Heartbeat August 2021

August 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 144

Keeping our hospitals safe – our unsung heroes keeping germs at bay Page 3

This month we shine a spotlight on our ward service officers as they work tirelessly to help in the battle against coronavirus.

Making the most of Office 365

Your Trust Charity making a difference locally

Short listed nominees for 2021 Star Awards

Respiratory Hub tackles growing number of Long COVID cases

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Page 12

Pages 16-17

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FROM THE CHAIR HELLO Welcome to your August edition of Heartbeat.

This month we shine a spotlight on our ward service officers as they work tirelessly behind the scenes to support our doctors and nurses and help keep our hospitals safe and clean. We share updates on how to make the most of Office 365 and we explore the fantastic work of Your Trust Charity and the impact of their work on the local community. We also take a look at how the Respiratory Hub are tacking growing number of Long COVID cases and how surgical services are ensuring patient care is at the centre of their service.

Enjoy 

Contact us Communications Team

 Ext 5303  swbh.comms@nhs.net  C ommunications Department Ground Floor, Trinity House Sandwell Hospital

Published by Communications Team Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Designed by Medical Illustration, Graphics Team Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Submit an idea If you’d like to submit an idea for an article, contact the communications team

 Ext 5303  swbh.comms@nhs.net Stay updated We send out a Communications Bulletin via email every day and you can now read Heartbeat articles throughout the month on Connect.

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Sir David talks about…ICS boundary changes – should we be concerned?

As I have been meeting and talking to many people in the Trust, I have frequently been asked about proposed changes to Integrated Care System (ICS) boundaries and what that means for our organisation.

Firstly, I am very aware that this is not a subject that “floats everyone’s boats” and the vast majority of people within our organisation are very busy focusing on their busy day jobs with little time or interest to consider it. But, for those of you who have expressed concerns or worries I wanted to share my views here. Many of us have worked in the NHS for years and decades, including me, and we have seen and been part of various organisational or boundary changes, which have at times taken place at an alarming rate.

The current change set out in the latest health white paper is to formalise partnership working between NHS, social care, voluntary sector and public health through Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). These were formerly known as Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs). Our Trust has been part of the Black Country and West Birmingham partnership. The new government policy around ICSs sets out that the boundaries for these partnerships should be matched to upper tier local authorities. That clearly causes an issue for our ICS, spanning both Sandwell and Birmingham local authorities.

The change in policy means that our Trust will be part of two ICSs (the Black Country, and Birmingham and Solihull). Despite some protestations from our part of the world and the other few areas in the country affected, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has confirmed that this policy and approach will remain.

Through the ICS boundary changes we are now part of two ICSs rather than one. This means that we will be required to forge stronger partnerships into Birmingham than perhaps we have previously. I see that as positive. It is more complicated for the senior team participating in these two networks and that will be a challenge, however, the prize is that our influence in both these partnerships will be greater.

What we must all continue to keep in mind is the impact and outcome for our patients.

The Trust’s organisational footprint does not change and therefore patients treated in the community, in primary care and in acute services will continue to access care in the same way. Our new hospital will continue to care for patients across Birmingham and Sandwell in the same way that those patients access care now. We need to, perhaps, step up our efforts in preparing for MMUH to ensure that pathways are consistent for patients no matter where they live, but this is a challenge that we are already accustomed to dealing with.

The ICS boundary changes, although making our world more complicated in some areas, do give us the opportunity to build closer links into Birmingham and that is something that I think we can all agree will bring positive benefits. The NHS continues to change and evolve.

“Collaboration” is now the agenda rather than “competition” and I believe the NHS and our patients will be better served with this new focus.

So, what does that mean for us and for our patients?

The first important message is that clinical care for patients, including pathways from community to acute and vice versa will of course remain in place. We serve patients in Sandwell, Ladywood and Perry Barr. Their care should be strengthened through these partnerships so that by working with others we can generate better outcomes. We do this through our “place-based work”. Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs) are well established in Sandwell and West Birmingham and the Trust is a key player and leader in these partnerships.

Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, Chair

Cleaning excellence – our unsung heroes CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS While the media have shone a spotlight on the doctors and nurses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not forget the ‘unsung heroes’ who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The ward services team forms a vital part of the chain within our hospitals and without their continued support, patient care and safety would suffer.

Tina Cartwright "When we first went into lockdown we felt vulnerable because no one really knew what to do."

Savi Kaur "We were nervous but we had the full support of our supervisors and our teams based on Priory 4 and Lyndon 5.

Cleanliness has always been a top priority in healthcare settings to help eliminate, germs, viruses and bacteria that may cause harm to patients or colleagues. But now, ensuring cleanliness has never been more important as we all pull together to help stop the spread and continue the battle against COVID-19.

Our strong team of 479 ward services officers form part of the ward services team for SWB working alongside senior ward services officers, support services managers and the ward services manager.

These are the people who not only keep our hospitals clean and tidy and contribute to a high quality patient experience; they face challenges to create awareness of the importance of high standards of cleaning and disinfection in healthcare settings.

Gurjit Lyall “At first I was very scared but now I feel proud and realise how strong I was in dealing with everything”.

From making cups of tea, toasting bread, scrubbing floors and replenishing facilities supplies, every day poses different situations and circumstances for the team. No day is the same and tackling COVID-19 has been an additional challenge.

Ward services officers stand by their values of responsibility, excellence and improvement. They are continually striving to be the best that they can, not only from a cleaning perspective but in understanding patient’s needs. Our ward services team makes improvements to the way they work year on year through use of products that are effective, innovative and environmentally friendly.

Aner Marcelo, Head of Support Services said: “I would like to give praise and thanks to the team. A happy team is a productive team and each day I see the passion and care from each and every person. Not only do they do an excellent job, they put themselves at risk throughout not just the COVID-19 pandemic, but all year round.”

The ward services team are looking forward to adhering to the new Cleaning Charter commitment of the Trust in line with the new NHS Cleaning Standards 2021.

So let’s give thanks to our ward services team as they continue to play a vital part within our hospitals!

Promila Kumari “When COVID started I was scared and worried but looking back I feel proud to have been part of the team that helped fight through it with the support of our supervisors”.

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Clinics for long COVID sufferers in blocks of four weeks with each session lasting 90 minutes. Fatigue is one of the biggest factors with long COVID sufferers and it is particularly important to support those suffering with fatigue through looking at change in routine, trigger identification and group discussions.”

COVID-19 Research has shown one in five people with coronavirus develop longer term symptoms that can impact their daily lives. This could be anything from experiencing brain fog, anxiety, breathlessness, fatigue and other debilitating symptoms.

Across the NHS, clinics and symptom management groups are in place in order to help those suffering from long COVID symptoms. Following a GP referral, patients are invited to participate in long COVID clinics provided by the iCares Directorate and Community Respiratory team, where their symptoms and experiences are identified, relevant diagnostics completed to eliminate other possible conditions and then they are directed to the most appropriate speciality treatment and rehabilitation service.

Right here at SWB, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists are able to offer a variety of treatment and symptom management techniques to treat both physical and psychological needs.

The iCares directorate and community respiratory team

For people in the Sandwell area, long COVID clinics for staff and the local community have proved to be of great importance to those patients who have received treatment.

Service user Lynda shared some kind words: “This group has given me knowledge and it’s good to be around people who understand.

I wanted to find the old me, the me before COVID. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in the group, I have made new friends who have, and are experiencing what I am experiencing. This group is so friendly and I’ve gained a lot from attending.”

Sabrina Thomas, Post COVID Occupational Therapist told Heartbeat: “The aim of long COVID clinics and symptom management groups are to streamline services for people with long COVID and manage them in one place. Alongside COVID clinics, fatigue management groups began in June, they run

The next fatigue management group will take place in September and will last between 6-8 weeks. Moving forward, the service wants to incorporate more activities such as yoga as methods of supporting long COVID patients.

If you, your family, friends, colleagues or any of your patients are struggling with long COVID symptoms, it is really important to access appropriate clinics and specialist treatment. Please encourage GP consultation in order to gain referral to these services, or if referring internally clinicians can use the Connect link ‘Long COVID Clinic assessment’ to refer to the COVID clinic team by completing the form.

Please note that the team can only accept referrals that have all information required and for those individuals who are registered with a Sandwell GP. For an informal chat, contact Sabrina Thomas at sabrina.thomas3@nhs.net

Regular testing makes me feel safe

By Khabiba Ghulam, Community Podiatrist I work as a community based podiatrist and after contracting COVID-19 myself with minimal symptoms; it made me recognise the importance of my responsibility to carry out continuous testing as many people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic.

As I work with some of the most vulnerable members in the community I feel safer and confident going into work knowing that I am frequently tested.

This test is a perfect fit around my busy schedule as I can complete it whenever I have time to do so and the results are received within 24 - 48 hours, albeit that I have to ensure that I have not had any food or drink for at least an hour before I do the test. This has saved so much time as I no longer have to book and attend a COVID-19 test centre.

I feel proud to work for our organisation and I feel the Trust has been proactive from the start of the pandemic to

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waking you can take the kit with you to work and do it on arrival as long as it has been an hour since your last food or drink intake

• No need to book for tests as it can be completed around your working day • Multiple drop-off points in the community Khabiba Ghulam is encouraging colleagues to take part in the weekly saliva testing

protect both colleagues and patients. Now through the Trust wide access to vaccinations and the asymptomatic testing regime for COVID-19 we can feel safe to integrate back into society and move forward with confidence.

These are some of the many advantages for using the COVID-19 saliva test - LAMP tests: • It is a reliable asymptomatic test for the COVID-19 virus.

• The saliva sample needed for the test takes moments to collect and can be done at home.

• If you forget to collect your sample on

• Test results are received quicker than the PCR resting results • The results usually received via SMS message within 24 - 48 hours • The results are valid for up to 72 hours as proof of a COVID-19 test result to use when visiting care homes or nursing homes • A pack of 12 tests are provided which is sufficient for 12 weeks • If you test positive a further PCR swab test is not required to confirm the results.

So join in and be ahead of the game with early testing to help prevent the further spread of this virus.

For more information contact kulwinder.johal@nhs.net

Acting chief nurse reflects on her experience of the pandemic COVID-19 profession. Married with a child of 15, Mel hardly saw her immediate family during the first waves of COVID and as her extended family live in Wales she (like many colleagues across the Trust) did not see them for over 12 months.

“That was hard but we did our best to keep in touch, even though they worried about me and I them - as my mother has severe COPD and my grandfather is 98 years old. I was concerned that I would take the virus home to my family so was so very careful. My sister-in-law is also a senior nurse in the NHS and her husband and family had COVID but fortunately recovered so it was a worrying time for all of us,” she said.

“Regardless of the discipline, ultimately my role has been leading the organisation through COVID, ensuring a balance between patient safety and patient flow and making decisions in a timely manner. Remaining calm has been key and being there for colleagues.

Mel Roberts, Acting Chief Nurse After losing four colleagues to COVID-19, Acting Chief Nurse Mel Roberts describes the pain of seeing the rise of anti-vax material being shared online.

She explained: “As a Trust we were in a good place regarding PPE and fit-testing when COVID hit and we were even able to share items with our neighbouring Trusts and care homes. Our response to the pandemic was about being ‘in it together’, and we appreciated the support of our communities who sprang into action to do whatever they could to help NHS colleagues. It was an amazing help at a hugely uncertain time.

“Working through waves of infection has been hard, but knowing our communities supported us made it possible to carry on.

Since the vaccination programme started and we recognised it as the light at the end of the tunnel, we have worked round the clock to protect as many of our population as possible. We set up vaccination hubs at both our acute hospital sites and worked with public health and in the community to deliver more. But it has been hard to cope with the rise of the anti-vaxer and the frankly quite disturbing misinformation

being widely shared online.

