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Support patient care with new ICU diary

Having a loved one in the Horsley Intensive Care Unit at The Walton Centre can be a very emotional and worrying time.  

With 20 beds, the unit is full of complex, life-saving machines and critically ill patients. 

For both patients and family members it can be a frightening and confusing experience, so staff have created a new ICU patient diary, to explain what goes on in the unit and chart a patient’s progress. 

Oonagh Doherty, ICU Matron, said: “Patients and family members have found it very useful to look back at notes and diaries they have made during the time they’ve been a patient in ICU. Patients may be in a coma or sedated, or on medication and can’t remember things, which can be very scary. It’s also good for family members; there’s a lot going on and it’s comforting to be able to look back and review progress.” 

The diary also explains the different equipment in ICU, medical terms which might be heard, and has space for family members to complete information about their loved one so staff can get to know them better to enable us to treat them better and with the respect and dignity they deserve. 

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Notes to editors

Further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact the Communications Team at The Walton Centre on 0151 556 3397 or wcft.communications@nhs.net

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust is the only hospital trust in the UK specialising in neurology, neurosurgery and pain services. Although the majority of patients come from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Lancashire and the Isle of Man, for some specialist treatments of complex disorders we see patients from all parts of the country, referred by their GPs or other neurologists, neurosurgeons and pain clinicians.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust was rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission. The independent regulator of all health and social care services in England published its rating on Friday 21 October 2016, following announced and unannounced inspection visits to the Trust in April 2016.

For more information please visit: www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk or follow the Trust on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Lower Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool L9 7LJ
0151 525 3611

 

Read Support patient care with new ICU diary…

‘Getting the right treatment has meant I can start to get my migraines under control’ Migraine patient Rob tells his story

In 2011, Painter and decorator Robert Shakespeare started experiencing intense daily headaches. Later diagnosed as migraine phenotype, Robert had experienced these headaches on and off over the years, but they were becoming persistent and increasingly painful.

The 51-year-old from Manchester said: “I was getting intense pressure above my eyes and my vision was starting to blur. They really tire me out and my face becomes so painful too. The most unpleasant thing is the auras though, it’s like I’m forced to look through a kaleidoscope.”

After years of investigations and trying different medications, Robert came to the headache service at The Walton Centre, after seeing Dr Nicholas Silver for a consultation.

Robert continued: “I’ve not had a great experience with the NHS in the past, with the GP and other hospitals. But when I came to The Walton Centre that all changed. I feel like the team actually listen to me. Sometimes you can seek help for migraine and there’s a lack of confidence in how to treat you. But knowing there is a fantastic headache service in the North West makes a huge difference.”

The Walton Centre hosts the largest headache service in the UK, with four dedicated consultants who specifically specialise in management of headache disorders alongside a supporting team of nurse specialists. The Walton Centre provides holistic and excellent care to patients who have experienced refractory or severe headache disorders. The nurse specialist team leads the way in the UK with intervention clinics, utilising cranial botulinum toxin and nerve block injections. The service also has innovated in providing non-oral drug treatments such as non-invasive nerve stimulators, nerve block injections, cranial botulinum toxin injections and new classes of drugs such as CGRP monoclonal antibody therapies.

Each patient is unique and deserves patient-centred care so that they can learn how to manage their condition long-term and reduce the impact on their work, family and social life.

Robert said: “Now at The Walton Centre, we’re trying different ways to minimise my migraines, from Botox injections to new medication. It’s starting to work because I’ve gone from constant migraines lasting days and weeks, to only two to five days a month. My care and treatment is ongoing, it has had a positive effect in reducing my severe migraines and we are continuing to treat the level of auras I have. I can’t thank the team enough, it’s so reassuring to have them there. I just wish I had seen them sooner!”

If you want to know more about The Walton Centre’s headache services, go to our website: https://www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk/departments-and-services/headache-service/415522#opI1

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Notes to editors

Further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact the Communications Team at The Walton Centre on 0151 556 3397 or wcft.communications@nhs.net

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust is the only hospital trust in the UK specialising in neurology, neurosurgery and pain services. Although the majority of patients come from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Lancashire and the Isle of Man, for some specialist treatments of complex disorders we see patients from all parts of the country, referred by their GPs or other neurologists, neurosurgeons and pain clinicians.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust was rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission. The independent regulator of all health and social care services in England published its rating on Friday 21 October 2016, following announced and unannounced inspection visits to the Trust in April 2016.

