Harrogate district hospital Archives - Page 4 of 45

Harrogate hospital to review staff miscarriage support

Harrogate District Hospital is set to review its staff policies after the NHS announced plans to give paid leave for miscarriages.

This month, officials at NHS England revealed proposals to offer 10 days paid leave to staff who miscarry in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The move comes as part of the organisation’s new pregnancy and baby loss policy.

Angela Wilkinson, director of people and culture at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said it already offered support to staff, including paid leave, in the event of losing a baby.

However, she added that the trust would review its policies in light of NHS England’s new guidelines to see what further support it could offer.

She said:

“The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is extremely important to us at HDFT. A miscarriage is a traumatic experience and any colleague who sadly loses a child is treated with care and compassion, and offered the support they need at such a difficult time.

“It is important that we give someone who experiences a miscarriage time to grieve and process what has happened. The policies we have in place at HDFT currently do provide specific support and paid time off in the event of baby loss.

“We will review NHS England’s new pregnancy and baby loss policy to assess how we can further strengthen the support we currently offer those colleagues who sadly experience such a tragedy.”

The move to roll out the policy by NHS England comes after it was first introduced by Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust in May 2023.

The trust, which provides health services in Hull and East Yorkshire, said it implemented the policy as a “compassionate move” for its staff.

Harrogate toddler enters the new year cancer free

Georgina Johnstone was just one year old when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and her family have been raising money and awareness to help children like her ever since.

In August 2022, Georgina became tired and grouchy and started to be sick each morning. Her mum, Issy Rowe, a teacher from Harrogate, thought recently prescribed antibiotics for an ear infection were to blame. But when the tablets stopped and the sickness continued, the family became worried.

Issy took her to the GP, who thought it might have been a virus or urinary tract infection. After five more days of sickness, Issy knew things weren’t right. They were referred to Harrogate District Hospital after their third visit to a doctor.

At first, the hospital had no major concerns and suggested a return visit a week later. Yet Issy persisted and an MRI scan was done the following day.

The scan found a significant cancerous mass on Georgina’s brain, and she was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary.

The SATS showed that the tumour was a quarter of the size of her brain. The tumour was cutting her brain off from her body and her family were told they would need to operate to remove it or Georgina would die.

The next day, the doctors operated on her for five hours and removed the 16cm tumour. After surgery, a 56-week treatment plan was put in place, involving high-dose chemotherapy, in seven cycles over eight weeks.

It all meant that going to nursery had to be put on hold until she was better. In December 2023, Georgina was given the all-clear.

Issy said:

“Its early days still – she only came off medication eight weeks ago, but her last scan was all clear. It’s been amazing to adjust back to family life and reality. She’s full of energy, which is lovely. You don’t realise how poorly they are until you see them better.”

Throughout her daughter’s treatment, Issy raised funds and awareness for The Brain Tumour Charity and friends and family also supported the fundraising. They have raised over £21,000 so far through completing the Three Peaks Challenge, sponsored runs, quizzes and a wellness retreat.

This year, the family have chosen to raise funds for Candlelighters, children’s cancer charity. Issy said they wanted funds to go to a local charity this year to directly help the children on the oncology ward at Leeds General Infirmary.

They have set a target to reach £5,000 – the same goal as last year – but are hoping to exceed it and even beat the £21,000 already raised.

Issy added:

“We definitely want to get more people involved and raise more money.”

They have a few fundraising events planned already involving the Three Peaks Challenge on May 11, another wellness weekend in October and one of their first events is set to be a sporting morning. The event is to be held on January 14 by Harrogate Strays Walking Football Club, a team for over-50s where Georgina’s grandfather, Derek Rowe, is a manager.

To donate to Georgina’s page click here.

Harrogate hospital cancelled 166 appointments due to December junior doctors’ strike

Harrogate District Hospital was forced to cancel 166 appointments as a result of a junior doctor’s strike before Christmas.

Members of the British Medical Association and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association walked out from December 20.

BMA members demonstrated until December 23, while HSCA members staged action until December 22.

Both unions announced the walk outs amid a dispute over pay with government.

As a result, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust was forced to cancel both outpatient and elective appointments.

