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Thursday 10 August 2023

Message from the chief executive

I am delighted to let you know that Chase Farm Hospital has been named by NHS England as one of eight new elective surgical hubs. The hubs deliver planned surgery with a focus on low complexity procedures across six specialties including ophthalmology, general surgery and orthopaedics. They are part of plans nationally to increase capacity for elective care with more dedicated operating theatres and beds. Chase Farm Hospital is now one of 16 hubs nationwide to have been accredited. This means the skills and expertise of our staff are brought together under one roof and because no emergency surgery is delivered at Chase Farm Hospital, all surgical beds can be reserved for those needing a planned procedure, reducing the risk of short-notice cancellations. Our teams at Chase Farm Hospital were assessed against a set of standards, such as staff training and clinical outcomes, to receive this accreditation. This has been achieved thanks to a huge amount of work from the teams at the hospital and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their hard work. We are extremely proud of the outstanding care that is delivered at Chase Farm Hospital and it’s wonderful to have this confirmed by NHS England. You can read more about this on our website. Kind regards Peter Landstrom Interim group chief executive Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Junior doctor industrial action 

Junior doctors at Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital will take part in national industrial action for four days starting at 7am on Friday 11 August until 7am on Tuesday 15 August. This follows a 120-hour strike in July.

This comes after members of the British Medical Association and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) voted in favour of industrial action.

This will be the fifth period of industrial action by junior doctors this year.

Emergency care will be prioritised and patients seeking urgent treatment will be seen. However, where appropriate, if you or anyone you know needs to, please use other non-hospital services for advice and treatment during this time.

We are contacting patients directly if we need to rearrange their planned procedure or outpatient appointment.

Latest updates

Royal Free London first to recruit patients to kidney dialysis trial

Patients receiving dialysis at the RFL have become the first in the UK to be recruited to the RESOLVE study, which will review the levels of salt in dialysis fluid.

The four dialysis units at the trust — the Tottenham Hale Kidney and Diabetes Centre, the Mary Rankin Unit at the St Pancras Hospital, Barnet Dialysis Unit and the Edgware Kidney Care Centre — have each been randomly assigned to use one of two levels of sodium for haemodialysis, both of which are within the limits routinely used in the UK.

All patients receiving treatment at the units are part of the study unless they opt out of data collection. Researchers will then use the medical records and data routinely collected by the UK Renal Registry and NHS Digital to track the health of these patients.

Congratulations to our new University College London professors

Four consultants at the Royal Free London have been named as professors in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at University College London (UCL).

Sanjay Baghani, infectious diseases consultant, Banwari Agarwal, intensive care medicine consultant, Keith Gomez, consultant in haemostasis at the Haemophilia Centre and Thrombosis Unit, and Stephen Walsh, nephrology consultant, have attained their professorships. These will come into effect from Sunday 1 October.

Royal Free London receives NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award

The trust has received an NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award thanks to its ongoing work in international recruitment and commitment to high-quality pastoral care for internationally educated midwives and nurses.

The award recognises the work the trust does to support newly recruited nurses and midwives from outside the UK.

Matron awarded British Empire Medal

Peter Hollely, an emergency department matron at the Royal Free Hospital, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for voluntary work at the late Queen’s funeral.

Peter volunteers with St John Ambulance, providing emergency care, as well as strategy and tactical planning at public events including the funerals of Prince Philip and the late Queen, concerts in Hyde Park and other community events.

He also helps provide the St John Ambulance emergency department admission avoidance service in Soho during the run up to Christmas. By providing emergency care to unwell members of the public, he helps them avoid going to hospital during some of the busiest times for NHS emergency departments.

Dedication to students recognised

Katy Arnell, junior sister at Barnet Hospital, has been awarded the prestigious Dean’s Award by the University of Hertfordshire for going the extra mile to support nursing students.

She has worked in Barnet Hospital’s Olive ward for 21 years and took home the ‘excellent practice placement support’ award for her dedication to student nurses at the hospital.

The Dean’s Award recognises the outstanding achievements of students, staff, and practice partners at the University’s School of Health and Social Work.

Other developments

Could you become a Royal Free London governor?

Governors add huge value to our trust. They are elected to represent the interests of our membership, to hold the non-executive directors to account, and to support the board of directors who are ultimately responsible for our performance.

We are recruiting for public, patient and staff governors. If you are interested in standing, you can find out more here. The nomination period closes at 11.59pm on Friday 11 August.

To stand for election, you must be a member of the RFL in the constituency for which you wish to stand. Further information about how to become a member can be found on our website.

Annual Report and Accounts 2022/2023 

Our annual review of the year, including our performance during 2022 to 2023, our work to improve patient care and our independently audited accounts, has been published.

Some of the highlights included are the opening of the National Institute for Health and Care Research Royal Free Clinical Research Facility, the record number of patients recruited to research studies, 30 years of caring for those living with HIV at the Ian Charleson Day Centre and a £16 million investment in cancer services thanks to funding from the Royal Free Charity.