September 2011
Author meets children at hospital
East London Advertiser – circulation 12,000 - 29 Sep ‘11
Tony DiTerlizzi, the author of the children’s books, The Spiderwick Chronicles, visited The Royal London to read to young patients as part of a national drive aimed at getting children in hospital to use books as a distraction from their illness. We were the first Trust to be visited at the start of the project.
Proposals ‘need to be watched’
Newham Recorder – 10,000 circulation – 28 Sep ‘11
East Ham MP Stephen Timms wrote a column about last month’s stakeholder meeting at Upton Park at which the merger proposals were outlined. While cautiously in favour, he wrote: “Past experience suggests we need to be careful. Newham’s health service used to be managed as if it was an annexe to the London hospital …. We don’t want cuts at Newham to pay for new buildings in Whitechapel.”
He concluded: “The Chair of the Royal London and Barts Trust Stephen O’Brien knows Newham well. So I intend to support the merger, but watch very carefully for signs that Newham is losing out to smarter establishments elsewhere.”
BBC Radio 4 – File On Four – 27 Sep ‘11
Zoe Greenwell, the Trust’s Interim Head of Purchasing, was interviewed by Radio 4’s File on Four for a special programme about procurement in the NHS. During a two hour visit to The Royal London last month, Zoe explained the rigorous processes involved in checking prices to secure the best deals from suppliers. Among the many examples she gave, was how we saved £300,000 on rubber gloves by better product selection. This was picked up by numerous media outlets including the following:
Hospital saves fortune just by swapping rubber gloves
BBC News website – 10m daily users – 27 Sep ‘11
‘The government hopes smarter procurement can help the NHS in England to save more than £15bn over the next three years - and some hospitals are already proving it can be done. One of London's top teaching hospitals has saved the taxpayer more than £300,000 a year - just by changing its order for rubber gloves. Barts and the London NHS Trust used to buy 20 different types of examination gloves for medical staff.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14971984
NHS should shop smarter
Healthcare News - 27 Sep ‘11
‘The government is hoping that by using more cost effective procurement strategies it can assist the NHS in saving over £15 billion by 2014.
Barts and the London NHS Trust has proved that buying and using equipment in a smarter way can result in significant savings. The teaching hospital saved over £300,000 in 2010 by changing the way it ordered rubber gloves’.
http://www.hc2d.co.uk/content.php?contentId=19871
Barts and The London NHS Trust lays down procurement savings gauntlet
Purcon (procurement and supply website)
‘Barts and London NHS Trust has saved over £300,000 this year simply by changing its order for surgical gloves. Zoe Greenwell, who heads up the procurement department, said: "We have moved to one supplier and we will be saving £320,000 this year just by standardising to a better value product."’
Gloves off for NHS Trust
Supply Management website – 27 Sep ‘11
Buyers at Barts and The London NHS Trust expect top save £320,000 this year by reducing its selection of medical gloves from 20 to just 2.
http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2011/gloves-off-for-nhs-trust/
‘Small c’ campaign
Betar Bangla Radio – 27 Sep ‘11
Consultant oncologist, Tom Powles, did a two hour live radio guest spot to talk about the small c campaign. He outlined the key messages including the top 5 symptoms for breast and lung cancer. He also took calls during the programme, advising listeners on how to adopt a healthier lifestyle and stressing the benefit of early diagnosis.
The main health story which dominated this week’s news coverage and generated more than 400 stories was the Health Secretary’s assertion that the PFI debt facing hospitals was the fault of the last Labour government. The DoH released a list of 22 Trusts, including ours, which, it claimed, were suffering financial difficulties because of high repayments.
Trust clean team praised
Inspectors find tight ship at Barts and The London NHS Trust
EastEnd Life - circulation 70,000 homes – 26 Sep ‘11
‘An annual inspection of healthcare across England has revealed that Barts and The London NHS Trust Hospitals are cleaner and tidier than ever before’.
Deputy Chief Executive Toby Lewis told the newspaper: “Our patients and local residents have the right to expect excellence. On four out of nine measures that is what we are now delivering. We are working very hard to make that 9 out of 9 and would hope our new facilities will help us to make more progress.” ‘
Green and Clean
Building Products website – 26 Sep ‘11
In an article about our new hospitals redevelopment, the website reported our efforts to be as environmentally-friendly as possible in all our construction. Nick Baker, Skanska’s environmental manager said: “There are four key priorities: energy, carbon, materials and Water. Our long term target is to have zero impact in each area. Barts and The Royal London has looked closely at our use of materials, in particular the target for zero waste to landfill. Manufacturer take-back schemes are an important factor in our ability to achieve this.”
http://www.buildingproducts.co.uk/features/green-and-clean
Broadcast media
Today programme – Radio 4 – 6.6m listeners – Thursday 22 Sep
Health secretary Andrew Lansley spoke of an “enormous legacy of debt” within the NHS which he blamed on the last government. He said there was an urgent need to work with Trusts in difficulty in order to manage the debt more efficiently. Barts was not mentioned by name.
BBC London (BBC 1 6.30pm) – 600,000 viewers – Thursday 22 Sep
They revealed that half a dozen hospitals in London, including Barts, had told the Department of Health they could not afford their PFI repayments. The programme reported that one option being considered by the government was the re-negotiation of PFI deals, while another was a financial bail-out and that the Department of Health was considering the latter for two Trusts - South London Healthcare and Barking, Havering and Redbridge.
ITV News (national) – 2.2m viewers – Thursday 22 Sep
Their package included an interview with Andrew Lansley who said he had been contacted by 22 NHS trusts claiming their clinical and financial stability was at risk because of the spiralling cost of PFI contracts. The piece went on to name Barts and The London as one of the trusts facing financial difficulties.
Channel 4 News 7pm – 0.9m viewers – Thursday 22 Sep
The programme did a live broadcast outside Barts in which they outlined the level of debt facing the NHS, but made the point that new developments such as ours were made possible thanks to PFI arrangements. They referred to our statement in which we explained that we had needed to become even more efficient in order to finance our PFI repayments.
Sky News – 200,000 viewers – Thursday 22 Sep
Barts was mentioned during coverage of the story throughout the day.
Print and online
The Telegraph – circulation 630,000 – 22 Sep ‘11 - NHS hospitals ‘crippled’ by PFI scheme
‘Andrew Lansley says he has been contacted by 22 health service trusts which claim their "clinical and financial stability" is being undermined by the costs of the contracts, which the Labour government used extensively to fund public sector projects. The trusts in jeopardy include Barts and the London, Oxford Radcliffe, North Bristol, St Helens and Knowsley, and Portsmouth.’
The paper did not contact us for a response.
The Telegraph also named us in a separate think piece entitled PFI: Where did it all go wrong?
Andrew Haldenby from the Reform think-tank wrote: "The real problem of PFI deals under the last government is that it was used to build far too much …. this was a field of dreams: 'build it and they will come'. It is no surprise that buildings are half empty now. It was madness for Barts and the London, which exists in a city already swamped with too much health capacity, to take on £1bn of PFI strain."
Daily Mail – circulation 2m – Thursday 22 Sep
Hospitals may be forced to close thanks to Labour’s legacy of PFI debt
‘Hospitals could be forced to close as they buckle under the huge debt left behind by private finance initiative deals, the Health Secretary warned yesterday.’
It added that the Department of Health had stated that 22 NHS trusts were at risk because of PFI, “including Barts and the London trust, Oxford Radcliffe, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and the Mid Yorkshire trust, which covers Wakefield and Dewsbury”.
