Heartbeat December 2021

December 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 148

Spreading festive cheer this Christmas

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Your Trust Charity received Christmas gifts for our youngest patients who are with us over the festive period.

A year of COVID-19 vaccinations in the UK

How time has flown for the respiratory hub

Scream if you wanna go faster!

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New technology revolutionises eye care Page 20

FROM THE CHAIR HELLO Welcome to the final edition of Heartbeat of the year.

As 2021 draws to a close, our final edition of Heartbeat for this year includes celebrating more of the fantastic work of some of our Star Awards winners, toy donations for some of our youngest patients who are with us over the Christmas period, and a spotlight on a greener NHS. Don't forget, you can still stay safe throughout the festive season by getting your flu jab and COVID-19 vaccinations. Visit a vaccination hub or pop-up clinic to protect yourself and others as you spend time with friends and family. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year 

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

Sir David talks about… An opportunity to look forward into 2022 This is the final Heartbeat edition of 2021 and my first December as Chairman here. Once more, I am reminded how different our NHS is now to the institution it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. I know that this winter we are expecting serious challenges across the NHS and social care sectors and many of you are bracing yourselves for the hard times ahead. COVID-19 looks set to be with us for some time yet, and safe management of infection has changed dramatically how we work and how we keep patients safe who need our care.

Christmas, too, is different. I very much hope that this year we will avoid the lockdown restrictions of 2020 that saw us only socialising outside with minimum people, having little contact over the festive period.

But even in 2021 it is clear, as we go about our work within the Trust, that things are still different. Our Christmas gatherings will likely be more muted, lots of us will avoid gathering in big groups indoors and even the Christmas decorations in our healthcare settings are pared back so that we can keep on top of the cleaning requirements.

But, whatever your faith, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope that you will find time this year to enjoy some festivities. That could be sharing a quiet moment with a patient who is in hospital

over Christmas or the New Year. You know as well as I do, that being either unwell at home or in hospital is the last thing they would want. The care that you provide during this time will be especially treasured by patients and their families. You may be spending more time than during the rest of the year with your loved ones and I hope too that you can treasure that time, as we know how difficult it was when that time together was limited.

The end of the year gives an opportunity to look forward, and as we look into 2022 I know that this Trust has great things in store. We will be ever closer to opening our new hospital, we will hopefully be moving further away from the pandemic and we will be a stronger team because of the support we have given each other and our communities over the past two years.

I am excited about all that 2022 will bring.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your commitment to our patients, your colleagues and those we serve during 2021. It has been a truly challenging year and your commitment and support has contributed to us continuing to deliver on our care promises as well as make plans for our future.

With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

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.

Don't forget you can follow us on: Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, Chair

Stay protected during the festive season As we come together with friends and family to celebrate the festivities, it’s important to do what we can to help keep each other safe from the flu virus. Viruses such as flu and COVID-19 can target anyone, even the fit and healthy.

Having your vaccinations is not just important for you, but for the wider community.

Heartbeat caught up with Mary Parker, Clinical Lead for Vaccination Hubs on the importance of getting your flu jab.

Flu is caused by a virus that infects the windpipe and lungs, and because it is a virus rather than bacteria, antibiotics are not effective and are only used to treat secondary bacterial pneumonia which can be a serious complication of flu.

Why is it important to get the flu jab, do I really need it?

Some of the population are more at risk than others from the serious consequences that can occur from catching flu and this is the target population that we try to inoculate each year, this includes:

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Over 65s

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Young children

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Pregnant ladies

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Anyone with a long term health condition or learning disability

Flu can lead to complications such as pneumonia which for the elderly and vulnerable can be life threatening, that's why it is important to have the flu vaccination every year to protect ourselves, our families and the community we serve.

One of the ways we protect these

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS Why do I need to get the flu jab every year?

groups is to ensure the people involved with their care are also vaccinated this includes health professionals, formal and informal carers.

The flu vaccine is usually made up from the previous years identified common strains and should ideally be given during Autumn (September-November). It needs to be given yearly as the flu strains change every year.

The World Health Organisation makes the decision each year on what will be included in that years vaccine from data regarding the previous year’s flu outbreaks across the world to ensure we are given the best protection.

What will the side effects be? I will need to get back to work

What would you say to anyone who is worried about having the flu jab?

Side effects of the flu vaccine are usually nothing major. It would usually include a sore arm, at the site of injection, a slight temperature and aches and pains for two or three days post vaccination. I would also stress you cannot get flu from the flu vaccine!

There’s no need to worry about getting the flu jab. There are many myths surrounding the vaccination but that’s all they are – myths! The flu jab is administered to millions of people each year and it’s very important to keep everyone safe.

So everyone, young or old; healthy or not needs to get their flu jab to protect themselves, their families and the community as a whole. Let’s all do our best for each other!

Mary Parker, Clinical Lead for Vaccination Hubs

I want to get my COVID-19 booster at the same time, is this ok? Do you jab the same arm?

This year we have been giving the flu vaccine in conjunction with the COVID-19 booster.

Extensive trials have been done globally to ensure that it is safe to do so.

The benefits are that you are protected from both in short amount of time, saves on staff as all done in one visit, and only have one lot of side effects. Public Health England recommends administration in separate arms, however if for some reason the individual can’t have an injection in one of their arms then both injections can be given in same limb as long as they are 2.5cm apart. It is also acceptable to give in the thigh if indicated.

So get yourselves vaccinated this winter, and don’t forget to spread the word to friends and relatives. COVID-19 booster doses are available for all over 18 year olds, 3 months (minimum 91 days) following their 2nd Dose. We are also offering 2nd doses for all 12 -17 year olds, they must have 12 weeks between their doses and also be COVID free for 12 weeks.

Where to get your jabs Get your vaccinations at Sheldon block vaccination hub or keep an eye out for the daily communications bulletin for pop-up clinics around the Trust.

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What a difference a year makes a year of COVID-19 vaccinations COVID-19 The COVID-19 vaccination programme is the largest in British history and has undoubtedly saved a large number of lives. The roll out of the programme has been a huge driving factor in helping mitigate the death and destruction from coronavirus pandemic that shook the globe in 2020 and the UK has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccine uptake rates in the world.

90-year old Margaret Keenan received the first dose of Pfizer vaccination at the University Hospital Coventry on 8 December 2020. Since then, 18 million doses have been administered across the Midlands alone and almost 120 million doses across the UK, saving countless lives and helping stop the NHS from becoming overwhelmed.

Despite nationwide success from the vaccination roll out, it seems the battle is far from over. With rising cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, a variant that seems to be spreading at a faster rate, getting protected is extremely important and we must not let down our guard.

We know we have an effective vaccination programme that can significantly limit the impact of the virus, but it is wholly dependent on people getting both doses

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of the initial vaccination and the follow up booster vaccination.

We know that colleagues stepped forward and received their first two doses, when the vaccines were first released, but to stand a fighting chance against the Omicron variant, you must ensure you have received your booster vaccination as soon as possible.

Remember, it can take up to two weeks for your body to respond fully to a vaccination and build its immunity.

When and where to get your jabs: Tipton Sports Academy: Walk-ins from 8am to 8pm every day including weekends. Booked appointments from 8am to 9pm City Hospital Sheldon Block: Walk-ins from 8am 7pm every day including weekends.

Booked appointments from 8am to 8pm Sandwell Hub Berridge Room: Open to staff - operating hours available on staff communications.

Key milestones of the vaccine campaign in the Midlands and SWB • 8 December 2020: The world’s first COVID-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial is delivered at University Hospitals Coventry to Margaret Keenan • 14 December 2020: The Midlands’ first vaccine in a GP practice is delivered at Feldon Lane Surgery, Halesowen

• 29 December 2020: The vaccination hub began administering doses from the Education Centre at Sandwell hospital • 4 January 2021: The Midlands’ first AstraZeneca vaccine is delivered • 14 January 2021: The Midlands begins delivering vaccines in pharmacies • 20 January 2021: The Vaccination Hub at Sandwell Hospital Education Centre opened • 27 January 2021: The Midlands becomes the first NHS region to deliver one million vaccines • 1 February 2021: The vaccine is offered to all eligible care home residents in the Midlands • 13 April 2021: The First Moderna vaccine delivered in the Midlands • 27 May 2021: 10 million vaccines delivered in the Midlands • 18 June 2021: All adults are invited for their life-saving COVID-19 vaccine.

• August 2021: Over 256,000 16- and 17 year olds across the Midlands are invited to get their COVID-19 vaccine • September 2021: The Midlands’ first booster vaccine was delivered, with over 3 million boosters having now been delivered • 27 September 2021: The flu jab and COVID-19 booster campaign launched for SWB colleagues • Today: All SWB colleagues are encouraged to stay protected by getting their booster vaccination.

Two year anniversary for respiratory hub COVID-19 “To put this into context, the hub treated more patients with COVID pneumonia needing organ support than any other centre in the Black Country and Birmingham. We are considered an exemplar of what can be achieved by a respiratory team to support the response the pandemic needs.

“Of course we have welcomed the recognition for our efforts, and indeed one incentive that gets tired colleagues to report to work every single day (or night) is the kind word, gesture, cards, and in some instances donations from grateful patients. One donation even helped us to buy personalised hoodies for the team which was a real boost.

“It is good to know that our corporate and medical leadership recognises our work and the emerging needs and demands of the service. Currently our workforce is under review and there are plans to develop dedicated NIV alert teams who will reach out to patients irrespective of where in the hospital they are. There are also plans to establish a Respiratory Support Unit (RSU) within the hub and when fully constituted it will be in a position to expand Its service to the acutely unwell.

