Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

24 hours at the Royal Free Hospital 🏥 Watch this moving film from Clive Myrie capturing the stories of our incredible staff and patients. Clive spent a day in our wards and departments to see what life in the NHS is like first hand. 👇 https://lnkd.in/eqPKu5bw

The BBC has been reporting live from the Royal Free Hospital to illustrate the pressures facing the health service this winter. Read the full story here 👇 https://lnkd.in/epT8-vS3

Did you catch the Royal Free London across BBC News and radio networks? If you missed it, you can catch up on a live segment from the Royal Free Hospital emergency department where Dr Khai Lee Cheah, consultant in elderly care, spoke about the challenges and opportunities that the NHS faces. You can read more about the BBC's 24 hours at the Royal Free Hospital on their website here 👇 https://lnkd.in/gP_HsQ_t

Thank you to the amazing Royal Free Charity and all of their brilliant volunteers for everything you do for our staff and patients.

Did you see Jim Reed reporting live from Chase Farm Hospital on BBC News? Chase Farm Hospital is one of NHS England's eight elective surgical hubs. The hospital delivers more than 10,000 procedures each year, helping to keep hospital beds free for patients who need them most. Take a look inside the innovative barn theatres at Chase Farm Hospital, where up to 4 procedures can be carried out at the same time. Thank you to the amazing teams who deliver this vital work.

A devoted son swapped the sunny climes of Queensland for a frosty winter in Britain this year in order to give his father the ultimate gift – a new kidney. Joshua Andrew, 23, was travelling in Australia when he got the call from his family in Southgate that his father David’s kidney function was declining. David, 57, was suffering from chronic kidney disease – a result of chemotherapy he received around ten years ago for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. And so at the end of last summer, Joshua, who was in the Gold Coast at the time, returned to Britain to begin preparations for the operation. This is the second time that a donation from Joshua has saved David’s life – he previously donated bone-marrow as part of David’s cancer treatment. It means the pair have matching immune systems and Joshua’s kidney was a perfect match for David. Following their operations at the Royal Free Hospital in January, the pair are now recovering at home. Joshua said: “The main thing was that I knew I wanted to help my dad. The nursing and surgery team at the Royal Free Hospital talked through every aspect of what was about to happen.” David added: “The team here have been great. I was nervous about it for Joshua, but they really put us at ease and explained everything clearly.” Joshua praised his mum Lois and the living donor team for helping them both get through their operations. “My mum knew every appointment we needed to be at, every blood test and check-up, while supporting us both and making sure we were as ready as possible for the donation,” he said. “It would have been impossible to do this without her. “Alison in the donor team was always so polite and put me at ease for any query or issue I had. You can tell that the nurses, doctors and everyone in the hospital really care about their patients.” The operation went ahead despite David being in a serious bike accident in which he broke his neck at the beginning of last year. “I’ve really had to adjust. I’ve got my mobility back, but my right leg is still weak,” David explained. “I can’t run, and I haven’t ridden a bike since then, and I don’t know if I ever will again." Despite this, David is keen to get involved with charity work. “If my recovery goes well I really want to give back to others through charity and possibly talk to people about my story,” he said. “I’ve tried to remain positive throughout everything and hopefully I can help others through similar situations.” Joshua, who said he had made friends for life during his travels, said he hopes to be able to return to Australia in the near future. Alison Richardson, the live donor coordinator who helped the pair through their treatment, said Joshua is a remarkable young man. “He is delighted that he has been able to do this for his dad and it has been a pleasure to look after him,” she said. “He is only 23 and he has saved his dad not once, but twice.”

For #WorldCancerDay, we are celebrating a team with a mission to make life easier for patients with cancer. Getting a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming and worrying. But help is at hand. As well as delivering world class clinical care, the Royal Free London (RFL), has a 16-strong personalised cancer care team in place, offering a wide range of tailored emotional and practical support for patients and their families and loved ones. Every year thousands of patients are diagnosed with cancer and are treated at one of the RFL’s hospitals. Staff and patients will be familiar with the welcoming Macmillan Cancer Support and information centres across the trust, but since 2018 a growing number of Macmillan support workers have been embedded in different cancer services across the trust, enabling them to reach out directly to patients. RFL is one of the largest providers of cancer care in the country, as a result of the recent merger with North Middlesex University Hospital, with staff from the site's newly-established personalised cancer care team also now on board. When supporting a patient, the first step is encouraging them to complete a holistic needs assessment – a checklist tool where patients score different financial, practical, emotional and physical concerns from one to 10. Not every patient will need assistance but, thanks to their efforts to promote the service, the team have seen a significant rise in the number of patients requesting, and receiving, additional support. Claire Marks, cancer support worker, said: “We work closely with the cancer clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). Initially patients get given the holistic needs assessment survey which shouldn’t take them more than 10 minutes to complete. Once that’s been submitted, we can phone them and start helping them get any extra assistance they need.” “We want this to be a really meaningful conversation, so we focus on what matters most to each patient. After understanding the patient’s biggest concerns outlined in the survey, we draw up a personalised support plan. We also ask for permission to send a copy to their GP so everyone is on the same page.” You can learn more about the Macmillan cancer information and support at our trust on our website 👇 https://lnkd.in/ebKPbPWh

