Heartbeat, July 2023

Colleagues wearing their badges to mark NHS75

Lesley talks about...caring for our young people

Lesley Writtle, Deputy Chair

HELLO FROM THE CHAIR

Welcome to the July edition of Heartbeat.

This month, we marked NHS75, celebrating the NHS' birthday with colleagues across the organisation and our partners in the wider NHS. Our cover shows colleagues with their George Cross badges, given to the NHS by the queen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our centrespread shows a behind the scenes view of ITV news filming at MMUH.

We've also announced our Star Awards shortlist for 2023 on pages 12 and 13: take a look and be sure to get your votes in for our three voted-for categories!

Enjoy J

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As you know our Chairman, Sir David Nicholson is now the chair of all the Black Country acute provider organisations. As a result, deputy chairs have been appointed across the four organisations, and our role is to support Sir David in our organisations by keeping in contact with staff and patients with a focus on quality, safety and resource management.

For me, it also means you will see a regular column from me in Heartbeat reflecting on the great work going on in the organisation.

So little bit about myself. I was appointed as a non-exec director here at SWB in March 2020 after retiring as chief executive of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. I previously served at as a chief operating officer, deputy CEO and Director in a number of Black Country organisations.

I was delighted to come back to SWB as my career started at Sandwell District Hospital 1981 when I began my training as a nurse.

I was a staff nurse on Lyndon 2 and the neonatal unit, and it was there that I decided I wanted to train as a children’s nurse.

After qualifying as a registered sick children’s nurse, I then worked at Birmingham Children’s Hospital occupying a range of specialist roles in ITU, children’s oncology/haematology services before moving in late 1990s to become a nurse manager/general manager.

I joined Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in 2011 from Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust where I had been director of mental health since 2006. Prior to this I was director of primary care and children’s services.

One thing that strikes me about SWB is

how welcoming you all are. When I visit areas, I find that everyone is proud of the work they do and the service they provide to our patients. I find you are also honest about the challenges you face, and these are good conversations to have as it helps me to understand how the Board can better support you.

A good many of you have given your service to SWB for many years and it’s great to see how this experience is shared with newer members of the organisation.

This month one of the areas I visited was the Day Nursery at Sandwell Hospital, and what a treat and delight it was to meet the team and the children.

This nursery plays an important role in what we do for our people – it means you can start a family and have a safe place to leave your child while you work. It was heartening to hear the stories of colleagues whose children attended the nursery and are now adults and sometimes return to say hello and thank the staff for helping to give them a brilliant start.

You will know that the nursery was rated Good by OFSTED earlier this year, a real testament to the dedication of manager, Emma Collier and her team.

The inspectors called out how the children are confident and form strong attachments with staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure. They also highlighted the opportunity allowed for outdoor learning which has seen the children grow a variety of organic produce in their garden area, including tomatoes, lettuce and carrots.

I look forward to returning to the nursery and spending half a day helping to look after the children.

If you would like me to visit your area please email me lesley.writtle@nhs.net

Colleagues and children at the Sandwell day nursery

Mayor welcomes training course which will boost staffing

A fast-track training package has been launched in a partnership between the Trust and Sandwell College which will help to boost employment.

West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street visited Learning Works to find out more about the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), which runs for a three-week period. He met with candidates who had already been trained as ward services officers and was impressed with what he saw.

“The SWAP programme helps get people into work through a training course that is short and sharp and helps people get into those jobs very quickly,” said Andy.

“It was brilliant to meet some of the people that are now going into work with help from the new scheme.”

SWAP aims to provide individuals an alternative pathway to other popular professions within the NHS.

The Trust’s Chairman, Sir David Nicholson said: “The Learning Works is based in the heart of our community and prides itself in how it offers a variety of opportunities to the people of Sandwell and West Birmingham by working with local employers.”

Part of the training includes showing students how to carry out food service duties which involves reading and understanding patient menus and serving meals. They will also be trained in customer service, health and safety, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), communication skills and infection control awareness to enhance their skills.

Simon Griffiths, Executive Director of Strategy and Development at Sandwell College, said: “We are delighted to be working in a close delivery partnership with the Trust and to play a critical role in ensuring local residents can access jobs and careers with such an important and well

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

recognised employer. Sector-based work academy programmes are just one of the many ways Sandwell College helps the adults in our local communities to gain employment, learning new skills and achieve qualifications. It is important that as Sandwell's college, we strengthen a local workforce and encourage more businesses to think about the benefits of working with, and training-up, people from our diverse communities.”

The exciting three-week training course started on 19 June and is free to all unemployed residents over the age of 19 living in the West Midlands Combined Authority area (WMCA).

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street with Sir David Nicholson and representatives from Sandwell College, the Learning Works and the Department of Work and Pensions.

CAAW23: Clinical Audit Awareness Week at SWB

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

From 19-23 June our trust participated in the national Clinical Audit Awareness Week (#CAAW23). This week runs every year and is used to promote the benefits of clinical audit as a quality improvement tool, both to celebrate the amazing work happening at SWB and get inspired by the work of trusts across the UK. The week was a great success and would not have been possible without the help of library and knowledge services, the catering team and the trust volunteers.

The clinical effectiveness team used the week to get out and about across the trust and celebrate our SWB Audit Heroes

(see next page). Thank you to everyone who came to say ‘hello’ at the Sandwell stand, and to everyone who helped share the Clinical Effectiveness resources across the Sandwell, City and Rowley sites. The team loved having the opportunity to connect with so many colleagues and hear about all the different projects happening across SWB.

So what now?

Clinical audit is happening everywhere, all the time, not just during #CAAW23, so the clinical effectiveness team would love to hear from you! If you’ve got a project, or want to get involved in a project, we can help.

For more information about clinical audit, clinical guidelines, NICE and learning from deaths, visit our Connect pages: https:// connect2.swbh.nhs.uk/governance/

clinical-effectiveness/, email us on swbh. auditteam-clineffec@nhs.net or tweet us @ SWBHCAudit.

SWB clinical audit heroes

This year there were five categories as part of the national healthcare quality improvement partnership “clinical audit heroes’ competition:

• Patient Safety

• Patient and Public Involvement

• Healthcare Inequalities

• Influencing Organisational Change

• Sustainability

Let’s celebrate our SWB audit heroes! (Further info about these projects can be found on the Clinical Effectiveness Connect page).

Patient Safety

Healthcare inequalities

Sustainability

Adherence to anti-embolism stockings following elective knee and hip replacements for VTE prophylaxis – D. Jimulia, K. Grewal, S. Mawji, S. Singal, R. Philip, A Malik and D Prakash

Re-audit of babies with chronic lung disease (CLD) of prematurity, being discharged home in oxygen following recommendations from previous audit 2018-2020. – F. Wootton, S.Kamupira and M Cynanh

QI Service evaluation: Improving preprocedure patient experience in Endoscopy in relation to NBM advice –S Pal, A Bautista, E Chamberlain and R Granada

ROTEM training – T Thompson, H Garston, D Dhaka and S Salim

Darshana Dhaka

National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) 4th Round – S Hunt, L Parkes, M. Blaber, A Lock, M Charalambides

Homeless support in ED – M Wardle, Homeless Patient Pathway and Alcohol Care team

Assessing the health needs of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children – I Cowling, M Upatissa, M Fleeman and I Mahabeer Using audit to identify where improvement could be made to support

6-month follow ups for patients in the Stoke Pathway - S Banwell, S Gutzmore, L Chua, S Vasishta

Assessing TIVA usage in Anaesthesia –M Macdonald, C Brown, A Van Vuuren, D Dhaka

Patient and Public Involvement

Assessing TIVA usage in Anaesthesia – M Macdonald, C Brown, A Van Vuuren, D Dhaka

It’s clear that Darshana is very knowledgeable of how clinical audit can be used to improve patient care and put meaningful change into practice and she consistently highlights the value of her colleagues’ hard work in making improvement – an excellent example of living the SWB ARC values!