“We’re seeing a rise in aggression and abuse levelled at frontline staff – people who have chosen the caring profession just so they could help people – it really pains me to witness such a sharp sea change in a short space of time. And, the fact is, we are not out of this yet. COVID has not gone away and we expect we will be living with it in some form for years to come.

“I joined the NHS in 1989, as a student nurse in South Wales, and started at the Trust in 2018. I chose the NHS because I wanted to serve my community and following the death of my grandmother I decided I wanted to be a nurse and train in the hospital where she passed away.

“I haven’t regretted one minute of my career, despite increasing demands and even changing disciplines mid pandemic.”

Mel trained as a RGN (Registered General Nurse) and then gained a degree in public health nursing before her masters in leadership. She went into wave one as deputy chief operating officer, then took charge as acting chief operating officer as wave two hit, and, as a vacancy arose for chief nurse, moved into an acting role back in her beloved nursing

“As the pandemic evolved new treatments and pathways were designed at speed and guidance changed regularly, so one of the biggest challenges was ensuring I made the right decisions at the right time with the information I had available - which was limited in relation to COVID. Managing the changing guidance and national ‘ask’ was a challenge but remaining calm was the key.

“Losing four colleagues to COVID (three were nurses) was particularly difficult.

Supporting the teams that these staff were part of was important to enable us all to cope. We are a family.

“Looking to the future, health needs to be more proactive and seamless with all partners working as one to offer the best care to patients, and the wider public has a part to play. To support the NHS people need to choose the right services to meet their needs at the right time but also learn about their conditions to support their independence.

“But we will always look back at this time in remembrance of loved ones lost to the pandemic. We have held a local memorial service and presented Chief Nurse medals to the families of the staff we have lost and we will install a permanent memorial within our new hospital – the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital – when it opens.”

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RECOVERY seeks to improve COVID-19 survival chances fear-mongering. Better treatment options are vital for them and of course for the very small percentage of vaccinated who will still fall seriously ill.”

COVID-19 Over 250 volunteers have participated in the RECOVERY trial since SWB started to recruit to the study last year.

The more people are recruited to research studies will mean healthcare organisations can gather data around the efficacy and different treatment options.

The number of volunteers makes our organisation one of the top recruiters in the region.

Ash said: “Already we’ve established that Dexamethasone and Tocilizumab make a significant difference to mortality rates. But equally importantly we’ve ruled out Aspirin, the Malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine, HIV meds Lopinovir/Ritonovir and the antiobiotic Azithromycin. All these medications were being used in the early stages of the pandemic to ‘treat’ COVID-19, however because of the RECOVERY trial we were able to establish there was no benefit to these and other treatments.”

Heartbeat caught up with Ash Turner, Clinical Research Charge Nurse who told us more.

He said: “As long as the virus continues to circulate and people are being admitted to hospital we will need treatment options and RECOVERY is a crucial part of that.”

The RECOVERY trial is the world’s largest COVID-19 treatment research study.

It seeks to establish proven ways of improving patient’s chances of surviving serious COVID-19 virus infections, reducing the time people have to spend in hospital and the likelihood they may have to be admitted to critical care.

“Anybody who is COVID positive or thought to be COVID positive (sometimes the tests can be inaccurate), is suffering with respiratory symptoms

Ash Turner is encouraging colleagues to recruit patients to the RECOVERY trial and not improving can be part of the study,” added Ash. “While the world is still struggling to manage the virus we will continue to need treatment options. Even double vaccinated people are still at risk of contracting the virus and all round the world there are countless millions of people still to receive any vaccine.

“We’re very lucky in this country to have access to the vaccine but globally millions of unvaccinated will still go on to be hospitalised either because of lack of vaccine access or because they have refused the vaccine.

“In this country it is mainly the unvaccinated who are becoming seriously ill and dying sadly they are victims of misinformation and

Do your bit and help with recruitment If you admit or find in your clinical area a patient who you know or think is COVID positive (despite a negative test) and is not already getting better then please call the research team on 6657 and they’ll do the rest.

Further information about the RECOVERY trail can be found on Connect https:// connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/recovery-trial/

Have you visited a wellbeing hub yet?

Focusing on ensuring that colleagues have a good day every day, the new hubs aim to help improve mental health, relieve stress, build resilience and restore balance.

spend time away from my day job and have some time out for quiet reflection. Your arms and legs get a thorough massage and, it makes your feet feel brand new.

“After the massage, I felt greater movement in my body. The funny thing is that I didn’t feel stiff before I used the chair, but afterwards, I felt more supple. I will be booking to use this again, perhaps as part of my wellbeing hour.”

Recognising that colleagues need to be able to access services easily, the new hubs are set to provide much needed health and wellbeing for colleagues closer to their work base.

Services in the new wellbeing hubs include: • Confidential chat – an opportunity for colleagues to offload and talk about anything which is troubling them • Meditation • Relaxation POD (massage chair).

The wellbeing hub is completely confidential, all services and treatments are free of charge for Trust colleagues and delivered by trained wellbeing coaches.

The wellbeing hubs are a regular

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Christine Rickards pictured with a massage chair at the City Hospital wellbeing hub

service weekly across all the sites listed below between 8am - 4pm: • Every Monday in the Jayne Wright Therapy Room, Trinity House, Sandwell • Every Wednesday in the therapy room Archer, 1st floor, Rowley Regis Hospital • Every Friday in the therapy room, City Gym. A colleague who recently attended the wellbeing hub remarked: “It was nice to

Chris Rickards, Lead Wellbeing Coach, remarked: “The wellbeing hubs are now available at Sandwell, City, Rowley, as well as The Sanctuary. We have listened to colleague feedback and are pleased that we can now expand our wellbeing offering.

It’s important that colleagues have a place they can visit to unwind and turn off from work. Whether it’s a confidential chat or letting our massage chair do the hard work by massaging out the stresses and strains of daily life, we’re here for you.”

To book a session contact the wellbeing team on 0121 507 5886 or 0121 507 3854.

Midland Met welcomes local council leader CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Cllr Singh being shown some of the progress being made inside the hospital local tradespeople – working on the project.

Councillor Rajbir Singh, the leader of Sandwell Council, recently visited Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) to see how the build is progressing. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, he was pleased to see how work is continuing on site.

Midland Met will be one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the region and will provide integrated care for residents. Once complete, it will bring together teams who provide acute and emergency care, offering maternity, children and inpatient adult services to half a million people.

“Midland Met will become a cornerstone of the Black Country and West Birmingham region, breathing life into the heart of what was once the industrial West Midlands.

Sandwell Council, Birmingham City Council, the West Midlands Combined Authority and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Homes England and the Canal and River Trust will focus on regenerating the Smethwick to Birmingham corridor. The hospital will play an essential part in these regeneration plans and help us build a better future for the local communities we serve.”

Rachel Barlow, Director of System Transformation, explained: “The aspirations for our new hospital reach far beyond providing effective clinical care.

We are building a facility for our local communities to use. Our Winter Garden will have one of the largest gallery spaces in the region. We are also devising an arts and culture programme that will see a broad mix of content co-created and curated on-site at Midland Met. Plus, our opening festival will further help to bring our communities together.

“Beyond this, we are working across a partnership with Sandwell Council, Birmingham City Council, the Combined Authority and the Canal and River Trust to ensure Midland Met contributes directly to the wider regeneration in the region. We want to help improve the social and economic impact of what we can do as an organisation. That means we will be supporting plans to implement cycle routes, housing projects and, we aspire to have the first university campus in Smethwick adjacent to the Midland Met site.”

With several new facilities including, trauma theatres, emergency theatres, maternity theatres and delivery suites - it will deliver a new level of care. Modern purpose-built facilities and state-of-the-art equipment will support faster diagnosis and improve patient outcomes, enabling clinical teams to provide enhanced patient care.

One such example will be the dual hoist system which will help make the care we deliver for bariatric patients safer and more comfortable for both patients and colleagues. The hoist allows synchronisation of lifting to cope with uneven loading, ensuring safe lifting for bariatric patients.

Councillor Singh said: “My visit to Midland Met has enabled me to meet with Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust colleagues and see first-hand how well the project is progressing.

“Not only will the new hospital enhance the experiences of patients – providing excellence in clinical care – the positive change and opportunities afforded by the hospital are already providing a boost to the local economy, with 800 people – including

Rachel Barlow, Director of System Transformation, Emma Loosley, Senior Commissioning Manager and Cllr Rajbir Singh

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Moving to the cloud and making the most of Office 365 CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS As you will be aware our Trust has chosen to upgrade our range of Office applications and make the long awaited move to Microsoft Office 365 as part of a major restructure of our working practices.

Whilst normally a software update would simply involve something happening behind the scenes, this change is likely to impact every single colleague across the Trust as we move to a new way of working.

Gone will be the days of saving files to the shared drives and crossing your fingers in the hopes that they would be available if you logged on to another machine. Spending hours rebooting, mounting and refreshing folders whilst you waited for a colleague to finish editing a file. We will finally have a system fit for a modern organisation with a staff team working remotely.

As part of our Office 365 upgrade, we will be drastically changing how we save and store our files in our departments, moving us away from our reliance on network share drives and over to a more managed storage system called

Sharepoint. This new way of working is focused on collaboration and cohesion, ensuring that colleagues are able to access the files they need when they need them and where they need them. With Office 365 applications such as Word, Powerpoint and Excel able to access and save directly to Sharepoint, and for colleagues being able to share and collaborate at will.

Whilst Sharepoint areas are being deployed, the focus now turns to our transition to the new system. Departments will need to assign a lead staff member to take charge of preparing their files and supporting the migration to Sharepoint, ensuring that all files that need to be available on for colleagues to be able to access have been moved by no later than 24 September.

What does this mean for you when we migrate to Office 365: •

Desktop applications for Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook will move to the Cloud where they will be accessible to colleagues from any computer they login from.

• Shared drives will become read only and all files will need to be migrated to Sharepoint as our longterm file storage solution.

• Personal folders (h drive) will need to be migrated to Microsoft Onedrive

Could an apprenticeship be right for you?

Have you considered taking the next step in your career or looking at ways to help you develop in your role? Whether you are a seasoned colleague or a new starter, our inhouse team can help you discover an apprenticeship to help you unlock your long-term career progression.

We have a wide selection available across a diverse range of courses. To find out more, we caught up with Karen Whitehouse, Apprenticeship Coordinator.

Karen told us: “Apprenticeships offer so much potential. Whether you are looking to recruit an apprentice to help close a skills gap or become an apprentice to learn new skills in a sector you may not have considered before. There are several learning options available and colleagues can complete their studies within their contracted hours and importantly, salary isn’t impacted.”

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What do you need to do now: • Agree within your teams and departments who will take the lead in managing your move to Office 365. Confirm your department lead by emailing penina.chiweshe@nhs.net •

Review all of your network share drives and ensure that these are up to date, with files that you need to retain saved in their respective folders and files that can be disposed of deleted securely.

•

Assess the impact that moving files from one location to another will have on your service and any broken links or shortcuts this might cause.

•

Begin working through the training on offer that highlights all of the key differences between our current applications and working practices and those of Office 365.

achieve this - we have an online independent learning portal. These grades are required to undertake an apprenticeship with us.

“At the end of your programme, you will undertake an independent end-point assessment – usually an observation, discussion or presentation – each standard Our in-house team deliver several is different. Anyone interested should apprenticeships covering business administration, customer service, team leader speak to their manager in the first instance roles, and healthcare support workers. These and discuss training needs to ensure an apprenticeship is suitable for your role.” roles are based on 37.5 hours contracted hours per week; however, if someone did A recent apprentice told us: “Whilst fewer hours, the team would be happy to working on this course, I have accepted a discuss potential options with them. These band four supervisor position. The training courses take from 15-24 months of learning and modules delivered makes you look at and, the team can also support funding for certain things differently and helps with higher-level apprenticeships up to Level 7 your personal and career progression.”

Masters through the Apprenticeship Levy.

