HEARTBEAT February 2021

February 2021
Sandwell and West Birmingham
NHS Trust
The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City Hospital, Sandwell General and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
Issue 138
Vaccination Nation
Page 3
Roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine second dose starts in March at the Sandwell vaccination hub
Arms to the ready - second
doses of vaccinations
begin in March
Staff survey
results released
We're bringing Midland
Met to life - find out the
latest news from the build
Urgent Treatment
Centre bound for
Sandwell
Pages 3-4
Page 6
Page 7
Page 20

FROM THE CHAIR
HELLO
Thank you to colleagues and the community for
your support throughout the pandemic
Welcome to your February 2021
edition of Heartbeat.
February - the month of true love, the
month we said hello to our Interim
Chief Executive and the month we
celebrated women and girls in science.
It's fair to say there's been a lot going
on, so we're pleased to bring you some
of the highlights. Be sure to read about
our work to bring Midland Met to life,
get the latest insight on COVID-19
from Dr Justin Varney, and discover the
highlights from our staff survey.
Enjoy :)
Contact us
Communications Team
Ext 5303
swbh.comms@nhs.net
Communications Department
Ground Floor, Trinity House
Sandwell Hospital
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Communications Team
Sandwell and West Birmingham
Hospitals NHS Trust
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Medical Illustration,
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Sandwell and West Birmingham
Hospitals NHS Trust
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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:
As COVID numbers begin to fall once again
we remain ever grateful for the ongoing
support towards the Trust, whether that
support has come in the form of a kind
letter, a child’s drawing, time freely given by
our volunteers, or the help from those who
fulfilled vital roles when the peak of the
pandemic was at its greatest.
Our military partners are one example who
came to our aid and I want to thank them
wholeheartedly for their assistance and
willingness to help.
So many others have helped in any way
they could. Although the outpouring of
donations during wave one has slowed,
we are still receiving the odd item from
time to time that we can share with all
our hardworking colleagues. Where the
donation is something we cannot use, or
we think it would be better used for those
in need in the community, we make sure
that we direct donors to the right places.
Our volunteers remain a real help at
our front doors and in taking patient
belongings to the ward, as well as delivering
useful supplies. I am delighted that the
bereavement team have welcomed the
support from volunteers in making calls to
families who have been bereaved. It is so
important to offer this contact, particularly
at a time when mourning is taking place
amidst very different environments when
our social interactions are so limited.
It is sombre to reflect on the lives lost to
COVID-19 at this Trust, in our own families
and of course across the world. Coming to
terms with the impact that the pandemic
has had and continues to have, will take a
long time. We are determined to continue
developing the support that the Trust offers
to each and every staff member. You have
all been affected deeply and we recognise
that healing takes time. The Trust’s
leadership team are listening to your ideas
and suggestions of what would help as the
COVID-19 pandemic progresses.
The pandemic has forced new ways of
working, many of which will remain in place
because they are better for patients, better
for staff or make us more effective and
efficient. That includes virtual outpatient
appointments, swiftly adapting patient
pathways and treatments, as well as the
ability of hundreds of colleagues to work
remotely. The way that you have all adapted
to these rapid changes has been exemplary.
We are not out of the woods yet, and
we in the NHS know more than most the
need for caution. But, the sterling work of
the vaccinators along with your efforts to
protect yourselves and your families and
provide the best care for patients, plus the
support from the general public in keeping
largely to the lockdown restrictions is cause
for hope.
Once again, thank you. This Trust is an
amazing organisation to be proud of,
and we have shown how well we have
been able to pull together and face this
pandemic. The journey ahead will not be
easy but part of the way forward will be
to reflect on our unique experiences as we
begin to look forward to a brighter future.
Richard Samuda, Trust Chairman
Chairman, Richard Samuda

Arms to the ready – second jabs on
the way
COVID-19
In her video, Deputy Medical Director,
Chizo Agwu says her role has given her
the insight into the pain and suffering
the pandemic has caused within
communities. She also goes on to say
she is lucky to have had her vaccine as
she wants to protect her patients, loved
ones and herself.
Zaheer Iqbal - Portering Manager
receiving his COVID vaccination
Mr Suresh Nair with Elizabeth Khoo,
Staff Nurse
Her message is echoed by Dr Masood
Ahmed, Chief Medical Officer for the
Black Country and West Birmingham
CCG who urged members of the BAME
community to ignore the misinformation
around the vaccine in a series of videos
produced by SWB, which feature hardhitting
footage of an intensive care unit
at City Hospital.
Dr Harj Kainth, a consultant in the acute
medicine unit at City Hospital, delivered
her message about the vaccination in
Punjabi.
Christopher Coleman - Porter
Sargeant John McGlinchey
And ITV weatherman, Des Coleman (also
our Star Awards host) recorded a video
exclusively for SWB encouraging people
to take up the jab.
In December last year SWB answered
the call to become a vaccination hub in
order to protect those most at risk in
our communities.
And three months later we have inoculated
over 10,000 people.
Heartbeat caught up with Director of
Operations – Primary Care Communities
and Therapies, Mike Carr, who is leading
our vaccination programme.
He told us: “We have been incredibly
privileged to be part of the national
vaccination programme allowing the
opportunity to immunise colleagues and
those in our communities.
“Nearly 5,000 colleagues have now had
their first jab, which is excellent news. Our
vaccination hub will re-open in March to
start the roll out of second jabs. Colleagues
will already have an appointment for when
to attend. I would encourage everyone
to keep their original appointment or
rearrange via the vaccination call centre as it
is essential that we do not have any missed
slots leading to wastage of the vaccine.”
Trust the facts not fiction
when it comes to getting your
vaccination
In the UK, 20.5m jabs have been
administered so far. Approximately 770,000
were second jabs, yet, there is a lot of
misinformation and a lack of trust around
getting vaccinated.
Colleagues and BAME members of the
community, in particular, are being urged to
ignore misinformation around the vaccine.
Several videos on social channels such as
WhatsApp contain inaccurate information.
Mike explained: “Unfortunately there is
misinformation and mistrust about the
vaccine. I cannot reiterate enough that all
the current approved vaccines are safe. The
Public Assessment Reports contain all the
scientific information about the trials and
information on trial participants. For the
Pfizer trial, participants included 9.6 per
cent black/African, 26.1 per cent Hispanic/
Latino and 3.4 per cent Asian. For the
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, 10.1 per cent
of trail recipients were Black and 3.5 per
cent Asian. There is no evidence either of
the vaccines will work differently in different
ethnic groups.
“Anyone who has questions or reservations
is free to contact the occupational health
team who will be happy to answer your
questions. You can also read the frequently
asked questions on Connect.”
Over the last few weeks, colleagues,
celebrities and community leaders have
come forward to encourage take up of the
vaccine via short videos.
You can see these videos on Connect.
We would encourage you to share these
films with your patients, family and
friends.
Still not too late to get your
first dose
If you are yet to get the first dose of
the COVID-19 vaccination, you can still
book in to get your jab at either Walsall
Hospital, at the Black Country Living
Museum or now at the newly opened
at Tipton Sports Academy vaccination
centre. Alternatively colleagues can also
book their jab through the Your Health
Partnership Primary Care network.
To book your jab online use one of the
following links:
• Black Country Living Museum
- https:/blackcountrymuseumpod1.
nhsbookings.com/v2/
• Walsall Hospital
- https://walsallmanorhospital.
nhsbookings.com/v2/
• Your Health Partnership
- yhp.cot@nhs.net
• NHS COVID-19 Vaccination
booking - https://www.nhs.
uk/conditions/coronaviruscovid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/
book-coronavirus-vaccination/
3

COVID vaccine does not
deliver superpowers
Once vaccinated against COVID we must
continue to maintain strict observance
of the rules around hand hygiene, social
distancing and wearing appropriate PPE.
Being vaccinated DOES NOT imbue you
with superpowers to repel infection.
We need to be sensible and continue the
precautions that we know will protect
us and those around us. It is vital that
all colleagues continue to wear the
correct PPE on their wards, areas and
departments whether in a patient facing
or office environment. Should you be
unsure of what PPE you need, please see
the PPE guidance on Connect.
Don’t forget: PPE is only part of what is
necessary in order to combat Coronavirus
and keep ourselves, our patients and the
wider public safe.
• Regular and effective hand
washing will help reduce the
spread of thevirus.
• Practicing social distancing by
leaving 2 metres (6ft) between
you and those around you.
• Wearing a mask when in
communal rooms and are not
alone for both clinical and nonclinical
areas.
Ihsan ul Haq being vaccinated
Need to chat about the vaccine?
Contact occupational health swbh.occyhealthcovidvaccine@nhs.net.
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 the communications team
on ext.5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net
4

In the spotlight: Birmingham's Director of
Public Health on the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr Justin Varney
Dr Justin Varney is the Director of the
Public Health for Birmingham. He’s
also the National Strategic Advisor
on Health and Work at Public Health
England (PHE).
Dr Varney leads the strategic approach to
health and work for PHE. In his capacity as
Director of Public Health, Dr Varney works
across the council, strategic partners and
communities to protect and improve the
health and wellbeing of the citizens of
Birmingham.
Originally training in General Practice, Dr
Varney's career has included roles in the
NHS, local and national government and
he has a strong background in building
partnerships across the public, private
and community sectors. He has led national
programmes of action on physical activity,
health and work, sexual and reproductive
health and HIV prevention, pharmacy and
allied health professionals.
Q - Birmingham and its surrounding
area continue to feature as an area
with high infection rates. How
seriously should this be taken?
A – COVID-19 remains a serious illness,
and we are still seeing people go into
hospital and die, so we need to take the
high rates of infection seriously.
Q - Have there been any common
traits to the infection hot spots that
people should look out for?
A - In general, there are higher rates in
areas where more people cannot work
from home and where there is more
densely populated housing.
Q - What has been the feedback
from the people of Birmingham been
like during this pandemic?
A - It’s been positive, people have
stepped up in so many ways from
volunteering in food banks to signing up
as a COVID Community Champion to
share information directly with people
they care about.
COVID-19
As we all know, we’ve seen significant
numbers of positive numbers of
COVID-19 cases over the past few
months in the community, so Dr Varney
answered some of our questions about
COVID-19 exclusively for Heartbeat.
Q - What is the biggest threat we
have with COVID-19 right now?
What more needs to be done?
A - There are three key challenges we
need to overcome – isolation of positive
cases and contacts, testing uptake and
vaccine uptake. We need to improve all
three to stop the spread of COVID-19 in
our communities.
Q - What message would you give
out to those who are reluctant to
receive their vaccination?
A - The vaccine is safe, effective and
most importantly saves lives. Too
many people have lost loved ones to
COVID-19, and we need to stop this
number from growing. Vaccination is a
fundamental way to stop this number
from increasing further.
Emma Carroll – from the skies to
Sandwell
From looking after passengers at 37,000
feet, Emma Carroll joined the SWBH last
year due to the national lockdown.
Emma from West Bromwich worked as
an air hostess for leading German airline,
Touristik Union International (known in the
UK as TUI - trusted unique and inspired)
when the pandemic struck. The majority
of flights across the globe hit a standstill.
Though the planes were on the tarmac,
Emma felt like she wanted to do something
more and give back.
“I have many friends and family members
who work for the NHS, so I knew how
much pressure they were under and wanted
to do whatever I could to help,” said Emma.
“At the start of lockdown, I was struggling
mentally being stuck at home. I am used
to travelling like I have been doing for the
past seven years as an air hostess and across
the country as a cabin crew trainer. I was at
Gatwick at the time we went into lockdown
so to go from that to nothing was a real
From looking after passengers 37,000 feet
in skies to supporting SWBH through the
pandemic, Emma has made an invaluable
contribution to our Trust
shock to the system.”
Emma initially started with Trust during the
first lockdown from April – June working
for the ward services department cleaning
around the wards and serving meals. When
the restrictions eased last summer, she went
back to work for a brief period, but when the
second lockdown hit again in autumn, she
joined our laundry service helping maintain
scrubs and keep wards stocked.
Though she hopes to go back to her
air hostess role at some point in 2021,
Emma enjoys working at the Trust. She
told us: “Working at Sandwell was the
perfect solution for me as I could support
my local hospital whilst keeping busy
and doing something useful. It made
perfect sense in my mind as I live just
over the road from the hospital.”
Emma added: “I have found that many
staff share a similar mentality to that of
cabin crew. They’re flexible, adaptable
and hard-working so it was easy enough
for me to fit in. It does feel a bit strange
having a routine as I’m normally used to
a changing roster and not knowing if I’m
coming or going.”
We all hope Emma can return to her
air hostess role at some point this year,
but if you are in and around the laundry
room, do fly by to say hello!
5

