Sir David talks about...Improving life chances and health outcomes through employment
Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, ChairHELLO FROM THE CHAIR
Welcome to the June edition of Heartbeat.
This month, we are marking Windrush Day and the 75th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush docking at Tillbury Docks. We've spoken to some of our colleagues, including retired nurse Rose Butler MBE, on page 14 and included some key statistics on page 15. You can learn more about innovation at SWB on page 20, where we have spoken to breast surgery unit surgeons on the innovative procedures offered here. You can also learn more about our new skin service, launched alongside GPs and the local authority, on page 24.
Enjoy Jswbh.comms@nhs.net
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Mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Steet recently joined me on a visit to The Learning Works, our one-stop-shop for access to training, development and employment opportunities. The Learning Works is based in the heart of our community and prides itself in how it offers a variety of opportunities to the people of Sandwell and West Birmingham by working with local employers. That maybe through apprenticeships, offering work experience, employability programmes or initiatives like the Live and Work Scheme.
The work that the team are doing is the perfect example of our Population strategic objective – to work seamlessly with our partners to improve lives. And here we have West Midlands Combined Authority, Sandwell Council, Sandwell College, Department of Work and Pensions and SWB coming together to improve life chances and health outcomes through employment.
The new Sector Based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) to train and recruit ward service officers and care navigators is really gaining traction. Learners go through a training with the opportunity to gain employment within our organisation.
We were delighted to meet and chat to learners on our programmes some of whom had already secured work within the Trust. On the day we met a group of new starters who had successfully completed the SWAP programme with Your Health Partnership and are now getting ready to start their careers in care navigation at our GP surgeries. A group of learners hoping
to secure roles as ward service officers, were also looking forward to successfully completing their SWAP course.
The Learning Works team are a good neighbour too – we learned they had supported Mr Murtaza Zavari in successfully applying for a role as a pharmacy technician assistant at the Trust. Having recently moved to the UK from India, Mr Zavari happened to move in across the road from The Learning Works when he made contact with the team who were able to coach him through the process so that he had a better understanding of how to apply for a job within the NHS.
And of course, all this great work will continue when we move to our new Learning Campus at the Midland Met where we will fulfil our role as the major anchor organisation in the area.
I look forward to seeing the growth and development of The Learning Works – the team are really making a positive impact on our local communities.


Get involved in research
Written by Kelly Hard, Head of Research and DevelopmentI’ve now been at SWB for a year as Head of Research and Development and am responsible for the strategic and operational delivery of the research and development department across the Trust. Some people aren’t aware that such a department exists, let alone what services and support we offer. I'm hoping this article will help to shed some light on that.
Who are we?
The department is led by myself, Lead Clinical Research Practitioner, Jo Dasgin, Director of Research and Development Derek Connolly and Deputy Director of Research and Development, Hoda Harb.

The team is made up of a mixture of clinical and non-clinical staff from a variety of backgrounds. We have 36 full-time equivalent staff who work across all sites within the organisation to support and facilitate research.
The team works across two main areas: governance and delivery. Our teams are based across D46 and the Birmingham treatment centre at City Hospital, and the clinical research facility at Sandwell General Hospital.
Governance Team
The governance team ensure that studies are properly set up and have the necessary approvals in place prior to commencement. They undertake regular audits, monitoring and delivery training for those interested in or already delivering research.
Delivery Team
The delivery team support and facilitate research focused on patient participation. They work with the clinical areas to assess how the study will be conducted onsite, and then support with the identification, recruitment and follow up of patients. They work to ensure patients are put at the heart of the project and follow the required pathway.
What we Offer
The R and D department are able to offer training in a variety of areas, both online or face to face, including;
• Principal investigator masterclass
• Good clinical practice for research
• Introduction to research
All of the courses available can be found on https://www.wmrtc.org/training-wmrtc or https://www.nihr.ac.uk/health-andcare-professionals/learning-and-support/
The department can advise on whether your idea or project falls within the remit of research for the NHS or whether it is more likely to fall into another area. We can advise on the types of approvals required for your project as well as supporting with collaboration, project design, funding and analysis.
We have access to a statistician who can support with the data elements, sample size and analysis where required. We are able to provide signposting for regional and national services as well as offer local support for all elements of research projects.
The department can liaise with commercial organisations interested in conducting research at site, as well as charitable and other non-profit organisations. The delivery team will help support those interested in research to identify specific studies they are able to contribute to or explore opening for their patients. The team can help with information provision, consent, clinical investigations and data collection.
Facilities
We have a clinical research facility at Sandwell General Hospital, where participants can be seen and investigated. We run numerous clinics from this facility, to enable identification and follow up of patients participating in research. This comprises office space, reception area,
CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS
laboratory space, and 10 clinical rooms. These are currently being utilised by a range of specialty areas including haematology, rheumatology, physiotherapy and cardiology.
Resources
We have hosted several Trust-wide events in the last year and have set up a single resource point where all courses, funding opportunities and meetings are advertised. It is anticipated that this single point of resource will be used to identify areas of interest and find collaborators in the near future, so I would encourage everyone to sign up. You can do this here: https://khub.net/web/guest
I hope this gives you a brief insight into the department and what we do, but more importantly how we can support you. If you are interested in research or finding out more, please do get in touch with me or one of the team on swbh.randd@generic.nhs.net
Partnership scoops procurement award
CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS
The Black Country Alliance, a partnership between our Trust, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, has won the Procurement Transformation Award for the work done on understanding and promoting equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) with our local supplier base.

The accolade in the Procurement Excellence in Supply Awards recognised the work undertaken to ensure EDI in procurement
is integral to our team’s social value and sustainability strategy.
Janice Nelson, Deputy Head of Clinical Products Management at our Trust, has led and championed this innovative work.
She said: “By focusing on EDI, and through increasing the amount of NHS budget that is spent locally, we are supporting local jobs, businesses, and maximising the opportunities to access our contracts and spend.
“Through this work, there has been an improvement in our TIDE (Talent, Inclusion, Diversity and Equality) assessment which is a national benchmarking tool and our score has improved substantially.
“We acknowledge that there is more work to do, but believe we are leading the way in this nationally and believe we are the only procurement team in the NHS to be undertaking this work.”
Clare Nash, Head of Clinical Products Management for the Black Country Alliance, said: “I am incredibly proud of Janice and the procurement team and the influence nationally on this vitally important aspect of procurement.
“The award is extremely well deserved, and many of our colleagues in the region are looking to replicate the work that has started.”
Reverend Mary Causer moves on to pastures new
CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS
with a multifaith team, but we know why we are here, as diverse as we are, we have the same focus in common and that is patient, staff and families. Thank you to my team for letting an extrovert who laughs a lot lead them, and thank you for trusting me as we laugh together."
Mary has had a huge impact on many colleagues at SWB including Frieza Mahmood, Chief People Officer.
She said: “I don’t think there are many people in the organisation who you can say truly live the values of the Trust, but Mary is certainly one of those. She makes everyone feel welcome and always offers invaluable support to our colleagues and patients.”

Following seven successful years, Reverend Mary Causer will be leaving the Trust to become a lead pastor at Bethel Elim Oldbury Church.
Mary has been instrumental in many projects across the Trust including the tree of hope. The tree of hope resembles the concept that we don't let seasons pass by without honouring those who died in our Trust and their families, including our own staff. Although the stars are
not named, the tree has become a place of peace for those who didn't see their loved ones before they passed away.
She has also played a pivotal role in providing a listening ear to our patients, their loved ones and our staff during challenging times.
When asked about her time at SWB, Mary said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the last seven years working with my team. Not everybody can work
Donna Mighty, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, echoed these thoughts and said: “I want to say thanks for your seven years of service. You have always been warm, kind, funny, caring and most importantly compassionate.
“Thank you for nurturing, developing, and leading the chaplaincy team so well especially during the pandemic and leaving a solid foundation for the team to build on. I wish you all the blessings in your next chapter.”
Boosting clinical knowledge around SWB
Our nursing and midwifery clinical education team recently hosted an array of education drop-in sessions available to all colleagues across all levels.

