Heartbeat July 2020
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<strong>July</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sandwell and West Birmingham<br />
NHS Trust<br />
The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City Hospital, Sandwell General and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital<br />
Issue 130<br />
Our big thank you<br />
Pages 4-6<br />
On 5 <strong>July</strong> we celebrated the NHS' 72nd birthday. To pay tribute we planted rainbow coloured plants and lit up our main sites in<br />
blue to say thank you to our local communities and businesses who have provided invaluable support to our Trust.<br />
Dad's 58-day<br />
battle with<br />
COVID-19<br />
Page 3<br />
Flu-per Troopers -<br />
fighting flu together<br />
this winter<br />
Page 8<br />
Why Weight?<br />
Wellbeing focus on<br />
improving health<br />
Page 8<br />
Midland Met<br />
on the horizon<br />
Pages 15, 16,<br />
17 and 18
FROM THE CHAIR<br />
HELLO<br />
Welcome to <strong>Heartbeat</strong>. As you<br />
sit back and relax to read this<br />
month’s edition we do hope<br />
you’re managing to take some<br />
time out to recharge over the<br />
summer.<br />
You will find stories of bravery,<br />
recovery and compassion in your<br />
<strong>July</strong> edition of <strong>Heartbeat</strong>. Discover<br />
how one of our junior doctors has<br />
written a children’s book, meet our<br />
Empowerment Award winners and<br />
find out how the nursery team are<br />
making a commotion in the ocean.<br />
Enjoy!<br />
Contact us<br />
Communications Team<br />
Ext 5303<br />
swbh.comms@nhs.net<br />
Communications Department<br />
Ground Floor, Trinity House<br />
Sandwell Hospital<br />
Published by<br />
Communications Team<br />
Sandwell and West Birmingham<br />
Hospitals NHS Trust<br />
Designed by<br />
Medical Illustration,<br />
Graphics Team<br />
Sandwell and West Birmingham<br />
Hospitals NHS Trust<br />
Kindness and compassion must<br />
remain at the centre of what we do<br />
I am greatly looking forward to August<br />
when I will meet with representatives<br />
from the groups and the staff networks<br />
to select our shortlist from the huge<br />
number of nominations received for<br />
our annual Star Awards. This year was<br />
our biggest year ever for nominations<br />
which is perhaps no surprise. Thank<br />
you to the 700 of you who took the<br />
time to enter a team or colleague<br />
for one of our prestigious awards.<br />
People who have stood out during<br />
the COVID-19 pandemic will no doubt<br />
feature heavily in our shortlist but we<br />
will not forget all of the great work<br />
that has been done for patients and<br />
families throughout the rest of the year.<br />
Next month is the opportunity for you<br />
to cast your votes for four of our big<br />
awards – Clinical Team of the Year for<br />
Adults, Clinical Team of the Year for<br />
Children, Non-Clinical Team of the Year<br />
and the esteemed Employee of the Year<br />
Award.<br />
As we work through our restoration and<br />
recovery plans I want to thank you for<br />
your continued dedication to our patients<br />
and to each other. This year has certainly<br />
taken its toll and I am so impressed with<br />
the kindness and compassion that you have<br />
shown during this time. As we prepare for<br />
a second surge and put our plans in place<br />
for this winter I know that many of you<br />
will feel anxiety and trepidation. Our Trust<br />
Board is committed to supporting you all<br />
through the next few months, continuing<br />
with the wellbeing support and enhanced<br />
mental health offer that has been put in<br />
place. Please take the time to make use of<br />
these resources. We are also committed<br />
to ensuring that the learnings from the<br />
pandemic are taken forward. We know that<br />
some ways of working have changed for<br />
the better, enabling patients to have more<br />
convenient access to services. Our task is to<br />
embrace and embed the improvements we<br />
have managed to deliver.<br />
Social distancing and handwashing remains<br />
vital in our fight to contain the virus so<br />
thank you for continuing to reinforce this<br />
message to your friends and family as well<br />
as to the patients you see and treat. We<br />
continue to take a cautious and considered<br />
approach to easing restrictions on our<br />
sites such as visiting arrangements and<br />
re-introducing volunteers on our wards. We<br />
hope to begin to restore some of this in<br />
coming weeks. As the country opens up it is<br />
more important than ever to stay safe and<br />
protected and set a good example to those<br />
around us.<br />
Richard Samuda, Trust Chairman<br />
Submit an idea<br />
If you’d like to submit an idea<br />
for an article, contact the<br />
communications team<br />
Ext 5303<br />
swbh.comms@nhs.net<br />
Stay updated<br />
We send out a Communications<br />
Bulletin via email every day and you<br />
can now read <strong>Heartbeat</strong> articles<br />
throughout the month on Connect.<br />
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Chairman, Richard Samuda
Dad reveals 58-day battle with<br />
deadly virus in hospital<br />
COVID-19<br />
Jonathan with wife Maria Yague and their children (far left) Nathan Marty Yague, aged 20<br />
and (far right) Seth Kenny Yague, aged 11<br />
A dad-of-two has thanked colleagues<br />
at Sandwell Hospital for saving his<br />
life after he battled coronavirus for 58<br />
days. The family of Jonathan Yague<br />
described his recovery as a “miracle”, as<br />
he was finally discharged on 2 June.<br />
He said: “I am so grateful for the care<br />
and the quick-thinking of staff working<br />
at Sandwell Hospital. Their actions most<br />
definitely saved my life. They assessed that<br />
I needed ventilation as my condition was<br />
rapidly deteriorating and then liaised with<br />
staff at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester to<br />
ensure I was transferred there quickly and<br />
safely.<br />
“The last thing I remember is being<br />
intubated at Sandwell Hospital on 6 April.<br />
I was put into an induced coma and finally<br />
woke up on 18 May. I asked the nurse what<br />
date it was and when she told me, the<br />
realisation of what had happened kicked in.<br />
I just cried. My wife Maria has been filling in<br />
the gaps for me about what happened, but<br />
I remember how I was unable to breathe.”<br />
The 48-year-old was put on a ventilator in<br />
critical care after he was assessed in our<br />
emergency department and then in the<br />
acute medicine unit. Jonathan, whose wife<br />
Maria works as a sister in imaging, quickly<br />
deteriorated despite having no underlying<br />
conditions.<br />
Seven days later he was transferred to<br />
Glenfield Hospital, where some of the<br />
sickest coronavirus patients are treated<br />
using a specialist Extra Corporeal Membrane<br />
Oxygenation (ECMO) machine.<br />
“I prayed day and night that he would get<br />
better,” Maria recalled. “At the same time I<br />
also had coronavirus and our eldest son was<br />
suffering with symptoms, although he tested<br />
negative. We weren’t hospitalised, but it was<br />
just a horrendous situation.”<br />
Within a month, in what Maria describes as<br />
a miracle, Jonathan’s condition started to<br />
improve. He was transferred back to Sandwell<br />
Hospital’s critical care unit where he<br />
continued to recover.<br />
Jonathan was finally moved out of<br />
critical care on 23 May and recovered on<br />
two wards, Priory 5 and Lyndon 5, until<br />
he was discharged. He added: “I am so<br />
glad to be home, but I am still recovering<br />
and trying to regain my strength. I am<br />
learning to walk again as I lost a lot of<br />
muscle mass. I am still short of breath,<br />
but I am getting better.<br />
“I am forever indebted to those who<br />
have cared for me throughout this<br />
terrible ordeal and would also like<br />
to thank all my family, friends, and<br />
colleagues at work and those who had<br />
supported my family during this difficult<br />
time. They all prayed non-stop for my<br />
recovery. Maria would also like to thank<br />
her colleagues within Imaging for their<br />
support.”<br />
Jonathan has a warning for those people<br />
considering breaking social distancing<br />
rules: “I’ve suffered terribly. I had multiorgan<br />
failure, and was bleeding through<br />
my mouth and nose - I was close to<br />
death. When I see people ignoring social<br />
distancing measures it makes me cringe<br />
– I can’t believe the photographs I’ve<br />
seen of crowded beaches.<br />
“I fear there will be a second wave<br />
which will be much worse than what<br />
we have experienced so far. People need<br />
to think about what they are doing and<br />
maintain social distancing. Whether<br />
that’s when they are visiting their local<br />
supermarket, going to a park or even<br />
popping out to see a relative. I hope that<br />
my story will make people think about<br />
what they are doing to protect others<br />
from this virus. I am just thankful to be<br />
alive and be with my precious family.”<br />
Dr Nick Sherwood, Joint Clinical Lead,<br />
Critical Care Services, cared for Jonathan<br />
during his time at Sandwell Hospital.<br />
He said: “I'm overjoyed that Jonathan is<br />
back home with his family. His journey<br />
was particularly long and difficult but it<br />
is patients like Jonathan who really lift<br />
the spirits of the whole ICU team when<br />
we know they've gone home. However,<br />
I also share his concerns about a second<br />
wave. COVID-19 is not beaten. It has<br />
not gone away. If we follow the advice<br />
about social distancing and hygiene we<br />
can significantly reduce the risk of other<br />
people ending up as sick as Jonathan.”<br />
3
SLT bridge the gap between patients<br />
and families<br />
COVID-19<br />
Our speech and language therapy<br />
team (SLT) recently introduced the<br />
card care project allowing patients to<br />
be able to better communicate with<br />
their loved ones.<br />
The project which started shortly after the<br />
COVID-19 outbreak has given patients<br />
on our stroke ward the opportunity to<br />
communicate with their friends and<br />
families by sending them cards they have<br />
created on the ward themselves.<br />
“Many of our patients who are based on<br />
the stroke and neurology rehabilitation<br />
ward have either aphasia (language<br />
difficulty) or dysarthria (speech difficulty).<br />
This can make using technology such as<br />
Facetime very challenging,” said Claudia<br />
Forrest, Specialist Speech and Language<br />
Therapist. “Knowing this, we knew we<br />
had to come up with a more creative and<br />
innovative way in which patients could<br />
still effectively communicate with the<br />
people who mean the most to them.”<br />
After much deliberation, Lyne Wright,<br />
Advanced Speech and Language<br />
Keith Dickson is a patient on Newton 4<br />
Ward at Sandwell who has benefited from<br />
the project<br />
Therapist came up with the card care concept.<br />
It enables patients who struggle with using<br />
gadgets to communicate to make cards to<br />
send back home. Patients can take their time<br />
and create what they want without feeling<br />
rushed whilst at the same time engaging in<br />
something positive to boost their wellbeing<br />
whilst in hospital.<br />
Though initially there were difficulties<br />
helping patients make cards in PPE, after<br />
careful planning and considerations in<br />
regards to resources and entering COVID-19<br />
red areas, the SLT team were able to get<br />
past this.<br />
Lyne believes making the cards has<br />
benefited patients, their friends and families<br />
massively. She said: “Since starting the<br />
card care project our patients have been<br />
motivated to engage in card making which<br />
has given them a safe space to talk about<br />
their feelings and families during these<br />
difficult times.”<br />
She added: “The feedback from families has<br />
been very positive too. They have been very<br />
happy to receive the cards and are pleased<br />
to learn that their family members are<br />
engaged in therapeutic tasks.”<br />
Nicole Boden, Speech and Language<br />
Therapy Assistant, thinks the card care<br />
project has also improved patient care.<br />
She told us: “The card making has allowed<br />
those working on Newton 4 to learn a lot<br />
more about our patients. It also means<br />
we can better empathise with them and<br />
improve their quality of care and experience<br />
at the Trust.”<br />
Care homes get refreshing delivery<br />
One of the particular hot topics in<br />
the media during the coronavirus<br />
pandemic has been the treatment<br />
of care homes. With the virus being<br />
of particular danger to the more<br />
elderly, care homes have come into<br />
focus as a battleground in the war<br />
against COVID-19. They have become<br />
a social and political talking point at<br />
a time when Public Health England<br />
(PHE) was also looking to promote<br />
carers within the community.<br />
For our organisation, the relationship<br />
between our hospital sites and the care<br />
homes within our region is an important<br />
one as we fight the disease. As part of<br />
that, the Trust has been offering support<br />
not just of vital Personal Protective<br />
Equipment (PPE), which it has been<br />
supplying in various ‘runs’ throughout the<br />
pandemic but a number of other supplies<br />
too at the same time.<br />
Thanks to the generosity of the public<br />
Andy Churm helps to distribute goodies to<br />
care homes<br />
and companies in the local area, something<br />
that the Trust spotlighted across social media<br />
during the NHS’s 72nd birthday celebrations,<br />
part of the food and drink donated to the<br />
Trust has been redistributed as a ‘pick me up’<br />
for both colleagues and patients who may<br />
be struggling with the difficulties that social<br />
distancing brings.<br />
“That we’re able to do this and share our<br />
donations with those in the community that<br />
need it is great,” said Amanda Winwood of<br />
Your Trust Charity. “We know that there’s<br />
vital work being done out there and a<br />
difficult situation is being faced. By sending<br />
some additional supplies along with the<br />
PPE shows that not only are we thinking of<br />
those patients in the care homes, but of our<br />
colleagues there as well. Andy Churm and<br />
his team will be delivering this load and more<br />
in the days ahead that will help bring a little<br />
ray of sunshine to the day of so many.”<br />
“It’s great that we’re able to pick up all these<br />
items for our care home and nursing home<br />
colleagues and deliver them at the same<br />
time as the PPE the Trust is supplying,” Andy<br />
Churm told <strong>Heartbeat</strong> as he helped to load<br />
up the transport. “They’ve both had a really<br />
tough time with COVID-19 and whenever<br />
we do these drops they’re really appreciative<br />
of them and the donations that have been<br />
made.”<br />
4
Lockdown through the eyes of<br />
frontline medics<br />
COVID-19<br />
BBC presenter Mary Rhodes presented<br />
Midlands Today from the lawn of City<br />
Hospital<br />
Our frontline medics were the focus in a<br />
live broadcast of the popular news show<br />
BBC Midlands Today to mark 100 days<br />
of lockdown. Filmed at City Hospital, the<br />
show’s host Mary Rhodes delivered the<br />
30 minute broadcast from the lawn at<br />
the front of the emergency department,<br />
speaking to Dr Sarb Clare, Acute<br />
Medicine Consultant, and Deputy Medical<br />
Director about her experiences.<br />
Dr Clare spoke in-depth about how she, along<br />
with colleagues, had been coping throughout<br />
the pandemic and the importance of patients<br />
accessing care. This is particularly important<br />
right now as we were keen to stress that<br />
patients can visit the hospital safely knowing<br />
that they are protected from the transmission<br />
of the virus. We have implemented a number<br />
of safety measures to ensure public safety<br />
is not compromised. This news story was a<br />
good way to get this message across to many<br />
within our region.<br />
The pandemic saw our workplace<br />
overwhelmed by kindness and<br />
support from the local community and<br />
businesses.<br />
As members of the public panicked and<br />
started to do more shopping than they<br />
would normally, the shops ran dry; meaning<br />
colleagues who were working long hours<br />
to fight COVID-19 were unable to find<br />
essentials in their local supermarkets.<br />
To save the day, in stepped local communities<br />
and businesses who donated a whole range<br />
of essential products to colleagues. Amanda<br />
Winwood, Fundraising Manager, Your Trust<br />
Charity was at the forefront, arranging and<br />
co-ordinating deliveries.<br />
She said: “It was truly amazing how<br />
everyone came together to help our staff.<br />
The donations we received were valued at<br />
over £300,000 which is unprecedented.<br />
“I would like to thank all the community<br />
groups and businesses who came forward.<br />
I would particularly like to call out Sewa<br />
Dr Lorna Bagshaw, Consultant<br />
Paediatrician, is filmed by the BBC<br />
Afterwards, pre-recorded interviews with Dr<br />
Clare, Dr Nick Sherwood, Joint Clinical Lead for<br />
Critical Care Services and Mel Roberts, Deputy<br />
Chief Operating Officer were shown.<br />
They spoke about their own experiences of<br />
dealing with the virus. Dr Sherwood recalled:<br />
“This has been the hardest three months of<br />
my life. Having played a major part in the flu<br />
pandemic, we felt it was going to be a bit<br />
like that, but it wasn’t. It was a much harder<br />
challenge than influenza.”<br />
And he warned: “This is not over, it’s easy to<br />
think that coronavirus is done, it’s cured, but it<br />
isn’t. It’s still there and there is a real chance it<br />
could come back. We need to make sure that<br />
we prevent a second surge by social distancing<br />
and being sensible because I don’t want to go<br />
through what I’ve been through in the last few<br />
months.”<br />
