Heartbeat - June 2021

June 2021

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

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

Issue 142

A time to say thanks – celebrating our volunteers

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This month we celebrate our team of volunteers who provide invaluable support to patients and colleagues across our workplace.

The Sanctuary a perfect place for time out

The meaning of Midland Met

Microsoft 365 – coming to a computer near you

One year on in the new children’s emergency care unit

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

This month we show thanks and appreciation to our wonderful volunteers for their continued hard work and support for patients and colleagues throughout a particularly trying year.

We celebrate the one year anniversary of the children’s emergency care unit, the opening of the Lyndon Primary Care Centre and what Midland Met means to those who will move across to our new flagship hospital. But that’s not all, we also explore how wards are keeping patients hydrated and how teams are making the most of the Sanctuary.

Enjoy 

Contact us Communications Team

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

Published by Communications Team Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Sir David talks about…not being told what to do!

I have learned throughout my career that just being told what to do never goes down well, particularly when dealing with highly trained professionals.

We are all programmed with a need to question and be curious and understand “why?”…Why are we being asked to do certain things? What is the purpose?

from the fear of getting ill that had been experienced by so many. And with freedom from the financial worry of not being able to pay the medical bills for your family, facing bankruptcy. This was a compelling vision that people really bought into and enabled our beloved NHS to get the political and public will it needed to be born.

This is why it is important for any We also want clarity on what we are expected organisation to have a clear purpose; so to do along with some flexibility in approach that everyone understands what we are so that we can be in control of how we deliver here to do, and so that we can all feel part against those expectations. of the mission, just like the janitor at NASA. You may be familiar with the story of This month’s Heartbeat focuses on the President Kennedy meeting an employee at emerging purpose, vision and strategic NASA headquarters? If not, a brief summary objectives that frames our work for the for you. In 1961 President Kennedy paid his next five years and beyond. We want to use first visit to the headquarters of America’s the next few months to get your views on space agency, NASA. On his visit, he met these and ask you to consider how your role a janitor who was busy mopping the floor. contributes to our purpose.

President Kennedy asked him what he did at NASA and the janitor’s response was “I’m It is important to get this right so that we helping to put a man on the moon.” can all understand how what we do fits.

It is about being true to the values and The janitor understood the vision, the purpose principles of our organisation and making and his contribution to it. sure that what we do is consistent with those values. That’s why we are spending Healthcare and healthcare staff are no time talking to you, your colleagues, different. patients, people in partner organisations When the NHS was set up in 1948 it may and the public about our purpose, vision surprise you that its overall aim was not and strategic objectives so that together we “better healthcare”. Instead the NHS founded can build a shared vision to create a Trust on being “in place of fear”. The NHS provided that we can all be proud of. people for the first time with freedom

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

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

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

Don't forget you can follow us on:

Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, Chair

A time to say thanks – Volunteers’ Week 2021 Right here at SWB, we have over 100 active volunteers who support us to deliver first class healthcare to our patients. After a challenging year as the world battled the COVID-19 pandemic, a spotlight has been on volunteers and the support they can offer as we emerge from government restrictions and head towards a new normal. What better way to say a big thank you to our volunteers than to celebrate during a week dedicated just for them – Volunteers’ Week.

Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June 2021) is an annual celebration of the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK. As a token of appreciation and a big thank you to all our volunteers, the Trust hosted a variety of volunteer appreciation events throughout the week.

Patricia Hunt, Volunteer Service Manager said: “It was great to see some of our volunteers on Zoom and face-to-face after a year. The events went well with a presentation highlighting some of the amazing support over the last 12 months, a message from Ruth Wilkin, a quiz and updates. We look forward to seeing many more volunteers return when they can and we thank them for all their hard work during the pandemic.”

Volunteer Robert Kingston reflected upon his voluntary work: “It feels good for my soul; I’m enjoying what I’m doing. It feels like being back at home with my friends, I’d recommend for anyone to try volunteering. It keeps you active and is for a great cause.”

Ruth Wilkin, Director of Communications thanked volunteers for their support: “The last year has been particularly difficult for the NHS

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS and volunteers have supported us every step of the way. Whether that’s been by staying at home to support social distancing, or whether you have been able to come onto the site and take on a new role and help our patients, colleagues and their families. Thank you."

Do you want to become a volunteer?

You can contact our volunteer service on 0121 507 4855 or email swbh.volunteer@nhs.net

SWB volunteers got together throughout Volunteers' Week to attend volunteer appreciation events hosted by the Trust

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The importance of LAMP testing – help stop the spread COVID-19

By Dr David Carruthers, Medical Director We all know by now that regular hand washing, face masks, social distancing and reduced travel have been crucial to combatting the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Widespread testing is also a top priority and is vital to control the spread of COVID-19.

A variety of techniques and sampling methods have been proposed to test individuals for COVID-19 infection in a bid to reduce and control the spread.

LAMP testing is one of these techniques.

Evaluation carried out by NHS trusts and universities finds the test to be highly effective in identifying infectious cases, including for people who don’t display any symptoms.

LAMP testing is less intrusive than the nasal and throat swabbing lateral flow test. It is an effective at-home test kit which is used to detect COVID-19 infection through a saliva sample.

The contents of a LAMP testing kit

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LAMP testing is a simple and popular method which is encouraged for all colleagues. The turnaround for delivering results is quicker meaning it’s more effective in identifying positive cases and breaking the chain of transmission. You can pick up your testing kit from phlebotomy and drop it off at one of the various drop-off points when you have collected your sample.

As restrictions ease and we are now allowed to meet with family and friends, dine in restaurants and pubs and very soon attend larger gatherings and events, we also increase the number of interactions we have with others around us – but we must remember, this does not mean that COVID-19 has vanished. It is still very real and all around us.

Testing is still a vital step in reducing the risk of infection to others, especially with the risk from any of the new variants of COVID-19.

Some may deem testing unnecessary where they present no COVID-19 symptoms. But this is simply not the case; up to a third of individuals with COVID-19 do not display any symptoms, yet are unknowingly spreading it

to others as they continue their daily lives.

It is important we all do our bit to keeping ourselves, our colleagues, our families and our patients safe and help stop the spread. Staying ahead any future surge in infection is really important and one way to achieve this is by regular testing of as many colleagues as possible. Please help improve safety on our sites and in our community by undertaking regular testing.

It’s easy to do once set up and provides you with the reassurance that you are not an asymptomatic carrier who could inadvertently infect other more vulnerable individuals.

LAMP testing is open to all colleagues, simply call 0121 507 2664 option 6 to book in to collect your test kits. A text message will follow within 24-48hrs confirming your COVID-19 status.

For further information on the LAMP testing programme, contact Kulwinder Johal: kulwinder.johal@nhs.net. Pop up stands to register for a test kit will be at Sandwell and City during July.

Taking part in trials – Steven’s story of stepping forward Just over 12 months ago Lead Pharmacist, Steven Shanu took the decision to step forward and take part in a ground breaking trial, one that would go on to save millions of lives – the trial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccination. Today we find out more about why Steven took the decision which alongside thousands of others helped prove the safety and efficacy of the lifesaving jab.

When uncertainty about the future was at the forefront of everyone minds and hospitals across the country were battling to stabilise and save their patients, an army of researchers were desperately working away in the background to develop a vaccine, but to trial it they needed people to step forward and volunteer.

Steven had for a long time been in a privileged position, with the clinical knowledge, understanding and experience to know exactly how much work goes in to developing a viable vaccine before the first dose goes anywhere near a person. And most importantly, how incredibly important it is to be able to carry out trials to ensure every potential issue has been addressed and evidence gathered.

To find out more about why Steven stepped forward, Heartbeat caught up with the pharmacist, he said: “I know when the vaccine was rolled out, there were lots of

COVID-19 ethnic backgrounds.

“A lot of trials struggle to get a representative mix of people, depending on where the trial takes place and whether the community feel they can believe in it, trust it and want to contribute. This was my opportunity to do what I thought was right.

Steven Shanu people asking, ‘who took part in the trial, is the data that was gathered valid to me?’ and these are valid and justifiable questions.

“I decided to take part in the trial because I’ve got a child who suffers from febrile convulsions, so my train of thought was that if there was anything I could do to prevent taking COVID home to my son or to other people who are vulnerable, it was something that I wanted to be a part of. And also, when the results were published, I wanted to make sure as much as I could, that people could relate to the data as it included people from

“I had my first dose of OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine in June 2020 and since then I’ve had regular blood tests to see how my body is responding to the vaccine, the antibody and immune cell levels. This is ongoing intense monitoring, months ahead of the general public vaccine roll out. Through that, the trial investigators are able to continually assess and review the evidence for the vaccine and inform the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and other regulators. My response to the vaccine has been positive, I’ve had a negative PCR test every week since starting the trial over a year ago, as part of the ongoing long term monitoring.”

“I was able to play my part in demonstrating that the vaccine was safe and effective and showing that the vaccine is our way out of this pandemic.”

Introducing the People Pulse Listening to your views remains as important as ever to the organisation. As such we will be launching a new quarterly survey run by NHS England and Improvement.

From next month we will be using the new People Pulse survey to regularly check in with you and help improve the support we provide as an organisation.

The survey takes just five minutes to complete and allows you to tell us more about your experiences at work, including how motivated you feel and what other support would make the biggest difference to your experience at work at this time.

By sharing your views, you will help us improve the support we provide to you.

The first survey is due to land in your inboxes by Monday 5 July. It will close on 30 July.

Note: The People Pulse survey will not replace the NHS Staff Survey.

However, it does broaden local and national intelligence by listening to the views of our NHS People.

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The Sanctuary - a perfect place for time out COVID-19 The mental health and wellbeing of colleagues is paramount especially during this current pandemic which is why we are inviting colleagues to visit our Wellbeing Sanctuary – a place of calm.

And this is exactly what the patient access team did. Having endured, like the rest of us, long hours at work supporting colleagues and patients during this trying time, Mark Whitehouse, Head of Patient Access decided he needed to provide some support to the team.

We caught up with Mark and this is what he told us. “I had seen the Sanctuary advertised in the communications bulletin for a number of months but it never really occurred to me that it was a service that would be beneficial to us.

“However, I realised the team required some much needed downtime. The effect of longs hours and extended periods of lockdown with not much to do outside of work really started to take a toll. I contacted the Sanctuary and the

team were more than happy to support us in any way they could.

“One thing that stood out for us, is that it was not until we actually got to the Sanctuary when we realised there was so much more support available than we initially anticipated.

“It has been great to see the team really take to it, and I started to see a pattern where individuals were starting to put aside time for themselves by visiting the Sanctuary.

“We use most, if not all of the treatments available - meditation, massages, coffee and chat and mindfulness sessions. We have also done a Zoom where Lavinia Hines did a wellbeing talk about destress techniques and a meditation session at our staff away days.

Mark explained that at least 85 per cent of the 55-strong-team have visited the Sanctuary more than once.

“The feedback from the team has been great.

They find the treatments available to be very valuable. It gives them an hour from work which allows them to destress, switch off and clear their minds from everything that is going on.

“I am confident we will continue to access the services at the Sanctuary and I would encourage everyone to do so.”

The Sanctuary gives colleagues a chance to de-stress and relax in a confidential safe place.

Visit for a free: • Massage

•

Chill out downtime over a tea/coffee and a biscuit

• A confidential conversation –

a listening ear - a chance to

talk about anything in confidence • Meditation • Mindfulness

•

Relaxation hypnotherapy

•

Music therapy

•

Walking therapy

These are complimentary services available from our Trust because we care about you.

Are you concerned about something?

There is support for you daily. Here are some useful numbers: • Counsellors: The NHS direct

counselling service:

0800 06 96 22 (7am – 11pm,

7 days a week) • Bereavement support:

0300 303 4434 (8am – 8pm) • Trouble sleeping: Visit the

NHS One You website www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every mind-matters/sleep for help and guidance • Just need a confidential conversation? Book a one to

one at the Sanctuary by

calling 0121 507 5886 • SHOUT service: Text SHOUT

to 85258 confidential TEXT support.

Chaplaincy team: All our chaplaincy team are trained listeners and people who care for you. You can email mary. causer@nhs.net or call either 0121 507 3552/4055 or 07972 572854 to get in touch with the team.

The patient access team have been realising the benefits of the Sanctuary

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The Sanctuary is at Learning Works on Unett Street, Smethwick, B66 3SY. There is free on site parking. To book yourself a free session please call 0121 507 5886.

External clinical visit in height of pandemic reveals best practice COVID-19 reservist team of nurses who had redeployed in the first wave appears to have yielded dividends. I think this is something we could all learn from.”

Joint Clinical Lead, Rebecca O’Dwyer stands with Matron, Vanessa Taylor in ICU at City Colleagues in critical care have been advised that our reservist programme is an exemplar of best practice following a visit from Professor Kevin Fong, the National Clinical Advisor in EPRR, COVID-19.

