Latest news with #ColchesterHospital
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
NHS boss says Labour's 10-year plan for NHS is essential
A hospital boss has admitted that NHS services are struggling and said it is essential for the government's new 10-year plan to are being made as part of Labour's 10-year health strategy published today. Nick Hulme, chief executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) said: "We are not in crisis yet, but we are in a really, really tricky situation."Part of the shake-up will lead to neighbourhood health services rolled out across the country in an attempt to bring diagnostics, mental health, post-op, rehab, and nursing to people's doorsteps. The plan has put more emphasis on community care and GP surgeries but Mr Hulme, in charge at Colchester Hospital and Ipswich Hospital, said there needs to be funding to go with told the BBC: "We can see full hospitals up and down the country, sadly, with patients still waiting in the corridors. "That is something we might have seen in the winter four or five years ago - we now see it throughout the year. "We know the NHS simply cannot cope with that level of demand with the resources we have at the moment."He said there were significant challenges in A&E and on waiting times. Prevention and support He believes the NHS needs to change what the public can expect from the service and shift the focus away from just purely hospital care. Mr Hulme said frail, elderly, people who still live independently were most likely to be brought into the hospital after a fall or infection. "We know in our communities who is at highest risk at being admitted into hospital."If we get some care and get some prevention and support those families and individuals much earlier it will prevent them coming into hospital for issues that they don't need an acute bed for, " he added. He also said the plan hopes to bring the NHS "into the 21st Century" by encouraging people to use the NHS app and booking appointments electronically. Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Princess Catherine says cancer treatment 'like a roller-coaster'
By Georgie Hewson , ABC Princess Catherine smiles during a visit to see the RHS Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex, southeast England on 2 July. Photo: Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP The Princess of Wales has revealed more details about her cancer treatment, describing it as a "roller-coaster" when speaking to patients at a hospital in Eastern England. The 43-year-old announced in March last year she was undergoing treatment after tests following major abdominal surgery revealed she had a form of cancer. Princess Catherine never revealed what type of cancer she had but completed the course of treatment in September. Earlier this year, she revealed she was in remission. "You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment, [and then] treatment's done. Then it's like, 'I can crack on, get back to normal,' but actually the phase afterwards is really … difficult," she told staff and patients during her visit to Colchester Hospital. She said the treatment was "life-changing" for patients and their loved ones and said: "It's a roller-coaster, not one smooth plain." The princess emphasised the importance of support after treatment, noting that while patients might no longer be getting clinical care, they were often struggling to "function normally at home". "And actually, someone to help talk you through that, show and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment, I think that is really valuable," she said. The princess resumed her official duties this year but did not attend the Royal Ascot on 18 June as expected. During her visit to the hospital, the princess planted several roses, which the Royal Horticultural Society has named "Catherine's Rose" in her honour. The pink roses were donated to the hospital's Wellbeing Garden as part of an effort to bring healing green spaces to "those in need" across several UK locations. According to US publication People magazine, the princess is expected to appear next among other members of the royal family when hosting French President Emmanuel Macron on a UK visit. Other members of the royal family are also facing health battles. King Charles III last year announced he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. He returned to some public-facing duties in April last year and travelled to Australia and Samoa in October. Queen Camilla missed multiple engagements at the end of last year due to a chest infection. However, she has since returned to royal duties. - ABC
ITV News
29-04-2025
- Health
- ITV News
Teen found unresponsive in room 'shouldn't have been alone', Essex mental health trust tells inquest
An NHS trust has admitted a teenage girl found dead in her hospital room should not have been allowed to return there unsupervised. Elise Sebastian was just 16 when she took her own life while being treated at a mental health unit in Essex in 2021. At the start of the inquest into her death, the trust that runs the St Aubyn Centre in Colchester told the jury that Elise had been able to return to her room unaccompanied on 17 April 2021, despite being on observation at the time. The teenager was later found unresponsive, was resuscitated and taken to Colchester Hospital, where she died two days later. Pravin Fernando, representing Essex Partnership University NHS Trust, admitted Elise's room should have been locked to prevent her entering alone, adding: "The trust accepts that these failings were causative of her death." Elise had a history of mental ill health which dated back to 2016 when she was 12 and included anxiety and depression. She was diagnosed with high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder in March 2020 and, while an inpatient at mental health units, including St Aubyn, had previously self-harmed and absconded. But in statements read to Essex Coroner's Court, Elise's parents described her as a "happy, outgoing, funny little girl" who loved music, reading and art. Her mum, Victoria Sebastian, said she had visited her daughter - who was the youngest of four siblings - the same day she was found unresponsive and Elise had been "so excited to see me". As a photograph of the teenager was passed around court, Mrs Sebastian talked about her daughter's love of One Direction and her plans to work with animals. "She was my beautiful baby, my best friend," she told the jury. "It was very hard as a mother to watch her struggle." Her dad, Glen Sebastian added: "My world has been completely destroyed. My family has been shattered. I've hardly left the house in the past couple of years." The court was told the inquest, which is due to last around a month, was likely to look at a range of issues including the appropriateness of care plans and risk assessments, staffing levels, training and the management of Elise's self-harming. On the opening day, the hearing also heard from a paramedic with the East of England Ambulance Service who described the call-out to the St Aubyn Centre as "frustrating", having had to wait for a member of staff to unlock each door he passed through. Lisa Cunningham, an Essex and Herts Air Ambulance doctor who arrived at the centre around 7.30pm, said staff seemed stressed and it was difficult to get information from them. Essex Partnership University Trust is currently the subject of a statutory inquiry which is looking into the deaths of more than 2,000 patients - including Elise - in its care between January 2000 and December 2023. The Lampard Inquiry will include those who died within three months of discharge, and those who died as inpatients receiving NHS-funded care in the independent sector. At a hearing last year the chairwoman of the inquiry, Baroness Kate Lampard, said 'we may never know' the true number of people who died.