Another said: “I have learnt to be a lot more Karen continued: “For all level two and three independent and to push myself. I have also learnt a lot about myself and the Trust. I now standards, we have an in-house training fully understand all the aspects of how to team who will deliver the training with the lead a project and be in control of leading help of subject specialists. Twenty per cent it.” of your working hours count towards this part of the programme. Training can be If you are interested in knowing workshops, virtual classrooms, shadowing, more, please contact the team on mentoring, eLearning and so much more.

0121 507 6425 or email For those lacking a GCSE grade C or above swbh.apprenticeship@nhs.net in Maths and English, we offer support to

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.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

To – Allison Stokes

To – Verna White

To – Richard Burnell

I emailed Allison with a question about an appointment for a patient. This patient wasn't necessarily under her care or caseload but she still went out of her way to help me out by finding out whether the patient was on an intervention list, speaking to a consultant and arranging a follow up appointment to expedite the patients treatment. Thank you! Really appreciate your prompt and efficient care.

For being very supportive on a particularly busy night shift on delivery suite and neonatal unit. Your expertise, kindness, patience and calming manner was well appreciated. Thank you so much!

Thanks Richard for giving an excellent adapted mentor training session to our radiographers who found it very engaging and insightful!

From – David Whitfield

To – Carl Bellamy

To – Laura Carlisle A massive thank you to Laura for being an excellent team player, and managing some really complex patient cases on her ward. Your enthusiasm and positivity shines through, thank you for all your hard work!

From – Laura Bishton

To – Ranjit Rayat Carl helped me to create a training video about antibiotic prescribing. He was so helpful and patient - making lots of suggestions about how it could look and produced a really high quality video, in a very short period of time. His editing skills also made my usual stumbling presentation style look reasonably decent! He is an absolute star and deserves a shout out!

From –Conor Jamieson

To – Sherminder Sanghera

To – Karolina Korus

Thank you to Cindy and the rest of the ophthalmology outpatient team for your support with recovery. No matter what I ask of you, you always go above and beyond :)

Always there to help with patients that can be difficult to manage in the ED department, always smiling even when you feel like you are sinking in work, everything you do is done with a smile and with lots of care, top HCA.

From – Lauren Davies

From – Ruth Panesar

To – Katie Rowley Katie is always going the extra mile for our end of life patients and their relatives. She takes her time with each patient and goes above and beyond to help the nurses out when it is busy. Thank you for everything you do.

From – Soraya Roberts

From – Aoife Murphy

From – Corrine DaCosta

To – Bahadar Bhatia Thank you Dr Bhatia, the Trust's medical physics expert for your expertise and guidance, when helping me overcome a challenging area of my research.

From – Aoife Murphy

Ranjit has been pinnacle to the women and children's services since she arrived in 2019.

She has now completed her time with us and will be going to pastures new, where she will excel. I wish her all the very best for the future.

From – Sylvia Owusu-Nepaul

To – The Trust Management team A fabulous idea to have ice-cream vans on all three sites today. A lovely treat for all the staff. Thank you.

From – Debbie Pagett

To – Frances Moffat I want to give a BIG shout out to you Fran for always going that extra mile for the patients. You go above and beyond nothing is ever too much you are an amazing nurse.

From – Angela Jones

To – Kasey Evans Thanks Kasey for your help in explaining and sorting out my computer drives; very informative and patient.

From – Jennifer Cadwallader-Hunt

To – Donna McLaren

To – Kay Deep

She went above and beyond with a nervous patient who she escorted to theatre. She constantly offered reassurance and then after the patient requested she came back and waited with her in recovery post surgery. By being there throughout the patient's journey she was able to help the patient have the best possible experience.

This is just one example of her general approach towards her work.

Kay always goes above and beyond , she is warm and friendly nothing is to much trouble, she always comes and checks things are ok on our unit but not only with security she also checks that all the staff are ok ourselves. She always has a smile on her face no matter what the time of day or night but mostly she makes us feel safe.

From – Jennifer Hughes

From – Anita Taylor

To – The PLACE Team (Rob, Paul, Dave and Gareth) Fantastic service from start to finish. The team have undertaken a few moves for me and they are friendly and professional every time - even in extreme heat. Their willing to help attitude makes everything a little easier!

From – Jayne Withers

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Celebrating our stars of the week

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Star of the Week

Star of the Week

Jenny Bordicott, Occupational Therapist in iCares

Diane Alford Contract Performance Manager

Jenny has been recognised for supporting everyone in her team with nothing being too much trouble for her. A colleague in her team was recently off work due to a bereavement. Jenny would ensure the colleague’s wellbeing was okay and even encouraged them to visit the Sanctuary for support. This is just one example of many

that epitomises what Jenny is about and the great person she is.

Jenny always goes above and beyond for all her patients, making them feel they are cared for and more importantly, making sure they get the support they need.

Star of the Week

Star of the Week

Natalie Cutmore, Senior Sister

Sophie Barker, Senior Sister

Diane recently joined the contract performance team. Since joining the team she has had a significant positive experience on the community property contracts, expediting the resolution of helpdesk calls and ensuring that user issues have been addressed. Diane has also helped to negotiate new leases and licenses and has successfully negotiated reductions in our rental commitments.

Diane’s hard work has been recognised with a commendation note from one of our Landlords – Community Health Partnerships who said: “I just wanted to let you know what a great support Diane has been in assisting both CHP and the CCG in obtaining a resolution to a longstanding issue around room bookings across some of the Sandwell sites. We are very grateful to her for her help.”

Natalie has shown incredible commitment, courage and resilience over 18 months during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only supporting and guiding her team but also spurring on all her colleagues during a very complex and challenging time within the Trust. Natalie is a credit to the nursing profession and is a rising star of the future. She always makes time to listen to both her colleagues and patients whilst always being a real advocate and the voice for her patients.

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Sophie has been nominated for outstanding work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sophie came into her senior sister post for the elective arthroplasty unit but because of the pandemic, this service was stepped down. Despite this, Sophie has shone brightly whilst getting the most out of her new team despite the challenging times. Sophie demonstrates courage, commitment and a caring ethos which is then reflected in the team she leads.

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.

Valued volunteer says goodbye as she heads for the Isle of Wight This month Heartbeat had the pleasure of meeting with Janet Summers as she says goodbye to the volunteering team to embark on a move to the Isle of Wight to be closer to her family.

Janet, who celebrated her 80th birthday in January this year has been with the Trust longer than she can remember has dedicated many hours of her time volunteering. She told Heartbeat: “I’ve been with the Trust right from the beginning, and have taken part in pretty much all areas of volunteering here. I’ve always had an interest in caring for others and since the passing of my husband eight years ago I wanted to fill my time by giving back in any way that I can.”

Janet explains how she has seen lots of changes over time, in the way things are done, how technology has progressed and how processes have become more efficient.

Janet has undoubtedly always had a caring nature and an interest in caring for others

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Janet Summers

right from the very start of her career. She has worked as an auxiliary nurse, a care assistant in a residential home, a social worker and a volunteer – Janet has always wanted to give back to those in need.

From offering drinks to patients, sitting and chatting to them and lending a listening ear, Janet has loved her time working and volunteering at the Trust. She added: “It’s not just the patients I’ve enjoyed spending time with, it’s the staff too. Everyone is so hardworking and the staff really are just excellent.

“It has been a little daunting to pack up and move from Wednesbury but after being alone for so long and turning 80 in January, it’s time to be closer to my children. If I wasn’t moving to the Isle of Wight, I’d love to stay and continue volunteering – but I think it would be quite a commute from there!”

Liza Gill, Volunteer Service Manager said: “Janet has been a true gem in supporting the clinics and the various volunteering placements that she has supported in, always full of cheer, love, kindness and ready to help where needed.”

Thank you Janet for you hard work and dedication to the NHS and to the Trust, we wish you all the best in your move to the Isle of Wight.

SurgiNet takes huge step towards 2021 launch CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS COVID-19

SurgiNet, the software which will replace the current IT system ORMIS has taken two huge steps towards go-live in the autumn by completing an end to end pathway and also integrating the module within our electronic patient record, Unity.

The end to end pathway (known to most as the patient journey), saw a selection of colleagues at the Trust complete a mini dress rehearsal by walking through the patient journey as it would happen in person in order to identify any issues with the workflows that may arise and work through to resolve them.

“Many clinical colleagues took part in the rehearsal from elective scheduling, ODPs, ward staff, anaesthesia, surgeons and recovery colleagues,” said Vicky Clifton, Service Planning and Delivery Manager.

“Colleagues were also supported by Cerner and the project group as well as myself and my team via WebEx to ensure we were limiting the footprint in theatres.”

As part of the end to end pathway there were many steps included such as: • Registration of the patient • Adding referrals • Booking the patient’s TCI from the details

within the eDTA/iPM waiting list • Pre-op checks on the ward and anaesthesia evaluation • Theatre checks • Anaesthesia room and association/

disassociation of the medical devices

throughout the patient journey • Completion of Peri-op documentation • Completion of anaesthesia documentation • Team brief, WHO checklist and debrief • Finalise anaesthesia record • Transfer to recovery • Review observation • Ward handover Vicky added: “Due to the success of the end to end pathway we are planning to complete further dress rehearsals in the near future with each area so that we can fully understand the system and the options available within it.”

The implementation of SurgiNet into Unity took place on evening of Tuesday 17 August. This was required to ensure the SurgiNet (theatres and anaesthesia) module was integrated within Unity.

The end to end pathway of the SurgiNet workflow has been completed in readiness for ‘go live’ Lissa McManus recently joined the project as Cutover Manager and is excited to be working with the Trust.

She said: “When I heard about the project it sounded like an exciting thing to be involved with and I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.”

Lissa believes once SurgiNet is up and running it will be hugely beneficial for both staff and patients.

She added: “There are numerous benefits to SurgiNet from replacing a stand-alone system with an integrated solution into Unity EPR and capturing information in real time, to the reduction of paper records and patient vitals being recorded and updated at bedside.

To find out more about SurgiNet including training details, please visit the dedicated SurgiNet Connect pages https://connect2. swbh.nhs.uk/trustindigital/surginet

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Your Trust Charity: Making a difference locally during COVID-19 CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

By Eddie Edmead, Major Grants Manager, Your Trust Charity As we know, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local communities within our region is still proving to be a longstanding and most complex challenge in sustaining the good health, mental and social wellbeing and the quality of life of the many households, families and individuals within it. This is particularly true for those from marginalised communities and low income households with limited recourse to public funds.

It is for this reason that Your Trust Charity (YTC) and NHS Charities Together’s COVID-19 small grants and commissions was implemented and designed to help.

Back in August 2020, Your Trust Charity was successful in securing a £50,000

Handsworth Association of Schools: £9,500 A consortia of 17 primary schools and three senior schools, managed by a board of appointed trustees and head teachers, Handsworth Association of Schools supports young people and their families in a partnership with local schools located within the North West Birmingham catchment. They provide support as a response to local needs addressing education and community development.

They offer bespoke services to those that are from financially and socially disadvantaged households and ensuring outreach interventions in areas including health, social care and welfare poverty.

With the support of Your Trust Charity, Handsworth Association of Schools also secured an additional £12,860 from external grants to continue the project services.

Find out more www.handsworth.bham.org.uk/index.php

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Eddie Edmead is major grants manager for Your Trust Charity grant from the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Grants Scheme and subsequently additional support from the Charitable Funds Committee for YTC to support community facing projects up until this September. The funds strategically being directed to support marginalised local communities especially those that were being disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including African, African-Caribbean, Asian, Black British and other marginalised communities living within

Shakti Women: £9,500 Created to support women and girls to overcome societal barriers and to reach their potential, Shakti Women provides a safe space for women to express themselves. Over the past 14 years, this has included employability support and career planning, business start-up, mentoring and active citizenship. They also encourage the development of physical and mental fitness through yoga and meditation. Creative pursuits have been also developed including supporting a book club featuring local black writers and helping to sustain interest in writing.

