From Board to Ward July 2024
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Providing outstanding integrated care and making a difference to people's lives #1BigTeam
Some positive progress to report on the way we have started to improve care for patients who arrive as emergencies as well as some really moving stories from patients in this month’s edition. Please be aware that this contains personal information about baby loss which some readers may find upsetting. Also - an update to public car parking charges.
Highlights from July’s Board
In July’s Board to Ward we share three key highlights to demonstrate key progress on projects, decisions made and share in an open and transparent way some key developments. Our three for June:
The experience of people using our maternity services
Kate Vincent came along to talk to our Board on the same day that we shared our Maternity Services Annual Report. Kate is a proud Trustee of Luna’s Fund, a charity which offers a lifeline after loss for bereaved parents, after losing her own daughter in 2020. She came to talk to the Trust Board about the difference the Snowdrop Suite has made for families who suffer the loss of a baby.
The Snowdrop Suite is a designated bereavement suite which opened in October 2023. It came about after Jen and Greg Phillips lost their baby Jasmine and they started a fundraising appeal to create a suite where those going through the loss of a baby could have a dedicated and separate space away from the main maternity unit.
As Kate eloquently described: “The Snowdrop Suite is a place no-one wants to have to go, but it is just the most beautifully calming place that allows families to feel like they are in a bubble.” Kate explained in a very moving way the difference the suite being in use had made to families. She shared quotes from people who had lost a baby before the suite was opened, including her own family and compared their experiences to those families who have been able to use the suite.
The experiences of families who experienced a baby loss BEFORE the Snowdrop Suite was opened
“Hearing crying babies and women in labour whilst my room was deafeningly silent was the most torturous moment of my life.”
“Walking through the labour ward corridor numerous times in order to get a decent hot drink was so unfair.”
“I covered my head with a jumper as I was wheeled through the delivery suite to hide my shame and embarrassment. I don’t want people to see me like this.”
“All I wanted to do was curl into my husband’s arms and for him to tell me everything would be okay. Instead he was a foot off the floor on a camp bed and I was 3 feet in the air on a hospital bed. I just wanted a cuddle. I just wanted to be held.”
“I struggled to find the space and felt awkward trying to dress my baby in the moses basket. I had such limited space to do this. The moment of dressing her in her first outfit was made even harder than I could have imagined.”
The experiences of families who experienced a baby loss SINCE the Snowdrop Suite was opened
“I never knew a hospital room could be so peaceful. We felt a million miles away from everyone and everything. Our own little bubble.”
“Having a dedicated entrance and exit which is private and welcoming gave us reassurance we are entering a safe space and gave us control to come and go freely.”
“Our hospital stay has been more like a hotel stay, in our own private suite. We can’t thank everyone enough for funding this for families like us.”
“I can’t even imagine what previous families did without a cuddle from their partner. Falling asleep in his arms made me feel safe. It made me feel like we can get through this together.”
We loved the addition of the nursery area where we could look at the outfits available, have the space to change our baby and bath her freely. It was at this point where we saw the pram and decided to show her sunlight.”
Apart from the Snowdrop Suite, the Maternity Services Annual Report highlighted some key successes over the past 12 months which include:
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A continued focus on Urgent and Emergency Care
We have a ‘One Plan’ approach – this is a single plan for improvement for Urgent and Emergency Care which works across 3 pillars: Admission Avoidance; Dynamic Flow and Timely Discharge. The image above shows some of the many changes we are making including with more direct pathways so more patients who arrive as emergencies can go straight to specialist areas – for example, people who arrive with gynaecological problems now go straight to our gynae care team and those patients who have broken a hip can go direct to our specialist orthopaedic beds. Our Chief Executive explains our approach to the One Plan in this video:.
This week we have been right-sizing our Same Day Emergency Care and Medical Assessment Units – and the teams are delighted to have moved into new areas which offer more space to assess and treat patients.
Our Same Day Emergency Care team (pictured above) are delighted to have now moved into a bigger space which has increased the number of patient treatment couches from 8 to 13. We have repurposed their old ward, Tamar Ward, to be a Medical Receiving Unit with 22 more beds, able to receive patients coming in as emergencies. Two of our senior nurses explain how we are making more space for people needing urgent and emergency care.
Changes to parking for patients and visitors
We will be increasing parking charges at Derriford Hospital to align with the other hospitals in Devon from 12 August 2024. Parking arrangements at community sites will remain unchanged. This is the first time we have increased car parking charges for nearly a decade, with the last rise being in 2015.
We have made significant improvements to parking for patients and visitors, including making the multi-storey car park a dedicated public car park, which mean patients and visitors shouldn’t have to queue to get a space. Our rates continue to be less than public car parks in Plymouth city centre and we will continue to promote the free parking available for some patients and families and the discounted parking available for frequent attendees, as outlined in the information below and on our website: Getting here | University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk)
We continue to promote green travel and, as a major transport hub in the city, work with local bus companies and sustainable travel partners to this end.
The standardised tariff will continue to offer the first 15 minutes of parking for free. Two hours parking will be ￡2.70, 3 hours will be ￡3.90, 4 hours ￡4.80, 5 hours ￡6.50, 6 hours ￡8.50 and 7 to 24 hours will be ￡15.
Free parking is available for:
To end
Every month our Board leaders meet in public to assess how we’re doing for the patients and communities we serve, how we’re doing for our staff, our achievements, our challenges with a big focus on what we’re doing to address them and what our plans are for the future. You can see who makes up our Board at University Hospitals Plymouth on our Trust Board page.
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