Colleagues at the clinical audit awareness week stand

Fundamentals of care training focuses on experiences

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Our nursing associate team has continued their rollout of fundamentals of care training, this time focusing on the feelings of a patient being cared for in hospital and once they have been discharged.

Last year, the Trust launched our fundamentals of care approach, in which colleagues are encouraged to consider the essentials in terms of the care we deliver to our patients. These fundamentals mean ensuring appropriate nutrition, hydration, personal hygiene, sleep, rest and dignity to name but a few, which have traditionally been the responsibility of the nurse on behalf of the healthcare team.

As part of this, the nursing associate team began working to provide education, resources and support to nurses and midwives across the Trust. Led by Stacey Clarke and Aaron Bertram-Miller, the team have rolled out fundamentals of care training to student nurses and midwives on placement at the Trust, with the first course taking place in December 2022.

The second tranche of training began in June, hosted by Aaron and Stacey and led by Patient Experience Lead, Jamie Emery. The fundamentals of care part two training day had around 60 attendees: made up of nursing associates and international nurses. With the aim of ensuring a positive patient experience, dubbed the Disney effect, the sessions held throughout the day considered the feelings and experiences of a patient here at SWB.

The nursing associate team stated: “We wanted to prioritise a person-centred approach, maintaining the importance of the fundamentals but moving to a space in which we considered how a person feels when they are with us, whether for a short or a long time.”

The sessions covered topics such as patient experience, faith and spiritual needs, bereavement, recognising and supporting carers and diversity and protected characteristics. To this end, colleagues from across the Trust came to speak and lead sessions, resulting in a truly crossdepartmental event.

Jamie commented: “Hopefully this can be the first of some regular and embedded content for our people, patients and population.”

The team also invited speakers from outside the Trust, with Crisis Birmingham in attendance to lead a session on homelessness. Stacey stated, “The team that came to speak had been previously homeless. They spoke about their experiences and the impact of kindness and positivity in the hospital environment.

Aaron said: “It is important that we show what happens once a patient has left the hospital. Our care does not stop there, and it is not just the patients we look after but their families as well. Everyone deserves the best care possible and having the fundamentals in place is a great start to achieving that.

“Everyone was applauding them, we were really moved by their words and they had a big impact on the group.”

The engagement team were also in attendance, leading an interactive session in which attendees were encouraged to talk about their own feelings on the day. Stacey added: “Thinking about and discussing our own feelings helped everyone to think about the feelings of the patients we care

for. It’s so important that we think of them as people, not just our patients, and to recognise them as individuals with their own needs.”

Moving forward, the team will continue to roll out fundamentals of care training to all student nurses and healthcare professionals coming into the Trust. For more information, please contact Stacey Clarke or Aaron Bertram-Miller.

Colleagues and speakers at the fundamentals of care training day

To

As always, they showed amazing dedication to their patient and worked over time to make sure all care needs are met. On this occasion their input has changed the patient's life in all true meaning. They provided a wonderful example of how multidisciplinary team work achieves best care outcomes; they coordinated with the patient's GP, metal health nurse, physiotherapist, and family members. The patient went from not wanting any treatment at all to now wanting all treatment possible in his home environment. Said and I quote " I feel a lot more comfortable now" "I am eating and drinking again.

From

Excellent clinical skills in emergency situation. Providing life saving intervention, remained calm, professional and kept team reassured of positive outcome. well done Jack, a true asset to A&E at Sandwell. We are honoured to work with you.

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.

To nominate a colleague, visit connect2. swbh.nhs.uk/communications/shout-out/, or search 'shout out' on Connect and fill in the form.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

Sandra is doing a brilliant job to support early expression of breastmilk by making sure the Aston Pride clinic is always well stocked up. Thank you Sandra and thanks for all the support you give to mums and babies with feeding.

From

To – ACCP Marion Palmer - ITU

Marion attended A&E resus team during an emergency situation, Marion was an asset to the team, her knowledge and experience was excellent and she provided support to all members of the team. Marion had a positive impact on the patients care and provided guidance to all members of the MDT. Marion is always patient and supportive when attending A&E and is currently providing excellent teaching on vital topics related to emergency care.

From

Kelly is such a lovely A&E nurse. What I appreciate most is her ability connect with mental health patients. She is a role model for all of us as she reminds us all that patients are humans and they need a lot of care, understanding and compassion . We are all so busy and it may be a challenge in A&E to give MH patients the time and attention they deserve. Kelly always goes above and belong to ensure she talk to these patients and does everything she can to ensure their welfare is safeguarded. Her input into care of patients has led to avoidance of many tranquilization episodes.

Angelina assisted me upon having contact with a young person who was having an episode of mental health crisis. Angelina's manner, approach and calmness really helped the individual at their time of need. Angelina was able to give sound advice and showed so much compassion and care to the young person that you could see how much she put them at ease. Wanted Angelina to know that she is a wonderful advocate to young people and fabulous nurse to work with.

I phoned to inform admin that I was unable to complete my rota duty due to my son being in hospital. Tracey took control of the situation immediately offering to support the team in place of me thereby increasing her own workload. She showed empathy and reassured me that everything would be ok. Thank you Tracey.

Excellent care given to expectant women with complex vulnerabilities and always going above and beyond. Thank you from all of us in maternity

From

Being a great physio, has been amazing over the past two years in helping aid my recovery. Always ready with new exercises and challenges to get my strength back and walking, forever grateful for your patience and hard work, we are slowly but surely getting there! Thank you

For being approachable and supportive always! Nothing is ever too much trouble and always goes above and beyond. Promoting research within our department, in terms of training and ensuring participants are recruited effectively. A massive asset to our Cardiology department

From – Laura Taylor

Thank you Aaron for working so hard to get the new maternity clinic build done so efficiently within a very short time frame , it is really appreciated.

In their roles as volunteers, Brian and Rob recently supported the Widening Participation Team by facilitating a tour of Sandwell Hospital for Project Search interns who will be on a supported internship programme with us in September. The interns all really enjoyed the tour, they found Brain and Rob extremely friendly, helpful and informative. Thank you Brian and Rob.

From

A massive thank you to Lou and the imaging support workers who pulled out all the stops this morning to ensure no patients were cancelled following a ceiling collaspe and flood in the ultrasound room. Within less than 30 minutes they had set up another room moving equipment, sorting IT and cleaning the room. Very proud they are part of my team.