LAMP lighting the way
COVID-19
In February we began our switch to
LAMP (Loop Mediated Isothermal
Amplification) testing from the
lateral flow tests.
These remain screening tests for
asymptomatic colleagues. If you have
symptoms suggestive of COVID then you
must still self-isolate and obtain a PCR
swab test and not just wait for the LAMP
test result.
Director of Operations – Primary Care
Communities and Therapies, Mike Carr
is leading the testing programme. He
said: “LAMP testing is a weekly test
where you collect a saliva sample first
thing in the morning (before you brush
your teeth or have your breakfast). You
collect your sample at home and as you
A lamp testing kit
come into work, you deposit your sample in
to one of the collection boxes which is then
sent off to the lab to be tested. LAMP test
results are processed quicker than the usual
PCR swab tests and notifications of both
positive and negative results sent back to you
via text message.
“If the result comes back positive you and
your household will need to immediately
isolate for 10 days and you will not require
a PCR swab test to confirm the result.”
A phased roll out for LAMP testing is
currently underway and directorates have
been informed when it will be their turn. By
22 March, there will be testing available for
all staff. Colleagues are urged to continue
with the lateral flow testing until you move
to the LAMP testing programme.
For information on the roll out plan,
instructions on how to perform the test
and frequently asked questions visit
Connect.
If you have kit left over from your lateral
flow tests please return these to your
service area. If you are at the end of
your lateral flow test kit and not due to
transition over before you run out of kit,
please contact the Community Contact
Centre on 0121 507 2664 option 6.
Staff say we’re safe, well and
delivering quality care
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
In a year that has tested NHS
organisations across the country
colleagues in our Trust have
highlighted improvements in the
quality of care being delivered, health
and wellbeing support on offer and
feelings of being safe from violence
in their responses to the national NHS
Staff Survey.
Earlier this year, every staff member in our
organisation was given the opportunity to
take part in the NHS national staff survey
and keen to have their say, over 38 per
cent of colleagues completed their survey
with 2,786 anonymous responses flooding
in.
The survey which is conducted once a year
allows us to see how colleagues feel about
working for our Trust and examines the
sentiments of colleagues across a range of
key areas. Data is then compared against
our performance in previous years and
comparisons made against other similar
organisations to determine our relative
performance.
The national survey is mandatory for all
NHS organisations with the results being
used to inform national initiatives that can help
support improvements in staff experience and
wellbeing. The results of the national NHS Staff
Survey are also used by NHS England to support
national assessments of quality and safety.
Sharing her thoughts on the National Staff
Survey, Director of Communications, Ruth
Wilkin said: “Thank you to everyone who took
the time to respond to the survey. It's critical
that we encourage and empower every one of
our colleagues to speak up and to be heard.
The staff survey has given us a useful insight
into how we have been supporting colleagues
during one of the most trying times in the
history of the NHS.
“I’m pleased to say that amongst the endless
amount of data we have been able to gather
through this survey, there are a few key insights
that we can take away. These are themes
that are clearly evident in the responses we
received from all corners of our organisation,
and they are that most colleagues believe
that we are delivering good quality care, most
colleagues believe they are safe from violence
and supported by a robust health and wellbeing
programme.
“Whilst we look at the good things highlighted
in the survey, it’s important we review the areas
we could do better, and to do this we will be
holding a range of listening events throughout
March and April to gain a better insight in to
what we can do to grow and improve our
support of team communication, inclusion
and diversity, staff wellbeing and line
manager development.
“The initial findings of the survey report
have already been discussed at Clinical
Leadership Executive and we are awaiting
the reports being published nationally in
March.”
Highlights:
• I am satisfied with the quality of
care I give to patients / service
users 83.5%
• I feel that my role makes a
difference to patients / service
users 90.4%
• I am able to deliver the care I aspire
to - 71.8%
6

Bringing Midland Met to life
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
a 7km swim along the River Wye. I’m
also a thrill seeker and enjoy anything
that gets the adrenaline pumping. I
completed a charity skydive last year
and I’m always looking for my next
challenge. All ideas welcome.”
Our flagship hospital, Midland Metropolitan University Hospital is set to open its doors in
2022
Building a world-class healthcare
facility is no easy feat. Hospitals need
to meet the healthcare needs of the
communities they serve, but more than
that they need to stand up to all of the
challenges of modern life and offer
patients, colleagues and visitors the
facilities they deserve as standard and
so much more.
Opening a new hospital takes strategic
vision, meticulous planning and expert
execution. It takes architects, engineers,
medical professionals along with countless
trades to design, develop and open a
hospital, or as in our case, move facilities
from two other sites to our new flagship
hospital, the Midland Metropolitan
University Hospital.
From concept to the delivery, there is so
much to consider when opening a new
hospital. That’s why we caught up with
Richard Molloy, Construction Specialist to
find out more about how he’s helping to
make our vision a reality.
Richard told us: “I have 30 years’ experience
in the construction industry, predominantly
working in project management based
roles. Over the years, I have worked on
projects ranging from schools, universities,
industrial buildings, shopping centres,
commercial offices and large acute hospital
facilities.”
Speaking of the focus of his role, Richard
explained: “I manage key relationships
between the Trust, clinical teams and
Balfour Beatty, whilst advising the Trust on
construction matters. This current contract
with Balfour Beatty is very collaborative and
requires consistent dialogue to ensure we
all meet the programme deadlines in place
for us all.”
Richard continued: “Ensuring we offer the
highest standard of patient care is our top
priority. One of the main aspects that will
influence patient care is ensuring that Balfour
Beatty delivers the highest quality product.
Being able to offer an enhanced patient
environment and support services all starts
with the build.
“A well-designed space will offer clinical
colleagues the opportunity to provide
enhanced patient care. It doesn’t stop there
either - we will be working with stakeholders
across the organisation to ensure we offer
the most effective technology solutions and
equipment. It’s an exciting project to be a part
of as it will directly impact patients, and that is
something I am proud to be a part of.”
Speaking of challenges, Richard explained:
“We’ve had to navigate our way through
the pandemic. As a big build, this could have
had a significant impact, but have worked
around this by implementing strict COVID
secure measures such as installing dedicated
handwashing stations and giving all staff
onsite snoods to stop the risk of transmission.
On a personal level, I’ve managed to work
between the project offices and also from
home. I’m lucky that my three children are
teenagers and need little input from me with
homeschooling.
Reflecting on just how far the project has
come, Richard said: “Large acute healthcare
projects are the most complex building types
to build and commission just behind nuclear
projects. The complexity reflects why it can
sometimes seem like it takes a long time for
these projects to become operational. In the
long term, it’s worth it. I, for one, am looking
forward to the day we can open the doors of
Midland Met to staff and patients.”
Outside of work, Richard enjoys sports
and often pushes himself to seek out new
challenges. “I like anything to do with sports.
I’m a coach for a local under 16s rugby team.
I also love swimming, running and cycling in
my spare time and have entered an ironman
triathlon for later this year in Spain along with
Richard Molloy at Midland Met
Members of the team reviewing
construction progress
The view from the fifth floor as work
is ongoing on site
7

Making the move to Engie
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Engie is a leading service, business
energy and regeneration company.
From 5 April, they will become our
new estates facilities management
provider for our current hospitals and
the Midland Metropolitan University
Hospital.
The team will also be responsible for
looking after estates facilities management,
reactive maintenance, programmed planned
maintenance, lifecycle works, small works
and some capital works.
With April getting ever closer, we bring you
the lowdown on what you need to know
so that you can continue to log your estates
maintenance jobs and access the service
without any interruptions to your working
lives.
One of the main things we are most
pleased about as an organisation is that we
will still be working with familiar faces. Over
the years, colleagues have become friends,
and many of our people will be moving
to Engie as they take over managing our
estates. So whilst we may have a new
service provider, you will still see the same
people you are used to dealing with already
when they come out to your job.
So, how will you log a job from 5 April
if you need to? To make the change as
straightforward as we can, we’ll be keeping
the same phone number. All you need to
do if you need an estates maintenance job
logging is to call 0121 507 4444 just as you
do now.
You will also be able to access an online
jobs portal via the homepage of Connect.
Plus, there will be a dedicated intranet page
which will be home to all the information
you need to know such as FAQs, team
contact details and a user guide. There will
also be new response and rectification times
so you can see the timescales to get your
job completed.
Rachel Barlow, Director of System
Transformation, explained: “Making the
move to Engie is possible thanks to a lot of
people. We recognise that everyone has a
part to play, and managing our estates is a
team effort. Everyone from administrative
functions to the people that deliver the
service is a part of this change, so I say
thank you to all involved.”
Rachel added: “As part of the move, you
can expect to see some familiar faces
attending your departments. A key point
in this whole process was ensuring no job
losses, a promise we’ve been able to deliver
on. Our estates will continue to be looked
after by the people with that knowledge
and understanding of our teams. As well
as this, you will still be able to call the same
number and have someone you’re used to
dealing with complete your job.”
Warren Grigg, Senior Commercial and
Project Manager, told us: “Shaping our
estate with Engie has been a collaborative
process. Together, Engie and our team
have reviewed all the types of reactive jobs
that could occur and classed them as an
emergency, urgent or routine. It means
when you log a job, it will be clear what
category it falls into, and the response
time, which in turn will help to support
your service. In some cases we have built
in a little extra time to allow for travel, for
example to get to one of our sites such as
Leasowes.”
Warren continued: “As part of the move,
we’ll also introduce new maintenance
standards, known as SFG20, which is a
nationally recognised methodology.
“Finally, there will be some changes to the
ways of working from a Trust perspective. It
includes the introduction of a monthly Engie
user group. It will be a collaborative session
where people can share their feedback.
The first group took place on 24 February,
with the next one scheduled for 24 March.
If you’d like to be involved, please email
Suzanne.gray9@nhs.net. We are really keen
for all departments and Trust users to be
represented.”
Response and rectification times for Sandwell and City
Call
Category
Priority
Response Period
In-hours
Out of
hours
Rectification Period
In-hours
Out of
hours
Response and rectification times for Leasowes and Rowley
Repeated
Rectification Period
Emergency 15 minutes 1 hour 4 hours 5 hours 8 hours
Fire 10 minutes 1 hour N/A N/A
Urgent 1 hour 2 hours 8 hours 9 hours 12 hours
Routine N/A 72 hours 72 hours
Call
Category
Priority
Response Period
In-hours
Out of
hours
Rectification Period
In-hours
Out of
hours
Repeated
Rectification Period
Emergency 1 hour 1 hour 5 hours 5 hours 8 hours
Fire 1 hour 1 hour N/A N/A
Urgent 2 hours 2 hours 9 hours 9 hours 12 hours
Routine N/A 72 hours 72 hours
8

