10 March, 2005

There is good news on a project I have been supporting for use of our hospital buildings. I understand that the Acute Trust Board has agreed in principle to a five year lease to Capital Medical Training for the pathology laboratory block on the hospital site. Details and terms have to be agreed but this is potentially exciting as Capital Medical are the only accredited training school for bio-medical engineers who are the staff who maintain and service complex medical equipment needed in all our hospitals. 
At the moment they lease a small part of the building but taking over the whole redundant block will produce useful income for the Trust and allow the training school to expand. 
They already hold the contract for training Ministry of Defence medical personnel and with increased training requirements for NHS staff for professional progression, there is potential for this the only accredited training school to attract large numbers of students. 

I have had one of my regular meetings with members of the Chamber of Commerce and we had a wide-ranging discussion about affairs in London and local issues. We always face the problem that we are just off the A38 industrial corridor and that our road links to the motorways are not easy. Industry locally feels severely disadvantaged when compared with continental business concerns that get far more support from their Governments for developments including those on greenfield sites than any of our companies do here. Naturally they feel there should be a level playing field for the costs of development across Europe and I shall write to Ministers about these concerns when I have received more details.

A straw poll of members attending about identity cards was pretty evenly balanced with a small majority who said they did not really object to identity cards if carrying one would remove the need to carry other documents and licences. 

The recent Health Committee report on the risks of blood clots (venous thrombo-embolism, VTE) during hospital admissions has caused a furore and been turned by some into a political attack on the Government. 
This was not the Committee’s intention. 
We drew attention to the potential risks of VTE so that they can be addressed more uniformly in this country. Well respected guidelines exist in America for the prevention of VTE during hospital admissions and in this country for prophylaxis during pregnancy and delivery. Such guidelines should be adapted and implemented where necessary across this country for all admissions to hospitals. An assessment of the risks of blood clotting should be a part of every patient’s admission procedure to hospital. Then the scale of risk should be discussed with the patient and the preventive measures explained. 
This is already standard practice in many hospitals in England but it is not yet universal. Hence the need for the report. 

© Independent Kidderminster Hospital & Health Concern 1995-2005
(webdesign@chaddesley-corbett.co.uk)