East London Lines – local news website – 24 Sep ‘11
Health Secretary claims PFI deal could put Royal London Hospital at risk of closure
‘The Royal London Hospital in Tower Hamlets is one of 22 NHS Trust which could face collapse, according to health Secretary Andrew Lansley’s claims earlier this week.’ The website carried our statement and the fact that we are deemed “financially sound” according to the NHS performance data rating.
We were also briefly mentioned as on the list of 22 hospitals facing financial difficulties by many other publications including The Daily Mail, The Independent, The Morning Star, The Daily Star, The Express. Metro, Scotsman, Evening Standard
East London Advertiser – 12,000 readers – 19 Sep ‘11
London Air Ambulance warns of bogus charity collections
London’s Air Ambulance, based on the roof landing pad at Whitechapel’s Royal London hospital, is urging people to be aware of a door-to-door company calling itself the ‘Air Ambulance Service’. This is not a registered charity and London’s Air Ambulance is not receiving any donations from this service, a spokeswoman said.
Daily Mail – 2m readers – 21 Sep ‘11
Why it might not be your fault you're FAT
The article highlighted several reasons why someone might be fat including lymphoedema, which is caused by a problem with the lymphatic drainage system. Trust vascular surgeon Constantinos Kyriakides, said: 'Lipoedema tends to concentrate in the calves, knees, thighs and lower girth, whereas lymphoedema can affect other parts of the body. Weight seems to have no bearing on the condition, so you can have a very slim upper body, but very heavy buttocks, thighs and lower legs.'
He slumped on my chest and I knew he was wrong
Daily Mail – 2m readers – 21 Sep ‘11
In an article about the fight 21 years ago which left boxer Michael Watson fighting for his life, former Trust neurosurgeon Peter Hamlyn told the paper: Michael was closer to death than anybody that I have ever operated on. Michael has done more for me spiritually than I have done for him physically.”
Llangwnnadl woman recovering from cancer after pioneering stem cell treatment
Liverpool Daily Post – circulation 10,000 – 17 September ‘11
Annie Horsley, who nearly died after developing both cancer and an auto-immune condition, has made a dramatic recovery after receiving a stem cell transplant performed by Professor John Gribben at Barts Cancer Centre. Her younger sister, Katie, was found to be a perfect donor match and Annie told the newspaper: “I have her to thank for my new life and Professor John Gribben, who was willing to try this treatment.”
Reversing the snip doesn’t mean you’ll be a father again
Daily Mail – circulation 2m – 13 September ‘11
‘When James Gardner met Marcia, the woman who was to become his second wife, she was desperate to start a family. But there was a major stumbling block – James had to undergo a reversal of his vasectomy before the couple could have children. ‘
Trust consultant urologist, Frank Chinegwundoh, told The Daily Mail: “Around one in ten men having a vasectomy will want it reversed later on. Divorce, remarriage and meeting someone younger are invariably the reasons.”
Foreign patients flee the country owing the NHS £7m
Daily Mirror – circulation 1.1m – 12 September ‘11
‘Foreign patients cost the NHS millions of pounds by fleeing the country without paying their bill. Hospitals had to write off a total of £7m by 2009/10 – enough to pay for over 300 nurses a year. Worst hit was Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals, which lost £961, 298 in “bad debts” followed by Barts and The London NHS Trust, which has written off £645,000.’
The newspaper did not contact us for a comment.
Stabbed have-a-go hero treated at The Royal London
Various news websites, mainly Australian
There was widespread coverage of the story of an Australian man who was stabbed on a London bus after trying to stop a gang from terrorising a group of elderly passengers. He was successfully treated at The Royal London for his injuries.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/aussie-stabbed-on-london-bus-helping-elderly/story-fn7x8me2-1226138199504
Kidney stone cases double among women
We achieved extensive media coverage following our press release highlighting how the number of kidney stone cases being treated at Barts has doubled over the past five years. The biggest increase has been found in women and Urology Consultant Mr Noor Buchholz attributed this to the growing number who smoke and drink. Coverage included:
Evening Standard (daily readership of 600,000)
BBC London 94.9 (500,000 listeners)
Edinburgh’s The Scotsman newspaper (154,000 readers)
The Press Association also picked up the story ensuring coverage on several online websites including Yahoo UK, UK’s MSN, Women’s Views on the News and various online health news sites. The story was also tweeted by a number of health media outlets and organisations.
