NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group

Congratulations to Jo Fortune, who is our latest Employee of the Month! 👏 Jo, a Physiotherapist in the Breast Clinic on our Aintree site, was nominated by a patient who wanted to share her experience of being cared for by Jo. The nomination explained the incredible difference Jo made to her patient journey: “Jo’s professionalism, wisdom, kindness and vast experience in breast cancer care, compassion, humour, humanity, and skills as a physiotherapist has been exceptional. “I could not be more grateful for her care and for giving me hope and goals for being where I am today. I have met several lovely people throughout my treatment, but more than anyone else on the journey, Jo has been the one I’ll remember as the one who got me through, both physically and emotionally.” Jo’s compassion and dedication to her patients shines through her nomination which described her as ‘our physiotherapist, just for us’, and explained: “There is something incredibly special about Jo and the hospital are very lucky to have her in this service, an expert in this field”. The judges praised Jo with comments such as: “Wow - what an amazing nomination - thank you Jo for all that you do and for the outstanding individualised care you provide to each of our patients.” “Exemplar for the organisation, well done Jo for embodying our values, going above and beyond to support this patient through an emotional experience”.

A new state-of-the-art nuclear medicine camera will support improving diagnostic accuracy and enhancing comfort for patients undergoing scans at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The site is the first hospital in the North West to become home to the Starguide SPECT-CT Gamma Camera, which will improve the way we scan our patients. It will enable colleagues to take faster scans of a higher image quality, supporting us to improve diagnostic accuracy for our patients. The Starguide also has an enhanced design, providing greater comfort for patients whilst undergoing a scan. This new technology will significantly enhance our research and development capability, as it will enable colleagues to perform dynamic SPECT acquisitions for the first time. SPECT, which means Single Photon Emission Computed tomography, is a type of 3D scan where two types of scans are combined to provide information about how different parts of the body are working, allowing clinicians to see functional and anatomical data fused together.   Elaine Noonan, Department Manager of Nuclear Medicine at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said: “I’m incredibly proud that as a department we join one of just a handful of hospitals around the country who have this type of equipment, which will considerably improve patient experience and their care. “The enhanced image quality will enable colleagues to improve the accuracy of diagnosis, and because of its faster scan times, patients will experience less claustrophobia and a reduction in their radiation exposure.”

Merry Christmas from everyone at NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group 🎅 Thank you for all your support throughout this year. We wish you all a wonderful festive season with your loved ones, and a happy and healthy 2025 💙

This year, Kat Davies, Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon at Aintree University Hospital, became the first female surgeon in Europe to carry out single port robotic head and neck surgery. It was in July 2024 that Kat performed her first successful transoral resection which involved removing a cancerous tumour from her patient’s throat using new single port robotic surgery. With a magnified high-definition view and use of fine instruments for greater precision, the new technology means surgeons can remove tumours of the throat that previously would not have been accessible through the mouth. “My first surgery using the single port went really smoothly and was a great success for the patient, who has since gone on to have radiotherapy and is recovering well,” said Kat. Following a generous £1 million donation in April 2024 from the Marina Dalglish Appeal, Aintree became the first NHS hospital in the UK to receive Intuitive’s da Vinci single port surgical system – and the first in Europe to be using the single port for head and neck (transoral) procedures. “Liverpool has one of the highest rates of head and neck cancer in the UK due to health inequalities, so it’s really important that our hospitals are working with the community while using the latest technology to offer our patients the best surgical options available,” said Kat, who went to America in 2022 for intensive surgical training to transition from using laser treatment to operating using the robotic single port. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3P0wWHx

University Hospitals of Liverpool Group has been shortlisted for three Health Service Journal (HSJ) Partnership Awards for collaboration projects that are improving community care as well as staff retention and wellbeing. UHLG is a finalist in the ‘Best Consultancy Partnership with NHS’ category alongside STRASYS, as well as the ‘Most Effective Contribution to Improving Care for Those with Long-term Conditions’ and ‘Most Impactful Partnership in Preventative Healthcare’ together with Everton in the Community. UHLG has been working with Strasys to develop a new approach and solutions to people planning through a combination of deep analytics, innovative design and coaching. We have also been working in collaboration with Everton in the Community on the BEAT Breathlessness Hub, which is situated within The People’s Place in Walton. The Hub is England’s first community-based heart and lung screening hub, which provides local people with access to early diagnosis and treatment for heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic conditions. Made possible thanks to unrestricted grant funding from AstraZeneca and delivered in partnership UHLG medical professionals, the hub aims to demonstrate that early detection and intervention in a community setting can significantly improve the management of long-term conditions and overall patient outcomes. The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony on 20 March 2025.

NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG) has been named as one of 20 Commercial Research Delivery Centres in the UK. As part of the NHS 10-year health plan, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced plans to establish 20 Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs), giving patients access to pioneering clinical trials and treatments in record time. With the introduction of the CRDCs, the aim is to shift from treatment to prevention and this investment will support research into preventative vaccines and medicines, ultimately helping people live healthier lives for longer. The Liverpool CRDC, funded as part of a £100M government private investment initiative, will support the rapid set-up of commercial studies, meaning patients can begin accessing treatments as part of clinical trials as early as possible. Alongside UHLG, the Centre will bring together Cheshire and Merseyside organisations including primary and social care; voluntary organisations and 10 secondary care organisations from across the region. Professor Terry Jones, Professor of Head and Neck Surgery and Director of Research at UHLG and Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System, who will lead the Liverpool CRDC, said: “We are delighted to be bringing a Commercial Research Delivery Centre to Cheshire and Merseyside, making research accessible to the communities served by our organisations. “The CRDC will make Cheshire and Merseyside the preferred provider for commercial companies carrying out research, giving patients and participants more opportunities than ever before to take part in research. “Strengthening and enhancing our current research portfolio, the CRDC will allow us to take research to new heights across the region, building on our already successful research infrastructure”. The CRDC collaborative will allow health and research programmes across the region to continue to build on ground-breaking research, supported by specialist services.

Falls in the home can be life changing, particularly for older people, they can cause injury, pain, loss of confidence, and are a major reason for hospital admission 🚑 Falls cost the NHS approximately £2 billion a year. In Cheshire and Merseyside, the North West Ambulance Service received 28,459 fall-related calls in 2023 - with 42% occurring during the winter months. Helping people identify fall risks, encouraging regular strength and balance exercises and what to do if they have a fall can also help ease demand on the NHS system during the winter months. There are simple things we can do to minimise the risks for ourselves and our loved ones such as clearing clutter, improving lighting and mopping up spillages which may cause a trip hazard. Falls are often preventable and not a normal part of growing older. North West Ambulance Service share tips in this short video. #PreventFallsThisWinter

Lighting up our hospitals orange last night to mark the end of National Grief Awareness Week 🧡 Our End of Life and Bereavement Teams have been hosting pop-up Bereavement Cafes in our hospitals and out in the community to offer support and a listening ear to those struggling with grief and loss. We marked the week of awareness by lighting up our hospitals orange.

Our specialist blood service at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital has successfully commissioned and released a national film, You, Me & TTP, to raise awareness of a life-threatening condition that impacts only six in every million people. Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) is a rare blood disorder which causes blood clots to form in small blood vessels throughout the body, stopping blood flow to vital organs and triggering a medical emergency. You, Me & TTP shares the stories of TTP patients across the North West who travel to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital for treatment. The Royal is the regions specialist TTP centre, treating about 100 patients at any one time, with about 15 new referrals each year. Dr Tina Dutt, Consultant Haematologist and TTP Specialist Centre Lead at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said: “I cannot thank our patients enough for their honesty and bravery in sharing their stories in this film. “We want this film to be a resource to empower others who may be diagnosed with TTP in the future, and to provide comfort and reassurance to patients who may currently be experiencing feelings of isolation and fear. “The TTP team here are committed to providing the highest standards of care irrespective of the rarity of TTP and we will continue to work closely with our patients to improve both their physical and mental wellbeing. We want our patients to return to enjoying their lives despite having this diagnosis”. Watch the full film: https://bit.ly/3Zgj6Wf.

As part of a national training exercise RAF medical professionals arrived in a Jumbulance at the Royal Liverpool to practice bringing patients into our hospital with a high consequence infection, such as viral haemorrhagic fevers. The Royal Liverpool is currently the national lead centre for airborne High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID), and one of the five active commissioned centres in the UK. This exercise was a repeat of the 2015 simulation, and reviewed previous procedures based at the ‘old’ Royal. Working alongside our HCID team, including the Critical Care and A&E teams they established the most convenient hospital routes, reviewed and re-confirmed procedures, and tested equipment for the eventuality of bringing an infectious patient to hospital using an Air Transportable Isolator (ATI). The ATI is a vital piece of equipment, which acts like a secure ‘bubble’, used to transport the patient and contain the spread of diseases. Mike Beadsworth, Airborne HCID National Director, said: “This training exercise is really important so that we know what to expect if a highly infectious patient arrives in our hospitals. It maintains our skills and competency, and ensures we have a process established so that we’re prepared and trained to handle the situation. It also helps our newer colleagues to see the equipment the RAF use, such as the ATI, allowing all to better understand what treatment is possible while the patient is being transported into our care.” Alongside our medical experts, Squadron Leader Tez Cooling and Corporal Enock Morgan transported the ATI to simulate the patient transfer into our HCID rooms on Ward 8A and into Critical Care HCID rooms at the Royal and then spent the afternoon with our teams to ensure the processes are well rehearsed and to identify any potential improvements to the procedures.