We Are Stoke-on-Trent: Royal Stoke University Hospital

Summary

Updates from Royal Stoke University Hospital
Part of the BBC's We Are Stoke-on-Trent project
'Trauma centre saved my legs'
The painter with a broken back
The best and worst parts of the job
The ward manager whose role is 'mind-blowing'
How pudding makes everything better
'I deal with rock-climbing and farming accidents'
'You don't realise at the time your impact on lives'
Knife injury increase 'putting strain on system'
'I have seen incredible joy and heartache'

Live Reporting

Teenager 'would be dead' without trauma centre's carepublished at 11:08 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News Online
Another patient I've spoken to in the rehabilitation unit is Cameron Barker, from Cliff Vale, Stoke-on-Trent.
The 17-year-old told me he was riding his new motorbike when he collided with a lorry.
"I woke up on the road with a paramedic over me. I just didn’t think it was real - it was like a dream.
"I was blue-lighted over here, I came out of the ambulance and saw all my family stood here waiting for me and I thought 'OK, this is more serious than I thought'."
He said: "I broke my leg, I’ve got no spleen and my arm doesn’t work. Cracked my first rib and broken my collar bone. I’m lucky to be alive and they said if I didn’t go for surgery in two hours I would be dead.”
More beds for seriously hurt patientspublished at 10:54 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News Online
More beds have arrived for the acute rehabilitation unit I've been told this morning.
NHS England has accredited the department at Royal Stoke as a specialist rehabilitation unit.
Senior sister Rebecca Marsh tells me it means they are just one of five in the country - and the only one in a major trauma centre.
The move gave them extra funding for 10 beds - for patients "with the most complex needs".
The best and worst parts of the jobpublished at 10:42 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News Online
Dr Clive Bezzina is a consultant in the Acute Rehabilitation and Trauma Unit. He's been telling me about the best and worst parts of his job.
"The best part of the job is working with such a variety of different teams. We've all got a really good rapport and it's not always an easy ride but we work together well," he said.
"The worst part of the job is that sometimes it can be a challenge to get what you want or need to achieve a certain outcome for a patient.
"Also it can be hard to manage patients and relatives' expectations. There are situations that you cannot change in terms of patient outcome due to the nature of their injuries."
The painter with a broken backpublished at 10:29 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News Online
I'm continuing my tour of the acute rehabilitation unit at the hospital's trauma centre and I've just been speaking to John Doyle, who's a painter and decorator - and now patient.
The 52-year-old says he doesn’t remember anything after he fell down the stairs at his home in Colwyn Bay.
“The last thing I remember was locking my door and then I woke up in hospital. I had fallen down 15 concrete steps and broken multiple vertebrae. I couldn’t move my arms or legs.
"I've spent six weeks on a flat bed and the doctors say with a lot of hard work I’ll make a full recovery."
He said: "The staff are amazing here and I’ve got so much respect for the disabled now I’ve been through it. My personality has changed. I can’t thank staff here enough they do everything for you.”
Your questions about Stoke's major trauma centrepublished at 10:08 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
What would you like to know about life at one of England's leading major trauma centres?
Read More
From broken spines to brain injuriespublished at 10:00 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News Online
Senior sister Rebecca Marsh is giving me a guided tour of the acute rehabilitation unit.
She told me: “We’ve been open for three years and we take patients with some of the most complex injuries in the hospital.
"At the top of the ward we have our level one area which is where the most dependent patients come. They have a range of injuries from broken limbs and broken spines to brain injuries."
"As we progress down the ward, the patients have less nursing needs and the more mobile our patients tend to be.”
How recovery begins for trauma patientspublished at 09:46 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News Online
I’ve arrived at Royal Stoke this morning and I'm starting my day in the acute rehabilitation unit (ARTU), which is part of the trauma centre we've been telling you about.
The unit opened in May 2016 and has 27 beds and it's where trauma patients with the most serious injuries start their recovery journey.
Many will have undergone major surgery, having arrived in a critical condition.
Staff here co-ordinate their next stage of treatment with specialist departments like neurosurgery and orthopaedics, with the team on ARTU comprised of speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and occupational therapists.
As a patient's condition improves, the staff look to move them to the best place to continue their recovery.
'They saved my legs' - The PC run over by a criminalpublished at 09:29 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Allen Cook
BBC News
A police officer who was run over by a car she tried to stop ploughing into runners was treated at the major trauma unit.
PC Claire Bond was on duty when she was deliberately pinned against a fence by the BMW's drug dealer driver during the Stafford 10k in September last year.
She broke a leg and kneecap and was still on crutches when her attacker was jailed earlier this month.
PC Bond said the staff at Royal Stoke "made a huge difference to me" in the 10 days she was there and, after being discharged, she wanted to give something back as "they saved my legs".
Having found they didn't have an ice machine to make ice packs for her legs, she said her swim club raised money to pay for one along with CD players for the ward as "some people can be there months without getting visitors or being able to watch TV".
Image source, Claire Bond
'One of the best' major trauma centres in Englandpublished at 09:10 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Allen Cook
BBC News
Here's the background to the trauma centre from which we'll be bringing you updates:
Seven years ago, the NHS decided to shake up how it treated seriously injured people.
Instead of going to local hospitals offering less specialist care, it was decided to send badly-hurt patients directly to a network of major trauma centres., external
Stoke-on-Trent had served as the pilot centre in 1991 and, with the hospital moved to a new site, it was designated one of four major trauma centres in the West Midlands.
In 2017, Royal Stoke University Hospital was rated the best in the country for saving the lives of patients.
We are Stoke-on-Trent: A day in the life of a major trauma centrepublished at 09:00 British Summer Time 24 September 2019
Allen Cook
BBC News
Welcome to our live service for We Are Stoke-on-Trent - the BBC project focusing on the city and the people who live and work there.
So, what better way to shed light on these stories than spending a day in a hive of activity? For the next few hours, we'll be bringing you a flavour of what goes on at Royal Stoke University Hospital where there's a major trauma centre.
Image source, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
The trauma centre deals with complex emergencies ranging from head injuries and amputations to severe knife and bullet wounds.
Residents will be used to seeing the air ambulance land on the helipad as patients are brought in from as far afield as north Wales. But what happens after that?
Well, through our live service, we'll tell you. You'll be hearing from the doctors and nurses involved in patients' care and the families who've been helped.