Dr Clare told the BBC: “For me, I’ll always<br />
remember the fear in everyone’s eyes; the<br />
patients’ eyes, colleagues’ eyes. There was real<br />
Community and businesses thanked<br />
as donations come to an end<br />
Day Community Group who provided snacks<br />
and drinks for wellbeing packs, Prestige Suite<br />
who provided chilled meals and fresh fruit for<br />
colleagues working out of hours, NewG420<br />
for donating £25k of toiletries and cleaning<br />
products, Gaijin Sushi for supplying 300 meals<br />
for four weeks, Meals for NHS for supplying<br />
out of hours frozen meals for ten weeks and<br />
Work Perks for linking with businesses and<br />
supplying drinks and snacks.<br />
As lockdown has eased and we've started to<br />
get back to some normality we have stopped<br />
accepting donations. We recognise that there<br />
are those in greater need in our communities<br />
who are experiencing job losses and financial<br />
hardship.<br />
upheaval, lots of change, lots of rapid<br />
change. Upskilling ourselves in a condition<br />
we knew nothing about and learning<br />
about a new disease that we’d never dealt<br />
with.” Whilst Mel added: “The teamwork<br />
and the support we’ve offered one<br />
another is probably the one thing that I<br />
will take away from this.”<br />
Earlier in the day, a TV crew had spent<br />
time talking to staff and patients, including<br />
Fred Hadley, who had come into the<br />
hospital to undergo a heart procedure<br />
by Dr Shamim Rahman. The consultant<br />
and registrar Dr George Hunter were able<br />
to successfully unblock an artery using<br />
specialist equipment.<br />
Fred told the presenter: “I am here to have<br />
a very important procedure done. I am not<br />
put off by the pandemic as this is essential.<br />
I would urge other patients who have<br />
appointments to make sure they attend.”<br />
Fred was discharged later that day.<br />
Meanwhile, Consultant Paediatrician<br />
Lorna Bagshaw, along with Staff Nurse<br />
Zoe Crookes were both interviewed in<br />
the new Children’s Emergency Care Unit,<br />
showcasing the new facility to viewers,<br />
following a £1.2 million refurbishment.<br />
The support was truly overwhelming<br />
and we are now working on plans to<br />
permanently commemorate all the groups<br />
that stepped in to help us."<br />
Communities and businesses donated a range of essential products to our colleagues<br />
5
Sandwell Council COVID-19 outbreak<br />
plan wins national praise<br />
COVID-19<br />
Sandwell Council’s COVID-19<br />
outbreak plan has been highlighted<br />
as a model of best practice by<br />
Department of Health officials.<br />
The plan, created by the borough’s<br />
public health team in response to a<br />
government instruction to all councils,<br />
has been published and the government<br />
is pointing other organisations to the<br />
Sandwell plan to help with their own<br />
outbreak contingency arrangements.<br />
It sets out detailed plans which will be<br />
immediately activated in case of further<br />
virus outbreaks and includes an online<br />
video summary.<br />
Sandwell’s Director of Public Health,<br />
Dr Lisa McNally said she submitted the<br />
plan to the Department of Health &<br />
Social Care (DHSC) and the feedback<br />
has been very positive. “The local DHSC<br />
coordinator has put it forward to the<br />
national team as an example of good<br />
practice.”<br />
She added: “Our outbreak plan brings<br />
together everything we do into one<br />
place – and will be something we keep<br />
adding to. The latest version will always<br />
be available on the council’s website<br />
along with a short video summary<br />
and other resources to help people<br />
understand more about what we do.<br />
“Our main aim is to be ready for<br />
whatever this pandemic throws at us<br />
next. We don’t know whether the<br />
‘second wave’ will just be a modest<br />
increase in cases or something much<br />
bigger that will once again threaten<br />
health and social care service capacity.<br />
Either way, we’ll make sure that we do<br />
everything possible to protect our local<br />
community.”<br />
The plan sets out in detail how the<br />
public health team, in collaboration with<br />
other local and regional organisations,<br />
are responding to the challenge of<br />
COVID-19 outbreaks. It includes<br />
information on how outbreaks are<br />
managed in schools, care homes and<br />
workplaces by a seven-day-a-week<br />
outbreak response team. There are<br />
explanations about how testing and<br />
contract tracing is managed and how<br />
to protect the needs of those most<br />
vulnerable to COVID-19.<br />
To date, Sandwell has had 1,090<br />
confirmed cases which, for purposes of<br />
comparison with other areas, is a rate of<br />
332.9 per 100k population.<br />
Dr Lisa McNally - Director of Public Health for Sandwell<br />
In the ‘league table’ of case rates, this puts<br />
Sandwell 51st highest nationally and third<br />
highest out of the four Black Country local<br />
authorities.<br />
Dr McNally said there was currently a factory<br />
outbreak where a multi-agency team was<br />
working with the company to manage the<br />
situation and conduct testing across the<br />
workforce.<br />
Two schools have also had positive cases<br />
since they reopened. In both cases, the school<br />
benefited from having excellent infection<br />
control procedures in place, including good<br />
maintenance of ‘bubbles’, which meant that<br />
only a small number of children were exposed<br />
and minimal disruption to the school.<br />
She said: “School staff have done an<br />
awesome job in working with us to get these<br />
measures in place. I must have done over 30<br />
risk assessments with headteachers myself<br />
– so I know first-hand how hard they’ve<br />
worked.<br />
She added: “We continue to see a few cases<br />
in care homes – but it’s greatly reduced, as<br />
thankfully are the number of deaths in care<br />
homes from COVID-19. Overall, across the<br />
pandemic, we have seen a lower death rate in<br />
Sandwell’s care homes than in other areas.<br />
Again, that’s thanks to continuous efforts of<br />
care home staff to work with us in making<br />
care homes as safe as possible. The PPE<br />
supply is now good.”<br />
Sandwell's COVID-19 outbreak plan has<br />
received national recognition<br />
6
The patient’s Unity – coming to a<br />
smartphone near you<br />
The days of patients frantically trying<br />
to find their paper based test results,<br />
appointment dates and clinical advice<br />
will soon be over as we move Unity –<br />
our electronic patient record on to its<br />
next stage and begin offering a brand<br />
new patient portal.<br />
Unity launched in September 2019 and<br />
moved our Trust forward in leaps and<br />
bounds in terms of moving all of our<br />
patient records away from the confusing<br />
assortment of third party systems and on to<br />
one single unified record which we refer to<br />
as Unity.<br />
However in the months following our move<br />
to Unity, it quickly became evident that<br />
although clinical colleagues had taken a big<br />
digital step forwards, our patients had not<br />
– until now.<br />
In the coming months, a brand new patient<br />
portal will be rolling out across our Trust<br />
which will transform how patients access<br />
their own clinical records and interact with<br />
their care teams. A range of documents<br />
and test results will be available for patients<br />
to view. They will also have the ability to<br />
communicate with their care team and can<br />
complete pre and post appointment forms<br />
and questionnaires via secure messaging.<br />
Unity for patients<br />
All this can be done at any time using any<br />
device, whether it be a laptop, desktop or<br />
mobile phone.<br />
Leading on the rollout of the new patient<br />
portal Martin Chadderton said: “We have<br />
a legal obligation to allow patients to see<br />
their own records but this isn’t the only<br />
reason why we’re pushing forward with this.<br />
We know that patients who are kept up<br />
to date with their own care plans are more<br />
able, knowledgeable and prepared when<br />
they need help. These systems empower<br />
patients to truly take control of managing<br />
their health, to engage with their care teams<br />
and, at the click of a button, be able to see<br />
their latest information all in one place. The<br />
Unity optimisation begins to<br />
take shape<br />
new system will enable patients to see<br />
their consultation letters, test results and<br />
complete pre and post appointment forms<br />
and questionnaires – potentially saving<br />
lots of in-clinic time and allowing for a<br />
more focused consultation.”<br />
The new system will begin rolling out<br />
in October <strong>2020</strong> and will make its way<br />
across our Trust in a phased approach<br />
with colleagues in surgery and primary<br />
care, community and therapies being the<br />
first to take advantage of the system.<br />
If you would like to find out<br />
more about the new system,<br />
contact Joe Cridge on email:<br />
joseph.cridge@nhs.net.<br />
Unity launched in September to great<br />
fanfare, a major leap in our workflow<br />
supporting colleagues to better<br />
manage patient records – all from the<br />
comfort of one single system. Since the<br />
launch, there has been a lot of talk of<br />
‘optimisation’, however this month the<br />
talk begins to turn in to actions as we<br />
launch two significant projects to move<br />
Unity in to the next phase.<br />
Unity has successfully been supporting our<br />
Trust since September 2019, with outages<br />
few and far between, behind the scenes<br />
our supplier ‘Cerner’ have been hard at<br />
work improving the system to offer better<br />
performance, improved user interfaces<br />
and a better structure supporting future<br />
development. We are now working to<br />
upgrade our system at overnight on the 26<br />
August to take advantage of the improved<br />
code.<br />
Sharing his thoughts on the upgrade, Chief<br />
Clinical Information Officer and Consultant<br />
Ophthalmologist, Ash Sharma said,<br />
“Everything that is changing is under the<br />
hood, none of the processes or practices you<br />
have learnt will be changing, and the system<br />
itself at first glance will look almost completely<br />
the same. However, much of the underlying<br />
code that manages Unity will be updated<br />
to take advantage of improved processes<br />
delivering a much slicker, stable and most<br />
importantly safer experience for patients and<br />
staff.”<br />
The upgrade will take place overnight and<br />
will be one of the few updates that require<br />
elements of Unity to be taken offline for a<br />
short period. Details of the affected systems<br />
and schedule of upgrade will be shared<br />
through staff communications.<br />
Also this month, we see the relaunch of the<br />
Unity Go Paper-less project which is focussed<br />
on moving the remaining clinical forms and<br />
records which are still recorded on paper<br />
over to a digital solution. Colleagues are<br />
being encouraged to come forward and<br />
share their processes and forms with their<br />
group representatives. With the aim of<br />
declaring any remaining paper clinical<br />
documents by Monday 10 August.<br />
To find out more about the Unity Go<br />
Paper-less project, contact Essie Li via<br />
Essie.li@nhs.net.<br />
7
Flu-per Troopers - fighting flu<br />
together this winter<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
Dust off your flares, pull on your<br />
platforms and grab your glittery<br />
glad rags - this year we are going<br />
all out with an ABBA inspired flu<br />
campaign.<br />
We’ll be adding a little sparkle to our<br />
step as we all pull together to tackle the<br />
flu. <strong>2020</strong> has been far from a normal<br />
year and that's why we’re getting our<br />
‘Flu-per Troopers’ ready now, so that<br />
before winter sets in, we know we’re<br />
prepared.<br />
COVID-19 caught the world off guard<br />
but we know the flu is coming, it’s<br />
preventable and we already have a welltested<br />
quadrivalent vaccination that will<br />
be on offer.<br />
This year, we’ll be taking a different<br />
approach to how we administer the<br />
flu vaccine. We will have our very own<br />
Flu-per Troopers representing areas<br />
right across our Trust. We’re going local<br />
and getting personal as we prepare to<br />
protect colleagues from the flu.<br />
Flu-per Troopers coming to a site near you<br />
Bethan Downing, Deputy Director of People<br />
and OD, said: “Last year, we managed to once<br />
again surpass our 80 per cent herd immunity<br />
target but it did take quite a while to get<br />
there and when potentially deadly and highly<br />
contagious viruses are involved, time is of the<br />
essence. It’s important to be protected early,<br />
to give your body time to build up its defences<br />
and to generate some antibodies. It can take<br />
up to two weeks from the time you get the<br />
jab until your body is fighting fit with enough<br />
antibodies to take on the virus.<br />
The potential still remains for a second surge<br />
in COVID-19 cases, combined with seasonal<br />
flu; this could be the perfect storm. Please<br />
don’t leave it until you start seeing patients<br />
and members of the public with the flu, by<br />
then it might be too late.”<br />
From October we’ll be out and about, with<br />
clinics in full flow and we‘re hoping that by<br />
Christmas, everyone will have said ‘gimme,<br />
gimme, gimme the flu jab’. We're not going<br />
to let a preventable infection take hold of<br />
our colleagues. Together, we’re stronger.”<br />
If you would like to support the campaign<br />
and join the Flu-per Troopers by hosting<br />
your own vaccination clinics get in touch<br />
with Bethan Downing via email at<br />
bethan.downing1@nhs.net.<br />
Why weight? Get started now<br />
Wellbeing<br />
Colleagues across our organisation<br />
are being urged to put their health<br />
and wellbeing first, and think about<br />
how they can make a difference<br />
to their mental wellbeing, physical<br />
health and nutrition.<br />
An ambition within the Trust’s public<br />
health plan, primary care plan, and<br />
featuring in both integrated care plans,<br />
is to tackle the rising incidence of obesity<br />
by implementing a wellbeing strategy to<br />
support improved wellbeing among our<br />
workforce, patients and communities<br />
(with a focus on children).<br />
Beginning with our workforce, we will<br />
be launching the healthy weight element<br />
of our wellbeing programme on Friday<br />
14 August. The programme will see a<br />
menu of options to support colleagues<br />
with health and wellbeing, including<br />
mental wellbeing, physical health<br />
(activity and exercise) and nutrition (food and<br />
drink).<br />
<strong>Heartbeat</strong> caught up with Johnny Shah, Head<br />
of Your Trust Charity who is also leading the<br />
healthy weight element of our wellbeing<br />
strategy.<br />
He told us: “We aim to ensure that this<br />
campaign fits with the Trust’s wider wellbeing<br />
activities and is a core part of our support to<br />
colleagues following the first surge of the<br />
pandemic.<br />
“We recognise that the impact of COVID-19<br />
can be long-lasting, and we need to ensure<br />
that our wellbeing activities are aligned and<br />
reflect the needs of colleagues both now and<br />
into the future. These include the ongoing<br />
promotion of our Thrive mental wellbeing<br />
app, Recharge Booth, and our Wellbeing<br />
Sanctuary.”<br />
During COVID-19, the occupational health<br />
team have tested a more diverse wellbeing<br />
model using supportive conversations as<br />
therapeutic interventions and the feedback<br />
from colleagues has been good.<br />
“The plan for supportive wellbeing<br />
interventions moving forwards is one of<br />
enabling employees to access preventative<br />
and lower-level support to learn more<br />
about, and take responsibility for managing<br />
their health and wellbeing,” added Johnny.<br />
“There will be three wellbeing coaches who<br />
will have wellbeing supportive conversations<br />
with colleagues on a range of wellbeing<br />
subjects. The coaches will provide support<br />
to the obesity strategy by engaging with<br />
individuals within the organisation on a<br />
personal level, ensuring there are individual<br />
plans in place and that they are supported<br />
over weeks and months to change<br />
behaviours, but also to be supported if<br />
any other wellbeing concerns arise from<br />
addressing issues related to weight.”<br />
Look out for more details about the<br />
launch via the daily communications<br />
bulletin.<br />
8
Shout out has been a regular feature<br />
in <strong>Heartbeat</strong> and it is fantastic to see<br />
colleagues regularly taking the time to<br />
give positive feedback to each other.<br />
We regularly receive positive feedback from<br />
our patients too, and this month we wanted<br />
to share some of those heart-warming<br />
messages which have been sent via our<br />
website and social media platforms.<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
To – Nicola Plunkett<br />
Nicola helped me sort out a referral for an<br />
MRI scan for a GP practice that was urgent.<br />
The patient is very happy they are getting<br />
the scan this evening. Nicola certainly went<br />
the extra mile<br />
From – Dottie Tipton<br />
To – Connective Palliative HUB and OOH<br />
DN Sandwell Hospital<br />
I've recently redeployed with this team and<br />
work jointly with OOH District Nursing,<br />
the staff here are very caring towards<br />
the patients, families and work very hard<br />
to achieve the best outcomes for the<br />
patients. End of Life care can be very scary<br />
time for some but the high-quality-care,<br />
professionalism and compassion provided<br />
by the staff is highly appreciated by the<br />
patients and their families. I've been made<br />
to feel very welcome here and given lots of<br />
support to settle in. Thank you all esp. Jo<br />
Clews who helped me during my very first<br />