From – Patricia Kehoe

To – Tracey Corns

From – Karen Hoar

To – Aaron Palmer

From –Michelle Dalby

To – Tom Mahoney, Physiotherapy

From – Charlene Bennett

To – Kelly Underhill

From – Virupaksha Sadhunavar

To – Angelina Mclaughlin - Sandwell School Nursing Service

From – Laura Johnson

To – Dr Jack Beardsall

From – Samantha Hinton

To – Louise Thomson

– Toni Clifton

To – Sandra Martin

– Infant feeding team

– Urgent community response team especially Julie Zolna and Bridget Mulkeen

– Marah Alsaleh

To – Angela Arnold

– Afrah Muflihi

To – Dr Shamim Rahman

To – Brian and Rob from Volunteers

– Emma Dalton

From now until when we move into Midland Met, we will be sharing updates with you about the many people involved in the project and the role they each play.

The successful opening of Midland Metropolitan University Hospital relies on many people, teams and stakeholders. Once open, it will have a far reaching impact – not only on those we care for but also on colleagues and our community in terms of regeneration, jobs, housing, charitable endeavours and so much more.

Getting us to Midland Met is a team effort. We all have a part to play in making it #morethanahospital!

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

In 2017 I joined as the lead alcohol nurse to set up the alcohol care team. Since then, the team has expanded following national recognition, and I am now an alcohol nurse consultant and work with NHS England as the national lead alcohol nurse.

My part in Midland Met

Arlene Copland, Alcohol Nurse Consultant

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

The alcohol care team provides services to support people with alcohol dependency and those who are drinking excessively. We provide specialist assessments and tailored treatment plans to ensure patients get the care and expert support they need.

We will continue to support patients at Midland Met when it opens, and we are currently working with teams to build awareness of what we do and to help them understand the services available to support patients.

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

I am collaborating with the toxicology and gastrointestinal departments to prepare for the transition to Midland Met. An education programme is necessary as numerous nurses will require additional skills to care for patients with substance abuse issues.

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

Moving into Midland Met will allow our small team to work as one which will improve service delivery and team bonding.

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

It will improve patient experience as the hospital is purposely designed to meet the healthcare needs of the local population.

Have you been on a site tour? If so, can you share your feedback with us?

We have been on a site tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. The team are excited about moving into the new hospital, it’s an impressive building, and we can’t wait to get moved in so we can care for our patients in a modern healthcare setting.

Arlene Copland with members of the alcohol care team

Buzz Stop: A biodiverse and inclusive garden now open

Buzz Stop, a biodiverse and inclusive garden created by Spectra is now open outside Sandwell General Hospital. Centred around the senses and accessibility, Buzz Stop follows the lifecycle of a butterfly, creating a space for rest, reflection and connecting with nature. Buzz Stop is a sensory garden designed to encourage everyone to interact with and explore the space in a unique and curious way.

Buzz Stop is part of an ongoing collaboration between SWB and neurodiverse arts company Spectra. Visitors to the garden will be able to contribute their ideas on the impact of arts and culture to form a manifesto for Midland

Metropolitan University Hospital. Amy Campbell, Senior Arts Manager for MMUH said: “We are really pleased to be working with Spectra again after the success of last year’s Abundance garden at City Hospital as part of the Birmingham 2022 cultural festival. We recognise that artists help to make the important link between creativity and living well and are grateful to Arts Council England and WMCA Green Grants for supporting this project. As a small park, sometimes known as a pocket park outside the main entrance to Sandwell General Hospital, ‘Buzz Stop’ will be the perfect place for patients, visitors and staff to find stillness in their busy lives and will hopefully shine a light on the important relationship between nature, health and wellbeing."

Memorial tree planted at Sandwell Hospital

Regular visitors to Sandwell Hospital may have noticed a new tree which has been planted, in memory of healthcare workers who have lost their life to suicide.

UK Charity, Doctors in Distress donated the tree to SWB and hope that this will be a nationwide initiative covering every hospital.

The tree was planted by former NHS doctor and bestselling author of This is Going to Hurt, Adam Kay, Dr Ananta Dave, Chief Medical Officer at the Black Country Integrated Care Board and our Chief Executive, Richard Beeken and is a place where people can go to remember colleagues, family and friends who are no longer with us.

Richard said: “The issue of suicide within the medical profession is a very real one and some of us will have been affected by such a tragedy. By acknowledging this problem, we can address the factors that can lead to suicide. This is why we as a Trust have extensive mental health and emotional support in place for colleagues.

“Any of us can be affected at any time, nobody is immune, and we all need protection.”

Remember, you can contact Occupational Health and Wellbeing on extension if you feel you need support.

Hayley Guest, Creative Lead for Spectra added: “We’re so excited to be opening this garden at Sandwell General Hospital. We've had many conversations with members of the community, as well as staff and patients at the hospital, who have not only contributed to the final garden design, but are also excited about the prospect of a garden popping up where you least expect it! We're very grateful for all the fantastic support we've received from the community, our funders and Sandwell General Hospital in building Buzz Stop, which will be a little haven of nature; a beautiful rest spot for people and wildlife.”

Attendees enjoy Buzz Stop

Richard Beeken, Dr Ananta Dave and Adam Kay with the memorial tree at Sandwell Hospital

star awards 2023

shortlist announced

Colleagues and patients have been busy nominating teams and individuals for our 2023 Star Awards, recognising the hard work seen across SWB and highlighting those who live our values of ambition, respect and compassion.

We’re pleased to announce the shortlist for our 2023 awards – congratulations to all those who were shortlisted and nominated this year. Don’t forget to get your votes in for our three voted-for categories, Employee of the Year, Clinical Team of the Year and Non-clinical Team of the Year!

Scan the QR code to vote for your winners for Clinical Team of the Year, Non-Clinical Team of the Year and Employee of the Year!

Employee of the Year

Dr Huma Naqvi, Ortho-Geriatric Consultant

Jade Reberio, Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Urology

Rajeev Pathak, Operations Manager –Contact Centre, YHP PCN

Sue Hunt, Palliative and End of Life Clinical Service Manager

Susan Edwards, Lead Bereavement Nurse

Non-Clinical Team of the Year

Chaplaincy Team

Human Resources

Single Point of Access

The Clinical Effectiveness Team

Volunteer of the Year

Bally Barquer

Brian Guest

Elizabeth Johnston

Clinical Team of the Year

Cancer Hotline Team

iBEDS Wards PCCT

Rapid Response Therapy Services

Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre

Urgent Community Response Team

Learner of the Year

David Cartwright, STP Student, Respiratory Physiology

Emma Hibbs, Trainee ACP

Lisa Williams, Healthcare Support Worker

Prize for Transformation and Research

Dr Kristina Diridis, Consultant Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia

Radiopharmacy

Training and Development Team, Breast Imaging

Patient Safety Award

Dr Darshana Sawant Dhaka, Locum Consultant Anaesthesia

Emily Hobbs, Practice Education Lead in District Nursing and Zeena Tudor, District Nursing Team Leader

Katrina Brown, Matron – Community Nursing Services

Rising Star

Cara Shelton, Occupational Health Nurse

Emma Bessant, Senior Sister

Yvonne Copeland, Clinical Lead, Health Visiting

Sustainability

Cardiac Cath Lab

Clare Nash, Head of Clinical Products Management

Mat Macdonald, Connor Brown, Amanda Jansen Van Vuuren, Darshana

Dhaka

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Award

Bowel Cancer Screening Health Promotion Team

Janice Nelson, Deputy Head of Clinical Products Management

Menik Upatissa, Isabel Cowling, Michelle Fleeman, Indu Mahabeer, Paediatrics

Partnerships with the Community

Angela Arnold, Substance Misuse Midwife

Harvest View Team

Jayne Salter-Scott and Youth Space

Distinguished Service

Bridget Pennington-Wilson, Heath Visitor

Ruth Francis, Midwife

Verna White, Midwife

Patient’s Choice Award

Lyndon 2

Helen Taylor, Macmillan Breast Care Nurse

Ophthalmology Ward

Lights, Camera, Action – Midland Met is beamed live to three million viewers on NHS birthday

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

And we’re live from Midland Met!

