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Pulmonary rehabilitation team celebrate national first
The pulmonary rehabilitation team at Harefield Hospital has become the first service in the country to receive full accreditation in a scheme run by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in association with the British Lung Foundation and the British Thoracic Society.
Patients with long-term respiratory conditions often face shortness of breath, which can make it difficult to move around and carry out day-to-day activities without getting breathless. Pulmonary rehabilitation helps patients manage this through a tailored programme of exercise classes and educational workshops designed to build their tolerance for physical activity and improve their quality of life.
Dr Claire Nolan, senior research physiotherapist, said:
“It’s a mark of quality which we can highlight to clinical referrers and commissioners, to be the first, and currently only, team to have met these standards. We can be proud that the clinical service we provide is second to none.”
Cystic Fibrosis team wins HSJ award
The Trust’s cystic fibrosis team were awarded a Health Service Journal Partnership Award in February for their work in establishing a new service with digital health start-up, NuvoAir.
Key to the new service is the NuvoAir spirometer, a device that can be used at home to measure lung function and, via Bluetooth, allows the results to be seen on patients’ mobile phones or tablets.
Royal Brompton’s consultant nurse in cystic fibrosis, Dr Susan Madge, said:
“Patients were the driving force for this partnership and were at the centre of the design and build process. We wanted to put adults with CF back in the driving seat, to let them have ownership of their data and deliver virtual consultations to lead the way in changing the care delivered to adults with CF.”
New director of Medical Education appointed
Dr Beverly Tsai-Goodman, consultant paediatric and foetal cardiologist, has been appointed director of medical education.
Dr Tsai-Goodman has worked at the Trust for three years, having previously worked as a consultant in Bristol for almost 13 years.
Commenting on her new role, she said:
“One of the things that attracted me to the Trust was its reputation as a leading teaching hospital within the UK and worldwide, and I was impressed that one of the Trust’s organisational values is based around sharing our knowledge through teaching so that we can help patients everywhere. I have always had a keen interest in medical education and am really looking forward to leading this vital programme.”
Consultant receives outstanding service award
Professor Roxy Senior, consultant cardiologist and director of echocardiography at Royal Brompton Hospital, has been presented with an award for outstanding service by the Indian Academy of Echocardiography (IAE).
He received the award at the academy’s silver jubilee celebration conference, Echo India, held in Kolkata.
He said:
“I originally came from India – studying at the University of Calcutta (now Kolkata) and graduating with a master’s degree in medicine and cardiology before moving to the UK to develop my career. For that reason, I was particularly delighted to be presented with this award. It made me feel very humbled and proud.”
Guys and St Thomas and Royal Brompton & Harerfield NHS Foundation Trust Merger
Since 2017, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust have been working together with colleagues across King’s Health Partners to develop plans to transform care for people with heart and lung disease.
The two Trusts have a long history of being at the forefront of patient care research and the boards of both Trusts are confident that by formally bringing together the organisations and shared expertise, they can significantly improve care and outcomes for people with cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
This ambitious venture, in partnership with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and our academic partners, will create a centre of national excellence for the care of adults and children, which will sit at the heart of a population health system working together to significantly reduce the burden of these conditions.