night shift here.<br />
From – Gurjit Kaur<br />
To – Eleanor Boulton<br />
On her night off work helping out<br />
colleagues to sort out an IT issue and<br />
always being extremely helpful on AMU at<br />
City. Thank you!<br />
From – Levi O'Gorman<br />
To – Dermatology team working between<br />
Westbourne road and City Hospital (skin<br />
OPD). SR J Morgan, Senior Staff Nurse L<br />
Duquesnay, Staff Nurse L Macarulay, Senior<br />
HCA M Kane and HCA, C Downer<br />
These colleagues have been travelling back<br />
and forward to Westbourne centre and<br />
skin department, coming to work early<br />
and going home late to fulfil their duties<br />
without hesitation. They have done their<br />
duties very well and have adapted in this<br />
new environment to provide care to the<br />
patients. Compliment to Mr Salahuddin,<br />
Dr D Thompson, Dr M Thomson and Dr A<br />
Rajasekaran and also Ann Rutland for job<br />
well done.<br />
From – Judith Morgan<br />
To – Dr Amy Hough<br />
Professional empathetic and thorough well<br />
documented end of life care for a patient<br />
with no family. Discussion of prognosis,<br />
end of life decision and care with clear<br />
very appropriate timely assessment of<br />
mental capacity was excellent. Also very<br />
appropriate timely specialist palliative<br />
care referral and she went the extra mile<br />
to sit with patient as he was dying. She<br />
also called his one requested contact<br />
community pharmacist before and after<br />
death. Also her clear careful timed<br />
documentation. Very well done Amy.<br />
From – Carol Cobb<br />
To – Lyndon 1 team<br />
Diabetic team have received feedback from<br />
a parent of a child recently admitted to<br />
Lyndon one. Grateful for all support she<br />
received from all staff during her recent<br />
stay, during stressful time, full praise for<br />
the team well done.<br />
From – Kathryn Henley<br />
To – Rowley Regis Hospital Wards ET,<br />
Henderson and McCarthy nurses, therpaist,<br />
GP's and facilities staff<br />
Thank you for continuing to provide<br />
excellent patient care and for continually<br />
smiling and keeping each other going,<br />
there is a real atmosphere of camaraderie<br />
on all of the wards at Rowley amongst the<br />
whole MDT, nurses, GPs, therapists and<br />
facilities staff taking time out to look out<br />
for each other, bake for each other and<br />
generally just being a great team, thank<br />
you.<br />
From – Justine Irish<br />
To – Pop up shop at Sandwell<br />
For supplying us with essentials through<br />
the pandemic. The shop is well stocked<br />
staff are friendly let’s hope it carries on<br />
after COVID-19.<br />
From – Allison Annikey<br />
To – Theatres<br />
For helping out in critical care during these<br />
difficult times.<br />
From – Brid Corley<br />
To – Elizabeth Clarson<br />
Liz was redeployed to Lyndon 4. I really<br />
appreciate her hardwork and teamwork.<br />
She is a credit to the Trust.<br />
From – Paul Quibell-Smith<br />
To – Mary Chan, Mary Mumford, Leanne<br />
Taylor, Kaye Woodhouse<br />
Just want to say a massive thank you to<br />
you lovely ladies after I was taken ill in the<br />
outpatients department on 5 June <strong>2020</strong>. I<br />
can't thank you enough for all your care<br />
and compassion at the very frightening<br />
time and getting the emergency team to<br />
me so quickly.<br />
From – Liz Worwood<br />
To – Domestics<br />
MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO OUR DOMESTIC<br />
TEAM! NO complaints or grumbles from<br />
them when having to deep clean whole<br />
bays once empty, they are so thorough<br />
with their work and ensure the bays are<br />
perfect for the next patients. Even wiping<br />
down walls! Massive thank you from all on<br />
AMUA :)<br />
From – Yasmin Akanji<br />
To – Amanda Winwood and the shop team<br />
The pop up shop is amazing. It's been<br />
a lifesaver for popping in and getting<br />
essential items especially after a night shift!<br />
All the volunteers in there are so friendly<br />
and helpful and you always get a free little<br />
treat which cheers up your day!<br />
From – Rhea Conn<br />
To – BCSP Team, Endoscopy Team, Nurse<br />
Endoscopist, Gastro CNS<br />
A big thank you to you all for supporting<br />
CCS and the wards. Your help and support<br />
during the pandemic has been appreciated<br />
by all the areas.<br />
From – Sangeeta Pal<br />
To – Hannah Griffiths<br />
Big shout out to Hannah Griffiths School<br />
Health Nurse. Hannah has worked really<br />
hard to ensure that the needs of a young<br />
person in her care were safeguarded this<br />
week. She has really listened to the young<br />
person and gained trust. She has liaised<br />
with other professionals and acted as an<br />
advocate. A fantastic example of School<br />
Nursing making a difference.<br />
From – Joanne Toovey<br />
9
Celebrating our<br />
stars of the week<br />
Star of the Week<br />
Alison Rose<br />
Nurse<br />
Alison goes above and beyond for<br />
AMU and its patients.<br />
AMU has recently due to the pandemic<br />
been identified to provide CPAP to<br />
COVID-19 patients. This required an<br />
immense amount of training and Alison<br />
offered to do this for us. She embarked on<br />
the training programme with enthusiasm<br />
and the whole of AMU were sufficiently<br />
trained in theory to deliver the service<br />
with two weeks. Alison consistently shows<br />
commitment to AMU A.<br />
Star of the Week<br />
Sharon Roberts<br />
Patient Access Clerk<br />
Star of the Week<br />
Reena Patel, Staff Nurse<br />
Nominating Reena for the award, Clinical<br />
Education Sister, Hayley Griffiths wrote,<br />
“A nursing colleague I trained with 15<br />
years ago contacted me last week to say<br />
her mom had been a patient on Lyndon 4<br />
for the last five weeks. Her mom had her<br />
mobile phone but wasn’t able to facetime<br />
her daughter who lives in Sydney Australia.<br />
With the current outbreak I was unable to<br />
go to Lyndon 4 but I contacted Staff Nurse,<br />
Reena Patel who agreed she would help.<br />
Reena took the reins and in no time at all<br />
had shown mom videos of well wishes<br />
from her daughter and grandchildren.<br />
Reena has also managed to setup video<br />
calling so they can get in touch with each<br />
other whenever they want to. Reena truly<br />
went the extra mile in helping this family<br />
stay in touch at a very difficult time.”<br />
During the height of the pandemic<br />
Sharon tirelessly contacted patients<br />
to reassure them they had not been<br />
forgotten and to let them know we<br />
would be in contact when services start<br />
up again.<br />
To some patients this was not just a<br />
courtesy call; but a call that gave the<br />
patient some time just to have a chat with<br />
someone after facing weeks of no contact<br />
with anyone at all.<br />
Star of the Week<br />
Paulette Parkes, Ward Clerk<br />
Paulette has supported both D43 and<br />
D47 teams as a ward clerk over the past<br />
month, as the D43 ward clerk is currently<br />
shielding at home. She has gone above<br />
and beyond her role, by working outside<br />
of her contracted hours, coming in to<br />
support teams over the weekend and<br />
staying late.<br />
She has supported colleagues, patients,<br />
relatives during this pandemic – she has<br />
gone the extra mile to contact relatives via<br />
telephone to give them updates on their<br />
relatives care and progress.<br />
Paulette has ensured colleagues have the<br />
correct PPE they require and supported the<br />
senior sisters with the swabbing of staff.<br />
Paulette is a highly valued member to<br />
the team over in Sheldon, she is caring,<br />
has demonstrated great kindness and we<br />
appreciate all that she does, she is amazing.<br />
If you have someone in your team that has gone above and beyond the call of duty, put them<br />
forward as a Star of the Week. Visit Connect to find out more.<br />
10
Trust shines a light for 72nd NHS<br />
anniversary<br />
Marking 72 years of a health service<br />
free at the point of need, this year<br />
celebrations were by necessity a more<br />
subdued affair, with the Trust choosing<br />
to remember the sacrifices of our local<br />
communities, the stalwart efforts of<br />
staff and the kindness of all keyworkers<br />
in the fight against COVID-19. Our<br />
#SWBshinealight campaign saw us<br />
training beacons of blue light across<br />
our four main Trust locations for<br />
the first few hours of darkness each<br />
evening for almost a week. Starting on<br />
our anniversary on Sunday 5 <strong>July</strong>, we<br />
provided a focus for reflection of the<br />
almost 400 lives lost across our Trust<br />
during the pandemic.<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
We also encouraged colleagues to<br />
support the initiative by lighting a<br />
lamp or lantern in their window and<br />
sharing the photo on social media.<br />
Trust Director of Communications Ruth<br />
Wilkin explained: “This year we wanted<br />
to mark our anniversary in a way most<br />
appropriate to current times, and so we<br />
focussed on kindness, as that is what we<br />
have consistently experienced from our<br />
community throughout the challenging<br />
months of lockdown.<br />
“Our estates team have also installed<br />
permanent new rainbow floral displays to<br />
brighten up our grounds on all four main<br />
International Year of the<br />
Nurse and Midwife - <strong>July</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
This year marks International Year of the Nurse and<br />
Midwife, a campaign by the World Health Organisation<br />
in honour of the 200th birthday of Florence<br />
Nightingale.<br />
Nurses and midwives play a vital role in providing<br />
health services in our workplace. They devote their lives<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
sites and provide a lasting reminder of<br />
what we have all gone through this<br />
year. Thanks to Your Trust Charity for<br />
funding the initiative, and Amanda<br />
Winwood, Fundraising & Membership<br />
Academy Manager for the idea to help<br />
us remember all those who have been<br />
affected by the pandemic. Big thanks<br />
to our hard working colleagues in our<br />
estates team for their efforts in helping<br />
with both these projects.”<br />
to caring for mothers and children; giving lifesaving<br />
immunisations and health advice; looking after older<br />
people and generally meeting everyday essential health<br />
needs. They are often the first and only point of care<br />
in their communities. Throughout the year, we will be<br />
highlighting some of our nurses, HCAs and midwives<br />
who are making a difference to our patients.<br />
Staff Nurse, Julie Prior<br />
Staff Nurse<br />
Julie Prior<br />
Each month we profile some of our<br />
wonderful nurses as part of our<br />
<strong>2020</strong> Year of the Nurse and Midwife<br />
celebrations.<br />
Read on to find out about the career<br />
pathway of Julie Prior, Staff Nurse.<br />
Julie has been in nursing for longer than she<br />
is happy to admit and started her training at<br />
Sandwell Hospital.<br />
“I started my nursing career right here at<br />
Sandwell in 1983 where I spent many of<br />
my years as a staff nurse and a sister”, said<br />
Julie. “I then briefly had a stint at Rowley<br />
Regis Hospital before moving to Leasowes<br />
Intermediate Care Centre where I’ve<br />
worked for the last 14 years.<br />
“I was at Leasowes in 2014 when we had<br />
the infamous lorry incident. It was a cold<br />
winter's morning in January 2014 when<br />
an accident outside sent a lorry hurtling<br />
through the side of the building.”<br />
Without hesitation, Julie made sure all<br />
her patients were safe, well and looked<br />
after, like it was any other Monday, which<br />
further demonstrated her professionalism,<br />
kindness and caring ways. “I still remember<br />
the images vividly. One side of Oldbury<br />
Road was closed following the crash and<br />
there was a white lorry cab end up stuck in<br />
the side of the building. I stayed calm and<br />
just focussed on my priority which was our<br />
patients and my fellow staff.”<br />
Four years later, Julie was officially<br />
recognised for her work and for going<br />
above and beyond the call of duty when<br />
she was shortlisted for the Distinguished<br />
Service Award at the 2018 Star Awards.<br />
At the start of this year, Julie took partial<br />
retirement, but due to her kind nature,<br />
her desire to help others, as well as the<br />
COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to the<br />
Trust as a healthcare assistant.<br />
11
Praise for maternity colleagues as<br />
Amy shares her story<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
Amy Village-Free joined the public<br />
Trust Board meeting on Thursday<br />
2 <strong>July</strong> along with her happy baby,<br />
Joey, to talk about her experiences<br />
of giving birth at City Hospital. Amy<br />
actually lives in Walsall but chose City<br />
as her maternity unit when she found<br />
out she was pregnant.<br />
Amy told Board members: "Although I<br />
am from Walsall, I receive my diabetes<br />
care at this Trust so knew this was<br />
where I wanted to give birth. I am a<br />
type 1 diabetic so understood the risks<br />
associated with pregnancy and felt I<br />
would be well looked after here.”<br />
“I had regular appointments with the<br />
maternity team and at my check-up at<br />
35 weeks, my baby was measuring large,<br />
which was a cause for concern. They<br />
basically said I wouldn’t be going home<br />
until I gave birth!<br />
“I can honestly say that everyone I<br />
came into contact with was absolutely<br />
wonderful. The care I received was<br />
brilliant. Being on M1 was like being on<br />
holiday – I was so well looked after.<br />
“There were a few scary moments and<br />
I had to have an emergency C-section<br />
in the end, which all happened pretty<br />
quickly, but even then I felt really safe and<br />
that I was in good hands.<br />
“Having baby Joey was amazing.<br />
Although quite traumatic because it was<br />
an emergency, I still think it was the best<br />
experience of my life.<br />
“My partner was able to stay with me as I<br />
was lucky enough to have my own room.<br />
That really helped.”<br />
Board members were able to ask Amy<br />
questions about her experience and<br />
asked whether she had good continuity<br />
of care from seeing the same staff. Amy<br />
was pleased that on the whole she was<br />
able to see the same clinicians.<br />
Amy continued, “I was told regularly<br />
at my diabetes checks that it would be<br />
a good idea to inform them if I was<br />
considering having a baby due so that<br />
I could be well prepared. I talked to<br />
my team for about two years before I<br />
became pregnant which helped me get<br />
ready and take the decision.”<br />
“I want to thank all the staff, everyone<br />
who supported me for the care they<br />
gave.”<br />
Amy with her partner Ben, and new arrival baby Joey on M1<br />
12
Junior doctor’s children’s book about<br />
lockdown praised by Harry Potter star<br />
A frontline junior doctor has written<br />
a children’s book which helps to<br />
explain lockdown and coronavirus to<br />
youngsters.<br />
Oh! What a Lovely Lockdown! focuses on<br />
the experiences of twins, Lily and Leo, who<br />
are initially told how their plans to have<br />
fun with family and friends, as well as go<br />
on holiday, are cancelled because of the<br />
pandemic. However, their parents refuse to<br />
let this spoil their fun and the family think<br />
of ways they can entertain themselves at<br />
home. It has already been given the thumbs<br />
up by Harry Potter star Oliver Phelps, who<br />
has written the foreword.<br />
Author Vijaytha Murali, aged 27, who<br />
works in AMU at Sandwell Hospital,<br />
explained: “I hope this book will inspire<br />
children and their parents to get in touch<br />
with their creativity. It shows how Lily and<br />
Leo think of ways to have fun at home,<br />
having the space and time to invest in their<br />
creativity and imagination.<br />
“The book is intended to help parents<br />
and children to reflect on what has just<br />
happened. The core message of the book<br />
is that you can create your own joy and<br />
happiness at home, no matter what the<br />
circumstances are. Although it is a children’s<br />
After months of hard work, the Junior<br />
Doctors and Medical Students Common<br />
Room finally opened in <strong>July</strong>. The new<br />
area, formerly the physiotherapy gym<br />
at City Hospital, boasts comfy sofas,<br />
a kitchenette and two rest rooms,<br />
which each house a reclining chair and<br />
blackout blinds. There are also lockers<br />
and two computers where colleagues<br />
can continue with any work they<br />
need to.<br />
Raffaela Goodby, Director of People and<br />
Organisation Development, attended the<br />
opening alongside the wellbeing and<br />
medical education team who have worked<br />
together with Rita Brown from estates to<br />
bring this project to life.<br />
Sian Shingler, Undergraduate Manager,<br />
said: “The medical students from The<br />
University of Birmingham and Aston<br />
University will be sharing the space with<br />
our junior doctors. This is a huge step<br />
forward in supporting the wellbeing of<br />
both groups, integrating students from two<br />
Dr Vijaytha Murali with the book she has<br />
written<br />
book I do hope it appeals to adult readers<br />
as well.”<br />
As well as being a trainee medic, Vijaytha<br />
has always been a writer. She added:<br />
“Writing is a way that I de-stress, reflect<br />
and process things. I’ve been a creative<br />
writer from a young age, but this is my first<br />
official book.<br />
“There were a couple of things that<br />
inspired me to write it. I heard a lot about<br />
the experiences of children in my family<br />
and how they were coping throughout<br />
lockdown. I have also been involved in<br />
wellbeing initiatives during the pandemic<br />
which made me think a lot more about<br />
universities and developing the relationships<br />
and transition from medical students to junior<br />
