Sunday Telegraph – circulation 490,000 – Sunday 3 April
Cancer patients denied “last hope” robot surgery

The paper ran a piece about the lack of access on the NHS to Cyberknife treatment – a radiosurgery procedure. The article mentioned that Barts was one of two hospitals about to get a new Cyberknife. They reported: “Fundraisers for two more NHS cancer centres, at Barts and the London NHS Trust, and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust have just spent more than £7 million on two more machines, which will begin operating this summer”.

The Health Service Journal – 75,000 online users – Friday 1 April
Vertical integration at Barts not due until July

Reporting on the transfer of Tower Hamlets Community Health Services to BLT, the journal said it would now happen in July. The article added that the transfer was “dwarfed by the scale of the planned merger with Whipps Cross and Newham University Hospitals.”

The Evening Standard – circulation 1m – Tuesday 5 April ‘11
NHS – adorable, frightfully British and infuriating

Columnist Simon Jenkins described how he resorted to paying for private healthcare after hours of queuing to be seen at UCLH. He went on to criticise NHS spending on consultancy staff such as “improvement leaders” and “horizon thinkers” before mentioning BLT’s “lunatic £100m a year in interest payments on its private finance initiative alone”.

The Socialist Worker – circulation 8,000 – Tuesday 5 April ‘11
Cameron lies about NHS: Tories axe cancer nurses

The paper quoted a nurse, named only as Ed from Barts, who spoke about the effect of proposed cuts to the number of nurses. He said: “We are going to lose committed nurses … patients will suffer. Put bluntly, if you soil yourself in bed, you could be sitting in your own xxxx for ages. If you need pain relief you could be waiting in agony until a nurse can see you.” Full article available online.

The Times – circulation 450,000 – Friday 8 April ‘11
Living your life to the full while undergoing cancer treatment

We arranged for a cancer survivor, Kate Crowe, from Tower Hamlets, to talk to The Times about her treatment and the drugs trial at Barts Cancer Centre in which she participated. The report said: “Although treatment can be gruelling, the extra care that Crowe receives, because she is part of a trial, has helped her to adjust.”

The Evening Standard – circulation 1m – Tuesday 5 April ‘11
Hundreds of jobs, including the jobs of doctors and nurses, are to be axed at a leading London hospital (The Royal Free).

The newspaper mentioned Barts in its round-up, saying that it “will slash 250 nursing posts among 630 jobs set to go there.”

East London Advertiser – circulation 24,000 – Thursday 7 April ‘11
London’s air ambulance marks 25,000th mercy mission and a year of 24 hour service

This was a full-page, detailed colour photo spread, set up by the Charity, about the work and history of the air ambulance. It included interviews with LAA medical director Dr Gareth Davies and fire crew member Chris Sutton.

East London Advertiser – circulation 24,000 – Thursday 7 April ‘11
Debts force hospital to scrap beds – before they even open!

“More than 100 beds are to go at the East End’s new hospital before they are even opened because of debt owed to private financiers, a health watchdog says.”

The newspaper based its report on statistics from the campaign group Health Emergency The ELA carried most of our statement explaining that it was misleading to use bed numbers to describe a hospital’s cost; that the new hospital will have 32 operating theatres, improved intensive care wards and better equipment for diagnosis and treatment; and that it was crucial to remember that half the costs of the PFI contract were associated with vital support services.

Sunday Mirror – circulation 1m - 10 April ‘11
An NHS hospital has axed 100 of its beds – before it’s even opened.

”The £1bn Royal London Hospital is being paid for through a private finance initiative. But NHS cuts left Barts and The London overstretched, so 100 of the 1,200 beds will be scrapped this year.”

The newspaper, which was following up the story (see previous item) in The East London Advertiser, did not approach us for our statement.

Daily Mirror – circulation 1.1m – 8 April ‘11
Real life: I had two years left to live but then I had a baby and he saved my life

BLT Haematology Professor, Adrian Newland, commented on the case of a woman who was diagnosed with terminal bone marrow cancer but went into complete remission after giving birth. Professor Newland said he had come across similar cases, explaining: “In people with blood cancers we do sometimes see cases of spontaneous remission as a result of an event in the body, when all traces of the cancer suddenly disappear.”

Gulf Times - circulation 35,000 – 10 April ‘11
Loss of NHS jobs “will hit patients”

Cuts to thousands of NHS posts will cause long-term damage to patients, the head of the Royal College of Nursing warned. Barts and The London NHS Trust said it was axing 630 positions including 250 nursing posts.