The sessions covered a host of topics aimed at developing skills and awareness and gave attendees the opportunity to get hands on refresher training.
“Topics we went over at the sessions included ECGs, parental nutrition, catheter management, preceptorship, diabetes, cannulation and venepuncture, vital signs and midwifery,” said Stacey Clarke, Nursing Associate Practice Educator.
“We invited specialist colleagues, both clinical and non-clinical, from across SWB to help educate attendees. These included midwives and our apprenticeship team, specialists in diabetes and thrombosis, all of whom offered a whole range of invaluable knowledge and information.”
The drop-in sessions were held across all four of our main sites, starting out City and Sandwell and then concluding at Rowley and Leasowes, meaning all SWB colleagues could join.
Aaron Bertram-Miller, who helped facilitate the
sessions across the Trust, believes they were a huge success.
He said: “Colleagues did not need to book on to any of the sessions but instead were encouraged to discuss the drop-in sessions with their managers to ensure they are able to attend, which meant uptake was massive. I hope we can do more sessions like this in the future.
“The majority of our clinical staff know the basics but just need a refresher from time to time. None of the sessions were meant to be judgemental or test anyone, but instead just remind and reintroduce our staff to the skills they possess.”
He added: “I must say a big thank you to all my fellow colleagues who came along to the sessions and helped educate or staff as without them none of this vital learning would have been possible.”
Young people today are the future of tomorrow
CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS
When we’re talking about the future, the next generation are the most important and most affected stakeholders. As I approach the later stage of my life, being 60 and a senior citizen, and I know that the young people of today are coming to age in a world beset by crises – even before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated lives and livelihoods around the world.
As parents we only want the best for our children. We sacrificed time and resource in preparing them from primary education to adulthood. Years passed in the blink of an eye, and we wondered where they had gone.
Our NHS Trust has introduced a number of opportunities to welcome our youth, through apprenticeship opportunities, led by Work Experience and School Engagement Lead, Nikki Smith, to dedicated forums.

Our dedicated youth forum, led by Head of Public Community Engagement, Jayne Salter-Scott and Widening Participation Project Manager Emma Dalton, is held in the Learning Works Building at Smethwick. Here, you may even meet your junior self, a young person from our community who is interested in healthcare.
One of these young people is Arjun Bains, who secures his own experience to develop his skills while at school so that he can be in a competitive position to secure a fantastic job opportunity when he graduates.
Relevant experience makes Arjun more likely to gain a graduate level job. Not only does it show that he has relevant skills, but it also demonstrates his interest in the career he has chosen to pursue.
Carrying out work experience at different organisations and in different roles will enable our young people to explore and test options to see if their chosen career is right for them. This will help our young people for when they come to apply for graduate positions to narrow down exactly what they are looking for.
Placements provide a platform to develop and enhance transferable skills for their CV. Arjun
was surprised at how much he could gain from even just a short week placement and how those skills could benefit him in the future. By gaining experience through placements our young people will have a lot of experiences and examples to discuss with potential employers during their interviews; if they are on a course where placements are not compulsory this will show that they have a passion for what they do and have gone above and beyond to get involved.
Experiencing different work environments also enables young people to meet and engage with peers. Their temporary manager, peers and interviewers will all be good contacts to learn from, or to remain in contact should a future vacancy of interest arise.
We should be inspired by the countless examples of young people pursuing collective action by bringing together diverse voices to care for their communities. This proves once again that the youth is capable of many feats and accomplishments. All they need is proper channelisation of abilities, the right guidance and training and an environment they want to be in.
Sophie has supported the paediatric virtual ward team by writing chest auscultation competencies, running teaching sessions for the team and supporting with ongoing practical sessions within a short space of time to ensure patients on the respiratory pathway have best possible assessments.
Shout out has been a regular feature in Heartbeat and it is fantastic to see colleagues regularly taking the time to give positive feedback to each other.
To nominate a colleague, visit connect2. swbh.nhs.uk/communications/shout-out/, or search 'shout out' on Connect and fill in the form.

CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS
Beverly is the colleague everyone needs. I have worked for the trust just over a year now and without her support I would be lost. She offers non judgmental advice and always go above what is required of her to ensure she can help her colleagues, even if that means going to get a costa to cheer us up, or more extreme burning herself out to cover shifts for various reasons. Our patients love her soft caring nature and i truly believe she is one of a kind in this nursing profession.
We want to say a huge thank you to Anita from IT. We had a problem with one of our share point folders because of the way it had been set up and we have been back and forth to IT trying to resolve the problem. Anita was able to investigate and resolve the issue and now we have no problem accessing and editing the folder.
From – Louise Thompson
To – Medical Photography of Medical Illustration
Medical Photography Team helped taking portraits for individual member of our team. Medical Photography didn’t only take great portraits, they were very customer focused and effective from the planning stage, communications throughout the whole process and preparing a lot of fine details of the photos for the best possible outcome. Thank you, Medical Photography Team, you are truly fantastic!
Tammy makes our patients and her team laugh to no end and for the nature of this ward, it is absolutely essential, she gets us through some difficult days. Easter, Christmas, birthdays, any holidays, she ensures our patients have something to open and that a fuss is made of them. She is organised and keeps the ward a float without thinking twice, she comes to work to work and goes above her role every shift. She definitely should be recognised for the lengths she will go to ensure her patients and her colleagues needs are met. Thanks Tammy. Absolute asset to the team.
Kanwal worked really hard to get all the elective cesarean sections done this morning. SHe prepared the patients and go them ready for theatre on time. She is hard working and works effortlessly. She supports the women and goes and extra mile for her patients and team. Maternity is proud to have midwives like her who go beyond to get the work done during the junior doctors strike.
Sam assisted with providing hot food and sandwiches for our patients in BTC who were waiting to return home, following the delay of hospital transport. Sam was very helpful, informative and pleasant. Keep up the good work.
From
To – Donna on afternoon reception at Rowley Regis Hospital
Donna went out of her way to support a lady who found herself at the wrong venue for her appointment. Donna helped the lady, who was visually impaired, contact the correct department for the appointment and find out which venue it was at. Having missed the appointment, Donna helped arrange a new appointment and make sure the lady had this written down, and also that she could read it at home with a magnifier. This lady was quite distressed by the event but left much calmer after Donna helped her sort it out.
To – Security Team Sandwell and Anton Todd, Team leader
Huge thanks to Anton, Alex Harvey and Brian. Who in recent weeks have detected and appended 2 x burglary suspects caught in the act, and prevented the theft of valuable Trust resources. The team went over and beyond in the course of their duties
From – Mark Lee
Kim went above and beyond to coordinate care for the heart failure patient. The patient had a blood test this morning, and the results, which confirmed stage 2 AKI, arrived around 17:00 today. Given the patient's previous medical history and declining blood results, Kim phoned the SPA team and an ambulance to ensure the patient was admitted to the hospital as soon as possible for additional medical assistance. Kim even told the patient's spouse what he should bring to the hospital to ensure medics have all the information they need to provide the patient with additional critical care. Patient was appreciative for Kim's treatment since without her efforts, the patient would not have received the necessary care today and could have deteriorated. Kim is an asset to the urgent community response team.
Supported nursing colleagues and Jr doctors throughout a busy and really difficult shift. Always listens to the wider MDT and strives to be her very best all of the time for her patients. Has gone above and beyond in her duty today especially and guided staff through some challenging situations. Families have provided excellent feedback for her kindness and compassion towards them.
From – Annlouise Partoon
As the only assigned nurse in resus during a very trying shift, Justin was a great leader and I learned a lot from him. He is an asset to the emergency department
From – Robyn Foster
Longstanding supporter and local MP James Morris recently visited Midland Met as he joined Chief Executive, Richard Beeken, Clinical Safety Officer, Dr David Carruthers and Regeneration Director, Austin Bell to see the progress first-hand.
Heading up to floor eight to see the most advanced ward area, James had the chance to see how wards look and touch on some of the things that make our new hospital unique. As James and the team made their way around, they saw a four bedded bay,
Local MP shows support for Midland Met
staff areas and the winter garden, as well as discussing regeneration and the benefits it will bring to the local communities we serve. Looking out at the view from the winter garden, James remarked: “I was really pleased to see that we have good progress on the site and that completion is getting closer. Having lobbied the Government to invest in a new hospital for Sandwell, it is great to see it taking shape and the configuration in place on the ward I visited.”
Richard Beeken, CEO, said: “I am grateful to James Morris MP for joining us to tour the new
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital to discover more about the opportunities to further enhance the local area. We are committed to working with partners across Birmingham and the Black Country to join up travel plans, support the economy, provide local jobs and create inspiring community spaces.
“Mr Morris has been a great advocate of the new hospital since its inception and has continued to demonstrate a commitment to local investment to support our communities.”