On 5 July, the 75th birthday of the NHS, the ITV Central News team decamped from Gas Street Studios in Birmingham City Centre to broadcast their 6pm show from our new super hospital the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.

Staging the 30-minute broadcast from the construction site took months of planning by the crew, the Trust’s communications department and the Midland Met project team, who liaised with Balfour Beatty to ensure

stringent health and safety regulations were followed.

Around three million viewers tuned in to watch the show.

Vanya Rogers, Head of External Communications, said: “It has been an extraordinary effort to ensure the delivery of this live news event anchored from the Midland Met. The communications team worked in harmony with colleagues across the new hospital team to demonstrate our Trust values in ensuring every detail went according to plan.

“We worked to demonstrate ambition in securing the opportunity to showcase our new hospital to communities across the entire Midlands, respect for our partners in the media as we understood exactly what

they needed to achieve, and compassion for our colleagues at Balfour Beatty as we worked cohesively alongside them whilst they continued their prime objective of building our hospital.”

Programme Producer Nimesh Joshi thanked the Trust for its support and hard work in helping them to tell the NHS 75 story. He added: “From my perspective, it's been a brilliant, collaborative and creative process, from the very first contact right through to the day of broadcast.”

Kitted out in full PPE, presenters Sameena Ali Khan and Steve Clamp delivered the segment from the Winter Garden, situated on the fifth floor of the building, which is set to become the heart of the hospital. They also featured a tour of the maternity department focusing on a birthing room,

which they likened to a five-star hotel room and showed viewers the interior of a typical inpatient room with an ensuite. Additionally, there was a quick tour around theatres and critical care.

Although the show wasn’t broadcast until 6pm, the crew arrived on site at 10am to set up equipment, run through a mock broadcast, and pre-record segments – which included an impressive panoramic shot of the presenters on the balcony of the Winter Gardens, filmed from the mound, a grassy area in front of the ground floor entrance into the emergency department.

The entire programme can be viewed on the ITVX website here: https://www.itv. com/news/central/2023-07-05/nhs-75itv-news-centrals-special-programmefor-the-midlands

Behind the scenes - some photographs taken during rehearsals of the show

The ITV Central News presenters Sameena Ali Khan and Steve Clamp ahead of their live broadcast from the Winter Gardens at Midland Met on 5 July.

Cancer patients pampered at wellbeing event

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

Colleagues joined Blind Dave Heeley at the cancer wellbeing event which saw around 100 cancer patients enjoy massages, makeovers and much more.

The cancer wellbeing session included entertainment, floristry sessions, Tai Chi and pedicures - all delivered by volunteers from the organisation and the community.

Speaking at the event, Dave told the audience how important the event was in raising awareness, having lost family members, his best friend and one of his guide dogs to the disease.

“Cancer affects everyone in life and over the years it’s affected me,” he told them. “But it’s important that events like these take place so that we can raise awareness. I hope everyone has a good day and have plenty of laughter, because that’s what it’s all about.”

Lead organiser and Cancer Services

Manager Jenny Donovan said: “It’s been such a good day for everyone who came along. They not only had the chance to be pampered but we had raffles, a tombola, and some fantastic items for sale.

“It’s an annual event, but unfortunately, we had to put it on hold during COVID – this is the first one since then and it

has been a huge success. The money raised through the cancer services charitable fund pays for the venue and other things such as refreshments and food, but it’s staffed completely by volunteers, whether from the Trust or from the surrounding community. We want to thank each and every one of them for giving their time to such worthy cause.”

One such person was Florentina Tutuianu, a staff nurse working on the bank at SWB, who offered hand massages. Her husband offered each patient a small jar with honey from his bees. She brought along two fellow volunteers, one of whom was a therapist, to assist on the day. Florentina commented: “My passion is aromatherapy and I am also a wellness

advocate. I was so happy to hear Sandwell Hospital is doing this and I really enjoyed helping out on the day.”

Jo Harvey, Lead Cancer Nurse, stated: “You can really see the benefits it brings to patients. So many of them leave here feeling truly uplifted. It may have come at a time when they’re really in need of support or time to focus on their wellbeing.

“They are also able to speak to others in similar situations to them and that really helps. The feedback we have received so far has been really positive and we’re so glad to be able to start up the event once again following the pandemic.”

Cancer patients are pampered at the cancer wellbeing event

Dave Heeley speaking at the cancer wellbeing event

Cath lab goes green

Colleagues in the cath lab have been making it their mission to contribute to the Trust’s sustainability work by going green.

Sophie Ward, Sister in the cardiac cath lab, said: “We began our sustainability journey after seeing the amazing work Rhea Conn had done within critical care and the Trust as a whole.

“This really got us thinking what we can do to improve our sustainability and carbon footprint. We signed up to the green impact toolkit which has helped guide us with projects and ideas.

“Here we became the leading green impact team – this helped motivate the team, improving involvement and engagement with the cause.

“In this time, we have scrapped the use of plastic and polystyrene cups, we no longer use cardboard kidney dishes and plastic roll-on beds. In addition, we have lots of projects being worked on to reduce our single use items.

“Another main area is monitoring waste management as well as wearing

appropriate PPE in support of the gloves off campaign. With the help of Rhea, Fran Silcocks and Clare Nash, we have made huge progress.

“But this is just the start! I urge everyone to make changes: it doesn’t need to be a big project. To achieve net zero in the NHS by 2040, it is all of our responsibility to make efforts now to improve the health of our patients and communities.”

Rhea Conn, Clinical Sustainability Lead, commented: “Sophie was one of the first people to get in touch when I started working in the hybrid role, with one day a week dedicated to promoting sustainable healthcare. Six months on and Sophie and the team have made some significant progress and proved that small changes have a big impact!"

Clare Nash, Head of Clinical Products Management, added: “It’s absolutely fantastic to see how Rhea has inspired Sophie and her team to implement their own net zero projects.

“We know that the care we deliver is also contributing to the worsening climate emergency, so it is vital that more nurses

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

take action to reduce the impact the care has on the environment.”

Fran Silcocks, Head of Sustainability, echoes these thoughts, saying: “The green actions completed by Sophie, Rhea and our green impact teams are incredible!

“If all of us make small, simple changes - like reducing travel and treating patients closer to home, wasting less, thinking before we purchase items, moving towards buying reusable items, turning off lights and equipment when not required - we would make a huge impact.”

If you would like to be involved in exciting sustainability work and make positive changes in your area, please email francesca.silcocks@nhs.net You can also find more information about the green impact toolkit on Connect.

