Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have launched an initiative aimed at fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment for women and girls across Surrey. 

Following a recent menstrual health education session, the SFRS Community Safety Partnership team is now equipped to provide support and period products to women and girls who need them when they are on duty in local communities.  

The initiative is a joint collaboration between SFRS and Binti – a charity that provides menstrual dignity to girls and women worldwide. 

Bernie Beckett, SFRS Chief of Staff, said: “Addressing the topic of periods and menstruation can be challenging. However, by launching this initiative we aim to break the stigma and, most importantly, provide period products to those who face challenges in accessing them.  

“We know that many women and girls lack access to the necessary support and education surrounding menstrual health. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service can provide a vital role in ensuring that women and girls in our communities have access to period products when they need them. We’re delighted to be playing our part in Binti’s menstrual dignity mission, contributing to a more inclusive and supportive environment for women and girls in Surrey.” 

Manjit K. Gill, CEO and founder of Binti said: “Manjit K. Gill MBE CEO and Founder of Binti said: “Working with a forward-thinking organisation like Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, especially in a traditionally male-dominated sector, is truly inspiring.  

“Their commitment to inclusion for their workforce and their willingness to tackle the issue of period dignity head-on sets a remarkable example for others to follow. By breaking down barriers and fostering a more inclusive environment, we are not only empowering women and girls but also challenging societal norms. It is a privilege to collaborate with such a visionary organisation and collectively drive positive change in the pursuit of gender equality.” 

The service will be storing period products on some of its Community and Partnership vehicles.  An ‘Ask me for period products’ magnet will indicate to members of the public that period products are available when out in the community or attending events.

Related reports:

Lighting up for menstrual dignity

The Surrey All Age Mental Health Investment Fund (MHIF) has awarded funding to 10 projects providing innovative, community-focused programmes to support the prevention of mental ill health and improvement of emotional well-being across the county. 

Established in 2022, the MHIF is an integrated funding programme with a total budget of £10.5m. This allocation consists of a £6.5m contribution from Surrey County Council from the specific 1% precept on Council Tax collected from 2022/2023 and £4m from Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board. Additionally, the Council has partnered with the Community Foundation for Surrey and secured just under £1m via a match funding arrangement. 

Funding is used to support services which are non-statutory; developed by local, community-based groups. The MHIF is aligned to meeting the outcomes of Priority 2 of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which focuses on prevention, removing barriers, and supporting people to become proactive in improving their emotional health and wellbeing. 

Round 1 of applications took place in December 2022. There were 55 bids submitted of which 10 were successfully awarded funding totally approximately £530,000. 

The projects awarded funding include a gardening space to increase access to nature-based therapy, providing support to life-limited children and their families and expanding the provision of a hub that uses drama to support people with mental health challenges. 

All bids were assessed by a panel which represents the Integrated Care Board (ICB), Surrey County Council, Cabinet members, the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE), integrated commissioning representatives and Public Health. 

Mark Nuti, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, said: “I’m delighted that the first round of funding has been allocated to a range of different organisations, all working to tackle mental ill-health with innovative, community-focused projects. 

“The successful bids cover a broad age range and are spread across the 11 districts and boroughs of Surrey. We have also approved funding a large bid investing in primary schools across Surrey as part of Round 1, and I’m pleased to say we have already had significant interest in Round 2 of the fund after going live at the beginning of June.” 

Round 2 of funding has just closed and bids are currently being evaluated. Information regarding any future rounds of funding will be communicated via our webpage.  

