Heartbeat August 2020

August 2020
Sandwell and West Birmingham
NHS Trust
The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City Hospital, Sandwell General and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City Hospital, Sandwell General and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
Knowing me, knowing flu…
Issue Issue 131 132
Flu-Per Troopers strut into action to protect our Trust against flu
Trust plans in place
for a second surge
Trust launches
wellbeing
programme
Lesley Writtle chats
to us about Speak
Up Day
Star Awards shortlist
revealed
Page 3
Page 4
Page 7-8
Pages 16-17
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 1 01/09/2020 16:18

Welcome to the August edition
of Heartbeat.
This month we bring you lots
of exciting news from around
the Trust. We find out all about
the upcoming flu campaign and
say hello to one of our Flu-Per
Troopers, Alysha Davis. We reveal
our Star Awards 2020 shortlist and
look at how the alcohol team have
been helping people throughout
the pandemic.
As always, enjoy!
Contact us
Communications Team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
Communications Department
Ground Floor, Trinity House
Sandwell Hospital
Published by
Communications Team
Sandwell and West Birmingham
Hospitals NHS Trust
Designed by
Medical Illustration,
Graphics Team
Sandwell and West Birmingham
Hospitals NHS Trust
Submit an idea
If you’d like to submit an idea
for an article, contact the
communications team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
HELLO
Stay updated
We send out a Communications
Bulletin via email every day and you
can now read Heartbeat articles
throughout the month on Connect.
Don't forget you can follow us on:
FROM THE CHAIR
Play your part - together, we're
stronger in our battle against flu
Flu vaccination season is nearly upon
us and you can see our own colleague
vaccination campaign gearing up in this
edition of Heartbeat. As a Trust, we are
always one of the leading organisations
at achieving a high vaccination rate
among our workforce and I am sure
that this year will be no exception.
You all know the pressure that our services
have been under in previous winters and
during this extraordinary year we must
expect and plan for even more demand
that could arise from a second surge of
COVID-19. To deal with that plus local flu
outbreaks would make providing safe, high
quality patient care extremely challenging.
Whilst you may not all be willing to don
your flares and get into this year’s ABBAvibe,
I am sure you will all get behind this
vital campaign. It is essential that, as NHS
employees, we lead by example. People
look to us for advice and guidance. We are
already aware of concerns in the community
about attending hospital for procedures
and appointments as people have fears
about contracting coronavirus. It is a further
message of reassurance for our patients and
their families if they know that our staff are
vaccinated against flu so are not likely to
pass it on to them or their loved ones. You
will know if your team, service or colleagues
work in an area that in the past has not had
a good uptake of the vaccine. Please, this
year, make it your mission to change that.
The ask this month is for peer vaccinators
to step forward and volunteer to be one of
a number of vaccinators within your service
and department, responsible for giving
your team mates their jabs whilst they are
at work. Our usual jabathons will be more
challenging this year as we aim to limit
people moving from service to service and
ward to ward where we can. This is why
peer vaccination is so important. The Trust
Board members will be getting their jabs
early on in the campaign too.
I want to thank everyone who put someone
forward for a star award this year. We
really have had a tremendous number of
nominations and some truly outstanding
stories of care, compassion, courage and
going way beyond the call of duty. The
shortlist for all categories is published in the
centre-spread. The vote starts in September
for the prestigious teams of the year and
employee of the year so make sure you
cast your vote – details will be out on 1
September.
As ever, there are too many well-deserving
people to recognise each and every one,
so I want to thank you all for everything
you have done over the past year to serve
our patients, their families and each other.
I am so proud of what we have achieved
as a Trust, how we have responded to the
pandemic, and what we continue to deliver
by putting our patients first. Our support
to other organisations in the community,
particularly care homes and primary care,
has been distinctive along with the ways
you have quickly embraced new ways
of working, such as adapting services to
enable virtual appointments by video rather
than face to face. Much of this change we
will continue to take forwards and build
on as we work in partnership to deliver
improved health outcomes for the people of
Sandwell and West Birmingham.
Richard Samuda, Trust Chairman
Chairman, Richard Samuda
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 2 01/09/2020 16:18

COVID-19 second surge: playing
your part in pandemic planning
and prevention
COVID-19
With COVID-19 cases continually
cropping up across Sandwell and West
Birmingham, our Trust has already
started putting into action a plan which
aims to face the virus head-on if there
is a second surge in the coming months.
The COVID-19 pandemic was an
unprecedented global event that challenged
the world to take on an unknown adversary,
a virus that had never been seen before and
one which was indiscriminate in its path of
destruction as it slowly but surely worked
its way across the world. As the death toll
rose, we slowly learnt how the virus was
transmitted, how to protect ourselves, how
to treat our patients and how to check if
we had immunity – all things that we would
have otherwise have already documented,
tested, practised and perfected and
planned.
Now, almost eight months on from when
COVID-19 began to impact our Trust, we
are in a position to enact our plans to
prevent the virus from re-establishing itself
again in our hospitals and our communities.
We know through experience that the surge
in patients and demand on services had the
potential to bring the NHS to a grinding
halt, had it not been for the hard work and
determination of colleagues who rose to
the challenge. Both clinical and non-clinical
colleagues experienced the hardships during
the peak of COVID-19 earlier this year.
Heartbeat caught up with Liam Kennedy,
Chief Operating Officer, to get his thoughts
on a second surge. Sharing his experience, he
said: “We have learnt numerous things from
the first surge which I believe puts in a much
better place should there be a second surge.
We have created a step-up plan so we know
which areas would be converted into COVID
zones and, more importantly, what processes
we would ideally want to put in place. As an
organisation, we are currently working on
what staffing will be deployed to what areas
and we are planning to reach out to those
staff in advance to help manage expectation.
“We know that during the first surge we
didn’t always do everything we could to
welcome repatriated staff into their new
areas, so going forward we will make sure a
checklist is completed and ensure buddy shifts
are part of induction processes to help ease
people into their new areas.
“We also now have a very well established
pathway for patients who present at
our hospitals, allowing us to quickly and
effectively identify, cohort and care for
patients that are COVID-19 positive and those
that are negative, reducing the risk of crossinfection
and allowing us to continue caring
for our patients. Whilst this may seem simple,
we have had to develop plans that take
everything in to account from where patients
can attend in an emergency to which lifts,
theatres and imaging equipment can be used,
practically dividing our site and services into
two completely independent streams.
“We also know that our community
services are essential in helping us to
stave off a second surge. We have an
outbreak swabbing team that is already
out in the community working with
the local authority to identify, swab
and support families and businesses in
the areas helping to ensure that any
COVID-19 positive patients are identified
early and are able to isolate to prevent
spread.
“We will also continue with our levels
of PPE which are some the best across
the whole NHS alongside swabbing,
antibody testing and risk assessments.
These will aid us in making informed
decisions in the future.”
Though things may have calmed
down since the initial outbreak, Liam
is urging everyone to stay alert and be
vigilant. Social distancing rules and PPE
requirements have remained in place as
they are a critical part of our plans to
ensure we can continue providing safe
and effective care.
He added: “I’m pleading with all our
colleagues to continue to regularly wash
their hands, social distance and wear
the correct PPE at all times. We must
make sure we educate and remind each
other about the importance of this as
ultimately these things are paramount in
helping us stop the spread of COVID-19
across Sandwell and beyond.”
Members of our frontline teams who played a vital part in the pandemic
3
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 3 01/09/2020 16:18

Critical care take research to heart
COVID-19
At the height of the pandemic, many
colleagues were redeployed to areas
where they were needed the most to
help fight COVID-19.
One such area was critical care where
colleagues were treating our sickest
patients. Over 300 colleagues were
redeployed to critical care coming from
areas including theatres, outpatients and
research and development.
Heartbeat caught up with Dean
Farrington, one of the ward managers
in critical care, who told us more. He
said: “Dealing with the pandemic was
quite unprecedented for us all. We knew
we needed to plan quickly to ensure
we had the right amount of staff in the
department to cover the shifts and enable
colleagues to have deserved breaks. We
were pleased with the colleagues who
joined us - they were so willing to learn
and support our work.”
Sharon Clarke and Shakila Rasool,
Practice Development Sisters in critical
care were instrumental in ensuring the
redeployed teams received the training
they required. Sharon explained: “We
Members of the critical care team
put on a two-day programme to enable
colleagues to work within critical care. We
also felt it was really important for everyone
to have a thorough induction to the team and
to make them feel part of the team.
“Initially, we had 300 colleagues join us
and as the pandemic eased this was scaled
down to 17. We have been able to provide
these colleagues with an extended training
programme to enhance their knowledge and
skills further.
“Overall, the redeployment into critical care
was successful. The redeployed teams were
fantastic, always willing to learn and had a
smile even during the most difficult times. It
must have been very challenging for them
to join a completely new team, and they
handled it exceptionally.”
One of the colleagues who joined the
critical care team is Research Nurse, Brian
Gammon who had last worked in critical
care over 20 years ago. He recalled: “It was
extremely exciting and nerve-wracking to
be called back. Credit due to Dean and the
team who made us all feel welcome by
helping us settle in and provide us with a
list of agreed competencies.
“Research has played a huge part in the
fight against COVID-19, and it is pleasing
to see the organisation playing a role in
the national trials. As a research nurse, I
was struck by how my colleagues in critical
care were so willing to accommodate trialrelated
work. Everyone took on the role of
recruitment to study trials very readily as
part of their role, seeing it as being a part
of everyday clinical practice. This approach
to recruitment of patients is having a huge
impact on patient outcomes.
“As a research team, we plan to continue
to work closely with critical care as well as
other teams across the Trust to enable us to
keep up the momentum of having research
at the heart of what we do.”
If you would like to speak to the
research team about a trial email
Gina.Dutton1@nhs.net
Trust launches wellbeing programme
Wellbeing has been high on the agenda
of our Trust for some time now. Since
the onset of COVID-19, we have
enhanced how we support colleagues,
and this has been further built upon
with the launch of our wellbeing
programme.
On 14 August, the healthy weight element
of our wellbeing strategy was officially
kicked off via a company-wide WebEx
event. During the launch, colleagues had
the opportunity to learn about how they
can get involved.
The plan has several elements included
to help look after colleague wellbeing
including:
• Access to our health and wellbeing
calendar
• Local wellbeing leads to help you
take control of your health and
wellbeing
• Free e-bike loan for three months
• Sandwell Leisure Trust corporate
membership.
Dr Nick Makwana
One element of the plan that has certainly
got people talking is Dr Nick Makwana’s
dance sessions. Hot on the heels of his
danceathon success last year, our Group
Director of Women & Child Health is getting
ready to put keen colleagues through
their paces with his online monthly dance
routines. If you love dancing, aren’t too
sure if your two left feet are up to it or just
plain curious, please join us for our monthly
online dance sessions.
Wellbeing
A new routine will be uploaded to
Connect each month that you can
practice - individually or in your teams,
at work or home. As well as joining in,
we’d love to see pictures and videos as
you try out your new moves!
We then want the whole Trust to join
in together on the last Friday of each
month at 12pm and 8pm to do the
routine in your areas (and get patients to
join in as well if they can)!
Be sure to check out Connect to find
out more about how you can get
involved. Over the coming months, we’ll
be bringing you regular updates and
sharing success stories to help keep you
motivated.
For further information contact
Johnny Shah johnny.shah@nhs.net.
4
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 4 01/09/2020 16:18

