Nearly three years after it opened, our innovative Norfolk Centre for Interventional Radiology (NCIR) has treated its 6,000th patient.
The £7million centre was opened in September 2020 having received a £220,000 grant from N&N Hospitals Charity enabling essential patient monitoring systems to be purchased.
The 6,000th patient, Michael Atkinson, 85, from Norwich, visits the centre every 10 weeks to have his nephrostomy (catheter from one of his kidneys) changed after having his bladder removed following cancer.
He said: “The old unit was rather cramped and didn’t have any windows. They have always been brilliant, but since moving to this new unit you can see just what a difference it has made to them. They all seem so much happier.”
The team has developed a specific patient pathway following Mr Atkinson’s feedback after having to go onto a ward via the Emergency Department after he accidentally caught the tube on a door handle. Currently, if nephrostomy patients inadvertently pull out their catheter they have to go into ED and then onto Same Day Emergency Care, where they wait to be seen.
NNUH NCIR Service Lead David Pechey said: “We have worked closely with our colleagues in the Urology team to develop a pathway so that patients like Mr Atkinson can call us directly and we can tell them when we can fit them in. It’s a relatively simple procedure which does not take long, so they can wait at home where they are more comfortable and only come to the hospital when they need to. It’s such a simple thing, but it makes the world of difference to our patients.”
Julie Cooper, Head of Grants for the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals Charity, said: “We were really pleased to be able to offer a grant to support the development of the Interventional Radiology Centre, and learning that more than 6000 patients have now benefited over the last three years is wonderful news. Thank you to everyone who donated and made it possible for us to support better care for local patients.”
To find out more about the N&N Hospitals Charity or to make a donation please visit www.nnhospitalscharity.org.uk
You can follow the Charity on social media @nnhospcharity