Find out more about the MHIF: Surrey Mental Health Investment Fund – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk) 

Round 1 Awards:

• Merstham Community Facility Trust – support groups for adults, and for children in Merstham, as well as supporting the recruitment and training of 16 further Health and Wellbeing Community Champions in the local community 
• The Lucy Rayner Foundation – Counselling service to reach people (14-39 years) preventing them from reaching crisis. 
• Catalyst Wellbeing Garden – Providing a project co-ordinator and a project assistant to develop the gardening space; establish, programme, and run nature-based therapy sessions, providing time and space for holistic support. 
• Prospero Theatre Community Wellbeing Company – Prospero is an inclusive theatre company, that uses drama to improve the quality of life for adults and young people with disabilities and mental health challenges.  
• Shooting Star Children’s Hospice – Aiding the provision of mental health support for life-limited children, their family members (including parents and siblings)  
• Emerge Advocacy – Community-based support following an A&E attendance to catch young people who have recently been in emotional or mental health crisis. 
• Peer Production – Two full tours of each of Peer Production’s mental health plays (Masking and The Space Between). 
• A2 Dominion – Provision of ‘Mind My Home’ an online solutions-based therapy project, targeted at low income/social housing tenants. 
• Appeer Community Interest Company – A project which aims to address the social isolation of young autistics girls, provide early help and resources and support parents and care givers of autistic daughters.  

Further information about the awards: https://www.healthysurrey.org.uk/news/community-projects-500k-mental-health-investment-fund 

Image: Appeer Community Interest, Peer Productions, Prospero Friday Club.

A wave of back-to-back strikes will severely impact hospital services over the coming week – and will follow the busiest month of 2023 for one hospital group.

St George’s, Epsom and St Helier hospitals have faced significant pressure in recent weeks, with emergency attendances in June ramping up. Last month about 880 people visited one of the Group’s three emergency departments (EDs) daily – about 10% more than is usual.

The emergency departments also saw extraordinary demand some days – including one record-breaking Monday when they had their busiest day ever. Now, ahead of this week’s junior doctors’ strikes, which get underway at 7 am on Thursday and continue until 7 am the following Tuesday (18 July), members of the public have been warned to expect disruption and longer waits, and to avoid visiting the ED when it’s not an emergency.

There will also be an additional challenge when hospital consultants go on strike just days after the junior doctors’ action ends. That walk-out is due to take place on Thursday 20 July and Friday 21 July.

Dr Richard Jennings, Group Chief Medical Officer for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group, said: “June was very busy and that’s also continued into July – which makes it more difficult when we’re trying to prepare for the inevitable challenges strike action brings. Ahead of each round of strikes I’ve urged the public to take steps to help us and to come to our EDs in an emergency only – and I am making the same request again now when it is more important than ever. We have a very tough week ahead and we need your support to ensure we can prioritise care for our sickest and most seriously ill patients.”

The hospital group recognise that it’s going to be the first time this year that a junior doctors’ strike has taken place over the weekend and into a Monday. This has prompted further concern, as Monday is normally the busiest day of the week in the Group’s EDs. This was even more pronounced last month, with 1,000-plus average daily attendances on Mondays – significantly higher than a typical day of 800.

Dr Jennings added: “If people need medical help – during the strikes or at any other time – we would encourage them to contact NHS 111 online for 24/7 advice on where to go and what to do if they have an illness or injury. When it’s a real emergency or life-threatening, of course, people should always call 999 or go to an emergency department.”

Strikes will also impact other services at the hospitals, and will mean that some appointments, procedures and operations may be postponed to ensure emergency care can be prioritised. Patients will be contacted directly if their appointments are rescheduled, and should continue to come forward for care as normal unless they hear otherwise.

NHS 111 online should always be the first port of call when you have a health need that’s not an emergency, as it will direct you to the best place to get help for your symptoms.

Pharmacies, meanwhile, can offer advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, and aches and pains. Some pharmacies will be open at weekends, and you can find your nearest one here:

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy

In a life-threatening emergency, you should always call 999 or go to an emergency department.

If you need mental health support in a crisis, and live in Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton or Wandsworth you can call South West London’s 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line on 0800 028 8000. There’s more information about this service here:

https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/patients-carers/crisis-support/mental-health-support-line

For adults, young people, and children in Surrey and North East Hampshire, 24-hour support is available by calling: 0800 915 4644. There’s more information here:

https://www.sabp.nhs.uk/our-services

St George’s, Epsom and St Helier hospitals press.