Alcohol care team report rise in
referrals during lockdown
COVID-19
The Alcohol Care team who have seen a rise in referrals during lockdown
Lockdown has seen an unprecedented
rise in the number of referrals to our
alcohol care team (ACT), with national
figures showing 22.2 per cent more
people reaching for the bottle during
the pandemic.
Arlene Copland, Lead Alcohol Nurse,
and her team have continued to support
patients throughout lockdown, offering
a seven-day service. They work with
Cranstoun Sandwell to identify those who
need further help.
One patient told Heartbeat how lockdown
caused him to relapse and drink more
than a bottle of gin a day. The dad-of-two
revealed how the pandemic rules had left
him lonely which led him to drink again. It
was only when his son’s girlfriend spotted
the signs that he was able to seek the help
of the ACT.
The award-winning service had previously
provided an elective hospital detox to the
patient in January 2020. Following his
relapse, he was able to stop drinking with
the support of the team and he hasn’t
consumed alcohol for two months.
“I can say that if it wasn’t for lockdown, I
wouldn’t have relapsed,” said the patient,
who had been made redundant last year. “I
live by myself and I wasn’t coping very well.
I had been sober since January, but then two
weeks into lockdown, I cracked one night and
downed half a bottle of gin. When I woke up
the next day I felt disappointed with myself,
but before I knew it, I was drinking a bottle
and a quarter a day.
“I would wake up in the morning, go
downstairs and pour myself a gin and coke.
I thought nothing of refilling my glass when
it was empty and before the end of the day,
I would have polished off one bottle and
started on the next one. I felt that the world
had become quite dark, very quickly and I
didn’t cope well in lockdown. That was the
straw that broke the camel’s back. I had been
on the verge of finding another job, but the
situation put a halt to that.”
Two weeks later he was visited by his son’s
girlfriend who noticed a change in him and
confronted him about his drinking. The
patient was first referred to the alcohol
team in October 2019 after he realised he
had a problem. He was put on a reduction
programme then underwent detox where he
was admitted to hospital for three days. “I
was very nervous at the time, but it worked
well. The team were fantastic and they don’t
judge you at all.
“I would say to someone who thinks they
have a problem, to go to your GP and seek
help. Lockdown has been difficult for
many, and there have been people who
have been turning to drink. But it’s
about recognising if you have a problem
and making that first move to help
yourself.”
Arlene added: “We have supported
several people who have relapsed back
to excessive drinking during lockdown
because of anxiety, uncertainty, feeling
low or isolated.
“There is a widespread belief that
alcohol helps to reduce stress and
anxiety, improves mood and sleep, but
this is not the case. In reality, alcohol is
a depressant which increases anxiety
and prevents deep sleep; we need to
remind ourselves that alcohol is a toxic
substance which has no benefits, despite
what we want to believe.
“People who develop an addiction to
alcohol do not do so because they like
the taste of their chosen drink, but
because they believe that it is helping
them cope with life. Alcohol does not
have this ability, and there are many
more positive ways we can deal with
emotional issues other than drinking
alcohol.”
Natasha Simpson, Borough Manager
for Cranstoun Sandwell, said: “At the
start of the pandemic Cranstoun saw
a drop in referrals from people asking
for support with their alcohol and drug
use compared to the same time last
year - we believe this was due to people
starting to adjust to being at home.
“Since April we have seen a 229 per
cent increase in referrals from people
wanting support to make positive
changes to their alcohol use and a 139
per cent increase in people wanting help
to change their drug use.
“Sandwell residents can also access a
free and confidential app to help reduce
the amount of alcohol they drink. The
app helps to identify how much you
drink and offers safe advice on how to
cut down. The Lower My Drinking app
can be downloaded through Google
Play or iTunes. The team at Cranstoun
Sandwell are also available to offer
advice and support on 0121 553
1333, at www.cranstoun.org/services/
substance-misuse/cranstoun-sandwell or
via social media on Twitter
@cranstounsand or Facebook.”
5
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 5 01/09/2020 16:18

Preventing a local lockdown
6
COVID-19
As you have no doubt seen in recent
news bulletins our local area –
Sandwell, Smethwick and even the
wider Birmingham area itself have
come under scrutiny as COVID-19
positive cases increase again. This
spike, though not as pronounced
as elsewhere in the country, has led
some to questions around whether
or not a ‘local lockdown’ will be
necessary.
Birmingham City Council is concerned
and recently its leader, Councillor Ian
Ward addressed the issue recently. “The
rise in case numbers, although not
currently on the scale seen elsewhere in
the country, is extremely concerning –
we all need to wake up to the severity of
the current situation. Many people have
stories of tragedy relating to their family
and friends since the onset of COVID-19.
We’ve all made sacrifices over the past
five months to tackle its devastating
impact, and that is what was helping
bring the issue under control here in
Sandwell and Birmingham.
“Most people are still doing the right
things – the basics such as handwashing,
wearing face coverings in the
appropriate places and keeping 2m apart
wherever possible. We all need to keep
doing this. I understand that lockdown
fatigue has inevitably set in for some
and that the easing of restrictions means
it is easy to take your eye off the ball.
But we have to remain focussed. If we
are forced to go back to the dark days
of spring it will be because we haven’t
collectively done our bit for the greater
good of the city.
“It will set our already-fragile economy
back and that could mean more job
uncertainty and further struggles to
make ends meet for many. A local
lockdown could also mean some of
those freedoms and liberties that we
have begun to enjoy again are ripped
from our grasp. We don’t want a
situation where people cannot see their
loved ones in care homes (as many
already cannot do) or not go to their
favourite restaurant.
“Going into the next stage of restrictions
will also probably mean an end to
households meeting indoors, severely
restricting our ability to socialise as we
would like to. There is a risk this could
all happen again if we don’t push
back against the rise in Birmingham’s
coronavirus cases.
Councillor, Ian Ward
“As a council, we will continue working with
our partners in the NHS and other emergency
services to do everything we can to halt the
spread. We have to carry on boosting the
rates of testing. They have been heading in
the right direction, but if you feel unwell with
one of the key symptoms or contacted by Test
and Trace, it is in your interests, and that of
Complacency is our enemy
Trust guidance continues to recommend
caution as the threat of a second wave
continues. All colleagues must adhere to
the rules of wearing a face mask at all
times whilst in clinical areas of our main
hospital buildings.
Where social distancing is not possible
then this remains important during
See below for some important points to
protect patients and colleagues:
Handwashing and gloves:
• Regular and effective hand washing is
the best way to reduce the spread of
the virus
• Gloves are single-use and should
only be worn when they are needed
as part of PPE for a particular
procedure or task and should
immediately be disposed of following
this and hand hygiene performed.
• Gloves are not required for
procedures where there is a minimal
risk of cross-infection between
patients and staff.
Social distancing:
To stop the spread of COVID-19 you
should be taking steps to practice social
anyone you come into contact with, to take
a coronavirus test.
“There is a role here for our colleagues
in central government just as much as
there is for the council or the people of
Birmingham, and we will continue putting
the city’s case forward. In particular, we are
asking the government to provide more
walk-in and drive-in test centres across the
city so that it is easy for people to get a
test. We are also asking the government to
increase access to tests in other locations,
such as GP surgeries.
“In the meantime, Birmingham will be one
of the first councils in the country to pilot a
‘drop and collect’ testing service for those
residents who are finding it difficult to leave
their home to get a test. Nobody should
feel forced into going to work when they
could be risking many other people because
they are struggling to pay their bills and
we are lobbying the government to ensure
people are properly supported financially if
they are ill or while they are self-isolating.
“Ultimately, there is a role for everyone
here. Now is the time to step up and all do
our bit for Birmingham, like never before.”
handovers, breaks and with wardbased
teaching. Hand hygiene is equally
important. The reason for this is clear,
we need to remain vigilant against
the transmission of COVID-19 and do
everything we can to keep our patients
and colleagues safe from infection.
Complacency is our enemy, so we must
all work together to continue to fight the
spread.
distancing by leaving 2 metres (6ft)
between you and those around you.
Whether you work in an office or clinical
area, or someone’s home, you should be
taking steps to limit close contact with
colleagues.
• In communal areas such as coffee
shops and restaurants you will see
markings on the floor showing the
ideal spacing between people.
• Observe the space around you and be
mindful of not stepping into the
personal space of others.
• Make good use of the technologies
we now have available such as WebEx
Teams and Meetings to limit your face
to face contact.
• If someone is too close, it’s ok to ask
them to give you some space.
Manage the risk around you, if you feel that the behaviours of those around you
are putting you at risk, speak up and notify your manager.
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 6 01/09/2020 16:18

Speak loud, speak proud and
have your say with Speak Up Day
In March 2020, our Trust welcomed
Lesley Writtle into the role of nonexecutive
Director (NED). Lesley joined
us from the Black Country Partnership
NHS Foundation Trust of which where
she was the Chief Executive.
Bringing with her a wealth of knowledge
and experience into her role as a
NED, Lesley has been at the forefront
of championing the needs of patients
throughout her career which began at
Sandwell Hospital, so it’s a pleasure to
welcome her back to our organisation in
her new capacity.
Speaking exclusively to Heartbeat ahead
of Speak Up Day which takes place on
9 September 2020, Lesley explained she’s
looking forward to making an impact in this
area. She commented: “It’s great to be back in
the Trust where I started as a nurse. In my role
as a NED, I am responsible for ensuring we
have good standards regarding the freedom
to speak up.
“This is a really important role, making sure
we have effective arrangements that help
protect patients and improve the experience
of our staff. We know that one of the main
reasons people don’t speak up is because they
fear they might be victimised or because they
believe things will not change.
“I will ensure that we have high standards
across the whole organisation and I’m pleased
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
that we already have Freedom to Speak
Up Guardians in place across the Trust.
I will be working alongside them to
ensure we are working to the most
current national guidance, that we
have enough resource to support the
organisation and looking at long term
plans to ensure we listen to patients
and staff, but more importantly that
we create a healthy culture where
we act on concerns and learn as an
organisation.”
To find out all about the Trust's plans to encourage
greater speaking up we put a few questions to Lesley
Lesley Writtle, Non-Executive Director
Q- Tell us about your career and what led
you to have an interest in this area?
A - I trained as a nurse here at Sandwell
Hospital in 1981 and then went off to train
as a children’s nurse, I worked in this area
for 15 years caring for children with cancer.
I then became a manager working in several
Trusts in the Black Country.
My previous role was serving as the Chief
Executive at the Black Country Partnership
Foundation Trust; this was a job I loved.
Throughout my career, my motivation has
never faltered. My focus has always been
doing the best for our patients and families
and making sure at every opportunity we
support staff to do this.
Q - How do you plan to work with
colleagues to ensure we encourage
speaking up across the organisation?
A - Freedom to speak up is really important
- it’s vital everyone’s voice can be heard,
no matter whether you feel something is
a minor issue or a major concern, we are
interested. It’s important because of your
welfare and conditions at work, but it’s also
something that could impact and affect
patient care, the thing we all want to do
well.
Q - Do we have any additional plans in
the pipeline to help colleagues feel more
comfortable and confident to raise their
concerns?
A - I can understand why someone may feel
scared to speak up - it takes courage. Your
conversations with a Freedom To Speak Up
Guardian (FTSU) are confidential. Any plans
to respond to your concern will be discussed
with you and we will work with you to look
into the issues you raise.
However, we are looking at good ideas that
are being used in other places that make
raising things easier. We already have a
confidential phone line - watch this space!
Q - What role can managers’ play in
ensuring colleagues feel safe to speak up?
A - During the next few months we will be
refreshing the information about FTSU, we
will work with colleagues to understand
what improvements we can make and we
will work with the communications team
to make sure information is available in as
many ways as possible.
Managers - we want you to talk about
this and understand that in a ‘healthy’
organisation we can talk about things that
may not be right without fear of reprisal.
Q - How do you see us building upon our
Freedom to Speak Up measures in the
future?
A - We are going to take stock of everything
we are doing in September and compare that
to Trusts in the country we are told have
some great ideas. We are also going to work
with a national expert to help us refresh our
plans.
We’ll also be looking to recruit some more
guardians across the Trust so that it is easier
for staff to have visibility of them.
Visit Connect to find out more information on Speak Up Day.
7
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 7 01/09/2020 16:18

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals
NHS Trust
Raising a concern at work
There are many ways to speak up at work.
You must feel confident to speak up, whatever your role is in the Trust.
SPEAK UP
Our Guardians
Freedom to Speak Up Guardians
have been specially trained to
support staff to raise concerns.
We also have a guardian for safe
working to help junior doctors and
a Chief Registrar.
Your manager
Speak to your manager who may
well be able to resolve your concern
or speak to someone who can.
Whistleblowing
Our whistleblowing policy is on
Connect if you want to formally
raise a serious safety issue or
concern. You can also call Safecall,
the independent 24 hour phone
line on 0800 915 1571.
Incident reporting
Use Safeguard, the incident
reporting system linked on
Connect, to submit an incident.
You will be informed of what has
happened with the incident once
it has been resolved.
Trust specialists
Help is available from our risk
management, health and safety,
safeguarding and counter-fraud
experts.
Heartbeat letters
Your Right to be Heard is where
we publish letters we receive from
colleagues who want to hear a
response to their comments.
You can send this directly to
swbh.comms@nhs.net or by post
to Communications, Trinity House,
Sandwell General Hospital
Trade unions
Trade unions are organised
groups of workers who protect
and support the interests of their
members. Employees have a legal
right to be accompanied by a
union representative during formal
individual employment meetings.
The trade union rep for SWBH
is Emma Barton:
emma.barton1@nhs.net
8
You can find all the details on these methods on Connect
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 8 01/09/2020 16:18

