They have been using similar fast build and modular solutions to help optimise the space for the benefit of both our patients and our staff. Our clinical colleagues have been involved with all the plans as they believe this will allow them to see and assess more patients than is possible in our existing clinics across our hospitals and it will also be a better experience for our patients.

The team worked flat out over the course of a week to get the main structure in place, creating 2,600 square metres of partitioned space. They used 24,000 metres of metal stud and 12,000 metres of cabling in the construction.

To house the breast screening equipment, the team had to construct a lead-lined area, including ceiling, to comply with radiation regulations to protect our patients and staff. The lead alone for this weighed over three tonnes.

It was also necessary to add 1,000 metres of pipework for the plumbing. It is not just the teams and skills from the Nightingales that have been used, 1,000 of the 4,200 plasterboards came from the Nightingale stock, as well as the wash stations, over 200 light fittings; the dado rails to house the power supply and data networks; and over 90 doors.

We have been working closely with Beales and Legal and General, the landlords of the Dolphin Centre, to make this new and innovative centre a reality. Thanks to them for all they have done and also to our construction partners CFES, architects BDP and Innova who are supplying us with materials from the Nightingales.

Now that the basic infrastructure is in place, we need to kit out with clinical equipment ready to welcome our first patients later this year to the outpatient assessment clinic at Dorset Health Village.

Want to know more? See our FAQs on our outpatient assessment clinic and watch a time lapse of the build at Beales here.

The Village Gym opens doors to visitors of patients receiving end of life care

University Hospitals Dorset has teamed up with the Village Gym to provide free passes to visitors of patients who are receiving end of life care at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH). 

The pass allows friends, family and visitors of patients to use the showering and changing facilities at the gym, including fresh towels. As the gym is located across the road from RBH, Royal Bournemouth Hospital, the convenience allows visitors to never be far away from their loved ones while taking care of themselves.

Roxy Launder manager of the Village Gym, said: “Having a loved one who is receiving end of life care can be really stressful. We hope this service gives family members one less thing to worry about, and the peace of mind that they’re just over the road should they need to rush back to the hospital. We are so proud of this service and all of us here wanted to give back to our community.”

RBH palliative care nurse, Rachel Targett, added: “This pass from the Village allows family members to not be far from the bedside in those important last moments. This makes a massive difference; after all we only have one chance to get it right.”

This service is unlimited for relatives of patients who may be in hospital for a period of time. Visitors can find out more about the passes by speaking to the palliative care team.