Kevin and his team visited during the height of the second wave and told joint clinical leads for critical care Nick Sherwood and Rebecca O’Dwyer that he was hugely impressed with all we have accomplished at the Trust in the face of genuinely unprecedented surge in demand. He said:

“There were many good lessons to take away for me, not least that proper preparation allows a trust to establish a reliable oxygen supply, even in a 19th century estate.

“Clearly there are great challenges associated with running a split site, and matching your pre-existing ICU capacity to the current critical care demand. It is even more impressive, then, that you have managed to keep your nursing absence rate to 5 per cent, many other units I have visited are running closer to 15%.

“Your policy of retaining and training a

He also advised that nationally an ICU nurse reservist model was being considered, and that our programme was worth closer inspection. Following the visit Rebecca was approached to join Kevin’s expanded team to contribute to future inspections, and has just completed her first visit to Leighton Hospital in Cheshire.

Our programme was devised during the first wave of COVID-19 to meet an urgent need as the numbers of patients admitted to critical care kept growing.

Colleagues from across the Trust stepped forward to offer support and expertise.

Rebecca said: “We’re incredibly grateful to the nearly 200 colleagues who have already stepped forward to support our department through the pandemic and to help care for our patients. Without them, we would have undoubtedly struggled, but with their support, we have cared for some of the sickest COVID-19 patients.”

Contagion in the community – Join the swabbing reserves When there is a contagion in the community and outbreaks of a virus, it’s absolutely critical to be able to test, track and trace to have a fighting chance in beating the virus and turning the tables on an outbreak. From the first outbreak our Trust has played a critical role in supporting the community with teams involved in swabbing and outbreak surveillance leading the way in the fight against COVID-19.

Our community swabbing service has led the way in responding to local community outbreaks since the very first surge. This has played a vital role in our ability to understand the spread of infections and to support the community to protect itself.

To find out more about the service, Heartbeat caught up with Joanne Tonks, Clinical Team Leader for COVID Outbreaks,

“This vital work can only be done with support from our staff. We are calling on colleagues who have been redeployed or those who are willing to offer their time outside of their current duties as part of the Trust bank to take on this role.

Full training is provided so it’s an ideal opportunity for non-clinical colleagues who would like to get some experience in front line care and to support us through such a rewarding role.

COVID-19 car park swabbing she said: “The outbreak swabbing team is primarily involved in the collection of test samples where COVID-19 is suspected. Its role is critical in understanding the spread of the virus amongst the community and to recognise when a new variant begins to take hold.

“As often is the case with COVID-19 and outbreaks, we never really know when we’re going to be needed, and when we are, we need to respond at short notice. We’re calling on colleagues to take the time to put their names forward to join the team of community swabbing reservists.”

To join the reserves contact Jo Tonks on email: joanne.tonks@nhs.net.

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New £6m health centre opens to patients CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS We've got exciting news – Lyndon Primary Care Centre, the new £6 million facility based at Sandwell Hospital, opened earlier this month.

The building will be home to the practices that were previously based at Carters Green Medical Centre and Lyndon Health Centre, which are operated by the Trust through Your Health Partnership (YHP). The GP practice joined our organisation last year as an additional directorate.

Colleagues from Carters Green and Lyndon Health Centre will be moving in over three phases. In the first phase of the move, colleagues have been moving in from Carters Green, occupying the ground floor.

Around six to seven consultation rooms are being used, but the practice will

continue with virtual consultations so not every patient will attend the site. Once fully opened, the centre will serve more than 15,000 patients.

It has 24 modern clinical rooms offering consultation and treatment space across two floors.

After several years of planning, discussion, and consultation, the centre represents a significant investment to improve the facilities available to our local community.

GP Dr Simon Mitchell, from YHP, said: “We’re delighted to announce that we are moving into our fantastic new facility. Services will be building up over the coming weeks as we emerge from COVID-19. I would like to thank all the staff and contractors who have enabled us to build and open the facility during the pandemic.”

Carters Green Medical Centre was previously situated on the High Street, in West Bromwich, whilst Lyndon Health Centre was based in Parsonage Street.

The new Lyndon Primary Care Centre has opened at Sandwell Hospital

Surprise hampers for deserving NHS colleagues Last season for every goal scored, Cazoo donated £1000 to the Aston Villa Foundation, totalling an incredible £57,000.

The Foundation used some of this money to create care hampers for nurses, logistics colleagues and volunteers who have been running the vaccination centre in the Holte End, as well as for the midwives who have been housed in the Holte pub running the ante-natal clinics which have been hosted at Villa Park throughout the pandemic.

The hampers were filled with a variety of goodies including chocolates, tea bags, books and more. A team from the Aston Villa Foundation helped to put the hampers together at Villa Park.

The Aston Villa Foundation’s Neighbourhood Engagement Officer, Jen Tullett said: “Having seen first-hand the hard work of those who have been working at the anti-natal clinic and vaccine centre, both NHS and support staff, we wanted to thank them from all the staff and supporters of Aston Villa. Cazoo has given us the opportunity to provide the hampers as a small token of our gratitude.”

Aston Villa Foundation ambassador and Harry Potter star Oliver Phelps, with the help of Cazoo, delivered the hampers to some very deserving people.

Johnny Shah, Head of Your Trust Charity who has been coordinating donations of gifts to colleagues, said: “As we hopefully near the end of what has been at truly exhausting 18 months for our Trust’s frontline workers, we continue to be amazed by the support of our community partners. Thanks so much to Aston Villa Foundation and Cazoo for helping to make a difference.”

Harry Potter star Oliver Phelps, with the help of Cazoo, delivered the hampers to some very deserving people

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The meaning of Midland Met CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS ago for this, for Midland Met. So to see it today in person is impressive. Moving into this hospital with our team is what I am looking forward to. It will offer an enhanced level of patient care which is a positive for patients and our Trust.”

A peek inside the Winter Garden As you approach Midland Met, you could think that the site is standing still and that nothing is going on inside.

But as you enter the gates and make your way towards the main entrance, it quickly becomes apparent that building work is well underway and that Midland Met is taking shape right before your very eyes.

Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) stands proudly between Sandwell and West Birmingham and, it will be our flagship hospital. It will be the largest hospital within our Trust, and it will bring together specialties from all areas of our organisation, providing a hub for emergency care.

The highly anticipated hospital means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it means the opportunity to work with new technology in modern purpose-built facilities. For others, it is about enhancing patient care when we move into MMUH. We caught up with one team as they enjoyed a site tour to find out what it means to them.

On a sunny Friday morning, members of the medicine and emergency care team set off on their site tour, with Dave Hollywood, one of our construction advisors leading the way. Heading into the underground car park, colleagues were impressed with the sheer scale of the project. Andy Wilkinson, Directorate General Manager, remarked: “It is great to see the reality of what I have seen so many times on paper. It is quite difficult to fathom the scale of the build, so seeing it in person today; I’m excited to get going with the work we need to do to move into Midland Met.” Amongst the specialities Andy works with is respiratory medicine who can see real advantage to the high side room ratio they have on their ward given the incidence of TB and other infections.

Similarly, Dr Sandeep Gill, Emergency Medical Consultant, commented: “It is great to see the work coming along in person and to have the opportunity to walk around and see how it’s all progressing. It helps bring it to life, and what I’m excited about are the facilities our new hospital will offer.

“For both colleagues and patients, this will be a fantastic healthcare facility - it will benefit our local communities in terms of jobs and regeneration and colleagues will undoubtedly enjoy working in such an advanced hospital.”

The team were eager to look around their new department and see how it connects to other areas. As they moved around the site, it became apparent just how big our new hospital is. Dr Asif Naveed, ED Consultant Lead, remarked: “I joined the Trust three years

The ED is situated directly adjacent to radiology, enabling access for the ambulance service straight to test pathways for stroke, stable hip fractures and suspected heart attack patients straight into the cardiac catheter labs.

This design will speed up the time to diagnostics and treatments improving clinical outcomes.

As the tour concluded, Dr Chetan Varma, Group Director of Medicine and Emergency Care, said: “It is positive to see the amount of work going on. It is a long-awaited project, and I can’t wait to see it completed. You can see it is a building that is fit for purpose, that’s suitable for our patients. It is very modern, spacious, and it will enable us to deliver enhanced patient pathways.”

Clinical tours are now available so that you can go up to Midland Met and see the areas you will be working in. Three tours take place every Friday for up to five people in each group. If you would like to arrange a visit, please email mmuhprojectoffice@nhs.net.

Members of the medicine and emergency care team on their site tour

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Breaking the cycle: The impact of communication difficulties on crime and West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit. Sharing her thoughts she said: “The difficulties we’ve outlined are often mislabelled as purely ‘behavioural’ issues. The impact can be difficulty accessing education, higher risk of school exclusion, struggling to access services offered by mental health services and ultimately gaining employment.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS It’s no secret that violence and crime in the West Midlands has steadily increased in the last few years, from the aggression and attacks in the community to the victims and injuries we see in our wards. However, the hard work of a determined speech and language therapist is breaking the cycle of youth crime by highlighting one consistent issue – communication needs.

According to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (2008), around 60 per cent of young offenders have some form of speech, language and communication need sufficient enough to affect them on a day-to-day basis. This can include listening and understanding what is said, remembering and recalling information, managing social situations and expressing emotions.

Claire Westwood, Advanced Speech and Language Therapist outside of Glebefields Health Centre Whilst these difficulties are not just confined to young offenders, 7 per cent of children in the general population also have difficulties in these areas, the longer they go unsupported, the higher the negative repercussions. If left untreated, 33 per cent of these children are likely to develop mental illness and over 50 per cent may become involved in criminal activity.

Leading the charge in tackling this challenge is Advanced Speech and Language Therapist, Claire Westwood who alongside her clinical role within our Trust takes on additional duties within Sandwell Youth Offending Team

“The West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit commissioned speech and language therapy input from Sandwell Children’s Therapies to investigate how services are working on this issue and to scope out the potential for progress. The aim of the project will be to highlight speech, language and communication need as being a core issue for those at risk of or already involved in youth violence and put blockers in place on that school-to-prison pipeline that means that young people’s needs are recognised and supported at the earliest stage possible to support diversion from negative life consequences.”

To find out more about this innovative work, contact Claire Westwood, email: claire.westwood1@nhs.net

Pharmacy role gives Horani confidence and self-worth Over the next few issues of Heartbeat we will feature inspiring stories of colleagues who are part of the SWB family through the Healthcare Overseas Professionals (HOP) programme.

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

Horani Othman is a pharmacy assistant family here in the UK, and we were all learning a new culture and language.

“At my age this was really challenging, but my children found it easy to learn English.

In this issue we meet 56 year old married father of two boys, Horani Othman. Horani was a qualified pharmacist in Syria for over 25 years where he had his own pharmacy business.

“We had to start learning English as complete beginners and it took about three years to fully understand the language. We settled here in the UK and after five years we received indefinite leave to remain, which was great for me and my family.

Horani explains how he came to be part of the SWB family.

“While I was volunteering as a house officer with Spring Housing Association helping refugees from Syria, one of my colleagues told me about the Overseas Healthcare Professional programme.

“Syria is my home country which I love wholeheartedly. However the conflict in Syria left me with no choice but to take my family somewhere safe. My family’s safety was my priority, so we left Syria and arrived in the UK back in 2012.

“I already had a few friends and extended

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years, and then the HOP team helped me to find a voluntary placement in the pharmacy department.

“Very soon after, I visited the Learning Works where I was warmly welcomed by the lovely team.

I explained my situation and gave proof of my certificates and qualifications.

“I started to study the IELTS courses for two

“The day I got ready to attend the placement I cannot tell you how I felt. Just the thought of getting ready and knowing I would be in a place where I felt I belonged – I felt I was getting nearer to my dream of working in a pharmacy role again.

“I eventually applied for a pharmacy assistant role and was lucky to get shortlisted. I was delighted to get the job and have been working in the pharmacy team since then.

“I am still learning and will never give up my dream to work as a pharmacist in the UK. In the meantime, I want to thank the HOP team for their support. They have given me my confidence and self-worth. I feel over the moon when I go to work because I love my job and my pharmacy colleagues are very supportive.

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

Clean Air Zone – A breath of fresh air Air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of up to 1,000 people in Birmingham each year through conditions such as cancer, heart and lung disease. To improve air quality within the city, Birmingham introduced a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) which includes all roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road charging drivers of the most polluting vehicles a daily fee to enter in to the city centre.

Following a soft launch on 1 June, drivers of non-compliant vehicles have now begun to face daily charges to help encourage a move to cleaner, greener transport that improves the health and wellbeing of local residents.

Launching the CAZ Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, Councillor Waseem Zaffar MBE said: "After more than two years of planning, I'm delighted to launch Birmingham's Clean Air Zone. This is a bold move that will help to address some significant health inequalities in our city. This is also an important step in encouraging people to re-think how we all move around the city.

“I'm confident that this initiative will save lives, and provide a cleaner, greener, safer space for our communities in a part of

Cycle Parking At City and Sandwell Hospitals, there are cycle sheds, shelters and blue, lockable bike pods. For the cycle pods, please bring your own padlock and these are available on a first come, first served basis.

