Heartbeat July 2018

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HELLO
In this month’s Heartbeat we have
two pages full of our wonderful
NHS 70 celebrations, whilst in the
centre spread you will find the
shortlist for this year’s Star Awards
- after what was a very challenging
judging process.
Elsewhere, there is a heartwarming
article about staff from HSBC donating
their time to transform some of our
clinical areas and an article on a UK
first treatment that is being offered by
our paediatric allergy service.
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FROM THE CHAIR
Marking 70 years of the
NHS
It has been fantastic this month to see
and take part in so many activities and
events to celebrate the 70th anniversary
of the National Health Service. Thank
you to everyone who put on tea parties,
gave out cards to patients and took
time to share in the celebrations with
colleagues, visitors and patients. You
can read more about the activities in
this edition of Heartbeat. As well as a
time for celebration it was also a time
of reflection about the incredible value
of a universal health care service, free
at the point of need, something that on
occasion we can take for granted.
I was also struck by the photographs
unearthed at our Trust that are now on
display in local libraries that show how much
health care has changed and developed
over the last few decades. Our re-staging of
the nurse leader photograph outside Trust
HQ at Sandwell caught the attention of the
national and local media too! (See page 24
for more information). Change is something
we feel is endless in the health service and I
often hear of “change fatigue” or of people
feeling that some changes are needless. That
is, no doubt, the case in some situations.
However, I know in our organisation, that
continuous improvement is what drives so
many of us forward in continuing to enhance
our care for the benefit of our patients
and communities – who are all of course
changing in terms of their backgrounds,
circumstances, lifestyles and health needs
- not least in their increasing access to
information about their condition and their
expectations of service quality.
The innovations I see in different services as
I visit teams and departments are sometimes
small changes or ways of working that are
making a big difference to patient outcomes
or patient experience, and sometimes they
are large-scale changes that are necessary
to keep our services safe, high quality and
sustainable for the future.
Front Cover Pictures
1 Staff Side Convener, Chris Rickards and Porter,
Simon Morley with the NHS 70 birthday card
which was signed by over 500 people
2 Margaret Evitts, a patient at Rowley Regis
Hospital is handed her card by Ward Sister,
Rebecca Challis
3 Yvonne Daly, HCA on McCarthy Ward in a
vintage ambulance which visited Rowley
4 Some of our FY1 and FY2 doctors who spoke
Midland Met is one of those big changes
that we have been anticipating for well
over 10 years and we will have to wait a
bit longer for. But in the interim we remain
determined not to stand still and we are
working with local GPs and others to see
what will need to change on our sites as
a result of this further delay – this is not
change for the sake of change but what our
patients (and you, our colleagues) deserve
recognising the pressures of continuing to
stretch our acute services across two sites.
The NHS has changed dramatically in its
70 year history - its strength is its enduring
values of fairness and compassion. In our
celebrations, we must remember that
promoting these in all we do, despite
demand and funding pressures, is what
motivates our colleagues and delivers for our
patients.
Richard Samuda – Trust Chairman
Chairman, Richard Samuda
to BBC Asian Network who broadcast live from
Sandwell Hospital
5 Our Trust Board also joined in the celebrations
at their meeting in the heart of the community
at the Yemeni Community Association in
Sandwell
6 Staff Side Convener, Chris Rickards delivers the
NHS 70 birthday cake to colleagues at Leasowes
7 Colleagues enjoy the garden party at Sandwell
Hospital
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