HEARTBEAT December 2022

Trust makes it easier to get your vaccinations this winter

Clockwise from top left: The vaccination team at the new hub at Sandwell General Hospital main reception, and the baby feeding room opposite D6 at City

Virtual wards programme picks up pace

When a building inspires: What we've achieved so far on MMUH

Breast screening team clear COVID backlog

Critical care hosts first forum in three years

The pulse of community health, Leasowes, Rowley Regis, City Hospital, Sandwell General and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital

HELLO

Welcome to the December edition of Heartbeat.

This month, we're highlighting the current concerns with flu infection rates this year, and outlining what the Trust is doing to make it easier to get your winter vaccinations and protect yourselves, your loved ones and our patients.

We've also highlighted the achievements of colleagues across the Trust throughout the magazine, culminating in SWBs 12 Days of Christmas in Richard's last word.

Enjoy 

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FROM THE CHAIR

Sir David talks about…our achievements in 2022

As this is the final Heartbeat edition of 2022, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all most sincerely for your hard work and commitment during the past 12 months. It is truly heartening to see each month in this magazine such a range of fantastic achievements from right across the Trust. Richard’s column this month picks out just a few of these, but there are of course, many more.

I would encourage you all to think back over your past year with the Trust, whether you are a longstanding member of staff or if you have joined our family within the year. Think about what you are proud of in your work, what you have learned, how you have developed and how you have made a difference. I am certain that there are both small and large achievements that will have impacted positively on either patients, their loved ones, a colleague or someone in our communities.

Everyone has a significant role to play in improving the health outcomes and life chances of our populations, delivering integrated care working towards our three strategic objectives (Patients, People and Population). The way in which you go about your role is also important. Now we have our new values, “Ambition, Respect and

Compassion”, think about how in your work you have lived up to these. This is a way of thinking that will become more common as our values are further embedded within the Trust.

Thank you for everything you have done this year. Amidst the challenges of delivering healthcare to hundreds of thousands of people, I am proud that our Trust remains focused on making continual improvements. We have lived through and are now living with COVID-19, and are progressing our recovery journey to cut those long waits that patients have experienced for planned treatment. This winter will of course be difficult and it is through our support to each other, which is such a big feature of our friendly organisation, that we will manage and manage well.

I hope that during the festive period you are able to take some time with loved ones, to recharge and reflect.

Have a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, Chair

Respiratory disease figures bring concern – get vaccinated today

Wednesday 21 December marks the start of the winter season, bringing with it a host of changes: some bringing delight, and some bringing dread. As many of us gear up for a host of religious and cultural events, shopping for family and friends, visiting Christmas markets, and attending festive meals and parties, we’re often exposed to a host of respiratory conditions. These have the potential to spread quickly across communities and infect many of us, making us ill when we hope to be celebrating.

Over recent years, the two most prolific respiratory illnesses during the winter season are influenza and COVID-19. Easily spread, the viruses tend to have even the healthiest of us in bed for a week or so and can be fatal for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Whilst COVID-19 numbers are not currently causing any concern and no spike is expected, there are still new infections occurring, and in a low number of cases these infections are

More concerning this year is flu, or influenza. According to recent NHS figures, there were an average of 344 patients a day with flu in hospital during week commencing 14 November, more than 10 times the number seen at the beginning of December last year. Clinical leaders are warning of a ‘tripledemic’ of flu, COVID and record demands on urgent and emergency services, with Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, stating: “The figures… show that flu is unfortunately already with us and so the concerns that we had about the threat of a ‘tripledemic’ are very real.”

The USA and Australia are seeing serious issues with respiratory diseases, with almost 10 per cent of deaths in the US (9.4 per cent) occurring due to pneumonia, influenza or COVID-19, significantly above the seasonal baseline of about 6 per cent. America’s Centre for Disease Control states that since October 2022, 11 out of every 100,000 people have been hospitalised with the flu – the highest number in the past decade, with infection and hospitalisation rates expected

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

A significant increase in respiratory diseases can have an enormous impact on the NHS, and our Trust is no different. As diseases spread around our communities, not only do we see higher hospitalisation and death rates, but our colleagues are also affected. During week commencing 14 November, the NHS saw nearly 360,000 (359,394) days lost to staff absences. SWB is currently experiencing a staff absence rate 2.5 per cent higher than normal levels. In a recent column, Chief Executive Richard Beeken stated “Staff absence due to ill health is having a big impact on our ability to safely staff our services”; this in turn exacerbates the issues our patients may be currently facing.

As a Trust, we aren’t immune to the problems currently facing the wider NHS and many parts of the world, and this could have a devastating impact on the lives of our patients, people and population. Please do your bit to reduce the impact by getting your flu and COVID-19 vaccinations today.

We recently announced a host of changes, aimed at making it easier for staff to get vaccinated and protect themselves this winter.

Our clinics have moved to ensure they are as accessible and prominent as possible. You can get your vaccinations at the following locations:

• City: baby feeding room, ground floor corridor (opposite D6)

• Sandwell:

main reception area

As of Monday 5 December, the Trust started to offer vaccinations across both sites. Additionally, we are offering an early morning start on Wednesdays and a late finish on Thursdays, to enable staff to attend regardless of their shift patterns.

The vaccination team will be visiting wards across both sites to vaccinate colleagues who don’t have time to attend a clinic. If you’d like to book in a specific time, the team are able to work with you to arrange a vaccinator to attend the department. To discuss this, managers should contact Cara Shelton on 07507 523924.

Pioneering “green” role for award-winning nurse

“Staff members are now using washable gowns and each person has their own respirator mask or hood. We have also been trialling the use of reusable tourniquets.

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nurse, Rhea Conn has become one of only two in the country to create a specialist clinical role focusing on the environment and sustainability.

Rhea Conn will step into the job of clinical lead for sustainability at the Trust – the first of its kind to be created in the Midlands.

The new role is part of the Greener NHS Plan. In October 2020, the NHS became the world’s first health service to commit to reaching carbon net zero by 2045, in response to the profound and growing threat to health posed by climate change.

Rhea said: “I am excited about taking up this position for the next year which will mean we are looking at sustainability within the Trust from a clinical perspective. I’ve always had a passion for sustainability, and I want to make sure we can achieve the Greener NHS plan at a local level.

“There are several things that clinical staff can do to help. I’ve spearheaded a number of projects including introducing the use of reusable PPE during the first wave of the pandemic.

“Another project involved asking my colleagues in ICU to start bringing in reusable cups so that we no longer used polystyrene ones that were previously supplied in the coffee room. As a result, they are no longer available to order.”

Rhea won’t just be working on her own ideas - she will be collaborating with various departments to implement their projects to create a greener NHS.

“It’s about clinical colleagues being able to come to me with a project that we can look at and progress,” she added. “We are looking to get ideas from colleagues - we can support with driving projects forward and analysing cost and carbon savings.”

Fran Silcocks, Head of Sustainabilityt, added: “Rhea has already shown a fantastic commitment to driving greener working practices within her own department.

“Her actions led to her being presented with the Green Award in our staff recognition event The Star Awards.

“She has put in place projects that have moved the department to more resource efficient

ways of working - saving time and costs and reducing waste. An example of this is reducing the amount of wastage from Mapleson C Circuits (equipment used for the delivery of oxygen and anaesthetic agents and the removal of carbon dioxide during general anaesthesia) by 50 per cent, saving around 500kg of carbon emissions and £3,000 in costs.

“It is crucial we make positive sustainable changes in clinical areas. We are already driving energy efficiency works, including installing solar power panels at City and Rowley Regis Hospitals. LED lighting has been rolled out across the sites to replace less efficient lighting and we have also continued with our highly successful Green Impact engagement programme which encourages staff to take on initiatives which will have a positive impact.”

Rhea, who will step into her role in January, added: “I firmly believe that the climate emergency is a health emergency - we must do everything we can to reduce emissions to ensure global temperatures don’t exceed a rise of 1.5 Degrees Celsius. By reducing, reusing and recycling as much as possible we will improve both the health of our planet, our patients and ourselves.”

Email Rhea with your ideas at rhea.conn@nhs.net.

Rhea Conn, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse, has become one of only two in the country to create a specialist clinical role focusing on the environment and sustainability

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

A tribute to a dedicated gentleman

By Matron Sam Walden

Don Rice

Donald ‘Don’ Rice was a family man who fiercely dedicated his life to the care of his wife and family; a gentleman to the end, giving his heart and soul to sacrificing his time and energy to the support of others.

Don’s career started at Paynes Shoes Repair until the early 1990s when, as described by his family in his eulogy, he found his true passion and vocation as a healthcare assistant. Here he dedicated 19 years to caring for patients and families. His dedication to caring continued after his retirement in 2000 when he rejoined our Trust through the volunteer service, serving a further 19 years.

I first met Don in 1996 as a newly qualified staff nurse when we were paired for our basic life support (BLS) training. He instantly looked after me and we came top of the class in our BLS. Throughout the years I knew Don he remained proud of this, and it sparked the beginning of a 26-year friendship.

When I moved to Medicine in 2013, I continued to work with Don as the ward manager where he was a volunteer. Don’s fierce family values and care spilled over to me, and I became part of Don’s family, being taken care of with absolute diligence and commitment.

Don was known widely throughout the Trust by many staff. Dr Nigel Page remembers discussing at length the football and speedway with Don and the success of the vegetables he had grown in his garden that year: I

CORPORATE AND GENERAL

NEWS

was always well supplied, with veggies, including the best tomatoes you could ever taste., Another colleague, Dr Bailey, recalled all of the sweets and treats Don treated her son to.

Don turned 80 in February of 2015 which we celebrated on the ward with a party. His gift from the ward was a personalised Villa shirt which he wore proudly whilst enjoying my gift, a backstage tour of Aston Villa with his son Phil.

Don left the volunteer service in 2019, just before we were hit by the pandemic. We remained in touch, going out for lunch and coffee with his daughter Jo, chatting about times gone by and keeping Don up to date with the happenings and wellbeing of the staff he knew so well.

Don passed away peacefully on 4 October 2022 in the comfort of his home surrounded by his loving family.

I can’t express enough my respect, admiration and gratitude to Don, a unique, kind and wonderful gentleman who welcomed me into his family and cared for me as such. I feel honoured, privileged, humbled and a better person for having known him. Needless to say, he will be missed.