Please remove the lock at the end of your working day so that others have a chance to use them.

our city that has a problem with poor air quality.”

CLEAN AIR ZONE

With a hospital bordering the Clean Air Zone what does this mean for our Trust?

Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone

Colleagues who are required to visit a facility or property within the Clean Air Zone for the purpose of their work will be allowed to claim reimbursements for their clean air zone charges. Reimbursements do not however extend to colleagues who drive non-compliant cars and commute through the Clean Air Zone.

CAZ) charges have now started meaning you will not be notified prior to being charged. This means, if you enter the Clean Air Zone driving a noncompliant vehicle, you will be charged.

Clean Air Zone payments can be either be pre-paid or paid within six days of entering the Clean Air Zone.

There are a number of short-term exemptions to be aware of and you can find out information on the exemptions here: https://www.brumbreathes.co.uk/

Please make sure you are aware whether your vehicle is compliant by checking here www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones.

Colleagues are advised to be aware of the charges whilst travelling through the Clean Air Zone. If your vehicle is not currently compliant, consider alternative routes of travel, make use of public transport, cycling or even the growing networks of e-scooters now available.

For more information on the Clean Air Zone, consult the Brum Breathes website at www.brumbreathes.co.uk

Bus travel discounted for colleagues with National Express Colleagues are able to access discounted bus travel when joining the Trust/National Express Corporate Ticket Scheme. A 5% discount applies to colleagues joining this scheme.

For more information, contact Audrey Hender (existing bus users) on audrey. hender@nhs.net or Sue Penn on susan. penn@nationalexpress.com if you would like to join the scheme. https://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/ travelling-with-us

Car Sharing The Trust has partnered with a KINTO (previously Faxi) to provide colleagues with a car sharing app. The app helps improve commutes, reduces congestion and improves air quality. More shared journeys also reduces parking pressures, saves you money and is good for the environment and the local community.

KINTO helps you maximise your savings in both time and money by connecting you with colleagues who share your commuting routes and travel times. Car sharing can also work well for cross-site journeys for meetings where travel can’t be avoided.

Download the app and join the secure SWBH community using your NHS email https://www.kinto-join.co.uk/get/ swbh-nhs/.

‘Dr Bike’ sessions We are running regular, free bike maintenance checks for colleagues at City and Sandwell Hospitals. Keep checking colleagues the communications bulletin for updates.

11

Stay up-to-date with new information sessions for clinicians the workshops that are underway to map workforce plans and training requirements.

She also encouraged teams to explore clinical pathway opportunities to work differently and take up the opportunity to visit MMUH and see the spaces they will be working in.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS Our first Senior Medical Staff Forum was held last month with 80 senior clinicians in attendance. David Carruthers, Medical Director kickstarted the forum by outlining the main aim which is to provide an environment where senior clinicians at the Trust can get together with the medical director, deputy medical directors and other executives for a two-way exchange of information similar to TeamTalk but will replace previous consultant medical staff committee meetings.

The forums are held via WebEx and the first panel consisted of Dr Carruthers, Sarb Clare, Deputy Medical Director, and Richard Beeken, Interim Chief Executive.

David provided updates on COVID-19 and thanked colleagues for their hard work and commitment during this time.

He also talked about restoration and recovery and some of the ongoing work across the Trust which includes Unity optimisation, good documentation, allocating the correct admitting

Questions were put to the panel via the WebEx Q&A panel which covered a variety of topics including the fundamentals of care Richard had spoken about, specialist care across the Black Country partnership, LAMP testing strategy, SPA time, staff training and social distancing rules.

David Carruthers, Medical Director introduced the first Senior Medical Staff Forum via Webex consultant, consistency around job planning, remuneration and wellbeing.

Richard talked about the focus and objectives of the Trust over the coming years which are fundamentals of care, our people and our partnerships, all of which will be underpinned by a set of Trust values and behaviours agreed with the organisation.

Sarb provided an update on Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) and

Moving forward the dates and times for the forums will vary to accommodate as many senior clinicians as possible. The format will be a short presentation on a specific topic followed by a Q&A session lasting approx.

45 minutes.

Any comments or ideas can be forwarded to Heather Matthews at heather.matthews3@nhs.net. Topics and ideas for the forums are very much welcome. If you are unable to attend a session but would like to put a question forward please send your questions to Heather in advance of the session.

All Welcome!

Join in the Trust’s Annual General Meeting 15 July: 6pm | Virtual event via WebEx. The AGM will be an opportunity to: • Hear an overview of the Trust throughout the past year • See how we have worked with partners to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and support our vulnerable patients and communities • Put your questions to our Board members including new Chair, Sir David Nicholson and Interim Chief Executive, Richard Beeken.

To join please follow this link: https://bit.ly/3xHWqPe Event Password: SWBAGM21

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Trust hosts nursing cadets in England first Fifteen young people with an interest in health careers have just become the first in England to undertake a clinical observation placement, through The RCN Prince Of Wales Nursing Cadet scheme.

Hosted by our Trust at the beginning of June, the cadets aged between 17 and 18 completed a four day placement on the frontline of acute NHS care, in environments which have seen extreme pressure through the challenges of treating COVID-19 patients.

But that did not deter the young cadets who are all considering a career in healthcare, despite observing the effects of the pandemic on the health service over the past year.

Eighteen year old Sukhpal Singh from Smethwick commented: “The nursing cadet scheme has been so good, I’ve learned so much on it and gained an insight that healthcare roles are much more than just treating patients.

“The placement element is so important because you get to see what you’ve learned in practice, and actually see it in a real life scenario. It prepares you for what your career might be like in the future.”

The RCN Prince Of Wales Nursing Cadet scheme offers a blended learning opportunity for cadets; it provides a transformational

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

RCN Cadets at the Birmingham Treatment Centre learning experience to improve the confidence, skills and knowledge of the participants and to raise awareness of healthcare careers, including nursing.

Mel Roberts, Acting Chief Nurse said: “As a teaching Trust, it is always a pleasure to educate and inspire the next generation of NHS staff, and we are particularly delighted to see the enthusiasm of these cadets who are on placements across our organisation.

“As we open the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital next year, we are keen to attract the very best talent in new entrants to the health profession, so supporting this scheme is of paramount importance to us.”

Speaking on the first day of the placement, Lindsay Meeks, Regional Director, RCN West

Midlands said: “It was so uplifting to meet the cadets today. They were all so positive and full of energy. These young people are our future workforce and it’s fantastic to see the partnership between Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and Holly Lodge Combined Cadet Force working so well for the nursing cadets.

This scheme is opening doors for our young people that might otherwise stay closed.”

Sandy Harding, Head of the RCN Prince of Wales Nursing Cadet Scheme added: “The scheme was created when His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, an ambassador of the NHS, approached the Royal College of Nursing in 2017 with a proposal to work with the nursing profession to widen the opportunities for young people, who would not otherwise consider or be eligible, to follow a course in nursing or other health and social care related careers. Two years on and we are delighted to have launched the scheme beyond Wales, into England, and have our first cadets reach placement stage here in the West Midlands.”

Supported internships on track to return this year SWB is restarting its bespoke supported internship programme in the autumn 2021.

As an organisation, we initially launched our internship programme two years ago in 2019 alongside key stakeholders in the local area which included Sandwell College, Shirelands Secondary School, Sandwell Council (Disability section) and the Downs Syndrome Association all in a bid to offer placements to those the Trust felt were furthest away from the job market due to learning or physical disabilities and mental ill health.

“The programme was developed to support many people across the borough who we felt were falling through the net of the job market due to the difficulties they were facing,” said Nikki Smith, Widening Participation Project Support Officer.

“As a Trust we wanted to showcase our support towards these individuals and continue to follow our vision and ethos of being an inclusive, equal and diverse employer”.

From the outset the programme was an

“This built confidence in anyone who joined the programme which would help them long term and also aid them in an extended work experience placement which would last for six months.

Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the supported internship programme was halted, however the Trust is planning on bringing it back in September this year.

Some of our interns - Halim, Luke, Steve (mentor), Zain and Ryan

Nikki is delighted the programme is coming back and believes it will benefit all involved.

“The programme builds confidence, encourages basic communication skills and much more,” said Patricia Hunt, Volunteer Service Manager.

She added: “With the UK unemployment rate between December 2020 - February 2021 at 4.9 per cent, it is vital this supported internship programme returns.

If all goes to plan, we hope to be able to support the many young people currently unemployed.”

“Anyone on the programme would complete a full induction before starting any volunteering roles and would be given training and peer support until they were confident to do the role with less support.

If you or your department want to be a part of the supported internship programme, supporting young people for 6 months in the workplace, please email nicola.smith16@nhs.net.

instant success as we welcomed eight people in a volunteering capacity as part of our volunteer service.

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Shout out has been a regular feature in Heartbeat and it is fantastic to see colleagues regularly taking the time to give positive feedback to each other.

We regularly receive positive feedback from our patients too, and this month we wanted to share some of those heart-warming messages which have been sent via our website and social media platforms.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS To – Anthony who works on the corridor shop at city Anthony is always friendly, polite and treats everybody as equals. Always makes me smile when I leave the shop when having a hard day.

From – Kirsty Wixey

To – Dr Saket Singhal

To – Levi O'Gorman

Saket is always available for advice regarding our patients. He is always prompt to answer email enquiries, making management of our patients so much better. He is infinitely patient with my many hepatitis enquiries and I feel I have learnt a lot from him. Thank you Saket.

Levi has been incredible support to me over the last year since moving to AMU at City. She has made me feel welcome, given endless advice and been a fantastic mentor who never makes me feel silly when I'm unsure of anything or ask questions.

From – Stacey Walker

From – Alison Rowe To – Fiona Kinney, Anne Hayes and Sibet Joseph Thank you for all your hard work guiding us through 12 months of the REMAP-CAP study. You have made time to ensure that everyone is kept up to date and has felt supported throughout each amendment!

From – Sarah Potter

To – BTC ENT/ audiology and hearing services Thank you all so much for caring for my aunt Mrs Douglas on numerous appointments over the last six months. She celebrated her 90th birthday recently and was able to have conversations during her small party, albeit limited.

From – Jean Graham

To – Louise Tromans She could see a man struggling on the escalator in the BTC. She went down the escalator and back up and saved the man from falling.

From – Judy Davis

To – Senior Ward Service Officers at Sandwell and Rowley Achieving 94% mandatory training compliance with 189 staff during a pandemic.

To – Beth Cooper, Rhiannon Sanders and Chantell Smith They recently demonstrated professionalism when caring for a patient that lacked mental capacity. They went to great lengths to ensure the patient was kept safe and showed compassion, empathy and consideration towards the patients’ situation. The AMUA team is so lucky to have such hard working nurses who are so dedicated to providing excellent patient care.

From – Eve Williams

To – Sandwell volunteers and Liza Gill A massive thank you to our amazing volunteers who have been very busy making up the goody bags for International Nurses Week. Some of them even came in on Saturday determined to get the job done! I can't praise them enough!

From – Shila Patel

To – Lisa Southall Lisa, went out of her way to help a fellow colleague get some equipment transferred from Sandwell to City site to help our clinical colleague who works in the community but visits City to vaccinate and so can pick the stuff up more easily here.

From – Dottie Tipton

From – Andy Payne To – Nicola Hawthorne

To – Amelia Bull For supporting the neonatal team on a very busy night shift demonstrating professionalism, fantastic teamwork and good communication. Thank you so much!

From – Corrine DaCosta

To – Tim Shakespeare Thank you Tim for being so helpful when fixing problems with my laptop and ESR card. Your can-do attitude, friendly approach and efficient service are appreciated and you are a credit to the Trust.

From – Clare Nash

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Nicola is a credit to the palliative care team. During a highly emotional visit this week, Nicola demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism, whilst being compassionate, caring and supportive to a bereaved and very much broken relative.

She was empathetic, and in my opinion went above and beyond to ensure the wellbeing and emotional needs of all those involved. The passion she demonstrates, not only during that particular visit, but consistently; is on a level of the highest standard and I am sure that it’s appreciated by our patients and their loved ones every day! I feel that Nicola needs to know that her compassion, optimism, organisation and kindness doesn't go unnoticed and she's valued highly as a nurse, colleague and friend.

From – Heather Lowe

To – Amanda Winwood Amanda is always helpful, no matter what the problem may be, we are very thankful to you.

From – Marion Butler

To – Stella Meek and Sharon - Catering Team Sandwell BIG THANK YOU to Stella for finding my purse, which I did not realise I had dropped, and ringing me. I am proud to work alongside honest people.

From – Grace Finn

Distinction all round for Chloe Burling We have many high flying apprentices across SWB and Chloe Burling falls perfectly into this category having recently attained a distinction in her Level 2 customer service practitioner apprenticeship.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS believes she has grown into the team due to being keen to learn and continuously working hard.

Chloe Burling who was described as “being able to adapt her approach to meet the needs and expectations of her patients” in her Highfield apprenticeship assessment, supports the phlebotomy department with an array tasks and duties. However to become more efficient at her job, Chloe felt it was vital she complete an apprenticeship.