A team of obstetricians, gynaecologists, neonatologists and nurses who work at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust have raised nearly £10,000 for Bliss, the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick.

Radhika Viswanatha, Nina Underwood, Ramesh Ganapathy, Demetri Panayi, Salim Yasin, Charlotte Pearse, Vicky Minns, Cristina Arias-Rey and Sharon Young took part in a skydive on 28 May 2023 at the Old Sarum Park in Salisbury.

1 in every 7 babies born in the UK will need specialist care and the group have a special link to Bliss, as they each look after women and their babies during pregnancy and delivery and beyond at Epsom and St Helier Hospital.

Some of the babies they deliver are more vulnerable than others, so are looked after by the hospital’s neonatal team.

Demetri Panayi said: “Our charity skydive was born out of moments of madness, midlife crises and irrational personal desire! But it gave us the opportunity to raise money for a cause close to our hearts, and to our patients.”

Donations to their skydive are helping Bliss to drive improvements in neonatal care, to ensure that the needs of babies are at the heart of policy and planning for the future, and to provide information and support to all families with a baby born premature or sick.

Richard Moody, Director of Fundraising at Bliss, said: “We are so grateful for the exceptional fundraising efforts of Demetri and his colleagues. Each donation to Bliss is going towards our mission of helping all babies born premature or sick in the UK have the best chance of survival and quality of life.

“This is a great example of how a perinatal team can come together to raise awareness and money for Bliss.”

You can find more information and donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/skydive2023

Molly Gorman

“I didn’t think I would ever be able to run 10k” said Epsom man and Crohn’s disease sufferer Harry Reed. But he will now compete in the London race on 9 July to raise awareness of disease.

Last year, after a long battle with Crohn’s Disease, 24-year-old Harry Reed weighed just 48kg. Today he is training for the ASICS London 10k and is in his best health of recent years. “I’m super excited,” says Harry who is due to compete on July 9.

“My knee’s been playing up recently, so I’ve had to take it easy over the last couple of weeks…but apart from that…I have a feeling it’s going to go very well.” Before [developing Crohn’s] I was an athlete,” says Harry who grew up in Epsom. “I was a county sprinter and I actually qualified for the county races.”

After losing much of his strength due to illness Harry’s race preparation now incorporates muscle training to help with his endurance. “All the strength that you’d normally build up in like your joints, I lost it. So, I’m currently doing a lot of work to kind of build up the strength in my ligaments, tendons and around my
knees and ankles.”

Crohn’s Disease is a chronic condition which causes parts of the gut to become swollen and inflamed resulting in symptoms including pain, diarrhoea, weight loss and extreme tiredness.

Harry developed Crohn’s in 2015 when, after a calf muscle injury, he contracted glandular fever later leading to the onset of his disease. The route to a diagnosis was not straight forward and Harry spent his GCSEs through to A levels in and out of hospitals. “They just couldn’t figure it out because my blood tests weren’t coming back with anything specific that was wrong,” Harry says.

Harry was finally diagnosed in 2017, 2 years after his symptoms began. But, that year, during an initial surgery to treat the Crohn’s, Harry developed life threatening infections of the blood and stomach lining known as sepsis and peritonitis. He was transferred from Epsom to St Helier’s hospital for emergency surgery.

“I wasn’t expected to live. So that was a bit of a miracle in itself…I had to basically say goodbye to my parents, my family at that time because we all knew that it wasn’t good.”

The complications did not end there. In 2019, Harry developed hair loss known as alopecia. He also experienced two rounds of failed drug treatments which led to a severe return of symptoms in 2022.

“My diet sort of got narrower and narrower about things that were okay for me to eat…by the end of September [2022], I had not been able to eat for a couple of weeks. I ended up going into hospital through A&E due to the backlog of patients with COVID.”