The Times (Eureka supplement) – circulation 448,000 – Thursday 7 April ‘11

An extended feature piece on battlefield medicine described the different ways a tourniquet could be used to save lives, according to military surgeon Nigel Tai, also an RLH consultant in trauma and vascular surgery. The piece added: “The Royal London has also become the first hospital in Britain to make it mandatory to undergo training in “damage control surgery” - where less major operative work, such as stopping bleeding, is done before anything else.

Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle – circulation 42,000 - Friday 8 April ‘11
Dinner raises £1,700 for cancer treatment

The piece said that the money raised at the charity dinner in Kensington would be used to help pay for a Cyberknife unit at Barts Cancer Centre - one of only a couple in the UK.

Daily Mirror – circulation 1.1m – Monday 11 April ‘11
Nick Clegg on the critical list as closest advisor threatens to quit in protest at NHS shake-up

In its round-up of potential NHS job losses, the newspaper said Barts was “consulting with staff over proposed cuts of 258 nursing jobs.”

BBC Radio Oxford - 62,000 listeners - Monday 11 April
Anniversary of the death of the Elephant Man

We organised a live five minute interview on BBC Radio Oxford with Trust Archivist, Jonathan Evans, about the life of Joseph Merrick in an item marking the anniversary of his death.   Jonathan spoke about Merrick’s connection to The Royal London and his rare medical condition.

Daily Mail – circulation 2m – Tuesday 12 April ‘11
Why covering your child in suntan lotion could give them rickets

Dr Jeremy Allgrove, RLH Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist, explained how lack of exposure to sunshine was leading to an increase in the number of children being treated for rickets.  Dr Allgrove, a leading UK expert on the condition, explained that using sun block means many children are now unable to make the vitamin D necessary to build strong bones.

Fatal stabbing – Tuesday 12 April ‘11
The death of a 15-year-old boy in Edmonton was covered by all corners of the UK media.  They all reported that the boy was brought to The Royal London but later died.

East London Advertiser – circulation 24,000 – Tuesday 12 April ‘11
Paramedic numbers could fall as London Ambulance Services announces job losses

The item focused on paramedic job losses, but ended by mentioning:  “Earlier this year Barts and The London NHS Trust, which runs The Royal London, London Chest and Barts hospitals, announced it is axing 600 jobs.

Evening Standard - circulation 700,000 – Friday 15 April ‘11
Hospitals in London have spent at least £15m on interpreters, the Standard reveals today

The paper reported that the Trust had the biggest bill at £2.2m, but added that the cost was for patient advocates whose job included interpreting.  They carried part of our statement explaining that the Trust served areas where more than 140 languages were spoken, so “offering access to an interpreter is a crucial part of assisting patients whose first language is not English.”   

Health Service Journal – circulation 18.000 – Friday 15 April ‘11
Exclusive:  government admits PFI deals mean 22 trusts will struggle to meet foundation status target

The Department of Health has named 22 hospitals with private finance deals that are “an obstacle to them achieving FT status by April 2014”, the journal reported. It ran a full list of Trusts, including ours. 

The Daily Telegraph magazine – circulation 631,000 – Saturday 30 April

They ran a lengthy and positive photo feature about the Trust’s work as a major trauma centre after their journalist spent several weeks shadowing staff, including accompanying them on air ambulance missions.  The piece included interviews with many of our clinical staff about the cases they’d dealt with and developments in trauma care.  It also focused on the Trust’s expertise which is being used by other hospitals in the UK planning to set up their own trauma centres.  Happy to send a copy of the piece if anyone missed the newspaper and is interested.

The Daily Telegraph – Saturday 30 April
NHS fat cats earn more than David Cameron

The paper reported that earnings for Trust Chief Executives rose by 121% under the last Government, outstripping increases for all other groups of health workers.  The paper said that by the time Labour lost the election, four out of five NHS chief executives earned more than David Cameron’s salary of £142,500.  They listed the salaries of several NHS chief execs including our Trust’s.  The paper added that the Trust is “about to lose 635 jobs – including 10% of the hospital’s nursing staff. 

Guardian Society – circulation 264,000 – Wednesday 27 April

They ran an article about the different providers of electronic health records, and mentioned that Barts is supplied by a US company, Ensemble, a firm with three decades of experience in the industry.

Mail on Sunday – circulation 1.9m – Sunday 1 May
Rodent horror at children’s hospitals:  Britain’s top wards infested with vermin

The piece reported on various cases of pests and vermin being found at a number of hospitals.  The article, based on a Freedom of Information request, reported that the Trust had recorded 34 cases of pests being found at our hospitals, including ants at The London Chest, cockroaches in a children’s ward and rats on a ward at Barts.   The paper included a comment from us – taken from a longer statement we issued - that the affected areas were near demolition areas.