News and events
We’re a large, friendly Trust that enjoys trying new things. So, needless to say, there’s always something interesting going on, or to be getting involved in, here. This is the place to catch up with the latest news and find out more about upcoming events.
New Children’s Wards Open
April 2012
The League of Friends of Blackpool Victoria Hospital officially opened the new Children’s Wards which are part of the £13.5M Women and Children’s development.
The official opening will be the final chapter of a heart warming story which saw three local people leave more than £2M in their wills to be used for the benefit of children in the local community.
All facilities are centralised in one building that is more user-friendly and patient focused, offering patients the care they deserve in more modern surroundings.
Work Experience Success
April 2012
An increasing number of youngsters are getting valuable work experience in local hospitals thanks to a new scheme run by Blackpool teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust re-launched its new work experience policy last year and it has continued to go from strength to strength.
Michelle Pearson, who oversees the work experience programme for the Trust, said: “The feedback we have had from pupils and our own staff has been really encouraging.
“We are now working with more than 20 local schools and looking to expand the services on offer even further in the future.’’
Staff at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with
youngsters from St George’s High School who enjoyed work experience
placements at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Official opening of Surgical Centre
March 2012
We were delighted to welcome Blackpool FC manager Ian Holloway to the Trust to officially open the new £40m surgical unit at the Victoria Hospital. Mr Holloway, and his wife Kim, toured the new development and met staff and patients at the unit and unveiled a plaque to commemorate its opening.
Blackpool Hospitals Quality Information Recognised
February 2012
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become one of the first sites in the country to retain an award for the quality of its patient information leaflets.
The Trust was last year one of only a handful of acute organisations in the UK to be awarded the Information Standard - a national accreditation which has been developed to reassure people that the health and social care information they access is from a reliable source.
And it has now become one of the first in the UK to be reaccredited for the publications which means the organisation will be able to display a ‘Kite Mark’ on patient information leaflets.
Prime Minister Praises ‘Excellent Standards of Nursing Care’ During Visit to Blackpool Victoria Hospital
January 2012
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, today praised the high standards of nursing at Blackpool Victoria Hospital as he visited the North West to launch a new national plan to improve patient care.
Mr Cameron said he was extremely impressed with the innovative work taking place at Blackpool and said it was important that best practice such as this was shared across the NHS.
He said: “I have great praise for nurses. The vast majority of patients receive very high standards of care and there are few exceptions where care falls below standard. I am here at Blackpool today because they have very good records and a have done a huge amount of work to improve standards, in particular around infection rates, pressure ulcers and checking patients.
"Making sure that managers of hospitals, the boards of hospitals, look at the quality of care above everything else, simple straightforward things that are done here in the best hospitals in our NHS, but this needs to be done everywhere else. “
Celebrating Success Awards 2011
November 2011
The Trust is announced the winners of the Celebrating Success Awards 2011. The purpose of the Celebrating Success Awards is to provide a platform to celebrate and share the best in our organisation – projects, services and people who are passionate, innovative and committed to providing excellent care.
There are eight Awards in total including Radio Wave's Unsung Hero Award and The Gazette's Patients' Award. The Awards were presented at the Celebration Ball on November 4th at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool. All costs are covered through generous sponsorship from local, regional and national organisations and there is no cost to the Trust.
Alison Crowder, a staff nurse from Ward 38 was named as the winner of this years' Gazette's Patients' Award. She says "I was truly shocked when my name was announced - I never thought I would be shortlisted, let alone win the Award."
Channel 4 documentary
November 2011
Filming for a new Channel 4 documentary series giving viewers behind the scenes access to Blackpool’s emergency services, including the Victoria Hospital’s A&E, maternity and cardiac departments has begun.
For the first time, the work of all the emergency services and staff will be brought together in an ambitious ten part series.
Channel 4 has commissioned Blast! Films to make Three Nines (working title), following the ambulance, police and fire services in and around Blackpool.
Local nurses celebrating after being shortlisted for national Nursing Times awards
September 2011
Local nurses and heathcare staff are celebrating after being shortlisted for the profession’s most prestigious awards. Staff working for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been shortlisted in three categories for the national Nursing Times awards with the results announced in November.
Trust Chief Executive Aidan Kehoe said: “To see the Trust shortlisted in three categories in such prestigious awards is a great achievement and testament to the work that nurses do locally on a day to day basis. The shortlisted staff can be very proud of their achievements.
Blackpool Hospitals launches Facebook page
September 2011
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has joined the social networking site of Facebook in an effort to better engage current and future patients and the general public.