This year our Flu-Per Troopers are set
to take centre stage as they commence
flu vaccinations across our Trust. We are
fast approaching the time of year where
we will begin our flu campaign in a bid to
protect you, your patients, colleagues and
loved ones from the flu.
Now, more than ever, we must take all
the necessary steps to be prepared as
an organisation. You, our workforce, are
far more than just colleagues. We are a
tight-knit community of people, friends
and family and, that’s the way we want it
to stay.
COVID-19 caught the world off guard
but we know the flu is coming. It’s
preventable and we already have a
well-tested quadrivalent vaccination
that will soon be on offer. We will have
alternatives available for those that wish
to have the vaccination without porcine or
egg and encourage everyone to get their
vaccination as soon as possible this year.
It is recommended that those who work
in a healthcare setting have a flu vaccine
annually. The flu season can start as
early as September and can last beyond
December into the following year. Bethan
Downing, Deputy Director of People
and OD, remarked: “It’s important to be
protected early, to give your body time
to build up its defences and to generate
some antibodies. It can take up to two
weeks’ from the time you get the jab
until your body is fighting fit with enough
antibodies to take on the virus. “From
October we’ll be out and about, with
clinics in full flow and we‘re hoping that
by Christmas, everyone will have had
their flu jab.”
Regular updates on our 2020 flu
programme will be shared via the daily
bulletin, Connect and Heartbeat.
Visit Connect to find out how
you can become a Flu-Per
Trooper.
Alysha Davis - Flu-Per Trooper
This month we introduce you to Alysha
Davis, one of our Flu-Per Troopers for this
year’s campaign.
Q - Tell us a little bit about you and the
department you’ll be covering?
A - I work in the Lyng so I’ll be out and
about in the community protecting our
school nurses.
Q – What made you want to become a
Flu-per Trooper?
A - I’ll be helping to protect my
colleagues, and in turn, protect patients
we care for.
Part of being a nurse is having a
responsibility to protect our patients and
this is my way of playing my part.
Q - What are you looking forward to about
the flu campaign this year?
A – I’m looking forward to vaccinating
as many of my colleagues as possible,
helping to protect them and the
community.
Q - Fact or fiction –I’ve had the jab before
so I don’t need it again do I?
A – The flu virus changes constantly so
it is important to have it annually and as
early as you can to help build immunity.
Q – Tell us your favourite ABBA song?
A - I really like the song Chiquitita,
Muriel’s Wedding was really a film that
got me liking ABBA’s songs.
9
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 9 01/09/2020 16:18

CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Shout out has been a regular feature
in Heartbeat and it is fantastic to see
colleagues regularly taking the time to
give positive feedback to each other.
We regularly receive positive feedback from
our patients too, and this month we wanted
to share some of those heart-warming
messages which have been sent via our
website and social media platforms.
To – Ellie Thomas
Thank you for giving lovely support to
mums and babies with infant feeding and
documenting everything really clearly.
From – Infant feeding team
To – Seymour Pilgrim - IT Helpdesk
Saved me from hours of flatbed scanning
pain by patiently helping to re-install our
multi-feed scanner and explaining how to
use. Life (and sanity) saver - thank you.
From – Helen Ralley
To – Aoife Murphy
Positive feedback from a patient on a
comment card. "To Aoife Murphy and
colleague - I arrived before the clinic
opened and the staff welcomed me in
and were brilliant. So helpful and friendly.
Informative too. Just wanted to say a thank
you to both of them, especially Aoife.”
From – Sarah Smith
To – Bethany Cook
I just wanted to say what an absolute
super star Bethany Cook has been during
her time in maternity and since she has
returned to the health visiting team. She is
so motivated, enthusiastic and innovative,
it is really heartwarming. She really
embraced the change in working and took
ideas and resources back to share with her
team when she returned to the community.
We are very grateful for all the support
from the HV team in the last few months;
it has been great working together. We
are very grateful for all the support from
the HV team - it has been great working
together.
From – Louise Thompson
To – Rachel Tennant, Charlotte Joule,
Amelia Bull
There was absolutely fantastic teamwork
between the neonatal unit and
delivery suite during a really, really
difficult situation. They are so kind and
compassionate.
From – Christina Lewis
To – Warley Health Visiting Team
Thank you to all of my lovely Warley Health
Visiting Team for just being YOU! You are
a great support to me and many others
and true inspiration! You are supportive,
understanding, kind and you make coming
to work each day a pleasure!
From – Bethany Cook
To – Ryan Wright - AMUA
I just want to give a huge shout out to
Ryan Wright a HCA on AMUA. Not only
did he jump straight in without hesitation
when we unfortunately had an EMRT, but
his underlying knowledge and compassion
he showed throughout the whole situation
was OUTSTANDING. As this was his first
input he experienced during an EMRT I
am very proud to have this quick thinking
attentive young man on our team!!
From – Leeann Currie
To – Joanne Beasley
Jo B is a unique team leader and a valued
member of staff within our team. She goes
above and beyond, not just for patients but
for all of the staff in our department. She is
always willing to stop and help no matter
how much pressure she is under. From the
patient schedulers to you Jo B - A huge
thank you, you are a credit to the team!
From – Patient Schedulers
To – Rea Bell
Rea is a superstar, going above and beyond
to help me with my work. She really is a
credit to her department.
From – Stacey Clarke
To – Randeep Degun
Randeep has been so supportive
throughout the pandemic by helping to
put up posters and any other messaging
to do with COVID, even offering to help
on his day off. We’d like to give him the
recognition he deserves for his help.
From –The communications team.
To – Julie - Sewing Room Sandwell
Julie was very helpful when we went to
order uniforms. We were in and out within
15 minutes. Thanks Julie!
From – Aimee Hughes
To – ALL junior doctors on respiratory hub
You have been the most amazing team
at the hardest of times. You have had to
adapt to changes daily and have took
it in your stride. Your empathy, care,
communication and knowledge has made
it so easy to work alongside each and every
one of you. I'm sure I speak for the entire
respiratory hub when I say thank you and
good luck in the rest of your careers. You
will all be missed.
From – Abbie Millard
To – Suzanne Mannington
Recognising a patient that was
deteriorating and getting quick help.
From – Jannine Hingley
To – Hayley Stevenson (Locum Physio
Medicine Therapy Team) and Alice Harvey
Big shout out to Hayley Stevenson for
working really hard to get a patient home
following a 3 month admission fighting
COVID 19. With support from other
therapists she played a key role progressing
her from using a standing hoist with
assistance of three people to walking short
distances with a frame and supervision.
Hayley went the extra mile and met the
community therapy team at the patient's
house to complete a hand over to support
with the patients ongoing rehab. Excellent
work!
From – Francesca Hindle
To – Steve Lawley, Mick Eyre and Randeep
Degun
A huge thank you to the team for
supporting me with the NHS 72 birthday
creating beautiful flower beds and
lighting up our hospital sites to Thank
our community. Your support through the
pandemic has been phenomenal to which I
am grateful.
From – Amanda Winwood
10
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 10 01/09/2020 16:18

Celebrating our
stars of the week
Star of the Week
Catherine Morris, Practice
Development Nurse and Clinical
Nurse Practitioner
Congratulations are in order
for Catherine Morris, Practice
Development Nurse and Clinical Nurse
Practitioner.
Star of the Week
Bradley Parsonage, Trainee
Nursing Associate
Congratulations are in order for Bradley
Parsonage, Trainee Nursing Associate.
Catherine was nominated by colleagues
from across the Trust for her work in
supporting staff, patients and families with
end of life care. She has managed to juggle
her professional role by working within the
acute setting and within the community at
Leasowes.
Catherine always remains approachable,
bubbly, caring and professional despite the
pressure from the pandemic. Catherine
has had to put her new job role on pause
to ensure that there is enough support for
colleagues within both settings and for the
patients. Catherine is very thorough in her
role, values the points of others and ensures
that others are informed at all times.
She gets on well with everyone and has
supported and guided the therapists within
the acute setting and at Leasowes during
the pandemic.
Bradley is well-loved and appreciated by
his ward team and was nominated for the
work he has done during the pandemic,
particularly supporting two COVID+
dementia patients, but also because his
team recognise and value his helpfulness
and the general support he provides to the
ward.
Bradley has shown willingness to learn and
is always ready to offer a helping hand to
patients. He was also recognised for all the
small things he does to make life easier for
his colleagues and more pleasant for the
patients he looks after.
Star of the Week
Anita Kaur
Nursing Associate
Congratulations are in order for Anita
Kaur, Nursing Associate.
Anita is a band 4 nursing associate who
worked in diabetes prior to COVID-19. She
was redeployed during the pandemic to
support the community teams to prevent
hospital admissions due to diabetes
complications.
During her redeployment she has
demonstrated all the Trust promises and
has always put her patients first. She is
always receiving positive feedback from
her colleagues in the community as well as
patients and their families.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected
the BAME community and with such a
high prevalence of diabetes in the BAME
community, it is vital that Anita’s work is
recognised, especially because Anita has
poured her heart and soul in to her work
whilst at risk herself due to her ethnicity.
Star of the Week
Suki Kalon
Assistant Service
Manager
Congratulations are in order for
Suki Kalon, Assistant Service
Manager in critical care.
Suki always goes above and
beyond her remit and is always
available for help and advice.
She is excellent at organising,
is always on top of her game
and nothing is ever too much
for her.
During the height of the
pandemic Suki had 140 extra
colleagues to support and all of
the feedback from them said
that Suki was an invaluable
asset to the service.
Suki is highly regarded by
everyone in critical care and the
Trust as a whole.
Star of the Week
Eoin Dore, ACCS CT2
anaesthetics
and CT anaesthetics
trainee
Congratulations are in
order for Eoin Dore, ACCS
CT2 anaesthetics and CT
anaesthetics trainee rep.
Eoin has been instrumental in
developing and publicising an
extensive wellbeing programme
throughout the Trust. Whilst
this is primarily directed at the
trainees, it has been open to all
colleagues and consequently
everyone has reaped the
benefits. He has helped provide
rest facilities on D20 and is
a constant source of trainee
morale boosting. He is also the
anaesthetic department junior
doctor rep where he organises
forums and teaching.
If you have someone in your team that has gone above and beyond the call of duty, put them forward
as a Star of the Week. Visit Connect to find out more.
11
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 11 01/09/2020 16:18

International Year of the Nurse
and Midwife - August 2020
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
This year marks International Year of the Nurse and
Midwife, a campaign by the World Health Organisation
in honour of the 200th birthday of Florence
Nightingale.
Nurses and midwives play a vital role in providing
health services in our workplace. They devote their lives
to caring for mothers and children; giving lifesaving
immunisations and health advice; looking after older
people and generally meeting everyday essential health
needs. They are often the first and only point of care
in their communities. Throughout the year, we will be
highlighting some of our nurses, HCAs and midwives
who are making a difference to our patients.
Staff Nurse
Lisa McFarlane
Each month we profile some of our
wonderful nurses as part of our
2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife
celebrations.
Read on to find out about the career
pathway of Lisa McFarlane, Nursing
Associate Apprentice.
As you may be aware, this year marks
International Year of the Nurse and
Midwife, a campaign by the World
Health Organisation in honour of the
200th birthday of Florence Nightingale.
I/we can to put them right
• I value your point of view
• I will be caring and kind
• I will keep you involved
• I will go the extra mile
Don’t just take out word for it – Jordan
Bryan was one of Lisa’s patients and
was admitted to hospital when she was
diagnosed with autoimmune haemolytic
anaemia. Jordan believes Lisa proved how
much a fantastic healthcare professional she
is when looking after her.
Nurses and midwives play a vital role
in providing health services in our
workplace. They devote their lives to
caring for mothers and children; giving
lifesaving immunisations and health
advice; looking after older people and
generally meeting everyday essential
health needs. They are often the first and
only point of care in their communities.
For August, we feature Nursing Associate
Apprentice, Lisa McFarlane.
Lisa has worked for our organisation
for 12 years, starting in ophthalmology
before going on to work in x-ray.
She told Heartbeat: “Alongside my work
in imaging, I also took on bank shifts
on D16 to help continue to boost my
knowledge and experience.
Lisa briefly left the Trust to take a post
at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust but
continued to cover bank shifts on D16.
However, after a short period, she
started to miss SWB and so returned.
Lisa McFarlane, Nursing Associate
Apprentice
“After just four months away, I missed my
Trust family and returned to a full-time
healthcare assistant post on D16. All staff
I work with are like a second family to me
which is why I felt I had to return.”
In 2018, Lisa won the Quality of Care
Award at the Star Awards. This special
award recognises colleagues who provide
excellent quality care in line with our quality
plan, producing improved outcomes for
patients and those who have consistently
upheld and demonstrate our nine care
promises:
• I will make you feel welcome
• I will make time to listen to you
• I will be polite, courteous and
respectful
• I will keep you informed and
explain what is happening
• I will admit to mistakes and do all
Jordan said: “I was feeling unwell and
turning a bit jaundiced and yellow. The
hospital did a few tests and found out my
haemoglobin was low and I was diagnosed
with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia.
When I was admitted for this I was very
confused and scared. I hadn't heard of this
disorder before, and I didn’t have any of my
family with me.
“I was quite nervous and upset until I met
Lisa. She is one of those people who looks
after you and is warm and caring. She took
time out of her day to check on me which
I appreciated as I know she was very busy.
She would comfort me and became like
a hospital mum to me making a horrible
experience feel bearable.
“I was thrilled when I would hear she was
on shift. Even when I was feeling breathless
and tired, she would help lift my spirits and
I’m sure she would do the same for all her
patients. She truly is one in a million!”
Lisa has recently finished her NVQ Level 3
and is currently on track to complete her
nursing associate, an opportunity she is very
excited about.
12
12
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 12 01/09/2020 16:18

