The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Newcastle clinicians and scientists have been chosen to pilot some ‘world first’ technology, which will allow rapid diagnosis of serious respiratory infections in critically ill patients. The first-of-its-kind test looks at the DNA of different kinds of bacteria which can be found in a person’s lungs, allowing for speedy analysis to target the most effective treatment within hours. This technology can be applied to diseases that we already know about, but it can also help to identify new causes of illness, making us much better equipped to deal with future outbreaks or fast-spreading diseases. As a large specialist health care provider, we are able to bring together the experts and facilities needed to provide such a robust real-life assessment, through teams working at the North East Innovation Lab - part of Newcastle Hospitals, our microbiologists, virologists and intensive care department. The pilot is taking place across ten sites and is funded by NHS England and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, using technology developed by Oxford Nanopore Diagnostics. https://lnkd.in/eneURJVR #diagnostics #medtech

Today we’ve welcomed our first patients to the Community Diagnostic Centre at Metrocentre.   The centre is a partnership between Newcastle Hospitals and Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust as part of the Great North Care Alliance and will offer a variety of diagnostic services such as imaging, respiratory, and cardiac investigations. By providing these services outside of a traditional hospital setting, the Community Diagnostic Centre aims to relieve pressure on local hospitals by taking healthcare into the community. Our first patient Susan, said "The building is really nice and getting here is so much easier than going to a hospital. You can park easily and just walk in. It’s a beautiful facility, and I think it’s going to make things much easier for people, whether they have cars or not." The building will be managed by QE Facilities, while diagnostic services will be provided by both Gateshead Health and Newcastle Hospitals. This collaborative effort will not only enhance healthcare delivery but also create over 130 new jobs, contributing to the local economy. Find out more https://lnkd.in/e6X3pwwi

Around 85% of people requiring NHS care need some type of test, to support diagnosis and to guide more personalised and effective care.   X-rays and scans are the most obvious, but there are thousands of other tests taking place every day in our laboratories and ‘behind the scenes’, to diagnose and inform the best course of treatment. The need to explore and adopt innovative, accurate and accessible #diagnostics is essential, which is why we're doing lots of work with partners to ensure we're at the forefront of diagnostic development - finding new ways to tests, developing digital solutions and introducing high quality, fast, laboratory-based systems. We're delighted to be forming a new partnership with Roche Diagnostics UK & Ireland and Newcastle University to further revolutionise how diagnostics can transform healthcare and treatment outcomes. You can read more about this exciting new collaboration here https://lnkd.in/eVvqgi53 #healthsciences #lifesciences #healthoutcomes #personalisedcare #healthinnovation Newcastle Health Innovation Partners (NHIP) Diagnostics North East Victoria. McFarlane Reid

Physicians from the Trust joined experts across the globe to showcase the latest innovations and advancements in endoscopic ultrasound techniques. For the first time gastroenterology consultants, Manu Nayar and Professor John Leeds, took part in a 14-hour education course involving more than 20 academic medical centres throughout the world. In its third year, the EUS Skyline and Endoscopy On Air course featured live streams into different theatres throughout the day and early evening, giving clinicians the opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise with others. A total of 28 endosonography live procedures were aired involving patients from Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. Newcastle’s endoscopy service provides specialist screening for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of disorders affecting the digestive system, with the team carrying out more than 20,000 endoscopic procedures each year. The  Freeman Hospital is one of the largest units in the U.K. carrying out highly specialist procedures including endoscopic ultrasound – a procedure that combines endoscopy and ultrasound (EUS) to create images of the digestive tract and nearby organs and tissues. During EUS, a thin, flexible tube called an endoscope is placed in the digestive tract and an ultrasound device on the tip of the tube uses high-frequency sound waves to create detailed images of the digestive tract and other organs to help detect disease. Dr Nayar, who was in theatre with Prof Leeds to perform an endoscopic necrosectomy – a procedure to remove dead pancreas tissue – said: “It’s an amazing programme and we’re honoured to be involved as the UK’s only trust. “Our unit is recognised nationally for the work we do in endoscopy and this is a great opportunity to widen our global reach, interact with colleagues and share our knowledge and expertise about what we do here in Newcastle. I’d also like to thank our patient who kindly agreed to be involved.” #Endoscopy #Freeman