Activation group launches in support of Midland Met
Recently, the Midland Met activation group launched. The aim of the group is to ensure that the activities the Trust needs to complete on the Midland Met site between handover by Balfour Beatty to the Trust until the moving in period for clinical services and first patient day, are planned and delivered in a safe, coordinated, timely manner.
The project group sits within the Midland Met Programme Company, and colleagues from across the Trust provide support to ensure we have the right skills and expertise around the table to make decisions to safely prepare the site to be open and delivering services in 2024.

Jayne Dunn, Director of Commissioning and Equipping and Chair of the activation group, explained: “We’ve hosted our first activation group with a lively workshop, a vital step for us as it marks us moving into our delivery phase where we begin putting our plans to the test. We had a successful first meeting with colleagues from estates, waste, catering, security, infection prevention and control and procurement teams, all sharing ideas and working collaboratively.
“We have a big task to complete, and I’m confident that we have the right people and teams supporting us to prepare the site for the safe move of services into Midland Met. The group will have a broad focus and look at things such as securing the site
once it is handed over and before occupation, stocking areas with consumables, installing equipment, undertaking scenario tests and site tours, cleaning, issuing site access passes, ensuring we have the required site accreditations and licenses and developing contingency and business continuity plans for the MMUH site during this period.
“We will develop and track all the actions we take as a group and ensure everything aligns with the technical commissioning plan and construction programme from Balfour Beatty making sure we are ready to receive the site at handover. It is an important step forward for us, and I look forward to working with colleagues to get this over the line.”
My part in Midland Met
How long have you been at SWB and what is your current role?
I have been at SWB since December 2002 - 21 years and counting. In that time, I have worked across different roles and teams and very much enjoy my current role as the Volunteer Recruiting Manager for Midland Met.
What part does your role contribute to the Midland Met project?
My role involves engaging and recruiting some of our current volunteers, members of our local communities and students to volunteer at Midland Met when it opens.
How are you preparing for the opening of Midland Met in your team?
I am currently looking at how we get information out into our communities, meeting the wider team and stakeholders and looking at the different volunteer roles we will have available.
Our volunteers play a valuable role at SWB. We have a fantastic volunteer service, and we will be building on that for when Midland Met opens in 2024.
In what ways will our new hospital help to shape your role for the better?
It will bring changes to the patient experience, not only being a new hospital but the exciting additions that make Midland Met more than just a hospital.

It is a place that will be culturally vibrant in the arts and our winter garden will enhance the patient and visitors experience.
Our ambition is to build upon our diverse volunteer service so that people of all nationalities can find someone that they can converse with in a language they understand.
Volunteer Recruiting Manager for Midland Met, Pat Hunt

From now until when we move into Midland Met, we will be sharing updates with you about the many people involved in the project and the role they each play.
The successful opening of Midland Metropolitan University Hospital relies on many people, teams and stakeholders. Once open, it
will have a far reaching impact – not only on those we care for but also on colleagues and our community in terms of regeneration, jobs, housing, charitable endeavours and so much more.
Getting us to Midland Met is a team effort. We all have a part to play in making it #morethanahospital!
The biggest benefit that Midland Met will bring in your opinion is...
The greatest benefit in my opinion is that it will contribute to the regeneration of a local area and provide countless opportunities for people to access such as job opportunities, education, access to the arts to name a few.
Have you been on a site tour?
Not yet but I look forward to going on one very soon.
Step into a world where art meets healing and healthcare, where creativity connects patients on their path to recovery, from vibrant gardens teeming with life to captivating sculptures capturing the essence of resilience and a hospital buzzing with patients. This is the vision for the arts programme at Midland Met and one which we had the privilege of sharing with Arts Council England.
Recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming a team from Arts Council England to the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital site to showcase the incredible outcomes of our pilot arts projects and discuss opportunities for development as we delve into how we can contribute to Arts Council England's new 'Let's Create' creative wellbeing strategy.

Thanks to the Arts Council England grant received in 2021, we brought to life the ‘Abundance’ outdoor garden project in partnership with Spectra CIC at City Hospital. Patients, colleagues and visitors alike were immersed in a sanctuary of nature and art, forging a harmonious
Let’s Create - Arts Council England inspiring visit to Midland Met
atmosphere. The success of this project vividly demonstrated the transformative impact of art on our patients and healthcare community wellbeing.

Together with the critical care unit we will soon be embarking on crafting a magnificent 3-meter 'Hope' sculpture—a beacon of strength and triumph which is set to be situated proudly at the south main entrance of the Midland Met, an awe-inspiring symbol of the incredible resilience of the patients we successfully discharged during the COVID-19 pandemic. It serves as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our healthcare professionals and a reminder that hope prevails even in the darkest of times.
Johnny Shah, the Head of Your Trust Charity, expressed his excitement, stating: "We had the pleasure of hosting the Arts Council England team and sharing the outcomes of these pilot projects, as well as exploring how the charity and Trust can be a part of their new creative wellbeing strategy.
“This collaboration signifies our shared commitment to harnessing the profound power of art in promoting holistic wellbeing among patients, colleagues, and the wider community.”
Hollie Smith-Charles, Director for Creative Health and Change Programmes at Arts
Council England, marvelled at the extraordinary progress made since their last visit four years ago. She said: “The hospital galleries are set to be really exciting spaces, my colleagues were here four years ago before COVID-19 and the progress has been immense, it's great to see both the hospital taking shape but also how the arts programme is being integrated into the development. It’s really exciting how the team has worked both with artists, the communities and the clinical staff to co-design the artistic programmes that will happen in there.” Her words echoed our ambition to create an environment where art flourishes and inspires.
Sharing her vision, Senior Arts Manager Amy Campbell said: “What sets Midland Metropolitan Hospital apart is its commitment to inclusivity and community engagement. Witnessing art come to life within the walls of an acute care setting like ours is nothing short of thrilling—a testament to the hospital's dedication to championing creativity as a catalyst for health and wellbeing.
“The visit by Arts Council England has only deepened our conviction in the transformative power of art within healthcare.”
Working in partnership to celebrate Corporate Parenting Awareness Week
Earlier this month, Sandwell Hospital played host to an information stand to talk to colleagues about Corporate Parenting Awareness Week (12-16 June).