doctor trainees. We are pleased that we have<br />
been able to complete the project, especially<br />
during the pandemic.”<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
New common room opens for junior<br />
doctors and medical students<br />
Unveiled – new common room for junior<br />
doctors and medical students is officially<br />
opened<br />
what families with young children are<br />
going through.”<br />
Vijaytha, who is a British Medical<br />
Association representative, continued:<br />
“It’s exciting to have this book published<br />
and to see where it goes. The feedback<br />
I’ve received so far is that children love it.<br />
They like the images and the concept of<br />
the story.”<br />
All profits from sales will be going to<br />
the national charity Wellchild. Wellchild<br />
ambassador Oliver Phelps, better known<br />
as George Weasley in the Harry Potter<br />
films, has written about the book: “Oh!<br />
What a Lovely Lockdown! couldn’t<br />
have come at a better time. Vijaytha<br />
has created such a timely, engaging<br />
children’s book that will entertain<br />
children and parents alike and hopefully<br />
help them through these strange times.”<br />
The book costs £6.99 and you<br />
can buy it here: https://www.<br />
amazon.co.uk/What-Lovely-<br />
Lockdown-distancing-adventure/<br />
dp/1910853216.<br />
Raffaela added: “I am so delighted to<br />
have opened the common room. This<br />
has been a long journey over the last<br />
six months involving lots of people,<br />
including our medical education team,<br />
our junior doctor forum chair, our chief<br />
registrar and many other hard-working<br />
people.<br />
“This area offers the opportunity for<br />
our medical students and junior doctors<br />
to use the space flexibly where they can<br />
work together in a socially distanced<br />
way. There are computers set up to<br />
reflect this and, there are also two rest<br />
spaces so that our doctors can rest<br />
overnight. We’ve talked a lot during<br />
COVID-19 and previously before that<br />
about the importance of having rest<br />
either before you drive home or during<br />
a long shift. It’s really important to have<br />
a break, have a hot drink and a rest,<br />
and then go back to your patients and<br />
colleagues refreshed and ready to make<br />
really good decisions. I hope the junior<br />
doctors and students enjoy using it.”<br />
13
Trust scoops prestigious bronze award<br />
for travel plan – a first for Brum<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
Our Trust has officially been<br />
awarded the Modeshift STARS<br />
Business Bronze Accreditation for<br />
the delivery of our travel plan - the<br />
first organisation in Birmingham to<br />
achieve such a prestigious award.<br />
SWB’s travel plan was created to<br />
demonstrate our commitment to<br />
creating a greener and more sustainable<br />
workplace going forward. “A large part<br />
of the travel plan itself was looking at<br />
the way colleagues travel and making<br />
it easier for people to choose to cycle,<br />
walk, use public transport or car share,”<br />
said Fran Silcocks, Sustainability Officer.<br />
Fran Silcocks, Sustainability Officer is<br />
leading the delivery of our travel plan<br />
“We need to reduce the number of people<br />
travelling to sites via car for many reasons - to<br />
reduce car parking pressures, improve local<br />
and national air quality, and improve health<br />
and wellbeing.”<br />
Courtesy of the travel plan and sustainability<br />
efforts our workplace boasts an array of<br />
schemes encouraging colleagues to take up<br />
active and sustainable forms of travel, such<br />
as the Cycle to Work scheme, increased<br />
cycle storage capacity and electric vehicle<br />
charging points across our hospital sites, with<br />
significantly more planned.<br />
Health centre reaches out with<br />
improved access for women<br />
Every year, it is reported that there<br />
are around 3,000 new cases of<br />
cervical cancer across the UK. Over<br />
99 per cent of cases are preventable;<br />
however, there remain some barriers<br />
to women coming forward to get<br />
their test.<br />
Colleagues at Heath Street Health<br />
Centre have removed one barrier – in<br />
terms of access – by introducing childfriendly<br />
clinics for women who have<br />
no childcare provision, so they can<br />
attend their appointment and whilst<br />
undergoing their procedure a staff<br />
member will look after their children.<br />
They’ve also extended the hours of<br />
the clinic to offer appointments on<br />
Saturdays.<br />
GP and clinical lead for the practice,<br />
Dr Imran Zaman explained: “We have<br />
a poor uptake of cervical cancer smear<br />
tests in our area, with only 41 per cent<br />
of eligible women coming forward to be<br />
Heath Street Health Centre<br />
tested. Being aware of some of the barriers<br />
that stop some women attending, we knew<br />
we needed to do something to help. So, we<br />
introduced the new Saturday clinic in June this<br />
year, offering 12 nurse appointments, and at<br />
the same time have added ten bookable GP<br />
appointments – which can be booked for any<br />
medical reason. This is an enhancement to the<br />
service we offer at Heath Street and has been<br />
welcomed by our patients.”<br />
The health centre has a staff of 14<br />
representing a range of professions including<br />
Birmingham City Council and local partners<br />
are taking radical measures to achieve<br />
a low carbon, clean air recovery from<br />
lockdown, prioritising walking, cycling and<br />
public transport, as well as preparing for<br />
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone. There has<br />
never been a better time for SWB to engage<br />
in effective travel planning.<br />
Fran said: “We have been working on<br />
travel and transport initiatives for many<br />
years with the target of reducing singleoccupancy<br />
driving to our sites. This has<br />
been very challenging, however, if we<br />
continue to promote and support active<br />
and sustainable modes of travel, alongside<br />
providing the infrastructure and working<br />
in partnership with our local authorities,<br />
we believe that we can create positive<br />
change. As a Trust, we have a duty of care<br />
to advocate improvements in air quality and<br />
are committed to positively contributing<br />
towards this.”<br />
Fran was delighted to be awarded<br />
the Modeshift STARS Business Bronze<br />
Accreditation and believes it is a step in<br />
the right direction to becoming a more<br />
sustainable organisation. She added: “We<br />
are elated to be given such a prestigious<br />
award. We look forward to working with<br />
our local authorities to improve air quality<br />
and ultimately becoming more sustainable.”<br />
GPs, district nurses, pharmacists admin and<br />
a social prescriber. They are a progressive<br />
practice looking after over 6,000 patients,<br />
with registrations currently open to new<br />
patients. The practice has dedicated GPs<br />
specialising in the following:<br />
• Dr Kunnummal has a special interest in<br />
dermatology and joint injections<br />
• Dr Zaman has a special interest in<br />
teaching<br />
• Dr Khan has a special interest in<br />
diabetes and teaching<br />
• Dr Kambo has a special interest in<br />
sexual health.<br />
Working in partnership with colleagues in<br />
women and child health, the practice also<br />
has plans to develop a tongue-tied service<br />
to improve breastfeeding rates.<br />
During the first wave of the pandemic the<br />
surgery set up and ran the Ladywood &<br />
Perry Barr hot site for COVID-19 symptom<br />
patients across the patch, and has become<br />
a GP training practice due to welcome their<br />
first two students in August.<br />
14
The importance of moving to Midland<br />
Metropolitan University Hospital<br />
When the Midland Metropolitan<br />
University Hospital opens in<br />
2022, it will bring together<br />
teams who provide acute and<br />
emergency care. The new<br />
hospital will offer maternity,<br />
children’s and inpatient adult<br />
services to half a million<br />
people which will massively<br />
revolutionise patient care<br />
across the region.<br />
<strong>Heartbeat</strong> recently caught up with<br />
Dr Chetan Varma, Group Director<br />
of Medicine and Emergency Care,<br />
to talk about the significance of<br />
moving to Midland Met. He said:<br />
“I think the move to the Midland<br />
Metropolitan University Hospital is<br />
important as it will bring together<br />
two great hospitals with some<br />
facilities remaining at each original<br />
site. Working in a modern welldesigned<br />
environment is vital for<br />
patient care. Many of the wards will<br />
have side rooms or small bays which<br />
will only benefit patients and, more<br />
importantly, reduce the potential risk<br />
of infection. The building will have a<br />
large green area built into it which<br />
will be great for the health and<br />
wellbeing of patients, visitors and<br />
colleagues.”<br />
The hospital will benefit the local<br />
Chetan Varma, Group Director of<br />
Medicine and Emergency Care<br />
area as it will be a landmark building<br />
that will be an asset to ensure<br />
positive role modelling for the local<br />
community. It will put help put<br />
Smethwick on the map in terms of<br />
being aspirational for school children<br />
and the local workforce. It will also<br />
allow for improved transport with<br />
bespoke cycling and greener ways<br />
of travel.<br />
Chetan believes the move to the<br />
Midland Metropolitan University<br />
Hospital will benefit medicine<br />
and emergency care in particular.<br />
“The move will help facilitate new<br />
ways of working. This will drive our<br />
ability to explore in an academic<br />
measured manner how this leads to<br />
improvement as its model is unique<br />
in creating an acute hub.”<br />
He added: “Emergency and acute<br />
medicine departments care will<br />
benefit greatly as they will create a<br />
harmonised workforce. By creating<br />
a larger pool, the resilience of the<br />
department increases which results<br />
in expertise being shared. Cross<br />
cover will also be greater so safety<br />
and delivery of medical care will<br />
be offered at a higher standard.<br />
This all means that the best of care<br />
provision can be brought into each<br />
department from the outset. For the<br />
wards having a workforce on one site<br />
should allow for higher quality care,<br />
seven days a week with increased<br />
senior staff presence. This should<br />
help reduce the risk of unnecessarily<br />
prolonged hospital stays.”<br />
When asked about how he feels<br />
personally about the move, Chetan<br />
explained how the delay has allowed<br />
the Trust to be better prepared.<br />
He said: “Waiting for the potential<br />
benefits can be frustrating at times,<br />
however, this has allowed us to<br />
bring in other large changes such<br />
as our electronic patient record,<br />
Unity, and for most departments to<br />
reconfigure and harmonise working<br />
practise before the move.”<br />
15
Developing the arts programme in the<br />
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital<br />
enhance not only the environment of<br />
the hospital, but also place Midland<br />
Met on the map as a building of<br />
national significance. Our arts<br />
strategy aims to be inspiring with a<br />
range of visual and performance art<br />
as well as specially designed spaces<br />
for leisure and learning.<br />
Amy Martin (centre) talks about the arts programme at the Midland Met relaunch event<br />
in February this year<br />
The Midland Metropolitan University<br />
Hospital will be #morethanahospital<br />
as we maximise the opportunities<br />
to use the building as a catalyst for<br />
regeneration of the local community.<br />
As well as being a state of the art<br />
clinical facility, the building provides<br />
a number of areas for rest and<br />
relaxation away from the clinical<br />
areas.<br />
The fundraising campaign seeks to<br />
raise over £2m to fund enhanced<br />
equipment and furnishings as well<br />
as arts, heritage and education<br />
programmes. The Trust has<br />
appointed a creative producer,<br />
Amy Martin, to take forwards the<br />
arts strategy. Amy is working with<br />
arts and cultural partners across<br />
the region to develop visual arts<br />
plans and creative projects that will<br />
Amy has over 15 years’ experience in<br />
developing and delivering innovative<br />
cross-arts programmes with children,<br />
young people and families. Talking<br />
about the new hospital, Amy said,<br />
“It is really exciting to be part of this<br />
new development. The building itself<br />
offers us some great spaces to come<br />
up with innovative programmes that<br />
showcase both national and local<br />
artists and get different communities<br />
involved. We have put together<br />
proposals in collaboration with arts<br />
organisations across Birmingham<br />
and the Black Country who are keen<br />
to work with us. From the community<br />
garden, to an extensive art gallery<br />
plus festival and performance ideas,<br />
Midland Met looks set to be a first<br />
class healing environment as well as<br />
an inspiring place to visit.”<br />
The Trust’s Arts Committee is<br />
overseeing the implementation<br />
of the arts strategy that forms a<br />
significant part of Your Trust Charity’s<br />
fundraising appeal.<br />
#morethanahospital
Regeneration is key to success of<br />
healthcare outcomes<br />
of new residential and mixed-use<br />
developments, new and improved<br />
industrial uses, and the provision of<br />
a new school. Some of these projects<br />
are currently under-way, in particular<br />
at Icknield Port and Soho Loop sites<br />
which will deliver approximately 1,200<br />
and 700 new homes respectively.<br />
City Hospital site will be the next<br />
key site within the corridor to bring<br />
forward redevelopment. The site is<br />
currently in the ownership of Homes<br />
England and our organisation, which<br />
will need to be considered within<br />
developing a delivery strategy.<br />
There is a real opportunity to create<br />
an impact within the surrounding<br />
area of the Midland Metropolitan<br />
University Hospital when it comes<br />
to regeneration - and the Trust<br />
wants to be involved in how this has<br />
a positive effect on the health and<br />
wellbeing of the residents and the<br />
local population.<br />
There are numerous ways in which<br />
we do this, including through<br />
employment opportunities, the<br />
creation of a 'healthy' neighbourhood<br />
and improving the wealth of the<br />
community. Jim Pollitt, Assistant<br />
Director Strategic Development, said:<br />
“Housing is one of the key factors<br />
and it’s important that good quality<br />
accommodation is built within the<br />
area. There are several plans in place<br />
for new housing in and around<br />
the Midland Met, including a key<br />
residential-led development by<br />
Sandwell Council, which is great news<br />
for us and the regeneration of the<br />
area.<br />
“Tackling climate change and<br />
creating resilient places and<br />
communities is at the heart of all<br />
growth plans. But ensuring the link<br />
between the new hospital and City<br />
Hospital is vitally important, and we<br />
are in the process of developing a<br />
‘masterplan’ for this.<br />
“We want to create a ‘corridor’ which<br />
will become well recognised for<br />
regeneration and we are seeking<br />
the full support of the combined<br />
authority and the two local<br />
authorities in Birmingham and<br />
Sandwell. One of the benefits of<br />
creating this corridor will hopefully<br />
mean a reduction in the amount<br />
of traffic using the roads, therefore<br />
leading to better air quality and<br />
reintroducing more green space<br />
across the area.<br />
“Our masterplan will promote<br />
a corridor of regeneration and<br />
economic activity but also have a<br />
positive impact on health. There is a<br />
fantastic opportunity to revamp the<br />
canal area and we are working closely<br />
with the Canal and River Trust, which<br />
could lead to the development of a<br />
small marina, opening up the canal<br />
network to the public and also to<br />
transportation, such as river taxis,<br />
and cycle paths. Our ideas don’t stop<br />
there. There is potential to create<br />
education facilities, such as new<br />
schools, hotels and retail outlets.”<br />
The Greater Icknield area is identified<br />
as another area where improvement<br />
is taking place. There are several key<br />
development sites included within<br />
the Greater Icknield masterplan<br />
that hope to achieve the delivery<br />
With most of the services relocating<br />
from City Hospital to Midland<br />
Metropolitan University Hospital<br />
when it is complete in 2022, it<br />
is anticipated that the current<br />
hospital site will be redeveloped for<br />
a residential-led mixed-use scheme,<br />
delivering in the region of 750 new<br />
homes. This will complement the<br />
housing growth in the wider area.<br />
But the site will remain as a hospital<br />
site and retain the Birmingham<br />
Treatment Centre, the Birmingham<br />
Midland Eye Centre, along with some<br />
other support services.<br />
To assist with the reduction of traffic<br />
congestion within this area and to<br />
improve the facilities for pedestrians<br />
and cyclists, it is also proposed to<br />
widen the A457 Dudley Road and<br />
introduce improvements to the<br />
signalised junctions and pedestrian<br />
crossings.<br />
With additional cycling and<br />
pedestrian facilities to the north side<br />
of Dudley Road, the whole package<br />
of improvements will assist in making<br />
provision for possible future public<br />
transport priority to mitigate the<br />
potential expected increase in travel<br />
demand to address the additional<br />
resident movements.<br />
Jim added: “All these improvements<br />
will add value to the area, not<br />
only improving the health of the<br />
residents, but also the wealth of the<br />
population.”