The Trust’s Facebook page provides easy access to information about Blackpool Hospitals and can be used as an interactive forum for health related topics. In addition, the Facebook page also includes; general Trust information, event details, photos and links to hospital news.
The Trust’s official Facebook page can be found at: www.facebook.com/BlackpoolHospitals
Two new state-of-the-art ultrasound scanners at Blackpool Victoria Hospital
August 2011
Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s radiology department has taken delivery of two new top of the range ultrasound scanners.
The new Philips scanners will provide a major boost for patients across the Fylde with the ability to capture quicker, crisper, high-resolution images of patients.
The new machines will be used for both in-patient and out-patient services and will provide a higher resolution image to any exam than before which gives a more accurate anatomical picture of the patient.
Blackpool Hospitals Provide “Excellent" Patient Experience
June 2011
BTH hospital sites have scored top marks in a national study.
Every year the National Patient Safety Association publishes figures rating the patient environment at hospitals across the country with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust gaining the highest possible score of ‘excellent’ in 13 out of 15 categories.
For the sixth consecutive year the Trust was awarded the highest score of ‘excellent’ for its quality of food on all sites with other areas of Privacy & Dignity and the Patient Environment also scoring well.
Blackpool Hospitals joins the Twitter revolution
May 2011
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is "tweeting" about the latest goings on at its hospitals.
The Trust has signed up to Twitter to let the world know about the great work going on and to keep the public updated on the latest Trust and health news.
To follow Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/BlackpoolHosp
Trust picks up two National Patient Safety Awards
March 2011
The Trust was the only Acute Trust in the country to win two categories at the National Patient Safety Awards evening organised by the Health Service Journal and Nursing Times.
The Trust won the Education and Training in Patient Safety and Patient Safety in Maternity Care categories of the awards sponsored by the Health Foundation.
The Education and Training in Patient Safety Award was won for the Trust’s education and training measures used to deliver safer care with impressive reductions in avoidable patient harms.
The Patient Safety in Maternity Care Award was for the Trust’s efforts to reduce caesarean section rates. Work included training staff to offer women more choice in the types of delivery offered, normalising the birth environment and adding baths to en-suite rooms for pain relief in labour. The work had produced some excellent results as caesarean section rates which were the highest in the North West at 28% have been reduced to 24%.
Blackpool hospitals nominated for four national Patient Safety Awards
February 2011
Blackpool hospitals have been nominated four times in this year’s prestigious national Patient Safety Awards.
Organised by leading magazines the Nursing Times and the Health Service Journal the awards recognise the innovative work being undertaken across the NHS to improve patient safety.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted in the areas of: Changing Culture, Education and Training in Patient Safety, Patient Safety in Clinical Practice and Patient Safety in Maternity Care.
The Trust will find out if it has been successful at the awards ceremony which is held in London in March.
Trust Name Change
December 2010
On 1st December 2010 Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust formally became known as Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, reflecting our new Teaching Hospitals status.
Maternity Team Wins National Nursing Award
November 2010
The Trust’s Maternity Team has been nationally recognised for the work it has been doing to improve quality and safety of care for women during pregnancy and birth. The team was named the overall winner in the Improving Maternity Services category of the prestigious Nursing Times Awards 2010 and was highly commended in the Patient Safety category.
The judges praised the team for their leadership approach and multi-disciplinary working which had led to significant organisational change with proven benefits for women.
Trust Awarded Teaching Status
September 2010
Blackpool Hospitals is celebrating news it has been awarded Teaching Hospitals status - recognising its excellent standards in the education and training of medical students and health professionals.
The University of Liverpool has granted the Trust the prestigious award following months of rigorous assessment.
Peter Benning, Associate Director of Medical Education, said: “This recognition by Liverpool University is a tremendous achievement and one to be proud of. It acknowledges the commitment of many people to create the best clinical, social and supportive environment for medical students to learn, live and flourish in.”
Hospital Trust staff praised for “exceptional achievements" at annual meeting
September 2010
Staff were praised for their “exceptional‘’ achievements at the Trust’s Annual Members’ and Public Meeting.
The praise came from Trust chairman Beverly Lester as almost 300 staff received awards for either long service or for picking up an educational qualification during the past 12 months. Staff were also praised for the part they had played in the Trust’s improvements in relation to reducing infection and clinical improvements.
The Trust has continued to invest in new buildings and developments to ensure patient care is delivered from state-of-the-art facilities. Work has progressed well on three major schemes – the £40M surgical centre, £16M Women’s and Children’s Unit and £6M Urgent Care Centre which opened earlier in the year.
