Press releases


Radiologist appointed hospital Medical Director

A SENIOR radiologist has been appointed a medical director of St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust announced today [17th January] that Dr Derek Dundas, 53, is the new medical director with responsibility for children’s and women’s services as well as the hospital’s diagnostic units and intensive care …
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17 Jan 2006 | Tags: Dr Derek Dundas Medical Director


A year of progress for St George’s as waiting times fall

WAITING times for operations and outpatient appointments at St George’s Hospital fell to an all-time low in December after a year of ‘very strong progress’ for clinical care, according to one of its medical directors. Six months is now the maximum amount of time patients can expect to wait for …
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11 Jan 2006 | Tags: waiting times


‘Put It Out’: Smoking banned from local hospitals

SMOKERS WATCH OUT: Next time you pay a visit to hospital, you will have to put out your cigarette before you step foot on its grounds. The three hospitals run by St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust became smoke-free zones on New Year’s Eve. The ban on smoking, which …
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3 Jan 2006 | Tags: smoking ban


Hospital ‘hotel’ opens for Mums and Dads

ST GEORGE’S Hospital has opened a ‘home away from home’ for parents whose children need long-term inpatient care. And the house has already received its first guest. Carly Gillard, 24, from Eastbourne in Sussex is the first parent to stay there while her six year old daughter, Nicole, receives treatment …
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19 Dec 2005 | Tags: hospital hotel


Patients with winter sickness bug urged to stay away from hospital

PEOPLE who fall ill with a winter virus that causes diarrhoea and vomiting are being urged to stay away from St George’s Hospital to protect patients and healthcare workers. The virus, which doctors describe as ‘unpleasant but rarely serious,’ is spread easily from one person to another and lasts between …
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12 Dec 2005 | Tags: norovirus


Hospital to be smoke-free by the New Year

ST GEORGE’S Healthcare NHS Trust and its three hospitals are to become smoke-free by the end of the year, it has been announced. Smoking was banned from hospital buildings in 2003 but the scheme will now be extended to cover outside spaces too. The new ban will come into force …
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11 Nov 2005 | Tags: smoke-free


“Think twice” before coming to A&E, patients told

PATIENTS are being asked to “think twice” before going to A&E at St George’s Hospital for treatment this winter. The announcement comes as doctors and nurses celebrate the news that they have successfully treated more than 90,000 patients within the Government’s target time of four hours. Figures show more than …
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28 Oct 2005 | Tags: a&e


Charity raise £24,000 for NHS epilepsy dietician

THE PARENTS of a young girl who died from a rare form of epilepsy have raised thousands of pounds for a special anti-epilepsy dietician at the hospital where she was treated. Daisy Garland, the daughter of David and Sara Garland from West Wimbledon, died in her sleep in April 2004 …
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20 Sep 2005 | Tags: dietician epilepsy


Matrons rally against MRSA

SENIOR nurses from St George’s Hospital will join forces tomorrow to campaign for greater awareness of MRSA and the steps that must be taken to shield patients from infections of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The hospital’s thirty modern matrons will take to the foyers of Grosvenor Wing and Atkinson Morley Wing …
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19 Sep 2005 | Tags: MRSA


MS sufferer wins award

A WOMAN from St George’s Hospital who has battled with multiple sclerosis for more than 20 years has won a major disability award. Margaret Morrison, Head of Facilities at the South London hospital, won the regional Remploy disability award last Wednesday (7 September) after being nominated by friends and colleagues …
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15 Sep 2005 | Tags: ms sufferer


Gorgeous George’s gardens win contest

AS SPORTING contests go, the competitors are more, well, flora than Paula. But the flower beds of one South London hospital were hailed as champions last week when the green-fingered groundsmen that tend them won first prize in a London-wide competition for the best-kept hospital gardens. Gardeners from St George’s …
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15 Sep 2005 | Tags: contest gardens hospital


St George’s is first hospital to publish all mortality rates

The NHS Trust which runs St George’s Hospital in South London has become the first in the UK, and possibly the world to publish all its death rates by individual clinical specialty. The death rates are published in the form of graphs on the Trust website. The graphs, for a …
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25 Aug 2005 | Tags: mortality rates


Work starts on hospital family hotel

WORK has begun at St George’s Hospital on a family ‘hotel’ that will offer free accommodation to parents of children needing inpatient medical care. The centre, which is described as a ‘home away from home’, will cost over ?750k to build and is due to be completed by the end …
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28 Jun 2005 | Tags: family hotel


MRSA infections fall by a third

BLOODSTREAM INFECTIONS of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA fell by a third at St George’s Hospital last year, according to new figures published by the Department of Health. There were 63 infections of MRSA between April 2004 and March 2005, compared to 93 cases in 2003/04. Dr Aodhan Breathnach, infection control …
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21 Jun 2005 | Tags: infections MRSA


Hospital improves heart attack care

VICTIMS of heart attacks are receiving rapid access to life-saving medication at St George’s Hospital, according to a new report published by the Royal College of Physicians. Figures from the Fourth Public Report of the Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project (MINAP) show 93 per cent of patients were given clot-busting …
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16 Jun 2005 | Tags: minap Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project


Hospital Director awarded OBE

A DIRECTOR of St George’s Hospital has been awarded the OBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list. Karen Castille, Director of Service Improvement and Strategy for the hospital, received the Order of the British Empire for ‘services to the NHS’, according to St James’ Palace which announced the honours on …
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14 Jun 2005 | Tags: hospital director obe


First keyhole kidney transplant performed by hospital

SURGEONS from St George’s Hospital performed a landmark operation on Wednesday 26 May to remove a kidney from a live donor using keyhole surgery. The laparoscopic procedure, which was first developed fourteen years ago, makes St George’s only the fifth hospital in the country to offer the less invasive form …
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28 May 2005 | Tags: kidney transplant


“Renewing St George’s:” A Plan for Financial Recovery

THE ST GEORGE’S Healthcare NHS Trust has launched its plan to tackle an overspend of around ?20 million by changing the way it works. The plan focuses on improving patient services by changing the way the hospital works, based on ideas provided by staff. Much of the plan, entitled Renewing …
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26 May 2005 | Tags: financial recovery


Hospital thanks nurses

ST GEORGE’S Hospital has paid tribute to the expertise of its 2,300 nurses. Speaking at an event to mark International Nurses Day (Thursday 12 May), which is held every year on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, the hospital’s Director of Nursing Geraldine Walters praised nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants …
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12 May 2005


Exposed: The new hospital gown that is less revealing

WORN by patients up and down the country, the traditional hospital gown often leaves wearers quite literally exposed. Now nurses from South West London have designed a new robe that promises to be less revealing. The gown, which is similar in style to a Japanese kimono, is being piloted by …
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11 May 2005 | Tags: hospital gown