B.U.G.S. Newsletter

B.U.G.S. Newsletter
Salisbury District Hospital
Spring 2013
www.bugssalisbury.co.uk
Registered Charity No: 1052284 ­ B.U.G.S. Fund 1223
B.U.G.S. Joins Forces with the Engage Project
Engage is the project developed by Lizzy Goad of the department of Clinical Psychology at
Salisbury District Hospital. B.U.G.S. invited Lizzy in October last year to come and talk
about this. Lizzy reports below on how it has developed.
"The aim of the project is to enhance the psychological support offered to
hospitalised older adults. It is widely recognised that people in this group
are particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety, and that the lack of
social and cognitive stimulation in the hospital environment may escalate
this. With this in mind, Engage was designed to utilise specially trained
volunteers to help culminate feelings of positivity and improve social and
cognitive stimulation. The volunteers use a combination of social
engagement activities, reminiscence and most importantly, the opportunity
for the patient to talk with someone who has the time to listen. Engage has
progressed to cover 10 wards throughout the hospital with more than 50
dedicated volunteers, trained to recognise and support patients with issues
such as cognitive impairment, communication difficulties, dementia, depression
and anxiety.
Above: Lizzy Goad reading
with a patient.
Below: B.U.G.S. & Engage
volunteers get together.
Earlier this year we were invited by the B.U.G.S. team to join them in supporting patients on the Burns Unit
at SDH. We were excited at the opportunity of a new challenge and looked forward to complimenting the
fantastic work the B.U.G.S. team already do. Since January
we have been visiting the ward 2­3 times per week to see any
older adults on the unit , which we hope allows B.U.G.S. more
time to continue with the rest of their valued work.
We have begun sharing training opportunities and ideas to
enable us to continue complimenting each other. It has been a
real privilege supporting B.U.G.S. over the last few months as
they share our passion and enthusiasm for the work we all do,
and working with a like minded group of people is fantastic. We
look forward to our continued work with the B.U.G.S. team and
hope that we can continue learning from each other."
B.U.G.S. AGM
3rd July 2013
3pm, Level 5
Salisbury District Hospital
Please let us know if you
would like to attend.
"Spotted" in
Wiltshire!
Activity Camps
2013 ­ page 3
Welcome to our Spring 2013 newsletter.
Let's hope spring sunshine has appeared by
the time you read this after all the snow in
March; it is still bitterly cold in April as I
write. Our B.U.G.S. man on the frozen
ground in Guernsey, Rob
Le Page, sent us photos
of their March snow (2
metres and counting), the
deepest they have
experienced for decades.
Megan, Deborah, Amy and the team have been
busy updating the Adult Booklets originally
published in 2005; these are given to patients
as they leave the ward or when they attend a
dressing clinic. They are also available in our
Quiet Room, the Waiting Room on the Burns
Unit and in the Wessex Rehabilitation Clinic.
We are continuing to support the unit with the
donations we receive and are purchasing
special call bells for patients who have
difficulties using their hands. We have also
purchased footstools, dressing and drawer
trolleys. To help staff support patients we are
now funding training in Burn Care Standards for
two nurses per year.
In May we are promoting burns prevention to
staff in the hospital by using the computer
screensaver. The theme this time is hair
straightener and BBQ safety.
Goodbye and Hello
Christine Rowse stepped down in Autumn last
year due to ill health. Christine has been a long
standing and helpful member of the team and
we wish her and her husband, Vic, all the best
for a healthier future together.
We are delighted to introduce a new team volunteer, Nickey
Buckley, who is already a valued member of our team.
We are also thrilled to welcome Staff Nurse,
Sally Tresidder to our team as our Children and
Young Adult's camp liaison officer. Sally
attended the National Children's Camp last
Summer as a volunteer, sponsored by us. She
is hugely enthusiastic and it is great to have her
on board. Sally liaises with our possible
attendees for the camps and links up
Top: Christine Rowse
Middle: Sally Tresidder
with the camp organisers.