Scientists lead the way for fellow
women to excel
Earlier this month we celebrated the
sixth International Day of Women and
Girls in Science – and at SWB we work
with extraordinary women contributing
into this field. We shine the spotlight
on two colleagues who have excelled
in their roles as scientists and find out
more about their work.
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Dr Tranprit Saluja, Consultant
Microbiologist and Trust Infection
Prevention and Control doctor
Dr Saluja – known as Taran – has made
fighting infection her life’s work. In
addition to leading Sandwell and West
Birmingham NHS Trust’s Infection Control
Service as IPC doctor since 2017, the
accomplished microbiologist is also
deputy chair of the regional infection
control forum, and an honorary senior
lecturer at Aston University.
Her special interest is in the impact of
infection on the body and how it can
be fought off, antimicrobial stewardship
and emerging antimicrobial resistance.
When COVID hit last year Taran was at
the forefront of the Trust’s response and
has been splitting her time with a mix
of clinical duties, on-call commitments,
doing rounds and managing infection
control. She is passionate about her role
and using science to inform the path out
of the pandemic.
Taran explained: “When a new virus
comes along, science is essential to
understand its battle plan, and it is the
science which will determine our strategy
to eventually beat COVID. Although it is
inevitable we will experience setbacks as
the virus evolves, I am confident that our
testing regime, sequencing and robust
infection control measures will ultimately
win out over COVID as we understand
more about it, and can therefore adapt
our behaviour to prevent it spreading.”
Jilly Croasdale, Head of
Radiopharmacy and Associate
Director Healthcare Science
Head of Radiopharmacy and Associate
Director Healthcare Science for Sandwell
and West Birmingham NHS Trust, Jilly
Croasdale pursued a career in science
due to a highly inquisitive mind. She
commented: “Getting into radiopharmacy
was kind of a happy accident! I had
studied to be a pharmacist and applied
to work at City Hospital. I mentioned
radiopharmacy in my application and was
offered a radiopharmacy job, since then I
haven’t looked back.”
As Head of Radiopharmacy, Jilly runs the
operation for making medical isotopes
for use in nuclear medicine studies. In
her role as associate director, healthcare
science she is the lead scientist,
representing all the healthcare scientists
who work for the Trust. She said: “I
get a lot of satisfaction from driving
forward new ideas and from getting
things done. The team of people I have in
radiopharmacy are brilliant. We've worked
together to bring about real change and
improvements in quality. I love being in
a busy and energised environment, and
thrive on new challenges. I enjoy working
with my team, and feel like I'm making
a difference. I like how my job has a
good mix of technical, clinical, scientific
and management elements, basically I
like it all, and recommend science to any
young person who is considering career
choices.”
9

SWB celebrates all colours of the
rainbow with LGBTQ+ History Month
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
LGBTQ+ History Month is an annual
month-long observance of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender history,
and the history of the gay rights and
related civil rights movements.
LGBTQ+ History month first took place
in the USA in 1994. In 2005, educators
and activists Sue Sanders and Paul Patrick
organised a UK history month as part of a
Schools Out UK project. The programme
aims to educate young people about
the issues members of the LGBTQ+
community face and to make schools feel
inclusive for everyone, regardless of their
gender identity or sexual orientation.
The history month was held in February
to coincide with the 2003 abolition of
the 1988 Local Government Act that
forbid local authorities from intentionally
promoting homosexuality. It has been held
in February annually since and continues
to gain momentum with each year.
Thomas Devaney, Chair of SWB LGBT Staff
Network, told Heartbeat: “At our Trust,
we are proud to have an active LGBTQ+
LGBTQ+ History Month 2021
group. The theme for the LGBTQ+ History
Month this year is ‘Body, Mind, Spirit.’ Despite
the ongoing pandemic, several organisations
are holding virtual events to acknowledge the
month and honour the history of the LGBTQ+
community, including educational talks, virtual
art exhibitions, film screenings and readings.
“One thing I am particularly excited about
is West Midlands NHS healthcare providers
working in partnership to share a regional
LGBTQ+ conference that is open to all
colleagues. The digital conference will take place
Thursday, 25 March and, will include guest
speakers, discussions around the impact of
COVID-19 on the LGBTQ+ community, mental
wellbeing and lots more. It is the first time we’ve
all come together to host an event like this, so
it’s one to add to your diary and join if you can.”
“To mark this month, we too are highlighting
organisations, events and educational/support
resources via our daily communications
bulletins and our staff network page on
Connect.”
Thomas added: “We are also looking
to appoint a new vice-chair for our staff
network. This position will help to influence
the work and policies of our organisation. It
will also help colleagues have a real voice in
leading change and helping deliver on our
staff pledges.
“We have several people from different
areas and levels contributing resources and
information about this year’s history month.
That in itself is testament to how open the
group is and how it is a valued part of our
Trust. We are considering events to improve
the experience of our LGBTQ+ colleagues,
and those that support us. As well as this,
we’re keen to hear from people right across
the organisation - we want to develop our
network and increase the inclusivity of the
group to ensure as many voices as possible
can be heard.”
If you would like to be part of the
network or if you’d like to join the
mailing list for this group, please email
swbh.lgbt@nhs.net.
COVID no obstacle to committed
nursing associates
DESPITE the challenges thrown up by
a worldwide pandemic Jenny Hoult
and Oneka Berry were determined
to complete their training to become
nursing associates.
Speaking to Heartbeat, Ward Manager,
Avnash Nanra detailed their achievements
and said: “Jenny and Oneka have both
worked extremely hard from the onset
of starting their course and completing
it with positive mindsets and an eye
to future goals once qualified. I know
they are very much looking forward to
supporting their nursing colleagues on
the wards in their new role. Jenny is
based on Priory Ground, and Oneka on
Lyndon Ground.
“The training process took over
two years, and although COVID-19
interrupted their training, nevertheless
they both worked through the pandemic
to complete practical sessions on their
base wards alongside their external
placement sessions, whilst attending
university (virtually) and completing their
assignments.
Jennifer Hoult, Nursing Associate
“Both have utilised new skills on the wards
and have also been teaching their nursing
colleagues good practice to benefit their clinical
areas. During COVID-19, they were redeployed
to adult wards, with Jenny moving to Lyndon 2
and Oneka to ITU.
“They both exemplify what we look for
in nursing associates, being committed,
hardworking, with good communication
skills and team work. They have excelled in
demonstrating their compassionate and caring
natures, with the drive to succeed and ability
to easily share their own knowledge and skills.”
Jenny added: “I have worked for the Trust for
19 years, starting in the children's outpatients
department at City. I always wanted a career
with children. After a year I moved to D9
paediatric surgical ward, where I enjoyed
working as an auxiliary nurse.
“After being a HCA (with NVQ level 3)
for 16-17 years, I felt I needed to progress
further. I was always asking questions about
why things were done certain ways, as I felt
I needed to understand every clinical duty.
Having worked with some amazing nurses
over the years, I have seen what makes
a great nurse. So to make a good nurse
associate, I believe you need to be confident
in your practice, but never afraid to ask
for help. Be a good team player, support
other staff of all grades, and be able to raise
concerns. Most importantly, you need to
put the patient needs first and provide an
excellent service.
Cheryl Newton, Group Director of Nursing –
Women and Child Health, remarked: “I am
extremely proud of both Jenny and Oneka’s
achievements, particularly during the last 12
months during the pandemic. The team are
looking forward to them starting their roles
as nursing associates within the paediatric
wards.”
10

Celebrating our
stars of the week
Star of the Week
Lavinia Hines, Health and
Wellbeing Lead Coach
Congratulations are in order for Lavinia
Hines, Health and Wellbeing Lead
Coach from the Wellbeing Sanctuary.
Her nomination said: “Where do I start?
Lavinia is fantastic at what she does! I have
never been one for health and wellbeing
and massages but she made me feel
comfortable from arrival.
“I felt welcomed by her and her team and
as soon as I arrived I felt relaxed. I have
spoken to other staff about the sanctuary
in my team and they all love it and speak so
highly of Lavinia. She was very professional
whilst at the same time friendly. She made
me feel at ease and if I was having issues I
could mention them to her or her team. I
also LOVE the atmosphere there and would
recommend any staff whether they are
frontline or not visit the sanctuary.
“She is a credit to the organisation
especially during these difficult times and I
will definitely be going to the sanctuary in
the future.”
Star of the Week
Ash Turner
Clinical Research Charge Nurse
Star of the Week
Peter Jay
Clinical Support Manager
Star of the Week
Randeep Degun
Estates department
Congratulations to Peter Jay, Clinical
Support Manager for being awarded
Star of the Week.
Peter volunteered to be part of the
swabbing team in April 2020. He has
become a pivotal part of the swabbing team
and is partially redeployed to the service.
Peter undertakes COVID-19 swabbing and
also undertakes home swabbing and coordinates
the swabbing team in the absence
of the team leader.
Peter has played an integral part in the
swabbing that the Trust has undertaken on
behalf of Public Health England. Peter has
supported newer colleagues in swabbing
and has used his clerical skills to develop
an instruction guide for colleagues. Peter
has stepped out of his comfort zone and
embraced this new role.
Well done to Randeep Degun from
our estates department who has been
awarded our Star of the Week accolade.
Randeep Degun has been instrumental
in putting in place the changes needed
in response to the pandemic, including
converting the education centre to a vaccine
hospital hub. This is particularly appropriate
because much of the work that Randeep
and colleagues have delivered, in particular
its responsiveness and urgency will have
benefitted the schemes and services that
Liam Kennedy and his teams have delivered
during the course of the last few testing
months.
Well done to our Star of the Week
winner, Ash Turner – Clinical Research
Charge Nurse.
Ash was nominated for the weekly accolade
for his work in promoting and delivering the
RECOVERY COVID-19 trial.
Nominating Ash for the award, Consultant
Nigel Trudgill wrote: “Ash Turner has been
absolutely crucial to the delivery within
the Trust of the vital international study
RECOVERY on COVID-19 therapies. His
efforts have contributed to the development
of the main therapy that saves lives in
COVID-19 infection – dexamethasone –
becoming the standard of care throughout
the world.
“The work he has done to embed Recovery
on the acute medical units has been a
perfect example of how to engage and
support clinical teams to achieve maximum
recruitment to such a critical clinical trial at
a difficult time for everyone in the midst of
a pandemic.
“He is proactive, engaging and always
available for clinicians to go to for support.
His ‘can do’ attitude, resilience and passion
are great strengths and he has been a great
support during very challenging times.”
Do you know someone in
your team that has gone
above and beyond the call
of duty? Why not put them
forward for Star of the Week
by visiting Connect.
11

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 – Kevin Johnson
Goes above and beyond with patient care
and also helping staff. Thank you.
From – Tracy Banford
To – Julie Routley
Julie has been helping the paediatric
admin team throughout the pandemic -
calling patients, sorting Visionable lists and
booking appointments...the list is endless!
We couldn't do it all without her!
From – Kelly Attwood
To – Jaimee North
Thank you Jaimee for always going above
and beyond. Today it was very busy on
AMU A, Jaimee kindly volunteered to help
with patient transfers. Nothing is too much.
From – Georgia Scott
To – Asghar Ali
I would like to say a big thank you to
the volunteer who worked nights during
the festive season at SGH. I call him the
Trust’s unofficial gate keeper. He is always
prepared to go the extra mile to help out
staff and patients. He is always happy and
smiling – an asset to SWBH.
From – Cassandra Baul
To – Sarjo
As our ward domestic she is incredible!
Never stops, the ward is always sparkling
from top to bottom and she is a pleasure
to work with. All of D17 staff are very
grateful.
From – Laura Morris
To – Emma Hibbs and Joshua Singh
Emma and Josh went the extra mile on
Christmas Eve to support a patient with
complex needs to get the patient home in
time for Christmas. They worked closely
with WMAS to do a home visit in order to
ensure the patient was set up safely on
D/C. Thank you for your commitment and
excellent patient care!
From – Suzanne Miles
To – Roger Smith
Roger is always kind and considerate
and always has a smile on his face no
matter how busy it is. He always knows
what you want before you do and is
prompt and efficient with his workload.
He also knows if we need a bed we will
also need a syringe pump without being
asked. Nothing is too big for him and we
appreciate all he does for us. Thank you
very much Roger from Jenny and Marilyn
From – Jennifer Hughe
To – Ruma Nazran
Ruma went the extra mile this week for
a patient and her family on Lyndon 5.
Unfortunately, the patient was in hospital
for her birthday and Ruma took time to
read aloud all of the birthday cards whilst
on a video call to her family.
Thank You Ruma, this act made a massive
difference to your patient and her family.
From – Vikki Howard
To – Imaging Team
Thank you to each and every one of you.
Your perseverance and commitment is
making a difference.
From – Karen Jones
To – Lisa Southall
Lisa went above and beyond to assist in the
ordering of key safety equipment for our
babies on the neonatal unit. Lisa ensured
effective information was given and aided
myself until the problem was resolved.
Thank you for your time, Lisa!
From – Carmen Nuttall
To – All the kitchen staff at Sandwell
canteen
Just want to say a huge thank you to all the
amazing kitchen staff at the canteen, they
never fail to amaze us with their friendly
manner and they always accommodate
three very fussy eaters.
From – Suki Kalon
To – Carl Bellamy
Carl has been a digital wonder, he's helped
our team make a selection of education
films for clinician colleagues about how
to do great palliative and end of life care.
He's been really quick to help; flexible
when we had to rearrange filming sessions
and a whizz at the editing making us look
smooth and creating something which will
make a big difference.
From – Anna Lock
To – Sandwell Accident and Emergency
Department
I would like to say a massive well done &
express how proud I am to be part of the
staff in Sandwell ED. Each member of staff
continues to work incredibly hard this
includes all trained staff, ENPS, HCAS, DRS,
porters and ward service officers.
From – Sarah Jones
To – Ravinder Sangha
Thank you for going the extra mile and
supporting those around you. Thank
you for finding the time to listen and
encourage every member of our team.
The cardiac rehab team applauds you for
all that you are and all that you do.
From – Maxine Brown
To – Ikram Omar
Just a little note to say well done and
thank you to Ikram who showed great
leadership and commitment on D30 over
the weekend taking charge relatively early
in her career.
From – Keeley Hopcraft
To – The Removals Team
They worked extremely hard and with
a smile on their face, last week to move
Newton 1 up to Newton 5. Nothing was
too much trouble. They made a really
challenging ward move, more smooth,
manageable and timely.
From – Donna James
12