Delegates from across the world travelled to Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital to take part in the only programme of its kind which teaches and trains surgeons how to do heart and lung transplantation. Now in its 12th year, the intensive two-day course ‘Surgical Aspects of Cardiopulmonary Transplantation’ provides all aspects of training experience in this highly specialist field of medicine including lectures, debate and hands-on practice. The Freeman Hospital is one of the UK’s most experienced and successful solid organ transplant centres with over 30 years of experience providing adult transplants for heart, lungs, heart & lungs, liver, kidneys, kidney & pancreas and, more recently, pancreatic islets, as well as heart and lung transplants for children. Consultant cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon Professor Stephen Clark, who is also the course director, said: “The course has been running for 12 years in Newcastle to address an unmet need to teach and train surgeons in how to do heart and lung transplants and all the procedures allied to it including implanting heart pumps” “Given the amazing facilities we have in the Newcastle Surgical Training Centre and the expert faculty from our own transplant programme and colleagues from Europe, we had the idea to start it here and teach surgeons in a simulated environment – so it’s as close to real life as possible in a safe and controlled way. “The course ran locally for 10 years and was then certified and added to the portfolio of the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (EACTS) Academy which is the home for the global cardiothoracic surgery community.” This week, surgeons from Brazil, Chile, Kuwait and eight different European countries have attended the course and had the opportunity to see some of the latest cutting-edge technology and innovation around transplantation. Professor Clark added: “Even as we widened our global reach, feedback from the course has been exceptional. It’s a lot of work but very rewarding. One of the special outcomes from this is that many people who come through the course go on to start cardiothoracic transplantation programmes in their own hospitals in their own countries and come to us for mentorship and advice. “I still get photos and messages from people who have just done their first heart transplant which is great to see and that is a lasting world legacy.” #transplant #EACTS

Throughout September, we're working with colleagues and in partnership with NHS England to highlight #sustainability in healthcare, and Newcastle Hospitals' ongoing commitment to a #greenerNHS. Sustainability remains a central priority for our organisation and during this month-long initiative we're focussing on themed weeks, including: #zerowaste, #energyefficiency, #cleanair and #biodiversity. For our waste reduction themed week, we'll be out and about speaking with staff and providing support about how to: ♻ Reduce waste, dispose of waste and create a safer, cleaner workplace 🌍Minimise environmental impact ✔Identify ways to improve healthcare and work environments and enhance patient care. We'll be showcasing how we're reducing #medicinewaste, an issue which costs the NHS an estimated £300 million every year. Our work on this important project is being delivered through a team with representatives from sustainability, pharmacy, nursing and waste management, who are taking a collaborative and coordinated approve to improve the management of medicines. Through a series of seminars, we’re encouraging staff across the whole organisation to adopt best practice in all wards and departments.   We’re also highlighting our three-year Born Green Generation project, where we're working with Healthcare Without Harm Europe, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust and other European #maternity departments, to reduce a child’s exposure to plastics and toxic chemicals in their first 1000 days. ⬇⬇Here's the team auditing all of the plastics used for a caesarean section, to understand where alternatives could be used.