Recruitment goes flexible as
COVID-19 continues
James Morrissey - Acting Theatres Manager
Although it may be accurate to say
the pandemic has thrown the need
for more healthcare practitioners
around the country into greater
relief, the need remains a continuous
one no matter where you go. In that
regard, the COVID-19 pandemic has
not changed matters.
Throughout the last 12 months there
have been ten recruitment events ranging
in size and scope at our Trust; some for
specific departments and areas of care
(stroke services, radiography and elderly
care as examples), others on a more
general scale while some have been
focused on key roles. Back in January, you
may recall we held a very large nursing
recruitment event at the Birmingham
Treatment Centre where we welcomed
hundreds of people over the day which
resulted in a significant number of hires
and follow-ups. Our teams were also
able to answer questions from several
individuals looking to begin their journey
into nursing and offer some guidance.
These are, of course, in addition to the
general recruitment work we do as a
Trust, the work we do in support of
training the next generation of nurses
and the extra projects we undertake. An
example being our Learning and Development
team, which is helping health professionals from
overseas looking to get back in clinical practice.
COVID-19 has necessitated a change in the
way we do recruitment. Over the last month,
we have had two 'virtual' campaigns taking
place - one for theatres and one for medicine
and emergency care. These have eschewed the
normal event and instead embraced a highly
flexible approach, with all interviews done
online. This flexibility has also benefitted the
departments looking to hire with rotas and roles
still affected by the pandemic.
Di Eltringham, Group Director of Nursing for
Surgical Services at the organisation, said:
“Historically the Trust has always held large
in-house recruitment events which have been
highly successful. But with the onset of the
pandemic we realised that this would not be an
option so have decided to take things online.
“We have vacancies to fill, but we want our
candidates to get to know us, that’s why we’re
offering them virtual coffee with clinical leads,
practice development nurses and members
of our human resources department before
interviews."
Candidates will be able to find out about the
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
recent investments we have made within
our organisation, including a new £1.2
million children’s emergency care unit,
training and development opportunities,
and the fantastic range of staff benefits
on offer.
The new super hospital, the Midland
Metropolitan University Hospital, will
boast the biggest A&E department in
Europe, with state-of-the-art equipment.
It’s due to open in 2022 and will be a
fantastic place to work.
As our employees know, the health
and wellbeing of our staff is also very
important to us. We have a wellbeing
sanctuary for employees where they
can access free massages and an energy
pod which can be used on breaks,
giving staff a chance to relax and
rejuvenate whilst they are on shift. And
staff currently working at the Trust will
receive a “refer a friend” bonus if their
recommended person is hired. There are
so many reasons why we want people to
join our Trust and we invite prospective
candidates to contact us to find out
more about what we have to offer.
It is important even during the
COVID-19 pandemic to not lose sight
of our business as usual, we have a
large community to serve and we are
cognisant of our need to succession
plan,” added Matron of Theatres, Amber
Markham. “We are building our team
to be the best workforce to move into
MMUH and provide the highest quality
care to our patients. Surgery will be split
over three sites so we need to ensure we
have a skilled and flexible workforce to
meet the demands of the service. The
next 18 months allows us to develop
newly appointed candidates to be able
to flex across specialties so we can
deliver surgery across the organisation.”
The positive atmosphere at the Trust is
also seen as an attractive option to those
looking to join, often emphasised by
teams when recruiting. For example: to
quote a colleague who we have recently
featured as part of the recruitment
campaign it's "like a big family, we strive
to give the best care and it's a fantastic
environment to work in." Another senior
Theatres worker encouraged nurses to
apply emphasising how the Trust in a
35+ year career had been “the one to
truly invest” in him and his skills as a
healthcare practitioner.
13
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 13 01/09/2020 16:18

Kissing It Better one performance
at a time
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Cheer and delight was the order of
the day earlier this month when the
wards at Rowley rang out to the
sound of a live violinist serenading
patients from the courtyard.
Heading into August, people across
the country have started to enjoy some
sense of normality and life before
COVID-19, a trip to the local pub, a
haircut and meeting up with friends.
However, some of the frailest patients
remain in our care at Rowley Regis
Hospital, where they enjoy their ‘round
the clock’ care in safety. COVID-19 has
deeply impacted these patients, and the
additional stress of cancelled visits from
family and friends has added to a sense
of isolation.
Stepping up to the challenge of
spreading cheer and joy were our friends
at ‘Kissing It Better’ who stopped off at
Rowley Regis Hospital on their travels
Pete Hartley - violinist who performed to
patients at Rowley Regis Hospital
across the country where they have been
visiting organisations to play live music and
host musical performances. Staying at a safe
distance from patients they have performed
through windows, on doorsteps and out in
open spaces.
On an overcast day at Rowley Regis Hospital,
we caught up with Jill Fraser, Chief Executive
of Kissing It Better and Pete Hartley who
performed an array of classic songs on his
violin including Frozen and Michael Jackson.
Jill told us: “When we couldn’t go inside
hospitals and care homes, we decided to take
our performances outside. If you play the
right music it reminds you of happier times,
and it also means patients are moving
inside, they are tapping their toes, clapping
along automatically because they know the
songs we play.
“We do this just to say we have so
much respect for the patients, for the
contributions they have made and we
haven’t forgotten you. This is our way of
saying thank you and showing that we
care.”
Pete added: “It’s my absolute pleasure
to do something like this that brings
some happiness to older members of our
communities. You see them tapping their
fingers and toes and straight away you
know they appreciate it. It sparks a sense
of connection, and I hope they enjoy it as
much as we do.”
Ward Manager, Sarah Whitcombe
commented: “The patients thoroughly enjoy
listening to the live music. It's uplifting and
boosts the spirits of not only the patients
but colleagues too.”
National podcast focuses on awardwinning
programme
The Learning and Development team
were the focus of an NHS Employers
podcast for the work they have
done around community career
progression and inclusivity through
recruitment.
Lawrence Kelly, Co-ordinator, Raffaela
Goodby, Director of People and
Organisational Development, along
with Paulina Lapinski, an apprentice
all spoke about the Live and Work
programme, which helps to find jobs
and accommodation for vulnerable
people.
Paulina said of her experience: “The
apprenticeship role had a huge impact
on me. I felt like I became a lot more
confident and I feel like I can now do
more. When I didn’t feel 100 per cent
confident, there were people around me
to motivate me. I feel like I have become
stronger and my life has improved. The
accommodation was affordable and, the
staff have been very supportive. If there
were any issues, I would be given help
and advice.”
Paulina now works in the events team. She
added: “I have been working here for 18
months, it’s great and I can progress in my
role and feel supported. If I want to work
towards higher qualifications, I will speak to
the manager and be given an opportunity to
do this.
“When I got the call to say that I had got the
apprenticeship, I was excited and scared at the
same time, but I knew it was a changing point
in my life. I’m just happy that this opportunity
was given to me.”
Meanwhile, Lawrence told NHS Employers
about how the Learning Works was created.
He said: “We wanted to develop an access
point for local people in our community on
how to access training and careers and in our
Trust.
“We identified a building that was vacant
close to the Midland Metropolitan University
Hospital and named it the learning works,
breaking down barriers to careers in our Trust.
“As an inclusive employer, we are open to
working with people and supporting them to
overcome challenges such as mental health,
disability or conviction. We have an honest
conversation with them – and that makes
them more forthcoming.”
Raffaela added: “By being more flexible
in our recruitment, and by offering a role,
an apprenticeship and home to a young
person, the vulnerable candidates are less
likely to fall into homelessness.
“We are a very much a ‘value-based’
organisation. A successful apprenticeship
relies on a team to support that person
into the organisation, the apprenticeship
team led by Maxine Griffiths provides an
accredited programme of learning and by
making sure there is a holistic package of
support around them as well.
“When I read a story about someone who
came here as a refugee, had nothing and
through our work, we’ve helped them
and the impact it’s had…that’s one of the
reasons I come to work.”
To hear the full podcast go to: https://
www.nhsemployers.org/case-studiesand-resources/2020/07/inclusiverecruitment-episode-2
14
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 14 01/09/2020 16:18

Let’s get publishing!
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CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
To get started visit:
bmjopenquality.bmj.com and
Use this fellowship code to
publish: 4173517698
For any queries, just ASK your
library & Knowledge Services
team:
0121 507 3587
swbh.library@nhs.net
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@swbhlibrary
Musarrat Allie crowned ophthalmic
imaging poster award winner
Musarrat Allie is a Senior Medical
Technical Officer who has worked
within the visual function
department at Birmingham Midland
Eye Centre for the past 30 years.
Musarrat originally qualified in
pharmacy and began her career
within retail pharmacy, where she
worked for several years before
taking a break to bring up her
family.
Musarrat joined Dudley Road Hospital
pharmacy in 1985, and after five
successful years joined the visual
function department. Whilst Musarrat
had no prior electrophysiology
experience, she was encouraged to apply
for the role and to her amazement, was
successful and has never looked back!
It has been her home away from home
ever since.
The visual function department is
unique in that it is the only department
within the whole of the UK that
conducts colour tests, electrophysiology,
ultrabiomicroscopy, ultrasound and
visual fields within the same department.
Fast forward to October 2019, and Musarrat
and her colleague Bianca Carrion attended
an International Imaging Conference in Paris.
Both were encouraged by their clinical lead
(Dr Peter Good) to attend the course and
present their posters.
Musarrat’s poster was titled ‘Investigation of
Anterior Segment Dysgenesis (ASD) using
Ultrasound Biomicroscopy (UBM)’. It went on
to be crowned as the ophthalmic imaging
best poster award winner at the conference
– which was host to professionals from all
over the world who had entered posters for
consideration for this award.
Musarrat was thrilled to have her poster
win the award. She commented: “ASD is
a spectrum of disorders associated with
glaucomatous optic neuropathy. In children
and very young adults, ASD manifests as
abnormalities of the cornea, lens and iris –
resulting in drainage angle defects which
often require surgical intervention
She added: “I love the work that I do and
winning this accolade is something I am
incredibly proud of.”
Well done Musarrat from everyone at SWB.
Musarrat Allie, Senior Medical Technical
Officer
15
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 15 01/09/2020 16:18

VOTE
NOW
Let’s hear it for this year’s
short listed nominees for
the 2020 Star Awards
A record 700 nominations were received
this year – the highest ever in the history
of the awards. Thank you for taking the
time to think about individuals and teams
and putting them forward. This year we
had a wonderful turnout of nominees
with colleagues and patients both keen
to share their amazing experiences of
care, kindness innovations and quality
they had experienced throughout our
organisation.
This year’s nominations naturally
reflect the unprecedented impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic but
also all the other work that
has gone on throughout
the past year, in particular
the launch of Unity,
our electronic patient
record.
Our judges definitely had a challenge this year
whittling down the 700 nominations to our final
shortlist we are able to share with you.
Leading the Star Awards judging panel, Chairman
Richard Samuda said:
“ Congratulations to all of the
nominees not just those that
have made it through to the
next stage. Star Awards is
a wonderful opportunity to
recognise all of the hard work
and achievements of our
colleagues.”
On the pages opposite, there’s a description
of each award category and the names of
the shortlisted teams and colleagues in each.
Don’t forget that you choose the winners in
four categories (in orange panel):
• Employee of the Year
• Clinical team of the Year (Adults)
• Clinical team of the Year (Children)
• Non Clinical team of the Year
You will be able to vote online through
Connect in September.
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 16-17
SA20 HB Centre Spread Noms.indd 2

