First aid:  do you know enough?
The Times – circulation 0.5m – 30 August ‘11

A survey for the charity BabySafe reported that one in four parents has had to perform first aid on their child.  However, only 14% of that number felt confident that they knew what they were doing. 

Royal London Paediatric Emergency Medicine Consultant, Dr Simon Walsh said:   “Children are often brought to A&E because they are choking,” he says. “When a parent knows first aid, they have often opened the airways already through the correct use of back slaps and compression. Untrained parents, however, sometimes block the airway more by trying to hook the object out.” Often, he says, first aid is about learning what not to do. 

Three-year-old born with 'clown nose' undergoes operation

Several news agencies covered the life-changing surgery three year old Connie Lloyd underwent at the Royal London Hospital to remove a bight red ‘clown’ birthmark on her nose. Royal London surgeon Iain Hutchinson performed the miracle surgery after doctors from around the country told Connie’s parents there was no cure for the condition.

Iain was interviewed on Eddie Nestor’s BBC London 94.9 drive time show (554,000 listeners) about the surgery. Other media outlets that covered the story included:

Daybreak (700,000 viewers)
The Daily Telegraph (712,000 daily readers)
Daily Mail (daily circulation of 2,120,000)
The Metro (daily circulation of 735,500)
The Sun (daily circulation of 2,974,700)
Evening Standard London (daily readership of 600,000)

The Guardian – (297,000 daily readers) – 26 August ‘11
One in 13 A&E patients return within a week

New Department of Health figures show a rising demand for A&E services with almost 35,000 patients a month "unnecessarily" having to return to A&E despite having been seen in the previous week.  According to the Department of Health, only one in 20 visits should be "reattendances", but the average across the NHS was one in 13.

The article also reported on figures released earlier in August that showed the number of people waiting more than four hours in A&E had almost doubled despite a drop in attendances.  Barts and the London Trust was mentioned as having 95% of people waiting more than eight hours in A&E. The paper did not contact us for comment.

The Evening Standard (daily readership of 600,000) – 25 August ‘11
Hospitals see rise in number of patient complaints

Patient complaints against London hospitals are on the rise with 166 more complaints about the NHS in the capital in 2010/11 than the year before.

The article listed St George’s Hospital in Tooting as receiving the largest number of complaints and mentioned Barts and the London Trust had received 149 more complaints than the year before. The paper did not contact us for comment.

London24.com – 130,000 monthly visitors – 25 August ‘11
Ilford man’s desperate escape from fire

An Ilford man is receiving treatment at The Royal London for serious burns and a head injury after smashing a first-floor window and leaping for his life after a fire broke out.

Let the sun shine in
IOL Lifestyle website – 840,000 monthly visitors – 24 August ’11

Barts and The London oncologist Tim Oliver recommended people spend short periods of time in the sun to reap the Vitamin D benefits and avoid sunburn to prevent skin cancer.

East London Advertiser – 24,000 readers – 19 August ‘11
East End NHS Trust wins £6.5m

‘The East End’s NHS trust has won £6.5million of government cash to research heart disease.’

The paper reported on the trust joining with Barts and The London Medical School in a five-year project researching the causes and treatments of cardiovascular disease.

The Independent - 179,371 readers – 19 August ‘11
Treasury committee demands overhaul of ‘poor value’ PFI

‘An influential committee of MPs launched a stinging attack on the private finance initiative (PFI) yesterday and claimed it offered taxpayers "poor value for money".’

The paper reported the credit crisis had made PFIs for schools and hospitals inefficient. We issued a statement explaining how the Trust’s long-overdue new hospitals development was only made possible through the PFI. Part of our statement was published in the online article where we explained the Trust’s “contractual commitment to regular reviews on quality and costs would ensure it is getting the best deal possible from the PFI.”

Ilford: Teenager dies after stabbing

Multiple news agencies covered the stabbing of teenager Kevin Chibueze from Croydon who was treated at the Royal London Hospital before passing away from his injuries. Media coverage was generated in:

Evening Star (15,920 daily readers)
The Independent (179,371 daily readers)
The Mirror (daily circulation of 1,247,000)
Ilford Recorder (approximately 21,000 weekly readers
ITV News (approximately 3 million viewers)

Sustainable Government – 130,000 viewers – 16 August ‘11
Better, faster access to health care for East Londoners

‘East London residents now have access to better, more tailored health care after Barts and the London Trust merged with Tower Hamlets Community Health Services.’