Patrick Mulholland, 67, from Jarrow has had a world-first life-saving operation at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital. The procedure, described as ‘ultra-rare’ by consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Professor Stephen Clark, is offered as a last resort for patients who have a very uncommon type of heart failure, known as #carcinoid heart disease. Doctors first discovered Mr Mulholland’s heart was very damaged when he was referred for tests relating to symptoms involving his stomach and bowel. Investigations found a rare heart condition caused by a tumour in Patrick’s abdomen, which was releasing a chemical into his blood, causing significant damage to all of his heart valves. It is rare for such tumours to damage heart valves and, if they do, usually only one valve is affected. However, all four of Mr Mulholland’s valves were damaged and he was admitted urgently to hospital with severe heart failure and days to live. Commenting on the world-first surgery, Professor Clark said: “This was a unique situation and we’re so pleased to have been able to help Mr Mulholland. “It was a very complicated operation, made more challenging because Patrick was facing multiple threats to his health. “A serious bowel tumour, which rarely attacks the heart, had done so. Even then, this would normally only affect one valve but here we were looking at damage to all four valves, hugely increasing the risks of surgery. “The four replacement valves we used are state-of-the-art and designed to be very durable. Patrick has responded well, so they’ll likely be helping his heart for a long time to come.” In a move to help other heart units in the UK and rest of the world, Mr Mulholland’s operation was recorded to provide a training resource for other surgeons who may be faced with this extremely rare situation. You can read the full story here https://lnkd.in/evMRmffP #heartfailure #heartsurgery #worldfirst #cardiothoracic Edwards Lifesciences

Newcastle Hospitals has received over £2million from the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) to run a clinical trial that aims to find the most effective treatment for recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs) that do not respond to first-line treatments. The funding will help health researchers to compare different treatments for rUTIs in over 400 women and the trial - expected to start in early 2025 - will be led by Professor Chris Harding, consultant urological surgeon at the Freeman Hospital and an academic at Newcastle University’s Translational and Clinical Research Institute.

Specialist #transplant teams at our Freeman Hospital carry out complex surgery for patients from across the country.   Our Institute of Transplantation was the UK's first centre dedicated to bringing together heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, and cell transplantation, combining expertise from multiple medical specialisms and disciplines, often to perform life-saving surgery.   Recently, one of our teams successfully operated on nine-year-old Archie Routledge of Cumbria, to remove his pancreas and transplant insulin-producing cells, making him the youngest patient in the UK to undergo the surgery.   Archie's rare genetic condition causes painful and debilitating pancreatitis and heightens the risk of pancreatic cancer later in life.   His only option was to undergo a complex operation led by transplant surgeon Professor Steve White with a team involving surgeons, anaesthetists, pain specialists, psychologists, diabetes specialists, gastroenterologists and scientists.   Since the operation, Archie has returned home where he is now able to take part in day-to-day activities and family life.   You can read the full story here 👇👇👇 #transplantsurgery #pancreatitis #diabetes https://lnkd.in/eRWZSSjg

🌿 🌳 Sustainability update 🌿 🌳 Under our sustainable healthcare in Newcastle programme (Shine) we're committed to minimising environmental harm and creating healthy spaces for colleagues, patients and visitors.  We have ambitious targets for net zero carbon, clean air and zero waste. As one of the north east's largest employers and an 'anchor institution' in the city region, we have a responsibility to identify improvements and actions we need to take corporately and individually to achieve our net zero target. Our suppliers play a key role in this and we're currently doing a lot of work to encourage and support their sustainability journey: 📅 Our annual sustainable supplier event takes place Northumbria University on Thursday 18 July. Local suppliers are invited to attend, both current and prospective. Content from the event will also be posted on our webpage, for those who can’t attend in person. Clink here to find out more or secure your place: https://lnkd.in/eQWp6Ziv. 🗣 We’ve launched a low carbon supplier hub on LinkedIn, which provides a forum for suppliers to connect and collaborate in joint efforts to reach net zero carbon by 2040, for example through sharing challenges, learning and access to sustainable solutions, products and services. All current and prospective suppliers to Newcastle Hospitals,  are invite to join the group. Click the link to become a member: https://lnkd.in/eCaHyJaC 📨 All suppliers are invited to ‘opt-in’ to our dedicated mail box for regular information about sustainable supply chains. Just send a message (including the words “opt-in” in your subject header) to [email protected] #sustainablehealthcare #sustainableNHS #netzero #zerowaste #cleanair #carbonfootprint