Andrew Shooter, Emma Matthews and Sophie Ward with resuable tourniquets

Singapore medics visit to learn how to reduce admissions

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

Colleagues at the Trust recently welcomed a team of medics from Singapore to share and collaborate.

A multidisciplinary group of doctors and nurses paid SWB a visit to learn how to reduce hospital admissions via EPICENTRE.

Peh Wee Ming, one of the doctors visiting, told Heartbeat: “I would like to thank Dr Sarb Clare for giving me and my team the opportunity to see how EPICENTRE uses point of care diagnostics, especially point of care ultrasound (POCUS), integrated with a multidisciplinary team of acute physicians, advance practice nurses and therapists, to deliver specialist led hospital care at home.

“During my time here, I was able to see how point of care diagnostics and point of care ultrasound can be used effectively by acute physicians to right site patients, especially those who are frail and elderly – to avoid hospital admissions.”

Sarb Clare said: “It was a pleasure to show our guests from Singapore the NHS system. In particular, we showcased the new acute medical unit, SDEC and they spent some time in our hospital at home model, EPICENTRE.”

“In Singapore, acute medicine does not exist as a speciality, and they are keen to create this as they have read and now seen the positive evidence that it has had on patient flow, capacity and occupancy.

"They got to see how we integrate POCUS into our everyday work and how impactful it is on patients’ length of stay, journey and satisfaction from both clinicians and patients. They were very impressed with our AMU

teaching clinical skills lab and how we are training all staff in some form of POCUS.

"It was not all teaching for us thoughwe got to learn about their systems of healthcare and the challenges they face and how by adopting some of our models it could provide solutions to the ever-growing elderly care population.

"They were an absolutely lovely team who we aim to stay in touch with and share and collaborate further in future.”

Sharjeel Zafar Kiani echoed these thoughts, stating: “It was a pleasure to introduce Dr Peh Wee Ming and his team to our EPICENTRE service. Dr Peh Wee Ming was able to join us on a home visit and see POCUS in action. I am pleased he was able to get a sense of the acute care we are providing in the community.”

Left to right: Ali Abbas, Peh Wee Ming and Sharjeel Zafar Kiani

Paediatric diabetes specialist helps train new generation of nurses

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

It has taken a village to get us to this point.

Chizo Agwu, Consultant Paediatrician in Diabetes and Endocrinology and Deputy Chief Medical Officer, recently returned from Moshi, Tanzania, where she has been contributing to a project she created to teach a new generation of nurses.

Spending a week in Moshi, Chizo taught 15 nurses from seven countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroun, Malawi, Uganda) as part of the one-year Allied Healthcare Paediatric Diabetes Educator Course for Africa (ADECA). The group graduated as paediatric diabetes specialist nurse educators after completing the course. We spoke to Chizo, who said:

“It has been a very rewarding project as the nurses are already having an impact in the lives of children with diabetes. We heard so many inspiring stories of how they had been applying what they had learnt to date as well as data from their research projects of their impact.”

There are approximately 60,000 children with diabetes in Africa and glycaemic outcomes are poor for many with high rates of complications. As noted by Chizo: “Diabetes care is a team sport and requires diabetes nurse specialists, paediatric endocrinologists and dietitians all working together. When I conceived the course three years ago, it was with a view to contribute to improving care.

“I am very grateful for our funders, ISPAD and LFAC, Carine de Beaufort (ISPAD Past President), Graham Ogle (President Life for a Child), David Maahs (ISPAD President) and the ISPAD Executive for believing in my vision and giving me this opportunity to give back in an impactful way. Thanks to the international faculty (Carole Gelder Kandi Muze, Joyce Mbogo, Emmanuel Ameyaw, Debra Cohen, Helen Phelan, Anna Lindholm Olinder, Angie Middleton, John Pembleton, Francesca Annam, Dominic Bray, Emma Klatman, Esther Kerina, Liz Hudson and Marian Abdi) who have contributed to either developing curriculum, teaching online or travelling to Tanzania for the clinical workshops.”

The nurses on the course have been supported by their local mentors and paediatric endocrinologists throughout the process, who have supervised their projects and completed their workbased assessments. Chizo summarised by stating: “I am a very proud course director. I congratulate all the nurses and wish them every success as they work to improving quality of care as part of a team. There are still many challenges and obstacles in the way but as the saying goes, the journey of 1,000 miles starts with a step.”

Chizo Agwu alongside fellow educators and graduates of the course

Chizo Agwu in Tanzania

From changing gears to switching careers

IMAGING

Working at SWB hadn’t always been in Kevin Thomas’ career plans: before he became a radiographer, he was a successful driving instructor. We caught up with him to discover more about why he chose to pursue a career with us.

Kevin, Clinical Lead Radiographer, explained: “Previously I was a driving instructor for ten years. With the credit crunch making work difficult, I embarked on a complete career change to become a radiographer. After four years in education, at 32 years old, I successfully graduated, taking my first role as a band five radiographer at Sandwell General Hospital, working with some marvellous staff.

“In early 2015, I moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital taking my first band six role. I spent seven and a half years developing my skills in many imaging modalities, including plain film, CT and cardiac and interventional radiography. I took my first step into management by becoming an imaging team lead in 2019. The pandemic hit us shortly after,

so it was a trial by fire, but I found my life experience and knowledge allowed me to excel in adapting to the challenges thrown at us - management suited me.

“After a brief stint at George Eliot Hospital where I had the opportunity and freedom to update and renovate the plain film service,

I returned to SWB, and I am proud to be back where it all began.”

Kevin’s inspiration to become a radiographer came from his previous experiences. “I always wanted to be a paramedic when I left school, but at the time, I had no interest in education. After the birth of my second son that I decided to pursue a different career path. My wife was studying to be a nurse and told me about access to a radiography course at her college. Like other radiographers, I had a keen interest in photography and a desire to help people in their time of need.”

Kevin added: “Sandwell and West Birmingham is like a second home to me - I have always loved the sense of community spirit in the Trust. With the addition of Midland Met just around the corner, I couldn’t think of a better time to have returned.”

Looking to the future, Kevin firmly has his sights on Midland Met and the possibilities it offers to enhance the care and services we provide. “I work with an amazing group of people, and there is a positive desire to build and develop our services at our new hospital. Having the opportunity to be part of this is an exciting part of my career. I am keen to work with everyone to develop our service and share best practice.”

iRefer CDS is coming this summer –here’s what you need to know!

The iRefer Clinical Decision Support (CDS) System will be launching across our Trust in 2023.

iRefer CDS uses the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) iRefer guidelines to help guide clinicians through the imaging referral process that exists within our electronic patient record, Unity.

Sarah Yusuf, Group Director of Imaging believes the system will be a huge asset to SWB.

She said: “iRefer CDS will allow us to improve standardisation of care through reduced clinical variation which will help ensure our patients receive the right rests first time. The system will support clinical decision making via the RCR guidelines being accessible at point of care which should result in a reduced number of

inappropriate imaging referrals and subsequently reduce the number of cancelled or rejected referrals.

“In addition to this, iRefer CDS will improve patient safety by avoiding unnecessary ionising radiation exposure and also has potential to improve our referral vetting processes.”