A spokesperson for the trust said in total 168 appointments were cancelled between December 20 and December 22 due to the industrial action.

They added:

“We have re-arranged postponed appointments as a priority so that patients can be seen at the earliest available date – many will be within a week or two, whilst others may be a little longer.”

Meanwhile, the trust confirmed that its current cost estimate for staff to cover the walk outs is £153,000.

The hospital has also been hit by further industrial action in the new year.

Junior doctors who are members of the BMA are currently on strike until Tuesday (January 9).

The union staged the walk out on Wednesday (January 3) in what is set to be the longest strike action in NHS history.

Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors committee, said ahead of the demonstration:

“This strike marks another unhappy record for the NHS – the longest single walkout in its history. But as we have said all along, there is no need for any records to fall: we can call off this strike now if we get an offer from Government that we can put to members.

“Doctors want 2024 to be the start of a renewed workforce which can finally provide high quality care for patients again – it is for the Government to put forward a credible offer and facilitate that journey.”

Outrage as Harrogate hospital parking firm ‘incorrectly’ issues fine

A parking company has defended a decision to issue a parking ticket to a motorist at Harrogate District Hospital, despite dropping the charge upon appeal.

Parkeye oversees car parks at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

The hospital brought in the company to operate its new parking arrangements in September, which includes automatic number plate recognition and a ticketless system.

However, some patients and visitors have criticised the decision after being given fines due to problems paying for parking.

Tamsin O’Brien was visiting a friend at the Lascelles Unit at the hospital on October 24.

She paid £4.15 to park for 45 minutes at the unit, which is part of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

However, she received a fine from Parkingeye on November 2 of £70 despite paying the charge.

Ms O’Brien appealed the decision, but was told the appeal was unsuccessful on November 11 and that the fine still stood.

She then took the matter to Parking On Private Land Appeals, the industry arbitrator, and a week later received a letter from the company which stated that the fine was dropped.

Ms O’Brien said the company had ignored evidence that she had paid.

She said:

“My experience with Parkingeye was outrageous – it’s one thing to wrongly issue a charge because the company’s tech isn’t working correctly. It’s quite another thing though, to ignore irrefutable evidence that I paid to park, to reject my appeal, and to continue to pursue a charge.

“There will be many people who would find an experience like this very stressful- particularly when they maybe visiting loved ones in hospital who may be seriously ill.”

The Stray Ferret approached Parkingeye to ask why it had issued the fine after Ms O’Brien had paid the parking fee.

A spokesperson for the company said:

“The car park at the Lascelles Unit has eight prominent and highly-visible signs that give motorists clear guidance on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance that it is staff parking only.

“The motorist parked in an area reserved for staff only without a staff permit and therefore correctly received a parking charge. However, following a review of the case we have cancelled as a gesture of goodwill.

“We would add that Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge. If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing.”

However, in a letter outlining its refusal to the her appeal, Parkingeye told Ms O’Brien on November 11:

“We have reviewed the details outlined in your appeal, but we are not in receipt of sufficient evidence to confirm that the terms and conditions were not breached. The signage located at the above car park instructs motorists to enter their full, correct vehicle registration into the payment machine or terminal on site.

“After reviewing our records, we are unable to locate any vehicle details that match your vehicle registration. We believe this is due to either a major keying error taking place, or no vehicle registration details being entered at all.”

Ms O’Brien said she was “baffled” by Parkingeye’s response to the Stray Ferret and the fact that it did not match her correspondence from the company.

What’s your experience of using the new Parkingeye app at the hospital? Get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Call for lessons to be learned after Ripon mum dies from sepsis at Harrogate hospital

A Ripon family has called for lessons to be learned after a mother died from sepsis at Harrogate District Hospital.

Angela Laybourn was admitted to the hospital on January 17, 2022, after suffering from lack of appetite and dehydration for around a week.

Blood tests showed she had metabolic acidosis – a build-up of acid in the body. However, this was not documented when she was assessed on a ward, an NHS investigation found.

Ms Laybourn was wrongly sent home three days after being admitted. However, she was readmitted to Harrogate hospital on January 22. She was incoherent and disorientated.

Further blood tests indicating metabolic acidosis weren’t acted upon. She died aged 62 in the early hours of January 24.