VOTE
NOW
Employee
of the Year
- Eoin Dore
CT Anaesthetics Trainee Rep
- Lynn Cartmell
Domestic Supervisor
- Ed Fogden
Consultant Gastroenterologist
- Soraya Roberts
Staff Nurse
Clinical Team
of the year adults
- Respiratory Physiology
- Palliative Care team
- ICU Therapy team
Clinical Team
of the year children
- Neonatal Unit
- Paediatric Diabetic team
- Looked after Children’s team
Non-clinical
Team
- Procurement PPE team
- Porters
- Informatics
New Leader
- Anil Bhogal
- Maria Atkinson
- Jim Morrisey
- Amirah Sheikh
Volunteer
of the Year
- Kamal (Kay) Deep
- Rachel Bassett
- Rachel Cooper
Fundraiser
of the Year
- Krystal Whitehouse
- Jenny Richards
- Nick Makwana
Distinguished
Service Award
- Cherry Hutchinson
- David Holden
- Nick Sherwood
Prize for
Innovation
- City ED Pioneer Champions
- Junior Doctors Wellbeing
Hub/Sanctuary
- Medicine and Emergency
Care Nursing team – Mouth
Care Matters
Patient
Safety Award
- Critical Care Outreach
- Learning from
Deaths Committee
- Sheila Kamupira
2020 Vision Prize
for Integrated
Care Pioneer of
the Year
- Advanced Clinical Practitioners/
Admission Avoidance team
- Discharge Enablement team/
Palliative Care Service
- Medicine Therapy team
Learner of
the Year
- Monica Quinlan
- Max Newbold
- Rachel Gallagher
Award for
Equality and
Diversity
Champion
- Alison Byrne
- Homeless Patient Pathway
- Paul Rees
Excellence in
research prize
- Karim Raza
- R&D team
- Research Midwives
Excellence in
education prize
- Advanced Critical Care
Practitioners team
- Clair Millard
- Maternity and Neonatal
Education team
- Mohammed Yusuf Mian
the ‘Green’ Award
- Alcohol team
- Cancer Services
- Immunology
Special Award –
International
Year of the Nurse
and Midwife
- Charanjit Sangha
- Jennifer Cadwallader-Hunt
- Joanne Tonks
- Rebecca O’Dwyer
Digital Leader
of the Year
- Mark Whitehouse
- Joanne Bryer
- Rashid Abuelhassan
Local Primary
Care Award for
the Most Valued
Service in the
Trust
- Admission Avoidance team
- Community COVID-19
Testing Team
Quality of Care
- Mr - Susnata Mr China China
- Gynaecology team
- Karen Walker
01/09/2020 16:18
26/08/2020 13:14

Trust to plan path to new
online presence
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
When it comes to building the future
of our healthcare services we are
tackling multiple challenges head-on.
There is the matter of recruitment,
which you can read about elsewhere
in this month’s edition of Heartbeat.
Infrastructure and team changes
continue as we continually reevaluate
our services based on
not just the ongoing Coronavirus
pandemic, but also from feedback
received from both patients and
clinicians.
The Midland Metropolitan University
Hospital is, of course, the symbol
by which we will define the future
of our services, and this will have a
knock-on effect in several other areas
regarding how we present ourselves
as a healthcare Trust and how we
communicate with patients. This
includes our online presence, such as
social media.
One element of the Trust’s branding
that has for some time been requiring
an overhaul is our main website, the
current version of which has been in
operation for some considerable time.
While it is still operational and kept up
to date by the Communications team, it
is beginning to show the strain, both in
look and functionality.
“Our current site has been in operation for
approximately eight years, and in that time a
lot of the technology behind it has changed,”
explains External Communications Manager,
Anuji Evans.
“However, a lot of the structure of both the
SWB site and the Birmingham Midland Eye
Centre’s subsite – which is a clone, albeit a
loose one of SWB – has not changed. It is very
rigid in design and difficult for us to change
in terms of the overall look. There are also a
lot of specialised working parts behind the
scenes that are pretty dated. Problems that
just refreshing the look won’t solve.”
“With Midland Met moving closer, the Trust
has come to an agreement that it is not the
only ‘new build’ that needs focusing on.
We’re now looking into what needs to be
done to get a whole new website developed
from the ground up that will better suit
the needs of staff, patients and visitors
and also reflect where we are going as
an organisation. We, like you, want it to
not just look better and work better but
provide a suitable platform for all of our
departments to showcase what they can
do, how they can help and be proper
knowledge bases for your specialities.”
Plans are currently in very early stages, and
we will have more information about the
developments in future Heartbeats. In the
meantime regular updates of the current
website will continue to take place; the
External Communications team invites
department leaders to take quarterly
evaluations of the publicly displayed
information in their sections and contact
the communications team with any needed
text updates.
Trust retains TIDE silver award
SWB has successfully qualified for
the Talent Inclusion and Diversity
Evaluation (TIDE) silver award courtesy
of the Employers Network for Equality
and Inclusion (ENEI).
This means the Trust has once again
maintained its silver status. In total, 98
organisations participated in TIDEmark
2020 across 26 different sectors and two
different regions.
TIDE is a self-assessment evaluation and
benchmarking tool that measures an
organisation’s approach and progress on
diversity and inclusion in eight key areas:
• Workforce
• Strategy and plan
• Leadership and accountability
• Recruitment and attraction
• Training and development
• Other employment practices
• Communication and engagement
• Procurement
“I feel very proud of everyone who helped us
keep this silver award. To have been ranked
21st out of 98 organisations and to get an
overall score of 78 per cent is something
special which should be celebrated,” said
Raffaela Goodby, Director of People and
Organisation Development.
“Having looked at the report and the
eight key areas, as an organisation we did
particularly well in the areas of strategy
and plan, attraction and recruitment and
communication and engagement attaining
scores of 11, 11 and 20 respectfully. This
makes me very happy as throughout the last
12 months or so we have made a conscious
effort to improve in those areas specifically.
We plan to work closely with our staff
networks, particularly on the Black Lives
Matter agenda to improve all of these
scores in our next evaluation.”
In addition, to being ranked 21st overall,
the Trust was also ranked sixth out of 11
in regards to healthcare organisations
and 16th out of 78 in the whole of
Europe.
Raffaela believes it is a fantastic
achievement for SWB to retain the silver
award and added: “I would like to say
congratulations to all our staff who
were involved in any capacity in helping
us retain this great accolade. Fingers
crossed we can go one better next time
and get gold!”
18
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 18 01/09/2020 16:18

Unity Patient Portal – Putting
the patient in control
Patients that understand their
conditions, have the tools and
knowhow to manage their care and
the support of a caring clinician a click
away is one of the ultimate dreams of
21st Century healthcare. It’s an area
that has been long-awaited and will
soon be fulfilled with the launch of the
Unity Patient Portal in early October.
Knowledge is power, and currently, all of
our information about our patients, from
their notes to their test results are stored in
our recently updated and refreshed Unity
EPR. However, we still rely on patients
to be able to interpret, appreciate and
understand the vast amount of information
that is shared with them when they have
a consultation. Amongst letters reminding
patients of appointments, test results and
referrals landing at their doorstep, it’s easy
to see why sometimes patients can feel a
little overwhelmed when it comes to their
healthcare.
The Unity Patient Portal is an extension
of the Unity EPR system used within the
Trust, and is the final bridge between
clinical colleagues and patients being
able to communicate and collaborate in the
management of care, with patients having
access to the following information on the
portal:
• Upcoming appointments
• Parts of your medical records
• Documents such as discharge summaries
and consultation letters
• Selected laboratory results from
blood tests
One of the most innovative elements of the
new portal will be the ability for patients to
easily communicate with their clinicians from
the comfort of the portal. This is something
that is often taken for granted in professional
circles but is overwhelmingly welcomed by
patients.
Patients will also be able to complete preassessments
questionnaires and other
documentation before they arrive for
appointments, ensuring patients can be
seen promptly and progress their care
quickly.
From September, colleagues in primary
care, community and therapies alongside
surgery will begin to take advantage of
the system and subsequently, the system
will be rolled out across the Trust.
To sign up and be enrolled on to the
system, patients will simply need to
provide photographic ID, a private email
address and a security question at their
next consultation and within a few
minutes, they will be able to have access
to their records on the portal.
If you would like to find out
more about the new system,
contact Joe Cridge on email:
joseph.cridge@nhs.net.
Enrolling a patient on to the
Unity Patient Portal
Once a patient has indicated that they would like to have access to the patient
portal, they can be enrolled on to the portal through Unity.
This process can be completed by a clinician, receptionist of administrative support,
provided the person completing the invitation has verified the photographic ID presented.
1. Open the patients record in Powerchart
2. In the banner bar, Click on ‘PM Conversation’ and then
‘Patient Portal Enrolment’
3. Search for the SWBH hospital site
4. Enter the following information
a. Access offered (Select yes)
b. Enter their security question and answer
c. Select the I.D verified against
d. Send Invite (mark as send)
e. Email address (Please ensure this is double checked)
5. Click ‘OK’ to send the invite to join the portal.
19
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 19 01/09/2020 16:18

An integrated approach to frailty at
the front door
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY
CARE
‘Providing the right care, in the right
place at the right time’, is a term
that’s often used in the NHS. One area
it can make a significant impact in is
when it comes to caring for our older
patients who present at our hospitals
– an issue that has been proven by
our frailty at the front door work.
With an ageing population alongside
high levels of deprivation and ill health
in Sandwell and West Birmingham, it’s
critical to ensure that when a frail older
adult is admitted into our care that we act
rapidly to ensure that therapy intervention
and discharge planning begins as early
as possible so the right level of care is in
place and the patient begins their journey
to discharge.
To find out more about the frailty at the
front door project, Heartbeat caught up
with Trainee Frailty Advanced Clinical
Practitioner, Emma Hibbs. She said: “Early
intervention therapy is key when it comes
to caring for our population, which is why
the rapid response therapy service is in ED
supporting colleagues to care for patients.
Our teamwork has two primary aims
in ED; admission prevention and early
comprehensive therapy assessment.
“The rapid response therapy team
are now well established in ED -
acute medical assessment units and
the older person’s assessment unit,
The frailty intervention team was set up in ED in July 2020
work collaboratively as part of the
multidisciplinary team and proactively
manage patients across these units to
provide therapy assessments and facilitate
discharge planning.
“As a team, we have been able to
continually evolve our assessments focusing
on the quality of care we give to our
patients. We screen for frailty using the
clinical frailty scale, complete evidencebased
cognitive assessments such as the
4AT to screen for delirium and cognitive
impairment and complete a thorough
physical and functional assessment.
We know that admission to hospital and/
or prolonged acute inpatient stay can
negatively impact function, overall patient
outcomes, mortality, and whether patients
return to their usual place of residence or
not. We can have meaningful conversations
about what matters to our patients to
inform our assessment and management to
ultimately provide holistic care.”
Emma added: “Since the project, we have
made some exciting developments around
the management of frailty at the front
door with a successful project piloting a
‘frailty intervention team’ in ED in July. The
primary aim of this team was to deliver
comprehensive geriatric assessments
facilitated by a core MDT group of
clinicians. The pilot was a great success, and
we look forward to hopefully establishing
this service permanently in ED working
towards a vision of a truly integrated front
door approach to frailty.”
20
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 20 01/09/2020 16:18

Surgery – putting patients first as
they look to the future
2020 has been a year of firsts – a
global pandemic, a national response,
social distancing, shielding and
isolating, things you would never
imagine would have an impact in the
delivery of patient care have come
to the forefront, but few have stood
in the way of determined colleagues
delivering safe and effective care to
those in need.
One area that has been taking the lead
on recovery and restoration of normal
services as they were ‘pre-COVID’ has
been surgical services. We caught up
with Shinade Coughlan, Group General
Manager, to find out more. She explained:
“Throughout the peak of COVID-19, we
maintained an emergency provision on-site.
We transferred all high-risk surgeries to the
private sector hospitals to ensure we could
maintain some service provision within our
Trust.
“As the pandemic eased we gradually
recommenced activity onsite on 13 July;
initially with one theatre session per day
running through Birmingham Treatment
Centre (BTC). To do this, we redesigned
patient flow, pre-assessment guidance,
shielding advice and conducted a waiting list
review to ensure the most urgent patients
had access first. Since then we have gradually
built up additional theatres and now run four
theatres daily from BTC. Last week we decided
push forward with restoration and now
we stand to be back to delivering 100% of
activity by 1 September 2020.”
Speaking of how such an important step
has been taken forward for surgery, Shinade
explained: “It has been a real team approach
to redesigning and restoring activity. I've
lead the organisation recovery program for
elective provision, but have been supported by
Leann Coughlan, DGM for Theatres, Amber
Markham, Clinical Lead for Theatres, Mr
Andy Torrance, CD for surgery and also wider
stakeholders, such as ASU staff, booking
teams and clinical leads.”
Looking to the future we also have provisions
in place in the event of a second surge. “As
part of our recovery plans, we have ensured
we have a step up and step down model in
place, whereby we know which staff would be
redeployed should COVID-19 return,” Shinade
told us. “This means we can plan for a second
surge knowing the impact on theatres based
on redeployment of staff and expansion space
SURGICAL SERVICES
required for critical care beds.”
She added: “There have been many
challenges given the need to completely
redesign our service offering. For
example, emergency services have
completely relocated to Sandwell
Hospital, paediatrics has moved to
Sandwell too. We have had to convert
two theatres to minor operations units
given airflow challenges in previous
rooms.
“Challenges, however, have allowed
us to think outside of the box and seek
new solutions, perhaps some we hadn’t
considered before. It is a really exciting
time to completely redesign the way we
use our estate, allocate sessions based
on demand and think differently about
how we work. It has also given us the
chance to develop our staff training
and upskill them in multiple specialties -
there have been some real opportunities
to come out of this situation.”
Did you know that you can download
treatment-specific patient information
leaflets from the EIDO Healthcare
website for FREE?
EIDO has hundreds of patient leaflets for different procedures that
are being carried out across the Trust.
They are available in an easy-to-read format and
in different languages.
Patient information for hundreds of procedures carried out across
the Trust can be downloaded for free and passed on to patients
to help them better understand the procedure they may be
undergoing. Many of these are available in different languages and
formats and help patients to give informed consent.
Visit Connect Clinical Systems EIDO PT Leaflets.
For more information, please contact CommunicationsTeam on
ext.5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net
21
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 21 01/09/2020 16:18