The system will be trialled in the coming weeks to ensure any minor changes are identified and to get feedback from clinicians before deploying

the system across the Trust. iRefer CDS will integrate with the existing radiology referral process within Unity and no additional logins will be needed.

Darren Smith, Group Director of Operation echoed Sarah’s thoughts and added: “The referral process will remain the same with the addition of context sensitive questions to guide the referrer to the most appropriate imaging request, based on the RCR guidelines. This in turn will provide clinicians with evidence-based guidance at the point of imaging referral to help ensure the clinically safe delivery of right test, first time, for all patients”.

For more information about iRefer CDS, please visit https://connect2.swbh.nhs. uk/irefer-cds/

Kevin Thomas, Clinical Lead Radiographer

National tool for community nursing safer staffing

SWB has recently introduced a community nursing safer staffing tool across our organisation.

The tool has been created and licenced by NHS England to organisations who have applied and been accepted for a licence.

“The safer staffing tool is an evidence-based workforce planning tool which supports the establishment review process in community nursing teams,” said Emily Hobbs, Practice Education Lead Nurse.

“The tool captures patient care needs to ensure that the number of staff within the team is sufficient to provide an optimal level of care. To use the tool, each member of staff within the teams will score every patient contact over a seven day datacollection census period. The tool can also support organisations to deliver evidencebased workforce plans to support or develop new services.”

From its initial inception at the back end of 2022, the first census of the tool was completed in the summer with 95 per cent of the workforce now trained to use the tool.

There are a range of benefits to using community nursing safer staffing tool as it will demonstrate the complexity of care being delivered and high caseload numbers in community which will identify the need for safer staffing levels. This will then lead to higher quality care being delivered to our patient population, increasing patient satisfaction, safety and outcomes.

Zeena Tudor, District Nurse Team Leader, believes the tool will also be beneficial for SWB colleagues.

She said: “In just its initial stages, the community nursing safer staffing tool has increased staff morale as staff are able to visualise the long-term benefits they will get from using the tool. This in turn will only enhance staff wellbeing and performance at work which will only lead to increased patient satisfaction, outcomes and safety.”

Zeena has also enjoyed being a part of the roll out of the community nursing safer staffing tool.

She said: “I have thoroughly enjoying taking part in the roll out of the tool within district

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITY AND THERAPIES

nursing at SWB and am excited for the future benefits from our data collection. The tool can provide us with an accurate reflection of patient dependency across our district nursing caseloads which enables us to ensure we have safe staff to patient ratios across the board. I truly believe it will enable our patients to have the right clinician at the right time with the right skills to provide that optimal level of quality care. The team have shown passion and commitment to the roll out of this tool within community as we want the best for our patient population and our workforce.”

She added: “This is only the start of the community nursing safer staffing tool journey at SWB and I’m excited to see how our workforce will transform and develop as a result.”

Zeena Tudor, District Nurse Team Leader and Emily Hobbs, Practice Education Lead Nurse

International nurse triumphs at Harvest View

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITY AND THERAPIES

International nurse Bandana Devi was in one of the first cohorts of international nurses to join the iBeds team. Fast forward and she has developed to become a band 6 sister at Harvest View.

Speaking to Heartbeat, Bandana told us: “I was born and raised in India where I completed my Bachelors in nursing in 2009. My first post was in a cardiac operation theatre where I was working as scrub nurse in one of the largest hospitals for cardiac surgery in India. My family have always encouraged me to move further and fly higher.

“After that, I moved to Saudi Arabia in 2012 where I was appointed as a staff nurse. I started getting involved in quality audits and projects in 2015 and then in 2017, I was promoted to quality manager. My journey in Saudi Arabia ended in March 2019, as my child was born premature, and he was in the NICU for two months. I took the hard decision to take a break from my profession

which was difficult, but I started enjoying the new experience of life that was motherhood.

“In 2020 I started working again in a small hospital to get back into my profession. I joined the Trust in February 2022, where I was posted at Rowley as a band 5 staff nurse. My decision to apply for a role at SWB stemmed from lots of positive feedback I heard from people back home, who highlighted the opportunities for career growth here.

“I completed my OSCE in August 2022 and got an opportunity to move to the newly opened Harvest View. In February this year, I

Nursery nurses enjoy acknowledgement day

WOMENS AND CHILD HEALTH

The health visiting team recently hosted a day to celebrate the work of community nursery nurses and find out more about their views on the future of the role.

With a national shortage of health visitors, many roles backfill some health visiting duties, and nursery nurses are one of these groups.

However, there isn’t currently an incentive for this, and with this in mind the health visiting team recently hosted a day to celebrate and thank community nursery nurses for their work, as well as to provide further information on areas they could move into in their future careers. The day also offered an opportunity for nursery

nurses to feed into their own roles, ask questions and make recommendations.

Nursery nurses provide an invaluable service to new parents across Sandwell, caring for thousands of children up to age five in the region. As registered child development specialists, on an average day they may run a clinic for nine to 12-month-old babies or two to two and a half year olds, where they will carry out developmental assessments and identify the necessary referral pathway. They will attend and offer support at well baby clinics or carry out home visits.

Yvonne Copeland, SWB Clinical Lead for Health Visiting, said: “We have been looking into how to invest in our community nursery nurses through training and development. We had a nice venue. The day was held at Dudley Golf Club, with lunch and refreshments provided. All attendees were presented with a gift pack and a card as a thank you for their consistent hard work within the

was promoted to a band 6 sister role. I am thrilled to have been promoted but this is just the start for me, as I am hoping to expand on my management skills to help other international nurses grow in their careers.

“I am most looking forward to using my skills and experience to maintain a high standard of care and the opportunity to develop further by working with the talented leaders and colleagues at Harvest View.

“I really would like to thank the iBeds PCCT team for supporting and encouraging me to achieve this position – especially my mentor, Staff Nurse Caroline Ndachengedzwa, who has taught me many things during my journey at Rowley Regis hospital.”

Annie Williams, Practice Education Nurse iBeds PCCT, commented: “I’m delighted to see how far and how swiftly Bandana has developed her nursing talent - from a ‘scrub nurse’ in a cardiac hospital in India, to a band 6 sister in the NHS. I thoroughly enjoyed the part I was able to play in supporting Bandana on her professional journey, and I’m sure she has further great opportunities ahead of her at SWB."

service. We had colleagues attend to discuss routes into different careers and speakers who provided valuable updates.

“For example, we have a speech and language therapist in our service who was able to outline her role, discuss updates and provide resources for them to use. We also had nursing associate colleagues who showed the group how to carry out skills they would need on a ward, such as cannulation.”

Additionally, the health visiting team asked nursery nurses their thoughts on what the role should entail, and what they would like to receive in terms of support and training. Yvonne stated, “From here, we are picking three objectives and focusing on delivering these over the next year.

“The feedback from the group was that they felt listened to and valued. We will be carrying out another similar event in 12 months time, to check back in and set more objectives.”

Bandana Devi and Annie Williams outside Harvest View

Consultant with a champion swing wins table tennis league

SURGICAL SERVICES

he moved to Birmingham, he promptly joined the Birmingham and Bromsgrove league, ready to take on new challenges.