The purpose of this week is to raise awareness of statutory organisations, including the NHS and other healthcare providers, responsibilities towards meeting the needs of children in care.
Colleagues from SWB worked in partnership with Black Country and West Birmingham Integrated Care Board, Sandwell Council and Sandwell Children’s Trust, with representatives from all organisations being available to speak to staff and offer guidance and support.
Indu Mahabeer, Consultant Paediatrician and Doctor for Children in Care said: “The purpose of this week is to raise awareness of our responsibility as corporate parents to children in care in Sandwell. We have a commitment to make sure that children in care receive the same care that we would expect for our own children.
“We have hold lots of engagement with staff today, with many of them interested in learning more about their and the organisation’s responsibilities when it comes to looking after children in care.”
Simon Hackett, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education in Sandwell and Chair of the Corporate Parent Board added: “Everybody that works for the council, the NHS, the police, schools and other public sector organisations are corporate parents.
We all have a responsibility to support children in care and care leavers.
“This is the first time we have done Corporate Parenting Awareness Week and we did it to raise the profile and help everyone to understand that even if they don’t directly work with children, they are still a corporate parent.
“We have been out and about across the whole borough during the week and have had some great conversations with lots of different people. We will now hold it every year and we have the ambition of becoming a regional and national beacon for outstanding practice in corporate parenting – this week is just the start of that.”
Marking Windrush Day at Sandwell and West Birmingham
In June 1948, HMT Empire Windrush stopped in countries including Jamaica, Trinidad and Bermuda, before docking at Tilbury Docks in Essex. 1,027 passengers disembarked from the ship, over 800 of whom gave their last country of residence as somewhere in the Caribbean. It’s no coincidence that the NHS launched just two weeks later, on 5 July 1948.
The NHS, described as a “great and novel undertaking” by Health Secretary Aneurin Bevan, was based on recommendations made by economist and politician William Beveridge in the 1942 Beveridge report. He identified five ‘giant evils’: want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness, and viewed a national health service as one method to help Britain overcome these issues.
At this time, with ongoing rationing and high national debt, the heavy investment in public services was viewed by many as an uncertain yet necessary step. Running such a service required staff – and the NHS faced significant staff shortages in the early years, with a shortage of 48,000 nurses in 1948. A relatively open-door immigration policy at the time, enabled by the British Nationality Act 1948, resulted in around 125,000 Caribbean people coming to work in the UK by 1958, as well as around 55,000 migrants from India and Pakistan. Many went on to work in the NHS, with the Ministries of Health and Labour working actively with the Colonial Office, the Royal College of Nursing and the General Nursing Council to actively recruit Caribbean women to work in the NHS from 1949. The contribution of migrants cannot be understated; by 1965, around 5,000 Jamaican women staffed
EMPIRE WINDRUSH
British hospitals, and by 1977, 66 per cent of student nurses and midwives recruited overseas came from the Caribbean. Data from 1971 indicated nearly a third (31 per cent ) of all NHS doctors in England were born and educated overseas.
The numbers, stories and history tell a clear truth: migrants have been essential to the survival of the NHS. Across our organisation, we see significant contributions made to the health service, from people such as Rose Butler MBE.
Rose Butler, who came to the UK in 1963 from Jamaica with her mother, went to school in Smethwick and applied for nursing straight from school. Rose told us: “I always wanted to do nursing. It’s funny, because one of my teachers called me ‘nurse’, despite it not being my name, and it must have stuck with me.
“I went to Dudley Road and didn’t get through, went up to Dudley hospital and didn’t get through, so I went to the Hallam in West Bromwich. It wasn’t easy, because being Black and Jamaican, I think you didn’t get the best jobs, but I was successful at the Hallam and did my state enrolled nursing (SEN) training there, which was two years.
“I got good grades and was a staff nurse, and people on the ward used to call me sister. I didn’t like being called sister without the qualification. My colleague Pauline often encouraged me to do the extra qualification to become a registered nurse, which was another year. I was happy where I was, but one day I was called to an appointment where they asked me to do the qualification.
“After that, I continued to move up and became a sister. I’ve been really lucky, I’ve had people look out for me, and that kindness has meant I’ve always wanted to do my best to look after people. I’ve had hundreds of letters from people thanking me, but I think I just did my job.
“When we’re born, we don’t know what’s ahead of us – God gave us the grace to help people and that’s what I wanted to do.”
We also spoke to Eddie Edmead, Major Grants Manager at Your Trust Charity, to
hear his thoughts on Windrush.
“Reading through Rose Butler’s synopsis of her childhood journey from Jamaica and settlement here in the UK truly resonates with that of my parents, the struggles they had encountered, the level of discrimination and harassment often faced, the low-level piece work jobs that had to be done and often in inclement conditions and done so without much complaint.
“Nonetheless, my parents, like Rose and many others, were the true pioneers. They were Caribbean commonwealth citizens invited from across Britain’s extensive diaspora of empire nations (The British Nation of Commonwealth Countries), and they too had journeyed many thousands of miles and had spent several weeks to get here by sea to help rebuild post-war Britain.
“Our Windrush pioneers had to try and assimilate whilst encountering the heaviness of being discriminated against, especially when encountering the chequered level of inequalities associated within the economic, political and social welfare environments.”
Eddie was keen to note the significance of telling these stories, stating: “Rose’s story brings to life the experiences and the back catalogue of stories told to many of us whose generations have hailed from the Caribbean. The stories about our Windrush generation’s journey, history and legacy.
“For those of us who are first, second, third and even fourth generations, we too now have families of our own, we too strive for a sense of acceptance and belonging, for cohesion and equality, for fairness in the careers that we have and the jobs that we do, and for better futures.”
As we look forward to the next 75 years of the NHS, we must not forget how the service we all hold so dear came to be: It’s clear that the NHS would be unable to function without the contributions of the Windrush generation and other groups migrating to the UK over the last 75 years. At SWB, we will continue to strive for equality, listening, learning, adapting and recognising the contributions of all our people.
Windrush and the NHS in numbers
1948 The NHS is launched by Prime Minister Clement Atlee and Health Minister Aneurin Bevin
Three core principles of the NHS: That it meet the needs of everyone, that it be free at the point of delivery and that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay
1,027 passengers on board HMT Empire Windrush, according to official records
63 per cent of men who disembarked from Windrush on 22 June were in jobs by 1 July 1948
31 per cent of all NHS doctors were born and educated abroad by 1971
Over 1/3 of tier-2 work visas issued in 2018 went to staff recruited by the NHS
594,825 people describing themselves as Black Caribbean in the UK
8 per cent of Britain’s Black Caribbean population live in Birmingham: the largest population in the UK (by Local Authority)
25.7 per cent of the NHS workforce come from BAME backgrounds
Doctor’s remarkable escape from military coup
CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS
In the early hours of April 15, Sudanese citizens in Khartoum woke to the sounds of gunfire. With no knowledge or explanation beyond an “armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces” ensuring safety became an urgent struggle. One of those citizens was SWB colleague Lina Badr who had travelled to Khartoum to spend Eid with her family. She takes up the story: “Being with three children of different ages; 15, 12 and 2 was very challenging as each one of them had different needs and each one of them had a different coping mechanism.
“At the start of the shooting, having never been in such a situation, the kids found it exciting. I think it felt like a movie scene to them. I was challenged by having to keep an eye on them all the time because they kept trying to go outside to take pictures! Being children, they did not understand the magnitude of the situation.
“Both my aunties living on neighbouring streets had to evacuate their houses and come to our house due to extensive shooting and missiles on the road and also due to a shortage in electricity and water – we were lucky as we had solar panels.
“I was staying at my grandparent’s house where we had all gathered that week for a family reunion for Eid. It was the first one we have had in over 10 years.
“The shooting, missiles and fighter jets were extremely loud. The whole house shook whenever the shooting was close. The top floors of the house were shot several times and it was felt through the walls. We had to remain on the ground floor hallway as it was the only safe place in the middle of the house with no windows looking outside. When I gathered my strength to go upstairs to my bedroom and fetch some items for myself and the kids, it was apparent that the house had been destroyed. The walls had holes everywhere, curtains were ripped and the TV screens on the walls were cracked with bullets.
“We quickly picked up what we needed and decided to remain in the hallways on the ground floor were we laid mattresses and cushions and that became our safety den for the remaining 10 days we were there.
“As the conflict escalated there were jet fighters swarming the skies and the sounds of heavy gunfire and artillery left civilians trapped indoors lacking food, water, electricity, and medicine, so we decided to leave the house for safety.
“No one wants to leave their home behind but it was our only choice. Every day we’d wake up to news that a house or building had been bombed and people had died in our neighbourhood.
“It was heart wrenching to leave the home my late grandfather, an architect, had built and had been a home for four generations. Leaving behind everything we owned and treasured but most of all leaving behind our priceless childhood memories.
“From the first day of the war, ticket prices went up tenfold. Even with these prices, it was hard to find seats. There were 20 people in my family group, and we couldn’t leave anyone behind.
“I was the only medic and my cousin was a dentist. We had no access to any medical care as all nearby hospitals had been bombed. We had elderly people reliant on insulin and others who suffered with complex cardiac conditions, hypertensive and asthmatic. Both elderly and young. We had no access to blood sugar monitoring machines or any means to check blood pressure or basic vital signs. That was my main worry.
“We needed to leave fast.”
“My daughters developed gastroenteritis and my baby had a chest infection and I was terrified.
“We knew we had to leave the country. My brother and husband were in touch via WhatsApp and helped us by researching the routes and contacting people in nearby areas to establish which route was the safest. Our area was the worst as it was close to the airport.
“We travelled four miles out but it took around 50 mins in cars that had little fuel and no means of re fuelling. There were several check points.
“We had live locations for other family
members abroad to track us. They were extremely worried and mentally exhausted because they felt helpless. Our hearts would almost stop beating every time we approached the check points.
“We had three cars with just enough fuel to make it to a cousins house and that is where we finally managed to get a bus, which we rented for over $20,000.
“The trip north to the Sudanese-Egyptian border was terrifying with fighter jets roaring overhead, missiles and bombs landing just a few kilometres away.