Below: Rudy Peleman
We also bid farewell to Rudy
Peleman. Rudy and Julia were
Trustees on the National Burns Survivors charity
along with Jenny, our former chairman, back in
2000. Rudy started working with us in 2005 to
build our website, adding all our ladybugs and
being incredibly patient coping with all the
queries. He set up our domain name and
account provider, and has been maintaining it ever since. He
once drove 4 hours from Wales with his wife, Clarine, to come
to our AGM!! He is a true friend of B.U.G.S. and a huge
enthusiast of Burns support and help, running his own Burns
support website in four different languages.
Rudy says "it has been a pleasure knowing you all and
B.U.G.S., I very much enjoyed working with Julia and Jenny
over the years. B.U.G.S. holds a special place in my heart
and I wish Julia, the committee members and B.U.G.S. as a
whole all the very best in the future, Thank you for keeping
the burn survivor's cause alive".
We are very sad to say goodbye to Rudy, or maybe it is only
Au Revoir as Julia has said she is keeping in touch whether
he likes it or not! Huge thanks from all the team for all your
support and counsel over the years and our best wishes to
you and Clarine for your move to England in the near future.
If we get any sunshine this year, please don't
forget your UVA/UVB sunscreen, keep
covered and stay out of the midday sun.
Please see our website for more information.
Christmas Cards 2013!! Emma Jelf has kindly
agreed to design a couple of new cards for us
in time for this Christmas after the success of
the last two she produced. The designs will be
posted on our website, shown in our Autumn
newsletter and will be for sale on our stalls.
Above: some of the team at last year's AGM
We are excited to have linked with Andy Cowling and his team
in IT at the hospital. They have taken over the maintenance
of our current website and will be helping us to develop a new
site. We hope this will be launched in time for our next
newsletter.
Laverstock Ward Wins Help For Heroes Award
Laverstock is the ward Jill and
John Boggis have set up Wifi
connection for soldiers. The team
have won a Hero Award from the
national charity Help for Heroes,
for the outstanding medical and
nursing care they have given to
military patients. The multi­disciplinary team, support staff in
plastic surgery and the Ward, provide a wide of range care to
soldiers who have been injured in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Congratulations!
Activity Camps 2013
Last year Sally Tresidder, one of the staff nurses
on the burns unit, approached us to ask if she
could attend the National Burn Camp as a
volunteer. Sally had such a fantastic time she is
now working with us to organise for children and young adults to attend the camps that are now on offer.
Sally reports on her experiences at last year's National Burn Camp.
“B.U.G.S. finances children to go on the Burn camps every year. They also fund volunteers to
help with the camp if they are sponsoring children to attend. The camp is run for children aged
8 to 17 years, and its aim is total inclusivity. All of the children who go on camp have burn
scars of some sort. Even though some are quite minor and some are very extensive, every
child can take part in every activity. Many of the children have been going on camp for years
and have built up very strong friendships supporting each other through social networking
media even when not at camp. What is most evident is how it helps survivors of burns injuries
to build their confidence.
The camp is held at Grafham Waters in Cambridgeshire where there is the opportunity for
children to take part in many activities including sailing, cycling and windsurfing. They also go
to a local swimming pool for an evening giving some children the chance to go swimming with
confidence for the first time since their burn injury.
This year was very special as the Para Olympic Flame came through Grafham Waters. Every
child on camp got to carry the flame in a special lantern. They then watched it being taken on
to the lake by a Para Olympian sailor.
The children also take part in evening activities such as bowling and a trip to the
cinema. An evening was organised by the local Lyons club where children could
drive a dual controlled car, be the passengers in a TVR sports car and give chase
in a police car. The local Fire Brigade was also there, and believe me you have
not lived until you have done a handbrake turn in a fire engine!
CAMP DATES
FAB Camp
25­28 May, Skern Lodge,
North Devon
National Camp
11­17 August, Grafham Waters,
Cambridgeshire
This year’s camp was very emotional as it was the last year some of
the children aged 17 would attend as an 18 to 25 camp is to be
organised in 2013.