Don

Your life was a blessing

Your memory is treasure You will be remembered for always And be missed beyond measure.

Improving patient outcomes with place based partnerships

We know that we face many challenges in Sandwell and West Birmingham, with a growing and aging population living in some of the most deprived communities in the country. As a Trust, we struggle to manage the growing demand on our care facilities, colleagues and services, desperately trying to ensure that patients get the care they need at the right time and in the right place.

The challenges we face are not uncommon: they’re issues we have known and understood for a long time, but we’re only now able to improve with the introduction of place-based partnerships.

Place based Partnerships are a cooperative agreement amongst a group of organisations to deliver essential health, social care, voluntary and community services in the places that people live and work, and in the context of integrated care systems the partnerships are aligned to a geographic area.

To find out more about the work of Sandwell Place-based partnership, Heartbeat spoke to Group Primary Care, Communities and Therapy Group Director of Operations and Senior Responsible Officer for the integrated town teams, Tammy Davies. She said, “Our Trust is the host organisation for the ‘Sandwell Health and Care Partnership’ so we’re in an incredibly privileged place to be able to make this partnership a success.

“We know that we can achieve more by working together, with colleagues at our Trust working cooperatively and collaboratively with colleagues in the local authority, third sector and out in the community – this is the essence of the partnership.

“We have already begun to have an impact on our community with a range of projects, we have ‘warm spaces’ in each town supporting people struggling with the cost of living to keep warm, maintaining their dignity and offering a safe space for those most at need with no judgement.

Branding us #SWBfamily

All colleagues are aware that over the last year we have been going through a process to create our new five-year strategy, one that underpins our vision with a set of values that we should all embrace. As that planning work is complete, we begin the work of embedding it across the organisation and as part of that we are seeking #SWBfamily members to be the face of our brand. What we are looking for is colleagues who are keen to put into words what our culture means to them, creating content for a new social media campaign #BrandNewSWB. The campaign will use still images, quotes and short form video distributed across our TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn channels and be used on our website, in publications and posters. To take part please contact vanya.rogers@nhs.net to express your interest.

To help you consider what we are looking for, think about what motivates you at work. We all want to work somewhere we feel happy and supported to make a difference to our colleagues, our patients, and the community we serve. We recognise

that our people are our priority. Hence, we will deliver a five-year strategy centred around ‘The Three Ps’: our Patients, our People and our Population. These strategic objectives support our vision to become renowned as the most integrated care organisation in the NHS. We’re looking for your take on the following statements – how YOU will bring them to life. We want the best outcomes for our patients, our population and our people.

• For our patients, we want to be good or outstanding in everything we do.

• For our population, the communities we serve, we’ll work seamlessly with our partners to improve lives.

• For our people, we want to cultivate and sustain happy, productive and engaged staff.

“We’re improving access to primary care, recently we launched the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hub to ensure patient had easy access to high quality care.

“We are supporting patients to be cared for in their own homes, where they can rest and recuperate surrounded by their families and friends, all whilst still having access to a full range of diagnostic and telehealth monitoring.

“The recent opening of Harvest View is set to transform the care for patients who need joint health and social care support, putting patients in the care of health and social care colleagues in a state of the art 80 bedded reablement facility.

“And to bring it all together, we’ve improved how patients can access these services, gone are the days of having to memorise and look up a multitude of phone numbers for specific services, you now simply call our Care Navigation Centre who manage and stream calls to the right team, ensuring that every call gets answered by the most appropriate team.”

For our patients: “Professional curiosity is key to ensuring the best outcomes for our patients, and for me working with children - some with unusual allergies - means I keep looking for answers to ensure the treatment prescribed delivers the best quality of life possible.”

Our strategic objectives: The 3 Ps

To be good or outstanding in everything we do

To cultivate and sustain happy, productive and engaged staff

To work seamlessly with our partners to improve lives

Virtual wards programme picks up pace

When you need an NHS bed, it doesn’t always mean that bed has to be in a hospital ward. What if that bed could be your own bed, in your own home, your own surroundings with your family nearby – and all whilst receiving acute care, monitoring and support delivered by a multidisciplinary team? This is the future of virtual wards.

Research has shown time and time again that patients often have better outcomes when they are in in their own environments surrounded by their family as they rest and recuperate, without the hustle and bustle of busy wards where they might struggle to unwind.

The virtual ward programme launched at our Trust aims to prevent avoidable admissions into hospital and support early discharges by providing a safe and efficient alternative to NHS bedded care through the use of technology.

Patients are able to receive high quality care delivered through a multidisciplinary team led by a named consultant practitioner with clear

lines of clinical responsibility and governance. Intensive monitoring through telehealth, telephone calls and home visits keeps patients in close contact with the team delivering their care, ensuring they feel well connected and supported when in their own surroundings.

National modelling focussed on commissioning 40 virtual ward beds per 100k people, with our Trust providing 61 beds in Oct 2022, rising to 124 in December 2022 and projected to be 157 beds by March 2023.

Clinical Lead for respiratory, frailty and cardiac virtual wards Anna McCall said, “Due to winter pressures and being on level 4 escalations back in October, we needed to start the virtual wards service earlier than expected. I am incredibly proud of the newly appointed team who managed to care for and support some exceptionally complex sub-acute patients within the first few days of the service starting, and within the first few days of being new in their new roles.

“Our colleagues have hit the ground running to maintain safe patient care, caring for patients

AND GENERAL NEWS

where they want to be cared for – in their own homes. We have managed to ensure patients could be discharged with IV antibiotics at home rather than receiving this in hospital and reduced bed days by supporting patients at home whilst we weaned them of their oxygen and nebulisers, which otherwise would have been done on the ward. This has been a collaborative piece of work across two different Groups – PCCT and Medicine & Emergency Care, demonstrating an excellent integrated care approach which our patients are benefitting greatly from.”

Referrals into virtual wards are currently only being taken through the virtual ward specialist consultants and their immediate teams. Further guidance on pathways into virtual wards will be shared once the virtual wards are open to Trust wide referrals.

The virtual wards team

CORPORATE

Nutrition and hydration – getting the basics right

We know that our bodies run on the energy we get from the food and drink we take in, so when we’re ill and unwell and find ourselves in hospital, we’re reliant on others to care for us and to ensure we get the nutrition and hydration we need to get better. This is one of the ‘Fundamentals of Care’ and the core principle of the ‘Mealtimes Matter’ programme of improvement.

Mealtimes Matter challenges the status quo when it comes to managing mealtimes on a ward and sets the record straight on the range of roles, responsibilities and duties involved during mealtimes.

Launching the programme clinical lead nurse for stroke services Sarah Clarke

said, “Mealtimes are incredibly important in supporting patients who are recovering and recuperating from illness. We need to be able to ensure that every patient gets the right level of support to ensure they have a great experience during mealtimes, they get the care and support they need to eat and drink, without distractions and disruption.

“Mealtimes should be an enjoyable experience, so it's important that we get this right, from ensuring that we have supported patients to choose their meals, to ensuring that they are ready for their meals before they arrive, supporting those that need assistance to eat and limiting the noise and disruption on the ward with unnecessary activity.”

“This is an opportunity for colleagues to see the new standards of care for mealtimes first hand, they have an opportunity to test their knowledge, and get to grips with the new processes ensuring that we’re providing each and every one of our patients with the best experience possible.”

Chief Nursing Officer Mel Roberts, she said, “Nutrition and hydration is core to our fundamentals of care, they are incredibly important not just to patient experience but also to recovery. For patients to get better we need to be able to ensure that they are eating and drinking, getting the calories they need to get stronger and better.

“This pilot is looking at every aspect of mealtimes to ensure that we are getting the basics right, from setting the standard of for roles and responsibilities during mealtimes, right through to making sure that the food that is served is nutritious and well received. Every colleague on the ward will have a role to play to ensure that we get this right not just during the pilot stage but embed the process going forward so it becomes the norm.”

For more information on the Mealtime Matters pilot, contact Head of Transformation Essie Li on Essie.li@nhs.net

Colleagues on Newton 4 launched their Fundamentals of Care ‘Mealtimes Matter’ pilot on Halloween

SWB to launch digital library service for patients

Our library service will be launching an exciting new digital library service in 2023 called Books on Wards: Read...Listen… Recover.

Initially the service will be run as a threemonth pilot on two of our Sandwell based wards – Lyndon 4 and Newton 4.

“Though we are starting out initially with two wards we hope to roll out the project across the whole Sandwell site and eventually across the Trust if it proves successful and we have resources in place to do so, said Stacey Richards, Assistant Librarian.

“Though all our wards will benefit from the project, we thought a good place to start would be our stroke and cardiology wards.

“We are currently awaiting equipment needed for the Books on Wards project and are in the process of training of our ward volunteers but once this is sorted, we will be ready to go ahead with the pilot.”

Books on Wards will give patients the ability to access both eBooks and eAudiobooks via an app called BorrowBox. Within the app

there is a vast suite of genres from adult fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies, and general interest as well as a large collection of titles suitable for children and adolescents.

Preeti Puligari, Library and Knowledge Services Manager believes Books on Wards will enhance the patient experience at SWB.

The Trust volunteers will play a big role in educating the patients on how to access the eBooks and eAudiobooks on the iPads, kindly provided by our wonderful informatics team.

As part of this project, the volunteers will be trained by the library staff on how to use the BorrowBox app and made aware of a list of accredited websites that the patients can browse to learn more about their health condition.

Following their stay on the ward, the patients could also be referred to the Black Country Connected programme and if they met the criteria, they will be given access to a Geobook laptop to continue using the health resources and BorrowBox at home.

Preeti said: “Prior to the Books on Wards project, patients had limited access to entertainment depending on the ward.

“We hope that the service will improve the wellbeing of our patients which will only, in turn enhance recovery by preventing boredom when on the ward. This service will also increase the health and digital literacy of our patients and when discharged, they can continue to enjoy access to their favourite books from home.”

Preeti is keen that when patients are discharged that they still have access to the service as reading is a great source of exercise for the brain and can also improve focus and help reduce stress.

She added: “If patients wish to continue using the BorrowBox app after leaving our hospital, they can join the Sandwell public libraries where they will be provided with their own BorrowBox accounts.

To find out more about the Books on Wards project, please email swbh.library@nhs.net.