For more information please visit: www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk or follow the Trust on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Lower Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool L9 7LJ
0151 525 3611

 

Read ‘Getting the right treatment has meant I can start to get my migraines under control’ Migraine patient Rob tells his story…

Professor Andrew Brodbelt, Consultant Neurosurgeon, tells us about his trip to Africa

Earlier this year, staff from The Walton Centre visited a hospital in Nigeria during their building of a new stroke and neuroscience centre. Here is an extract from Professor Andrew Brodbelt's account of the trip.

Dr Baba Aji and I were on our way to Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria from Abuja, the capital. We were with Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, an interventional radiologist, and the Chief Medical Officer of a large federal hospital complex in a city of three million people. I was looking over the vast dry land, over which we were flying and reflected on the fact that Ahmed makes use of every opportunity to advance his vision of better healthcare for his city, region, and country. We had arrived the day before and had already been to the Nigerian Department of Health and met the permanent secretaries for health and procurement. Describing a plan for a collaboration between The Walton Centre (WCFT) and The University Hospital of Maiduguri (UHM), Ahmed successfully petitioned the department for funding of a CT scanner, MRI, and Angio suite for his new stroke and neuroscience centre. 

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I have never been to Africa before. Walking across the tarmac, after disembarking the plane at Maiduguri airport, it was hot, sunny, dry, and dusty. The people were very friendly, and welcoming. We were greeted with a line of people from the hospital welcoming us, then though immigration, and into a waiting car. We followed our security escort, and were driven through the streets of Maiduguri, at speed at times. Vast numbers of cars, small three-wheeled taxis, and bikes were on the road. If there are traffic rules, they involve a lot of horn honking and pushing through at junctions. There were so many people. I felt we were in a living, breathing city. People were in bright colours, with long flowing clothes. There were lots of children about. 

The purpose of our journey was to visit the UHM, meet people working there, see their facilities, attend, and present at a one-day symposium, and agree how a collaboration between the two hospitals could work. There was a lot of building work going on, and we toured several of the sites during our visit. The stroke and neuroscience centre came about because Ahmed noted that stroke patients occupied many of the hospital beds. Patients tended to present late, often many days or weeks after symptom onset, with pressure sores and infections. Ahmed wanted stroke patients treated much earlier to improve their care and outcomes. He agreed funding with the federal government for the building. The stroke centre became a stroke and neuroscience centre following Dr Aji’s advice after visiting in 2023. The building is due to be completed later this year. The ground floor is occupied by an emergency stroke admitting unit, outpatient department, radiology department, and ITU with adjacent neurosurgical theatres. There is an educational centre, and 150 ward beds. 

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We also toured the limb reconstruction centre. Due to the previous insurgency related to Boka Harum, there are a great number of people who have lost arms or legs. The centre provides a complete service from initial fitting, manufacturing, and education on use. There is no funded healthcare provision in Nigeria, and although there are subsidies, a minority of people in Maiduguri can afford healthcare. It costs around $200-300 US dollars (£150-£200) to buy a new leg. There are sometimes subsidies available from charitable donations from wealthy Nigerians which can help with affording costs. Incomes in this area are extremely low, even well-paid doctors will earn only £400 a month, and most people earn much less. Schooling must be paid for, and many must decide on medical care, school for the children, or the essentials for living. An additional issue for the hospital is that the electricity supply regularly cuts out. To counter this problem, Ahmed built a solar farm and has the first Linacs (radiotherapy machines) in Nigeria that run purely on solar power. 

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As well as touring the facilitates, we had an eventful and busy few days. Dr Aji and I presented at the symposium, we took part in a clinical conference, meeting a patient with a brain tumour and his family, and a patient with headache and a cervical disc prolapse. We were interviewed for a TV documentary, and also by the national press, and appeared on the national news. We met the governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, for dinner, and the Shehu of Borno state. The Shehu is the religious leader for Borno state, and for this last meeting I was sized up and provided with dress robes to wear. I felt this was a great honour, and due in no small part to Ahmed’s influence in the region. 

The Walton Centre is currently developing a partnership arrangement with UHM to facilitate cooperation, to include potential educational, research, estate, and clinical collaborations. At the end, we left Maiduguri with new friends and contacts, and a wish to continue to work with them in the future. 