Celebrating our apprentices
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
8 February – 14 February
saw SWBH celebrate National
Apprenticeship Week 2021.
Over the last 12 months, we have had a whole host of apprentices reach new
heights from both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds – here are just a couple:
The annual week-long celebration of
apprenticeships aims to shine a light
on the work done by employers and
apprentices across the country.
“The last 12 months have been
very challenging for us in terms
of apprenticeships in organisation
development and learning due to the
current pandemic,” said Maxine Griffiths,
Widening Participation Manager and
Apprenticeship Lead.
“However, our team has faced these
challenges head-on, and the last year
has continued to see many shining stars
completing their apprenticeships with
distinctions!”
Our apprenticeship programme at SWB
has always been a success. Recent data
from the programme has shown:
• 100 per cent of apprentices
would recommend SWB
training provider to a friend.
• 100 per cent of apprentices
feel they get the support
they need
• 100 per cent of apprentices
feel they are given feedback
to help them improve
• 100 per cent of apprentices
feel they are treated fairly
by SWB training provider
colleagues
• 100 per cent of apprentices
feel SWB training provider
has created a safe,
disciplined and positive
environment for them to
learn.
Paul Roberts
Supervisor in Palliative Care - Team
Leading Level 3
“I started in the Trust five years ago as
a business admin apprentice. I attended
study days and training sessions and learnt
lots of new skills, ideas and knowledge to
help me in my role. Whilst on this course, I
was nominated for the national apprentice
of the year award, and I attended an
overnight training course at Warwick
University.
“Following the completion of my
apprenticeship, I was offered a permanent
Band 2 admin position. After a couple
of years working as an admin assistant
within the connected palliative care
team, I was promoted to a Band 3 admin
trainer. To further my career, I knew I had
to develop leadership skills and enhance
my management techniques. Therefore,
I applied for and started a level 3 team
leading apprenticeship course.”
Paul added: “Whilst working on this
course, I have accepted a Band 4 supervisor
position in the team. The training and the
different modules delivered on the course
make you look at certain things differently
and helps with your personal and career
progression.”
Sajidah Valera
Maternity Clerk – Business Admin
Level 3
“I am an apprentice who works as
a maternity clerk. I chose to join an
apprenticeship because I believe
apprenticeships are a great way to access
a career path in my chosen sector to work
towards my career goals. Not only does my
apprenticeship provide me with a job and
a nationally recognised qualification, but
it has also provided me with experience,
transferable skills and a boost in my
confidence.”
Sajidah continued: “The apprenticeship
has opened many paths for me; having
a chance to stay on after in a permanent
substantive role as well as giving me
opportunities to progress in the Trust.
“During my time as an apprentice, I have
received an immense amount of support
from management and colleagues. The
positive feedback that I have received from
them has motivated me to pursue my
career.
“I would highly recommend joining an
apprenticeship; it is a great way to start
on the career ladder as well as gaining a
qualification whilst earning a wage. The
experience and skills gained will always stay
with you, regardless of what you choose to
do after completing it.”
If you are interested in completing an apprenticeship in 2021, please email swbh.apprenticeship@nhs.net.
13

JABS ARMY
Forces join the frontline in
the fight against COVID
COVID-19 military support has been invaluable since they joined our organisation
Squaddies from the British
Army swooped in to our
hospitals earlier this month
to join the frontline in the
fight against COVID-19.
Swapping their combat fatigues for
pristine white scrubs, the troop of 18
soldiers drawn from the 1st, 4th and 5th
medical regiment alongside the 1st and
21st Signals Regiment and 1st Yorkshire
Regiment reported for duty keen to support
colleagues in caring for patients.
Taking command of the troops whilst
deployed at Sandwell and West
Birmingham was Deputy Chief Nurse Helen
Bromage.
Welcoming the recruits, Helen said, “As
we see cases of COVID-19 continue to
be consistently high, we are pleased to
welcome the military personnel who will be
supporting colleagues. The soldiers will be
on hand to carry out non-clinical tasks such
as stacking medicine trolleys, cleaning and
laundry.
“This support will make a real and positive
difference to the work we are doing to
help turn the tide against COVID-19. In
practical terms, it means that it will free up
time for our clinical colleagues to continue
delivering patient-facing care.”
Brigadier AJ Smith, Commander Joint
Military Command, West Midlands, said:
“We remain in support of NHS Midlands
as we have been for the last ten months.
A force package of 370 military personnel
is currently embedded in 23 hospitals
across the Midlands, providing medical and
broader support to the amazing NHS Team
as they continue to face this unprecedented
challenge.”
One of the areas that British Army teams
have been supporting in has been the
emergency department. A high traffic
area that it the entry point for almost all
patients, COVID-19 positive and negative.
It's an area that may seem chaotic and
confusing to the untrained eye but one
that runs with military precision was base
for many of the new recruits.
Beaming with pride and thankful for the
support, Matron Antoinette Cummings
said: “The teams have been a breath of
fresh air. They have been so helpful and
settled into our chaotic work environment
well. Primarily they have supported in
managing our equipment stocks and
coordinating supplies from pharmacy to the
department. They’ve even been escorting
patients to CT and X-ray scans.
“The help and support they’ve provided
has made a huge difference. It has allowed
our nurses, HCAs, therapists and doctors
to focus on patient care without having to
take time away from the bedside to rush
to the pharmacy department, frantically
search for equipment or worry about
patients who have gone for diagnostic
scans.
Best of all, their military training means that
everything they have done has been to the
absolute highest of standards. They have
been precise in their work, incredibly kind,
compassionate and empathetic, not just
towards our patients but to colleagues in
the department.
“We’ve all had an incredibly tough year, so
it’s been a lovely sight to have the backup
support from the British Army”.

Hands, Face, Space: Staying COVID
safe in a world of variants
HANDS FACE SPACE
When COVID-19 first hit our shores,
we knew we had a fight on our hands
as we battled to control the spread
of the virus, 12 months on we are
seeing the virus mutate as it evolves
to re-establish itself with new strains
popping up across the world, including
on our doorsteps in Walsall.
Triggering spikes and surges in infections,
the new variants are being closely
monitored to establish how their mutations
affect their spread and the severity of
disease with early indications showing
that some variants are significantly more
transmissible.
All viruses mutate over time and for this
very reason, early on in the response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, a genome sequencing
capability was established in the UK to
monitor changes in the genome of the
virus over time. This sequencing capability
allows the UK to detect the emergence of
variants and to track their spread in the
community.
All viruses naturally mutate over time,
and COVID-19 is no exception. Over time,
changes can build up in the genetic code of
the virus, and these new viral variants can
be passed from person to person. Most of
the time, the changes are so small that they
have little impact on the virus. But every so
often a virus mutates in a way that benefits
it, for example, allowing it to spread more
quickly.
So how do you protect yourself against
something that is incredibly easy to spread,
often undiagnosed and running rampant
in the community? Three words signify the
best way to proactively protect yourself -
those being hands, face, space.
Regardless of mutations and variants, tests
have shown that COVID-19 spread can
be easily managed with good hygiene. In
scientific terms, COVID-19 is an enveloped
virus, that means it has an outer envelope
that's composed of proteins and a fatty
material called a lipid, and it's that outer
layer that makes it relatively simple to kill
with most disinfectants, compared to other
viruses that don't have that envelope.
One of the key preventative measures that
we should also focus on is hand hygiene,
not simply the need the wash your hands
for 20 seconds, but also to be mindful of
touch points, tools and devices that you
come in to contact with. Whilst we’ve all
recently been known to open doors with
elbows, it’s important to remember other
things that can spread the virus, shared
phones on wards, keyboards and mice.
Each of these can be managed by ensuring
that you keep your work areas clean and
remember to sanitise touchpoints alongside
your hands.
Remember, when you’re in frontline patient
facing care, it’s important to follow the
World Health Organisation’s 5 Moments of
Hand Hygiene.
Sanitise your hands:
1. Before touching a patient
2. Before clean/aseptic
procedure
3. After touching body fluid
exposure risk
4. After touching a patient
5. After touching patient
surroundings
Alongside contact exposures – touching
something that is infected, COVID-19 can
also be transmitted through droplets in the
air, when a person who is infected near you
breaths or produces an aerosol, whether
that’s through coughing or sneezing or by
a medical device they are using. This is why
masks are so important, not just in clinical
settings when there is an expectation
of close contact with infections, but
also in public areas where there may be
asymptomatic cases.
All patient facing colleagues should by now
be fit tested for masks. This means you
have been through a process where you
have been supported to try on a range of
masks and to test using a device to assure
that the mask is fitted appropriately. Fit
testing is absolutely essential when wearing
masks in close contact with patients and is
never simply a matter of wearing whatever
is available. Alternatively there are stocks
of respirators available, that once fit tested
can be issued to colleagues for long term
use.
One of the most important elements of
limiting the spread of the virus is reducing
contact, limiting the opportunity for the
virus to come in to contact with others.
This is focus of the drive to embed social
distancing as a means to manage the
pandemic. Alongside proactively protecting
yourself using masks and hand sanitisers,
simply making a personal choice to limit
your close contact with others has a
significant impact on spread. We know,
through scientific studies and personal
experience that many patients who prove
to be COVID-19 positive either show little
to no symptoms or show symptoms so late
in the progression of their infection that
they have almost certainly passed it on to
colleagues, patients and the public.
Whilst it’s undoubtedly antisocial, the
practice of social distancing could be the
difference between catching covid and
becoming incredibly unwell or avoiding
the disease and being able to return to
normality as the pandemic subsides and
normality resumes.