Respiratory hub lead Dr Arvind Rajasekaran looks back over the last two years Looking back over the last two years, respiratory hub lead Dr Arvind Rajasekaran likened the creation of the hub to the birth of a baby, with all the trials and tribulations that come with such an event.

“The respiratory hub is a place, a facility, with beds and high quality medical equipment, but it is the care assistants, ward service officers and kitchen staff, care navigators, porters, nurses, physiologists and doctors who are the ones who give it substance.

Responding with vigour and determination, Now, two years on he reflects on the to this day they have played a central role progress of the hub as it moves from in caring for the sickest patients outside of babyhood into the independence of a intensive care across the hospital. It is even toddler taking their first steps. He explained: more impressive when they accomplish things “We know that toddlerhood is a key with their characteristic unassuming humility developmental stage of a young human. and unwavering focus on individual patient Now this may seem a strange analogy to needs. celebrate a high class facility in the NHS but one could be persuaded that, for the “Working long hours in a high intensity respiratory hub, this is a glorious time of environment may not be what many learning, exploration and accomplishments, colleagues working in the hub originally mixed with challenges, frustrations and signed up for, but to this day they have the resolve to deliver the service that the delivered all that has been asked from them, community needs and deserves. without sigh or complaint.

“Respiratory hub clinicians work closely with ICU, the emergency department, acute medical units and community respiratory teams to develop and refine care pathways. This involves innovative use of remote monitoring and rapid implementation of virtual wards. Massive amounts of work are often done in the background supported by management leaders, which has been an essential component of optimising the hub configuration for the move to MMUH. “However, we are by no means through the pandemic, as challenges continue to emerge, including our preparations to face uncertainties brought by new variants of the virus. We must design collaborative ways of working to responsively care for our patients with acute and long term lung conditions, and encourage our communities (including our colleagues) to take all preventive measures including the vaccination programme.”

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New drug leading the way in treating COVID patients short of breath. I was treated at City hospital and recovered.”

COVID-19

However because of his condition, Javon caught the virus again in April and was back in hospital for treatment. He battled the infection and recovered – but in September he was once again struck by the virus.

As we learn more about COVID-19, treatments for the virus continue to develop and we work on getting them available for our patients as quickly as possible.

A new drug called Ronapreve, is now available for use in the hospital and will soon be available in the community.

Ronapreve is a neutralising monoclonal antibody treatment. Monoclonal antibodies work just like the antibodies your body makes to fight viruses and other bugs, but are special because they are made in the labs of pharmaceutical companies. They are designed to target the coronavirus spike protein which sits on the outside of the virus and which the virus uses as a key to get into cells in the body.

Dr Chizo Agwu, Deputy Medical Director, explained: “Like all viruses, the COVID-19 virus works by getting into an individual cell in the body and then using the cell’s own internal machinery to multiply and make lots more viruses.

Ronapreve is made up of a mixture of

“I have been taking the new drug Ronapreve which I think is helping with my recovery. These past few months have been really hard for me. I am hoping that this will also mean I am able to have the vaccine.”

Dr Chizo Agwu, Deputy Medical Director two different monoclonal antibodies which sit on two different parts of the virus spike protein and blocks the virus from getting into the cell.

“If there is no virus in the cell, there is no virus reproduction. Ronapreve is particularly suited for people with early infection or people with an underlying medical condition where they are very susceptible to viruses and can’t make their own protective antibodies.”

One such patient who has been benefitting from treatment is Javon Brown. The 22-yearold suffers from an immune deficiency which makes him prone to infections.

He said: “I first had COVID-19 in February.

I was really ill, had the shivers and was very

Dr Agwu added: “For Javon, this drug is ideal as he has been unable to make antibodies to the virus himself, despite having the infection three times. By giving Ronapreve, we are mimicking normal antibody protection and this gives him a chance to clear the virus using other parts of his immune system. We are pleased to see it is working well for him. We can now routinely prescribe Ronapreve in two situations. The first is if a patient comes to hospital already with a COVID-19 infection.

We can also use this drug if a patient is in hospital for another reason and we find out by doing routine surveillance that they have a COVID-19 infection.”

For more information about the drug and pathway is available on Connect.

Immunity, antigens, pathogens and antibodies – what does it all mean?

Immunity, antigens, pathogens and antibodies – what does it all mean?

Four key words which would rarely be mentioned outside of an outbreak meeting have suddenly become part of day to day vocabulary, mentioned on the morning news and echoed in briefings from Downing Street – but do you really know what they mean and how they affect you?

Today, we’re going to break it all down and explain how antigens and antibodies support your body to build immunity Four key words which would response to antigen, for flu and COVID-19, againstrarely pathogens – be mentioned outside of an outbreak it’s often up to two weeks before a body without the complex language that requires meeting have suddenly become part of a has built up a fully antibody defence doctorate to digest. day to day vocabulary, mentioned on the against a pathogen.

morning news and echoed in briefings Germs and organisms from Downing Street – but you really aredo all around us, in our environment and in our know what they mean and how they bodies, and when we affect you? come across one that

Once antibodies have been produced, they work alongside the rest of the immune system to destroy a pathogen and stop the disease – this immune response and natural defence is the same used during a vaccination.

Today, we’re going to break manages it all down to getand past our physical defences (skin explain how antigens and antibodies support mucus)pathogens it can lead your body to build immunityand against to infection, illness and sometimes death. An organism that manages to infect our bodies and causeVaccines contain weakened and inactive – without the complex language that requires whose job it is to track down pathogens that antigen (parts of the pathogen) or more illness is called a Pathogen, these can be a virus, bacteria, fungi or parasite. a doctorate to digest. have breached our defences and attack them to recently simply just the markers for an Alongside our physical barriersbring (skin, hair and mucus) we have our internal defences otherwise an infection under control.

Germs and organisms are allknown around us, in our antigen which on their own can not cause as our immune system whose job it is to track down pathogens that have breached our environment and in our bodies, andand when Eachanpathogen is made up of a several subparts an infection, but through their introduction defences attackwe them to bring come across one that manages to get past our which are unique to that specific pathogen called to a body will trigger an immune response infection under control. physical defences (skin and mucus) it can lead antigen, dictating its behaviour and interaction and begin the production of antibodies.

Each pathogen is made up of a several to infection, illness and sometimes death.

An with the body and the disease it causes.

Our subparts which are unique to that specific Some vaccines require multiple doses, organism that manages to infect ourcalled bodies bodies pathogen antigen, dictating its immune system in response to a pathogen’s given over a period of time to support the and cause illness is called a Pathogen, antibodies – these are unique, only behaviour andthese interaction withantigen the bodycreates and production of antibodies and memory cells, theor disease it causes. Our bodies immune the exact antigen and pathogen they can be a virus, bacteria, fungi parasite. attacking ensuring that you are able to fight that system in response to a pathogen’s antigen were created to defend against and essentially our Alongside our physical barriers (skin, hair specific disease for a long period of time creates antibodies – these arebodies unique, only last line of defence to infection. and mucus) we have our internal defences and boosting the response time in future attacking the exact antigen and pathogen they were created to defend against andtime for a body to produce antibodies in otherwise known as our immune system It takes infections. essentially our bodies last line of defence to infection.

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It takes time for a body to produce antibodies in response to antigen, for flu and COVID-19, it’s often up to two weeks before a body has built up a fully antibody defence against a pathogen.

Trust welcomes Guru Nanak Gurdwara As 2021 draws to a close, we were pleased to welcome the management committee from Guru Nanak Gurdwara, a prominent Sikh Gurdwara based in Smethwick just a short distance away to see Midland Met. The team led by our expert guides, Emma Loosley and Richard Molloy, with Rachel Barlow, Director of System Transformation, giving our guests an insight into our plans for the future of Midland Met. Visiting the ward areas, the Winter Gardens and outside spaces, our guests were able to get a feel for the scale of the project and just what it will mean to our local communities. Speaking to Heartbeat, Jatinder Singh, President of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, told us: “It was wonderful being able to visit the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. Being in a deprived area, it will give Smethwick and its diverse communities a boost - something which has been needed for a while now.

The hospital is not just an amazing building for the local area to be proud of - it has also prompted regeneration in the surrounding area and, it will continue to drive improvements for the people that live and work here.”

Sandwell and West Birmingham

committee represent members of our local community, some of the people we will serve when we open.

to the wider regeneration in the region, something the Gurdwara were keen to hear updates about.

“It was interesting to hear the views of the management committee and exchange ideas as we made our way around the site.

It was good to hear how aligned we are in our focus on community and patient care. Plus, we’re working closely across our partnership with Sandwell Council, Birmingham City Council, the Combined Authority and the Canal and River Trust to ensure Midland Met contributes directly

“Midland Met is more than a hospital.

We have an 88ft gallery space and, we are investing heavily into arts and culture, developing our green spaces, launching a learning campus and are passionate about making a difference in our communities.

Midland Met stands to make a significant impact on the social and economic growth of the area – that’s something we can all be proud of.”

NHS Trust

Jatinder added: “It was important for our management committee to visit and experience first-hand how the new hospital has the patient, family and community experience in mind. We have learnt how environmentally friendly and patient care focused the Midland Met will be.

“We believe Midland Met will be a highquality environment which will deliver a high-quality service. The project is a culmination of years of planning to create a state-of-the-art hospital that combines the most advanced technologies in a soothing and restful environment that promotes healing and enhances the patient experience. Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust are setting new standards in healthcare and are using the latest technologies to deliver a hospital that will allow staff to provide the highest level of care.”

Rachel Barlow, Director of System Transformation, remarked: “It was fantastic to welcome our local Gurdwara onsite to see the progress at Midland Met. This visit was important as the management

Members of the Smethwick Guru Nanak Gurdwara management committee visited Midland Met to see the progress being made.