Preeti Puligari and Stacey Richards

Leading US chief nurse visits Trust to support fundamentals of care

team stayed and undertook a further two-day leadership programme where Devin provided mentorship for the group.

Devin Carr, Chief Nursing Officer at Maine Medical Health Center, United States visited SWB during the month of November as part of the Trust’s continued plan to implement fundamentals of care across the Trust.

Having joined Medical Health Center in 2020, Devin leads the medical centres magnet-recognised nursing team. The centre focuses on and co-ordinates and supports a wide range of health and academic organisations across the globe with the implementing and research into fundamentals of care. Devin is also a senior member of the International Learning Collaborative, an organisation that leads research into the fundamentals of care.

Ahead of the visit, earlier this year, a team of ten colleagues attended a fundamentals of care conference where Devin presented a paper about the impact of COVID on his team and patient care. The SWB

Following the conference, Devin delivered a video presentation at our fundamentals of care launch event at West Bromwich Albion Football Club in September, where we heard from patients, carers and colleagues about what mattered to them when receiving care from either clinicians at our hospitals or in the community.

“Following the fundamentals of care event, many SWB staff developed a strong relationship with Devin and his team, and we have stayed connected ever since,” said Diane Eltringham, Deputy Chief Nurse.

“Devin is keen to look at how UK hospitals lead staff in driving fundamentals of care and we believe his input will be invaluable for us as the nursing team he leads has recently been awarded a magnet accreditation for the 4th time.

“Whilst our journey with fundamentals of care is interdisciplinary it is acknowledged that the accreditation builds pride not only across nursing teams but all staff.”

As part of the visit, Devin visited our Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which is expected to open in 2024 as well as our capacity team and many of our wards at City Hospital including cardiology.

Di believes the visit was hugely beneficial for colleagues as it gave many a better insight into fundamentals of care.

She said: “The visit allowed an array of clinical colleagues at all levels to speak with Devin about fundamentals of care and ultimately how it will aid our patients and the populations we serve.

“Devin was able to share his expertise and knowledge with us which will in turn, only help us to improve upon the care we give to all our patients who come through our doors.”

She added: “The visit from Devin also gave us the opportunity us to raise awareness within staff groups that following the September launch of fundamentals of care, it is our foremost strategy to improve the safety and quality of patient care, experience and outcomes at SWB.”

Devin Carr with members of the SWB team

Free lung health checks coming to Sandwell

Those eligible they will be sent a letter inviting them to make a lung health check appointment which will take place over the phone and last around 20 minutes.

They’ll be asked some questions about their breathing and overall health and they’ll have time to talk to the nurse about any concerns they may have.

In addition, they may be offered an appointment to have a CT scan for further investigation.

In January, our Trust will be offering people who are aged between 55 and 74, who smoke or used to smoke and have a Sandwell GP, a free NHS Lung Health Check.

Run by specially-trained nurses, lung health checks aim to find out how well the lungs are working in a patient fitting the criteria.

The Trust is part of a phased campaign by NHS England/Improvement introducing the checks. The service has been introduced in a handful of other areas across the country and has been successful in early detection of cancer in smokers and ex-smokers.

Steve Nelson, project manager, said: “This is a really important service which could save lives. It’s all about detecting any problems early and ensuring treatment is given quickly so that the person can enjoy a good quality of life.

“This is a service for our Sandwell population at the moment and we’re keen to spread the word so that those who do receive an invite for a lung health check take up this offer. “Colleagues should be aware of the campaign so that if they are asked about the service by patients, they can reassure them and share the importance of the checks.”

This will take place in a COVID-safe mobile unit at a convenient location such as a supermarket carpark or a community centre across Sandwell making it as easy as possible for them to attend.

A lung health check can give the patient the reassurance that their lungs are healthy or can help find problems early – often before they notice anything is wrong.

If a problem with their breathing or lungs is found early, treatment could be simpler and more successful.

For more information about the project go to www.swbh.nhs.uk/lung-health-checks where there are also multi-language animations explaining the new service.

A screenshot of the multi-language animation that has been produced to raise awareness of the project

Sughra has provided unlimited support to the Clinical Immunology & Allergy team especially during a period where staffing was short and patient activity was at it's busiest. Nothing was too much trouble and patient care remained top priority to her despite her busy schedule. No task was too big or small for her and she went the extra mile to ensure smooth and efficient running of the service.

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 heartwarming messages which have been sent via our website and social media platforms.

Simon

my email queries and signposts me accordingly.

We have been struggling to get replacement oxygen cylinders into the special schools. The oxygen is essential for use in an emergency situation when a child deteriorates. Jay sorted it all out for which we are really grateful. She is an absolute hero because this has been going on for months. Thank you Jay :)

Layla has recently finished her neonatal intensive care course. She looked after a baby who required intensive care on the unit. She was excellent. Communicated well within the team. Provided the best care for the patient and their family. She put her learning into practice and worked really well.

To – The on call team in obstetrics, midwifery, theatre and the anaesthetics

We had a lady in theatre with spinal anaesthesia and ready for caesarean section. Simultaneously we had another lady with fetal distress. The theatre team and the obstetric team with the midwives shifted the patient to theatre. We had delay in getting the second anaesthetist. The anaesthetic registrar Dr Prakash stayed back and helped us with the patient.

Midwife Lisa Bucknall scrubbed in theatre to assist the consultant.

been proactive in leading on safeguarding within the neonatal unit and has worked alongside the safeguarding children team to ensure plans are in place for any child who requires support. She has sought advice on cases and is enthusiastic to keen learn.

Beck created an amazing presentation about stammering and how to support people who stammer which was shared at an entire secondary school assembly. Beck has gone above and beyond to support the students in this school who stammer and help others understand what it means to have a stammer. Well done, Beck!

I would like to thank Alan Stubbs and the CNP Team for supporting me during a very difficult day. With their help, we have managed to keep both sites safe. Special thanks to Hannah Goodwin, Nikki Plume and Imogen Law for coming early to support both sites.

Well done to Mabi for remaining calm and focused during a stressful night shift when external IT issues meant a reporting backlog in CT. She didn't panic, communicated with her colleagues and made sure patient care was not compromised. Well Done!!

Thank you for using your own time to help a staff member getting help and support whilst she was at ED with her own sonsuperstar.

Wajid is fairly new to the Sandwell School Nursing Service but he really is already an asset to the team. Nothing is too much trouble for Waj he is very approachable, helpful and goes above and beyond to help colleagues. Waj has also implemented some helpful ways of working which will make things easier for staff when carrying out certain tasks. Waj is a breath of fresh air nd it is wonderful to have him in our team.

She organised a staff wellbeing session to support team trauma and orthopaedics. This demonstrated extreme kindness, selflessness and going the extra mile. The teams had recently lost two long serving, well respected clinical colleagues. Sonia went out of her way, often in her own time to organise this event; just to allow staff a safe space, to take some time for themselves and to mutually support one another in this really challenging, sad time.

For all his help and support with our connect issues. He puts up with me nagging him on MS Teams until my issue is resolved. Very valuable member of the SWBH Team :)

From

For always going the extra mile for his patients, nothing is too much for him. I just want him to know what he consistently does is much appreciated.

From – Maheswari Srinivasan

To – Jay Sian

From – Jane Ryall

To – Alan Stubbs and The Clinical Nurse Practitioners

From – Eugene Cortez

To – Jane Ryall and Jackie Williams

From – Kay Baker

To – Layla Yusuf

From – Priya Malhi

To – Maariyah Kola

Maariyah's commitment to safeguarding within the neonatal unit- she has

From – Lisa Chilton

To – Sughra Bi

From – Amreen Rehman

To – Mabi Abba

From – Lynn Chambers

To – Sonia Bal

From – Donna James

To – Rebecka Barwood

From – Vanessa Lloyd

To – Wajid Mahmood

From – Laura Johnson

To – Simon Green

from telecoms is consistently helpful, reliable and often goes above and beyond, to complete tasks for our service across maternity. He always provides timely responses to

From – Rose Bedward-Nicely

To – Dr Tanveer Chohan

From – Barbara Sawyers

To – Subtan Mahmood

– Claire Wilson

Colleagues raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance

Around 30 per cent of patients are still on IV antibiotics; after 72 hours many could safely switch to oral. It is important to review this regularly and consider switching IV to oral in line with new national guidelines.

Colleagues across the Trust raised awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – one of the leading risks to human health for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW).

As part of WAAW the Trust, along with others are promoting an “antibiotic amnesty”. The main message is to encourage patients to return unused antibiotics to their pharmacy for safe disposal. This is because environmental contamination from unsafe disposal risks

driving up antimicrobial resistance in the environment at large. In addition to this, patients holding on to part courses “just in case” to selfmedicate ad hoc drives antimicrobial resistance.

A target for the Trust is to reduce our carbon footprint by switching IV antimicrobials to oral. IV antimicrobials have a much larger carbon footprint than oral, due to production of the vials vs a tablet/capsule, worldwide transport of heavier product and consumables used (inc. syringes, giving sets, WFI, flushes, etc).

Dr Tranprit Saluja, Microbiology Consultant and Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead, said: “I think each and every one of us has a role to stop antimicrobial resistance and avert the silent pandemic. I pledge to be antibiotic guardian. I request all the clinicians to only prescribe antibiotics when clinically indicated, review antibiotics in 48 hours, de-label spurious penicillin allergies and to step down to oral when clinically indicated, and when patients do need longer antibiotics or when there is no oral step-down options, to consider OPAT.”

Andrew Bush, Lead Antimicrobial Pharmacist, added: This World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, we want to encourage everyone to use antibiotics optimally – start smart, then focus to keep antibiotics working.”

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to our health. There's an urgent need to act before it’s too late.

To be Allocated in an area near you!

The Trust has recently invested in Allocate - a new end to end rostering system for all staffing groups at SWB.

The Allocate software will enable the Trust to streamline many of its processes making the organisation more efficient. Here at SWB we are currently implementing multiple interfaces including:

• 24 7 Time

• HealthRoster

• Bankstaff

• SafeCare

• ESRGo

• Loop

Cathy Brown, Associate Director for Education and Workforce (Nursing and Midwifery) believes the software will be of huge benefit for colleagues.

She said: “Moving to an end-to-end rostering system such as Allocate will provide the Trust with an App that allows staff to view rosters, book leave, book bank shifts and much more at any time.

