Caroline's Blog

Awareness days, weeks and months are important tools to reinforce key messages and draw attention to certain causes.

As Chief Executive at one of the largest cancer centres in Europe, which is also an international leader in research, today's significant 'day' resonated with me more than ever.

Today (Monday 20th May) is International Clinical Trials day which commemorates the anniversary of the first clinical trial by James Lind in 1747.

At The Christie, we have been delivering world-first breakthroughs for over 100 years and our clinical trials unit has around 400 trials going on at any time, making it the largest early phase trials unit in the world.

Clinical trials offer important opportunities for patients to access the most innovative treatments for cancer and improve outcomes. Put simply, clinical trials are an essential part of developing the cancer treatments of the future.

Ground-breaking research projects are taking place every day at The Christie and it's fantastic to think major advances in new treatments and technologies are happening right now.

With the opening of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre next year, bringing together world-class research into cancer biology, drug discovery and clinical trials on one site, crucial breakthroughs taking place right here could potentially benefit patients locally, nationally and internationally.

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This week (May 13th - 17th) is the annual NHS Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week and I believe that it's important for us to celebrate this work.

Here at The Christie our staff champion equality and diversity every day and we are proud to deliver services that are personal for each individual patient. Our results also reflect that. We recently received one of the top scores nationally for treating our patients with dignity and respect in the Care Quality Commission's inpatient survey.

Dignity, respect and fairness are key in any workplace which is why we have also included these sentiments in The Christie Commitment - our principles and behaviours which all staff adhere to.

As you know, I also like to lead by example and have signed up to be a 'Personal, Fair and Diverse Champion'.  Launched in 2011, the campaign seeks to create a vibrant network of champions who are committed to taking some action, no matter how small, to help create a more personal, fair and diverse NHS. This might be respecting individual differences, ensuring everyone is treated fairly, finding out more about different cultures to support our patients as well as sharing equality learning and good practice.

I'd be delighted to see many more 'champions' sign up this week to support our staff - so who will join me?

It's right that we celebrate weeks such as this - but at The Christie we work hard all year round to ensure we continue to meet the needs of all our patients and that we are an organisation where staff from all backgrounds want to come to work.

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Nurses Day 2013

Yesterday (Sunday 12^th May) was Nurses Day - a day when people remember the enormous contribution nurses play in our society and the importance of their roles within hospitals.

As a nurse myself I know that nursing is one of the most rewarding professions you can be in and I would like to pay tribute to our dedicated team of 500 nurses at The Christie.

Our nurses work tirelessly every day to ensure safe, high quality patient care for more than 40,000 cancer patients a year. To us nurses, this is not just a 'job'. For us it's more than that. Our role is to look after both patients and their relatives, and if we know at the end of every shift that we've done our very best to help patients when they need it most - then we've done our job well.

It can also be an incredibly difficult job - I know that too. But I'm so proud of our caring and compassionate nurses and the vital part they play at The Christie. Every one of you helps makes The Christie the very special place it is.

Thank you for everything you do for our patients.

***At The Christie, on Monday 13th May all staff, patients and relatives will be invited to leave a comment on a 'talking wall' to show their support for our nurses. The wall will be located in our Oak Road reception opposite Starbucks between 10.00am and 3.00pm.

The two headings will be:

• I am proud to be a Christie nurse because….
• I am proud to support Christie nurses because….

Please show your support by visiting the 'talking wall' and leaving a message.

All nursing staff are encouraged to wear their uniform on the day to promote the profession and demonstrate the variety of nursing roles here at The Christie.

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Well it finally feels like spring is here - and summer is most definitely round the corner. As the first bank holiday of this month arrives, it seems the weather is being kind to us once more and families up and down the country will be looking forward to getting outside and spending time together.

It's also time for me to start my annual spring clean at home, a little later than usual, but there's something quite therapeutic in cleaning out cupboards, sorting through drawers and generally having a good clear out. Especially when you've two children who seem to be remarkably good at hoarding things, so I can't imagine what may be lurking under either of their beds!

Thank you also to those members of staff who will be working as normal this bank holiday to provide care for our inpatients. As a busy hospital, our work doesn't stop - come rain or shine our dedicated teams continue to provide the first class Christie experience to cancer patients. Every single member of staff makes up The Christie team and I'm so proud to play my part in such a wonderful organisation.

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Caroline Shaw & Chris Steele.

On Tuesday, we held our Long Service Awards. This was a tremendous event organised to celebrate our committed volunteers and staff members, some of whom have been working with us at The Christie for 10, 20, and 30 years. It really is remarkable and makes us very proud.

Amongst our winners are Christine O'Brien Williams, who collected a 30 Years' Service certificate and Joanne Fitzpatrick, executive director of finance & business development, who has been with us for 20 years. Christine joined us in 1982 as a Radiotherapy student, then went on to work in chemotherapy and was part of the team managing the first clinical trials here for breast and colon cancer. Christine is now an experienced senior sister who is highly valued member of our team.