Throughout his illustrious career, Mr Ghosh has proven to be a force to be reckoned with not only with his clinical duties, but also when he’s with his team on the table. The Birmingham and Bromsgrove League 2nd division has witnessed his prowess, and his team’s recent victory in the winter league and runner up ranking in the ‘Field and Son Cup’ are a testament to their dedication and skill.

Beyond the medical world, Mr Ghosh has found a place of relaxation and camaraderie through table tennis. While working as the lead clinician at the Birmingham Midland Eye Centre (BMEC), he discovered that this sport served as a fantastic escape from the demands of his profession. The table became his sanctuary, a place to relax and recharge.

But table tennis is more than just a game for Mr Ghosh – it's a holistic exercise that promotes health and wellbeing. As a consultant he understands the importance of leading a balanced life, not just for himself but also for his colleagues and peers. He encourages everyone to embrace the sport, not only for its physical benefits but also for the opportunity to socialise, team build and interact with people outside the medical community.

While Mr Ghosh's success story shines brightly, he remains grounded and humble. He attributes his accomplishments to consistency, dedication, and the joy he finds in playing the game. His journey from a young enthusiast to a table tennis champion is an inspiration to all who have the desire to chase their dreams, no matter how busy their professional lives may be.

Swapping his scrubs for a sweatband, there's a consultant in ophthalmology who has recently been making waves in the local sporting world claiming the table tennis crown of the Birmingham and Bromsgrove 2nd division league. Meet Mr Yajati Ghosh, the expert in ophthalmology who also has a champion swing.

Mr Ghosh's journey to becoming a table tennis virtuoso began when he was just eight years old. Little did he know then

that this sport would become an integral part of his life and play a significant role in his personal and professional growth.

The passion for table tennis was so strong that, during his college days, Mr Ghosh often found himself spending more time playing table than anything else. But it was not until he started working in Rochdale that he decided to take his love for the game to the competitive level, quickly winning the Peter Burns Trophy in its 101st year. From that point onwards, there was no turning back. When

So, to all colleagues at BMEC, the wider Trust and beyond, take a cue from Mr Ghosh, whether it's table tennis, cycling, swimming, or hiking, incorporating physical activity into our lives is a powerful way to improve our health and wellbeing. So, let's grab our paddles, don our sports gear, and take the leap into the world of exercise and enjoyment. As Mr Ghosh himself would say: "For your health and wellbeing, I highly recommend it."

Yajati Ghosh with his trophies

Is new garden encouraging smoking?

Dear Heartbeat,

I would just like to ask the question as to who's idea it was to put the planters and seating area outside the children's ward by the shuttle bus stop at Sandwell hospital. They have created a lovely smoking area for visitors, as when I was getting the bus this morning there were two young ladies sitting on the half moon seat about halfway down the area right under the no smoking signs smoking and drinking a costa. There were also two men sitting on the logs a bit higher up smoking. The windows to the ward were open, I thought that this had been a concern some time ago and that is why the original smoking shelter was put up away from this area. Does no one remember the reasons for the shelter in the first place as we used to get visitors/patients coming out of the entrance and standing on this area smoking. Seams like we have gone back instead of forward. I know there is supposed to be no smoking on the grounds but people do not always abide by the rules and to give them a seating area does not help.

Kind regards, Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your enquiry. We’d like to assure you that as an organisation we take our smoke free policy very seriously indeed. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that people do not smoke anywhere on our sites.

We have an active security team undertaking internal and external patrols challenging anyone breaching the no smoking ban on our sites. The maximum ban for anyone caught smoking on site is £50.

The planters and seating area are part of our wider ‘Buzz

Stop’ community garden project, where we have partnered with Spectra CIC following the success of the Abundance garden project last year at City Hospital, which received over 1,500 visits during the Commonwealth Games. Buzz Stop is a nature-inspired creative and inclusive garden which has been funded by partners including the West Midlands Combined Authority Green Grants, Your Trust Charity and Arts Council England. The garden officially opened on Thursday 20 July and you are welcome to visit and experience it.

The project has undertaken a comprehensive risk assessment, which includes identifying that the Trust has a no-smoking policy on site. The ward manager and head of services are also aware of the project and have noted that the benefits of the garden to the ward and patients far outweigh any potential risks. However, we will escalate your query to the project partners and lead for this project so that they are aware and can mitigate any further risk where necessary.

The garden was built with the intention of offering a place of rest and respite for staff, patients, and visitors. It is very much intended to support emotional and mental wellbeing by bringing the benefits of nature into a green-deprived space.

Our funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority is through their Community Green Grant scheme, which is focussed on biodiversity. So, as well as providing wellbeing benefits for humans, it is a place for pollinators to thrive and genuinely having a positive environmental impact.

Kind regards,

Johnny Shah, Head of Your Trust Charity, Mark Stankovich, Directorate General Manager - Portering & Security and Kate DeRight, Spectra CIC

A Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Trust has recently taken up the role of Deputy Director of Research and Development.

Heartbeat spoke to Hoda Harb about her background and new appointment. She said: “I joined the Trust in January this year as Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with special interest in early pregnancy and reproductive medicine.

“I previously worked as a clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham and Tommy's National Miscarriage Centre with a research focus on miscarriage care. It was during this time that I conducted the PRISM trial, a multicentre national randomised control trial on progesterone for early pregnancy bleeding, building on my PhD which looked at therapies for the prevention of early pregnancy complications. This article is available in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The study findings were incorporated into NICE guidelines with direct translation into clinical practice. I continue to collaborate with the Tommy’s National Miscarriage Centre and UoB in my role as honorary associate clinical professor, furthering opportunities for research collaboration.”

When speaking on aims, she added: “I am very passionate about women's health and ensuring that high quality care is accessible to all women and their families. I am keen to build on the success of our recurrent miscarriage centre, and have reached out to our community partners to ensure that women are able to access this service. This would include opportunities to participate in research projects with the aim of identifying tests and therapies for miscarriage prevention.

“I am also excited to announce the new Menopause Service, which will mean that women will have access to this much needed care at their doorstep. Establishing and developing specialist services will facilitate access to high quality research and care.”

When asked what Hoda is most looking forward to in her new role, she commented: “SWB is dedicated to improving lives through research and I am privileged to have joined the R&D team as deputy director with the aim of delivering on this shared vision. I particularly look forward to working with every single member of the Trust to welcome and widen participation in research. I am keen to explore ideas and interests to ensure that our patients have access to a range of innovative, cutting-

Deputy Director of Research and Development

edge research which translates into practice and improves patient care.

“I believe that everyone has an important role to play in research. I also appreciate that not everyone has experience in carrying out research. This can be daunting for some. I invite colleagues from all specialties, grades,

and disciplines to contact myself or the research team to find out how they can get involved. We have training packages, research events and opportunities for all, taking into account your interests, experience, and busy schedules! There is a role for everyone.”

Hoda Harb

Hoda Harb

Wave goodbye to…

After 28 years with the Trust, Sukhvinder Atkar will be retiring from SWB.

Sukhvinder started out at in January 1995 as a medical lab assistant phlebotomist. It was a part time role, however she was also working in the maternity department as a bank interpreter supporting patients speaking Punjabi and Urdu, where English was their second language.

“Throughout the years I progressed from a medical lab assistant to supervisor and then phlebotomy service manager,” said Sukhvinder. “I also expanded my hours to full time so that I could fulfil my roles.”