Loop, a key part of the Allocate suite has begun its incremental roll out across the Trust will all medical temporary staffing shifts are now being booked through Loop, giving you control and freedom to ‘express interest’ on the go.

Cathy is also playing a pivotal role in the implementation of all things Allocate related and said: “We are gradually rolling out across wards and areas the Trust and so far, have completed training for gynae cancer ward, Henderson, McCarthy, Eliza Tinsley, BMEC theatres and maternity. We are continuing to deliver training on a weekly basis with our core focus on inpatient areas.”

Cathy added: “If you are a temporary medical staff member you will have been asked to login with ‘Employee Online’ however, don’t panic – these will have been sent out to you from ‘Allocate’ or ‘HealthRoster’ if you were part of the first cohort to go live. If you are still struggling, we ask you to get in touch with one of the team.”

Should you have any issues downloading the Loop awpp or require more information please get in touch on swbh.allocatequeries-helpdesk@nhs. net.

“Rosters will be managed in once central place known as Health Roster and with the ESRGo interface it will eliminate the need for updating two systems.”

The new Allocate system on a mobile device

Dr Tranprit Saluja, Microbiology Consultant and Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead

S Ar AW RDS

Over the next several months, we will celebrate winners of the 2022 Star Awards, recognising them for their hard work and the positive impact this has had on our people, patients and population. We’ll be speaking directly with the winners to get their views and hear what winning meant to them.

For this month’s Our Winners, we spoke with the winners of the Rising Star Award and one of the voted-for categories, NonClinical Team of the Year.

Rising Star Award

This year’s Rising Star Award winner was Mr Jason Yap. Based at City Hospital, Jason is a gynaecological oncology consultant at the Pan Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Centre (PBGCC). He has been with the Trust for a significant length of time: he first joined the SWBH Trust in 2007 as an O&G trainee. In 2011, Jason committed to a career as a gynaeoncology surgeon at the PBGCC and joined our trust permanently, initially as a clinical research fellow, then a Subspecialty Trainee and was successfully appointed as a consultant more recently, in April 2020. We met with Jason to discuss his work in more detail and hear what the award meant to him.

Jason’s win relates to his dedication in setting up a regional clinical service focusing on vulval reconstructive surgery. Shortly after his appointment around two and a half years ago, Jason assembled and coordinated a motivated team on the ward and in theatres to facilitate the delivery of this service to women undergoing radical surgery for vulval cancer as well as benign conditions. Jason is quick to mention that the collective support from his consultant colleagues and the directorate in establishing this unique service cannot be overemphasised.

We then discussed the aim of this service. Jason explained that radical surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for the majority of women with vulval cancer. Unfortunately, these operations are often disfiguring for these women and lead to a loss of confidence and self-esteem. Some women will also develop sexual and urinary dysfunction which has a detrimental impact on their quality of life. The main focus of Jason and his team is to address the holistic needs of these women, including their psychosexual wellbeing, by helping them overcome their insecurities and feelings of embarrassment and shame, and break through the stigma attached to discussing their genital welfare.

One of the obstacles Jason and his team have encountered from the get-up is how to tackle infections and the complications associated with these. The team continues to devote time and

Jason Yap, Gynaecological Oncology Consultant

resources in an effort to improve patient outcomes through a combination of evidence-based medicine and trial and error. For instance, Jason has adopted the use of specialist dressings for his patients: “We set up bespoke care pathways for our patients, including wound care and patient education. A key factor in our team’s success is the innovative and outcomes-driven approach displayed by every member”. Jason and his team’s efforts were rewarded by their excellent patient outcomes: “We prospectively audited our outcomes which demonstrated that our rate of major wound complications was very low compared to the national standards”.

When asked what the Star Awards win symbolises for him, Jason accentuates that this award is a well-deserved recognition of the hard work from his colleagues who always go above and beyond for their patients.

“We should not overlook the importance of looking after the patient afterwards and always remember that the aftercare is equal to, if not more important than the surgery itself. The win isn’t so much for me, it is a credit to the gynaecological nursing and auxiliary team on the ward. Whenever they review a patient they know exactly what needs to be done, what advice is needed and they execute it to the highest standard. As a result our patient outcomes and feedback has always been outstanding and we are now receiving referrals from Centres all over the country.

“I want to thank my team for all their work and support – this win is for all of us.”

Star Awards: Our Winners

Non-Clinical Team of the Year

Taking the award for non-clinical team of the year for 2022 was the portering team. Lead by Zaheer Iqbal, the team has undergone a great deal of change over the last couple of years. Heartbeat visited the team at a drop-in open day at City Hospital to find out more about the work they carry out and what the win meant to them.

Bridget Greaney, Team Leader, came back to the organisation around a year ago and began by working with the team to identify issues. She stated that the team had felt unseen and often like “everything was their fault: the responsibility often falls upon a porter, which can lead to them feeling less valued than other teams.”

Porters are some of the NHS’s unsung heroes, working across an entire site to assist patients and clinical colleagues. Tracey Banford, Team Leader, said “The average day for a porter is fast-paced and I don’t know that everyone understands how physical the job can be. We walk everywhere and are under pressure: sometimes we can be doing over 20,000 steps a day.

“A porter is often the first person a patient sees and has the ability to reassure patients. Nobody wants to be in hospital, and seeing a smiling face can make a huge difference.”

Over the last six months, manager Zaheer and team leaders Tracy and Bridget have worked to recognise the team and ensure their contributions and work are heard and valued. Speaking with Bridget, she highlighted activities such as the drop-in session, which are integral as the team struggle to get together to carry out activities such as QIHD half days.

“Over the last six months, we’ve been able to make a difference just by listening and actioning colleagues’ suggestions. The porters now feel that they have a voice and their ideas are heard by leaders. They respect management and carry out projects, such as co-produced training.

“We have to adapt our approach to make it work, but it’s worth doing so as people now come to us with ideas and are proud of the department and their jobs. They’re no longer ‘just a porter’, they’re part of an impactful team and have been noticed and recognised both by management and the organisation as a whole.”

The Star Awards win was not their first: the team has won twice in the last couple of years. Being voted as winners made a huge difference, as the team felt that the Trust as a whole knows what they do and values it.

Similarly, management’s respect and admiration for the team is unmistakeable. Tracey gave up her Star Awards ticket to allow someone else to attend in her place, highlighting the importance of representation at the event.

One attendee was Ben Griffiths, General Porter at City. He loved the event, and said winning was the icing on the cake. “Sometimes, we can feel that we don’t get recognition. Things have been much more organised over the last year or so; we now feel listened to, like our views are being heard.

“When we found out we’d won, it felt amazing. It shifts your attitude when you feel like the whole organisation appreciates your work.”

Portering Team

by Dr Pavithra Ramamurthi

I was a part, recently, of a small group of colleagues offered an invite to visit the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) in Smethwick, which is now nearing its completion. Having driven past the site many times each week for the last three years, there has been no ambiguity in my mind about the size and the enormity of the structure. As I walked down the streets, I beheld autumn working its magic. The air was crisp and bracing and the ground was mantled with a colourful carpet of fallen leaves.

It was the first time I walked past the blue gates. The path was laden with dirt and rubble. But then, as you step through the yellow swivel gates, one walks into a building that instantly makes you feel dwarfed, not by its size, but by the magnitude of effort that has gone into its creation. Due to time constraints we were only taken around the areas that were of interest to us. We spent most of our time in the main clinical area consisting of the operating theatre complex, critical care facility and maternity unit. These are large spaces; at the moment with mostly bare walls and empty rooms, naked ceilings with unimaginable lengths of wires, pipes and cables, some of them in business-like metallic finish and some of them in more eye-catching pastel shades. We searched for the familiar, gleaned over the nooks and crannies, pondered over the tiny details relating to us as anaesthetistsHow many connections for oxygen? How many suction outlets? Are the cupboards too high for us to reach? Do we have a storeroom for our gadgets and toys? Others discussed the staffing issues, rest areas and we unanimously put our case for an “anaesthetic hub”.

We were then shown the restaurant and retail area. Plenty of space to socialise as

When a building

seemed very passionate about their work here. The excitement was palpable as the finish line seems so near now. They are aware of the thought processes behind the finer details in construction and are proud of what the building looks like today. The estimated date of completion has changed several times and the countdown clock still sits idle on the wall. But, completion and handover is inevitable; it will cease to be a construction site soon and will then have to be transformed into a hospital. Heavy machinery will make way for human machinery, to breathe life into brick and concrete.

well as support local produce, I was told. Winter gardens on the 5th floor has a “biophilic design”, lots of natural light, airy and it brings the outdoors in. At times, I felt overwhelmed by its largeness; not only in terms of the size, but also the sheer number of people who have been involved to date in the evolution of this colossal project. I realise that there is a tremendous amount of backbreaking work being delivered every day.

MMUH, I was told, has been a long time in the making and has had to overcome many hoops and hurdles. The team of people that are seeing the project through

I hope to be a tiny cog in this massive machinery, passionately delivering more than what is expected of me.

I hope to be able to draw inspiration from the walls of this massive edifice, knowing that hundreds before me have toiled towards its existence and that its success as an establishment of healthcare depends on the thousands of cogs, like me, that will continue to look up to its reassuring walls, to help build them.

“Bricks and Mortar will make the building, but it will be us who will change it into a caring hospital”.

Dr Pavithra Ramamurthi

Written

How long have you been at SWB and what is your current role?

I have worked here for 16 years within the security department.

My part in Midland Met

What part does your role contribute to the Midland Met project?

For several years, I have been heavily involved in the project with security design, for example, the CCTV layout and access control.

How are you preparing for the opening of Midland Met in your area?

I continue to work behind the scenes to ensure that all our estate, including our retained estate, meets the same security standards as Midland Met.

In what ways will our new hospital help to shape your role for the better?

Our state-of-the-art acute hospital will offer emergency department, maternity, children’s and adult acute inpatient services to half a million people.

When it opens in Smethwick, it will bring together all acute and emergency care services that currently take place at City and Sandwell Hospitals. The new hospital will be

monitored by our security system, helping to ensure colleague, patient and visitor safety.

The biggest benefit that Midland Met will bring in your opinion is...

A hospital guided by the needs of patients and families becomes significantly more efficient. It means optimal use of systems and staff resources, time savings and a safer and secure environment for everyone.