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital clinical model countdown<br />
As our partner Balfour Beatty<br />
progresses the construction<br />
programme adapting for the<br />
challenges associated with COVID-19,<br />
our Midland Met project team are busy<br />
getting ready for this big change in<br />
patient care.<br />
Rachel Barlow was appointed as<br />
Director of System Transformation<br />
in March and is leading everything<br />
associated with Midland Met to<br />
countdown to 2022. <strong>Heartbeat</strong> spoke<br />
to Rachel to understand just how<br />
different the model of care will be for<br />
patients who need to be treated at the<br />
new hospital and what the key steps<br />
are along the way.<br />
Rachel said: “Midland Met is a huge<br />
change for our organisation. The<br />
move to MMUH is not just a logistical<br />
‘move in’ of existing services. The new<br />
hospital build was based on a clinical<br />
design to improve the experience<br />
and care for our patients. The new<br />
acute care model is about ‘moving on’<br />
and improving the experience and<br />
outcomes for our patients.’’<br />
Rachel is working with the group<br />
directors to set up engagement<br />
activities over the summer to reorientate<br />
teams to the MMUH lay out<br />
and explore how care is provided in<br />
the new facility. ‘’We understand the<br />
scale of some areas will require new<br />
ways of zonal working, for example<br />
in ED and the range of assessment<br />
and ambulatory care units. The frailty<br />
and older people’s model for the<br />
future needs definition and escalation<br />
through levels of critical care is a<br />
chance to review pathways in a single<br />
acute site, including pandemics.<br />
Likewise surgical, paediatric and<br />
maternity pathways will all need<br />
to adapt to optimise in the new<br />
environment. The state of the art<br />
diagnostic equipment dedicated<br />
for emergency and inpatients only,<br />
affords opportunities for direct to test<br />
patient pathways equipment. We will<br />
be working with clinical teams to see<br />
how we can improve time to test and<br />
treatment pathways in MMUH.’’<br />
Rachel emphasised, ‘’The innovation in<br />
the building design gives opportunity<br />
to think differently about the<br />
therapeutic care model in our new<br />
space, with ward kitchens, the winter<br />
garden on the 5th floor creating a<br />
huge space to carry out activities and<br />
a 360 degree walking route in and<br />
outside the building.<br />
‘’Wards will be standardised in their<br />
layout and basic principles of how<br />
they function. Our current practice<br />
has mass variation. The benefits of<br />
lean working, safety associated with<br />
standardisation and implementation<br />
of automated robotic vehicles as<br />
part of how we work, all necessitate<br />
standardisation at ward level. There<br />
are some things we won’t be able<br />
to embed until we get there like the<br />
robots but standardising how our<br />
wards work to provide consistency of<br />
care is something we can get going<br />
with now.<br />
‘’One of the biggest impacts in terms<br />
of readiness will be on teams. In many<br />
cases services will be coming together<br />
for the first time as we open – this<br />
can mean up to four teams coming<br />
together as one onto a single site.’’<br />
“We have reviewed how other new<br />
hospitals have been working, what<br />
went well and what lessons we can<br />
learn. We’ve seen great innovation at<br />
this Trust, huge changes to ways of<br />
working with Unity, standardisation<br />
of pathways through COVID-19. We<br />
have all the right ingredients here to<br />
succeed and I am confident we will.<br />
Up to October, Rachel and the system<br />
transformation team will be out and<br />
about across the Trust engaging<br />
with clinical teams to develop<br />
and finalise the acute care model.<br />
Despite the pandemic, we are not<br />
reporting a material delay on the build<br />
programme so it is all systems go to<br />
get ready.<br />
Key milestones<br />
<strong>July</strong> – October <strong>2020</strong><br />
October <strong>2020</strong><br />
December <strong>2020</strong><br />
April 2021<br />
Sept – Dec 2021<br />
Jan 2022<br />
March – June 2022<br />
Engagement with clinical teams on clinical model and equipment<br />
Finalise clinical model<br />
Identify service leads for Midland Met who will be supported to get their<br />
teams ready for 2022. Complete equipment and IT requirements<br />
Begin changing services and getting ready<br />
Prioritised access to install radiology equipment via MES<br />
Virtual tours on offer<br />
Hospital handover and move completed<br />
You can view our fly through video here<br />
https://www.swbh.nhs.uk/midland-metropolitan-university-hospital/
Red vs Blue streaming in ED making<br />
a difference<br />
A new streaming criteria for patients<br />
coming through our emergency<br />
departments is having a huge impact on<br />
patient care and outcome.<br />
As we battled to fight the pandemic our EDs<br />
very quickly put together a streaming process<br />
to help distinguish patients with COVID-19<br />
and those without to ensure they get the<br />
most appropriate care.<br />
Lead Nurse, Helen Mallard told <strong>Heartbeat</strong><br />
the aim was to continue reviewing admission<br />
processes in ED to ensure patient safety.<br />
“We have recently reviewed the process<br />
in collaboration with the acute medicine,<br />
respiratory and microbiology teams. We<br />
now have a nurse and doctor team at the<br />
entrance of both EDs, who are responsible<br />
for streaming patients into red or blue<br />
areas. The process is very effective as we<br />
can quickly identify COVID-19 patients and<br />
those with other conditions can be triaged<br />
appropriately in order to receive the care<br />
they need.<br />
“We also have a senior doctor as part of<br />
the triage process who is able to discharge<br />
patients if required. The streaming criteria<br />
prevents overcrowding and is also reassuring<br />
for patients so they are more confident to<br />
attend hospital and seek our help.”<br />
The team are now reviewing their winter<br />
plans. Helen added: “As winter approaches<br />
we will continue to audit our processes. The<br />
plan is to maintain the red or blue streaming<br />
criteria for the foreseeable future.”<br />
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY<br />
CARE<br />
Patients presenting with following conditions should be streamed to<br />
the RED stream:<br />
1. An influenza like illness or fever >37.8, with one of the following<br />
respiratory symptoms, which must be acute in onset: a new persistent<br />
cough (with or without sputum), hoarseness, nasal discharge or<br />
congestion, shortness of breath, sore throat, wheezing or sneezing.<br />
2. A new loss of sense of smell or taste (anosmia) either in isolation or<br />
combination with any of the other symptoms.<br />
3. A new onset of persistent cough.<br />
4. A new and unexplained shortness of breath.<br />
5. A recent COVID-19 positive test (within last 28 days) with any new<br />
systemic or unexplained symptom.<br />
6. History of exposure to a COVID-19 positive patient within the last 14<br />
days and symptomatic with any of the above symptoms (contacted by<br />
NHS Test and Trace).<br />
7. Any patient in cardiac arrest, needing AGP (Airway management/<br />
support in low GCS patients or conscious sedation), needing chest<br />
procedures (seldinger/surgical drain) should be streamed to the RED<br />
stream.<br />
The following patients can be streamed to the BLUE stream:<br />
1. Patients known to have COPD/asthma or cardiac failure presenting<br />
with symptoms in keeping with exacerbation.<br />
2. Patients with fever with clear alternative (non-COVID) explanation.<br />
19
I've got the power!<br />
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY<br />
CARE<br />
Pandemic or no pandemic, one<br />
thing is pretty clear – we have some<br />
exceptional people working within<br />
our organisation. The last few months<br />
have been challenging on many<br />
levels, but throughout all of this,<br />
colleagues across the Trust have risen<br />
to the challenge of tackling COVID-19.<br />
The Women’s Clinician Network (WCN)<br />
led by Dr Sarb Clare, Deputy Medical<br />
Director and Acute Physician aims to<br />
inspire and support all females to strive to<br />
be the best version of themselves. Before<br />
the pandemic, one of the objectives<br />
high on the agenda of the WCN was to<br />
commend individuals for the roles they<br />
play in empowering colleagues. Dr Clare<br />
told us: “Empowering others is essential<br />
for individuals to thrive, develop and most<br />
importantly in our field, deliver highquality<br />
patient care. As the pandemic hit<br />
these awards were postponed, but what<br />
was ironic was that all these individuals<br />
stepped up to the challenge and their<br />
kind, compassionate, inspiring traits<br />
shone through.”<br />
Keeley Hopcraft - Ward<br />
Manager AMU at City<br />
Karen Parry -<br />
Education Centre<br />
Manager<br />
Scott Shenton -<br />
Fit tester<br />
Dr Asif Naveed -<br />
Consultant Emergency<br />
Care<br />
Craig Simpson -<br />
General Manager -<br />
Medicine<br />
Dr Mike Blaber -<br />
Palliative Care Registrar<br />
and Wellbeing lead<br />
Shaikat Dhar - SpR<br />
Neurology<br />
Becky O’Dwyer -<br />
ITU Clinical Lead<br />
As lockdown began to ease the<br />
WCN made the time to celebrate the<br />
achievements of their colleagues that<br />
had played key roles at this critical time.<br />
Highlighting the work of people from<br />
all across the Trust, the awards were<br />
something of a secret affair as the team<br />
wanted to surprise the recipients on the<br />
day. They arranged coffee meetings only<br />
to delight the award winners with their<br />
thanks as well as a certificate, trophy and<br />
an NHS superhero keepsake.<br />
Dr Vaish Kumar commented about<br />
receiving this unexpected recognition:<br />
“I would like to extend my gratitude to<br />
Women’s Clinical Network for presenting<br />
me with an Empowerment Award. It<br />
is an honour and a wonderful surprise<br />
that came at an important time for me.<br />
I truly appreciate their initiative which<br />
is empowering in itself. This award has<br />
helped to boost my confidence as a<br />
physician and reminds me that I am a<br />
valued member of the SWBH family.<br />
Thank you WCN!”<br />
Dr Sarah Faloon and Dr May Yan took<br />
the lead in delivering the good news to<br />
worthy winners. Dr Yan told us: “The<br />
colleagues we chose to say thank you<br />
to were without a doubt deserving of<br />
the recognition. We had feedback from<br />
lots of people; everyone was keen to<br />
share their thoughts and make sure that<br />
Dr Jen Hancox - CMT<br />
Dr Vaish Kumar -<br />
Diabetes Registrar<br />
we honoured those that had stood out<br />
to them. Everyone from junior doctors to<br />
senior clinicians had kind words to say<br />
about our award-winning colleagues.<br />
The recipients’ of the awards ranged<br />
from medics to nurses, management, to<br />
administrative staff which proves the power<br />
of teamwork.”<br />
Dr Sarah Faloon added: “We celebrated<br />
both our male and female colleagues. As a<br />
network, we recognise the importance of<br />
having male allies who support, inspire and<br />
stand up for women treating us with both<br />
equality as well as equity. We are proud<br />
we have so many male allies within our<br />
organisation.”<br />
Dr Mike Blaber, an award winner<br />
commented: “It is a great privilege to work<br />
with so many fantastic people, across<br />
numerous departments at SWBH, all pulling<br />
together to deliver the best possible care<br />
for patients. The more we empower and<br />
encourage one another in the particular<br />
Stephanie Coates -<br />
Cardiology Matron<br />
Dr Ed Fogden<br />
- Consultant<br />
Gastroenterologist and<br />
Clinical Lead<br />
roles we each play, the greater our capacity<br />
for excellence will be as one big team.<br />
Thank you so much for this generous<br />
award.”<br />
Of all the recipients of this year’s awards,<br />
the WCN would like to honour Mr Ed<br />
Harper in particular. Dr Clare told us: “The<br />
juniors have been raving continuously about<br />
Mr Ed Harper throughout the pandemic.<br />
On the day of lockdown, he saved a young<br />
boys who had been stabbed in the heart<br />
by sewing up his left ventricle whilst in<br />
cardiac arrest with such calm confidence<br />
and humility. Mr Harper said it was nothing,<br />
yet he was not aware of the colossal impact<br />
he had had on the many colleagues that<br />
watched him in action. Having inspirational<br />
figures is essential – if we can see it we can<br />
be it. We all want to be like Mr Harper”.<br />
Huge congratulations to everyone<br />
that received an award this year. Keep<br />
on empowering and inspiring your<br />
colleagues!<br />
20
WebEx – maintaining multi-disciplinary<br />
team working<br />
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,<br />
a new norm is beginning to become<br />
established. Long gone are the<br />
traditions of squeezing in to meeting<br />
rooms or calling impromptu huddles.<br />
And in its place stands WebEx, our<br />
Trust’s solution to meeting people<br />
whilst maintaining social distancing.<br />
Video conferencing isn’t a new concept,<br />
it’s been around for many years, but it<br />
has always been a technology marred<br />
with tales of staff unable to connect to<br />
meetings, failing to hear each other, IT woes<br />
and meetings being abandoned. When<br />
COVID-19 arrived on the shores, we quickly<br />
realised that clinical services still needed to<br />
continue and safe clinical treatment needs<br />
multidisciplinary input, quick and easy<br />
discussions across sites with colleagues<br />
being able to join in easily.<br />
To find out more about how WebEx has<br />
helped clinical teams, <strong>Heartbeat</strong> caught up<br />
with Julian Mansell, PACS Technical Lead.<br />
He said: “Our Trust was already starting to<br />
utilise WebEx prior to the COVID outbreak,<br />
but the luxury of remote participation<br />
in meetings quickly became a necessity<br />
overnight.<br />
"Cancer Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs)<br />
were early uptakers with the Lung MDT<br />
Dr Derek Connolly using WebEx to connect<br />
with patients<br />
being the first where clinicians from Heartlands<br />
logged in remotely either from home or from<br />
Heartlands Hospital. The uptake was quickly<br />
followed by the remaining MDTs, elevating<br />
the number from 3 MDTs to 9 MDTs within a<br />
few weeks. WebEx was used to support social<br />
distancing and enabling clinicians from our<br />
Trust and neighbouring Trusts to participate in<br />
WebEx Stats<br />
• 3252 Total Meetings<br />
• 2216 Total Video Meetings<br />
• 122,953 Total Meeting<br />
Minutes<br />
• 409 Total Unique Hosts<br />
• 16,415 Total Participants<br />
SURGICAL SERVICES<br />
managing patient care. Currently, all the<br />
cancer MDTs now use video conferencing<br />
and WebEx and they are likely to continue<br />
to do so after the social distancing<br />
requirements are relaxed.<br />
In addition to cancer MDTs, the trauma<br />
and orthopaedics team (T&O) started to<br />
use WebEx for their daily team meetings.<br />
Not only did this allow them to maintain<br />
social distancing, but it also allowed a<br />
key member of the team, Siten Roy, to<br />
remote in every day from India where he<br />
was stuck due to the outbreak. Following<br />
on from this success, the T&O team<br />
continued to utilise video conferencing<br />
and WebEx for their monthly QIHD<br />
meetings. Doing so has enabled them<br />
to reach a very high standard and more<br />
recently they have been accredited with<br />
gold status for their QIHD meetings.”<br />
Guides on how to use WebEx<br />
Meetings and WebEx Teams are<br />
available on Connect. If you would<br />
like to make use of WebEx, you can<br />
sign up for an account by contacting<br />
the IT Servicedesk on ext 4050.<br />
Saving lives – one sip at a time<br />
An award winning programme<br />
which tackles the misconception of<br />
preoperative fasting has been making<br />
waves in surgery as it continues to<br />
improve patient outcomes and recovery<br />
times one sip at a time.<br />
The ’Think Drink’ Campaign scooped<br />
the top award in 2018 weLearn poster<br />
competition through its simple but<br />
innovative improvements to patient<br />
experience and outcome. It was the<br />
brainchild of Dr Santhana Kannan,<br />
Consultant Anaesthetist, who alongside<br />
a team of likeminded doctors set out to<br />
review the preoperative fasting guidelines.<br />
The team learnt that although there has<br />
been a longstanding rule of ‘No Food or<br />
Drink before surgery’, often when patients<br />
were allowed to drink small amounts of<br />
water in the run up to their surgery, their<br />
recovery times improved and they reported<br />
better experiences.<br />
Sharing his thoughts on the programme,<br />
Dr Kannan explained, “The guidelines<br />
that dictated our pre-operative fasting<br />
regulations have been in place for over<br />
three decades, and through this time<br />
’Think Drink’ Campaign scooped the top<br />
award in 2018<br />
our knowledge, processes and experiences<br />
in surgery have evolved and improved. The<br />
guidelines stated that patients should fast<br />
for six hours for solids and 2 hours for fluids<br />
before surgery. However, audits in our Trust<br />
as also elsewhere have consistently shown<br />
that patients tend to fast for far longer than<br />
is necessary, especially for fluids, and this<br />
inevitably brings its own risk. “<br />
The Think Drink programme is based on proven<br />
research which showed small amounts of<br />
water before surgery is safe and beneficial to<br />
patient’s recovery. Patients who are hydrated<br />
preoperatively have improved clinical stability, a<br />
lower chance of post-operative vomiting<br />
and better satisfaction.”<br />
Implementing ‘Think Drink’, the team<br />
established a new 0-2–6 approach to<br />
modify the fasting guidelines. Patients<br />
were allowed to drink small amounts<br />
of water right up to the point of being<br />
called for surgery, in addition to the other<br />
allowed clear fluids up to two hours and<br />
solids up to 6 hours prior. “<br />
The new guidelines have been in place<br />
for a while now and is now embedding in<br />
the patient care culture of our Trust. Both<br />
medical and nursing staff are now familiar<br />
with the guidelines and have seen the<br />
beneficial effects themselves. We know<br />
that it is a safe strategy by which patient’s<br />
