The Royal College of GPs and Marie Curie partnership are due to launch the Daffodil Standards: the new UK General Practice Standards for End of Life Care and Advanced Serious Illness. This quality improvement programme is a great opportunity to help support General Practice to improve care for patients and their loved ones at the end of life.

During the development process they involved patients and carers, in consultation with RCGP Patient Partnership Groups, Marie Curie Expert Voices and National Association of Patient Participation. They have recently completed 16 feasibility pilots in practices to test the pilots. Here is a flyer and editorial with some information.

​The full documentation for the programme is free and voluntary, however foundation components are due to form part of End of Life Care QOF from April 2019. 

Each month we’re going to focus on a specific area of heath and this month we’re raising awareness of sepsis.

Every 3.5 seconds, someone in the world dies of sepsis. In the UK alone, 52,000 people lose their lives to sepsis every year. This is more than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined. 

It’s also  a good opportunity to let you know that have we won a small bid to design and test some sepsis training and awareness events.

On behalf of NHS England we’ll be piloting some sepsis training, primarily for GP receptionists
and practice leads. We’ve already had a great response with training sessions already full.

We’re hoping the pilot will be a success as there’s potential to roll this out as a model.

You can download resources to promote sepsis awareness from Public Health England.

​"My highlight of 2018 has been watching the H&SH team grow. I’ve also been proud of the enthusiasm of practices who attended the events we ran with the CCG around looking to the future." ​

Felicity Brown, Deputy Head of Operations and Service Delivery

Hartlepool & Stockton Health recently launched a project to equip healthcare professionals within the federation with an ECG device, allowing them to screen patients for a potential heart condition when they attend GP appointments.

The AliveCor device allows GPs to screen suitable patients for undiagnosed Atrial Fibrillation (AF), which is a leading cause of stroke and is the most common heart rhythm disturbance.

There are one million cases of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) currently diagnosed in England. However it remains significantly under-diagnosed and it’s estimated that up to half of people with AF are currently undetected.

The AliveCor Mobile ECG is an app that runs on a compatible smartphone or tablet and records accurate ECGs and heart rate anywhere, at any time.

To take an ECG the patient rests it on their fingers or chest to record an ECG in 30 seconds. Results are known immediately, meaning GPs can provide a result for patients who then have the peace of mind of knowing whether or not AF has been found.

Dr Yusuf Soni, Innovations Director at H&SH, said: “This is a really great project, enabling us to equip GPs to identify patients who may have an undiagnosed Atrial Fibrillation. This also helps us take a more preventative approach to this condition, resulting in a reduction stroke - significantly improving health outcomes in the area and importantly patient quality of life. I have also attached a proforma that we are using in our practice for screening of AF for all out chronic disease patients review and would be happy to chat with member practices if they are interested doing something similar.   

“The service will be available through the evening Extended Access hubs, where we have 26,000 patient contacts a year, so it has the potential to have a huge impact on health in Hartlepool and Stockton.” ​

The average prevalence across the entire population in Hartlepool and Stockton is 1.8%, where it should be around 2.4%. In effect this means there are approximately 1800 people with undiagnosed AF, who are at risk of stroke.

The @NHSEnglandNorth Twitter account will be running a regional Twitter Advent campaign to support the Help Us Help You campaign and highlight winter messages around a variety of services. Topics covered will include accident and emergency services, flu, improving access to primary care and falls prevention.​

Look out for these tweets and get involved by sharing your own relevant messages.

​We recently produced a film on hand hygiene for our extended access hubs, and added a little bit of fun with the help of 'Baby Shark'.

It was also part of our recent and current hand hygiene audit within the extended access hubs.

Meet Carl Gowland our Head of Operations and Service Delivery for Hartlepool & Stockton Health.

Can you tell us a little bit about your role at H&SH?
As Head of Operations and Service Delivery for Hartlepool & Stockton Health, I’m responsible for the day to day running and management of all of our services including the 7 day extended access service and the Referral Management System, CAsPeR.

Alongside the business as usual activity I also manage the mobilisation and rollout of new contracts and initiatives.

Where did you work before joining H&SH?
I’ve worked in healthcare my whole career. After graduating with a business studies degree and I spent 7 years working for BMI Healthcare both at their Woodlands Hospital in Darlington and as part of their national team standardising processes across 60 sites.

I’ve also worked in commissioning at South Tees CCG and for Connect Health, a Physiotherapy company based in Newcastle. Working for Hartlepool & Stockton Health is my first venture into Primary Care.

What did you want to be when you were younger?
I wanted to become a primary school teacher, but quickly decided days of play doh and crafting weren’t for me!

What you do outside of work?
As well as having three children, I also manage a local children’s football team in Billingham which takes up a lot of my weekends. I also like to play golf whenever I can.

What  do you enjoy most about working for H&SH?
I enjoy the hands on management of  services and the mobilisation of new contracts to benefit local patients. The culture of the organisation is key to what we do and I feel empowered to make a difference to the local health economy.

What you’re most excited about in the future for H&SH?
I feel the changing face of healthcare can only benefit from having a strong primary care voice, and feel the federation can continue to grow and be that voice. Collaboration over the coming years can offer fantastic opportunities for practices to strengthen their position at the heart of healthcare and provide the platform to build fantastic services for patients.​