Harry was given intravenous nutrition before undergoing further surgery to remove the problem part of his bowel. Thankfully the operation was a success, and it was in 2022 that Harry was able to rediscover
his love for running.

“When I first started…. it went terribly. But it felt great when I got back, to actually feel like I accomplished something or at least to have that sort of exercise endorphin release. Mentally the fog had been lifted for just a moment which was really great.”

“As I was able to eat more, my body was able to take in more calories, my strength grew. By November of 2022 I was given the kind of all clear by my surgeon… It’s been a blessing to be able to do it for myself and prove to myself that I can do it. I didn’t think I would ever be able to run 10k so to be able to feel confident about doing a good job is so exciting.”

Harry will run to raise awareness of the disease, which affects over 1 in 123 people in the UK*.

“It’s an invisible illness – you’ll never know if someone’s got Crohn’s,” says Harry. “I think the tough thing… is realising the severity and the kind of the intensity that people suffer when it comes to the flare ups. It’s something that is really hard to put into perspective. I think also the lack of energy that you have…it’s like you have to work 10 times as hard. And most of the time your output is 10 times less. I think once you can be educated, you can then have empathy towards people and some more understanding”.

Harry currently works as a creative director for a publishing house start-up based in Epsom, where he lives with his fiancé. His upcoming race will be the start of many, with plans to run the Bacchus Wine 10k at Denbies Wine Estate in September.

You can find out more about Harry’s upcoming race at

https://limelightsports.club/event/asics-london-10k-2023.

*Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis – stats from Crohn’s and Colitis UK

Visits to emergency departments (EDs) rocketed on Monday, with more people coming through the doors than ever before. More than 1,250 people went to one of St George’s, Epsom and St Helier’s three EDs – a rise on the previous record of 1,170, and a huge increase on a typical day of about 800 attendances. 

It comes just hours before hundreds of junior doctors prepare to strike across the hospitals group – prompting fears of a “double whammy” of pressures. 

ED attendances on Monday 12 June were as follows: 

• St George’s: 580 
• Epsom and St Helier: 674 
• Kingston: 533 
• Croydon: 622 

Croydon and Kingston hospitals also experienced very high demand and easily surpassed their previous highest number of attendances.  

Kingston Hospital set a new record seeing more than 530 people visiting its emergency department in one day, including 78 ambulances and 455 walk-ins. 

Croydon University Hospital saw 622 unwell patients needing to see an emergency care consultant – 16% above the previous busiest summer day on record on 17 June 2021. 

Dr Richard Jennings, Group Chief Medical Officer at St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group, said: “We have never been busier, and with the upcoming strikes it’s going to be a very challenging week. 

“We’re here, as always, for those who need us. But now more than ever, we need the public’s support in those cases where it is not an emergency. NHS 111 online should be your first port of call in these instances, as it can direct you to where you need to go.” 

Members of the British Medical Association and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association will strike for 72 hours from 7am on Wednesday 14 June until 7am on Saturday 17 June.  

This action will impact services at hospitals, and will mean that some appointments, procedures and operations may be postponed to ensure emergency care can be prioritised. Patients will be contacted directly if their appointments are rescheduled, and should continue to come forward for care as normal unless they hear otherwise. 

The mercury is expected to remain in the high 20s, and even early 30s, when these strikes start – and will hit hot temperatures once action has finished, too, with the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office extending their heat-health alert to Monday. 

When temperatures rise, more people, especially those in high-risk groups, can suffer from illnesses like heat exhaustion and dehydration, as well as sunburn. 

The pollen count has also been very high, and there has been a surge in people visiting EDs with shortness of breath. This might not be anything to worry about, but it is scary and sometimes those who are experiencing it will need medical help. NHS England has this advice for people who are affected. 

If you have an underlying respiratory condition, you should contact your GP or asthma nurse as needed – unless it is an emergency, in which case you should call 999 or go to ED immediately. 