Following Angela’s death, husband David, instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate his wife’s care under Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

David, aged 64, has now joined his legal team at Irwin Mitchell in calling for lessons to be learned.

Megan Walker, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing David, said:

“Angela was a much-loved wife, mum and grandma, whose death has had a profound effect on all her family.

“Sadly, worrying issues in the care she received, and which contributed to her death, have been identified.

“While nothing can make up for what’s happened it’s now vital that the hospital trust learns lessons from the issues in this case to improve patient safety for others.

“We continue to support David and his family at this distressing time.”

Call for lessons to be learned

Ms Laybourn, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999 and was paralysed from the neck down, died in the early hours of 24 January, 2022, after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Her cause of death was sepsis and metabolic acidosis caused by kidney stones.

She had a history of kidney stones. In December 2021 she underwent surgery to try and remove them. However, doctors were unable to remove all of the stones because of the complexity of the procedure.

Following legal submissions by Irwin Mitchell, the trust admitted that there was a failure to recognise and treat metabolic acidosis following her first admission on January 17. She shouldn’t have been discharged on 20 January, the trust acknowledged.

An internal investigation report by the hospital trust into Angela’s care identified a total of 18 key findings, root causes and contributory factors into her care.

These included that blood tests that showed metabolic acidosis following her initial hospital admission were not documented when Angela was assessed on a ward.

Mr Laybourn, who was Angela’s carer for 15 years, added:

“The only way I could describe losing Angela was total devastation. As a family, we couldn’t believe that she was really gone. The grandchildren were knocked for six. Angela’s whole life was based around her grandkids and kids, everything she did was child orientated. She has been taken from all of us.

“The first time that I was aware that Angela had been suffering from metabolic acidosis, was when we received her death certificate. We searched online for the term and were just in complete shock as looking at the symptoms that Angela had they fit the box of metabolic acidosis.

“We just felt let down that no one had picked up on this and that Angela could have been treated for this.

“I miss her all the time. The loss of Angela has created an emptiness in my life which will never be filled. All I can hope for is that by speaking out improvements in care can be made as I wouldn’t want others to go through the pain our family is.”

Trust apologises

Dr Jacqueline Andrews, executive medical director at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mrs Laybourn.

“We failed to deliver the level of care Mrs Laybourn and her family should have been able to expect and for this we would like to sincerely apologise.

“We are committed to learning from what has happened and are implementing new systems and processes to reduce the likelihood of important blood test results being missed to ensure we do all we can to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.”

Harrogate hospital braced for winter junior doctors strikes

Harrogate District Hospital is braced for two sets of winter strike action as junior doctors stage further walkouts.

Members of the British Medical Association and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association announced the industrial action amid a dispute over pay with government.

The latest round of walkouts will take place from 7am on Wednesday, December 20, until 7am on Saturday, December 23 for BMA members.

However, HCSA members will stop strikes a day earlier on 7am Friday, December 22.

Meanwhile, a further walkout from the BMA will take place in the new year on Wednesday, January 3, until 7am on Tuesday, January 9.

Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs, said:

“We have been clear from the outset of these talks that we needed to move at pace and if we did not have a credible offer, we would be forced to call strikes. After five weeks of intense talks, the government was unable to present a credible offer on pay by the deadline.

“Instead, we were offered an additional 3%, unevenly spread across doctors’ grades, which would still amount to pay cuts for many doctors this year. It is clear the government is still not prepared to address the real-terms pay cut doctors have experienced since 2008.”

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the industrial action is likely to impact on services and some appointments and elective surgery will be cancelled.

However, hospital officials said patients should continue to attend appointments unless contacted to reschedule.

A statement from the trust said:

“We understand this may cause our patients and their families to worry about how services will be delivered during this period. The safety of our patients is our primary concern and we have developed plans for the proposed action and its impact on our services, patients and staff. We are working hard to prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery.

“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will only reschedule appointments and procedures where necessary and any postponed appointments will be re-arranged as a priority. We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is important to know that people with life-threatening or severe illnesses or injuries should continue to dial 999 and come forward as normal.”

Lib Dem candidate hands in petition to fund £20m repairs to Harrogate hospital

The Liberal Democrats candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough has handed in a petition calling for urgent repairs to Harrogate District Hospital.

