Rebecca Ferneyhough
Nurse Rebecca Ferneyhough was off duty and in a chip shop when she saved the life of a great-grandad who had a cardiac arrest.
Rebecca, Professional Lead for Quality/Operations at UHNM, performed CPR on 82-year-old Graham Scott after he suffered a cardiac arrest while queuing in a fish and chip shop in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Graham, a great-grandfather of eight, made a full recovery and has since returned to his role as a lollipop man at Hempstalls Primary School, a job he has done for the past 25 years.
He said: “Becky is such a special lady to me and my family. Thanks to Becky I am back on my feet and being back at work gives me a purpose again.
“I feel wonderful, the children are my medicine and it brings me so much joy to see them every day. Becky is fantastic and someone I will never forget.”
Rebecca has been presented with a DAISY Award by UHNM and has now been nominated in the NHS Hero category of The Your Heroes Awards.
Ann-Marie Riley, Chief Nurse at UHNM, said: “What Becky did that day is nothing short of extraordinary.”
Fiona Hibberts, UHNM Deputy Chief Nurse, added: “Becky is an outstanding nurse, committed to delivering safe patient care across our hospitals over many years. Although she was off duty she responded instinctively and her actions saved a life. She demonstrated the very best of our profession, living our Trust values both in and out of work.”
Rebecca said: “It is such a privilege to receive the DAISY award and see Graham again. He’s an amazing man and to see him back doing what he loves is really special.
“A miracle happened that day, I happened to be in the right place at the right time and even though it was daunting to give CPR in public you have to be brave and confident and I would encourage everyone to learn how to do CPR.”
The Staffordshire Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Centre
The Staffordshire Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Centre was created to make it easier for patients across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to access blood-thinning medication.
As well as providing specialist hospital support at UHNM the team introduced community clinics and a same-day deep vein thrombosis diagnosis service, helping patients get treatment more quickly and closer to home.
The service supports more than 5,000 patients each week across 22 community locations and works with 11 GP centres alongside specialist inpatient and outpatient care.
Amanda Pointon, anticoagulation service manager, said: “Ten years ago, many patients who needed anticoagulation monitoring had to travel into hospital for regular blood tests and clinic appointments. Our vision was to create a service that was based at Royal Stoke but delivered out in the community.
“That meant patients could attend clinics closer to where they live rather than always travelling into hospital. For many people, that has made managing their treatment much easier.
“When we started, we were mainly supporting patients on warfarin, which needs careful monitoring. Over time newer medications have become available that don’t always need the same level of testing.
“We’ve adapted alongside those changes and developed a strong nurse-led service supported by a wider multidisciplinary team. Today that includes nurses, biomedical scientists, associate practitioners and administrative staff who all play an important role in supporting our patients.”
The service is clinically led by Consultant Haematologists Dr Deepak Chandra and Dr David Sutton who have supported the development of new specialist services including a Cancer Associated Thrombosis clinic for patients who develop blood clots linked to cancer.
The team has also introduced study days to support learning for clinicians involved in anticoagulation care.
Amanda said: “The service has faced a number of challenges, including continuing to support patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients on warfarin still needed regular monitoring during COVID, so our teams had to adapt quickly. We carried out more home visits for patients who were isolating to make sure they could continue receiving safe care.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team and the way they always put patients first.”
Amanda paid tribute to former colleague Sharon Acton, who played an important role in developing the service.
She said: “Sharon was passionate about this service and very proud of what the team achieved. It’s important to recognise the contribution she made in helping build the service we have today.”
“We are very proud of what the team has achieved over the past ten years. The service has grown and adapted alongside changes in medicine, and we have always focused on doing what is safest and best for our patients.
“Our ambition now is to continue developing the service so more patients across the region can benefit from the same high-quality specialist care.
The Staffordshire Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Centre has been nominated in the NHS Hero category of the Your Heroes Awards.
Play Team
A mum whose young daughter spent 40 days in the care of the Royal Stoke University Hospital has thanked the team for their “impeccable holistic care”.
