NCIC News
All the latest from the Trust | April 2024
Intro from the Chair
Hello and welcome to our newsletter for foundation trust members and the wider community. 
April has been a busy month for NCIC and it’s encouraging to see an improvement in our cancer performance. We’re always striving to make things better for our patients and we know that although we are improving we have a lot of work still to do.
May has two bank holidays – at the start and end of the month - so we’re asking you to be organised and order your prescriptions in advance and use our services wisely. Remember you can now see our live A&E wait times on our website.
Steven Morgan
Chair
Spring into action ahead of the May bank holidays
While the May bank holidays are fun for most, they can be an extremely pressured period in the NHS. We are asking the public to do their bit to help relatives and use services wisely.
Dr Adrian Clements, executive medical director, said: “As we start to prepare for two busy bank holiday periods next month, we’re asking that you prepare too. You can do this by making sure you have ordered your repeat prescriptions and your medicine cabinets and first aid kits are stocked up at home.
“We are also asking relatives, friends and neighbours to help get homes ready for patients who have been in hospital.
"Please only use A&E if you have life-threatening emergency. Please use NHS 111 if your condition is not life-threatening. You can see the A&E live wait times on our public website."
Data shows improvement in cancer performance
The NHS latest figures show that NCIC have exceeded the faster diagnosis cancer targets in February, with three out of four (75.8%) people receiving a definitive cancer diagnosis or all clear within four weeks.
We’ve worked really hard to make sure that our patients are receiving what they need quicker, whether that’s a diagnosis or treatment. We’re pleased that we have met the targets, however we always strive to keep improving and have a lot of work to do to make sure this continues. Other headlines include:
- In February, our diagnostic waiting list increased again, however only 13 out of 100 people (13.5%) were waiting longer than six weeks.
- Although 7,078 people began treatment with us, we still saw an increase in our Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting list. However, there are fewer patients waiting over 52 weeks and no patients waiting any longer than 104 weeks.
- In March, we saw attendances to our A&E and Urgent Treatment Centres increase by more than 1,000 people compared to the month before, with a total of 11,351 people visiting our emergency departments and more than 3,000 who then required emergency admission.
- One in two (54.1%) of patients waiting in A&E waited for four hours or less. Ninety-nine out of 100 (99%) patients who visited the Urgent Treatment Centre were seen within four hours.
We would urge anyone to consider using an Urgent Treatment Centre if their condition is not life-threatening. You will be seen much quicker and will help us treat those who are most in need more quickly too.
SPECT CT scanner now operational at the Cumberland Infirmary
A new SPECT CT scanner is now fully operational and helping diagnose our patients in CIC. The new scanner is an upgrade of the previous older scanner and now means that we have the same highly specialised scanning capabilities at both our acute hospitals. The new scanner means that we will have better images and images more rapidly than the previous one.
It also means that patients will be able to access the same scan at either WCH or CIC and therefore patient choice is better and travel is reduced.
CESR success for doctors
Six doctors working at NCIC have achieved their Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR).
CESR is an alternative route to becoming a consultant for overseas doctors and they have been supported by the medical directorate development faculty through the pathway over a number of years.
The doctors who have qualified are Sherif Shabana (Consultant Gastroenterologist), Mohamed Osama Aly (Consultant Gastroenterologist), Becky Taylor (Emergency Medicine), Syed Mannan (Consultant Orthopaedics), Sherif Haseem (Consultant Radiologist) and Ishara Ranathunga (Endocrine).
This means they are now on the specialist register and can be employed as substantive consultants.
The CESR portfolio pathway is not well understood by many and takes an incredible amount of work and years of time.
Reporting hate crimes
This month, further to a recent hate crime incident in Carlisle, Cumbria Police asked us to share a letter with our staff about the importance of reporting hate crime.
On the back of this, members of Anti-Racist Cumbria will be visiting our two hospitals in May.
They will have a stall in the atrium at the Cumberland Infirmary on May 14 from 10am to 3pm and on May 21 at the West Cumberland Hospital. Feel free to pop along and find out more about the work they do.
We would urge everyone to report any forms of discrimination, abuse, threats, bullying or harassment to the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
There are also other forms of anonymous reporting that can be submitted through various channels.
Crime stoppers is a well-respected and confidential reporting service where your identity is always kept anonymous.