Cancer support workers – providing
personalised care and support
SURGICAL SERVICES
The work the cancer services team
does reaches beyond the treatment
of patients. Indeed, our cancer
support workers have a vitally
important role to play and offer
an array of support ranging from
patient information, to how to live
with cancer and treatment options
to name but a few things.
The new cancer support worker role is
having positive outcomes for patients
living with and beyond cancer. The role
works alongside cancer clinical nurse
specialist teams to deliver best practice,
personalised care and support to
patients.
A key aspect of the role is to deliver
holistic needs assessments (HNA) and
care planning. The HNA explores what
matters to patients to help resolve any
practical, emotional or physical worries
or concerns they may have. This is done
by signposting to relevant information,
advice and support. We caught up with
cancer support workers Donna Cross,
Ilaham Mohammed and Lucy Wright to
find out about their diverse roles.
Donna Cross, Haemato-Oncology Cancer
Support Worker at Sandwell Hospital
remarked: “We support patients from
the start of their journeys through to
treatment and beyond. By providing a
single point of access we can support
and provide information to signpost
patients to the services they require.
“During COVID-19, I have been able to
continue supporting patients over the
phone, and I have worked with them to help
wherever possible to alleviate any fears and
anxiety. I am proud of the relationships I have
built up with my patients and enjoy working
to offer them the care and support they
need.”
Ilaham Mohammed, Cancer Support Worker
for lung and gynae specialties echoes these
sentiments. She remarked: “The cancer
support worker role allows me to work
with specialist nursing colleagues and other
healthcare professionals to improve the lives
of patients. I have daily contact with them,
their relatives and carers to help them make
informed choices about their care. I feel this
role helps to empower people by providing
practical and emotional support at a time
when they need it most.
“The feedback we have received from patients
shows that this additional contact with the
patient is very important; it’s an opportunity
for us to listen to patient concerns and focus
on their needs. Not all of our patients have
concerns and that is fine, for us it is important
that they know we are here if, and when, they
need us.”
Lucy Wright is a Cancer Support Worker in
the breast unit and for urology. She told us:
“A core part of the role is to promote and
signpost patients to all forms of support
available to our patients. Some available
resources include national charities such as
Macmillan, Breast Cancer Now or Prostate
Cancer UK, others are within the Trust and
many more across our local cancer care
community. This can include support groups,
health and wellbeing events, social activities
and complementary therapies.
“We have received great feedback from
patient surveys carried out in the breast care
unit. Patients have found HNAs very useful
- they have enabled them to self-manage
their care and improve their quality of life.”
Jane Ogleby, Haematology CNS added: “We
have found that by having support workers
on hand it gives the patient more of a voice
as well as providing a reassuring ear. It
supports them to make their own choices
around their care and wellbeing which
in turn improves their journey holistically.
This enables them to concentrate on their
treatment and on getting well. It certainly
improves their experience and helps to
gives them back control about their support
needs with a focus on physical side effects
that persist, coping strategies, social issues
and psychological support.
Emma Hunstone from the Living With and
Beyond Cancer Team, commented: “Our
cancer Support Workers have an important
role to play in ensuring we are delivering
best practice cancer care and support to
patients and improving their experience and
outcomes.
“The results of the National Cancer
Patient Experience Survey 2020 are already
showing the positive impact that HNAs
and care planning is having on the patient
experience overall. This year alone, we’ve
seen more people receiving information
about support groups, getting financial
help and exploring the impact cancer could
have on their day to day activities. These
are all genuine concerns raised by patients
and once resolved it enables them to
concentrate on living well.”
Cancer support workers - Lucy Wright, Donna Cross and Ilaham Mohammed
22
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 22 01/09/2020 16:18

Imaging on the road to recovery
Post the initial COVID-19 outbreak;
diagnostic imaging was one of the first
services to restart routine appointments
as part of the Trust’s recovery and
restoration programme.
The imaging senior management team,
modality leads and support staff initially
met twice a week as a mini project team, to
review and amend working practices such
as booking templates, PPE requirements,
cleaning regimes and operational
segregation of blue (non-COVID) and red
(COVID) streams.
The service adopted the Trust pre-screening
rules and identified designated blue areas
where patients could have their diagnostic
test safely and with minimal risk of crossinfection.
Routine CT, MRI, US and plain
film examinations were provided within the
BTC, Rowley Regis Hospital and Glebefields.
Restarting routine services was however
only phase one of recovery and restoration
programme. Phase two is about increasing
activity to pre-pandemic levels, restarting
speciality diagnostics and reducing the
backlog accumulated during the period
where routine work was put on hold.
The whole imaging team has been fully
supportive of getting back to business as
usual and ensuring that our patients are
seen as soon and as safely as possible.
To address the backlog the team are
working extended hours at Rowley and
BTC to provide additional plain film x-ray
capacity. Previously all plain film x-ray was
a walk-in service, however, to maintain
infection control measures, this is now an
appointment service only.
There are two mobile MRI scanners onsite
and a mobile CT scanner due to arrive
in September 2020. Also, the ultrasound
team are working extended hours with the
support of two locum sonographers.
Additional sessions with DEXA and
fluoroscopy have also been initiated.
Over the last couple of weeks speciality
diagnostics such as radio-frequency
ablations, CT colonography and CT cardiac
scanning have restarted which required a
specific redesign of streaming and working
practices to facilitate the separation of
COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients
and seamless continuation of emergency
services.
Radiologists, radiographers, assistant
practitioners, imaging support workers,
imaging nurses and all other imaging
staff continue to go above and beyond to
ensure that our patients receive the highest
standard of care during these difficult times.
Fiona Rotherham, Interim Group Director of
Operations – Imaging commented: “This is
an exciting time for the imaging department
as we begin taking steps forward to restore
patient care. COVID-19 has placed a strain
on a lot of services - we are pleased to be
working together to increase our patient
activity and are determined to clear our
backlog.
“The team have been so supportive of our
recovery efforts and have worked hard to get
Members of the imaging team at BTC
IMAGING
us to a good place. We are only at the
beginning of our restoration journey and
look forward to what the future holds
for our area.”
23
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 23 01/09/2020 16:18

COVID-19 in the community
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
Whilst the response to COVID-19
in our acute hospitals has been
amazing, it’s time we recognised
the incredible work that has been
happening out in the community,
with testing teams responding to
outbreaks and community nursing
teams tending to at risk patients – all
whilst a nation went into lockdown.
It’s often easy when you think
about healthcare and the response
to COVID-19 to focus on hospitals
and patients arriving at emergency
departments, yet at our Trust, almost
70 per cent of our care is delivered
to patients out in the community,
to patients who are frail, elderly,
infirm or generally unwell; patients
who regardless of lockdown and this
pandemic still need to receive care.
Throughout the pandemic, clad head to
toe in PPE, colleagues in the community
have continued to deliver care to
patients in the community and have also
played a pivotal role in the management
of outbreaks in the community.
To find out more about the work of the
community teams, Heartbeat spoke to
Tammy Davies, Group Director of Primary
Care, Community and Therapies. She
said, “Our community teams have done
an outstanding job at a time when our
community was in need. They have
demonstrated all that defines our Trust
in their determination, compassion and care.
“When COVID-19 began to have an impact
locally, our teams were able to very quickly
change the way they work whilst still
providing the same level of care. Whereas
in the past we would have district nursing
colleagues working on their own and driving
from visit to visit, we were able to partner
up and offer vans so that colleagues had
somewhere safe and secure they could don
and doff their PPE before visiting patients,
and most importantly, this meant that we
continued to see COVID-19 positive patients.
“We knew early on that COVID-19 would
inevitably mean that we would have many
more patients moving into our palliative care
and end of life services so we needed to act
quickly to restructure our services to ensure
we were able to provide the best level of
care. One of the biggest changes was the
conversion of Leasowes Intermediate Care
Centre into an end of life care facility where
our patients could be moved to receive high
quality, patient-focused end of life care in
their final days.
“Our teams also began working much more
closely with local care homes, providing
advice and training on how to use PPE safely
as well as much needed fit testing. With all
of the focus nationally on hospitals and the
NHS, it would have been very easy to forget
that we have huge numbers of vulnerable
people living in care homes and that they
fit the profile for COVID-19, where the virus
has a particularly high mortality rate in older
patients who have pre-existing comorbidities.
“By offering early intervention in the
community, through awareness raising and
proactive engagement we were able to
begin to make progress in tackling the virus.
Our teams have worked closely not only
with our staff in providing swab testing and
antibody testing but also the local authority
too. We opened a range of testing sites
at Sandwell and City and supported key
workers to be tested. To date, these testing
facilities have swabbed over 5879 people to
test for current COVID infections as well as
completing over 12,295 antibody tests.
“As the government mandated lockdowns
have eased and the local economy has
begun to return to normality, our outbreak
teams have been once again out supporting
the local authority and partners in public
health to identify, test and manage local
outbreak clusters. This has meant that
our region has been able to react quickly,
identify at risk patients and to proactively
support them and prevent further
transmission.
“Through close working with colleagues
in primary care, we have been able to stay
ahead of the virus in the community, our GP
colleagues in Your Health Partnership (YHP)
joined our Trust in April, in the height of the
pandemic, however, they very quickly set up
a COVID red site where a patient who had
tested positive could go to for care, limiting
the risk and impact at their other clinics.
“The reach of our work hasn’t just been
in the community either, our colleagues
were also involved in the large scale
redeployment in our Trust to bolster our
inpatient and acute services, and we had
colleagues move to medicine and into
ITU offering a seven-day rota for therapy
services.”
24
iCares Admission Avoidance Team
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 24 01/09/2020 16:18

Paediatrics say farewell to Dr Ali Akbar
September sees the paediatric
team saying goodbye to one of its
longstanding doctors as Dr Ali Akbar
retires from the Trust. We caught up
with him to find out about his career
and plans for the future.
Dr Akbar told Heartbeat: “I graduated
from the University of Dundee in 1985 and
initially trained as a GP. My heart, however,
was always in paediatrics. I made the move
and switched to paediatrics in 1991 and
began my career at Birmingham Children’s
Hospital in 1992. During my training,
I developed an interest in paediatric
respiratory medicine and cystic fibrosis. I
was a research fellow in cystic fibrosis for
three years. During this period I worked in
many different sub-specialities and acquired
dual accreditation in general paediatrics and
paediatric respiratory medicine.”
In 2000, Dr Akbar joined City Hospital
as a consultant paediatrician and took
on respiratory and neonatal speciality
work. Over the years, Dr Akbar’s roles and
responsibilities have evolved and, he has
taken an active role in raising the profile
of paediatrics. “I developed and led the
paediatric high dependency unit at City
Hospital for many years. I was a member of
the West Midlands steering group for the
standards for the care of critically injured
children, and lead many paediatric high
dependency peer reviews within the region.
“Over the last 20 years, I have set up, led or
actively participated in many Trust activities
- clinical, educational and managerial. I am
the Chairman of the Muslim Liaison Group,
a role which advises the Trust on any Islam
related issues and supports Muslim patients
using the services and staff working within
the organisation.
“I was a college tutor for six years, a
paediatrics representative at the Drugs and
Therapeutics Committee for 15 years, I’ve
led paediatric clinical audit activities for many
years, and I participated in the merger of
paediatric services between City and Sandwell
Hospitals. I have always enjoyed teaching and
training, and I am a senior examiner for the
MRCPCH and DCH examinations for the Royal
College of Paediatrics and Child Health.”
Teaching and training has always been core to
Dr Akbar’s work both in the UK and overseas.
He told us: “I have always been involved in
teaching and training of paediatric specialty
doctors, GP and foundation year trainees. I
have also been invited to Pakistan Paediatric
Association’s international conferences as a
guest speaker.
“I have dedicated my time to also raising the
awareness of cystic fibrosis, a not so common
genetic disease in Pakistan. I provide remote
services via a WhatsApp group to families with
children with this condition as currently there
isn’t a suitably trained paediatrician to look
after this disease in Pakistan. I visit regularly
and have visited many cities holding teaching
seminars, practical workshops and clinics for
patients and their families. I have also started
doing webinar based educational sessions
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH
in Urdu. These video recordings are
available on YouTube under the Pakistan
Cystic Fibrosis Support Network.”
His dedication to raising awareness of
cystic fibrosis in Pakistan has not gone
unnoticed. Dr Akbar has been awarded
an honorary visiting professorship at the
Institute of Child Health and the Lahore
Children’s Hospital, Pakistan.
Looking back at his career, Dr Akbar
told us that the immense support of his
colleagues over the years is something
he will miss. “Their dedication and
enthusiasm to strive for the best for
patients is commendable. Teamwork
during COVID-19 has been exemplary - I
am proud to be a member of such a
team.”
Looking to the future, Dr Akbar plans to
take some time out. He said: “I feel one
needs to have some rest after working
continuously for 35 years. Coronavirus
will limit any venturing out at this
stage, but my passion for cystic fibrosis
will likely overcome this. In addition to
spending more time with my family, I
would love to continue my voluntary
work in Pakistan and my role as the
senior examiner.”
Dr Akbar pictured at a cystic fibrosis educational workshop
25
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 25 01/09/2020 16:18