With a state-of-the-art security system, we can monitor the entire SWB estate from a centralised control room based at Midland Met.

Any other thoughts?

I have been on two site tours so far. It helps to bring the project to life by seeing the different areas. I’m pleased to see significant improvements from my first visit and look forward to when we open.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Mark Lee

EQUANS has the mission to connect, power & protect - empowering businesses and communities to not only fully embrace the energy transition, but also the digital & industrial transitions that are redesigning the way we move, work and live.

Acting on our commitment to Net Zero by helping our clients to reduce the amount of carbon that is produced across the NHS Estate.

NEWS

Generous donation boosts Midland Met fundraising campaign

Projects such as Midland Met come by but once in a lifetime. For our region, it presents several ways in which we can impact the health and wealth of our local communities.

Our state-of-the-art hospital is just the start. We are actively engaged in regeneration plans that will support the development of the local area over the coming years and we have secured investment to develop our learning campus onsite at Midland Met.

Our new hospital provides high-quality facilities which will provide acute care services for our diverse population and will be our largest hospital based in Smethwick.

With the help of charitable donations, Your Trust Charity is providing significant investment in Midland Met as part of its £2 million fundraising campaign. Funds raised will support the development of play areas for our young patients, create a beautiful garden where people can sit and reflect, and hire research nurses to help find treatments and cures for illnesses.

Salts Healthcare is one of the many supporters of our Midland Met fundraising campaign. Recently, we had the pleasure of showing senior leaders from the group the progress being made on site.

Currently, under construction, Midland Met is making great strides as we gear up to open in 2024. Works have started on the canal regeneration; floor eight is our most advanced ward area, and we have received 29 benchmark rooms for inspection. As

representatives from Salts Healthcare made their way around the site, they saw some of these advancements.

Peter Salts, Chief Executive, remarked: “We’re so thrilled to be associated with this fantastic project. I’ve enjoyed my walk about the site today; it looks good inside and is full of initiatives that will be wonderful for the area. I’m delighted with how well it’s coming along.”

Robert Salts, Managing Director, said: “We’ve just had the most extraordinary visit around Midland Met. It will provide the most amazing atmosphere for staff, and I think it will improve health outcomes. It will be a hospital for future generations.”

Johnny Shah, Head of Your Trust Charity, added: “The kind donation from Salts Healthcare is helping us to make our vision a reality. Midland Met will be more than a hospital and will provide community spaces, a healing environment and will open the door to new research to help unlock lifechanging treatments.”

70 years’ experience and counting!

Having a baby in neonatal care can be a worrying time for parents. Our expert team ensure that families get the information and support that is available to them. Having modern facilities to provide the specialist care each baby needs is essential, and moving to Midland Met means our neonatal team will work in a purposebuilt space suitable for our tiniest patients.

We caught up with the team as they enjoyed a tour of our new hospital. Making their way onto the site, they noticed the sheer size of the build and the positive difference for patients using the hospital.

Jackie Johnson, Sister, said: “I’ve been a neonatal nurse for 33 years, and when we move into Midland Met, this will be the third place I have worked. The four of us here today have over 70 years of experience between us, and there is a lot more experience within our team, so moving

Recently members of the neonatal team enjoyed a site tour of Midland Met. With over 70 years' of experience in this photo alone, our youngest patients will be in good hands when we open in 2024

here will allow us to apply our knowledge in a new and specially designed workspace suitable for us as neonatal specialists.

“I’m excited to work here – it will be amazing for colleagues and families

because it gives us so much space to work in and care for families. We’ve had a fantastic tour and we will cherish Midland Met for a long time.”

As the team made their way around the site, they saw their new work areas, the spacious bays where they will care for our neonatal babies, adjoining departments and the multi-disciplinary team office space.

Helen Scott, Senior Sister, remarked: “We’ve visited Midland Met on a gloomy day, but the hospital is anything but that. It’s so light and bright and will make a difference for families. It’s open and spacious but, at the same time, also provides privacy when needed.

“The new layout will make a positive difference to the patient experience. We’ve already begun thinking about how we will organise areas and what information we can provide colleagues to ensure we work effectively together in our new home.”

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Salts Healthcare recently enjoyed a site tour at Midland Met

£50K grant to support young diabetes patients with new tech

provide more bespoke individual training sessions and support to families.”

A grant worth £50,000 is set to help reduce health inequalities and access to diabetes technology for our young patients.

The funds have been awarded by NHS England to our paediatric diabetes service led by Dr Chizo Agwu, Deputy Medical Director.

Diabetes patients often have to check their blood glucose levels at least four to five times a day and insulin has to be administered four times a day.

New technology means that it is now possible to monitor glucose via special sensors that report levels to a portal which is accessed by the clinical team. And insulin therapy means the medication can be delivered via a small, computerised device that delivers insulin in two ways:

• In a steady measured and continuous dose or

• As a surge dose, at the patient’s direction, around mealtime.

The paediatric diabetes team

We caught up with Chizo who told us more: “There is evidence that new diabetes technologies including insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose sensors help improve diabetes control and reduce risk of long-term complications.

“Some families are unable to access these technologies because training sessions are delivered in group settings and usually in English. Some don’t have access to smart phones or laptops that will enable diabetes teams to offer remote monitoring of their condition.

“This money has been awarded as part of a pilot and will enable us to develop and

To get the best out of the technology, a smartphone is ideally required and this is where the funding will come in useful as it will enable the paediatric diabetes service to provide laptops and smartphones to patients who need them.

“The money will also help us to provide extra nurses to support families via increased training sessions to explain the benefits of diabetes technology,” added Chizo.

“We will also be able to provide 1:1 support as well as interpretation where required. Psychology support will be made available too and we will be able to develop training resources in different languages.”

Chizo says the aim is to increase the number of children and young people using the new therapies by at least 30 per cent.

“We have just over 300 patients in Sandwell and West Birmingham and a third of those would benefit hugely from using insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring sensors,” Chizo said.

First of its kind maternity event leads to new hires

Our maternity teams joined forces with neighbouring Trusts in the Black Country to recruit midwives at the first event of its kind.

The successful one-day session saw a total of 15 midwives given conditional job offers in total, with many able to learn more about each Trust and what they have to offer.

It was organised by the Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) and held at the Copthorne Hotel in Brierley Hill, to showcase the training and development opportunities available and highlight the work of specialist midwives who work across all communities.

Lucy Murcott, LMNS Workforce Lead said: “We had a fantastic day with our teams across the four Trusts whose energy, passion and enthusiasm played a huge part in selling our area as a great place to work.

“It was wonderful to see so many potential new colleagues who were able to talk to existing staff about the services we

Midwives from our Trust at the event provide as well as some of the exciting future improvements we’re all working on. And to be able to recruit a total of 15 new Midwives is extremely encouraging. Our new colleagues will be an asset to our organisations and we’re looking forward to welcoming them into their new working environment.”

Lucy added that the event was also an example of true collaboration across the LMNS.

“To see teams from all four Trusts being able to network, share their innovation and celebrate each other’s achievements was incredible. We collectively all want the same thing which is to provide safe, highquality care to all who access maternity and neonatal services and give them an excellent experience at a significant period in their lives.”

Afrah Muflihi, EDI Lead Midwife at the Trust, said there had been “a very positive” buzz at the event, with the Trust hiring two students.”

Breast cancer team thanks charities for the support they give to patients

Many of us consider Christmas to be a time to look back and give thanks, and that’s exactly what the breast cancer team over at City are doing this season.

The close-knit team work to help patients fight breast cancer and consider it their duty to provide a positive patient experience and a welcoming clinical environment. We met with Helen Taylor, Macmillan Breast Care Nurse and Breast Clinical Nurse Specialists Elaine Williams, Amanda Jones and Nazi Ahmadi-Doulabi to discuss what the department offers for patients and how they are able to source this support.

Helen states that all the team receive a great deal of support from charities, both local and national, and without this support they wouldn’t be able to offer patients such a positive environment and experience.

“We carry out activities throughout the year and do special celebration for events such as Christmas and Easter. The whole team get involved, and I really believe it makes a difference to the patients during their treatment. They come here and we work to ensure that, even if they have bad news or difficult treatment, the experience isn’t wholly negative.

“Knowing we care about them has an impact on patients, and if we can do something small that makes a difference,

we always want to do that. We’ve had many ex-patients offer support to current patients, and the effect it has is amazing.”

The team receive support from an impressive number of charities, with Helen stating there are “too many to name”. Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer has provided gowns in bright colours and prints, as well as donating gifts. Breast Friends offers universal one-off grants for breast cancer patients, as well as support groups, pamper days, cosmetics and electric chairs for those that need them. Mother’s Union has provided holidays, and Edgar’s Gift has provided iPads and access to a holiday home for patients aged 18-30. The team also work with charities that support the loved ones of the patients; the Osborne Trust helps children during a parent’s cancer diagnosis, and Team Verrico offers a range of specialised support, including counselling and support with travel and other expenses.

Helen is quick to note that teams across our Trust have been integral in enabling this support. “We have to thank various teams; a special shout out to laundry, especially Justin and Carol, who have been so helpful. The ladies love the aprons we provide, and the laundry team have been brilliant in ensuring we’re able to provide these to our patients.”

Amanda, Elaine and Nazi highlight the work Helen has carried out to coordinate these efforts. “It wouldn’t have happened without

WOMENS AND CHILD HEALTH

Helen,” states Amanda. “She does the leg work on this and works so hard to keep on top of the different things we can offer patients – she is fantastic”.

Meanwhile, Nazi notes that this added support is what makes the experience special. “To a certain extent, the clinical part is the ‘easy’ bit. As a team, we strive to do more than the clinical – that’s what makes the experience special.”

It’s certainly a group effort: for Christmas, the team are offering gifts to all patients and have 20 Marks and Spencer vouchers of £50 each to offer to women. Amanda’s mum wrapped the gifts herself, and the team have decorated the space, displaying gifts and encouraging women to take one.

Helen concludes; “We love Christmas in the office and we try and bring that joy to patients. We want to thank all those who make this possible – giving the women something to look forward to makes a huge difference, so our thanks go to all the charities, teams and individuals that provide support.”

Helen Taylor and Elaine Williams from the breast cancer team with gifts for patients

On shift with the alcohol care team

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

Roxanne Mahroof works as a nurse in the alcohol care team. Here she gives an overview into the work of the team.