Love at work site
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
Valentine’s Day is celebrated
the world over every year on 14
February. It’s the day when people
traditionally show their affection to
a loved one or reveal their feelings
to someone they’ve liked for some
time! Cards, flowers or chocolates,
however you choose to say I love
you - 14 February is the day to
declare your love.
Though we believe that love and
appreciation shouldn’t just be shown
on one day of the year, as love is in the
air this month in particular, we caught
up with a few SWB couples to find out
more about their love stories.
Rakesh & Liza Gill
Rakesh, Medical Engineering Equipment
Librarian and Liza, Volunteer Service
Manager, first met in India over 21 years
ago when Liza’s aunty introduced her
to Rakesh. 18 months down the line,
they decided to make it official and get
married. They now have two children,
Bradley, aged 16 and Brandon, aged 13.
When asked about their marriage, Liza
said: “There many things we love about
each other but our one favourite things is
our love for God first - that enables us to
love one another so much. We give the
best of ourselves to each other, put each
other first and our passion to help people
in any way we can as we both believe love
is all about giving.”
Liza added: “We have travelled across the
country and internationally to be guest
speakers for faith-related conferences,
marriage conferences, Bible College and
counselled other couples to help them
with marital struggles they have faced.
Learning from our own experiences of up
and downs in marriage has helped us to
better support others around us.”
Craig & Helen Bromage
Though they first met over four and
half years ago in August 2016, these
newlyweds only got married on 21 July
2020.
“Getting married was a challenge due
to the COVID-19 pandemic,“ said Craig,
Head of IT Infrastructure. “The registry
office was closed until the very last day
we could give notice, but luckily we
managed it with 30 minutes to spare.
Then to top it off, the venue hosting our
civil ceremony was off, on, off and back
on again!”
Mr and Mrs Bromage were planning on
riding a Royal Enfield (a resto-mod of
Craig’s favourite motorcycle) around the
Himalaya’s as part of their honeymoon,
but due to the restrictions had a week
in their motorhome in Devon and hiked
around Dartmoor for the remaining days.
When asked what they like about each
other most, Helen, Deputy Chief Nurse,
said: “My favourite things about Craig
are his sense of humour, his strength of
character and resilience.” Craig told us
the traits he most likes about Helen are
her sense of humour and can-do attitude.
Adrian & Amber Markham:
Believe it or not, Adrian, Charge Nurse
on Critical Care and Amber, Interim
Group Director of Nursing for Surgical
Services, actually met at work. In was
1997, at 4am. Amber was working on
the high dependency unit and wasn’t
really interested in Adrian at the time.
He eventually won her heart by making
her smile, behaving like James Bond over
a blood gas analyser machine. She then
agreed to a first date where he took her
to the local McDonalds just down the
road.
“I was planning on leaving the country
for America, but instead, I decided to
stay and pursue Amber and, that worked
out fantastically for both of us in the
end,” said Adrian. Some of his favourite
characteristics about Amber are her
relaxed outlook on life and her dedication
to the NHS.
“In 2001, we got married at Cannon Hill
Park, and 23 years on from when we first
met in 1997, we have two daughters
who are 20 and 18, and we couldn’t be
happier,” said Amber.
???
16

VOL-entine’s event is
heart-warming affair
Love was in the air when a specially
arranged Zoom event took place for the
volunteer service.
The VOL-entine’s event hosted by Volunteer
Service Manager, Patricia Hunt, made sure
that there were plenty of fun activities to
participate in and, lots to catch up on.
It is the first time the service has held a
celebration to mark Valentine’s Day. The
event allowed volunteers and colleagues
to interact with one another during these
challenging times. It was also our way to
thank our volunteers for all of their time
and support.
Activities included a fun quiz, a mindfulness
and wellbeing exercise and the recital of a
heartfelt poem.
Highest scorer and winner of the quiz,
Leah Deacon beamed: “Thank you to the
volunteer service for setting up the zoom
meeting. It is nice to get some human
interaction, especially during the lockdown,
I feel valued as a volunteer. I rarely win
anything, so it was a nice surprise that I
won.” Leah is looking forward to receiving
her prize.
Patricia Hunt told us: “It has been difficult
to see our volunteers collectively during the
pandemic, so we thought why not celebrate
valentines and let our volunteers know how
much we think of them and value them. It
was a great event, and we will be planning
one for Easter.”
She added: “The service has a raft of new
roles in areas available and the event was also
an opportunity to make volunteers aware of
this.
“The Lyng Centre and Oldbury Health Centre
are both looking for support. We have also
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
launched our new ‘Keeping in Touch’
role that involves volunteers visiting
patients on wards to assist them in
contacting their families, by using a
mobile phone or iPad.”
Leah was the lucky winner of the vol-entines event
Treat yourself on us –
it’s competition time!
This month we have an exciting
competition with £50 of Love2Shop
vouchers up for grabs thanks to
personal group.
To be in with a chance of winning, all you
need to do is answer these six questions
and email your answers to swbh.comms@
nhs.net. The closing date is Friday, 26
March. Good luck!
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Q6
How many new student health visitors have joined the health visiting
service?
Name two of the COVID secure measures implemented on the Midland
Met build to reduce the risk of transmission.
What date will Engie take over managing our estates?
What percentage of staff said I am satisfied with the quality of care I give
to patients / service users?
LGBTQ+ History Month first took place in what year?
Emma Carroll swapped the skies for Sandwell. Name the airline she used to
work for.
17

Supporting victims of sexual violence
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
The first week of February 2021 (1-7
February) was national Sexual Violence
Awareness Week.
The awareness week aims to recognise
sexual violence and make people more
aware of what sexual violence is. Sexual
violence is the general term used to
describe any unwanted sexual act or activity,
including rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse
and sexual activity without consent.
The crime survey for England and Wales
estimated that 20 per cent of women and
4 per cent of men have experienced some
type of sexual assault since the age of 16.
That is the equivalent of 3.4 million female
and 631,000 male victims.
Monique Sinclaire, Named Nurse for
Safeguarding Children, is an advocate for
Sexual Violence Awareness Week.
She said: “Sexual Violence Awareness
Week is an important awareness week as
Sexual violence awareness week
encourages more dialogue and conversation
around sexual violence and abuse. If more
people are talking about it, it means more
people are aware.”
She added: “Sexual violence can be
perpetrated by a stranger, or by someone
known and even trusted, like a friend,
colleague, family member, partner or expartner.
It can happen to anyone, and
nobody ever deserves or asks for it to
happen. There is no excuse for sexual
violence as it can never be justified or
explained away, and that is why awareness
is essential.”
Natomie Reid-Lyon, Associate Named
Nurse for Safeguarding Children, shares
these thoughts and said: “There are
many kinds of sexual violence and abuse
unfortunately including rape, sexual
abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment,
forced marriage, honour-based violence,
female genital mutilation, trafficking
and sexual exploitation all of which are
unacceptable.
“We all know that sexual violence and
abuse affects every community, including
our borough. However, we also know
that to tackle the problem, we must
shine a light on it, raise awareness of it
and ensure that we empower victims to
seek help and support.”
Black Country Women’s Aid offer a
variety of support to victims of sexual
violence and abuse (both men and
women) including a 24-hour helpline
(0121 553 0090) a text and WhatsApp
service (07384 466 181) as well as a
library of supportive materials
(www.blackcountrywomensaid.co.uk).
Q-Park to take over car park
management across our sites
1 March will usher in a new era for our
car parks when Q-Park takes over as the
new operator.
Many of you will have already seen the
construction being undertaken by Q-Park
at Sandwell and City Hospitals, bringing
new spaces to meet the demand from
colleagues.
Heartbeat caught up with Assistant Director
of Strategic Development, James Pollitt,
who told us: “We are delighted that Q-Park
will now come on board to manage all of
our car parks. The new builds are on track,
and we should see 950 additional spaces
for colleagues in the summer.
“From Monday 1 March, Q-Park will take
over the operational management of the
car parks. Colleagues should not see any
significant changes at this time. If you
require a new pass or have a query, you can
still contact the team on ext. 6424.
“For the first few months, Q-Park will be
working closely with the current car parking
team to ensure a smooth handover before
overseeing the installation of new parking
equipment estate wide. You will see new
pay stations, barriers, and directional
signage which we hope will make the
journey into and out of each site quicker
Artist impression of parking at City Hospital
and easier for everyone.”
Over 15 million customers park with Q-Park in
the UK each year. The company are known for
high quality, secure, clean, and well-managed
parking facilities.
Local Team Manager, Ross Badham told
us: “Q-Park have extensive experience in
providing parking management services
for the NHS, and we are looking forward
to working with colleagues at Sandwell
and West Birmingham. We are recognised
as an operator that strives to work with
customers to provide the best possible parking
experience.
“When we come on board in March, our
focus will be to provide an easily accessible,
safe and secure environment for staff, patients
and visitors across the sites. You can also
expect to see an overall modernisation
of the parking operation including
the introduction of an online permit
application system for all employees
and the option to make contactless
payments from the comfort of your
vehicle.”
Did you know ?
• Did you know? Q-Park operates
547,000 parking spaces spread
over 2500 car parks across
Europe?
• The two new multi-storey car
parks opening in summer 2021
will offer 550 spaces at
Birmingham City Hospital and
401 spaces at Sandwell
General Hospital.
For queries about car
parking contact the team on
carparkidadminoffice@nhs.net or
ext. 6424.
Look out for further updates in the
daily communications bulletins.
18

Putting safety first
We all play a part to ensure safety
is a vital part of work culture.
Since December 2020, the Trust has
introduced new short multidisciplinary
meetings, held at a predictable time
and place, focused on reducing harm.
We caught up with Liam Preece and Sophia
Gaddu from the improvement team who
told us about how they’ve been working
with areas to introduce safety huddles.
Sophia explained: “The safety huddles are
an opportunity for teams to get together
and raise any issues, share news and find
solutions to any problems at the start of the
day. The teams that have started holding
safety huddles have found having those
conversations early on enables effective
planning and generally helps shifts get off
to a good start.
“Safety huddles have lots of positive
benefits, but one of the main ones to
highlight is enabling better commutation
between nursing and medical colleagues
and helping teams to find collaborative
solutions to any issues that may arise.”
Sophia added: “Safety huddles are usually
led by either a consultant or ward manager.
Representatives from the nursing staff,
HCAs, therapies and pharmacy should
also attend where possible. Other team
members are welcome to join depending
on the issues discussed.”
For any team unsure about how to get
started, Liam had one top tip, “Jump right
Avnash Nanra, Ward Manager from
Paediatrics leading a safety huddle
in and get started. At first, it may seem like a
daunting task pulling everyone together at the
start of the shift to have a conversation, but it
doesn’t have to be. We’ve been working with
the team on Lyndon Ground, and they have
successfully implemented safety huddles.”
Avnash Nanra, Ward Manager from
Paediatrics, told us: “At first we were
concerned that the huddle might take us
away from tasks we need to do, but we have
found it is a great way to let the whole team
know about any issues quickly. It also helps
us to find ways of overcoming any problems
together as a team.”
So how do the team structure their huddles?
Avnash explained: “We use a template,
provided by the Trust to write down the
discussion points beforehand and use that as
a guide us in our huddles. It’s easy to set up
and, a daily huddle should last between 10-15
minutes, that’s all.”
CORPORATE AND GENERAL
NEWS
“I’ve found the huddles to be particularly
beneficial. There was a safeguarding
concern a few weeks ago in regards
to one of our inpatients. We used the
huddle to quickly discuss the issue with
the team and plan how we were going
to address the safety risk to the patient
and other stakeholders.”
Avnash added: “We cover a range of
issues including capacity, safeguarding
and IT problems. For example, last
week, we had an IT issue, and we used
the huddle to make sure everyone was
aware of it and that it flagged with
Informatics.”
Deputy Medical Director, Dr Chizo Agwu,
previously said: “Safety huddles increase
safety awareness among front-line staff,
allow teams to develop action plans
to address identified safety issues and
foster a culture of safety. They are a
well-established form of huddle across
many organisations and, we intend that
they are part of normal care across our
organisation by spring 2021.”
If you would like to find out more,
visit the safety huddles page on
Connect at https://connect2.swbh.
nhs.uk/safety-huddles/.
Are you using your pulse
oximeter correctly?
Pulse oximeters are used Trust wide
across SWB however many colleagues
may not be using them efficiently
meaning they could be getting
incorrect readings for patients.
“If an oximeter probe intended for the
finger is attached to the ear or vice versa,
it can produce a reading up to 50 per cent
lower or 30 per cent higher than the real
value,” said Kevin Jennison, Resuscitation
Officer.
“The clinical implication of an inaccurately
high reading is that staff may be falsely
reassured about a patient’s condition, when
in reality the patient is deteriorating, or
even make an inappropriate intervention
when in fact a patient is stable or
improving. Believe it or not, a substantial
proportion of staff do not know that
finger probes can give misleading results if
attached to ears.”
Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive and painless
test that measures your oxygen saturation
level, or the oxygen levels in your blood,
making it a vital tool. It can rapidly detect
even small changes in how efficiently
oxygen is being carried to the extremities
furthest from the heart, including the legs
and the arms. The device is most commonly
placed on a finger, but ear probes are
available for use when circulation to the
hands is reduced.
If any clinical colleague is unsure about
using a pulse oximeter correctly, Kevin is
encouraging them to get in touch with
their clinical practice development nurse or
the deteriorating patient and resuscitation
team.
He said: “Though we do advise colleagues
to follow the manufacturer’s advice when
A patient wearing a pulse oximeter
using pulse oximeters. If any colleague is
uncertain about anything related to pulse
oximeters, I urge them to contact our team.
We can clarify any concerns or issues they
may have even if they feel they are minor.
He added: “Pulse oximeters help our most
vulnerable patients, especially right now
during this pandemic, so everyone must be
using them efficiently.”
For further information or support;
please contact swb-tr.SWBH-GM-
Resuscitation-Team@nhs.net.
19