A report this year said a survey of the hospital estate found 2,500 panels made of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Twelve 12 high-risk panels had been identified and some theatres and corridors had been made safe with props. The report said further propping of panels that were in danger of collapsing might be needed.

The hospital has bid for £20 million funding to undertake repairs and Tom Gordon’s petition urges the government to provide this sum.

Mr Gordon, who handed the petition to the Department for Health and Social Care, said it was “particularly alarming is that there is no guarantee that the funding bid will be successful”.

He said:

“The potential consequences of failing to address this issue promptly are grave, as these panels are prone to crumbling and collapsing, thereby pose a safety risk to all those within the hospital premises.

“This Conservative government has utterly broken our NHS. It can’t even keep the roof over patients’ heads safe, let alone run a health service that gets people the treatment that they deserve on time.”

Mr Gordon said his petition had attracted “hundreds” of signatures but did not reveal the precise figure.

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey has also spoken out about Harrogate District Hospital’s need for repairs during prime minister’s questions.

Mr Gordon is aiming to be the first Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough since Phil Willis, who served from 1997 to 2010.

Andrew Jones has held the seat for the Conservatives since then.

Harrogate hospital defends criticism of new parking payment system

Harrogate District Hospital has defended appointing Parkingeye to oversee its car parks after criticism from patients.

The hospital brought in the company to operate its new parking arrangements in September, which includes automatic number plate recognition and a ticketless system.

However, some patients and visitors have criticised the decision after being given fines due to problems paying for parking.

Derek Sendrove and his wife, Zhanna, used the hospital car park in October when both were receiving treatment.

Mr Sendrove said the couple had registered their card with the app, which makes it possible to pay for parking via mobile phone.

Derek Sendrove.

However, on a visit on October 30, which lasted 44 minutes and would cost £4, the card was not recognised.

Mr Sendrove said the card has been valid every other time they have used the car park.

The couple were subsequently handed a £70 fine by Parkingeye, which Zhanna appealed but was refused. The pair have since taken the decision to Parking On Private Land Appeals, the industry arbitrator.

Mr Sendrove told the Stray Ferret he felt the incident raised questions over why the hospital chose the parking company in the first place.

He said:

“It seems that Parkingeye are profiting from their own faulty app, and it is also rather surprising that instead of choosing another app, Appy Parking, which is installed throughout the town; for some inscrutable reason, Harrogate hospital have chosen to partner with a different organisation, Parkingeye.”

The Stray Ferret took Mr Sendrove’s concerns to Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and asked whether it had any response to the question over its choice of provider.

A spokesperson for the trust said:

“Parkingeye has extensive experience of working with NHS organisations and currently manages parking at over 30 NHS trusts and more than 680 healthcare sites. After careful consideration Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust chose Parkingeye to provide a car parking management service at Harrogate District Hospital.

“Since the introduction of the new camera controlled barrierless system at Harrogate District Hospital, congestion has significantly decreased on Lancaster Park Road due to the improved access into our car parks ensuring that visitors can get to their appointments on time and visit their loved ones.

“On occasion a parking charge notice may be issued to motorists who do not follow the parking rules which are displayed on the parking signage.

“A motorist has the opportunity to challenge the decision through Parkingeye’s appeal process. Parkingeye will consider the evidence and circumstances and if it is appropriate may cancel a parking ticket.

“Should the motorist still wish to contest the decision, they can contact Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA), an independent organisation that allows motorists to contest the decisions of parking operators by visiting https://www.popla.co.uk/. POPLA will look at both sides of the appeal, consider the evidence provided and ultimately decide to uphold or overturn the ruling made by the parking management company.”

A Parkingeye spokesperson said:

“Parkingeye has partnered with Harrogate District Hospital since September this year to significantly improve how its car parks operate.

“During this time there has been investment in modern consumer-facing systems which has enhanced accessibility and made parking at the hospital easier and safer for staff, patients and visitors. The system is designed to ensure the efficiency and smooth operation of the hospital by ensuring that patients, visitors and staff park in their allocated car parks.

“The car park features over 30 prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance that patients and visitors must pay on exit using one of the user-friendly payment kiosks or through the Evology payment app.

