Category: In the News

HealthTrust Europe (HTE) has been marking two of this year’s health and care awareness events, International Nurses’ Day and Mental Health Awareness Week. Both were supported by HTE which is a trusted partner for the NHS and commercial health and care providers.

The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19^th May) was body image – how we think and feel about our bodies. To coincide with both awareness events, HTE welcomed Jim Chapman, RMN, RNT, MA, PGCert, Head of Department for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, Birmingham City University as a guest speaker to talk to employees. Jim has worked across Birmingham in a range of in-patient and community-based settings. He now manages a team that trains mental health and learning disabilities nursing students to become part of the future workforce. His talk to HTE members of staff referred to a number of topics from the work of mental health nurses, how body image issues can affect all of us at any age, and mental health in the workplace.

HTE has also been celebrating the work of nurses by marking International Nurses Day. The day was devised to recognise the contribution that nurses and allied health professionals make to people’s lives and is celebrated each year on 12^th May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

HTE encouraged members of staff to bring in healthy baked goods, with a prize awarded for the most delicious nutritious snack which was judged to a double ‘chocolate’ vegan brownie Proceeds raised by the sale of the food will be donated to HTE’s charity of 2019 Birmingham MIND. Further donations can be made at HTE’s JustGiving page.

The theme for the 2019 International Nurses Day is Nurses: A voice to lead – Health for All and is marked by health and care providers across the world. Events in the UK included a service in Westminster Abbey, and another at Coventry Cathedral in which one of HTE’s GPO customers, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) participates.

Associate Vice President for Group Purchasing Organisation, Nanette Grant, said: “We’re delighted to celebrate two important awareness days.

“We support nursing services in the communities we serve by being a solutions partner for health and care providers, helping them to source the best value products and services to deliver high quality patient care.”

A charity football match organised by HealthTrust Europe (HTE) has raised over £1,000 for Mind, the company’s chosen charity for 2019.

HTE is supporting the mental health organisation as part of the company’s commitment to the care and improvement of human life.

HTE colleagues faced a team from Kingswinford-based Altodigital in the friendly match which took place at the University of Birmingham on Thursday 25^th April. Altodigital, is the largest independent supplier of office technology in the UK and has recently entered into a new partnership with HTE to supply document services to CoreTrust Europe, a subsidiary of HealthTrust Europe.

Despite a close second half Altodigital won 3-2. Dennis Robb, CEO of HealthTrust Europe said: “Altodigital were commendable opponents and I would like to praise them on their win.

“I am delighted that colleagues supported our chosen charity for 2019 by both playing on the night and making donations. The effort made exemplifies HealthTrust Europe’s mission to improve healthcare in the communities we serve.

“This is just the first of this year’s events HealthTrust Europe has planned to raise money for Mind and support the wonderful work they do.”

Following the game, Tim Hubbard, Corporate Business Development Director for Altodigital and team captain, said: “We really enjoyed playing against our new client. It was definitely competitive as we’re two companies used to success and winning, but ultimately all the players are delighted that we have managed to raise over £1,000 for Mind and support the fantastic work that it does.”

HTE has set up a JustGiving page for 2019 to help it collect donations for Mind during the year.

Much-needed funds have been raised for Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid (BSWA) by healthcare solutions partner HealthTrust Europe (HTE).

Demonstrating the company’s mission of commitment to the care and improvement of human life within the communities it serves, staff members celebrated International Women’s Day 2019 on March 8^th with a dress-down day and donated a total of £533.

The money will help BSWA support women and children affected by gender-based abuse including domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

HTE is a solutions partner for health and care providers; helping them to source the best products and services to deliver high quality patient care. The company is a trusted partner for the NHS and commercial health and care providers.

The theme of the campaign this year is “Balance for Better” and members of staff came together to discuss how they can help forge a more gender-balanced world and remember ordinary women who have done extraordinary things to help further equality.

As well as being a day for reflection, vital funds were raised by generous members of staff who organised a cake sale and a dress down day. The local charity provides a helpline, community-based and central drop-in services and six safe, emergency refuges. The support it offers helps to unlock women’s power and enable them to regain their confidence and skills to achieve their aspirations.

The day was recorded in a series of photos of staff members many of whom had dressed in purple, the colour historically linked with efforts to achieve gender equality.

Nanette Grant, Associate Vice President of Group Purchasing Organisation (GPO) who launched the celebrations said: “The theme this year is Balance for Better, and in this context, we define balance as meaning ‘together we have impact and power’.

“It’s not just an issue for women, it’s important everyone helps to drive forward and achieve a gender-balanced world. Today is an opportunity to recognise the unique and intrinsic worth of each individual, which ties into HealthTrust Europe’s mission and is an opportunity for us to work in partnership to improve healthcare in the communities we serve.”

International Women’s Day is held globally each year on March 8^th to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, to campaign for accelerating gender equality. It has occurred for well over a century, with the first​ gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Prior to this the​ Socialist Party of America, United Kingdom’s Suffragists and Suffragettes, and further groups campaigned for women’s equality.

Sporty HealthTrust Europe (HTE) employees have raised more than £3,000 for the charity Duchenne UK.

Eighteen staff, relatives and friends took part in a charity 5k and 10k run in Sutton Park on Saturday 17 November.

The funds were raised via a JustGiving page set up by HTE, which out of 16,855 fundraisers was in the top three per cent in the country for fundraising in November.

Duchenne UK funds research into treatments and a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) which is the most common genetic disease diagnosed in childhood and is caused by lack of the protein dystrophin that affects the entire body. The illness almost always affects boys, and they tend to be diagnosed before the age of five. There are around 2,500 patients in the UK and an estimated 300,000 worldwide.

An innovative healthcare solutions partner, HTE’s mission is to improve patient care by driving better value for healthcare providers. Through its market-leading Group Purchasing Organisation (GPO) model, as well as wider flexible spend solutions, HTE partners with healthcare providers to deliver the highest quality products that meet their needs at the best price available.

Through fundraising activities HTE has raised more than £6,000 so far this year for Duchenne UK, its chosen charity for 2018, and other worthy causes.

Anna Clark, HealthTrust Europe’s Director of Pharmacy, and an ambassador for the charity took part in the 5k run. She said:

“It was a great run for a great cause. Duchenne UK provides real hope to patients and parents in the face of adversity and are making significant inroads to prolonging and changing the lives of those living with DMD.

The support of HealthTrust Europe in raising both awareness and money during 2018 is incredible and really will contribute to the future landscape of this condition. I cannot express my gratitude enough for all of the support.”

Emily Crossley, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Duchenne UK said:

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at HealthTrust Europe for supporting Duchenne UK. We are a lean charity and extremely grateful for your support. You can rest assured that your fundraising WILL make a difference.

Our charity is spending money right now on research that could make a major difference to the thousands of boys born with DMD. We believe that we are at a breakthrough moment in the history of this disease, a point where treatments and possibly even a cure, are within reach.”

More information about the charity can be found on the Duchenne UK website.

HealthTrust Europe is part of HCA Healthcare, a leading international provider of healthcare services, who is driven by the care and improvement of human life. Our mission is to improve healthcare in the communities we serve through strengthening provider performance and clinical excellence. HealthTrust Europe operates as the UK arm of HealthTrust, who globally serves approximately 1,500 acute care facilities and more than 32,500 alternate care sites and leverages $39bn of spend to negotiate cost saving opportunities and best terms for its members.

Duchenne UK has received a financial boost thanks to sweet-toothed colleagues at HealthTrust Europe (HTE) in Birmingham.

HTE’s chosen charity for 2018 is Duchenne UK so, on 7th September, colleagues marked World Duchenne Awareness Day and held a cake sale. A total of £814 was raised, bringing the amount donated so far this year to £3,660.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) affects 1 in 3,500 boys. It is the most common genetic disease diagnosed in childhood and is caused by lack of the protein dystrophin that affects the entire body. The illness almost always affects boys, and they tend to be diagnosed before the age of five. There are around 2,500 patients in the UK and an estimated 300,000 worldwide.

One of the many projects funded by Duchenne UK is a clinical trial to examine the safety and efficacy of Tamoxifen as a potential treatment for DMD. The drug has been used to treat breast cancer since the 1980s and is also used for hormonal disorders in pre-pubescent boys. Early studies indicate that repurposing Tamoxifen to treat DMD reduces fibrosis, increases the thickness of muscle fibres and causes a delay in disease progression.

Anna Clark is HTE’s Director of Pharmacy and is an ambassador for the charity. She said:

“Duchenne UK provide real hope to patients and parents in the face of adversity and are making significant inroads to prolonging and changing the lives of those living with DMD. The support of HTE in raising both awareness and money during 2018 is incredible and really will contribute to the future landscape of this condition. I cannot express my gratitude enough for all of the support.”

The charity Duchenne UK has a clear vision to fund and accelerate treatments and a cure for the condition for this generation of patients. Emily Crossley, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Duchenne UK said:

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at HealthTrust Europe for supporting Duchenne UK on World Duchenne Awareness Day. We are a lean charity and extremely grateful for your support. You can rest assured that your fundraising WILL make a difference.
“Our charity is spending money right now on research that could make a major difference to the thousands of boys born with DMD. We believe that we are at a breakthrough moment in the history of this disease, a point where treatments and possibly even a cure, are within reach.”

HTE is committed to the care and improvement of human life, strengthening provider performance and clinical excellence through an aligned membership model and the delivery of total spend management solutions that leverage our operator experience, scale and innovation.

More information about the charity can be found on the Duchenne UK website.

Birmingham, England – 28th August 2018 – CEO Dennis Robb has been featured in a two-page profile in the August edition of the Journal of Healthcare Contracting.

After being named Contracting Professional of the Year by the Journal of Healthcare Contracting in 2009, this follow up piece focuses on his international leadership role at HealthTrust Europe and “The burning question: Can the strategies and disciplines assembled over a lifetime translate to a different culture, in a different country, away from a place of comfort and familiarity?”

Read the full article here (page 48-49)

This month, HealthTrust Europe (HTE) hosted our first educational Pharmacy workshop in Birmingham. The event was designed in partnership with our customers, who wanted to find out more information regarding how new legislations will affect them.

The focus for the day was the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR came into effect on 29th May 2018 and pharmacies could now be heavily fined if they break new data protection rules. FMD will go live across Europe on Saturday 9th February 2019. Our aim, as usual, was to support exceptional healthcare in the communities that we serve by providing much needed answers to the challenges which will arise from these directives.

HTE’s Chief Executive Officer, Dennis Robb, opened the event and welcomed Claymore Richardson, Senior Policy Manager: Pharmacy for the Department of Health and Social Care. Claymore initially led on the policy development of FMD at the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and was well placed to provide an overview on the directive and the impact it will have on hospital pharmacies. He also shared details of secondary care guidance resources that can be accessed.

As the day progressed, key healthcare providers and suppliers offered practical solutions for achieving compliance and welcomed questions. Delegates from both private healthcare and NHS trusts took the opportunity to obtain valuable insights on the best way to prepare for changes ahead.

Inderjit Singh, Chief Pharmacist for University Hospitals Birmingham, commented;

“FMD is set to come into full force early next year, so HTE hosted a very timely and informative workshop. This provided an opportunity to understand the implications of the legislations and learn about the solution offerings from all of the main suppliers which will be available to support implementation”.

Sanjeev Narwal, Associated Vice President for Pharmacy at HealthTrust Europe, added;

“We are overjoyed with the level of support this event received from Midlands based Chief Pharmacists. The depth of the content presented and engagement from Chief Pharmacists demonstrated the value of hosting this event. As the day progressed, a number of challenges that the pharmaceutical industry will face were revealed and the expert speakers were able to provide some answers and guidance. This event also offered a great networking opportunity for new and old colleagues within the public sector and private hospitals to advance the profession in a very challenging climate”.

We would like to thank all delegates and speakers for helping to make the day a success and look forward to partnering with healthcare providers and suppliers to address FMD and GDPR compliance.

Register here if you would like to be kept informed of future events.