Joanne came from Tameside in 1992 as a management accountant; she was then promoted to the Deputy Director of Finance in 2001 and has since won the Deputy Director of the year award in 2011. I am thrilled that Joanne has recently taken up the role of executive director of finance & business development that demonstrates you can successfully progress throughout The Christie.

It was also our honour to welcome, Dr Chris Steele as guest host. Chris is a very generous supporter of our Trust and Charity and has attended a number of our
events over the years. I would like to say thank you to Chris from everyone who attended the awards - you really made our event very special. 

Thank you everyone who attended for your hard work and long standing commitment. It's a tribute to the way we work at The Christie, that our staff are so dedicated - we are more like a family.

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If, like me, you've been watching the new BBC2 documentary series Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day you'll have been inspired by the breadth of work covered and people involved.

From neuro-surgery to a GP in the remote Scottish highlands looking after his own A&E department - Keeping Britain Alive showcases the remarkable variety of activity undertaken in a day by the NHS.

Tonight, it's our turn, capturing the usual activity in our chemotherapy unit. Doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, receptionists, cleaners, catering staff - all going about their daily duties.

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed on the day - and most of all, a big thank you to our patients who were happy to let cameras follow them for the day and share their experiences.

I will certainly be tuning in - and I hope you will too.

Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day is on BBC2 at 9.00pm tonight (Tuesday 23^rd April).

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Today (Tuesday 16^th April) we received another stamp of approval from our patients, as the results of the annual inpatient survey were announced.

I'm delighted to say we have performed even better than last year. Being in hospital is a difficult time for anyone - especially when you're being treated for cancer - and it is imperative in our job that we make that time as comfortable as possible. This is why I'm so pleased that we have scored top marks in a number of areas including patients being treated with dignity and respect whilst at The Christie and the cleanliness of our hospitals rooms and wards.

Patients also praised the communication from our doctors and nurses. Getting answers to important questions that you can understand is vital when you are perhaps feeling vulnerable or fragile. We were also among the top performing trusts for explanations about how patients' operations or procedures had gone, as well as how they would feel afterwards.

Our staff also scored top marks when it came to not talking in front of patients as if they weren't there and doing everything to help control patients' pain. These are just glimpses into how we operate every day and huge thanks to all our staff who continue to work so hard to make sure we always give our patients the best experience.

To get such positive and direct feedback from our patients is fantastic and reinforces my drive and determination to make sure we continue to deliver the highest quality care.

Results that improve year on year don't happen by chance. We already carry out monthly patient satisfaction surveys across the trust and with the introduction of the NHS Friends and Family Test, we will continue to use this feedback to directly improve our services.

To read the full report visit http://www.cqc.org.uk/survey/inpatient/RBV

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We're only a couple of weeks into April and there's a lot of change going on - both within the NHS and at The Christie. From 1st April, the government's NHS reforms came into force. All remaining NHS trusts are expected to become foundation trusts by April 2014 and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will commission the majority of health services. It will be very interesting to see how this reorganisation will work and how the different organisations involved embrace this change.

We achieved Foundation Trust status in 2007 and found the immense benefit and ability to make our services better for our patients. We look forward to advancing with our ambitious plans and working with the National Commissioning Boards (NCBs) and CCGs.

Change is also happening locally at The Christie. We have welcomed our new medical director, Dr Anthony Blower and our new Executive Director of Business & Finance Development, Joanne Fitzpatrick. Both are key appointments who bring with them a wealth of experience and expertise. Every change we make internally and those within the NHS will help us shape our future to help us achieve our 2020 Vision. It certainly feels like spring is here - a new start.

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With Good Friday nearly here and Easter around the corner, I get excited about this time of year. Spring time represents joy, hope, renewal and rebirth. It is a time when we can (whatever our religious views) be encouraged to celebrate optimism, growth and hope.

I know my children get excited about Easter, of course for the chocolate eggs that the 'Easter Bunny' delivers but also for the time as a family we can spend together. I expect it's the same for many families however, I'm sure, it is also a time to reflect and make plans for times to come.

I meet many people through my work who have been affected by cancer and it's at times like this that I think of them. I hope that at this time of year they are able to renew their tremendous courage and nurture themselves and spend time with their families.

Of course, I will enjoy having my chocolate egg but I will be thinking about what Easter represents and the positive new beginning it can symbolise for many.

Happy Easter everyone.

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At The Christie we are always proud to showcase our work - especially when this forms part of a ground-breaking documentary about the NHS.

Tonight on BBC2 begins an eight-part series called Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day which highlights the enormous variety of work which takes place across the NHS on one single day.

We were one of more than 40 trusts which took part as 100 camera crews were dispatched across the UK on Thursday 18th October last year. The series explores the extraordinary breadth of demands that are placed on this vast system on one single day.

Staff in a number of our wards and departments were filmed - and a big thank you to everyone who played their part. Most importantly huge thanks to the group of patients who allowed the cameras to follow them for the day - many of whom were receiving treatment for the very first time.

I will certainly be tuning in tonight - and I hope you will too.

Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day begins on Tuesday 26th March, on BBC Two at 9.00pm.

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