“It was heartbreaking to see that most of Khartoum had been destroyed and flattened by the war. Most land marks were now unrecognisable. The long drive to the border with little food and drink was harsh – we only had some water, biscuits, cake, crisps, sachets of porridge and dried milk powder.
“We spent a painful 32 hours at the actual border with dwindling food and drink remaining and no toilet facilities.
“Although, we considered ourselves lucky as we not only made it out but made it out quicker than others. Some were there for five days.
“I was terrified that one of us wouldn’t make it out of the border. We had children and sick elders with us. I lost count of how many women were fainting in front of me. People crying at how they have been treated. Some were not able to cross due to missing documents that they left at bombed homes with no means to retrieve them. The situation was terrible at the border.
“It took us almost another 20 hrs to get to Cairo were we were safe and made our way back home to Birmingham.
“Although now we are safe, the fragile situation in the region continues to deteriorate, with essential services in many regions affected and government institutions and humanitarian and development agencies unable to function due to the damage caused by the conflict and mass looting.
“We do not know if we will ever get back to Khartoum again. I feel a piece of me has been left behind. Some other family members, close friends and neighbours are still in Sudan.
“Yet, I try to smile and move on as I and my family have been granted a new life. I am extremely grateful for all the support from family, friends and colleagues. The prayers, love, support and kind messages are what got me through the difficult times I had lost hope in humanity. How we evacuated was a miracle from up above.”
Doctors join forces with patients to create multi-language material
Patients and their families are now able to access multi-language information to give them a better understanding of the link between ovarian cancer and genetic testing which could help to boost survival rates.
A £100,000 charity grant awarded to the SWB-run Pan-Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Centre and the University of Cambridge has funded the co-creation of the materials with patients. The information, in leaflet and video format, is now available online and free for all to access.
The project, called Demonstration of Improvement for Molecular Ovarian Cancer Testing (DEMO), will help to increase the uptake in genetic testing, especially in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities (BAME) where survival rates are low.
DEMO will also improve the quality of the sample taken to aid diagnosis when there is suspicion of ovarian cancer by establishing a guidance document for all healthcare professionals involved in the process.
Mr Janos Balega, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist at Pan-Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Centre, commented:
“The management of patients with ovarian cancer is a complex, multidisciplinary effort, including complex diagnostics, specialist cancer surgery, and genetics driven chemotherapy.
“Unfortunately, outcomes for ovarian cancer in the United Kingdom are generally poor and highly variable in different regions of the country, and we aim to take every opportunity to improve the complex management process of these patients.
“The project has provided us as clinicians with an excellent opportunity to improve the pathways.”
Dr Elaine Leung, Academic Clinical Lecturer also at the Pan-Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Centre, added: “DEMO is an important project to address the information gap on the link between cancer and genetic testing for patients who do not speak English.
“We have worked very closely with a diverse patient group to ensure that the videos are easy to understand and are available in the languages that our different communities
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE
use. We ensured patients were involved in every step of the process, including the language used.
“It’s important women know that knowing the genetic make-up of their cancers can tailor treatment and help prolong life – we have already seen evidence of this through other studies. “Our resources could support doctors and nurses to ensure patients with ovarian cancer receive genetic testing.”
The project has been funded by health charity Ovarian Cancer Action and is part of a wider national initiative, the IMPROVE-UK award, which aims to reduce inequality in cancer care.

The Pan-Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Network delivers cancer care to more than two million people in the West Midlands.
The videos and leaflets can be accessed by going to www.swbh.nhs.uk/ services/gynaecological-cancergenetic-testing/
Hands on cardiology course is just the tonic
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE
The launch of a “hands on” cardiology course has been hailed a success by participants who were taught by our leading clinicians how to carry out a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
The course run by Dr Vinoda Sharma, supported by Professor Jawad Khan and Dr Abdul Fairoz, saw 16 candidates join the session which featured training on how to get access with ultrasound guidance, carry out intravascular imaging, how to do and deal with a PCI
and complications (with help of a simulator that mimics a real person) and physiological assessment of the coronary arteries (heart arteries).
Dr Sharma said: “It started with a discussion between myself and Professor Khan to conduct a simulation course based on my experience in Toronto during my interventional training fellowship.
“One of the medical companies mentioned they could loan the simulation machine for free. Professor Khan and Dr Fairoz Abdul helped in designing the program, organising the simulation room, with the room set up and organised the excellent catering.

“There were 16 candidates and eight faculty along with the medical company representatives who helped set up the four stations. The program was managed efficiently with excellent time keeping and maintaining interest all around. It was a success and the feedback from those attending was unanimously great. I think the small, focussed groups helped as participants were in groups of four.”
She added: “One person told us afterwards that they would encourage us to continue doing more of these courses in the future as it was very good and beneficial.
“As a result of the success we plan to organise this again.”
Hospital at home care for stroke patients launched
MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE
into hospital following a stroke they will be assessed and given rehabilitation on our wards until they are fit to be discharged. Once home they would then receive rehab.
“However, the new service will allow us to discharge patients earlier, if they have the right care package in place, and also provide the intensive stroke specialist rehab they would have received in hospital.
“The team is made up of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, nurses, speech and language therapists, and dietitians with access to psychology, orthotics and our outpatient services for spasticity management and functional electrical stimulation. All will work closely with social care and GPs to ensure the patient receives the right care.
The stroke team will be providing hospital care at home in a new service
A ground-breaking service has been launched at the Trust which will see stroke patients receiving specialist hospital care in their own homes.

The Integrated Community Stroke Service (ICSS) will mean inpatients who meet a certain criterion are discharged earlier from
hospital and given the intensive rehabilitation needed to get them back on their feet in the comfort of their homes.
It will reduce hospital stays, freeing up beds and streamlining the patient journey.
Clair Finnemore, Therapy Lead for Stroke Services, explained: “When a patient comes
Jilly appointed President!
Head of Radiopharmacy and Associate Director Healthcare Science, Jilly Croasdale, was appointed President of the British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) at a prestigious ceremony at the end of May. She was handed the President’s Medal, cloak, and hat by outgoing president Professor Richard Graham, Royal United Hospital Bath as his two-year presidency came to an end. Jilly, who has previously served as BNMS Treasurer, takes over her new role as President immediately.