Developed in 2018, our award-winning alcohol care team has been providing lifesaving support and treatment to more than 9,000 patients with significant and complex alcohol issues in the Sandwell and West Birmingham area.

Made up of specialist nurses, alcohol practitioners and volunteers with lived experience of alcohol misuse, the hospital-based seven-day service is overseen by a consultant toxicologist who is also the clinical lead.

I joined the team three years ago, having previously worked in community alcohol services and as a detox nurse. I wanted to develop my skills and knowledge in the management of patients with alcohol use disorders.

Becoming part of this service has enabled me to develop and learn more about addiction, but also the importance of collaborative working with other specialities. We are not only focussed on patient outcomes, but also staff wellbeing. As a neurodiverse nurse, I have been supported by the Trust to develop and progress to my current position as an alcohol specialist nurse.

I find the role thoroughly enjoyable because I can see the positive impact on the local population who are affected by an alcohol use disorders. We empower patients to recognise that their recovery journey can start in hospital, regardless of the reason for admission.

The patient journey begins when our team receive referrals either electronically or from proactive screening of all inpatients, including those presenting in our accident and emergency department, and outpatient clinics.

But it’s a role that at times is rewarding but can also be challenging. Patients present in our accident and emergency department who are ready for change, and then it is part of my role to support them in their elective detox journey. It is a privilege to work with and advocate for these patients and to guide them in their recovery. However, not every patient is psychologically ready to make a change, and this is where the challenges lie.

We provide them with person-centred alcohol assessments to identify alcohol dependency or excessive drinking with complexity – for example they maybe homeless, pregnant, have an element alcohol-related brain damage or significant physical or mental health issues.

The team is effective in preventing admissions for primary alcohol withdrawal issues as we recognise that providing a detox alone is rarely sufficient to address the complexities of addiction.

This is evident when looking at the number of admissions relating to alcohol withdrawal which have decreased from 1.66 per cent to 0.68 per cent at the Trust.

For patients who are not admitted to hospital but who are ready and motivated for the challenge of long-term abstinence, we provide an outpatient appointment with an alcohol specialist nurse within 24 hours.

We continue to work with them in an outpatient setting, supporting the patient to reduce their alcohol consumption and develop healthier coping strategies. A bespoke support package is provided, before they are admitted for elective detox.

Inspiring our patients that change and life without alcohol is possible is a key element –and we do this by recruiting volunteers who are previous patients and who have been through detox successfully. They can support

patients by sharing their own experiences and how they coped with detox and life without alcohol. The alcohol care team has developed strong links with peer support, such as community alcohol services and mutual aid, referring more than 4,000 patients to these organisations.

Patients who are alcohol dependent and have a medical reason to come into hospital will require management for symptoms of withdrawal. Alcohol withdrawal is a potentially life-threatening condition, and the alcohol care team provides a clear individual management plan for staff to follow, which significantly improves their care and experience.

But people also fail to realise the potential danger that alcohol dependency can have on not just the individual, but also their family.

As part of the holistic patient care plan, we involve their loved ones, if appropriate. We recognise that addiction affects friends and family, not just the individual and offer faceto-face and online support to them. If those close to the drinker learn about addiction and better recognise and prioritise their own wellbeing, this not only helps them but also benefits the individual with alcohol use disorders.

This lack of knowledge around addiction also impacts staff working across the NHS. As addiction is poorly covered in nursing and medical curriculum, there is a general lack of understanding when it comes to effective management of alcohol withdrawal. Better knowledge can lead to the prevention of delirium tremens which is a medical emergency with a high mortality rate.

If clinicians are not taught about this, it cultivates a culture of negative judgement towards addiction resulting in a negative patient experience and poor outcomes.

To address this, the alcohol care team provide formal and informal bespoke training packages for students, nursing staff, junior doctors and consultants. We provide drop-in training sessions for staff and training videos are available on the Trust intranet and to date have educated 1,850 colleagues.

Since the delivery of these sessions, there has been a significant improvement in the medical management of patients in alcohol withdrawal and an increase in compassionate care demonstrating the true positive and successful impact that the alcohol care team has across the Trust. This was recognised at the 2022 Nursing Time Awards, as winners of the emergency and critical care category.

Roxanne Mahroof, an alcohol care team nurse

Building work starts on new home for SDEC

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

The service, which is already in operation and was previously known as AMAA, provides rapid assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients without the need to stay on a hospital ward. And if clinically safe to do so, will go home the same day their care is provided.

Work started on site early December, and it’s expected to be completed in February so that the facility will open in March.

Chris Mason, Service Manager in the Emergency Care Management Team, said: “We’re really excited about the development of the facility. It will be in a new single storey treatment space which will be accessed via an enclosed linkway from the A&E department.

An artists’ impression of what the new facility for the Same Day Emergency Care service will look like at Sandwell

As colleagues are aware, accident and emergency services across the NHS are extremely busy. We have several projects in place as part of our winter plan, which we explained in the previous edition of Heartbeat.

And at Sandwell site, further development is taking place by way of a modular facility to house the Medical Same Day Emergency Care service adjacent to our existing A&E department.

“It will include six bays, two triage rooms and a treatment room. There may be some disruption as building work continues but this will be at a minimum.”

We expect the work to be completed in February and the building will open March 2023.

Will you be enjoying a Dry January?

Christmas is just around the corner, and you may be thinking of ways to start the new year with positive changes to kickstart 2023. If so, Dry January might be perfect for you.

Dry January encourages people to give up alcohol for an entire month. For 31 days, people across the UK will enjoy an alcoholfree month and the benefits for their physical health, finances, relationships and mental health.

Carol Appleyard, Lead Alcohol Nurse, told us: “The alcohol care team will all be giving up alcohol to support our health and wellbeing. We will be taking up activities or giving up certain foods and drinks such as caffeine or enjoying yoga, meditation and doing 10,000 steps a day.

“Research indicates that a month without alcohol can lower blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes risk. By making small changes we can all help to improve our health and wellbeing.”

Carol added: “We will also be running activities throughout January for colleagues

The alcohol care team will be going alcohol free in January 2023

too. There will be raffles, health promotions across our sites and using the month to boost awareness of the benefits of taking a break from alcohol and sharing information and advice.”

News of upcoming events will be shared via Connect and the daily bulletin. To find out more please email carol.appleyard@nhs.net.

SWB first in the country to use new breast scanner

IMAGING

We have become the first Trust in the country to use a pioneering new whole breast Automated Breast Ultrasound Scanner (ABUS) within the symptomatic breast service.

The Invenia ABUS can potentially detect cancer in dense breasts which may be masked in normal mammography due to overlying glandular tissue.

The CE marked ultrasound technology looks differently at dense breast tissue, providing a comprehensive view of the breast. We are the first to use the ABUS in a symptomatic setting. It has advantages that the equipment can be used by staff not formally trained in ultrasound and reported remotely thus uncoupling the need for a consultant or advanced practitioner to be present in the room. They can then report on the images and perform a focused ultrasound and appropriate biopsies as needed.

The service plans on using the equipment to potentially free up valuable consultant time.

Potential additional uses include monitoring lesion response to chemotherapy, proving multifocality at the first visit, reducing need for further imaging such as MRI and repeat attendances. The service hope that it will help to eventually increase our clinic capacity by allowing a larger volume of the ABUS examinations to be reported for lower risk patients.

Syeda Alam Breast Imaging Programme Manager, said: “The service has implemented the ABUS within the symptomatic rapid access clinics with a view to assessing whether capacity can be increased for the growing number of referrals through innovatively using mammographers and assistant practitioners to undertake the scan ready for the consultants to report.”

An audit is being undertaken to explore potential protocols to help optimise the clinic pathway and evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the procedure.

Breast screening team clear COVID backlog thanks to seven-day working

The City, Sandwell and Walsall breast screening service have successfully cleared a backlog of thousands of patients which had risen due to the pandemic. At its height there were over 14,000 patients waiting to be screened after the service, run by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, was halted for three months in March 2020 due to COVID.

To recover, the team put in place several changes including boosting it to a seven-day service. Up to 10 additional clinics were introduced over weekends, with mammographers volunteering to cover the shifts to support the service restoration. This was in comparison to the usual pattern of working which was a five-day week with occasional Saturdays to provide an accessible service to patients.

Syeda Alam, Breast Screening Programme Manager and Clinical Superintendent Radiographer, explained: “The service had a 47 per cent mammographer vacancy factor, however, the remaining team members inclusive of the clinicians and administration team absorbed the significant increase in workload through the week.

“Nationally, breast screening services were required to change the method of invitation to open invitations to ensure all women who needed to be screened were invited whilst optimising service capacity. During COVID, the service submitted a proposal for a hybrid version of open invitations due to concerns of the potential detrimental effects on service uptake; our concerns were surrounding the high BAME percentage and areas of high deprivation.

“When compared against the national trend post-COVID the service maintained an average uptake of 59.2 per cent where nationally uptake was dropping as low as 25 per cent.”

The impact of COVID on the service was

immense even after screening started again. Syeda continued: “When screening restarted after the first three months of COVID, it was at a reduced pace with appointments scheduled at 20 minutes intervals due to PPE and additional cleaning requirements to maintain client and staff safety. This was in comparison to the six-minute appointments prior to the pandemic.

“There was other work to do. The clinic workflow was re-evaluated to support social distancing in line with COVID guidance and a one-way system of working was introduced on the mobile vans. An additional patient safety leaflet and signage were produced to reassure clients of the additional safety measures that had been implemented and detailed how they could support this process.

“However, we persevered and successfully cleared the backlog in October this year. This was thanks to every member of the team, who stepped up and went the extra mile. The seven-day working was truly unique and short term, as it was paid for with additional funds secured specifically to help us recover.”

The breast screening team

The breast screening team with the Invenia ABUS scanner

Focus on improving tracheostomy care

Improving tracheostomy care for patients across the Trust has been the focus of advanced physiotherapist Nicki Heys.

As part of a quality improvement project Nicki has been working closely with colleagues from the wards, critical care outreach, ENT and speech and language therapy to evaluate the current system and service for tracheostomised patients and work to improve it.

Tracheostomies can be inserted as part of a surgical procedure, or to improve comfort, reduce sedation and facilitate liberation from prolonged ventilation in critical care.