Everyone should stay safe and well in the hotter weather, and take steps such as: looking out for people who may struggle to keep cool and hydrated, such as elderly relatives or neighbours; keeping windows closed when the room is cooler than outside; and staying hydrated.  

You should also stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, apply suncream regularly, and wear a hat.  

Dr Jennings added: “This weather has undoubtedly contributed to the rise in people – some who are vulnerable and very sick – coming to our emergency departments. 

“Help us to prioritise care for those need it the most, and use our services wisely.” 

If you need urgent medical help use NHS 111 online first, which can direct you to where you need to go. Pharmacies, meanwhile, can offer advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, and aches and pains. 

To find out more about staying safe during hot weather, visit the NHS’s website. 

St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group

Related reports:

Hospitals heatwave warning

NHS website remedy for hay-fever

Junior doctor strikes to be ‘monthly’ in Surrey?

With hay-fever suffering at a peak the NHS urges sufferers to visit its website for advice and reduce pressures on its telephone and other services.

The number of hay fever sufferers seeking advice from the NHS website has more than tripled – reaching 122,650 visits last week.

Analysis by NHS England, which runs the NHS website, found weekly visits to the hay fever page have increased by 252% in the past five weeks from 34,878 visits during the first week of May.

Sunday was the busiest day of the year so far for visits to the web page with 27,834 visits in 24 hours – an average of one visit every three seconds.

The surge coincides with figures seen last year when hay fever page visits topped a million during the six months from March to October, peaking at 462,706 in June 2022. December was the quietest month for visits with only 5,658.

NHS information pages on hay fever treatments have also proved popular during the past five weeks. Visits to the antihistamines and cetirizine pages have more than doubled, and visits to the fexofenadine page have more than tripled to reach 45,450 visits last week.

Most hay fever symptoms can be effectively managed at home or with medication widely and cheaply available in community pharmacies or supermarkets.

Robert Cleary, NHS England’s Content Director for the NHS website, said:

“Many of us experience hay fever symptoms at this time of year and the nhs.uk hay fever advice page provides the latest medical advice to manage your symptoms, as well as giving guidance on when to get support from NHS services.

“Millions of people make the NHS website their first port of call for advice and information on a wide range of conditions. The website is here for anyone 24 hours a day, making it easy for people to receive health advice and support from a trustworthy source around the clock.”

There is currently no cure for hay fever, which usually hits between late March and September when the weather is warm, windy and humid, and the pollen count is at its highest.

The symptoms include sneezing, coughing, a runny or blocked nose, as well as red, itchy or watery eyes. Sufferers can also experience headaches, earache or lose their sense of smell.

The NHS hay fever page details several ways people can ease their symptoms including staying indoors, keeping their windows shut, not cutting their grass or coating their nostrils with Vaseline to trap the pollen.

The page also offers advice on different treatments available from pharmacists and recommends when people should seek help from their GP.

The NHS website is the UK’s biggest health website with an estimated 2.6 million visits a day in 2022 from people seeking information and advice.

It includes over 4,000 pages and provides information about 990 medical conditions as well other health services including applying for a free UK Global Health Insurance Card for healthcare cover abroad, finding a GP, and a pregnancy due date calculator.

For more information visit Hay fever – NHS (www.nhs.uk).

NHS England Media Team

_{Image: Fitzpatrick AM CC BY-SA 4.0}

Summer looks like it’s here at last – but with a surge in temperatures also meaning a surge in people visiting emergency departments, members of the public are urged to stay safe in the sun.

Earlier this week the UK Health Security Agency and Met Office issued their first heat-health alert of the year in six regions, including London and the South East, which comes into effect tomorrow (Friday) at 9am.

With the mercury set to peak at about 30 degrees Celsius, they are warning people to stay safe and well – and St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group is echoing that plea.