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Focus on Paula Arlington, winner of the Chairman's award 2018 she was successful in securing the better care funded post as lead nurse for quality and safety in care homes, working with Sandwell MBC and our Trust. This post was the first of its kind in Sandwell and has led the way.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS At this year’s Star Awards Paula Arlington, Lead Nurse for Quality in Care Homes scooped the Chairman’s award for notable contribution to the local health and social care system. This special award is presented to an individual or team who has made a significant contribution to the health and wellbeing of patients, carers or the public in the Sandwell and West Birmingham community.

The award winner will have demonstrated how they have linked up different teams or organisations, and been instrumental in breaking down barriers for the benefit of patients or the wider population. Paula was recognised for making a real difference to our most vulnerable patients during the pandemic and a look at her 23 year career shows exactly why.

Starting her NHS career at Rowley as a healthcare assistant in 1999, she went onto study nursing at university

Sir David Nicholson presents Paula Arlington with the Chairman's Award at the Star Awards 2021

in 2004. Upon qualification she worked in care homes and in 2010 worked for a short period at Russells Hall focussing on renal cardiology and diabetes.

She came back to our Trust in 2012 and worked as a community nurse.

She then undertook her community nursing practitioner degree, became an autonomous practitioner and held an independent prescribing qualification.

In 2016 she joined the community outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy team driving the development of intravenous antibiotics in the community, a service she developed for two years. In

Paula has built up strong relationships with care home managers and she is the go to person for advice and support which stood her in good stead when managing the pandemic.

During the peak of the pandemic, much of the council’s front line services were not patient facing and it was Paula who would be available and working alongside the care homes.

She supported the management of outbreaks and provided expert advice regarding PPE requirements. She even delivered essential supplies and provided a crucial bridge between public health and the care homes.

As you know, the number of COVID related deaths in care homes was sadly devastating.

But Sandwell had the lowest regionally and nationally. Speaking of her win, Paula said: “I was pleased, honoured, excited and very surprised to win the award. I feel privileged to be recognised in such a special way.”

Taking skills to the next level with nursing apprenticeships Earlier this month we hosted a graduation ceremony for the latest cohort of colleagues who decided to take their skills to the next level and embark on the Nursing Apprenticeships Programme.

The nursing associate is a relatively new member of the nursing team and will form a major part of the MMUH workforce enabling us to continue to provide excellent care for our patients here at the Trust.

Whilst our Trust is renowned for supporting apprenticeships, this cohort had a trial by fire beginning their apprenticeship programme at the NHS’s darkest hour as COVID-19 began to sweep the globe, the group of apprentices began their journey to becoming fully qualified and Nursing and Midwifery Council registered Nursing Associates.

Nursing associates work alongside healthcare assistants (HCA) and registered nurses (RN) to deliver hands-on care. The role bridges the gap between HCAs and registered nurses and will play a key part in a contemporary multidisciplinary workforce.

Sharing her thoughts on the incredible journey, Head of Education Louise Kingham said: “The graduation ceremony we held on 3 December was an opportunity for us to celebrate this groups successful completion of one of the Nursing Associate Apprenticeship programmes here at our Trust. This group of colleagues commenced their programme in March 2019 and have now joined the NMC professional register for Nursing Associates.

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The latest cohort of nursing associates

“This apprenticeship programme has spanned probably one of the most difficult periods within the history of the NHS and the group were personally congratulated and thanked by Deputy Chief Nurse Diane Eltringham for their dedication and commitment.

“I am incredibly proud to have been able to accompany and support them through their learning experience alongside Nursing Associate Apprentice Clinical Education Sister Lisa Tyler whose support for the NAA’s is regularly applauded.”

Once qualified, a nursing associate will have the underpinning knowledge, clinical skills and evidence base to competently deliver personcentred holistic care, promote health, and work as part of a multi professional team across a variety of settings.

Recruitment is ongoing and if you would like more information please contact the nursing and midwifery clinical education team on 0121 507 6149 or at swbh.nursingassociates@nhs.net

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 – Ana Federigan

To – Amie Bebbington

To – Surinder Kaur

I went to BTC for my first surgical list.

Ana was amazing at making the list go smoothly. She made sure theatre was ready, liaised with the ward to sort out difficulties with the patients and supervised the new theatre staff when performing the procedure.

Whenever we ask Amie to makes changes to our patient information letters/ leaflets or design us a poster she always gets the job done quickly, to a high standard and in a friendly and engaging manner.

Surinder diffused a volatile situation at the OPD entrance with a member of the public. Remained polite and professional throughout the confrontation. Surinder is a credit to the Trust.

From – Fiona Bowen

From – Jenny Oliver

From – Abdul-Jabbar Ghauri To – Charlene Bennett, Shona Mills, Susan Humphreys and Janet Smith To – Alexa - Flu Vaccinator I attended the vaccination centre at Sandwell on 12 October. A HCA called Alexa gave me the flu vaccine. She was so warm and welcoming with such a friendly and caring attitude. She made my experience much easier. Thank you Alexa for being such a lovely person.

From – Linda Parkes

To – Eliza Tinsley Ward I can't believe how hard it is to say goodbye to such a fantastic team. I'm going to miss you all so much. Keep up the hard work.

From – Lisa Williams

To – Sandra Kidney For covering vacancies and absences, for working very hard to ensure that the service is functional despite the challenges; for great teamwork and being an amazing secretary I just want to say thank you for all your hard work and let you all know you are appreciated.

From – Yvonne Ologbo

To – Julie El-Sorogy

To – Barbara Noon

Super Stars! Saved the day by booking a list of patient appointments at very very, short notice. Appreciate what a massive commitment this was.

A big thank you to Barbara who has supported me many times with my SystmOne queries. She has been available to guide me through developing new templates, I have learnt so much from her.

From – Karen Jones

From – Sandra Kidney

To – Natalie Bent-Malcolm For going above and beyond and escorting a clearly vulnerable patient to Costa. You were encouraging, patient and kind. I am sure it made her day to get out of the ward From – Hannah Mottershead

To – Ryan Allen Ryan welcomed me into his clinic when I asked to observe for the day. He shared lots of information with me and his passion for his role was obvious.

From – Sofie Ashton

To – Karon Povey Karon, thank you for always being super helpful. Thank you for always finding things in office. You never complain when I task you with something. Thank you for being kind :) From – Bethany O'Connor

To – Ellie Thomas Thank you Ellie for giving wonderful support with feeding and skin to skin in maternity theatre today. It made such a huge difference to mum and baby's feeding journey.

From – Louise Thompson

To – Rohit Kumar Rohit, is always very helpful and supportive when resolving any IT issues we have.

He has been a great help during his time with Trust and we really appreciate the difference he has made when contacting the IT team for any help and support.

From – Aishah Masood

To – Rhea Conn Rhea is an exemplar ITU sister and an amazing sustainability champion. She has had two pieces in the Nursing Times this year sharing her work, and has shown how small changes can make big differences.

From – Clare Nash

Julie has gone above and beyond to safeguard two children within our service. Julie escalated concerns quickly and efficiently meaning the child's voice was heard and all relevant professionals became aware of any concerns. Julie has highlighted the important role school nursing has in capturing children's wishes and feelings in order to keep them safe and happy.

To – Anil Patel

To – Ramanpreet Kaur

Anil helped to sort out a questionnaire for me at very short notice. No fuss, very supportive, great response time and professional job. Thank you.

Provided emotional support to staff post a cardiac arrest. She is kind, compassionate and supportive towards colleagues and patients alike.

From – Hannah Griffiths

From – Glynis Fenner

From – Simone Falconer

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Celebrating our stars of the week

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Star of the Week

Star of the Week

Lynda Jones Ward Service Officer

Paul Quibell-Smith Senior Charge Nurse

Congratulations are in order to Lynda Jones, Ward Service Officer and Paul Quibell-Smith, Senior Charge Nurse as well as Luke Wildman and Ibrahim Suleiman, Security Officers, and Anton Todd, Security Team Leader.

All went above and beyond to safeguard the wellbeing of a patient and were all commended for demonstrating our care promises in the care of our patients.

Star of the Week Luke Wildman and Ibrahim Suleiman, Security Officers

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.

Wellbeing duo to ensure voices are heard Congratulations to Dr Huma Naqvi and Dr Vikranth Venugopalan who have been appointed as joint senior medical staff wellbeing leads.

group and ultimately help reduce burnout rates.

Commenting on Huma and Vikranth’s appointments Sarb Clare, AMU Consultant and Deputy Medical Director said: “The recruitment panel was really pleased and impressed with Huma and Vikranth’s passion and insights into what is needed and the how.

The duo will be critical in driving the wellbeing agenda for our senior medical colleagues and ensure voices get heard.

Huma and Vikranth are delighted and honoured with their new roles so we decided to catch up with them to find out more.

Vikranth explained: “Huma and I are the strategic leads for ensuring the health and wellbeing of the senior medical staff including consultants, associate specialists and SAS doctors. This is a very important role as it provides a pastoral service for senior medical colleagues.

“Our aim is to improve the wellbeing of senior medical colleagues,” added Huma.

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Huma Naqvi and Vikranth Venugopalan will drive the wellbeing agenda for our senior medical colleagues “Looking at the year ahead we want to ensure colleagues are aware of the wellbeing offer provided in our workplace and we also want to increase colleague engagement with wellbeing activities.”

Huma and Vikranth told Heartbeat they most look forward to engaging effectively with the senior medical body to improve their overall wellbeing as well as being that ‘voice’ for the

“They will be critical in driving the wellbeing agenda for our senior medical colleagues and ensure voices get heard - in particular during these challenging times as we work through recovery, continue to deal with COVID-19 and progress our move into MMUH. “This is a new role and we are looking forward to being an exemplar for other organisations on how investing in our senior medical body wellbeing is critical in caring for our colleagues who care for our patients. This is a jigsaw piece of the SWB wider strategy on staff wellbeing.”