BMEC – COVID-19 recovery in sight
SURGICAL SERVICES
As the surge begins to relent and
patient numbers begin to return
to their pre-COVID norms, there is
light at the end of the tunnel and
we can once again begin to plan
and implement our recovery. This
month with catch up with colleagues
in our supra regional specialist
ophthalmology service as the fear
that once surrounded COVID-19 turns
to pride in the courageous efforts of
colleagues.
Faced with the reality that COVID-19 is a
very real and present danger and working
in a specialism that requires you to literally
be face to face and eye to eye with your
patients, the apprehension first felt was
understandable. However, a valiant effort
and hard from colleagues kept the services
running, routine patients were still able to
be seen.
Sharing her thoughts on the COVID-19
pandemic, Consultant Optometrist,
Dr Waheeda Illahi said: “Based on
lessons learned from the first wave
of the pandemic, our models of care
changed significantly in the optometry
Dr Waheeda Illahi and colleagues outside BMEC
department to include enhanced triage, virtual
telephone consultations as well as face-to-face
appointments.
“As the number of cases started to increase in
autumn 2020 there was increasing concern, but
I do not think that anyone had anticipated the
enormity of the current surge. With the number
of COVID patients becoming acutely unwell in
hospitals, the rate of increase of transmission in
the community and the variant strains – concern
was only natural.
“The optometry team has shown the strength
and resilience to work during fear of the
unknown, adapt to emergency protocols within
a 24-hour notice, and stand as equals alongside
other professional groups to support our Trust's
COVID-19 response. In addition, our colleagues
have had to deal with the impact of COVID
on their own families and anxieties about the
future.
“On the whole, our patient attendance has
been good. An enhanced telephone triage
is carried out on as many new patients as
possible, and patients are risk-prioritised by
a specialist optometrist. Follow-up patients
are given a choice of attending a face-to-face
consultation or deferring.”
“For the optometry team at Birmingham and
Midland Eye Centre (BMEC), 2020 ended with
optometrists on the frontline even though it
was in a limited capacity. With regard to the
third lockdown, members of the optometry
team are ready to serve in whatever capacity
the continued pandemic situation requires.”
Urgent treatment centre to cater for
patients with minor injuries
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY
CARE
Sandwell Hospital will soon be
opening its doors to a new urgent
treatment centre where patients
regardless of whether they reside in
Sandwell and West Birmingham can
be seen on the same day by the right
healthcare professional.
The walk-in centre is being unveiled a
year earlier than planned and replaces
the service provided by Malling Health at
Parsonage Street. The team at Malling
Health will continue to work with the
Trust to deliver the GP led service from
Sandwell Hospital.
Heartbeat caught up with Rachel Clarke,
Deputy Director of Operations, Medicine
who told us: “This is a really exciting
project for the organisation and one
that sees us getting closer to our vision
of being the number one integrated care
provider.
“The walk-in centre was originally planned
to launch after the opening of the Midland
Met Hospital, however, due to changes
regarding commissioning we can bring
the service forward. The centre will be the
provision for minor injuries after Sandwell ED
relocates to the new hospital.”
“We are looking forward to welcoming our
highly skilled GP led team on site supported
by a multidisciplinary team including
associate nurse practitioners with experience
of urgent and emergency medicine.”
Rachel continued to explain that the urgent
care centre will:
• Provide timely assessment, intervention
and monitoring for patients
• Streamline the patient episode of care
with expedited and safe discharge with
the appropriate support
• Support flow through the system and
reduce pressures on the ED through the
provision of a streamlined pathway from
ED and in-reach into ED.
Work has started to transform part of the
outpatients department at Sandwell into the
walk-in centre.
“We expect the service to be up and running
by the beginning of summer,” added
Rachel. “We will be communicating with the
teams who are currently based in that area
regarding where and when they’ll move.”
The new walk-in centre will ensure
the patient needs are met including:
• Seeing the right healthcare
professional
• Seeing someone the same day
• Getting an appointment at a
time to suit them
If you have any questions about
the urgent care centre please
contact Rachel Clarke
rachel.clarke10@nhs.net
20

Service shows patients the way
through video
The breast screening service has
released a video to share with their
clients showing them what to expect
when attending an appointment.
The video will be shared with the Clinical
Commissioning Groups and, the GPs within
the area that the service screens.
The film is a short guide as to what will
happen, from the moment they arrive until
they are ready to leave the mobile unit. It is
expected to be translated into Sandwell and
West Birmingham’s top six languages and
shared on the Trust’s YouTube account, as
well as social media.
Rose Isaacs, who works on Health
Promotion for the service, said: “We
needed a video which demonstrated what
happens at a screening appointment, so
our clients were able to understand this
better.
“By using video, it can be easily translated
into different languages and understood by
those whose first language isn’t English.”
There are four mobile units located at
different sites across the region. Breast
screening appointments have continued
throughout the pandemic as it is deemed
essential.
As well as producing the video, with
assistance from the communications
department, the breast screening team
has also put together helpful leaflets and
guidance, designed by Medical Illustration,
for clients.
Rose added: “As a service, we are doing
everything we can to reassure the clients
invited that it is still safe to attend their
screening appointment.”
The breast screening service can be
followed on Twitter and Facebook by
searching @CSWBSS.
The Breast Screening Unit at City Hospital
IMAGING
Have you got a
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY
CARE
We’d love to hear from you if you have…
• An event or special occasion in your department
• If you work with an inspirational colleague
• Does your department do something that makes a
real difference to our patients?
Please get in touch if you’d like to be featured in an
upcoming edition of Heartbeat!
story?
Email swbh.comms@nhs.net to submit your story idea.
21

Special delivery!
WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH
We’ve reached lockdown 3.0, and the
world is ever-changing. Despite all
the new rules and regulations, one
thing that has stayed the same is the
steady stream of newborn babies
welcomed into the world by our
maternity team.
Rebecca Harding, who is part of the
occupational health and wellbeing
service, gave birth to baby Benjamin
in July 2020. Being part of the SWBH
family, she was incredibly pleased with
the care she and her family received.
Speaking to Heartbeat, Rebecca
explained: “I am currently on maternity
leave and enjoying my time with my
baby boy. I was touched by the kindness
shown by colleagues and would like to
share how they helped me. Benjamin
was born in July last year, and without
the interventions of the team, he
wouldn’t be here with us today. He
was born with sepsis and pneumonia,
so I would like to say thank you to the
maternity and neonatal teams that
helped him.”
“In particular, I would like to say a special
thank you to the two midwives that looked
after Benjamin. Kate Lamb and Student
Midwife, Victoria looked after Benjamin from
start to finish. My labour started normally,
but then I had complications and had to have
a c-section. When Benjamin came into the
world, I heard nothing – silence. He went
to the neonatal area, where he received
one to one care. We later found out he had
pneumonia/ sepsis in the lungs and, was put
on a CPAP machine.”
With the care and support of the team,
baby Benjamin started to make positive
improvements. Rebecca told us: “Everyone
was so supportive, especially of my choice to
breastfeed. We were encouraged to spend as
much time as we could with Benjamin. Even
though we had to see him separately, the
time we spent with him was precious, and all
that mattered was that we could see him. Dr
Akbar kept telling us that he would be fine
and sure enough after one week we were
able to take him home.”
Rebecca added: “This pandemic has been
tough on so many people. It has highlighted
just how resilient we are as an organisation
and the kindness shown during the first days
of Benjamin’s life is something I am truly
grateful for. Thank you to all of the doctors,
surgeons, nurses and midwives that looked
after us. We believe without their quick
thinking – Benjamin would not be here
today. He’s now over seven months old and
in toddler clothes. Thank you – you truly do
a fantastic job.”
Baby Benjamin needed specialist support
as a newborn
Baby Benjamin aged seven months old
COVID speeds up investment in
induction suite
Laura Padder, Midwife
Maternity colleagues are celebrating the
opening of a new induction suite, which
offers a brighter and larger area for
women being induced.
The area was opened in November and has
been very well received by patients. It replaces
a smaller three-bedded induction facility
which was based on labour ward.
The five-bedded facility has a separate
examination/treatment room where the
women are able to undergo an induction. This
room can also be used for staff performing
reflexology and aromatherapy sessions on
women. It also boasts a comfortable kitchen
area for women who will be able to heat
their own food and relax in a different
environment.
Laura Padder, Midwife told us: “I think it’s
much better for our ladies. It gives them much
more space to get around, it’s a more peaceful
environment and staff can assist them easier
than when they are on the labour ward. It
helps us to provide better one to one care
and to build up relationships.”
Cathleen Price, Midwife, said: “Our new
induction suite has been in the pipeline for
a little while now. As of November 2019,
we opened this area and it has been very
well received.
“The ladies that have used the area have
said it’s welcoming. We have a kitchen area
for food to be warmed up, a sitting area
and five beds along with an examination
room. Feedback overall has been positive
and we’re very pleased with this new
space.”
Louise Wilde, Deputy Director of Midwifery,
said: “We pushed forward the development
of the new room due to the pandemic.
Feedback from women about the previous
facility told us that they wanted somewhere
which was a larger area and so we acted
upon this by creating the new suite.”
22

