The Daily Mail (Thursday January 6 - circulation 2.1m) and The Irish Examiner (Thursday 6 January - circulation 57,000) reported on research by Professor Marta Korbonits at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry into a gigantism gene she has found in the DNA of the remains of a 18^th century man from Northern Ireland.

She has since discovered up to 200 living descendants with the same gene, thought to date back 1500 years.  We set up filming at Barts for BBC Northern Ireland who interviewed Professor Korbonits and patient, Brendan Holland, who has the gene.  A documentary will go out on BBC Northern Ireland at 7pm on Sunday 16 January. 

Macmillan and BLT Lead Cancer Nurse, Nuala Close, featured prominently in a double-page photo feature in the current edition of Boots (The Chemist) magazine.  She spoke about the emotional, medical and practical support she and colleagues offer cancer victims and their families. 

The East London Advertiser (Thursday 6 January – circulation 25,000), ran a photo feature on the three babies born by midday on New Year's Day in The Royal London’s maternity unit.    To view article, put link below in browser, click anywhere on front page to activate toolbar at bottom.

Swine flu continues to figure prominently across all media. The East London Advertiser ran a full page spread including details of BLT’s strict hygiene policies including a limit on visitor numbers.  They also carried a quote from us saying that the situation was “well within our control” .

The newspaper, along with others including the Daily Mail (circulation 2.1m), Mirror (circulation 1.1m), Guardian (circulation 270,000) and Sky News (300,000 viewers), carried warnings from QMUL virologist, Professor John Oxford that young people were particularly at risk because they had not been exposed to the virus in its current form and were therefore more likely to lack immunity.  

To view article, put link below in browser, click anywhere on front page to activate toolbar at bottom.  Click forward button to go to page 6 for story.

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Chat magazine (6 January – circulation 540,000) carried a double page spread about toddler, Teddie Stroud, who successfully underwent surgery for retinoblastoma (eye cancer) at The Royal London Hospital.  The family praised the care they received and said they were now fundraising for RLH to show their gratitude. 

The East London Advertiser (7 January online – readers 25,000), The Independent (circulation - 178,000) and The Daily Star (circulation - 756,000) carried reports about the sister of singer Mika who is being treated at The Royal London following a fall.  Mika, who has praised the care she is receiving, said the family had kept a Christmas vigil at her bedside and that her condition was still serious.    

The shooting of US Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, was widely covered in the news last week, with two of our doctors giving live television interviews about her prognosis.  Mark Wilson, one of our HEMS (air ambulance) doctors, was interviewed on Sky News (Monday, 11 January - 300,000 viewers) commenting on the skills and techniques required to treat her injuries.   Barts and The London Neurosurgeon, John Wadley,  was interviewed the following morning on BBC Breakfast (Tuesday, 12 January – 1m viewers) where he spoke about the odds of surviving such an attack and the chances of her making a full recovery.

The G2 Society section of the Guardian (Tuesday January 11 - circulation 275,000) ran an extensive photo feature on the work of Professor Marta Korbonits at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.  As mentioned in last week’s summary, she has discovered a gigantism gene in the DNA of the remains of a 18^th century man from Northern Ireland.   She has since found up to 200 living descendants with the same gene, thought to date back 1500 years.  We set up filming at Barts for BBC Northern Ireland who interviewed Professor Korbonits and former patient, Brendan Holland, who has the gene.  The documentary, Charles Byrne, The Irish Giant, was broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland at 7pm on Sunday 16 January.  Copies available in the Press Office if you would like to view or on the BBC iPlayer over the next week.

The East London Advertiser (Thursday 6 January – circulation 25,000), ran a photo feature on Mona Hassan, an eighteen year old patient being treated on Treves Ward at The Royal London for extensive leg injuries sustained when she fell under the wheels of a tipper truck as she crossed the road.  The newspaper carried quotes from Mona praising the care she’d received.  The newspaper also spoke to Professor Simon Myers, one of our senior plastic surgeon, about her treatment. 

Trust staff took part in a 90-minute discussion programme on Channel S, the Bengali-speaking channel, (70,000 viewers in the UK – 500,000 nationally) aimed at recruiting more Bangladeshi nurses.  HR Director, Ali Mohammed, Senior Nurse and Practice Facilitator, Anne Levington and Breast Care Sister, Nahar Khalisadar, joined a panel of guests to discuss what more could be done to increase the numbers coming forward.  The programme, commissioned by NHS Tower Hamlets, was repeated several times after its first showing at 8.30pm on Thursday 13 January.