Suki said: “Chloe is always willing to learn and adapt especially during the pandemic.”

The phlebotomy team are real advocates of apprentices, especially encouraging development of customer care skills as these are skills that are vital in a department where there are many encounters with different stakeholders on all levels.

She said: “I thought completing an apprenticeship whilst working in the phlebotomy department would be a great opportunity to kick start my career within the NHS and the Trust; and give the foundations to work towards my goals.

“During my apprenticeship I have learnt the best ways to communicate with my colleagues and patients effectively. I've also trained in the area of phlebotomy and I've gained more knowledge and understanding of how the organisation works as a whole.”

Chloe has faced challenges whilst completing her apprenticeship and working full time but knows it will prove beneficial.

She added: “Trying to balance working full time with apprenticeship work and learning how to manage my time to stay on top of all the apprenticeship work was initially difficult however, the phlebotomy team and the widening participation apprenticeship team were always super supportive with anything I needed.

“If I was to give advice to anyone who was unsure about completing an apprenticeship I would just say if it is something you think you want to do then just go for it and don’t

When asked about ‘growing your own’ phlebotomy felt this was fundamental, for the team’s success.

Chloe Burling be scared. Help is always available and the support network whilst completing your studies is fantastic.”

Our phlebotomy department have really embraced the apprenticeship programme and are extremely supportive as in helping our apprentices achieve success.

This is no more evident than with Chloe whose improved skills reflect positively on the department and ultimately improve the service.

Chloe played a key role in helping implement the appointment system in phlebotomy during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suki Atkar, Phlebotomy and Reception Manager works closely with Chloe on a daily basis

Suki added: “Growing our own means we are able to mould apprentices to meet specific needs whilst meeting service expectations.

“If an apprentice grows within the team they form good working relationships with their colleagues and with other members of staff within the Trust. They also build an excellent rapport with the patients over time. This has shown over the last five years or so of having apprentices in the phlebotomy team who have remained with the department after completing their apprenticeship.”

If you are interested in completing an apprenticeship in 2021 please email swbh.apprenticeship@nhs.net. We also have an array of degree and higher level apprenticeships available so if this is of interest to you, please get in touch.

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

Call 0121 507 5886 to book your free session today.

Wellbeing 15

But first …. a drink CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS One of the biggest challenges faced in ward environments is ensuring that patients remain well hydrated.

The simple task of ensuring that a patient has enough to drink can have a significant impact on their clinical outcomes, recovery times and overall experience. Whilst jugs of water can be plentiful, how do we ensure that patients take the time to hydrate? This is the focus of the latest campaign set to spread across our Trust in four simple words – but first….a drink.

Confused and disorientated patients can quickly deteriorate if they do not take in enough fluids and this can complicate their hospital stay with kidney infections and constipation. We can all make a difference by following a simple rule, when you interact with a patient who is able to drink safely, take a minute to offer them a drink before you move on to the job at hand.

To find out more about the campaign, Heartbeat spoke to Deputy Medical Director, Dr Chizo Agwu, she said: “Whilst we always ensure that patients have access to jugs of water and their fluid intake is recorded, we can often forget that patients can become confused and disorientated when they are in our care, and simple things like having a drink can simply slip their mind.

tasks it is easy to forget the basics and assume patients are hydrated, whilst there might be a refreshing jug of water within arm’s reach of them, are they actually remembering to take a drink?

“We want to ensure that we build a culture in our organisation where regardless of your role on the ward, when you meet a patient we take the opportunity to ensure their basic needs are taken care of. In the case of fluid intake, simply taking a moment to offer the patient a drink (after confirming that they are able to drink safely), checking they have

Recommended Fluid Intake: Remember the 8 by 8 rule for women (8 x 200 ml drinks = 1,600 mls) and the 10 by 10 rule for men ( 10 x 200ml drinks = 2,000mls)

“Likewise, in a hectic ward environment where we are all focused on our clinical

Bal, Julie and Dianne from Rowley Hospital demonstrating the water jug traffic light system

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a supply of fresh water or simply brewing them up a cup of tea can be play a pivotal role.

“We want our colleagues to care for our patients holistically, and understand that everything we do has an impact on their care, their experience and their safety.”

Colleagues in community wards have taken the initiative a step further by applying a traffic light system to patient jugs denoting whether a patient has been taking enough drinks to keep well hydrated or needs further support. Sharing her thoughts on the work, Matron, Justine Irish said: “But first a drink and the traffic light system for the water jugs was introduced following a UTI mortality project group meeting that I attended. It was mentioned that a few trusts had implemented the idea to tackle avoidable UTIs and encourage hydration amongst at risk patients. So I thought this ties in really nicely with our nutrition and hydration work, and our safety huddle actions and priorities so let's give it a try.

“Facilities have been very supportive and as imagined, staff at Rowley are always very eager to try anything that increases the quality and safety of care we afford our patients. The process is quite simple, if you see a patient's water jug with a red lid at 1pm, you should be looking at your patient's input, they may have had a few milky drinks that count towards their fluid intake but once they have taken in 750mls or more we can move them to a green lid.”

To find out more about the hydration initiatives contact Justine Irish on email jirish@nhs.net or Head of Transformation Essie Li on email Essie.li@nhs.net

swbh.nhs.uk/charity

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Join our crane

ZIP WIRE CHALLENGE

Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September 2021

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

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

Shaping our futu Be part of our development plans We are at an exciting time for our organisation, as we look to establish our future strategic plans.

Our Trust’s five year strategic plan, “Our 2020 Vision”, has come to the end with much to celebrate in terms of achievements and lots to take forward. Over the past 18 months we have experienced the most challenging times where our personal and work lives were changed dramatically and our organisation was tested to the limit. We are looking ahead to the development of the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, which means significant changes to how we work.

Now is our time to shape what our Trust is about and what we prioritise for the next five years and beyond. We will be spending time over the next few months talking to colleagues across and outside the organisation to get your views.

If the past year has told us anything, is has emphasised that we don’t work alone. The healthcare of our population is a shared responsibility and many factors influence people’s wellbeing. So, our future plans must ensure that goals we set can be met by joint working, whether that is with colleagues in other organisations, community partners, specialist centres or local networks. Our future plans must also reference wider regional and national goals for people’s health and wellbeing and fit with the national plans for the NHS in England.

To work seamlessly with our partners to improve lives

Collaboration but neglects fundamentals of care

End to end pathways but without the staff to do it

Improve life chances and health outcomes

Our Clinical Leadership Executive and Trust Board have discussed our vision, purpose and strategic objectives, reflecting on the needs of our population, the priority areas of work for our Trust and recognising the need to invest in our workforce.

Our Trust has always aspired to be more than just a hospital. In fact, we have always aspired to be more than just a healthcare provider.

Our vision has been to become renowned as the best integrated care organisation in the NHS. This is because we have always believed that by working seamlessly with our population, our people, and our partners we could “Improve the Life chances and Health Outcomes of our Population”. This is our purpose; the reason we exist as an organisation. Just as health is not simply the absence of disease; this purpose statement reflects our role in our communities in improving lives. This means addressing the wider determinants of health and what we can do as both a healthcare provider and employer to help our community live healthier and happier lives.

2. Our strategic objectives Strategic objectives are the big-picture goals for the organisation and the driving force in delivering our purpose and vision. In developing these, there are a range of policies, trends, and changes in our community, the NHS, and the world that are taken to account in shaping what we focus on. Often in the NHS there are so many competing priorities it can be difficult to focus on what is most important. The Board have therefore focused on three strategic objectives, which can be remembered as “the three P’s”: Patients, People, and Population.

Patients: To Be Good or Outstanding in Everything We Do. At all times we must deliver excellence in the fundamentals of care. To do this we must provide responsive services that are consistently safe, effective and caring. Alongside this we must ensure that our

Better negle deter of h

To cultivate and susta happy, productive an engaged staff

Our draft purpose, vision and strategic objectives 1. Our purpose and vision

e

patients and their carers feel part of our family when they need us and have an excellent experience. In achieving this objective, it is also essential that we develop excellent processes so that patient flow is complimented with effective use of resources. We have made specific reference to the language of CQC rating, as it is our ambition to achieve a CQC rating to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ and the quality of care that entails.

People: To Cultivate and Sustain Happy, Productive and Engaged Staff. The care we give to our patients and population as an organisation is totally dependent on how we grow and care for our people. In recognition of this, People is a strategic objective on par with Patients. This ambitious objective incorporates the fundamentals of equity, physical and psychological safety in our working lives, but also shifting importance onto what it means to enjoy work: having choice, working as a team, and finding meaning.

Population: To Work Seamlessly With Our Partners to Improve Lives. Whilst our Patient objective looks to improve the care we give to patients when they are unwell, our Population objective explores how we can give our communities the best chances to avoid becoming unwell. As a large, influential organisation in the community, we aspire to be an ‘anchor institution’. This means being a better employer and purchaser in our local economy, minimising our impact on the environment, and working closely with partners to improve lives in our community.

When we look at the strategic objectives together, we can see in the diagram on the next page that they are deeply connected. It is difficult to achieve one without the others if we are to truly improve life chances and health outcomes.

ure:

Purpose Improve the life chances and health outcomes of our population Vision Most integrated health care provider

To be good or outstanding in everything we do

r care but ects wider rminants health

ain nd

Our values Our strategic objectives:The 3 Ps Patients

People

Population

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

Are we safe?

Physical safety

Are we effective?

Psychological safety

Improving population health and healthcare

Are we caring?

Equity

Are we responsive?

Camaraderie

Are we well-led?

Choice

Use of resources

Meaning

Social and Ecomonic development

Domain of the Trust

Shared domain

Domain of integrated care partnerships

Eliminate inequality of access and outcome Productivity and value for money

Performance & accountability framework

Why is it important for us to have a clear purpose and set of strategic objectives?

In recent years the best organisations have changed their focus from starting with what they do, to instead starting with why they do it. This thinking has brought emphasis to organisational “purpose statements”. The strategic objectives provide a “North Star”; something that we can prioritise against and something that we can achieve together. We can measure whether our services are good or outstanding; we can measure whether our people and the teams they are part of feel happy and engaged; we can measure whether more children in our communities are school ready or the healthy life expectancy across our population is improving. The strategic objectives allow us to align the organisation so that we all understand how we can contribute, serve or play our part in the greater good.

It’s also about the “how”…

Having a clear purpose, vision and strategic objectives is vital. But what also counts is the way in which we reach these goals. Our Trust has been living by our nine care promises for over a decade. It is a good time now to reflect on these and see if they can be refreshed and brought up to date in light of our experiences in recent times. So, over the coming weeks we will be asking all colleagues what matters to you most in terms of how we go about our business not just what we do. Through this we will aim to shape a set of values that every Trust employee should aim to live up to.

How can you get involved?

The Board has drafted the three strategic objectives, but before we commit to paper and develop the content of the strategy we want everyone in our organisation to have the opportunity to share your views on this future direction. You can complete our online survey, talk to your team colleagues, take part in a focus group or contribute to one of our staff polls.

The questions we want to ask you are: 1. Do the purpose, vision and strategic objectives get a thumbs up from you?

2. Are there any changes you would suggest?

3. In pursuit of these strategic objectives what do you think we could do that would make the biggest difference?

4. Can you see how you can contribute to these plans?

Celebrating our stars of the week Star of the Week Jagdeep Samra Medical Education Coordinator

Jagdeep has worked exceptionally hard during her first year within the medical education department. Her hard work and effort have been recognised in the outstanding organisation, administration

and delivery of the fourth year Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for 40 students from the University of Birmingham. Planning and directing an OSCE is no easy feat and Jagdeep has done a marvellous job in ensuring that proceedings have run smoothly and without delay.

Star of the Week Beth Hampl Nursing Associate

Jagdeep is also recognised for using her own initiative to support a student who had suffered a significant health scare. She made an effort to keep in touch with the student during her placement and at the end of the placement the student wrote to her to say that she couldn’t thank her enough for the support and kindness she had offered to her and how this had affected her positively and made her feel supported and listened to on placement.

She said that she had felt very supported at SWB.

Star of the Week Wilhemina Goodwin, Nursing Associate

Beth was nominated by medical colleagues for frequently going the extra mile to support patients and colleagues on the ward. She was particularly commended for her care for a patient at end of life. Her liaison with the family was seen as a great example of excellent nursing care.

Star of the Week Zaheer Iqbal Portering /Security Manager

Wilhemina recently qualified as a band 4 nursing associate – she has done really well adjusting and always goes above and beyond her duty of care.

She has continued to develop and progress beyond expectations and has a strong work ethic. Wilhemina has never shirked in respects to her work and has been highly

recognised by the junior doctor team that works within trauma and orthopaedics.

Wilhemina works well with the team and is always willing to help. The doctors and other colleagues on the ward have commended Wilhemina’s dedication and hard work. She is an asset to the team, the department and the Trust.

Do you know someone in your team that has gone above and beyond the call of duty? Why not put them forward for Star of the Week by visiting Connect.