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Scream if you wanna go faster!

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS 2022 is almost upon us and, that can only mean one thing for all the thrill-seekers within our Trust. On Saturday 26 March and Sunday 27 March 2022, we’ll be hosting our biggest fundraising event to date, offering daredevils everywhere the chance to descend 220 metres on a zip line at Midland Met. With panoramic views over Birmingham, those taking part will reach speeds of up to 35mph and enjoy one of the most exhilarating adventures – all whilst raising money for charity. All money raised across the two days will go to the Midland Met appeal run by Your Trust Charity, which is the registered charity for SWB NHS Trust.

It is an ideal opportunity to enjoy a breathtaking, adrenaline-packed adventure. Every penny raised will go towards making Midland Met #morethanahospital and, there’s still time to sign up and join in on the fun.

We caught up with four adventurers who’ll be taking on the challenge alongside the region’s newest super hospital. Lauren Prior, Graduate Management Trainee, told Heartbeat: “As a group, we decided to sign up to the zip wire challenge because it would be a completely new angle to see the new hospital from the skyline. Plus, it looks like a fun way to raise money for Your Trust Charity, something we all feel is a worthwhile cause.

the doors to Midland Met is just the start - seeing all the innovations that will follow once we’ve optimised our models of care is an exciting prospect and something we are only too happy to shout about with our charity challenge.”

our group to step off the crane.”

Cara added: “Midland Met promises to be a state-of-the-art hospital that will deliver high-quality care and provide an opportunity to enhance the acute healthcare we deliver. The money raised Cara Armstrong, Directorate General Manager from this challenge will have a direct - Interventional Radiology, added: “I like impact on patients, their families and not taking on new and exhilarating challenges, to mention, countless projects, such as arts so when I saw the zip line event advertised, programme and sensory rooms. If we can I signed up for it with my friends who also contribute to that in some way then we are wanted to take part. Now that it’s getting happy to do so.” closer, the one thing I do know is that I don’t If you would like to sign up, email want to go first. I’m looking forward to flying trustcharity@nhs.net to find out more through the air but, I can’t be the first out of or visit Connect.

“There are four of us in our group taking part. Once one of us had seen the challenge advertised, we egged each other on to sign up. We each have an appetite for adventure, but that has never before involved zip lining off a crane, but there’s a first time for everything.”

Lauren added: “We have actively been fundraising for the event. We’ve shared our Just Giving page with friends and family, and via social media, with the promise that if we hit our financial target, we will be taking on the challenge in fancy dress.

“Being able to support the Trust in making Midland Met #morethanahospital, a community space – it will be a game changer in terms of the care we’ll deliver is something we are all passionate about in our roles.

The idea that we’re creating something special resonates with us all. Opening

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Lauren Prior, Sian Taylor, Hannah Probert and Cara Armstrong will be taking part in the zipwire challenge

Your Trust Charity have once again teamed up with Mission Christmas CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS illness, neglect or have additional needs.

The presents will be delivered to patients who will be in our hospitals during the festive period to help bring a little joy and cheer during their visit. Additional presents will also be distributed amongst the local community to support our most vulnerable children and young people.

Kash Thandi, Driver helped to collect the many presents for our young patients Our charity team were invited to the Fort, Birmingham to select a variety of Christmas presents for our younger patients. The presents were donated as part of Mission Christmas, a gift appeal set-up by grant-giving charity, Cash for Kids.

Cash for Kids set up Mission Christmas with one clear mission - a mission to ensure disadvantaged children wake up to something under the tree on Christmas morning. The charity helps children that need it most across the Midlands and aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in our communities who are affected by poverty,

Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager said: “ We are overwhelmed at the support received again this year, to see what our community far and wide can do to help make the most magical time of the year even more special for our youngest patients in hospital warms my heart. Being in hospital anytime for a child is daunting but Christmas is a time to be with family and friends so for us to be able to bring Christmas to their hospital bed is fantastic. A huge thank you to everyone in the community and local businesses who have supported Mission Christmas, you will most certainly bring a smile to children on Christmas day”.

Fundraising Manager, Amanda Winwood is joined by Joanne Maher, Nursery Nurse and Play Worker

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On a mission to a greener NHS CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS A nurse for over 30 years, Clare Nash, Head of Clinical Products Management at the Black Country Alliance is on a mission to influence and inspire her colleagues to make great patient care improvements greener choices.

Speaking to Heartbeat she explained: “I love meeting and working with many clinicians across the acute and community sectors, and believe together we make great improvements in patient care. Being able to influence and implement the Greener NHS agenda is what gets me fired up each day though. I lead a regional greener care group that is implementing several net zero programmes of work on reuse of products including silicone tourniquets.

We are also looking at how we might expand our reuse of walking aids, and implementing reusable theatre caps and gowns, and I am always looking for colleagues to share their ideas on what products we focus on next to go green.

“As a clinical procurement nurse I ensure the products we use to care for our patients and colleagues are safe, fit for purpose, sustainable, standardised, and deliver quality and value for our trusts, the taxpayer and the planet. Around 62% of NHS greenhouse gas emissions come from the products we procure for us to care for our patients. We have developed a Sustainability Impact Assessment for the Black Country ICS to measure any adverse and positive effects from the products we procure. We are already implementing greener solutions across the ICS, including reusable respirators in place of single use FFP3s, reusable non-sterile gowns, and type IIR surgical masks. This has reduced waste, ensured continuous supplies even at the height of the first wave of COVID, and saved precious planetary resources.”

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Clare Nash, Head of Clinical Products Management models a reusable type IIR mask and reusable gown As part of a wider procurement team across SWB and Dudley, Clare works alongside clinical colleagues to understand their needs, and source sustainable products that are fit for purpose whilst adhering to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance and evidence-based practice.

The NHS uses 45 million single use tourniquets every year. Working with the critical care outreach team, Clare is currently evaluating a reusable wipeable tourniquet which she is hoping we will transition to if tests go well.

Her focus on sustainability came after she had been working in clinical procurement for a few years when her current role was advertised, and seeing the positive impact she could have on patient care, she naturally jumped at the opportunity. Now, working across two Trusts, and leading a regional group, she supports more staff to deliver safer, greener care for patients.

Clare believes that we all should sign up to delivering greener care. She explained: “The climate emergency is a health emergency and every one of us has a role to play in getting to net zero and doing our patients no harm. Delivering on our regional programmes of work will contribute a significant reduction in carbon emissions and waste reduction, improve air quality, and deliver greater social value to our local communities.”

To get in touch with Clare please contact her by email clare.nash@nhs.net.

The Trust is developing its Green Plan which will be presented to the Trust Board in January. The plan covers a range of areas where we aim to make progress moving towards a greener Trust and a greener NHS.

Reusable metrics

Single use items avoided

Potential opportunity if adopted more widely

FFP3 masks

5,561,952 FFP3 masks saved in 18 months

5,561,952 FFP3 masks saved in 18 months

Type IIR masks (for staff with allergies)

6400 masks and growing

4,124,500 single use masks per year

Tourniquets (ITU evaluating)

2950

528,543 items or 28 roll cages full across SWBH and DGFT

Ian takes on new role in medical engineering There’s a new person in charge of making sure our medical equipment is functioning as it should.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Ian Galligan was appointed to the role of head of medical engineering in October and says it is an absolute honour and privilege.

He told Heartbeat: “Being head of medical engineering is an aspiration that I thought I would never achieve. I was overwhelmed with the support and encouragement given to me by my team when I applied and have been bound over with the enthusiasm from them since my appointment.

“They are truly a great team of individuals but perform outstandingly well as a team.

This was shown to be the case during the pandemic where we were truly recognised and appreciated. It also shows that with the right support, vision, opportunity and drive that you can achieve your individual goals.”

Ian joined the NHS in 1985 as an apprentice bio-medical engineer with the West Midlands Regional Health Authority, his placement was at the then Dudley Road Hospital.

“In 1989 I began my career as a qualified technician, moving through the ranks to specialist technician, technical supervisor

Ian Galligan was appointed to the role of head of medical engineering and capital equipping manager,” he said.

“My specialist areas of interest are decontamination, medical gases, anaesthesia and ventilation, perinatal care, patient monitoring and more recently medical device integration into Unity.”

Over the next 12 months Ian plans to maintain the momentum of the department and make the patient experience the best possible, with the correct medical equipment being available at the right time.

He added: “I’m also hoping to progress the medical device integration strategy of more equipment than we originally planned, especially as we are now under the umbrella of informatics and the added value that they can bring.

“There are also the medical equipment planning elements to consider for the retained estate and MMUH, the transfer of items, the alignment of tasks, the integrated future of new medical devices... the list is endless.”

Ian is available to support you with medical equipment as well as if you want to confidentially raise concerns about anything.

“I’ve always been a good listener and communicator and an advocate for the NHS,” he added. “I’m also a freedom to speak up guardian for the Trust and believe that speaking up is a fundamental right and should be encouraged without the fear of being bullied, intimidated or harassed.”

Congratulations and good luck in your new role Ian! If you wish to raise a concern you can find details of our freedom to speak up guardians on Connect.

Alcohol care team see green again!

For two years now, the alcohol team has been showing colleagues the way when it comes to a greener way of working.

They’d scooped the Green Award in the Trust’s annual Star awards in 2020 and have continued to impress by picking up the same prize again this year.

Speaking of their win, Sam Morgan, Senior Alcohol Specialist Nurse, said: “We are committed to ensuring the team work in a more sustainable way and are constantly doing things to do this.

“It’s fantastic that our hard work has been recognised for two years in a row and we will continue with our commitment to this. We are very focused on green and environmental issues.”