Read Professor Andrew Brodbelt, Consultant Neurosurgeon, tells us about his trip to Africa…

The Walton Centre joins rollout of national ‘Martha’s Rule’ major patient safety initiative

The Walton Centre has joined a national initiative which aims to support patients and families who want to seek urgent reviews if their loved one’s condition deteriorates.

Last year, the specialist Trust implemented ‘Call 4 Concern’, which is one of the ways in which The Walton Centre will implement Martha’s Rule.

The NHS announced that 143 hospital sites will test and roll out Martha’s Rule in the first year, as part of a major patient safety initiative, following the announcement in February of NHS England funding.

The initial target was to enrol at least 100 sites, but due to significant interest from frontline clinicians this has been expanded, meaning this first phase of the programme will be in place at 143 locations across the country by March 2025.

Evaluation of how the system works in these sites over the course of this year will inform proposals for Martha’s Rule to be expanded further across all acute hospitals, subject to future government funding.

The purpose of Martha’s Rule is to provide a consistent and understandable way for patients and families to seek an urgent review if their or their loved one’s condition deteriorates and they are concerned this is not being responded to.

The scheme is named after thirteen-year-old Martha Mills, who died from sepsis having been treated at King’s College Hospital, London, in 2021, due to a failure to escalate her to intensive care, and after her family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to.

NHS England is working with Martha’s parents to develop materials to advertise and explain the initiative in hospitals across the country, to ensure it is something that all patients, staff, and their families can recognise.

Martha’s Rule is to be made up of three components to ensure concerns about deterioration can be swiftly responded to.

Firstly, an escalation process will be available 24/7 at all the 143 sites, advertised throughout the hospitals on posters and leaflets, enabling patients and families to contact a critical care outreach team that can swiftly assess a case and escalate care if necessary. Secondly, NHS staff will also have access to this same process if they have concerns about a patient’s condition.

Finally, alongside this, clinicians at participating hospitals will also formally record daily insights and information about a patient’s health directly from their families, ensuring any concerning changes in behaviour or condition noticed by the people who know the patient best are considered by staff.

Extensive campaigning by her parents Merope and Paul, supported by the cross-party think tank Demos, saw widespread support for a single system that allows patients or their families to trigger an urgent clinical review from a different team in the hospital if the patient’s condition is rapidly worsening and they feel they are not getting the care they need.

Merope Mills and Paul Laity, Martha’s parents, said: "We are pleased that the roll-out of Martha's Rule is off to a flying start and that the need for it has been so widely recognised. It will save lives and encourage better, more open, communication on hospital wards, so that patients feel they are listened to, and partners in their healthcare." 

Nicola Martin, The Walton Centre’s Chief Nurse, said: “We’re proud to join the other NHS hospitals taking part in this initial rollout of Martha’s Rule. Here at The Walton Centre, our clinical staff have always worked closely with families and friends of patients receiving care and treatment through Call 4 Concern. Supporting this process through Martha’s Rule will mean every patient will get an enhanced level of support and care at what can be a crucial part of their lives.”

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “Rolling out Martha’s Rule to over 143 NHS sites in this first phase will represent one of the most important changes to patient care in recent years, and we are pleased to have seen such interest from hospitals right across the country, all thanks to the moving and dedicated campaigning by Martha’ parents, Merope and Paul. 

“That is why today is such an important milestone, with the NHS outlining the 143 sites where this major patient safety initiative will be rolled out later this year, allowing staff, patients and families to immediately raise concerns and bring about an escalation in care in an easily recognisable and fast way.

“The inclusion of daily insights from families about their loved ones’ condition within patient records is also a really significant step and will help staff identify changes and deterioration using insights from those who know the patient best. While thankfully the need for escalation of care will hopefully only be needed in a limited number of cases, this three-step safety net has the opportunity to truly transform patient care and safety.”

NHS national patient safety director and senior responsible officer for Martha’s Rule, Dr Aidan Fowler, said: “Working closely with Martha’s parents and colleagues across the NHS over the last few months on this rollout, I am in no doubt this programme will deliver clear change and it has been so encouraging to see how many hospitals have shown interest in being part of delivering these all-important patient safety measures this year.