20

Zaheer was nominated by a colleague for his hard work and dedication that has been an inspiration. Throughout the year Zaheer has risen to the challenges of the pandemic and is consistently friendly and helpful to all he comes across.

Your Trust Charity fundraiser Sally Gutteridge loses cancer battle CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS In 2019 Amanda nominated her for the Aston Villa Foundation’s Community Most Valuable player. Sally won the prize and was also recognised in the Trust’s annual Star Awards, scooping Fundraiser of the Year.

Sally’s fame didn’t stop there. Your Trust Charity nominated her for a Pride of Birmingham Award the same year.

Amanda added: “Judges were so impressed with her dedication that she won Fundraiser of the Year – and she was elated that she got to sit next to the news presenter Bob Warman for the evening.

“Along the way Sally received fundraising support from 33 keen cyclists who were past and present members of staff at the Trust. They organised a special event for the team and set the target of £2,000 but raised an amazing £4,250 which will now help Sally’s legacy live on at the Trust and as we move to the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.

Sally Gutteridge (front) with Amanda Winwood (back left) and Cllr Haque, former Mayor of Sandwell It is with great sadness that the Trust announces the passing of Sally Gutteridge, a great supporter of Your Trust Charity, who raised more than £6,000 over the years for the organisation.

Mum-of-two Sally, a former patient at the Trust, worked closely with Amanda Winwood, Fundraising Manager for Your Trust Charity, over the years.

Amanda said: “Sally was such an inspiration to so many people and touched so many lives. I met Sally back in 2016 when she approached the charity as she wanted to make a difference to other patients starting their chemotherapy journey at the Trust.

From our first encounter she was such an inspiration, a mum of two, battling cancer and undergoing gruelling treatment, yet she was so positive, you could not help but love her.

“We set to work and created Sally’s Sunshine Packs, Shine A Little Light on You. The design was Sally’s idea as she loved sunflowers and we wanted to incorporate her name in the project.

“The packs included items like puzzle books, hand cream, crayons and boiled sweets. We have had so much positive feedback from patients receiving the bags.”

Amanda added: “Her work with Your Trust Charity didn’t stop there. Sally loved to bake and bring the community together. She decided to hold a 1940s tea party at Brook Street Centre. She rallied her own army of helpers who prepared prizes, sold tickets, made sandwiches and cakes and made the day a huge success. The Mayor of Sandwell Councillor Haque, supported Sally’s projects and as a result named Your Trust Charity as one of his chosen charities of the year. She raised over £1,500 at that event alone.”

“Since Sally’s fundraising for Your Trust Charity began, she battled a number of illnesses and suffered a stroke, but that didn’t dampen her commitment to helping others – if anything it made her more determined. She held a Grease themed event, with a drive-in movie, complete with American diner decorations and food. Funds raised went to Your Trust Charity.

“Sally raised over £6,000 herself, which is amazing considering she was in and out of hospital as she battled cancer.

“Sally was a friend and someone who will stay with me for a long time. The impact she has had on so many is tremendous. She carried out the mission of Your Trust Charity and enhanced the journey for all using service at the Trust, staff, patients and their families. Your Trust Charity will be forever grateful to everything Sally has done for the organisation.

“Sally was ridiculously happy in life, always upbeat, cheeky and thinking about the next event, so let us celebrate her life and keep her legacy going! I’m so proud to have known Sally and her family. She will be missed.”

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Microsoft 365 coming to a computer near you CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS A major deal struck between the NHS and Microsoft is set to transform trusts across the country, deliver huge savings in licensing costs and most importantly the latest and greatest in Microsoft’s arsenal of Office tools in to the hands of colleagues.

Whilst we’ve all had a love hate relationship with Office tools such as Word, Excel and Outlook we know we could not function as a Trust without them. From supporting us with admin tasks to communicating with each other, they have all become household names that we rely upon. However, you may well have noticed in recent years that our selection of tools has been getting a little slow, unsteady and unreliable as our demands increase.

Microsoft 365 is set to change how we work, from reliance on preinstalled software on our desktops and laptops to our longstanding dream of cloud computing – having the flexibility to logon to any machine in the Trust and have absolutely the same access to all of our files at our fingertips. All carefully organised, indexed

COMING SOON

and uploaded ready for you to access at will.

To find out more, Heartbeat spoke to Head of Infrastructure Craig Bromage, he said: “Microsoft 365 is a major turning point in our Trust which allows us to begin to realise some of the benefits that cloud computing has to offer. Whilst the term ‘cloud computing’ might seem confusing, it’s simply a move away from hosting files and applications on our own computers and servers. This means that we are no longer limited by the resources of our Trust, but that we’re able to offer the resources of major IT providers such as Microsoft.

longer simply save documents to a shared hard drive, but we move to an online platform where documents you work on can be saved to an online share, that is able to allow you to delegate access to the right colleagues, manage version control and be assured that your documents are safe.

“It’s not all plain sailing and blue sky thinking, there’s a lot to do to deliver on this project, we know that we have a lot of colleagues who have very particular needs, their files are stored in a range of places and they’re shared across numerous teams. To deliver on this project we need to understand how each and every user in our Trust uses their system so we can plan our deployment and ensure that we do not have an impact on our ability to deliver services.

“Over the coming weeks, colleagues across the Trust will receive questionnaires to be completed to understand their IT needs; we need responses from all colleagues to ensure we’re able to deliver this project safely and smoothly.”

To find out more about the N365 project, contact Craig Bromage on email: craig.bromage@nhs.net

“We’ll be moving to a model where we no

SurgiNet surges on! being developed and more importantly, BMDI mapping and validation is in progress with clinical review.

SurgiNet is coming later this summer, forming a key part of Unity, it will replace the existing IT theatres system known as ORMIS.

COVID-19

“Progress is being made rapidly day by day and week by week to get us ready to go live in the coming months,” said Vicky Clifton, Service Planning and Delivery Manager.

“The build is complete and minor changes and quality of life changes are being worked through as we speak.”

A key milestone achieved in the implementation of SurgiNet is the success of integration testing.

Integration testing 2 began in late May for five weeks and is currently exceeding expectations. Reports are

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Operational readiness has also started with stop start continue, as well as well plans for a full dress rehearsal.

So you may be wondering, what exactly does operational readiness entail? There are many layers to operational readiness as it is a fundamental part of any project and this is no different with SurgiNet. Vicky said: “As part of operational readiness, we have scheduled a walk through to cover the full end -to end pathway and if you are invited to this we encourage you to attend.

This includes scheduling, pre-theatre, in theatre and post theatre and will act as a mini dress rehearsal to establish any snagging issues ahead of full dress rehearsal.

“We are continuing to work with teams across the Trust to identify any gaps in the process and mitigate where necessary and are

hopeful we can support you as the end user as we approach the eventual go live.”

She added: “Digital champions are being identified to support go live also and we will be in touch with you shortly to start this process. The main focus at the moment is on full dress rehearsal and cutover planning as there is a lot of work to do to work through each task to ensure everything is place for these checkpoints.”

The first colleague training sessions for SurgiNet have now started for theatre practitioners and nurses. If you haven’t already been booked on any training sessions please make sure you are booked on to a session. Booking sheets for training have been distributed to all relevant managers clearly indicating dates and times. If you have not been contacted by your manager regarding your training, please speak to your manager as a priority.

Don’t be a bystander – inspiring medic empowers colleagues to speak up MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE me, not by me, be an ally, don’t bystand, but upstand’ addressed unconscious bias.

She explained: “We have delivered previous events before lockdown, but feedback showed that delegates still felt apprehensive about speaking up informally and formally due to upset, career damage and mistrust in the system.

“In response the network felt we needed to look at solutions and strategies that bystanders could apply to support the individual being harmed.

“We addressed our unconscious bias and looked at how to change from being a bystander to an upstander. We discussed banter and argued whether we should we ban this from the NHS.

Dr Sarb Clare, Deputy Medical Director, with Dr May Yan, Royal College of Physicians Clinical Tutor and Dr Sarah Faloon at one of the first Women Empowering Women events Dr Sarb Clare is one of our well-known clinicians who heads the acute medicine department and is also deputy medical director.

But she is also leading the way in empowering colleagues – by holding a

series of events where she encourages people to speak and stand up for themselves.

She has established the Women Empowering Women Network and the latest session for medics, held on 30 June, called ‘Stand with

A great turnout for the first Women Empowering Women session in 2019

“We also analysed real life scenarios and what interventions we can make.

It was also important that people were informed of the formal pathways of grievance and escalation. This was delivered by our responsible officer Dr Mark Anderson.”

Dr Clare has spoken about this subject in a TEDx Talk. To watch this go to https://www.ted.com/talks/sarbjit_ clare_women_empowering_women

Tote bag and pen given to attendees of the first Women Empowering Women event

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One year on in the new children’s emergency care unit MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

“However, they managed to overcome the obstacles they faced and joined together sharing knowledge with each other and skills to enhance the unit’s performance.

In June 2020, amidst the chaos of the pandemic, our Trust was able to open a new brighter children’s emergency care unit at City Hospital.

“Parents and children love the new, brighter dedicated children’s unit, and that it is away from the main emergency department, solely for the use of children.

There was no big event to mark the occasion due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Instead a small ribbon cutting ceremony with a limited number of colleagues took place.

“Parents have also said how much better it is to have the paediatric assessment unit attached as they no longer need to go out of the unit and walk down the long corridor at City Hospital to get to the ward where it was previously based.

A year later the unit celebrated its first birthday and again due to restrictions around the pandemic, there was no big event. However the team were able to mark the occasion with a cake and a small, socially distanced gathering.

It’s been a challenging time for the team working on the children’s emergency care unit, as Marie Hinks, Manager, explained to Heartbeat: “It’s been difficult, not only because of COVID, but also because it was a new unit with a new way of working.

“Two teams came together in an area that had reduced capacity of beds and a different working ethos.

“Emergency paediatric nurses and paediatric assessment nurses merged. As you can imagine this was an extremely stressful and anxious time especially with COVID.

“They have expressed the child and families’ journey is a lot more controlled and well managed.”

The unit has four negative pressure cubicles, three closed door cubicles and four curtained cubicles. There are two waiting rooms – one red and one amber.

So how does it compare to the old unit?

Marie explained: “The new unit is amazing and bright. It’s very clean-looking and childfriendly.

Although colleagues were initially dubious about how the two teams would work together, Marie said it has been a success.

“Both the emergency department and paediatric assessment unit areas are all decorated with animal pictures with facts about each one and they provide the perfect distraction to children when needed.

“Gradually as time has gone by, colleagues have worked hard together to create a safe and effective unit with great team work and also dealing with the prospect of COVID, which has affected our unit greatly, housing both amber and red streams.

“Everything is brand new. The old emergency department was in need of some decorating as was the old D19 ward where paediatric assessment unit was situated. It was looking very tired, despite the lovely murals on the wall.

“There has been a great team approach and I’m very proud of them. This year has not been easy for many reasons but to introduce a new children’s emergency care unit in a pandemic has been a huge challenge, but they have all done an amazing job.”

“We all have amazing memories of the old areas, as many of us have been here quite a few years.

She added: “The units being together have

The children’s emergency care unit is delivering great care to our young patients

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improved care and efficiency greatly.

Children no longer have to be transferred to another part of the hospital as care of the child is in a central hub, thus improving the child’s and family journey. In regards to staff, they have been able to develop new skills.”

“We will always treasure our memories there, but the children’s emergency care unit is new place for us to make future memories and we’re all looking forward to this.”

Managing safety huddles in medicine A total of eight wards are now taking part in daily safety huddles within medicine and emergency care.

The journey first started on D15 and D17 in April this year, and just two months down the line eight wards are now involved with daily huddles taking place with the multidisciplinary team in attendance.

Since incorporating safety huddles to support effective communication at key points in the care of patients, significant improvements have been made.

Heartbeat caught up with Jo Thomas, Patient Safety Specialist for Medicine who told us: “The team within the group have completely embraced safety huddles and we are delighted with the progress we have made in just a little over two months.

“The compliance for example on D11 has been sensational. Nearly every

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE changes. The dashboard has been helpful in giving us data that we can all see and decide which area to focus on.

Ward D11 are meeting nearly every safety indicator indicator is on the up constantly or maintaining/ surpassing the Trust target.

“Brand new multidisciplinary partnerships have been established between the wards, pharmacy and the therapy team; leading to great collaboration.”

Group Deputy Director of Nursing, Debi Fretwell added: “Safety huddles have enabled us to concentrate on daily areas of concern at ward level. This means ward multidisciplinary team meetings are in control of working closely together to highlight, focus as a team and make

“In rolling out the huddles, we have focussed on some key areas to try and make safety huddles meaningful to wards with clear roles which have supported the wards with project team support and patient safety specialist direction and focus which we are grateful for. The principles we have used have included a roll out speciality by speciality with buddies, good support framework, a project group that is representative of all disciplines and lots of energy!

“Our next step – How to share learning, capture improvements and sustainability.”