Location of surgery
Patient selection
Operating list
Pre-operative
assessment
Screening of
surgical team
Peri-operative
preparation
Laparotomy
adaptations
Laparoscopy
adaptations
%
2019: Tertiary hospital with emergency department
2020: Independent hospital without emergency department (“cold site”)
2019: Multidisciplinary team discussion
2020: Additional weekly capacity review and discussions with intensive care team
2019: Five full-day lists with as-required intensive care bed requests
2020: Planned admission to intensive care bed limited to 2 days per week
2019: 2-4 weeks before surgery by nurses (general) and anaesthetists (high-risk)
2020: Telephone/face-to-face consultations 72-hour before surgery and COVID-19 screening
2019: Not required
2020: Exempted from emergency duties and symptom-triggered screening tests for COVID-19
2019: Routine 3 ply mask; use of eye protection at the discretion of the surgeons
2020: Mandatory fitted FFP3 masks and eye protection; minimised exposure to aerosols
2019: Diathermy with fume extractors at the discretion of the surgeons
2020: “Buddy” operating with 2 consultants; diathermy with fume extractor; additional suction
attached to a filter with filtration ability of 0.027 microns and ≥99.99% efficiency.
2019: Entry techniques at the discretion of the surgeons.
2020: For non-COVID-19 cases only; only Visiport or open Hassan’s technique was used;
technique to prevent CO2 leakage.
Location of surgery
Patient selection
Operating list
Pre-operative
assessment
Screening of
surgical team
Peri-operative
preparation
Laparotomy
adaptations
Laparoscopy
adaptations
2019: Tertiary hospital with emergency department
2020: Independent hospital without emergency department (“cold site”)
2019: Multidisciplinary team discussion
2020: Additional weekly capacity review and discussions with intensive care team
2019: Five full-day lists with as-required intensive care bed requests
2020: Planned admission to intensive care bed limited to 2 days per week
2019: 2-4 weeks before surgery by nurses (general) and anaesthetists (high-risk)
2020: Telephone/face-to-face consultations 72-hour before surgery and COVID-19 screening
2019: Not required
2020: Exempted from emergency duties and symptom-triggered screening tests for COVID-19
2019: Routine 3 ply mask; use of eye protection at the discretion of the surgeons
2020: Mandatory fitted FFP3 masks and eye protection; minimised exposure to aerosols
2019: Diathermy with fume extractors at the discretion of the surgeons
2019: Entry techniques at the discretion of the surgeons.
References:
Glasbey J, Bhangu A, COVIDSurg Collaborative. (2020) Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study. Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Published online. 6 October. Available at: https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.20.01933
Read all about it! Gynaecological
cancer paper published
Recently our gynaecology oncology
team had reason to celebrate as
a manuscript they developed was
accepted for publication in Gynecologic
Oncology - a respected journal from the
USA. The paper covered the mitigation
plan the team has worked on to allow
them to continue delivering safe
gynaecology cancer surgery to patients.
Jason Yap, Consultant Gynaecological
Oncology, told Heartbeat: “This is the only
publication of its kind within our specialty so
this is something we are proud of as a team.
The paper demonstrates that it is possible
to maintain and provide a safe tertiary
gynaecological surgical treatment during the
pandemic.
“A carefully designed care pathway is
required to deliver safe cancer surgery. Our
mitigation plan began in April 2020, and
we took steps to ensure patients’ safety and
minimise COVID-19 transmission whilst an
inpatient. Colleagues had symptom triggered
screening tests, and patients had COVID-19
tests to ensure they were safe to undergo
surgery, as well as a telephone or face to
face consultation 72 hours before surgery.
We also made modifications to our surgical
practice, in particular, the approach to our
laparoscopic surgery.
“Also, with meticulous planning, we have
managed to maintain surgical services
44 welearn2020
Major/Minor
Laparoscopic
First Surgeon
Intraoperative
complications
ITU/HDU
Length of Stay
(Days)
Post-operative
complications
(30-day)
E. E. Leung, D. Joseph, T. T. Weston, R Gujar, N. N. Marriott, A. Elattar,
S. A. Sundar, Elattar, J. S. Balega, Sundar, J. K. Balega, Singh, K. J. Singh, Yap J. Yap
Sandwell and
West Birmingham
Mitigating The Impact of of COVID-19 Pandemic Pandemic
To To Deliver Deliver Gynaecological Cancer Cancer Surgery Surgery
The Challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic has impeded our ability to deliver surgery for gynaecological cancers. 1
A carefully designed care pathway is required to delivery safe cancer surgery for patients and staff.
Our Mitigation Strategy (initiated in early April 2020)
NHS Trust
2020: “Buddy” operating with 2 consultants; diathermy with fume extractor; additional suction
attached to a filter with filtration ability of 0.027 microns and ≥99.99% efficiency.
2020: For non-COVID-19 cases only; only Visiport or open Hassan’s technique was used;
technique to prevent CO2 leakage.
Results: maintaining service delivery during a global pandemic
Comparisons made between January – August 2019 and January – August 2020
Major
Minor
Yes
No
Consultant
Non-consultant
Unplanned
• Clavien-Dindo I-II
• Clavien-Dindo III-IV
• Clavien-Dindo V
40
30
20
10
0
2019
2020
(n=296) (n=289) p-value
243 (82.1%) 241 (83.4%) 0.678
53 (17.9%) 48 (16.6%)
91 (30.7%) 57 (19.7%) 0.002
205 (69.3%) 232 (80.3%)
172 (58.1%) 243 (84.1%)

There’s no place like home…
to rest, recuperate and recover
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
‘Hospitals are for people who are
sick and unwell’ is often a term that
gets thrown around when talking
about discharges in hospitals,
apart from being seeming callous
and uncaring, fundamentally it’s
true. But what if you could blend
the comfort of recovery and
recuperation at home with the
ability to be monitored, and the
promise of a trained healthcare
professional at the end of the phone
should you need it.
Recently during the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic there was a
significant focus on the admitting
capacity of hospitals, how many patients
can you safely get streaming through
the doors before you reach capacity.
Likewise, there was an equal focus on
ensuring discharges were well planned,
effective and timely. In simple terms, you
admit sick people in to your hospital,
and you send people home when
they’re well – but what happens if you
have people who are still infected with
a potentially dangerous virus, but stable
and medically fit enough to go home. You
refer them to our latest service – Monitoring
You at Home.
Proving that necessity is the mother of
invention, the principle of ‘virtual wards’ with
patients with a highly infectious disease being
discharged would have been wrapped in red
tape and buried under a mountain of policies
but a fresh look at our processes with a truly
patients focussed approach has meant we
have been able to launch our first COVID-19
virtual ward successfully.
To find out more about the new service,
Heartbeat caught up with Tammy Davies,
Group Director of Primary Care, Community
and Therapies, she said, “We’re an
organisation that has close working between
our acute and community teams and the skills
to be able to share the burden at a time when
the NHS as a whole is under a significant
strain. The idea of a virtual ward is simple, we
work with the ward teams to identify patients
who are stable and well enough to be allowed
home, and we give them access to equipment
that can monitor their recovery as well as the
support of regular contact with our specialist
teams should they need it.
“Through this close partnership, team
working, we’re able to support patients to
safely be discharged in to the care of the
new service and for them to essentially return
home. This has not only meant that patients
are more comfortable, it means that we are
able to open up capacity for other patients
to be cared for, patients who may well be
acutely unwell and in desperate need of
an inpatient bed, close monitoring and
potentially even a medical intervention of
procedure.
“Armed with a pulse oximeter, which is
a small device that tells you how much
oxygen your body is taking in, patients are
supported to be discharged home, where
they can isolate, recuperate and recover in
the comfort and surroundings of their own
home. Safe in the knowledge that they
have the support of their family and that of
trained clinicians. “
In it’s the first few weeks of operation, the
service has already seen almost 200 patient
being referred for home monitoring, with
each referral meaning we’ve not only been
able to allow someone home, but also that
we’ve been able to release capacity for
other patients to receive much needed care.
Referrals to the Monitoring You at Home
(MYAH) service can be made on Connect
using an electronic referral form. For more
information on the service contact the
single point of access team on 0121 507
2264 or Kelly Redden-Rowley for more
information.
Pulse
Yoram WoWs in the workplace
In 2020, the Trust cemented its
commitment to supporting people to
find a career in the healthcare sector
by launching its World of Work (WoW)
programme.
The course helps job seekers/unemployed
people find employment within the NHS.
Each cohort benefits from induction
training, a work experience placement
as well as interview and CV workshops.
They can also take advantage of access
to further education and the chance of
an apprenticeship within the Trust. We
caught up with Yoram Mukombachoto
who joined the programme in November
2019.
Speaking to Heartbeat, Yoram said: “I
was born in Zimbabwe and came to
Birmingham in December 2000. What
motivated me to join the World of Work
News in brief from around our organisation
Yoram Mukombachoto
(WoW) programme was because I would
like a career in the NHS.
“I joined the scheme in 2019 and, for me;
it helped me in a lot of different ways. My
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
biggest learning from being a part of the
programme was how to apply for jobs
within the NHS and the different paths to
gaining employment. I've worked in the
sickle cell and thalassemia centre (SCAT)
looking after patients and recording
their observations, providing them with
refreshments, taking bloods to pathology,
picking up prescriptions from the
pharmacy and cleaning chairs and beds.”
So how did Yoram find the programme?
“Overall it was excellent. It helped me to
see what was possible and how I could
move forward and make a difference. I
enjoyed spending time in different areas
and felt like I was able to make a positive
impact.
“Liza and the team were very supportive
and, I would encourage anyone interested
in this programme to apply. Long term, my
goal is to work in the legal sector - this has
helped me see that it’s possible.”
24

This month we say hello to Meggan
Jarvis who joins as our Head of
Innovation. We caught up with her to get
the lowdown on her career to date and
plans for her new role at SWBH.
Speaking to Heartbeat, she remarked: “I’ve
worked in the NHS for five years across
operational management, governance and
improvement. Before joining the Trust, I was
the quality improvement lead at Birmingham
and Solihull Mental Health Foundation
Trust, where I helped to establish QI in the
organisation. I worked on a range of projects
and developed a training academy.
“I’ve just completed my MBA as part
of a Senior Leaders Masters Degree
Apprenticeship, and I’ve been preparing
for my final assessment to become a CMI
Chartered Manager in April. It has been
a challenging two years studying and
working full time, but an amazing learning
experience.”
So, what is Meggan most looking forward
to in her new role? She told us: “Head of
Innovation is a newly created post, so there is
a lot of potential and scope. I'm not limited
to one kind of innovation (e.g. digital), which
Meggan Jarvis
means that I can support the organisation
to explore lots of different problems and
solutions strategically. But what gets me out
of bed in the morning is helping colleagues to
make their working lives easier and to deliver
better care for our patients - innovation is an
amazing enabler to doing that.”
As with everything over the past year,
COVID-19 has impacted what we do and
how we do it. But with challenges come
opportunities, some of which Meggan is keen
to use to our advantage. She explained: “As
awful as the pandemic is, the hope I can take
from it is how quickly we have been able
Meggan Jarvis
Head of Innovation
to adapt to new ways of working. Changes
that would have taken years happened in
weeks. COVID-19 has made everyone think
differently, and we will need to continue this
mindset as we move forward.”
Since joining SWBH, Meggan has wasted
no time in getting to grips with a variety of
projects. “We are in the process of setting
up several workstreams to support the new
hospital and our acute care model. A key part
of this is exploring how we use population
health data to identify cohorts of patients
that are higher risk and implement targeted
interventions to improve clinical outcomes
i.e. reducing the risk of stroke by detecting
atrial fibrillation sooner. It’s a new way of
using insight to deliver care, and the hope is
that in the long term, we can move to a more
preventative model of care.”
Outside of work, Meggan enjoys a mix of
hobbies. “I’m always up for trying new
things, with varying degrees of success! I did a
ceramics course before COVID-19, and I have
recently been trying my hand at ring carving.
I’m terrible at drawing, but I enjoy being
creative in other ways.”
Welcome to the team, Meggan!
Wave goodbye to…
Mr Jonha Rizkalla
ED Consultant
Many of you will have visited Sandwell
A&E, and if you have, you will likely have
seen Mr Jonha Rizkalla, ED Consultant.
To many staff and patients, Jonha (known to
most as JR) is the face of our ED department
at Sandwell. After 30 years of serving our
local community, Jonha has hung up his
stethoscope and officially retired.
When Jonha first started at the Trust back in
1990, things were very different. Madonna
was top of the charts with Vogue, Germany
had won the FIFA World Cup, and Ghost
was the biggest grossing film of the year.
Things were also very different in A&E as the
department only had eight middle grades
and eight senior house officers. However,
Jonhadid bring in the first physician assistants
from America, which proved to be a success.
As you can imagine, Mr Rizkalla faced many
challenges in A&E, but a few stand out in his
memory to this date.
He said: “I remember two fires like it was
yesterday! One in the plaster room and
another that destroyed most of the unit. We
had to use a substitute building suitable for
our temporary A&E. I created a temporary
A&E until the new building was ready two
years later.
“More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has
been difficult to manage and has to be the
worst virus I have ever experienced during my
lifetime.”
Jonha has always wanted to help people from
a young age and could not imagine doing
anything else. “I did not ever think of another
career as I loved medicine since a young man
and was inspired to become a doctor. I have
enjoyed working for the NHS and this Trust in
particular, for all these years and would not
change it if I had my time again.”
He added: “I believe teaching is in my blood
and can never forget the experiences I have
from teaching students. I feel very proud to
hear when they pass their medical exams and
become a colleague.”
Mr Jonha Rizkalla has received hundreds of
positive comments and testimonials since he
announced his retirement – here are just a
few we would like to share with you:
Jan Faulkner, Medical Secretary: “It has been
a pleasure and honour to work with you for
the past 24 years as your secretary. You have
always been an inspiration and, we will miss
you.”
Dr Saurav Bhardwaj, Consultant and Clinical
Lead, Emergency Medicine: “It has been an
honour to work with a man who has been a
pioneer in emergency medicine.”
Terri Misselbrook, Emergency Practitioner:
“'JR, thank you for taking me in. I was just
a paramedic, and you taught and nurtured
my knowledge and inspired me to keep
developing. I owe you a debt of gratitude
that I cannot put into words - I will miss you
dearly.”
Thank you for your contribution, JR. We
wish you a very happy retirement!
Mr Jonha Rizkalla
25