Throughout her illustrious career, Sukhvinder has moved between a number of services, phlebotomy, haematology and the anticoagulant service, allowing her to gain invaluable experience within the Directorate.

Sukhvinder has faced many challenges during her career at SWB including moving to PCCT. She said: “I had spent a big chunk of my career as a phlebotomist, then phlebotomy manager within the pathology directorate up to 2018. At that point it was decided that phlebotomy would move into the PCCT directorate. This was quite a frightening and challenging prospect. We had been with pathology for all my working life at the Trust. The team felt like a family so the thought of moving to another directorate was slightly daunting.”

Another challenge Sukhvinder faced was learning a new appointment system, introduced in phlebotomy clinics to address the overcrowding of patients waiting for blood tests. The new system radically changed the way the service was delivered making

it more patient focussed and accessible. It improved performance, productivity, and most importantly, the patient experience.

When asked what advice she would give anyone wanting to join SWB or the wider NHS, she said: “The NHS has a diverse and wide variety of careers and there are many opportunities for people. I would advise people to research the roles and opportunities available.”

She added: “I am very proud to have worked for the NHS and feel privileged to provide a public service to our patients.”

To celebrate her retirement, Sukhvinder’s daughter will be taking her for a holiday to Sri Lanka. She is also planning on doing a lot more travelling now she will have more free time.

Happy retirement Sukhvinder!

Sukhvinder Atkar

Phlebotomy service manager

Sukhvinder Aktar at her retirement event

Over the past few months, I have been sharing with you all the detail of our annual plan and the importance of delivering the objectives we have identified and agreed.

I know I risk sounding like a stuck record (a comment which grows increasingly irrelevant to the younger generations!) when I say this, however our annual plan sets out 14 objectives that need to be delivered by April 2024, six of which we have prioritised as being likely to have the greatest impact.

Our six high impact objectives are:

1. To report all incidents and reduce those with moderate harm and above

2. Increase patients rating their experience as good or very good for all touchpoints including Friends & Family Test (FFT) by area

3. To reduce our flexible acute beds by 86 to safely move into the new hospital

4. To increase elective activity from 94% to 104% of 2019/20 activity levels as per our production plan

5. To reduce our bank and agency spend from £64.4 million to £45.6 million

6. To develop 200 leaders in compassionate and inclusive leadership

This huge agenda underlines the need for us to have a clear focus on this. In the last issue of Heartbeat, I highlighted our progress against each of the six objectives – however there is still much to do, none more so than in the space of financial plan delivery. We are behind on the delivery of our financial plan. Put simply, our expenditure levels are still too high against budgets and our income from elective and outpatient work, as well as income for delivering additional urgent care activity for other systems, is not high enough.

Let’s take an example of how one of those six high impact objectives can influence our financial plan delivery, too. So far this year, we have closed 35 of the 86 bed reduction set out in our annual plan. Closing beds that are not budgeted for is essential for us to safely move into Midland Met at the right bed occupancy, but also ensures we reduce our unbudgeted

RICHARD'S LAST WORD

expenditure levels. We still have over 50 further beds to close. That means harnessing the maximum we can achieve in terms of admission avoidance and ensuring our ward based fundamentals of care are being delivered, so patients do not languish in our beds any longer than they have to.

Here is another example. Industrial action means we are not quite where we need to be with the delivery of 8% more elective procedures than we achieved last year. We are also not quite achieving the levels of theatre utilisation and efficiency in booking elective patients, either. Improving our approach to this not only cuts waiting times, but also recovers more income – another example of annual plan deliverables aiding our financial position.

We need to collectively change the way we look at financial plan delivery. Good use of resources at SWB is not about cutting services or managing “finance” as something separate to what we do. Our annual plan objectives have a direct influence on our financial health.

Failure to deliver our financial plan would mean some uncomfortable intrusion in the way we work by way of external performance management. It means we would have increased bureaucracy, scrutiny and requests for information from the system and the NHS nationally. Failure would also mean restrictions to capital funding for programmes such as the new urgent treatment centre at Midland Met which is essential for the function of the new hospital. It is essential therefore, that we succeed in the delivery of our annual plan this year, because to do so, allows us the freedom to manage our future our own way.

Our annual plan is our statement of what we are committed to deliver this financial year and it is important that we all work together to ensure it is delivered. We all have a role to play no matter where we work or what we do within the organisation. We should be discussing this in our team meetings and ensuring our individual objectives are aligned to our overall annual plan.

You all play a role in ensuring we are able to successfully meet our challenges. I urge you to find out more about how you can do that –join my annual plan ‘town hall’ sessions. You can see details on Connect where you can also find a copy of the annual plan.

Hear all about it: Our 2023 Annual Plan

• Do you know about our annual plan?

• Do you know what it means for you, your colleagues, and our patients?

• Do you know how you can contribute to helping us achieve it?

Come and find the answers to these questions and more at informal ‘town hall’ sessions hosted by Chief Executive, Richard Beeken.

Richard talks about: why the delivery of our financial plan is important for us all Richard Beeken, Chief Executive

SCORE successfully places HCAs at SWB

YOUR TRUST CHARITY

@SWBHCharity To donate to the Your Trust Charity text

“SWBH16 £5” to 70070

Following successful placements within the SCORE programme

Sumaiya Malik and Ounayssa

Mouhannaya have joined SWB as healthcare assistants (HCAs).

The SCORE (supporting career opportunities, recruitment and employment) programme is our unique work experience pathway to employment programme, jointly funded by the Trust and the Prince’s Trust to inspire young people from a variety of different and diverse backgrounds to enter the health and social care sector. The programme is aimed at job seekers or unemployed people between 16 – 30 years of age who live within the Sandwell and West Birmingham catchment, meet the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) referral criteria and are looking for employment within the health care sector. Sumaiya joined the SCORE programme through Halesowen College where she was studying Health and Social Care and went on to become an HCA at the Trust. “I wasn’t too keen on going to University and incurring lots of debt but still wanted to go down the route of healthcare so the SCORE programme seemed like the perfect type of work to get the right kind of experience in the NHS,” said Sumaiya.

“Working in the NHS has not only allowed me to get the right experience and progress as needed, but it also meant I would be employed after my placement and puts me one step closer on path to becoming a nurse should I want this in the future.”

Ounayssa joined the SCORE similarly to Sumaiya, attending Hill Crest Sixth Form in Bartley Green before beginning work as an HCA at the Trust.

Having a passion for science and healthcare, it made perfect sense for Ounayssa to join the SCORE programme and go on as an HCA.

She said: “It puts a smile on my face, and I get great satisfaction from being able to help patients especially as many patients don’t unfortunately always have visitors.” She added: “In the future I hope this role will be a platform for me to work in a more advanced clinical setting and ultimately help more patients with more complex needs.”

July 2023 staff lottery results

2nd

3rd £57.60 Hannah Showler

For further information on the scheme contact Pat Hunt on 07990 351490 or email patriciahunt@nhs.net MP6846

Don’t forget that Your Trust Charity lottery costs just £1 a month and anyone who works for the Trust can join. Payment is deducted from your wages each month. To take part email johnny.shah@nhs.net.

Sumaiya Malik and Ounayssa Mouhannaya