Seeking the right care

Our Emergency Departments (ED) are very busy and attendances are increasing. While we are absolutely here for our communities in an emergency, it is useful to know about other services that may help more quickly.

To help people understand the different services they have access to, some of our staff have featured in videos which urge our residents to seek advice before attending our EDs.

The short videos, which were shared on social media last week, explain who to contact in an emergency, plus alternative ways to access non-urgent treatment if someone is unwell or injured, such as NHS 111 or the local pharmacist.

Across north east London, we are also seeing an increase in children coming to hospital and parents asking for advice on how to care for their unwell children.

We know how daunting it can be when children and young people are sick, so to help parents understand what to do, the North East London Health and Care Partnership has new resources available, covering common illnesses such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and high temperatures.

Understanding where to get the right care will help reduce waiting times in our EDs and most importantly, ensure our patients receive treatment quicker.

Trial of new app for stroke patients

Technology is incredible and seeing the developments made in recent years in healthcare makes me excited to see what the future holds.

That’s why I am delighted that we are trialling an app which allows our post-stroke patients to test themselves at home for atrial fibrillation (AF) a heart condition that causes an irregular and abnormally fast heart rate.

The app, called FibriCheck, will help users measure their heart rate by placing their finger over the camera lens of their phone for 60 seconds. Results are immediately sent to our Stroke team.

Currently, stroke patients use Holter monitors after being discharged to test for AF but wait times for the monitors have increased during the pandemic.

This trial will see some of our patients use the app alongside standard monitors and the results will be compared to see if the app is accurate enough to be used as an alternative.

We look forward to keeping you updated.

Thank you and goodbye

My time as Chief Executive of BHRUT comes to an end this Friday and I will soon be starting my new role as Interim Chief Executive at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.

I will never forget my 18 months here. Whilst battling a pandemic, we’ve also achieved many great things together. I would like to thank you all for the support you have given me and the organisation in my time here.

I’ve been incredibly proud to lead this Trust and have felt privileged to work with brave and resilient colleagues in the most testing of times.

Matthew Trainer will start his role as substantive Chief Executive on Monday 16 August. I’m sure he will value your support as much as I have.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week and take care.

Best wishes,

Tony Chambers

Chief Executive