“The motorist received a parking charge after parking in an area that is reserved for patients and visitors and not making a payment. Our systems also show that the Evology app was working effectively and took a normal level of transactions on October 30th.

“Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge.

“The motorist’s appeal was unsuccessful and is now being reviewed by POPLA, the independent appeals service.”

What’s your experience of using the new Parkingeye app at the hospital? Get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Harrogate hospital says strikes ‘significantly impacting’ cancer treatment

The boss of Harrogate District Hospital says improving its record in delivering timely cancer treatment is being made more difficult due to doctors going on strike.

Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust, made the comments in papers published ahead of the organisation’s board meeting in Harrogate yesterday.

Mr Coulter admitted the hospital was facing challenges in delivering the “standard that we would want to” but added that several waves of industrial action have taken their toll.

Across England and Wales more than one million treatments and appointments have been cancelled due to the strikes with waits for cancer treatment being particularly affected.

NHS England says a patient should start treatment within 31 days of an urgent cancer diagnosis and referral by a GP.

Statistics published by the hospital reveal 9 in 10 patients are receiving treatment within this target.

However, after 62 days since a referral, only 7 in 10 patients have begun treatment.

Mr Coulter added:

“It is fair to say that this is the area that has been most significantly impacted upon by the industrial action, with clinics cancelled, but if we assume that there will be no further service interruptions due to strikes, then we have plans in place to deliver the overall Faster Diagnosis Standard expected by the end of the year.”

Both consultants and junior doctors took part in industrial action at the hospital in the first week of October.

The BBC reported this week that a fresh pay offer has been made to NHS consultants which could end future strike action.

The government is also in negotiation with junior doctors although a deal has not yet been agreed.

Mr Coulter added:

“We need to always remember the impact that this industrial action is having and the cost to patients who have services disrupted and delayed, the actual financial cost of cover, and the more significant opportunity cost, as management time is necessarily taken up with planning and managing these periods of strike action safely. We know in particular that this has had an impact on our cancer pathways as clinics have been cancelled.

“And at a time when the NHS is being criticised in some quarters for poor productivity, we know that staff morale and goodwill – so important in the delivery of safe, productive services – is not helped by this ongoing dispute.”

Autumn statement will boost business and pay in Harrogate and Knaresborough, says Andrew Jones MP

Andrew Jones MP has said today’s autumn statement will “benefit businesses here in Harrogate and Knaresborough and boost the pay packets of tens of thousands locally”.

However, the Liberal Democrat hoping to replace him at the next general election said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s statement amounted to “empty promises and stale nonsense”.

Mr Hunt’s hour-long statement this afternoon included cutting the main rate of National Insurance contributions from 12 per cent to 10 per cent, increasing the state pension by 8.5% from April 2024 to £221.20 and a reduction in business rates.

But next year’s economic growth forecast was downgraded from 1.8% to 0.7%.

Andrew Jones

Mr Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:

“This was an impressive autumn statement delivered by a Chancellor who understands his brief. Mr Hunt announced a series of measures which will benefit businesses here in Harrogate and Knaresborough and boost the pay packets of tens of thousands locally.

“The cut to national insurance contributions and the increase to the national living wage will put more cash in the pockets of the least well-paid. This is very important in an area like ours that depends on the often less well-paid hospitality sector.

“The hospitality industry will be further supported with a freeze in alcohol duty and by the changes to business rates and hospitality and leisure relief.”

Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough at the next election, accused the government of being “content with local health services crumbling” by failing to provide additional funding for local health services.

The party had called on the Chancellor to invest in a NHS rescue plan and inject £20 million into repairing crumbling concrete at Harrogate District Hospital.

Mr Gordon said:

“This Conservative government seems completely content to sit back and allow Harrogate and Knaresborough’s local hospital to crumble. They are either so out of touch they cannot see how many people are struggling to access healthcare, or they simply do not care.

“The Autumn Statement was an opportunity to get people off NHS waiting lists and allow them to return to work so we can rescue our flatlining economy. Instead we got empty promises, stale nonsense and a tax cut that’s not even a drop in the ocean compared to what people have already paid.”

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Call for lessons to be learned

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Trust apologises

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