An additional £9,750 was generated from external Lottery grant to continue the project and its services.

highly impacted neighbourhoods such as Aston, Handsworth, Lozells, Oldbury, Smethwick and Winson Green.

Commissions include Bristnall Hall Academy School, New Beginnings Creative, Nishkam Civic Centre, VOWS, Legacy WM and Impact 4 Life.

Below is a brief summary of some of the other projects commissioned by the charity with a COVID-19 Small Grant.

Bearwood Community Hub: £9,910 A not-for-profit, community-led organisation, Bearwood Community Hub aims to foster collaboration and social action to improve lives, livelihoods and also the local urban environment. The hub provides a creative and collaborative space for people to meet, help businesses to grow and allow the social engagement magic to happen.

With the support of Your Trust Charity, an additional £9,785 generated from external grants has been secured.

Find out more www.bearwood.cc/

Find out more www.shaktiwomen.com

To find out more about these projects contact Major Grants Manager, Eddie Edmead edward.edmead@nhs.net

Dr Sarb Clare honoured by Chamber president Described as a leading medic, whose efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic earned widespread praise, Dr Sarb Clare, Deputy Medical Director is the recipient of this year’s Birmingham Chamber of Commerce President’s Award.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Sarb was presented with the award by Chamber of Commerce president Steve Allen during the recent Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s 2021 annual awards.

Already the recipient of numerous accolades for her work – including an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the NHS during the pandemic – Sarb was recognised for her work to rewrite rotas overnight, create clinical pathways and deliver educational resources to redeploy Dr Sarb Clare staff, as well as supporting the wellbeing of and who was responsible for setting up the her colleagues. acute medicine department at City Hospital.

Mr Allen said: “This year I wanted to “In addition to all of this, Dr Clare was pivotal honour an individual who represents the in introducing an award-winning wellbeing very best qualities in the fight against initiative - bringing in energy pods for staff coronavirus but someone who also had at during the pandemic which led to a significant the heart of their work innovation which is improvement in the psychological, physical the theme of my term as president. health, as well as the ability to manage stress “Dr Sarb Clare is a frontline doctor who has for doctors working round the clock in the treated hundreds of coronavirus patients most adverse of conditions.”

Richard Beeken, Interim Chief Executive commented: “It is always a pleasure to see colleagues’ hard work and dedication recognised outside of our organisation. In the case of Sarb I am delighted that her efforts to continually maintain high standards of care whilst doing the right thing for her team has been acknowledged, and I am sure she is delighted with this award.”

Trust Chair Sir David Nicholson added: “Sarb is a role model and represents everything that is good about Sandwell and West Birmingham.”

Sarb said: “I am honoured to accept this prestigious award on behalf of our NHS and social care colleagues who day in and day out wake up every day and do what they are trained to do - providing care and compassion for the sick.

“My nursing team are my true inspiration. I would also like to dedicate this award to those who sadly lost their lives selflessly in the fight of this dreadful illness.”

vote now

voting is

now open Vote online via Connect until 17 September

Employee of the Year

Clinical team of the year adults

- Julie Booth

- Acute Respiratory Hub & Physiology Team

- Lorraine Pace - Paulette Duzan - Zaheer Iqbal

- Covid Intensive Care Team - Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre

Clinical team of the year children

Non-clinical Team - Bereavement Care Team - Medical Engineering

- Children’s Speech and Language Team

- Performance and Insight

- Health Visiting Team

- Ward Services

- School Nursing Service

For more information contact the communications team  0121 507 5303,  swbh.comms@nhs.net  @SWBHnhs,  #SWBHawards21,  SWBHnhs

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Swapping military life in Eritrea for a role as a HCA CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Over the next few issues of Heartbeat we will feature inspiring stories of colleagues who are part of the SWB family through the Healthcare Overseas Professionals (HOP) programme.

The programme supports people from overseas (who are qualified healthcare professionals in their own home countries) to get back into clinical practice. These colleagues are required to pass either the International English Language Test or the Occupational English Test before they take their professional exams.

In this issue we meet 38 year old dad of one Efrem Tuumzgi – this is his story…

“I originate from Eritrea a small country in east Africa. I served my country working as a military nurse for over 11 years. It was a very challenging situation which saw us earn only very few dollars every month.

Efrem Tuumzgi works as a senior healthcare assistant

married with a beautiful 17-month-old daughter – my wife and daughter are my world!

“It wasn’t easy adapting to a new country and culture but I always kept my faith in God that things would come good.

“I heard about the HOP programme through the Job Centre Plus. Ever since meeting the HOP team, my dream of working as a nurse is getting ever closer.

“The team sent me to Sandwell College for my Level 2 NVQ and supported me to get a job at SWB – I am so grateful to all of them.

“The plan is to go to university in 2022.

“Thank you HOP team for all your support and guidance.”

The Healthcare Overseas Professionals Programme is delivered by The Learning Works project team based at the Wellbeing Sanctuary. For more information on the programme, email lawrencekelly@nhs.net.

“I finally managed to leave the military and came to the UK in the hope of a better life.

It was not only a good decision, but a life changing one too. I am settled here and

New fleet goes green Sustainability, environment and air quality – not necessarily three things you would associate with a new fleet of vehicles, but they proved the winning combination as our Trust took delivery of a new fleet of environmentally friendly focused vehicles earlier this month.

Whilst patients might simply associate the brightly lit ambulances with the NHS, it actually takes an incredible fleet of vehicles and drivers to keep a busy NHS Trust ticking over. Ferrying colleagues from site to site, picking up supplies and moving equipment – it’s all in a day’s work and it all has an impact on our surroundings, the environment and ultimately the health of our staff, patients and public.

With an aging fleet of vehicles and improvements in technology it was clear we had an opportunity to meet our practical needs whilst making sure we made the right choice for our future and the environment we live in. The call went out our suppliers to meet our stringent requirements and they delivered the perfect mix.

With their pristine paintwork and proudly embellished logos the new vehicles rolled in to the Trust, with fully electric Nissan Leafs

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A brand new fleet of vehicles rolled into the Trust becoming our new general transport vehicles currently being used by our anticoagulant teams to our security team taking delivery of their Hybrid Toyota Rav 4.

vehicles until recently just weren’t practical, but with improvements to technology and the roll out of charging points across the Trust, our dream became a reality.

Delighted with the new vehicles, Transport Deputy Manager Jay Akbar said: “We knew our old vehicles were in need of replacement and we had the ideal opportunity to meet the sustainability goals we have been trying to meet for some time. We have always been limited by the fact the demand we placed on our vehicles far surpassed the technology available so electric

“We’ve been able to take a fresh look at our fleet and to match it to our current needs and to the needs we will have as we develop to our new models of working transitioning to Midland Met. We will have more reliance on smaller, more manoeuvrable vehicles and the improved emissions and fuel economy will improve our finances and health.”

The correct use of oxygen in medical settings

By Dr Ata Ullah, Medical Consultant

Dr Ata Ullah, Medical Consultant writes a column on the use of oxygen in medical settings. Dr Ullah has identified a challenge surrounding prescription and dispensing of oxygen across the wider NHS. He hopes to shine a light on ways to combat this. With hopes of raising awareness of correct prescription and dispensing methods of oxygen Oxygen, probably is the most common drug used in medical emergencies, but the question is, has it been regarded as a drug like any other drug and is it used correctly?

Following an audit on medical wards which looked at oxygen indication and target saturations documented in notes, and also if oxygen was prescribed on Unity, our audit showed that only 21 per cent of patients had oxygen indication documented but target saturations were at a much higher figure of 79 per cent. Unfortunately, none of the patients were prescribed oxygen on the system which is a great concern.

The concentration of oxygen required depends on the condition being treated; the administration of an inappropriate concentration of oxygen can have serious or even fatal consequences. Oxygen should be prescribed on Unity and target saturations clearly documented in notes.

Following this, I have made it my mission to raise awareness of the correct protocols surrounding the use of oxygen in medical settings. This applies to all medical colleagues including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals.

This is not just a Trust wide issue, but a national problem. We should do our best to get it right.

Oxygen is a drug, it should be used like any other drug and recorded and dispensed correctly. Here, I highlight some points that will help combat this issue:

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

1. Record: Oxygen should be prescribed and recorded on Unity when indicated.

2. Document: Clear target saturations should be documented in notes and again clear documentation if any deviation from the national/local guidelines.

3. Ward round checks: Daily checking oxygen prescription on ward rounds as we would do for any other drug. This will help flag up any medicines/drugs not prescribed on the system. Similarly if oxygen is indicated and not prescribed on the system, should be brought to attention like any other drug.

4. Awareness: Departmental awareness sessions regarding oxygen prescription and ensuring relevant oxygen prescription information is disseminated to medical staff.

5. Administration: It is very important to simply turn off the oxygen from the wall/ cylinder when it is on but actually not being administered to the patient (obviously we will need to make sure that it is no longer indicated) 6. Education: To educate junior doctors regarding oxygen during their induction.

Dr Ata Ullah, Medical Consultant 7. Responsibility: We need to develop a multidisciplinary team approach. It is the duty of each and every member of the medical team to get it right.

I hope I have emphasised the importance of correct dispensing of oxygen and that this is something you will take on board and share with others so that oxygen can be safely used, like any other drug.

The message here is simple but vital for the safety of our patients.

This will not only ensure a safe and effective treatment for patients when it comes to oxygen but will save a wealth of useful resources which can then be invested in other areas - especially when we are looking forward to the opening of Midland Met in 2022.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, please feel free to contact me at: ata.ullah3@nhs.net

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Let’s hear it for this year’s short listed nominees for the 2021 Star Awards

ONS CLOSE ON FRIDAY 2 JULY Thank you for taking the time to think about individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond and for putting them forward to receive a Star Award. This year we had a wonderful turn out of over 500 nominations with colleagues and patients both keen to share their amazing experiences of care, kindness, innovations and quality they had experienced throughout our organisation.

Leading the Star Awards judging panel, Interim Chief Executive Richard Beeken said:

This year’s nominations naturally reflect the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but also all the other fantastic work that has taken place throughout the past year.

On the page opposite, there’s a description of each award category and the names of the shortlisted teams and colleagues. Don’t forget that you choose the winners in four categories:

Our judges definitely had a challenge this year whittling down the 500 nominations to our final shortlist which we are excited to now be able to share with you.

“2020 and 2021 have been exceptional years for the NHS and in particular, for our Trust. This is because of our deprived and diverse population having been particularly hard hit by COVID-19. Our services have had to respond to that challenge. You have all contributed to that challenge and responded with professionalism, hard work, flexibility and innovation. This awards ceremony celebrates the very best of those characteristics. You all have something to be proud of and as a leadership team we are very proud of you. Do have a great evening and celebrate that excellence.

You are all stars.”

• • • •

Employee of the Year Clinical Team of the Year (Adults) Clinical Team of the Year (Children) Non Clinical Team of the Year

You will be able to vote online via Connect until 17 September.

Employee of the Year

Julie Booth, Deputy Director of Infection Prevention & Control Lorraine Pace, Ward Clerk Paulette Duzan, Community Matron Health Visiting Zaheer Iqbal, Portering Manager

Clinical team of the year adults

Acute Respiratory Hub & Physiology Team Covid Intensive Care Team Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre

Clinical team of the year Children Children’s Speech and Language Team Health Visiting Team School Nursing Service

Non Clinical Team of the Year Bereavement Care Team Medical Engineering Performance and Insight Ward Services

New Leader

Adrian Bradbury, Theatre Manager Andy Torrance, Colorectal Consultant Vanessa Taylor, Matron/Lead Nurse

Volunteer of the Year

Anand Arora, Consultant (Anaesthetics) Michael Reay, Volunteer Volunteer Bereavement Team

Fundraiser of the Year

Patient Safety Award

Breast Screening Team Homeless Patient Pathway Team Louise Hunter, Community Children's Nurse

Prize for Integrated Care Pioneer of the Year Integrated Discharge Hub Occupational Therapy (Childrens) School Nursing Team

Learner of the Year

Acute Medicine Team Brinderjit Rai, PMO Administrative Assistant Mayur Patel, Bowel Cancer Screening Administrator

Award for Equality and Diversity Champion High Risk Birth Preparations Team Medical Infusion Suite The Women Clinicians Network

Excellence in research prize Dermatology Farooq Wandroo, Consultant (Haematology) Shaun Johns, Radiopharmacy Operational Manager

Excellence in education prize #SWBawards21 Critical Care Reservist Programme Kathryn Dunn, Physiotherapist Mohammed Mian, ENT Consultant

The Green Award

Alcohol Care Team Pharmacy Sharnaz Akhtar, Health Care Assistant

Digital Leader of the Year

Cancer Services Kishor Vadhia (Fundraiser – external) Sarah Fletcher, Community Engagement Manager (Balfour Beatty)

Kay Baker, Team Leader - S&LT Nicole Miles, Neonatal Unit Discharge Planner Pamela Towers, Deputy Head of Medical Records

Distinguished Service Award

Quality of Care

Jan Clarke, Head of Support Services (retired) John Paul Birch, Advanced Operating Department Practitioner Jonha Rizkalla, ED Consultant (retired) William Thomson, Head of Physics and Nuclear Medicine

Prize for Innovation

Children’s Therapy & Nursing Diagnostic Radiology - Artificial Intelligence Paediatric Diabetes

Breast Surgery Team Gynaecology Naresh Bangar, Porter

Local primary care award Vaccination Hub Sandra Whitelock, HLP Primary Care Manager First Contact Practitioner Team

New supportive care plan to play vital role in improving end of life care CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS Providing high quality care at the end of life is everyone’s business which is why the Trust have recently launched a brand new version of the supportive care plan within our electronic patient record, Unity.

SWB are audited nationally on the quality of end of life care every 12 months and sadly form a national perspective we have been performing lower than the average. With this in mind, we are developing a number of initiatives as part of a QI project aimed to enhance the quality of care we provide for patients who are approaching the final months, weeks and days of their life. The first change we are excited to share is the brand new version of the supportive care plan.

“The supportive care plan is a document in either a paper (community) or electronic (Unity or Systm1) form which is used by healthcare professionals to guide how care is planned and delivered,” said Anna Lock, Palliative Medicine Consultant.

“We all have different ideas and thoughts about how we would want to

Laura Pitt and Anna Lock

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be cared for in the last months and days of life. The supportive care plan is a personalised care plan that is used to ensure that anyone with an advanced life-limiting illness receives the best possible care and live their lives as well as possible. The care plan helps clinicians ensure that the wishes of the people we are looking after are at the centre of all decisionmaking in the last months, weeks and days of their life.”

A hard working team of doctors, nurses and Unity experts developed a new version of the supportive care plan that is much more user friendly, visible, and therefore more useful to patients and colleagues. In addition, we have embedded SPICT (Supportive and Palliative Indicator Tool) into Unity to help identification of patients who are deteriorating and who can benefit from conversations about, and planning for, the future.

Anna added: “I must also say a big thank you to Neel Patel for consultant input for ensuring clinicians got the information they needed when they needed it and playing a big part of the design work, as well as trainees Elise Davies and Amy Hough who have also worked alongside us and the Unity architect on a day-to-day basis. Also a huge thank you to Laura Pitt, Palliative Care CNS who has worked tirelessly checking the system especially the nursing functionality.”

Rebecca Dawber, Palliative Care Consultant believes that, if supported by honest and

meaningful conversations, the supportive care plan improves the care we offer to our patients who are nearing the end of their life.

She said: “We know from national statistics that at any one time 30 per cent of those in hospital are in their last year of life. It is crucial to recognise these patients and to allow them the opportunity to express their wishes about what kind of treatments they want, to focus on what is important to them, with care delivered in the environment they choose.

“We have a highly motivated, competent and compassionate workforce who want to provide the best care to patients, especially when they are approaching the end of their life. This QI project aims to enable that workforce to deliver high quality care by providing the right tools, training, information and feedback.”

She added: “The new Unity version of the SPICT tool and reinvented supportive care plan are the first steps and we are delighted to share further developments over the coming weeks.”

To find out more about the supportive care plan and end of life care, please visit the dedicated Connect pages https://connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/ palliative-care/supportive-care-plan/

swbh.nhs.uk/charity

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Join our crane

ZIP WIRE CHALLENGE

Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March 2022

and raise money for Your Trust Charity’s We Are Metropolitan campaign.

Email trustcharity@nhs.net stating ZIP21 to register. Fundraising target – £250

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R&D welcomes a new deputy director workforce within SWB and facilitate high quality research for the benefit of patients.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

“The forum will help create a research culture within the Trust encompassing the behaviour, values, formal and informal ethics, expectations, attitudes and norms of research communities.

Some of you may already be familiar with Dr Ayman Ewies a gynaecology consultant with the women’s and child group. A researcher at heart, Ayman has now taken on an additional role within our research and development team.

“Research culture is pivotal to research excellence, and research can only be flourished when there is a positive culture that supports all individuals involved.

Heartbeat caught up with the new deputy director of research to find out more.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted to take on this role for the Trust. I have been involved in research since obtaining my first training post in gynaecology. I have published 96 papers, submitted 60 abstracts for scientific conferences and have been co-principal and chief investigator on many clinical trials.

“When this opportunity came up, it seemed the right step for me and I look forward to working with as many colleagues as possible within this new role.

“There is evidence to show that organisations which are research-active

“My vision is for every colleague within SWB to contribute to research within their own capacity and for every patient treated here to be given the opportunity to participate in a research project.”

Dr Ayman Ewies wants to give colleagues and patients the opportunity to take part in research provide better quality of care and their patients report better experience and higher satisfaction rates.

“I plan to establish a clinical research forum to offer a platform for peer-observation and support, facilitation of knowledge transfer, education and training in order to develop and retain an expert clinical research

Commenting on Ayman’s appointment, Dr Derek Connolly, Director of Research said: “Ayman is a well-regarded and experienced clinician and researcher. He will make a valuable contribution to developing research within the Trust in the lead up to our move to the Midlands Metropolitan University Hospital. In particular we are keen that he helps initiate a research club for prospective researchers. It is our aim that all colleagues have research engagement - hospitals that are research active give better care to their patients and that is our aim."

Cancer nurse specialist team shortlisted for national award Our Macmillan upper GI/HPB clinical nurse specialist team, who are part of our wider cancer services team have successfully been shortlisted for the 2021 Macmillan Professionals Excellence Awards.

The prestigious awards recognise and celebrate the work of truly exceptional Macmillan professionals and teams who have gone above and beyond expectations to support people living with cancer. Our Macmillan upper GI/HPB clinical nurse specialist team specifically are one of nine teams to be shortlisted for the nationally recognised Innovation Excellence Award.

The team are shortlisted for implementing a structured cancer clinic which allowed them to shorten referral pathways meaning that patients were able to get a cancer diagnosis within 28 days which is the national standard.

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She added: “I really hope we can win but just to be nominated alone feels like a victory in itself.”

Kath Johnson, Macmillan Upper GI/HPB CNS works with Jo in her team and echoes her thoughts.

She said: “I feel really proud to be part of team who have been nominated for this esteemed award.

Macmillan Upper GI HPB Clinical Nurse Specialist team

“Myself, Jo, Grace Preece, Kerrie Burns and the rest of the team have worked extremely hard over the last 12 months despite the COVID-19 Jo Harvey, Macmillan ACP Upper GI/HPB was pandemic so to be shortlisted for this award delighted when she heard the news the team had feels very rewarding indeed.” been shortlisted for the award.

Huge congratulations to the whole team She said: “It felt great to just be shortlisted for for being shortlisted and fingers crossed for the Innovation Excellence Award! the award! Winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held in November.

“We are amongst some great trusts and organisations so to be acknowledged alongside them is a true honour and privilege.”

Respiratory Hub tackles growing number of Long COVID cases Arvind Rajasekaran Respiratory Consultant and Clinical Director of the Respiratory hub, describes how his team are working to help an increasing number of patients who are experiencing Long COVID symptoms.

It is thought that many people do not consider the impact that Long COVID could make on their lives when dismissing COVID-19 as a virus they endure for a couple of weeks then move on with their lives. Arvind’s wider team who work in the hospital and in the community know for some patients unexplained symptoms linger for some months.

He explained: “Following a COVID infection, we know that while the majority experience a mild illness (with around 10% requiring hospitalisation), a small number of patients will continue to be troubled by a range of symptoms well beyond this period.

provide personalised care plans. We have dedicated Long COVID assessment clinics which carry out these assessments and patients can be signposted or referred to a range of local services, online resources and specialist clinics to manage the symptoms.

Across our catchment area GPs are able to refer patients to Long COVID assessment clinics using a dedicated referrals form. Upon receipt of this referral, the team will contact the patient to complete a thorough systematic assessment, arrange the necessary diagnostic tests and refer to a range of additional services.

“They also have access to an MDT where they discuss the findings of the assessments and diagnostic tests with the specialist who may in turn arrange for more specialist clinic referrals and ongoing management. There will also be opportunities for participating in research studies designed to understand why some develop this condition and find better prevention and treatment strategies.

“The reported symptoms range from disabling fatigue and tiredness, through unexplained breathlessness, chest pains, palpitations, joint pains, sleep problems, difficulty in concentrating (brain fog) mood changes and anxiety to mention a few.

“The NHS has led the way through research in finding treatments for acute COVID infection.

It is hoped that through research, we will be able to understand the mechanism that leads to Long COVID.”

“As the symptoms are so wide ranging, systematic assessments are needed to understand the impact on patients and

Community Long COVID patient Jeanette Bailey caught COVID-19 last October. The 62 year old was a healthy great-grandmotherof-three, who was very active, enjoying long

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS walks and swimming three times a week. She said: “When I contracted the virus I rapidly deteriorated and was blue lighted to hospital. I spent two weeks in intensive care and it was a scary time, as I watched other patients die and wondered when it would be my turn.”

More than ten months on she is still experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue, heart issues and brain fog. While one of the more unusual symptoms of COVID she experienced was that her finger and toe nails felt like ‘tissue paper’ and fell out. Clumps of her hair also fell out when she washed or brushed it.

"It's when your body shuts down, your body removes blood away from where it's not needed, which is your hair and nails," she added. "Consequently when your body starts its recovery it's still in shock. My hair fell out and my nails became very brittle and were disintegrating. I'm never going to be what I was. It made me very depressed to start with and you don't know how long these problems are going to carry on. This virus destroys your way of life from what it was. It makes you very weary."

Arvind Rajasekaran Respiratory Consultant and Clinical Director of the Respiratory hub

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Safety huddles in pharmacy CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS The safety huddles journey in our workplace continues at pace and this month we share pharmacy’s story.

We caught up with HoJan Senya, Senior Pharmacist (Clinical Trials) & Safety Huddles Lead (pharmacy) who explained that the huddles concept has been in practice for a number of years within the team.

“A couple of years ago, the pharmacy department started trialling huddles in both our dispensaries,” said HoJan. “As with most improvement initiatives, we went through many adaptive and iterative changes, learning day after day how to improve in utilising huddles. During the Unity kick-off week and also initially during the COVID pandemic there was a requirement to get information out to our team members on a very regular basis.

Our existing huddles were a great way to get information disseminated and also an effective opportunity to mitigate any issues.

Jiten Vyas, Pharmacy Clinical Services Manager added: “Effective safety huddles involve agreed actions, are informed by visual feedback of data and provide the opportunity to celebrate success in reducing harm to service users and teams. It is a simple and efficient tool for front-line staff; these small briefings represent an opportunity to share information about actual or potential medication safety problems and concerns regularly. Brainstorming leads to suggestions for interventions that are implemented in a timely fashion. Safety huddles can be used to identify and address factors contributing to medication errors, educate staff about medications, and promote a culture of change among participants.