The alcohol care team win the Green Award at the 2021 Star Awards

Ways in which the team have been working in a greener way include recycling, the use of bikes and public transport, minimal waste, vegetarianism, and reducing litter.

The alcohol care team has ten members including alcohol nurses, alcohol practitioners and a lead administrator. The clinical lead is Professor Sally Bradberry, Consultant Toxicologist.

Green issues are discussed at every monthly meeting and colleagues are always looking for ways in which they can work and live in a greener and environmentally friendly way.

During the pandemic the alcohol consumption of those already drinking to excess has increased, with many using alcohol to cope with stress and anxiety.

The team has been proactive in supporting these individuals and have adjusted the service delivery to better meet patients’ needs. As well as face to face support for inpatients, the team have provided online alcohol support meetings, have increased telephone appointments and enabled patients to access online AA meetings from their hospital bed using an iPad.

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Dr Wandroo recognised for excellence in research MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE Each year our Star Awards ceremony hosts hundreds of talented people who work across our Trust. In this article we focus on the Excellence in Research prize, a prize that is awarded to an individual or team who has participated in research which has made a demonstrable difference to patient experience and outcomes.

This year Dr Farooq Wandroo, Consultant Haematologist, took home the award for his dedication and passion for research. He shares his thoughts on his win at this years’ Star Awards.

“I am delighted and honoured to receive this year’s Star Award for excellence in research at SWB. This award goes to the whole haematology team including research nurses and data coordinators who work hard to recruit and collect data and for our patients, without whom we cannot conduct research. Research ultimately helps patients by testing and providing them new treatments, testing new methods of investigations and draws inference from close observations. What we practice today is learnt from research in past. This year research is in greater focus as we all know how much impact research had on managing COVID-19 by discovering new treatments and saving millions of lives worldwide. Our Trust has been on the

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Dr Farooq Wandroo and Dr Sukhjinder Marwah analysed data from COVID-19 patients forefront of COVID-19 research by contributing to diagnostics as well as recruitment to important trials like RECOVERY trial.

“My focus of research is on clinical trials in haematological cancers and I am a principal investigator and clinical research lead for the department. But due to COVID-19 we also had to shift focus towards learning about COVID-19.

I am a sub investigator for REMAP-CAP, ILIAD, COVID AML PACE study and a few vaccine trials at the Trust. I also participated in West Midlands Research Consortium (WMRC) and published papers on outcome of haematological cancer patients affected with COVID-19.

“With the help of Dr Sukhjinder Marwah, our senior biomedical scientist and colleagues at Aston University and Wolverhampton University, we analysed data on all patients with COVID-19

admitted to SWB and published a paper on laboratory abnormalities in COVID-19 patients which has since then been presented at international fora.

“I am highly thankful to the R&D department for facilitating this research. I also wrote a number of review articles on COVID-19 related issues including vaccines and thrombosis which have been published on BMJ.COM and other journals. Currently I am participating on RUDY COVID vaccine efficacy trial in myeloma patients in collaboration with University of Oxford and vaccine efficacy in CLL with University of Birmingham. What we test and learn today will become tomorrow’s standard of care”.

A huge congratulations to Dr Wandroo and the haematology team.

Ultrasound for the Generalist A guide to point of care imaging A new book co-penned by our very own Dr Sarb Clare, Deputy Medical Director and Acute Physician aims to share innovative practice to provide ultrasound for patients wherever they need it.

Sarb authored the book alongside Dr Chris Duncan who spent two years at our Trust as a senior house officer within ED, AMU and ITU and is now an ITU registrar in London.

Having practised point of care ultrasound for nearly 17 years, Sarb has become a pioneer in the use of bed side diagnostics enabling and empowering clinicians to make rapid diagnosis at the bedside.

She told Heartbeat: “This skill is now embedded within secondary care and many postgraduate curricula and the aim of the book was to share all the experiences, cases and top tips to all but also to push the learning out into primary care where patients will benefit greatly.”

This project involved many colleagues from SWB including Dr Jon Benham, Consultant Radiologist; Carl Bellamy, eLearning Manager; Alex Hackney, Clinical Simulation Fellow; Nav Saeed, Consultant Echocardiographer; Dr Maheshwari Srinivasan, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Professor Dan Lasserson.

Contributors from around the world included military personnel and remote medicine practitioners.

"This project was a true example of virtual working as we have not met many of our contributors," added Sarb.

Topics in the book include echocardiography, chest ultrasound, musculoskeletal, neurology and palliative care just to name a few.

Sarb said: “This project was delayed due to COVID-19 which allowed us to include a chapter about the disease. The skill enabled rapid diagnosis and ability to pick up complications of COVID-19 often leading to life saving treatments.

“Chris and I wanted to create a resource that any clinician - doctor, nurse, paramedic, GP or medical student - could pick up and learn the skill of point of care ultrasound from infancy and then progress to advanced levels. The book has an online learning resource and is full of colourful aids, photos and ultrasound stills as well as numerous real-life cases to aid learning.”

"It has been a real journey writing a medical book,” said Chris. “During COVID-19 it was no doubt challenging for both of us as front line workers, but we knew this learning aid would be critical for all clinicians. We truly believe point of care ultrasound will enable you to be the best clinician possible, benefitting all our patients.”

Sarb added: “We talk a lot about health inequalities and this skill will enable us to decrease that gap and improve accessibility

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE as we are bringing the diagnostic to the patient. This is highlighted in our chapter covering remote medicine, military and humanitarian work. When I spent some time in Cape Town I was going out to the townships and scanning young children to pick up valvular disease this small scanner was saving lives and enabling us to pick up and prevent further illness and essentially change the life course of these young people."

A book launch on 26 November at the Birmingham Contemporary Art Gallery brought together all the supporters of this project where Sarb and Chris thanked all the champions behind the scenes including their close friends and family. A large family of SWB old friends and colleagues came to support Sarb and Chris.

•

Ultrasound for the Generalist - A Guide to point of care Imaging is published with Cambridge University Press.

• For free learning resources, cases examples and accreditation pathways visit www.generalistultrasound.com

Dr Sarb Clare and Dr Chris Duncan at the book launch

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New structure to deliver group and organisational strategy MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE The medicine and emergency care group has undergone a restructure to be fully launched in January 2022.

Work to review how the group works and ensure colleagues and patients are supported adequately has been a year in planning.

Heartbeat caught up with Demetri Wade, Group Director of Operations to find out more. He said: “When we embarked on this project we wanted to ensure that the way we work as a team is consolidated to meet the requirements of service delivery.

“This meant looking at the roles that we

needed in each area at all levels. I’m pleased that for all but one of many of the new posts created we were able to make internal promotions. This demonstrated that we are keen to develop our staff and give them opportunities to grow their careers.”

Each directorate within the group is set up to be clinically led with operations colleagues supporting the delivery of services.

“We set up three distinct directorates - emergency care, admitted care A and admitted care B,” added Demetri. “These are three self-sufficient directorates with established leadership teams. In reality this means we now have appropriate representation of nursing, medical, AHP and HCS staff. As I mentioned before there is also a clear line of development for the team and we want colleagues to take advantage of

opportunities that are available.

“Our new structure also ensures we have senior level of experience to provide strategic overview and direction allowing staff to get on with their day to day duties.

This enables us to think ahead instead of being reactive and only focussing on each day.

“The last two years have been particularly hard on our teams, but despite the pressures everyone has really done a fantastic job and they should be proud. One of our main goals with the new structure is to ensure we are staffed appropriately so we can better support staff in clinical delivery of our services but also enable improved access to wellbeing and personal development activities.”

Group of Medicine and Emergency Care Dr Chetan Varma Group Director

Demetri Wade Group Director of Operations

Admitted Care A Dr Kamel Sharobeem Clinical Director

Chander Sharma Directorate General Manager

Emergency Care Deborah Fretwell Deputy Group Director of Nursing

Stroke, Neurology, Neurophysiology, Cardiology, Haematology and Nephrology

Dr Shewli Rahman Clinical Director

Rachel Clarke Deputy Group Director of Operations

Admitted Care B Annabel Bottrill Deputy Group Director of Nursing

Emergency Medicine, Acute Medicine, Toxicology and Single Point of Access

Just some of the colleagues from medicine and emergency care

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Julie Thompson Group Director of Nursing

Dr Arvind Rajasekaran Clinical Director

Andrew Wilkinson Directorate General Manager

Charles Chambara Deputy Group Director of Nursing

Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, Respiratory, Elderly Care and Frailty

A long and distinguished career: Focus on Dr Bill Thomson IMAGING “He is kind and supportive to his colleagues. Bill gives every person an Easter egg, and every single person gets a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates at Christmas. He always has time to help you. Bill is a proper scientist. He loves nothing more than tinkering around with bits of tubing and radioactive counters to try and solve a problem.

“He helped set up our national Krypton gas generator service and has steered our nuclear medicine service over the years. He has successfully submitted many research papers, and his passion for research and science has never waned. But better than that, he has a passion for the department and for elevating his colleagues, which is wonderful.”

Dr Bill Thomson won the Distinguished Service Award at this years' Star Awards Dr Bill Thomson, newly retired former Head of Physics and Nuclear Medicine, is widely recognised across our organisation as an innovator, a colleague that has dedicated his career to patient care. His diagnostic work alone has helped to treat countless patients, and that’s just the start.

This accolade comes after working 50 years in the NHS, 37 of which have been at SWB. Bill graduated in 1971 with a degree in physics and went on to complete his PhD. Since joining our Trust, he has worked across several projects that have seen him

recognised for his contributions to science and nuclear medicine, one being the prestigious Norman Veal Award by the British Nuclear Medicine Society.

Throughout his career, Bill has made numerous developments in nuclear medicine.

