News

More patients can now have a heart valve fitted while they are awake thanks to experts at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Cardiologists at South Tees have developed a novel way of implanting heart valves using an alternative access point under the collarbone.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have been invited to evaluate a partnership programme between Macmillan Cancer Support and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation NHS Trust.

Twelve volunteers from cardiac surgery teams on Teesside are set to fly out to Ghana to perform a series of life-saving heart operations. Their mission has received overwhelming support from colleagues at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust – even those who are not going on the trip are gearing up to help raise £30,000 to fund equipment and medical supplies.

A team of consultants from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be taking to the road as part of the first-ever ‘Cycling Symposium’ across the UK. The gruelling seven-day ride, organised by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), will go from Southampton to Edinburgh starting on 1 September, stopping each day to conduct a series of masterclasses on key surgical topics.

The Trust has pledged to help save lives by supporting Organ Donation Week from September 3 to 9. The national NHS campaign is asking people to talk to their families about organ donation to increase the number of people whose lives can be saved or transformed by an organ transplant.

People across the North East and North Cumbria are being asked to help ease pressure on NHS accident and emergency services over the August bank holiday.

The James Cook University Hospital is hosting a Radiotherapy Careers Clearing Open Day on Saturday 18 August. The event takes place in the Radiotherapy Department, near North Entrance, from 10am to 12noon. Whether you are looking to embark on your first career after receiving your A-level results or it’s simply time for a new challenge, come along to find out more about the role of a therapeutic radiographer, the department and the clinical placements available.

Macmillan Cancer Support’s appeal has hit the landmark £250,000 figure, amid a flurry of fundraising events taking place around the area. Money raised is supporting The Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre, which is currently being built at the Friarage Hospital.

When great-grandad Bill Tate had a new heart valve fitted he did not expect to be going home the same day. Most patients need to be monitored for at least one night in case they experience a change in heart rhythm, but Bill’s pacemaker meant this was not an issue.

Every  ward across the trust now has supplies of nicotine replacement therapy to offer inpatients instant access to smoking cessation support. The move forms part of the trust’s pledge to become totally smokefree by March 2019.