recovery time and experience is improved<br />
with little more than a few sips of water.”<br />
If you have an innovative project that<br />
is improving outcomes for patients,<br />
share your work through this year’s<br />
weLearn Poster Competition. Further<br />
details can be found on Connect or<br />
by emailing swbh.welearnposters@<br />
nhs.net<br />
21
The Krypton Factor – a 40 year<br />
success story<br />
IMAGING<br />
Nuclear medicine, otherwise known<br />
by the friendlier moniker 'medical<br />
physics' at our Trust has recently<br />
celebrated its 40 year anniversary<br />
leading the National Krypton<br />
Generator Service.<br />
What was once a local research project<br />
by Dr K Chackett at our Trust back in the<br />
late 1970s led to a collaboration project<br />
with Birmingham University supplying<br />
the country krypton gas generators,<br />
generators for lung ventilation imaging;<br />
a vital part of the V/Q study for<br />
pulmonary embolus (PE) diagnosis.<br />
Sharing his thoughts Head of Nuclear<br />
Medicine Dr Bill Thomson, said: “My<br />
predecessor, Dr K Chackett, founded<br />
the service and with his knowledge of<br />
the Cyclotron Unit in the Department<br />
of Physics at Birmingham University this<br />
quickly led to a collaboration to produce<br />
the radioactive Rubidium81, which could<br />
be sent to hospitals in the area to be<br />
used in their studies. The Rubidium is<br />
trapped in a small column within a lead<br />
shield and sent to hospitals to be used<br />
the same day.<br />
“The radioactive decay of the<br />
Rubidiumb81 produces a constant<br />
supply of Krypton gas which only has<br />
a 13 second half-life. An airflow pump<br />
sweeps the gas out when needed, is<br />
breathed in by the patient and a gamma<br />
camera gives an immediate picture of<br />
the lungs gas flow. Along with that, a<br />
standard Tc99m radiopharmaceutical<br />
is injected and can image the lung<br />
blood flow. Any lung segments without<br />
perfusion (on the Tc99m images) but<br />
which do have ventilation (on the<br />
Krypton image) can indicate PE.<br />
“At first, our service operated three days<br />
a week, but it soon rapidly expanded as<br />
the demand for imaging for PE grew.<br />
Using our generators, about 15- 20<br />
patients could be scheduled for imaging<br />
in a day, not feasible with the other<br />
agents.<br />
“There were some very nervous times<br />
though. By the late 1990s we were<br />
managing to supply as far as Exeter and<br />
Liverpool, the only other supplier in the<br />
UK was the MRC research cyclotron at<br />
the Hammersmith Hospital, supplying<br />
generators mainly to the London area.”<br />
The generators once faced a potentially<br />
devastating blow that was luckily<br />
From left – Matt Elms, Bill Thomson, Jilly Croasdale, Emma Harrop, Alanah Hefferman (Mark Tudor is<br />
absent, shielding).<br />
avoided. Bill explained: “In 2000, the<br />
university announced they were closing down<br />
their cyclotron. Devastating news! I had to<br />
develop a business plan for a laboratory to be<br />
fitted out on our City site, and arrange for the<br />
Rubidium81 solution to be supplied from the<br />
MRC cyclotron unit in Hammersmith. This was<br />
a complete change in operation, and we had<br />
to rely on our transport service to pick up two<br />
daily batches of radioactive Rubidium81 from<br />
Hammersmith for us to continue operating.<br />
“A further blow came in 2004 when suddenly<br />
Hammersmith Hospital shut down their<br />
service and we quickly had to come up with a<br />
new plan. Luckily, the physics department at<br />
the university had just acquired a second-hand<br />
cyclotron for research work. This cyclotron<br />
was the same model as the MRC system, but<br />
much newer! Serendipity again played a huge<br />
part in keeping the service alive.<br />
“It was also clear that with the expansion<br />
in production we now needed to have the<br />
krypton laboratory beside the cyclotron unit<br />
to cut out the road transfer of very ‘hot’<br />
Rubidiumb81 stock solution. Taking on all<br />
of the Hammersmith production doubled<br />
our production overnight! We also had to<br />
establish new transport routes for the delivery<br />
Official opening of the krypton lab on City site<br />
by Dr Chackett (8th from Left) in 2001 (and Bill<br />
Thomson second left)<br />
of the generators to the whole London area<br />
as well as our local hospitals.<br />
“Finally in 2005, we moved production<br />
back to the university, we finished<br />
production at the City site lab on Friday<br />
morning, while the MRC did their last<br />
production run at the Hammersmith<br />
Hospital. We had to leave time for our<br />
rig activity to decay, so on Saturday and<br />
Sunday, we dismantled and rebuilt the rig at<br />
the university lab (there were LOTS of heavy<br />
lead ‘bricks’ involved! Think LEGO, but with<br />
10kg bricks, all to fit back together in their<br />
place). After testing the rig on Sunday, the<br />
university produced their first run for real,<br />
and we started sending out generators<br />
with no interruption in supply to ours or<br />
the London customers! I still find that<br />
remarkable, and a testimony to the staff<br />
who made the whole new service work<br />
seamlessly.<br />
“In recent years, Computerised Tomography<br />
(CT) scanners have been developed to<br />
provide a diagnosis for pulmonary embolus.<br />
With this ability to run 24/7, this seemed<br />
like the latest death knell for our service.<br />
However, it soon became clear that certain<br />
patients could not have these scans, and<br />
also our lung study gave much lower breast<br />
dose – important in young women, and PE<br />
has a higher incidence during pregnancy.<br />
“I’m sure there will likely be other hurdles<br />
in future. But for now, we are still operating<br />
the only national Krypton81m generator<br />
facility in the UK, providing generators<br />
five days a week to nuclear medicine<br />
departments across England and Wales.<br />
With about 95,000 generators supplied in<br />
the 40 years, and probably more than half a<br />
million patients having their V/Q scan using<br />
our Kr81m, it’s been quite a success from<br />
our simple beginnings 40 years ago.”<br />
22
Memories really do matter…<br />
Maintaining a sense of closeness to<br />
family and loved ones during COVID-19<br />
has been a recurring theme throughout<br />
this pandemic. Recognising this, the<br />
connected palliative care team has been<br />
working hard to ensure that the quality<br />
of care for palliative patients is not<br />
compromised.<br />
Understanding the pressures the pandemic<br />
has placed on families to stay connected at<br />
this difficult time, the team came up with an<br />
innovative new way to keep families in each<br />
other’s thoughts. Conscious that memories<br />
matter even more when loved ones are<br />
apart, the team devised the Memories Matter<br />
project.<br />
One initiative within the project is memorial<br />
hearts. Pairs of fabric hearts with different<br />
designs on each pair have been kindly<br />
handmade by a volunteer. One half of the pair<br />
is given to family members, and the other is<br />
given to the patient and remains with them as<br />
a symbol of love and as a keepsake.<br />
Amber Ness, Macmillan Occupational Therapy<br />
Assistant, told <strong>Heartbeat</strong>: “It is a privilege to<br />
be a part of someone’s journey. Spending<br />
quality time with and getting to know each<br />
patient we are caring for; speaking to them<br />
and their loved ones, hearing them reminisce<br />
of times gone by is special. The hearts are<br />
Amber Ness and Natalie Reeves pictured<br />
with the portrait gifted from a patient’s<br />
relative<br />
a symbolic token, a gesture of togetherness<br />
for those who aren’t able to be together at an<br />
incredibly important time.<br />
“The hearts have been well received. Relatives<br />
have taken great comfort in knowing that their<br />
loved one has its counterpart and that the<br />
pairs are unique to them. We have even video<br />
called relatives so that they can see their loved<br />
one holding the same heart. They have been<br />
so grateful to know their loved ones are not<br />
alone.”<br />
Natalie Reeves, Health Care Assistant, added:<br />
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES<br />
AND THERAPIES<br />
“We have given out over 30 pairs of hearts<br />
to date. We handwrite messages with<br />
the heart that goes to the relative. Overall<br />
we feel honoured to be able to provide<br />
this service, it’s such a small gesture, but<br />
the reaction of family and patients is<br />
overwhelming and quite emotional.”<br />
Families have been so touched by the<br />
initiative that they have even found<br />
special ways to share their thanks. Rachael<br />
Hendrickson, Advanced Macmillan<br />
Occupational Therapist, explained:<br />
“Following the care of a patient at<br />
Leasowes who has now sadly passed<br />
away, their relative wanted to say thank<br />
you for the care their loved one received.<br />
As she was touched by the memorial<br />
hearts gesture, she painted a portrait<br />
of Amber and Natalie as a token of her<br />
appreciation.<br />
"We are proud of the Macmillan Therapy<br />
Team. We would also like to thank<br />
our Leasowes colleagues for working<br />
collaboratively with the palliative care<br />
service for the benefit of our patients<br />
during this challenging period.”<br />
Home comforts offer helping hand<br />
to patients<br />
Maureen Badger decided she want<br />
to make a difference for our most<br />
vulnerable patients by offering home<br />
comforts during COVID-19.<br />
Physiotherapy Assistant Practitioner,<br />
Maureen, approached her friends, families<br />
and colleagues to donate anything they<br />
felt would be beneficial to patients who<br />
couldn’t see visitors due to the coronavirus.<br />
“I asked all my friends, family members<br />
and co-workers to give anything they could<br />
spare. I wanted to improve the patient<br />
journey for our Sandwell based patients<br />
who couldn’t see any visitors as they usually<br />
would due to the coronavirus pandemic,”<br />
said Maureen.<br />
“I came up with the initial concept after<br />
feeling disappointed seeing patients not<br />
having all the things they usually get<br />
pleasure out of at hospital due to their<br />
relatives and loved ones not being able to<br />
visit them. I must thank my colleagues Fiona<br />
Rowe and Cat Allen, who were a massive<br />
help with this project.”<br />
Maureen Badger and her physiotherapy<br />
team – photo taken pre COVID-19 and<br />
government social distancing measures/<br />
guidelines<br />
Due to the sheer quantity of generous<br />
donations, Maureen, Fiona and Cat have been<br />
able to make up goody bags for patients and<br />
even deliver them to the most affected wards<br />
and areas to bring some joy and comfort to<br />
patients during these challenging times.<br />
The positive news doesn’t stop there. Since<br />
Maureen came up with the idea, many<br />
colleagues have followed suit resulting<br />
in even more patients getting home<br />
comfort goody bags.<br />
Francesca Hindle, Advanced<br />
Occupational Therapist, works alongside<br />
Maureen, Fiona and Cat and feels proud<br />
to work with such generous colleagues.<br />
She said: “I feel full of pride when I<br />
think of Maureen, Fiona and Cat and<br />
what they have done for our patients.<br />
They have all helped facilitate so many<br />
donations already which have resulted<br />
in patients feeling more upbeat and<br />
positive during these difficult times.<br />
Hannah Jenns, Advanced<br />
Physiotherapist, who also works with<br />
Maureen, Fiona and Cat echoes these<br />
thoughts and added: “They have all<br />
gone above and beyond with Maureen’s<br />
idea. They have even taken the time to<br />
arrange doorstep drop-offs to collect<br />
donations which just shows what great<br />
people they truly are.”<br />
23
The Sapphire Service – offering a gem<br />
of a lifeline to the local community<br />
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES<br />
AND THERAPIES<br />
The Sapphire Service has been<br />
delivered at Sandwell Hospital for<br />
two years supported in partnership<br />
by Agewell and by the West<br />
Bromwich African Caribbean<br />
Resource Centre. The aim of<br />
the service, for those that don’t<br />
know, is to support older people<br />
(Sandwell residents in particular)<br />
and their family carers while they<br />
are in hospital and when they are<br />
discharged. They provide the ‘wraparound’<br />
service that commences<br />
when a patient goes home.<br />
The aftercare provided by the team<br />
focuses not only on making sure that<br />
discharged patients are taking care<br />
of themselves but is about keeping<br />
the avenues of independence open,<br />
something Community Pathfinder Jason<br />
Denny told <strong>Heartbeat</strong> about earlier this<br />
year. He said: "It's about maintaining<br />
that independence, that freedom and<br />
making sure patients who are potentially<br />
susceptible to being readmitted get the<br />
support they need. Going from being<br />
without social contact to being almost<br />
cocooned in the care doctors and nurses<br />
provide, only to then go back to that<br />
social isolation. We want to make sure<br />
that doesn't happen."<br />
Services are funded by the Better Care<br />
Fund and Sandwell West Birmingham<br />
NHS Trust’s Hospital to Home scheme.<br />
Sapphire staff aren’t based on the wards,<br />
but discharge planners and the iCares<br />
team can refer patients who may need<br />
this extra help. As a result, the Sapphire<br />
Service team works with Sandwell’s ED<br />
and AMU quite a lot but are keen to<br />
encourage other wards and departments<br />
to contact them if they come across<br />
someone they think is vulnerable.<br />
Sandwell residents who have been<br />
treated at both City Hospital and<br />
Russell’s Hall Hospital are also eligible.<br />
Yet since the coronavirus, the team have<br />
not been able to be as visible and that<br />
has seen a dramatic reduction in referrals<br />
at a time when those who are alone and<br />
vulnerable have been made even more<br />
so.<br />
The list of things that the Sapphire<br />
Service can help with is significant,<br />
including acting as a guide to navigating<br />
the Government’s coronavirus guidance.<br />
While a one-off initial shop for patients<br />
and collections of prescriptions is<br />
also a vital part of the team’s remit,<br />
Krishna Khosla<br />
they also offer financial and emotional<br />
care too. Another key part of the service<br />
is the education aspect. The team suggest<br />
techniques and approaches for keeping active<br />
and staying healthy, identifying meaningful<br />
ways to stay connected, engaged and<br />
occupied. The team can also help signposting<br />
organisations in the community that can<br />
provide additional help, suggest benefits that<br />
patients may be able to claim and act as a<br />
go-between to set up discussions with other<br />
professional bodies.<br />
Krishna Khosla and Ranson Notice are two<br />
such individuals who in recent weeks have<br />
had the benefit of support from the Sapphire<br />
Service.<br />
“The service is excellent,” says Krishna.<br />
“Without them doing my shopping I would<br />
have gone without food. I’m so grateful for<br />
Sapphire’s support and the befriending calls I<br />
received each week.”<br />
The Sapphire Service made a real difference to<br />
Ranson, who struggles with both arthritis and<br />
dementia. He said he was very grateful for the<br />
support provided to him and looks forward<br />
to seeing the team each week and through<br />
Ranson Notice<br />
social distancing is happy he can talk to<br />
staff while he stands at his front door.<br />
"Returning home can be a daunting<br />
prospect for our most vulnerable patients<br />
and their families, whether after attendance<br />
to ED or after discharge following an<br />
overnight stay in one of our acute medical<br />
units,” adds Interim Clinical Directorate<br />
Lead for iBeds, Sarah Oley. “It’s fantastic to<br />
have this enhanced discharge support offer<br />
which has been added to our already wellestablished<br />
Sapphire Service. The team are<br />
flexible in providing what is important to<br />
the patient and even during the pandemic<br />
have been able to provide a modified and<br />
safe, patient-facing service, to support<br />
vulnerable members of our local community,<br />
enabling them to remain safely at home and<br />
promoting their long term independence,<br />
health and wellbeing."<br />
The Sapphire Service has continued to<br />
develop since its inception as a pilot project<br />
initially funded by Your Trust Charity.<br />
Eddie Edmead is the charity’s major grants<br />
manager, he said: “With our support, the<br />
Sapphire Service is steadily growing into a<br />
flagship patient outreach service. We are<br />
ensuring it is able to address, monitor and<br />
maintain service take-up and standards,<br />
whilst remaining compliant in meeting its<br />
funding and contract requirements with the<br />
Trust.”<br />
If there’s a patient you feel could<br />
benefit from the Sapphire Service,<br />
you can call to discuss the matter on<br />
0121 796 9333 (Monday to Friday 09:00<br />
am to 4:30 pm). Alternatively, you<br />
can also refer via the referral form on<br />
www.agewelluk.org.uk or via email at<br />
agewell.uk@nhs.net or info@agewelluk.<br />
org.uk. Patients will receive a call in<br />
three working days of their discharge<br />
after which the Sapphire Service will<br />
provide a time-limited intervention for<br />
up to six weeks.<br />
24
Community care continues on<br />
the terraces<br />
Health visitors have joined midwives<br />
in delivering care to our community<br />
from the comfort of the VIP boxes<br />
at West Bromwich Albion. And the<br />
move has scored some great feedback<br />
from parents using the service, with<br />
many praising the venue, saying it is<br />
comfortable and has great parking<br />
facilities, whilst others commented on<br />
the need for face-to-face appointments.<br />
Rachel Langford, Team Leader for Health<br />
Visiting, said it was important that the service<br />
continued seeing parents face-to-face during<br />
the lockdown. “The Health Visiting Service<br />
has been able to maintain a high-quality<br />
service during the pandemic because of the<br />
continued hard work from all of our staff and<br />
the generosity of West Bromwich Albion for<br />
allowing us to utilise their fantastic venue.<br />
“Health visitors and community nursery<br />
nurses have continued to be front facing<br />
during this time while adapting to a different<br />