Ultimately, safety huddles would help to reduce the risk of medication errors and improve the quality of patient care.”

audit, medicine management, medicine related health and safety and to explore continuous improvement opportunities.

“Our team rotate across the groups to enhance service alignment and to provide all team members development opportunities by having exposure to all clinical areas. Band 5 technicians rotate every six months Band 4 technicians every three months.”

Safety huddles have been helping pharmacy colleagues to work closer with the wards as part of the preparedness for the MMUH wardbased pharmacist model.

Pun Sharma, Chief Pharmacist, is very proud of his team. He said: “I am delighted that our team members are embracing the safety huddles. They have been working proactively Stephanie Parkes, Lead Pharmacy Technician is with all the clinical areas, to highlight the also heavily involved in the safety huddles. She issues around medications, patient care and said: “In addition to attending the safety huddles, flow then work out solutions together. It won’t we started meeting with ward managers every be too long for us to achieve ‘tomorrow’s month since June 2021, to learn more about their discharge is today’.”

“Our current huddle is now online – the morning one is a department-wide huddle and the midday one is mainly supporting the ward-based teams with workflow.

Often the huddle leads can re-direct members of the team to the area where support is required. The huddles have improved teamwork within the department and created an environment where we can ask for help.”

HoJan also reflected on her involvement with ward based safety huddles in her capacity as patient safety specialist. “The ward based safety huddles are a great way for pharmacy colleagues to contribute towards better and safer patient care. They also highlight the initiatives that are already ongoing on the wards such as safe and secure handling of medicines audit, CD audits and antimicrobial audits.

“The best thing about safety huddles being launched in all the different areas within the Trust is that we learn from a variety of specialities. It provides us with an accelerated form of learning.

Within pharmacy, a feedback form will be launched to gather information from the ward-based teams. This information will be used to capture any safety issues our department can work towards.

“Our senior management team is very supportive of colleagues attending the ward based huddles. Unfortunately, we have not been able to attend all huddles due to timing, but we are working hard to maximise our workforce capacity.”

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Colleagues in pharmacy are embracing safety huddles

Sepsis September: Raising awareness

By Dr Chizo Agwu, Deputy Medical Director Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It is the second most common cause of death in UK, second only to cardiovascular disease and it sadly remains one of the common causes of death here in at SWB. Research has shown that prompt recognition and early management saves lives. In a hospital setting, all adult patients that have an early warning score (NEWS) >5 should be screened for sepsis and those patients with Sepsis 6 red flag alert (NEWS of >5, an infection and also one of the red flags) should have Sepsis 6 care bundle within one hour. The Sepsis 6 care bundle as a whole has been shown to reduce the relative risk of death by 46.6 per cent when delivered to patients with sepsis within one hour.

I am currently leading on the quality improvement project for sepsis and while we have shown sustained improvement in screening for sepsis to 94 per cent, only about 65 per cent of patients get their antibiotics within the golden hour. Our target is 100 per cent of patients with sepsis receiving all components of Sepsis 6 Care bundle within 1 hour. All ward areas should routinely review their data and investigate all cases of noncompliance in order to understand the barriers to ensuring that patients with sepsis receive all components of Sepsis 6 in a timely manner.

Whilst more than 70 per cent of cases of sepsis arise in the community, a significant proportion of the public do not recognise the symptoms, which can lead to a delay in treatment. It is therefore very important that all colleagues familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of sepsis.

In order to raise awareness of the condition, every year World Sepsis Day is celebrated on 13 September. To commemorate the month of awareness, this year, the Trust will be hosting events to support colleagues in the recognition of the sepsis symptoms.

We look forward to many of you joining us for activities including our search for the best sepsis ward display board. Or you could put a multidisciplinary team together for a

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE sepsis board game tournament. We will also run an online quiz throughout the month on Connect and the shared learning topic for September’s QIHD will be focused on sepsis.

I’m sure you’ll agree there is an array of events for you to get involved with.

Please do take part so we can all make a difference to our patients.

If you want to learn more about these activities, please contact the improvement team on ext. 2767. More information will also be shared in the daily communications bulletins.

Colleagues who are unsure of the sepsis screening processes are encouraged to speak to their ward matrons or contact the deteriorating patients and resus team on ext. 5908.

Learn more about sepsis https://sepsistrust.org/.

NICE GUIDELINE: Sepsis: recognition, diagnosis and early management: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng5.

Almost footloose, but still smokefree Do you remember where you were two years ago?

Normally this would be a relatively easy question, but as you are no doubt aware COVID-19, working from home, shielding and self-isolation has very much affected everyone’s concept of time – after all we’ve just all finished enjoying the ‘2020’ Olympics.

Something we’ve also been enjoying is getting out more as general COVID-19 restrictions relax, this combined with the sunny weather we’ve been having means we’ve also seen more people around and about on our grounds - colleagues, patients and the public alike. Although restrictions are still in place when it comes to accessing our buildings.

Because the outside is getting busier it’s a good time to remind everyone of the Trust’s Smokefree policy which came in to place on July 5 2019.

Smoking is currently banned by law in all public indoor locations; our grounds are also no smoking areas. So indoors or

Fikirini Ramadhani discusses the trust going smokefree with CEO of Public Health England Duncan Selbie on his visit to the Trust in 2019 outdoors, if it’s in ‘our house’ it’s not allowed.

We do support vaping in our grounds in line with the current Public Health England advice, but not in our buildings or by our entrances.

It had an instant positive effect – as anyone who had to battle through the smoke around the main entrances at Sandwell or City can tell you, as could the paediatrics wards at Lyndon Ground that could finally have some windows open without concerns about second hand smoke from people right outside them.

It is our collective responsibility to ensure

that people do not smoke anywhere on our sites, fines remain in effect.

The maximum fine for anyone caught smoking on site is £50 and this includes smoking in cars on our premises. The Trust will, when restrictions on visiting ease, be reminding the public of this.

As well as that, as has been the case for the last two years, should you still wish to smoke you can do so, just outside the Trust grounds. This boundary is visually defined by a singular red line.

Outside the line, don’t pay the fine.

Our organisation has put up a number of bins for smokers to use at the boundary to keep things tidy for us and our neighbours.

For inpatients having a crafty ciggie can often mean trudging outside in a hospital gown or a wheelchair, but there are smoking cessation options open to those on the wards so they don’t have to – and maybe give them the impetus to quit altogether. If you are unsure where your ward’s supply of gum or patches are, please speak to your ward manager.

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Midwives hit the airwaves to talk about safe care for women WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH Midwifery colleagues Afrah Muflihi and Vanessa Berry have been raising awareness across the BAME community about how the Trust is delivering safe care during the pandemic by appearing on foreign language media.

They shared the current COVID guidelines, including the visiting policy at the Trust and the infection prevention and control restrictions currently in place, on popular Asian channel Kanshi TV as well as Ambur Radio. Other planned appearances were due to take place during August.

Afrah, who has recently been appointed as equality and diversity lead midwife, said: “It’s really important that we try and reach as many as our women as we can. We know that our patients come from diverse communities and English is not always their first language.

“Some respond better to information when it is spoken rather than in written

Afrah Muflihi and Vanessa Berry on Kanshi TV form, so we find reaching out to them verbally can really help.”

As well as featuring on TV and radio, Afrah has worked with the communications team to produce a series of animations in various languages which cover how a woman will be cared for throughout her pregnancy as well how she can look after her health before conception and afterwards.

Afrah added: “We find this sort of media also works well and we can share with community groups so that they are able to understand their pregnancy journey and how we will deliver their care.

After the production of the animation various languages can be laid onto the video making it accessible to our various communities.”

Have you got a story?

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!

Email swbh.comms@nhs.net to submit your story idea.

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Claudia’s plea for pregnant women to get the COVID jab WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH Initially a surge of oxygen delivered via a mask made her feel better.

“I wasn't feeling too bad at that point and I still had the ability and strength to message my husband and gave him updates,” she said.

But over that weekend her condition deteriorated quickly.

She recalled: “The whole thing happened very quickly. I'm trying to remember the details but when the doctor spoke to me I was quite poorly and I was quickly intubated afterwards (put on a ventilator) so my memories are a bit vague.

“What I remember is that the doctor told me they were considering carrying out a Caesarean Section to save me and they will do the best for the baby.”

Claudia Li urges pregnant women to get the COVID-19 vaccine As you may know, we have set up special But after catching COVID at work last month, clinics to vaccinate pregnant women under she almost lost her son as she was placed our care against COVID-19. unconscious on a ventilator - leaving doctors at City Hospital no choice but to urgently deliver the Clinics are running in antenatal on Tuesdays baby to save her. and Fridays between 1pm-6pm, whilst maternity colleagues can also send over The boy, yet to be named, weighed just 1lb pregnant women to the City Hospital hub for 4oz - less than a bag of sugar - and while he has their jab. been growing stronger by the day, he remains on a ventilator because his lungs are not fully National figures suggest only one in six developed. pregnant women are taking up the vaccine offer. But the risks from taking the vaccine In a message to expecting parents, Claudia said: are minuscule, with hundreds of thousands of “Please, take the vaccine. I didn't. Don't risk women in the US, UK and other countries now yours and your baby's life.” successfully vaccinated without harm.

Claudia and husband Scott, 29, a secondary More research is being carried out to boost school maths teacher, were excitedly planning for confidence, with new studies now launched the arrival of their first child, expected in the late to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of autumn. Her pregnancy was going well, with the the jabs. However, if there is one story which soon-to-be mother not even suffering from the would persuade expectant mums to have the expected morning sickness. jab, it is that of Claudia Li, who gave birth But things changed dramatically last month when

by Caesarean section 16 weeks early at City she went to her office on 7 July and developed Hospital, after she caught the virus. symptoms later that week. She carried out a lateral flow test which came back positive, as did Claudia said she hugely regrets turning down the jab after being offered it via letters and a PCR test. As her symptoms worsened she was text messages. She said she feared the vaccine given a fingertip pulse oximeter to monitor her oxygen levels but on 17 July she was brought to 'could potentially do more harm than good to the baby.'

City Hospital by ambulance after her condition deteriorated.

The operation was carried out on 20 July and the baby was immediately taken away into intensive care while Claudia continued to fight the virus. She was discharged in mid-August but remains under regular surveillance. Her baby is currently on a ventilator because his lungs are not fully developed. But he is improving and steadily putting on weight.

Claudia said she understands why so many pregnant women like her have been reluctant to have the vaccine, but wanted to share her story to help persuade them. “(I thought) how would the Government know the vaccine is safe? How could they ensure no long-term effects on the baby after it was born? So, at the time I felt the bad outweighed the good, so I didn't take the vaccine.

“But now, all I say to other pregnant women is ‘TAKE YOUR VACCINE!’ Nothing can be worse than getting admitted to hospital and having to deliver your baby prematurely.

“Don't risk yours and your baby's life.”

Dr Sarb Clare, Deputy Medical Director said cases are continuing to emerge among unvaccinated pregnant women, despite repeated assurances about the safety of the vaccine.

“We understand women are nervous but it is absolutely vital they come forward for their vaccines,' she said. I currently have two women in the acute medical ward who are on oxygen and steroids, with COVID on their chests - they will recover but they are very unwell.”

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Creating a patient first culture with CQC assessments SURGICAL SERVICES The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates health and social care services in England. The commission ensures the quality and safety of care in hospitals, dentists, ambulances, care homes, and the care given in people’s own homes.

Ongoing assessments provide us with an opportunity to learn from the highlights of each inspection.

Our overall CQC rating is “requires improvement” and they rated our services as “outstanding” in the caring domain. We are working collectively to improve our rating and ensure that we deliver a consistent standard of care across all areas.