The shooting of US Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, was widely covered in the news last week, with two of our doctors giving live television interviews about her prognosis.  Mark Wilson, one of our HEMS (air ambulance) doctors, was interviewed on Sky News (Monday, 11 January - 300,000 viewers) commenting on the skills and techniques required to treat her injuries.   Barts and The London Neurosurgeon, John Wadley,  was interviewed the following morning on BBC Breakfast (Tuesday, 12 January – 1m viewers) where he spoke about the odds of surviving such an attack and the chances of her making a full recovery.

The G2 Society section of the Guardian (Tuesday January 11 - circulation 275,000) ran an extensive photo feature on the work of Professor Marta Korbonits at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.  As mentioned in last week’s summary, she has discovered a gigantism gene in the DNA of the remains of a 18^th century man from Northern Ireland.   She has since found up to 200 living descendants with the same gene, thought to date back 1500 years.  We set up filming at Barts for BBC Northern Ireland who interviewed Professor Korbonits and former patient, Brendan Holland, who has the gene.  The documentary, Charles Byrne, The Irish Giant, was broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland at 7pm on Sunday 16 January.  Copies available in the Press Office if you would like to view or on the BBC iPlayer over the next week.

The East London Advertiser (Thursday 6 January – circulation 25,000), ran a photo feature on Mona Hassan, an eighteen year old patient being treated on Treves Ward at The Royal London for extensive leg injuries sustained when she fell under the wheels of a tipper truck as she crossed the road.  The newspaper carried quotes from Mona praising the care she’d received.  The newspaper also spoke to Professor Simon Myers, one of our senior plastic surgeon, about her treatment. 

Trust staff took part in a 90-minute discussion programme on Channel S, the Bengali-speaking channel, (70,000 viewers in the UK – 500,000 nationally) aimed at recruiting more Bangladeshi nurses.  HR Director, Ali Mohammed, Senior Nurse and Practice Facilitator, Anne Levington and Breast Care Sister, Nahar Khalisadar, joined a panel of guests to discuss what more could be done to increase the numbers coming forward.  The programme, commissioned by NHS Tower Hamlets, was repeated several times after its first showing at 8.30pm on Thursday 13 January.

There was coverage in The Voice newspaper (17 January), The East London Advertiser (19 January circulation 25,000) and The Evening Standard (21 January – circulation 700,000) of the case of Shakila Mohammed, a toddler who was born at The Royal London with aniridia – an extremely rare eye condition which means she has no iris and is therefore extremely sensitive to light.   Her family has complained that her condition was not diagnosed earlier by both the Trust and her GP and that a technical glitch with Choose and Book at her GP practice added to the delay in treatment. We released a statement carried, in part, by all three papers pointing out that patients can always be referred by phone/fax/letter if Choose and Book does not work, which is what her GP did, and that Shakila was offered an appointment well within the target 13 weeks.  An inquiry, run jointly by the Trust and NHS Tower Hamlets is due to publish its findings shortly.

The Evening Standard (21 January, circulation 700,000) covered breaches of Department of Health guidance on unjustified mixing of sexes on wards.  There were 11,300 breaches nationally, with the newspaper listing the hospitals with the highest number in London, including 355 at BLT.

The Evening Standard (21 January, circulation 700,000) described the cutting edge treatment being used at The Royal London Hospital to help 18-year-old student, Mona Hassan, who suffered severe leg injuries after being run over by a tipper truck.  Plastic surgeon, Professor Simon Myers, explained how a new technique using synthetic skin will speed up her recovery time and minimise scarring.

We organized access for a documentary team from BBC 3 (average daily reach 5m viewers) to film one of our head and neck surgeons, Mr Santdeep Paun, repairing the damaged septum – the dividing tissue in the nose – of a cocaine user.  The footage and commentary from Mr Paun featured prominently on Thursday 20 January in   How Drugs Work: Cocaine, the final programme in a series looking at the physiological and psychological effects of drug-taking. Available to view on the BBC’s iPlayer.

The Health Service Journal (circulation 18,000) reported that BLT and the Homerton  were “competing to swallow up two smaller trusts”.  The journal said NHS London would decide next month which of the two would merge with Whipps Cross and Newham.  The magazine claimed the BLT option would lead to savings of around £19m with “additional opportunities arising from the renegotiation of PFI contracts”.