He has featured in over 500 publications and shared his expertise at many presentations.

Bill’s colleagues paid tribute to him when nominating him for our Distinguished Service Award. One colleague remarked: “There are multiple reasons why Bill deserves this award.

Beyond longevity (he has stuck it out for at least 30 years), he gives his complete and utter best every day.

Speaking of being recognised with a Star Award, Bill remarked: “It’s a great honour to receive the Distinguished Service Star Award from the Trust.

I’ve been very fortunate to work in a department where everyone works together with a constant vision for improving our studies for the benefit of our patients. They really are just a fantastic team!

“Nuclear medicine is constantly evolving and the department has been at the forefront of a lot of these developments.

Over the last five years or so we have presented more papers at the nuclear medicine annual conference than any other UK department. I love what I do, which is why I have had 50 years in nuclear medicine. I’m happy to now have handed over the reins, but I am still involved in some research projects, and have given two invited talks since retiring.”

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.

Wellbeing 19

New technology revolutionises eye care at SWB patient journey and delayed treatment.

SURGICAL SERVICES In the modern world, we are always updating and revising technology but once in a while, something revolutionary is introduced and in this case, it is the new In-vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) at BMEC. This is an invaluable addition to the cornea service for what is otherwise the second largest ophthalmology unit in England after Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

“IVCM is a specialised and useful investigation modality used in ophthalmology,” said Dr Matthew Azzopardi, Junior Academic Research Fellow at Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre.

“In combination with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swabs and culture, it is the current clinical standard for diagnosis of Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK). This is a rare and sight threatening cornea infection which can lead to blindness if left untreated. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of AK is often delayed due to lack of a gold standard diagnostic technique and due to the difficulty of

The use of In-vivo confocal microscopy will allow BMEC to identify rare and sight threatening cornea infections which can lead to blindness if left untreated

When asked about the impact ICVM has had, Dr Alberto Recchioni, Research Imaging Optometrist said: “Feedback from our patients has been excellent with one patient saying that the process of going through the IVCM diagnosis was thorough and they felt at ease and glad that they didn’t have to travel elsewhere. Patients also reported that they were pleased that the source of infection could now be visualised directly and the images shown to them immediately.”

clinical diagnosis as its initial presentation can mimic other types of infection. It is a type of single cell protozoan organism which can be found in the natural environment including water and soil, with contact lens wearers being most at-risk.

He added: “Feedback from my clinical colleagues has also been positive with many saying that their confidence has increased in regards to making the diagnosis of AK when used in conjunction with other diagnostic techniques such as PCR.

“In addition, IVCM is used to aid the diagnosis of other cornea conditions including cornea inflammatory eye disease, cornea neuropathy, and other infections such as cytomegalovirus (CMV).”

“Clinicians and ophthalmologist are now able to directly refer patients from BMEC to the academic unit at Sheldon Block for direct imaging of the cornea with IVCM.”

Before the Trust had this technology, BMEC could not offer this service which meant many of our patients would be referred to other places across the country such as London, Southampton and Wolverhampton for IVCM which had a significant impact in the care given by SWB as it caused disruption to the

The Trust is hopeful that moving forward we can use IVCM as an invaluable diagnostic aid as well as research tool.

Currently, further work is being done to look at the sensitivity and specificity of IVCM for a variety of eye conditions, especially when used in conjunction with other tools such as PCR and cultures.

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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MIS lead the way in equality, diversity and inclusion PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES AND THERAPIES Swahili, Nigeria, Ghanaian, Portuguese and Sierra Leone. Our staff are multi faith of Christianity, Islam, Sikh and Atheists, with various sexual orientated choices. We respect and value one another believes and choices with none judgmental attitude and we work together as one positive team, all of which makes us perfect for this award.

The medical infusion suite are winners of the Equality and Diversity Champion award

At our 2021 Star Awards back in October, our medical infusion suite won the award for Equality and Diversity Champion.

This award recognises an individual or team that has demonstrated engagement internally or externally with a minority group or diverse groups from the Sandwell and West Birmingham community to deliver improved services for colleagues, patients or carers.

which means that the team administers the treatment across the entire organisation in places such as ITU, respiratory and AMU. The team is nurse led and going forward into 2022, will have nurse prescribers which will help provide greater support to our doctors and prevent delays of treatments and hospital admission.

Shehnaz Mohammed, MIS manager was delighted when she had heard her team had The medical infusion suite (MIS) are the perfect won the prestigious Award for Equality and example for diversity with colleagues from all Diversity Champion and said: “MIS is a perfect over the world who speak different languages, diverse team which consists of colleagues have different faiths and sexual orientation. from Yemen, different part of Africa, Jamaica, The MIS are part of COVID/tocilizumab infusion Portugal and England. We have multilingual colleagues who speak Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic,

“In addition to this, we are one of a few teams in the Trust who are competent and trained to administer Tocilizumab infusion for (COVID) patients.”

Jenny Mynett, Matron believes MIS are deserving of winning the award and should feel proud of what they have achieved.

She said: “Shehnaz and the MIS team are a shining example of multiple cultures and ethnicities all working hard for the same goal and going above and beyond and exceeding expectation.

“Though the team has very diverse backgrounds, different beliefs and cultural values, they all work cohesively and exceed expectation on MIS whilst maintaining cultural sensitivity to patients and each other's needs.”

£800k investment means more jobs in nutrition and dietetics service An investment of £800,000 into the nutrition and dietetics service will see a number of new roles created. The jobs will lead to a more expanded service which in turn will provide more specialised treatment for our patients and support an increased focus around nutrition based care pathways in the hospital and community environment. An online event to showcase the jobs and the service is being held in January.

Ben Biffin, Professional Lead Nutrition and Dietetics, said: “The investment we are seeing within the service shows fantastic recognition by the Trust of the value of good nutrition and hydration in promoting dignity, independence and quality of life for our patients.

“As dietitians and nutrition nurses we use the most up-to-date public health and scientific

main factors that when given the tools, patients can be independent with their care and the evidence base proves that good nutrition and hydration can be effective in supporting healthy lifestyles; reducing the risk of future infection, or hospital admission and supporting rehabilitation after illness or injury.

Grace Poole is one of the dietitians who will feature in a series of videos to promote the service

research on food, health and disease and translate this into practical guidance to enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices.

“Nutrition and hydration is often one of the

“This investment comes alongside the release of a new Trust nutrition and hydration strategy promoting it as a fundamental point of care in the journey of our patients.”

The Eventbrite session will take place on 10 January between 4.30-7pm. To register go to https://bit.ly/3p0Uxux.

Email sandwell.dietetics1@nhs.net if you would like further information.

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Breast surgery team commended by patients WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH Every year our patients, visitors and carers have the opportunity to nominate a service that has truly made a difference to them or their families as part of the annual Star Awards.

At this year’s ceremony, the breast surgery team came out tops in the Quality of Care category which recognises colleagues and teams that have provided excellent care in line with our quality plan, producing improved outcomes for patients and those who have consistently upheld and demonstrated our nine Care Promises.

Heartbeat caught up with Melissa Tan, Consultant Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgeon who was delighted with the win.

She said: “We were so surprised to learn of the nomination and when we were announced as winners on the night, it was truly humbling. Each member of this team strives to work in partnership with our patients, where they are educated and empowered throughout their treatment journey. We were absolutely delighted to see that our work is having such an impact on our patients and their loved ones.”

The breast surgical team has a vision to provide high quality, individualised patientcentred care. The team consists of seven consultants (four breast surgeons and three

oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgeons), one nurse consultant, one speciality doctor, one trainee, two fellows, and five secretarial and administrative staff.

They work within a multi-professional and multi-disciplinary team environment (including radiology, breast screening, pathology, oncology, genetic, and psychology teams) to formulate the best possible management plan. The service is also supported by six Macmillan breast specialist nurses.

“We are most proud that we came out of the pandemic with no backlog of cancer cases and we were continually meeting our targets. This is a true reflection of our effectiveness and efficiency.”

The team has also shown innovation by introducing new services to patient pathways.

Non-palpable breast cancers were surgically Melissa also told us how the team managed excised using modern radiofrequency to maintain a full service during the pandemic. identification localisation TAG technique “Despite the challenges the team faced during resulting in improved patient experience. the COVID-19 pandemic, where some team Oncotype test, a multigene assay was members were deployed or isolating, we adapted. utilised to help spare women from having Each member went above and beyond their chemotherapy. Patients were entered into existing roles to ensure a high quality service was an end of surgical treatment Patient Initiated maintained.

Follow Up programme, where not only did they have defined annual surveillance investigations, “Urgent two week wait referred patients were but also given open access to their Macmillan triaged and assessed and the cancer detection nurses via a telephone messaging system. rate did not change. This triaging system was peer reviewed, published and later refined. Patients Melissa added: “As part of the survivorship needing surgery were operated according to risks programme, patients are also invited to attend stratification with some having their procedures a Holistic Need Assessment clinic to ensure in the NHS and others with private providers as they are well supported to live well and beyond appropriate. cancer diagnosis and treatment. A virtual MDT to review patients after five years of surgical “The team’s day case surgical pathway is well treatment was also introduced, assessing recognised and the British Association of Day each patient’s risks and benefit of extended Surgery has invited us to share our ambulatory endocrine treatment prior to discharging surgical practice. The unit’s day case and 23 hours patient care. stay procedures for oncoplastic and reconstructive surgeries like, reduction mammoplasties, breast “The breast surgical team has worked hard and implant reconstructions, and chest wall perforator will continue to work towards achieving their flaps reconstructions has gained much interest. common goal in delivering a service that is of Breast conservation rates have increased with high quality and individualised.”

The breast surgery team were Quality of Care winners

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fewer women losing breasts. Our expertise is being disseminated nationally and internationally.