STOP PRESS!!
The first Young Adults camp for those aged 18 to 25 years has just
been held, and we were pleased B.U.G.S. were able to fund some of
our members to attend.
If you or your child is interested in attending any of the
activity camps that are on offer,
please contact Sally Tresidder via the Burns Unit,
e­mail [email protected]
or call 07803 751569
Roof Garden Update
Thanks to generous donations we are planning the next stage of our roof
garden project. One of our volunteers, Rosamond, is a keen gardener and
has taken over the running of the garden, and we are starting the process
of redesigning the garden with the specific requirements of the burns
patients and staff in mind. We are linking with Martin Gomm, the project
manager who built Horatio's garden for the Spinal Unit, who is keen to help
with design ideas and practical information. We want to make the garden a
safer place to be with more shade, shelter from the wind, activities, a
possible wheelchair viewing platform and seating as well as a planting
scheme that works well in the area for the six months of the year it is
feasible to use it. We are hopeful that the occupatioal therapy staff, nurses
and volunteers will be able to bring patients up to the garden for valuable
therapy and a change of scene. This project is very much in its infancy and will be ongoing throughout 2013. We
will update you with our progress in the Autumn.
FUNDRAISING NEWS
Penzance to Glastonbury Charity Walk
You will have read in our Autumn newsletter 2012 about this amazing quartet who
took unpaid leave to complete a sponsored walk in the wettest, and stormiest two
weeks of the Summer. We gave the Potts Team one of our collection boxes which
was returned to us well travelled, with battered labels, and full of money! They
came to visit Susie, Deborah, Julia and some of the nursing team just before
Christmas on the Ward, to present a wonderful cheque raised from the walk and a
coffee morning – about £1000! One of Jayne and Helen’s sisters was a patient
on the unit, and it is her wish that this money will go towards the Children’s
Area. Huge thanks to the four of you for your fantastic achievement.
L ­ R: Helen and Jayne Potts with
fellow walkers
Carl Davies and Klara Paulus
Rockbourne Christmas Fair 2012 & Hospital Stalls
Our grateful thanks to Stars Appeal and the Rockbourne Fair committee for choosing us as their
charity on one of their days that is held over 3 days each year. This takes place at Salisbury Race
Course towards the end of October and is a huge event. It was a wonderful PR exercise for us,
spreading the word and our merchandise sold well too! What an amazing event it is and extremely
popular. We are hoping to do this again in 2013.
At the hospital our Spring/Easter Stall was held on 22nd March just inside
the entrance to Springs Restaurant. Our first stall held at this new venue
was last November and was encouragingly successful. Our Easter stall has
just taken place and we had success selling our new ladybird plant pots and
bowls (pictured right), which were on offer for the first time. Grateful thanks
to all who came and supported us.
Fundraising 2013
The Stars Appeal organises a number of fundraising
events that our supporters can also take part in to
fundraise specifically on our behalf. You could try Walk
for Wards on 23rd June at Wilton House, or the Tidworth
run. They also organise parachute jumps and adventure
challenges. Call 01722 429005 or visit starsappeal.org,
mention B.U.G.S., and please let us know too!
To Contact B.U.G.S.:
B.U.G.S. c/o Nurse in Charge, The Burns Unit,
Salisbury District Hospital, Odstock Road, Salisbury,
SP2 8BJ.
Telephone: 01722 345507
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send your request to
[email protected]
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amount you wish to donate to 70070
Donations can only be in set amounts of £1, £2, £3, £4,
£5 or £10 (e.g. your text could read BUGS01 £5).
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BUGSY'S CORNER
Ladybird Nests
Here is a quick dessert everyone will love this summer.
You will need:
Meringue nests
Fresh berries (e.g.
Strawberries, Blueberries,
Blackberries)
1 pot of natural or Greek
Yoghurt
Fruit Coulis
To build your nest:
Place your meringue nest on a plate and place 1 or 2
dessert spoons of yoghurt on top.
Sprinkle on the berries and drizzle over the coulis.