Dr Richard Jennings, Group Chief Medical Officer, said: “When temperatures start to soar, more people, especially those in high-risk groups, can suffer from illnesses like heat exhaustion, dehydration, and of course sunburn.

“It often means our hospitals are busier as a result. As always, we are there for those who need us, but please do take steps to stay safe and well, and avoid a trip to our emergency departments.”

High-risk groups include elderly people, babies, young children, and those with heart, respiratory and serious health problems. But everyone should stay safe and well in the hotter weather – and take the following steps:

• Looking out for people who may struggle to keep cool and hydrated, such as elderly relatives or neighbours
• Keeping windows closed when the room is cooler than outside, but opening them at night when the temperatures has dropped, and closing curtains on rooms that face the sun to keep indoor spaces cooler
• Drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding excess alcohol. Taking water with you, if travelling
• Trying to keep out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, and staying in the shade
• Applying suncream regularly, and wearing a hat
• Not exercising during the hottest parts of the day

Staying in the sun for too long increases the risk of becoming unwell. Heat exhaustion is not serious and usually gets better when someone cools down, but if this turns into heatstroke it needs to be treated as an emergency. You may have heat exhaustion if you are experiencing headaches, dizziness, loss of appetite, and feeling sick or confused.

If you are affected by any of these symptoms, it’s important to cool down as quickly as possible. There is more information on the NHS website on how to do this – and also what to do if your condition worsens.

The hospitals group is also reminding people that its emergency departments are there for serious and life-threatening emergencies – particular with a third wave of junior doctors’ strikes coming up next week, which will also have a big impact on services. Hundreds of doctors from St George’s, Epsom and St Helier could walk out over the 72 hours.

Dr Jennings added: “We often find we’re as busy in the days following a heatwave. The hot-weather alert is in place until Monday morning – less than 48 hours before many of our junior doctors will be taking industrial action.

“That’s why it’s even more important for the public to take steps to help us, help our staff, and of course, help themselves.”

If you need urgent medical help you should use NHS 111 online first, which can direct you to where you need to go.

Pharmacies, meanwhile, can offer advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, and aches and pains.

To find out more about staying safe during hot weather, visit the NHS’s website.

A mum says she is “amazed” by a new chemotherapy service that has proven to be invaluable for young cancer patients and their families. Nathan Dunne, nine, is usually “back home and in his pyjamas” within 90 minutes of leaving the house to have the cancer treatment – known as Vincristine – at Epsom Hospital, and is in the treatment room itself for just half an hour.

Mum Oana is full of nothing but praise for the service, and says it has significantly reduced the amount of time they spend in hospital for appointments – with Nathan previously receiving his Vincristine dose elsewhere. “It’s so much quicker, and Nathan gets everyone’s full attention – plus, the toy box is there already waiting for him on arrival!” said Oana.

“The staff are amazing, they know what they have to do and are always helpful – and if they don’t know the answers to my questions, they will find out. We’re in and out really quickly, and I look forward to the days when we are in Epsom Hospital now. We know the nurses who are working, and we see often the same faces. They know our children and they remember the routine that works for us – for Nathan, that’s counting ‘1, 2, 3’ when the needle goes in, and back again when it’s taken out. I’m just amazed at how quickly we’re back home after a visit for Vincristine.”

Nathan – who lives with his family in Worcester Park – was diagnosed with leukaemia in June 2020. Aged six at the time, he started to complain of tummy aches, and also started to feel really tired – with Oana recalling how one day she had to carry him home from the park because he couldn’t walk.

On another occasion Nathan had a wobbly tooth that wouldn’t stop bleeding for two days, and he also had a swollen finger that hurt when using his iPad.

Concerned about her son, Oana sought help, and Nathan was eventually referred to St Helier Hospital for blood tests. Later on, the family received devastating news: there was a 90 per cent chance Nathan had leukaemia. “We were devastated – it was the shock of our lives,” said Oana. “I didn’t think for a moment that was what it would be.”