way working and service delivery. They have<br />
utilised the PPE that they have been provided<br />
with to protect themselves, colleagues and<br />
our families.<br />
“The services offered at the Hawthorns have<br />
provided a learning experience for our student<br />
health visitors, as they have also had to adapt<br />
to a different way of delivering a service and<br />
have been able to see the processes and<br />
systems that have been put in place to achieve<br />
this.”<br />
Clinics are run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and<br />
Friday most weeks, dependant on football<br />
fixtures. During the period from 18 May to<br />
26 June, the team have seen 206 babies and/<br />
or children for weight checks and they have<br />
completed 79 development reviews. The service<br />
has gone from offering no baby clinics and<br />
completing development reviews by telephone<br />
to seeing over 285 youngsters to date.<br />
All patients are screened over the phone before<br />
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH<br />
attending their appointment and on<br />
the day they will once again be asked<br />
COVID-19 related questions to ensure the<br />
site remains secure from the virus.<br />
The clinical appointments cover the<br />
usual advice around weaning, feeding,<br />
healthy diets, breastfeeding support,<br />
development in baby clinics, removal<br />
of bottles and dummies, speech<br />
developments and how to encourage<br />
this, behaviour management, skincare,<br />
parenting skills, toilet training, and sleep<br />
routines.<br />
Health visitors make their mark on the Baggies’ ground, as they carry out<br />
appointments<br />
Coronavirus leads to increase in<br />
breastfeeding, experts reveal<br />
Our infant feeding team has noted an<br />
increase in breastfeeding of newborn<br />
babies which could be linked to the stay<br />
at home restrictions as a result of the<br />
coronavirus pandemic.<br />
Breastfeeding initiation rates in April were<br />
around 86 per cent – a six per cent increase<br />
compared to figures recorded at the same<br />
time last year at our Trust*.<br />
The figures were released during National<br />
Breastfeeding Celebration Week (Monday 1<br />
June to 7 June).<br />
An initial study** of breastmilk expressed by<br />
mothers recovering from COVID-19 found<br />
specific IgA antibodies against the virus in<br />
80 per cent of milk samples. COVID-19 virus<br />
has not been found to be transmitted in<br />
breast milk unlike other body fluids.<br />
Mum-of-four Sonia Thompson, aged 38,<br />
gave birth to Myah on 17 April and has<br />
been breastfeeding her since she was born.<br />
“I was always going to breastfeed Myah<br />
regardless of what was happening in the<br />
outside world,” said Sonia. “I have found<br />
that I can focus on it more because there<br />
are less interruptions. Usually I would have<br />
New mum Sonia with baby Myah who was<br />
born at City Hospital<br />
to stop to take my 10-year-old son to school.”<br />
Myah was born at City Hospital, but was<br />
transferred into the neonatal unit after she<br />
had problems with her oxygen levels and had<br />
lost blood. Sonia added: “I didn’t hesitate in<br />
expressing my milk so that she could drink<br />
it through a tube feed whilst she was being<br />
cared for in the neonatal unit.”<br />
Louise Thompson, Infant Feeding Coordinator,<br />
said: “Breastfeeding is designed to<br />
be protective, it isn't just nutritional. When<br />
women are exposed to bacteria and viruses<br />
their body responds by sending specific<br />
antibodies to breastmilk.<br />
“In addition to this, we have spoken to<br />
lots of mums who have told us that they<br />
are able to spend more time learning<br />
to breastfeed their child because they<br />
are staying at home. This seems to be<br />
helping breastfeeding get off to a better<br />
start although lack of social support can<br />
also make mums feel lonely and isolated.<br />
“During the pandemic the feeding team<br />
have been offering virtual clinics. These<br />
have been really helpful especially when<br />
women are unable to get in to see us in<br />
the hospital.<br />
“We are also using an interpreting<br />
service so that all women and babies<br />
receive the same level of care.”<br />
Louise added that face-to-face clinics<br />
are also continuing at City Hospital and<br />
at both West Bromwich Albion Football<br />
Club and Aston Villa.<br />
*In April 2019 343 women of 431 initiated<br />
breastfeeding (79.6 per cent). In April<br />
<strong>2020</strong> 317 of 370 initiated breastfeeding<br />
(85.7 per cent).<br />
** Initial study can be found here:<br />
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.110<br />
1/<strong>2020</strong>.05.04.20089995v1.article-metrics<br />
25
A novel approach to paediatric<br />
simulation during COVID-19<br />
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH<br />
The simulation and paediatric<br />
teams have recently joined forces<br />
to initiate a weekly departmental<br />
multi-disciplinary simulation<br />
programme. The aim of this initiative<br />
is to focus on the safe management<br />
of paediatric patients during the<br />
COVID-19 pandemic.<br />
The teams have covered the safe use<br />
of high-flow oxygen therapy, CPAP and<br />
nebulisers. The sessions have been held<br />
in a non-clinical area in the paediatric<br />
department at Sandwell. They have been<br />
streamed live over WebEx to allow those<br />
staff members working from home or<br />
shielding to participate, and to facilitate<br />
social distancing. Paediatric student<br />
nurses, healthcare assistants, staff nurses<br />
and medical staff have all taken part<br />
wearing appropriate PPE and worked<br />
together to manage simulated patients<br />
as they would in real clinical practice.<br />
Each scenario is followed by a group<br />
discussion about how the case was<br />
A multi-disciplinary simulation<br />
managed and how participants felt. The take<br />
home learning points are then identified.<br />
Feedback has been obtained following<br />
all sessions and staff have described<br />
them as “interesting” and held in a “safe<br />
environment,” with staff learning “how<br />
communication can be affected when<br />
wearing PPE.” One colleague mentioned<br />
that the session helped them to appreciate<br />
the importance of taking the time to<br />
communicate effectively when talking to<br />
colleagues, parents and patients. Roleestablishment<br />
and the importance of<br />
situational awareness and effective team<br />
work were also highlighted as being<br />
important.<br />
Dr Danielle Bogue, Simulation Fellow told<br />
<strong>Heartbeat</strong>: “These sessions have proven<br />
to be extremely useful to everyone that<br />
has participated. Being able to host these<br />
sessions virtually as well makes such a<br />
positive difference as we can include<br />
everyone we need to, regardless of whether<br />
they are in work or working from home.<br />
We will continue to develop the programme<br />
based on feedback from colleagues and<br />
thank everyone for their input so far.”<br />
Did you know that you can download<br />
treatment-specific patient information<br />
leaflets from the EIDO Healthcare<br />
website for FREE?<br />
EIDO has hundreds of patient leaflets for different procedures that<br />
are being carried out across the Trust.<br />
They are available in an easy-to-read format and<br />
in different languages.<br />
Patient information for hundreds of procedures carried out across<br />
the Trust can be downloaded for free and passed on to patients<br />
to help them better understand the procedure they may be<br />
undergoing. Many of these are available in different languages and<br />
formats and help patients to give informed consent.<br />
Visit Connect Clinical Systems EIDO PT Leaflets.<br />
For more information, please contact CommunicationsTeam on<br />
ext.5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net<br />
26
Pulse<br />
News in brief from around our organisation<br />
If you have a story you would like to appear<br />
on the Pulse page, please email a photo and a<br />
short explanation to swbh.comms@nhs.net<br />
Sandwell nursery bathroom has<br />
a whale of a good makeover<br />
Commotion in the Ocean just happens<br />
to be one of the nursery school children's<br />
favourite books, so much so, that the<br />
tale has inspired an oceanic bathroom<br />
makeover. The story begins:<br />
There’s a curious commotion<br />
At the bottom of the ocean<br />
I think we ought to go and take a look.<br />
These very words have jumped off the page<br />
and been brought to life by Toni Carr, our<br />
Deputy Nursery Manager. What was once<br />
a bathroom with stickers on cubicle doors<br />
has been transformed into an underwater<br />
adventure. The walls depict some of the<br />
much-loved characters from the book - a<br />
shark, angelfish, turtle and dolphin, but the<br />
main attraction has to be the blue whale.<br />
The bathroom even has a net hanging from<br />
the ceiling to make it as realistic as possible.<br />
<strong>Heartbeat</strong> caught up with Toni Carr, who<br />
told us: “I wanted to create something that<br />
would stand out. I know how much the<br />
children love Commotion in the Ocean, so<br />
I decided this would be the best choice.<br />
This project gave me the chance to put my<br />
artistic skills to the test and, I’m pleased<br />
with the result.”<br />
Commotion in the Ocean<br />
Emma Collier, Sandwell Day Nursery<br />
Manager, said: “Toni has done an<br />
unbelievable job. She gave up her own<br />
time to complete this; she even came in<br />
on the weekend. The bathroom is a big hit<br />
IMAGING<br />
with the children; they were blown away<br />
when they first saw it. The parents love<br />
it too, so it has been a huge success all<br />
around. Thank you, Toni.”<br />
Denise Lunn – over a decade of<br />
supporting our patients<br />
Denise Lunn, Ward Clerk will be retiring<br />
after 11 years at our workplace.<br />
Denise started at the Trust in 2009 working<br />
across a variety of wards and areas at our<br />
Sandwell site. “I was a ward clerk across<br />
many different wards such as Newton<br />
1, critical care, Lyndon as well Newton 1<br />
which is where I started,” said Denise. “It<br />
feels like over the last 11 years I have gone<br />
full circle as Newton 1 was the first ward I<br />
worked on and it will also be the last.”<br />
A ward clerk faces many challenges<br />
through their fast-paced, ever-changing<br />
role, such as working to tight deadlines,<br />
being able to communicate effectively with<br />
clinical colleagues on all levels and being<br />
IT literate. Denise was more than capable<br />
of carrying out these duties having worked<br />
in an admin based role before working at<br />
the hospital. “Before working at SWB, I<br />
worked as a dental receptionist for around<br />
30 years meaning I was more than able to<br />
work efficiently in a clinical environment as<br />
a ward clerk.”<br />
To be able to work as a ward clerk over a<br />
long period it is fundamental that you can<br />
Denise Lunn – over a decade of supporting our patients<br />
live our nine care promises. Rose Bogle,<br />
Sister, believes Denise shows passion<br />
and empathy in abundance towards our<br />
patients and will be missed on the ward.<br />
She said: “Denise was a valuable member<br />
of the team. She was approachable,<br />
supportive and helpful to staff, patients and<br />
relatives. Everyone in the team on Newton<br />
1 will miss her very much.”<br />
As part of her retirement, Denise plans to<br />
spend more time with her granddaughters<br />
and is looking forward to going on more<br />
holidays in the future.<br />
27
Ain’t Mis-beehavin’<br />
The community team are no strangers<br />
to trying to make a bit of a buzz, but<br />
they were more than a little surprised<br />
when their trip to collect updated<br />
COVID-19 ward posters from City<br />
Hospital was interrupted by a group<br />
of rather noisy interlopers.<br />
The gang, several hundred strong and<br />
refusing to abide by any reasonable<br />
definition of social distancing regulations,<br />
came onto hospital grounds unannounced<br />
and decided to hold a very noisy<br />
demonstration outside of the pathology<br />
building. Fortunately, security was not<br />
needed on this occasion, due to the<br />
invaders being a very active swarm of<br />
honeybees. The swarm, which had<br />
departed from an existing hive within the<br />
local region in the company of a young<br />
queen, were looking to start a new colony<br />
– and apparently, the bushes outside of<br />
pathology were a potential new home.<br />
Sadly as pathology wasn’t the place for<br />
these new visitors, people working nearby<br />
were already checking the location of<br />
their EpiPens, and as their inclusion into<br />
the Trust set up was unlikely to go down<br />
well with estates, colleagues did what you<br />
should always do in this situation: call in<br />
the professionals.<br />
As you no doubt know, bees play a<br />
vital role in the ecosystem as they help<br />
in the pollination of plants, including<br />
commercial crops. The last decade or so<br />
has been something of a disaster for bee<br />
populations, with honeybees, in particular,<br />
suffering from colony collapse disorder<br />
(CCD). This affects colonies and results<br />
in the sudden and unexpected drop of<br />
Sharif Khan and the Birmingham Beekeepers Association<br />
healthy adult bees inside the hive resulting<br />
in the colony’s ultimate demise.<br />
ED Matron at City Hospital, Annabel<br />
Bottrill told <strong>Heartbeat</strong>: “I was with a<br />
colleague when we noticed the bees and<br />
were concerned for both their safety and<br />
that of any vulnerable passers-by. The bees<br />
were swarming at shoulder height - my<br />
colleague ducked down to pass by as she<br />
didn’t want them tangled in her hair. On<br />
discussing this with nursing colleagues<br />
we knew we needed to act fast to protect<br />
the bees. We phoned the Birmingham<br />
Beekeeper Association and they kindly<br />
sent out a swarm collector – Sharif Khan.<br />
IMAGING<br />
He arrived at the hospital with his bee<br />
paraphernalia to entice the bees into a<br />
transit hive so they could be relocated<br />
to a much more ‘des res’ in sunny south<br />
Birmingham.”<br />
Sharif Khan explained more: “As I am<br />
sure many people know, bees play a vital<br />
part in pollination and that affects not just<br />
your garden flowers but crops too. So we<br />
must make sure they are being looked<br />
after because they are helping to look<br />
after us. The swarm at the hospital was<br />
coerced into a temporary hive to allow us<br />
to transport them; they’re now installed in<br />
a full hive managed by a member of our<br />
association.”<br />
28
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Kathleen French | Interim Chief Nurse<br />
Kathleen French, Interim Chief Nurse<br />
This month we say a warm welcome to<br />
our new Interim Chief Nurse, Kathleen<br />
French. She joins us at a critical time and<br />
brings a wealth of experience to the role.<br />
Speaking to <strong>Heartbeat</strong>, she said: “I am<br />
looking forward to being a part of the Trust.<br />
It’s understandably a worrying time, but I<br />
am ready to take on the challenges we will<br />
undoubtedly face together. I am excited to<br />
meet all of my new colleagues and to get<br />
out and meet all of our nursing colleagues<br />
especially.”<br />
Kathleen has had an impressive career to<br />
date. She told us: “I trained initially as a<br />
registered general nurse specialising in ITU<br />
and renal nursing, but I have worked as a<br />
director and deputy district nurse in various<br />
acute trusts for several years. I have also<br />
worked in a CCG as DDN and in quality<br />
roles as well as within community services.<br />
Most recently, I have worked as a director<br />
In <strong>July</strong> we say a big hello to our corporate nursing team. Since the retirement<br />
of our former chief nurse, Paula Gardner we have been joined by some new<br />
and not so new faces to lead the corporate nursing team. Please join us in<br />
giving them a warm welcome and congratulating them on their new roles.<br />
of nursing, allied health professional and<br />
psychologist at Black Country Partnership.<br />
During this time the trust achieved a<br />
successful merger with Dudley and Walsall<br />
Partnership Trust and obtained a ‘good’ CQC<br />
rating.”<br />
She added: “I’ve also completed an MBA<br />
from Keele University and more recently,<br />
an MA in Consulting and Leading in<br />
Organisations from Tavistock and Portman<br />
and the University of East London. I’m<br />
keen to work with and develop teams to<br />
continue to improve services for patients and<br />
capture learnings from the recent challenges<br />
presented by COVID 19.”<br />
Be sure to give Kathleen a warm SWB<br />
welcome if you see her out and about.<br />
Sarah Carr-Cave | Deputy Chief Nurse<br />
Sarah Carr-Cave, Deputy Chief Nurse<br />
Sarah Carr-Cave returned to the Trust<br />
in <strong>July</strong> <strong>2020</strong> as our new Deputy Chief<br />
Nurse.<br />
Sarah began her nursing career in 1990,<br />
completing her nurse training and working<br />
in London before she moved to Birmingham<br />
in 1998. Following relocation, she initially<br />
worked at City Hospital in critical care and<br />
has since worked across the region. From<br />
2005 Sarah has worked in senior nursing<br />
roles, and a corporate governance role,<br />
before joining the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital<br />
as a divisional head of nursing.<br />
Sarah is excited to re-join the Trust and take<br />
on the challenges that her role will bring. She<br />
told us: “I'm passionate about ensuring our<br />
patients receive the highest quality of care<br />
across all areas of the Trust. I look forward to<br />
supporting the Trust preparing to move into<br />
the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital<br />
and delivering the vision for the community<br />
we serve. I am excited to work with nursing<br />
colleagues across the Trust to raise the profile<br />
of nursing and ensure nursing has a voice.”<br />
Outside of work Sarah enjoys spending time<br />
with friends, fine dining and going to the<br />
theatre. She also enjoys gardening, baking<br />
and keeping fit.<br />
Helen Bromage | Associate Chief Nurse<br />
Helen Bromage, Associate Chief Nurse<br />
Whilst you may recognise the face,<br />
the name may sound unfamiliar. This<br />
is because our newest associate chief<br />
nurse has recently got married. Helen<br />
Bromage was indeed Helen Cope until<br />
very recently.<br />
With a new name, a new role and, so much<br />