We caught up with the team in Lyndon 2 to find out how they have been working to enhance the care provided in their area. Amber Markham, Interim Group Director of Nursing, told us: “We held a mock internal inspection of Lyndon 2 so that we could understand how we are performing. A small team of colleagues volunteered to be part of a mock inspection team. The team observed practices on the ward and spoke to co-workers and patients about staff attitudes and behaviours, standards, their knowledge of policies and procedures, and leadership visibility.

Colleagues on Lyndon 2 recently took part in mock CQC assessments improvement work. Safety huddles and the mechanisms used to feedback information from incidents and complaints was praised.”

So what was the biggest takeaway from this process we asked? Amber explained: “Not being fearful of the process. It’s there to help your team identify areas for improvement and to celebrate excellence.”

“This was done as part of our weAssure programme led by Ruth Spencer. Teams are inspecting areas using a mock CQC inspection, highlighting areas for improvement and areas of good practice.

Barbara Boparai, Senior Sister added that Lyndon 2 received praise for its safety huddles and sustainability during the mock inspections. She explained: “We recognise the importance of safety and the provision of safe, effective patient care.

“Lyndon 2 received a “good” rating, with a couple of things to improve upon to be rated as outstanding. One area to improve on was the ability of some colleagues to articulate quality

“Our goal is to ensure that each patient is cared for in a respectful and dignified manner and to reduce their length of stay and get them back to health. We are patient advocates and, looking after our

patients is our number one priority.”

Barbara added: “One of the ways we meet our standards of care is by holding frequent safety huddles. It allows patient safety issues to be communicated within our multidisciplinary team, allowing us to identify and address any concerns. Working in this way means that we can share experience and reach the most patient focused resolutions.

“Safety huddles are an essential part of what we do in Lyndon 2 – it’s a dynamic clinical environment that looks after patients admitted for surgical interventions such as general surgery, ENT and urology.

For us to perform to a high standard, we need to ensure that colleagues have the knowledge and skills to perform in an ever changing NHS and a way to escalate and resolve any issues that impact patient care.”

Want to relax and unwind in a safe place? Visit the Wellbeing Sanctuary and enjoy a range of free treatments including a massage, meditation and relaxation hypnotherapy.

Call 0121 507 5886 to book your free session today.

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Wellbeing

A guide to Dysphagia – new e-learning module now available In 2019, the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative was rolled out across our Trust alongside a new gum based thickening agent, Nutilis Clear. This brought about a much needed standardisation of the language used to describe food and fluid safety modifications and necessitated wide scale ward based training regarding new terminologies and methods for accurate mixing of drinks.

As part of the inpatient speech and language therapy department recovery phase following COVID-19, the speech and language therapy team have launched a reinvigorated strategy to regain structured swallowing awareness, training for our hospital wards and to support staff development needs with dysphagia management.

To support colleagues across the Trust to gain a better understanding of dysphagia, the team are encouraging colleagues to complete the online dysphagia e-learning module developed by Nutricia.

Launching the new training programme Highly Specialist Speech and Language

Therapist, Briony Storey said: “Dysphagia is an often misunderstood condition but one that can be managed with care. It’s important that colleagues across the Trust take the time to learn the signs, symptoms and management skills to keep patients safe.

“The pandemic has taught many of us how to access virtual training sessions and this module can be accessed online through ESR, ‘Course 381: A Guide to Dysphagia’, making access to learning even easier than ever before.”

The new training resource is aimed at supporting any healthcare professionals caring for those with dysphagia and will help to increase awareness, understanding and management skills of those looking after patients experiencing swallowing difficulties.

The virtual package presents a new training opportunity or would be appropriate as a concise recap for those who have had some level of prior swallowing awareness training during the rollout of the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative.

The course is split into four modules, each taking approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Each subset can be saved throughout and

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES AND THERAPIES returned to at a convenient time therefore completion does not need to be in its entirety. The modules cover: • What is dysphagia?

• Signs, symptoms and consequences • Management of dysphagia • Using a thickener.

It is hoped that with the rollout of this training package, colleague confidence and knowledge will increase for recognising a patient with dysphagia and understanding the concurrent signs, symptoms and management options available. The training package forms part of a range of exciting Trust quality improvement initiatives focused around the importance of nutrition and hydration.

For more information, please contact Briony Storey, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at: briony.storey@nhs.net

Staying safe with skin dosimetry Our imaging team lead the way when it comes to providing a patient-focused service. They offer a full diagnostic service using X-ray, Ultrasound, MRI, DEXA and CT scanning machines, nuclear medicine and radiopharmacy.

To ensure our services remain as safe as possible, we continually take steps to stay compliant with the latest safety regulations.

IMAGING “Normal skin doses tend to relate to handling and dispensing procedures, particularly in radiopharmacy. We monitor colleagues with finger doses at their fingertips. We can then ensure that all fingertip skin doses are well below the annual limits.

Anyone working with radiation needs to meet the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) criteria of competence and have the necessary experience and expertise to allow the safe use of ionising radiation.

Dr Bill Thomson recently retired Head of Physics and Nuclear Medicine, presented a paper at the National Radiation Protection Advisers meeting. This allowed for discussion on radiation protection topics of interest and regulators, HSE attended.

Speaking to Heartbeat, Bill remarked: “My topic for this meeting was new modelling of skin dosimetry from accidents in nuclear medicine. This dosimetry forms the basis for required HSE radiation risk assessments.

Fortunately, accidents are quite rare, but if any radiopharmaceutical lands on the skin or hands in an accident, skin doses can be very highs. Having accurate models of skin contamination becomes important.

An example of enhanced PPE used now and what was used previously “I have supported with dosimetry calculations where the annual skin dose was exceeded, requiring HSE input. I have also been developing models of droplets landing on skin or gloves in an accident, and also modelling the retention on direct skin contamination.

Needlestick injury with a radioactive tracer is another area I have modelled.

“I have been using and promoting the use of a dedicated software program developed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This involves developing models of droplets on the skin and gloves. Any accident can involve radioactive droplets, e.g. from a syringe during dispensing. I have been presenting this work to promote staff awareness of the high skin doses that can result from droplets on skin, and help with wider data of the doses involved.”

Dr Thomson added: “We have also enhanced our PPE to ensure all bare skin is covered during dispensing and injection procedures. Other departments are now doing the same - being ‘bare below the elbow’ cannot apply for those processes.”

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Pulse

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

News in brief from around our organisation

IMAGING

Martin hits the heights for the homeless A member of our informatics team set out to battle not just the elements and the heady heights of Mount Snowdon but also his own debilitating illness in order to help raise money for the homeless.

Martin Daker took on the sponsored walk challenge as part of his efforts to raise money for Your Trust Charity and awareness of the work being undertaken by the Trust's Homeless Pathway Team.

“A friend recently asked me to join him climbing Snowdon this summer as he’d never done it and he knew I’d climbed it and even run up it numerous times when I was younger, leaner and fitter,” Martin told Heartbeat. “Initially I was reluctant to agree to it. Although I can still walk reasonable distances and even jog a little, the thought of tackling Snowdon again never occurred to me. Then I thought, “Why not?”… I felt I needed a challenge especially after lockdown and if I could support a worthy cause like the Trust Homeless Pathway Team in some way, then so much the better!”

Martin suffers from Sarcoidosis, a condition that affects his lungs that leaves them with only 50 per cent of ‘normal’ capacity for a person of his age. The thought of tackling Snowdon again never occurred to Martin until a friend asked him to join in and he was reminded of doing it back when he was younger and healthier. Martin had to undergo training - including breathing exercises - to condition himself as much as possible.

He said: "I’m classed as ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’ from coronavirus so I’ve shielded for a long time. Like many others, I started to put on weight initially and didn’t exercise that much, but then realised that I needed get healthier to improve my chances if I did catch COVID-19. I’m also very grateful to the NHS and our Trust in particular in that I received both vaccine doses quite early. That has allowed a lot of normality back into my life and the ability to go out and do something like this Snowdon challenge."

The exact causes of Sarcoidosis aren’t fully understood though it’s thought to happen when the immune system goes into ‘overdrive’ and the body starts to attack its own tissues and organs. This in turn causes granulomas to develop.

In Martin’s case, these granulomas effectively ‘block’ parts of his lungs,

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Informatics adventurer Martin

resulting in reduced functionality and ability to patient pathway team added: "I couldn’t breathe. be more grateful to Martin and his team.

This is not just any hike up Snowdonia, “I’m lucky in that I have a home and have this is being done by a Trust staff member some wonderful, lovely people in my life. with his own additional health issues which We don’t have to look around too hard our makes this charity event even more heroic! neighbourhood to see there are some of our The homeless patient pathway team relies fellow citizens who for whatever reason; find heavily on gestures of goodwill donations themselves homeless, cold, hungry and in and this event that Martin is leading will many cases, friendless. It breaks my heart to see our homeless patients benefit from the witness suffering like this and I can’t even charity proceeds.” imagine what it’s like to be seriously ill as well.

Martin took 'remote working' a lot farther “I recently became aware of the amazing than the Trust originally intended - by work that the homeless team do for those hosting a meeting on top of the mountain patients who are discharged from our care itself! that don’t have the warm, comfortable home or the love and support that most of us "In informatics, we have regular would have if we had to spend some time in department-wide Keep in Touch (KiT) calls hospital. as there a number of us who work from home so it’s a great way for colleagues to “So I’m very happy to support Helen Taylor maintain contact with each other, share and her team and through food, clothing news etc. Having one from the summit of and cash donations, hopefully make life a Snowdon is a fun way of demonstrating the little easier and comfortable for our homeless capability and flexibility of the technology patients.” that the Informatics supports - even in the great outdoors!"

Helen Taylor, Lead Nurse for the homeless

Kevin Johnson takes pole at Silverstone GP Porter at City Hospital Kevin Johnson was recently invited to the Silverstone Grand Prix for a once in lifetime weekend experience courtesy of Formula 1 (F1).

Kevin who has been a porter for over eight years at the Trust, who has been watching F1 since he was child, was invited as a VIP guest to the Silverstone Grand Prix after appearing on a recent Fancast which was hosted by F1 commentator David ‘Crofty’ Croft. After hearing the challenges Kevin had faced over the last 18 months with the COVID-19, Croft and Senior Marketing Manager at F1, Darragh Farrelly invited Kevin and his 26 year old son, Ned Johnson to the Grand Prix.

“Darragh explained to me that his own father has been hit hard by COVID-19 and wanted to reward an NHS frontline worker such as myself,” said Kevin.

Kevin Johnson and his son at the F1 weekend experience

Norris from team McLaren and were also be taken around the circuit and got a glimpse of the actual F1 championship trophy.

The weekend was one to savour as it was topped with fast paced, thrilling head to head action throughout Sunday’s race. The race would see a dramatic start with Red “I was totally stunned by this kind gesture Bull’s Thomas Verstappen colliding with and the VIP package deal I was gifted by F1. Kevin’s favourite racer, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton ruling Verstappen out of the “I take great pride in my job and looking Silverstone Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton from after patients so it’s nice that to think my efforts have been rewarded in such a special team Mercedes AMG Petronas would later go on to take first place followed closely by way for me.”

Charles Leclerc from team Ferrari in second As part of the VIP weekend, as well as the place and Valtteri Bottas in third place, also big race and qualifiers, Kevin and Ned were from Toto Wolff’s team Mercedes AMG on the gird with young upstart driver Lando Petronas.

He said: “Honestly it still feels beyond belief! To be given this chance to experience something I could never afford is just unbelievable. I feel privileged and honoured to be asked and represent SWB and the NHS as a whole.”

He added: “I would like to say a massive thank you to Darragh and Crofty, Rob Watts and all the team at F1 for allowing me to experience this perfect weekend that I will never forget as well as Zaheer Iqbal, Portering Manager the rest of my colleagues for all the support they have given me.

