Heartbeat July 2018

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20 Trust allergy service is first to use hay fever busting machine WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH We have become the first NHS Trust in the UK to introduce a new device which can help combat the symptoms allergic rhinitis – more commonly known as hay fever. The Rhinolight machine, has been loaned to our paediatric allergy service by the Hungarian company that first developed it. Dr Nick Makwana first heard of the device during a conference and was interested to hear that it was used in many European countries as well as Australia, and closer to home, in Ireland but had not been used in the UK yet. The device is used to direct controlled doses of uVA, uVB and visible light up each nostril with the aim of reducing the symptoms. It zaps the cells that cause hay fever and reduces the chemicals that lead to the inflammation. It is usually administered during the hay fever season when symptoms have begun. The patient would undergo six sessions over a two week period which should lead to symptom reduction for the rest of the summer. Play Specialist, Beena Parmar helped Beena Parmar, Play Specialist, with Dr Nick Makwana and the Rhinolight Machine raise £1,100 towards the final purchase of the device through organising events through her Gujarati community. Dr Nick Makwana, Consultant Paediatrician, said: “We are very grateful to Beena for her fundraising efforts. “It means that if we can demonstrate that the device works in our young population then we will be leading the way in treating young patients who suffer from hay fever and the money raised will go towards the purchase of the Rhinolight. “This year in particular has seen a rise in the number of people showing symptoms because of the heatwave across the country, but studies have shown that this treatment works very well in tackling hay fever, and the patient will most likely be cured for the rest of the season.” Delight as we are named a birth centre beacon site Earlier this month, our organisation was named as one of three beacon sites for midwife-led birth centres by the Midwifery Unity Network, a leading UK initiative committed to women having positive birth experiences and an optimal start in life for babies. We have been named as a beacon site, alongside Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, with the announcement taking place at a national conference at City University of London. Helen Giles, Team Leader for Serenity and Halcyon Birth Centres attended the conference and was presented with a certificate by the president of the Royal College of Midwives, our very own Consultant Midwife, Kathryn Gutteridge. <strong>Heartbeat</strong> caught up with Helen to find out more about this prestigious title. Helen said: “We are privileged to care for around 1,500 women and families for their births in our midwife – led centres each year which is around 28 per cent of babies born at SWBH – the national average for England is 14 per cent so that figure is great for us, and our women and reflects the commitment of our teams. “Our facilities are some of the best in the country. We often have visitors from all over the country and indeed from abroad who visit our centres and ask for guidance to replicate our model within their own Trust. “Our motto is your birth in our home – we want to make it as inviting as possible for women and create a calm, homely environment and as less hospitalised as we can. “It was particularly pleasing to talk to a few people at the event who had visited us five years ago who came and thanked me for helping them to increase the amount of midwife led births they have.” He went on to explain how the machine works: “The probe has a special ultra-violet light mix which is inserted into the end of the nose and then changes the cells in the nose which usually trigger the allergic reaction. “There is no pain involved which is why it is a great treatment for children. This will also save money for the NHS as, if the symptoms become controlled, then there will be less visits to the GP and less prescriptions for medicines to help battle the symptoms of hay fever.” Beena, who has worked at our organisation for 21 years, said: “Every year my temple, BPM Krishna Mandir in Sparkbrook, has a chosen charity which it fundraises for. “There are many children within the Gujarati community who suffer from allergies and I wanted to raise more awareness around it, so they agreed to hold a dinner and dance in aid of our paediatrics department. “Dr Makwana visited the temple and told them that the money would go towards the Rhinolight machine. “We raised a total of £1,100 and I am so pleased that we were able to fund the purchase of this machine. “It is going to help a lot of children coming to use our service.” Birth centres share a number of important characteristics. The midwives running them want women to feel empowered and supported to give birth using their own resources. They also have an in-depth knowledge of pregnant women’s physiology and clear understanding about identifying what is a change from normal requiring intervention or involvement of our obstetric team. Kathryn, who the Midwifery Unity Network describe as a birth centre pioneer, said: “Birth centre midwives have confidence in a woman’s ability to give birth. We develop the skills and experience of midwives to build that confidence, to listen to women and to work closely with medical colleagues to ensure optimal and safe care. “I am particularly proud of our midwifeled care within this Trust and to be able to present Helen with the Beacon site certificate was a real honour for me.”
Siten Roy appointed as new group director Orthopaedic Consultant, Siten Roy has been appointed as the new group director of surgical services. <strong>Heartbeat</strong> caught up with Siten to find out more about his new role. “My role as group director is to deliver our clinical and strategic aims, objectives, obligations and the long-term vision in a timely manner,” said Siten. “I will be supporting frontline colleagues and management teams to fully utilise their expertise, experiences and enthusiasm to further improve patient safety, quality of care, productivity and resource management.” Siten has been part of surgical services for 16 years after joining as an orthopaedic consultant in 2002. He completed a masters in healthcare leadership at Birmingham University and has been theatres clinical director since 2015, whilst he is also a board member the West Midlands Leadership Academy. After working with surgery staff and managers for a few years in his role as orthopaedic clinical director and then Siten Roy is the new group director of surgical services SURGICAL SERVICES theatres clinical director, Siten feels privileged to now work with the executive team. He said: “I consider this an excellent opportunity to develop a feeling of camaraderie and teamwork within surgical services and also to work closely with other divisions to support each other in delivering safe and timely patient care. “I would also like to put extra emphasis on training and research and clinical trials. “Externally I would like to work with Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group and the primary care sector to increase collaborative working. “I will also do my best to encourage, facilitate and talent manage leadership qualities of all the team, both internally through the established leadership programme and externally through the national and West Midlands Leadership Academy.” 21
Page 1 and 2: July 2018 Sandwell and West Birming
Page 3 and 4: Colleagues celebrate NHS 70 in styl
Page 5 and 6: Unity end user training - are you b
Page 7 and 8: Diversity and inclusion - the golde
Page 9 and 10: Colleagues come together to celebra
Page 11 and 12: To: Joanne Wright For doing so well
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Page 16 and 17: Putting our waste to good use waste
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Page 24 and 25: 24 News in brief from around our or
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Page 28: Events Diary August 2018 EVENT DATE

Heartbeat July 2018

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