The BNMS is an organisation concerned with the clinical practice, education, research and development of nuclear medicine within the UK. Established in 1966, it is the only independent forum devoted to all aspects of nuclear medicine.
“The ICSS means we can provide a home-first model of care for all stroke patients who can return home safely with appropriate support and rehabilitation, reducing the average length of stay in hospital.”
Clair added: “It provides a seamless transition of care from acute to nonacute inpatient or domiciliary services with the same level of stroke multidisciplinary team (MDT) expertise.”
IMAGING
Membership includes clinicians, clinical scientists, radiopharmacists, other scientists, nuclear medicine technologists and nurses. She said: “It is a great privilege to serve as President for the society which is the only independent forum devoted to all aspects of nuclear medicine in the UK, and is committed to safe practice and highquality standards throughout the United Kingdom.”
The ceremony was held in Harrogate at the charity’s Annual Awards evening held on the occasion of the British Nuclear Medicine Society’s 50th Annual meeting.
Our surgeons lead the way in innovative breast surgery
WOMENS AND CHILD HEALTH
City Hospital is the home of our breast unit, which provides excellent care to women with breast cancer in the region. But recently, it played host to surgeons from across the world when it opened its doors for a training course in an innovative surgery that prevents women losing their breasts as a result of cancer. It’s easy to see why people come to us to learn. According to a recent breast screening report, for larger, non-invasive cancer of more than 4cm, nationally, around 38 per cent of women avoided removal of the breast. At SWB, this figure is 66 per cent.
These twice a year courses, led by Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgeons Mrs Geeta Shetty and Ms Melissa Ley Hui Tan, are open to both external and internal delegates, the former paying £450.00 for the training and the latter attending free of charge. Over two days, delegates gain a deep understanding of chest wall perforator flap surgery and mammoplasty, both of which are surgeries providing an alternative to mastectomy and total breast reconstruction for larger cancers. The first day consists of lectures, whilst the second involves theatre observation. During the course, attendees also have the opportunity to hear national and international speakers and to practice marking on live models. This year, in March 2023, 12 external delegates –the maximum amount allowed – were in attendance, from countries as far afield as New Zealand and Australia. The course is advertised online, but the majority of delegates hear about it through word of mouth. This is extremely exciting, as it demonstrates just how positively previous delegates speak of the course with their colleagues.
Chest wall perforator flap surgery is generally recommended for women requiring removal of larger tumours (breast cancer size of bigger than 4 or 5cm), but with small to medium-sized breasts. In such an instance, simply removing the tumour can create a significant defect in the appearance of the breast. For this reason, most women with larger cancers would be offered mastectomy with or without total breast reconstruction, usually using breast
implants or tissue taken from the abdominal area or the back. However, these total breast reconstructions are more invasive, resulting in higher risks, complications and donor site morbidities; with longer hospital stays and recovery times. In chest wall perforator flap partial breast reconstruction surgery, tissue is taken from the chest wall beneath the armpit or upper abdominal area to replace the removed tissue. No muscle is removed, only fat, and results are often indistinguishable from the breast prior to the surgery with scars usually hidden by bras.
Mammoplasty surgery is generally recommended for women with larger droopy breasts; surgeons not only remove the breast cancer but also uplift and reduce the breasts during the surgery. This has numerous benefits, including potentially improved post-surgery adjuvant radiotherapy results, easier checking of breasts and reduced symptoms associated with larger breasts, such as shoulder or back pain. Additionally, many of the women receiving this surgery have previously expressed a desire for smaller breasts, thus demonstrating a positive physical and psychological impact resulting from the surgery.
There are over 200 breast units in the country and very few – Melissa and Geeta estimated around 10 to 15 units – are offering these surgeries. Geeta began performing these surgeries in Peterborough in 2015, moving to City Hospital in 2017. Melissa joined City Hospital in 2018. Both Geeta and Melissa perform these surgeries routinely, with many surgeons coming to observe them to establish these procedures in their units. In 2021, our breast surgery team won the SWBH Quality of Care Award. The Quality of Care was unique as it was the only award that was nominated by patients, patients’ family and friends.

Over the last few years, clinicians have come from far and wide to observe these surgeries,
and it’s reaching a point where Geeta and Melissa are struggling to accommodate these requests. Neither offer private practice, and despite taking referrals from other trusts, they don’t have breached waiting times for patients due to the specialism and teamwork seen on the unit. As a team, they are one of the leading units to perform these surgeries as a day case procedure, which means patients can go home the same day or within 23 hours of surgery. Their successes in this area have also been widely disseminated through presentations and publications.
What’s more, the surgery has extremely positive results on patients. Recent patient reported outcome following chest wall perforator flap surgery data showed over 97% of women receiving the surgery are discharged within 23 hours, and data collected over a five-year period showed that 88.5% of women were satisfied or very satisfied with their results, whilst 96.2% rate the surgery as good, very good or excellent. It’s also raised the unit’s profile with clinicians, attracting senior fellows and trainees to come and work at SWB. Recently, the unit advertised a fellow post at registrar level, and received over 50 applications for a 12-month position – an almost overwhelming amount, considering such posts usually receive around five applications.
Melissa described our service as “Whilst other units do offer partial breast reconstruction with chest wall perforator flaps avoiding mastectomy, only a few offer it as standard routine day case practice. And we are very proud to be one of those units.”
Geeta echoes these thoughts, stating that the surgery has really “Put us on the map; it’s humbling to hear the feedback from our patients and from the clinicians that learn from our work.”
Endometriosis centre transforming care for women
Our gynaecology department has recently achieved national recognition as an endometriosis centre marking a significant milestone in providing specialised care for women suffering from endometriosis. Led by Dr Alvaro Bedoya-Ronga, the department aims to address the debilitating effects of this condition and improve the lives of hundreds of women each year.
Sharing the news of the recent achievement, Dr Bedoya – Ronga said: “The designation as an endometriosis centre brings several benefits to the our gynaecology department and most importantly, to the women who rely on our services.
“As an endometriosis centre, the department can offer multidisciplinary care with a team of specialists who possess extensive knowledge and experience in managing endometriosis. This expertise enables accurate diagnoses, effective treatment plans, and improved outcomes for patients.
“Being recognised as an endometriosis centre ensures smoother and more efficient referral processes. Women who suspect they may have endometriosis can visit their general practitioner (GP) and receive appropriate pain management strategies and contraceptive options. If symptoms persist, GPs can refer
patients directly to the endometriosis centre, minimising delays in receiving comprehensive care.
“The establishment of the endometriosis centre will expand the capacity of the department to accommodate a greater number of patients. This increased availability of resources and expertise will help reduce waiting times for consultations, investigations, and surgical interventions, providing timely relief and support to women in need.
“Endometriosis can have a profound impact on a woman's physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. By consolidating resources and expertise, the endometriosis centre can offer comprehensive care that addresses not only the physical symptoms but also the psychological and social aspects of living with this chronic condition. This approach improves the overall quality of life for patients.”
In addition to being designated as an endometriosis centre, the Trust gynaecology department has acquired cutting-edge 3D laparoscopic equipment, which brings numerous advantages to surgical interventions for endometriosis.