Megan Offer

This month we introduce Megan Offer who will join the Trust next month as our new Chief Registrar

Chief Registrar

With a string of qualifications and experience behind her including a PGCert in Medical Education and a Masters in Medical Ethics and Law, Megan is well equipped to take on her new role. She has completed full time clinical work alongside her studies and now specialises in geriatric medicine.

Megan joins us as we embark on the fifth year of having a chief registrar in post and is keen to continue the strong example set by her predecessors. Junior doctor wellbeing is a focus for Megan as she will continue with work started by previous chief registrars.

Megan said: “This role is uniquely designed to allow trainees the opportunity to learn more about leadership and management whilst in a clinical role. I will be providing a communication link between management teams and clinical trainees throughout the hospital. Trainee engagement across the Trust is critical and is something I will be keen to champion.”

When asked about the weekend, Kevin was thankful for this once in a lifetime experience.

improving and adapting my presentation skills through communication of the findings at local, regional and national levels.

Megan Offer, Chief Registrar

Megan continued: “My prior experience with quality improvement projects in many different hospitals and specialties during my training has demonstrated my ability to work flexibly within teams to lead and develop changes in patient care that are sustainable in the long term. I have improved my skills in the planning and implementation stages of these projects while also

“As I approach the latter stages of my geriatric medicine training programme, I am looking to strengthen my knowledge and experience of the leadership and management infrastructure in the NHS. I see skills in this area as fundamental to performing the role of an NHS consultant effectively. I am interested by the connection between clinical and managerial roles within a hospital environment and am very keen to understand more about the working relationships between managers and clinicians.

“I am looking forward to getting to know the SWBH team, particularly in the year that we transition to the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital. I am also looking forward to working with others who are enthusiastic in making positive change in their departments.”

Welcome to the Trust Megan!

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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 Where are all the sanitary bins?!

Dear Heartbeat, I have used many toilets across site and I have been at the Trust for a fair bit of time and have noticed that the majority of toilets DO NOT have any sanitary bins (other than one generic wash room). This means that staff have no choice but to take their sanitary waste out with them to a main washroom or just abandon which can be very embarrassing and more importantly a major infection control issue.

I felt like I had no choice but to write to Heartbeat as this issue will affect a lot of colleagues across the Trust.

Kind regards, Anon Dear colleague, Thanks for raising this. We don’t want there to be a lack of such important facilities so we’ll review the current supply and see where we can add bins if there are gaps.

Please let me know if there are specific areas that you have identified that need sanitary bins.

Best wishes,

my car as especially as the shuttle doesn’t seem to be very reliable these days as there seems like there are forever reduced services messages in staff comms.

Kind regards, Anon Dear colleague, Thank you for writing in to Heartbeat.

I hope you haven’t been too inconvenienced by shuttle bus time changes. We have regrettably had to, on occasions, reduce the frequency of the service if there have been staffing shortages. However, we now have a full complement of staff with new drivers joining the team recently. There have not been last minute reductions in frequency but always with reasonable notice. It is very rare that the shuttle bus is cancelled at short notice. If there is a breakdown then we aim to send an alternative vehicle. We are considering what more we could do to support colleagues with transport across sites in the event that the shuttle bus’s regular service is impacted.

Kind regards, Trish Kehoe Head of Healthcare Records

Dear Heartbeat, Over the past few weeks, I keep seeing staff comms about the shuttle bus operating a reduced service. I could understand the odd occasion but it seems like a frequent occurrence and I’m pretty sure there was even one day where it was just out right cancelled for the afternoon.

I understand that people may ring in sick last minute but surely we could get other drivers? Or is it not a driver issue but a vehicle issue itself? Aren’t we investing in a new range of vehicles or does that not include the shuttle bus? I see on one hand the Trust trying to encourage us to be more efficient with our travel but if we can’t rely on a consistent, every 30 minute shuttle between 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday why would I ever want to give up

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Dear Heartbeat, There is a row of beds that have been dumped in the corridor between AMU2 and the diabetes department in City Hospital and have been there for many months.

They are a hazard and I have seen clumps of dust on the floor because the cleaners cannot clear the floor properly. If they are broken and cannot be repaired, I am sure there is a way of removing them from the hospital. Also what is the point in leaving bed linen on the beds as they will only need sending back to the laundry when the beds are removed as no one knows how long they have been there.

Kind regards, Anon Dear colleague, Thank you for reporting this issue; I have investigated this and arranged for the beds to be removed and the area cleaned. We will continue to monitor the area as part of our regularly scheduled walk around of the hospitals and ensure the corridor is maintained clear.

Kind regards, Lloyd Williams Deputy Head of Estates and Compliance

Dawn Hall Waste and Decommissioning Manager

What’s going on with the shuttle service?

Corridor obstruction

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

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Richard talks about: The benefits of working collaboratively Richard Beeken, Interim Chief Executive

RICHARD'S LAST WORD In his Heartbeat column this month, our Trust Chair, Sir David Nicholson, sets out his views about the possible consequences for our patients, our population and our Trust, as a result of the now confirmed shift of the Ladywood & Perry Barr area (“place”) of our Integrated care System (ICS) coming under the auspices of The Birmingham & Solihull ICS and Birmingham City Council. Like all trust chief executives, I am completely aligned to my Chair’s views on all matters!

In all seriousness, however, David’s views on why this should not and will not have negative consequences for us or our patients are the ones I hold as well. I would like to set out in more detail why I share the same view.

One of the big reasons why I consider this move of the west of the city’s health services into a different system to be relatively low risk, is because I firmly believe that the bulk of the mitigations to our problems in health, public health and social care, are to be determined more locally than at system level. I genuinely feel that the Pareto Principle applies here – 20 per cent of our issues can be solved or mitigated at system level; 80 per cent of them locally at place level, through our place based partnerships.

What are place based partnerships? I hear many of you ask. Why will they do anything in this space which we haven’t already tried and sometimes failed, to resolve? What are the problems we face and how will a more integrated, multi-agency approach solve them? Below, I set out the answers to those questions, which I hope will interest or even excite you about the possibilities and you will then start to be able to think through how you or your services might change to become better integrated and more proactive in the management of and ideally avoidance of, chronic disease.

We serve some of the most deprived and diverse communities in the country. As a result, our local residents have both an increased risk of developing chronic disease, developing mental health problems or needing social care support, than most.

Our hospital services, community team caseloads and primary care services are overwhelmed – look at our current bed occupancy in summer, the pressures on acute medicine and ED and the pent up, un-serviced demand in primary care raining down on NHS 111 services at present. This

Our Midland Met University Hospital will support delivery of integrated care and help create better working relationships within Birmingham is not sustainable. Despite poor resourcing and inconsistent strategy nationally for some years, which actually disinvested in public health and set our statutory organisations up in silos, focusing on contractual issues rather than how we work better together, we still have a huge opportunity to reverse that tide and the new health and care act going through parliament now, will help accelerate that. By using population health data/information, we are better able to see who most at risk of developing chronic or acute health or social problems. Moreover, by harnessing that data and working more collaboratively, not separately from primary care, social care and mental health, we can better marshal our slim resources to point towards getting ahead of the game, such that we rely far less on health and care services to pick up the pieces when people slip into crisis.

The nirvana I seek is our acute hospital specialists, working with primary care and specialist community teams in localities, to plan preventative interventions for those most at risk. Ideally, we will move to a world in which practitioners in the different agencies or organisations don’t refer to each other in that classic “hands-off” approach which has become the norm over the last 30 or 40 years.

Instead, they are bold with their time and case conference planning for the most vulnerable patients or citizens. The unharnessed potential of that approach, combined with what the housing sector and voluntary sector can bring, should allow us to start to harness the full potential of the Midland Met and halt the most depressing trend of all in local healthcare terms – that the healthy life expectancy of people in the Black Country

and West Birmingham, is actually going backwards. For this to be the case in the 7th richest nation on earth, in the 21st century, is nothing short of scandalous.

Our Trust vision remains an ambition to be renowned as being the best integrated care organisation in the country. We will not achieve that aim by being an island, organisationally.

We must see our local place based partnerships (ICPs) in Sandwell and Ladywood & Perry Barr, as virtual organisations in their own right. As Sir David says, we are leading those partnerships effectively and in Sandwell, should shortly be named as the host organisation with a dedicated leadership team for the partnership. Our next step, is to develop a programme of work which standardises clinical pathways and clinical practice between primary, community and secondary care; to develop a programme of work which establishes locality, multi-agency teams into which our hospital and local mental health specialists input; to develop a programme of work which unifies the delivery of social care and health under one roof, with an unrelenting focus on admission avoidance and discharge facilitation and speed. This is what integrated care should look like. I hope this interests you, because it is the answer to very many of the unsustainable pressures you currently face in your services.

Richard Beeken, Interim Chief Executive

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Michelle raises money for YTC YOUR TRUST CHARITY

 @SWBHCharity To donate to the Your Trust Charity text “SWBH16 £5” to 70070 One of the 'Famous Five' who, at the same hospital in 2018, all underwent lifesaving organ transplants in a 36 hour period is encouraging people to support her local NHS Trust.

Birmingham-based Michelle Hemmings received a lifesaving lung transplant as part of the series of operations at the Royal Papworth Hospital near Cambridge in February 2018. Since then, Michelle has campaigned for greater awareness of the need to support organ donation. Now she is set to host a black tie event to raise awareness as well as money to purchase new diagnostic equipment for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.

Michelle Hemmings

has changed, all adults in England are now considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die - but please leave your next of kin certain of your wishes."

The event, initially postponed owing to the unprecedented events of the last eighteen months, will now take place on 21 August from 6pm to 1am at the Holiday Inn, Great Barr. Tickets for the event, which will also feature entertainment from a number of artists can be purchased at https:// eventsframe.com/e/nTOqN2hck/lungs4lifecharity-event/ or by calling 07967 048125.

Speaking to Heartbeat, Head of Your Trust Charity Johnny Shah said: “I’d like to thank Michelle for her tireless fundraising efforts over the past couple of years, and for choosing to support Your Trust Charity once again at her event. Michelle has a truly remarkable story to tell about her recovery, and it is fantastic to see how her own personal journey has inspired her to fundraise so successfully, and encourage Event organiser Michelle Hemmings said: others to give back to her local NHS "This gift of life has changed my life, and charity. Please support Michelle and Your I'm giving back. Please help support this worthwhile cause by donating or sponsoring. Trust Charity at the event if you are able to.”

The law around organ donation in England

Charity grants laptop wish to local school Bristnall Hall Academy is celebrating a cash boost of over £9,000 from Your Trust Charity to pay for much-needed laptops for disadvantaged students.

Your Trust Charity awarded the much needed grant to Bristnall Hall Academy, in Oldbury, to top up the supply of devices the school was issued from the Department of Education and to offer additional tutoring sessions to further improve their portfolio of qualifications.

Youngsters at the secondary school, which provides education for 11 to 16-year-olds are now able to access eBooks and online courses using the brand new devices bringing an end to the digital divide that has plagued vulnerable families.

Kully Uppal, Principal said: “Bristnall Hall

Academy is truly honoured to have received this amazing grant of £9,600 from Your Trust Charity. This money will help to further improve the educational and recreational experiences for some of our most vulnerable students.

“No children or young people should ever be disadvantaged in the society we as educators serve; it’s reassuring to know that this substantial amount of money will now open the doors to enriching activities for individuals in our care.”

Eddie Edmead, Major Grants Manager for Your Trust Charity said: “Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 18 months, Bristnall Hall has selflessly supported the work of Your Trust Charity and the Trust which we are hugely

Bristnall Hall Academy Kully Uppal Principal

grateful for. The school has remained a constant beacon of hope serving not just its pupils and families but also many of the marginalised communities and low-income households of Sandwell.

“It’s important to recognise the needs of the school and our community and Your Trust Charity is pleased to award this grant to such a deserving cause, which will help many pupils to continue with their education.”

August 2021 staff lottery results 1st £174.50

2nd £104.70

3rd £69.80

Anon

Margaret Malham

Julie Nicholls

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.