Stop hate, online reporting platform is specifically for hate crimes. This charity can offer support and advice for anybody who has been a victim of hate crime.
We share the view of the police that nobody should suffer discrimination in our county or in their workplace, and along with the police, we will and do, take all forms of hate crime seriously.
Veteran Aware Trust - one year review approved
NCIC’s one year review as a Veteran Aware Trust has been renewed, formally recognising our commitment to the Armed Forces community.
The Veteran Aware accreditation is part of NCIC’s commitment to better support our armed forces community.
The accreditation recognises the Trust’s work identifying and sharing best practice across the NHS highlighting the best standards of care for the Armed Forces community.
Recruitment fair in London
Representatives from NCIC had a very busy day at the Healthcare Job Fair in London last weekend recruiting for a range of healthcare professionals to come to Cumbria alongside colleagues from Northwest Ambulance Service.
Lots of positive conversations were held on the day and we hope to have some new recruits joining us soon. Check out our current vacancies.
Spring bash will raise charity cash
A charity Spring bash to raise money for NCIC’s Special Care Baby Unit will be taking place early next month.
Harriet Storey has organised the event at the Halston Hotel in Carlisle on Saturday, May 4 to say thanks to staff at SCBU and the charity Neoangels at the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough.
Harriet’s son, Conrad, made a surprise arrival into the world two years ago – arriving 12 weeks early!
Now Harriet wants to say thanks to SCBU staff and the neonatal unit in Middlesbrough for the care Conrad was given in his early days.
Tickets are £45 (which includes a three course meal, music and raffle) or you can donate via their Just Giving page.
Find out more about raising funds for our charity, or like our North Cumbria NHS Hospitals charity page on Facebook.
Happy Nepalese New Year 2081!
An event to mark the Nepalese and Vishu New Years was at the Trust this month.
Dilisa Pun, from NCIC’s support services, organised special food for her colleagues and collected donations for the Gurkha Welfare Trust.
Nepalese New Year started on Saturday, April 13. The current year is 2081 as per Bikram Sambat calendar. Vishu New Year started on Sunday, April 14 for the Malayali ethnic group in Kerala, India.
Dilisa spent two weeks preparing dishes such as chicken curry, aloo dum (spicy potatoes) and chicken cutlets and a number of gluten free versions.
Justine Steele, Director of People Services and OD, said: “It was heart warming to see everyone sharing such a great event – thank you to everyone who made it such a special event.”
New meeting schedule for NCIC board and committees
A new meeting schedule for the NCIC board and committees is now fully operational. You can find all the information you need, including all the new dates on our website.
Awareness events
This month we shared advice on Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, Stress Awareness Month, Keep your child safe at home with our first aid tips and Foot Health Week.
Member and Governor update
This month’s governor column is from Jaqueline Nicol, Lead Governor.
“It’s been a busy month with the Governors Council held on 4th April at which our new membership and engagement strategy was approved. Our Governor Council meetings are held in public which means anyone is invited to attend and see the Governors Council in action. Papers for the meeting are on our website and you can also see future dates with the next meeting taking place on June 6th.
“As Governors, we are really keen to link in with existing community groups or charities to find out more about your work and tell you about our role as Governors. If you are interested in a governor coming along, please email askyourgovernor@ncic.nhs.uk and we will arrange this.
“One of our key roles as a Governor is the appointment of the non executive directors and chair and at our Nominations Committee this week, we finalised the the recruitment process for a new Non-Executive Director which will be advertised in the next week or so. We’re looking for an individual with experience in a senior finance-related leadership role, such as a Chief Finance Officer. The post, for three years, will start on October 1. £13,000 per annum for up to 5 days per month.
“To be eligible, the individual must be a Member of the Trust – if you are not already a member you can easily join through this link. The post will be advertised on NHS jobs and we will share more details next week through our website and our social media channels.”
Become a member
Anyone living in Cumbria over the age of 14 can become a member, you can choose how much or how little you want to be involved – join today.
Concerns or comments
If you have any concerns or comments please contact your governors on the email below. We are here to raise any concerns on your behalf. More information on the members of the Governors’ Council and their role can be found on our website. If you have any comments or suggestions please contact us via the email below: AskYourGovernor@ncic.nhs.uk
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