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A New Cross Hospital worker whose baby daughter died has vowed to help other bereaved parents and raise £1,000 for charity in her memory. Bethany Murray, 27, lost her daughter, Ophelia Storm Murray, at 32 weeks. Bethany and husband Zane, also 27, have decided to raise money for the Lily Mae Foundation which supports parents and families who have experienced stillbirth or neonatal death.

A Wolverhampton NHS worker is one of the first in their department to complete an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) course in Dermatology. Ratanjit Assi completed the course at the University of Birmingham after three years of hard work and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She works as an ACP in the dermatology department at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. 

A nurse at New Cross Hospital has embarked on a mammoth charity challenge to swim the distance from England to France and back- in a month. Suzanne Giles, Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic staff nurse, is aiming to do 68k (42 miles) in August to raise money for Cancer Research UK. The original national challenge is to swim 10k in August but Suzanne wanted to push herself further so increased the distance.

Researchers looking at the link between COVID antibody levels and self-reported COVID-19 symptoms among healthcare staff at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) found only half of those reporting symptoms were antibody positive. In addition, the COVID-19 Health Professional Impact Study (CHIP) showed those testing positive for the virus had poorer physical health, but antibody negative participants had poorer mental health.

A devoted dad who was recovering from a rare disease was able to attend his daughter’s wedding from his New Cross Hospital bed - thanks to help from determined staff. Geoffrey and Teresa Dudson’s daughter Lucy, 30, was set to get married to partner Tash on August 4th at Littywood Manor in Stafford after postponing their wedding twice due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Almost 100 paediatric staff attended an interactive recruitment event held at New Cross Hospital at the weekend, with a number of job offers given out on the day. Four new nurses were recruited to work in Children’s Services at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, with other applications in the pipeline. The event, which was held on Saturday in the Children’s Outpatient ward (A23), showcased specialties in children’s services for registered nurses and offered insights into roles at the Trust.

A recently-formed team based at New Cross Hospital is hoping to be celebrating after being shortlisted for a prestigious regional award – at the first time of asking. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s Health and Safety team, which has been revamped over the last year, has been shortlisted by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce (BCCC) in the category of Business Commitment to the Community.

Up to 7,000 patients per year at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital can now being treated by a new £1million MRI scanner which has reduced the organisation’s carbon footprint. The Philips Ingenia Ambition 1.5T scanner has technology called BlueSeal which is a helium-free design, meaning it’s a much greener solution than its predecessor as its energy requirements to maintain the high-field strength magnet are far lower.

Four new Histopathologist Consultants have been appointed to Black Country Pathology Services (BCPS) – a real boost for the region amid the global shortage in this specialism. Histopathology focuses on the diagnosis and study of diseases of the tissues and involves examining tissues and/or cells under a microscope. Histopathologists also take part in studies to provide diagnostic and prognostic information or determine the cause of death.

An NHS accountant got his figures all wrong by smashing initial targets and raising more than £4,200 from a gruelling charity trek – after once being told he might not walk again. Alex Howes, 49, who works for Clinical Research West Midlands (CRN WM), hosted by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, scaled 6,000 metres to the summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak.

Newly qualified and experienced paediatric staff are being invited to come and join The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) as it prepares to launch “exciting” new services for young patients. The Trust is currently recruiting for staff to work in Children’s Services at both New Cross Hospital and the Gem Centre, with a number of healthcare assistant posts and community roles also available.

Long-serving patient and football fanatic Jude Aston has marked 12 months in New Cross Hospital by watching his first live game in over two-and-a-half years. And on a memorable day, the teenager was also thrilled to receive a phone call from a Commonwealth Games champion on his way home! Jude, 17, has cerebral palsy and chronic pain syndrome in his right leg, a condition which causes excruciating pain when it flares up and has left him as an inpatient since August 11, 2021.

Paramedics celebrated the first ‘International Paramedics Day’ on July 8, 2022. The aim of the day was to recognise and celebrate paramedics and first responders around the globe for the tremendous work they do. This year’s theme was ‘proud to be a paramedic’. Fifty-one years ago, the first paramedics in Europe started working in the field after six months of ‘extended training’. Training was frequently conducted internally, although national coordination led to improved standardisation of training.  

A high-achieving practitioner from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is quite literally top of the class after winning a prize for scoring the highest marks in her degree – following a change of career. Hayley Mooney, 30, an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) in Nucleus theatres at New Cross Hospital, achieved 92 per cent overall in her BSc Operating Department Practice degree for allied health and midwifery students at Staffordshire University.

Fundraiser Debbie Brackstone has certainly made a splash for New Cross Hospital’s Integrated Critical Care Unit – raising almost £2,000 after a 21-mile swim of Lake Windermere to thank staff for caring for her friend who contracted COVID-19. Debbie’s friend Angie Fleming was cared for on the Integrated Critical Care Unit (ICCU) in December last year and recently returned to New Cross to thank staff for their kindness and outstanding care.

