Week-long clinic sees hundreds of patients assessed and treated at Royal Derby Hospital
Clinicians at Royal Derby Hospital came together to host a week-long clinic that was able to treat and assess around 400 colorectal patients in a bid to help cut down on patient waiting lists.
Consultants, nurses, admin teams, secretaries, doctors and registrars combined their expertise to host a ‘mega week’; with the aim of inviting and treating as many patients as they were able for non-urgent colorectal conditions, such as haemorrhoids.
The clinic, which ran from Monday 10 – Friday 14 October, saw patients attending to be assessed by the clinical teams, and often treated for their ailments there and then, before being discharged and sent home.
Miss Gill Tierney, Consultant Surgeon at UHDB, says the clinic has helped to make a huge difference to so many patients:
“Some of our patients have been living with often painful, inconvenient symptoms due to the effects of the pandemic on our services. We wanted to come together to bring as many of these patients in for an appointment and treatment during the same visit to help them get on with their lives and reduce our waiting lists.
“It was a huge success, and on our busiest day, we saw 107 patients. Our patients were so happy about it, with many of them having their issue dealt with there and then – and you could see how much it meant to them. It really has made such a difference for our patients.”
The teams involved meticulously planned the ‘mega week’ for around six weeks, working seamlessly together to deliver the first clinic of its kind at the Trust; all while maintaining all urgent and emergency work, such as cancer surgeries.
Industry partners from Medtronic also supported colleagues by providing refreshments and a rest area to ensure staff’s wellbeing was being maintained throughout the week.
Miss Tierney added glowing praise for all of those involved in the planning and implementation of the clinic:
“The Colorectal surgical team is great, has really good lines of communication and everyone is so driven to get best for patients, and this is just another example of this. People gave up their own time to do this and it was a real triumph; it goes to show that highly functional teams make great things happen for patients.
“I’d like to add my specific thanks to Grace Cotterill and our Associate Clinical Director, Katherine Smith, for the roles they played in all of this.”
Sharon Martin, Executive Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are sorry that some patients are having to wait for longer than we would like for their treatment and appointments as we continue to recover our services in the wake of the pandemic; and for this we are sorry. However, this is just one example of the fantastic, innovative ways our amazing colleagues are going above and beyond to ensure patients receive the care they need in a timely manner.
“The clinic was a huge success and I am delighted we have been able to care for so many patients in such a short space of time. Everyone involved deserves huge credit.”
Picture captions:
1) Miss Gill Tierney, second right, with members of the clinic team at Royal Derby Hospital
2) Mr Sam Tou, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon
3) Mr Nicholas Hurst, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon