Annual Review 2010-11

2 Annual Review 2010/11

About NHS Blood and TransplantChief Executive and Chairman’s Introduction ................................................................... 4

Financial Review .............................................................................................................. 6Clinical and Research update ........................................................................................... 7

Our 2010/11 achievements

Blood Components ....................................................................................................... 9

Blood Donation ................................................................................................................ 9

Platelet Collection ........................................................................................................... 11

Patient Services ............................................................................................................... 12

Focus on Safety .............................................................................................................. 14

Improving the Donor Experience ..................................................................................... 15

The Customer Experience ............................................................................................... 16

Better Blood Transfusion ................................................................................................. 17

Specialist Services ....................................................................................................... 18Tissues ............................................................................................................................ 19Diagnostic Services ......................................................................................................... 20Specialist Therapeutic Services ........................................................................................ 21Stem Cells ...................................................................................................................... 22

Organ Donation and Transplantation .................................................................. 23Making donation usual not unusual ................................................................................ 25Raising public awareness ................................................................................................ 26Focus on Living Donation ................................................................................................ 27

Sustainable Development ........................................................................................ 28

Developing our People.............................................................................................. 29

Working in Partnership ............................................................................................. 31

Governance and Structures ..................................................................................... 33

Executive Team ............................................................................................................... 36

Directors’ Remuneration ................................................................................................. 38

Contents

Saving and improving liveS 3

About NHS Blood and Transplant

We are responsible for:

• Encouraging people to donate organs, blood and tissues

• Optimising the safety and supply of blood, organs and tissues

• Helping to raise the quality, effectiveness and clinical outcomes of blood and transplant services

• Providing expert advice to other NHS organisations, the Department of Health and devolved administrations

• Providing advice and support to health services in other countries

• Commissioning and conducting research and development

• Implementing relevant EU statutory frameworks and guidance.

Our 2011/14 strategic plan aims to:

• Continue to modernise blood donation and improve the interfaces with NHS hospitals so that our services are as accessible as possible

• Generate the next wave of initiatives to improve the effectiveness of the blood service

• Use our current infrastructure to further accelerate the rate of organ donation across the UK – helping address the three people who die every day for lack of a suitable organ transplant

• Build on our unique skills and capabilities in tissues, stem cells and diagnostic services to provide life changing therapies for NHS patients.

To see our current and past three year strategic plans visit www.nhsbt.nhs.uk

NHSBT is a Special Health Authority in the NHS with responsibility for optimising the supply of blood, organs, and tissues, and raising the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of blood and transplant services. Our core purpose is to save and improve patients’ lives.


Chief Executive & Chairman’s Introduction

In 2010/11 we progressed well against our key objectives, which were to:

• Provide an efficient, sustainable and dependable supply of blood components that meet all safety, quality, compliance and service standards

• Provide a range of specialist services and advice to hospitals

• Maximise the number of organ donors, donated organs and registered supporters of organ donation, thereby enabling an increase in the number of life-saving transplants

• Ensure NHS Blood and Transplant is an effective, responsive organisation, focused on the changing needs of donors, hospitals and other customers.

Welcome to NHS Blood and Transplant’s Review of 2010/11. We hope it gives you an insight into the ways we are saving and improving patients’ lives.

We are proud of the many successes we achieved in 2010/11 due mainly to the professionalism and expertise of our staff. We are even more grateful to the thousands of ordinary people who do something extraordinary and make a life saving and entirely altruistic donation to help someone else – often a complete stranger. Without them, we could not continue towards our goal of delivering a world-class service to the NHS.

NHSBT has done a great job and it continues to do so. It has greatly improved the stability and security of the blood supply and also improved productivity in blood processing and testing… which is a true achievement.

Anne Milton, Public Health Minister (June 2011)


In July 2010 the new Coalition Government published the outcome of the Arm’s-Length Bodies review, confirming our continued status as a Special Health Authority and acknowledging our unique contribution to the NHS.

At the same time, the review said there may be opportunities for more cost effective operations and commercial arrangements – this is the subject of a separate review due for completion in autumn 2011.

The Arm’s-Length Bodies review also announced the transfer of the Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) from NHSBT to new management arrangements – which was completed in January 2011. This was the right move for BPL staff, customers and the Department of Health as it allows Bio Products Laboratory Ltd to take advantage of a broader range of growth and development opportunities.

Looking ahead to 2011/12, the Government’s plans to reform the NHS will see power and funding devolved from Whitehall to patients and professionals. We are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities this presents for improving our services to the front line of care to patients.

Our Strategic Plan for 2011/14 builds on the improvements of recent years but also contains a commitment to deliver challenging new initiatives. Safety and sufficiency will remain the bedrock of all that we do. In addition, a continued focus on efficiency and both donor and customer satisfaction will help us achieve our vision to be the best organisation of our type in the world and ensure more patients’ lives are saved.

Lynda Hamlyn Chief Executive

Bill FullagarChairman


Financial Review

Over the last few years we have supported BPL with cash loans as it developed its export business. This lead to a significant cash challenge and resulted in NHSBT delaying payments to creditors (including DH) at the end of last year. As part of the transfer of BPL from NHSBT into a DH owned company during the year the DH agreed to repay the bulk of these loans. Combined with the income surplus that NHSBT generated we are pleased to note that NHSBT’s working capital and cash have been restored and are now in a satisfactory position.

The price for red cells in 2010/11 of £124.21 per unit noted above compares to £140 per unit in 2008/09. Our ongoing drive for efficiencies has allowed us to maintain the price at £124.85 per unit in 2011/12, in line with our target to retain the savings we have already generated and maintain flat prices through to 2013/14. This reflects our drive to improve productivity across all of our activities and our intent to maintain this through what will be a very challenging period for our customers, NHS Hospitals. We are especially pleased to note that, on this basis, prices going in 2013/14 would be lower than they were in absolute terms (i.e. with no adjustment for inflation or lower volumes) than they were in 2005/06 and represents a highly visible result of our desire to manage our costs and maximise the funds available for the treatment of patients at the front line.

NHSBT recovers its costs through charging hospitals for its products and services. Although blood, tissues and organs are freely given by donors our costs include such things as donor collection teams and marketing, processing and testing of blood in our processing centres and laboratories and the storage and delivery of blood components to hospitals. We also receive funding from the UK Health Services in support of our organ donation and our specialist activities, such as the British Bone Marrow Registry and the NHS Cord Blood Bank. Our total income for 2010/11 was £434.3m.

We produce a range of blood components with income for red cells accounting for a significant percentage of our total income. Prices are agreed with the National Commissioning Group for Blood and were set at £124.21 per unit for red cells in 2010/11. During the year 2010/11 our total income of £434.3m exceeded our total expenditure of £420.0m and generated a financial surplus of £14.3m. The surplus arose from a combination of Government expenditure constraints, cost savings and some planned service improvement programmes that will be implemented during 2011/12.

NHSBT receives capital expenditure funding on an annual basis from the Department of Health (DH). This mostly goes towards supporting the fabric and equipment within our processing centres and our laboratories and is often driven by safety and regulatory requirements. During the year, £10.7m of capital funding was spent with approximately 50% used to maintain and improve the BPL factory in Elstree.

Staff £249m 44%

Consumables £138m 25%

Other £107m 19%

Capital Charges £31m 6%

Rent Rates Maintenance £34m 6%

Blood Components £332m 59%

Fractionated Producta/BPL £117m 21%

DH GIA* & DHA** £76m 13%

Specialist & Other £40m 7%

*DHA GIA - Department of Health Grant in Aid funding

**DHA - Devolved Health Administrations funding

Figure 1 – Total Income £m Figure 2 – Total Expenditure £m


Our clinical team works across NHSBT providing clinical leadership to our strategy for donor selection and care, and the delivery of patient services and products. The clinical team also advises hospital colleagues, oversees the clinical governance framework, and provides specialist input to organisational changes. The Medical Director also leads a major research programme as well as the safety programme across NHSBT.

Clinical and Research update

We have organised research activities into eight themes linking to business areas and overseen by Strategy Groups including research, development and operational staff. We have also successfully appointed two new Principal Investigators in key research areas: virology (Dr Lars Dolken, Cambridge) and organ transplantation (Professor Rutger Ploeg, Oxford).

A comparison of patient and graft survival rates following kidney donation after circulatory death (DCD) with donation after brain death (DBD) showed that kidneys from controlled DCD donors are equivalent to kidneys from DBD donors in first time recipients. In other work, an analysis of malignancy in UK transplant recipients has shown that many forms of cancer have a higher incidence in transplant recipients than the general UK population. Differences between transplant types suggest that cancer incidence is higher in lung transplant recipients. And this work has important consequences for cancer screening in transplant recipients.

Our emphasis on safety and clinical quality remains high – and 2010/11 was the first year where there were no transmissions of bacteria, viruses or vCJD prions in 2010/11. Cases of transfusion-related acute lung injury were also at their lowest ever recorded. We appointed to a new Assistant Director level post for Clinical Operations and Governance to maintain this performance and give new energy to our organisation-wide commitment to clinical quality.

In response to high levels of flu in the community, we provided plasma collected from people who had recovered from flu to support critically ill flu patients in Intensive Care – including many with depressed immunity. We are now working with a team of Intensivists to design a trial to assess this approach on a formal basis.

We continue to invest in future medical leaders by creating clinical fellow posts and, in collaboration with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), developing academic training posts in specialties relevant to transfusion and transplantation.

Our research and development activities have been recognised as world class following a five yearly international review. However this also highlighted the need to align research activities to our core purpose. We responded by appointing a new Assistant Director for Research and Development and expanding our support team.


Our 2010/11 achievements

• We maintained strong blood stock levels through our dedicated collection teams and everyone who supports them, plus well-planned marketing activity.

• We collected nearly two million blood donations from nearly 1.4 million donors from teams operating across England and North Wales.

• Blood collection productivity increased again this year and has grown by 22% over the past three years.

• We carried out 3,740 transplants in the UK – the sixth year on year growth in the number of transplants. And the number of deceased organ donors increase to over 1,000 – a new record. Consent rates for organ donation following brain death also continued to rise from 61% of families approached about donation in 2009/10 to 65% in 2010/11.

• We delivered £30m in savings to the NHS to reinvest in frontline patient care through a successful three-year change programme. This saw us consolidate some of our manufacturing and testing departments to reduce the cost of a unit of blood from £140 in 2008/09 to just under £125 by 2010/11.

• We improved security of blood supply, reducing the number of days where stock levels have fallen below acceptable levels from 87 in 2007/8 to only two in 2010/11.

• We have increased productivity in testing by 35% and in processing by 50% since April 2008. This means we are on track to achieve European top quartile performance levels in both areas by the end of 2011/12.

• We improved blood safety by introducing bacterial screening and improving the way we assess new tests.

• We reduced incidences of fainting and rebleeding which improved blood donor safety and satisfaction.

• We also reduced the number of non-compliances from regulatory inspections.

• We delivered the first UK-wide ten year stem cell transplant strategy to all four governments. And we have already started implementing findings through high resolution stem cell testing to deliver better patient outcomes.


Our Blood Donation and Patient Services directorates work in partnership to maintain a safe and sufficient supply of blood and its components for hospitals and patients.

NHSBT is responsible for the collection, processing, testing and issuing of blood across England and North Wales. In 2010 approximately two million blood donations were collected from 1.4 million donors to supply hospitals with all the blood needed for accident and emergency situations, for cancer treatments or maternity care.

World Blood Donor Day celebrations took place on 14 June marked by the opening of the West End Donor Centre in London. The event was attended by Chief Executive Lynda Hamlyn, long-serving blood donor Peter Reiss, TV presenter Dallas Campbell and blood recipient Bengu Shail.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup saw a heavy drop in the number of blood donations as people prioritised watching football matches in their spare time. With this in mind, we ran a campaign to encourage people to donate before the World Cup or to attend sessions around match timings. This pre-emptive approach ensured blood stocks remained steady and were at good levels prior to the annual summer holiday period.

Learn more at www.blood.co.uk

We have continued to implement new standard processes at blood donor sessions helping us remain responsive to short-term changes in supply and demand. And we have continued to reduce waste and increase the opportunities to benefit donors and hospitals. This has allowed greater productivity and continuing improvements to the stability of blood stocks across all blood groups.

Blood safety remains paramount to what we do, but we are also aware of our customers’ financial pressures. So in 2010/11 we worked hard to keep the cost of the price of a unit of blood at just under £125 (down from £140 in 2008/09) and have continued to examine opportunities to further reduce costs and take out over-capacity in the supply chain.

Blood Donation

2010 was a successful year for blood donation. We ran a number of successful campaigns for more blood donors and donations and made a number of investments in improving the donor experience.

In 2010/11:

• We collected nearly two million donations from 1.4 million blood donors across England and North Wales.

• We improved blood donor safety and satisfaction by reducing fainting and rebleeds.

• We collected 1,119 units of O negative on 22 December – the highest in a single day since 1999.

• We collected 215,475 Adult Therapeutic Doses (ATD’s) of platelets – an achievement of 98% of the annual target.

Blood Components


Sue Little

Former blood donor Sue Little never imagined that she would need a blood transfusion. However, following complications during the delivery of her daughter she needed to receive donated blood in order to save her life.

The complications of her condition (placenta praevia) meant that when Sue was ready to deliver she needed a caesarean section. The procedure went well however, during surgery Sue lost a huge amount of blood when the placenta was removed. Following her operation Sue was admitted to ITU and, thanks to medical staff and donated blood, she survived and made a full recovery.

She added: “I was so lucky to receive those units of blood and I would encourage anyone to give blood if they can – even if you only give once it could save a life.”

The winter weather impacted collections in November and December. Stocks of blood group O negative dropped below the three-day target for 48 hours and we activated plans to grow donor numbers. As well as increasing staffing levels and collections in less affected areas, we launched a media campaign to encourage donors to come forward. Interviews were given to the national and regional media including BBC medical correspondent, Fergus Walsh, who recorded his blood donation live for television broadcast. Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley visited our West End Donor Centre in central London to meet donors and inspire others to come forward.

I would encourage anyone who is able to, to visit a centre like this one in central London and give blood... so the NHS can continue to carry out the procedures that require blood every day.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, December 2010.


Platelet collection

We used targeted recruitment to build a solid base of platelet donors to ensure collection and issue levels matched demand. As a result, issues of apheresis platelets have been consistently above 80% since January 2011 – the figure set by the Department of Health.

In 2010/11 we collected 215,475 Adult Therapeutic Doses (ATD’s) of platelets – an achievement of 98% of the annual target.

We issued 244,524 ATDs to hospital, beating our target by around 1.9%. And throughout the whole year, apheresis hovered around 79.3%, just below the 80% target.

Learn more at www.blood.co.uk/platelets

Platelet donor, Cuthbert Sperryn

Cuthbert Sperryn started donating blood after he thought that it was only morally right that if he was willing to accept blood from someone else then he should also be willing to donate.

It was when he was donating blood that he saw others donating what he later discovered was platelets. Cuthbert was assessed to see if he could give platelets and shortly after was told that he was suitable.

“Once the donation starts it’s pretty relaxing to sit and just read or listen to music, the feeling that you have helped a potentially critically ill person recover is plenty reward for the time involved.”


The year saw a number of changes in our processing and testing activities which helped to streamline the blood supply chain and improve the service we offered to hospitals, as well as ensuring the blood was as safe as possible. We continued to increase processing and testing productivity with growth of more than 50% over the last three years. Throughout the year we showed how much we value each and every donation by reporting the lowest ever combined processing and testing losses, including a 16% reduction in testing losses from the previous year. All of this activity has and will make a significant improvement to operational efficiency, as well as supporting our strategy to maintain the price of red cells to customers.

In 2010/11:

• We maintained strong blood stock levels and further increased blood productivity with 22% growth in the past three years.

• We improved security of the blood supply, reducing the number of days when stock levels fell below acceptable levels from 87 in 2007/08 to only two days in 2010/11.

• Our Operational Improvement Programme (OIP) continued to increase blood testing and manufacturing productivity.

• We completed consolidation of our processing work from Brentwood into our centres in Filton and Colindale.

• We consolidated blood processing activity from Leeds to Newcastle and Sheffield.

• We announced our plans to explore the transferral of donation testing activity to Manchester from our centres in Newcastle and Sheffield.

• We started working with hospitals on a trial integrated transfusion service designed to help improve service.

• We introduced bacterial screening of platelets to further improve product safety.

• We have imported single donor plasma from the US since 2003 to treat neonates and children as part of a vCJD risk reduction strategy. We added further countries considered low risk for vCJD to our potential plasma suppliers list following a safety review by the Committee for the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO), and awarded the contract to the Austrian Blood Service in 2010. The transition to the new supplier was completed in October 2010.

Patient Services


Filton is a world class facility manufacturing over 600,000 units of donated blood every year for use in hospitals across the Midlands and the South-West.

It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and uses cutting-edge technology in blood filtration, conveyor and storage systems.

The £60m building, which houses 550 staff, is also home to the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory, the NHS Cord Blood Bank and the British Bone Marrow Registry.

The cord bank and bone marrow registry are linked to similar registries across the world and are used to help identify stem cell matches for transplant for patients who are seriously ill with diseases such as leukaemia.


Our top priority is always blood safety for both the donors and the patients who receive the blood. And this year saw some changes in the donor selection criteria. From 1 November 2010, people with Myalgic Encephalitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME) were permanently deferred from giving blood in the UK. The change, which applied across all four UK Blood Services, was recommended by the UK Blood Services Standing Advisory Committee on the Care and Selection of Donors, and Joint Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC). This brought donor selection guidelines for ME/CFS into line with other conditions where individuals are permanently excluded from blood donation to protect their own health.

Donor guidelines for people with ME/CFS have been changed to protect their safety as they are at risk of relapsing after blood donation. However, there is no evidence that a donation from an ME/CFS donor could harm a patient in any way.

We asked platelet donors to refrain from donating for five days after taking aspirin as it impairs the function of platelets which are vital to help blood clot. Blood donors who give whole blood are still able to do so after taking aspirin as long as they are fit and able to donate.

Research continued on vCJD but as yet there is no test ready for mass trials.

Focus on Safety

We also started preparation for the prion filtration of red cell products for use in transfusions to children born on or after 1 January 1996. This activity is part of the vCJD risk reduction measures currently in place, including leucodepletion (the removal of white cells) – an additional measure recommended to the Department of Health by SaBTO.

The debate continued as to whether men who have had sex with men can give blood, as there is currently a lifetime ban. SaBTO reviewed the policy guidelines and gave recommendations to Ministers who are due to announce their response in 2011.

For more information visit: www.blood.co.uk/can-i-give-blood/exclusion/

James Vincent

James Vincent was usually very sporty, but had noticed he didn’t have his usual stamina or strength after playing a full term of rugby. A GP referral and further tests revealed he had the rare and potentially fatal blood disease, aplastic anaemia.

This is a serious but rare disease that develops when the bone marrow fails to produce blood cells. James was told that he would need a bone marrow transplant. Fortunately his sister, Stephanie, was the perfect match.

The transplant was carried out in March 2007 and after 11 tough weeks in hospital, James returned home.

He added: “I’m really lucky to have Stephanie, she saved my life. I never doubted I would survive as I have too much to do in life”.


Fainting and re-bleeds

Prevention of fainting and feeling faint before, during and after donation, is essential to removing barriers to donation and encouraging donors to return.

We worked with frontline nurses to implement Points of Care which outlines ways to prevent adverse events and care for vulnerable donors. The detailed donation pathway supports those nurses assuming responsibility to improving safety and overall donor experience. The nurses work with vulnerable donors before the session to prepare them for giving blood, and a new post-donation arm dressing protocol has reduced rebleeds by two thirds.

We have worked to further improve the donor experience by reducing session waiting times, refining the appointments system and making venues more convenient for more people.

This year we opened the new Session Environment Test Centre at Emerald Park in Bristol. This provides a model donation suite designed to trial potential changes to the blood donor session environment, ensuring we only introduce tested changes to operational activity and lessons are learnt before implementation. This will minimise disruption to sessions ensure staff and donors receive the most efficient service possible while we modernise operations.

Donor – Mick Bennett

Mick Bennett has been a blood donor for over 40 years.

His personal reason for donating is “My daughter had a number of serious illnesses throughout her childhood. She was a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and received several blood transfusions. Donating is my way of saying thank you and giving something back.”

Mick has been working for NHSBT for over 10 years, he enjoys meeting other donors and is keen to encourage more people to donate, ”It’s so easy to do, doesn’t take long and is so rewarding. I intend to continue donating for as long as possible.”

We have also developed new donation chairs to improve comfort and make it easier for staff to set up sessions. The chairs were tested in collaboration with NHS Innovation and will be used at blood donor sessions from late 2011.

Nursing teams received the Electronic Donor Selection Guidelines in September 2010, providing them with information on donor health queries and associated conditions to improve decision making around donor selection.

The Donor Health Check questionnaire – completed by every donor before every donation – was changed in September to allow regular donors to highlight details that have changed since their last donation rather than repeat historical information at each session.

We also started collecting email addresses, with donors’ permission, to help us communicate with them more efficiently, saving costs and reducing the environmental impact of sending out letters.

This continues to be a cornerstone of our work.

Improving the donor experience


The service we provide to hospitals is vitally important to patient care and an essential part of what we do. As well as supplying routine deliveries of blood components, we also provide emergency and ad hoc deliveries when requested 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Part of our modernisation programme over the past two years has led to more streamlined services at our customer interface. In February 2010 hospitals helped us to design and pilot a new Online Blood Ordering System (OBOS). This was well received by our customers as it includes functions not previously supported by our fax order, such as allowing hospitals to place advance and standing orders. The new system should be operating in all hospitals by the end of 2011.

We aim to continually improve our services with the help of our annual customer satisfaction survey. This is an effective way for hospital professionals involved in transfusion to provide feedback and tell us what we need to do to improve the quality of our service provision to patients. For example this year we introduced routine weekend deliveries in response to hospital requests for this change in service. We have worked with blood collection teams to improve the availability of group A platelets as hospitals told us that they wanted more of this blood group. This year we aim to start reporting diagnostic test results electronically, delivering patient test results to clinicians via quicker more secure routes.

And through the Better Blood Transfusion (BBT) initiative we continued our work with hospitals to ensure the best and most appropriate use is made of blood and blood products.

The customer experience

OBOS

The Royal Brompton Hospital was one of five hospitals to test OBOS in the pilot phase in early 2010. Steve Owen, Haematology/Blood Transfusion Services Manager, said: “The previous fax system was time consuming and labour intensive. OBOS not only streamlines the whole ordering process, it is also much more environmentally friendly.”

Discussing staff response to the introduction of OBOS, Steve added: “Staff have commented on how easy the system is to use. New systems always take some getting used to, but within two weeks our staff were using it without any issues.”

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National Trend in Satisfaction with the Overall Level of Service

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The primary role of the Better Blood Transfusion (BBT) teams is to help implement actions outlined in the Health Service Circular (HSC) 2007/001 Better Blood Transfusion – Safe and Appropriate Use of Blood. In 2010/11 we worked with hospitals to understand how blood components are used to support long-term planning and improved patient blood management. We also issued publications and offered training in how to use blood more effectively.

In 2010/11:

• We conducted two national surveys in collaboration with the Chief Medical Officer’s National Blood Transfusion Committee (NBTC): one measured Trust compliance with the HSC; and the other to gain a better understanding of the role of Transfusion Practitioners in hospitals.

• The National Comparative Audit of Blood Transfusion programme (a collaborative project with the Royal College of Physicians) conducted two national audits: a re-audit of the use of group O Rh D negative red cells; and a re-audit of the use of platelets in haematology patients. The recommendations from these reports will be delivered in 2011/12.

• The BBT teams have grown NBTC Patient Involvement Working Group activities to get more people involved and better inform patients and the public about transfusion.

Better Blood Transfusion

Julie Staves

Julie Staves works as a Transfusion Laboratory Manager at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust in Oxfordshire.

Julie liaises with clinicians and clinical teams in the Trust to ensure patients are receiving the transfusion support they require and also looks at ways to develop and improve the service.

Julie has been involved in a number of our projects and played an important role in the OBOS project as chair of the stakeholder group for the project implementation.

“The most rewarding part of my role is when I’m informed of a successful outcome for a patient who had difficult or complex transfusion requirements.” And for Julie, successfully implementing a complex project is truly satisfying.


Our Specialist Services cover a range of operational activities that we deliver to NHS patients. These include providing tissues, diagnostic services and stem cells that help to save the lives of desperately ill people. Demand for our Specialist Services continues to grow and we have seen a number of significant achievements.

In 2010/11:

• Tissue Services helped over 1,000 more patients than the previous year. As a result of talking, and listening, to more surgeons we have helped in excess of 5,000 more patients – an increase of over 1,000 in 2009/10.

• Specialist Therapeutic Services supported more patients than ever before, with an additional 107 life-saving and enhancing procedures delivered from six therapeutic apheresis units across England – this brought the total to 3,607.

• We led the UK Stem Cell Strategic Forum at the request of Ministers and delivered a 10-year strategy with recommendations to save 200 patient lives a year. In December 2010 the Minister for Public Health, Anne Milton, endorsed the Forum’s recommendations and in January indicated a further £4m allocation in 2011/12 to support a collaboration between NHSBT and Anthony Nolan.

Specialist Services


Tissue Services includes a multi-tissue bank based at our state-of-the-art facility in Liverpool – it is the largest in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. Every year, hundreds of patients benefit from donated tissues such as bone, skin, heart valves, corneas and tendons. Donated tissues can improve quality of life and save others – and up to 50 people can benefit from one person’s donations. Vital and current research is leading us towards new treatments and techniques that could benefit even more patients.

In 2010/11:

• We teamed up with researchers at the University of York to develop a method of long-term storage of living articular cartilage – the tissue which covers the ends of bones in joints – including ways to keep the cartilage at ultra-low temperatures for long periods until it is needed by surgeons. Once complete our tissue bank will be uniquely placed to provide this service.

• Our research team began developing tissue grafts where the donor’s cells are removed from donated tissues, leaving behind an acellular matrix. Once grafted, this neutralised tissue is repopulated by the patient’s cells allowing it to grow and repair itself naturally.

• We started working with colleagues at the University of Leeds to develop acellular blood vessels and acellular heart valves. Similar valves implanted into patients in Brazil function significantly better than unprocessed valves.

• Our scientists have been developing demineralised bone matrix (DBM) – a powder obtained by grinding the shafts of the femur and treating it with acid. DBM is used by surgeons to stimulate rapid bone repair in joint replacements and bone fractures. We are also producing demineralised slices of bone which are flexible and can be wrapped around a bony defect to help it heal. Surgeons are being recruited to clinically evaluate the bone.

Learn more: www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/tissueservices/

Tissues

Harriet Windebank

Harriet Windebank was just nine weeks old when she had a cornea transplant. She was suffering from a genetic condition called corneal dystrophy, a progressive disease that was making her vision cloudy.

Although Harriet has the condition in both eyes, surgeons only operated on the weakest one due to fears of rejection. Although the transplant was a success Harriet is now short-sighted, but manages to lead a full life by wearing glasses.

“My level of vision doesn’t stop me from doing anything I want to. If I were never to receive a cornea transplant, I would still achieve everything that I wanted to, but I would be much more reliant on others and much less independent. Therefore I will be ever grateful to my donor for improving my quality of life.”


Our Red Cell Immunohaematology (RCI) and Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics (H&I) services support blood transfusion, organ transplantation and stem cell transplantation. These services are delivered as nationally managed pathology networks from laboratories run by a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, supported by modern equipment and a national IT system.

H&I services support the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of conditions and manage the provision of matched platelets for post-transplant patients. They are also responsible for managing the British Bone Marrow Registry.

The BBMR holds details of stem cell donors and cord blood donations from England, Scotland, North Wales and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for recruiting, testing and registering blood donors who volunteer to become stem cell donors. The Registry is also part of an international network, performing global searches to find suitable stem cell donors.

RCI’s work is divided into two main activities: red cell reference serology and the production, validation and supply of blood grouping reagents. These services support Hospital Transfusion Laboratories. In recent years RCI has pursued a programme of change to deliver improved quality and financial sustainability through consolidation and divestment of services.

In 2010/11:

• The BBMR recruited 9,087 new donors with 12% recruited from the Black and Minority Ethnic communities, exceeding the target of 10%.

Diagnostic Services

Mike Wood

Mike Wood has suffered with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia for the last six years. After a seven-month course of chemotherapy, Mike thought his life was getting back to normal. Unfortunately the leukaemia returned and he needed a number of transfusions that were matched through the Red Cell Immunohaematology labs in Liverpool. He explained: “Without the skill of the RCI staff at Speke I wouldn’t be here to tell my story. I’d like to say a big thank you to them and to all NHSBT staff who are helping save the lives of people day after day.”


Our Specialist Therapeutic Services (STS) are based across the country in Leeds, Bristol, Oxford, Sheffield, Liverpool and Manchester. The specialist nursing and medical teams have a long history of providing therapeutic apheresis services to adults and children. They deliver treatments from units or at the patient bedside using machines that exchange, remove, or collect certain components within the blood.

The most common procedure is Therapeutic Plasma Exchange, a potentially life-saving process that removes diseased plasma from the blood. This is an important treatment for a range of conditions including Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP), a rare blood condition that increases platelet consumption. Typically, TTP causes small blood clots to form in the vessels supplying the brain and kidneys.

Specialist Therapeutic Services

Jo McIntyre

In 1995 Jo McIntyre was diagnosed with Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP), a complex and rare blood disorder. But the numerous blood components she received as part of her treatment at the NHSBT Specialist Therapeutic Unit in Oxford saved her life.

“I was previously healthy and active,” she said. “The transfusions saved me in 1995 and during relapses in 1997, 1999 and 2003. I’ve just celebrated my 40th birthday and seven and a half years in remission – two fantastic milestones I had dared hope to achieve thanks to donors and the Specialist Therapeutic Unit.”

In 2010/11:

• STS completed over 3,600 life-enhancing and life-saving treatments for patients.

• A new STS unit opened in St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, in January. We successfully completed the relocation from Leeds Blood Centre after careful planning so we can provide the best possible service to patients requiring therapeutic apheresis.


Stem Cell and Immunotherapies comprise the NHS Cord Blood Bank and seven specialist facilities for bone marrow processing and storage.

SCI supports over 50% of all stem cell transplants in England through its national network of facilities.

In 2010/11:

In December 2010 the UK Stem Cell Strategic Forum report, commissioned by the Department of Health and led by NHSBT, set out a strategy to save an additional 200 lives per year. The report recommended increasing the number of umbilical cord blood units banked in the UK and improving the performance of UK based stem cell registries.

Key findings revealed the need to significantly decrease the time it takes to identify suitably matched unrelated donors accessible to all NHS patients – with the UK working towards a target of 50,000 banked cord blood units. The report also recommended collaborative working with Anthony Nolan to better engage with potential stem cell donors. The Government granted an additional £4m of funding to NHSBT and Anthony Nolan to improve patient services.

Stem Cells

Sarah Thompson

In 2004, Sarah was looking forward to a summer wedding when she was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

Following four rounds of chemotherapy Sarah was in remission, and in 2005 she married Mark.

Sadly by Christmas that year the cancer had returned and her only hope for a full recovery was a stem cell transplant.

After a year of campaigning for more donors from ethnic communities a match was found and Sarah received her life-saving transplant.

Now fully recovered Sarah is still working along with family and friends to encourage others to become donors.”


NHSBT is the UK organ donation and transplantation organisation responsible for all aspects of the donation process, and for matching and allocating solid organs and corneas for transplantation throughout the UK. We also monitor post-transplant outcomes and manage and promote awareness of the NHS Organ Donor Register.

In 2010/11 we continued to develop NHSBT as the UK wide Organ Donation Organisation as outlined in the Organ Donation Taskforce (ODTF) report in 2008. We are already half way to meeting the 50% target to increase deceased organ donation throughout the UK by 2012/13.

In 2010/11:

• We achieved a new record for the number of people who donated their organs after death, exceeding 1,000 donors for the first time. As a result, 3,740 transplants were carried out in the UK – the sixth year on year growth in transplants.

• 1,045 people received transplants from living donors.

• 3,566 patients had their sight restored through a cornea transplant – an increase of 15% on last year.

• Consent rates for organ donation following brain death also continued to rise from 61% of families approached about donation in 2009/10 to 65% in 2010/11.

• The number of people on the Organ Donor Register continued to grow. Almost 675,000 people joined the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR), bringing the total to 17,751,795 – or 29% of the population by the end of the year (March 2011). This is an increase of 4% on the previous year’s total.

• We increased the number of organs available for transplant including an 11% rise in the number of cardiothoracic organ transplants and 1% growth in the number of pancreas transplants.

• Our campaign to encourage more members of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities to join the Organ Donor Register (ODR) saw a 46% increase compared to 2006/07.

Organ Donation and Transplantation

Organ Donor Register

In 2010 we welcomed the findings of an independent report into the NHS ODR following a data error issue identified in April 2010.

This involved the way we recorded people’s preferences to donate specific organs. We identified and resolved the error, as well as ensuring the small number of impacted families received a full apology and all the support they needed.

Sir Gordon Duff was tasked with looking into the data errors to ensure that similar problems could not occur again.

His report ‘The Review of the Organ Donor Register’ found that NHSBT had taken swift action to correct the error and prevent it from happening again. However, the report highlighted that the technology in place for the ODR was not originally designed to fulfil the function we required – and that this needed to be addressed.

We welcomed the report and are implementing recommendations.


EU Directive

In June 2010 the European Parliament approved a draft directive on quality and safety standards for human organs used for transplants. The Directive covers all stages of the pathway from donation, aiming to maximise benefits and minimise risks associated with this crucial area of clinical activity.

We formed a project team soon after the announcement to ensure we comply with the Directive’s quality and safety standard requirements.

Maureen Harris Maureen Harris was diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) – a slowly progressive auto-immune disease affecting the liver.

Maureen said: “I was told it was a chronic illness and the outlook was bleak. I was devastated and all I could think about was how much I wanted to see my children grow up.”

Maureen continued teaching but because her health deteriorated she decided to leave her job. At this point the doctor recommended that she was put on the transplant waiting list.

“You feel on tenterhooks, like your life is on hold. Each time the phone rings, you think, is this it?”

A year later Maureen went into surgery. The transplant was a success. “A year after my transplant I wrote to my donor’s family telling them how grateful I was. I will never forget them and their gift of life; they will always hold a special place in our lives.”

In March 2011, the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) was named the Competent Authority responsible for regulating the Directive. We are currently working with the HTA, Department of Health and Health Administrations for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to ensure compliance with the legislation by August 2012.

Learn more: www.organdonation.nhs.uk


In January 2008 the Organ Donation Taskforce (ODTF) Report made 14 recommendations – one of which was to make organ donation a usual, rather than unusual, event. This meant building it into the end-of-life care for appropriate patients.

Regional Collaboratives

In 2010/11 we started introducing regional collaborations between all those involved in organ retrieval and transplantation across the UK to tackle barriers to organ donation in the NHS. This brings together all the clinical and specialist infrastructures in the UK, to tackle local issues and help us deliver enough organs to meet transplant needs – as well as saving the three people who die each day due to lack of a suitable organ.

Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation and Clinical Leads in Organ Donation

This year, our 184 Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation (SNOD) continued to develop strong relationships with Clinical Leads in Organ Donation (CLOD) and Donation Committees. Together they are creating a culture where potential for organ donation becomes a usual rather than an unusual event.

Clinical Leads in Organ Donation

In 2010/11 we had 192 CLODs around the UK. These are typically intensive care or emergency medicine consultants employed by Trusts who receive a financial contribution from us for supporting donation. They have continued to progress organ and tissue donation in their Trusts.

Making donation usual not unusual

Donation Committees

More than 170 Donation Committees have been set up in NHS Acute Hospitals and Foundation Trusts across the country. These have helped to increase donation rates in UK hospitals by 23% over the last two years. Every Acute donating area had a Chair of the Donation Committee in place by March 2010, championing organ donation.

Professional Development

In 2010 we launched the Professional Development Programme (PDP) for Organ Donation Committee Chairs and CLODs with support from partners Deloitte and the UK Government’s Health Departments.

The 12-month interactive and practical learning package provided CLODs and Chairs with the knowledge and skills to promote donation in their hospitals – and we had more than 350 attendees.

The final PDP meeting took place in February 2011. It has been a vital component in enabling clinical leads to develop and enhance the care delivered to potential donors and their families in all UK Acute Hospitals. And there is already evidence that this is beginning to deliver the increase in donor numbers that we so desperately need.

Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation

Jeremy Brown (Specialist Nurse – Organ Donation) joined NHSBT in early 2011 and works at Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust in London.

“I have been thoroughly welcomed and with the support of my Clinical Lead Dr Andy Morris, we work together with the Trust to further develop organ donation.

“Our working relationship incorporates regular updates and meetings to focus on strategy. We conduct regular teaching sessions throughout the Trust to increase awareness about organ donation, and develop a good rapport with units and departments.

Together we work towards a common goal of making organ donation the usual, not the unusual. Our partnership is based on trust, collaboration, understanding and shared strategies, supported by strong communication.”


In 2010/11 almost 675,000 people signed up to the Organ Donor Register (ODR). This was largely due to our work around raising public awareness through campaigns and our close partnership working with other organisations.

Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) campaign

Our BME campaign included a host of celebrities from the British Asian, African and Caribbean communities and helped to encourage members of South Asian and Black communities to join the NHS ODR.

These UK communities are three times more likely to need a kidney transplant but only 1.2% from South Asian and 0.4% from Black communities have joined the register.

The campaign challenged the misconceptions surrounding organ donation through drama with a series of street plays at key locations around the country.

Raising public awareness

Alison Hammond

Television presenter, Alison Hammond, supported our BME campaign. Her niece received a heart transplant in early 2011.

“We’ll forever remain grateful to the donor who saved Jasmine’s life. It’s incredibly sad to hear that in today’s society people die waiting for a transplant, simply because there aren’t enough organ donors. Joining the register is so straightforward and quick. I can’t imagine a greater gesture than giving someone the gift of life.”

National Transplant Week

In July 2010 nearly 62 million people had the opportunity to see or hear about our national Heart to Heart campaign which launched during Transplant Week.

We gained national and regional media coverage across GMTV, guardian.co.uk, Sky News Radio, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph.

The campaign encouraged people to join the ODR and have a ‘heart to heart’ over a lunch or a coffee with their loved ones to make their families and friends aware of their wishes about organ donation. We also set up a microsite which allowed users to send messages to friends and family if they felt awkward about raising the issue face to face.

During the week, Public Health Minister, Anne Milton, met transplant recipients and patients currently on the waiting list at Barts and the London Hospital Trust. This allowed her to see the work of one the country’s largest centres for patients with kidney disease.


Partnerships

NHSBT works in collaboration with a number of organisations to source ODR registrants and raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.

Read more about these partnerships on the website.

Focus on Living Donation

In 2010/11 we saw a slight drop in the number of living organ donors to 1,045, representing a 2% decrease on the previous 12 months. Directed living donations to relatives or friends fell by 3% while the number of undirected living donor transplants (known as altruistic donor transplants), and the paired and pooled donations contributed more than 60 kidney transplants between them. Living donation still contributes more than a third – 38% – of the total kidney transplant programme and remains an integral part of our strategy to save more lives.

In 2010 we developed and created a new post, Lead Nurse – Living Donation. This role supports the development of living organ donation which reflects a growing national trend; one in three kidney transplants are currently performed from a living donor.

The role also provides professional leadership for nurses and co-ordinators working within the field of living donation. The Lead Nurse – Living Donation complement existing training and education opportunities with additional professional development initiatives. They also work with healthcare professionals from the wider NHS to maximise living kidney donation by implementing national guidelines and protocols, service level agreements, setting targets and managing performance.

1,000th Living Donation pin

Victoria Teece was awarded the 1,000th silver pin badge in commemoration of living organ donors across the UK. She donated her kidney to her husband after he was placed on the transplant list for a second time after an organ from a deceased donor 15 years ago failed.

The living donor pin awards scheme acknowledges the enormous contribution that living donors make to the lives of others.

Living donation removes uncertainty for patients who are waiting for a suitable match and provides more information about the donated organ.


The NHS is one of the world’s largest employers with a significant carbon footprint of over 18 million tonnes of CO2 every year. This represents 3% of the UK and 30% of public sector emissions.

As an NHS organisation, we are committed to meeting the Department of Health’s goal for ‘the NHS to be the most visible and effective public sector exemplar in sustainable development in general and carbon reduction in particular’.

During 2010/11 we partnered with the Carbon Trust on the Central Government Carbon Management Service programme to understand our carbon footprint and identify projects to deliver substantial carbon and cost savings.

Sustainable Development

NHSBT centre, Liverpool

The NHSBT centre at Speke, which houses our Tissue Bank, requires cooling to ensure that the building and its facilities can maintain its operations.

A project began led by Estates & Facilities Manager, Chris Holt, started in July 2009 to investigate ways to improve the efficiency of the three existing cooling units.

Existing procedures and maintenance processes were reviewed, which resulted in the chilled water distribution system being rebalanced. The review also revealed that the cooling units could maintain operations at half their potential capacity. As a result, the largest of the three units was turned off during summer 2010 as a trial, remaining as a back-up in case the other units failed. The pilot was a success and will continue to reduce electricity use by 10% per year.

As a result of this we produced our first Carbon Management Plan, committing to a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015 that would also provide potential cumulative savings of around £7.5 million by the same date.


In 2010 we produced a Development Charter to support a culture of learning and development and show our commitment to the personal development of all our staff. We believe that by equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need, we will be able to meet our strategic objectives together.

Single Equality Scheme

We are committed to ensuring equal access to services as well as reducing health inequalities within disadvantaged communities. We also promote equality and diversity in employment and have made great efforts to ensure all our staff embrace these principles within the working environment.

The Single Equality Scheme is an evolving document, which sets out how we plan to embed equality and diversity within the organisation over a three-year period. We have so far made excellent progress and will continue to ensure that equality is at the heart of everything we do.

Since 2008 we have:

• Promoted job share and part-time working in management positions

• Ensured equality and diversity issues are included within our procurement policy and procedures

• Carried out Equality Impact Assessments on policies and procedures

• Developed a multi-faith calendar and promoted this on our internal equality and diversity intranet pages

Developing our People

• Developed an exit questionnaire – to track reasons why people leave the organisation, and begun a linked new starters questionnaire to monitor engagement levels of new starters over time

• Changed the Equality and Diversity Awareness course from a full-day to a half-day programme to allow for flexible working arrangements and shift patterns

• Ensured that information on our website relating to static centres and disability access is available at www.blood.co.uk

• Developed successful community engagement initiatives and links with BME organisations to promote our work

• Made our workforce aware of family-friendly policies and processes.

Shine

Shine is the umbrella term for our talent and leadership development strategy. It encompasses all the ways we support our staff to shine as tomorrow’s leaders based on the competencies identified in NHSBT’s Leadership Qualities Framework.


Hubbub Talent Management Programme

As part of this, the Hubbub Talent Management Programme is designed to identify, assess, develop and maximise the potential of our most talented individuals. And we are working in collaboration with five other health and social care organisations also taking part in this programme.

This is what differentiates our programme as candidates will be developed alongside colleagues from other organisations to help them network and broaden their understanding of the wider NHS healthcare system.

The programme is aimed at managers at Band 7 and above.

Dave Rowley

Dave Rowley, Area Donor Services Manager gained a place on the Hubbub programme in April 2010.

“The programme really helped me develop my skills, knowledge and experience

as a leader. It has given me greater awareness of my strengths and weaknesses and how to manage these to make me a more effective manager.

“Sharing different perspectives on similar experiences with people from different areas of the NHS helped broaden my thinking on how to deal with situations”.

“I am confident that when the right operational leadership role presents itself within NHSBT I will be in a strong position to be considered for the post”.

Staff Survey

Our Staff Survey is designed to measure how NHSBT people feel about the organisation and the environment they work in. It helps us to identify areas where improvements can be made and ultimately save and improve lives by delivering better care to donors and patients.

In 2010/11, as a direct result of the feedback received from the 2009 staff survey, we ensured that all staff had a valid and effective appraisal at least once a year. A recognition scheme for all staff was launched to say thank you and acknowledge their efforts, and steps were taken to ensure everyone was aware of the benefits and services available to help them achieve a better work-life balance.

The launch of the 2010 Staff Survey in September was delayed due to restrictions put in place about the use of external providers. However, at the end of the year we received approval to use Quality Health, our external provider who has worked with us in previous years, to carry out the survey. The survey was launched and ran until the end of March 2011.

The results will be used to identify areas of improvement across the organisation and to create action plans in each directorate.


Our remit includes raising awareness of donation and encouraging people to give blood and join the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). We work with a number of partners in the private, public and third sectors to reach our target audiences through their staff, customer and public networks. In 2010 our Partnership Development and Stakeholder Relations team continued to initiate and develop relationships with organisations that share our aims to increase donation rates in the UK.

DVLA

In 2010 over 78% of all new registrants to the ODR came through tick box schemes carried out by our partners. The DVLA was the single largest contributor, delivering 53% of the 1.2 million registrations to the ODR. We will pilot a system of ‘prompted choice’ on organ donor registration for the DVLA online application form used for licence renewal and application. This will ask applicants to state whether or not they wish to become an organ donor as part of their online registration process.

Royal Mail

In 2010 we agreed a three-year partnership with Royal Mail, which will see the organisation promote the importance of blood, tissue and organ donation to all their staff. Royal Mail is also investigating other ways to promote donation to its customers.

Newham Borough Council

We have been working with Newham Borough Council (NBC) since 2010. NBC is a borough with one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the country. And we’ve been working with them to promote donation to their staff and residents by attending fairs and exhibitions, such as the Mayor’s Show. NBC has also published features on organ donation in their internal magazine and will incorporate donation awareness training into their volunteer programme – ensuring they have a trained group of local donation ambassadors in the future. We’ve worked well together with NBC over the past year and helped to increased ODR registrations in Newham by 332%.

Working in Partnership

Boots

Boots UK provides a unique high-street opportunity for people to join the ODR. What’s more, anyone applying for a Boots Advantage Card can also join via a tick-box on the application form. Over 1.3 million customers have joined the register since the scheme started in 2000. Boots UK also regularly supports the drive for more blood and organ donors through in-store and online activity in support of our campaigns.

European Blood Alliance

The European Blood Alliance (EBA) plays a significant role in defining quality standards across Europe and maintains high performance and safety in blood supplies. We are one of 28 members of the EBA community from scientific, clinical and other specialist backgrounds who meet regularly to share knowledge and best practice around collecting, processing, testing and supplying blood for patient treatment.

In March 2011 the EBA held its twenty-eighth board meeting at Filton Blood Centre in Bristol. The event helped share best practice and identify new technologies and developments that benefit NHSBT, other blood services and the patients and donors we serve.

Stakeholder audit

In 2010 we carried out our first stakeholder audit which aimed to establish how effective we are in working with and engaging key interest groups. The results showed that overall stakeholders have a positive perception of NHSBT and the work we do, with 91% saying they understood very well or quite well what our role is, and 81% telling us we engage very well or fairly well with them.


We believe that effective engagement and partnership working with external stakeholders is crucial to ensuring we deliver our strategy and make best use of resources. Over the next three years we aim to improve how we work with stakeholders by being more proactive. We will monitor our success by repeating our stakeholder audit on an annual basis.

Stakeholder e-newsletter

The Stakeholder e-newsletter was launched in 2010. It is distributed to key stakeholders and individuals interested in the field of blood, organ and stem cell donation, such as charities and partners. The quarterly newsletter keeps our stakeholders up-to-date with our news and our work to improve the donor experience and promote blood and organ donation while working as efficiently as possible.

To view the current e-newsletter: www.nhsbt-newsletter.co.uk/EIL-HWBD-9F2IB45H50/cr.aspx

To subscribe: www.nhsbt-newsletter.co.uk/nhs/EIL-6J9-141S8SQI4B/getnewsletter.aspx


Governance and Structures

NHSBT Board

The Board oversees NHSBT’s strategic direction and delivery of planned results. It ensures we successfully uphold our core purpose, mission and values.

The Board is led by the Chairman and comprises Non-Executive Directors and Executive Directors, including the Chief Executive. It establishes the organisation’s annual corporate business plan, budget and long-term financial strategy. The Board meets six times a year on a bi-monthly basis and ensures that we comply with our legal requirements and guidance for the use of public funds.

Non-Executive Directors

The Non-Executive Directors work alongside the Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Directors to direct our work. As members of the Board, they provide an independent perspective on issues such as strategy and performance.

Using their knowledge, skills and experience, the Non-Executive Directors contribute to our strategic development alongside the Chairman and Executive Directors. They are expected to uphold NHSBT values and ensure we promote equality and diversity for all patients and staff.

Executive Team

The Executive Directors ensure our values are actively portrayed and promoted across the directorates. They are committed to providing excellent leadership and direction, enabling staff to achieve their best.

Each Executive is required to have high-level experience in planning, problem-solving and delivering operational services and business strategies. They are also expected to use financial resources efficiently, set annual objectives and monitor performance against targets.

The Executive team meets every two weeks to discuss and review business priorities.

Board Committee Structure

On 1 January 2011 Bio Products Laboratory was transferred into a new legal entity, Bio Products Laboratory Limited, a 100% owned subsidiary of Plasma Resources UK Limited (PRUK), which is 100% owned and managed by the Department of Health. The BPL Committee was disestablished following the transferral.

NHSBTBoard

Governance &Audit Committee

(GAC)

Trust FundCommittee

TransplantPolicy ReviewCommittee

RemunerationCommittee

Research andDevelopmentCommittee

Bio ProductsLaboratoryCommittee


NHSBT Board

Bill Fullagar – Chairman Bill has wide experience at director/chairman level in the industrial field. He was International Marketing Director for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland before becoming President of its group of healthcare, food and agrochemical companies in the USA, and subsequently heading the Novartis Group in the UK. From 2001-2003 he was President of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Chair of Research & Development Committee and also BPL Committee.

Lynda Hamlyn – Chief ExecutiveLynda joined the organisation in January 2008 from Westminster Primary Care Trust, where she had been Chief Executive since its inception in 2002. She joined the NHS in 1986 as Director of Services for North Hertfordshire Health Authority. In a career in the NHS spanning over 20 years, she was Chief Executive first of Northamptonshire and then Hertfordshire Health Authority, and a member of the National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group. She was a non-executive director of Stonham Housing Association from 2003 to 2008.

Non Executive Directors

Andrew BlakemanAndrew Blakeman is a chartered accountant and Head of Control for Refining & Marketing at BP p.l.c. He joined the BP Group in 1996 following eight years with Touche Ross & Co.Chair of Trust Fund Committee.

Della BurnsideDella Burnside, a solicitor, is General Counsel & Company Secretary of McDonald’s Restaurants Limited & Division Counsel, Northern Europe. She joined McDonald’s in 2007, having previously worked for easyGroup (UK) Ltd and following a number of years as a Partner in private practice.Chair of Transplant Policy Review Committee.

Dr Christine CostelloDr Christine Costello is a Consultant Haematologist. She is also a member of the General Medical Council’s Fitness to Practise Panel and a GMC Examiner in the clinical examination for international graduates. She is a Justice of the Peace and has previously been a member of the Independent Monitoring Board of Wandsworth Prison.


John ForsytheJohn Forsythe is a Consultant Transplant Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He is the Lead Clinician for Organ Donation and Transplantation in Scotland, Chair of the Scottish Transplant Group and Secretary General for the European Society for Organ Transplantation.

David GreggainsDavid Greggains is a management accountant and director of a private company. He has experience of working in both the public and private sector and is a member of the Independent Monitoring Board for Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre.Chair of Remuneration Committee.

George Jenkins OBEGeorge Jenkins OBE, is Vice Chair of NHSBT. He has held many non-executive and executive director roles in both the public and private sectors.Deputy Chair of the Board and Chair of Governance and Audit Committee.

Shaun WilliamsShaun Williams is a former Board-level Director of Corporate Affairs for two national media companies, was Chief Executive of the TV and feature film trade body PACT, and is a former journalist, BBC Director and ITV Producer. He has served on a number of public and private sector boards, and has been an invited member of several industry and government committees.


Léonie Austin – Director of CommunicationsLéonie joined NHSBT in April 2010 having previously been Director of Communications at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Léonie has extensive Communications experience across a number of Central Government and Whitehall departments including the Cabinet Office, the Food Standards Agency and the then Department of Trade and Industry.

Rob Bradburn – Director of FinanceWith more than 20 years’ experience of senior financial management, Rob joined NHSBT in April 2008 from Premier Foods, where he was interim Head of Finance, Group Procurement. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Ernst & Young, he began a long career at ICI in 1985, culminating in the role of Global Vice-President Finance & Planning, Foods at Quest International in the Netherlands. From 2004-2006, he was Group Finance Director of ABF Ingredients at Associated British Foods PLC.

Dougie Dryburgh – Director of Estates and LogisticsDougie’s responsibilities encompass infrastructure, transport and warehousing. Prior to joining NHSBT in August 2006 Dougie spent 16 years in the RAF, operating mainly within the infrastructure environment.

David Evans – Director of Human ResourcesDavid has wide experience of HR in the public sector. Before joining NHSBT in June 2006 he was Director of HR and Organisational Development at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust.

Sally Johnson – Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation Sally joined NHSBT in September 2008. Previously a Programme Director responsible for achieving clinical reconfiguration, Sally was also Chief Executive of a Primary Care Trust for six years.

Alan McDermott – Director of Blood DonationAlan joined NHSBT in August 2006. Prior to this, he held a number of senior IT executive roles in private sector manufacturing, services and financial organisations in Ireland, Australia and the UK, and more recently in UK Government. Alan was also Director of Business Transformation Services during 2009/10 and he continued to oversee the role pending the appointment of a permanent replacement.

Executive Team


Dr Clive Ronaldson – Director of Patient ServicesClive’s previous experience includes 17 years with Baxter Healthcare, where he was factory manager in the UK. He joined BPL in 1993, becoming Managing Director BPL in September 2005. Having led the National Blood Service as interim Managing Director from July 2007, he was appointed Director of Patient Services in June 2008.

Dr Lorna Williamson – Medical and Research DirectorLorna joined the National Blood Service in 1991. She currently chairs several working medical groups and is a founder of the Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) scheme for UK haemovigilance. A co-founder of the National Blood Service and Medical Research Council Clinical Studies Unit, Lorna is a Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.

More detailed information about the NHSBT Board can be found on the website: www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/about/index.html


www.nhsbt.nhs.uk

NHS Blood and Transplant Oak House Reeds Crescent Watford Hertfordshire WD24 4QN

Tel: 01923 486800Tel: 01923 486801

Annual Review 2010-11

Documents

Transcript of Annual Review 2010-11