Mrs Lester said: “We have had an extremely successful year and we have made significant progress in key areas such as patient safety and quality and this is making a real difference to patient care.
“One of the greatest achievements is the huge reduction in healthcare acquired infections following a major campaign across the Trust and I am confident that 2009/10 will once again be a year of progress towards becoming one of the top 10 Trusts in the UK and making further progress towards delivering “Best in NHS” care for all our patients."
Blackpool Hospitals named Best Acute Trust in the UK to work for
July 2010
The Trust is delighted to report that we have been named the Best Acute Trust in the country to work for in the prestigious Healthcare 100 awards – highlighting our commitment to ‘realising the potential of our staff and being a great place to work’.
The Trust also took the top spot for the Best Large Employer and was listed sixth in the overall list of top 100 healthcare providers which was the highest ranking by any Acute Trust. The organisation was also named the second Top Employer for Managers and the third Top Employer for Performance Management and Staff Development.
Singling out the Trust, the judges said: “A strong focus on deep employee engagement across the organisation make this Trust stand out from the crowd. Staff know its vision and values, and how it expects them to behave – through The Blackpool Way.”Judges also praised the training and development opportunities available for staff, flexible working schemes, good communication and the forward thinking nature of the Trust.
Read what some of our staff had to say about us in the survey.
Trust's new Surgical Unit on track
July 2010
Work on the Trust’s new £40 million Surgical Unit continues to develop at pace. The new Surgical Unit will house 61 en suite in-patient beds, half of which will be single rooms, seven theatres and three day case theatres. It will bring all theatres and surgical facilities under one roof and will be connected to the existing Lancashire Cardiac Centre and the Delivery Suite on the new Women’s and Children’s Unit.
Robert Bell, the Trust’s Director of Estates said: “The Trust is committed to providing the best possible facilities for our patients. The development of the new Surgical Unit will offer state of the art theatres, recovery rooms and wards for patients undergoing surgery.”
New Urgent Care Centre opens its doors
July 2010
The Fylde Coast’s newest multi million pound health facility has opened at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
The £3.1M Urgent Care Centre aims to improve out-of-hours and emergency care and will bring casualty and out of hours GP services under one roof.There will be a triage system for patients who will have a detailed assessment and then directed to a health professional best suited to deal with their illness or injury. More serious cases will be dealt with by A&E and others will be sent to the primary care section. This will improve the quality of patient care as people can be dealt with more quickly and get the right care at the right time.
Trust Named as one of UK's Top 40 Hospitals
May 2010
THE Trust has been named one of the best hospitals in the country for the third year running, recognising our commitment to providing high quality care to our patients. The Trust was named among the ‘Top 40 Hospitals’ in the country in the annual hospitals awards run by CHKS (Comparative Health Knowledge Systems). Hospitals were rated on 21 key performance indicators which are critical to delivering high quality patient care. These include waiting times, mortality rates, length of stay, time taken to discharge patients, hospital readmissions and infection rates.
Trust Named as One of the Best
March 2010
The Trust has been named by the Sunday Times as one of the best employers in the UK. At the paper’s inaugural awards it was announced that the Trust was one of the 75 Best Places to Work in the Public Sector. The paper reported that “Contented staff at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust feel valued by colleagues, get the training they need and have a good work-life balance."
The Trust was one of only two hospital Trusts in the country to be included in the rankings, which Chief Executive Aidan Kehoe said was a “great achievement." He said:
“The list was based on a major survey of our staff who were asked questions on topics such as about leadership, wellbeing, personal growth and thoughts on the organisation’s visions and values. We put great efforts into making the Trust a great place to work and are extremely proud that we are one of only two hospital Trusts in the UK to be included in the list. We will now look at the best practice shown by some of the winners in the awards and will strive to introduce further measures that will provide even further benefits for staff."
Trust Awarded Investors in People Gold Award
January 2010
The Trust has become the first hospital in the country (and the first NHS employer in the North West) to receive a Gold award from Investors in People (IIP). Investors in People is a national organisation which sets out recognised standards for employers to help improve their performance. The Trust was praised for its culture of continuous development and its high level of stakeholder involvement.
The Trust’s Director of HR Nick Grimshaw said: "Less than one per cent of the current 35,000 organisations recognised as Investors in People have achieved Gold Status, highlighting how significant this award is.
This award is a huge boost to the Trust and the staff who work here, as it recognises the work we all do to make this a great place to work. We really want staff who work here to feel valued, recognised and developed to their full potential.”
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