Hospital cut jobs but still hire abroad – 11 September
The Sunday Telegraph (499,612 readers)
An investigation by the paper found that at least 11 NHS trusts and one health authority sent teams abroad to recruit doctors and nurses, despite such posts being earmarked for cuts. Barts and The London NHS Trust’s plans to cut 635 posts including more than 250 jobs for nurses was mentioned in the article. The paper did not contact us for comment.
Punch Drunk Syndrome evident in rugby players – 9 September
Channel 4 News (791,000 viewers)
Neurologist Dr Ben Turner was interviewed by Channel 4 News for a story about punch drunk syndrome – a neurological complaint traditionally affecting boxers but increasingly being seen in other contact sports including rugby.
View Dr Turner’s interview at the following link (Dr Turner speaks at the 2:30 mark):
http://www.channel4.com/news/sporting-stars-deaths-raise-concussion-fears
Student attacked in conker row – 7 September
Several media outlets reported the death of a student from Argentina who was taken to The Royal London following a stabbing. Coverage included:
Sky News (multi-platform news provider available to up to 145 million people daily)
BBC London News (audience of 615,000 viewers)
The Guardian - (297,000 daily readers)
The Independent (179,371 daily readers)
Daily Mirror (daily circulation of 1,247,000)
Evening Standard London (daily readership of 600,000)
The Times (527,000 daily readers)
Daily Mail (daily circulation of 2,120,000)
The Metro (daily circulation of 735,500)
BBC One, 7.30pm, Monday 5 September
Professor Anthony Mathur and his team will feature prominently on BBC One tonight in a piece about stem cell research and how it is likely to revolutionise organ transplant in the future.
The item will run as part of the BBC science series, Bang Goes The Theory. Filming took place over several days earlier this year at The London Chest Hospital where we organised access to Professor Mathur and his team as well as one of his patients.
Below is the media summary for the week up to Sunday 4 September.
EastEnders cervical cancer storyline
We achieved prominent and extensive coverage in connection with a new storyline on EastEnders where one of the main characters, Tanya, is diagnosed with cervical cancer.
In a press release ahead of the programme, Consultant Gynaecologist Arjun Jeyarajah predicted that the new plotline would prompt a substantial increase in the number of women coming forward to be tested. He spoke about the treatments now available and stressed the positive prognosis for most women. The release also included comments from one of our former patients, Tina Brown, who was diagnosed early enough for her cancer to be successfully treated at Barts, enabling her to go on to have a family.
Coverage included:
ITV Daybreak – 500,000 viewers
Shelagh Fogarty on BBC FiveLive Radio – weekly audience reach 7m listeners
Eddie Nestor on BBC London 94.9 – weekly audience reach 500,000 listeners.
ITN bulletins
Press Association
East London Advertiser
The Streatham Guardian.
The coverage on ITV Daybreak prompted the following Tweet from a viewer: “Just seen my surgeon on Daybreak... I owe my life to that man and Barts hospital x”
Air Ambulance staff in marathon fundraiser
LBC Radio – 860,000 listeners weekly - 1 Sept
There was widespread media coverage for the multiple marathon challenge two London Air Ambulance staff are about to undertake. The Charity offered the story to LBC radio who ran it throughout the day. Pilot Neil Jeffers and Dr Tom Konig will run eight marathons to raise money for London’s Air Ambulance. Coverage included an interview with Tom about how his and Neil’s preparations.
The story also ran on BBC London 94.9 – Breakfast Show – audience reach half a million listeners, as well as in local newspapers including the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle, Newham Recorder and The East London Advertiser.