The 3D imaging capabilities of the laparoscopic equipment provide surgeons with a more detailed and realistic view of the surgical site.
WOMENS AND CHILD HEALTH
This improved visualisation allows for better identification and removal of endometriotic lesions, leading to more precise and effective procedures.
The introduction of 3D laparoscopic equipment also creates valuable training opportunities for medical professionals, enabling them to refine their skills in endometriosis surgery. This commitment to continuous learning and advancement ensures that patients receive the highest standard of care from a well-trained and proficient surgical team.
The recognition as a national endometriosis centre marks a significant achievement in providing specialised care for women suffering from endometriosis. This distinction will improve access to timely and comprehensive treatments, reducing the burden on patients who often endure years of suffering before receiving a diagnosis. Additionally, the advanced 3D laparoscopic equipment is set to increase standards of surgical interventions, enhance safety, precision, and patient outcomes.
Learning from best practice at 19th ISPO World Congress
SURGICAL SERVICES
The ISPO World Congress 2023, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, brought together professionals and experts from across the globe in the field of prosthetics and orthotics. It promoted the exchange of knowledge and ideas, as well as showcased the latest advancements in technology and research. I was fortunate to attend in April 2023. It was the first time the congress was held in Latin America and the local organising committee put on a great show. There was a great sense of community and dedication throughout the congress.
The opening ceremony was one to behold, with a local mariachi band and traditional Jalisco dancers, following which we were introduced to the mayor of Guadalajara who spoke of the beauty of the city. One of the highlights was the keynote addressed by Ana Paulina Chavira, who shared her personal

A musical performance
story of losing her limb to cancer and how she has used her experience to develop and implement educational programmes internationally.
The theme of the conference was “The Art and The Science” and featured a wide range of presentations, workshops, exhibitions, covering topics in design, rehabilitation and assistive technology. There were multiple sessions taking place throughout the four days covering prosthetics, orthotics, education, outcome measurements and rehabilitation medicine and seating and wheelchair. This meant that there was a lot to see and attend, and the exhibition hall was bustling with old and new colleagues networking. It was filled with new products
and technologies alongside lots of freebies and information. I had the opportunity to present a study which looked at the effect of using offloading osteoarthritic knee braces to reduce pain.

There were a number of prizes handed out: Sandra Sexton was awarded with the Sepp Heim Award which is granted for major contribution to mobility device education and improving mobility devices in less resourced settings. This emotional prizegiving showed how Sandra has made a positive impact to the lives of service users. Guadalajara was truly a wonderful city, full of rich and vibrant culture. The attitude of the Mexican people both in the expo and outside was warm and hospitable – despite my limited Spanish. I visited the Zoologico Guadalajara and Bosque Los Colomos Park which were a short taxi ride from the expo. Both had breathtaking views and beautiful landscapes.
A big thank you ISPO UK for supporting my attendance to the 19th world congress in Guadalajara, a great career achievement which I am still reliving in my mind! And to the whole team in Mexico, Muchas Gracias! A truly amazing experience and I am looking forward to the next ISPO Congress in Stockholm.
Bringing more localised care to patients through our Town Teams
A new initiative designed to bring more localised care to citizens living in each of the six towns of Sandwell is beginning to take shape.
Called “Town Teams”, the project will see Tipton, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Rowley Regis, Oldbury and Smethwick each have district nurses, community nurses, therapists, social workers, mental health practitioners, children’s services professionals and voluntary services all working together to deliver integrated care.
Colleagues and GPs will be able to refer patients into the relevant Town Team by calling the Trust’s Care Navigation Centre where the call handler will be able to triage and direct the citizen to the right health or social care professional.
If the patient needs further care via other services, for example support from a mental health practitioner, they will then be referred to the relevant professional within that particular Town Team.
Wednesbury and West Bromwich are the pilot sites which have recently launched, with others following soon.
Tammy Davies, Deputy Chief Integration Officer, said: “The Town Teams model means joining up care for citizens and making their journey as seamless as possible. Health and social care professionals will be able to refer between services and it means that the patient only has to tell their story once.
“There’s two ways in which we will care for patients – reactively and proactively. An example of reactive care would be how we go about treating a patient who may have suffered a fall at home. The district nurse will be there to tend to them, whilst the social care professional will need to look at their care plan.
“Proactively we are looking at ‘at risk’ citizens – those who may be frequent visitors to our emergency departments or are known to social care. It’ll be about working with them directly to find out what we can do to improve their care.”
Before the launch, the project team worked with Healthwatch to speak to residents in each of the towns to consult them on how they would like to receive care from all these agencies and establish their needs.
“The workshops in each town have been really successful so far,” Tammy added. “They have provided an opportunity to do a very localised information gathering to shape services.
“They have been well attended with a great mix of residents, local business and voluntary sector and have been an opportunity for local citizen to be open and honest about what is on their minds about health, care and social needs in their communities.

“We are taking on board their feedback and seeing how we can work this into the future of health and social care. Once we have established this, we will then go back to the
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITY AND THERAPIES
towns to discuss what we’ve done. We want to make this meaningful to them.”
The Town Teams project is part of the Sandwell Health and Care Partnership (SHCP) which supports residents across Sandwell with their health, social care and community needs.
It has been formed to improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities for all people who live and work within Sandwell’s rich, diverse and multicultural communities. It will refocus care towards more preventative, primary and community models of care.
The partnership is made up of organisations situated within the borough (known as place-based) and includes the Trust, Sandwell Council, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Sandwell Council for Voluntary Sector Organisations (SCVO), Healthwatch Sandwell and eight Primary Care Networks (PCNs).
The partners, both public and private sector organisations, are working together to focus on the needs of the population rather than the individual objectives of the partners and their organisations.
New skin service launched



AND
Patients will receive treatment for skin problems quicker thanks to the launch of a new service across the Black Country.
The new service, which is one of the largest teledermatology projects in the NHS, has been launched and aims to triage patients within 24 hours, excluding weekends. Run by clinicians across the Black Country Provider Collaborative (BCPC) – which consists of our Trust, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, and Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust – the new teledermatology service allows patients to book a consultation through their GP and receive feedback from specialists.
Their GP will take images of skin conditions using dermatoscopes attached to a smartphone or tablet, which will be sent to the dermatology department at their chosen hospital.
A dermatologist then reviews and responds to the GP, within 24 hours, providing guidance on how to care for the patient and whether further investigation or hospital care is needed.
More than 250 GP practices have signed up for the scheme – covering a population of 1.5 million across Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Sandwell.
James Halpern, Consultant Dermatologist and Clinical Lead for Skin for the BCPC, said: “Since the pandemic we have seen a large increase in the number of skin cancer referrals.
“The new teledermatology service allows large numbers of referrals to be triaged more quickly and will help us address the backlog. It will allow a single point of access and quicker care, closer to home.
“Instead of waiting for an appointment after seeing your GP, a treatment decision can be made within 24 hours. This will help with scarce clinic capacity.
“We will be providing training to GPs and they will also be provided with the equipment.
“There will also be a super-user for each Trust
who can add locums onto the system quickly. We also have a 24-7 support hotline to help us with technology.”
Diane Wake, Senior Responsible Officer for the BCPC, said: “This is one of several impressive initiatives that have been cultivated as a result of the collaboration between the four Trusts and I’m delighted we are now able to offer this service to our patients.

“This is tremendous news for dermatology patients in the Black Country and the wider area who will benefit from improved outcomes as a result of this.”
There are currently 3,800 new Dermatology referrals every month, with the number of twoweek wait appointments having doubled. By launching teledermatology services in the Black Country, clinicians hope to reduce unnecessary hospital appointments and speed up access to diagnosis and treatments, including two week wait skin cancer referrals. There will still be capacity for face-to-face appointments if needed.