“Leading reports have highlighted concerns regarding the quality and safety of tracheostomy care,” explained Nicki, who is also clinical lead physio for critical care. “Tracheostomies are being performed in increasing numbers and thus, national guidelines produced by The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine in collaboration with the National Tracheostomy Safety Project advocate a more formal, structured system and multi-disciplinary approach to

caring for this high-risk patient group within the NHS.

“The aim of the project is to improve the safety and quality of care provided to adult patients with new or existing tracheostomies in our Trust, limiting adverse events. It will also boost the confidence and knowledge of colleagues caring for patients with tracheostomies and enhance the patient flow.”

Nicki added: “There are several things we are doing to achieve this.

“They include introducing blue boxes which contain all necessary emergency equipment - these are now available for all tracheostomised patients trust wide and can be accessed by calling the critical care outreach team (City Bleep 6000, Sandwell Bleep 6234).

"The project group agreed early on that there was a need to care for tracheostomised patients on designated cohort wards within the trust when not on either of the Critical Care units. This would facilitate a focus on support and education and therefore limit risk. The agreed wards are D15; D17; L2; P2; P4; N4; P5 and the AMUs on both sites."

SURGICAL SERVICES

“We have also introduced pilot tracheostomy multi-disciplinary rounds which started in October. We aim to gather evidence from these rounds as proof of concept and already they are proving incredibly valuable.

“And of course, we recently held a train the trainer study day where we delivered theoretical and practical education on tracheostomies including daily and emergency care to 35 staff members who work on the cohort wards. This was in partnership with ATOS Medical. The enthusiasm and positivity demonstrated by all who attended the study day and those within the project group really is fantastic.”

The project will also see the introduction of a standardised care plan for Unity, a tracheostomy awareness week, a rolling teaching programme and a mandatory training e-learning module as well as the development of a simulation model in the future.

Colleagues at the train the trainer day

Critical care host first patient forum in three years

SURGICAL SERVICES

The critical care follow up support service (FUSS) team hosted their first patient forum since the COVID pandemic.

Catherine Beddowes and Simone Johnson-Newton support patients and families through the whole of their ICU journey, from admission through to discharge and beyond. Reflecting on the day, Catherine said: “It was a great day all round and the patients and families that came all gained something from it.

“Being critically ill is a life-changing event and this experience often has a profound impact on patients and their relatives – that being a longstanding effect on a patient’s physical, psychological, and cognitive wellbeing and in many patients, recovery can take in excess of 12 months.

“Intensive care follow-up and support groups can be a lifeline to patients and relatives when they are trying to piece their lives together again. As part of the ongoing support here at SWB Critical Care, the ICU FUSS team offer one to one clinic appointments as well group forums.

“A forum is the ideal opportunity for patients and families to meet and share their experiences, having the positive impact of them knowing they are not alone. It is held in an informal group setting and we provide a safe space where individuals feel comfortable to talk openly and freely about their ICU experience and recovery process.

“It allows an opportunity for us to explore and explain interventions and treatments to help bring understanding and to answer any questions that may be raised. Communication and quality information is a key aspect of ICU recovery and filling in the gaps is so important in the rehabilitation period.

“Pre COVID, we held quarterly forums, the last one being in December 2019. So, after almost three years, we are thrilled to be finally getting back to holding our forums and this first one was specifically for our long term stay COVID survivors.

Simone Johnson-Newton added: “There are many benefits for our patients, including continued support, information, and guidance on rehabilitation; the chance to meet others

(FUSS)

who have been through similar experiences – as only those who have been in the same position can really understand; the power of being able to talk about shared experiences and hear other stories to make them feel less alone.

“The forum was long awaited for some of our patients - one said they had nervous excitement. They enjoyed finally meeting others who have been there, as well as members of the wider critical care team who played a part in their recovery.

Catherine continued: “Our colleagues often carry the emotional burden of working in this environment and at times especially through the pandemic, the care and treatment we were giving felt hopeless. The Intensive Care Society has identified the importance for staff wellbeing to look back and see the good things and the positive outcomes.

“Attending forums and meeting the patients we have cared for brings positivity and helps boosts the sense of emotional worth of our jobs.

“Another important part of forums is receiving feedback. Improving the patient and relative experience is always at the forefront of our minds. It’s always nice to hear positive

feedback, but negative feedback is just as important. It enables us to explore the service we provide and informs future changes in practice – ultimately improving the overall patient and relative experience.”

“Looking to the future, we plan to get back to hosting quarterly forums in the new year.”

One patient said: “Thank you so much to the follow up support service team and colleagues for taking the time to support us all. It has really helped me knowing that so many people understand what we have been through. I’m already looking forward to the next one.”

Another patient shared: “Being able to release my emotions and thoughts after all this time and to know that others shared these experiences helped me so much today. I now know I am not alone.”

This year the follow up support service team have also welcomed Nicola Baker, Clinical Psychologist who plans to work in liaison with patients by running small group supportive sessions in the new year, including self-guided anxiety management strategies, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques.

The critical care follow up support service

team hosting the patient forum

New flagship social care and health facility opens

It was with great delight that the people of Sandwell saw Harvest View reablement centre open last month. Designed in partnership between the Trust and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC), and funded through the Better Care Fund, the centre provides for patients who do not need an acute bed following a hospital admission. Instead patients will be supported to regain or maintain their daily living skills, strength and mobility before returning to their normal place of residence.

PCCT Matron Pal Grewal who will lead the nursing care at Harvest View explained: “Colleagues have been looking forward to moving to Harvest View as it marks the beginning of a new chapter for community staff providing the best care for our patients. To be able to do so in an 80 bed multi-million pound purpose-built centre, only a short distance away from Rowley Regis hospital, is a real pleasure.

“The facility will help people get back home after a hospital visit and also those who need some structured support to avoid a hospital stay altogether. Harvest View replicates the home environment, where residents can be encouraged back to their normal health. The focus is on maintaining and improving independent living rather than specifically treating the medical condition.

“The service will be accessible 24 hours a

day, seven days a week and will include both step-up and step-down transfers and interventions. Each episode of care will consist of assessment, reablement and/or rehabilitation and therapies that address a recognised health need and personalised according to the needs of the individual. Following admission into the service the individual’s care plan will be agreed within 24 hours and a lead care practitioner identified.”

Staff Nurse Aparna Shoban who recently joined the Trust and has just relocated from Sandwell Hospital added: “This is my first time working in the community, for I am new to this country and the system and am very much looking forward to this new venture. The centre is very nice and the staff are lovely so I am really looking forward to working here.”

Patient Annette McDonald, aged 63, arrived at the reablement centre two weeks after having a hip operation following a fall at home and praised her experience so far. “I’ve had so much help and support since I’ve been here,” she explained. “I cannot fault it. The carers have been assisting with my exercises and building my confidence so that I’ll be back on my feet and able to return home. These regular exercise sessions are really helping. The nursing staff have also been providing excellent care – nothing is too much trouble for them and they’re very quick to respond. I’ve been made to feel very welcome and at home.”

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITY AND THERAPIES

“The facilities here are excellent, from the food cooked by the chef to the comfortable communal area where I’ll sit and chat to the other residents. It’s nice to have some company.”

Councillor Suzanne Hartwell, Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults, Social Care and Health, and Sarah Oley, the Trust’s Clinical Directorate Lead –iBeds, cut the ribbon to officially open the facility.

Councillor Hartwell said: “This is such an innovative and collaborative project. Harvest View is a magnificent building. For Sandwell residents who will be using this facility, for their families and for the staff who will be working there, this is an amazing person-centred place.

“Harvest View offers residents choice and control over their care and also promotes independence, helping us with our ambition for Sandwell people to live well and age well.”

Sarah Oley added: “It’s a fantastic example of partnership working between us at the Trust and our partners at Sandwell Council and we look forward to caring for those people of Sandwell who need the reablement support offered here at Harvest View.”

Attendees at the opening of Harvest View reablement centre

This month we say ‘Hello’ to our newest non-executive directors, the people who bring an independent perspective to the Board and keep a close eye on the direction, progress and plans for the organisation

Non-executive directors play an incredibly important strategic role in any organisation and

Val Taylor

Meet the newest Non-Executive Directors

ours is no different; they bring knowledge and skills to the boardroom alongside an open and independent perspective and a duty to uphold the highest standards and integrity in leading the organisation.

Non-executives are full members of the Board of Directors, appointed and expected to participate in committees, scrutinise

Jo-Anne Wass

the performance and objectives of the organisation, ensure the integrity of financial decisions and maintain oversight of clinical and quality standards.

This month we welcome three of our newest members of the Board: non-executive directors Val Taylor, Jo-Anne Wass, Rachel Hardy and Mike Hallissey.

Val Taylor brings with her 15 years of leadership experience in organisational development, HR, governance and policy development at a director level. Val also sits on a voluntary sector health and social care board for an organisation that provides intermediate and respite services to those living in the community requiring support with mental health conditions. Working in partnership with SWBHT Raid Team and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, this enables them to provide much needed services to individuals.

Jo-Anne is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and holds a postgraduate qualification in HR and public affairs. She has over 26 years within the NHS and worked for NHS England as a National Director for Human Resources and Organisational Development.

Jo-Anne has led on projects to join the forces of the University of Leeds and the local NHS in reaching out to deprived communities and raising aspiration. In her role for the Leeds Academic Health Partnership, she has led the training and development of healthcare workers within the city of Leeds. She has worked closely with the NHS to collaborate on the education of the current and future NHS workforce as well as research and development projects.

Rachel Hardy

Rachel has over 35 years’ experience within the NHS where she has held senior positions within the organisation. She has board level experience leading strategic change, financial and change management in complex health businesses at an organisational, regional, and national level. She worked on a commissioning system for one of four regions in NHS England for six years. Prior to that Rachel worked across the Birmingham and Solihull Health System, developing a financial approach to accelerating clinical strategy with seven health providers, two local authorities and GPs across the city.

Mike Hallissey

Mike began his career in 1992 where he held the position of a senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham. In 1996 her gained his consultants position for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Surgical Oncology where he focused on Breast and more recently upper gastrointestinal cancers. He helped support the development of a regional service in Angiosarcoma as well still supporting the breast services clinically.

Welcome to the Trust Val, Jo-Anne, Rachel and Mike.