Keeping mum – maternity guide
reimagined for our local community
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH
An essential maternity guide
to allaying anxiety is the latest
publication to be fully translated
into multiple other languages as
the Trust continues a push to make
more of its information and guides
available to non-English speakers.
The Coronavirus (COVID- 19) related
publication, Managing Anxiety in the
Perinatal Period, is the latest in a series
of important messages worked on by
library services, communications and
the interpreter service that have been
translated into other languages to help
with the accessibility of key information
in our geographical area. This leaflet, in
particular, has been translated into five
additional languages: Bengali, Kurdish,
Punjabi, Romanian, Tigrian and Urdu.
“If you are pregnant, or have recently
had a baby, it is reasonable to expect
that you might be feeling more anxious
than usual,” explains Anuji Evans,
External Communications Manager. “By
translating leaflets into other languages,
specifically ones prevalent in our local area, or
ones that have been identified as being useful
by the service concerned, we’re helping as
a Trust to educate, and inform those harder
to reach people within our community. No
one is left in the unknown because their first
language isn’t English.”
Previously, only primary messages and items
that specifically required certain languages –
be they via leaflets, posters, graphics, videos
or animations produced by the Trust received
translations. However, the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic has changed matters,
and the Trust Board has identified that an
increase in translations would be beneficial to
healthcare within the community.
If your service has leaflets that require
updating, or you have a new one that
needs to be created, please email swbh.
library@nhs.net or call ext. 3587. Please
note, they will respond to your request
within six working days and the process
to update or create your leaflet will
begin.
Maternity leaflets have been translated
into five additional languages
Imagine a story…from our
school nurses
Our team of school nurses have taken
a leaf out of the CBeebies’ book – quite
literally by creating their own story
time videos for children.
The short films have been produced to
encourage parents to read to their children,
but also help to ensure youngsters are ready
for school when they go back in September.
School Health Support Worker, Faisal Khan,
organised the virtual sessions, which will be
shown via social media and on the school
nursing website page. Faisal, along with
school nurses Heidi Ferrier-Hixon, Joanne
Toovey and Beth O’Connor, have all read a
story.
He said: “Summertime is exciting for the
Sandwell School Nursing Team as we help
children and parents get ready for school in
September.
“Listening to feedback from parents
and schools, some children may need a
little extra time and help to get ready for
Faisal Khan, who has read a story for
children
school. It’s a happy time for some, but can be
worrying for others and this can have a big
impact on children starting school life.
“The team have designed a fun-packed
programme for families. These sessions
are normally located all over Sandwell
from community centres, schools
and libraries. Unfortunately due to
COVID-19, this year we won’t be able to
meet face-to-face with families, but that
has not stopped the service providing
support.
“This year we have arranged to
communicate with our families virtually
to share information and storytime
will be online for children to enjoy.
In addition to that, there are specific
areas where the child may need help
such as bedwetting, toileting, healthy
eating, emotional wellbeing, accident
prevention, head lice and hygiene.
“Parents and their children are invited
to attend our sessions to seek advice
and support. The sessions have been
advertised across the internet.”
26
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 26 01/09/2020 16:18

Pulse
News in brief from around our organisation
If you have a story you would like to appear
on the Pulse page, please email a photo and a
short explanation to swbh.comms@nhs.net
IMAGING
Monica Terpot and Danny Terpot
Giovanni and Lorenzo - Veena's grandchildren
help plant new blossom tree
Veena memorial bench takes its
rightful place at restaurant
Veena was a valued member of the catering
team and had been with SWB for over two
decades. Outside of the Trust, she was a
mother, aunt and a friend and, her loss has
been felt by many people who got to know
her over the last 20 years.
In her memory, Veena’s family, friends and
colleagues set up a Much Loved online
tribute page. The money raised was used to
help fund a memorial bench and a blossom
tree. Both were fitted outside the Hallam
Restaurant at Sandwell Hospital, along with
a plaque that simply reads ‘Veena Terpot,
Always in our thoughts, Forever in our
hearts’.
Heartfelt tributes have been shared online
about Veena. One reads, "Thank you for
everything you taught me growing up
Aunt V”, whilst another said, “My sister
was the gift I never asked for, but
always wanted."
Speaking to Heartbeat about the loss of her
aunt, Tanya Chote, Community Staff Nurse
said: “My aunt, Veena was such a kindhearted
lady. She always helped where she
could; nothing was ever too much trouble
for her. Her passing was sudden and it has
left our entire family saddened. Erecting
this memorial bench is one of the ways
we’d like to honour her memory. She will
be always loved and never forgotten.”
Jane Owen, Ilona Petersen, Jasbir Sangha
and the catering team echo these words.
They added: “Veena was a lovely person
to be around - there is now a void in the
catering department that will never be
filled. Veena was always kind, caring and
helpful - we had lots of days out and
wonderful memories with lots of laughter,
we all miss her. A colleague and a friend to
us all, she is sadly missed every day.”
A total of £688.75 was raised through
Veena’s online fundraising page managed
by Your Trust Charity. It was also supported
by the estate's department who wanted to
contribute to this worthy cause along with
over £560 collected by Veena’s catering
colleagues that has been donated to the
critical care charitable fund, where Veena
received her care.
“Veena has been at the heart of the
hospital serving patients, their families and
Colleagues donate £560 to charity
colleagues for over 20 years. It only seemed
right that the charity got involved and gave
back to Veena and her family,” said Johnny
Shah, Head of Your Trust Charity.
He added: “We hope the memorial bench
of Veena will serve as a reminder of all
fantastic contributions she made to our
Trust and will be a celebration of her life,
as well as a thank you from everyone at
SWB. Thank you very much to the estates
department for fitting and securing the
bench, as well as agreeing to plant a
blossom tree."
SWB offers its deepest condolences
during this difficult time to the family
and friends of Veena Terpot.
27
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 27 01/09/2020 16:18

w
Layla’s sweet sonnet for the
NHS
Over the last few months, we’ve
heard of all the wonderful ways the
public have shown their support for
the NHS. From the young to the old,
everyone has found a way to show
they care. One person that jumped at
the chance to express her gratitude
was eight-year-old schoolgirl, Layla
Warren.
Layla entered a poetry competition on
Facebook. Children of all ages were
invited to write a poem either about
the NHS or their experiences during the
lockdown. Layla chose to write her poem
about the NHS as she had to visit the
hospital during lockdown and her poem
won first prize.
Layla carefully etched her poem onto
a large canvas, decorated it and kindly
donated it to Sandwell orthopaedic and
fracture clinic when she attended for
the review appointment of her broken
arm. Layla expressed her thanks to Sister,
Denise Gnosill when she presented her
winning canvas to the team. She said:
“The NHS is wonderful because they help
people and treat them the right way to
help mend bones.” Layla’s proud mum
added: “The service provided by this NHS
Trust has been outstanding. Everyone from
our first visit to A&E to the aftercare in the
fracture clinic and the plaster room has
been so helpful.”
Denise commented: “We were all so
touched in the fracture clinic by this sweet
gesture. Presenting the poem to us was a
kind thing to do and we’ll find a special
place for it in the clinic. Thank you, Layla.”
Layla Warren
IMAGING
Car park build starts
Colleagues will notice construction
on our new multi storey car parks on
City and Sandwell sites beginning
in early September. The builds are
due for completion in autumn 2021,
relieving pressure on our current car
park provision on site. Colleagues
on Sandwell site should be aware
that some necessary demolition
works of the old accommodation
block will take place, alongside the
erection of temporary construction
fencing before the main works begin.
The construction site is on the old
consultant car park at Sandwell,
whilst at City it is a corner of the
current main car park between BMEC
and facing the BTC.
Jim Pollitt Assistant Director Strategic
Development commented: “Regular
readers of the Friday message will know
that we achieved financial close of our multi
storey car park plans for both Sandwell and
City sites in the middle of August, and the
start of construction is a visible milestone.
However, in the short term we recognise
that construction will cause massive
disruption to car parking at Sandwell, and
we would ask all users to have patience
while work is underway.
CLADDING MASSING SOUTH EAST AXONOMETRIC
Landscape model shown indicatively only.
detail.
Substation and Switchroom sizes
consultant.
Cores to be painted. Colour RAL 2000 (Yellow Orange)
"The new car parks will provide state-ofthe-art
safe and secure car parking for both
colleagues and visitors to our sites, and will
have increased electric vehicle charging
points. There will of course be a need for all
car park users to be more diligent in their car
parking discipline.”
2.2
28
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 28 01/09/2020 16:18

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???
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Shinade Coughlan
Group Director of Operations for Women and Child Health
This month we say hello to Shinade
Coughlan who has been working in
the healthcare setting since she was 17
years old. Shinade has recently been
successfully appointed to the role of
Group Director of Operations for Women
and Child Health.
Shinade started her career in the NHS parttime
on the bank booking community
midwife visits whilst balancing it with her
university studies. When Shinade finished her
studies in 2010, she joined SWB full time.
“After gaining valuable real-life work
experience whilst working on the bank, as
well as supporting breast surgery when I
went full time, I obtained my first substantive
role in 2012. I was a waiting list and capacity
coordinator in surgical services,” said
Shinade. "SWB certainly supported my career
development, and I would hope others in
similar positions can take some inspiration
from this.”
Approximately two years later, Shinade
achieved more success when she started
as a service manager in surgery for general
surgery, plastics and breast. However, after a
while, Shinade felt like she could take on even
more of a challenge and later reached new
heights when she was appointed into the post
of directorate general manager in surgery.
Shinade Coughlan - Group Director of
Operations for Women and Child Health
When asked about her time in Surgery
Shinade said: “This particular role has evolved
and changed over time - it was originally
general surgery, breast, urology and vascular.
Following the reconfiguration of surgery A
and B, it allowed me to gain oral and ENT
experience, as well as orthopaedics and
orthotics in 2018.”
Shinade has certainly worked her way up the
ladder at the Trust developing much-needed
skills, knowledge and first-hand experience,
becoming a core part of the organisation on a
non-clinical level.
Shinade was delighted when she heard the
news she had been appointed to the role of
Group Director of Operations for Women and
Child Health Clinical Group and hopes she
can achieve many great things.
She said: “It’s a really exciting appointment
for me as it is completely different to my
surgical background, but I know I will have
an amazing team to support me which I’m
excited to be working with. Even during
this short period, the team have been so
welcoming since my appointment which I can
only thank them for.”
She added: “The group as a whole is great
and, more importantly, is in a real stable
transformational position. They have huge
ambition and to be part of transitioning the
team to Midland Met is something I’m very
much looking forward to.
“There is so much focus now on the
healthcare of our local population and where
better to focus on health and outcomes than
during pregnancy and in the first years of a
child’s life. I believe it’s the area that we can
try to make a difference for our patients.”
“Whilst it is really sad to see Amanda Geary
(current Group Director of Operations) leave
the group, she has done a fantastic job in
developing the teams and clinical services over
the years. I’m looking forward to continuing
her hard work.”
We hope you will join us in
congratulating Shinade on her new role
and wish her all the success in her new
position.
Wave goodbye to…
Karen Godwin
Hotel Services Manager
After 36 years of service, this month we
say goodbye to Karen Godwin, Hotel
Services Manager.
Karen joined our workplace in June 1984
as a domestic assistant in a bid to support
her family. She told Heartbeat: “When I
joined I realised there was an opportunity
to develop so I took the opportunities that
became available. I trained in supervision
within ward services which saw me secure
a supervisory role. I soon moved on to
become general office manager, and after
completing my degree in Management
Studies at the University of Wolverhampton
in 2010, I was appointed to my current role
in 2015.
“I am grateful to the Trust for all the
support they have given me to develop my
career over the years. I have always had
incredible support from my line manager
and the teams I have managed,” reflected
Karen.
Karen Godwin
“Hotel Services is a wonderful department;
the teams are hardworking and always put
the patients’ needs first. Their dedication
to their work has always shone and during
this pandemic they have gone above
and beyond to keep our hospitals clean,
delivering food service to our patients,
providing laundry and linen services. It has
been my absolute privilege to work as a
part of such a dedicated team, I will miss
them dearly.”
Jan Clarke, Head of Support Services, has
worked with Karen for several years. She
said: “Karen has been a loyal, professional
and hardworking manager and she has
been an asset to the Trust. Retiring is a very
happy occasion for Karen - I know that
she has been looking forward to hanging
up her boots; however, for myself and her
colleagues, it is tinged with sadness because
she will be missed. We all wish her the very
best for her future.”
So, what does Karen have planned for her
retirement?
“Not waking up at 5.30 am every day,”
she laughed. “I look forward to spending
time with my family and hopefully when
the world gets back to some sort of old
normality, doing lots of travel.”
Good luck on your retirement Karen –
we wish you well.
29
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 29 01/09/2020 16:18