The diagnosis was officially confirmed shortly afterwards, and Nathan spent a night at St Helier Hospital before being transferred to Epsom Hospital’s paediatric oncology unit (POSCU).

He was then moved to the Royal Marsden on his seventh birthday, and spent the next few months in the care of the teams there. Oana says Nathan understood what was happening to some extent – knowing “there was something wrong with his blood” and that he was “very poorly”. Treatment started quickly and every day.

Now, Nathan visits Epsom every four weeks to have treatment and is at the Royal Marsden every 12 weeks – with Oana saying the care he has received and continues to receive at both as “incredible”. Nathan is due to finish treatment in August, and is one of 10 patients to have now received a regular Vincristine infusion at Epsom Hospital.

Dr Beccy Suckling, Chief Medical Officer at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Ensuring our patients receive outstanding care is our biggest priority. Our new Vincristine clinics are something to be really proud of, and a lot of work has gone into getting us to this point. It’s fantastic to hear that young cancer patients like Nathan are being treated so well by our brilliant teams – and as well as thanking our wonderful staff for the care they provide, I’d like to thank Oana and Nathan for their really lovely words about that care.”

Lucy Lloyd-James, Lead Nurse for Epsom’s Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Unit, said: “Epsom Hospital is much closer to home for many of our young patients, and we’ve had such wonderful feedback about our Vincristine clinics and how quickly patients are in and out. We know how scary and overwhelming it can be for our young patients and their families, and this is one way we can make such a difficult experience just a bit easier.”

St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group

[Epsom and Ewell Times say: Thank you Nathan and Oana for your courage sharing your story.]

Junior doctor strikes at a Surrey NHS trust is feared to become ‘monthly’ with ‘a lot less willingness’ from people to cover gaps in maintaining levels of service.

The Royal Surrey NHS foundation board meeting took place on Thursday, May 25, and almost immediately the issue of striking doctors came to the fore with staff retention and breaches of patient confidentiality also featuring prominently. 

Front and centre though was the dispute over pay and conditions between the Government and junior doctors. Royal Surrey CEO Louise Stead said, with three days of industrial action already announced for June, the trust “would be going into overdrive to plan for that” but said it would be more difficult as there would be “a lot less willingness” from people to cover any gaps – a problem that would only increase “as this goes on”.

She told the meeting it was increasingly likely that there would be “strikes every month until there is a resolution”, adding “this will be very difficult”. Trust chairperson Joss Bigmore said the “whole situation was becoming “increasingly frustrating on the hard working people”. He told the meeting: “Until they find a resolution to this its just going to get worse and worse.

He said: “It was galling to see the health secretary canvassing during the election when the junior doctors were on strike”, before adding “We have managed incredibly well so far but it won’t last. We really need to find a resolution to this.”

Junior doctors in England are planning a new  72-hour walkout in June as talks with the government once again broke down. The walkout will start at 7am on Wednesday, June 14, and run until Saturday, June 17 with the British Medical Union labelling the government’s 5 per cent pay offer as not “credible”.

Among the other items discussed during the morning meeting were the increase in the number of healthcare infections being detected across the hospital, in line with the rest of the UK since coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jacqui Tingle, the director of nursing and midwifery, said that while there had been a nationwide pattern for infectious diseases to rise as a whole, Royal Surrey had specific recorded a “spike” in c-difficile cases. 

The meeting also heard about the on-going issues with recruitment, which had played a role in the three month increase in complaints received from patients.

On IT,  she spoke to the “significant rise” in patient data breaches  – 248 from 90 reported last year, which she said was due to the implementation of a new electronic patient record system though these are said to be in decline,

What has been happening, she said, was the new system pulled patient data from a central hub rather than the most up-to-date local lists resulting, in some cases, in confidential medical letters being sent to the wrong address.

Related reports:

Surrey doctors to go on strike?

Image: Royal Surrey Hospital Trust Board (Chris Caulfield)