Press releases


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


Hospital fracture unit given million pound makeover

ST GEORGE’S Hospital has flung open the doors of its fracture unit again after a £1m refurbishment. The project, which was funded by the NHS Modernisation Agency as part of the Action on Orthopaedics scheme, has taken five months to complete. The unit has been completely refurbished and its layout …
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11 May 2005 | Tags: fracture unit


St George’s to be friendlier to the learning disabled

Staff at St George’s who wanted to find out what coming to was like for people with learning disabilities have done the obvious thing. They’ve asked them. St George’s have been working with a local organisation Generate, which supports people with learning disabilities, to try to make the hospital friendlier …
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5 May 2005 | Tags: learning disabilities


St George’s named ‘top performing hospital’

ST GEORGE’S Healthcare NHS Trust has been named a “top performing hospital” by a company that measures clinical performance. Not only that, the Trust was named the most improved hospital for clinical care. The CHKS awards, now in their fifth year, were held on Tuesday 26th April in Birmingham and …
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28 Apr 2005 | Tags: benchmarking CHKS performance top performing hospital


Medical Director elected president of Royal College

A MEDICAL DIRECTOR from St George’s Hospital has been elected President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Dr Patricia Hamilton, one of the country’s leading experts in the care of premature babies, will hold the title of President Elect until April 2006 when her three-year term of …
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11 Apr 2005 | Tags: Dr Patricia Hamilton Medical Director President


Hospital scientists reach invention contest final

TWO DEVICES built by scientists from St George’s Hospital have reached the final of an NHS contest for new medical technology. The inventions, one of which offers a more accurate test for genetic conditions such as Down’s syndrome in foetuses, were developed by medical physicists Professor Dariush Nassiri, Dr Alan …
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6 Apr 2005 | Tags: competition contest invention prizes


Doctors warn of TB Risk: Figures show 40 per cent rise in cases between 1999 and 2003

WANDSWORTH could face a rise in cases of tuberculosis unless people are made more aware of the symptoms of the disease, public health experts have warned. The warning came as London health chiefs announced the return of TB screening vans to the streets of the capital for the first time …
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24 Mar 2005 | Tags: contagious infectious disease TB tuberculosis vaccinations


Stroke care at St George’s ranks among the best in the country, says report

ST GEORGE’S Hospital has one of the best stroke units in the country, according to an independent report. Researchers for the Royal College of Physicians listed St George’s as one of the top ten hospitals in the land for the care of stroke patients in the National Sentinel Stroke Audit …
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21 Mar 2005 | Tags: independent report Stroke stroke units


MRSA infections halved at St George’s

CASES of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA have been halved at St George’s Hospital in the last three years, according to new figures published earlier this week. According to a Government report there were 54 cases of MRSA bloodstream infections at St George’s Hospital between April and September 2001. This fell …
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11 Mar 2005 | Tags: infections MRSA


St George’s publishes cardiac death rates

St George’s Hospital in Tooting has published mortality rates for cardiac surgery on its internet site. As well as raw data on deaths following three kinds of heart operation, the Trust is also publishing risk-adjusted information which takes account of the complexity and severity of the illness of the patient. …
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14 Feb 2005 | Tags: cardiac surgery Euroscore mortality rates


Bolingbroke patient transfer – update

The transfer of elderly inpatients from the Bolingbroke Hospital in Wandsworth to other locations is progressing well, according to senior staff at St George’s Hospital. Of the 54 continuing care, rehabilitation and intermediate care beds previously at the Bolingbroke: 27 of the 29 rehabilitation beds from the Bolingbroke have been …
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7 Feb 2005 | Tags: Tim Jones transfer update


St George’s takes lead in fight against superbugs

ST GEORGE’S HOSPITAL in Tooting, London, has become the first to send a major party to the UK’s first ever Clean Hospitals Summit, on April 14-15. Nine delegates from the hospital will join top NHS figures, plus those from industry and concerned public organisations, to pool ideas and knowledge to …
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2 Feb 2005 | Tags: MRSA Summit superbugs