“With new processes that enable both patients and staff to raise concerns if they see someone’s condition worsening, and the inclusion of patients and their loved ones’ insights in medical records, these measures can help us better identify and manage deterioration as part of wider work, which is a key priority for us and will no doubt lead to improvements in the care patients receive.”

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Notes to editors

Further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact the Communications Team at The Walton Centre on 0151 556 3397 or wcft.communications@nhs.net

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust is the only hospital trust in the UK specialising in neurology, neurosurgery and pain services. Although the majority of patients come from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Lancashire and the Isle of Man, for some specialist treatments of complex disorders we see patients from all parts of the country, referred by their GPs or other neurologists, neurosurgeons and pain clinicians.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust was rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission. The independent regulator of all health and social care services in England published its rating on Friday 21 October 2016, following announced and unannounced inspection visits to the Trust in April 2016.

For more information please visit: www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk or follow the Trust on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Lower Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool L9 7LJ
0151 525 3611

 

Read The Walton Centre joins rollout of national ‘Martha’s Rule’ major patient safety initiative…

Liane tells her epilepsy story for Epilepsy Awareness Week

At the age of 31, Liane Draper was working fulltime and looking after two young children, when she began to experience seizures that left her with lockjaw and black spots in her memory.

Liane felt that her busy, stressful routine with family and work may have contributed to the situation in which her Epilepsy was discovered. She said: “At the time I didn’t stop. I’d do a full day’s work, then come home, sort out the girls and then spend the whole evening cleaning the house top to bottom. Looking back now I think it’s safe to say I was struggling mental health-wise. I wanted everything to be clean and tidy, but obviously I went too far with it.”

The 44-year-old, from St Helens, was diagnosed with Epilepsy and was referred to The Walton Centre for treatment.

She said: “I’ve had lots of scans and treatment over the years to really pin down which parts of the brain my seizures are coming from. The Walton Centre has been amazing throughout. I’m able to speak to experts about my care regardless of what it is. I really appreciate their support and their ability as a team to look after me from a number of different perspectives.”

At the beginning of 2022, Liane had a procedure where telemetric sensors were inserted into her brain, to further study the origins of her seizures. Then, in December that year, Liane underwent brain surgery, after which she is yet to experience another seizure.

Liane continued: “It was a long surgery, and I’m still on anti-epilepsy medication, but to be so far seizure-free is incredible, and I cannot thank The Walton Centre enough. The hospital is like my security blanket. Particularly Professor Tony Marson and the team, they are focused, empathetic and incredibly compassionate.” 

The Walton Centre hosts one of the largest Epilepsy services in the UK. The specialist Trust offers multidisciplinary care, from the first seizure through to complex epilepsy and brain surgery. The hospital has recently been announced as one of only two centres for Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy, a cutting-edge procedure for patients with Epilepsy that is not easily controlled with medication.

For more information on our Epilepsy services at The Walton Centre, head to our website: Epilepsy

Read Liane tells her epilepsy story for Epilepsy Awareness Week…

Spotlight on... Melanie Taylor, Principal Speech and Language Therapist

What is your job role?

Lead for Speech and Language Therapy within The Walton Centre.

 

What made you choose to do the job you are in now?

My mum was a nurse, so I knew from an early age that I wanted to go into something health care related. Having a chat and a cup of coffee is massively important to me so when I found out there was a job to help others with that - I knew it was the one for me!

 

Favourite part of your job?

So many to choose from, its hard to pick! It is such a varied job and no two days are the same, but the best part of the job is getting to know people and their stories. When we first give people the ability to communicate, for example patients with tracheostomies on ITU, it can be very emotional for all involved! I also love when we can get people eating or drinking again and finding out what the 'first tastes' are that they would go for. 

I’m also lucky enough to have been able to set up an Multi Disciplinary Team secretion management clinic for some of our Motor Neurone Disease patients – drooling is so socially stigmatized that it often causes people to become socially isolated and being able to address that and give people confidence to spend time with family and friends again is a real privilege. 

 

Tell me about the most rewarding experience you have had in your role.

I’m lucky that I love most things about my job but there will always be the patients that stick with you. I think when we’ve worked really hard with someone to get their swallow going – often from the very early stages on Intensive Care Unit when they can’t even manage their own saliva and have to have a tracheostomy and the distress that causes. We support them all through their journey – getting them communicating again, rehabilitating the swallow so we can get the tracheostomy out alongside the Multi Disciplinary Team and then carrying on with our input until we manage to get them eating and drinking again. Making them that first cup of coffee or getting them that first bar of chocolate always makes it all worth it. 