Royal correspondent Katie Nicholl has praised the cancer care she received at the Royal Free Hospital (RFH) and said surgeon Theodora (Dora) Pissanou saved her life. Katie, 47, from north London, reports on the Royal Family for broadcasters including the BBC, Good Morning Britain and Sky News. Now the royal commentator is going public about her cancer journey in a bid to raise awareness and encourage others to seek help as early as possible. Katie, was diagnosed with a type of liver cancer (cholangocarcinoma) in early 2023. She underwent an 11-hour operation to remove the tumour and part of her liver in February that year. Katie said: “I’ve decided to talk about my cancer because I was extremely lucky to get a relatively early diagnosis. I’ve always been healthy and never saw the GP unless I was taking my children. But I decided to pay him a visit because unusually for me I was feeling run down. “I had blood tests but there were no cancer markers. I was also experiencing indigestion and heart palpitations and because of cardiac-related family history the GP decided to book me in for a scan. The radiologist then said they had spotted something in my liver that they didn’t like at all. An MRI confirmed I had cholangocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of liver cancer of the bile duct. Just ten days later Katie was operated on at the RFH. Katie’s heptobiliary surgeon, Dora, not only removed extensive parts of Katie’s liver but she also took the decision to remove a significant number of lymph nodes, as a preventative measure. Ten weeks after surgery Katie was back at work reporting on the King’s Coronation, for US broadcaster NBC, while simultaneously undergoing chemotherapy. Katie added: “Dora is an absolute gem, without a doubt she saved my life and I would like to thank everyone at the Royal Free Hospital for the brilliant care I received. I’m now supporting the work of AMMF - The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity, the UK’s only cholangiocarcinoma charity and I’m in training to run the Hackney half marathon for Maggie’s in May.” Dora said: “Katie’s surgery was not straightforward due to the large size of the tumour and its invasiveness. “When you perform an operation you take on your shoulders the whole family, not only the patient. It is important for everyone in the family to be on board with what I am doing so they can support the patient best. I take a lot of time to explain the operation and how life might be affected afterwards. I make it clear that we will all work together. She added: “I’m very proud to be part of the liver team at the Royal Free London, where we are always striving to improve patient outcomes. Personally, I’d like to thank cancer nurse specialist, Karthi Balachandran, for her thorough pre-assessment of patients prior to surgery. I’d also like to mention Sally Harrison, who was the anaesthetist in Katie’s operation. (Image supplied by Katie Nicholl)

Local MPs thanked our cancer teams for their incredible work during a visit to the Royal Free Hospital. Feryal Clark, MP for Enfield North, and David Pinto-Duschinksy, MP for Hendon, met with our staff and heard about how we are making a real difference to patients living with cancer. Cancer care is a key pillar of our trust's clinical vision. We receive over 65,000 suspected cancer referrals every year, which makes us the second largest recipient in England. Group chief executive, Peter Landstrom, welcomed the MPs and provided an overview of our trust. He said, "We have got world-class services that are internationally renowned, but we also have a strong position as a local healthcare provider." "When you look at the landscape of cancer, we are an organisation that is meeting challenges, and making the necessary changes for the future." MPs heard about how we hope to treat more patients closer to home, expand artificial intelligence in radiotherapy across our trust, build on our surgical expertise and trial a new app to improve the experience of patients with breast cancer. During the visit, the MPs were shown our clinical research facility (CRF). They heard about the importance of early stage clinical research and how ground-breaking treatments are developed for cancer. The initial funding for the CRF was provided by the Royal Free Charity. They were also shown our £8 million positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, which was funded by the Royal Free Charity. This machine is helping us to scan more patients and speeding up diagnosis. It has also provided us with more opportunities for research and developments in theranostics which is a combination of identifying and treating cancers. The final stop was our radiotherapy department where MPs learnt about the stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) treatment. This has improved patient experience as it involves less visits to hospital with a higher dose of radiotherapy given per treatment compared to standard radiotherapy. Staff were praised for their commitment to patient care, working to see between 30 and 40 patients each day. Learn more about our clinical strategy and how cancer is one of the trust's three clinical priorities 👇 https://lnkd.in/eVvyiBRy

We recently celebrated one year since Maggie's Royal Free (North London) opened! Cancer care is one of our key clinical priorities and partners like Maggie's help us to deliver the best possible care to our patients 🧡 Read more about the services offered by Maggie's at the Royal Free Hospital 👇 https://lnkd.in/duAfbVQp