Awareness of sickle cell will lead to improved care The Trust recognised World Sickle Cell Day by holding an event to mark the occasion and raise awareness amongst colleagues.

and international level. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that recognises sickle cell disease as a public health problem and “one of the world’s foremost genetic diseases.”

Our organisation is home to the Midlands Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centre based at City Hospital, which treats patients with red cell disorders from across the region.

The resolution calls for members to raise awareness of sickle cell on 19 June of each year.

We currently have 493 patients with sickle cell disease and early recognition and treatment of a vaso-occlusive crisis can significantly save lives and improve quality of life.

Rejoice Nhevera, Haemoglobinopathy PDN/ Liaison Specialist Nurse, explained: “It’s vital that we take every opportunity to raise awareness to colleagues across the Trust to enable patients to receive the best care throughout their journey at SWB. “Many colleagues are unaware of complications of sickle cell disease and the effects the disease can have on patients.”

The sickle cell and thalassemia team set up a small roadshow in the reception area of the Birmingham Treatment Centre and were on hand to answer questions from colleagues.

The event also included a quiz, with the winner taking home a hamper.

As well as providing information they also invited patients to the event to speak about their own experiences.

What is sickle cell?

Colleagues from SCaT raised awareness of sickle cell ahead of World Sickle Cell Day on 19 June.

Rejoice added: “It’s important that we give our patients a voice so that colleagues can hear firsthand about what they go through and how they manage their condition at home before presenting to hospital.

“Adequate pain relief can significantly reduce length of stay and in some cases avoid hospital admission. People with sickle cell disease can have a good quality of life and with current disease modifying treatment we have seen patients living longer”.

World Sickle Cell Day is a United Nation’s recognised day to raise awareness at a national

Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition which affects red blood cells. In sickle cell disease red cells tend to become sickle shaped and result in a complication that causes reduced mobility of the red cells which then cause reduction of oxygen flowing around the body and causes pain (sickle cell crisis, vaso-occlusive crisis).

Other complications of sickle cell disease include: stroke, acute chest syndrome, blindness, bone damage and priapism (a persistent, painful erection of the penis).

Over time people with sickle cell can experience damage to organs such as the liver, kidney, lungs, heart and spleen. Treatment of sickle cell disease mostly focuses on preventing and treating complications.

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Cardiology keep up the pace through COVID MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE COVID-19 has completely reshaped the landscape of how services have been delivered, bringing with it a unique set of opportunities alongside the very obvious and real challenges.

One of the biggest changes that has transformed services has been remote consultations – being able to see, support and consult with a patient over the internet. Whilst this new approach was at first seen as a temporary measure, there is growing evidence to support the long term benefits as a sustainable and patient focused operating model.

The cardiology department has experienced significant challenges in achieving the 18 week ‘Referral to Treatment’ target. With a steady rise in demand coupled with the complexities of the service pathway, leading to longer than acceptable waits for patient care, it was clear that given the challenges from the pandemic, and without intervention would have deteriorated

Cardiology admin team further. However, for cardiology the COVID-19 pandemic has seen steady improvements over the last 12 months, culminating in the speciality achieving their 18 week Referral To Treatment (RTT) for May 2021 – for the first time in over two years.

Sharing his thoughts, Directorate General Manager, Chander Sharma said: “There is no magic bullet that has enabled us to suddenly meet our targets. It’s been the hard work, tenacity and flexibility from all colleagues.

Virtual working has its limitations and always will, however it has offered the speciality a moment of pause and reflection, to appreciate new ways of working and the corresponding benefits it can provide for both patients and clinicians. Historically cardiology has been a diagnostic-heavy service, with multiple tests being undertaken to diagnose conditions.

Whilst this has, and remains, a good approach for completeness of care, the pandemic has encouraged clinicians to think differently. ‘Does this patient genuinely require a test?’, ‘Is there an alternative route for treatment out in community or via GPs with specialist interests?’, – these are just a few of the kinds of questions that the clinicians have been asking themselves and of their teams.

“The new way of working really has benefitted patient experience and has led to a reduction in potentially unnecessary hospital interventions. This change in approach, which has been spearheaded by the cardiology support team of Josephine Johnson and Lisa Bate, has led to patients often being given a clinical outcome far sooner than before – leading to a significant improvement in the RTT performance.

Virtual appointments have also helped maximise clinical efficiencies by reducing ‘Did not attend’ (DNA) rates as patients find it much easier and convenient to access their appointment.

“Whilst there are the occasional technical difficulties with virtual working, overall the system works and will, as part of a package of innovation and reform, help support the Trust restoration and recovery plans.”

Focused maternity care for vulnerable women WOMEN AND CHILD HEALTH A new team of midwives looking after the most vulnerable pregnant women in the Trust’s area has been formed.

The Phoenix team will care for pregnant women who have mental health needs, have a history of substance and alcohol abuse, have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and those who fall under the young parents category.

Elizabeth Kellie, from the team, said: “We already have midwives leading in these areas, and it was decided to put us all under one umbrella, to form a team so that we are able to deliver a better and more improved service.”

Elizabeth will look after women with mental health needs along with Olive Downer. Alison Byrne will continue in her role as FGM lead midwife, whilst Angela Arnold will care for women with substance and/or alcohol abuse. Fiona Rochelle,

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Ashley Pederson-Gosling and Lyndsey Hemsley will continue working with young parents and Gail Fearnsides will support the team from an administrative point of view. The matron for the team is Shelly Colley.

pregnancy so that their families flourish, creating a happy healthy future.”

Each have their own specialties and referrals will be direct to the specialty.

Elizabeth added: “Each of us have a different pathway in how our patients are treated and we will continue to follow that. In regard to the specialist mental health service we work closely with the perinatal mental health teams across the city, which is part of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust.

“We have future plans to develop the team as we recognise that there are vulnerabilities that our team do not cover at the moment, for instance refugees, women with learning disabilities and those experiencing domestic abuse. It’s important that we are able to reach them and care for them in a way which improves the quality of their lives.”

The team’s mission statement is: “We will value and empower women to blossom during their

The Phoenix team is made up of a number of midwives who will support and care for vulnerable women

BMEC eyes non-medical workforce development In 2019, the government and Health Education England (HEE) announced a £1,000 personal development budget for individual frontline nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to be spent over three years.

SURGICAL SERVICES place in June. Again, M&K Update Ltd delivered the training and it will support the future career development of our valued HCA colleagues.

The Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre has capitalised on this opportunity to support the development of its non-medical workforce with a series of CPD events delivered by M&K Update Ltd and funded by HEE. On 14 and 15 May, 20 ophthalmic nurses attended a two-day event entitled developing practice in ophthalmology at the postgraduate education centre at City Hospital. The course shared a great breadth of knowledge across a range of subspecialties within ophthalmology.

It covered anatomical and physiological concepts of ophthalmic disease processes, principles of clinical tests procedures and an overview of treatment strategies in ophthalmic care. The course also incorporated opportunities to hone practical skills.

Care assistant training There has been encouraging feedback from delegates reporting that the event was engaging and relevant. 100 per cent of those who provided feedback said that the course will benefit their clinical practice directly.

Whilst HEE funding is limited to the ophthalmic nurses and orthoptists working within the ophthalmology, further CPD opportunities have been secured for the multidisciplinary team.

Charitable funds have helped to run the ophthalmology for HCAs course, which took

On 10 July, M&K Update Ltd will return with the third course in the series entitled eye emergencies before clinical team leadership, taking place on 16 and 17 July.

There are plans for further HEE funded CPD opportunities over the remainder of this financial year. James F. Flint, Advanced Ophthalmic Practitioner, commented: “The funding budget delivered by HEE provides an excellent opportunity to promote the sustained development of the non-medical workforce. It will ultimately impact positively on the delivery of patient care within our hospitals.”

Shaun Johns up for top imaging accolade Getting nominated for a top accolade via one of the most highly respected bodies within your industry is quite an achievement. Well, Shaun Johns, a clinical scientist, knows a thing or two about exactly that as he was recently nominated for the Young Investigator’s Award by the British Nuclear Medicine Society. We caught up with him to find out more.

Shaun explained: “As a trainee undertaking the scientist training programme, I am required to undertake and complete a Master’s project. I ordinarily work behind the scenes in the cleanroom, manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals for imaging. I had an interest in radioiodine therapy and was keen to work more closely with patients. After discussions with our heads of departments, we noted that the radioiodine therapy service had never received a formal service evaluation; and this became the focus of my project.”

The service evaluation took place over 12 months and assessed the clinical outcome and patient experience. Shaun continued: “I retrospectively assessed 300 patient followup appointments to calculate the relative likelihood of failing treatment, as well as the likelihood of becoming euthyroid or hypothyroid. I also determined some useful

IMAGING I have included details about the likely outcome of their treatment and what they need to do after treatment. I am also looking to introduce a system whereby patients call us ahead of their therapy to discuss any special measures they may require. The aim is to improve patient awareness, improve compliance, reduce anxiety and maximise patient satisfaction.”

Shaun Johns wins top accolade links between disease type and the likelihood of the outcome.

“I used patient questionnaires to assess the experience of our patients. It included their full pathway before, during and after treatment.

Through this questionnaire, I highlighted different ways to improve the patient’s experience and reduce pre-treatment anxiety. For example, clearer instructions and more detailed information about side-effects and what will happen on the day.

“As a result, I am unifying patient information for better clarity. I have rewritten patient information leaflets to include more detailed information.

So what does Shaun think about being a finalist in the Young Investigator’s Award by the British Nuclear Medicine Society? “It was unexpected but very welcome. I didn’t take the award home, but being recognised for something you are passionate about is rewarding. It has encouraged me to continue to develop in this area.”

Jilly Croasdale, Head of Radiopharmacy Services, remarked: “Shaun has worked incredibly hard on this project and deserves all the recognition he receives. The work he has done has directly impacted upon and improved the patient experience. It is something Shaun should be incredibly proud of – we certainly are.”

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YHP forms new team to support community beds PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES AND THERAPIES At the beginning of May a new community team took over the medical management of our iBeds at Sheldon, Leasowes and Rowley Regis Hospital with a more cost and clinically effective nurse-led model.

Tim Hebbert, Head of Intermediate Care & Community in Your Health Partnership (YHP) told Heartbeat: “My team is responsible for services that predominantly take place outside of our GP surgery buildings. We support housebound patients, 15 aligned care homes and the step up/step down extended assessment bed units. From 4 May we took over the medical management of iBeds – a move which from the outset has been judged a big success.

“It effectively means that patients get a much improved service, as they now get the benefit of a redeveloped service model which moved from medic-only to one delivered by a multidisciplinary and more integrated team. The services we provide to our housebound patients and our extended assessment bed patients has been rated as Outstanding by CQC, and it is my intention to ensure our care home service and our medical support to iBeds receives the same high standard of care.”

Your Health Partnership is a large Primary

Care Network, a collection of GP surgeries supporting approximately 56,000 patients across Sandwell. YHP is a division within our Primary Care Community and Therapies Group.

Tim continued: “iBeds is the last piece of the puzzle. Supporting the wards at Sheldon, Rowley and Leasowes has created an incredible opportunity for my team of advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) to provide clinician management of patients whether they be housebound, in a care home, in a step-up/down unit, and with the addition of iBeds, if they are in an in-patient setting. For the first time we will be able to provide an unprecedented level of continuity for these vulnerable adults.

Furthermore, as a head of service, it is my privilege to integrate my team with the ward staff and to see a real two way sharing of knowledge and experience with the combined aim of improving patients’ lives.”

Alex Detheridge, Advanced Clinical Practitioner added: “I am excited to be involved in the new service. It has given me and my fellow ACPs the opportunity to expand our skills and work closer with our Trust colleagues. Most importantly, we will be able to improve the patient journey between primary and secondary care.

The matrons agree, as Justine Irish explained: “We are fortunate to have worked with our GP colleagues from YHP for several years and have already formed excellent working relationships that embody the respect we have of everyone’s valuable contributions regardless of role and knowledge. We are delighted to have them remain part of our group and still play a vital role on the community wards.”

Her colleague Natalie Whitton added: “We are passionate on the community wards in raising the profile of our expertise and highlighting the bespoke model of care we deliver. This is a key element to maintaining a workforce that is highly skilled to deliver a first class service and bring those professionals together who have a shared understanding of what it means to offer safe, evidence based practice that is person centred.

Palwinder Grewal said: “The ACPs are visible all day so improvements in the continuity of patient care will undoubtedly have positive outcomes too. For me as a matron for the community wards, it feels like they have always been here, they are a very skilled, professional bunch, but more than that they are part of our teams and have fit in really well. They are key to the transition and development of our bed modelling and workforce as we get closer to the opening of the MMUH.” ACPs are stationed on each unit Monday to Friday undertaking the work traditionally completed by a junior doctor. They are supported by a dedicated Intermediate Care GP (IMC-GP) who has taken on the role akin to that of a consultant and will have medical oversight of the most complex patients.

The new model provides an equitable access to a senior clinician across all of iBeds, which previously was not the case. This means that continuity of care has greatly increased.

The iBeds matrons have already noticed a significant increase in the quality of medical cover that the new service is providing to these patients.