Trust FGM midwife features in global podcast For 20 years Alison Byrne has continued to provide excellent care for pregnant and non-pregnant women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM).

WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH girls known to have had FGM in the UK, 22 per cent were in the Midlands, the second highest figure behind London.

Heading up clinics at City Hospital and Summerfield Primary Care Centre, the specialist midwife has raised awareness of the act – be it through working closely with the community or through the media.

Alison will feature on a podcast by the Saleema Initiative, an organisation which supports the protection of girls from FGM. It is promoting a ban on the act in African countries but is also raising awareness amongst the community in the UK. She said: “By featuring in this podcast, I am able to talk about the help our Trust can offer and reach the community directly.

“It’s good to have the opportunity to be able to do this. To raise awareness of FGM and the services available to help

Alison Byrne, who runs the FGM Clinic for pregnant and non-pregnant women

Clinicians from our Trust and other neighbouring healthcare organisations can refer patients to our service who will benefit from treatment and care from Alison.

and support women in our local area and beyond is integral. It is especially important that it will be broadcast to FGM affected communities and will hopefully improve and increase engagement within NHS services.

The clinics are there but the women need to have knowledge of this to access the help and support that is so needed by some.”

She added: “Both clinics for pregnant and non-pregnant women are perfectly placed in the heart of the West Midlands. We would like to make sure clinical colleagues know that we are delivering face-to-face care, receiving patient referrals from our Trust and others across the Midlands.”

The most recent NHS figures (April to June 2021) suggest that of the 1,700 women and

To refer a patient to the clinic, email Alison at swbh.summerfieldfgm@ nhs.net.

Children’s therapies offer vital training to local schools Our children's speech and language therapy team have been providing an extensive library of training in schools so they are better able to support children who have difficulties with speech, language and communication.

In case you were unaware, speech and language therapists support children who have difficulties with swallowing and communication which includes expressive and receptive language (not being able to understand what people say or express yourself), speech (pronunciation), social skills (holding conversation/making friends) and fluency (stammering).

The community based team have been offering an array of training in schools such as general courses to staff to support children who struggle with speech and language, specialist courses which give school staff the tools to support children with complex needs in a 1:1 setting, management courses to support special educational needs coordinators in schools in planning whole school provisions and conflict resolution courses which are key in supporting older children in secondary school settings who find it challenging to communicate effectively.

The training is being delivered across

The children's speech and language therapy team the Sandwell borough in both primary and secondary schools as well as local health centres by a range of therapists. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic much of the training has been completed digitally.

supporting children’s communication at a targeted level so we, as a specialist service, can offer a high level of support to those children with the most complex or specialist needs.”

Katy Dunn, Speech and Language Therapist, was the driving force behind setting up the training and also delivers some of the training in Sandwell. She believes it is hugely beneficial.

Kay Baker, Deputy Clinical Lead for Children's Therapies also believes in the importance of training and said: “We have had excellent feedback from schools who have commented that they have found the sessions enjoyable and they are more confident in delivering support to children with SLCN in school.

She said: “We know that speech language and communication needs (SLCN) are one of the most common difficulties for children.

In some areas of deprivation more than 50 per cent of children start school with SLCN and 10 per cent of people will have lifelong SLCN. It is a hidden disability which can have a really significant impact on a person’s emotional wellbeing and their ability to achieve their potential in life. It is important for the workforce in a school to be skilled in

“We have been able to expand on this staff training to write a set of competencies for school staff to use to consider their knowledge and skills when working with a child. We have also written a document for schools to use to map their whole school SLCN provision.”

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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

Mary Marshall: An illustrious 33 years at SWB

colleagues and considered a great asset to BMEC and the Trust as a whole for the last 33 years.

After spanning over 33 years, Mary Marshall, HCA will be officially retiring from the Trust.

Natalie Simon, Charge Nurse said: “I have known Mary since starting at BMEC many years ago. She is passionate about her patients and cares for them deeply.

She is always willing to help and is a loyal colleague.”

It was the year 1988, Kylie Minogue was top of the charts with I Should be So Lucky, Coming to America was number one in the box office, but unlike Eddie Murphy, Mary wasn’t coming to America, but instead on her way to SWB.

Mary Moore, Staff Nurse has worked with Mary (Marshall) for almost three decades.

She said: “I have worked with Mary for almost 30 years and have never known anybody to be more cheerful, helpful and friendly with a patients and colleagues.”

Mary started her life at the Trust in the production unit as a catering assistant.

However she wanted more and was keen to progress.

“In 1991 I changed roles to become a care assistant however I knew I could be much more, “said Mary.

“This was when I made the conscious decision to go back into education so I could help our patients.”

Mary Marshall on her last day at the Trust

is one in particular which stands out to Mary.

“Moving from the old eye day surgery to BMEC and the closure of the old eye day surgery itself was a difficult adjustment Mary would go on to complete a selection for all colleagues who worked in eye day of different courses including her NVQ and surgery including myself. It was a big assistant practitioner qualification so she change but one we had to get used to quite could become a HCA at the Trust which she quickly in order to ensure all our patients has been doing for the past 30 years. still got the quality of care they needed and In the service of healthcare, there are always deserved.” many challenges colleagues face but there Mary is spoken highly of by many of her

Sarah McCay, Inpatient Unit Manager echoes these thoughts and said: “I have worked with Mary since the old eye hospital and she is always smiling and had a lovely relationship with her colleagues, patients and their relatives. In all her work she does, she always has the patient’s interests at heart.”

As part of her retirement Mary is planning on doing voluntary work, spending more time with her mum as well as joining her local gym to keep herself fit and healthy.

Happy retirement Mary – good luck in the future!

School raises £4.5k for intensive care team Our intensive care colleagues were left overwhelmed by a generous £4,500 donation received from a Sandwell school.

Rebecca O’Dwyer, Lead Nurse, who accepted the cash alongside intensive care consultant Dr Jon Hulme, said: “This is an amazing amount of money that will be used towards maintaining the health and wellbeing of colleagues. The team has been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic and have been faced with extremely challenging circumstances.

“But this donation is such a lift for us all.

To know that the pupils and staff from this school have devoted their time and energy into raising money for our department is truly overwhelming. We are so grateful to each and every single one of them for such a kind and generous donation.”

Head teacher Mike Smith added: “It has been really important as a school to recognise and support the amazing work that our local hospitals, especially the work intensive care units have done over the

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Dr Jon Hulme and Rebecca O’Dwyer receive the cheque from Mike Smith, headteacher and pupils Harvie Lal and Hollie Vazey

past 21 months. I have seen first-hand the dedication and care they have shown to our loved ones. This donation by Harvie Lal and Hollie Vazey on behalf of the school is to say thanks for this effort.”

Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager for Your Trust Charity, said: “Every donation

that we receive goes towards enhancing the experience of our staff and patients.

Throughout the pandemic we have received an amazing amount of support from our community. This donation from Phoenix is a perfect example of this. We want to thank everyone involved.”

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 Trouble charging my car Dear Heartbeat,

our staff, patients and visitors to travel using low emission vehicles and contribute towards cleaner air locally.

We are encouraged to go electric and the Trust has kindly provided six subsidised charging points across our sites however these are regularly occupied by non-electric vehicles for hours on end; often the same car is in a bay at 9am and still there after 5pm when I leave work. Presumably this would be a member of staff who has struggled to find an alternative space.

The Q-Park team patrol the car parks on a regular basis to ensure the parking policy is being adhered to by all users of the site and this includes the EV charge point bays. If anyone is found to be in breach of the parking policy they will receive a Penalty Charge Notice and this includes parking in an EV charge point bay outside of the permitted timeframe.

Q-Park colleagues at Sandwell have advised that tickets are only issued until 11am daily and cars parked after 11am will not be issued a ticket. Can you please confirm Trust policy on issuing tickets to cars parked in these bays, thus preventing EV users from charging their vehicles?

The Trust supports colleagues travelling to and from site in low emission vehicles. At present, the policy states EV charging spaces may be used after 11:30am and before 9am by any vehicle, irrespective of whether that vehicle is an electric vehicle and whether or not that vehicle is using the electric vehicle charging point. This is a short term measure to relieve car parking pressures and the policy is under regular review. We will take your comments into consideration for our next meeting.

Kind regards, Anon Dear colleague, Thank you for getting in touch regarding the issues you are having in being able to charge your electric vehicle and for supporting the Trust in moving towards greener travel. We apologise that at the moment parking is very limited on site. This should improve in the very near future with the completion of the new multi storey car park in January 2022.

The completion of this major project should relieve some of the pressures we are currently experiencing on site. As part of these works we will also be significantly expanding our electric vehicle charge point offering to encourage

Kind regards, Fran Silcocks Head of Sustainability

Will the Sandwell gym be open in 2022?

Dear Heartbeat, My husband and I are on a mission to lose weight and have decided to make it our new year’s resolution to

go to the gym and do some more exercise. However, after speaking to my fellow Sandwell based staff they tell me the gym still isn’t open! It seems to have been closed for such a long time. Money is tight for me especially after Christmas so it would be nice to use the free gym facilities on site to better my health especially when I have later shifts. I have heard that ventilation in the Sandwell gym was an issue, has this now been resolved and can the gym now reopen or what is the latest update please?

Kind regards, Anon Dear colleague, Congratulations on your resolution to go to the gym which I hope will inspire us all to do something to look after our health and wellbeing in the New Year. I share your frustration regarding Sandwell gym remaining closed due to infection control measures in place during COVID-19 as the ventilation there is inadequate. We have been working on this and hopefully will have it ready for re-opening at the start of the New Year, provided there are no significant changes to the current guidance.