Wave goodbye to…

After well over a quarter of a century, Andrea Hanson will be retiring from her role as team leader in trauma at SWB.

Andrea initially started out as a nursing auxiliary at the then Moxley Hospital in 1986. Four years later, Andrea would step away from her profession for seven years to have her twin daughters.

When she re-joined us in 1997, she started as part of the nursing program project. Three years later, at the turn of the millennium, she commenced her Band 5 role at Sandwell theatres. Not soon after she was successfully promoted to sister and team leader in trauma which where she currently works alongside multiple trauma surgeons.

Andrea has faced many challenges whilst at SWB with COVID being one of the biggest.

“The biggest challenge was COVID and having to cope with personal grief as my mother sadly passed away and also the loss of colleagues and supporting the team with their grief and concerns. As well as this, I was feeling worried about family members who were working in the Trust as during the first wave it was a real unknown to us all.”

Andrea told us that if she hadn’t worked in theatres, she would have worked in the food industry as she has always had a passion for all things food and would have enjoyed being a chef.

When asked about advice to give to her

younger self and her most formative career experiences Andrea said: “I would tell everyone in this kind of profession or similar to work hard and don’t take criticism to heart but instead see criticism as a something to build on.”

She added: “There aren’t any particular formative career experiences which stand out to me but what I can say is that it has been a pleasure and honour working alongside such amazing surgeons and a multidisciplinary team with incredible qualities who have always shown the utmost empathy and kindness to their patients during my time here.”

Andrea has had a significant impact on many of her colleagues at SWB including Kerry Scott, Theatres Team Leader.

Kerry recalls her first day at the Trust: “I started my first working day with Andrea in Sandwell Theatres and we hit it off straight away and still are close friends to this day. Andrea has always been my rock when needed and has so much knowledge which makes her such an amazing mentor in our department. She always puts her heart and soul into everything she comes up against.”

Beth Curley and Priya Kailey, Theatre Practitioners, have also worked closely along Andrea and said: “Andrea is a lovely lady and precious friend, with a heart of gold. She always shares her extensive knowledge of trauma and orthopaedics and plastic surgery

Andrea Hanson

Team leader in trauma at SWB

with others and is a pleasure to work with, we have had some good memories and laughs. Not only is she a fantastic colleague but an excellent team leader, compassionate nurse, and a friend for life. We feel privileged to have worked with her over the years.”

Sharon Downing, healthcare assistant echoed these thoughts and said: “I have worked with Andrea for over two decades. She has become a really good friend and everyone at hospital is going to miss her very much.”

Colleagues aside, Andrea has always had a positive influence on both her twin daughters, seeing them play a fundamental role in the care for our patients at SWB.

Alexandra Beaumont, Emergency Nurse Practitioner and Sophie Germain, Clinical Nurse Practitioner spoke to Heartbeat and said: “As your twin daughters we have a very strong relationship with you mom! You are such an inspiration to all your work colleagues and especially your team and you’ve touched everyone’s hearts including ours, your work colleagues and also your patients that never forget what you’ve done for them! if it wasn’t for you driving us to become what we have achieved to date in our lives then we wouldn’t be in the roles that we are now! We cannot thank you enough. You’re our hero.”

As part of her retirement, Andrea is planning on spending more time with her family and friends, including her grandchildren.

Happy and healthy retirement Andrea!

Andrea Hanson

Letters, of less than 200 words please, can be sent to the Communications Department, Trust Headquarters, Sandwell Hospital or by email to swbh.comms@nhs.net

Is the ambulance service running properly?

Dear Heartbeat,

Why is West Midlands Ambulance Service allowed to produce such a poor service and constantly be getting away with it? On many, many occasions I have been on the line waiting for them to answer a call just to book patients transport to take them back and I am waiting on occasions over one hour before they answer, and then then have the audacity to put you on hold with yet another set of waiting before your allowed to book.

Then you're waiting hours and hours until a crew comes. The service is NOT fit for purpose. These patients rely on transport, some need to get home for carers to come in their homes and are missing their visits.

Something needs to improve. I believe they have a contract to cover many regions in the UK. It is clearly not working as our patients are suffering and it is usually the elderly that are to me at risk.

Please sort this shambles out, because it is a shambles, we are supposed to be looking after patients, not making them stressed.

Kind regards, A very concerned NHS member of staff

Dear anonymous,

The patient transport services (PTS) contract is held by WMAS and is managed on our behalf by Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. Over recent weeks we have had a few examples from different services whereby our patients have been left waiting longer than is necessary for PTS to pick them up and take them home. We have arranged a meeting with WMAS and the contract manager to go through these issues with a view to coming to a resolution and securing a more appropriate service for our patients. We recognise that this impacts on our staff too, as some of the examples indicate staff have stayed beyond their shift finish time to chaperone patients waiting for PTS.

The PTS service is a restricted service and where patients can make their own way to their appointments and home again, including with the support of their relatives, PTS should not be booked. However, when patients are eligible for PTS we need to ensure that it runs smoothly and effectively. We are also exploring the possibility of online booking to avoid the need for a telephone call which can result in a long wait. The above improvements might take some time to implement but you are right to highlight this important issue and it is one we will work with WMAS at getting right.

Kind regards,

Johanne Newens Chief Operating Officer

YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD

Is £30 enough for Christmas decorations?

Dear Heartbeat, So I have recently seen on comms that we have been allocated £30 for Christmas decorations. I understand that times are hard and money is tight but surely we could stretch a further than £30? I’m sure in the past we have been given £50 and I’m not sure what we can buy for our wards especially mine where it is a bigger ward for £30 whilst ensuring we follow infection control rules. Is there any point in me bothering decorating my ward if all the Trust can give us is £30? I want my ward to be a little uplifting as it can be horrible being in hospital especially during the festive period but I’m not sure realistically how far my department will be able to stretch with £30. Isn’t patient wellbeing during Christmas worth more than £30? Couldn’t the larger areas be given a little more money perhaps?

Kind regards, Anonymous Dear Anonymous, Thank you for your letter and we are very grateful for your efforts in creating a festive environment for your ward. You may not be aware that the Trust Charity uses donations from grateful patients to fund £30 per ward/area/department for Christmas decorations, and has taken responsibility for this since 2018. In addition, the charity also uses these donations to fund presents for inpatients on Christmas day, as well as supporting teams to make seasonal purchases for their staff, and to fund team building activities which can include end of year meals.

Unfortunately, due to these extensive commitments, it would not be possible for the charity to increase the decorations allowance above £30 this year. However, in the past wards have ‘joined forces’ to pool their allocations together where possible, in creating a truly special festive environment for their areas. If this is possible for your ward, we would welcome you to go ahead with this.

Many thanks and kind regards, Johnny Shah Head of Your Trust Charity

Richard talks about: Our own 12 days of Christmas

Richard Beeken, Chief Executive

RICHARD'S LAST WORD

As we draw to the end of our calendar year I have taken some time to reflect on the past 12 months. As always in the NHS it has been a time where we have all had our resilience and mental strength tested to the limit and we have had to work together, supporting one another to do our best for our patients. We have come a long way. Our new strategy has become more widely known. We have developed, with you, a new set of values and our fundamentals of care framework (to drive our Patient strategic objective) is becoming a reality. We have also progressed our people Plan changes and have far better developed plans and resources to get ready for Midland Met. We have further developed our partnerships with the councils and other NHS providers, to start to truly transform services in the community, helping people stay well at home, avoiding admission to hospital

and supporting people to get out of hospital with the right care more quickly.

In addition there are a whole host of achievements within your own services and departments, from individuals progressing with their career aspirations, filling vacancies and being a beacon of excellent practice for others to learn from.

This month I am pulling out just 12 achievements (our very own 12 days of Christmas) where people have either been a finalist or a winner in a local, regional or national award. We are a Trust that is award winning in many areas and we should be proud of our success. Tell your family and friends about the brilliant things we do here day in day out. We may not always get it right and our working life is tough, but we have much to celebrate.

Our own 12 days of Christmas

Janice Nelson wins Making a Difference Award at RCN West Midlands Black History Month Celebration

Clare Nash was highly commended in the "Individual Achievement of the Year Award in the UK Government Opportunities Awards

Zaheer Iqbal was shortlisted for the Leadership of the Year Award at the MyPorter Awards

Tap and Go project awarded Excellence in Project Management Award at the Health Tech Newspaper Awards

Andrew Churm wins our Trust's most prestigious award, Employee of the Year

Executive Director of IT and Digital, Martin Sadler, is given a place in the top 100 CIOs in the country

Afrah

shortlisted

Trust opens two new shops to help colleagues with cost of living

Colleagues struggling with the current rising cost of living can now find support through two new shops that have opened at City Hospital, with discounted groceries and school uniforms.

With the rising cost of living as we head in to the Christmas season it was clear that something needed to be done to offer a helping hand to colleagues. So colleagues in the Volunteer service, Trust Charity and the Catering team joined forces to open the latest additions to the trust, the pop up shop and the school uniform swap shop.

The school uniform swap shop is based at City Hospital in the outpatients area above the Arches café. The shop contains preloved school uniforms, donated by colleagues across our Trust, in many sizes and colours. Colleagues can access items from the shop directly by popping in on Tuesdays between 8:30am - 10am or between 2pm - pm. Or simply contact the project lead Patricia Hunt on patriciahunt@nhs.net or 07790351490.

The pop-up shop based in the reception area of Sheldon block offers food items at low cost for colleagues. Based on the ground floor of Sheldon block the shop is open on Tuesdays from 10am -2pm and Thursday from 2pm – 6pm.

The shop offers food cupboard items at wholesale prices, as well as some toys at

reduced costs. It’s card payments only. Please bring your own bags as the shops are not able to provide these.

Launching the shops, Volunteer Service Manager Patricia hunt said, “I want to thank Jane Owen and David Calder from our catering team for stocking the pop-up shop the volunteers team and Christopher Spencer from Trust Charity for their help with the Uniform Swap Shop, and to the volunteers who will be staffing the shops; “We know people are struggling and the Trust wanted to do what they could to help. We wouldn’t be able to achieve this without the support from colleagues and volunteers, so thanks go to them all for their commitment and support.”

For more information on cost of living support, please visit Connect.

December

staff lottery results

Volunteer Michael Reay at the uniform swap shop

Anne Marie at the pop-up shop in Sheldon block