Sam Povey, ACP and Rachael Hebbert, YHP Head of Acute Clinical Services & Quality at Rowley Hospital

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Did you know that you can download treatment-specific patient information leaflets from the EIDO Healthcare website for FREE?

PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES AND THERAPIES

EIDO has hundreds of patient leaflets for different procedures that are being carried out across the Trust.

They are available in an easy-to-read format and in different languages.

Patient information for hundreds of procedures carried out across the Trust can be downloaded for free and passed on to patients to help them better understand the procedure they may be undergoing. Many of these are available in different languages and formats and help patients to give informed consent.

Visit Connect  Clinical Systems  EIDO PT Leaflets.

For more information, please contact the communications team on ext.5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net

Have you got a story?

MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE

We’d love to hear from you if you have…

• An event or special occasion in your department

• If you work with an inspirational colleague

• Does your department do something that makes a real difference to our patients?

Please get in touch if you’d like to be featured in an upcoming edition of Heartbeat!

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

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Maciel Vinagre Support Services Manager Medal) for the work carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Looking forward to embarking on his new role as support services manager, Maciel joins the Trust to help manage the ward services including cleanliness of the environment and ensuring we provide a safe place for colleagues and patients. With a wealth of experience within the NHS having spent time in different hospitals throughout his career, Maciel strives to share his experience and knowledge with his team and ultimately enhance the service.

Maciel shares his story: “I started in the NHS in 1995 as domestic assistant at Ashford Hospital working for a large FM company.

I worked for them for 16 years working across various hospitals in the country and eventually worked up to management level.

In 2011 I decided to work direct for the NHS as hotel services manager back at the Trust I had originally started my career as domestic assistant. During my time back at Ashford and St Peters Hospital we made many changes and improved the food offering for both patient and staff, with the Trust now

Maciel continued: “The 2021 NHS Cleanliness Standards has just been published in May 2021, and one of my key objectives is to implement these new standards. This will require involving many other departments as cleanliness is everyone’s responsibility.

Maciel Vinagre, Support Services Manager

being a national exemplar site for catering.

My housekeeping team who managed cleanliness were twice commended for the cleanliness of the hospital at the Facilities Management National Awards. The highlight of my career to date was being awarded in 2020, the BEM (British Empire

“The services I help manage have a direct impact on patient care in providing a clean and safe environment for them to be treated in. I have a great team and I’m looking forward to working with them all. To date I have been very welcomed by everyone. The Trust looks a very good place to work and I am delighted to have joined you all.”

Welcome to the Trust Maciel. If you would like to contact Maciel with any support services questions or suggestions, you can reach him via maciel.vinagre1@nhs.net.

Sohail Nassir Consultant Paediatrician Sohail Nassir has recently joined our Trust as a consultant paediatrician. The SWB paediatrics service aims to provide excellent medical care to children across the region and is the largest paediatric department in the West Midlands.

formal qualification in medical education to allow him to improve his skills in sharing knowledge and experience and ultimately train others in the profession.

Sohail continued: “I would love to develop the Aston University medical students’ educational rotation within paediatrics and create an amazing educational experience for them. I also would like to play a valuable role in developing the paediatrics noninvasive ventilation service.

The main wards are situated at Sandwell Hospital, but there are also services at City Hospital, including the children’s emergency care unit (CECU) and outpatient clinics in the Birmingham Treatment Centre.

Attracted to the Trust by the challenge and vision of the MMUH, Sohail joined the paediatrics team in March this year and brings a wealth of experience and a keen interest in education and respiratory paediatrics.

Sohail tells us more: “I trained in the West Midlands Deanery for eight years. I was then recruited to my first consultant post in Dudley where I worked for just over three years. I was the asthma lead there and I was also college tutor which meant I looked after the junior doctors. I fancied another challenge and the vision of MMUH

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Sohail Nassir, Consultant Paediatrician

really attracted me to join the Trust. I’ve been here since March 2021 and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here so far.”

Sohail also values the importance of training and educating the next generation of paediatricians and is undertaking a

“I am excited to be part of the paediatrics team here at SWB. I have worked with several colleagues prior to joining during my training and many of my now consultant colleagues are friends that I have known for a while. Everyone has been extremely welcoming and seeing some familiar faces has helped me settle into this job very quickly.”

If you would like to contact Sohail with any paediatric queries, you can reach him via s.nassir@nhs.net.

Wave goodbye to…

After 40 years’ service to the NHS, this month we say goodbye to one of our longstanding colleagues, Sonia Arnett Sonia worked as a PMO administration manager within the improvement team at the time of leaving the Trust. Before she departed for her well-earned retirement, we caught up with Sonia to chat about her career highlights and her future plans.

Speaking to Heartbeat, she told us the thing she’d enjoyed most was the family environment at SWB. “In my first few years, there were several colleagues who had family members working here, my mum used to work for the Trust, as did my two sons, and my sister also works here. There has also been a sense of comradery - I’ve developed several strong working relationships over my career.”

department is where my personal, academic and developmental growth materialised and shaped me to become the manager I am today.”

Sonia added: “If I had to go back to the start of my time here and give myself any advice, it would be this - take every opportunity to develop and don’t let anyone prevent you from following your career path. That’s the same advice I’d give to all colleagues - there is so much you can do within the NHS and, if you have the passion and determination to achieve it, then you can develop your career into what you want it to be.”

So what does Sonia have planned for her retirement? With a smile, she explained: “I’m

Sonia Arnett PMO Administration Manager going to relax for the next couple of months, and then I have a few home improvements I’d like to get done. My experience working in the improvement team will help with that.

I can create a project plan, a project schedule and a red line to track progress.”

Martin Chadderton, Head of Improvement Analytics, remarked: “Sonia dedicated 40 years to our Trust and the NHS. We were lucky enough to call her both a colleague and a friend. Over the years, she has provided exceptional support to many areas, and Sonia will be remembered for her determined personality, good nature and energy. Sonia was an absolute pleasure to work with and, we all wish her nothing but the best.”

Thinking back to the start of her career, Sonia explained that she was destined to work for the NHS. “If I hadn’t worked in the roles I have done, I would have worked within the NHS somewhere. When I was younger, I aspired to be a nurse, so I probably still would have worked in the Trust, just with a different profession.”

Throughout her career, Sonia reaped the benefits of investing in her professional development. She explained that her most formative career experience came when she worked in the imaging team. “I started as a clerical officer; I got promoted to office supervisor, office manager and finally deputy divisional admin services manager. This

Sonia Arnett at the start of her career

Sonia Arnett embarking on her well-earned retirement

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Pulse

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News in brief from around our organisation

IMAGING The Mason family team up to provide voluntary support at the Trust We have a strong team of over 100 volunteers here at SWB, but it’s not every day we hear of a whole family dedicated to supporting the Trust.

Simon, Cheryl and Rachel Mason do just that. Father, mother and daughter trio have been active volunteers over the past year following Simon’s furlough and redundancy in 2020. We caught up with Simon to find out more.

Not one to sit around, Simon decided he wanted to ‘give back’ to the community by applying for a role as a Trust volunteer.

“Visiting was not allowed at the time but I was kept extremely busy transporting packages from friends and relatives to patients. Whilst it was extremely busy, it was very rewarding.

Rachel, Cheryl and Simon Mason

“My wife and daughter soon became interested in my voluntary work and they too wanted to join the team alongside work commitments. Cheryl had volunteered previously across a number of schools, and had enjoyed the experience; and my daughter Rachel decided to join the volunteer team in February 2021 - they were delighted to start their roles.

“As the needs of the NHS changes, our roles are more towards wayfinding and showing visitors to the relevant departments. I am now registered on the NHS staff bank and I’m notified when roles become available. My daughter Rachel is also looking to register at the staff bank. A few members of the PPE

“The people we have worked with have been fantastic and I would highly recommend volunteering, in whatever capacity, as it gives you a sense that you are doing something good for someone else.

Even if it is just taking a package or a bag to a relative or helping someone find their way. It’s certainly brought our daughter Rachel out of her shell.”

Liza Gill, Volunteer Service Manager praised the Mason family for their support: “We are so thankful for our family of volunteers Simon, Cheryl and Rachel, we receive help on a regular basis from the Mason family and the support we gain in serving both the community, and the Trust, is beyond measure, and priceless. Words are not enough to express or describe the humility of the Mason household as they consistently take part in events and ensure the volunteer service upholds great provision, and reputation.”

Over seven decades of success! Dual retirement in orthopaedics

returned to Sandwell Hospital in 1989 typing orthopaedic ward discharges just a few hours a day while the children were small.”

After 71 years combined, Jane Purvis and Diane Chaplain, medical secretaries will be retiring.

“An opportunity came up to work in the fracture clinic which I found extremely enjoyable. In 2001, I worked for Mr Alaa Moftah, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon as his personal secretary, and for whom I remained working with for over 20 wonderful years. For the past seven years or so, I have also worked for Mr Geeranavar, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, who was also a pleasure to work for.”

Jane started her journey at the Trust in 1986 as a medical secretary for Mr Goldwin in plastics.

“I have been in plastics since I started at the Trust and have loved it,” said Jane.

“The department was relatively new when I started and during my 35 year career have worked for six plastic surgeons across both Sandwell and City sites.”

“In addition to working in plastics I have also been working for trauma and orthopaedics in the last 18 months during the pandemic.”

Technological advancements have made huge strides since the 1980s and Jane has witnessed this first hand.

Despite this, throughout her time at the Trust, Jane has seamlessly adapted to the introduction of new systems and software.

When asked about her time at the Trust Jane said she has thoroughly enjoyed it.

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team have adopted her too! They know she is fond of drawing, and often very kindly bring notepads for her to use.

Jane Purvis

Diane Chaplain

She expanded: “I have had the pleasure of working for and alongside some fabulous people, for whom I have a great deal of love, respect and admiration. People like Mr Goldin and his clinical assistant, Mrs Ball, who was the most incredible and inspirational lady, to Mr Khanna, whom I currently work for and treasure as a friend.”

Jane added: “I have looked forward to retirement for so many years, but now it’s here I can’t tell you how emotional I am about leaving! I will miss my working family enormously.”

Diane on the other hand, started working as a medical secretary within the Trust back in December 1979 at Moxley Hospital in Darlaston for Dr Shakeel, Consultant in Elderly Care.

Diane recalls: “We were all moved to Heath Lane Hospital as Moxley Hospital was closing down. I left in 1983 to have a family and

Mandy Neville who is also a medical secretary has known both Jane and Diane for many years during her time at SWB. She said: “Jane and Diane both work very hard. They are fun loving and have made the last year or so a lot easier working through the COVID-19 pandemic. Jane and Diane have both been a very supportive colleagues and friends and I wish them all the very best.”

Once COVID restrictions lift Jane is planning lots of nice holidays, gardening and baking.

She also wants to spend more quality time with her five grandchildren.

Diane also wants to spend more time with her grandchildren and is hopeful she can get in a round or two of golf once lockdown restrictions are eased.

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News in brief from around our organisation

IMAGING

Pedal power proving a firm favourite Cycling isn’t just a sport reserved for the elite athletes competing in the Tour De France, neither is it just for teenagers cycling to school, with the new found innovations in electric it’s proving a firm favourite for colleagues commuting to work congestion free.

The popularity of electric bikes and scooters has risen significantly in recent months as colleagues have gotten to grips with the new means of eco transport. Whilst cities such as London have had their ‘Boris Bikes’ for many years adoption within Birmingham and the Black Country has been slower – until now.

With the introduction of congestion charges in clean air zones, quieter roads and the widespread availability of bike and scooter hire schemes across Sandwell and Birmingham, colleagues are jumping in to the saddle to save money and save the environment.

To find out more about the support for cycling, Heartbeat spoke to Trust Head of Sustainability Fran Silcocks, she said: “As a Trust we’ve been very supportive of colleagues who enjoy cycling. We have put in place cycle storage facilities and now offer regular Dr Bike sessions where bikes can be checked for free by a trained specialist.

EBike Brum have been on site giving colleagues a chance to get hands on with the latest and greatest ebikes

“The introduction of Ebikes has really opened up the cycling scene to many more people, those that felt that their fitness levels were not high enough to take on the challenge of cycling can now benefit from the support ebikes can provide, the same can be said for those whose journeys are slightly longer, include hills or obstacles that pedalling alone would be challenging.

“Most importantly, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has reminded colleagues that their health and fitness has a huge impact on their wellbeing, the time spent cycling a scenic route to work or simply at the weekend can

be therapeutic way to exercise and unwind whilst gyms and health clubs are closed.

“Colleagues have also recently benefitted from free trial sessions on ebikes supported

by EBike Brum where they were given the opportunity to test a brand new bike and experience the power assistance and support that they can provide over purely pedal only bikes.”

For more information about the e-bikes scheme contact Jim Pollitt on james. pollitt@nhs.net. For other support on cycling, contact Fran Silcocks on francesca.silcocks@nhs.net.