Letters, of less than 200 words please, can be sent to the Communications Department,
Trust Headquarters, Sandwell Hospital or by email to swb–tr.SWBH–GM–Heartbeat@nhs.net
YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD
Will the charity shop be coming
back?
I don’t think I’m the only one but I really
liked the charity shop. Good value for
money, supporting Your Trust Charity
and it really saved me going shopping,
especially when I had a challenging day
at work. With this in mind, will it ever be
coming back?
The ladies who worked in the shop
were great and with a second surge
likely it would be really nice to have
a convenient way to get my essential
items, especially with the darker, colder,
wetter wintery nights soon approaching.
I know they are using some other
teams room but surely they won’t need
it anytime soon as it’s not like we are
holding big group meetings/events.
Dear colleague,
Thank you for your comments and
I’m really pleased that you found the
pop-up shop to be useful over the
past few months. Particular thanks
should go to the team who led and
volunteered within the shop to get
all the stock and staff it safely.
Whilst we would love to continue
with the shop we aren’t able to
do so at the current time as the
team staffing it need to return to
their substantive roles. Also, under
the charity’s current infrastructure
we have a set limit for how much
“trading” income we can generate.
We are looking at future, more
sustainable options, however, to see
if we can offer some provision jointly
with partners on our sites.
Best wishes
Ruth Wilkin, Director of
Communications
With more of us expected to
come back when will we have
screens in our offices?
Recently a few people have been in and
around our office to check how many
people can fit where we sit. This is a
good thing as it means we will know the
exact number of people who can come
in at one time and be socially distanced
correctly. However, my only concern is
getting a screen put up? Is this possible?
I know other teams have had transparent
screens put up and I think it is vital we and
others working in non-clinical areas get
them too, especially ready for the autumn/
winter months when everyone will be
coughing and sneezing and more likely
to spread COVID-19. Any update on this
would be highly appreciated.
Dear colleague,
Thank you for reaching out to us about
how we’ll manage the implementation
of transparent screens across the Trust.
Over the past few months, a team have
been out and about visiting offices
and clinical areas to understand how
our accommodation is being used.
The purpose of their visits was to risk
assess each work space in light of the
government’s guidelines on working
safely during COVID-19 in offices and
contact centres.
Now that we have mostly taken the
measurements we needed we will be
reviewing our findings collectively. The
information we have gathered will
inform our discussions on future ways
of working, including working from
home.
In the interim, if colleagues have any
additional concerns or health queries,
they should work with their manager
to look at all other options to best
suit their needs. At all times, we must
continue to follow the two metres
social distancing guidelines.
Kind regards,
Allison Binns - Deputy Director of
Governance – Safety & Risk
To antibody or not antibody test –
that is the question!
With so much focus on parts of the country
experiencing increasing cases of COVID-19
it has made me think about our approach
to testing. I’m aware we were all asked
to have our antibody tests (which I am
thankful for), however, was this supposed
to be a one off thing? Is there any
expectation that we should be tested again
and if so, how often?
As we head into winter, it strikes me that
we may see increasing positive cases of
COVID-19 among colleagues. Will we be
asked to retake our antibody test so we
have a clear understanding on how we
are impacted as a workforce? I would
appreciate any clarity that can be provided
around this matter.
Dear colleague
This is a really good question and
one we continue to discuss within the
COVID strategic and tactical groups. The
antibody test provides information on
whether you have been exposed to the
virus and have antibodies present that
could provide you with some immunity.
There are a number of factors however
that we still don’t know, such as what
level of immunity antibodies would
give you and for how long. Research in
this area is ongoing and I would urge
any colleague to sign up to the SIREN
research study that aims to find out the
answers to these and other important
questions. You can be enrolled in the
study whether your COVID-19 antibody
test was +ve or –ve. Please visit Connect
to find out more.
In relation to swab testing for
COVID, we continue to provide onsite
and community testing for any
colleague and household members
with symptoms. This remains a really
important way to contain the virus, as
people who know they are positive can
then self-isolate. It also allows people to
return to work when well enough and
they have a negative test result.
What is of primary importance for us all
is our adherence to handwashing, social
distancing and appropriate use of PPE.
This will severely limit the virus from
spreading, even from people who are
asymptomatic.
As we know more about the virus,
guidance can change which may
lead to a change in our own testing
arrangements in the future and we will
share information with all staff should
that be the case.
Kind regards,
Dr David Carruthers, Acting Chief
Executive
30
HEARTBEAT August 2020.indd 30 01/09/2020 16:18

David talks about: Speaking up and learning
Professor David Carruthers, Medical Director and Acting Chief Executive
Toby Lewis is away
DAVID’S LAST WORD
SPEAK UP
DAY
It’s great to see the piece in this
month’s Heartbeat on the importance
of speaking up if you have a concern
about safety at work. The Board
meeting in September will be
reviewing our Freedom to Speak Up
arrangements with our newest Non-
Executive Director, Lesley Writtle, taking
the oversight of assurance on behalf
of the Trust Board. Our Trust has a
proud tradition of raising awareness
of the different routes to speaking up.
Over the last three years we have held
twice yearly Speak Up Days with the
next one coming up on 9 September.
These Speak Up Days have often had a
particular theme or approach, but what
has been common to each of them
has been an opportunity to speak in
confidence to a senior leader, Freedom
to Speak Up Guardian or Trust specialist
about something that is worrying you
at work. Arrangements will be in place
this year to allow you to do that.
Speaking up is something we should
all take responsibility for. If we walk
past something that we think is not
right we have an obligation to do
something about it or raise it with
someone who can. I know that most of
us in this Trust take this responsibility
seriously and are pro-active about
making our Trust a safer place for our
patients and a better place to work.
Last month the National Guardian’s
Office (the organisation that was set up
to make speaking up become business
as usual to effect culture change in
the NHS) published their index report
for the second year, rating each Trust
on their speaking up culture, enabling
comparison with previous years and
with other organisations. They develop
this score from responses to questions
in the national NHS staff survey that
asks whether staff feel knowledgeable,
encouraged and supported to raise
concerns and if they agree they would be
treated fairly if involved in an error, near
miss or incident. We scored 79% in this
index which puts us in the top half of
all Trusts, but of course, we want to do
better.
The range of ways you can speak up is
extensive including:
• Contacting a Freedom to Speak
Up Guardian
• Talking to your manager or a
senior leader
• Speaking to the HR team
• Contacting the confidential
whistleblowing line, Safecall
• Speaking to a Trade Union
representative
• Contacting a Trust specialist such
as counter-fraud or health & safety
• Raising an incident through the
Safeguard system
These systems are only useful, of course,
if people use them. Thank you to
everyone who has raised a concern using
one or more of these ways while working
for the Trust.
What sometimes comes up during
responses to the national staff survey, our
own weconnect surveys, or discussions
within teams is that people often want
to preserve their anonymity because
they fear the consequences if they raise
a concern. I want to stress that no-one
should be treated differently or made to
feel uncomfortable if they have raised
a concern. The challenge is for all of us
to welcome it when someone raises an
issue of concern. We might feel worried
if something has happened within our
service or team that has not been good,
but we know that to create a safe
environment, good challenge is not only
preferable, it is very necessary.
Through speaking up we can ensure that
we learn and continue to improve.
As part of our preparations for the next
Care Quality Commission review we are
looking at the domain of well-led. One of
the CQC’s key lines of enquiry will be
whether we have an open learning
culture here. I am very proud that
we can confidently say that our
organisation welcomes learning
and I have a number of data points
to reinforce why that is indeed the
case: Thousands of colleagues each
month join in a quality improvement
half day and use the opportunity
to learn from each other and from
elsewhere, both within and outside
the Trust; our Trust is a high reporter
of incidents - people recognise
the importance of raising a flag
when something goes wrong or is
a near miss so that we can learn
and prevent it happening again
or happening at all; our annual
QIHD poster competition is a real
celebration of learning and a great
demonstration of the excellence we
have right across the Trust (please
make sure you get your entries
in this year!); the welearn from
excellence programme recognises
those who put forward excellent
practice that can be shared for
others to learn from; and, in Team
Talk each month, we highlight one
service or department for excellent
practice that we can all learn from.
A really good range of initiatives
to support learning, I’m sure you
would agree. And yet we know
there is always more we can do, so
the next few months will see the
welearn programme develop further
using opportunities such as NHS Fab
Change Day and achievement of
learning gems as tools to help us do
just that.
Good organisations are ones that
celebrate learning, are open and
transparent about where things have
gone wrong and have a supportive
culture towards people who speak
up to flag a concern. Let’s use this
next Speak Up Day to reconfirm our
personal pledge to speak up and act
appropriately when people do.
31
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Cancer fighting couple help to raise
thousands for Your Trust Charity
@SWBHCharity To donate
to the Your Trust Charity text
“SWBH16 £5” to 70070
Marjorie and Kenneth Davies have
dedicated their lives to raising money
for the Cancer Services team over the
years. It’s estimated they have raised
tens of thousands of pounds by
selling items, some of which can be
found in the Courtyard Garden shop
at Sandwell Hospital.
Mr and Mrs Davies have both battled
cancer and lost loved ones to the disease.
Mr Davies is currently living with prostate
cancer, after overcoming the disease in
his bowel and lungs, whilst Mrs Davies
fought breast cancer in 1994.
The couple were both treated at
Sandwell Hospital and have regularly
raised money for cancer services through
Your Trust Charity. Mrs Davies first
started fundraising in 1955, when her
mum died of breast cancer. More than
30 years later, her dad lost his battle with
the disease.
Mrs Davies said: “I feel through
fundraising, I am giving something back
to all those who have helped us. I’ve sold
many items and donated the funds to
the charity whilst my friend has knitted
baby clothes which are on sale in the
Courtyard Gardens shop. I’ve been so
pleased to be able to raise money for
such a worthwhile cause.”
Jenny Donovan, Cancer Services
Manager, said: “Mr and Mrs Davies are
a very special couple who have found
strength in each other to fight their
cancer diagnoses. Their story is a positive
one about being aware of symptoms and
acting quickly if you think something is
wrong. Cancer treatments have come a
long way since Mrs Davies sadly lost her
mum back in the 1950s, so people should
not turn a blind eye in the fear of a positive
diagnosis. There is much we can do to help.
“By raising money for Your Trust Charity,
Mr and Mrs Davies are doing something
very special for their community, as the
funds raised will go back into providing
a better patient experience. Our heartfelt
thanks go out to them for their generosity.”
Mrs Davies told of her cancer journey: “In
1994 I was diagnosed with breast cancer
and thought ‘that’s it’. I said to my husband
‘if he is going to take me, he’s got a fight
on his hands’. After my operation and
a month of radiotherapy, I returned to
work within four months. The help and
treatment I received was fantastic.
“All was going well until 2007 when my
husband received a bowel screening test
through the post. The result came back
positive and within seven days he had
undergone an operation. Four years later in
2011, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
He had chemotherapy and part of his right
lung removed.”
August 2020 staff lottery results
YOUR TRUST CHARITY
Despite her husband’s prostate diagnosis
in 2013, the couple remains strong:
“I just want to stress to everyone that
over the last 13 years, we have fought
this together and have given each other
strength and the willpower to remain
positive.
“However, the main backbone was the
fantastic treatment and help we both
received from the doctors and nurses
at Sandwell Hospital and the Macmillan
staff - everything was first class.
“We cannot stress enough to people
who receive a bowel screen test
through the post, please do it, it has
saved my husband’s life. The healthcare
professionals are there to look after us,
and they have always been there for my
husband and I. The care we’ve received
is second to none, and my husband is
still receiving treatment. People must
remember cancer care is still going on
throughout this pandemic.”
Kenneth and Marjorie Davies who have raised thousands for Your Trust Charity
1st £186.25
Karen Jackson
2nd £111.75
Joanne Bromhall
3rd £74.50
June Al-Hourani
Don’t forget that Your Trust Charity lottery costs just £1 a month and anyone
who works for the Trust can join. Payment is deducted from your wages each
month. To take part email amanda.winwood@nhs.net.
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