Annual Members’ Meeting 2009

8th September 2009

Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will hold its 2009 Annual Members’ Meeting, on the 23rd September 2009, 6.30pm (refreshments served from 6.00pm), in the Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes. As well as providing a formal overview of the year, the event will help mark the 25th anniversary of Milton Keynes Hospital, and feature a talk from Dr Ijaz Mehdi, Consultant and Associate Medical Director for Patient Safety, on how the Trust is ‘Putting Patient Safety First’.

The Annual Members Meeting will be followed by the 2009 Staff and Volunteers Recognition Scheme ceremony.

The event takes place during National Patient Safety First Week, which is part of the Patient Safety First campaign and runs between the 21st and 27th September 2009. The Patient Safety First campaign seeks to make the safety of patients everyone’s highest priority.

Dr Ijaz Mehdi, Consultant and Associate Medical Director for Patient Safety, said: “Patient safety and the delivery of high quality care are our top priorities at Milton Keynes Hospital. Our aim to ensure that the public feel safe in our hands.

Dr Ijaz added: “Patient Safety is about good relationships with patients, mutual trust and respect. Patients and their families have a unique perspective on their experience of healthcare, and we welcome feedback on the care delivered.”

Some of the actions already carried out by Milton Keynes Hospital to ensure patient safety and to help eliminate harm include:

•Patient safety is incorporated into the job description of every member of staff, and  regular Executive and Non Executive Director walkabouts take place to bring senior management and frontline staff together to discuss patient safety.
•The Trust has signed up to the Patient Safety First Campaign for England, and the campaign was officially launched in April 2009. Part of an international move to make hospitals safer, the Campaign aims to make patient safety everyone’s highest priority.
•Infection prevention and control remains a very high priority. Milton Keynes Hospital has low healthcare associated infection (HAI) rates. The total number of patients found to have MRSA bacteraemia across the whole health economy over 2008/09 was 11.
•A weekly audit of hand washing is carried out to ensure compliance with good practice.
•Surgical teams at Milton Keynes Hospital introduced safety checklists for use prior to operating on a patient on 1 October 2008 as a pilot scheme. For example, the whole team is made aware if a patient has any particular problems or needs which may need addressing before surgery can commence. The NPSA issued a patient safety alert in January 2009, requiring all healthcare organisations to implement the World Health Organisation (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist for every patient undergoing a surgical procedure and in response to this Milton Keynes has rolled out its pilot scheme incorporating the WHO recommendations.•The Falls Prevention Group has devised an innovative wristband scheme to reduce the number of patient falls, which went live in April 2008. Any patient identified as at risk of falling is issued with a yellow wristband to act as a visible alert.Location: Church of Christ the Cornerstone, 300 Saxon Gate West, Milton Keynes, MK9 2ES.

Please RSVP to Anna Pryor, Membership Officer, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , tel: 01908243300.

Are we putting safety first?
Patients and the public, as well as staff, are crucial in the drive to ensure that Milton Keynes Hospital is as safe as possible. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding patient safety, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call Anna Pryor, on tel: 01908 243300.