The Stoke-on-Trent School of Anaesthesia

URGENT NOTICE

Please see below notification from HEE regarding the postponement of Anaesthetic’s National Recruitment.

Please see attached letter, which has been emailed out to all, today. Note that it includes the cancellation of tomorrows Primary Teaching at Royal Stoke (Thu 12 March 2020). Apologies for the short notice but i’m sure you will understand the reasons. Please ensure your rota master/college tutor are aware you are now available to be redeployed as you will not be attending these teaching sessions. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Stoke School of Anaesthesia Admin’ Office.

Dr Felicity Avann, an Anaesthetic Trainee at UHNM has been helping Senegalese people on the Africa Mercy Ship. Mercy Ships is an international charity that deploys hospital ships staffed by volunteers to help those in low-income and lower-middle-income countries have access to basic surgical care. During her time on the ship Felicity helped to run three operating theatres anaesthetising for maxillofacial, general surgery, plastic surgery and ENT operations and has found it incredibly rewarding. She said: “While I was on the ship I helped teach local Senegal anaesthetic nurses and doctors and I was also honoured to give a presentation at the weekly anaesthetic seminar. I was very impressed by the dedication and professionalism of the volunteers and I highly recommend it to anyone.”

http://jobs.hee.nhs.uk/job/v2264501

Applications are now open for this post, closing date 03/03/20

A child’s life has been saved, thanks to the quick action of staff in UHNM’s emergency care centre. The patient, who had sustained a traumatic brain injury, received essential expert care from Royal Stoke’s emergency medicine team, spending less than 60 minutes at the site before being quickly transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Over an intensive 30-minute period, a range of staff from across the field of emergency medicine came together to analyse the extent of the child’s injuries and administer lifesaving care.

Earlier in the year, Dr Chinery and colleagues had been training in County Hospital’s Extended Reality Lab (ERL), where by coincidence they had worked on a simulation which covered very similar circumstances. The lab offers an immersive virtual reality training experience and allows any setting to be projected onto blank walls, taking away the need for lengthy set up when providing simulated training in a ward, emergency resus area or pre-hospital environment.

Dr James Chinery, (far left), Consultant in Trauma Anaesthesia and pre-hospital emergency medicine, said: “The training we had undertaken at the ERL had a direct benefit to this patient’s care as it meant we were able to put the right processes in place as quickly as possible. However, knowing what to do would have counted for little without the impressive work of the team of Outreach, Adult, and Children’s emergency nursing staff, who were all outstanding. I am particularly grateful to Helen Bloor, who ably accompanied me on the transfer and to my colleague Dr Mike Greenway, who volunteered to cover Code Red trauma calls during my absence from the hospital whilst I undertook the transfer. This is a moment where I felt truly proud to care. I had a sense that we had delivered something really impressive for this lad, giving him the very best of medical and nursing care, something which we should all be genuinely proud of as an organisation.”

The team have been given the Chief Executive’s Award in recognition of their services.

Tracy Bullock, Chief Executive, said: “I remember hearing about this and just thinking “wow!”  This award epitomises the great skill and expertise that these guys have, as well as the passion for caring for our patients. Their work has a huge impact on patients’ lives and in this case the young man that needed their help. I really thank them for all that they do.”

The rules governing the ‘Period of Grace’ at the end of training have been modified slightly. Along with the recent changes that moved it from automatic to optional, the timescales for applications have changed to 6 months before the end of training.

for further details click here

Want to know what the plans are for the new curriculum and how it affects you?

Click here for the latest update from the RCoA

It has been aproved at board level accross the West Midlands that post fellowship trainees in Anaesthesia and/or ICM can utilise upto 6 days per annum of their study leave time to engage in Supporting Professional Activities.

Click here for more details

UHNM’s critical care unit is pioneering the use of an innovative new device called ‘AnaConDa’ (Anaesthetic Conserving Device). The product offers a unique way of sedating patients and is set to particularly benefit those with multiple complications as well as reduce patient time in intensive care. Critical care team members travelled to Germany last year to learn more about the device and see it in use. Only five other NHS Trusts in the UK currently use it.

Dr Bala Murali, Consultant Anaesthetist, said: “The AnaConDa device allows us to sedate patients with anaesthetic gas via a ventilator as opposed to the traditional method of intravenous sedation. Use of the device in this pilot programme marks a huge advancement in the management of patients in critical care. It will be more beneficial for patients with multiple complications, those intolerant to opiates and patients with respiratory conditions such as asthma because it reduces inflammation in the lungs. It also has a very predictable ‘wake-up’ time so that patients can be managed easily and it reduces the need for tracheostomy.”

The AnaConDa device is used in conjunction with a ventilator, a gas monitor and a syringe pump. Liquid anaesthetic is delivered from the syringe into the AnaConDa where it is vaporised within the device. The evaporated gas is then transported from the ventilator and delivered to the patient.

Asha Seewoosaha, Senior Staff Nurse for Quality, said: “After going to Germany last year we have now got the go-ahead to start our trial after much hard work.  We have worked extremely hard and we are so proud that we are able to start using it for the benefit of our patients. Because we are one of only a few trusts using the device we will even be in a position to train others on how to use it, which is a mark of how advanced UHNM is in its approach. “

Couple of LTFT updates:

The RCoA and AAGBI have released an LTFT guide for TPDs which is a useful resource for trainers and trainees alike.

Murray du Plessis from the Birmingham School has developed an amazing LTFT calculator tool to help work out training dates for LTFT trainees

Both of these are available on the LTFT section of the Stoke School Website

LTFT (Less Than Full Time Training)