In the meantime, City gym although some distance from Sandwell remains open, we also have onsite wellbeing hubs and electric bikes can be loaned for a couple of weeks for trial.

Kind regards, Dr Masood Aga Clinical Director for Occupational Medicine

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Join our crane

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

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

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Syed Altaf Consultant Haematologist This month we welcome new consultant haematologist, Dr Syed Yasir Altaf who has recently joined the Haemato-oncology team.

when he joined SWB to work as a consultant haematologist.

When asked about why he decided to join our Trust Dr Altaf said: “Although SWB is a district level hospital, the variety of patients who come here is no less than a tertiary care level hospital. There are plenty of opportunities to further excel my knowledge and skills and I’m also enthusiastic about the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital and all the modern facilities it will have.”

Dr Altaf brings a wealth of experience and wisdom to the Trust with just under two decades worth of knowledge in his field of work.

Syed completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 2002 (MBBS) in Pakistan and then headed to UK for further medical training where he worked across a variety of hospitals in the country.

“After gaining an array of experience I went on to complete my clinical haematology training from Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Trust in 2015 and my fellowship in bone marrow transplantation from Hammersmith Hospital London in 2016,” said Syed.

Upon completion of his fellowship, in 2016 Dr Altaf decided to move across the globe to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to work as consultant in haematology and bone marrow transplant in King Fahad Medical City.

Dr Farooq A Wandroo, Consultant Haematologist is looking forward to working alongside Syed and believes he will be a great addition to haematology and the Trust as a whole. He said: “Syed will be a great asset to the team and I very much look forward to working with him.”

“I gained a wealth of experience in my time in the Medical City and was able to help a lot of patients which is truly gratifying.”

“Dr Altaf has a special interest in myeloid disorders including acute myeloid leukaemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and myeloproliferative diseases all of which will only improve the patient care we offer at the Trust.”

After his five years in Saudi Arabia, Syed wanted to move back to the UK which is

If you do see Syed in and around the Trust, be sure to give him a wave and say hello!

Dr Syed Altaf, Consultant Haematologist

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Richard talks about: A reflection of the last 12 months Richard Beeken, Chief Executive

RICHARD'S LAST WORD For my final column of the year, I thought that I would review the year we have just had. CEOs always say the same thing at the end of each year by describing it as a tough one. But 2021 really was unprecedented.

It has been unprecedented in terms of the service pressure felt particularly at the beginning and now again at the end of the year. It has also been unprecedented in terms of the other challenges we have faced, such as chronic vacancy issues in some areas and of course, the challenge of the intense work to ensure we are safely and successfully ready ourselves for occupying the Midland Met. Colleagues in this Trust are, however, a resilient and professional team and all of our challenges have been met head on with commitment and no little good humour.

April – Engie become part of the Trust, with estates colleagues moving to new employer but remaining part of the SWB family. I am fully aware of how aspects of this transfer has been a little bumpy, but colleagues in that team can rest assured that they remain part of the wider Trust team and will continue to be treated as such. Your work is invaluable and we couldn’t survive for 10 minutes without it.

Month by month, just some of our year’s highlights included:

June – The Trust’s Chief Executive, Toby Lewis, stood down. Toby served the organisation tirelessly for eight years and imbued the Trust with a mind-set that, as the largest employers around and as the biggest provider of NHS services in our patch, we can influence people’s life chances and health outcomes, not just treat the unwell. That strategic foresight which he drove has been built upon and during June we also started consultation process on the Trust’s new strategic objectives (People, Patients, Population).

May – Sir David Nicholson starts as Trust Chairman and we said goodbye to Richard Samuda, who had faithfully served as Trust Chair for over nine years. It’s not every day a Trust can say they have a former CEO of the whole NHS as their Chair. We are lucky to have David on team SWB and will benefit hugely from his wisdom and support. During the month we also celebrated national nurses’ week and the Midland Met floor plans I would like to be able to thank you all were shared with all clinical areas. Slowly, personally and in a way, I can, by virtue of a mental image was starting to take shape the Christmas gift vouchers we are giving all for colleagues about where they would be colleagues this year. It’s a small token of our working in the future and what changes to appreciation, but a genuine one. their practice needed to be made to succeed.

January – We began offering our staff COVID-19 vaccinations and began vaccinating the local population against COVID-19 in earnest through our Sandwell hub.

February – I had the privilege of joining the Trust as Interim CEO. Whilst that may not have been a highlight for you, given this is my column, I have certainly told you it was a highlight of my year! In the month, we also introduced LAMP (COVID saliva based) testing for all colleagues.

March – The Trust won a prestigious award – Health Service Journal awards win for our sustainability programme. Our work on green issues and sustainability/carbon neutral, has won many plaudits. In my column next month, I will be sharing our new Green strategy with you all and share my views on how you all can contribute to manging our planet more sustainably, including whilst we are at work.

July – We celebrated the NHS’ Birthday, held our Trust Annual General Meeting during which Dr Connolly gave a sterling performance, persuading people that research and development is everyone’s business.

September – I was delighted to have been appointed as substantive CEO of the Trust. I was also delighted to be able to host a face to face Trust leadership conference at which over 130 of the Trust’s senior leaders met together to hear about the future direction of the Trust. SurgiNet theatres system go live also happened and the months of hard work and preparation for this led to a relatively uneventful switch from one system to another.

October – Our Star Awards event was held, thankfully in person, celebrating the wonderful achievements of all our colleagues. My apologies go to those colleagues who I stopped dancing on that evening – everyone was so desperate to have a good time but as this year has taught us, COVID rules are rules! We also started our COVID-19 booster vaccinations and annual flu vaccinations in October. Have you had yours?!

November – Alison Fletcher, Parkinson’s Disease Community Clinical Nurse Specialist, scooped the Queen’s Nurse award. Many congratulations, Alison.

December – As I write this column, we have just had the new national COVID-19 restrictions announced by the government, and we are all understandably fearful of what the Omicron variant of the virus may bring.

We have started to enact our winter resilience plan, but that plan doesn’t set out how we can help all of our colleagues to stay resilient. We can help each other by supporting each other, stopping to help team members in trouble and by being civil and kind.

August – Some of us got chance to join the hordes of people on holiday in the South West of England and a new fleet of vehicles arrived for the unsung heroes in the Trust transport team.

Thank you again for your fortitude and professionalism this year. This piece has highlighted just a few things which has marked our year. I would like to wish all colleagues and stakeholders a Happy Christmas and a good New Year.

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Play your part - raise money for our charity YOUR TRUST CHARITY

 @SWBHCharity To donate to the Your Trust Charity text “SWBH16 £5” to 70070 Your Trust Charity (YTC) is very much a case of ‘what it says on the tin’ – they are your Trust charity, the official registered charity for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust… and they need your help.

YTC has responded with undoubted determination to help our community of over 500,000 patients and more than 7,000 colleagues during the COVID-19 crisis. There are needs as a result of this pandemic but there also remains the needs from regular hospital activity.

YTC is committed to: • Improving the Trust’s environment and making the capital improvements to facilities • Supporting integrated care across the estate of SWB and allied providers • Supporting the educational development of clinical and non-clinical staff • Helping to secure the long term future of health and social care in Sandwell and West Birmingham • Support education within the local community • Helping the Trust to be a leader of innovation, pump priming activities, running pilots and testing out new ideas and technologies for care that enhances outcomes for local people

•

Supporting communities to improve their health outcomes, enabling them to provide outstanding, compassionate care independent of statutory providers

In light of the current situation, some face-to-face related fundraising events or 50/50 events do have restrictions for the time being but many of our fundraisers have been going virtual, and you can too!

All you need to do is: • Run a virtual event i.e. coffee/cake over Zoom or Teams.

• Run a virtual sponsored event i.e. a sponsored walk/run, where your participants can be sponsored for committing to walk or run a certain distance from their own homes within the day, the week, or even longer.

There is actually no limit to what you can do virtually – please contact trustcharity@ nhs.net and we will help you.

In these challenging times, our patients and our local community need us more than ever. Please do have a think about how you can help us today.

Christmas toy donations

Christmas is wonderful time for Subegh was surprised to wake up to a

many, especially children and young people however being admitted to hospital during the festive period can be a scary and sad experience.

In December 2019, one-year-old Subegh was admitted to Sandwell Hospital with his cousin Thegh admitted nine months before.

Subegh was visiting relatives in the Midlands area with his parents. He originally developed a cough but as his symptoms got worse his family decided to take him to hospital where he was admitted to Lyndon Ground Ward.

It’s never nice to be admitted to hospital however during Christmas can be even more difficult. However, in the early hours of Christmas morning

huge red sack of toys and games. He was delighted with his gifts and ultimately helped his recovery.

From the positive experience, Subegh’s family decided they wanted to show their appreciation to SWB and give something back this year to help others.

Subegh’s family – the Sandhu’s, Kooner’s and Dhillon’s said: “We were so thankful to all nurses, doctors and medical staff on the Lyndon Ward for Subegh’s care over Christmas of 2019. This is why we wanted to repay that kindness we were shown by asking you to accept a selection of toys so that more children can wake up to gifts on Christmas morning if they are in hospital like Subegh was.”

Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager for your Trust Charity accepted the gifts on behalf of SWB and said: “I would like

Christmas gifts donated for our youngest patients to say a massive thank you to Subegh and Thegh’s family for their kind donations of presents for our patients.

“It can be a nerve wracking and anxious experience for any child or young person to have to come into hospital especially around the festive period, so to be able to bring them some joy during their stay is truly a special thing.”

Your Trust Charity would like to say a huge thank you to Subegh’s and Thegh’s family for their kind donation this Christmas.

December 2021 staff lottery results 1st £174

2nd £104.40

3rd £69.60

Anon

Famena Nawaz

Sarah James

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.