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
Too little, too late
Dear Heartbeat
Since the pandemic started, there have been
numerous kind gestures supposedly for all
NHS staff from different outlets. This is much
appreciated as small gestures go a long way
when faced with what we are all seeing and
going through daily.
Whilst we agree our doctors and nurses are
doing a great job, they seem to be the only
ones getting recognition for what they do.
Most of what was given to the hospital was
not given to the ward services department
– we are frontline staff too and, without us
doing our jobs nobody could do there’s.
This pandemic has made us all feel
undervalued as domestics. We aren’t just the
‘cleaners’ as many people refer to us as - we
do so much more. Whilst carrying out our
daily duties, we are aware patients aren’t
seeing their families. We try to keep their
morale up by having a sing and a laugh with
them and they appreciate it, and they join in
and sing along.
We all feel downtrodden that it took nine
days to receive a meal voucher. They were
given out in front of us. After a few of us
complaining, we finally were given a voucher.
Too little, too late.
From,
A group of unappreciated ward service
officers
Dear colleague,
I am sorry that you felt your access to
the food vouchers was too little and too
late. This was not the intention at all for
anyone.
Our decision to issue food vouchers
was taken and rolled out quickly to
support all staff and respond to very
challenging operational conditions. Time
did therefore not allow us to design and
implement a sophisticated allocation plan
– the only rule was that no one was to be
excluded.
I understand that the ward services
officers were one of the first teams
to request and receive vouchers, and
currently receive c500 vouchers a week
across the Trust.
In relation specifically to the ward services
team it was also our assumption that
whilst you are a separate team, you are
integral to the ward and department
teams as allocated, as such any act of
kindness to a ward or department is
expected to include the WSOs.
Kind regards,
Dinah McLannahan – Chief Finance
Officer
Why have you closed the gyms?
So I have been told they have now closed the
gym and City and Sandwell which is incredibly
frustrating. We are being encouraged to look
after our health and wellbeing during the
pandemic, yet the one space I could do that has
been taken away from me.
We socially distance better in the gym that most
of the staff do in the canteen and other areas,
yet you choose to close our gym. We wipe down
all equipment before and after use with Clinell
wipes so what is unsafe?
I would say to the bosses who decided to close
the gym they should come and observe the
behaviour in the gym, and maybe they could tell
their staff to follow the same behaviour. More
importantly, they would realise how safe it is. I
understand you are trying to reduce the spread
of COVID, but it’s not like hundreds of people are
in the gym at once.
You promote all this health and wellbeing, but
some of us don’t want to eat biscuits, drink
coffee and get a massage. Some of us like to
exercise. Why are you taking this away from us?
I hope this can be reviewed in the future as my
mental health and wellbeing heavily relies on the
gym just like it does for a lot of other people too.
The gym makes me and many others feel happier,
maintain a healthy weight, helps my muscles and
bones, and reduces my stress and anxiety during
these difficult times. It also helps me sleep better
at night. I plead with the people at the top that
they consider reviewing this decision.
I hope to hear back from you soon, and I would
appreciate a timescale when we can expect the
gyms to open again.
Dear colleague,
Thank you for raising this with us. We
appreciate that this topic is on many people’s
minds right now and made this decision in
line with the national lockdown.
Several factors were taken into consideration
when we looked at closing the gyms. Our
rationale included some of the following
factors:
• We have to observe the regulations set
out as part of the national lockdown
• Cleaning processes are not assured
• No way of restricting the numbers in
the gym area as it is not monitored
• Risk of wider environmental
contamination
• Exercise increases respiratory effect
and increases shedding of virus from
asymptomatic positive individuals.
It poses a higher risk of environmental
contamination
• A large number of touchpoints exist
within gyms.
The national lockdown guidance and
Coronavirus regulations state that all indoor
gym and sports facilities must remain
closed except in limited circumstances. For
example, where physical exercise is part of a
contracted role and work, or for elite sports.
As soon as we feasibly and safely can do so,
we will take measures to reopen our gym
facilities.
Kind regards,
Frieza Mahmood
Chief People Officer
Bank shifts prove too taxing!
Dear Heartbeat,
Myself and many colleagues have recently been
frustrated by the fact that payroll doesn’t seem
to differentiate between our permanent job and
our bank job, with the HMRC not getting clear
employment profiles, resulting in us being issued
with strange tax codes.
This takes hours on end to resolve with HMRC
and unnecessary stress. It also puts staff off
working bank shifts. Can any assurance be made
that communication between payroll and HMRC
will be ironed out and that tax will be paid under
the relevant payroll numbers to avoid confusing
HMRC?
Anon
Dear colleague,
The matter of incorrect tax applied to Bank
posts is due unfortunately to incorrect tax
codes being issued by HMRC, which must be
adhered to by our payroll department.
Following a query raised by HMRC in late
January 2021, HMRC have conceded that
their internal guidance on protocols for
tax against secondary jobs doesn’t reflect
the guidance for employers given on their
website. They therefore referred the matter
to their technical department and are now
aware that the employer guidance is correct
and is to be used.
Moving forward HMRC should now ensure
tax codes are issued correctly for secondary
posts, avoiding any irregular tax deductions
from Bank pay.
Anyone who feels that their tax deduction is
incorrect, should however, continue to raise
this with HMRC directly using the employee
helpline: 0300 200 3300.
Kind regards,
Dinah McLannahan – Chief Finance Officer
26

Richard talks about: his first two weeks at SWB
and what integrated care means to him
Richard Beeken, Interim Chief Executive
RICHARD'S LAST WORD
This is my first contribution to the Heartbeat magazine as Interim Chief Executive and it’s a privilege to do so. It’s also
been a privilege to be made to feel so welcome by so many people in my first two weeks at the Trust. The capability,
professionalism and enthusiasm of colleagues I have met, despite everything that has been thrown at you over the last
twelve months, is very impressive.
My focus in my first contribution to Heartbeat is about integrated care. It is a couple of words that have been bandied
about rather too loosely in NHS and social care circles for decades, often without a clear definition of what is meant by it or
what it is intended to achieve. As a result, clinicians and practitioners are left somewhat unclear about what is expected of
them in this context and all too often, nothing happens and the status quo continues.
For what it’s worth, I have two definitions of integrated care which are applicable to our short, medium and long term
future work in Sandwell and West Birmingham:
1. The simple, more prosaic definition of integrated
care for me is the efficiency and effectiveness of
a service user or patient journey, being so smooth
and well-coordinated, that the service user “doesn’t
see the join”. The virtual walls in policy or process
between staff in different agencies or even, rather
worryingly, between departments in the same
organisation, do not disadvantage the user of the
service. The end result is a journey, from referral
to treatment or receipt of a service, in which the
service user is kept well informed as to the next
stage in their journey and the hand offs between
services are seamless. This may seem, to long time
sufferers of the inefficiencies of our services, a
nirvana which we may never reach. But we must
deliver it, because this is the simpler, more short
term definition of integrated care. The harder,
longer term integrated care dream is described
in my next point below. For now, try to think of
it this way – ask yourselves the question “How
do I stop REFERRING one of my service users to
another service and instead COMMUNICATE
with the receiving service or department to invite
the individual to the next stage of their care?”
In Walsall, where I have come from, one of the
ambitions we set ourselves in this space was to
eradicate referrals and hand offs from one service
to another, within five years. We must think
differently if we are to do differently.
2. The longer term definition of integrated care
for me, relates to the effective improvement of
population health and to reduce health inequalities
in our populations. You don’t need me to tell you
that we serve a hugely diverse and often very
deprived population. There are inbuilt inequalities
in service access, digital exclusion, in clinical
outcome. There is a ten year gap in healthy life
expectancy between the wealthiest wards of our
two populations and the poorest. Let’s be frank
with each other – COVID-19 and the probable
economic problems associated with exit from the
EU will compound that. If we don’t change how
we impact upon what determines better health,
then the demand on our services will increase
beyond that which we can service. We have set
up Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs) in each
borough or place, all over England, to try to tackle
this. A functioning and successful ICP will have
council, Trust, mental health Trust, GPs, housing
and voluntary sector agencies all around the table.
Their aim? To improve the social circumstances
and life choices of people, to add years and years
to life. To avoid chronic disease where we can and
reduce the burden on society of poor health and
mental health. To achieve this, it takes investment,
good planning and practical hard work. We need
to increasingly treat each ICP as an organisation
in its own right and, therefore, break down the
traditional walls between the different agencies.
We are only at the start of that journey in our part
of the world, but the needs of our population, as
well as the success of our new hospital care model,
depend on it maturing quickly.
I will put integrated care for our populations locally, at the centre of what I prioritise and at the centre of our actions as
a Trust. Our vision is to be the best integrated care organisation in the country. That’s a great vision. But we have not yet
begun to deliver it. You can help us achieve it.
Best wishes
Richard
27

It’s Lond-ON – marathon places up for
grabs in aid of Your Trust Charity
@SWBHCharity To donate
to the Your Trust Charity text
“SWBH16 £5” to 70070
Thousands of runners discovered
earlier this month if they had been
lucky in the ballot for this year’s
Virgin Money London Marathon.
And for those of you who were
unsuccessful but were hoping to take
part, we can reveal that Your Trust Charity
has five places for the virtual event.
Fifty thousand people are expected to take
part in the event on October 3 but, if you’ve
missed out on a place, there’s still a chance
you can run for the Trust’s charity.
A virtual event, and an “in-person” event,
will take place, with organisers hopeful that
some runners will be able to pound the
streets of London once again.
Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager,
said: “This is an amazing opportunity
for someone to not only run in such a
prestigious event but also to raise money for
Your Trust Charity.
“We have five places in total for the virtual
run, and those wishing to enter will have
their names drawn from a hat. We are
looking at a £5,000 fundraising target for
those picked by the charity.
YOUR TRUST CHARITY
“All money raised will go towards
the Midland Metropolitan University
Hospital Campaign.”
The event is usually held in April, and
the route covers 26 miles around the
capital city. It is the second year in a row
that the date has moved.
If you wish to take part, then email
Amanda.winwood@nhs.net.
Picture this! Photographer raises
funds in a unique initiative
Laura Hadley with the photograph mounts
A local photographer who has created
a special personalised “thank you”
photograph, has decided to donate
proceeds from the sales to our Trust
Charity.
Laura Hadley will charge £5 to add a
photograph to a specially designed mount or
fridge magnet.
She said: “I have chosen to do this because
I want to do what I can to help the NHS
and Sandwell Hospital is my local healthcare
provider.
“This past year has been so horrible for
everyone, and I know a lot of people,
including myself, have been struggling.
“If something like this can bring a smile
to someone and also raise money at the
same time, then it has been worth the
effort. I want to say thank you and show
my appreciation to the NHS workers for
everything that they are doing.
“As a photographer, there is not much
I can do to help but, hopefully, this idea
will be something that people will enjoy.”
Both the photos and the magnet are
6x4 in size, and there is a red and a blue
design to choose from.
Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager
for Your Trust Charity, said: “This is a
very kind gesture from Laura and we
appreciate her support for the charity.
“It’s a lovely and unique idea, and I’m
sure that many colleagues, their families
and patients would appreciate something
like this.”
For more information, email Laura at
laura@lmh-photography.co.uk
February 2021 staff lottery results
1st £180.25
Angela Gibson
2nd £108.15
-
3rd £72.10
Susan Reeves
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.