Latest news

The Lymphoedema Service based at Royal Derby Hospital has become one of only 11 centres in the world to achieve special recognition for the care provided to patients. The service has been awarded the title of Comprehensive Centre of Excellence by the Lymphatic Education and Research Network (LE&RN) following an application which showed the service was excelling not only in patient care, but also in areas such as research, training and education.

At UHDB, our play workers have gone above and beyond throughout the coronavirus pandemic to ensure that play in our hospitals has still taken place.

Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has sent colleagues at our hospitals a message of thanks and support for their hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic.

A mother whose new-born son spent the first four weeks in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has thanked the incredible staff for the solid support that they provided him with in the early stages of his life.

We are very sorry to announce the sad passing of Kim Cobb from Head and Neck Unit at Royal Derby Hospital due to illness. Kim had worked for the Trust for 41 years and will be known to many as Kim Love. She was a Sister for Head and Neck before retiring and returning as a nurse in the same department.

More than 500 UHDB patients have been able to access support at home for a “debilitating” sleeping disorder throughout the Covid-19 pandemic – thanks to the help of charity Derbyshire Blood Bikes. The volunteer group have played an enormous role in the Trust’s Clinical Measurement team being able to maintain its Sleep Clinic service, by providing support to patients with suspected or confirmed obstructive sleep apnoea.

We are pleased to announce that all five of our hospital sites at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust have signed up to the "eat out to help out" Government scheme

Our Tissue Viability Team have purchased 1,200 new high risk pressure reducing cushions to benefit patients across the Trust.

A UHDB Consultant has been elected as the President Elect of the British Geriatrics Society (BGS) after winning a record-breaking number of votes. Professor Adam Gordon, an Honorary Consultant Geriatrician at Royal Derby Hospital, won the election with 25% of the votes, in a ballot that saw the highest turnout in BGS history.

Blood, sweat and tears have all been shed to keep our patients safe throughout Covid-19 and this has certainly been true of our Phlebotomy teams, who have been recognised for their outstanding efforts.

A UHDB surgical ward has been commended for continuing to put the needs of their patients first during what has undoubtedly been an extremely difficult period for the team on a personal level.

A Queen’s Hospital Burton team’s small act of kindness has helped provide “a little bit of joy” to one of their patients – right when she needed it most.

Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to their long-serving and well-known receptionist June Doughty as she retires after 31 years in the NHS.

The 68 year-old started her NHS career over three decades ago in 1989 and has spent the final eighteen years of her time at Queen’s Hospital Burton as one of our fantastic Emergency Department receptionists.

We are very sorry to announce the sad passing of Debbie Furness, one of our Patient Experience Managers, due to a short illness. Debbie had worked at the Trust for nearly 30 years and was known by many people from the variety of roles she held during her career.

Staff on a Royal Derby Hospital surgical ward have been praised for the incredible lengths they have gone to during the Covid-19 pandemic to help our patients and colleagues alike. Ward 309 colleagues have been working flat out throughout the last few months and have managed to maintain close to 100% bed capacity during this whole period – which is among the highest rate across UHDB.

Porters at the Royal Derby Hospital have been recognised for the exceptional care they have provided throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.

These often unsung heroes are the heartbeat of our hospitals, making sure goods and items are delivered where they are needed most. They also make sure patients are at the right place at the right time to get the treatment they need.

Our amazing porter, Avtar Samrai, has been undertaking an epic fundraising task recently to raise funds to remember our colleagues who we have sadly lost during COVID-19.

We are very sorry to announce the sad passing of Colette Morley, a Modern Housekeeper on Ward 405 at Royal Derby, due to illness. Colette had worked at the Trust for nearly 19 years and will be known for her starring role in the ITV documentary Superhospital, filmed at Royal Derby.

Our furry friend Lottie, the Pets As Therapy (PAT) dog, has finished in the top six at the national PAT Dog of the Year competition.

The invaluable work that has gone on over the last few months to offer support to our #UHDBheroes has been recognised with a Team UHDB Award.  

A high-tech bed lift has been installed to save vital capacity at Royal Derby Hospital, while a full complement of brand new beds have been installed at two of our community hospitals. 

As more patients continue to recover from Coronavirus in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, the on-going care, support and advice they receive once they leave our hospitals becomes more important. The Nutrition Support Team at UHDB has stressed that the correct nutrition and eating well is a vital part in ensuring that patients continue to recover well from COVID-19 at home.

UHDB has purchased two state-of-the-art disinfection robots to help the Trust stop the spread of Covid-19 and other harmful infections in our hospitals.

The UV Disinfection (UVD) Robots can be programmed to autonomously drive around key clinical areas within the hospital and emit concentrated doses of UV-C light to kill 99.99% of all bacteria in less than 10 minutes.

Hundreds of colleagues lined the corridors to celebrate the discharge of a Royal Derby Hospital worker who has been discharged after spending 61 days fighting COVID. Cipriansel ‘Ansel’ Vicencio, a Clinical Support Worker in Phlebotomy at Royal Derby Hospital, received rapturous applause and cheers as he was leaving hospital for the for the first time since he tested positive for Coronavirus and was admitted to A&E on 15 May after his symptoms worsened.

University of Nottingham researchers based at Royal Derby Hospital are set to send worms into space in a bid to further understand the effects of muscle loss during space flight – which could also benefit patients. The Molecular Muscle Experiment is being led by the University of Nottingham’s Professor of Space Biology, Nathaniel Szewczyk, and involves sending tiny worms of about 1mm in length, which are cultured on-site at Royal Derby, to the International Space Station where their condition will be monitored by a team of experts who analyse how being in space effects their muscles.

Women treated for ovarian cancer in Derby and Derbyshire have the best five-year survival rate in the East Midlands, according to a report. A study by the British Gynaecological Cancer Society, in partnership with Public Health England, reveals that NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had the best five-year survival rate for women receiving ovarian cancer treatment.

The herculean effort that has gone into ensuring UHDB colleagues working across our five hospitals have received the right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) over the last few months has now been recognised.

Our UHDB colleagues have done an incredible job providing our Covid-19 patients with the excellent care they deserve in recent months – but none of this would’ve been possible without the tireless efforts of the Fit Testing team.

New parents Sophie Calladine and Carl Wright have sent their thanks to the “incredible” Maternity colleagues at Royal Derby Hospital who helped them welcome their daughter into the world.