Malaysian riot victim being treated at Royal London
There was extensive press coverage of the story of a Malaysian student, who was caught on YouTube being mugged by a gang pretending to help him during last week’s riots.   We were inundated with media wishing to interview him after he underwent surgery at The Royal London for a broken jaw.  Coverage on the student’s surgery and discharge from hospital was included throughout the week on:

BBC National News – 3.9 million viewers
BBC News Channel – 200,000 viewers
Channel 4 News – 791,000 viewers
Sky News – multi-platform news provider available up to 145 million people daily
CNN News – reach of more than 100 million households daily
Daily Telegraph – circulation 630,000
The Guardian – circulation 264,000

BBC News website – 60m visitors a month
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14476828

Daily Mail online – 23 million visitors a month
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024461/LONDON-RIOTS-2011-Ashraf-Haziq-says-good-samaritans-threatened-stab-him.html#ixzz1V5XGZM5C

The Independent online – 5.1 million visitors a month
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/heroes-and-victims-people-caught-in-the-crossfire-2335682.html?action=Gallery&ino=2

The Metro online – 2.9 million visitors a month
http://www.metro.co.uk/explore/organisations/royal_london_hospital

UTV News online – 200,000 visitors a month
http://www.u.tv/News/Malaysian-mugging-victim-Ashraf-Haziq-says-Britain-is-great/df084bd3-c336-4dd7-94db-5ab397c6b18a

The Guardian website – 16 million visitors a month – 12 August ‘11
Number of NHS patients waiting more than four hours in A&E doubles

A photo of The Royal London’s A&E department accompanied this story about the latest wait time statistics from the Department of Health. The increase in wait time across all NHS hospitals follows health secretary Andrew Lansley's abolition of specific targets for NHS waiting times.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/aug/12/nhs-accident-emergency-waiting-times

Evening Standard – 700,000 readers – 10 August '11
Hospitals may cancel ops to treat victims of violence

‘Patients at London hospitals face seeing operations cancelled as bosses ordered a lockdown after the riots.

‘The Royal London in Whitechapel said services were currently operating as normal, but confirmed surgery would be cancelled and some patients would be sent home if the situation deteriorated. A spokeswoman said: '"We have a well-rehearsed plan as soon as a major incident is declared. We're fortunate to have one of the leading A&E departments in the country”.

Standard – circulation 700,000 – 10 August ‘11
Doctors save mother and her ‘miracle baby’

‘A mother who lost seven pints of blood giving birth has thanked the medics who saved her and her baby.  Victoria Green, who had daughter Jessica 16 weeks early, needed an emergency transfusion.  Jessica, who weighed 1lb 10oz was moved to The Royal London Hospital for emergency treatment.’ 

BMA News – circulation 100,000 – 6 August ‘11

Our breast cancer doctors were photographed after they helped with content for the script of a play about breast cancer to be performed by The Chicken Shed Theatre Company at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Evening Standard – circulation 700.000 – 5 August ‘11
Hundreds fight to keep NHS jobs

‘Hundreds of London NHS staff are fighting for their jobs as budgets are slashed, it emerged today.‘

The paper reported that 6000 jobs were to go in Trusts across London, including 630 at Barts and The London.

HSJ – 90,000 readers weekly – 4 August ‘11 
New scrutiny for Barts merger

‘The Co-operation and Competition Panel has called in the merger of Barts and The London, Whipps Cross and Newham Trusts for further scrutiny.”

The magazine reported that the merger was due to have its outline business case approved (last Friday).

East London Advertiser – 24,000 readers – 4 August ‘11
Arctic role is for charity

‘Children’s nurses and doctors at The Royal London Hospital will next year trek 200 miles across the Arctic.  Six adventurous staff will make the hike from Norway into Sweden.  The effort is for the Sick Children’s’ Trust.’

The Reading Post – circulation 24,000 – 3 August ‘11
Midwife’s story will become BBC series

The newspaper reported that a book written by Jennifer Worth, a, midwife who worked at The Royal London, is to be serialised by the BBC.  Call The Midwife, about Jennifer’s time as a midwife in the East End during the fifties, will air on BBC One next year.

North West Evening Mail – 3 August ‘11
The Sky’s The Limit For Brave Vicky

‘A skydiver conquers her fear of heights while raising money for cancer research.’

The paper reported that Vicky Long performed a skydive to raise money to help fund her frequent trips to Barts for treatment for eye cancer.

IOL Lifestyle website – 1 August ‘11
What causes headaches?

‘When you suffer a headache, the temptation is to reach immediately for the painkillers.  But trying to pinpoint the cause might help reduce the pain – and even prevent the problem occurring again.’

The website quoted Giles Elrington, a neurologist at the Trust, explaining that the causes of all headaches is the same – “an electrical circuit at the back of the brain fires off incorrectly, generating pain in the head.”   He added that only 1% of people who consult their GP about a headache actually have anything seriously wrong with them.