going on we caught up with Helen to find<br />
out more about her career to date. Helen told<br />
us: “I am a children’s nurse by trade and have<br />
always worked with sick children. I trained in<br />
North West London, qualifying in 2000 and<br />
then I worked as a staff nurse before moving<br />
to Birmingham. I worked at Birmingham’s<br />
Children’s Hospital, where I worked in burns<br />
and plastics before moving into being a<br />
resuscitation officer. In August 2011, I moved<br />
to Sandwell and West Birmingham to take up<br />
the post of lead resuscitation officer, and I’ve<br />
been here ever since.”<br />
“I am excited to take on the role of our<br />
associate chief nurse. Previously I have been<br />
the head of education, and I think looking<br />
at my career so far there have been some<br />
common themes - for example, education,<br />
the deterioration of patients and how we<br />
manage that.<br />
"Since I joined the Trust we have halved the<br />
number of EMRT calls and have an aboveaverage<br />
survival to discharge post-cardiac<br />
arrest. We have increased our student nursing<br />
and midwifery clinical placement provision by<br />
150 per cent. We've also supported some of<br />
the first nursing associates into the workforce<br />
and onto the nursing and midwifery council<br />
register which is a fantastic achievement.<br />
I’m looking forward to building on all of this<br />
in my role as associate chief nurse and look<br />
forward to working with colleagues’ right<br />
across the organisation.”<br />
Speaking of her interests outside of work,<br />
Helen commented: “I have supported the<br />
charity Dreamflight for the past 12 years.<br />
The charity takes 192 children on a trip of a<br />
lifetime to Florida.”<br />
29
Letters, of less than 200 words please, can be sent to the Communications Department,<br />
Trust Headquarters, Sandwell Hospital or by email to swb–tr.SWBH–GM–<strong>Heartbeat</strong>@nhs.net<br />
YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD<br />
What’s more important – revenue<br />
or our local communities' health?<br />
With the parking barriers due to come down and<br />
parking charges due to be enforced again, I amongst<br />
many others, have one major concern – why exactly<br />
are we doing this? Yes, I understand the Trust is keen<br />
to start charging our staff and patients again and<br />
start making money, however, shouldn’t our health<br />
be more important than money?<br />
We have implemented face masks on-site, introduced<br />
social distancing around office areas and shielded<br />
our most vulnerable colleagues effectively, yet by<br />
lowering the barriers every person who comes on<br />
to our site will have to scan their card or even worse<br />
press that button at the parking barriers. This would<br />
mean that if somebody with COVID-19 presses the<br />
button and then people after them press it they are<br />
highly likely to catch COVID-19. Shouldn’t we just<br />
leave the barriers up rather than put people at risk<br />
for no reason other than to make some money from<br />
parking charges? Unless of course, the Trust plans on<br />
fully cleaning down each parking button after usage,<br />
as well as each parking station where you pay for a<br />
ticket – is that the plan?<br />
It seems baffling to me that we are doing all these<br />
positive things to stop the spread of this highly<br />
infectious disease, yet overlooking something so<br />
simple. Are we willing to put our patients, their<br />
families and staff at risk just to start making money<br />
via parking? Surely protecting people’s health should<br />
be paramount, especially for a hospital or does that<br />
become secondary when money is involved?<br />
Dear colleague,<br />
Thank you for your letter. As you are well<br />
aware COVID 19 has presented many different<br />
challenges over the last few months and as a<br />
Trust we have coped very well. Our intention<br />
is to get all our services back up and running<br />
as soon as it is safe and practical to do so. Car<br />
parking is one of those services, and plans are<br />
being drawn up to determine how this can be<br />
achieved. Several hospitals in the region have<br />
already reintroduced car parking control and<br />
charges safely, and we intend to learn from their<br />
experience.<br />
The other theme running throughout your<br />
letter is money and the reintroduction of car<br />
parking charges. If we didn’t have car parking<br />
charges how would we maintain the car parks,<br />
the barriers, CCTV and security lights? As a<br />
supportive organisation we want to provide our<br />
staff, patients and visitors with good quality,<br />
secure car parks that are close to the work place.<br />
The cost to staff for this service is approximately<br />
83p per day, which I think is great value for what<br />
you get.<br />
I agree with you in that we do not wish to put<br />
unnecessary risk on staff, patients or visitors by<br />
reinstating the barriers, and we will not be doing<br />
that until it is deemed safe to do so. Money does<br />
not come into that decision and it is definitely<br />
not a case of putting money before staff and<br />
patient safety.<br />
Kind regards,<br />
James Pollitt–<br />
Assistant Director Strategic Development<br />
I can't lip read if colleagues have<br />
their masks on<br />
Dear <strong>Heartbeat</strong><br />
I’ve worked with the Trust for over 10 years, and have<br />
never found any issues with regards to my hearing<br />
impairment in my day to day work.<br />
Since COVID have struck the world, and we have<br />
taken extra precautions with regards to PPE and social<br />
distancing, I am finding barriers are starting to arise.<br />
The barriers I am facing are the lack of understanding and<br />
awareness from some people and the Trust. I rely on lip<br />
reading to understand what is going on around me and<br />
attempting to join in the virtual way is impossible.<br />
As meetings, training and QHIDs are carried out virtually<br />
through WebEx this is one of my barriers that I am facing.<br />
Masks are worn to protect each other from COVID, but<br />
it is a barrier to me in understanding others. Most people<br />
are very understanding when told and they do remove<br />
this. I am very grateful that they are being considerate<br />
and showing kindness towards me.<br />
If this is the new normal for many months to come, what<br />
is the trust going to put in place for me and others to<br />
overcome my barriers? I feel that deaf awareness training<br />
needs to be made mandatory to help staff understand<br />
the barriers that we face.<br />
Regards<br />
Anon<br />
Dear colleague,<br />
Thank you for raising this important issue, one<br />
that I know currently has a high national profile as<br />
the NHS is currently working with PPE providers to<br />
develop masks which support the needs of hearing<br />
impaired patients and staff. I will also flag the issues<br />
you raise regarding PPE with our procurement<br />
department, who I am sure are already sighted<br />
on the issue, to ensure we can update in our<br />
communications when appropriate masks are made<br />
available to the Trust.<br />
In order to ensure you are supported and so that<br />
adjustments can be made to enable you to feel as<br />
much a part of your team as you feel you did pre<br />
COVID-19, it is important that you link in with your<br />
manager so they can fully appreciate your situation<br />
and make appropriate adjustments to the way in<br />
which meetings are conducted (many can be held<br />
both virtually and locally at the present time) and so<br />
that they can address your concerns regarding PPE<br />
and your working environment. Every department<br />
is different but they will have a full understanding<br />
of the nature of the role and how adjustments can<br />
be made and will be able to seek advice via their<br />
operational HR contact.<br />
Deaf Awareness Training is not something we<br />
currently offer but will certainly look into for the<br />
future. We also have an ongoing commitment to<br />
offer staff British Sign Language training at Levels 1<br />
and 2, with more sessions available for staff soon.<br />
I would also urge you to consider joining the<br />
Disability and Long Term Conditions Staff Network<br />
as they play a vital part in raising awareness,<br />
concerns and providing a useful support network for<br />
colleagues with long term conditions. For details on<br />
when and where the next meeting will take place<br />
please email swb-tr.swbh-gm-EqualityDiversity@nhs.<br />
net<br />
Kind regards<br />
Bethan Downing, Deputy Director, People and<br />
Organisation Development<br />
It all seems like risky business to me<br />
Dear <strong>Heartbeat</strong>,<br />
I am writing to raise my concerns about the risk<br />
assessment process and what follows afterwards. I am<br />
pleased that we now have this process in place; however,<br />
I must ask why it took so long to reach this point. I’m<br />
aware of other trusts doing assessments earlier than us.<br />
Our organisation is made up of a diverse mix of<br />
colleagues, many of whom are BAME. I am classed as<br />
BAME and have taken part in the risk assessment and<br />
subsequently received my letter outlining some points.<br />
What is lacking for me is some clear guidance. I<br />
acknowledge the letter has some good points about<br />
wearing PPE, however, I think it would be more useful if<br />
it said what you should be doing for each category, i.e.<br />
low, medium, high and then splitting that down even<br />
further into guidance for clinical and non-clinical staff. For<br />
example, the letter I received said there was the option of<br />
using a face mask in shared offices. This puts the onus on<br />
me to decide what to do. I thought the whole point of a<br />
risk assessment was to inform you of any potential risks to<br />
your health and how to mitigate them.<br />
Now that risk assessments are being done are we seeing<br />
people follow the measures that have been set out? How<br />
is this being monitored by the organisation, and by taking<br />
these steps does it mean we are better prepared if we get<br />
hit with a second surge of COVID activity?<br />
Anon<br />
Dear colleague,<br />
Thank you for raising some very important points<br />
on this issue of great significance. Firstly, if I may<br />
clarify that we have had a risk assessment process<br />
in place since the beginning of this pandemic which<br />
was more manager led initially as we wanted to act<br />
swiftly to protect our most vulnerable colleagues at<br />
a very uncertain time for everyone.<br />
The current risk assessment introduced at the<br />
beginning of June <strong>2020</strong> is a more specific one which<br />
takes into account the so far known risk factors<br />
including BAME background after new evidence and<br />
knowledge in this area emerged. We still don’t know<br />
a lot about this awful disease or fully understand the<br />
risk factors for developing severe illness due to it but<br />
are all trying our best to keep everyone safe as far as<br />
is possible.<br />
I fully agree with you about categorisation and that<br />
is exactly what has been done. The letter you have<br />
received gives individual advice to you and for your<br />
manager based on your risk category. Different<br />
categories have advice based on recommended<br />
measures for their category and it specifies that<br />
only measures relevant to the individual’s role are<br />
expected to be implemented. Anyone is welcome<br />
to see the grid on recommended measures for each<br />
category. There is also a manager’s checklist for<br />
other measures to be considered.<br />
As we are all working together to fight this<br />
pandemic, it is everyone’s responsibility to play<br />
their part and as colleagues, we have a duty to<br />
protect ourselves and others. The onus is therefore<br />
as much on us as it is on others to promote best<br />
practice preventive measures. In some ways we<br />
are all vulnerable but many of us are more so than<br />
others. Working together, I am sure we will make a<br />
difference.<br />
In the next phase after everyone has been risk<br />
assessed, concordance with advice and other<br />
recommended measures will be monitored.<br />
Kind regards<br />
Dr Masood Aga, Consultant and Specialty Lead in<br />
Occupational Medicine<br />
30
David talks about: Public health priorities<br />
Professor David Carruthers, Medical Director and Acting Chief Executive<br />
Toby Lewis is away<br />
DAVID’S LAST WORD<br />
Wellbeing<br />
MIDLAND<br />
METROPOLITAN<br />
UNIVERSITY<br />
HOSPITAL<br />
This month we celebrated the NHS<br />
birthday with thank you messages to<br />
our communities who have supported<br />
us during the pandemic. So many<br />
individuals, businesses and community<br />
groups have stood with us over the<br />
past few months that it is only right<br />
that we should give our thanks and<br />
support back. The impact of the<br />
lockdown is being felt right across<br />
the country and more so in our local<br />
deprived communities. With job losses<br />
increasing and many local businesses<br />
struggling to survive, our challenge lies<br />
not just in how we manage a potential<br />
second surge, flu and winter, but in<br />
how we shore up support for those<br />
communities who most need it. Public<br />
health must be as much a priority for us<br />
as bed planning, safe patient care and<br />
sound financial management.<br />
At the time of the last NHS birthday on<br />
5 <strong>July</strong> 2019 we launched perhaps one<br />
of our biggest public health campaigns<br />
to date – introducing smoke free sites.<br />
This was a whole Trust effort and has<br />
largely been a success with minimal<br />
need to fine smokers, free access<br />
to nicotine alternatives and record<br />
numbers of staff accessing support<br />
to stop smoking. Going into the<br />
campaign, we knew that we were likely<br />
to hear concerns about people seen<br />
smoking on the boundaries of our site,<br />
but felt that was a price worth paying,<br />
if more people were encouraged to<br />
quit. The stories from people who have<br />
managed to be smoke free for a year<br />
are testament to that.<br />
Our public health campaign this year<br />
will focus on being a healthy weight<br />
which is perhaps more important than<br />
ever as obesity carries an increased risk<br />
of a poorer outcome with COVID-19.<br />
The campaign is not about urging a<br />
change in appearance, but it is about a<br />
healthy approach to nutrition, physical<br />
activity and mental wellbeing. Staff will<br />
be able to access a range of healthy<br />
options such as team challenges, smart<br />
scales and apps to track progress and<br />
access to wellbeing coaches. Once we<br />
have the staff activities under our belts,<br />
excuse the pun, we will see how we<br />
can best play our part in supporting<br />
local communities to become healthier,<br />
linking up primary care, community<br />
services, social prescribing, voluntary<br />
services and public health colleagues. We<br />
have a developing relationship with the<br />
Sandwell Leisure Trust that will continue<br />
to grow as we plan for Midland Met and<br />
the opportunities that this provides for<br />
healthy spaces within and outside the<br />
new building and on our retained<br />
estate.<br />
The countdown to the Midland<br />
Met clinical model is outlined in this<br />
issue which has brought home to<br />
me the importance of getting our<br />
preparation and service change well<br />
underway. When we look at the<br />
series of milestones in the lead up to<br />
2022, the new hospital seems just<br />
around the corner. Through the next<br />
few weeks a series of engagement<br />
activities is planned with clinical<br />
teams which needs to be the restart<br />
of our programme development.<br />
Midland Met offers more than a<br />
hospital and the opportunities for<br />
regeneration to improving the public<br />
health of the communities it serves<br />
are there, if we have the vision and<br />
courage to take them forwards.<br />
The NHS's 72nd birthday saw us say thank you to the communities and businesses who have<br />
supported us during the pandemic<br />
31
Hair today, gone tomorrow!<br />
@SWBHCharity To donate<br />
to the Your Trust Charity text<br />
“SWBH16 £5” to 70070<br />
Security Officer Kamal Deep shows<br />
off her newly snipped locks after<br />
having 24 inches chopped off for<br />
charity.<br />
Kay, as she’s known to her family and<br />
friends, decided to have her luscious<br />
locks lopped off after volunteering at<br />
the Trust. She spent time in the pop-up<br />
shop at Sandwell and witnessed the<br />
good work that was being carried out.<br />
As a result, she decided to dedicate<br />
proceeds raised from cutting her hair to<br />
the charity.<br />
Liza Gill, Volunteer Service Manager,<br />
who’s also a part-time beautician, carried<br />
out the task at Sandwell Hospital.<br />
Afterwards, Kay said: “I love my new<br />
hair. I must admit I was a little bit nervous<br />
when she started to snip away, as I’ve<br />
had long hair since I was a child. But I’m<br />
so glad to have had it chopped off for<br />
a really good cause and, I'm proud to<br />
support Your Trust Charity. I spent time as<br />
a volunteer in the pop-up shop at the start<br />
of the pandemic, and I have seen first-hand<br />
the good work that they do.<br />
“There are so many people who have<br />
donated, including the domestics, ward<br />
staff, my colleagues in security and catering<br />
staff to name but a few. I’ve seen how<br />
tirelessly colleagues work here, from<br />
frontline healthcare workers to domestics.<br />
I think that this is the perfect cause,<br />
especially whilst the NHS is really under<br />
pressure, trying to deliver the best care<br />
possible during this awful outbreak. Lastly, I<br />
would like to thank Liza for giving me such<br />
Kamal Deep before and after the big chop<br />
YOUR TRUST CHARITY<br />
a fabulous haircut.”<br />
Amanda Winwood, Fundraising<br />
Manager for Your Trust Charity, added:<br />
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to<br />
Kay for doing this. It’s a very brave step<br />
to have that much hair cut off in one<br />
go. Kay has been a fantastic volunteer<br />
throughout the pandemic and this just<br />
shows her dedication to the Trust and<br />
the charity.”<br />
<strong>July</strong> <strong>2020</strong> staff lottery results<br />
1st £186.25<br />
Lucille Hedges<br />
2nd £111.75<br />
Jean Whitehouse<br />
3rd £74.50<br />
Carol Lucas<br />
Don’t forget that Your Trust Charity lottery costs just £1 a month and anyone<br />
who works for the Trust can join. Payment is deducted from your wages each<br />
month. To take part email amanda.winwood@nhs.net.