Are our car parks secure?
Dear Heartbeat,
I would like to think my car is safe in a secure car park at work especially from my fellow colleagues but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all! I was recently horrified to come back to my car after a long, hard days work to find my car badly damaged! When I spoke to Q Park about it they said it wasn’t picked up on CCTV! Now I am having to go through my insurance to get my car fixed which will raise my premium massively when I come for renewal as I have no evidence or proof who damaged my car. How in 2023 can a car park not have CCTV which covers the car park for things like this? I heard Q Park were giving an award for parking operator of the year for 2022-2023. How can this be possible when they don’t even protect their customers cars with CCTV. Anyone would think this is 1983 not 2023…
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
Q-Park strives to keep every car on site as safe and secure as possible. If there is an incident between two vehicles on site, we will assist in supporting any insurance claim by providing footage to the police or insurance companies if there is clear and obvious evidence. If you are involved in any vehicle
Join Green Impact 2023
YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD
incident on site, we encourage you to report this to the police by calling “101” to get a crime reference number for insurance purposes.
Q-Park have installed at least 4 high-definition CCTV cameras on every level of the multi-storey car parks. Their primary use is for security on site but if there is an incident between vehicles we will check and record the footage. As with any car park in the country you do park at your own risk on site, and we cannot be held responsible for the manner of driving of other car park users.
It is very disappointing that this incident took place in a staff only car park and we would expect the other member of staff involved to leave their details when they cause an incident on trust property. If you do not have the means to leave a note you can report this to the Q-Park hosts on site and they will leave a note for the other driver on your behalf.
Kind regards,
Ross Badham, Q Park Business Manager – Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust and Jim Pollitt, Assistant Director Strategic DevelopmentCreate positive changes in your workplace
Are you interested in creating positive changes in your area of work and supporting our Trust in becoming a leading sustainable healthcare provider?
JoinNow
Join our Green Impact programme where colleagues work together in teams to complete simple, everyday actions. This could be anything, such as turning off lights and equipment when not required, wasting less and using re-usable items, getting out and taking a walk, using the car less, empowering patients to think ‘green’, and much more.
We have just launched our 5th cycle and have a brand new toolkit. There will be a chance to win prizes throughout the year, with awards and recognition for your team.
To find out more and register, visit https:// toolkit.sos-uk.org/greenimpact/swb/login or contact Head of Sustainability Fran Silcocks on Francesca.silcocks@nhs.net if you fancy a chat.
Don’t sit back – our health and that of the population and future generations is dependent upon greener ways of working.
Wave goodbye to…
Our much beloved Sikh Chaplain, Joga Singh has retired from SWB having worked faithfully since 2011 in the chaplaincy team.
Many patients have benefited from having Joga around, whether that is in his visiting or emergency call outs in the Trust.
Joga has a positive impact on not only his patients, but his peers too.
Paulette Bassan, Bank Chaplain, is one of those colleagues and said: “Joga is one of the gentlest, sweetest, kindest people I've ever met.
His laughter always fills the room with positivity and he has a special ability to make everyone happy.
Akm Kamruzzaman, Muslim Chaplain also has many kind words for Joga. He said: “It was a great opportunity to work with a Sikh chaplain first time in my life. He gave us and our patients the confidence to talk about any subject or ask any question without the fear of mistake. Joga is very caring, helpful and supportive. God bless him for his good work and bless him with good health.”
Singh Sikh Chaplain
Chaplains Ebenezer Asaju and Eddie Briones echo these thoughts and said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Joga as part of the team; he is really valued by all. His commitment is exemplary, he is always really kind and encouraging and his sense of humour is natural and a powerful element to the work that we do at the Trust.”
Everyone the Trust would like to wish Joga Singh a happy retirement and specifically thank him for his services as a chaplain to our SWB Sikh patients and their family members, as well as his hard work and dedication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Richard talks about: Progress against top six annual objectives
Richard Beeken, Chief Executive
In May, we announced a set of 14 objectives to be delivered this year, all linked explicitly to our Trust Strategy which we agreed last year. We are now three months into the new financial year and have an update on our progress against the six objectives which we are particularly prioritising. We track delivery of the annual plan in our Board meetings (publicly available) and committees, and the ‘top six’ objectives in a weekly meeting with the executive directors.
Here is our progress so far.
1. To report all incidents and reduce those with moderate harm and above
So far, we have seen a reduction in the overall number of patient safety incidents reported, but levels of moderate or above harm have remained stable. Although the reduction in overall incidents being reported may sound positive, it could be that low or no harm incidents are not being reported as often as they used to. This year our Fundamentals of Care work is focusing on harm-free care with an emphasis on local priorities alongside improvements in how we manage deteriorating patients and medication. We are also implementing the national changes as part of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) which will change how we investigate and learn from incidents.
2. Increase patients rating their experience as good or very good for all touchpoints including Friends & Family Test (FFT) by area
As the table below shows, we are making progress against the five Friends and Family Test areas.
RICHARD'S LAST WORD
As part of our Fundamentals of Care work across the Trust, there are several projects to be completed by September to improve communication and patient experience including:
• Tools to support communication with vulnerable people
• Personalisation of care project initially piloted on Newton 4
• Improvements to the interpreting service
• Implementation of guidelines, measures and on-site support for carers
• Development of clarifying information to empower communication.
3. To reduce our flexible acute beds by 86 to safely move into the new hospital
In total we have closed 32 beds across general medicine, gastroenterology and cardiology in both City and Sandwell sites so far. The next area of focus for bed closures is the Acute Medical Short Stay Unit at Sandwell site. We are ahead of our plan but will be doing further reviews to ensure our plan is achievable throughout the year. Naturally, bed closures without radical changes to practice in admission avoidance and discharge planning, just pushes up bed occupancy and lower bed occupancy in advance of our move to MMUH, is what we seek.
4.
To increase elective activity from 94% to 104% of 2019/20 activity levels as per our production plan
Increasing our elective activity has been particularly challenging with two junior doctors strikes so far. Although we didn’t hit our April target, we gained it back in May and are back on track, currently hitting 106%, which is a very robust start to the financial year.
5. To reduce our bank and agency spend from £64.4 million to £45.6 million
Although we have put new escalation controls in place for bank and agency spend, we are off track against our plan. Bank spend in 2023/24 has been similar to 2022/23, but agency spend has been higher, which is a huge concern. We are doing further work to target key areas, ‘forward look’ our needs, and recruit and retain substantive staff.
6. To develop 200 leaders in compassionate and inclusive
leadership
This leadership programme stems from our new values, Ambition, Respect and Compassion (ARC). The compassionate community module of the ‘ARC’ leadership framework was launched in May and covers 5 areas: Values and behaviours; Compassion; Inclusion; Psychological Safety; Engaging Teams. There is training for team members, middle and senior managers. Senior leader training commences from September for 2.5 days overall, the first cohort will finish in November.
SWB marks Volunteers’ Week
YOUR TRUST CHARITY
We have many volunteers here at SWB, dedicating their time and efforts to a number of programmes across the Trust. This includes wayfinding at main entrances and providing vital support and direction to patients and families, through to organising events, distributing crucial materials and manning our onsite staff shops.
five years. Having previously worked in healthcare, she decided to continue to support the NHS as a volunteer, and assists with a number of different projects, including supporting NHS75 activities.
@SWBHCharity To donate to the Your Trust Charity text
“SWBH16 £5” to 70070
Every year on the 1-7 June we celebrate Volunteers’ Week. The week gives us an opportunity to thank volunteers for everything they contribute to our communities and recognise their achievements.
On 2 and 8 June, the volunteers service held events at Sandwell Hospital and City Hospital, inviting all volunteers to attend and enjoy refreshments and activities. The events aimed to celebrate our volunteers and everything they do for the Trust, with Volunteer Service Manager Liza Gill stating: “It’s been great to see the turnout and we’re really glad to be able to take this time to thank our volunteers.
“It’s so important to mark what our volunteers do here, giving their time to help things run smoothly. They make a massive contribution to the Trust, and we will always work to recognise them and their efforts.”

One attendee at the event was Bally Barquer, who has been a volunteer for
On 5 July, Bally is hosting the first SWB volunteers connections day. This event will allow volunteers to meet one another and make connections and hear updates on the Trust whilst enjoying some refreshments.
We spoke to Bally about the event, and she stated: “I’m really excited to be hosting this event to bring volunteers together and make connections with one another. It will be a great opportunity – we have a lot of volunteers in the Trust and this event will help us to share our knowledge and experience and to collaborate better.”
The event is taking place on 5 July from 10am - 12noon at the Education Centre, Sandwell Hospital. To register your attendance, please contact the volunteer service line on 0121 507 4855 or swbh.volunteer@nhs.net.
June 2023 staff lottery results
For further information on the scheme contact Pat Hunt on 07990 351490 or email patriciahunt@nhs.net
Don’t forget that Your Trust Charity lottery costs just £1 a month and anyone who works for the Trust can join. Payment is deducted from your wages each month. To take part email johnny.shah@nhs.net.