 

What's the best advice you've received at work?

You can always add something positive to someone’s day – even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment! The gains we make might seem small at the time but they can all add up to be a big thing.

 

What/who is your biggest motivator at work?

It sounds really obvious but the patients are definitely the biggest motivator – even when we don’t manage to get the outcomes we all wanted, knowing that we’ve done everything we can, that we’ve used the most up-to-date evidence and therapy and there really is nothing else we could have tried makes it a bit easier, for us as well as the patients. Being able to reassure the Speech and Language Therapy team of that as well goes a long way towards keeping morale high in tough times and in keeping the team motivated. 

 

What is on your bucket list for this year?

Work wise, becoming one of the first Speech and Language Therapists in the country to be able to offer botulinum toxin injections for saliva control and trying out new developments such as Biozoon (flavoured air) with our nil by mouth patients and evaluating the impact of this.  Outside of work I’d like to finally take the trip to Iceland (the country!) I was supposed to do in 2000.

Read Spotlight on... Melanie Taylor, Principal Speech and Language Therapist…

Emily shares her story as part of Epilepsy Awareness Week

Since 2007, Emily Lloyd has been treated at The Walton Centre to manage her epilepsy. As a teenager in 2002, Emily experienced her first seizure and was cared for by Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Transitioning to The Walton Centre, Emily was able to work with her clinicians on the best treatments and innovations possible to live with her condition.

Making her way through different medications to control her seizures, Emily found the rate of instances was unreliable and hard to manage.

She said: “I had both absence and tonic-clonic seizures and they were happening very frequently - my body was not getting time to recover before the next instance. I was constantly exhausted and also it was getting dangerous. One time I had a seizure while straightening my hair, burning my face, and another time I collapsed waiting for a train, falling onto the tracks. I was also struggling to think clearly, and my memory was extremely poor. I went back to Professor Tony Marson and the team at The Walton Centre for a better solution.”

Tonic-clonic seizures involve both tonic (stiffening) and clonic (twitching or jerking) phases of muscle activity, a serious disruption to people who experience them. During ongoing treatment and investigations, the specialist epilepsy service at the Trust recommended that Emily consider a Vagal Nerve Stimulator. A stimulator such as this is considered for patients where a specific area of the brain causing seizures cannot be identified. The device detects a seizure forming, and disrupts the episode with an electric signal, essentially stalling the seizure. Emily underwent the pathway in 2018.

The 35-year-old from Liverpool said: “After it had been turned on and calibrated, the rate of seizures dropped dramatically. I’ve gone from weekly instances, to approximately two tonic-clonic seizures a month. Having the rate decrease like this has meant I can notice how other environmental factors such as stress and sleep influence my epilepsy. I can also see a huge change in thinking and memory due to the reduction in absence seizures.

“I can only thank the team at The Walton Centre for the incredible support they have given me over the years. With their help I’ve been able to take control of my condition as much as possible, and therefore improve my quality of life.

“The team are so supportive, especially the Epilepsy Specialist Nurses – they’ve been invaluable. They’ve helped me to incorporate seizure awareness into my workplace and now they’re supporting me in managing my condition in conjunction with starting a family. I’ve also been able to take part in research which will hopefully help improve services for other patients.”

The Walton Centre hosts one of the largest Epilepsy services in the UK. The specialist Trust offers multidisciplinary care, from the first seizure through to complex epilepsy and brain surgery. The hospital has recently been announced as one of only two centres for Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy, a cutting-edge procedure for patients with Epilepsy that is not easily controlled with medication.

More information here: Epilepsy

Read Emily shares her story as part of Epilepsy Awareness Week…

Coping Better Together - Patient Information Event 2024/2025

Have you or a member of your family had a brain tumour diagnosis or brain tumour surgery in the last year? 

We are holding two patient events called 'Coping Better Together' to help give you extra information and extra support. The events will be held on Friday 20 September 2024 and Friday 14 March 2025.

You can register for the event or alternatively, leave the team a voice mail on 0151 556 3778 and state your name, date of birth, telephone number, which date you wish to attend and whether you will be attending face to face or on Microsoft Teams.

Read Coping Better Together - Patient Information Event 2024/2025…
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