Letters, of less than 200 words please, can be sent to the Communications Department,

Trust Headquarters, Sandwell Hospital

or by email to swb–tr.SWBH–GM–Heartbeat@nhs.net

YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD How will we get to Midland Met?

Dear Colleague,

Dear Heartbeat,

There is a good transport infrastructure in and around the Midland Met Hospital. Midland Met has a designated staff carpark with direct internal lift and stir access to places of work. As with the carparks at City and Sandwell which open later this year there will be E-charging points for electric vehicles.

So I keep hearing that Midland Met is opening in 2022. Assuming this actually happens and doesn’t get delayed to 2023 how will staff get there? Are we going to put some kind of service in place where colleagues will be able to travel from Sandwell, City, Rowley and Leasowes to Midland Met? Or should we continue to drive?

It would be nice if something was in place when the hospital opens so staff can get to and from the site during the working week.

Midland Met has a bus terminus on site for colleagues and the public approaching the site on public transport and Rolfe Street Station is within walking distance of the site.

The new transport plans for Sandwell and Birmingham Councils include new cycle routes which connect Midland Metropolitan Hospital via City to Birmingham city centre.

There are secure bike storage facilities on site and we will continue to have internal connecting transport between our main Trust sites.

Kind regards, Rachel Barlow Director of System Transformation

Kind regards, Anonymous

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Letters, of less than 200 words please, can be sent to the Communications Department,

Trust Headquarters, Sandwell Hospital or by email to swb–tr.SWBH–GM–Heartbeat@nhs.net

YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD

How is our shuttle bus service still inadequate in 2021?

Electric car parking in the future

Dear Heartbeat,

So I’m thinking of making the jump and investing in an electric car. However, one factor in me buying this depends on electric charging points.

Yes, I do know we have some across the Trust but will we be implementing them on a larger scale? Will we be adding some to the new multistorey car parks at City and Sandwell, and more importantly, at Midland Met? With us winning the HSJ award recently surely this would be another step in the right direction?

So a few weeks back I went on the shuttle bus from Sandwell to City. First trip was fine but I had another meeting at Sandwell and was told to save petrol and better help the environment I should use the shuttle service.

So I waited for the shuttle bus and a little car turned up. I was told by the driver the bus wasn’t available and they were using the car however only a total of three people could be in the car. I get social distancing and all that but three people from different households without face coverings doesn’t adhere to the rules so why couldn’t I get in the car seeing as they were breaking the rules anyway? I was told I couldn’t get in the car and that I would have to wait for the next shuttle. This resulted in being late for my meeting all due to trying to use the shuttle service rather than my car.

And the Trust wonders why people don’t use the shuttle. Here is just one prime example why staff are put off! The shuttle bus service has been a bit of a running joke since I started at the Trust when I have spoken to other staff and many people just use their own car due to this. With all this mind, is the Trust going to upgrade to more environmentally friendly shuttles which actually meet demands of staff or are we going to continue to use those out dated diesel shuttles which barely pass an MOT? Or should I just rely on myself and my car and forget the shuttle bus service? We are doing great work across the Trust to become more sustainable, it’s just a shame that our shuttle bus service feels like it is a decade out of touch. It feels like from a sustainability point of view we are taking two steps forward and then one back. I only hope we have an upgraded fleet soon enough which is better for the environment and that we can get a better service in the future otherwise I can see more people just sticking to their cars.

Kind regards, Anonymous Dear Colleague, I am sorry you have experienced problems with the shuttle bus service. I am a little confused as general transport do not have access to a small car. Please provide more details to allow me to fully investigate and provide an answer to your concerns: trish.kehoe@nhs.net On a positive note we have been working with procurement and sustainability and will take delivery of a new transport fleet over the coming weeks, this includes two new shuttle buses. The new fleet with be environmentally friendly as there will be a combination of electric vehicles and low emissions vehicles which are compliant with the Birmingham Clean Air Zone.

Kind regards,

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Trish Kehoe Head of Health Care Records

Dear Heartbeat,

Kind regards, Anonymous Dear Colleague, Thank you for your email and good luck with your electric vehicle investment. We are in the process of appointing an electric vehicle charging service provider that will offer a comprehensive range of forward-looking technology.

The electric vehicle charging facilities across our estate will meet the increasingly stringent regulatory challenges of environmental protection, resource efficiency and CO2 reduction.

The new EV charging system will provide colleagues, patients, visitors and other customers (public charging points) with the most effortless and future-proof solutions for smart electric vehicle charging.

We will install 12 new charging points in the multi storey car park (MSCP) at Sandwell plus an additional four points at the new Primary Care Centre, a further 28 new EV charge points will be installed in and around the MSCP on the City site with all points becoming ‘live’ on the opening of the MSCPs which is scheduled for 1 August 2021. Another 30 charging points are being installed in the MMUH and will become available when the hospital opens.

We are mindful that this is a developing technology, but the Trust’s view is that we must continue to transform our estate and develop this technology to help with our clean air strategy and zero carbon initiatives.

Kind regards, James Pollitt Assistant Director Strategic Development

something not stopping it. There is not enough done in the hospital with regards to recycling, mainly in the BTC. I have addressed this this with them directly, furthermore they inform me there is a recycling bin in between City and BTC, but who has time to travel over there? More could be done in and around the BTC. Also I find that the chief executive was concerned about waste, but all our Trust vehicles are diesel, why have we not moved forward with electric vehicles as yet? There is so much more we could do as a hospital, but are not. It’s not just about the hospital it’s about the bigger picture, planet earth and our oceans. We need to do more and time isn't on our hands.

Kind regards, Anonymous Dear Colleague, We are working hard to reduce our environmental impact, increase recycling rates and ensure our waste is disposed of in a responsible manner. We are only a very small team so we heavily rely on colleagues like yourself taking action.

With regards to recycling, we have in place Dried Mixed Recycling (DMR) with red bins located at various points along the middle road and by ED at City. We will be putting in place DMR bins in Trinity House Catering and Estates at Sandwell. This will reduce our environmental impact and costs. Colleagues will be required to separate DMR waste (e.g. non-confidential paper, clean plastic containers, clean cans, etc.) from general waste.

We are also in the process of installing circa 100 additional electric vehicle charging sockets at City and Sandwell and we are also transitioning our Trust general transport vehicles to low emissions vehicles – eight will be fully electric and the remainder will be compliant with the Birmingham Clean Air Zone.

Finally, we would like more teams to get involved in our staff environmental engagement programme called ‘Green Impact’. Colleagues work in teams to complete actions that collectively have a big impact. We have prizes, rewards and awards so it’s great recognition for teams. For more information, see https://www.greenimpact. org.uk/swb.

Reducing our environmental impact

I hope this answers your concerns. Feel free to contact me if you want to be part of greening the Trust.

Dear Heartbeat,

Kind regards,

I would like to address waste, recycling, climate change and carbon footprint. It has saddened me to see the chief executive message about waste and inconsiderate people who contribute to destruction of planet earth. However I am aware that we have a sustainability department, which is a word I am not fond of as we are sustaining

Fran Silcocks Head of Sustainability

Richard talks about: Moving forward – our new strategic direction Richard Beeken, Interim Chief Executive

RICHARD'S LAST WORD In this month’s Heartbeat there is a centre page spread on our emerging new strategic objectives and a clear statement about the purpose of the organisation which we need you to understand and buy in to. Our Chair, Sir David Nicholson, sets out why having a clear purpose and objectives matters.

My job this month is to explain why we have chosen these three objectives and I would very much like to get thoughts and feedback from you.

Before I address each objective however, it’s important I emphasise why the Trust Board chose only three draft objectives. The answer to this is quite simple, simplicity is key. If one can distil complex and uncertain things into easy to understand structure, one is half way towards understanding and buy in to the actions required. The “three Ps” as we like to call these proposed objectives, resonate with me because they neatly summarise the full gamut of what a modern healthcare provider needs to aspire to in the post COVID-19 world.

1. Patients: This objective goes to the heart of what we should be doing as a minimum - delivering good or outstanding hospital and community service care to our deprived and diverse populations. We are currently rated as “Requires Improvement” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and that is because we are just that - we require improvement. There are pockets of excellence in our organisation but this is not a consistent pattern across the Trust and those rated “Good” or “Outstanding” deliver good care and good leadership everywhere.

Getting the fundamentals of care right is a minimum requirement of us all. So, whether it’s pressure care, nutrition, cleanliness, falls assessment, mortality reduction, infection control or safe staffing, we need to assure ourselves that we are achieving consistency and excellence in these areas, within the resources we have available to us.

In my first Friday Message I wrote about the fundamentals of care. We will be, through the chief nurse and the medical director, delivering that programme of improvement through you. Think about how you will contribute to this, please.

2. People: If the last year has taught us anything, it has taught us that the NHS has taken its staff for granted for too long. The incredible pandemic response from you all needs acknowledgment and our people need meaningful investment and support. Our staff’s experience needs improvement, so through the actions below and many more, we hope to change that over time:

• Improve professional development opportunities and funding for all colleagues, not just clinical colleagues

• Improve the recruitment and onboarding experience

• Improve the health and wellbeing offer to all colleagues

•

Make raising concerns and speaking out the norm, not the exception, because people feel supported and will believe that action will be taken should concerns be deemed demanding of change

• Make inclusivity and seeking equality for our colleagues the norm, not the exception. We must embrace diversity of opinion, of background, of race, of sexuality

•

Communication with colleagues cannot be a one way process, from top down. We will develop new and responsive approaches to engaging with you, seeking your opinion and answering your questions.

In summary, happy staff deliver good care.

There is enough international research evidence to prove this. We don’t need to wait any longer to take action.

3. Population: We serve some of the most ethnically diverse and most economically deprived parts of the country. Healthy life expectancy in the areas we serve is actually reducing. In the 7th richest nation on earth in the 21st century, this is scandalous. As the largest employer around, and the main provider of healthcare, we must do our bit to help mitigate these issues. Continuing to wait for referrals from GPs and treating the conveyor belt of acutely unwell people with exacerbation of their chronic diseases, cannot be the answer. Primary care, social care and secondary care are already overwhelmed.

To this end, we will do all of the following, and many other things besides, to deliver this objective:

•

Align our own community teams to GP localities and join forces with social care, mental health and voluntary sector providers to plan better interventions for those families or people who are most at risk of developing acute exacerbations of their chronic disease

•

Host ourselves, the multi agency partnership to deliver the above and take responsibility for changing our interventions radically to shift the dial on chronic disease

•

Invest in community services, in line with our Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) care model, to ensure that at the least, if we cannot reduce secondary care demand we can at least reduce the rate at which it increases

•

Develop resilience in our communities by working with housing, public health and voluntary sector organisations

•

Continue the Trust’s proud history of widening participation in employment for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our community

• Go net zero on carbon emissions and maximise the urban regeneration opportunities that the MMUH development brings.

It is, indeed, more than just a hospital.

I hope this brief column gives you a flavour of why we have chosen these objectives. What we now need is your feedback. Do they resonate with you?

Can you align your work to one or all of these and if not, why not?

We are keen to hear from you.

Don’t be shy!

Richard

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Family and colleagues pay tribute to Clair Millard YOUR TRUST CHARITY

 @SWBHCharity To donate to the Your Trust Charity text “SWBH16 £5” to 70070 The family of Clair Millard, specialist bowel screening practitioner who passed away suddenly at the age of 36 in September last year, marked her first birthday since her passing by donating a memorial bench and plaque. Colleagues from the bowel cancer screening unit also purchased a plaque. Family and colleagues gathered to celebrate Clair’s birthday on 10 June and unveil the memorial bench. The memorial bench sits in a sunny spot within courtyard area of Sandwell Hospital and was decorated with birthday balloons to mark what would have been her 37th birthday.

They shared kind words and raised a toast in her memory.

Clair’s mother and father with her dog Quinn

Y A D H T R I B 3 7 YST A HAPPY 73RDBBNIHRSTHTD U R THOAAPLPLYAT SW S TRUST

Clair’s father said: “We’re really pleased with the bench, Clair would haveLOGO lovedLOCKUP it. And it’s in a lovely spot right under the The NHS Big Tea logo variants sun which is perfect.”

This logo variant should be used when referring Clair’s mother echoed this sentiment and to the national 3pm 5th July Big Tea event. hopes colleagues will enjoy the bench, sit in the sun and use it on their lunch breaks, she said it’s what Clair would have wanted.

RD

H N B W S T A L L TO A ith the NHS Big Tea and raise money

Clair was the heart and soul of the service, dedicating herself to her role which she had carried out for eight years.

During Clair’s time at the Trust, she became known for her bubbly personality and determination, to not only deliver the best care possible for her patients, but also to educate those around her about the importance of bowel screening.

Join in w

Donate £1 to support the work of Your Trust Charity Text NHSBDAY to 70085 to donate £1.

Texts cost £1 plus one standard rate message

Share your pics and tag: @SWBHCharity @SWBHNHS #NHSBIGTEA #NHSBIGTEA2021

June 2021 staff lottery results 1st £177.25

2nd £ 106.35

3rd £70.90

Jayne Redfern

Anon

Marcell Fisher

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