Maddie Meigh’s two-year-old daughter Robyn was admitted to Staffordshire Children’s Hospital at Royal Stoke for a series of tests for a degenerative neurological condition.
Maddie, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, was joined by Robyn, husband Dean, four-month-old son Oliver and Dr Simon Constable, chief executive, to present the Play Team with a UHNM Hero Award in recognition of their exceptional care and compassion shown during their hospital stay. The Play Team has now been nominated in the NHS Hero category of the Your Heroes Awards.
Maddie said: “During our stay, the play team provided impeccable holistic care not only to Robyn, but to myself too. They gained a beautiful bond with my daughter and treated her like royalty.
“They took her to play, walked her in her chair when her mobility was worse and created beautiful decorations for her room to make it feel less scary and more like a safe, happy space.
“They were also there for me as a mum. They listened to my worries, took time out of their day to check in on how I was coping and made sure we had everything we needed. I was also caring for my newborn son and very limited visitors, so their support made an overwhelming situation feel manageable.”
“Every member of the Play Team was amazing. You could see the positive culture in the way they worked together and in the genuine smiles on their faces. They supported Robyn during her most unwell moments, helped during procedures and always seemed to pull a bit of magic from their pockets to keep a smile on her face when she was scared or distressed
“They also built such a close bond with both Robyn and myself, always knowing how to make us laugh, even during the darkest moments, they truly are angels in disguise.”
Emma Biddulph, HPS co-ordinator, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the whole play team. They show care, compassion and creativity every single day, often in very challenging circumstances. Supporting children and their families through difficult moments is at the heart of what we do and it means so much to see that recognised by a family we have cared for.”
Dr Constable added: “I can’t begin to imagine what this family went through but I’m proud that our teams were able to support them through such a difficult time. It was lovely to meet the family and to see first-hand the impact our staff have.”
Professor Josep Sulé-Suso and team
Researchers at UHNM have developed a pioneering blood test that could change the way cancer is detected and monitored.
The study, published in Applied Spectroscopy and developed in partnership with Keele University, Loughborough University and other UK partners shows for the first time that a new technique called Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy can find even a single cancer cell in a patient’s blood.
The cancer cells known as circulating tumour cells can break away from a tumour and travel in the bloodstream giving important clues about how the disease is progressing and how well treatment is working. These are the cancer cells that could lead to cancer spreading.
Current methods to detect these cells are complicated, expensive, time-consuming and can sometimes miss cancer cells if they change their characteristics whilst in the bloodstream in the body.
The UHNM research team’s new method is simpler, cheaper and uses standard glass slides already found in pathology labs making it easier to use adopt in everyday clinical practice.
The team successfully tested the new method using a blood sample from a 77 year-old lung cancer patient at UHNM.
Using advanced scanning technology and computer analysis, researchers were able to pinpoint a single cancer cell among thousands of healthy blood cells with the result independently confirmed by specialist testing.
Professor Josep Sulé-Suso, associate specialist in oncology at UHNM and lead author of the study, said: “This breakthrough could allow doctors to monitor cancer in real time using a simple blood test.
“Our team was able to detect a single lung cancer cell in a patient’s blood by combining advanced infrared scanning technology with computer analysis, focusing on the unique chemical fingerprint of cancer cells. It works using an infrared beam similar to one found in a TV remote control, but more powerful.
“This approach has the potential to help patients receive earlier diagnoses, personalised treatments, and fewer invasive procedures, and it could eventually be applied to many types of cancer beyond lung cancer. ”
The team will now evaluate this approach in larger patient groups, with the aim of developing a rapid, automated blood test that could be integrated into NHS cancer care pathways.
The project was supported by UHNM Charity and the North Staffordshire Medical Institute, with additional support backing from Keele University and Loughborough University and international research facilities.
Lisa Thomson, director of UHNM Charity, said: “By investing in research, new technologies and innovative approaches to care, UHNM Charity is giving our clinicians the tools and opportunities to deliver better treatments and faster diagnoses today while driving the breakthroughs that will shape the future of healthcare for our patients.”
Professor Josep Sulé-Suso and his team have been nominated in the NHS Hero category of the Your Heroes Awards.