Continuing my series of features on those without whom the hospital wouldn’t function, Jill Bayliss has just celebrated her 57th birthday – and she knows the value of life because she once saved someone’s. Support Services Assistant Jill, who has been employed by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust for 23 years, works 27 hours a week cleaning all the machinery in the kitchen and helping to prepare the meals for the next day.

One of Wolverhampton’s first COVID-19 patients has returned to New Cross Hospital to launch his book and thank staff for the ‘outstanding care’ he received during his illness. Darren Buttrick, from Coven, decided to write the book ‘Fifteen Minutes and Counting; Never Stop Fighting’ about his COVID-19 experience as he wanted to give something back to the staff who saved his life. 

Patients using a drug to treat Cystic Fibrosis (CF) have revealed how their lives have been transformed since starting it. Fifty four patients at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital being treated for the inherited condition, which leaves sticky mucus in the lung and digestive system and causes lung infections and problems with digesting food, are now being given Kaftrio.

New Cross Hospital worker John Davies has managed to reverse his shock type 2 diabetes diagnosis in just six months – by getting on his bike! The 53-year- old ward assistant has also made lifestyle changes to help him get back to better health. “Having to shield during COVID-19 had a major impact on my health, “ John said. “I really noticed a change as I couldn’t go anywhere. I also don’t have a garden to go out in so it ended up that all I could do was eat and drink. All my motivation was lost and I certainly became more unhealthy.”

A trio of nursing teams from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is hoping for glory after being shortlisted for national awards – with one team looking to make it a double. The Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Team, based at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital, is vying to win the categories for Emergency and Critical Care and Patient Safety Improvement at the Nursing Times Awards 2022.

Hospital housekeeping staff were treated to some live sporting action as the Commonwealth Games came to Wolverhampton. West Park Hospital is across the road from the start and finish of the cycling time trial events, so Julie Burgess, Housekeeping Manager, led around a dozen colleagues from her team to join hundreds of spectators lining the first part of the route and cheer them on. 

Wolverhampton patients really got into the Commonwealth Games spirit after watching one of the events live today – and even met one of the competitors. Senior Physiotherapist for West Park Hospital’s Neuro Rehabilitation Unit Michelle Bullock decided to give patients an unexpected treat by taking them to watch the cycling time trials being held right outside.

Community teams based at Wolverhampton’s West Park Hospital made sure they were all geared up to care for their patients during today’s Commonwealth Games Time Trial event that saw substantial road closures in the area. More than 80 riders took to the streets of Wolverhampton, Dudley and South Staffordshire today as part of the cycling race.

Seventy five years on and I still hurt for them and what they went through. My family had been in India for generations. One side of the family had arrived there as French soldiers-of-fortune in the 1670s. The other side arrived as Scottish soldiers in the 1730s. They had lived in every part of India and in every part of India the men had married Indian women and the women had married Indian men.

She will always be a Wolverhampton NHS star but Amrita Saund is now hoping to sashay her way up to the title of Miss Birmingham after being shortlisted in the final heat. The Specialist Pharmacist for the Integrated Critical Care Unit (ICCU) has worked at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust for two years and has used her post-lockdown focus on health and wellbeing to spur her on in her ambitions.

Meet our Infant Specialist Leads Samantha Ball and Olivia Jones as they showcase the support on offer for families this World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August). Sam, 34, joined The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) as a student midwife (aged 19) and worked in antenatal and postnatal services upon qualifying. After becoming a mother herself in 2013 she realised the importance of having quality infant feeding support and dedicated her career to supporting women through the process.

An inspirational schoolgirl who defied the odds after being born at 25 weeks has helped her mum to write a book to raise money for the ‘incredible’ Wolverhampton Neonatal Unit which saved her life. Naiyana Aikens was born on November 13th 2014, weighing just 1lb 8oz and looking like “a tiny baby bird.” Her mother Shemayne Walker, a Therapeutic Radiographer at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, had an emergency caesarean section at New Cross Hospital.

A nurse whose daughter is a professional footballer says “this is just the start” of better sporting opportunities now England women have won Euro 2022. Sara Lawley, Acute Pain Nurse at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and daughter Gemma, 19, watched the final from their home in Penkridge as the Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 after extra-time at Wembley.

Today I’m chatting to a real double act, including one who only came to work here for three months to save for a three-piece suite – and hasn’t sat on her laurels as she’s stayed for 39 years! I make no apology in continuing to throw the spotlight on the unsung heroes without whom our hospitals couldn’t function. Both Lynn Morris, who says she has got through a few settees since being taken on by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and Vicky Burris work for the Hotel Services team.

A COVID-19 survivor has made an emotional return to New Cross Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to thank “amazing” staff for her care. Angie Fleming began to feel unwell on December 23rd last year and was classed as COVID-19 high risk due to being diagnosed with leukaemia in 2020. After testing positive she deteriorated rapidly and was ventilated on December 27th. “It was a truly frightening experience.