Peggy Gair is 91 next month and she’s certainly not about to let a global pandemic or a faulty heart valve get in her way! Just days after undergoing aortic valve surgery Peggy is up and about and ready to be discharged from the Lancashire Cardiac Unit based at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. “I had been… Continue Reading Patient’s zest for life inspires medics
DEATH and grief are difficult experiences, but when they take place under the challenging circumstances of a Coronavirus pandemic the increased trauma can seem debilitating. Team across the End-of-Life and Palliative care teams across Blackpool Victoria Hospital and Trinity Hospice want to ensure that all those struggling with loss get the support they need. Lead… Continue Reading Help for grieving families
More than 100 sewing stars answered a call from Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to make much-needed scrubs during the Covid-19 outbreak. Following a shout out on Facebook, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Representative and Staff Side Chair, Maggy Heaton, was inundated with offers of help. Maggy said: “The Covid crisis brought about a… Continue Reading Seamstresses to the rescue to provide scrubs for NHS staff
People infected with COVID-19 can have very mild or no respiratory symptoms (asymptomatic) and can transmit the virus to others without being aware of it. In line with recent recommendations from the World Health Organisation, we are introducing new measures at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to keep visitors, patients, and staff safe. From… Continue Reading The use of face coverings when coming to our sites
Lytham schoolgirl, Keira Bowman really wanted to help when she heard the masks and visors clinicians have to wear during the Coronavirus pandemic might frighten children. And what makes the 16-year-old’s visors extra special is that each one depicts a smile to replace the one hidden by the surgical mask. Keira, a pupil at AKS… Continue Reading Teenager replaces smile hidden by mask
ONE side effect from the Coronavirus pandemic has been the change in use of technology and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals hopes to capitalise on this to improve the patient experience for some frail, elderly people. As organisations have become more used to communicating using remote methods, the Trust has taken on Digital Nurse Champion, Helena Palin,… Continue Reading Technology helps patient discharges
NEW Government advice has been updated for people who are shielding from coronavirus (COVID-19). The Government has this week relaxed some of the shielding measures to allow those who have been shielding to go out once a day and, if they live alone, to see one person from outside their household. Social distancing must be… Continue Reading COVID-19: Advice for people shielding
During the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic the planned care programme at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was stood down meaning patients coming in for elective surgery had their operations postponed and patients awaiting a date for admission had their cases delayed. This action was essential to keep patients and staff safe and to… Continue Reading COVID-19: Preparing for elective surgery
SANTO Hill loves working with and for people. She was a general nurse and midwife for more than 40 years and opened a Blackpool B&B when she retired in 2016. In 2017 she also decided to volunteer for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals charity, Blue Skies, working in the hospital shop. She was a fit, healthy, outgoing… Continue Reading Retired nurse tells of her COVID-19 battle
THERE were tears and cheers as the region’s youngest Coronavirus baby left Blackpool Victoria Hospital with her mum and dad. Baby Ruby Dawson was born with COVID-19 and, after an emergency caesarean, her mum, Kathrine, who also had the virus, was sedated and on a ventilator fighting for her life. Ruby was being cared for… Continue Reading Guard of honour salutes coronavirus family